Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Hmph, just this once!"

Reiko stared at the strawberry cake in front of her, her eyes sparkling, but she was still trying her best to maintain an "angry" look.

"If you ever hug and cuddle with other older women again without explaining it to me, I will never forgive you!"

"understood."

Lin Xiuyi looked at his younger sister's contradictory expression, his eyes full of laughter, and reached out to pat her head.

"Eat quickly."

The little girl could no longer hold back. She immediately lowered her head, eagerly picked up a spoon, scooped out a large piece of strawberry covered in cream, and stuffed it into her mouth.

The sweet cream mixed with the sweet and sour taste of strawberries melted in her mouth. She puffed out her cheeks, squinted her eyes happily, and said indistinctly, "Mmm, so delicious... even better than the one Mom bought last time!"

Kogoro Mouri sat next to her, munching on a dorayaki while sipping coffee, his gaze shifting back and forth between Reiko, who was engrossed in her meal, and the entrance to the confectionery shop.

He nudged Lin Xiuyi with his elbow and whispered, "Hey, Yingli left alone. Aren't you going to go after her? If she gets really angry, you'll be in trouble later."

“She’s in a bad mood right now. Even if I chase after her, she won’t listen to anything I say. In fact, she’ll only get angrier.”

Lin Xiuyi sighed helplessly, but her eyes unconsciously drifted towards the door, clearly showing some worry.

Reiko, who was engrossed in eating cake, looked up from her busy schedule and mumbled, "Don't worry about Eri-neechan! She's a grown woman, not a child. How could she possibly get lost?"

"Eat your food, you little glutton."

Lin Xiuyi pinched her younger sister's puffed-up cheeks, but her worry grew stronger.

After thinking for a moment, he stood up.
"Kogoro, could you watch over Reiko for me? I'm going to check on Eri."

"Tch, Onii-chan is so biased!"

Reiko pouted in dissatisfaction, but the strawberry cake in front of her was too tempting, so she didn't bother to argue anymore and continued to eat it heartily with her spoon.

Lin Xiuyi walked out of the pastry shop, looked around, and soon noticed that on the street corner not far away, Eri Kisaki's figure was turning into the street next to it.

His lips curled up slightly, revealing a knowing smile.

Eri left much slower than usual. This subtle difference might not be noticeable to an ordinary person, but it was an obvious signal to her childhood friend.

Lin Xiuyi did not chase after him immediately, but turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

There was a flower shop there, and Lin Xiuyi had noticed that the roses in the shop were particularly vibrant when he passed by before.

Eri Kisaki, who had just turned the corner, did not continue walking forward. Instead, she quietly peeked out and looked towards the direction of the pastry shop.

Seeing that Lin Xiuyi hadn't followed, she stomped her foot in annoyance, feeling both angry and anxious.
"Idiot! You're such a big idiot!"

After she left the pastry shop, she deliberately slowed down and even lingered at the street corner for a while, hoping that Lin Xiuyi would catch up with her.

She had noticed that Lin Xiuyi hadn't come out yet, and she thought that he didn't care about her at all, which made her feel wronged and angry.

After seeing Lin Xiuyi walk out of the store, she breathed a sigh of relief, but she was too embarrassed to go back on her own. So she could only hint to Lin Xiuyi to catch up by "leaving her back view".

But who would have thought that Lin Xiuyi didn't see it!
Fei Yingli gritted her teeth in anger, muttering to herself, "When I'm investigating cases, Lin Xiuyi's eyes are usually sharp and keen, able to find even the smallest clues. Why is it that his eyesight is failing him at a time like this?"
As she stood there, torn between going back to find Lin Xiuyi or simply going home, she suddenly felt someone gently pat her shoulder.

Eri Kisaki was seething with anger and turned around without thinking, ready to lash out at the other person, only to find a large bouquet of bright red roses.

The vibrant red roses shimmered in the sunlight, emitting a delicate fragrance that instantly extinguished the anger in her heart. "Miss, someone asked me to deliver these roses to you," a deliberately lowered, somewhat strange voice came from behind the roses.

"Give it to me?" Eri Kisaki stood there, stunned, her face full of surprise.

She was momentarily stunned, completely unable to believe that someone would send her flowers at this time.

"What, don't you like it?"

The rose bushes slowly parted, and Lin Xiuyi peeked out, a smile on her face.

"I picked these out one by one at the florist, and I made sure to choose the freshest red roses."

Upon seeing that the person who delivered the flowers was none other than Lin Xiuyi, Eri's eyes lit up instantly, and a hint of joy couldn't help but appear on her face. However, she quickly crossed her arms, feigning arrogance, and huffed.
"Just a few roses, what's so special about them? I don't like them at all!"

"Really?"

Lin Xiuyi shrugged helplessly, then turned and walked towards the nearby trash can.

"Since you don't like it, I'll just throw it away to avoid wasting it."

"you!"

Eri bit her lip in annoyance, strode forward, snatched the roses, and hugged them tightly, as if afraid that Hideaki would really throw them away.

"You said you gave it to me, so it's mine! If you want to throw it away, it's my job, not yours!"

"Okay, then take it home and throw it away slowly."

Lin Xiuyi couldn't help but laugh when he saw her nervous expression.

Eri Kisaki then realized that Lin Xiuyi had seen through her thoughts all along.

Her face flushed instantly, and she turned away somewhat embarrassedly, continuing to walk forward on her own.

Lin Xiuyi quickly caught up: "Where are we going? I'll spend the rest of the day with you, okay?"

"Hmph, aren't you going to spend time with your precious little sister?"

Eri glanced sideways at her childhood friend, her tone still carrying a hint of jealousy.

“With Kogoro around, Reiko isn’t a child anymore,” Lin Xiuyi said, reaching out to take Eri’s hand.

Eri struggled symbolically for a few moments, but seeing that she couldn't break free, she stopped resisting and could only mutter "scoundrel" under her breath, letting Lin Xiuyi lead her.

Lin Xiu looked down at their clasped hands, then at the road ahead: "You want to go home?"

"...Hmm, I'll go back and get a few books."

Eri nodded slightly, her voice softening considerably.
"I borrowed a few books from Beika Library, and the return date is approaching. I happen to have some free time today, so I'm going to return them."

"I wonder when the library in Beika will be rebuilt. It's quite troublesome to have to go all the way to Beika every time I want to go to the library."

Lin Xiu shook their clasped hands.
"Let's go, I'll go with you."

"Who cares if you keep me company?" Eri said, but a slight smile crept onto her lips. (End of Chapter)