Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Is everyone here? Let's get into the station!"

Tomizawa Chikage seemed impatient, her gaze sweeping intently over the crowd.

“Yukiko-senpai hasn’t arrived yet.” Midori Orikasa glanced at her watch and looked around. “We agreed to meet at 7:30, and it’s already 7:35. She still hasn’t come.”

"That stinky fox must have overslept at home!"

Eri Kisaki snorted coldly, her tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

"It's already been several minutes past the agreed time. She might still be sleeping in bed. Let's not wait for her and go to the station first, so we don't miss the train."

"Let's wait a little longer," Lin Xiuyi stepped in to smooth things over. "Anyway, there are still more than twenty minutes before the train departs. If we wait a little longer, she might arrive soon."

Eri Kisaki snorted in dissatisfaction, finally giving up her insistence. She simply crossed her arms and occasionally tapped the ground lightly with her toes, revealing her impatience.

Time passed by, and everyone waited for another ten minutes or so.

The electronic screen showed that there were only a few minutes left before their train departed, but Yukiko still hadn't appeared.

"Is Yukiko in some kind of trouble?"

Chikage Tomizawa frowned, her tone tinged with worry.

"Even if she's a bit of a sleepyhead, she probably wouldn't miss such an important trip."

“I just called her home from the public phone at the station, but no one answered.” Lin Xiuyi’s expression also became more serious. “Judging from the time, Yukiko should have left long ago.”

"That stinky fox... he probably won't be that unlucky..."

Eri Kisaki pursed her lips, her tone still carrying her habitual disdain, but compared to her pure impatience just now, there was a noticeable hint of concern.

Just then, Yukiko's familiar, slightly breathless shouts finally came from not far away.

"Wait...wait for me!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yukiko struggling to move towards them, dragging an enormous suitcase that looked even more exaggerated than Chikage Tomizawa's "toolbox".

She was clearly dressed up today, wearing a brand new off-white knee-length dress, an elegant round-brimmed sun hat, and sunglasses that covered half of her face. She didn't look like she was going to catch a train, but rather like she was going to attend a fashion show.

At this moment, however, her beautiful outfit, combined with her slightly flushed cheeks from exertion and her somewhat disheveled gait, created a peculiar contrast.

"That idiot, she's only going to Osaka for two or three days, does she intend to move her whole family there?"

Seeing Yukiko's expression, Eri couldn't help but roll her eyes, her tone full of disdain.

"What's inside such a big suitcase?"

Lin Xiuyi quickly went to meet her and took the large suitcase from the girl.

He was immediately struck by its weight, and he was secretly astonished. Good heavens, this weight... What on earth did she put in there? Could it be stones?

"Why are you so late? Did something happen on the way?"

Lin Xiuyi pulled the suitcase while asking with concern.

Yukiko, slightly out of breath, wiped the fine sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.
"Don't even mention it! I was almost leaving this morning when officers from the police station, along with the manager of Mihana Department Store, suddenly came to see me." The girl said, a happy smile spreading across her face.

"They came to return my necklace! It's the one my mom gave me! Apparently, I accidentally dropped it in the fitting room of the department store the day before yesterday when I was trying on clothes. It was found by a cleaning staff member and handed over to the manager's office."

"Yesterday, the manager was so busy dealing with those thieves that he didn't have time until this morning. He specially asked the police officer to bring the necklace to me. That's so kind of him!"

At this point, the girl raised her head and puffed out her chest, gesturing for Lin Xiu to look at her chest.

"This is the necklace, isn't it pretty?"

The pendant on the necklace is a pale purple gemstone, exquisitely cut, shimmering with a warm luster in the morning light.

“…Hmm, it is indeed very beautiful,” Lin Xiuyi’s gaze fell on the pendant, but his eyes only lingered for a moment before involuntarily sliding down the gemstone and focusing on the exaggeratedly bulging valley on both sides where the gemstone was close to it.

An untimely thought suddenly popped into Lin Xiuyi's head, causing his gaze to become somewhat unfocused.

Yukiko immediately noticed the other person's fiery and probing gaze. Although she felt a little smug for attracting his attention, she was mostly embarrassed by being stared at in public.

The girl blushed and, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed, gently pushed Lin Xiuyi away.

"Hey! You...you big pervert, what are you looking at?!"

Lin Xiuyi then came to his senses, coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, and quickly pulled his suitcase, walking with Yukiko toward the crowd waiting at the station entrance.

Seeing Yukiko's flamboyant attire and the noticeably unusual atmosphere between her and Hayashi Shuichi, Eri immediately bristled like a kitten whose territory had been invaded, and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"If you dawdle like this again, we won't wait for you, you lazy fox."

"I didn't do it on purpose. It was all because of the necklace that I was delayed," Yukiko retorted, not to be outdone. "Besides, the train hasn't even left yet, has it?"

The two exchanged a few words, and only reluctantly stopped when they saw that the train was about to depart.

Carrying their luggage, everyone hurriedly ran into the station, passed through the turnstiles, and rushed to the platform. Finally, just as the train doors were about to close, they all managed to squeeze onto the train without any major incident.

After finding their seats and sitting down, the group of people breathed a sigh of relief.

Lingzi curiously leaned on the back of the chair and looked around: "Wow, there are so many people."

The train bound for Osaka was almost full of passengers, including business people, tourists, and families with children, making it quite lively.

Lin Xiuyi and her group of eight sat on the left and right sides respectively.

Hayashi Hideichi sat on one side with Eri Kisaki, Yukiko, and Reiko, while the remaining members, Kogoro Mouri, Ruri, Midori Orikasa, and Chikage Tomizawa, sat on the other side.

As a couple, Kogoro Mouri and Ruri naturally sat next to each other.

Along the way, the two whispered to each other from time to time and occasionally smiled at each other. The air was filled with a sweet atmosphere, clearly indicating that they were still in the honeymoon phase.

Chikage Tomizawa enthusiastically recounted the "glorious deeds" of the "Phantom Thief Lady" to Midori Orikasa.

For example, she explained how she cleverly evaded surveillance cameras to successfully steal jewelry from a heartless businessman, and how she converted the jewelry into cash to donate to charity. Orikasa Midori listened with eyes full of admiration, frequently exclaiming, "Wow, Chikage-nee, you're so amazing!" (End of Chapter)