Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 257 The Crimson Witch: Young man, why don't you come and see who has turned the wheel of your destiny?
"Pervert!" Eri rolled her eyes, her gaze full of disdain.

"How disgusting, Yukiko-neechan," Reiko said with a look of disgust.

Yukiko, hands on her hips, angrily questioned, "...I just don't believe that you two haven't done this!"

"How could I possibly do something like that!" Eri Kisaki immediately retorted loudly, but her eyes unconsciously drifted to the side, and she looked somewhat guilty.

As for Lingzi, her face was already as red as an apple, and her head was so low it was almost buried in her chest. Without even asking, she knew the outcome.

Midori Orikasa stared at the three of them in shock, nearly dropping the rag in her hand.

It's just a relationship, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?

Even if he's a senior, what other smell could his clothes possibly have besides sweat?
The girl's gaze involuntarily fell on Lin Xiuyi. His chef's uniform was old, and the smell...

Thinking of this, Midori Orikasa quickly shook her head.

No, I have no relationship with my senior, how can I smell his clothes!
That's absolutely inhuman!

……

The busy night passed quickly, and when it was time to close the shop, Kogoro Mouri sneaked upstairs early, and Reiko, being young, also went back to sleep.

Only Hayashi Hideichi, Kisaki Eri, Yukiko, and Orikasa Midori remained in the shop.

Midori Orikasa silently tidied up the tables and chairs, while Hideichi Hayashi looked at Eri Kisaki and Yukiko facing off with a headache. He rubbed his temples, feeling more tired than dealing with guests all night.

"I finally managed to come back, Shuichi should have taken me home tonight!" Yukiko said, hands on her hips, tapping her toes impatiently on the floor.

Eri Kisaki stood her ground: "You asked to come back yourself, it wasn't us who asked you to. Shuichi should have taken me back as usual."

Lin Xiuyi wanted to say, "How about I don't see anyone off tonight? You can all just go home."

But when I looked at the wall clock, it was almost midnight.

It was pitch black outside the window, and Mihua was not a safe place at night. He dared not let the two girls take any risks.

"By the way, how about I take you back on Xiao Lü's bicycle?" Lin Xiuyi suggested. "If we ride bikes, it won't take long even if we take two people at a time."

"Send it to me first!" Eri Kisaki said immediately, her voice filled with unwavering determination.

“Okay,” Yukiko nodded, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Shuichi and I still have a lot to talk about. If we leave now, we’ll have time to chat.”

Eri Kisaki froze, her red lips parted slightly but she couldn't utter a word.

That sly fox has actually learned something new after just one trip!

……

Hayashi Shuichi went to see Eri off, leaving only Yukiko and Midori Orikasa in the izakaya. Under the dim light, a subtle awkwardness filled the air.

Because of the previous issue with work uniforms, the two clearly didn't get along.

Midori Orikasa took off her work clothes and was about to fold them up when she suddenly noticed that next to her was the faded old work clothes that Hideaki Hayashi had changed out of.

The question from before resurfaced in her mind: what exactly did her senior's clothes smell like?
Why did Eri Kisaki, Yukiko, and Reiko all specifically smell it?
As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

Although Midori Orikasa knew that sniffing clothes was a perverted act, she couldn't figure out the problem. It was like a little bug crawling around in her heart, making her feel unbearably itchy.

The girl looked around; she and Yukiko were the only two people in the shop.

The latter was sitting by the window, resting her chin on her hand and looking out the window, her long legs crossed, glancing at her watch every now and then, waiting for Lin Xiuyi to return.

Seeing that Yukiko wasn't paying attention to her, Midori Orikasa, like a thief, quickly bent down, picked up Hayashi Shuichi's old work clothes, and tremblingly brought them to her face to smell them.

Hmm, it smells like kitchen grease mixed with a faint scent of detergent, but there's nothing else particularly noticeable.

Midori Orikasa looked at the clothes in her hand with a puzzled expression. Could it be that I smelled the wrong place?

Thinking of this, the girl turned her clothes inside out and sniffed them carefully like a small animal.

This time, a faint smell of sweat entered my nostrils. It was the smell of my senior, exactly the same as the smell I had when he carried me up the hill before!
Perhaps recalling the scene of the bicycle accident that day, Midori Orikasa held Hayashi Hideichi's clothes, as if she had returned to the time when he carried her in a princess carry.

The elder's strong arms, sturdy chest, and reassuring heartbeat.
Just as Midori Orikasa was lost in her memories, Yukiko, who was sitting by the window, couldn't hear any movement from the other person in the shop for a long time. She turned her head in confusion and saw Midori Orikasa standing behind the kitchen counter, bent over and motionless.

"Hey, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?" Yukiko asked as she stood up to check on her.

Hearing the noise, Midori Orikasa snapped out of her daze and hurriedly put down her clothes as if throwing away a hot potato. Her face flushed, she stood up straight and said, "I'm fine!"

"Are you alright?" Yukiko had already walked to the kitchen counter. "If you're alright, why is your face so red? Could you have a fever?"

"I'm really okay!" Midori Orikasa took a step back in a panic, almost bumping into the shelf behind her.

Seeing that she kept denying that she was sick, Yukiko shrugged and didn't bother to interfere, turning around and sitting back in her previous seat.

Midori Orikasa, looking at her old work clothes that she had already put down, still felt her cheeks burning and her heart racing.

No wonder the three of them were secretly smelling their senior's clothes; it turns out they really did have his unique scent.
Wait!
The girl shook her head violently, "I'm different from them!"
All three of them like their senior, but I only respect him as my mentor!
Midori Orikasa clenched her fist and waved it forcefully, as if trying to dispel some unclean thought.

But then, a question arose in her mind: Am I sure, absolutely, and definitely not in love with a womanizer like my senior?

As she was struggling with this dilemma, the clear sound of a bicycle bell suddenly rang out outside the izakaya.

Upon hearing the sound, Yukiko quickly went outside.

Midori Orikasa followed a beat behind, standing at the doorway, watching Yukiko skillfully jump onto the back seat, naturally wrapping her arms around Hayashi Shuichi's waist, and pressing her face against his back.

She suddenly found the scene particularly jarring.

Last time, after she rode her bike down the hill, Lin Xiuyi took her to Sakuragaoka in the same way.

She was so shy she didn't dare move, unlike Yukiko who was so natural.
"Little Green, wait a moment, I'll be right back."

Lin Xiuyi's voice pulled the girl back to reality.

“…Hmm,” Midori Orikasa nodded quickly, as if waking from a dream.

Lin Xiuyi noticed the girl's unusual behavior: "What's wrong?"

“I don’t know what happened to her just now, her face suddenly turned very red,” Yukiko interjected. “I wonder if she has a fever?” “I’m really fine, senpai,” Midori Orikasa said with a dry laugh, waving her hand, but felt her cheeks getting even hotter.

"Go back to the shop and wait for me. I'll take you home when I get back," Lin Xiuyi instructed before riding Yukiko towards Fujimine's apartment.

Midori Orikasa watched their figures gradually disappear into the night, then turned and returned to the izakaya with a complicated expression.

……

“Back in Gunma, Hiromi and I used to ride around a lot,” Yukiko said, sitting on the back seat with her arms wrapped around Hayashi Shuichi’s waist, her voice full of nostalgia. “After we moved to Tokyo, I haven’t ridden a bicycle much.”

“When you become a big star, you’ll have even fewer opportunities to ride a bicycle,” Lin Xiuyi said with a smile. “Actually, driving is still the best option; it’s both convenient and comfortable.”

"Hey, didn't you promise to teach me how to drive?" Yukiko playfully poked Hayashi's back with her finger, her tone slightly coquettish. "You won't go back on your word, will you?"

“Miss, I was forced to drive the police car that time,” Lin Xiuyi shook her head helplessly. “You saw what happened to that police car in the end, didn’t you?”

The two were talking about their first meeting. It was raining heavily, and Yukiko didn't have an umbrella, so Hayashi Shuichi took her home. However, they unexpectedly encountered a burglar in Fujimine's apartment building.

In order to catch the robber, Lin Xiuyi raced his police car against the ambulance carrying the robber in the rainy night.

Finally, the ambulance was overturned by Lin Xiuyi and crashed directly into the Beihua Police Station.

The police car that Lin Xiuyi was driving also had its front end smashed to pieces, and the engine had flown off.

"I want to learn to drive like you, that's the most exciting way to drive!" Yukiko's eyes lit up as she excitedly swung her legs. "Once I get my driver's license, I'm definitely going to buy a sports car first!"

"I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I would never speed unless absolutely necessary!" Lin Xiuyi replied irritably. "Don't take that kind of trash talk seriously, 'speed is faith'."

During a relaxed chat, the bicycle soon arrived at the building where Tengfeng lived.

"Won't you come up for a bit?" Yukiko invited, blushing, her eyes filled with anticipation. "My mom and dad aren't home."

“Let’s forget it,” Lin Xiuyi shook her head and pointed to her watch. “Didn’t you just say that Xiao Lü might be sick? I want to go back and check on her as soon as possible.”

"She's more important than me?" Yukiko said coquettishly, but didn't press the matter further. She leaned over and kissed Lin Xiuyi on the cheek. "I'm going back to the set tomorrow morning..."

“I’ll take you to the station tomorrow,” Lin Xiuyi immediately offered.

"At least you have some conscience. I finally came back, but I spent most of my time working for you at the izakaya!" Yukiko snorted, turned around, and walked briskly towards the apartment door.

Lin Xiuyi waited downstairs until he saw the lights on in the girl's apartment before turning his bicycle around and riding towards the izakaya.

The night breeze brushed against my cheeks, carrying a slight chill.

As he passed through the underground passage leading to Erding's destination, he suddenly noticed that the female psychic who had previously deceived Ruko Nagashima had set up her stall there, and now a fortune-telling stall had been set up again.

The same few things remained on the table: a crystal ball covered with a tattered red cloth, an old pendant with mysterious patterns, and some small items whose names I couldn't recall.

Behind the stall sat a girl with long, bright red hair. She looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old and wore a long purple dress embroidered with strange silver patterns. She was fiddling with a crystal ball.

Is someone this young already out there scamming people?

Lin Xiuyi frowned, preparing to tell the officers in charge, Kitano and Yoshioka, to confiscate the stall.

He had just thought that when, unexpectedly, the red-haired girl raised her head, her delicate and beautiful face and crimson eyes staring intently at him, as if she had seen through his thoughts.

Red hair and red eyes are really rare.

Lin Xiuyi couldn't help but take a second look.

The girl then spoke up, "Esteemed guest, why not have your fortune told to see who has set the wheel of destiny in your favor?"

Her voice was clear and melodious, like a clear spring flowing in the mountains, which made Lin Xiuyi's heart flutter and he subconsciously stopped his bicycle.

However, upon considering the other party's identity, he instinctively felt disgusted.

“My destiny is in my own hands, of course. Do you think you’re Izumi Sakai?” Lin Xiuyi retorted in an unfriendly tone.

"Huh?" The red-haired girl was clearly taken aback by the answer, a look of confusion appearing on her delicate face. "Who is Izumi Sakai? Does she know magic too?"

"You don't even know Izumi Sakai, and you dare to set up a fortune-telling stall?" Lin Xiuyi sneered, deliberately showing a fierce expression. "Go home early and go to school. You're so young to be a conman. You have no future."

After saying that, without waiting for the girl's reply, he pedaled and rode towards the exit of the underground passage.

"You're the liar!" The girl stood up angrily, her crimson hair flying behind her. "I'm a witch!"

"The last person there who did fortune-telling claimed to be able to communicate with spirits. Oh, by the way, she's already been arrested by the police," Lin Xiu waved her hand without turning her head. "You'd better watch yourself, you little liar!"

"I'm not a liar!" The girl stomped her foot angrily, her bloodshot eyes blazing with fury. "You jerk, I curse you with bad luck tonight!"

Seeing that Lin Xiuyi had already ridden far away, the girl angrily sat back down in her chair.

She glanced at the vintage pocket watch on the table; the hour hand had already passed midnight.

"Strange, the divination this afternoon clearly said that I would meet the person who would turn the wheel of my destiny tonight."

The girl frowned, her eyes filled with confusion.

"But I've been sitting here all night, and although I've done fortune telling for many people, I haven't met that special person at all! Could it be that my fortune telling went wrong?"

With that thought, the girl placed her hands on the crystal ball in front of her and softly recited a divination incantation.

The originally dim crystal ball gradually brightened, and the girl stared intently at it, as if she saw something in the light.

"Huh? Why has the place changed? This is... a classroom? Do I have to go to the school to find that person?"

The girl's brows furrowed even more; she scratched her bright red hair in frustration.

"Damn it, if that's the case, then it really means I have to go to school too, just like that jerk said!"

"By the way, let's do another divination. Who is Sakai Izumi? Judging from what that bastard said earlier, this woman named Sakai Izumi should also be related to the Wheel of Fortune?"

The girl muttered to herself as she began chanting the incantation again...

(End of this chapter)