Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 297: Ran, Sonoko, and Conan, the past that can never be returned
Kyogoku Makoto went in, looking anxious.

Kyogoku Makoto came out, his face expressionless.

"What does it mean?"

Yingsheng was basking in the sun on a lounge chair in the courtyard. He moved the awning to the side and tilted his head to take a look.

"I do not know."

Kyogoku Makoto walked towards Hotaru and hesitated for a few seconds: "Do you know the relationship between Suzuki-san and Mori-san? They...seem to be very close."

"They have been good friends since kindergarten. Is there any problem?" Yingsheng asked back.

"I mean not just best friends, but closer." Kyogoku Makoto sat down next to Hotaru, seeming to be hesitant to speak, "Just... closer."

"Oh, that kind." Yingsheng spread his hands, "How should I know? You should ask Yuanzi directly."

"How is that possible?" Kyogoku Makoto sighed and lay down as well. "Aren't you and Maori-san a couple?"

"It's the 21st century now, don't think like an old-fashioned person. Compared to that, I think your current tangled mentality is weird. You've won so many consecutive karate matches, don't you want to keep it up?"

"Zero, didn't I just lose to you?"

"Haha, that's not karate."

In the gentle sunshine after the rain, the two men were quietly enjoying their sunbath. After an unknown amount of time, they heard some noisy voices coming from the hall behind them.

Kyogoku Makoto subconsciously wanted to get up. He always behaved like a standard warrior in front of his junior classmates, and lying on a recliner to bask in the sun was a disqualification for him.

But his body had just tensed up, but after taking a look at Yingsheng who was at ease, he relaxed again.

The noise gradually died down, and the sounds of two approaching footsteps became more distinct. Kyogoku Makoto's martial arts instinct told him that these two people were definitely Xiaolan and Suzuki Sonoko.

Kyogoku Makoto couldn't help but glance at Hotaru out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that he still had no reaction, he waited for two seconds, and finally couldn't help but turn his head back.

Kyogoku Makoto tried his best to make his gaze appear casual, but when it fell on the two clasped hands, one of them was still retracted as if it had been electrocuted.

The owner of that hand was Suzuki Sonoko. She immediately lowered her head, looking a little embarrassed.

Kyogoku Makoto felt that he had made a big mistake and quickly turned around and stopped looking. Just as he was feeling complicated, the person who had just been next to Sonoko appeared in front of him.

Xiaolan glanced at Kyogoku Makoto, who felt inexplicably guilty, but still looked at Xiaolan calmly.

There was something in their eyes that could not be described. The next second, Xiaolan turned her head to look at Yingsheng.

"The remains of an elderly woman were found in the secret passage. It is inferred that she is the real first wife."

"That's really unfortunate. What's the size of the secret passage?" Yingsheng asked.

“It’s very large and complex. You don’t really want to develop it into a theme park.”

"It's such a fun thing, why not."

Yingsheng stretched lazily, sat up from the recliner, looked back and saw Yuanzi, then stood up and walked towards her.

Sonoko subconsciously avoided his gaze, but immediately returned to normal, crossing her arms across her chest, looking at Yingsheng with some disgust in her eyes.

"I would like to start a new business cooperation with the Suzuki Group to develop this blue castle. What do you think?" Yingsheng said.

Yuanzi looked back at the large castle and frowned, "If you want to make money, you might as well auction it off. If you turn it into a theme park, its commercial value will be reduced."

Yingsheng shook his head: "It's impossible for the ownership of this place to be directly in my hands. That old policeman is naive, but others are not."

Sonoko thought about it and suddenly said, "You want to bring in the Ebina Municipal Government and let them participate in the development of this place? With the sharing of interests, even if you transfer it to private auction later, there will be less resistance."

"Smart, no matter how things develop in the future, I only want 10% of the profit."

"One percent?"

"Half-finished is fine. Anyway, the Suzuki Group has been given full authority. You can give it as you see fit."

"No, I mean, you only want 10%?"

Yingsheng chuckled: "Why are you so greedy for something you picked up for free? Besides, the later negotiations are the big deal. I went there as a civilian and a soldier just sent me away. So, this should be just a small case for the Suzuki Group."

Yuanzi was silent for a moment. "There is no reason for us not to accept this kind of cooperation that makes money without any investment. Even if the negotiation fails, there is no loss." She looked Yingsheng up and down. "Compared to this, I really think there is something wrong with you."

"Harmony brings wealth, there's nothing wrong with that." Yingsheng shrugged, "What other activities will the social gathering have?"

"Do you have anything else to do?" Sonoko asked.

"I'm a part-time detective now. I've received a commission that requires me to go to the Izu Islands." He tilted his head to look at Xiaolan who followed him. "It's a commission from Ms. Aida. I don't think it's difficult. I plan to let you practice."

Xiaolan nodded: "I will try my best. If there are any shortcomings, please correct me, Shuiyuejun."

"We'll talk about it later. What if I'm confused too?" Yingsheng looked back at Yuanzi. "It rained heavily last night. How did the training camp end up being resolved?"

Yuanzi's cheeks turned red and she tilted her head to look at the sky.

Xiaolan continued, "The girls sleep on the second floor, and the boys sleep in the lobby on the first floor. After moving the tables and chairs away, it's very spacious there."

There are not many girls in the karate clubs of both schools, so Xiaolan and Sonoko sleep together, and the others share a room, which is just right.

"Then I'm sorry for occupying a room all to myself," Hotaru looked up to the south, "To get to the Izu Islands from here, you don't have to go back to Tokyo. You can just sail from Hiratsuka City."

"I am coming too!"

Yuanzi suddenly spoke.

Seeing that Yingsheng and the others were looking over, he quickly added, "The Suzuki family has a private island in the Izu Islands. It rained heavily here last night, and the roads are muddy. It's not suitable for sightseeing. Why don't we take everyone to the island, where there's sunshine and beaches. That's the way to socialize."

Yingsheng nodded: "This is a good idea, but as for the vehicle..."

Sonoko immediately took out her phone and said, "Wait a minute, I remember there seems to be a cruise ship in Hiratsuka City where I live."

"..."

Yingsheng silently gave her a thumbs up and told Xiaolan what happened on Yueying Island twelve years ago and what he saw at Asai's house.

Only talk about the phenomenon, no speculation.

"Primer? Other women?"

After all, Xiaolan was the first person to think of this. She glanced at Yingsheng and sighed softly.

"You really do know a lot. If you ask me to recognize something like that, I definitely won't be able to do it for a long time."

"Because you are naturally beautiful and have good skin, there is no need for you to use that." Yingsheng smiled, "The SUQQU primer is mainly used to modify and soften the skin, making the skin surface smoother and more delicate. There is no doubt that the person's skin is not very good."

Xiaolan rolled her eyes at him and said, "I didn't expect you to be a makeup guru. But people are not made of porcelain, and there are always flaws. Everyone wants to make their skin better, right?"

Yingsheng smiled and said nothing.

His words actually implied another direction, the key point was: the person's skin was not very good.

Add to that the simple style of Mr. Aso's bedroom, the wardrobe that had obviously been carefully organized, and the heavy tire marks of the suitcase on the wooden floor.

It is reasonable to speculate that he took a lot of things from the bedroom?

Is he trying to hide something?
However, Yingsheng himself is not very sure about his guesses here, and he has said that he will leave it to Xiaolan to investigate, so he naturally will not remind her deliberately.

A cell phone was held out to him.

Yingsheng turned his head to look, and Yuanzi spoke calmly.

"My father wants to talk to you."

Hotaru had no objection, and chatted with Suzuki Shiro on the phone. There was nothing much to say about this kind of polite business flattery. Soon, Hotaru returned the phone and called Aida Masayo, asking her to wait for him at the port of Hiratsuka City. He also brought the official seal of the Aida Detective Agency.

Naturally, things on the Blue Castle side still need the help of Masayo Aida, since Hotaru is still a minor after all.

After both sides hung up the phone, Sonoko looked at Yingsheng.

"My dad said you're pretty good."

"Thank you, it's my pleasure. How's the cruise going?" Yingsheng said with a smile.

"Dad has agreed. The cruise ship will be waiting for us there." Yuanzi turned around and walked towards a group of classmates with different expressions at the entrance of the castle. Her eyes seemed to flash across Xiaolan's face inadvertently. "I'll go tell them to go back to the villa on the mountain to get the things and leave."

"Not everyone needs to go up the mountain. Let everyone visit here. Leave it to me and Senior Kyogoku." Yingsheng also turned and left.

Xiaolan stood there and looked at Yingsei. She saw him pat the shoulder of Kyogoku Makoto who was lying on the recliner. Kyogoku Makoto jumped up and walked towards the door with him.

Xiaolan hesitated for two seconds, turned around and took two quick steps to catch up with Sonoko's pace.

Sonoko quickened her pace and Xiaolan grabbed her hand.

Yuanzi turned his head away and didn't look at her, but just muttered softly.

"Feel sorry."

"What are you thinking, little fool?"

Xiaolan smiled gently, took Yuanzi's hand, walked in front of a group of classmates with bright eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Everyone! Let's go to the beach!"

Everyone was stunned for a few seconds, then burst into cheers.

"Long live!!!"

Outside the castle gate, Kyogoku Makoto, who had just stepped into the mud, paused and looked at Hotaru who was walking leisurely in front of him.

"You really don't mind?"

Yingsheng laughed: "You are really an old-fashioned person. We are going to the beach later. You won't even criticize girls for wearing swimsuits, right?"

"..."

Kyogoku Makoto was silent for a few seconds: "Girls should respect themselves. Clothes that reveal large areas of skin and are like blatant temptations to commit crimes should be completely banned. This is not old-fashioned, but responsible for themselves."

Yingsheng nodded: "That makes sense."

Kyogoku Shinko felt relieved for no apparent reason: "So..."

"So I would suggest that Sonoko wear separates."

Bang——

Crack——!
The joints cracked and Kyogoku's fist hardened.

"What did you say?"

"Bikini, bikini, don't you think Sonoko has a great figure? She's in her prime, so of course she should..."

call--!
The fist roared, and Yingsheng dodged it nonchalantly, turned around to look at Kyogoku Makoto, whose face was almost as black as charcoal, and smiled contemptuously.

"Anger will reduce accuracy, Senior."

"You guy!"

Kyogoku laughed in anger and hooked his finger.

"Hey, let's have another sparring match, Suigetsu-san."

Yingsheng grinned slightly, turned around and ran away.

"Be careful along the way."

Kyogoku Makoto chased after him, with a burning desire for war in his eyes.

"it is good!"

A minute later, Xiaolan was holding Sonoko's hand and talking to Katsuo Tabata, when they suddenly heard a loud bang coming from the forest halfway up the mountain.

Looking back, I saw a large tree with a dense crown slowly falling down, followed by Yingsheng's laughter.

"Thank you, Seesaw, look at the hidden weapon!"

Xiaolan smiled slightly and turned around. Yuanzi was calmly comforting the old employees of the castle.

"We want you to continue working here, Mr. Tabata."

After discussing some salary and benefits, the excited Katsuo Tabata led the long-awaited teenagers to continue exploring the castle.

Because Yuanzi was the first one to see the old lady's corpse in the secret passage, he had some resentment towards the place and did not follow them.

Xiaolan wanted to stay and accompany Sonoko, but she was worried that her classmates might be in danger in the secret passage. While she was hesitating, Wada Haruna, wearing a blue sportswear, stood up.

"Leave it to me. I will definitely beat you next time."

"Okay, but I won't wait for you." Xiaolan said.

"Who needs you to wait?"

Wada Haruna waved her hand and left with a group of eager classmates. Xiaolan took Sonoko to the place where Hotaroo and Kyogoku Makoto had been lying before to rest. Not long after they sat down, Xiaolan saw a familiar person outside the door.

"Officer Megure."

Xiaolan hurriedly stood up and greeted him, then walked towards the door. Seeing that Megure Jusan turned around and noticed her, she asked again, "Is there any problem on the mountain?"

"It's Xiaolan, and Sonoko, why are you here?"

Megure Jusan was still wearing the familiar fat orange outfit. He pressed down the brim of his hat and walked towards the entrance of the castle.

"After our karate competition, we held a get-together with Beihu High School here. We all took a leave of absence. The location was a villa on the mountain. We were just here for a visit."

Xiaolan explained and asked the same question again.

Megure Jusan knew that she was worried about her classmates, so he shook his head and said, "It's not your side. It was Miss Suzuki Ayako who called the police and said that two people were missing from their side."

"What? Something happened to my sister?"

Sonoko looked worried and immediately offered to go too. Megure Jusan was already used to this kind of thing, so he naturally agreed.

After Xiaolan left a note on the gate of the castle, they all went up the mountain together.

Except for Chiba and Shin, the other policemen were strangers. Xiaolan didn't care much. The only thing that bothered her was why there was a child in the middle of the team?
The child was wearing a blue suit and light-colored shorts, a pair of large black-framed glasses on his face, and his short black hair was neatly styled.

As if noticing Xiaolan's gaze, the child looked up at her and smiled politely. His blue eyes were filled with a calmness that was inconsistent with his age.

Xiaolan's heart moved, and she inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity with the child.

But when I think about it carefully, I feel that even if Kudo Shinichi becomes smaller, he shouldn't be so calm.

"Hello, my name is Mao Lilan." She smiled and stretched out her hand.

"Hello, Sister Xiaolan, my name is Edogawa Conan." He also stretched out his hand.

Two hands clasp together, and separate as soon as they touch.

(End of this chapter)