Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

A black luxury sedan smoothly drove into the airport's arrival area.

"Over here!"

Just then, he heard a clear Kansai accent.

Not far away, Ooka Momiji leaned against a stretched Lexus.

Sunglasses covered half her face, but her well-tailored kimono and the air of nobility she exuded still drew frequent glances from passersby.

"Red Leaf?" Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow. "What brings you here?"

"It's a rare honor to have such a distinguished guest in Kyoto. As the host, I naturally want to do my best to welcome them." Hongye's lips curled up slightly.

Her gaze passed over Zheng Yi and landed on Xiao Ai, who had just stepped out of the terminal.

"Ai, it's been a long time." Hongye took off her sunglasses and picked Ai up in her arms.

"Sister Hongye".

"Come with me." Hongye completely ignored Zhengyi's presence.

"Now that you're in Kyoto, make yourself at home. I've prepared a special itinerary for you."

“Wait a minute,” Masakazu frowned, interrupting Koyo’s pleasantries, “I came to Kyoto this time mainly to…”

"For official business?" Koyo interrupted him without turning her head: "Mr. Shoichi, why is your official business so urgent? Besides, the Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum isn't going to run away. What's wrong with visiting it a couple of days later?"

"But..." Zheng Yi still wanted to try.

“There are no buts!” Hongye turned around. “Today is the last day of the ‘Weeping Plum and Camellia Festival’ at the Jonan-gu Shrine.”

The plum blossoms are in full bloom at this time of year, and paired with the antique shrine, it's simply a breathtaking sight.

Ai is so cute, she must love looking at flowers, right?

She lowered her head, blinked at Ai, and even secretly squeezed Ai's palm.

Ai looked up at Momiji's expectant face, then at Masakazuki's somewhat reluctant face.

"Um..." Ai said softly, "I haven't seen plum blossoms in a long time either."

"Let's go, let's go!" Hongye took the opportunity to shove her into the back seat of the car, then turned around and gestured with her chin towards Zhengyi.

“Mr. Zhengyi, if you keep dawdling, the good spot will be taken by someone else, or I can take Ai away and you can leave alone.”

Zheng Yi reluctantly opened the car door and sat in the back seat.

"Did you kick out the person I asked to pick me up at the airport?" Zheng Yi asked from the car.

“I’m not that bored,” Hongye said.

Zheng Yi leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips.

Because of the great misunderstanding people have about him, his employees are all afraid of him. When he asks them to pick him up from the airport, they are all afraid that he will kill them if they are late.

There's no one in sight; they must have been driven away by someone.

The car drove smoothly into the streets of Kyoto, and the buildings on both sides gradually became more ancient.

Zheng Yi dozed off for a while, then opened his eyes and looked at the scenery rushing past the window.

"Then I'll go see my Sen-oku Hakuko Kan Museum tomorrow."

When Zheng Yi and his group arrived at the Chengnan Palace Shrine, the shrine maidens were dancing gracefully with plum branches in their hands, and many people around them were taking pictures with their cameras.

After the shrine maidens finished their performance, Momiji excitedly dragged Ai to take pictures.

Each of them held a plum blossom branch they had bought, stood in front of the weeping plum tree, and clamored for Zheng Yi to take their picture.

"Why did you only see my hair in the photo?" Ai asked, clinging to Masakazu's hand.

"I want to capture the flowers at the top of the tree in the photo too."

Ai stared into Shoichi's eyes and said, "So you forgot about me?"

"Who told you to be so short? If you were as tall as Hongye, you would have been reflected in the sunlight!" Zhengyi said.

Ai punched Shoichi's arm.

This guy is deliberately trying to be annoying.

"Reshoot!"

Zheng Yi was forced to take photos of the two of them.

He muttered to himself, "These lively places are always prone to...accidents. Nothing happened this time, which is quite unusual."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a terrified scream shattered the tranquility of the shrine.

"Ahhhhh!! Someone's dead!!"

The crowd instantly erupted into chaos, and the peaceful atmosphere instantly turned into panic.

People screamed and scattered, and a circle of panicked tourists instantly surrounded the area near the stage where the Kagura dance was being performed.

Hongye's expression changed instantly. She looked at Zhengyi in disbelief, "What kind of jinx are you?!"

Zheng Yi was also stunned: "I just said it offhand."

"Conan?"

Zheng Yi stepped forward and examined the deceased's condition.

Why is that plague god here too?

That's normal; it has nothing to do with your bad luck.

Upon seeing Conan, Shoichi made no move to greet him.

Conan is here to solve the case, so he won't go up and cause trouble.

"Let's go back," Zhengyi said to Hongye.

At this moment, Conan had already slipped into the center of the crowd like an eel.

Professor Agasa sighed helplessly, still holding two unfinished takoyaki in his hand. "Didn't we agree that we were just here for sightseeing? How did we end up with another case..."

Conan rushed to the body and saw a middle-aged man in a kimono lying on the ground with a folding fan stuck in his chest and a look of terror on his face.

"The deceased was Mr. Matsumoto, the president of the Kyoto Shimbun!" Someone in the crowd recognized the deceased.

"President Matsumoto? The one who recently had a dispute with the Sumitomo Group?" someone said in surprise.

No one connected his death to the Sumitomo Group.

After all, many people have had disputes with the Sumitomo Group, but none of them have died a violent death.

The Sumitomo Group is still quite humane.

"He recently criticized Zhengyi in the newspaper."

"Ow~"

Immediately, a knowing look appeared on the faces of the group.

If you offend Zheng Yi, it wouldn't be surprising if you died.

"But Shoichi is in Tokyo, why would he come to Kyoto to kill someone?"

"You're so stupid. Why would they do it themselves? They must have sent an assassin to kill you."

Conan pursed his lips when he heard the conversation.

Zheng Yi Ge has been unfairly targeted.

Whether he's in Tokyo or in Kyoto, people are trying to drag him into cases.

"Hey, little brother, whose child are you?" A policeman who arrived at the scene frowned when he saw Conan gesturing beside the corpse and dragged him out.

Inside the villa of the red leaves.

As soon as Zheng Yi came back, he took the game console out of his suitcase and sat on the sofa without moving.

Hongye called him several times but received no response, which gave her a headache. She wondered how Ai could tolerate this guy.

Hongye sat at the low table in the living room, listlessly fiddling with her teacup, her eyes occasionally glancing towards the bathroom door. Ai had gone into the bathroom a long time ago, and it seemed she hadn't come out yet.

"Has Ai been inside for a long time?" Kouye frowned, wondering to herself, "Could she have eaten something bad?"

She stood up, walked to the bathroom door in her wooden clogs, and gently knocked: "Ai, are you alright? Did you eat something bad?"

It was quiet inside; there was no response.

"Ai?" Hongye knocked twice more, her voice rising a few decibels. "It's me, Hongye. Are you feeling unwell?"

It remained deathly silent.

Hongye was getting anxious and was about to call Zhengyi over to break down the door and take a look when the door lock suddenly clicked.

The door slowly opened, and a tall figure walked out.

Hongye subconsciously took a step back, looked up, and froze.

Standing in front of her was a completely unfamiliar young woman.

Hongye's brain instantly went blank.

"Um..." Hongye opened her mouth, then said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were inside."

After saying that, Hongye lowered her head and hurriedly ran back to the living room.

The moment her foot stepped onto the living room floor, she suddenly stopped.

She clearly remembered that only she, Masakazu, and Ai were at home.

Who is this beautiful woman?
How did she get in?
Hongye hurriedly returned to the restroom, only to find that the woman she had just seen was gone, and Ai was nowhere to be found either.

She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.

Does this mean they're treating Ai Haibara like an adult?
Hongye tapped her head and realized that the woman she had just seen really looked like Ai, even with the same hairstyle.

"Could I have really misread it?"

"Ai?"

Momiji called Ai's name in the corridor, but no one answered.

Then she went upstairs to the bedroom prepared for Ai, but Ai was still not there.

"Strange, where did they go?"

Hongye ran back to the living room and saw Zhengyi sitting with his legs crossed, leisurely playing games, seemingly oblivious to everything.

Seeing him so carefree and indifferent, Hongye suddenly got a little angry.

"Shoichi! You bastard!" Hongye was furious and pointed at his nose, saying, "You're still playing games here? Do you know Ai is missing?"

Zheng Yi put down his game console and looked at her innocently: "Huh? What? Ai is missing?"

"You still have the mood to play games!" Hongye stomped her foot angrily and pointed in the direction of the corridor, saying, "I just knocked on the bathroom door, and a strange woman came out!"

When I went to look for her again, Ai was gone, and no one was in her bedroom either. Go check quickly!

She said uncertainly, "I suspect I'm seeing things, or, do you think, did we encounter a ghost? Did Ai get kidnapped by a ghost?"

"A strange woman?" Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow and said with a slight smile, "Are you seeing things?"

"I don't know either," Hongye said softly. "That woman really looks like Ai, but... but she's an adult!"

Logically speaking, the security outside this villa should be very tight, and strangers should not be able to enter.

Moreover, if there were any skilled individuals who could get in, they wouldn't just come to use the restroom.

"Oh? Is that so? That is indeed a bit strange."

Zheng Yi took out his phone, pretended to press a few buttons, and frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?" Hongye asked, leaning closer.

“It’s nothing,” Zheng Yi put away his phone. “Ai just messaged me saying that her sister came to Kyoto and they decided to take her out for a few days.”

She told me when she went out, but I was playing a game and didn't hear her.

"Sister?" Hongye was stunned. "That woman you exploited?"

"What do you mean by being exploited by me?" Zheng Yi nodded.

"But..." Hongye said, tapping her head, "Why did that woman I just saw..."

"Perhaps you're mistaken," Zheng Yi interrupted her. "Have you been too tired lately?"

Zheng Yi handed Hongye a glass of water.

Hongye scratched her head, took a small sip, and said with a puzzled look, "Really? But..."

"Alright, enough with the butts." Masakazu yawned. "I'm going to keep playing games. You should get some rest too. I'll take you to the Sen-oku Hakuko Kan Museum tomorrow."

Although Hongye still had some doubts, she couldn't be sure what was going on with Zhengyi's calm demeanor.

She had no choice but to turn around and go back to her room, muttering to herself, "Strange, could I have really seen wrong?"

As night deepened, Zheng Yi turned off the game console and tiptoed into his bedroom.

"Come out."

The wardrobe door in the room slowly opened, and a tall figure walked out.

Shiho Miyano crossed her arms, her eyes filled with helplessness.

"How did you manage to fool us with the red leaves?"

When she came out of the bathroom, she saw Hongye and thought her identity was about to be exposed. But then Hongye suddenly had a brain fart and hid in Zhengyi's bedroom.

“I put some sleeping pills in her water, and she went straight to sleep. She wasn’t thinking about you anymore. When she wakes up, she’ll probably think she was dreaming,” Zheng Yi said.

Shiho Miyano's lips twitched.

Your method is really simple and crude, which fits my stereotype of you.

Shiho stretched her limbs, feeling the long-lost adult body, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

"She's finally back to her original size. Ai's body shape lasted for so long. She doesn't have to be carried around like a child by Momiji anymore."

"So what are you planning to do now?" Zheng Yi asked, looking at her. "Hongye will definitely come looking for you again tomorrow. Should I take you to the villa I rented?"

“Okay.” Shiho Miyano nodded and said, “It’s better not to let too many people know my identity.”

Especially those who know Ai Haibara.

It would be very awkward if others knew that she was Ai Haibara.

"Let's go then, I'll see you off first," Zheng Yi said.

Shiho Miyano followed Masakazu out of the bedroom.

As soon as they stepped outside, Shoichi, who was standing there motionless, caught off guard and bumped into him.

"Ow~"

Shiho Miyano rubbed her nose and asked Masakazu with a reproach, "Why did you suddenly stop?"

"You...you guys?"

Hearing the voices of others, Shiho Miyano looked in front of Masakazu and saw Momiji staring at them in a daze.

Shiho Miyano's eyes widened, and she quickly covered her face with her hands.

In the stillness of the night, as Hongye rose to sleep, she suddenly heard a noise in the corridor.

She rubbed her eyes and came over to check, only to see Zheng Yi leading a short-haired woman with a cool and aloof demeanor out of his room.

The woman's face bore a striking resemblance to Ai's, with her hairstyle and hair color being exactly the same.

Most importantly, this woman seems to be the one she saw in the bathroom.

She told Zheng Yi, who then said that she was seeing things.

Hongye pointed at the woman behind Zhengyi and asked, "Zhengyi, who is this woman? Why is she in my house?" (End of Chapter)