Hasegawa Yu secretly glanced at Furuya Rei, trying to find out from him the reason why he felt strange.

However, the blond, dark-skinned man looked normal, and even asked considerately, "Qian Luo, do you want to continue taking pictures?"

Puzzled, he looked away. With half his face hidden beneath his collar, Hasegawa Yuu's voice became muffled. "No need, Rei-kun. Let's go back."

It's almost time for lunch.

So, pretending not to notice anything, Furutani Rei bent down to pick up the Polaroid camera on the snow pile, put it away, walked to the young man in disguise, and motioned for him to go together.

Hasegawa Yuu silently took a step forward and walked side by side with him out of this forest that only they had visited.

When the two were about to reach the parking spot, Jōguchi Ling's body suddenly tensed up. His facial expression remained unchanged, but the relaxed and happy aura around him suddenly became deep and gloomy.

He didn't turn around. His once clear, purplish-gray eyes had dimmed considerably, a cold grey taking over. Even his voice took on a hint of winter's chill. "Qianluo, wait for me here."

Hasegawa Yu seemed to have sensed something, and without even glancing in the direction of the parking lot, he said, "Okay."

After confirming with his peripheral vision that the young man had walked to a nearby tree, Furuya Rei walked straight to his car without stopping, saying respectfully, "Boss."

Hearing the voice, the middle-aged man standing next to the car with his back to him, leaning on a crow-head cane, turned around and said calmly, "Bourbon, what a coincidence."

A polite smile appeared on the corner of Fūya Rei's mouth, and his demeanor softened slightly, but a faint aura of danger still lingered around him.

"I didn't expect the Boss would come to this shrine to worship."

"An old friend invited me here." Karasuma Renya brushed it off lightly and coughed a few times. "Ahem, I have to thank him for letting me see something new."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over the Polaroid camera in the shape of a big-eared dog hanging on the blond man's chest, which was incompatible with his painting style.

She's just a lover, you're spoiling her too much.

Karasuma Renya teased like an ordinary elder who had watched a child grow up, "Ahem, a while ago, Mifune Fumiro wanted to give you someone but you refused. So it turns out you have someone already."

"Didn't the organization break up with him?" Furuya Rei shrugged. "I don't want to be the second congressman killed by his lover."

Mifune Fumiro is a fellow council member of Rei Furuya's, and has connections to the Suzuki Group. When Rei Furuya first recovers his memory, he sends Hasegawa Yu, a new hire, to a bar to gather information from Mifune Fumiro's secretary.

Several months had passed since the Nagoya Port incident, and the smuggling issue had long since been resolved by the organization. Knowing he was being secretly manipulated by both the organization and the Teiai Group, Mifune Fumiro had long ago chosen to protect himself, no longer having any contact with Furuya Rei outside of his normal duties as a councilor.

As for the incident at the musical theater that day, Jinpei Matsuda also dealt with the issues concerning the members of the Nimatsukai.

Unless they suspect something, the organization never pays attention to the private lives of codenamed members.

As an old man who grew up in the organization, Bourbon's words are very credible.

"Boss, isn't Gin or Vermouth with you?" Fūya Rei asked with concern.

Unaware that the two codename members "shared" a lover, Karasuma Renya stroked the crow-head cane under his command, "I'll let Vermouth do something else."

Fūya Rei's heart skipped a beat, and he resisted the urge to look back.

On the other side, Hasegawa Yu was standing obediently under a tree waiting for someone.

Due to their extreme concern for the mermaid puppy, some seniors made presets for various scenarios and explained many things.

For example, when meeting someone from an organization, Yuanmao would speak less and express his thoughts in the most concise language. Smart people always overthink and make up their own minds. (Matsuda)

A certain blond smart person who thinks too much/a certain half-long-haired smart person: ...

For example, when wearing a disguise and encountering people from the organization, just play yourself and take action if there is any danger, and they will take care of all the aftermath.

The mermaid, who was listening intently, commented, "The seniors sound like they're planning how to dismember me."

Some of the seniors who did put dismemberment (bushi) and silencing at the top of their post-disaster plans just laughed it off and skipped over this point.

But before giving the merman an alphabet plan like Batman did—the alphabet plan is preset so that artificial intelligence can remember the entire thing, and the merman is only responsible for remembering the essentials—some seniors have also imagined improving the mermaid's poor acting skills.

Senior No. 1: "You-chan can't have only one style when shooting a magazine music video, right?"

After receiving the star's affirmative nod, he continued with an example, "Then Yu-chan, try to imagine that you are shooting a gangster-themed music video, like a spy drama or something like that."

Hasegawa Yuu immediately entered the working state, his eyebrows lowered, his orange-gold eyes sharp and intimidating, his expression cold and his aura strong, which was very different from his usual self.

It seems like he can immediately kill the organization's undercover agents.

The three seniors who were really surprised applauded: Isn’t this how you act?

However, Hasegawa Yu, who has perfect demeanor and momentum in all aspects, reveals his true identity as soon as he opens his mouth to speak - it is useless to turn his voice into human-machine mode, and it is not easy to be mute.

Senior No. 1 was shocked and left the stage: "So Yu-chan's acting can only support 2D flat surface, 3D dynamic is not possible?"

Senior No. 2 said: "There are many different styles of songs. Xiaoyou should also put in different emotions when singing them."

After receiving the star's affirmative nod, he continued with an example, "Xiao Xianyou, why don't you try singing a dark song?"

Hasegawa Yuu enters the working state in a second, perfectly demonstrating what music without borders means. In just one song, he brings people into a painful world of repression, struggle, and continuous sinking.

The three seniors who didn’t understand the foreign lyrics but got goosebumps all over their bodies applauded: Isn’t this a way to have emotions!

However, once Hasegawa Yuichi, who was full of emotion when singing, started speaking, everything became dry. Combined with the previous 2D acting, it was even more human-like than a machine.

But once he returns to singing and combines it with 2D acting, even seniors No. 1 and No. 2 can't find any major flaws.

Senior No. 2 was in a daze: "So Xiaoyou's acting skills only support stage musicals, not TV dramas?"

Senior No. 3, who can't teach a big star how to act, commented, "Your acting is missing a background music."

He suggested something bad: "Wear invisible headphones and let the artificial intelligence play it for you secretly."

Hasegawa Yu puffed up his cheeks. "This isn't an Indian musical movie. Does Jinping want me to communicate with the rest of the organization through singing?"

Three unimaginable predecessors: ...

Forget it, let’s perfect the alphabet backup plan.

The timeline goes back to the present. Hasegawa Yu, who refuses to perform Indian musical movies in reality, is accompanied by an old man who is also waiting for someone under the tree.

The visitor was wearing an elegant and luxurious light purple kimono, her white hair was combed meticulously, and she wore a pair of white pearl earrings on her ears, which made her well-maintained face even more gentle.

As if she was bored while waiting for someone, she spoke up and said, "Young Master, are you waiting for someone too?"

Hasegawa Yu's ears twitched slightly, and he recognized that the owner behind the fake voice was Vermouth.

Wow, this lady's falsetto is on par with Kenji's.

"Yes." He answered honestly while sighing.

Vermouth secretly sized up the curly-haired young man in front of her, who had no trace of the dark world, and guessed with a smile, "Are you waiting for your girlfriend?"

In the fourth act, Hasegawa Yuu successfully persuaded Kudo Yukiko to teach him disguise through his own efforts. Coupled with the more detailed teaching of Hagiwara Kenji in this act, his disguise skills are now flawless.

"no."

Hasegawa Yu denied her guess, pursed his lips, and could not say the next words no matter what. He had to bury the lower half of his face in his collar, his ears red, "Yes, yes..."

The seniors said that his genuine reaction was super great, but what they wanted to know was whether his reaction was just to comfort him?

Hasegawa Yu didn't want to implicate his seniors because of his own reasons, but the lines they prepared were really...

He was struggling with his professional ethics as an idol and couldn't express it in words.

The words he said to Zhufu-senpai in the fourth act were the limit, but they were misunderstood as a confession. Now this is a foregone conclusion.

Thinking of this, Hasegawa Yuu held it in for a long while before finally adding the last few words in a whisper as soft as a mosquito, "...boyfriend."

Woo QAQ.

Seeing that the young man's shy reaction didn't seem fake, Vermouth, who didn't notice anything unusual, whistled silently. So cute~

There are only a handful of codenamed members who have survived childhood in the organization and are still alive today. The Boss just asked her to come over out of curiosity about the "child" to see what the person Bourbon is suspected to be very doting on is like.

After all, before this, Bourbon had rejected countless lovers who were sent to him, and the private life that Vermouth knew about was so clean that he didn't seem like someone from the organization.

Even the Glenlivet in Speyside, Scotland is like this.

Vermouth thought that under the circumstances, it was no wonder that she had initially suspected that they were a couple.

She glanced at the young man again and snorted inwardly, Bourbon was indeed gay.

"Oh, don't be nervous, I'm not some feudal old lady." Vermouth comforted her halfheartedly, "I also had a girlfriend."

Feeling a bit self-deprecating, Hasegawa Yu looked at her with moist eyes and corrected her sincerely, "I know, ma'am, you are very beautiful, not terrible."

Vermouth's eyes flickered slightly, "Why are you still calling me Madam?"

"Even if a girl is 100 years old, she can still be called a lady." Hasegawa Yu didn't even think twice. "Isn't that the truth?"

"..." Vermouth glanced at him meaningfully. Where could Bourbon find that person?

"Qin Luo." Furugaya Ling walked over from a distance, "Sorry for the long wait."

He looked at Vermouth, pretending to be puzzled, "Who is this?"

"The person I'm waiting for is here too." Vermouth didn't want to chat with Bourbon any more, "Bye bye, sweet~"

When he heard the name, Fūya Rei's eyebrows jumped.

After the people walked away, he whispered, "Let's go back to the car first."

Hasegawa Yu didn't know if there were any other organized people nearby, so he acted out the whole thing. He grabbed the blond man's clothes and approached him, "Let's go, Brother Zero."

Fūya Rei's gaze fell on the young man's trembling eyelashes, and he replied a little late, "Yeah."

After returning to the car, he immediately started the car and did not speak until he was far away from the shrine. "It's okay."

Hasegawa Yu, who had been quiet from beginning to end, endured it again and again, but still couldn't help showing tears in his poached egg eyes, "Ugh, I'm not clean anymore QAQ."

Furiya Rei, who almost thought Vermouth had done something wrong, was startled. Then he realized that the superstar was referring to something else and quickly comforted him, "Isn't Xiaoyou using a disguise? It's okay."

Hasegawa Yu sniffed, and before he could forget, he repeated the conversation between him and Vermouth word for word, "Brother Ling, Vermouth shouldn't have noticed, right?"

Furuya Rei: “…No.”

Xiaoyou actually said that he was his boyfriend!

They originally set up these lines so that Hasegawa Yu could have a reference example, not expecting him to actually say them.

Even if Hasegawa Yu couldn't say it, his reaction would be very easy to be misunderstood, so it didn't matter whether he said it or not.

Fūya Rei clenched his fist and placed it against his lips, coughing softly. The corners of his mouth alternated between rising and falling. "Xiaoyou handled it very well."

"Oh." It was rare for Hasegawa Yu not to be happy when being praised.

His idol reputation! Clean!

Seeing this, Furuya Ling glanced at him and said dejectedly, "Xiaoyou, do you dislike me being your boyfriend?"

"No!" Hasegawa Yu hastily clarified, "Zero is fine, it's my own problem."

He lowered his head and twisted his fingers, "Idols must not fall in love before graduation."

"We're just pretending, aren't we?"

Furiya Rei enlightened him, "The face Xiaoyou used is not her own, and only a certain range of people will know about this relationship."

"Yeah." Hasegawa Yu muttered, "I understand the logic, Brother Ling, just let me overcome the psychological aspects."

Thinking of something, he asked again, "Brother Ling, are we going to act out romance and relationships more often in the future?"

Seeing the mermaid so nervous, Rei Furuya, who wanted to answer "yes", sighed and told the truth, "No, the organization trusts me and won't pay too much attention to my private life."

In the world of Collapse, he is not an undercover police agent, so everything is much more convenient for him.

Upon hearing this, Hasegawa Yu felt relieved.

"But Xiaoyou and Speyside should be careful when they go out."

Fūya Rei slowly reminded, "Don't use the same trick you used today when you encounter members of the organization."

"I understand." Hasegawa Yu nodded seriously.

One "boyfriend" is enough, how can there be two, three, or four!!!

It’s not like CP fans are asked to choose the “sister-in-law”.

Hasegawa Yu slowly exhaled and began to mentally prepare himself, muttering, "It's Orimoto Chira who has a 'boyfriend'. It's none of Hasegawa Yu's business."

Multiply it three times!

Furiya Rei was about to say something but stopped himself, because Orimoto Chira was the mermaid's real name.

He didn't say anything in the end, just drove silently.

Well, it’s not bad to have a “reputation” for my real name.

To divert attention, Hasegawa Yuu, who had repeated it three times, asked curiously, "Brother Ling, was the person who came to see you today Karasuma Ren?"

"Yes." Furuya Rei frowned, "I didn't expect him to be in this shrine."

There are many shrines in Japan, and the shrine he chose was not special, but he just happened to come across it.

Thinking back to what Karasuma Renya had just said, Furugaya Rei seemed to be lost in thought. Old friend...is he the one from the Ooka family?

The Ooka family, with its rich heritage, has always looked down upon the upstart Suzuki family. In addition, since they had produced a former prime minister, the Ooka family only keeps in good terms with families like the Karasuma family, which have the same century-old history.

If the Ooka family and the Karasuma family join forces, the Suzuki family will not be able to defeat them.

Leaving these aside, Furuya Rei suddenly remembered the underground auction that Hiro had mentioned to him. Those who could participate in it must be prominent politicians. Could it be that Karasuma Renya wanted to take a shortcut to become the prime minister?

There was also a mission where the other party wanted him to cooperate with Matsuda...

Fūya Rei drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Xiaoyou, if you run into Karasuma Renya somewhere else, remember to notify me immediately."

"good."

After the shrine trip, Hasegawa Yu returned to the villa on the second day of the new year.

"Yu-chan, Bourbon didn't do anything to you, did he?" Hagiwara Kenji pounced on him and checked him up and down. "I forgot the beginning, and I'll skip the middle. Anyway, let's beat Bourbon up first!"

"?"

Hasegawa Yu took the initiative to raise his arm and turned it in front of him, "I'm fine, look, Brother Yan'er, the injury on my arm is completely healed!"

"Alas." Hagiwara Kenji shook his head.

Hasegawa Yu: “???”

"How can anyone kidnap you?"

Matsuda Jinpei expressed the frustration of Yu Junran, "Have you forgotten what that blond bastard did, Xiaoyou?"

"Zero-san said he would correct his behavior." Hasegawa Yuu defended the blond senior, "He's not a casual person either."

Matsuda Jinpei cracked his fists. "No matter what, he hung up on me. Let's beat him up first."

Hasegawa Yu: “???”

Putting aside the chaotic reunion after the New Year, after Hasegawa Yu's injury recovered, no one suggested moving out of the villa.

The generous mermaid who didn't mind this didn't pay any attention to this at all.

"What?! Noah, you also have the Soul Crown?" Hasegawa Yu was shocked.

【Yes.】

The first thing Noah Ark did upon returning was to explain his unusual condition. [I don't have any memory of the contract, but I suspect it's similar to Xiaoyou's.]

"Really?" Hasegawa Yuu fell into thought, "Why is this happening?"

"The gods won't give you a contract that can't be completed." He didn't understand. "If Noah loses these, how can he complete the contract?"

[Don't worry, Xiaoyou also said that the gods will not let people fail to complete their tasks.] This time, Noah's Ark was very open-minded.

"That's right." Hasegawa Yu slapped his face, "Then the mission can't fail!"

It doesn't matter if he fails with one fish, but he can't let Noah fail with him.

After recovering from his injury, Hasegawa Yu became more energetic and through perseverance, he successfully changed his online chat with Morobushi Keimitsu into an offline meeting one day after the new year.

Congratulations!

Seeing the black-haired man in a gray-blue hoodie from afar, Hasegawa Yu's pace slowed down unconsciously.

He does have some psychological trauma about this suit.

"Senior Zhufu!"

Hasegawa Yu, who stubbornly ignored the issue of clothing, greeted him, trying to secretly ask him to change his clothes next time.

He can even accept changing his coat!

"The weather is still a bit cold, so you should wear more clothes, senior."

Zhu Fujingguang glanced at the young man in disguise and said abruptly, "Xiaoyou, are you afraid of me?"

Hasegawa Yu blinked and said loudly: "No!"

Zhu Fu Jingguang's brows knitted slightly. "So you're like this when you're with them, caring and fearful at the same time?"

"Oh?" Hasegawa Yu was stunned. "It's normal to care about others... but I'm really not scared!"

Brother Ling also imprisoned him, but he got along well with Brother Ling.

Senior Zhu Fu's imprisonment hadn't even been implemented! It was just that the process, for various reasons, had left him with a bit of a psychological trauma...

Hasegawa Yuu felt guilty, "Senior, where are we going next?"

Zhu Fujingguang said nonchalantly, "Aquarium."

“!!!” Hasegawa Yu took three steps back.

Seeing the pair of gray-blue eyes looking at him, Hasegawa You pursed his lips and smiled, and whispered: "Otherwise, I'd better be scared for a while, haha."

Why is it the aquarium again!

Zhu Fujingguang: ...?