sleeping formula

【17】

Yinshi now believed that the attitude of Hijikata when he knew that he was Yinba's younger brother was absolutely calm.

Right now, Hijikata's thoughts are completely rampant in the maze, constantly circling in dead ends, as if he has lost his composure and rationality──this is exactly what Gintoki is worried about, but he knows that such symptoms are definitely mild.Gintoki warmed a glass of milk for Hijikata from the refrigerator of Hijikata's house, and tried to explain the possible situation to Hijikata with reasonable logic, especially emphasizing that "these internal documents were not necessarily sent by Yinpachi."After a whole night of tossing, he managed to stabilize his emotions and fell asleep.

Gintoki wiped the sweat off his forehead, took a deep breath, and closed the door of the room where Hijikata slept.He suddenly felt like an old lady, especially when he grew up, there would almost always be one or two friends around him who needed someone to take care of him, so he got used to being such an existence.Yinshi suddenly felt curious, how did such a fragile earthwork survive the years of losing Yinba?

The indicator light on the phone was flickering, and Yinshi was too tired to pay attention to it.He fell on the sofa and was absent-minded for a while, and suddenly realized that he was a little jealous of Ginpachi, who had feelings for Hijikata, purely because he felt that Ginpachi was too bastard, and he was not worthy of the kindness, integrity and innocence of Hijikata. I also feel worthless for Tufang's infatuation.The more you can't get something, the more unforgettable it is?This may explain Hijikata's emotional attachment to Ginpachi.

Yinshi remembered that when he was a child, he and his elder brother took a look in the mirror together on a whim.They found that as long as the elder brother took off his glasses, the two of them seemed to have copied each other, and they didn't even know who was who.So, the two decided to play a little prank, and the younger brother Gintoki put on his older brother Ginpachi's glasses to see if anyone noticed the little joke the two made.

Unexpectedly, almost everyone he met asked Gintoki, "Why did you play with my brother's glasses?" That time surprised the brothers, and even today, Gintoki still can't figure out the reason behind it.I asked the adults in the family, and they just smiled and said, "Even though you look alike, you are still very different."

From that moment on, Gintoki knew that he couldn't pretend to be his brother, and Ginpachi couldn't pretend to be himself.Although they are inherited from the same bloodline, after recognizing this fact, the paths of the two of them are like a fork in the garden. From then on, "You take your sunny path, and I cross my single-plank bridge." Therefore, when Ginpachi graduated from university Afterwards, when he joined the Hashida Group as a research assistant, Gintoki was only slightly happy with Ginpachi's excitement, and never cared whether Ginpachi's persistence in research caused his own brother to embark on a path that could never be redeemed. way back.Yinshi only knew that when all of them found out, it would be too late.

Yinshi will always remember that not only his mother was taken away on the day of the car accident, but his father also suffered a sudden myocardial infarction when he learned of his mother's death, and also passed away that night.Only the two brothers survived, but when Gintoki woke up and learned all the news, Ginpachi had disappeared without a trace, and he himself forgot the existence of "Sakata Ginpachi" until the day he returned to his hometown. Second-rate.

He really wanted to know if Ginpachi had an emotion called "guilt"?He wanted to know if Ginba had ever repented for his unscrupulous means?Gintoki and Ginpachi are so similar, like the inside and outside of a mirror, but their relationship is also like looking at each other through the glass of the mirror, either growing or deteriorating, cruelly becoming "strangers" who understand each other best.Especially Yinshi knew that he cared about the people around him, he cared sincerely; but only he, or Yinba knew that Yinshi never cared for Yinba as an important person around him, and on the other hand, Yinba also Likewise, even if they are familiar with each other's thinking.

Annoyed by the flashing lights of the phone, Yinshi finally picked up the phone to check, it was a group of unknown numbers who dialed in while Yinshi was busy.Years ago, Yinshi did not have the habit of answering unknown calls, but when he was an architect, he was often scolded by clients or bosses because he didn’t know the client’s phone number. I developed a habit of returning calls, and I still keep it even after I have been out of the industry for many years.

After dialing, the sound of "beep—beep—" passed for a long time, but no one answered the phone.When Yinshi was about to give up, the phone was connected, but the person who greeted Yinshi was silent for a while.

"Hello? Hello? Did you hear that?" Yinshi said impatiently, "Is the signal bad? Let's talk on the phone in another place."

"Is it Gintoki Sakata? 』

A voice suddenly came from the silent end, with a dangerous aura, which Yinshi could clearly feel—at that moment, he suddenly understood who the person who called him was.

"is it you?"

As expected, the other party did not respond to this question.

"Ah, maybe not, I'm sorry I admitted my mistake." Yinshi said, "I'm sorry if I bothered you, but I hung up the phone."

"so smart. ’ The other replied, ‘Knowing that’s the only way I can say the next thing. 』

"What's the matter?" Gintoki said, "You haven't introduced yourself yet, and you haven't said anything about your previous call."

"Self-introduction is omitted first, you know who I am." The other party smiled and said, "The purpose is to ask you to have a meal, chat for a day, and talk about the current situation by the way. 』

"I don't think there is anything to talk about with you." Gintoki said, his hands clenched into fists unconsciously.

"Yeah?We seem to have a rare contrary opinion. The other party said, "I really hope to talk to you about the beautiful scenery of Tachikawa University."I heard that you are very interested in my thesis. As a researcher, I would like to uphold the spirit of sharing and introduce the latest developments in dream science to you. How about it? 』

Gintoki was completely annoyed by this sentence.Just as he was about to swear, Hijikata's face that was always about to cry because of Ginpachi's affairs flashed in his mind.He swallowed his anger back because of this, but laughed back in anger.

"That's right, that's right," Gintoki smiled and said, "I'm very interested in having a face-to-face spiritual conversation with a ghost who has been missing for many years."

"I choose the location, and you decide the time." 』

"One person is fair." Yin Shi laughed again, "It's better to hit the sun than choose a date, let's meet right away, I can't wait."

The other party laughed, and that laugh was almost exactly the same as Yinshi's own.

"It's in the restaurant downstairs in Fourteen House. ’ said the other party.

Only then did Yinshi realize that it was raining abnormally heavily outside.After hanging up the phone, he didn't rush downstairs to make an appointment, but first closed every window in Tufang's house that might get rainwater.Hijikata had already slept soundly, and Yinshi didn't want the cold wind blowing in from the window to make him catch cold unintentionally.The key to this house was placed on the living room table. Yinshi took the key, put on a coat, brought an umbrella and mobile phone, put on shoes, and finally locked the door.

The restaurant is still open in the middle of the night, which is actually not uncommon in this area known as the city that never sleeps.Yinshi walked into a restaurant named Scandy's, searching for a figure similar to himself, and soon found that unreservedly insolent figure.

"You're here," said the other party. "What do you want to drink?"

Gintoki took off his coat expressionlessly and hung it on the back of the chair.

"Latte, thank you."

So, the other party called the waiter and ordered two cups of the same coffee.

"It's been a long time since I chatted with you face to face like this, Yinshi." The other party laughed softly, "The last time was a few years ago? Ten years?"

"Twelve years ago." Gintoki replied.

The waiter brought two cups of coffee, and the other party easily picked up the sugar packet and handed it to Yinshi, and Yinshi took it without hesitation, sprinkled a whole packet of sugar into his coffee cup and stirred it.

"These little habits always give people the illusion of going back to the past. Don't you think so, Gintoki?"

"The past you mentioned, do you mean that you almost killed your whole family?" Yinshi's tone was flat, "Or do you mean the past few years when you disappeared, Yinba?"

"It refers to the childhood when we solved the "Atlantis Equation" together, the starting point that made us diverge." Ginpachi said with a smile, "From then on we know that we have completely different attitudes towards the unknown. "

"Yes, you are the strong man who doesn't care about others and is obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge," Yinshi replied, "and I'm just one of the thousands of ants under your feet."

"But I think we are essentially same-sex repulsion." Ginpachi said again, "We are opposite extremes, that's why you hated me from before."

"Don't forget, I hate you because of the things you have done, Yinba." Yinshi looked at his brother, his tone was as light as talking about the weather, "I hate that you don't care about people .”

"I don't care? This is a big misunderstanding." Ginba smiled, "I stepped into the field of dream science from the very beginning because I have a great interest in people's subconscious mind."

"You take advantage of everyone around you, don't you?"

"What is 'use'?" Ginpachi said, "Getting along with people is a series of value choices and exchanges. If you call this kind of social interaction "use"——then yes, I really use it Everyone around me. But in this way, everyone, including you, cannot escape the accusation of "using others."

"So, you don't regret what you did?" Yinshi replied coldly.

"If you think I can redeem something by confessing to you now, maybe we won't have to have such a tiring conversation." Ginpachi leaned back in his chair and continued, "How much do you remember about the time of the car accident? "

"I don't want to think about that kind of thing, Ginpachi." Gintoki's eyes turned fierce, "I'm not that cold-blooded yet."

"Really? Then let me be that cold-blooded person."

A subtle and twisted smile appeared on Ginpachi's expression.Gintoki noticed that, although his anger towards Ginpachi was still there, he felt a trace of doubt in his heart.

"Let me tell you a fact." Ginpachi said, "If I had to choose again, I would still let him have that kind of car accident, and I don't feel any evil in it, because it is not my "conscience". "

The true and absolute frankness made Yinshi almost hard to resist.He couldn't imagine that there was such a person who was not ashamed of the mistakes he had made, and also frankly confessed this fact without reservation, but he was even more surprised that what Ginpachi had to say seemed to be more than that.

"Look at you, from knowing, to being angry, to finally returning to calm, how long did it take you, Gintoki?" Ginpachi said, "Do you really believe that someone with a strong mentality can withstand all things in a short period of time, and can Do you want to calmly think about the next step?"

"What exactly are you trying to express?"

"I'm just talking about something you've never been willing to admit." Ginpachi propped his chin and said, "Our essence is almost the same, it's just that we chose different paths."

"Is the purpose of your seeing me just to say this?" Gintoki glared at Ginhachi angrily.

"What do you think? My younger brother doesn't even have the slightest intention of chatting with him. How should I say those things to support the situation?" Yin Ba smiled, "Or Yin Shi, you start a topic yourself? Don't chat Are you talking about how you got into the Shinsengumi?"

Gintoki had no time to think about how Ginpachi knew that he had joined the Shinsengumi, and maybe even knew that he knew Hijikata.The desire to fight back continued to emerge from his throat, and his strength gradually increased.

"... Hijikata, what do you think of Hijikata who loves you so much?"

Ginpachi's innocent smile froze instantly, as if he had been hit hard with a mallet.With Ginpachi's speculative personality, it is impossible for him to know that he also knows Hijikata, but not think about the possibility of receiving this question.Then why is Ginpachi's surprise so obvious?

Yinshi's inner doubts were not answered.Because not long after, Ginpachi returned to his previous appearance and smiled.

"So we were looking at the same thing."

Hearing this, Yinshi raised his head in astonishment, and met Yinba's eyes behind those glasses, which were even more playful and mocking.

"Tomorrow, you will try your best to protect the TV so that Shishi does not try to turn on the news channel, how about it?" Ginba smiled, "Or do you think watching Shishi appreciating my comeback press conference after a [-]-year absence will make you cry with joy? T, makes you feel jealous?"

"Sakata Ginpachi, you bastard──!"

"Calm down, don't pat the table." Ginpachi said, "Be careful not to crush the little gift I gave you."

In the black leather case in Yin Ba's hand, there is a mobile hard disk.

"This is the current progress of dream science and technology in Hashida, which is a treasure for Shinsengumi." Ginpachi said slowly, "From changes in sleeping pills to the latest developments in dream sharing, everything is in it."

"What kind of tricks are you trying to play this time!" Gintoki scolded, "Are you going to rely on your charity to find the truth about 'You are an out-and-out bastard'?"

"You don't have to worry about me framing you, or framing Fourteen and Shinsengumi. But there is a prerequisite for taking it away." Ginpachi stared at Gin, "There will be a time in the future, you must not refuse any proposal I make to you Require."

"Why do you ask me not to refuse?" Gintoki said.

"This is an exchange of benefits and conditions. If you are not satisfied with Yinshi, you will leave." Yinba replied, "But I must say that this is a very cost-effective plan for you, or for Tufang."

"It turns out that me and the earth party only represent interests to you?"

"Don't be arrogant, Gintoki." Ginpachi said coldly, "Without the exchange of interests, the whole society cannot be formed."

Gritting his teeth fiercely, Yinshi took the black leather case, and moved very slowly.Ginpachi didn't urge him, and calmly turned a blind eye to Gintoki's hatred in front of him.

"Also, don't think about having a chance to repent at the end, Gintoki." Ginpachi said before leaving, "I hope you can understand that I am not only cold-blooded enough, but also a cruel scientist enough."

【? 】

The pick-up vehicle was parked [-] meters away from the restaurant, and I held up my umbrella and walked over.

"Boss, is everything going well?"

"It's okay." I said, "Yueyong, I'm sorry I need you to drive me to another place so late."

"Just do things when you get paid." Yue Yong turned on the direction light, and then said, "Tell me, where are you going?"

"Go back to my hometown in Waseda," I said, "let me think again about who I am, where I come from, and where I'm going."

"As ordered."

I coughed hard a few times, attracting Yueyong's concern.I told her that it was a bit cold outside just now, drink some warm water, and she will be fine later.By the way, while she was paying attention to the traffic situation on the road, she took out a piece of toilet paper, and quietly wiped away the bright red blood on her palm.