Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 342: A pleasant afternoon for Xiaolan and Hotaru, Conan’s hell!

Maori Kogoro glared at Hotaru again, "Can't you, a pretty boy, protect Xiaolan?"

Yingsheng chuckled, "You said I'm a gigolo, so of course I have to rely on Xiaolan to protect me."

“Hiss! You are so shameless!”

"No, no, I still need to learn more from you."

The interrupted quarrel resumed.

Kogoro Mori is considered a man of fine words, but facing Hotaru, he is not on the same level at all. By the end of what he said, he was so angry that he was fuming.

It was Nurse Huizi at the nurses' station at the end of the corridor who thought there was a quarrel and ran over, thus putting an end to the lively argument.

"Let's go, Mr. Maori, see you next time."

Yingsheng waved his hand, Xiaolan also said goodbye to her father and pushed Yingsheng's wheelchair away.

"Humph, you little brat, you're even more hateful than that kid from the Kudo family."

Looking at the empty ward door, Kogoro Mouri snorted, but his voice was not loud.

Masayo Aida entered the room, looked at him for a few seconds, and said thoughtfully, "Would you like to drink, Mr. Maori?"

Maori Kogoro immediately became alert, "This is definitely a trap, I won't be fooled again!"

"Not this time. It was Mr. Shuiyue who said that you performed well, but the mental pressure was a bit too great." Aida Masayo looked out the window, a trace of emotion flashed in his eyes, "He said that you should drink a little wine now. When you are slightly tipsy, look at the floating clouds in the sky, and the sunlight between the clouds will be much brighter."

“Heh, that guy…”

Maori Kogoro pursed his dry lips, feeling that his throat was indeed a little itchy, and said, "Can you give me a can of beer? Just one can is enough."

Aida Masayo nodded and walked towards the fruit basket. "Let me peel an apple for you first."

"Just an orange, I can peel it myself."

"Ok."

It sounds like just an ordinary conversation, even though the apples are at the bottom of the basket and the oranges are at the top.

In the corridor, Yingsheng smiled softly, "I really don't know what Kudo is thinking. Even if I really have a problem, I can't expose it in front of Mr. Maori."

"Is there a bug in the fruit basket?" Xiaolan asked.

"High probability."

"I just heard Officer Megure's voice. Did something happen in the hospital again?"

"Who knows? The crime rate in Beika Town is frighteningly high. By the way, wasn't Officer Megure injured? He might be hospitalized in this hospital." Hotaru suggested, "Why don't we ask the nurse and go visit him?"

"Huh? He should be staying in the police hospital."

"Not necessarily. It's not safe there."

“…May I ask who is responsible for this?”

“Maybe it’s because of Feng Shui.”

"Haha." Xiaolan rolled her eyes, "Forget it, Officer Megure is a good man, I don't want you to have too much contact with him."

"Hey, hey, that's too much. I'll be very sad."

"Eh?" Xiaolan pouted, "We are bad guys, it's normal that we don't want to see the police."

"Well... that's true." Yingsheng smiled, "Well, Miss Badass, let's do what bad guys are supposed to do now."

"what?"

"Of course it's a mission from the winery. Didn't you just receive an email from Gin? That should be the address to pick up the information."

"Oh, you're going to pick up Ai, right?"

"Yes, we can rent a house on the way. After yesterday's incident, the price of Ian Apartment will definitely drop. We must seize this window of opportunity. We can rent the downstairs as well. We can then connect it to form a duplex. If any accidents happen, it will not disturb the neighbors downstairs."

Xiaolan thought for a moment and said, "For such a large-scale renovation, we must buy it. Ian Apartment is a high-end apartment. How much is one apartment?"

"I don't know, probably more than 1 billion yen."

Yingsheng spread his hands and said, "I don't have that much money, but I think it should be okay to rent it. I can just restore it to its original state when I check out."

“Can the floor structure be restored after it has been damaged?”

"If we set up the reinforcement beams in advance and cut a hole, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"In this case, the staircase will become a loft-style..."

The two chatted casually, without any specific goal, just talking to each other was enough.

On this pleasant afternoon, when Xiaolan pushed Yingsheng's wheelchair through the hospital courtyard, she saw that the sparse white flowers that night had bloomed all over the flower bed, and the flowers in her heart finally bloomed completely.

"firefly."

"Ok?"

“Have I become a better person?”

Yingsheng looked up and saw the shining sun behind Xiaolan's head, and the bright smile on her face was more dazzling than the sun.

A corner of my heart was suddenly illuminated.

The endless distracting thoughts disappeared in an instant, and for the first time since coming into this world, Yingsheng smiled purely from the heart.

"Lan, you will probably save me."

"Hmm, I don't understand."

"Do you want to become a god?"

"Eh???"

The sight that was focused on one person spread out a little. Yingsheng saw the figure standing by the window on the second floor behind him. Countless thoughts surged from the bottom of his heart again, and he shook his head slightly.

"Nothing, I just thought that I feel very relaxed when I am with you."

"Huh, you're saying that I'm stupid, right?" Xiaolan continued to push the wheelchair. "Come to think of it, the weather is very nice today."

"so what?"

"Want to meet my mother?"

"...Your turn of events is really weird. Let me make it clear in advance that I am not making excuses, but today is a workday and Attorney Fei will be very busy."

"That's right, because of what happened between you and the Suzuki family."

"It's between us and the Suzuki family."

The two of them were talking aimlessly as they walked further and further away. At the window of Building 210, Conan withdrew his gaze and jumped off the small footstool.

"I feel like you've misunderstood something, little detective."

Also at the window, Kuroba Kaito said.

Conan looked up: "You mean, they have a good relationship, Xiaolan can't still wait for me?"

"Forehead……"

Kuroba Kaito scratched his ears. "I mean, they don't look like vicious criminals. They just helped the police solve a case. But they are really smart. They found something that even you overlooked."

Conan was silent for a few breaths. "I suspect that when Mizuki was on the phone with Officer Megure on Tuesday at noon, he was inferring the guilt of Yamagishi Ei, and he thought of this possibility, but he did not tell the police."

Kuroba Kaito's mouth twitched, "I say, this is the real presumption of guilt, and even if that's the case, it's normal for him not to tell the police when he's unsure about the matter." Conan's eyes flickered, "You already know that he's a big pervert and is interested in women all over the world. What if he foresaw that things would develop like this in advance, and took advantage of the situation after Ikezawa Yuko killed someone and was on the verge of a mental breakdown?"

"........."

Kuroba Kaito didn't want to talk. He just felt that Conan's assumptions about Mizuki Hotaru were too malicious.

"Conan, Brother Shuiyue is in a wheelchair now."

Behind them, at the bedside, Megure Jusan, who was leaning on a cane, couldn't help but speak. After several incidents, he was actually more inclined to believe that Hotaru was a good person.

Although it is difficult to evaluate his philandering nature, in general, he is a good brother to him.

Especially the drug trafficking network implicated in the Moon Shadow Island case, which earned him a lot of praise from his superiors.

Conan groaned and said, "I suspect he is just pretending to be in a wheelchair. His legs are fine."

"..."

Megure Jusan whispered, "Many people in the hospital saw the injury on his leg."

"I know, but just because he injured his leg yesterday afternoon doesn't mean he's still injured now." Conan tapped his lower abdomen. "It's not surprising that something like this could happen to me. With the medical technology at the winery, it wouldn't be surprising if there were some medicine that could help people recover quickly from injuries."

Megure Jusan scratched his head, thinking that it was indeed possible, and did not refute it, but just asked: "Then what method do you want to verify it?"

"How about having Officer Chiba drive his car and hit him?"

"..."

Megure Jusan sighed, "Conan, I think you should calm down."

Kuroba Kaito also ruffled his hair, "Ms. Lan is also with him, what are you thinking, do you think she is also a criminal? If you are too stressed, why not drink a can of beer and look at the clouds in the sky."

Conan remained silent and turned to look out the window.

The previous conversation in Ward 414 was naturally eavesdropped by them throughout. Although they did not find any useful information, they could probably be sure of one thing.

Xiaolan and Yingsheng are very happy together.

So, what did Xiaolan mean by those words she said to me before?

Is it just to tease him?
"What? Okay! I got it. Back off immediately. Stop monitoring and go outside the hospital." Megure Jusan suddenly received a call. After speaking quickly, he looked at Conan with burning eyes. "Just as you expected, Conan, someone took your hair for a DNA test!"

"Okay! That person is definitely related to Shuiyue!"

Conan's eyes lit up, he touched his fluffy hair and pulled it off, revealing almost the same black hair underneath.

Before, he was wearing a wig!
Conan looked at the wig and sneered, "Sui Yue has rubbed my head more than once before, so he must have taken the opportunity to take my hair. Kid, you..."

Kuroba Kaito raised his hand to interrupt, "Call me Shinichi-nii. You said before that you should be cautious first."

"I'm sorry, Shinichi...Brother."

Conan felt very awkward, calling himself "brother" or something like that...

He shook his head and continued, "Brother Shinichi, your people reported before that Kudo's house was invaded by someone disguised as a deliveryman. I guessed that someone must want to compare my hair with the hair left in Kudo's house to confirm my identity. Now that person has appeared!"

"I'm sorry, but my companion isn't good at fighting, and after discovering someone was invading your house... er, my house, he didn't go over to stop them," said Kuroba Kaito.

His companion is Terai Yosuke, his father's former magic assistant and the old grandfather who has been taking care of his life.

Terai Yosuke is already 61 years old this year. Although he is still in good health, the person they encountered in this incident is a dangerous person who is willing to snipe and poison at will. Kuroba Kaito certainly would not let the old man take the risk.

He will definitely be killed.

"It's nothing. You've helped me a lot." Conan shook his head. "Besides, it would be better if I didn't stop him and let Suigetsu get my hair. Otherwise, he would get evidence and continue to believe that there is something wrong with my identity."

Kuroba Kaito nodded, "As long as the DNA of the wig doesn't match the hair left in your family, your identity crisis will be basically resolved. But I'm curious, how did you know which hospital that person would go to for DNA testing?"

Conan raised his lips slightly, "I just asked Officer Megure to send three policemen to stake out the three hospitals closest to Beika Central Hospital. As a result, we actually ran into someone going there to test DNA, and one of the samples matched the wig I provided earlier."

"I see. It seems the person behind this is quite arrogant. He is cautious, but not completely cautious." Kuroba Kaito asked with a smile, "So what are you going to do next? Are you going to catch that person?"

Conan shook his head. "As long as we know his identity and verify that he is related to Suigetsu, it will be enough. Catching him will only make Suigetsu more vigilant and take extreme measures."

Megure Jusan still felt that Conan's fixation on Hotaru was a little far-fetched, but he still nodded and said, "That man is wearing a mask. I will let Hoshino find a chance to see his face."

"Doesn't DNA testing require registration of personal information?" asked Kuroba Kaito.

"Forehead……"

Faced with Kaito Kid's questions, Megure Juzo, as a policeman, was so embarrassed that his face turned red.

"Rules are rules, but if the other party adds too much money, there will occasionally be some exceptions."

"........."

Kuroba Kaito curled his lips, but when he thought that he was now cooperating with the police and that mice and cats could live in harmony, then other things didn't seem so outrageous.

"Can I ask the hospital for a copy of Xiaolan's medical examination report?" Conan looked at Megure Jusan.

"of course can."

Megure Jusan ordered his subordinates to get it, and then looked at the old man whose body was already cold on the hospital bed with a complicated look in his eyes.

"So this case ends here?"

This old man actually died with a smile on his face.

A genuine, heartfelt smile.

Conan also looked over, "The forensic doctor still can't tell what kind of poison he was poisoned with?"

Megure Jusan shook his head. "They said it was a natural death, a happy funeral, so he was smiling."

"What about the appetizer? Maybe there will be some pill residue."

“The family disagrees.”

"What's in that IV bottle? Is there anything suspicious?"

"Alas, that's just saline solution."

Conan sighed upon hearing this, "I'm sorry, Officer Megure, these people are completely different from the suspects in the past. Their methods and drugs are professional. I can't do anything about it."

Megure Jusan hesitated for a few seconds, "Could it be that there really is nothing wrong with this matter? We didn't eavesdrop on anything, it was just interference from the hospital's equipment?"

"At least I don't think so."

Conan looked at the old man's smile and found it extremely irritating, like some kind of sharp mockery.

Conan turned his head away, "I think someone might have said something to him, making him willingly go to his death, just like Gao Yuanyi half a month ago."

Megure Juzo said nothing, but went out with his crutches to notify the doctor to come in and collect the body.

He was willing to believe his brother's reasoning, but without evidence, it was just imagination and not convincing.

"Inspector, I saw him. He is..."

boom--!
The excited male voice in the headset suddenly stopped.

Megure Jusan stood there in a daze, and suddenly he felt the world spinning and his body fell backwards.

"Officer Megure!"

"Inspector Megure!!!"

(End of this chapter)