Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Lin Jun? This is..."

Mr. Kojima walked over, holding a large iron ladle, looking in the direction where the Sumiyoshi-kai members had disappeared, his face full of puzzlement.
"Didn't they say someone was causing trouble in the shopping district? Why did you let them leave?"

"These are the guys who caused trouble in the shopping street today,"

Lin Xiu pointed to the group of Igawa who were still sprawled on the ground.
"Those Sumiyoshi-kai people actually came to help."

Several delinquent teenagers were trying to stand up, supporting each other, but their legs gave way and they collapsed back down with a thud. The wet stains on their crotches were particularly noticeable under the streetlights.

"No way?"

Mr. Kojima frowned, and subconsciously tapped his palm with the metal spoon, making a dull "snap" sound.

"Can gangsters really be this kind?"

“They definitely didn’t mean any harm,” Lin Xiu handed over Yamashita Koji’s business card. “They opened a financial company in the shopping district, which is basically a loan shark operation. They probably have their eyes on the land in the shopping district.”

"Damn it! The Shimadzu Group issue hasn't been resolved yet, and now the Sumiyoshi-kai has appeared. I can't live like this anymore!"

Mr. Kojima scratched his head in frustration, his bald patch shining brightly under the streetlights.

"It can't be considered a bad thing," Lin Xiuyi said with a smile, "When tigers and wolves fight, there will always be some restraint. At least the shopping street will be peaceful for a while."

"I'm afraid they'll end up teaming up against us," Mr. Kojima said worriedly. "Then our shopping street will be finished."

“Thinking about this now is useless,” Lin Xiuyi reminded. “It’s best to warn everyone, especially those with young people in their families, never borrow money from that Mitsui Financial. Once you get involved with this kind of usury, it’s very difficult to get out.”

"I'll post a notice on the bulletin board at the street corner first thing tomorrow morning, and then notify each household again!"

Mr. Kojima nodded heavily, then glanced at Igawa on the ground with disgust.
"What do we do with these bastards?"

"Let's hand them over to the police," Lin Xiuyi sighed helplessly. "They're all quite young. I guess they'll just get a reprimand at the police station and then their parents will be notified to take them home."

……

As darkness fell, the streetlights on the shopping street began to illuminate the scene.

The residents escorted the dejected Igawa and his gang toward Koban, with intermittent shouts and curses audible along the way.

"You little brat, how dare you smash my window!"

"Just wait until your parents come and they'll teach you a lesson!"

Igawa staggered forward, constantly being pushed along, like a wilted eggplant, too exhausted to even offer an explanation.

Midori Orikasa stayed at the flower shop with her mother, while everyone else returned to the izakaya.

With so many things happening today, the izakaya (Japanese pub) is closed for business, so everyone has come up to the second floor to Lin Xiu's family.

"I never expected things in the shopping district to get so complicated."

Yukiko slumped onto the sofa, casually ripping off her hair tie, letting her brown curly hair fall loose.

She picked up an apple from the table, took a big bite, and mumbled a sigh.

"Even gangsters have gotten involved."

"Can't we go to the police for help?"

Lingzi gently shook her brother's arm, her little face full of confusion.

She rested her chin on Lin Xiuyi's wrist: "Aren't police officers supposed to catch bad guys?"

“In this kind of situation, the police are already helping by not getting involved.”

Lin Xiuyi stroked his younger sister's soft hair, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness that she couldn't yet understand. With collusion between officials and businessmen, and the presence of gangs, it was already a good thing that the Metropolitan Police Department didn't join in the corruption.

"A perfectly good birthday, ruined by this whole mess," Eri Kisaki leaned against the window, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the condensation on the glass, her voice full of frustration.

She glanced at the unfinished cake on the table; the cream had already melted a bit.

"Oh right! I still haven't given Onii-chan a present!"

Lingzi seemed to suddenly remember something, jumped up from the sofa, ran to her room, and quickly came out carrying a light blue gift box with a large bow tied to it.
"Onii-chan, open it and take a look!"

Under the little girl's expectant gaze, Lin Xiu carefully untied the ribbon and opened the box—inside was a stylish quartz watch, its silver strap gleaming softly under the light.

"Onii-chan, your old watch has a worn-out strap. I've been wanting to get you a new one for a while now."

Lingzi tiptoed and carefully took the old watch off Lin Xiuyi's wrist, which he had used for several years, and then put the new watch on his wrist. Her little hands were still clumsily fastening the clasp.

"I saved up my allowance for several months and spent a long time picking it out at the department store before I finally chose it."

No wonder the little girl has been saying lately that she doesn't have enough pocket money and has even been eating fewer snacks. It turns out she's saving up to buy herself a birthday present.

Lin Xiuyi looked at the new watch on her wrist, then at the satisfied smile on her sister's face, and felt a warm feeling fill her heart.

He reached out and hugged the little girl tightly, gently rubbing his chin against the top of her head: "Thank you, Lingzi, brother likes it very much."

"And our gifts too."

With a smile, Tomizawa Chikage took a square gift box from her cloth bag and pushed it in front of Hayashi Hideichi.

“This was prepared by me, Narumi, and Rei together. The two little ones not only took out all their saved pocket money, but also spent the whole afternoon picking out gifts at the gift shop in the shopping street.”

When Lin Xiu opened it, she found a dark blue silk tie inside, embroidered with fine geometric patterns. It felt very smooth to the touch and looked quite valuable.

"And this too." Tomizawa Chikage took out another elegant white gift box. "This is for Midori. She had to stay at the flower shop with her mother and didn't have time to give it to you in person, so she asked me to pass it on."

The gift from Midori Orikasa was a pure white shirt with a small cherry blossom pattern embroidered on the collar. The stitches were fine and dense, indicating that it had been carefully selected.

Following that, Eri Kisaki and Yukiko also presented their respective gifts.

These two are usually at odds, but the gifts they exchanged were surprisingly well-matched, as if they had planned it beforehand.

Eri Kisaki gave him a well-tailored dark blue suit, while Yukiko gave him a pair of polished black leather shoes.

"Wear this outfit, and I guarantee you'll charm all the female students at school," Yukiko said smugly, raising her chin.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Eri glared at her, annoyed, but secretly glanced at Lin Xiuyi in his suit, her ears turning slightly red.

Finally, it was Kogoro Mouri and Ruri's turn. They pointed to the huge box in the corner of the room: "We're sending this together, a bicycle. It'll make things more convenient for you."

After everyone finished giving their gifts, their eyes all turned to Akane Koizumi, who was sitting in the corner.

"promise."

The apprentice witch looked disgusted and pulled a sachet-like amulet from her pocket and tossed it over.

"Although I bought the sachet casually at the shrine, the spices inside are specially made by me. They can make people stronger and clear-headed."

After saying that, she turned her face away and muttered something.
"If you dare to lose it, I will not let you off easily."

Lin Xiuyi caught the sachet, which was still warm from her body, and gently sniffed it. A refreshing herbal scent entered her nasal cavity, instantly dispelling much of her fatigue.

Looking at the smiling faces before him—some shy, some smug, some awkward—he suddenly realized that no matter how complicated things might become in the future, as long as these people were by his side, there was nothing to fear… (End of Chapter)