Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 392, Section 386: An Unthinkable Path
“Yes, I must accept Mr. Michiwaki’s invitation.” Ryoma Hayashi, noticing Sonoko Suzuki’s gaze, readily agreed.

"By the way, Mr. Michiwaki, you wouldn't mind having an extra pair of chopsticks, would you?"

Although the question was asked for his opinion, both Ryoma's expression and tone were telling Masahiko Michiwaki that if he was short of chopsticks, he shouldn't even think about getting Sonoko Suzuki's chopsticks.

"Of course!" When Michiwaki Masahiko met Hayashi Ryoma, he realized that the romantic lunch for two was definitely out of the question.

He agreed to Lin Longma's "request" without any psychological burden.

But Masahiko Michiwaki still wanted to negotiate a bit, for example...
"Mr. Lin, as an elder of the family, you can certainly come along, but if there are too many people, perhaps I should make an appointment with the restaurant in advance?"

To be honest, as a college student at Beika University, Masahiko Michiwaki has more experience than the average high school student.

He was also afraid that Sonoko Suzuki would bring a large group of people to eat him, so he subtly offered his "opinion" to Ryoma Hayashi.

Interesting, this young man is quite interesting.

"Don't worry, kid. It'll just be me and Sonoko eating with you at noon. Rest assured, no one here will take advantage of you for a meal."

Besides, weren't you the one who went to find the restaurant?

“I’m relieved to hear that.” Michiwaki Masahiko smiled brightly at Suzuki Sonoko and Hayashi Ryoma, then extended his hand: “Please come with me, Sonoko and Mr. Hayashi.”

I know a great seaside restaurant; I've eaten there a few times already.
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Lin Longma may appear to be a respectable businessman, but that doesn't mean he's an honest and upright person.

He's a high-ranking member of the Black Organization, and the Security Countermeasures Division is a unit directly under the boss's control.

Therefore, the person that Ryoma Hayashi finds interesting is obviously not very normal.

Does "abnormal" here refer to Masahiko Michiwaki striking up a conversation with Sonoko Suzuki?

Obviously not.

If you put Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri together, many people would probably choose Ran Mouri.

However, if you put Sonoko Suzuki at a banquet between wealthy families, it's a complete reversal.

Ran Mouri will be ignored, but Sonoko Suzuki will definitely be the star of the party.

Regardless of who hosts the banquet, Sonoko Suzuki will at least be one of the main characters.

As the saying goes, people tend to emphasize what they lack most. It was precisely those casual flirtations at the banquet, hidden behind thick masks, that made Sonoko Suzuki so fixated on so-called true love.

In Sonoko Suzuki's view, her true love should not be a man who decides to "fall in love" with her based solely on her family background.

Her family background can be a plus, but at the very least, you can't just focus on her family, right?

Whether genuine or feigned, Sonoko Suzuki has never lacked male advances. In fact, due to her family background, over the years, the variety of men who have approached Sonoko Suzuki has far exceeded that of Ran Mouri.

Sonoko Suzuki is, after all, the second young lady of the Suzuki family. Isn't it important information about the second young lady Suzuki's taste in men?

So it's not surprising that Sonoko gets hit on. But what really piques Ryoma Hayashi's curiosity is how persistent Michiwaki Masahiko is in trying to pick her up.

When a person approaches a target and the target's friend comes to visit, it's normal for the person to invite the target and her friend to join them.

They're all the same age, or rather, they're all out having fun, so it's normal for them to get together and have some fun.

How things develop afterward is their personal business. However, when the person who made the advances encounters the target's elders, most will wisely back off.

Some persistent flirts might ask for contact information and say they'll talk later. But they would never "display their charm" in front of elders, including but not limited to inviting unfamiliar elders to lunch.

To Ryoma Hayashi, Michiwaki Masahiko's invitation seemed more like a prelude to something the kid was planning, and Suzuki Sonoko was an essential "step" in that process.

As the saying goes, when things go wrong, there must be a monster.

At this moment, Masahiko Michiwaki was the biggest anomaly on the beach.

Ryoma Hayashi didn't know what Masahiko Michiwaki was planning to do, but ultimately there were only a few possibilities.

Or perhaps Masahiko Michiwaki learned of Sonoko Suzuki's identity through some unknown means and was preparing to seize this opportunity to secure a life of wealth and luxury for himself.

Or perhaps some people who know Sonoko's identity are planning to use Michiwaki Masahiko to do something "tricky".

This "fancy trick" includes, but is not limited to, rescuing a damsel in distress. Yes, for Sonoko Suzuki, a girl with a pure yearning for love, the power of rescuing a damsel in distress is simply too great.

If done properly, it might actually win the heart of a young girl.
Regardless of what Masahiko Kawai was planning to do, Ryoma Hayashi did not intend to forcefully stop him.

No one understands better than him how "rebellious" teenagers of Sonoko Suzuki's age can be.

Lin Longma was also that age, but back then he didn't have parents, so he couldn't rebel.

However, the experiences and behaviors of his classmates were enough for him to have a full understanding of teenagers in this age group.

To paraphrase a line from a movie, you can't treat teenagers of this age with the old adage "too much purity leaves no fish," you have to let the "bad influences" of society blow in.

Let your child suffer a little loss at the right time.

You can't learn something from a lifetime of teaching, but you can learn it in a day by doing something.

You should learn from your mistakes, and this method also applies to Sonoko Suzuki.

No matter what, Sonoko Suzuki at least calls Ryoma Hayashi "uncle," so Ryoma, as her uncle, can't just stand by and watch Sonoko jump into a fire pit.

This did not prevent Lin Longma from taking Suzuki Sonoko to see the enemy's sugar-coated bullets first—the sugar coating could be eaten, but the bullets had to be fired back.
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On the way to the restaurant, Masahiko Michiwaki didn't seem to be in a hurry to show off. Ryoma Hayashi was also happy to chat with Sonoko Suzuki.

such as
"Speaking of which, didn't Xiaolan come with you?" Lin Longma asked curiously. These two best friends were as close as if they were one person.

Surely it can't just suddenly break up for some reason, right?
"Don't even mention it!" Sonoko Suzuki sighed as she mentioned Ran Mouri: "I don't know what's wrong with Ran lately, she's suddenly become interested in mystery."

She even said she wanted to be the last high school detective.

"I originally thought she was delusional because she missed Kudo, that mystery fanatic, so I took her to the beach to clear her head."

As it turned out, not long after they arrived, Ran heard that there had been a series of murders in the area that hadn't been solved yet, so she took Conan and went to investigate.

In the end, this beach adventure ended with me all alone.

Sonoko Suzuki looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, her demeanor tinged with indescribable melancholy.

(End of this chapter)