The Time has not Yet Come

"Young Master Gu, I want some water~"

"Young Master Gu, I want to eat some fruit~"

"Young Master Gu, I want a hug~"

Hoshino Kannon lay sprawled on the bed in Gu Chenan's room, shouting with her mouth wide open.

Before long, Gu Chenan entered the room with a frown, holding a cup of hot water in his left hand and a plate of sliced fruit in his right.

After setting down the water and fruit, he glared at Hoshino Kannon, who was giggling under the covers as she watched him, and said through gritted teeth, "Have you gone mad?"

"In just the past hour, you've had five glasses of water, three servings of fruit, and gone to the bathroom twice. What are you up to, woman?"

Hoshino Kannon pulled back the covers and gazed at Gu Chenan with feigned gentleness before sighing, "Alas, if I weren't injured, how could I trouble you, Young Master? But alas, who caused me to be injured?"

With that, Hoshino Kannon suddenly embraced herself and wailed, "Ah~ My arms hurt, my legs hurt, my shoulders hurt, my chest hurts."

Then she looked at Gu Chenan, "What should I do, I'm going to die~"

"You...!"

Gu Chenan paused, about to say something, but Hoshino Kannon abruptly went limp and turned her head away.

"Ah! I'm dead."

Seeing Hoshino Kannon lying on the bed like that, Gu Chenan's teeth ground audibly.

[Damn it, can't you just behave yourself?]

[I know it's because of our agreement that you got seriously injured, but did you have to act like this in front of me?]

"Get up and drink some water!" Gu Chenan said, sitting on the edge of the bed with the cup.

Hoshino Kannon glanced at him and twisted her body, saying, "I'm dead!"

Gu Chenan rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Then what will it take for you to live?"

"Ummm." Hoshino Kannon pondered for a moment, then said, "Feed me water mouth-to-mouth."

"Sure, no problem." Gu Chenan nodded.

"Really?" Hoshino Kannon's eyes lit up as she quickly sat up and opened her mouth wide, using her finger to point inside. "Quick."

"Hold on a sec." Gu Chenan stood up.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to eat some garlic first."

"Dammit, you're cheating!"

Gu Chenan smiled and raised his eyebrows. "You choose - drink the water yourself, or I'll eat the garlic and then feed you water."

Hoshino Kannon frowned, about to say something.

But at that moment, her phone rang.

Hoshino Kannon leaned over and grabbed her phone from the bedside table.

When she saw the number, her eyebrows raised abruptly.

"Hello." As she answered, her expression returned to normal.

"Miss Hoshino, Gong Fei has gone missing in Suhang. The organization is now ordering you to investigate Gong Fei's disappearance. If it was intentional, Miss Hoshino, you don't need to report back - you can deal with it however you see fit."

The voice on the other end of the line belonged to the same woman who had spoken to the old assassin earlier.

Hoshino Kannon hesitated for a moment, then feigned surprise. "What, Gong Fei is missing?"

Hearing the name "Gong Fei", Gu Chenan's eyebrows raised slightly.

He had guessed that this was a call from the Black Falcon organization to Hoshino Kannon.

The woman on the phone said, "That's right. Gong Fei went missing while carrying out a mission, even though that mission has since been canceled by the client."

"I understand." Hoshino Kannon nodded and hung up.

"Black Falcon?" Gu Chenan asked from beside her.

Hoshino Kannon nodded. "The client who commissioned the assassination of the Xiao family patriarch has canceled the contract, but the organization still needs to investigate how Gong Fei went missing."

Then she raised an eyebrow at Gu Chenan. "Gong Fei - you killed him, didn't you?"

Gu Chenan nodded without saying a word.

[The call said the client canceled the contract. That client was undoubtedly Liu Hong.]

[Heh, it seems he didn't lie to me after all.]

At that moment, Hoshino Kannon suddenly folded her arms and haughtily pointed at the water cup. "Quick, feed me water mouth-to-mouth."

Gu Chenan snapped out of his thoughts and shrugged. "So you've made your choice. Then I really will go eat that garlic."

Hoshino Kannon shook her head. "No, don't eat it!"

Gu Chenan got up. "Just a moment, I'll eat it right away."

But right then, Hoshino Kannon behind him suddenly spoke up. "Young Master Gu, you don't want the Black Falcons to know you killed Gong Fei, do you?"

Gu Chenan froze, immediately stopping in his tracks.

He turned around. "What do you mean?"

Hoshino Kannon extended one foot and placed it on Gu Chenan's leg, then slowly moved it up to his chest. "Unfortunately, I thought Gong Fei had already informed the organization that I betrayed them."

"But now it seems he didn't get the chance to say anything."

"So for now, I'm still one of the Black Falcons' Twelve Lances, and I'm also fully in charge of investigating Gong Fei's disappearance."

"How convenient - the person who killed Gong Fei is right in front of me."

Gu Chenan looked at the mocking expression on Hoshino Kannon's face. "I know what you're trying to do."

"Trying to do..." Hoshino Kannon narrowed her eyes, paused, then burst out laughing. "Pffft! Hahaha!"

She pointed at Gu Chenan with one hand and held her stomach with the other, guffawing loudly. "You should have seen how tense you looked just now - I'm dying of laughter!"

Gu Chenan gritted his teeth. "Dammit, you were messing with me?"

"I actually thought you had suddenly turned back to the Black Falcons' side!"

Hoshino Kannon was laughing so hard tears came to her eyes. After a while, she finally stopped her maniacal laughter and pointed at her mouth again.

"Quick, feed me water mouth-to-mouth, or I'll tell the organization you killed Gong Fei!"

[Damn! Threatening me?]

[A grown man can't be threatened into betraying himself, can he?]

[But then again, Hoshino Kannon's mouth is so tiny - I bet it's soft and sweet.]

[Yeah, that's right. I'm feeding her water mouth-to-mouth not because she threatened me, but because I wanted to do it myself all along!]

[As long as I rationalize everything, no one can threaten me!]

With that thought, Gu Chenan raised the cup and gulped down a large mouthful of water, then leaned forward and slowly transferred the water from his mouth into Hoshino Kannon's.

Right at that moment, Hoshino Kannon suddenly reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

A long while later.

Hoshino Kannon slowly released him and looked at Gu Chenan. "Rest assured, I won't betray you."

"If you don't believe me, I can quit the Black Falcons right now."

Gu Chenan was about to nod, but then had a flash of inspiration.

"Don't be so hasty. You're currently in charge of investigating Gong Fei's disappearance, right?"

Hoshino Kannon nodded. "That's right, why?"

Gu Chenan raised an eyebrow. "So that means if you say someone killed Gong Fei, the Black Falcons will send people to kill that person, correct?"

"Correct."

Gu Chenan's eyebrows rose further. "Then you can decide right now who you want dead."

Hoshino Kannon caught the implication in Gu Chenan's words and asked, "You want me to help you get rid of someone?"

"There is someone," Gu Chenan said after a moment's thought. "But the timing isn't quite right yet."