Chapter 91
“I want to propose to An’an.”
A few days ago, on a night of overtime for Public Security, Hiromitsu, who was surviving on black coffee, was suddenly hit with Furuya’s words. He choked on a mouthful of black coffee, coughing until he had to bend over and pound his back.
Mentor Scotch calmly took out a tissue and wiped his mouth. He submitted his report with lightning speed, swiveled his office chair to face his friend, and asked in an objective and wise voice, “Why the sudden thought?”
Furuya’s hands were still on the keyboard. He thought seriously for a moment. “It’s not that sudden. I just feel it’s time.”
Rum had been arrested. The foundation of the Black Organization had been uprooted. Although there were still some high-ranking members at large, they were no longer a major threat.
Almost all the red-side moles had returned to their original identities. Even Akai Shuichi had taken off his pink-haired wig and had gone back to being a knitted-hat-wearing acolyte.
Work had come to a close. Life’s major events were now on the agenda.
“Hiro should know that although I occasionally go back to my own apartment, An’an and I are basically living together,” Furuya said. “The Trojan Horse Apartments are more suitable for single people. I’m looking for a new place.”
Preferably a house with a protective net around it. It wasn’t that Furuya was afraid of Beika’s high crime rate. On the contrary, he was more worried about the life and death of the criminals.
An’an’s hobby of collecting knives had never disappeared. Every time Furuya went into the kitchen and saw the rows of sharp cleavers, far exceeding the amount a normal family would use, he would wonder how to explain it to his Public Security colleagues if they came to visit.
Kazami Yuya had had the honor of visiting once when he was delivering a document to his superior. After he went back, he had struggled for a long time and had secretly mailed Furuya a copy of the criminal law.
Furuya: Thank you, but no. I’ve read the whole thing.
The educational value of the bedtime stories was gradually decreasing. An’an was slow to learn good things and quick to learn bad things. She had self-taught a series of moves that made Furuya willingly shut up and not continue with his legal education. The blond Public Security officer had not yet found a way to crack it.
In fact, he was thoroughly enjoying it.
Of course Hiromitsu knew that Furuya and An’an were living together. He had a guest room in both of their apartments, a shared property of the young couple.
“Don’t worry. The new house will also have a guest room for you,” Furuya promised.
Hiromitsu didn’t know whether to say thank you or “please let me go, I don’t want to be a part of your little couple’s play.”
“Moving to a new house, officially living together…” Hiromitsu had a sudden realization. “Indeed. You should get a proper title.”
The entertainment industry is full of beautiful women. With An’an’s current popularity, any groundless rumor could blow the other party into the spotlight. Even if they came out to clarify in time, it would still give the other party heat. Black-red is also red.
Furuya was confident in himself, but his work was objectively very busy. Maybe someone would take advantage of his overtime at Public Security to steal his home.
The blond Public Security officer had a strong sense of crisis.
A couple of days ago, when he had picked up An’an from work, a young man had been following the girl, calling her “sister, sister,” his eyes wet and puppy-like.
Furuya: (indifferent.jpg)
An’an doesn’t fall for the puppy act. She likes cats. Before you start barking, can you just take a look at her lock screen? Isn’t it obvious enough?
The blond young man who had come to pick her up had greeted the young man with a friendly surface, but the moment An’an had gotten close, he had pulled her into his arms. She had said, puzzled, “You’re so passionate today.”
There was more passion to come. After getting rid of the annoying fly, the air in the white Mazda had heated up.
The girl, who couldn’t breathe, had hastily rolled down the window for some air. She had rubbed her lipstick, which had been completely eaten off, and couldn’t understand how she had provoked Furuya.
An’an: I didn’t do anything?
I don’t get it. A man’s heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea.
A title is very important. Even though An’an had posted an official announcement on her [Punny Name Deducts Money] smurf account, there were still people who stubbornly said, “It’s just dating. It doesn’t count for anything after a breakup.”
Hiromitsu: It counts, my friend. It counts.
You know nothing about the push and pull of a young couple’s breakup period.
An’an was indifferent to similar comments. She had never cared about the opinions of others. Furuya was not a person who would be swayed by public opinion either.
What had really made him think of proposing was actually a very small thing.
On a day off, the girl was curled up on the sofa playing a game. Halfway through, her phone had rung. An’an had hastily stuffed the controller into Furuya’s hands and had freed a hand to answer the phone.
An online battle game, “Yokohama Grand Stage, Come if You’ve Got the Guts.” Furuya had seen An’an play this a lot. He had smoothly taken over and joined the dragon-slaying raid.
He didn’t know who had developed the game’s mechanics. The boss was a dragon. There was a fixed NPC teammate in the battle, a short person with a hat, who would periodically sing to break the boss’s shield. The other players had to frantically deal damage during the shield-break period.
Furuya had glanced at the NPC with the ID [Yokohama Diva] and had wondered how on earth the Port Mafia had agreed to let the game go online. It couldn’t be that Mori Ougai himself also loved to play, right?
In the midst of the fierce battle, An’an’s voice, talking to the person on the other end of the line, had fallen into Furuya’s ears.
“Aunt, you want to know how Cousin Hanzawa is doing in Beika?” the girl had thought for a moment. “He should be doing okay. He’s been to the station much less than me. He’s still a free man.”
“In love? I don’t think so. After seeing the terrifying crime of passion rate in Beika, Cousin Hanzawa seems to have given up on the idea of dating. But he seems to be a fan of someone. Cousin Hanzawa blushes when he sees Kaitou Kid—this is information from the young lady of the Suzuki family. It’s guaranteed to be true.”
“A blind date? Hmm, let me ask Cousin Hanzawa if he’s free. It seems it’s very hard to get leave from his work… eh, me?”
“I have a boyfriend. I’ll bring him back to see you during the New Year?”
“That’s not necessary.”
The character’s health bar on the screen had instantly dropped by half. The dark-haired girl had been shocked and had frantically gestured to Furuya.
The blond young man had collected himself and had controlled the character to dodge the dragon’s breath.
Out of caution, An’an had switched to a dialect, an encrypted call. “According to our family’s custom, isn’t it only when you’re about to get married that you need to bring your partner back home? We’re not at that stage yet.”
“Although we’re already living together, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be moving on to the next step anytime soon,” she had said. “I know, I know. I’ll definitely tell you the moment there’s any progress—did you receive the Sharon autograph I sent you before? That’s a limited edition!”
An’an was close to her aunt. They had chatted for a long time, and she had told her aunt a lot of gossip that only people in the industry knew.
When she had hung up the phone, she had found that the boss’s health bar on the screen had been depleted, and her character’s health bar had also been depleted.
An’an: Although my level has increased, I died so miserably.
“If you’re bad, practice more,” she had said, patting her boyfriend’s shoulder sorrowfully, and had invited the netizens [Refreshing, Bright, and Full of Vigor Self-Slaughter] and [Mr. Dazai, When Are You Going to Quit Your Internet Addiction and Go Back to Work] to join the team and start a new game.
An’an was engrossed in the game with her netizens. Furuya’s mind was filled with his girlfriend’s words.
Mhm, that’s right. He understood the dialect. An’an’s encrypted call was for nothing.
“Although she’s not willing to take me back to see her family yet, An’an is clearly not against a more serious relationship,” Furuya analyzed.
Hiromitsu had listened to his friend’s reasoning with a subtle expression. He had wanted to say something but had held back.
Although Zero looked as if he didn’t care, how did Hiromitsu feel that he actually cared a lot?
Mentor Scotch had kindly not pointed it out. He had only asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
Furuya had been waiting for this sentence.
…
“And then Hiro was so caught up in work that he came to the arrest with dark circles that almost reached his chin today?” An’an was very sympathetic to Mentor Scotch.
Hiromitsu even had to continue to work overtime with his good friend’s work, because if Furuya’s proposal was successful, he would definitely not leave his wife and go back to work. If Furuya’s proposal failed, then he would definitely not be in the mood to work. Mentor Scotch’s overtime was set in stone.
Furuya had no guilt for screwing over his friend. “He said himself that he wanted to sit at the elders’ table at the wedding banquet.”
This was the price of raising his seniority.
…
The fireworks outside the floor-to-ceiling window bloomed one after another, like a sea of flowers that would never fade.
The diamond on the ring reflected a dazzling brilliance. The small facets reflected the dark-haired girl’s appearance, as if she had fallen into a kaleidoscope.
To be honest, it was a little too sudden.
She knew that today’s wedding was to catch a criminal, so she hadn’t specially prepared her makeup and styling. The bridesmaid dress was chosen by the wedding team. This pure white dress was not quite in line with An’an’s aesthetic.
This hall was beautifully decorated. An’an felt from the bottom of her heart that it was a pity to waste it. But in the opinion of most people, a wedding had just been ruined here. Would it be unlucky to propose in this hall?
It was also strange to put the proposal day and the day of arresting a criminal together—normally, people would think so.
“Why is it always like this?” the girl laughed.
When she had decided to confess to Furuya, they had been on a ship, looking for the bombs Gin had planted.
The day they had broken up, Bourbon had arrested and interrogated a defector from the Black Organization.
The day they had gotten back together, the night cherry blossoms had bloomed, and the ambiguous atmosphere had been interrupted by a scream.
On the day of the proposal, an internationally wanted criminal had almost blown up the whole of Shibuya.
This relationship was too bloody and stormy.
“I don’t even dare to think what my own wedding will be like,” An’an commented sharply.
Mouri Kogoro and Edogawa Conan would definitely have to be invited. The guest list was already terrifying at this point. And there was An’an’s dear Cousin Hanzawa, her distant second uncle, Mr. Fan Ren, who had first introduced her to Beika to find a job and settle down, and a large group of Fan family relatives.
The thought of having to use police cars to pick up the guests made An’an feel that this wasn’t a wedding at all. This was a complete raid.
I’m sorry. She had violated the Fan family’s ancestral teachings. (sorrowful.jpg)
But… who cares!
None of that was important. The only important thing was her mood at this moment.
Her heart was beating for the blond young man who was kneeling before her. Her eyes were shining. The corners of her lips were curved in a happy arc.
It was enough.
Always following her own desires, always knowing what she wanted. She lived in the world so frankly, facing everything with a calm heart.
“I’ll ask again.”
The girl’s light tone infected Furuya. His eyes were filled with a smile. He opened his mouth again.
“An’an, will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
The force of her lunge pressed Furuya onto the ribbon-strewn red carpet. Black and blond hair entwined.
“Since you’ve asked so sincerely,” An’an said with a straight face.
“I do.”