Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 354: Xiaolan and Xiaoai’s night, everything is within reach!
At nine o'clock in the evening, Xiaolan returned to Ian's apartment.

After knocking on the door several times, the door was opened from the inside. Haibara Ai, who was wearing brown pajamas, poked her head out but didn't say anything.

"There is no bug. Sorry to have kept Ai waiting for so long."

Xiaolan entered the room, put the shopping bags on the shoe cabinet, and changed into slippers at the entrance.

"Have you got a meal yet?"

"Have cooked some dumplings for dinner, Sister Xiaolan. Where is the other person?" Huibara Ai glanced into the corridor and closed the door.

"Something happened, and Hotaru was put in a mental hospital." Xiaolan walked to the living room with the shopping bags, "Did anyone come to check next door today?"

"Someone sneaked in around 2pm, but they probably just looked around and didn't search carefully." Ai returned to the sofa and paused the TV. "What happened to him? Plus someone checked next door, could it be that the organization is suspicious of him?"

"The organization should have been very suspicious of Hotaru, but now that Hotaru and Gin have told the story of the boy who cried wolf twice, the suspicion has become smaller."

Xiaolan told Haibara Ai about how Hotaru used Shirley's information to provoke Gin, which is the wolf that is coming.

"Hina told the truth both times, but Gin didn't believe it. Even if he went to the next door to be on the safe side, he probably just looked for peripheral members and didn't take it seriously."

Xiaolan took out a wax head sculpture from the shopping bag. It had a fine texture and looked lifelike. From a distance it looked no different from a real person.

"I'm sorry, Ai-chan, I can't help you right now. I'm still terrible at face-sculpting, so I can only use this as a template. See if there's anything you'd like to modify."

"Sister Xiaolan, are you going to use it to make a mold?"

Haibara Ai looked at the head sculpture. She had thick, fluffy brown hair, brown eyes, a radiant look, and a little baby fat on her cheeks. She looked cute but also a little domineering.

"Hermione?"

Ai Huihara blurted out that she was quite familiar with this wax figure, it was Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie series.

"Yes, I bought it at the Harry Potter Museum. The other wax figures are mostly adults."

Xiaolan took out a knife and placed it on the cheek of the head sculpture, comparing the angles left and right.

"Xiao Ai, you can't look like her, otherwise you will attract too much attention. If you go out on the street, people will definitely come over and think you're cute."

"Sister Xiaolan, do you want to shave her cheeks a little? Let me do it. My hands are smaller."

Huihara Ai found it quite interesting to pinch her own face.

"Okay, you're a scientist, so your hands must be steadier than mine." Xiaolan handed the knife to Haibara Ai and watched her make fine adjustments to the head sculpture.

"Are you planning on taking me out, Xiaolan? I feel like the pressure is getting bigger all of a sudden."

Although Haibara Ai said so, her hands were still very steady. After all, she had used a scalpel to cut the veins and nerves of many mice and rabbits.

"It would be boring to stay at home all the time, and Ying said she would buy you a cat, but we don't know when she will be able to come out. If Ai..."

"Don't worry about that. We can go together when the time comes. But is his problem serious?"

Haibara Ai moved the knife away a little to prevent Xiaolan from telling any bad news and cutting a big wound on the wax figure.

Xiaolan ruffled Huihara Ai's hair and said, "Don't worry. If Hotaru wants to, she can easily get out. The Sumiyoshi-kai has connections with at least one Tokyo councillor. Hotaru hinted to me in the surveillance video before that the Sumiyoshi-kai or he himself has done the dirty work for that councillor. If necessary, we can ask him to put pressure on the police."

——"The Yakuza are the black gloves of politicians."

When Yingsheng said this on the surveillance camera, it was naturally not just a complaint. Xiaolan quickly realized that Yingsheng was giving her reassurance.

Being put in a mental hospital is no big deal.

Huiyuan Ai felt relieved and continued to correct the wax figure, "So does he have any other way to get out? Is he planning some conspiracy again?"

Xiaolan nodded, "The main thing is to fish for Vermouth and find an opportunity to catch her. If Hotaru is not in an incapacitated state, the following performance should not happen at all in theory."

If Xiaolan and Hotaru had always been together normally, would there be a possibility that "Kudo Shinichi would pursue Xiaolan again"?
If such a possibility exists, then wouldn't it be possible that Hotaru, who is considered an unforgivable evil by Vermouth, wouldn't beat Kudo Shinichi up or even kill him?

The probability of both is extremely low.

Therefore, if they want to complete the fishing plan they agreed upon before, Yingsheng cannot leave the mental hospital for the time being, otherwise Vermouth will never take the bait.

Xiaolan briefly explained Yingsheng's plan.

Huihara Ai raised an eyebrow, "In other words, before he was locked up in the mental hospital, he had already anticipated what would happen next? Including the reactions of Kudo Shinichi and his group?"

"I don't know, maybe."

Xiaolan sighed, "Since Gin arrived at Beihua Central Hospital, I have never had a private communication with Hotaru. These plans were told to me by another person, but I don't know how she reached an agreement with Hotaru."

That being said, Xiaolan actually had some guesses.

The first thing is to agree on a time for communication, which must be after Gin arrives and before the Security Bureau's mobile team arrives.

After all, Gin's coming to the hospital was a random event, and Hotaru probably couldn't have predicted it in advance. After the mobile team controlled him, they would definitely conduct a comprehensive examination on him and remove all communication devices from his body.

During this period of time, Gin was always with Hotaru, and Kudo Shinichi and others were eavesdropping next door, so it was impossible for her to formulate a plan herself.

I can't talk or send emails.

Although Gin seemed to have mental problems, judging from his neat escape at the end, he had not completely lost his mind after all.

At that time, he couldn't allow Ying to do anything tricky.

And judging from the area of ​​blood splattered on Hotaru's body, both of his hands were probably cut by Gin's knife at the time, so he had no chance at all.

So, how did he communicate those plans?
——"In the north, there is the mysterious God; with millions of changes, there is the mysterious spirit..."

In the audio that Kudo Shinichi and others eavesdropped on, Hotaru was just constantly reciting scriptures. Could it be that there is some information contained in this?
This seems to be the only possibility.

But the Kudo family and the police were unable to crack it, and I couldn't make out anything either. Only Aoyagi-san easily understood the meaning...

Xiaolan pursed her lips slightly. Childhood sweethearts really do understand each other better than someone who came from heaven like her.

ah ah ah ah...

Damn it, I still need to work harder!

Huiyuan Ai naturally didn't know what Xiaolan was thinking, but she saw that she was inexplicably depressed at first, and then her eyes lit up as if she was cheering herself up. After thinking for a while, she said with emotion:

"When he openly told you about this idea, he said he wanted to find someone to disguise himself as Xuesong Kiyoko in order to give Kudo Shinichi and the others room for improvement. He wanted those people to internalize this plan as their own, so that even if something unexpected happened later, they would not associate it with him. He was really shrewd."

Xiaolan smiled and said, "Given how thoroughly Hotaru considers things, I think that even if Kudo and the others don't adopt this idea, Hotaru must have a backup plan. Unfortunately, I don't know about it."

"What if Vermouth never shows up?"

“I don’t think so. The last time I caught her, I made her think that I still liked Kudo. Then when Kudo came back to pursue me, I just had to do something a little too much to make Vermouth think that I was really led astray by Hotaru, or that it was done and there was no turning back. Then the possibility of her showing up would be quite high.

Um……"

Xiaolan added: "As long as the story she told about New York is not false and she really hopes that Kudo and I will always be together, then seeing her Angel and Cool Guy fall into hell, she will probably want to lend a hand to save them."

Huihara Ai paused, "Why does it sound so evil? We are taking advantage of other people's kindness."

"Because we're bad guys."

"...That's right, and Vermouth is even worse." Huihara Ai frowned, "But if that's the case, Vermouth may not appear on your side, she may also appear on Kudo Shinichi's side."

"It really depends on Vermouth's own choice, but Hotaru will probably send someone to monitor that place, and as soon as she shows up, they will start snatching it away."

"Eh? This might hurt Kudo Shinichi... No, it might hurt innocent people. Don't you care, Xiaolan?" Haibara Ai was quite surprised, thinking that Xiaolan might have really turned evil.

Xiaolan shook her head. "Don't underestimate Kudo now. He is Kaito Kidd, and his strength is extraordinary. Instead of worrying about hurting him, it's better to worry about not being able to take Vermouth away. I hope I can be nearby by then."

"Kudo Shinichi, Kaito Kid?"

Even though Haibara Ai was well-informed, she still felt that the news was too outrageous.

The famous high school detective, the savior of the Metropolitan Police Department, is actually an international thief who steals gems. Is there something wrong with this?

Huiyuan said in sorrow: "But Kaito Kidd appeared more than ten years ago. When he became famous, Kudo Shinichi was still a child."

Xiaolan chuckled, "Because there are two Kaito Kidds, the one in the past and the one now, they are most likely father and son."

"Eh???"

Haibara Ai was even more surprised, "The previous Kaito Kid was Kudo Yusaku? In other words, the duel with Kaito Kid ten years ago was actually a case of him catching himself?"

"That's not the case, but Kaito Kidd is indeed related to the Kudo family, and very closely." Xiaolan thought for a moment, "I should be able to tell you, Ai. After all, judging from the effects of drug A, they might also be related to you."

"????"

Haibara Ai was full of questions and stopped what she was doing completely. "Sister Xiaolan, please tell me in detail."

"The source is still in Vermouth."

Xiaolan said: "On Wednesday afternoon, she was caught by me and she said that the teacher who taught her the art of disguise was a genius magician who was once world-renowned, Kuroba Touichi, who was rumored to have died in a magic accident eight years ago.

On Thursday morning, Vermouth escaped, and Hotaru asked someone to investigate Kuroba Toichi. On the same day, they learned that Kuroba Toichi had a son named Kuroba Kaito, who lived in Ekoda not far from Beika Town.

The person sent by Hotaru originally wanted to ask Kuroba Kaito:

Did his father teach others the art of disguise? Does he know how to disguise himself? If he knows, is he willing to accept a disciple? What are the requirements for accepting a disciple?

These ones.

As a result, Hotaru's people went to Ekoda High School where Kuroba Kaito was studying, but were told by the teacher that he had taken a leave of absence that day.

She then asked for the address of Kuroba's home and a photo of Kuroba Kaito, intending to continue looking for him, and then she discovered a surprising fact.

Xiaolan opened a photo on her mobile phone and showed it to Haibara Ai.

"Just to be clear, this is not Kudo."

Haibara Ai looked down and her eyebrows raised immediately. The person in the photo was exactly the same as Kudo Shinichi, except for the slightly browner hair color.

"He is Kuroba Kaito? They look too similar. Could it be that Kudo Shinichi plays two roles?"

"probably not."

Xiaolan pointed at Kuroba Kaito's hair in the photo and said, "First of all, the hairstyle and color are different. Of course, this is the simplest point."

She pointed at Kuroba Kaito's grinning face and said, "This guy is even more outgoing than Kudo. It is said that he often flirts with his childhood sweetheart in class. He also makes some pretty excessive jokes, such as peeking at her underwear. The most important thing is that he can do magic, and he is very good at it."

Finally, he moved to the navy blue school uniform of Kuroba Kaito. "Also, the study schedules of Ekoda High School and Teitan High School are roughly the same. Although he often takes leave, most of his time in school overlaps with Kudo's time at Teitan High School. It's basically impossible for the same person to play two roles."

"Is that so...then they are identical twins?"

Haibara Ai felt that other than this reason, there was no other explanation for why these two people looked so similar.

Xiaolan shook her head. "They are not twins. According to the DNA test results, they look more like cousins. The test materials are the hair left behind in the Kuroba and Kudo houses respectively."

"Eh? Is there such a thing?"

Huihara Ai sighed: "It seems that the genes they inherited from their fathers are definitely super strong. Maybe Kuroba Toichi and Kudo Yusaku look exactly the same."

Curiosity reappeared in her eyes, "But even so, what do they have to do with me?"

"This brings us to Conan. On Thursday, Hotaru also took his hair and took it to the hospital for identification. The report showed that he has no blood relationship with the Kudo family." Xiaolan's lips curled up with a hint of amusement, "But Kudo Yusaku admitted that Conan is his illegitimate son. Isn't this strange?"

Huiyuan Ai looked at him strangely, "Is it possible that she is Edogawa's mother..."

"stop!"

Xiaolan poked Huihara Ai's forehead and said, "Xiao Ai, you are not really a little dirty girl, are you?"

“…No way!”

Huihara Ai blushed, and then realized the more important problem, "Sister Xiaolan, did you hear everything that happened on the balcony yesterday morning?"

Xiaolan stretched out her index finger and pinched it, "I only heard a little bit. I also want to thank Xiaoai for waking me up when she called him, otherwise I wouldn't know that Ying had such a problem."

Huiyuan Ai's eyes suddenly dropped, "Is this the reason why he was admitted to the mental hospital this time?"

"There should be some connection, but not all. I haven't figured out some of the things he said to me." Xiaolan changed the subject and said, "We were talking about Conan just now. He looks exactly like Kudo when he was a child. He can't be what you think, Ai."

"Then it's possible that it was just a coincidence? Or maybe Edogawa was wearing a wig at that time?" Huibara asked in a sad tone.

"Hina told me that it was a wig. When he was rubbing Conan's hair, he scratched Conan's scalp with his nails, but Conan didn't react at all."

"...It's really weird for that guy to do this to a child when they first met."

Xiaolan nodded in agreement, "I think so too."

She raised her eyebrows and smiled again, "But Ying said that he had verified it many times beforehand and was 90% sure. For example, he pulled out Conan's hair several times, and seeing that he had no reaction, he simply pulled out several hairs at once, but Conan still didn't cry out in pain."

"Well, that guy is awesome."

Huiyuan curled her lips and pondered, "Since it is a wig, it means that they are suspicious of Suigetsu-kun and want to use it to cover up Edogawa's identity. And then Kudo Yusaku admitted that Edogawa is his illegitimate son...

This loophole was left for you on purpose, I hope you will continue to take action, such as persuading Kudo Yusaku to do a paternity test or something like that."

"I think so, but Hotaru has already seen through them, so she won't fall into this trap."

Xiaolan smiled and said, "And there is more than one way to get Conan's hair, except to get it from him."

Huihara Ai's eyes lit up, "Megure Jusanke!"

"That's right. Aunt Midori went to the hospital to deliver food to Officer Megure that afternoon, and Hotaru easily sent someone to sneak in and obtained the sample." Xiaolan snorted, "Yesterday morning, the DNA test report came out, and the results showed that Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi are the same person."

It was because Xiaolan knew this that she was very disgusted with Conan's pretending to be young yesterday and today.

And if you want to pretend, just pretend well. Who can you fool with your acting skills?

Do you know how hard it is for me to pretend that I didn't notice your true face?

"Except for this afternoon, when facing Kudo Yusaku's gaze, he showed a bit of childish awkwardness, which made me immersed in expressing my doubts, other times..."

Xiaolan chuckled, "I really don't know how arrogant this guy is. Does he really think that everyone else is an idiot and can't see his problem?"

Huiyuan Ai doesn't know the whole story, but compared to what Yingsheng did...

"Suizuki-kun knew that Conan was wearing a wig, but he still took the hair for a DNA test?"

Xiaolan nodded, "Yes, after Hotaru found out that Conan was wearing a wig, she knew that they would definitely have someone monitor Conan in a nearby hospital, so she deliberately chose a hospital closest to the Beika Central Hospital to make them think that Hotaru had fallen into a trap and let down their guard."

Haibara Ai had nothing to say, this was the difference.

(End of this chapter)