"Just as I guessed, you were threatened."
"What a pity, what a pity. If I had been born seventeen years earlier, I would have definitely helped you deal with those people."
"Heaven bestowed such great acting skills upon you; it's truly a waste not to put them to good use."
"You should be standing on the stage."
"..."
After hearing Yukiko explain the reason for her retirement, Baishi Hui felt it was a great pity and felt it wasn't worth it for her.
"Ah…" Yukiko sighed deeply, feeling extremely depressed inside.
She thought that after so many years, she had already let go.
But only today did she realize that deep down, she still felt indignant.
If it were due to insufficient skill or lacking audience appeal, then Yukiko would have accepted it and retired willingly without any regrets.
But the problem was, she didn't lack in either of these aspects; what she lacked was having someone backing her up!
Whenever she thought of this, she felt a lump in her chest.
Yukiko picked up the red wine and gulped it down, making herself drunk to forget this unsatisfactory outcome.
After several consecutive gulps, she put down the bottle, stared at Baishi Hui, and said melancholically, "Ah, if only you had been born earlier…"
After hearing about Baishi Hui's deeds from Conan and Ran, Yukiko felt an unspeakable envy!
He truly went through thick and thin for his friends.
Even if Sonoko had shot and killed someone, he would have been willing to take the blame proactively.
How wonderful it would have been if she had had such a friend back then.
She wouldn't have been forced into retirement!
Amidst her emotions and regrets, Yukiko quickly fell asleep on the spot.
In her dream, she dreamt that she was still the star admired by thousands, causing a sensation wherever she went.
Posters and advertisements of her were displayed all over Japan.
Just dreaming of this made Yukiko's lips curl up unconsciously!
But soon, a jolt of the ship woke her from her sweet dream.
Yukiko groggily opened her eyes, seeing that it was still pitch dark around her.
Lying in Baishi Hui's arms, his firm chest muscles gave her a strong sense of security, and his body temperature also helped dispel the cold.
"How long have I been asleep?" Yukiko asked softly.
"About forty minutes." Baishi Hui estimated simply.
"You didn't sleep?" Yukiko noticed that his posture hadn't changed.
Baishi Hui found it a bit amusing, thinking she must have been half-asleep.
He had slept all day; how could he possibly still be asleep?
But he said, "With a beautiful woman in my arms, how could I possibly sleep?"
Yukiko smiled sweetly. She then realized she was being teased and immediately joked, "I thought you would do something improper… I didn't expect you to be so well-behaved."
"I'm not the kind of person you imagine." Baishi Hui replied without thinking.
If he took advantage of her, Yukiko would definitely not be willing to be so close to him in the future!
He could distinguish between one full meal and continuous full meals.
Moreover, he wasn't without gain.
Apart from those three key areas, he could touch anywhere else on Yukiko!
"It's getting late… I should go back to sleep too." Yukiko still felt sleepy and decided to go back to the cabin to rest.
"I'll see you back." Baishi Hui saw that she was still a bit drunk and was worried she might stumble and accidentally fall into the sea, which would be troublesome.
"Then you have to be careful with your movements, okay? If Ran sees us, you won't be able to explain." Yukiko joked.
"Ran isn't that petty." Baishi Hui chuckled and carried Yukiko into the cabin.
He carefully opened the cabin door, placed her beside the sleeping Ran, and then left.
Yukiko watched him leave, then looked at Ran, sighed softly, unwilling to overthink any further, and closed her eyes to sleep.
...…
For the next two consecutive days.
Baishi Hui enjoyed such good days.
While Yukiko was asleep, he did some intimate things with Ran.
And after Ran was tired and went back to sleep, Yukiko would chat with Baishi Hui about everything under the sun, very happily!
These days were quite comfortable.
However, happy times always pass especially quickly.
On the third day, not long after Baishi Hui had returned to the cabin and lay down, he suddenly heard Ran's exclamation: "Ah! A ship is coming! Over there! A ship is coming to rescue us!!"
"Where, where? Ah! I see it too… Great! We're saved!"
"...…"
Hearing the cheers, Baishi Hui realized his good days had come to an end.
He sighed, saying regretfully, "How wonderful would it be if it had arrived two or three days later?"
After sighing, Baishi Hui got up from the bed, walked out of the room, and returned to the deck.
Ran held Baishi Hui's hand, pointing in one direction and cheering excitedly: "Baishi! Did you see it? There's a ship over there! It seems to be heading towards us!"
"Yes, I see it." Baishi Hui could vaguely see the outline of a ship.
However, only when the ship got closer did he realize that it wasn't a search and rescue vessel from the Coast Guard, but a patrol ship from the Japan Self-Defense Forces!
Baishi Hui checked the Azu the Bandit Mall and found that it was a coastal patrol ship.
The ship is approximately 95 meters long, 12 meters wide, with a standard displacement of 1920 tons and a maximum speed of 20 knots. Each ship is equipped with at least one 30mm main gun, and the stern has a helicopter deck, hangar, and multipurpose crane, theoretically capable of accommodating a small helicopter.
Considering the Japan Self-Defense Forces' reputation wasn't great, Baishi Hui told Ran and Yukiko, "Wrap yourselves up tightly with blankets."
Although Ran and Yukiko were puzzled, they did as they were told.
After the patrol ship approached, soldiers came over in a yacht to negotiate.
Baishi Hui didn't hide anything and roughly explained the situation.
After listening, the soldier said, "Please wait," and immediately reported the situation back using a walkie-talkie.
After some communication, the soldier finally allowed the three of them onto the hovercraft.
Upon returning to the patrol ship, a person dressed as a military officer quickly walked over.
The nearby navy soldiers saw him and called him "Colonel Okawa".
When Colonel Okawa saw Yukiko, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Oh? Are you… Fujimine Yukiko?!"
"Oh? You know me?" Yukiko was also very surprised, not expecting to be recognized!
"Of course I know you. I even have your posters and the TV dramas you filmed back then in my room!" Colonel Okawa said happily, "I'm your fan! I never expected to see you here… Can I take a picture with you?"
"Uh-huh, of course, no problem!" After agreeing, Yukiko then said, "But… could you give me a clean set of clothes?"
"Of course… Please follow me, all three of you." Colonel Okawa smiled slightly, motioning for the three of them to follow him!
However, along the way, both Ran and Yukiko noticed that the other navy soldiers were looking at them with strange eyes, which made them feel inexplicably uneasy and instinctively moved closer to Baishi Hui.