Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

When Ruri arrived at the Arai family's door, she took a deep breath, composed herself, and then politely rang the doorbell.

The doorbell rang out sharply on the quiet street, startling a few sparrows perched on a nearby utility pole.

Ruri stood outside the door, and through the crack in the door, she could vaguely see the traces of Mrs. Arai's footsteps in the courtyard.

The high heels left faint marks on the cobblestone path, stretching all the way to the doorway.

A moment later, footsteps were heard, and the door opened.

Mrs. Arai stood at the door with a polite smile on her face.

She had changed out of her dress and was wearing a light-colored cardigan for home wear. Her hair had also been restyled, making her look much neater than before.

"It's Liuli." The woman's voice was soft and gentle, just like always.

"Mrs. Arai."

Ruri greeted her politely and was about to ask Mrs. Arai what had happened these past two days when she suddenly stopped.

Because she noticed that the other person's eyes were a little red.

The blush was very faint, almost invisible unless you looked closely, but there seemed to be traces of tears at the corners of her eyes.

The mark had been carefully wiped away, yet a barely perceptible dampness remained.

Mrs. Arai's eyelashes even had a few water droplets clinging to them, reflecting slightly in the sunlight.

“Mrs. Arai, you…” Ruri said subconsciously.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Mrs. Arai quickly wiped her eyes, as if trying to hide something.
"I was chopping onions just now, and it stung my eyes a bit. You know, that kind of thing always happens when you're cooking."

"Really……"

Liuli nodded, but knew that the other party was not telling the truth.

Unlike her best friend Eri, whose cooking skills are atrocious, Ruri's cooking skills are quite good.

She could tell at a glance that Mrs. Arai hadn't cooked anything.

The other person's hands were clean, with no trace of cutting vegetables under their fingernails.

Most importantly, who would rush to cook a meal less than five minutes after getting home?
If it were anyone else, after being missing for two days and returning home, the first thing they wouldn't do would be go into the kitchen.

However, since the other party did not tell the truth, Liuli considerately did not press the matter.

She knew that her relationship with Mrs. Arai hadn't reached the point where she could pry into everything.

There are some things that people don't want to talk about, so you shouldn't ask.

"Madam, I just wanted to ask, what have you been up to these past two days..."

Liuli carefully chose her words, trying to make her tone sound like she was concerned rather than interrogating.
“When Mr. Arai was asking around about where you were yesterday, I thought you had been kidnapped and I was so worried.”

"I was relieved when Mr. Arai told me you were alright. I came over today to make sure you were really safe and sound."

"Oh, that," Mrs. Arai gave a somewhat unnatural laugh, the smile even stiffer than before. "I just went to a friend's place and had so much fun that I forgot to tell my family. I'm so sorry to have worried you."

"I see." Ruri nodded, her gaze lingering on the other person's face for a moment. "Mr. Arai was very anxious yesterday, looking for you everywhere and even calling the police. My boyfriend also helped me look for you all day."

"in a hurry?"

Mrs. Arai suddenly chuckled, a laugh filled with obvious sarcasm, a stark contrast to her gentle demeanor just moments before.

Why would that bastard worry about me?

"Huh?" Liuli was stunned, clearly not expecting this reaction from the other party.

In her memory, Mrs. Arai was always a gentle and virtuous woman, and she always smiled when she mentioned her husband.

Such sarcastic and resentful words were completely unlike her usual style. Mrs. Arai seemed to realize her slip of the tongue; her expression froze for a moment before returning to normal.

But that brief moment had already stirred up a strange feeling in Liuli's heart.

"Alright, Ruri." Mrs. Arai shook her head, her voice softening again. "Thank you for worrying about me. Don't worry, I'm fine. Let's just treat what happened these past two days as a dream. It's all in the past now."

“Oh…” Liuli didn’t know what to say, so she could only nod.

They chatted for a few more minutes, inquired about Mrs. Arai's health, and exchanged some polite neighborly pleasantries.

Seeing that Mrs. Arai seemed reluctant to speak and her eyes kept drifting into the room, Ruri wisely took her leave.

"Then I'll head back now. Madam, please get some rest."

"Yes, thank you for your concern." Mrs. Arai smiled and nodded, watching her leave.

Liuli turned and took a few steps, but couldn't help looking back again.

Mrs. Arai was still standing at the door, the sunlight shining on her, looking so gentle and normal.

But her slightly red eyes, her mocking laughter, and that phrase "that bastard" left a deep mark on Liuli's heart.

She felt that something was wrong.

……

After returning home, Liuli recounted the scene she had just witnessed to her friends in detail.

"Red-rimmed eyes? Saying Mr. Arai is a bastard?"

After hearing this, Yukiko's eyes lit up, and she had an "I understand" expression on her face.

"It seems the couple had a fight. Mrs. Arai left home in a fit of anger and stayed at a friend's house for two days to calm down."

"I've seen this kind of thing many times; it's always portrayed this way in TV dramas!"

She paused, then continued.
“It makes sense that Mr. Arai wasn’t in a hurry when he went out before.”

"He knew his wife had left home in anger, not because something had really happened, so he wasn't in a hurry."

"Mrs. Arai came back today. The two of them are probably still having a cold war, which is why she spoke in that tone when she mentioned her husband."

"Chopping onions? You're kidding me, I clearly cried."

"Makes sense."

Eri Kisaki nodded in agreement, finding it rare that she shared Yukiko's opinion.
“If it really was a kidnapping, Mrs. Arai wouldn’t have been able to come back so easily, let alone be chatting and laughing with the man who brought her back.”

"Now it seems like it was just a normal family conflict. Mr. Arai probably lied before because he didn't want others to know about his family affairs, and he couldn't save face."

"Shuichi, you've guessed wrong this time."

Kogoro Mouri patted his good friend on the shoulder, a "you've finally met your match" smile on his face.

"But I can't blame you. We can't possibly have any experience with this kind of thing."

Lin Xiuyi rolled her eyes at him and ignored him.

"Mrs. Arai seems to be living a very happy life."

Liuli sighed, her face filled with emotion.

"I never expected it to turn out like this. You really can't understand the dynamics between husband and wife."

"There are plenty of couples who pretend to be loving in front of their partners but secretly wish the other dead."

Yukiko waved her hand dismissively, looking like she'd seen it all.

"There are plenty of couples like this in the entertainment industry. One day they're showing off their love in front of the cameras, and the next day they're issuing a statement announcing their divorce. I've seen it all; it's not surprising at all." (End of Chapter)