Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 388 Genji Kojima
"I'm so sorry my son has caused you trouble!"

A tall, thin middle-aged man pushed open the wooden door of the izakaya and walked quickly to Lin Xiuyi.

He was wearing a faded navy blue work uniform, and fine beads of sweat clung to his forehead, clearly indicating he had run all the way there.

The man bent over deeply, almost folding his upper body at a ninety-degree angle.

Behind him followed a boy of about ten years old, whose face was full of reluctance.

The boy tried to explain, but his father grabbed the back of his head with his large hand and forced him to bow as well.

"This is."

Lin Xiuyi looked at Orisaka Midori, who was following behind them, with a puzzled expression.

“Senior,” Midori Orikasa walked over quickly and explained in a low voice, “This is the owner of Kojima Tavern in the shopping district, and next to him is his son, Genji Kojima. The glass in our shop was smashed by Genji Kojima.”

“I’m so sorry!”

Upon hearing Midori Orikasa explain the situation, the island's owner bowed even lower, gripping his son's arm tightly, and the two bowed deeply once more.

Lin Xiuyi noticed that the boy's ear tips were already burning red, but he still stubbornly pursed his lips.

“Mr. Kojima, please get up. I accept your apology,” Lin Xiuyi said, extending a hand to help him up. “But let’s get to the bottom of this first.”

He looked at the defiant boy and asked, "Can you explain why you smashed our shop window with a rock?"

"traitor!"

Kojima Genji suddenly raised his head, shook off his father's hand, turned his face away, and faced the back of Hayashi Xiuyi, clearly not wanting to say anything more.

"Traitor?" Lin Xiuyi was amused by this title.

He crossed his arms, tilted his head, and sized up the boy: "I've never seen you before, so what betrayal? Or do the others in our shop know you? Kogoro? Eri? Reiko?"

Before he could finish speaking, Mr. Kojima suddenly widened his eyes and slapped his son hard on the back of the head.

"I knew it! You really did break the window because of that!"

Mr. Kojima was so angry that his beard was trembling.

"On the way here, no matter how I asked you, you wouldn't open your mouth!"

"Wait a moment!"

Seeing that Mr. Kojima was about to make another move, Lin Xiuyi quickly stepped forward and stood between the father and son.

He could feel the boy's tense body trembling slightly, whether from anger or fear, he couldn't tell.

"Please explain what exactly happened first," Lin Xiuyi said helplessly, spreading his hands. "I'm still completely confused."

Mr. Kojima sighed deeply, took a crumpled handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and after a moment said:

"What else could it be but the demolition of the commercial street?"

"The commercial street is going to be demolished?" Lin Xiuyi's eyes widened in surprise. "Who said that?"

"Mr. Lin, you didn't know?" Mr. Kojima asked, looking surprised. "Haven't any people from the Shimadzu Group come looking for you these past two days?"

“Last weekend, everyone in our shop went to the beach and played for two days. They only came back last night,” Lin Xiuyi explained. “After we got back, Aunt Maoli didn’t mention it to me.”

"You weren't here all weekend?"

Mr. Kojima's expression suddenly became complicated. He raised his hand, seemingly wanting to scold his son again, but in the end, he only sighed heavily. "Yes," Lin Xiu nodded, pulling over a chair for Mr. Kojima to sit down, "What exactly happened?"

Kojima Genji had lost his earlier stubbornness; he lowered his head, his fingers nervously gripping the hem of his clothes.

“I’m sorry,” the boy’s voice was barely audible.

He suddenly bowed deeply to Lin Xiuyi: "I... I heard that your store has been closed for two days this weekend because you have agreed to the Shimadzu Group's conditions and betrayed everyone in the shopping district."

Kojima Genji's voice grew softer and softer.

"I was angry, that's why I smashed the glass."

"Lin Sang, you've been away these past two days, so there are some things I'm not aware of,"

Mr. Kojima took over the conversation, his rough fingers tapping the table unconsciously.

"Last Saturday, people from the Shimadzu Group started going door-to-door to persuade shop owners in the shopping district to buy the land and shops there to build hotels and commercial buildings."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across every corner of the store, as if recalling something.

"The residents of the commercial street are mostly against this idea. After all, we've lived here for decades, and our shops are our source of income."

Mr. Kojima's voice was filled with deep longing.

"Once the commercial street is demolished, although we can get some money, what will happen to everyone's lives?"

Lin Xiuyi noticed that Orikasa Midori's expression had also become serious, and the girl unconsciously bit her lower lip.

"So everyone in the shopping district held a meeting about this matter and unanimously decided to fight the Shimadzu Group to the end," Mr. Kojima continued. "Because your shops have been closed on Saturdays and Sundays, some people have been saying that the Mori family is preparing to sell this building to the Shimadzu Group."

"Only after hearing that did the child..."

Mr. Kojima glared helplessly at his son, who was staring at a crack in the floor with a flushed face, as if there was something particularly attractive there.

After the father and son explained it to him, Lin Xiuyi finally understood what had happened.

“As I just said, the izakaya hasn’t been open for the past two days because we all went out to have fun,” Lin Xiuyi said thoughtfully. “As for whether the Mori family wants to sell, that’s not something I can decide. But when I came back yesterday, Aunt Mori didn’t say anything to me, so I guess she probably doesn’t know about this.”

“That’s certainly possible,” Mr. Kojima nodded. “Mrs. Mori’s health isn’t very good, as everyone in the shopping district knows. Perhaps the person who came to inform you of the meeting didn’t go up to the third floor to disturb her because the shops were closed.”

“In my opinion,” Lin Xiuyi thought for a moment, “even if Aunt Mori knew, she definitely wouldn’t agree to sell it.”

Twenty years later, Kogoro Mouri's Mouri Detective Agency opened on the second floor, where Shuichi Hayashi now lives.

If Mrs. Mori had sold the house and land this time, how could there have been a Mori Detective Agency later on?

"In any case, you should inform Mrs. Mori about this matter."

Mr. Kojima stood up and patted his son on the shoulder.

"If she also objects, then we'll all have to fight against the Shimadzu Group together from now on."

"Okay, I'll talk to Aunt Mori and Kogoro about it later."

Lin Xiu nodded in agreement, then noticed that Kojima Genji had secretly glanced at him.

The young man with thick eyebrows had a clear look of apology and guilt on his face...

(End of this chapter)