Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 391 Anchor Point · Orchid, Kisaragi and Advancement
After agreeing on a meeting time and place with Eri Kisaki, Hotaru hung up and picked up another phone.

Xiaolan briefly said that her mother was busy with work and had limited knowledge of her situation, and that she had not seen any information about Yingsheng on the dark web, and then she said goodbye.

She was in a hurry to catch up with her mother.

In the basement laboratory of the Sumiyoshi-kai, Yingsheng put down his cell phone, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and sighed.

"After Ms. Yoko's death, Mr. Maori obviously cheered up. I was surprised to hear that he was back to his old ways. It turns out that he was really disillusioned with the halo of being an idol."

Facing two curious gazes, Yingsheng gave a brief account of what had happened before.

Ai Huihara immediately raised an objection: "If Mr. Maori learned the truth from Ikezawa Yuko before going to the nightclub, the disillusionment of his idol halo can be used as an excuse; but he first met Ikezawa Yuko in the nightclub, which only shows that his nature is indeed hard to change."

"Not necessarily. What if he went to the nightclub simply to drink? After lying in the hospital for so long and finally recovering from his injuries, it's understandable that he wants to celebrate." Yingsheng said.

"Hehe." Huiyuan Ai squinted at Yingsheng, "Are you defending your own kind, or are you justifying your own scumbag behavior?"

"Well... please don't tell Xiaolan about this." Yingsheng put his hands together, "Because I really didn't want to contact Xiang again before, and I told Xiaolan quite formally, so... at least I will explain it in person later."

"Eh?" Huihara Ai stopped rolling her eyes halfway, "I was originally planning to condemn you as a scumbag, but you actually explained it to Sister Xiaolan?"

"Of course, this is the most basic promise." Yingsheng sighed, "Although it seems that I am very bad at keeping it."

"I understand!"

Huaying Xiwang suddenly jumped up, "It turns out that Big Brother and Mao Lilan are actually playing a game of house as a couple! The basis of their relationship is not emotion at all, but the rules of the game called 'moral precepts'!"

"...If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb." Yingsheng said in a rather unhappy tone.

"Now that you mention it, it seems that this is possible..." Haibara Ai touched her chin thoughtfully.

Yingsheng glanced at him.

Huiyuan Ai's face turned serious. "What does your private affairs have to do with me? I don't even have time to do research, but I'm not bored enough to spread gossip about others."

"Thank you. I'll leave first. The new laboratory is under construction and you can move in soon." Yingsheng clapped his hands, stood up and walked outside.

"Mauri Ran doesn't have the courage to admit in front of her mother that you, big brother, are her boyfriend. This may explain something." Huaying Xiwang said suddenly.

"This is called rationality, understand? Love is not everything in life, we have to take other aspects into consideration." Yingsheng ruffled Huaying's hair, "Let's go, don't cause trouble for Xiaoai and the others. If you are unhappy, just go and bully Gin."

"Huh, I really don't know how big brother defines 'true love'. It always feels very strange." Huaying Xiwang crossed her arms and turned her face to the side.

"That person is Xiaolan, there is no doubt about that." Yingsheng left the laboratory.

When Yingsheng turned around, Huaying hoped to glance over there again. After watching Yingsheng walk out the door without looking back, her little face suddenly drooped.

"What? You didn't do anything again..."

"..."

Haibara Ai originally wanted to comfort her, but after hearing this, she just started eating melon seeds silently.

Unfortunately, Huaying didn't want to let her go. "Little sister Ai, the smartest genius scientist in the world, what do you think is going on between big brother and Mao Lilan? From their personalities to their living habits, it's impossible for them to be in true love."

"After all, this kind of thing still depends on the subjective feelings of the person involved. Others can't see it clearly."

Haibara Ai felt that it was a bit strange to talk about such things, so she ran to Asai Narimi to look at the data.

Although it looks like just a notebook on the surface, it can't calculate anything too complicated.

But like the computer at Junerick, it is actually just a receiving end, and the real computing entity is the K Computer far away in Kobe City.

Huaying Xiwang said to herself, "When we were bullying Gin, he kept saying three words to stay sane."

"emperor."

"Liu Ying."

"Guanyin."

“Although I don’t quite understand the specific meaning of these words, I still understand mental domestication and conditioned reflex. They are key words like the sound of bells.”

"Little sister Ai, do you think it is possible that Mao Lilan is also a keyword for big brother?"

Haibara Ai didn't want to respond at first, but when she heard this, she suddenly thought of something and her heart moved.

"Mr. Shuiyue just mentioned a word, heart anchor."

"So, Mao Lilan might be an anchor for big brother, anchoring him..." Huaying's eyes were dim and unclear, "anchoring him from a god to a human, anchoring his spirit in reality, and gradually becoming an ordinary person."

"Uh..." Huihara Ai didn't know how to comment on the mental patient's second-year statement. After thinking for a while, she said, "Even if your guess is like this, Suigetsu-kun is probably using this method to treat his own mental problems."

Huh?
Haibara Ai had a strange look in her eyes. If that was the case, why did she suddenly feel that Sister Xiaolan looked so pitiful?

"First of all, there is nothing wrong with my elder brother's mental state. Secondly," Huaying Xiwang snorted, "Why does he want to become an ordinary person? I don't understand his thoughts at all."

"This is just your guess. In fact, they have always had a good relationship." Huibara Ai reminded.

"Hey, hey, I think there's something wrong." Huaying hopes to jump off the desk, "I've finished my snacks, I'll go out and buy some more."

"If it causes trouble to Mizuki-kun, is that what you want to see?" Haibara Ai said without turning her head as she looked at the scrolling data.

"...I'm going to draw a turtle on Gin's face!" Huaying shouted in hatred!
the other side.

Yingsheng left the basement and found that the man in the black suit was still waiting outside the utility room. When he saw him come out, he bowed and said that no one had approached here before.

"Where is Chiyoko? Take me there." Yingsheng said.

The man in the black suit immediately led the way respectfully, and soon brought Yingsheng to a Japanese-style room with an open sliding door.

Chiyoko was wearing a white kimono with black bamboo leaves embroidered on it. She was kneeling with her back to the door, and in front of her was a wakizashi placed on a sword rack.

It was the same sword she had almost used to commit suicide.

The handle and the sheath are both made of pure wood with a soft texture. There is no blade tip and it looks like a dead bamboo from a distance.

Yingsheng asked the man in black suit to wait in the corridor, entered the Japanese-style room, closed the sliding door, took off the sweatshirt he had just worn less than half an hour ago, and threw it aside.

"I'm so sorry, Chiyoko."

The figure in front of him didn't move at all, so Yingsheng walked over quickly and roughly pulled off her kimono.

She was naked beneath her kimono.

Chiyoko shed two lines of tears at the corners of her eyes, and then she opened her arms to Yingsheng who walked towards her.

The man in black suit in the outer corridor lowered his head even more.

……

……

Half past eleven.

Chiyoko opened the door of the Japanese-style room from the inside. She was dressed neatly, with a lingering blush on her face, but her eyes were cold as she looked at the people in the corridor.

"Kurokawa, how long have you been a member of the company?" she asked.

"Twenty-four years," Kurokawa replied.

"Your grandfather was a member of the company for fifty years. He has made great contributions." Chiyoko looked at the wakizashi in her hand and fell silent. It was unknown how long it had been before she continued, "What plans do you have for the future development of the company?"

"I will follow the arrangements of President Mizuki and President Kanhara!" Kurokawa said without hesitation.

Chiyoko suddenly didn't know what to say, and after a moment she asked, "What do you want to say to me?"

Kurokawa immediately began to report on the key matters within the company in the near future, including negotiations with congressmen, cooperation with the Suzuki Group, contact from the Yamaguchi-gumi, the construction of Kankyo Ryoen... and other issues, and asked Chiyoko to make the decision.

Chiyoko listened to it but didn't make any arrangements. She just continued to ask, "Besides these?"

Kurokawa said respectfully, "Regarding the follow-up to the demonstration outside the Metropolitan Police Department last Monday, the police released the president of the Aida Detective Agency, Aida Masayo, last Wednesday."

"That's it..."

Chiyoko spoke in a distant tone, looking at the dividing line between light and darkness in the courtyard for a long time, and suddenly smiled softly.

"look up."

Kurokawa, who had been keeping his head down, immediately looked up and hurriedly caught the wakizashi flying in the air.

"Call a meeting of all the executives. From today on, you are the new president of the Sumiyoshi-kai."

Heichuan immediately knelt on the ground, "I dare not..."

"You have indeed done a better job than me, and are more suitable to lead the transformation of the Sumiyoshi-kai." Chiyoko turned and walked into the house, "Let's hold the meeting here and inform them."

"Yes!"

Kurokawa finally looked up and took a look inside the room, then immediately lowered his head and walked out of the courtyard.

Inside the room, Yingsheng had already disappeared.

……

……

At 11:55 am, at Iroha Sushi Restaurant in Beika-cho 5-chome, Hotaru, wearing a black tailor-made suit, pushed open the door and walked in. He looked around the small restaurant and saw a youthful girl wearing a green and white striped off-shoulder T-shirt sitting at the innermost seat by the window.

Of course it’s Xiaolan.

The figure next to her was quietly gazing out the window. In the soft sunlight shining through the glass window, her face was a little unclear. All that could be seen was that her lavender professional suit was well-tailored, and she was sitting straight with her legs lightly crossed.

Yingsheng walked towards that direction and gradually saw more details.

Her long brown hair was neatly tied behind her head, with only a few strands hanging casually in front of her forehead. Her profile was clear and soft, and she wore a pair of black half-frame glasses on her straight nose.

As if she had noticed Yingsheng's gaze, she also turned her head to look over here. Her blue pupils looked particularly clear in the sunlight, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Long time no see, Mr. Shuiyue."

"Long time no see, Lawyer Hime, I'm sorry I'm late." Yingsheng sat down opposite Hime Eri.

"The agreed time is twelve o'clock, and I'm early." Kisaki Eri shook hands with Hotaru, and then introduced Xiaolan beside her, saying that she was just curious about how she worked, and would leave after dinner, so as not to delay Hotaru's work.

Yingsheng naturally responded purely out of courtesy, praising Xiaolan for being as pretty as her mother, and didn't say anything else.

Xiaolan also pretended that it was their first meeting, which made Yingsheng feel quite curious. He even wanted to see how Xiaolan would react if he suddenly confessed to Kisaki Eri.

But he didn't do that after all. He just talked to Kisaki Eri while quietly touching Xiaolan's feet with his feet.

Then he was stepped on hard.

Yingsheng looked calm. When the waiter came over, he asked Kisaki Eri to help him order food, saying that it was his first time there.

Then, while the menu blocked Kisaki Eri's view, he immediately fought back and mouthed, "Light bulb."

Xiaolan's eyebrows curved slightly, and her other foot also fought with Yingsheng. Naturally, neither of them showed any expression on their faces.

"Mr. Mizuki, how about this?" Kisaki Eri checked some items on the menu and handed it to Hotaru.

The battle is over.

"Lawyer Fei's recommendation must be the most appropriate." Yingsheng handed the menu to the waiter.

"I've been here a few times, and their food is pretty good. I hope it suits your taste." Kisaki Eri looked at the waiter, "Excuse me, where is Mr. Wakita with the eyepatch?"

"I heard that you resigned. Would you three like some drinks?" said the waiter.

All three are not needed.

The rest of the meal was uneventful. Eri Kisaki took out her notebook and told Hotaru about some of the key terms in the contract that she had negotiated on behalf of the Aida Detective Agency and the Suzuki Group.

Xiaolan sat quietly beside them, occasionally pouring water for the two of them, which made Yingsheng a little confused, not understanding why Xiaolan was here.

This question was answered after the three of them finished their meal and walked out of the restaurant. Yingsheng spotted a familiar figure at the door of the Polo Coffee Shop next door.

Kogoro Mouri was wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt, dressed quite neatly. He was standing against the wall with a cup of caramel coffee in his hand.

When he saw the three people coming out, he took a sip of coffee and walked over here, with only Kisaki Eri in his eyes.

"You misunderstood what I meant this morning, Eri. I had no intention of interfering with judicial justice. I just wanted to entrust you as Ms. Yuko's defense lawyer."

"If it is a formal commission, you can go to the Himika Law Firm. Kuriyama will receive you. After understanding the specific matters, we will contact you whether we accept it or not." Himika Eri said calmly.

"But don't you already understand it clearly? Why do you want me to make another trip?" Maori Kogoro looked at Hotaru, "If it's because of what happened here, hey..."

"Dad, you really haven't told me a lot of details." Xiaolan interrupted, "Ms. Yuko admitted to killing Miss Yoko, but she didn't say enough about killing Yamagishi Ei. You don't know what the client did, so Mom can't take this case."

"But Miss Yuko is a little dazed and can't explain these clearly." Kogoro Mori was a little annoyed.

"If she's in a trance, treat her mental state first. Anyway, she can't go to court in this condition." Xiaolan walked over and grabbed Maori Kogoro's elbow. "Dad, you have to know how passive she would be if mom took over without knowing enough about this matter and evidence against Miss Yuko appeared in court."

"That's why we have to ask your mother for help. She is the undefeated queen," said Kogoro Mouri.

"...Of course I believe in mom, but we obviously have a better way." Xiaolan pointed to the sign of the Maori Detective Agency, "You are a detective, can't you just investigate the things that Ms. Yuko can't explain now?"

Xiaolan pulled Maori Kogoro's hand and said, "Let's go. I happened to take a leave this afternoon. Let's go to Yamagishi Sakae's house together."

"Hey, hey, be gentler. Girls have to be gentle. I can walk by myself." Kogoro Mouri staggered and almost spilled his coffee, and was pulled away by Xiaolan.

After glancing at their backs, Kisaki Eri retracted her gaze and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Suigetsu made a fool of myself."

Yingsheng shook his head slightly, "Miss Lan is very good."

He finally understood why Xiaolan wanted to have dinner together.

It turned out that Kisaki Eri was soft-hearted after all, and decided to give Mouri Kogoro another chance. She chose this restaurant which was very close to the Mouri Detective Agency. Xiaolan was worried that Mouri Kogoro would reveal his identity after seeing Hotaru, just like what almost happened just now.

So he immediately took action and pulled the person away.

As for whether Kogoro Mouri seized this opportunity... Well, Hotaru glanced at Xiaolan who shook her head helplessly, and followed Kisaki Eri who turned around and left, feeling a little mysterious.

After all, Hotaru was still a minor, and when he went to Suzuki Tower where he had agreed to meet the Suzuki family, he rode in Kisaki Eri's car, a blue Mini Cooper.

At almost the same time as them, a silver-gray Toyota Crown Sedan also stopped at the edge of the square in front of Suzuki Tower. Aida Masayo pushed the door of the trunk and walked out. He was wearing a thin off-white shirt and a pair of light gray linen trousers.

She saw Hotaru not far away and nodded slightly to him. After Hotaru walked towards Suzuki Shiro who was waiting under the Suzuki Tower, she walked over there.

"He hopes that you can actually participate in business affairs, so you don't need to bring that book." Chiso Aoyagi said in the driver's seat of the Toyota Crown.

"They will probably talk for a long time, I just want to kill time." Masayo Aida held a not-too-thick book in his left hand and did not look back.

"What a person can and should do is not to feel safe, but to accept the reality of insecurity." Aoyagi Chiso looked at the back of Aida Masayo who suddenly stopped and asked, "Is there such a sentence in the book?"

The book in Masayo Aida's hand is Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm.

"You may have misunderstood. I'm not upset about the current situation. The police called me over last week, but didn't do anything to me." Masayo Aida turned around and said.

"I'm sorry, I'm always self-righteous." Aoyagi Chiso said, "He also apologized to you and said that he probably understood what you saw at Asai's house that night. It was a mental patient named Hanakage Nozomi who did it, and he has a way to remedy it."

Combining Asai Narumi's performance today and Hanakage's bad habit, Hotaru is not a fool and can certainly guess something.

When he was talking to Ai about the sex-changing drug, he was also secretly paying attention to Asai Narimi's expression, making sure that he should be somewhat interested.

After asking Chiso Aoyagi to investigate further, she discovered that Narimi Asai had been living in Hanakage's house recently, so the truth seemed to be in the matter.

After discovering this, Yingsheng really wanted to chop Hanakage into sauce, wrap it into dumplings and send to Aida Masayo.

Unfortunately, things have come to this point and there is no point in chopping it off.

As for the remedy he mentioned, it would naturally be to wait until the drug from Generic is developed, then modify the memories of Asai Narimi and Aida Masayo, and the job would be done.

Aida Masayo was silent for a moment, then smiled softly.

“Miss Shadow, don’t you think that Mr. Shuiyue has become softer now? Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?”

"Of course it's a good thing." said Aoyagi Chizu.

"Is his 'self' about to be perfected?"

“That’s roughly what you can understand.”

Aoyagi Chisou added in her heart:

But it is just a process, an experience as an ordinary human being. The master will eventually transcend this self and reach the realm of gods. However, there is no Xuantian in this world. Whether one can become a god after reaching that realm is still a question.

"So, is he in distress now? How can he properly handle relationships with other people without disappointing Miss Lan?" asked Masayo Aida.

"Yes, there are some, but not many. There are only a few people he really cares about, and most of them are easy to deal with."

"…Can you tell me something like this?"

"To be honest, you are the most special one among them. You don't seem to get along much, but he cares about you to a certain extent, even more than Mao Lilan." Aoyagi Chisou smiled slightly, "My favorability towards you was also over 70 when we met. Do you know why?"

"why?"

"Because it was the first object Ying and I recognized after we became conscious, and because it was the most beautiful voice in the world." Qing Liu Qian Su said in a distant tone, and after a few breaths of silence, he said, "Of course, this is just the ramblings of a mental patient. Just think of it as us seeing you in a dream."

Wonderful sound.

Hotaru and Chiso Aoyagi saw the shadow of Miaoyin in Masayo Aida, and in a sense, Miaoyin was the first love of all the new generation in their original world.

Aida Masayo thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "My true personality is different from what I show. Your emotional projection is probably misplaced."

"From some small details in your home, it can be seen that you need to be more active inside. Ying thinks you are more interesting this way." Qing Liu Qian Su sighed, "It's a pity that you appeared a little late, otherwise there would be nothing for others to do."

"Like what details?"

"For example, on the low table under your projection screen, there are some small dinosaurs hidden in the delicate succulent pots, and there is a shivering little monkey in the cave built with gravel."

"........."

Aida Masayo suddenly felt a little ashamed and looked away slightly, "Mr. Shuiyue, would you even tell you something like this?"

"He just said this himself, but I am the one who feels sorry." Qing Liu Qian Su looked at her slightly red cheeks, "Put down the book, you can participate in those things with him, he doesn't want you to completely dissolve yourself one day."

"But..." Masayo Aida pinched some wrinkles on the white cover.

"Where's Miss Lan?"

(End of this chapter)