Shopping, Coincidental Encounter

Summer days are long, and when Miyano Shiho finally stepped out of that laboratory building after a long time, the sun in the sky was still blazing and brilliant.

She walked out into the sunlight, her steps unhurried, quietly blending into the bustling crowd.

Along the way, she saw only ordinary cityscapes:

Cars, crowds, tall buildings, dense signs, all filled with noise and clamor.

But this gave Miyano Shiho a rare sense of relaxation.

Unlike the cold, monotonous lab, walking under the sun with these ordinary people made her feel a sense of freedom.

Unfortunately, this feeling of freedom was ultimately just an illusion.

"Why are you always walking behind me?"

Miyano Shiho stopped, hands in her pockets, and turned to cast a frosty look back.

Lin Xinyi: "..."

What a stupid question. If I didn't follow you, how would I know which way to go?

He thought for a moment, and quickly, in his capacity as a "private bodyguard," gave a reasonable answer:

"Walking behind you ensures you stay in my line of sight."

"That way, I can better protect your safety."

Miyano Shiho said nothing more.

Faintly, an indelible gloom appeared on her face:

Better protect my safety?

Does that mean if I try to escape, he can faster pull out that Beretta M92F, the same model Gin uses, and put a 9mm copper-jacketed bullet in my back?

Heh, thinking about it...

Being constantly held at gunpoint from behind, isn't this something she should have gotten used to a long time ago?

Why show Lin Xinyi these unnecessary emotions? He's just a gun in someone else's hand.

At this thought, a helpless smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of Miyano Shiho's mouth:

Speaking of which, this guy was just saying ambiguous things to her in the office earlier...

Could those feelings be real?

If they were, that would be truly pathetic.

Because a gun doesn't need to have feelings, especially feelings for its prey like her.

To have murderous intent and love directed at the same person… This Lin Xinyi might be more complex, more human, and more of a tragedy than the person she had known him to be before.

"Sigh..."

Miyano Shiho sighed softly, her gaze at Lin Xinyi filled with pity:

From a different perspective, if she didn't simply see Lin Xinyi as a tool sent by the organization to monitor her, but rather as someone who shared her unfortunate fate, then he suddenly seemed much more agreeable than before.

Of course, agreeable as he might be, there was still no question of liking him.

At this thought, Miyano Shiho immediately reined in her emotions, afraid that Lin Xinyi would notice her subtly changing attitude—

Since she didn't like him and there was no possibility between them, she absolutely couldn't show any kindness that might give him the illusion of "I have a chance."

This wasn't heartlessness, but a display of responsibility.

However, Miyano Shiho clearly overestimated Lin Xinyi's mind-reading abilities:

"One moment she's unhappy, then she's smiling, then sighing, then her face turns cold again..."

"What on earth is this woman thinking?!"

Lin Xinyi was completely bewildered:

Miyano-san's internal monologue was far too rich; he couldn't imagine it at all.

Sure enough, compared to such an elusive woman, the thoughts of dead people were much easier to guess.

Miyano Shiho's expression quickly returned to normal, that of a somewhat sickly ice beauty.

But she didn't just continue walking; instead, she primly covered her mouth and stifled a yawn.

Wiping away the tired tears that welled in the corners of her eyes, she finally spoke to Lin Xinyi with a hint of weariness:

"Give me some money. I'm going to buy some coffee from that vending machine over there."

Uh, this young lady didn't bring any money?

Lin Xinyi felt a pang in his heart whenever he heard the word "money" now.

After a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly opened his wallet and painstakingly pulled out a 500 Yen coin.

He wondered if the company would reimburse him for this extra expense.

"Not enough." Miyano-san held out her hand, a virtual robbery in progress.

"Not enough?" Lin Xinyi had been to a convenience store. He knew 500 Yen was definitely enough for a bottle of coffee, even for a higher-end brand.

"I won't drink just one bottle." She yawned again, covering her mouth.

Lin Xinyi pondered for a moment, then said very seriously, "Drinking so much coffee isn't good for your health."

He really wasn't being stingy; he was objectively offering advice.

Excessive fatigue combined with a large intake of caffeine carried a risk of sudden death.

And he hadn't practiced CPR much since graduating from Medical School; his technique wasn't proficient, making accidents likely.

"Oh?"

Miyano Shiho's gaze became a little subtle:

This guy can actually say things that show concern for other people's health?

It seems I really didn't know him well enough before.

What Lin Xinyi had said earlier in the office was most likely true.

Thinking back, Lin Xinyi's gaze toward her in the past seemed a bit strange. But at the time, she had never thought about it that way and completely ignored it.

Now, Lin Xinyi might have finally made up his mind to make a move, which is why he started changing his style and slowly showing her concern.

But what's the point?

Not to mention I don't have any good feelings for you, even if I did…

Given our situation, talking about romance, or even health, would be too much of a luxury.

"So what if it's bad for your health?"

Miyano Shiho pondered for a moment, finally giving Lin Xinyi a cold look:

"Anyway, we're just corpses pretending to be alive."

"Dying a little earlier might even be a blessing."

Speaking these chilling lines, Miyano Shiho unceremoniously extended her fair, slender fingers and snatched a precious 500 Yen coin from Lin Xinyi's wallet.

"Ugh…" Lin Xinyi's expression stiffened, feeling a little pained.

Moreover, he could now truly understand what Yamada had meant when he said, "That woman always talks in such a sarcastic way."

Cold personality, strange temper, speaks chillingly—very difficult to get along with.

Did the original owner commit suicide because she drove him to it?

Lin Xinyi even had such an absurd thought.

"Forget it, it's an 890,000 Yen a month job after all."

"What's a small thing like this? Just get used to it."

Suppressing the complaints in his heart, Lin Xinyi reviewed the somewhat unfamiliar CPR movements in his mind while accompanying the difficult-to-please Miss Miyano to buy the excessive amount of coffee she wanted.

The two walked side by side to a vending machine by the roadside.

This vending machine was located across the street from a department store, so the foot traffic was naturally significant.

When Lin Xinyi and Miyano Shiho arrived, there were already two people queuing in front of it.

They were two high school students in blue uniforms, a boy and a girl.

They were facing away from Lin Xinyi, standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the vending machine, chatting and laughing as they selected drinks.

Soon, the boy inserted a coin and bought a can of iced cola.

Then, while the girl accompanying him was carefully selecting a drink from the vending machine, he suddenly played a mischievous prank, placing the ice-cold cola can unexpectedly against the girl's face.

"Ah!" The high school girl let out a delicate cry, startled by the cold.

The boy, meanwhile, chuckled softly without ill intent, thoroughly enjoying the girl's embarrassed and annoyed expression.

"Hmm, I learned something…"

"So this is how young people date nowadays."

Lin Xinyi was thoughtful:

He had spent all his time practicing martial arts and studying back then; he hadn't developed in this area. He needed to learn from others' experiences.

It's a good thing he changed jobs in this life; he has time for romance.

Now he has time, he's learned the experience, iced cola is easier to buy—all he needs is a girlfriend.

Uh… no idea why…

Speaking of girlfriends, he suddenly thought of the Miss Miyano he had just "harassed."

But this thought was instantly erased as it appeared.

"Forget it, if it were her…"

Lin Xinyi's mouth twitched slightly:

Normal girls would show a very amusing expression of embarrassment and annoyance when their boyfriends used cola to chill them.

But if he tried to play such a prank on Miss Miyano, assuming the opportunity ever arose, she would undoubtedly accept the cola with a blank expression, drink it, and then, with her icy gaze, deliver a soul-piercing question along the lines of, "Are you a child?"

That would be so un-cute.

Lin Xinyi shook his head, banishing those uninvited, strange thoughts from his mind.

Once those distractions were gone, his attention quickly returned to reality.

And then, he soon noticed something.

The high school couple ahead, who had just been shamelessly affectionate, looked somewhat familiar from behind.

Especially the girl.

"Could that be...?" Lin Xinyi tentatively called out to the high school girl ahead, "Miss Mouri Ran?"

"Huh?" The high school girl turned around, looking surprised.

"Mr. Lin Xinyi, is that you?"

It really was her, Mouri Ran, whom he had just seen that morning.

Truth be told, Lin Xinyi wasn't familiar enough with this high school girl, whom he had only just met, to recognize her just from her back.

Not to mention, Mouri Ran had changed her clothes; her blue high school uniform was completely different from the white training outfit she wore that morning.

The main reason he recognized her so quickly this time was because...

Standing behind Miss Mouri Ran...

You could still see her horn.

"Haha..."

Lin Xinyi very politely kept his thoughts to himself.

"So it really is you two."

"I almost didn't recognize you."