Kanjuro returned to Sobu High School. Campus life continued as usual, as if he had just spent an ordinary night and a normal morning.
The corridors during the break were bustling, filled with the clamor of youth.
"Brother Ye Xiao!"
A familiar voice came with a hint of urgency. Kanjuro turned and saw Ran and Sonoko walking toward him.
It turned out Teitan High School had the day off today, and since Sobu High School was holding its School Festival, people from different schools could visit.
Ran's face carried obvious worry, while Sonoko had an expression that was a mix of gossip and concern.
"Brother Ye Xiao, have you heard?" Ran walked up to him, her brow slightly furrowed. "Shinichi... he hasn't come to school for almost a month."
Sonoko nodded vigorously from the side and added, "It's been since that time we went to Tropical Land and rode that roller coaster! After that day, he just vanished into thin air. He doesn't pick up his phone or reply to texts! Honestly, what on earth is that mystery geek up to?"
Ran's worry was palpable. "I'm a bit worried about him... although he's always been elusive, it's been too long this time. Sonoko and I discussed it, and we plan to go to his villa after school tonight to check things out. To see if he's sick, or... if he's run into some trouble." As she spoke, a trace of unease flashed in her eyes.
Sonoko immediately looked at Kanjuro, her eyes sparkling as she issued an invitation: "Brother Ye Xiao, do you want to come along? There's strength in numbers! Besides, you're so capable; if something really happened, you could help out!" Her tone was full of trust and reliance on Kanjuro.
Listening to them, Kanjuro's face showed just the right amount of concern and surprise at the appropriate time.
"Classmate Kudo has been missing for a month?" He furrowed his brows slightly, as if he had just learned the news, his tone carrying a fitting gravity. "He hasn't appeared since the roller coaster incident? That is indeed quite unusual."
He looked at Ran and Sonoko with a gentle and reliable gaze, and without any hesitation, he nodded in agreement.
"Of course, I'll go with you."
His answer was crisp and straightforward, as if it were merely out of concern for a classmate and friendship.
"After all, Classmate Kudo is also our friend," he added, his tone flawlessly sincere. "Besides, I wouldn't feel right letting you two girls go to an empty villa alone at night."
These considerate words immediately earned a grateful look from Ran and an even more admiring gaze from Sonoko.
(Go take a look?)
(Of course I have to go.)
(To see that'sleeping' famous detective, to see what kind of state he's in now, curled up in the shell of his childhood.)
(To see how the lie he meticulously wove plays out in front of those closest to him.)
(This will surely be... very interesting.)
Deep in Kanjuro's eyes, a cold and pleasant glimmer flickered, like the sharp gaze of a predator locking onto its prey in the dark night. But on the surface, he remained that gentle, reliable, and reassuring 'Brother Ye Xiao.'
"Then it's settled!" Sonoko clapped her hands happily. "Let's meet at the school gate after school!"
The school bell rang, and the setting sun gilded the campus with a golden edge. After Kanjuro, Ran, and Sonoko met up, they walked toward Shinichi Kudo's home. Ran's worry was written all over her face, while Sonoko chattered away, guessing various possibilities. Kanjuro, meanwhile, walked quietly beside them, a faint, inscrutable smile playing on his lips that only he understood—like a spectator about to step into a theater, looking forward to the brilliant drama he had personally orchestrated yet remained detached from.
The Kudo villa stood silently in the twilight, as if hiding a massive secret, waiting for visitors to arrive. And Kanjuro was the one holding the script, the mastermind watching the plot unfold with cold eyes.
The setting sun dyed the sky a warm orange-red, casting a nostalgic filter over the quiet residential area. Kanjuro, Ran, and Sonoko arrived in front of the sizable Kudo villa. Just as they were about to ring the doorbell, the garage door slowly rose.
Accompanied by the low growl of an engine, a stylish red motorcycle nimbly drove out of the garage. The rider was clad in cool leather gear; as the helmet visor flipped up, it revealed a well-maintained, bright, and glamorous face—it was Shinichi Kudo's mother, the former world-famous top star, Yukiko Fujimine (now Yukiko Kudo).
She seemed ready to go for a ride, a relaxed and pleasant smile on her face. However, when her gaze inadvertently swept across the three people standing at the gate and finally fixed on Kanjuro—
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The smile on Yukiko's face instantly stiffened, as if struck by an invisible icicle. Her fingers gripping the motorcycle handles suddenly tightened, her knuckles turning white. Those beautiful eyes, which always sparkled with a quick-witted and clever light, were now filled with extreme shock, disbelief, and... a flicker of deep-seated trepidation, a mix of fear and complex emotions instantly stirred up.
(Ye... Kanjuro?!)
(Why is he here?!)
(That face... eighteen years... it hasn't changed at all! He's still that... devil!)
The scene of that dark, chaotic underground ritual eighteen years ago, full of humiliation and unbearable memories, charged through her mind like a beast breaking free from its seal. That youth with demonic charm, that night that completely derailed her fate and the fates of many other women... She thought she had long buried that past, covering it up with a glamorous life and her identity as a mother, but she never expected to reunite with her nightmare in such an abrupt way at this moment.
Although her loss of composure was extremely brief—she forcibly controlled her expression with her professional acting skills in the next second—that momentary pupil dilation and stiff body did not escape Kanjuro's keen eyes.
Kanjuro understood perfectly, yet his face remained impeccable, wearing a gentle expression of slight unfamiliarity and politeness, as if he were meeting this beautiful lady for the first time.
And right beside Yukiko, on the back seat of the motorcycle, sat a young girl.
She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, tall and well-proportioned, dressed in a bold and fashionable style, with her long brownish-auburn hair fluttering slightly in the wind. Her appearance was exceptionally stunning, a blend of Eastern and Western beauty. There was a natural wildness and allure in her eyes, and a faint, knowing smile played on her lips, as if she were curious about and desired control over everything. Most striking were her eyes—quick-witted and cunning, as if they could steal one's soul. Her name was Mine Fujiko, the daughter Yukiko had adopted (or rather, secretly raised under special circumstances).
At this moment, Mine Fujiko was also sizing up the three people at the gate with great interest. When her gaze swept over Kanjuro, it clearly lingered for a few extra seconds, an undisguised look of appreciation and inquiry flashing in her eyes. (Oh? What a handsome and unique young man.)
Yukiko forcibly suppressed the stormy waves in her heart, and her face quickly put on the warm, slightly surprised smile belonging to 'Mrs. Kudo,' as if the loss of composure just now had never happened.
"Oh my, it's Ran and Sonoko! And this is...?" Her gaze turned 'naturally' toward Kanjuro, her acting perfect, as if she truly didn't know him.
Ran quickly took a step forward and introduced him: "Good evening, Aunt Yukiko! This is Mr. Kanjuro, our friend. We haven't heard from Shinichi in a long while and were a bit worried, so we came to check on him."
Kanjuro also cooperated with a slight bow, his tone polite and distant: "Good evening, Mrs. Kudo. Sorry for the intrusion."
Yukiko smiled and waved her hand, her tone light as she tried to dispel their doubts: "Oh, so you're worried about that brat Shinichi! It's fine, it's fine. Just like his father, he Ran off abroad to investigate a case as soon as a tricky one popped up. He's so mysterious, and his phone is often unreachable. I'm sorry to have made you worry!"
As she spoke, she unobtrusively used her body to slightly block Mine Fujiko behind her, seemingly not wanting her to have too much contact with Kanjuro.
However, Kanjuro's attention had already bypassed Yukiko and landed on that charming yet thorny girl who was like a wild rose—Mine Fujiko.
In his perception, an extremely faint but absolutely unignorable resonance and attraction, originating from the depths of their bloodlines, was radiating from this girl! That feeling was exactly the same as with Ran, Sonoko, and Ayako, and for some unknown reason, it seemed even clearer and more... untamed.
(Mine Fujiko...)
(Yukiko's 'daughter'...)
(This aura... there's absolutely no mistake!)
(She is also of my bloodline!)
In the depths of Kanjuro's eyes, a cold yet burning light flashed. Looking at Mine Fujiko's eyes, which seemed able to see through people's hearts and were full of rebellion and temptation, what welled up in his heart was not a father's warmth, but the excitement of discovering a rare prey and a sense of absolute possessiveness.
(Another one... a perfect collectible wandering outside.)
(And she looks even more interesting than her'sisters.')
The twilight deepened. In front of the Kudo villa, beneath the seemingly ordinary pleasantries, dark currents surged. Yukiko's fear and concealment, Kanjuro's coldness and calculation, and Mine Fujiko's ignorant yet naturally danger-attracting gaze intertwined into a complex and perilous picture. Kanjuro's dark bloodline network seemed to have found a new, unexpected node.
Yukiko's forced explanation didn't completely dispel Ran and Sonoko's doubts, especially the subtle haste in her voice. Kanjuro captured this slight anomaly. With a faint smile on his lips, he asked a seemingly casual follow-up question, though his gaze was as sharp as a blade:
"Oh? Mr. Kudo went abroad to investigate a case? Did... Mr. Kudo tell you this himself, Madam?"
Yukiko's heart tightened, and the palms of her hands on the motorcycle handles began to sweat slightly. She forced herself to maintain her smile, but her tone inevitably held a trace of imperceptible instability: "Ye-yes! Of course Yusaku told me! Otherwise, how would I know? Haha..." She gave a couple of dry laughs, trying to use laughter to cover her guilt. "That workaholic, as you know, forgets everything once he encounters a case he's interested in. He doesn't even come home, and his phone is often unreachable. Honestly!"
As she spoke, she urgently wanted to end this suffocating conversation. She put her helmet back on, her movements appearing somewhat flustered. She turned her head and said quickly to Mine Fujiko on the back seat, "Fujiko, we should go. Didn't we agree to go for a ride?"
However, Mine Fujiko tilted her head, her clever and agile eyes circling Kanjuro once before looking at the unnatural-looking Yukiko, her red lips curving into an interested arc. Instead of cooperating, she lightly hopped off the back seat of the motorcycle and brushed off non-existent dust from her leather skirt.
"Mama, I suddenly don't want to go for a ride anymore." Her voice carried a girl's playfulness, yet hidden within was an unquestionable stubbornness. "I think it's more interesting here. I want to stay here for a while, is that okay?"
Upon hearing this, Yukiko's face turned pale instantly. She looked at Mine Fujiko urgently, her eyes filled with dissuasion and a hint of pleading. (Fujiko, come with me quickly! Stay away from him!)
But Mine Fujiko only returned a bright and innocent smile, as if she couldn't understand the warning in her eyes.
Looking at her daughter's stubbornness and feeling Kanjuro's gaze on her back like a physical weight, a massive sense of powerlessness and panic seized Yukiko. She knew she couldn't stay any longer! For every extra second she stayed, she feared she would lose control, fearing that the eighteen-year-suppressed love and fear, which were as deep-seated as a curse, would completely burst their banks.
She didn't dare look at Kanjuro again.
Not even for a single glance.
She was afraid that her willpower, accumulated over eighteen years, would instantly collapse, afraid that she would throw herself into that devil's embrace again like a moth to a flame, sinking into that dark abyss that brought both endless pain and an irresistible craving. That love had long been entangled with fear and submission from its twisted beginning, etched into her soul, leaving her powerless to break free.
"...Fine, suit yourself!" Yukiko almost gritted her teeth to squeeze out these words, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling. She no longer hesitated and revved the throttle hard!
"Vroom—!"
The motorcycle engine let out a violent roar, and the red body shot out like an arrow from a bow, quickly disappearing at the end of the twilight-shrouded street. Her departing figure carried a hint of panicked flight.
She had to leave, right now, immediately! Away from that man who could easily stir all her emotions and awaken her most shameful and addictive memories.
Kanjuro watched Yukiko's almost fleeing back, a cold understanding and a hint of nearly cruel pleasure flashing in the depths of his eyes.
(Run then.)
(No matter where you run, my brand has long been etched into the depths of your soul.)
His gaze then turned to Mine Fujiko, who remained on the spot. This 'daughter' of his bloodline, who claimed she wanted to'stay for a while,' was sizing him up without any reservation with those eyes that were as soul-stealing as her mother's, yet with more wildness and rebellion, her eyes filled with curiosity and a kind of... excitement, as if she had found one of her own kind.
The twilight grew deeper, and the Kudo villa stood silently. Ran and Sonoko felt somewhat bewildered by Aunt Yukiko's'strange' way of leaving and Mine Fujiko's sudden decision to stay. Meanwhile, Kanjuro looked at this budding 'wild rose' who seemed to naturally belong to the darkness, already calculating in his heart how to perfectly include this unexpected 'gift' into his collection.
Family bonds? No, to him, those were merely seasonings to make the collection game more... stimulating and interesting.
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