Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 26 Xiaolan opens the door to a new world

"I didn't ask which one it was, but the police said it was in Shinjuku," said Towako.

Xiaolan felt relieved when she heard this. Before Kogoro Mori got into trouble the night before, she had searched for Watanuki Credit Co., Ltd. on the Internet and found out that its address was in Beika-cho.

Really, she really thinks too much.

You can't make unwarranted associations just because you've heard of similar things recently.

"Is there something wrong with that club?"

Towako said: "If it's an important clue, you'd better tell the police."

"No, I just heard that this company is related to the Yakuza, so I asked..."

"Puch-"

Shihezi couldn't help laughing out loud: "Little girl, there is no loan shark that doesn't have the support of the Yakuza behind it. You just haven't seen too few of them."

That's indeed the case...

Xiaolan laughed at herself and said, "Sorry to bother you Miss Towako, I'm just trying to understand this matter. Trust the police investigation. Please don't tell them."

"No problem, bye then..."

"I have one last question."

"Please say."

Xiaolan hesitated for a few seconds, finally took a deep breath, and asked about her original purpose.

"Have you ever heard of Firefly?"

"Firefly? What does it mean specifically..."

"Happy Place."

"Is that so? Is he related to the case? Firefly..." Towako murmured softly, then suddenly realized, "Is he the urban legend that appeared recently?"

"what?"

"That was the heart-stealing nobleman. He first appeared in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, and broke this year's sales record in one day and one night. But he didn't like money, so he only took 500,000 yen symbolically.

He said he came here to find love, and once he was sure that a woman was only looking for pleasure, he would leave. Even if the woman gave everything for him, he would just shake his head sadly and say:
The gods do not approve.

Except for the first day when he continued to operate, he would only appear after midnight and leave before dawn. He would go to different locations and sometimes would not show up at all.

According to word of mouth, he had a noble and elegant temperament, his speech and behavior were as pleasant as a spring breeze, his eyes were as bright as stars, and he wore a gorgeous black kimono with gold thread, just like a prince of the Tang Dynasty who had walked out of Heian-kyo across the ages.

People who have met him say that he is so beautiful that he is almost unreal.

People who have never seen him naturally don’t believe that such a person exists in the world. As time goes by, they just treat him as an urban legend.”

Xiaolan listened in a daze and remained silent.

The Mizuki-kun she knew, the scumbag in Sonoko's mouth, the urban legend in Miss Towako's mouth...

Could these three distinct images really be the same person?
"Ms. Lan, could such a person be related to the incident that night?" Towako asked.

Of course not. This has nothing to do with the case. She suddenly asked, but...

Just what?

Just think of it as a way to recognize a friend.

Xiaolan thought so in her heart, but she said: "Have you seen him?"

Shihezi sighed softly, "Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of fate, and I heard that he has been appearing less and less recently, and he has been nowhere to be seen in the past two days. I am really worried that he will leave...

Alas, this is a good thing, because people like him don’t belong in this filthy place.”

"..."

Xiaolan's eyelids twitched when she heard this. How can you say such words of defense when you haven't even met him?
"You don't understand."

As if she knew what she was thinking, Towako whispered, "For people like us in the dust, he is such a transcendent and dreamy existence.

Even if what we know is not his complete picture, or even completely false, as long as we have such a beautiful profile, it is enough to comfort us. "

Is that so...

Xiaolan wondered, could it be that the Mizuki-kun she knew was just a silhouette?

What is his overall appearance?

"Can I find his contact information?" Xiaolan asked.

"Hey, is he really related to the case?"

"No, that's something else." "Really?"

"real."

Towako was silent for a few breaths, then smiled softly: "Thank you for your white lie, but even if you really found out something, please don't tell me, okay?"

No one believed the truth, Xiaolan felt helpless, but she had to admit that she changed the subject so abruptly...

Any normal person would associate them together.

"Okay, please don't tell the police."

Sorry, Mizuki-kun, I hope this doesn't cause you any trouble.

"Of course not, wait a minute."

The phone was hung up again. Xiaolan felt inexplicably uneasy. Fortunately, only three minutes later, the phone rang again.

"His phone number is actually quite popular here, but it is said that whether he turns on his phone and whether he answers the call after turning it on is completely random. I'm not sure if you can contact him. The number is..."

Xiaolan quickly took the notebook and wrote down the number.

"Thank you Miss Towako."

"Nothing." Towako paused and said softly, "Please tell Kogoro that I am very grateful for his care in the past, but in the future, he'd better not come again. This way, it will be good for both of us."

"I know, bye."

"No more."

beep-

The phone hangs up.

Xiaolan put down the microphone, leaned heavily on the office chair, and looked out the window at the already slightly dim night, with mixed feelings.

She always felt that this world, which she had lived in for nearly seventeen years and was so familiar with, suddenly revealed to her the mysterious veil of "blindness" and revealed the truth contained in it...

A little gloomy, even worse.

But inexplicably, there is also a kind of attraction that comes from curiosity and mystery.

Xiaolan rubbed her cheeks, forced herself to be strong, picked up her cell phone, and entered the number into the notebook.

Now that it has come to this, even if I want to back out, I might as well give it a try.

Maybe you can't get through.

Thinking this, she pressed the dial button. The phone on the other end was not turned off, and the ringtone she had been waiting for rang.

Xiaolan felt inexplicably uneasy again. Should she just hang up?
If the call was connected, and if it was really Mizuki-kun on the other end, what could she say?

Shuiyue-kun said so.

——Everyone in this world except yourself is someone else.

Even if Shuiyuejun did something bad, what right did she have to comment?
What is her position?

The ringing had been going on for more than twenty seconds, and Xiaolan's finger unconsciously moved to the hang-up button.

But just as she was about to press the button, the ringing stopped and the call was connected.

Xiaolan subconsciously held her breath, and the person on the other side seemed to have the same idea as her. Time passed in silence, and a full minute passed without anyone speaking.

No, it’s not that no one spoke.

"Sir, our loan conditions are very relaxed. Just show us your ID card... Yes, we don't care what you use the loan for..."

This is the background sound provided by passers-by.

Xiaolan's heart moved, and she suddenly asked, "Are you working for Watanuki Credit Corporation?"

"Xiaolan?"

Yingsheng's tone was a little doubtful, but he soon calmed down.

"Why, you wanna come over?"

"Yes, I'll take a taxi right away."

"No hurry, change into some clothes you don't usually wear, and I'll come pick you up. What's the address?"

"Mori Detective Agency, 39- Beika-cho."

"OK, wait for me."

(End of this chapter)