Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Seeing Lingzi circling around her two "brothers" several times, her little face was full of confusion.

The real Lin Xiuyi felt a pang of tenderness when he saw his younger sister's adorable appearance, and subconsciously reached out to gently pat her head.

However, at the same time he raised his hand, the "Lin Xiuyi" next to him made the exact same reaching gesture!
This strange synchronization made Lingzi's eyes, which had just lit up, instantly become confused again. She looked to the left, then to the right, and her little mouth pouted even more.

"Hey, glasses girl," Yukiko nudged Eri with her elbow, "Didn't you just confidently say from the audience that you could tell which one was Shuichi even with your eyes closed? Now tell me, which of these two on stage is the real one?"

Her gaze darted between the two men, clearly indicating that she hadn't made up her mind yet.

"Why should I tell you?"

Eri Kisaki crossed her arms and gave a cold snort.
"Can't you tell whether it's true or false? Or is it that you... don't actually know him as well as you think you do?"

"Hmph! You think I can't tell the difference?"

Provoked by these words, Yukiko turned her gaze back to the two figures on the stage, not to be outdone.

“If you can’t tell the difference,” Eri Kisaki turned her head and smiled coldly, “stay away from Shuichi from now on and stop hanging around him.”

Just you wait and see!

Yukiko stopped arguing with her, her brows furrowed, and she began to examine more closely the subtle differences between the two Hayashi Shuichi.

Compared to the women's keen observation and the undercurrents of the atmosphere, Kogoro Mouri is much more direct.

He scratched his already messy hair, his face full of impatience, and simply shouted at the stage.

"Hey! Shuichi! Which one of you is the real one? Stop playing around!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two "Lin Xiuyi"s on stage spoke almost simultaneously.
"I am real!"

The next moment, the two of them, like puppets controlled by the same string, simultaneously raised their arms, pointed precisely at each other, and accused each other in unison.

"He's a fake, I'm the real one!"

"Uh...you two..." Kogoro Mouri was confused by this response.

He looked left and right with a headache, feeling like his mind was a tangled mess of yarn played with by a cat, completely unable to make sense of it.

"This...this is even more difficult than reading a mystery novel!"

"This scene before us is so similar to the story that Shuichi told us when we were little,"

Looking at the comical yet bizarre scene before her, Liuli tried hard to recall...

"It's that... a monk who, with three disciples, went through hardships to retrieve Buddhist scriptures..."

"The real and fake Monkey Kings!" Reiko immediately answered, her eyes sparkling. "My older brother told me about it too! It's about two identical Sun Wukongs who appeared, and even his master Tang Sanzang couldn't tell them apart!"

"Did the story explain how to distinguish between the real and the fake at the end?" Tomizawa Chikage asked curiously, her interest piqued.

"The story uses many methods, such as a demon-revealing mirror and reciting the tight-fitting spell, but in the end, they still have to find the Buddha to discern the truth,"

As Liuli said this, her eyes lit up.
"That's it! It's not that complicated in reality. We can have them each tell a story about their childhood, and we can immediately tell if it's true or not!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a pre-recorded, magnetic voice belonging to Toichi Kuroba rang out from above the stage. The magician had clearly anticipated all possible "cheating" methods.
"To make the game more interesting, please note that all new audience members can only observe and distinguish based on appearance, voice, and demeanor. You must not ask any questions that involve privacy or specific memories of your partner."

"And please, our excellent temporary performer, comply with the rules of the magic show. In three minutes, we will all reveal the final answer." "It seems this magician was already prepared for our possible methods..."

Midori Orisaka was speaking when her gaze inadvertently swept over the hands of the two "Hayashi Hideichi" figures on the stage, which were hanging by their sides, and she suddenly noticed a very subtle difference.

She immediately clapped her hands excitedly: "I know! I know which one is the real senior!"

"Huh? Even Little Green..."

Yukiko bit her lower lip in annoyance when she saw that even Midori Orikasa had reached a conclusion.

Eri Kisaki is Hayashi Shuichi's childhood friend. The two grew up together, so it's normal that she can immediately tell the difference between the real and the fake.

Like herself, Midori Orisaka had only known Hideaki Hayashi for a little over six months.

Now even she can tell the difference between the real and the fake. Could it be that I really do not know Shuichi at all, just like the girl with glasses said?
Yukiko grew increasingly unwilling to accept it. She focused her gaze again, her eyes scanning the faces and eyes of the two "Hashi Hideichis" like a scanner...

A few seconds later, the annoyance on her face was replaced by a happy smile, and she proudly put her hands on her hips.

"Hmph! I know which one is Shuichi now!"

"I know which one is Onii-chan now!"

Lingzi, who had circled the two of them carefully twice more, proudly raised her little head.

"I see……"

Chikage Tomizawa also laughed, her gaze lingering knowingly on the real Hideaki Hayashi for a moment before turning to Eri Kisaki.

"No wonder Eri said from the audience just now, 'A fake is always a fake.' Some things, indeed, cannot be imitated no matter how skillful one is."

"No way?! You...you all figured it out?"

Looking at his companions around him, who seemed to have suddenly gained supernatural powers, Kogoro Mouri scratched his head in frustration, almost pulling his hair out.
"How come I can't tell? They look exactly the same!"

“That’s because you didn’t observe carefully enough,” Liuli said, clearly already knowing the answer, looking helplessly at her boyfriend.

"Disguise may be able to imitate physical appearance, but a person's unique temperament, habits, and the invisible connection with others that they develop over the years can never be imitated."

Chibo Jinghua said with a smile, her gaze, with a hint of amusement, landing on the real Lin Xiuyi.

At the same time, the members of the Kyoto University Mystery Club also reached their own conclusions through their observations and reasoning.

Hattori Heizo smiled knowingly on his dark face. Kawada Haeko and Yoshida Aoi exchanged opinions in hushed tones and then nodded. Even the silent Ono Kayoko nodded slightly, indicating that she had made her judgment.

Just then, on the stage, the voice that Toichi Kuroba had previously recorded to guide the flow of the event rang out again:

"Please come up to the side where you think the item is genuine, everyone."

"In a moment, we will reveal the truth together..."

As the recording ended, Lingzi was still the quickest to act.

Without almost any hesitation, she giggled and eagerly threw herself into Lin Xiuyi's arms on her left, nuzzling her face affectionately against his suit jacket. (End of Chapter)