Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 356 The plan begins, Master Sonoko teaches again!
Xiaolan called Gin, but of course not to trick him into killing him. She just wanted to ask him if he had any plans to break into the mental hospital and kidnap Hotaru.

Across the street from the back door of Mihua Mental Hospital, a puff of cigarette smoke wafted out of the half-open window of a black Porsche 356A.

"No."

"The police have a plan to trap Vermouth. Hotaru needs to stay in there for a while. I hope Master Gin understands."

Xiaolan told Gin about the police's plan in general.

Gin was silent for a moment, "I understand."

The phone hangs up.

Ai Huihara looked at Xiaolan in a daze and said, "Is this also part of the plan? Telling the organization about this will only add extra variables."

"Yes and no."

Xiaolan wrote an email and told Chiso Aoyagi that she had called Gin. After sending it, she looked at Haibara Ai.

"Gin is a lunatic himself. Now that we know his feelings for Hotaru, we naturally have to prevent him from taking any radical actions, lest things get worse. Hotaru hinted at this matter to me, in addition to reassuring me, this should be her purpose."

Huibara Ai thought about it and nodded suddenly.

"From what happened at the Beika Central Hospital today, Gin doesn't care what kind of situation Suigetsu-kun is in the open society. He just wants to vent his strange love wantonly. This can also be understood as a kind of paranoid possessiveness. Suigetsu-kun's public identity has been completely destroyed. From now on, he can only hide in the dark. Being with him forever will only benefit him."

"That's it."

Xiaolan glanced at the reply email and threw the phone aside. "Hina is very greedy for love, but he can't really let Gin manipulate him. To put it in a very bad way, he can't give up the whole forest for a big tree. For this reason, it is best to maintain the status quo."

"Does he have any other arrangements for this?" Haibara Ai looked at the off screen of Xiaolan's phone.

"I'm not sure. She just replied 'received', so I guess she did." Xiaolan got up and went to wash up.

"This style is not like that of ordinary people."

"Ai is trying to comfort me. I don't think there is any love between her and Hotaru. Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. Although from Hotaru's perspective, the level of a companion is probably higher than that of a lover."

"Hmm... So, Sister Xiaolan, do you care or not?"

"Great scientist, you are a little bit in love."

"…I have adjusted my wax figure."

“Remember to add a few freckles.”

Xiaolan closed the bathroom door from the inside.

……

……

The next day, Sunday, was sunny and windy.

10am, St. Andrew's Cathedral.

A taxi drove up from the end of the street and stopped at the edge of the square. The door opened automatically and a girl in a purple skirt stepped out.

The church bells echoed in the air. Xiaolan looked up at the blue sky and saw white doves circling in the air with their wings spread.

Xiaolan stretched out her hand into the car, and gently placed her other small, soft hand on it. Following the outward force, a little girl in a light brown skirt walked out of the car, her patent black high heels stepping on the bluestone slabs in front of the square.

Ai Huihara looked up at the towering spire of the church, then looked at the mottled light and shadow of the stained glass on the church's outer wall, her eyes quite curious.

The square was crowded with people, and more than one person cast their gazes in their direction, and their eyes lit up after just a brief glance.

Haibara Ai was not used to the feeling of being the center of attention, and subconsciously shrank behind Xiaolan.

Xiaolan leaned over, smiled slightly, held Huibara Ai's hand tightly, and led her towards the church door.

"Treat everyone else as NPCs. My lovely little princess, you are the protagonist of the world. You can imagine that you are walking on the red carpet now, and everyone else is your fan."

"..."

Haibara Ai thought that Xiaolan's metaphor was very strange and that there was no way she could do it.

A group of NPCs with rigid thinking and insignificant personalities were staring at her or something... Before Haibara Ai could imagine the scene, her nervousness was diluted by her suddenly unbridled thoughts.

Of course, the most important thing is the warmth in her hands. She looked up at Xiaolan's profile. Under the soft sunlight, she vaguely saw a swaying rainbow.

Nothing to be afraid of.

The organization was indeed the most terrifying existence she had ever seen, and now it was being played around by them.

Haibara Ai looked at the people around her and found that most of the people looking at her had a gentle smile on their faces. They were simply appreciating the cute things, and then they no longer cared.

"Kawaii!"

A young girl wearing the same purple skirt as Xiaolan ran in from the church door, her bright eyes full of youthful vitality.

"Xiao Lan, who is this child? So cute."

Suzuki Sonoko ran up to Xiaolan and leaned over slightly to look at Haibara Ai. Her short brown hair slid down her cheeks. For a moment, Haibara Ai thought she was looking in a mirror.

But the next second, Sonoko's toothy smile let her know that this person's personality was much more cheerful than hers.

"Hello, my name is Suzuki Sonoko. May I ask your name, young lady?"

Sonoko wanted to act like a gentleman, but she couldn't be serious no matter what. A smile appeared on Haibara Ai's lips, and she stretched out her other little hand to her.

"Hello, Sister Sonoko, I'm Haibara Ai."

Hold hands.

"Hehehe, so soft, Ai is so cute."

"........."

"Oh no, Sonoko has become a pervert." Xiaolan smiled softly with her hands covering her mouth, "Ai is Hotaru's sister."

"Hey... that guy's sister." Sonoko pouted and laughed again, "No wonder Ai is so pretty, the genes of the Shuiyue family are quite powerful."

Yuanzi looked around and said, "Xiao Ai, where is your brother? Why can't I see him?"

Haibara Ai looked up at Xiaolan.

"Hitsuka has other things to do." Xiaolan said, "Besides, Hotaru and we didn't go to the same middle school, so he doesn't know today's protagonist."

"That's right. Today is Ms. Matsumoto's wedding ceremony. I really want to hear her beautiful singing again." Sonoko clasped her hands in front of her chest, her eyes full of longing. "I haven't seen Ms. Matsumoto since I graduated from middle school. Today she will wear a white wedding dress. That picture is really exciting."

"I also want to see Teacher Matsumoto wearing a wedding dress. She must be very beautiful." Xiaolan said with a smile.

"Then let's go backstage and have a sneak peek."

Sonoko took Haibara Ai's other hand and was about to walk into the church, but she stopped halfway and waved to the young man in a light blue suit standing beside the fountain in the square.

"Here, here, Mr. Tone-deaf."

Kuroba Kaito was talking to Conan with his head down. When he heard the voice, he turned his head and saw the girl with the headband looking at him. Only then did he realize that she was calling him.

Kuroba Kaito smiled and nodded at Sonoko, then walked towards her with Conan, while whispering, "Conan, what does she mean when she called me tone-deaf?"

Conan rolled his eyes, "Because I'm not good at singing, that fierce teacher always picks on me and treats me like an idiot for three years."

"Eh? That being said, you still asked me to bring you here because your teacher is getting married."

"I just want to see who that fierce teacher will marry and what the future teacher will look like. Also," Conan said in a slightly more serious tone, "There is a direct promotion from Teitan Junior High School to High School, and many of our classmates will be here today."

Kuroba Kaito's smile froze, "So, my pursuit of Xiaolan will begin today?"

"You have to lay the groundwork. If you don't respond to her today, and then start to show your affection to her fiercely at school, it would be too abrupt."

"... I say, little detective, this isn't the main reason you asked me to attend this wedding."

"Don't think of me as a bad guy, I'm just a child." Conan raised his head and smiled, "Besides, didn't Inspector Matsumoto say that he would take us to the Ocean Buoy as soon as his daughter's wedding was over? It would be more convenient for us to come here."

"Haha, you are indeed a bad kid."

"The one wearing the headband is Xiaolan's best friend, Suzuki Sonoko. She is the one who loves to spread gossip the most, and she used to like to match Xiaolan and me. You have to behave well, Shinichi. As for the little girl between them... She looks familiar, I seem to have seen her somewhere, but I can't remember. And that's..."

Conan introduced interpersonal relationships and precautions. Kuroba Kaito did not respond, but walked closer to Sonoko, greeted her with a polite smile, and then looked at Xiaolan, with excitement in his eyes.

As Kaito Kid, his acting is top-notch.

Sonoko narrowed her eyes and smelled something fishy, ​​but before she could say anything, Xiaolan smiled and nodded at Kuroba Kaito and continued walking into the church.

"Yuanzi, let's go."

"Eh?"

Sonoko was slightly stunned. With her right hand being pulled by Xiaolan through Haibara Ai, she involuntarily took two steps inside and quickly shouted to Kuroba Kaito:

"We're planning to go backstage to see Mr. Matsumoto's wedding dress, come along."

"I'll be right away."

Kuroba Kaito smiled and nodded, and waited until Sonoko turned her head away before he looked at Conan.

"Don't have a gloomy face. Xiaolan's performance is very good. Even if she wants to show PUA to me in the plan, with her personality, she can't insult me ​​right away. She needs to proceed step by step, not to mention that Sonoko is by her side."

Conan rubbed his cheeks and relaxed his expression again, "Sorry, I've been a little too tense lately."

"I can see that, but many of the things you are thinking about now cannot be rushed. You need to be patient." Kuroba Kaito took Conan's hand and followed Xiaolan and the other two.

"Brother Shinichi has little to do with this matter. He can leave at any time. Of course, he won't be anxious."

"Whatever you say, if you really can't calm down, just recite Sherlock Holmes."

Kuroba Kaito didn't want to argue with a child.

Although he knew that Conan was not a real child, judging from his performance in the past two days, apart from his intelligence, his personality could definitely fit perfectly into the category of a child.

The five people, three in front and two behind, quickly arrived at the room inside the church where the bride rested and put on makeup. Xiaolan pushed open the mahogany door carved with a blue cross.

In front of the large floor-to-ceiling windows in the house, the bride in a white wedding dress tilted her head slightly and smiled in the gentle sunshine, surrounded by red curtains tied on both sides like arched doors.

"It's Maori-san and Suzuki-san, you're here."

Xiaolan and Sonoko were stunned for a moment, then exclaimed at the same time, their faces flushed with excitement.

To be honest, few girls can resist a wedding dress. It is not just a piece of clothing, but also a symbol of a happy love.

"How's it going? Does it look good?"

Yuri Matsumoto lifted her skirt with both hands and walked towards them.

"Very beautiful, teacher!"

Xiaolan and the other girl nodded excitedly.

Haibara Ai couldn't help but nod her head, and then was seen by Matsumoto Yuri, who smiled and leaned over slightly, asking who this cute little angel was.

Just as the introduction was finished, someone else came in from outside.

Kuroba Kaito smiled and said, "Mr. Matsumoto, you are definitely the most beautiful person in the world today."

"Oh...thank you for the compliment, Kudo-san." Matsumoto Yuri smiled softly, "I was thinking that since you, such an arrogant brat, hate me so much, you might not come. Then I'll let Xiaolan take a picture of you to show off my beautiful wedding dress."

"Of course I will come to the teacher's wedding, but taking pictures is also necessary." Kuroba Kaito looked at Xiaolan with gentle eyes, "Xiaolan is also very beautiful today..."

"Yes, I brought a camera today." Xiaolan raised the digital camera and pointed it at Matsumoto Yuri. "We will be the photographers today. We promise to record the most beautiful side of Matsumoto-sensei. We will send the photo album to you later."

Yuri Matsumoto glanced at Kuroba Kaito and Xiaolan, then smiled and nodded.

"Then please, I will pay attention and strike the most photogenic pose later."

She saw that Kuroba Kaito was looking at Xiaolan, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, so he leaned forward slightly and looked at Conan.

"Little boy, are you Kudo-san's younger brother? You two look alike."

"Yes, we are brothers." Conan scratched his head with a smile.

"Sayuri, I've already bought it. Warm lemon tea."

The door that had just been closed was pushed open again, and a black-haired woman in a purple suit jacket walked towards Matsumoto Yuri carrying a plastic bag.

"Thank you."

Yuri Matsumoto lifted her skirt and ran towards her.

Xiaolan was holding a camera and recording nearby. She was surprised to hear that the new lady named Yimei was actually the ex-girlfriend of today's groom, but she didn't care.

Behind Xiaolan, Sonoko pulled Conan aside and asked quietly, "What's going on between your brother and your sister Xiaolan?"

Conan originally planned to use Sonoko to spread the news, so he whispered, "My brother said that he has always liked Xiaolan. It was just a little accident before, and then Brother Shuiyue intervened. Now my brother has realized his mistake and wants to pursue Sister Xiaolan again."

Sonoko frowned slightly, "What would he have done earlier? If he had this attitude before, Xiaolan would not have been abducted by Suigetsu-kun."

Conan lowered his eyebrows, "Maybe there is some truth to it, but it's hard to understand unless you experience it yourself."

"Ha, you are such a smart kid." Sonoko ruffled Conan's hair, "You said last time that you are not from the Kudo family... Sorry, can I ask this?"

"It's okay, and last time in Ebina City, I really didn't know I was from the Kudo family." Conan looked up, "Sonoko-sister, Shinichi-brother said that you and he are also good friends from the same class since childhood, you will help him, right?"

Yuanzi paused for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.

"If you told me this half a month ago, or even a week ago, I would have advised Xiaolan to leave that scumbag Shuiyuejun. But it's too late now, and Shuiyuejun doesn't seem to be as bad as he used to be. They have always been together and they are truly in love with each other."

"Hey, is this so..."

Conan said innocently, "But I heard from Uncle Megure that Brother Suigetsu is a very good gigolo who is the best at deceiving girls. Are you sure he is sincere to Sister Xiaolan?"

"Why did Officer Megure tell such a thing to a child like you? Adults are really unreliable." Sonoko curled her lips, "I was actually quite worried about this before, but Suigetsu-kun is a gigolo, not for money. In the past few weeks, he really didn't hurt Xiaolan."

"Maybe it's just that Xiaolan-sister didn't tell you, Sonoko-sister, about what happened."

"Of course I know there is such a possibility, but please, how can I interfere with Xiaolan's own choice..." Sonoko paused, "Well, it seems that I interfered before, but since I saw Xiaolan's determination, it is impossible for me to say anything else."

"but……"

"No buts." Sonoko stared into Conan's eyes, "I know you want to help your brother, but Kudo did make some mistakes in the past when dealing with his relationship with Xiaolan. Now that he regrets it, he should make amends himself. My position is not to help either side."

Conan was silent for a moment, "Sister Sonoko, do you think it's a good thing for Sister Xiaolan and Brother Suigetsu to be together?"

Sonoko shook her head, "Why should I feel that? This is their business. As long as they are happy together, it doesn't matter what others say."

"But this is for Sister Xiaolan's own good..."

"Stop."

Sonoko poked Conan's forehead and said, "Conan-kun, you are still too young to properly handle interpersonal relationships. You must know that everyone is an independent individual. Even among blood relatives, you cannot make decisions for others without authorization, especially in the name of 'for her good'."

"I don't know."

"You are so smart, you will understand when you grow up, you just haven't experienced enough now." Sonoko chuckled, "But since you like to read mystery novels and read a lot, then there is a saying that you must have heard, which is roughly similar to what I said."

"what?"

"Justice, how much evil has been done in your name."

Conan remained silent.

Yuanzi said: "What it means is that you think you are being nice to others, but who knows what they are thinking? In your interactions with others..."

"No." Conan suddenly said.

"What's wrong?"

"This sentence has been changed. It should have been 'Freedom, how many crimes are committed in your name'. It was shouted by Madame Roland before she was sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution."

"........."

Bang-!
Suddenly, there were sounds of fists and feet hitting each other nearby.

(End of this chapter)