Detective Conan: The System Takes Me to Zero's World

Zhu Fu Gaoming looked at his brother silently, his fingertips gently stroking the quilt - where the chill from the ice pool in the waterfall still remained.

He had seen the regulations in many police manuals, but this was the first time he heard Jingguang explain it this way: "During the years you and Furuya were hiding, you probably treated the 'regulations' like waste paper, right?"

Zhu Fushigami's gaze fell on his brother's bandaged calf. He whispered, "It's different. Back then it was a mission, now it's..."

"It's family." Zhu Fu Gaoming took over the conversation, looking at his brother's suddenly tense face: "Jingguang, you have never let me down."

"Brother, Officer Miyamoto asked me to bring you a message yesterday." Zhu Fushiguri changed the subject. When he mentioned "Miyamoto Yumi", his ears flushed slightly. "She said that when you are discharged from the hospital, she will personally make your favorite taiyaki, and asked me to make sure you change your dressings on time."

Zhu Fushi Gaoming looked at his brother's rare embarrassment, and a smile appeared in his eyes. Of course, he knew about Jingguang and Miyamoto Yumi - Yui had secretly told him that the female police officer in the traffic department always had a sparkle in her eyes when she mentioned "Mr. Yingchuan".

As the door was gently closed, Zhu Fujingguang heard his brother say in an almost inaudible voice: "Don't carry everything on your own like you did when you were little."

Half an hour later, Officer Yui walked in steadily pushing a wheelchair. Zhu Fu Gaoming's light blue hospital gown looked particularly refreshing under the light of the ceiling lamp. His legs were covered with a light yellow thin blanket, the corners of which swayed slightly as the wheelchair moved.

"Really? You're just trying to be tough." Officer Yamato followed beside him, his brows knitted into knots. "The doctor said you need to stay in bed for three days, and yet you insist on pestering Mr. Yingchuan to come out for some fresh air."

Zhu Fu Gaoming glanced at him calmly: "Aren't you the same?"

"Then why don't you shed a few tears for me!" Officer Yamato's voice suddenly softened, with a hint of grievance in his voice.

"It's not that I didn't cry," Zhu Fu Gaoming stroked his chin seriously, "but I was shocked to learn that someone like you could blow yourself up and still be alive."

Officer Yui laughed so hard her shoulders shook. "Actually, I received a text message from A-Gan. He even said, 'If Yui cries, remember to take a picture.'"

Officer Yamato's face flushed bright red. "How can you, a woman, tell everything to others?"

"Everyone does it differently," Zhufu Gaoming suddenly interjected, his gaze fixed on the emergency exit light at the end of the corridor. "The police even conceal their concern in codewords, unlike us..."

"I don't understand this!" Officer Yamato turned sharply to Officer Yui. "You cried like that when I faked my own death. You were acting too much!"

Officer Yui's face instantly turned red as the sunset glow, and she pushed the wheelchair forward: "No way! At that time, everyone thought you really..."

"It was just a colleague who died. Are you crazy if you cry like that?" Officer Yamato teased her deliberately, but his voice softened.

The moment Officer Yui stopped and turned to glare at him, her cell phone rang.

The video sent by Kudo Yuki was a scene from the Nobeyama Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatory in Nagano Prefecture: Morobushi Takaaki was holding the steering wheel, and Yamato Gansuke next to the driver's seat suddenly stood up and hurriedly shouted the name of Officer Yui in the passenger seat, indicating that she should jump towards his outstretched arms.

A line of words flashed below the video:

I've seen it all. Officer Yamato has protection ingrained in him. The "hero saving the damsel" scene is rare. I'm giving this to you as a token of your appreciation for each other's feelings. You're welcome!

Officer Yui's cell phone fell onto the armrest of her wheelchair, and her cheeks were so red that blood seemed to drip out.

Officer Yamato came over to take a look, then suddenly coughed violently and turned to look out the window: "This Miss Kudo... is just messing around!"

Zhu Fu Gaoming looked at the two people's awkward expressions, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

The snow outside the window had started falling again at some point, and the tiny snowflakes swirled against the glass, quickly melting into a mist that dyed the cedars in the distance a blurry ink color.

"The blanket on the wheelchair armrest is about to slide off." He reminded softly, his eyes falling on the screen of Yui's mobile phone that fell on the armrest - the snow outside the Nobeyama observation vehicle in the video overlapped with the snow scene outside the window at this moment, as if he could hear the squeaking sound of the observation vehicle rolling over the snow.

Officer Yui hurriedly picked up the phone. Her fingertips touched the lingering warmth on the screen, and her cheeks burned even hotter. "I'm sorry, Officer Gao Ming..."

Officer Yamato turned around, not noticing a snowflake landing on the shoulder of his uniform. He said in a gruff voice, "What are you looking at? Why don't you push Gao Ming downstairs to the garden to get some sunshine? If you delay any longer, the snow will get heavier!"

The warm air from the corridor blew out through the vents, carrying a faint smell of disinfectant.

Zhu Fu Gaoming wrapped the light yellow thin blanket around his legs tightly, and his fingertips touched something hidden in the blanket - it was the small box wrapped in brown paper that Zhu Fu Jingguang had just quietly stuffed in.

He knew without looking that it contained the taiyaki that Yumi Miyamoto had asked Kagemitsu to bring. It was still hot and he could feel the slight warmth through the paper.

The wheelchair rolled over the corridor tiles, making a rhythmic, soft sound. As they passed the nurses' station, the head nurse poked her head out and warned, "Officer Zhu Fushi, you can't stay here too long. Your leg injury can't get cold."

"Okay, we'll just go to the garden station for five minutes!" Officer Yui responded quickly, pushing the wheelchair a little faster.

When the glass door at the end of the corridor was pushed open, the cold wind rushed in with fine snow foam, which hit the face like cool frosting.

Officer Yamato rushed ahead and opened his umbrella. The black umbrella popped open, just enough to cover the wheelchair and Yui. He complained gruffly, "Why are the snowflakes so fine like needles? I shouldn't have listened to you and come to the garden."

Although he said this, he tilted the umbrella mostly towards Youyi, and half of his shoulder was soon covered with a thin layer of white.

Zhufu Gaoming looked at the snow-covered bench in the garden. The snow on the bench looked like a layer of cotton. He suddenly remembered that Zhufu Jingguang always liked to pile snow into his own shape when he was a child, and proudly said, "This way, my brother will never be cold."

The thin blanket under my legs rustled. The taiyaki in the brown paper package was so hot that the paper box was slightly bulging. The warmth seeped into my skin through the fabric and dispelled a lot of the cold.

"Officer Gao Ming, would you like something to eat?" Officer Yui pulled out a thermos from her canvas bag. "I made miso soup this morning, and it's still hot."

The hot steam that comes out when the lid of the pot is opened condenses into a small white mist in the cold air, which smells particularly pleasant mixed with the smell of snow.

Officer Yamato squatted down to help set the small table. His eyes swept over the brown paper bag on the armrest of the wheelchair. "Is this from Mr. Yingchuan? He's quite considerate. He knows you like sweet things."

As he spoke, he reached out to touch it, but Zhu Fu Gaoming calmly covered it with a blanket.

"A friend asked someone to bring this to me." Zhufu Gaoming tapped his fingertips lightly on the paper package, a smile in his voice. "It tastes very similar to the shop in Nagano Old Street."

The snow was falling heavier, rustling against the umbrella. Officer Yui fed Zhufu Gaoming two sips of soup and suddenly pointed at a pine tree not far away. "Look at the snow on the branches. Doesn't it look like the little snowman we built when we were observing at Nobeyama last year?"

Officer Yamato's ears turned red. "Who, who made a snowman with you? That was to test the observation vehicle's cold resistance!"

"It's obviously you who's clumsy. The arms of the snowman you made are all crooked up to the neck." Officer Yui couldn't help but laugh. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zhufu Gaoming staring at the brown paper bag in a daze. "By the way, Officer Gaoming, Mr. Yingchuan left in a hurry just now and said he left something in your ward. Don't forget to check under your pillow when you come back."

Zhu Fushi Gaoming's fingertips paused. He remembered the half-broken red knot sticking out of his brother's windbreaker pocket when he left. It was the peace rope that Miyamoto Yumi had given to Jingguang the previous year. At that time, Zhu Fushi Jingguang had said embarrassedly, "Yumi always said this rope can ward off evil spirits."

"Okay, I'll look back." He replied calmly, and suddenly noticed that Officer Yui's scarf was loose. "The snow wind is blowing through your neck. Tie your scarf tighter."

Officer Yui quickly raised her hand to gather her scarf, her fingertips touching the amulet hanging around her neck—it was the amulet she had prayed for at the temple after Yamato's last "faked death," but she had never been able to give it to him. Suddenly, the snowy wind blew, and the amulet felt incredibly hot.

Officer Yamato pretended to look at the cedar trees in the distance, but secretly adjusted his position under his umbrella, making the edge of the umbrella more secure around the wheelchair. He noticed the thin blanket on Zhufu Gaoming's legs had slipped to his ankles. He reached out to pull it away, but then he pulled back as if he had been electrocuted, mumbling, "The blanket has fallen off."

Officer Yui quickly bent down to tuck the blanket in, and her fingers accidentally touched the back of Yamato's hand. They both retracted their hands at the same time as if they were scalded. The snow fell on the back of their hands and melted instantly. It felt cool but with an indescribable heat.

Zhu Fu Gaoming looked at the two people's awkward expressions and suddenly whispered, "In Nagano's winter, no matter how heavy the snow falls, it will melt when the sun comes out."

His gaze fell on the distant pine branches bent by the weight of snow. "Just like some words hidden in the heart, when the snow melts, they will eventually be spoken."

Officer Yamato's Adam's apple moved, and just as he was about to say something, his cell phone suddenly rang. It was a colleague from the police station calling to say that there was new movement at Nagano Trading Co., Ltd. and asked them to keep an eye out for suspicious people nearby.

"Got it. We'll be back right away." He hung up the phone and raised his chin towards Yui. "Let's go. If we stay any longer, the head nurse will come to arrest us."

When the glass door was pushed open, warm air mixed with the smell of disinfectant rushed out, colliding with the wind and snow outside.

When Zhufu Gaoming was pushed back to the corridor, he suddenly remembered the brown paper package that Zhufu Jingguang had just stuffed into his hand. The taiyaki filling that was exposed from the gap in the lid was his favorite red bean filling when he was a child. It was just the right amount of sweetness, just like the unspeakable warmth wrapped in the thin blanket on his legs at this moment.

The wheelchair rolled over the corridor tiles, making a rhythmic, soft sound. As they passed the nurses' station, the head nurse poked her head out again: "I told you not to stay any longer. Look, Officer Zhu Fu's ears are red from the cold!"

Officer Yui pushed the wheelchair towards the ward.

Officer Yamato followed behind and suddenly reached out to brush off the snowflakes on Yui's shoulders, his movement so fast that it seemed like an illusion.

Zhu Fu Gaoming leaned back in his wheelchair, listening to the deliberately subdued bickering between the two people behind him, a faint smile on his lips. The brown paper bag on his lap was still warm, and the snow that fell on it quickly melted into small water marks, like someone's quiet, unspoken tenderness.

The curtains of the safe house were drawn tightly, letting only a few faint rays of sunlight in. The air was filled with the faint scent of cedar, the same incense that Amuro Toru often used, mixed with the citrus scent of Kudo Yuki's hair, tangled together in the warm quilt.

Haro lay on the carpet beside the bed, his tail sweeping the floor intermittently. He tilted his head and looked at the figure wrapped tightly in the quilt on the bed - his owner was holding Kudo Yuki in his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head, and his breathing was as even as feathers falling on the snow.

Kudo Yuki's hair was scattered on the pillow, and a few strands playfully rubbed against Amuro Toru's cheek, but he didn't wake up, but just unconsciously tightened his arms.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound at the foot of the bed.

Shushu crawled out of Kudo Yuki's pajamas pocket, yawning as his chubby little paws scratched at the corner of the quilt. He glanced at Haro with his round eyes and muttered softly, "I was spying on him until late at night yesterday, and now I'm just catching up on some sleep. Humans are so fragile."

Harry twitched his ears and looked blankly towards the foot of the bed, but saw nothing. He barked in confusion, tapping the floor with the tip of his tail, as if asking, "What's that sound?"

Shushu rolled his eyes and crawled along the bed leg to the bedside table. His chubby little paws picked up a blueberry that he hadn't finished eating last night and he munched on it with a sweet crunch.

"Hmm..." Kudo Yuki rubbed Amuro Toru's chest in her dream, her voice as soft as freshly baked, "Zero, don't grab my quilt."

Amuro Toru let out a low laugh from his throat, closed his eyes and pushed the quilt towards her, as if he was comforting a sleepy kitten.

The sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains and fell on his eyelashes, casting a small, gentle shadow.

Shushu jumped onto Amuro Toru's shoulder with a blueberry in his mouth and patted his cheek with his chubby paw: "If you don't say that, Officer Matsuda will scold you for being lazy on the channel."

Amuro Toru's eyelashes trembled, but he didn't open his eyes. He just buried his head deeper into Kudo Yuki's neck, his voice hoarse from just waking up: "Let him scold."

Seeing his master, who rarely slept in bed, Haro wagged his tail even more merrily. He remembered that every time he came back from a mission, Amuro Toru would lock himself in the study to sort out documents, even bringing in his meals.

But ever since Kudo Yuki moved into the safe house, he has been smiling more often. Occasionally, he would spend a long time studying the recipes on his phone just to make Kudo Yuki's favorite strawberry cake.

The sound of even breathing could be heard from the bed, and the two fell into a deep sleep again.

Shushu was curled up in Amuro Toru's shoulder and taking a nap, with half a blueberry still clenched in his chubby little paw.

Harrow jumped lightly to the end of the bed, put his paws on the quilt, and let out a satisfied purr from his throat.

The snow is still falling outside the window, but the safe house is warm, like a corner forgotten by time.

The sunlight on the carpet moved slowly, shining on the unfinished cup of hot cocoa on the bedside table. The misty hot steam had long dissipated, leaving only a light caramel stain at the bottom of the cup, as sweet as the unspoken warmth flowing in the room at that moment.