Violence supervision in Conan

Chapter 681 The Higashio Family: The Girl Everyone Treated as a Burden

"Ms. Kobayashi, have something to eat."

Shiratori Ninzaburo handed a bucket of popcorn to Ms. Kobayashi.

"Thank you." The latter thanked her and accepted the gift, bowing slightly, a hint of ruddy pallor appearing on her face.

"No, you're welcome."

Shiratori Ninzaburo looked slightly reserved, his body a little tense.

He, who was usually so composed, was unusually nervous, because the girl he had liked since childhood was sitting next to him.

I initially thought it was Miwako Sato, but later I realized that the person in my heart was actually Ms. Kobayashi.

So this time, he took the opportunity to successfully arrange a meeting with the other party.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect Shiratori to feel nervous too~"

Not far behind, Takagi Wataru and Sato Miwako, with gossipy expressions, huddled behind the chairs in the front row, peeking out and discussing amongst themselves with smacking noises. The righteous policeman had turned into a mischievous onlooker.

"So Officer Shiratori's date is Ms. Kobayashi."

Takagi Wataru was relieved.

"I thought it was..."

"What is it?"

Miwako Sato turned her head and asked in response.

"N-nothing." Now it was Takagi Wataru's turn to be nervous, and he stammered to cover it up.

Sato Miwako stared at him for a moment, then said "Oh" and turned away.

Takagi Wataru breathed a sigh of relief, but was also somewhat disappointed.

Just then, something unexpected happened—

Perhaps sensing the gossipy gazes from behind and the two men chirping at him, Shiratori Renzaburo felt uneasy and instinctively turned around abruptly.

Six eyes facing each other!

Shiratori: ...

Takagi:……

Sato:……

The air fell silent for a moment.

Shiratori Ninzaburo's eyes twitched, his gaze widened, and his face was filled with disbelief.

How could they even crash into that?!
My secret... just like that?
It was only our first date! It's so frustrating!

Thinking of this, Shiratori Ninzaburo's lips twitched violently.

"Hey hey hey~"

When they were caught peeping, Wataru Takagi and Miwako Sato both gave him awkward smiles.

Just as the atmosphere in the room became awkward, two adults and one child walked in through the entrance of the screening room.

It looks like a family of three.

The young parents had a daughter who was about 7 years old.

However, the girl's cute little face carried a faint sorrow that shouldn't be there for someone her age.

Her parents held her hands on either side, but their attitude towards each other didn't seem very intimate.

They were clearly husband and wife, yet they acted like strangers, with absolutely no eye contact between them.

The three of them sat down, with the girl sitting between her parents.

"Maria, after you finish watching this movie, I'll send you to stay at your aunt's house for a while," the mother on the right said calmly.

Maria Higashio remained silent.

On the other side, Mr. Higashi couldn't help but say, "Now that Mom and Dad have passed away, shouldn't you, as a mother, be responsible for taking care of Maria?"

Mrs. Higashi immediately retorted, "Then why don't you, as the father, take Maria in and raise her?"

Mr. Higashio fell silent.

Listening to her parents arguing, Maria Higashio clutched the hem of her clothes with her small hands, lowered her head, and her long eyelashes concealed the sadness in her eyes.

Ever since her parents started their divorce, she felt like a burden that no one wanted.

Now that her grandparents have passed away, she is being passed around between her parents, neither of whom wants to raise her. Little Maria Higashio's heart is filled with helplessness and confusion about the future.

The reason she was able to come to the movies with her parents was because it was her birthday. Perhaps out of a little bit of guilt, her parents agreed to her request, and the three of them came to see a movie together.

Perhaps this will be the last movie she watches with her parents...

After a while.

The lights in the screening room dimmed, and the noise in the room instantly disappeared. Takagi Wataru and Sato Miwako, disregarding their gossipy nature, immediately sat up straight and, along with Shiratori Ninzaburo and Ms. Kobayashi, focused their attention on the big screen.

The Higashio couple also reluctantly shut their mouths.

The others also showed expressions of anticipation.

next moment--

The big screen lights up.

The movie begins.

……

The familiar opening sequence of Oni no Ike appears.

In cinemas across the country, audiences were invigorated.

it has started!

The scene changes.

The first scene shows a panoramic view of a village, followed by a cut to a Japanese-style manor.

The manor was filled with pure white, solemn and dignified. People dressed in black entered one after another, each with a white flower pinned to their chest.

It's clear that a funeral is being held here.

The deceased was Lu Hesongyi, a highly respected elder in the village.

Friends and family came to bid him farewell.

Kawachi Daikichi is one of them.

Lu Hesong was his maternal grandfather.

After the worship ceremony, Daji went to the courtyard to calm himself down.

Although he hadn't been back to his hometown to see his maternal grandfather for a long time since becoming a corporate slave, the thought of the days he spent living with his grandfather when he was a child inevitably brought a sense of sadness to his heart.

But just then, he suddenly noticed a strange person—

Not far away, a strange little girl stood alone under a tree, looking at him with an expression that seemed completely out of place with everything around her.

One big, one small, their eyes met.

Daji couldn't help but be taken aback.

Whose child is this?
Soon he knew the answer.

This 6-year-old girl named Lu Helin is actually the illegitimate daughter of her 70-year-old maternal grandfather!

When Daikichi learned the girl's identity from his mother, he was completely stunned and couldn't believe it. At the same time, he couldn't help but admire his hale and hearty grandfather.

According to seniority, wouldn't I have to call that little girl "aunt"?

For a moment, Daji was at a loss for words.

As the funeral drew to a close, each relative and friend offered the elderly man a white flower to bid him farewell.

The little girl stood by, watching everything blankly.

At six years old, she didn't understand the meaning of death, but she knew that those flowers weren't what her father liked.

So she took it to the yard and picked the gentian flower that her father had carefully cultivated.

Ignoring everyone's stares and her muddy feet, she ran into the mourning hall, trying to give the flowers to her father, but she couldn't pry his hands off.

Daji watched this scene in silence, as if something foreign was blocking his heart.

The girl's behavior seemed very strange to others.

After the funeral, the question of whether Lu Helin should stay or leave became a problem that everyone in the family had to face, yet everyone wanted to avoid.

Because the old man did not reveal who the girl's mother was, Lu Helin became an "orphan" after the old man passed away.

Because they have so many relatives, they do not meet the acceptance criteria of the orphanage, so they have to be raised by them.

But nobody wants this burden.

Everyone regarded the old man's illegitimate daughter as a disgrace to the family. In addition, the girl's personality seemed quite strange, and she was unwilling to communicate with anyone, so no one was willing to adopt her.

The discussion went on and on, but all the responses were just excuses and excuses; everyone's face clearly showed one thing—

dislike!

The girl was like a ball, kicked around by everyone, yet avoided at all costs.

However, as the person involved, Lu Helin had no right to participate in this discussion about his future and could only stay alone in the yard, helplessly watching everything.

Looking out the window at the pitiful girl abandoned by everyone, Daikichi's eyes flickered, and he fell into a silent reverie.

(End of this chapter)