Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

“Okay, I’ll deliver it,” Lin Xiu nodded, carefully placing one of the bowls of steamed egg custard on the tray and adding a small dish of soy sauce.

Before leaving, he gave Kogoro Mouri a meaningful look.
"Eat slowly, don't choke."

On her way upstairs carrying the tray, Lin Xiuyi couldn't help but think about the various unusual things that had happened that morning.

Kogoro Mouri's sister's unusually early rising and hurried departure, Kogoro's clumsy excuses, and his nervous attempts to stop him from looking at the calendar...

All of this points to one possibility: today is a special day.

When Lin Xiuyi returned home after delivering the steamed egg custard, the first thing she noticed was that the calendar on the living room wall was missing.

There was only Kogoro Mouri at home just now, so it's obvious who did it.

"Ready? Let's go!"

Kogoro Mori had already finished his second bowl of steamed egg custard and stood up impatiently, not even bothering to wipe the crumbs from the corners of his mouth.

Lin Xiuyi handed him a tissue and asked deliberately, "So rushed? I haven't had breakfast yet."

"Huh? Oh! Right, you eat first, you eat first." Kogoro Mouri awkwardly sat back down, tapping his fingers incessantly on the table while his eyes kept glancing at the wall clock.

Lin Xiuyi slowly finished her egg custard, drank a cup of tea, and then got up to clear the table.

He could feel Kogoro Mouri's anxious gaze following his every move.

“Alright, let’s go,” Lin Xiuyi said, picking up her coat and wallet.

Kogoro Mouri visibly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed him out the door.

……

On the way to the shopping street, Lin Xiuyi casually asked, "What gift do you want to buy for Liuli?"

"Uh...this..."

Kogoro Mouri stammered and couldn't give a coherent answer.
"Let's go take a look first, and then we'll talk about it when we see something suitable."

Lin Xiuyi chuckled inwardly, but on the surface, he nodded and cooperated with his friend's performance.

He said he wanted to give his girlfriend a surprise, but Kogoro Mouri hadn't thought of anything and just kept dragging Shuichi Hayashi around the shopping street.

The two soon arrived at the Mihua Department Store. As soon as they entered, Lin Xiuyi noticed two familiar figures standing at the entrance of a men's clothing store not far away.

Before he could see who it was, Kogoro Mouri suddenly patted him on the shoulder in a startled manner.

"Oh no, Shuichi, I forgot my wallet."

"It's okay, I brought it," Lin Xiuyi said with a smile. "Even if I brought it, will you have any allowance left this month?"

"Hehe, how much did you spend today? You can deduct it from your salary at the izakaya at the end of the month," Kogoro Mouri said, while secretly glancing at the door of the men's clothing store they had just visited.

Lin Xiuyi had just noticed that after Kogoro Mouri called his name, the two familiar figures hurriedly ran away.

Judging from their backs, it must be Midori and Akane Koizumi. It seems that there are more participants in today's "surprise" than he imagined.

“Let’s go, Shuichi. The bottom two floors are mostly men’s clothing,” Kogoro Mouri urged. “Let’s go upstairs and take a look.”

The two walked up to the third floor, where most of the shops sold women's clothing and accessories. The dazzling array of goods looked particularly exquisite under the bright lights.

Just as Lin Xiuyi was about to ask Mouri Kogoro what he had decided to give him, the latter suddenly changed his expression, grabbed Lin Xiuyi's arm, and pulled him into a nearby shop without saying a word.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xiuyi asked, feigning confusion, though he already had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

"N-nothing!" Fine beads of sweat appeared on Kogoro Mouri's forehead. "I just thought this store was nice, and it's a good place to pick out a gift for Ruri."

Are you sure you want to send these?

Lin Xiuyi suppressed a laugh, patted his friend on the shoulder, and gestured for him to look around.

Kogoro Mouri turned his head in confusion, and his face instantly turned bright red.

The two were standing in the center of a high-end women's lingerie store, surrounded by all kinds of lace lingerie and sexy nightgowns.

"This this……"

Kogoro Mouri stammered, unable to speak, unsure of where to look.

Although he had seen many women’s sexy lingerie in photo magazines before, this was the first time Kogoro Mouri had ever been so close to it.

Fortunately, it's morning now, the shop has just opened, and there aren't many female customers yet.

However, two female shop assistants not far away were already watching Lin Xiuyi and his companion warily, and one of them even quietly picked up the phone in the store.

Lin Xiuyi timely rescued her extremely embarrassed friend, pulling him quickly out of the lingerie store.

As soon as he stepped outside, Kogoro Mouri was panting heavily, as if he had just escaped from some dangerous area.

"I'm going to the restroom," Lin Xiuyi said, pointing to a sign not far away. "Want to come too?"

"No, no need, I'll wait for you here," Kogoro Mouri wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes darting around.

"Don't go into that lingerie store again," Lin Xiuyi reminded him with a laugh. "If you sneak in again, the staff might actually call the police."

……

Saying he was going to the restroom, after leaving Kogoro Mouri a distance away, Lin Xiuyi found a secluded corner to hide in and quietly observe Kogoro Mouri's movements.

Sure enough, once he confirmed that his friend had left, Kogoro Mouri immediately looked around furtively before quickly walking toward a shop that sold small gifts.

Through the shop window, Lin Xiuyi could clearly see that Eri Kisaki and Ruri were hiding behind the shelves, the three of them huddled together and talking in hushed tones.

"Didn't I tell you to lure Shuichi away?" Eri complained angrily. "Why did you bring him to the department store?"

"I used the excuse of preparing a gift for Ruri to call him out," Kogoro Mouri said with a bitter face. "Of course he had to come here to pick out a gift."

"What do we do now?" Eri Kisaki bit her lower lip in distress. "Shuichi is not only sharp-eyed, but also quick-witted. He must have already become suspicious of your unusual behavior just now."

"Probably not," Kogoro Mouri said uncertainly.

"No matter what, you must keep him occupied during the day!" Eri reminded him. "You can only take Shuichi back at six o'clock in the afternoon."

"Six o'clock in the afternoon..." Kogoro Mouri glanced at his watch. "It's only a little past eight now, there are still more than ten hours left. Where can I take him? We're not like you women, who can go shopping for hours on end."

"How about we go see a movie?" Eri suggested. "Aren't there a few romance movies that are really popular lately?"

"Do you think it's appropriate for two guys like us to go see a romantic movie?" Kogoro Mouri retorted with a dark expression. (End of Chapter)