Isn't it very scientific to use the Death Note to kill people?

"A black coffee, please," Lin Jiashu said to the waiter, then looked at Vermouth, "And you?"

Vermouth hesitated for a moment: "Give me a lemon tart, I suddenly have a sweet craving." She needed sugar, but she also needed some time to think about her next move.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

After the waiter left, the two of them were left alone in the private room again, and the background music was changed to a more soothing piano piece.

"Sweets can definitely improve your mood."

"You're really that concerned about my feelings?"

"After all, you really didn't seem very enthusiastic today... It's quite discouraging for me to be with a female companion who's consistently uninterested."

"How narcissistic."

The dessert and coffee were served quickly.

Lemon tart is a dessert with a very strong lemon and milk flavor. Vermouth originally thought that a lighter lemon flavor would be easier to eat, but the strong milk flavor made Vermouth frown almost imperceptibly and put down her spoon.

"That's about it." She picked up a napkin and gently wiped her mouth with an elegant movement. "Any plans next?"

"Look at you, would you like to go see the night view?" Lin Jiashu stood up and considerately pulled out a chair for her.

Vermouth seemed to have no objections.

The two walked out of the restaurant side by side. Surprisingly, the night in mid-May was not humid at all, and the wind even carried a bit of coolness.

Lin Jiashu considerately opened the car door for Vermouth.

With the engine humming, the white BMW quickly drove away from the French restaurant.

Tokyo at night is like a river flowing with neon lights.

Tonight is a full moon.

Lin Jiashu drove the vehicle smoothly through the traffic. Outside the car window, the light streaks and silhouettes of tall buildings rushed past. The noise was shut out of the glass, and inside the car, there was only the deep sound of the engine and soothing music.

"Is it a bit stuffy? Should we open the window?" Lin Jiashu asked casually while keeping an eye on the road.

Vermouth leaned back in the comfortable passenger seat and shook her head slightly upon hearing this: "No need, this is just right."

She shed some of the deliberate embellishment she wore in the restaurant, appearing more relaxed.

"Speaking of which, is that building with the blue light strips up ahead newly built? I don't think I saw it last time I passed by here."

Lin Jiashu glanced in the direction she was pointing and nodded: "Yes, it was just completed two months ago. It's a mixed-use commercial complex. I heard there's an observation deck on the top floor with a great view, but I haven't had time to go yet."

"It sounds like a place that will be packed with tourists."

Isn't it the same everywhere?

Lin Jiashu smiled and casually turned down the air conditioning speed in the car a little, "It's not very comfortable to have the wind blowing directly on you if it's too strong."

This subtle, considerate gesture made Vermouth's gaze linger on his profile for a moment before turning back to the window. "There aren't many cars on this road at night."

“Hmm, at this time, most people are already home or still in the bustling city center.” Lin Jiashu skillfully turned a corner, and the view ahead became more open, with the orange-red silhouette of Tokyo Tower visible in the distance. “Look over there, the tower lights are a warm orange color today.”

"Oh? I remember its color changes every day?"

"Yes, it varies depending on the date and specific event. Sometimes it's red, sometimes it's a special colored pattern."

The two chatted casually like that.

There was no flirting, no testing; the atmosphere between the two was unusually relaxed.

As the car drove along the bay road, the moist sea breeze seeped in through the slightly lowered window, carrying a hint of saltiness.

Vermouth took a soft breath, closed her eyes, and seemed to enjoy the tranquility of the moment.

"Are you tired?" Lin Jiashu noticed her movements and asked softly.

"A little." She didn't deny it, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue. "It's nice to get some fresh air like this."

"You're definitely acting a bit strange today."

Vermouth kept her eyes closed, but a lazy smile played on her lips: "Really? I didn't feel anything."

"In the restaurant, you barely touched the main courses, only touched the wine at the very beginning, and even the dessert you specially ordered before leaving was just a small taste." Lin Jiashu looked ahead, steadily controlling the steering wheel, his voice unhurried, "Not to mention you haven't touched a cigarette once since you got in the car, which is not like you."

Vermouth finally opened her eyes, turned her head to look at him, her blue eyes appearing somewhat hazy in the light and shadows flowing through the window. She chuckled softly, "I sometimes want to try something different, is that wrong? Maybe I suddenly want to take better care of my body?"

Lin Jiashu smiled noncommittally and did not press the matter further.

Silence fell again inside the car, broken only by the engine and the sound of the sea breeze. The BMW continued along the bay road, the warm orange glow of Tokyo Tower in the distance resembling a distant star.

After a long pause, Vermouth suddenly spoke, her voice calm and undisturbed, yet like a pebble thrown into a still lake:

"I am pregnant."

Lin Jiashu's grip on the steering wheel tightened almost imperceptibly, then he chuckled. He glanced at her quickly to the side and said in a daze, "Why are you suddenly making jokes like that?"

Vermouth didn't speak, but just stared at him quietly. Her eyes no longer held their usual charm or playfulness, but only a cold seriousness.

Lin Jiashu didn't pay much attention at first.

But Vermouth stared at him for a long time, until the smile on his face slowly faded.

“I’m not joking.”

She emphasized.

Lin Jiashu turned his head and carefully looked at her expression. His brows furrowed slightly, and he subconsciously tapped the brake lightly. The car paused slightly, then returned to a steady state.

What tricks are you playing?

His reaction was so real and intense.

At least in Vermouth's view as an actress, she couldn't find any trace of acting.

“Answer my question first, Cointreau.” Vermouth’s voice turned cold. “Participants in APTX-4869 trials do not become pregnant… Is this really a conclusion Sherry reached herself?”

Lin Jiashu stared at her intently.

"Shirley never said that explicitly. She only gave me a rough explanation during her research about how drugs induce programmed cell death and how cell degeneration leads to body shrinkage in very rare cases... In addition, there is the rapid recovery from injuries and the near-static state of the body, like memory metal. Based on this mechanism, it should be impossible for her to be pregnant."

"infer?"

Hearing this, Vermouth almost laughed in exasperation. "So what am I supposed to say? Do famous detectives rarely make mistakes? You dare to tell me with such certainty without any concrete conclusion?"

So you're serious?

The confusion and lingering doubt on Lin Jiashu's face were incredibly jarring to Vermouth's eyes.

Sometimes people can actually burst out laughing when they're speechless.

Although she could understand the man's suspicious nature, the anger of being fooled mixed with a sense of absurdity that was surging in Vermouth's heart at this moment made her not waste any more words. She simply reached for the handbag at her feet, opened it deftly, and took out a small item wrapped in a tissue.

She gently tossed it onto the dashboard in front of Lin Jiashu.

The tissue unfolded, revealing a pregnancy test stick inside, clearly showing two horizontal lines.

Lin Jiashu couldn't help but step on the brakes.

The locked tires screeched against the ground, while his gaze fell on the pregnancy test, his expression frozen, his eyes fixed on the two bright red bars.

"What? The evidence is right in front of you, and you still don't believe me?"

Seeing the disbelief on his face, Vermouth chuckled and said, "How about we just find any pharmacy and I'll get it tested for you tomorrow morning?"

"..."

Lin Jiashu finally slowly raised his head and looked at her.

The gentle smile on his face had vanished, replaced by an extremely complex and solemn expression.

He gave Vermouth a deep look, his gaze sharp as if he were dissecting the authenticity of her every expression, or perhaps considering what this sudden turn of events meant for him.

Chapter 75: Vermouth's Special Identity

Lin Jiashu restarted the car.

The car fell into an even deeper silence than before, with only the dim blue light emanating from the dashboard illuminating the two men's profiles, each lost in their own thoughts.

Lin Jiashu stared straight ahead, his fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel a few times, as if gathering his thoughts. After a while, he spoke in a calm tone:

So what are your thoughts now?

Vermouth turned her gaze from the window and landed on Lin Jiashu's beautifully sculpted profile.

Her thoughts are also in a mess right now.

Even setting aside the deeper issues, for her, having a child means vulnerability, risk, and a complete departure from her past life beliefs.

She couldn't keep the child; it was the most rational choice—as an assassin, as a woman who had survived to this day through mystery and elusiveness, she shouldn't have such entanglements.

But the phrase "get rid of it" seemed stuck in his throat, difficult to say easily.

Vermouth is not an emotionally detached woman.

On the contrary, she has a rich emotional life.

Otherwise, how could she have gone to such lengths to protect Shinichi Kudo?

Moreover, that was the only son of her only friend, Yukiko Kudo... In a way, she extended her maternal instincts to him.

At this moment, the life growing within her, an extension of her own bloodline... the maternal instinct she had never considered, did indeed make her hesitate.

But the problem is,

A greater fear loomed over Vermouth regarding this child.

However, she did not reveal any of these inner confusions and struggles to Lin Jiashu.

She scoffed.

"Thoughts? Shouldn't that be asked of you first, Jundu? If it weren't for your flawed reasoning, how could this accident have happened... So I'd like to hear what you, the instigator, have to say?"

Lin Jiashu remained silent for a moment.

His gaze remained fixed on the road ahead, his voice low but clear enough to reach her ears:

"Give birth to it."

Vermouth paused slightly, then raised an eyebrow, finding it absurd but still asking, "Reason?"

Lin Jiashu shook his head slightly, a somewhat complicated smile appearing on his lips: "I don't know. Maybe I just feel that since it has happened, running away is not my style. Although it was an accident, I am willing to bear the consequences."

Vermouth laughed, but it was impossible to tell whether her laughter was one of approval or sarcasm.

She didn't respond immediately, but simply leaned her head back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Knowing she was thinking, Lin Jiashu remained silent.

He turned the steering wheel around, drove off the main road, and drove along a quiet coastal road, eventually stopping next to a viewing platform overlooking the beach.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" he suggested.

Vermouth didn't nod, but she unbuckled her seatbelt.

The beach at night is completely different from the hustle and bustle of the day.

The salty sea breeze, carrying a coolness, swept over me. The deep blue sea rippled under the moonlight, and the sound of the tide crashing against the rocks was rhythmic and calm, as if it could cleanse the heart of all disturbances.

In the distance, the city lights resembled scattered stars, echoing the Milky Way in the sky.

The two walked down the steps and stepped onto the soft sand.

To their surprise, they weren't the only ones on the beach at this hour—not far away, a young family was also enjoying the tranquility of the night.

It was a young couple with their young child. The child was excitedly splashing in the shallow waves, occasionally running back to his mother to act cute, and being gently hugged by her as she knelt down with a smile.

Vermouth's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the scene, and she watched silently.

...That was the ordinary, warm daily life of an ordinary person whose life could never intersect with hers.

she thinks.

Sometimes Vermouth envies the lives of ordinary people, but she doesn't dare to hope for it... It's absurd for someone with blood on her hands to yearn for such a peaceful and warm life.

However, she was still moved by what she saw at that moment.

Lin Jiashu followed her gaze, then his eyes slowly settled on her still flat stomach. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently placed his hand on it.

What Vermouth didn't notice was that the ring on his finger gleamed with an ominous dark red light in the dim moonlight.