Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 378 The Twins Who Hit Someone
The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire beach golden red, and the waves gently lapped against the shore, leaving wet trails.

The sea breeze gradually picked up, carrying a salty, damp scent that brushed against everyone's faces, dispelling the daytime heat.

“It’s getting late, we should head back,” Eri said, gathering her long hair that had been tousled by the sea breeze.

"Yes, I'm a little hungry," Yukiko said, touching her flat stomach.

“Let’s go back and change our clothes, it’s getting a bit cold,” Ruri suggested, linking arms with Eri. “Kogoro, Shuichi, the rest is up to you.”

The girls chatted and laughed as they walked toward the hotel, leaving a trail of footprints of varying depths on the beach.

Hayashi Shuichi and Mouri Kogoro watched them leave, while Furuya Rei and Narumi, the two little ones, had already started packing their things.

After returning the umbrella and deck chair, Lin Xiuyi and the others returned to the hotel entrance, and it was already dark.

The neon lights at the hotel's main entrance shimmered softly in the twilight, and the revolving doors kept turning, with all sorts of guests coming and going.

Just as Lin Xiuyi and his group of four were about to step into the revolving door, a figure suddenly rushed out from inside.

Lin Xiu felt a blur before his eyes, followed by a sharp pain in his chin as he collided head-on with the person who had approached him.

"Ah!" the other person exclaimed, staggering back two steps before regaining their balance.

Lin Xiuyi clutched her chin, wincing in pain.

He felt his teeth going numb, and instinctively licked his tongue to make sure he wasn't bitten. Then, he looked closely and recognized that the person who bumped into him was one of the twins from the University of Tokyo's tennis team.

"Sorry..." the girl said hastily, without even looking up to see who she had bumped into, before running towards the sea without looking back, her figure quickly disappearing into the twilight.

"Isn't it that girl named Shizuka?" Kogoro Mouri nudged his friend with his elbow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You're really lucky, you can just bump into a beautiful girl like that."

"First of all, it wasn't good luck; that blow almost dislocated my jaw."

Lin Xiuyi rubbed his throbbing chin and glared at his best friend with annoyance.
"Secondly, that girl wasn't Shizuka, she must have been Kazuka."

"No way?" Kogoro Mouri's eyes widened in surprise.

He touched his newly sprouted stubble, looking doubtful: "I remember Shizuka's skin was darker, and Kazuka's was lighter. Shizuka wore her hair in a ponytail, while Kazuka had long, loose hair. The one who bumped into people in a bikini just now was not only darker but also had her hair in a ponytail. It was clearly Shizuka!"

"You're talking about things from before. Xiang and I spent the afternoon at the beach, and I guess we didn't put on sunscreen, so our skin got tanned. As for the hairstyle..." Lin Xiuyi shrugged, "Can't we just tie it up casually?"

"Are you serious?"

Kogoro Mouri paused for a moment, then gave a mocking smile.

He leaned closer to Lin Xiuyi, deliberately lowered his voice, and winked, saying, "Xiuyi, you didn't stare at her all afternoon, did you? Otherwise, how would you know so clearly?"

“Master spent the whole afternoon playing with his wife and the others,” Furuya Rei testified on behalf of Hayashi Hideichi. “If he dared to stare at other beautiful women, Eri and the others would have been angry long ago.”

“That makes sense,” Kogoro Mouri asked in surprise, “Shuichi, how did you recognize her as Waka?”

“When she bumped into me just now, I noticed a white mark on her skin,” Lin Xiuyi explained. “It must be because she’s been wearing a Buddha statue, which prevented the skin there from getting completely tanned.”

"Tsk tsk, Shuichi, you're quite the observer!" Kogoro Mouri chuckled. "So, how deep is her cleavage?"

"cough!"

Lin Xiuyi almost choked on her own saliva, quickly coughing twice to cover her embarrassment, then asked in an annoyed tone.

"Our great Casanova just said this morning that he only wants Ruri for the rest of his life, and he's already regretting it this afternoon?" Kogoro Mouri puffed out his chest and said confidently, "I did say that I only want Ruri for the rest of my life, but that doesn't stop me from looking at other girls with admiration."

"The girls go through all that trouble to dress up, isn't it all for us men to see? If we don't look, then all their dressing up has been for nothing?"

“If you say that twenty years from now, you’ll definitely get scolded,” Lin Xiuyi said, shaking his head with amusement.

Seeing Kogoro Mouri's smug look, Lin Xiuyi had a sudden idea. He looked over Mouri's shoulder and pretended to be surprised, exclaiming, "Ruri, you guys changed your clothes so quickly?"

"What are you looking at, girl!"

Kogoro Mouri's expression immediately changed, and his voice rose considerably.

"I have enough with Ruri! Shuichi, don't lead me astray!"

As he spoke righteously, he quickly turned around, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

"Ruri, Shuichi wanted to take me to see some beautiful women, but I firmly refused."

After he finished speaking, he noticed that there was no one behind him, no sign of Liuli.
"Damn it! Shuichi, you tricked me again!" Kogoro Mouri turned around angrily, his face flushed red.

"If I hadn't tried it, I wouldn't have known you were so good at shifting blame onto me," Lin Xiuyi said, arms crossed, looking at his friend with a half-smile.

"Haha, I had no choice,"

Kogoro Mouri scratched his head and chuckled dryly, then lowered his voice and his expression turned distressed.
"You don't know, Ruri usually looks weak, but when she gets angry, she's just as scary as Eri."

"Besides, you've made me take the blame quite a few times in front of Eri."

As he spoke, Kogoro Mouri began to complain incessantly.

"Shuichi, you haven't been buying any photobooks lately, so I haven't seen the latest one in ages. Do you know how I've been coping?"

As he spoke, he made a heartbroken expression.

“Lingzi lives with me,” Lin Xiu said, rubbing her temples with a headache. “She keeps a close eye on me, so how could I possibly have a chance to buy that kind of thing?”

"Just be careful, isn't that enough?"

Kogoro Mouri glanced at Rei Furuya and Narumi, then leaned closer mysteriously.

"I heard there's a newcomer in the photobook industry who's not only beautiful but also has a fantastic figure."

He deliberately dragged out the tone and even gestured an exaggerated curve with his hand.

"cough!"

Lin Xiuyi suddenly cleared his throat, straightened up with a serious expression, and stared straight ahead.
"What did you say? Kogoro, I don't understand at all."

"Didn't you understand? Shuichi, are you still pretending with me?"

Kogoro Mouri laughed heartily and patted his good friend on the shoulder forcefully.

"Just wait, after I get back this afternoon, I'll make an excuse to go out and buy a photo album, and we'll enjoy it together tonight!"

(End of this chapter)