I'm on the scramble

Seeing him hold back for so long without giving an accurate answer, Ah Li's patience quickly ran out to the bottom, showing what it means for a woman to turn her face and be ruthless.

"Will you go? If you don't go, it's fine."

The unfriendly attitude attached to her cute appearance, in a blink of an eye, made the originally irresistible heartbeat disappear without a trace on her face.

The subtext of that sentence is like saying 'Will you die in place now or go shopping with me', there is only one choice at all.

Dun Humble, who had a premonition that he would be killed if he didn't go, said: "...I'll go."

Although the noon rush hour has passed, the aroma of food is still wafting around the shopping street.Whether it's fried or boiled, crepes or freshly baked brioche, everything is available.

Ah Li led Dun into the building of the department store, like a carp falling into a pond, wandering happily in the mall.

There are 5 floors in the shopping mall, the air conditioner is fully turned on, and the pleasant high-end fragrance is wafting in the air.Almost every floor of the shopping mall is covered with a dazzling array of clothing stores, boutiques and various restaurants, which make people overwhelmed. In addition, there are shops selling cakes, bread, ice cream, or desserts and snacks.

The goal that Ah Li went straight to was the latter.

"Miss Li, what do you want to buy here?"

After a period of cooling down, Dun's shy mood finally stabilized, and he followed her curiously.

Ah Li pushed the shopping cart with his upper body leaning forward, with the weight of his whole body on the handle. With a light push on the small round leather shoes, the whole person slid forward along with the shopping cart, the hair and the hem of the skirt Flying in the air with a lovely arc.

"Bring some souvenirs back to everyone in the detective agency, Dun Dun, hurry up and pick out something you like, I'll pay for it this time."

She made the behavior of pedaling the shopping cart that kindergarten children like, and the unconscious girl passed by the rows of shelves, watching and pedaling the cart, as if looking for something on the shelves.

"Hey, let me pick whatever I want, is it really okay?" Dun, who came to her, pointed to the bridge of his nose, his eyes sparkling, he didn't expect such a good thing to happen.

"I said it's ok, so it's ok, go quickly—" As if to drive him away, A Li got out of the car and pushed the boy's back, until his head hit the product packaging over there.

Dun was pushed away several meters by her, and after staring at his back, confirming that Dun was focusing on picking the goods and had no time to worry about her situation, A Li immediately slipped back to the original place.She first swept several packs of thick snacks into the shopping cart, and then looked around, furtively, from the shelf to take out a box of coffee jelly with the brand "Hokkaido Liuyue".

"If you reconcile with this thing, he shouldn't be angry with me anymore..."

She muttered in a low voice, not noticing that Dun quickly appeared behind her with a pack of candies back in his arms full of excitement.

"Miss Li, this is the kind of candy you gave me before!"

— Careless!

If Ah Li had a tail, there would be a circle of fluffy cat hair blowing out of her back by now.Feeling guilty, she quickly stuffed the burnt-brown gift box in her hand into the bottom of the pile of snacks, then turned around and snatched the bag of candy from Dun's hand with an exaggerated reaction, and threw it into the shopping cart as well.

"The candy last time was really delicious, right? I also know several other flavors. Hurry up, I'll show you."

As she said that, she grabbed the strap of Dun's overalls without saying a word, and led the boy to the container on the other side.

"Ah—Miss Li, wait, the braces! Hurry up, it's about to be torn off!"

Fortunately, that idiot in Dun didn't find out the fact that she bought the coffee jelly without permission, but even if she was found out, she would probably think it was a condolence gift she brought to everyone... It seems that worrying is unfounded.

Knowing that no one had discovered her little thoughts, Ah Li's mood suddenly improved.

The corners of the mouth were curved, and the end of the nose hummed involuntarily.

She bent down and fingered several types of chocolate bars displayed in the container. The shop was very spacious, and Ali, who was surrounded by people, didn't pay attention to it, but concentrated on choosing gifts for everyone in the detective agency.

"This is Naomi's favorite flavor, so pick a few more for her... Ah, this box of 'Liquor Chocolate' Akiko should like it."

Dun stood aside and listened carefully to the girl's soliloquy. The tea hair caught in the cat ear headband went around her ears, revealing the smooth and tender side face, and the shining eyes reflecting the chocolate. Like a beach with a star inside.

Invisibly, something prompted a surge of emotion in his heart.

"Miss Li looks fierce on the surface, but in fact she is very gentle... She even remembers everyone's likes and dislikes in her heart."

Dun accidentally said the truth, but Ah Li only heard the first half of the sentence, and his eyes swept across his face unkindly.

"Huh? Who do you think looks fierce on the surface?"

The almond eyes on the end of the eyes are very lethal. Dun felt that the sharp sword turned into her eyes hit her neck immediately, and hurriedly found an excuse to explain.

"No, no, no, I mean, Ms. Li, you are very similar to the president! You see, the president is also the kind of leader who is stern and majestic on the surface, but gentle in heart, right—at this time, there will be a feeling: 'Ah, as expected, you two are father and daughter'!"

——No matter when and where, Dun's desire to survive is quite strong.

Although this excuse was a bit far-fetched, it did a good job of diverting Ah Li's attention.The little evil that was habitually superficial gradually faded on her face, and Ah Li lowered his head and twisted his hair with his index finger thinking about something.

"It's because we've been together for a long time, so naturally we can hear and see Dad's temperament, right?"

As she spoke, Ah Li turned to look at Dun, tilted her head slightly, and told the truth generously: "But in fact, I am not related to my father by blood? I am just his adopted daughter. The National People's Congress in the detective agency Some of them know."

Perhaps it was because the sun was too gentle, there was no sad expression on her face, surrounded by slightly bright warm tones, her clear and open eyes seemed to be the most beautiful light that enveloped her body in the world.

Dun couldn't tell whether his heart was hit by this smile or was frightened by the explosive facts, he was stunned: "No... blood relationship?"

Seeing this, Ash smiled slyly.

That's right, she used to have her own biological parents.

At that time, the family was harmonious and the parents were loving. After they conceived the crystallization of love in the big city, the two went back to the countryside together to live in seclusion, waiting lovingly for the birth of themselves in the mother's womb.

Even in the few years after his birth, Ah Li grew up surrounded by thousands of pets.

Even though she will be verbally scolded by her mother for being mischievous, her usually weak father will stand up to defend her at this time and persuade her with kind words.It won't be long before my mother will let this go, after all, her love for her only daughter from the bottom of her heart is true.

Uncle Edogawa next door is not only her father and mother's partner at work in the past, but also a bamboo horse that her mother has known since childhood. They have a very good relationship with each other. Both uncle and aunt treat her as their own daughter on weekdays.There is also a boy in their family who is 4 years older than Ah Li, but has a much more childish personality than her. On the surface, he thinks she is stupid, but he likes to cling to her and give her his favorite snacks.

She had thought that she would live so happily in the future, grow up surrounded by the love of relatives and friends, and then become a vigorous policeman like her parents, solve difficult and unsolved cases, and finally... and the childish ghost next door. marry.

But all of this came to nothing because of an accident when she was 6 years old.

She wandered outside with a criminal organization for 3 years, fell into the hands of the Supernatural Secret Service and was contained and controlled for 2 years, until the old man with a cane brought her out and handed her over to the current president for adoption.

What she didn't expect was that she could see that familiar face again beside the adopter.

Recalling this, the sweetness like granulated sugar gradually bloomed in the girl's small lip sockets.

"...he taught me bit by bit how to turn back into an ordinary person."

Holding a box of chocolates, she spoke softly at a volume that only she could hear, and she didn't even notice the slightly suspicious sideways glance of Don next to her.

Thinking about it now, it was like a sparkling dream.

11 years ago, just a few days after she was adopted by the president at the age of 11, she automatically disappeared.

She hates this world that treats her unfairly, hates people who treat and use her as a special tool, and even more hates those who look at her with pity.

In the end, Ranpo found her who had been deliberately hidden on a tree in the courtyard.

"A———"

The black-haired boy under the tree made a trumpet with his hands and shouted upwards.

(It's really noisy...)

"It's useless for you to hide, Lord Ranbu has already seen you."

(...)

"Really, the Armed Detective Agency has just been established, but the first job is actually 'finding cats' entrusted by the president. It's not difficult at all, it's too boring. As the second member of the agency, you should reflect on yourself. "

(...)

No matter how much he said, the young Ah Li didn't say a word, and even became more and more irritable because of his words.But the young man didn't care about this at all, and still complained willfully and trivially.

"Come down quickly, or I'll eat up the donuts I just bought - I remember you used to like eating these, right?"

When the word 'before' was mentioned, the dark side of her heart seemed to be burning with an unknown fire, making her whole body hot, and her rationality surpassed the boiling point.

——Why, why can he bring up the past without any psychological burden?Obviously they can't go back.

"Don't tell me that I'm different from you, my parents are dead! You don't understand my feelings at all, and you don't know what I've been through, so stop pretending to be close to me look like—"

(Anyway, anyway, you people are just using me as an excuse to help me control my ability, you just want to use me!)

The child's voice, which was so angry that it broke, uttered sharply in the middle of the tree crown, wishing to penetrate into the heart of the boy under the tree like a poisonous insect.She wanted to push this person far away, preferably to the ends of the earth where she would never be seen.

Whenever I saw his face, I would think of the past in those dreams.The more reluctant to give up, the more painful the heart is, and it is impossible to breathe.

But his next sentence froze the air.

"It doesn't matter."

The ability to be controlled by the president's ability once again showed signs of losing control in her hands. The surrounding tree trunks and their branches and leaves collapsed into sand and gravel, which fluttered down, like a sad rain that slid down the corners of her dry eyes.

The black-haired boy stood indifferently under the tree, his head raised to bask in the swirling light and rain, his long and narrow Danfeng eyes narrowed slightly, and he never reversed his direction for a moment even when he was threatened.

"My parents also died two years ago in an accident."

The sudden golden tears fell silently.

Zhuma, who was always quite naive in my impression, said to her in that calm voice without any cadence: "Because of the accident, I have neither brothers, sisters nor relatives, so I have to come to Yokohama. Before the accident, my father Said that I could go to the police academy in Yokohama to find his friends, but soon the police academy also kicked me out."

"During this period, I moved to many places. I worked alone as a dormitory helper in an army garrison, as an errand runner at a construction site, and as a messenger in a post office... But in the end, none of these places could accommodate me, and there was no next job. , I can’t find a place to live, and I’m about to die.”

"But none of that matters now."

Speaking of this, the tone of the young man who went his own way suddenly changed, becoming arrogant and brisk.

"Even if you lose a lot, so what - as long as there is Ranpo-sama, the world's No.1 detective, any problem can be easily solved!"

He spoke in a tone of "the real detective is the most powerful in the world", but in action he stretched out his hand towards the tree very gently.

"Come to the Armed Detective Agency, Ari, as long as you stay with me, you don't have to think about anything else."

The golden powder stopped falling at some point, and there was only the sound of leaves rubbing each other's clothes quietly.

A petite body moved on the top, and a strand of smooth long hair accidentally slipped out from the gap between the trees. The sunlight transitioned on this small 'cat tail', like a layer of beautiful gold dust flowing.

Her mood could not be described in specific words, all the words and phrases lingering in her chest seemed to be smashed to pieces with a hammer, and kneaded again into a group of indistinguishable fragments.

【The sad and unfortunate fate caused her to lose a lot of life, but as expected...】

After a long time, there was a slight movement from above.

"My temper has become very bad, and I can't treat my client well."

He said disapprovingly, "It looks the same to me as before."

"I'm not as powerful as my parents who are criminal police officers."

"It's okay for a girl to be stupid."

"My ability has gone berserk many times."

"It's enough to have me, Ranpo-sama, the world's most powerful 'extraordinary ability', and there is no chance for you to show it~"

The excuses he found were dismissed one after another, and the air was filled with silence.

"...I can't go down."

In the end, she could only tell the truth sullenly.

Unexpectedly, the other party put his hips on his arms and laughed out loud.

"Hahaha——Master Ranpo has already seen this kind of thing at a glance."

The black-haired boy under the tree immediately stretched out his arms towards her, and the dots of light through the gaps between the leaves fell on the top of his hair, creating a hazy and gentle halo.

"Don't be afraid, I will catch you here."

It was at that time that she discovered——

The boy who used to live next door to her in the countryside has grown into a handsome young man. The best age is 15 years old, wearing a clean and crisp white shirt, but still wearing a loose tie, with a confident and dazzling light in his narrowed Danfeng eyes.

Thump, boom.

Looking at his appearance, the young and ignorant heart throbbed again.

[But sure enough... no matter how much this world has cost her, it still can't take you away from her heart. 】

Ah Li doesn’t remember how long he stayed in the tree, but only remembers the moment when he jumped off the tree, the feeling of lightness, as if the whole world lost gravity, surrounded by melting ice cream balls, even the air sweet.

"Wow--"

She threw herself into the arms of the black-haired boy she hadn't seen for many years, and was really hugged tightly by his slender arms like a kitten.In the end, the famous detective who uttered big words failed to gain a firm foothold, and Ying retreated again and again. In the end, both of them fell to the ground in embarrassment, splashing gorgeous fallen leaves all over the sky.