Ke Xue: My standards for dating are not problematic!

Chapter 503 Absinthe vs. Judy Sterling

Ding-ling-ling
Ding-ling-ling
Conan arrived at the classroom dejectedly as the school bell rang.

Fortunately, it was the first class and the teacher hadn't arrived yet, so he wasn't caught red-handed.

However, he was caught red-handed by Kitahara Natsuyu, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Although he didn't know how Kitahara Natsuyu was going to punish him, he had a feeling it wasn't a good thing and might make him do even more outrageous things in the store.

For example, tasks like washing vegetables in the kitchen.

He's like a brick in Kitahara Natsuyu's shop now; he's moved wherever he's needed, and he's exhausted every day.

Thanks to his daytime job, he now sleeps at night without fail, even more so than Uncle Mori.

However, speaking of Uncle Mori, he's been having trouble sleeping lately, and the root of the problem is Conan.

Because Conan used tranquilizer darts on him much more often during this period, each time he would fall asleep at the crime scene for 1 to 3 hours, and it was always in a deep sleep.

This caused him to sleep too much during the day and not be able to sleep at night, resulting in insomnia.

However, Kogoro Mouri's insomnia doesn't affect Conan much, because he sleeps very soundly.

Closer to home.

Conan decided to call his mother after school and ask her to talk to him.

He really didn't want to be punished, and he arrived just as the bell rang for class, so he wasn't exactly late.

However, the mark of this ruling is in Kitahara Natsuhiro's hands.

Hmph! What a despicable fellow!
"Conan."

At this moment, Conan took out his homework after sitting down in his seat and put it aside. Then he took out his textbook for the first class and waited for the teacher to arrive.

At that moment, Ayumi called out from behind.

Upon hearing this, Conan turned around and looked behind him, asking, "What's wrong, Ayumi?"

Ayumi said with a smile, "Do you know about the Domoto Concert Hall?"

"Domoto Concert Hall?" Conan muttered. "I know, it's the concert hall of Domoto Music Academy, what's wrong?"

He not only knew about the Domoto Concert Hall, but also knew Akiba Reiko, who had graduated from the school.

Could it be that Ayumi wanted to talk about that?
"I heard that there's going to be a concert at the Domoto Concert Hall this month," Ayumi said excitedly.

Although she didn't know much about music, she felt it was great to be able to participate in such a high-class event; it would make her look impressive.

As for the source of this information, she heard it from her mother.

Her home wasn't a detached house, but an apartment building, and a high-end one at that.

People who live in places like this are usually wealthy.

Besides that, there are detached villa areas.

Conan's house is located in a villa area.

It can be said that Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta all come from wealthy families, or at least not poor ones, and Conan is the same.

That's why the three of them always manage to learn a lot of information without others knowing.

At least the fact that a concert was to be held at the Domoto Concert Hall was generally unknown to the public; only those involved and those who received the invitations knew about it.

However, Ayumi is not among them.

“A concert,” Conan said. “I remember Ms. Reiko Akiba was going to attend this concert as well.”

"And she's the most famous soprano, so it's sure to be a spectacular show."

Although he didn't receive an invitation, Sonoko definitely did, and not only Sonoko, Kitahara Natsuhiro definitely did too.

After all, Kitahara Natsuhiro was Akiba Reiko's neighbor.

An invitation letter is nothing to me; I'll just have to get it by playing around with people.

That's indeed the case. In the original work, Conan, Ayumi, and others always manage to attend high-class banquets and travel on luxury cruise ships.

And all of this is thanks to the garden.

After all, the second daughter of the Suzuki zaibatsu is incredibly wealthy and powerful.

But then again, every time a movie is released, the Suzuki family suffers a disaster.

According to incomplete statistics, the Suzuki zaibatsu may have lost as much as hundreds of billions of yen in the theatrical version.

Even so, the Suzuki zaibatsu remains standing because it is incredibly wealthy.

No wonder it's said that the only zaibatsu that can rival the Suzuki zaibatsu is the Ooka zaibatsu; all the other zaibatsu combined wouldn't be enough to defeat the Suzuki zaibatsu with a single hand.

There's nothing else to it, they're just too rich.

In this era, having money also means having power.

However, the head of the Ooka Zaibatsu is a former prime minister, which is why the Ooka Zaibatsu is the strongest Zaibatsu, while the Suzuki Zaibatsu can only be ranked second.

However, this is the current ranking, and it is unknown what the future ranking will be.

"I really want to attend a concert."

At this moment, Genta and Mitsuhiko also joined the conversation.

The four of them sat in the same group, and in front of and behind each other.

Conan sat in the third row, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi sat in the fourth row, and Genta sat in the last row.

After all, Genta was the tallest in the class, so he had to sit at the very back so as not to block the other students.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Genta said. “It would be fantastic if we could participate.”

Just then, Ms. Kobayashi, carrying her lesson plan, walked in. Her gaze swept across the classroom, and the students immediately fell silent.

"Before class begins, I have something to announce." Ms. Kobayashi put down her lesson plan, stood on the podium, and adjusted her glasses: "The class choir competition is coming up soon, and students who want to participate are encouraged to sign up."

"Students who want to register later can register at Bu Mei's place."

Because Ayumi sings well, her music teacher entrusted her with important tasks, which meant she was expected to do these kinds of work.

"I understand, Ms. Kobayashi."

Ms. Kobayashi nodded, then picked up her textbook and said, "Class will begin now. Everyone, open your books."

"A choir competition, huh?" Conan opened his textbook, then his thoughts drifted off to another topic: "But this is not for me."

As everyone knows, Conan Edogawa is tone-deaf, and even having perfect pitch cannot change that.

Of course, he's not good at singing, but he can play a little bit of other instruments, especially the violin.

Therefore, he doesn't participate in most singing competitions; he has no interest in them.

It's definitely not because I'm afraid of being laughed at.

Ding-ling-ling
Ding-ling-ling
Time flies, and a class period has passed in the blink of an eye.

After class, Ms. Kobayashi mentioned the choir competition again before leaving the classroom.

As soon as Ms. Kobayashi left, the classroom became noisy. Many people rushed out of the classroom, while many others came to Ayumi's side, wanting to sign up.

Conan, Mitsuhiko, and Genta were pushed aside.

"Conan, are you going to participate?" Genta asked from the side.

Upon hearing this, Mitsuhiko calmly replied, "Genta, Conan won't participate in the choir competition, why are you asking?" "Won't participate?" Genta was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized something and couldn't help but laugh, "That's right, Conan is tone-deaf. Every time he has a music class, the teacher looks at Conan and shakes his head, looking worried."

"Heh, why am I being called tone-deaf again?" Conan slumped his eyes, looking helpless.

After all, he was truly tone-deaf, and Genta was merely stating the facts.

So he had nothing to refute.

To prevent Mitsuhiko and Genta from continuing the topic, he immediately changed the subject: "By the way, are you guys participating?"

"Of course!" Mitsuhiko and Genta said in unison.

"We'll go register with Ayumi later, and our class will definitely win." Mitsuhiko said confidently.

He was quite confident in his singing, especially since he was singing with Ayumi, and he felt incredibly strong.

The advantage is in my hands; there's no way I can lose.

However, this is a choral competition, not an individual performance, so it doesn't matter how well one person sings; what matters is that everyone sings well.

Of course, if someone like Conan, who is tone-deaf, were to join, people would definitely notice.

People who sing well may not be discovered, but people who sing poorly will definitely be discovered.

At this moment, the classmates surrounding Ayumi gradually dispersed, and then Conan and the others surrounded her.

"Ayumi, how many people have signed up?" Conan asked.

Upon hearing this, Ayumi sighed: "Not many, just a few classmates."

"They didn't want to participate when they heard that they had to come to school to practice choir on the weekend."

First graders are at an age where they love to play, and many of them are unwilling to spend their weekends practicing singing; they would rather go out and play.

This is human nature.

"Ah, such a big difference?" Mitsuhiko said.

“That’s right.” Ayumi looked at Conan, then laughed. “Conan, you should join too!”

"Huh? Me?" Conan pointed at himself with a blank expression when he heard this.

No, if I participate in a choir competition with my skill level, wouldn't that be a disgrace to our class?

Of course, he can participate if there is a real need.

It's just singing, he often goes to karaoke to sing with Xiaolan and Yuanzi.

He might get criticized, but he's not afraid at all.

Who am I? Conan Edogawa, a steamed egg!
"If I'm really needed, I can participate."

"Okay, it's settled then!"

Ayumi laughed.

Upon hearing this, Conan suddenly regretted agreeing too quickly.

If the class didn't win the championship because of my actions, wouldn't I be a sinner?

So, whenever I have time, I drag Xiaolan and Yuanzi to sing karaoke to practice my singing skills.

You can also go to Kitahara Natsuyu's place to find Ms. Akiba Reiko and have a professional soprano teach you a thing or two. Winning the choral competition will be a piece of cake.

As expected of me!

Mihua Apartment.

Before we knew it, it was already past two o'clock.

By this time, Vermouth had fully regained consciousness, and after taking a shower, she heated up the food in the refrigerator and ate a simple meal.

These things were left behind by Kitahara Natsuhiro; heating them up will suffice.

After having a good meal, Vermouth felt she had nothing to do and decided to go out for a while.

Her destination this time was Teitan Elementary School.

If I go out now, I can get to Teitan Elementary School around 3 o'clock, which is also when Teitan Elementary School lets out for the day.

At that time, she can go find Kitahara Natsuhiro, and while she's at it, she can also go find Sherry.

She hadn't forgotten that Shirley was a school nurse at Teitan Elementary School.

And she even arranged for Shirley to become a school nurse.

However, Vermouth's arrival this time will definitely give Sherry a fright.

Although Sherry has been away from the organization for a long time, she still reacts to some of the people in the organization.

There's no way around it; it's practically ingrained in my bones.

After all, she spent eighteen years in the organization, a dark and hopeless place. Eighteen whole years, so you could say the organization was her childhood trauma.

Of course, this childhood trauma is gradually fading and will disappear completely in a while.

But Vermouth was definitely an exception.

After all, she might not meet Gin, but she will definitely meet Vermouth.

And if they encounter him, he will definitely bully him. At that time, Kitahara Natsuhiro will not only not help him, but will also watch the show from the sidelines.

Because Kitahara Natsuhiro once said that he loved watching women fight.

It's great, I love it, give me more!
So Vermouth's plan really gave Sherry a big shock.

That would make her very happy, and she would even eat several extra bowls of rice.

Soon after, Vermouth was ready, dressed and left the apartment, taking her keys with her.

However, this was her own key, which Kitahara Natsuhiro had made for her.

However, after leaving the house, she ran into an acquaintance in the hallway—a real acquaintance.

This familiar face was neither the popular idol Yoko Okino nor the soprano Reiko Akiba, but rather...
"Good afternoon, Officer Judy Sterling." Vermouth greeted Judy, who looked exhausted, with a smile as she approached from the shadows.

Upon hearing the greeting, Judy instinctively replied, "Yes, hello."

And so, the two passed each other by.

The next second, Judy stopped in her tracks, frozen in place, a look of horror on her face, and felt a chill run down her spine.

Without any hesitation, she jumped away, intending to pull out the revolver she was carrying.

But by then it was too late to draw the gun.

Because Vermouth had already closed in, her small, exquisite pistol was off safety and pointed at Judy's forehead.

"Oh dear, FBI kitten, you seem to be a step too slow!" Vermouth revealed a playful expression, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

"Absinthe, why are you here?!" Judy looked at the woman in front of her and asked in a deep voice.

She and absinthe were old acquaintances; she had seen absinthe when she was a child.

This woman also killed her own father, but she also left behind evidence proving her identity.

The fingerprint left on the glasses was the key to the FBI's determination that Chris Vineyard and Sharon Vineyard were both Absinthe in disguise.

But now, they've met here!

(End of this chapter)