Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

This amount of force was nothing to Lin Xiuyi, but the anger he felt was genuine.

After being pounded a few times, Yukiko suddenly got up from the ground.

Ignoring her sore bottom and messy hair, the girl rushed out of the bathroom, lunged at the sink next door, turned on the tap, and began frantically rinsing her mouth with water using her hands.

Again and again, as if trying to completely wash away the non-existent taste in her mouth, she also vigorously rubbed her cheeks and the area around her lips with the back of her wet hands, with such force that she almost rubbed her skin raw.

Lin Xiuyi awkwardly followed her out, standing helplessly at the bathroom door, watching Yukiko's almost self-destructive washing behavior.

He scratched his head, trying to defend himself.
"Well... it's not entirely my fault, is it? I didn't expect you to come in so suddenly... Besides, you were the one who broke down the door..."

Upon hearing this, Yukiko turned her head sharply and glared at him fiercely, her eyes filled with murderous intent, shame and indignation, and a resolute determination that said, "If you dare say another word, I'll take you down with me."

She didn't say anything, but continued to rub her face vigorously, until her originally fair and delicate cheeks were rubbed red.

Looking at her flushed cheeks, Lin Xiuyi felt guilty and blurted out again without thinking.

"Don't...don't rub so hard, your face is all red...I...I heard...that when you put it on your face...it seems...maybe...perhaps...maybe...it can beautify the skin?"

He spoke without any conviction, merely trying to find an excuse to stop her self-harming cleansing.

"Pfft-cough cough cough!"

Yukiko was rinsing her mouth when she heard this and almost choked on the water, coughing until her face turned red.

She abruptly turned off the tap, turned around, trembling with anger, and kicked Lin Xiuyi hard in the shin.

"You still dare to say that! You're not allowed to mention that again!! Not a single word of it!! Do you hear me!!"

"Okay, okay! I won't say anymore! I promise!"

Lin Xiuyi winced in pain and quickly raised her hands in surrender, her face full of sincerity that said, "I was wrong, I will never do it again."

After Yukiko finally stopped her frantic washing and dried the water droplets on her face with a towel, her emotions seemed to calm down a little.

But her pretty face remained tense, her lips pressed into a straight line, she didn't even glance at Lin Xiuyi, and her whole body exuded a low pressure that said "Keep away, especially Lin Xiuyi."

Lin Xiuyi carefully followed Yukiko, who was still angry, back to the restaurant with a forced smile.

The atmosphere was so awkward it was almost palpable.

"Um... Yukiko, you haven't had breakfast either, have you... how about some steamed buns?"

Lin Xiuyi tried to break the deadlock by reaching into a bag on the table and picking up a still-warm meat bun, which he then offered to the girl.

Yukiko glanced at the meat bun, and was about to take it when her hand suddenly stopped.

Her gaze involuntarily fell on the hand holding the steamed bun.

It's this hand! Just now in the bathroom...

A strong sense of disgust instantly welled up in my heart.

Yukiko pulled her hand back as if she had been burned, letting out a loud, disgusted "Hmph!" from her nose, before quickly reaching into the plastic bag and grabbing another one.

The girl took small bites of the bun, perhaps because she was still upset, or perhaps because she had rinsed her mouth too many times and her mouth was dry. She was having some difficulty eating and swallowing.

Lin Xiuyi, sensing the situation, quickly got up, walked briskly to the refrigerator, took out an unopened carton of fresh milk, and handed it over solicitously.

"Have some milk."

Yukiko, with a stern face, took the milk carton without even looking at him, inserted the straw, and took a sip.

The cool, rich liquid slid down her throat, indeed relieving the dryness in her mouth. However, the moment the unique, slightly fishy taste of milk filled her mouth, it was as if some uncontrollable switch had been flipped in the girl's mind.

The scene that had happened in the bathroom earlier, which made me blush with embarrassment and indignation, along with the slightly warm, sticky touch and the faint fishy smell, flashed back to me with unparalleled clarity!

"vomit--"

A strong psychological suggestion and physical discomfort swept over me like a tsunami.

Yukiko suddenly covered her mouth, pushed the chair away, and, not caring about her image, rushed to the bathroom again, leaned over the toilet, and began to gag violently.

This time it was even worse than before; tears welled up in my eyes.

Lin Xiuyi was startled and quickly followed, standing behind her. Seeing her distressed appearance, she felt both guilty and wanted to laugh.

He reached out and gently, rhythmically patted Yukiko's back, his tone filled with concern and a hint of barely concealed amusement.

"Are you alright? Will you feel better if you throw up? Or... should I get you some more water?"

Yukiko gagged for a while but didn't vomit anything. She just felt a spasmodic pain in her throat and stomach.

She weakly straightened up, rinsed her mouth with water, turned around, and saw the fleeting smile on Lin Xiuyi's face that hadn't completely faded yet. She was instantly furious!

"You...you're still laughing!!"

Yukiko pointed at Hayashi Shuichi, her voice hoarse from gagging, but her anger remained undiminished.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Lin Xiuyi immediately straightened her face and adopted a serious expression.
"I'm... I'm expressing my concern and sympathy! Yes, sympathy!"

Yukiko was so angry that she didn't want to talk to him anymore. She leaned against the wall and walked back to the living room with unsteady steps. She sat heavily on the sofa, hugged her arms, and her chest heaved violently, clearly still angry.

Lin Xiuyi, like a follower, also walked to the sofa and sat down opposite her, still wearing a playful smile on his face, trying to get away with it with this attitude.

Seeing him like this, Yukiko's anger flared up even more fiercely, as if oil had been poured on it.

She slammed her hand on the sofa armrest, glaring angrily at Lin Xiuyi.

"How could you do this! How could you do such a shameless thing so early in the morning... in the bathroom!!"

Looking at Yukiko's angry face, Lin Xiuyi felt a pang of grievance in his heart.

Can you blame him?
If Eri Kisaki hadn't been teasing him all morning, and hadn't been interrupted one after another by Reiko and Yui Murakami, how could he have ended up "taking care of things" in the bathroom and been caught red-handed?

"I didn't want to either," Lin Xiuyi shrugged. "I was exhausted by all sorts of things this morning, and I finally wanted some peace and quiet, but who knew you would suddenly barge in..."

"I barged in?"

Yukiko's eyes widened, and her voice instantly rose in pitch.

"I only saw milk stains on the floor and wanted to wipe them clean for you, so I went to get a towel, and that's when I slipped and bumped into the door!"

"If I had known you were doing that kind of thing in there, I..."

As she spoke, Yukiko's cheeks flushed again. The scene from just now kept replaying in her mind, making her scalp tingle. She quickly shook her head, trying to shake off those terrible memories.

Seeing her angry and embarrassed expression, Lin Xiuyi knew he was in the wrong.

He sighed, his tone softening: "Okay, okay, it's my fault. I shouldn't have done that kind of thing in the bathroom. Please forgive me this time, okay?" (End of Chapter)