Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 413: Hotaru's Comprehensive Treatment of Miyano Elena
Six o'clock in the morning.

American Island, an ordinary residence.

The long sofa in the living room is as simple as a building block, with a white scientific research coat draped over the armrest on one side.

Yingsheng lay on the old dark yellow backrest of the sofa, watching the news about last night's incident on TV while chatting with someone on his mobile phone.

The background of the news was the sound of flowing water, and through the translucent bathroom door, a beautiful outline could be vaguely seen.

"Yes, that's it. Fish first."

"Wait until all those old-fashioned people who can't keep up with the times come out, and then we can solve them all at once."

"Don't worry about their connections. We can give more, and it's something unique in the world."

"That's it for now, Kurokawa. I'm very optimistic about you. I hope you're not someone's undercover agent."

After hearing a few words of loyalty from the other end, Yingsheng hung up the phone and called the next person.

He is very busy now.

What happened last night had a wide-ranging impact, involving multiple forces, and needs to be properly resolved.

Even though he was half a hands-off boss, remotely dispatching many people, he never stopped for a moment.

However, when the bathroom door opened, Yingsheng stopped and looked in that direction.

Amidst the white steam, her long light golden hair fluttered gently on her shoulders. She was tightly wrapped in a white bathrobe, her ears were red, and she lowered her head, not daring to meet Yingsheng's eyes.

"Thank you for your trust in me, Ms. Elena." Yingsheng said in a gentle voice.

Miyano Elena gently twisted the edge of her bathrobe with her fingers, "I'm sorry, I... I'm not ready yet."

There was some uneasiness in her voice.

"Don't worry, I'll always be here." Yingsheng said softly, "If you really have doubts, I can ask my companions to help you after the school trip."

Elena stood there for a moment, and finally looked up at Yingsheng. There was still a lot of trepidation in her dark green eyes, like a frightened deer.

She shook her head slightly, "I want to see Mingmei and the others as soon as possible. Please, Mr. Suigetsu."

After saying that, she lightly hooked her fingers on her shoulder.

The bathrobe slowly fell to the ground.

In the dim light from the bathroom door, the grooves on her skin were particularly conspicuous. Except for her face, her entire body was covered with twisted scars, winding and crisscrossing, with textures like mountains and rivers, deeply engraved on the snow-white ground.

Only a small area of ​​her skin had not been licked by the flames eighteen years ago, and it was still as white and smooth as the finest silk.

They are out of tune with the rough texture of the surroundings, just like the most clumsy painter with the darkest and most resentful thoughts, sneaking into the studio in the middle of the night, using an axe and sandpaper to leave all kinds of sinful traces on the roommate's perfect sculpture!

Can human beings’ desire for destruction be so strong?
If Vermouth knew how humiliating her fire was to Elena Miyano, she would probably smile more when facing death.

Yingsheng's eyes were gentle but without a trace of pity. He even sat there without moving. He just asked out of pure curiosity, "Doesn't the silver bullet improve physical fitness? Doesn't it have any effect to use it to improve metabolism and enhance skin self-repair?"

Elena breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head, "Burns destroy the skin tissue structure. Collagen is rebuilt in an abnormal way during the healing process, forming scars."

"As part of my body tissue, after I took the silver bullet, the scar was also strengthened, making general treatments ineffective."

"I have thought about cultivating my own stem cells, inducing differentiation into skin tissue, and then transplanting them."

"But the boss wouldn't allow me to do that, and I couldn't do the surgery alone, so I have been doing it until now."

Such a simple sentence contains so much sadness.

He took away a woman's beauty and imprisoned her for more than ten years, separating her from her family and leaving her alone all day long.

How cruel.

Yingsheng sighed softly, "Karasuma Renya is really a third-rate person. He only knows how to control people in this way."

He stood up and walked towards Elena.

Elena stepped back subconsciously. Over the years, the obvious scars on her body had brought her nothing but pain, causing her to almost avoid all interpersonal contact.

When she was first imprisoned by the Boss, she was resistant.

But over the years, her desire to escape the organization has become weaker and weaker. After all, even if she left, she didn't know where to go.

Habit is a terrible thing.

When prisoners first enter prison, they never imagine that one day they will become dependent on those high walls covered with spikes.

"I don't know exactly what you've been through in the past, but years of darkness didn't break you down. You must be a very gentle, kind, and strong person."

Yingsheng's voice was as gentle as his eyes, echoing in the air with a reassuring power.

"I am sorry that this day has come so late because of my past neglect."

"But I promise you, from now on, you will never be alone again."

After all, you will be able to be with your family in the future. Ai and Miss Mingmei are waiting for you in Tokyo.

Yingsheng thought so, his voice as gentle as the breeze.

Elena's back was against the wall, shivering slightly, her body shaking like a little white rabbit, but unfortunately the cage behind her had been broken into by someone from outside early this morning.

Yingsheng walked up to her and hugged her gently.

The distance that no one had approached for many years was suddenly invaded by a stranger who I had known for less than two hours.

Elena's whole body stiffened.

She was naturally shy and timid, and after years of loneliness, she developed a subconscious fear of any close contact, even if she didn't want to.

But ah.

A hug itself is powerful.

Scientific research shows that:

Hugging promotes the release of oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding and trust, which can lower stress levels, reduce anxiety, and enhance emotional connection.

The warmth brought by the embrace can also slightly promote blood circulation. The subtle touch of the nerve endings and the sudden sense of difference from cold to warmth are like entering a warm cabin from an ice field covered with wind and snow. Even if it is only for a moment, it can bring people a sense of security.

Yingsheng is very experienced in how to quickly build trust and build closer relationships with people.

At this time, it is to save time.

"You've been wronged over the years." Yingsheng said softly, "You're really strong, but if possible, can you let me share your past?"

affim.

Agree.

request.

The warm sunshine penetrates the thick haze.

The warmth and sense of security that I had not experienced for many years finally appeared like the morning light on the sea horizon.

The dark green eyes were like a lake that had been silent for a long time. As the body softened, the lake finally became crystal clear again, turning into warm and real tears that gently flowed across his cheeks and soaked his sleeves.

"It's going to be alright. It's not going to be alright anymore."

Yingsheng's voice was full of tenderness as he continued to comfort her.

Elena trembled slightly, and her crying was very restrained at first, but gradually, the suppressed grievances and pain came flooding in, and finally she could no longer bear it.

Her crying began to get louder, and tears poured out like pouring rain, carrying with them the loneliness and struggle of countless nights.

She is no longer repressed, no longer concerned about her image, and no longer afraid to show her most vulnerable side.

The organization has been destroyed. Now, here, weakness is not a sin, and she no longer has to worry about being hurt.

Yingsheng no longer spoke, but simply stayed with her quietly as a support.

But such an existence itself made Elena's heart full of gratitude, and she could finally vent her endless grievances.

However, she didn't say anything in the end, and even too many of her voices were drowned out by her tears.

"I'm so tired……"

Yingsheng only roughly heard this sentence, and his voice was full of catharsis and relief.

Probably a long time passed.

Yingsheng had been paying attention to the degree of Elena's release. When her crying slowed down and her breathing began to transition to normal and smooth, he spoke softly again: "Okay, let's get started."

He slowly loosened his embrace.

Elena subconsciously hugged him tightly, not wanting him to leave.

Yingsheng paused, not in a hurry.

After a while, Elena finally let go of her hand and slowly raised her head. There was still some uneasiness in her dark green eyes, but after all, the light of hope re-lit up.

"I...I'm ready," she said softly.

"Don't worry, it will be fine soon. Let's go to the sterile room." Yingsheng held her hand.

Elena nodded and took Yingsheng to a bedroom with an old-fashioned decoration style. She pulled a yellowed book from the rough dark gray wooden bookshelf, and the bookshelf slowly moved away, revealing a metal door.

She pressed her dark yellow and red palm on the small screen on the right side of the door, and the heavy silver-white door slid open silently.

Going down the exposed stairs and beyond the corridor is a modern research institute covering a large area.

In fact, the sterile room here also has equipped shower facilities.

But that familiar cold environment would only make Elena nervous. In order to make her relax, it was not a waste of time to take a bath in a disguised residential house.

Although when Elena was about to enter the sterile room, she went there to rinse again.

Firefly is no exception.

Even though he thought it was unnecessary to pursue sterility in this way, it was still necessary to put Elena at ease.

Listening to the sound of running water next door, Elena's nervousness about the past did dissipate for the most part, and was replaced by another strange emotion that made her cheeks slightly red.

After a while, Yingsheng took a shower, changed into sterile clothes, and went to the airlock room to wait.

Elena came over quickly and stopped the moment she heard the noise next door.

In order to maintain the environmental pressure and airflow and prevent the air in the airlock from entering the sterile room, they need to wait for a while and stand at the door.

Elena was a quiet person by nature, and was quite shy at the moment, so of course she kept her head down and said nothing.

Yingsheng glanced at the burn marks on her neck that ended at her chin and said softly, "Take off the disguise mask."

"Disguise? Mask?"

Elena was stunned for a moment, her eyes suddenly trembled violently, and she ran towards the floor-length mirror.

Yingsheng quickly pulled her back and said, "Your current face is your real face. The face under the disguise is the disguise brought to you by darkness. You don't need to look in the mirror. You are the real you now, always have been, and will always be."

Yingsheng hugged her tightly again, comforting her while wishing he could blow his head off.

I'm so stupid, really.

I only knew that she had a disguise on her face, but I didn't expect that the mask had been with her for so long, so long that she had forgotten it and it had become a part of her.

"me……"

Elena couldn't help but tremble slightly, tears welling up in her eyes again. She had obviously recalled her true appearance at this moment.

"How about this, you look into my eyes, okay?" Yingsheng gently pushed her away.

Elena subconsciously looked up at Yingsheng's eyes and saw her own face and the trembling dark green ripples clearly reflected in those clear and mirror-like dark eyes.

"Let me reveal your disguise, and you look at your appearance in my eyes, okay?" Yingsheng asked softly.

Elena was stiff and didn't answer.

Yingsheng had already reached out his hand to her chin, groped around a bit, and gently peeled off a layer of disguise that was quite sticky.

When Yingsheng saw a corner of the mask flipped up, Elena closed her eyes in pain.

But she didn't hear any rude words after all. After the tearing sensation on her face ended, she heard Yingsheng smile slightly:
"You are still you."

Elena's heart trembled, and she suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze focused on Yingsheng's eyes.

What I saw was still my previous appearance.

"This...how is this possible?"

Elena raised her hand in disbelief, trying to touch her cheek, but was held down by Yingsheng halfway.

"What do you think is the essence of human beings?" Yingsheng asked.

Elena shook her head slightly.

"So, you actually know your current appearance, what do you think of it?" Yingsheng asked again.

Elena's eyes dimmed, "Ugly."

"According to secular standards, this is indeed true, and I can't just say it out of thin air," Yingsheng said, "but how are the concepts of beauty and ugliness defined? Are all the appearances of things that people see real?"

"This..." Elena looked into Yingsheng's eyes, looking at the perfect self who seemed to have walked out of the past, "So what exactly was the figure you saw?"

"I told you, this is you."

Yingsheng held Elena's cheek with one hand, and the image in his eyes slowly approached her true reflection of her current state. Her smooth and fair skin gradually became rough, covered with dark red lines and deep gray grooves.

“Now, this is still you.”

With the foreshadowing from before, Elena looked at herself in Yingsheng's eyes. Although her eyes were painful, she did not run away after all. She did not close her eyes, but said in a trembling voice:
"I...I don't understand."

"I find that you are very resistant to the past." Yingsheng said softly, "The fire eighteen years ago and the dark life for so many years, you will feel painful if you touch it even a little."

"Even when you asked me to treat your burns, your starting point was to get rid of the past and throw away all the experiences of these years."

"Do not you think so?"

“This is an escape, a denial of the self, and a removal of a part of my existence.”

Elena developed PTSD from the Drug A research, and the cause was simple and obvious.

Yingsheng thinks it is a waste of talent for a scientist to be afraid of the field he is best at.

He, an experienced mental patient, now plans to play the role of a psychologist.

"You are a strong person." Yingsheng said.

“Escape is not weakness. It is often an effective strategy that contains existential wisdom.”

"The premise is that you can really avoid that spike."

"Elena."

“There are a lot of things you don’t have to look back on.”

“But you have to know who you really are.”

(End of this chapter)