Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Miss, do you know why we're looking for Megumi Ishihara?"

Lin Xiuyi maintained his smile, but his words gradually became serious.
"Because she is very likely involved in Ichikawa's death. If she really is the murderer, then your failure to report it now would be tantamount to protecting the murderer."

"If things are investigated later, you might also have to bear legal responsibility."

These words were like a stone thrown into water, instantly breaking down the receptionist's psychological defenses.

After hesitating for a long time, and after Lin Xiuyi repeatedly assured her that she wouldn't tell Department Head Tanaka what she had said, the receptionist finally relented, her voice extremely low.

"That Manager Ichikawa has a terrible reputation in the group, he's practically infamous."

Her voice was filled with barely suppressed resentment.
"That guy is a complete lecher. Whenever a pretty girl comes to the company, he tries every possible way to harass her. When I first joined, he..."

As she spoke, her cheeks flushed red, clearly recalling an unpleasant experience.

Seeing that the receptionist was going off on a tangent, Lin Xiuyi quickly interrupted, "So, Ichikawa and Ishihara Megumi are indeed lovers?"

"What lover relationship?" The receptionist scoffed, her tone full of disdain. "Ms. Ishihara is nothing more than Ichikawa's plaything. That guy often uses promotions, bonuses, and benefits to lure pretty girls in the company into having relationships with him."

"He has already changed two secretaries this year alone, and Ms. Ishihara is the third."

"She's been Ichikawa's secretary for almost two months. Many employees in the group have even made bets that by the beginning of next month at the latest, Ms. Ishihara will be bored with by Ichikawa and have to pack her bags and leave."

At this point, the receptionist paused, as if remembering something, and added,
"Ms. Ishihara witnessed this yesterday afternoon, and she had a huge argument with those people who made the bet. She was so angry that her face turned white."

"Is that so..." Lin Xiuyi listened quietly, his brows gradually furrowing.

The receptionist became more and more excited as she spoke, and her pace quickened:
“I heard that during the argument yesterday, Ms. Ishihara naively said that Manager Ichikawa would definitely marry her in the future because he had already proposed, and she proudly showed off the ring on her finger.”

"As soon as Ms. Ishihara finished speaking, someone told her that he had proposed to several of Manager Ichikawa's previous secretaries, and that the ring Ms. Ishihara was wearing was exactly the same as the one worn by her previous secretaries."

"This morning, didn't the company send someone to Manager Ichikawa's office to organize documents? I heard that someone found several identical rings on the office floor..."

……

Meanwhile, Inspector Samezaki was also asking Chief Tanaka for Ishihara Megumi's address.

"I'm sorry, address involves employee privacy, so it's not convenient for us..." Manager Tanaka tried to refuse.

Inspector Samezaki sneered and slowly took out a stack of photos from his briefcase, laying them out one by one on the table.

The photo shows Ikakawa's body, pale from being soaked in rainwater, a gruesome sight.

"When Ichikawa's body was discovered this morning, many people had already seen it," Inspector Samezaki said coldly. "There will definitely be related reports in tomorrow morning's newspapers."

Minister Tanaka's gaze lingered on the photo for a moment, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

“If the culprit isn’t caught soon, the discussion about this case in society may continue for a long time,” Inspector Samezaki glanced meaningfully at the Shimadzu Group logo on the wall. “Catching the culprit sooner is a good thing for the Metropolitan Police Department and for the Shimadzu Group.”

After a moment of silence, Department Head Tanaka finally sighed in resignation, picked up the phone next to him, and called his subordinate in the personnel department.

……

The three drove to the apartment where Ishihara Megumi lived.

Midway through, Lin Xiuyi recounted the information he had just gathered.

“So, we have a reason to kill him,” Inspector Samezaki nodded, “Next, as long as we can find some direct evidence…” A muffled thud interrupted him.

Yui Murakami, who was sitting in the back, suddenly slammed her hand on the seat so hard that the whole car shook.

"I never imagined that bastard Ichikawa would become such a scumbag! Naoko-neechan shouldn't have liked him back then!"

Lin Xiuyi turned his head in surprise: "Miss Naoko had a crush on Ichikawa?"

Murakami Yui took a deep breath, as if she was trying her best to control her emotions: "That bastard used to go to Takeshita-sensei's house every day. Anyone who isn't an idiot can see what he was up to."

“Naoko is so smart, she naturally figured it out a long time ago. She even told me in private that if Ichikawa officially started pursuing her, she would definitely say yes.”

As she said this, a tear silently slid down her cheek and landed on the back of the female teacher's hand.

"But in the end..."

Murakami Yui's voice choked with emotion.

"Naoko was hit and killed by the person she loved, leaving her to die alone in the rain. That's why I hate Ichikawa so much..."

A long silence fell over the car, with only the sound of rain pattering on the roof.

Suddenly, Murakami Yui reached out and grabbed Hayashi Shuichi's collar with such force that he almost suffocated.

"Don't you dare learn from scum like Ichikawa! Do you hear me?!"

"Teacher, why are you dragging me into this?" Lin Xiu struggled, both amused and exasperated, her tie twisted and turned.

Murakami Yui snorted coldly and released her grip, her face full of disdain: "You think I don't know?"

She started counting on her fingers: "You have ambiguous relationships with three girls in your class: Eri Kisaki, Fujimine, and Koizumi."

"Speaking of which, Ichikawa is not as good as you! At least, that guy wasn't so flirtatious in front of Naoko back then."

Lin Xiuyi awkwardly straightened her collar, her ears turning slightly red.

As Inspector Samezaki drove, a barely perceptible smile crept onto his lips as he watched this scene.

……

Following the address given by Minister Tanaka, Lin Xiuyi and his two companions quickly found the entrance to Ishihara Megumi's apartment.

Inspector Samezaki raised his hand and knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Just as he was about to knock again, Lin Xiuyi suddenly wrinkled his nose: "There seems to be a smell... Oh no, it's natural gas!"

After saying that, he hurriedly started banging on the door, and Inspector Samezaki, who had come to his senses, also came forward to help.

After the two men rammed the door repeatedly, it was finally forced open, and a strong smell of natural gas immediately wafted out.

"Don't light the fire, don't turn on the lights..." Lin Xiuyi called out while covering her mouth and nose, quickly finding the kitchen and turning off the gas valve.

Inspector Samezaki and Yui Murakami searched the room and soon found Megumi Ishihara unconscious in the bedroom… (End of Chapter)