As soon as the next stop arrived, Shinichi broke away from the crowded train and boarded the train to the Nakano family's apartment.
It didn't take long.
"Hah Hah Hah... It's been a long time since I've been here..."
Placing his hands on his knees and taking a breath, Shinichi wiped his sweat and stared at the high-class apartment in front of him.
Even though there was no need to run, and no one would say anything to him if he walked slowly, for some reason, when he thought of Miku having a fever, his steps quickened, and he ran.
With someone else taking care of her, Miku should be fine. The fever wasn't an injury, so there was no need to worry too much... So Shinichi found out the reason for himself.
"Like a panicked boyfriend visiting his girlfriend's house..."
Shinichi slapped his cheek, and planned to dial their home number.
But before that, through the glass door of the apartment, he saw the elevator inside open and a familiar figure came out.
The bunny-eared headband swayed from side to side. The short-haired girl waved at him with a cheerful smile, then opened the door and let Shinichi into the apartment.
"Asada-san, welcome!"
"Good morning…" Shinichi looked at the camera with some confusion, "You came down too early, and I haven't even rang the doorbell."
Or was she just about to leave?
Seeing Yotsuba take him to the elevator, Shinichi denies this assumption.
"Ahahaha, I was also surprised when I saw Asada-san. I didn't expect it to be that accurate…" Yotsuba smiled awkwardly.
Shinichi looked at her hair tie and suddenly realized: "Is that No... Yotsuba Intuition?"
Yotsuba puffed out her cheeks and poked his waist: "Asada-san, do you want to talk about animal instincts? I still have dignity as a human being."
"Sorry. That was…" There was curiosity in Shinichi's eyes.
"Itsuki's intuition."
"…"
Under Yotsuba's doubtful gaze, the curiosity in Shinichi's eyes was instantly extinguished, he took out his cell phone, then turned it off.
It seems there is still fear.
"Yotsuba, the so-called mobile phone position tracking cannot be called intuition..."
Yotsuba realized what he was talking about.
"No, no, no, there's no way Itsuki would do this!"
She shook her head vigorously and hurriedly defended her honest and serious sister.
"Itsuki said if you really cared about Miku, no matter how far away you were now, you would definitely come here within 15 minutes. That's why I wanted to go down and wait for you first..."
"After all, Itsuki is right! She would never do something bad like using a cell phone to track Asada-san's location all the time!"
"Don't say the next sentence, maybe I won't be so scared..." Shinichi suddenly felt an uneasy feeling.
"But it was such a coincidence. If Itsuki's message had been sent a little later, by the time I arrived at Nippori, even if I had to run all the way, you would have had to wait more than an hour."
"It doesn't matter!"
Seeing Shinichi believe in Itsuki's innocence, Yotsuba smiled.
"Hehe, if you wait for Asada-san, I can wait however long!"
"…"
Shinichi looked at her.
"What is wrong?"
Yotsuba looked back strangely.
There was a strange silence in the elevator.
Slowly, as if waking from sleep, Yotsuba's smile turned into one of panic and embarrassment, and she avoided Shinichi's gaze and quickly waved her hand.
"That's not the problem!-"
Suddenly there was a vibration all around.
Then centrifugal force appears in the elevator. The sense of weightlessness made the two people's expressions change instantly.
"Asada-san!"
"Yotsuba!"
Shinichi was about to ask her to squat against the wall to avoid joint dislocation when the elevator dropped abnormally.
Unexpectedly, with a pale face, Yotsuba rushed over to him.
"Ha!"
Then she pinched his waist like this.
Not a hug, but a clamp like a claw machine, then trying to lift him up.
"Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing!"
"I will lift Asada-san up!"
"What?!"
Shinichi panicked now, not because of the elevator, but because he was about to lift his feet off the ground and was lifted by a girl who was a head shorter than him.
Moreover, his waist was extremely sensitive, she was gripped so hard that goosebumps appeared all over his body, and he squirmed restlessly in her hands.
"Asada-san, please don't move. I'm not that strong. If you move, I won't be able to lift it!"
"It's enough! Don't pick it up! You calm down first..."
"Now is not the time to be calm!" Yotsuba's anxious voice echoed inside the elevator. There were tears in the corners of her eyes, but her eyes were determined.
"If I'm lucky, I jump with Asada-san before the elevator falls to the ground. Maybe we can survive together... Even if we're unlucky, Asada-san won't be hurt too much if he's with me..."
She looked at Shinichi seriously.
"Asada-san, if only you can come out alive, I would like to ask you to give me a few words for everyone..."
The atmosphere became tragic, the girl looked at him with a touch of tenderness and nostalgia in her eyes.
"...If I have time, I also want to say something to you."
Shinichi was about to say his last words. He raised his hand to grab Yotsuba's cheek and shouted.
"It doesn't matter!"
Even though there are many ways to silence him nowadays, Shinichi still uses the simplest trick.
"It was just a surprise. Didn't fall. You don't need to give your last words! Do you understand?"
"...Eh?"
Startled by the sound, Yotsuba turned her gaze to look at the elevator number. Sure enough, the elevator stopped on the 30th floor and did not change.
And the weightlessness just now seemed like an illusion, and there was no longer any sense of crisis.
"...Are we okay?"
Shinichi nodded: "Didn't fall. In fact, the odds of falling in the elevator are more difficult than winning 10 million. Especially for high-end apartments like this, the security measures are very complete. There is also a regular check of the form for confirmation. At most, it was just an accident like this sudden stop."
He let go of her cheek and slipped out of her grasp. He didn't know if it was because of the adrenaline rush, but Yotsuba was really squeezing his waist and it hurt.
While holding his waist, Shinichi continued to speak helplessly.
"Also, even if I really fell, it would be useless for you to throw me up to the ceiling. The height of the 30th floor is enough to turn an entire elevator car into a meat press. When the rescue team comes, they will only see the two flesh mixed together, and not even know whose bones are…"
"Oh no, Asada-san, stop talking…" Yotsuba apologized.
"I panicked too much, I'm sorry..."
At this moment, the elevator door opened.
She went out first and spoke without looking back.
"That's not something you need to apologize for. Rather, it is your subconscious reaction. This is really..."
Quite touching.
Come to think of it, if the two had swapped genders now, Shinichi might have really fallen in love with Yotsuba back then. Not only because of the suspension bridge effect, but also because of the true emotions in her eyes that she always hid behind that smile.
Shinichi looked at the corridor ahead, and his tone was a little stiff.
"Well, thank you for your kindness. But if something unexpected happens, please take care of your own safety first. It's not easy being a hero."
"Hero?" Yotsuba looked back, quickened her pace to keep up, and asked a question.
"How can I be a hero when I'm clearly not helping anything and still making a scene and causing trouble for Asada-san? I thought you would call me stupid..."
Shinichi said coldly: "Stupid. Stupid Yotsuba."
"Ah, you scolded twice!" Yotsuba was surprised.
"Whether you are stupid or not, if some people think you are stupid, you are stupid. A hero is a simple thing."
After Shinichi finished speaking, he remained silent and walked towards the door of their house.
Yotsuba hurriedly called out to him.
"Wait, wait a minute, Asada-san!"
"Stop asking, go back and think for yourself..."
"No, you don't have the key to our house, so there's no point in walking that fast..."
"…There will always be someone ringing the doorbell."
Shinichi answered roughly, then stepped aside and let Yotsuba step forward.
He turned the key and placed his slightly sweaty palm on the doorknob.
When he opened the door to his house, he looked at the door panel in confusion.
Yotsuba's mind was still on his words.
(I think so,...)
The corner of his mouth curved into a satisfied arc that Shinichi couldn't see.
In his heart, a kind of determination emerged.