Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 24 Xiaolan wants to know the truth
After Suzuki Sonoko told Xiaolan what she knew about the true identity of Mizuki Hotaru, Xiaolan was silent for a long time.

"Xiaolan, let's go shopping." said Sonoko.

"We haven't gone shopping together for a long time. Let's go relax today. There's a delicious dessert shop over at 1-chome."

She gently pulled Xiaolan again.

Xiaolan finally turned around, looked at Yuanzi and smiled slightly.

"Thank you for the invitation, Sonoko. I want to go shopping, but the competition is only seven days away. Even if I don't practice more, I need to stay in good shape."

"Oh, yes, hehe..."

Sonoko smiled wickedly, "Xiaolan is working so hard, there must be other purposes."

"What?" Xiaolan was a little confused.

"Hehe, didn't someone say before that he wanted to make a bet with a certain mystery geek, and that if he won the championship, he would go on a date with him to Dorobiga Paradise!"

Yuanzi held her hands in front of her chest, looking expectant, "This is my Xiaolan's initiative, we will definitely win!" She suddenly punched hard again, "If that guy doesn't know what's good for him, Xiaolan, you will give him a good beating!"

"Oh... this matter..."

Xiaolan smiled and nodded: "I will, Sonoko, just wait for my good news." She lifted her pocket and shook it, "I'll go practice first, see you Sonoko."

"Eh?"

Sonoko was a little dazed. Using this matter to tease her best friend was her specialty. Every time, Xiaolan would turn into a blushing steam girl, which was super cute, just like a shy snow-white cat, making people want to hold her in their arms and knead her.

But today, isn’t the reaction a little wrong?
Yuanzi gritted her teeth and grabbed her best friend's clothes.

"Xiao Lan, I'm serious about what I just said to you. Don't get too close to that scumbag Shuiyue Yingsheng. He definitely has bad intentions when he approaches you. No matter what face he pretends to be, he will only hurt you in the end!"

Xiaolan looked back and smiled, "I see. Thank you for your concern, Sonoko. I'm leaving now."

She took a step forward, and the garden slipped out of her hand. She stood there in a daze for a long time...

"You must be vigilant, Xiaolan!"

"Okay, got it." Xiaolan waved her hand back.

"Stay away from the scum!"

"Hey, I definitely will."

"..."

At six o'clock in the evening, Xiaolan returned to the Maori house. The room was empty and dark.

She turned on the light, walked to the windowsill and opened the curtains. The room became brighter, reflecting the smooth floor and neat furnishings. The note on the refrigerator door was shaking slightly.

Exactly the same as when she left in the morning.

After putting the vegetables she bought on the way home on the sink, Xiaolan reached for her apron, but found it was empty. Turning around, she saw that the wall was empty and the apron was no longer in its usual place.

Yes.

Last night her mother came over to comfort her and even cooked for her.

It turned out that the one who was most upset was the mother herself. She almost cut her hand while cutting carrots and ended up going out to eat.

Xiaolan looked at the sofa and saw that the apron was indeed draped on it.

She walked over to get her apron, but her eyes were filled with the dead silence of the TV screen. She picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and somehow, she was already sitting on the sofa.

When I turned on the TV, I saw a prank variety show.

In the three circle windows on the upper right, three middle-aged men who look like hosts are pointing at the pretentious spoofs below and laughing exaggeratedly.

very noisy.

Does Dad like watching this kind of show?

Xiaolan turned off the TV and leaned against the back of the sofa for a long time. Suddenly, she realized that the beige ceiling in her house had turned a little yellow after many years.

She took out her cell phone, and the time was only 6:20, and there was no new message.

Open the address book and flip through it.

It paused on the name [Kudo Shinichi], then accelerated past it, and finally the cursor stopped above [Suzuki Sonoko].

Her fingertips had already touched the dial keys, and the words that Sonoko had said to her in the afternoon seemed to echo in her ears again.

So she couldn't hold it down any longer. Scumbag or something...

Could Shuiyue-kun really be that kind of person?
Taking the initiative to approach, with bad intentions... It was obvious that Shuiyuejun had always been staying away from her, and she was the one who kept pestering her.

Even if there is a problem, it is her own fault.

Decision made. Just ask directly. Anyway, he is so straightforward that it makes people uncomfortable.

Thinking of this, Xiaolan looked through her address book, only to find that she didn't have his contact information.

Where to find it?
Mizuki-kun has a lukewarm relationship with everyone in the class. The only one who can be said to be close to him is probably Nakamichi.

But she didn't have this person's phone number.

If we go a little further, it's not impossible to follow the clues to find the source, but it would make too much noise.

What she did this afternoon had undoubtedly aroused Shuiyuejun's disgust. If she added fuel to the fire again, they might not even be able to be friends anymore.

Huh?
Are they friends, really?
probably……

perhaps.

Xiaolan suddenly stood up, went down the stairs, went to the detective agency on the second floor, turned on the light, walked to Kogoro Mouri's desk, opened the drawer, and looked for the address book.

Yuanzi was very serious and would definitely not lie to her.

If you can't get the phone number from your classmates, you may be able to find it from this direction.

She took out her address book and opened the first page, which showed the target number. Xiaolan called with her mobile phone, but no one answered. She thought for a moment and switched to the landline next to her. The number rang three times before being connected.

"Hello? Are you..."

The female voice was quite cold and inexplicably had a motherly feeling, but softer.

"I'm Maori Ran, the daughter of Maori Kogoro, Miss Towako. I have something to ask you." Xiaolan went straight to the point.

Across the street is the mama-san of a nightclub in Ginza, the one frequented by Kogoro Mori.

He was also the one who had fought because of it.

Towako was silent for a few breaths, then she sighed softly, her tone quite sad, "I'm sorry, I really didn't expect Kogoro to react so strongly."

Xiaolan didn't actually want to ask about this, but since the other party mentioned it, her eyes became a little complicated.

"My father said you are a Qingke."

"Qingke... Heh, Qingke... Kogoro will even tell you this?"

"I heard him when he was drunk. Miss Towako, is it possible for a profession like yours to be able to clear out guests?"

"If I say that night, that man and I just hugged each other and didn't do anything, would you believe it?"

Xiaolan was silent.

"See, that's it." Towako smiled softly, but it was clear that she was a little sad. "Once you step into this happy place, what difference does it make between being pure and turbid? The so-called perseverance is nothing but deceiving yourself."

"The one who cleans himself cleans himself."

"Oh, do you believe that, little girl?

I have been in this business for so many years and have seen too much. Of course, many people have bottom lines and principles, but it’s just that the price offered by the customers is not enough.

If you are not very good-looking and persist, you may be able to get away with it.

She can't hold on to anyone who's a little bit pretty.

Even if she can hold on for a while, she will sink sooner or later as long as she doesn't stay away from this environment.

There are too many temptations in this world."

Xiaolan was silent for a long time and then sighed softly.

"Are there no exceptions?"

“Of course there are those.”

"Who?"

(End of this chapter)