Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 42 Xin Zhi's first encounter? !
"there has never been."

After staring at the photo of Yuzuki Kiyoko for a long time, the proprietress gave her answer, then looked at Kudo Shinichi, and seeing that he was frowning slightly, she couldn't help but curl her lips.

"Mr. Detective, do you think such a beautiful girl would go drinking with a middle-aged office worker who has no money or power? You are overthinking it. If I was half as pretty as she was when I was young, I would have been a big hit in the entertainment industry."

Kudo Shinichi still refused to give up and frowned, saying, "She might wear a mask and put on makeup."

"Even if she came here, I don't remember it." The lady boss pointed to the empty corner above the counter and said with a laugh, "How about Mr. Detective, please be generous and I can install a surveillance camera here?"

Kudo Shinichi did not reply, but just kept thinking, could it be that his previous guess was wrong?
After a while, he turned his head and looked towards the stairs to the second floor.

Now that I'm here, I might as well go up and take a look. Maybe I can find some details that I overlooked last time.

He remembered that there was a window there, so perhaps he could see something outside. In the past, he had a preconceived notion that Gao Yuanyi was drinking alone and didn't pay much attention to the outside world.

"Can I go up and take a look?"

"Whatever, but there's a guest upstairs waiting for someone, and I don't know which room she is in, so just don't disturb her."

It seems that the rose scent was brought by that person. Kudo Shinichi's detective instinct made him curiously ask the next second: "Is she pretty? Do you know each other well?"

The proprietress glanced at him and asked, "Is it related to the case?"

Kudo Shinichi asked doubtfully: "What else?"

"Tsk, nothing. She's very beautiful. It's the first time I saw her. She told you not to bother her because her boyfriend paid her well and she said she likes quietness."

Is that all?

Kudo Shinichi went upstairs with some disappointment and walked towards the innermost private room separated by layers of screens. The Japanese sliding door was closed. He was a little confused. The weather was so good today, didn't the proprietress open it to ventilate it?
He casually opened the door, and the refreshing fragrance rushed towards him faster than the sunlight outside the window.

A gorgeous sea of ​​roses bloomed before his eyes. The fragrance was rich yet elegant and fresh. It was not greasy, but made people involuntarily intoxicated by it.

In front of the half-open window, a young girl in a white coat was sitting sideways, her chin supported by one hand, quietly looking at the hustle and bustle outside the window. Her short brown hair fluttered in the wind, and her temperament was cold, as if she was incompatible with the outside world.

The rude intruder broke the silence, and deep in her eyes, there was a hint of sadness.

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was here."

Kudo Shinichi apologized quickly, but showed no intention of leaving. He even kept looking at the girl in front of the window without any hesitation.

It's him?

Miyano Shiho's eyes flickered slightly, but she regained her composure the next second, raised her eyebrows and looked at him with a calm tone.

"That's very rude, sir."

"I'm sorry, are you a researcher?"

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone a question?"

"My name is Kudo Shinichi, and I'm a detective. I'm currently investigating a case, and this private room may be a key location. May I ask why you chose this room? And what were you looking at before?"

"Because it's the quietest here, at least it was before. I'm looking at whatever's outside the window."

Kudo Shinichi frowned slightly: "What is your relationship with Xuesong Kiyoko?"

"I've never heard of that name, but I've seen the last name, of course."

"where is it?"

"In the newspapers, of course."

Miyano Shiho raised the corners of her lips slightly. "You are a famous detective, the savior of the Metropolitan Police Department. Five days have passed since the case of the sky-high insurance money was published in the newspaper, and you haven't solved it yet? This is quite disappointing."

"...Can I come over and take a look?"

Miyano Shiho pointed at the floor and said, "As long as you don't step on them, it's okay." On the floor was a sea of ​​roses. Most of them were bright red, with only a few pure white ones serving as embellishments, which made the roses even more beautiful against the backdrop.

"very beautiful."

Kudo Shinichi walked towards the window along a deliberately left path and praised sincerely.

Miyano Shiho raised her eyebrows slightly but said nothing.

So Kudo Shinichi immediately understood that this sea of ​​flowers was probably prepared by the male companion as the proprietress mentioned, and there must be something in it that she did not like.

He thought for a moment and came to a guess: "You don't like white roses mixed in it?"

Miyano Shiho said dejectedly: "But it does look better this way."

Kudo Shinichi nodded silently in his heart, indeed.

He walked to the window sill and looked out. What he saw was a row of tall buildings facing the street, which limited his vision. After a careful search within this limited area, he found that there were not many suspicious targets, especially no residential buildings.

Is it the street?
He had indeed heard that there would be women prostituting themselves on the street at night, but judging from Xuesong Qingzi's appearance, even if what she said about being an escort was not a lie, it must be that there were rich people lining up to bid for her, and they would never stand down and wait.

Is that a hotel?

Kudo Shinichi looked up at a building. From this angle, he could only see the balcony on the seventh floor. Although the possibility that other people could see what happened there was not high, it was definitely not zero.

Look for other suspicious points and then go to the hotel to inquire.

"The police have announced that the case has been closed. Are you still unwilling to give up?" Miyano Shiho suddenly said.

Kudo Shinichi's cheeks jumped: "Morning newspaper?"

"The news hasn't come out yet. I just saw you investigating alone. What are you looking for?"

Kudo Shinichi was silent for a few seconds, "I don't know either."

Miyano Shiho frowned slightly: "Are you not even sure whether the current direction of the investigation is correct?"

"Well, that's it."

This case is completely different from previous ones. Apart from the mastermind's sophisticated use of the method of "probability", there are also several possible direct attacks without leaving any directional tails.

Except for the taunt he left deliberately.

This comprehensiveness undoubtedly shows that the person on the other side is a professional, and is by no means comparable to the ordinary murderers in the past.

and so……

Is Yuzuki Kiyoko's lover actually a professional killer?
But then again, with the situation now developing, he couldn't be 100% sure that Xuesong Qingzi was the problem. For the same reason, she couldn't easily get the 500 million insurance money now, so what was she trying to do?
Is someone framing her?

By framing Yukinagi first?
There was a thick fog in front of him and Kudo Shinichi felt dizzy. Oh no, he was too absorbed in his thoughts and forgot to eat the sandwich he bought, and it even fell on the taxi.

I suddenly felt a supporting force on my right arm, and my shaking body was firmly supported.

"Overusing your brain?" asked Miyano Shiho.

Kudo Shinichi rubbed his temples and took a deep breath: "Thank you, I forgot to eat breakfast."

"Wait, I'll give you something right away, just sit here for a while."

Miyano Shiho moved the chair she had just been using over and helped Kudo Shinichi sit down. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she heard him suddenly seem to have regained strength and let out a cry of surprise.

"Xiaolan? Shuiyue?! Are you shopping?!!!"

(End of this chapter)