Chapter 56: Shiho Returns
Chapter 57: Shiho Returns

"Bing. Feeling better?" A melodious voice sounded in my ears.

"Ah. Feeling good. Cough cough cough." I held back my cough and smiled at Vermouth. "As you can see, Sister Bei, I can't get out of bed for a short time." Two weeks after I woke up, Sister Bei came to check on me. If Margaret's death hadn't delayed her, she might have stayed with me all the time.

"Bing... I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been harmed like this by that woman." Vermouth looked at me apologetically.

"Don't say that, Sister Bei. Ahem. Even if I wasn't your subordinate, I would have been targeted sooner or later with my achievements. So Sister Bei, it's not your fault. Besides, that woman has gone to see God now. Don't mention her anymore." I said to Vermouth calmly. In fact, compared to my injury, I care more about her current opinion of Shiho. I believe she already knows that Shiho is back, and of course she must know that Shiho participated in that research. I have always wanted her not to hate Shiho, but I have never had the opportunity to ask her.

"By the way, Bing. I have been officially notified of Margaret's death. After you recover from your injuries, you will take over Margaret's position and become the next gold medal." Vermouth smiled at me.

"Huh? But I don't have 300 quests yet, is that okay?" I looked at Vermouth in confusion. Although I was very happy to be the gold medalist and get closer to the mysterious boss, I always felt that something was wrong.

"Yes. That gentleman informed me directly." Vermouth said to me with a little more seriousness. "Since there are only three gold medalists in this base. Now one is vacant, it is very stressful for Gin and me. So I recommended you to that gentleman. Although you still need a few missions, according to that gentleman, after your injury is healed, he will directly give you a mission. As long as you complete it, you can become a gold medalist."

"Haha, so this task must be not easy, right?" I said with a faint smile.

"I don't know about that. After all, we have never encountered a situation like yours. Because all 27 gold medals in the organization were selected based on their 100% mission rate, but your 295 missions are also 100%, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Is that so? Haha, I'm really looking forward to my name becoming... ahem... "This damn injury. Will it leave me with any hidden illness? I thought hesitantly.

"Haha. You should have a good rest. I will come to see you again after a while." With that, Vermouth stood up, gathered her long golden wavy hair, bent down, kissed me lightly on the forehead and left.

After Vermouth left, I lay on the bed alone, looking at the ceiling, thinking about the special mission she had just mentioned. Somehow, I felt a little nervous about this mission, which made me feel itchy and uncomfortable.

Hula...

The door opened again. This time it was Jingliu who walked in.

"Bing, do you feel better?" Jingliu took a pillow and placed it behind me so that I could sit up.

"Ah, I feel much better." I smiled faintly. "Sister Jingliu, who is following you? Why do I hear a very fast heartbeat?" Feeling the breath in the room, I pricked up my ears and carefully distinguished. In addition to the heartbeats of Jingliu and me, there was also a sound of a very fast heartbeat. That person was obviously at the corner of the room.

"Bing. Your listening skills are getting better and better." Jingliu smiled at me mischievously and turned around and said to the door.

"Come in. There's no one else in there."

Da da da.

Along with Jingliu's words, a crisp sound of footsteps sounded. At the corner, a slender figure with brown wavy short hair and a girl with a hint of coldness in her eyes walked in. The moment she entered my sight, it was as if my heartbeat suddenly stopped. My lips moved slightly, but I didn't know what to say.

"Haha. Shiho. Long time no see." Four years have passed. The girl I have been thinking about day and night for four years is now standing in front of me, but I don't know how to express my longing for her. Finally, I thought for a long time and came up with this sentence. Maybe we don't need too much language to express each other. A look, a simple greeting, can convey all the longing to each other.

"Shiho...long time no see." I smiled gently while sitting on the sickbed, looking at this tall and graceful girl, with a hint of indifference on her almost perfect face curve. Her ice-blue eyes were like crystals, and her white coat wrapped up her exquisite curves, giving her a special sense of mystery.

Shiho ignored my greetings and just looked at me quietly. However, her pounding heartbeat betrayed this girl who seemed calm on the outside but was actually very excited on the inside.

"Haha. It's rare for us to meet, you two should have a good chat, I'll go prepare some drinks." Jingliu smiled sweetly at me with a sly look and left the room, leaving me lying on the bed and Shiho standing there motionless. Seeing Jingliu leave, I also knew that she was creating some private space for us. After all, it's not good for Jingliu to get involved in the affairs between me and Shiho.

"Sit down, Shiho. Cough cough cough..." I coughed and moved my body, making room for Shiho to sit on the bed. Shiho didn't say anything, but walked to the bed and sat down.

"Haha. Don't you want to say something?" I shook Shiho's hand and chuckled. "You haven't said anything to me in four years?"

. . . . . .

A brief moment of silence.

"Asshole." Shiho uttered softly. Her voice, which was once as gentle as the sound of nature, had lost some of its childishness and gained some maturity.

"Ok?"

"Asshole!" Shiho's tone became excited, and her little hand, which I held, was shaking violently. "Asshole! Asshole!!!" Shiho kept shouting at me. Tears were like beads that had broken off the string, dripping down Shiho's beautiful cheeks.

"Asshole! Didn't you say you would wait for me to come back? Why did I see you lying unconscious on the bed when I came back? Didn't you promise me not to do anything dangerous?" Shiho kept crying and punched me. This girl. She still remembered what I said four years ago. However, this also proved that after four years of separation, she never gave up missing me.

"Shiho." I held the fist that Shiho threw at me. I looked at her tenderly, my eyes filled with unspeakable pity. "You've lost weight..." I reached out and gently stroked Shiho's cheek, wiping away the tears that had fallen because of sadness, and said with heartache.

"Wow... bastard. Bastard!... Wow wow wow..." Shiho could no longer control her emotions. She leaned over me and cried loudly. The emotions that had been unable to be vented for four years burst out at this moment. Soon, my striped hospital gown was soaked by Shiho's tears. There was no language to comfort her. I gently hugged Shiho, caressing her jade back, and holding her hand tightly with my other hand. Tell her that I am by her side.

————The scent of orchids, the scent of lavender, the scent of home & Angel’s wings, Devil’s wings, Guardian’s wings————

After crying for a long time, Shiho finally got tired. She sobbed in my arms. I continued to comfort her until her body stopped shaking. "Bing..."

"Hmm? Feeling better? Cough cough cough..." I forced a smile at Shiho. A stuffy itch in my chest made me cough again.

"Bing. What have you been doing for the past four years?" Shiho looked at me with concern and heartache, her eyes full of tears. "When I came to see you yesterday, I found that you were covered with scars. What kind of mission would cause you so many injuries? Tell me, please?" Shiho's eyes were still shining with tears, and she gently shook my arm, her concern was self-evident.

"Hehe. Yeah." I moved my body again, stretched out my arm, and motioned for Shiho to lie down. Shiho frowned slightly, said H to me coquettishly, and then lay down beside me obediently. Accompanied by continuous coughing, I slowly told her what happened in the past four years. From the time she left and I was assigned to Margaret's name until now when I was seriously injured.

About an hour later...

"In other words, you successfully killed the woman named Margaret? Will you take her place afterwards?" Shiho asked softly, resting her head on my arm.

"Well, it's because I killed that woman that I'm lying here. If it weren't for Jingliu's superb medical skills, I might have died long ago." I held Shiho's slender waist and smiled. In an hour, I told her everything that happened in the past four years from beginning to end. Of course, I omitted the matter of Skinny Wolf. After all, the less Shiho knew about the black world, the better.

"Then you must thank Sister Jingliu." Shiho looked at me with a smile, and the sadness in her eyes faded away as she chatted with me. What remained was the joy of reunion.

With a slight smile, I reached out and stroked Shiho's neck. A thin black thread fell into my hand. "Have you been wearing it?"

Shiho seemed to feel the movement of my hand. She pulled the black wing out of her clothes. "Of course, I never take it off." Shiho smiled. It was a beautiful and gentle smile.

"Haha, my mouth is a little dry after talking for so long. Ahem." I smiled at Shiho. "Tell me about yourself. How have you been these past four years?" I changed the subject and asked Shiho. We haven't been in touch for four years, and I really want to know about Shiho's life.

"Me?" Shiho looked up at me, "What else can I do? I study the same thing every day." Shiho knocked away my hand that was around her waist, stood up and stretched. Her exquisite curves made me a little dazed.

"Have you seen enough?" Shiho turned around and squinted her half-moon eyes and looked at me with contempt. "No. I can't see enough in my lifetime. Cough cough cough." I smiled at Shiho. The constant coughing made me feel embarrassed. "Sorry, please continue." I smiled apologetically.

"Yeah. I study under the organization's supervision every day, and the only day I can rest alone is Sunday. This has been my life for the past four years." Shiho stood up, poured me a glass of water from the table and handed it to me, then said lightly.

"Wouldn't that be boring?" I took the cup and drank it without hesitation. "Cough cough cough..." I had no choice but to cough every time I drank a sip of water.

"Drink slowly. No one is trying to snatch it from you." Shiho gave me a reproachful look, took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the corner of my mouth. "The intense study left me no time to think about whether I was bored or not. Every day was chemistry, medicine, and biology. It was endless repetition. Fortunately, Taichi and Mary would come to see me during the holidays, so life was pretty bearable. By the way, I really found my sister in America, Bing, how did you get the news?" Shiho's eyes flickered, and she asked with a hint of doubt.

"Ah? This... I also found out from the organization." I laughed awkwardly. "Ahem. Anyway, it's good that you can meet Sister Mingmei." I changed the subject and laughed.

"Is that so... Never mind. Meeting Sister Mingmei is better than anything else." Shiho smiled gently. Four years later, this girl who has grown out of her immaturity looks so perfect from any angle. Her every frown and smile always makes me lose my mind.

"But after that meeting, my sister stayed in the United States for less than two weeks before returning to Japan. Do you have any news about her?" Shiho asked again.

"Hmm? Ah. I'm not sure about that, but it's true that Sister Mingmei is in Japan now. If you want to see her, I'll find someone to help you contact her." I said, supporting my chin.

"Hmm? What are you thinking about, Bing?" Shiho asked curiously when she saw me looking thoughtful.

"Ah. There are some things that I'm concerned about. Ahem..." I frowned slightly. "Shiho, I heard that you participated in an important research project of the organization?"

"Well. Since I studied pharmacology in medicine, I participated in a study on a special drug that can kill people without being seen, but it is still in the testing stage. What's wrong?"

"So when did you join?"

"About a year ago. Any questions?"

"Is that so? Cough cough cough... Nothing. Has anyone in that organization started administering drugs to outside humans?" I asked hurriedly.

"That's not the case yet. Why are you asking these questions?" Shiho looked at me in confusion. I have been asking questions about medicine since the beginning. She knew that I would not ask questions easily if there was no reason.

"Ah. I have something to ask of you." I suddenly said seriously. "I..."

Ring, ring, ring…

A crisp ring interrupted my words. It was Shiho's phone. "Sherry... Yeah. OK, I got it." After a simple reply, Shiho hung up the phone. She turned to me and said, "Sorry, Bing. The organization wants me to go back to the lab right away. I have to go." Shiho looked at me apologetically.

"Well... go ahead and be careful." I smiled helplessly.

Seeing that I was reluctant to leave, Shiho smiled gently, bent down and kissed me on the lips lightly, then turned around and left.

After Shiho left, I lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling, thinking about the drug. Shiho now plays an important role in the whole research. I originally wanted Shiho not to participate in the experiment. But things did not develop as I imagined. Shiho still participated in this research, and it has been a year. The whole plot began to slowly surface with the passage of time. However, the organization has not yet used the drug to outsiders. So Kudo Shinichi has not become smaller yet. If he can advance to the gold medal soon, there may be a chance to stop it.

"Cough, cough, cough..." I coughed a few times, then smiled miserably. I should take care of my body first. In this state, even exercising is a problem, let alone stopping.

(End of this chapter)