Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

After briefly finding some warmth with Masakazu, Conan, sporting a head full of bumps, went to find Ran.

He thought that as long as he was obedient enough, he could smoothly get through Xiaolan's emotional ups and downs.

Xiaolan was sitting on the sofa organizing new magazines.

Conan moved a small stool and sat obediently next to him, reading comics.

He even deliberately made the sound of turning the pages very softly, afraid of disturbing Xiaolan and getting a beating.

However, sometimes, finding fault doesn't need a reason.

"Conan." Ran suddenly stopped what she was doing.

"Is it...it's Ran-neechan?" Conan immediately looked up, revealing an innocent smile that showed no sign of being on guard.

Ran tilted her head slightly and said, "The way you turned the pages just now was so similar to Shinichi's! Even the angle at which your thumb pressed the edge of the page was exactly the same."

Conan's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

No, really?

He himself hadn't even noticed.

"Really? What a coincidence!" Conan said innocently. "So Shinichi-nii is just like me."

He blinked at Xiaolan, looking so cute.

Xiao Lan smiled and, seeing his flustered state, didn't continue to cause trouble.

After tidying up the magazines, Xiaolan got up and went to the kitchen.

Before Conan could catch his breath, Ran had already strode out and, with lightning speed, reached out and grabbed his ear.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! What's wrong with me, Sister Xiaolan?"

Conan was in so much pain that tears were almost streaming down his face. He was forced to stand on tiptoe and spin around following Ran's hand gestures.

"You dare to talk back?" Xiaolan tightened her grip, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Conan looked at Ran innocently.

I wasn't talking back; I just wanted to ask what I did to upset you.

He felt so miserable and couldn't stand being in that house any longer.

"When you were eating lunch just now, you secretly picked out the green peppers that you didn't like and put them on the side of your bowl."

Xiaolan placed the bowl on the coffee table; the bowl was full of the green peppers that had been picked out.

Conan innocently said, "Ran-neechan, these were all picked out by Uncle Mori, not by me."

Conan looked at Ran with a resentful expression.

Can you at least figure things out before you take any action?

"Really?" Xiaolan didn't care who pointed it out at all. She said quietly, "You're sighing a little strangely lately. What's wrong? Are you unhappy with me?"

"I didn't! I really didn't!!" Conan shouted.

This is deliberately provoking!

Can the frequency of my sighs really tell me my dissatisfaction?
But what he received in return was a merciless iron fist of love.

"boom--!"

With a muffled thud, the fist landed precisely on Conan's head once again.

This time, Xiaolan even thoughtfully controlled the force, so that being confused wouldn't hurt her brain.

"The way you sigh is exactly like someone else's. You're not allowed to sigh like Shinichi anymore, and you're not allowed to be picky about food." Ran looked down at Conan and said, "And you're not allowed to talk to me in that tone you just used."

"I heard it..." Conan said softly.

Ran clapped her hands, temporarily letting Conan off the hook.

Conan, meanwhile, huddled on the sofa, silently shedding tears.

……

On the streets of Tokyo under the cover of night, Ai wrapped her trench coat tighter around herself, clutched her lab access card, and yawned while covering her mouth.

After playing for so long, Ai finally took the experiments to heart and worked in the lab all day today.

When she got home in the evening, she wanted to walk around outside by herself, so she didn't ask Zheng Yi to pick her up.

Just as she stepped into the alley less than ten steps away, a chilling sense of oppression suddenly came from behind her.

Ai's steps suddenly froze.

It's the feeling of being targeted by a predator.

She turned her head stiffly and, by the light of the streetlamp, saw two tall figures wearing long black trench coats.

Gin and vodka were standing in the shadows not far away.

"..."

Ai's heart started pounding.

Her first reaction was to run.

However, just as she was about to turn and run away, she suddenly stopped.

Strangely, this time when I saw Gin and the others, I wasn't so scared that my legs went weak; I was even able to run this time.

After running a couple of steps and confirming that her legs were still under her control, Ai suddenly didn't want to run anymore.

I am no longer the Sherry who could only be slaughtered by others.

Ai took a deep breath, straightened her back, and the fear in her eyes miraculously faded away.

With Zheng Yi backing her up, what does she have to be afraid of?

She returned safely from the submarine that Vodka had captured her from last time.

Moreover, Vodka treated her like royalty, providing her with all sorts of conveniences to help her escape, and even worrying about whether she could eat and drink well.

That was a treatment she had never received when she was Shiho Miyano.

She can now use this opportunity to intimidate others.

Thinking this way, the fear in her eyes when she looked at Gin and Vodka was almost gone.

Even as she watched those two guys looking completely unguarded, a bold idea quickly took shape in her mind.

Could she teach those two a lesson?

With Shoichi protecting her, Gin and Vodka shouldn't do anything to her.

Ai deliberately moved quietly, like a kitten, close to the wall, stealthily moving towards Gin's direction.

She tiptoed slightly, reached out her little hand, and picked up a few pebbles from the ground.

A few steps ahead of her, Gin and Vodka had already spotted her.

For assassins like them, who are often either stalking others or being stalked themselves, their high level of vigilance makes it impossible for them not to notice such a large little girl.

However, Gin didn't even turn his head, only glancing at the short brown-haired girl who was approaching out of the corner of his eye.

Signature hair color.

This time, Gin didn't mistake her for Sherry, because Sherry wasn't that short.

He knew that Zhengyi had a younger sister with the same hairstyle and hair color as Shirley.

Seeing Ai's comical, guilty-looking, and stealthy demeanor, a hint of doubt flashed in Gin's cold eyes.

What is Zhengyi's stupid sister doing?
He lowered his voice and asked his partner coldly, "Vodka, what is this girl doing?"

Vodka also noticed the commotion behind him.

He scratched his head, looked at Ai's profile as she tried to suppress a mischievous smile, and answered softly but confidently, "Big brother, judging from this little action... she's probably trying to play a prank on you."

"Ok?"

Gin didn't seem to understand what it meant.

Vodka said in a low voice, "Those kids are always naturally active, and they especially like to play pranks on their elders' friends. Especially since they've been watching Zheng Yi and others play pranks, they naturally imitate them."

Upon hearing this, Gin's lips curled into a cold smile.

He slowly exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes filled with deep disdain: "Hmph, just as expected of Zheng Yi's sister. She's exactly the same as Zheng Yi." "Yeah, yeah," Vodka nodded in agreement.

Seeing his idiot sister, Masakazu, walking towards his beloved car with a stone in her hand, Gin finally couldn't hold back anymore.

He walked to his car, lowered his head slightly, and looked down at Ai with the kind of gaze one would give someone looking at an idiot: "Have you had enough fun, kid?"

Ai's movements froze in mid-air.

Suddenly, I lost all feeling in my legs and feet again.

It turns out that she still gets so scared when she's facing Gin that her legs go weak.

……

At home, Zheng Yi was comfortably nestled on the sofa, holding the latest volume of a comic book in his hands.

Just as he was engrossed in watching, the doorbell rang.

"Ding-dong-"

Zheng Yi put down the comic book in his hand and slowly walked to the door in his slippers.

"Who?"

When the door opened, Zheng Yi blinked in confusion.

Gin stood at the door with a blank expression, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

Zheng Yi paused for a moment, raised an eyebrow slightly, and asked in surprise, "Gin? You want to see me?"

He never expected to be visited by Gin.

"What a rare guest!" Zheng Yi said with a smile. "Would you like to come in and have a drink?"

Gin didn't say anything, and didn't even give him a second glance.

"Humph!"

Vodka, standing behind him, let out a heavy, cold snort.

He stretched out his gloved hand and shoved the person blocking his way forward.

"Ouch!"

A petite figure stumbled and fell into the house.

When Zheng looked down, his mind went completely blank.

Ai?

Ai kept her head down and didn't say a word, not daring to look up at Shoichi's eyes.

Zheng Yi's mind went blank for a moment.

How is this going?

Before Zheng Yi could even ask a question, Vodka stepped forward and said to him, "Keep an eye on your sister."

After saying that, Vodka didn't even glance at Gin again, turned around and followed him away.

Even after the two left, Zheng Yi's mind was still not clear.

Gin and Vodka took Ai home?

What's happening here?
Am I hallucinating?

As soon as he closed the door, he turned around and looked at Ai, who was still staring blankly at the floor.

"What happened?" Masakazu asked Ai. "Why did you let Gin and Vodka send them back?"

Ai Haibara avoided Shoichi's gaze somewhat guiltily.

She lowered her head, her small hands fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, her lips moved, and she stammered for a long time, "I...I just..."

"What is it?" Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow.

Ai hesitated and didn't say anything.

Because her behavior was indeed too childish, I was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Zheng Yi asked, "What's wrong with you? Did Gin break into the lab again and take all the researchers away, leaving you all alone?"

Ai shook her head.

"So Gin mistook you for someone else because he saw your hair, and it was Vodka who reminded him that he realized you were my sister?" Shoichi asked.

Ai shook her head again.

Even if they have the same hair, such a large height difference is not something that can be easily bridged.

Gin is just face-blind, not stupid.

As he bent down and leaned closer, trying to see Ai's expression clearly, he said, "Don't tell me you just had a sudden urge to say hello to the organization's leaders and then got dragged back, right?"

"Hey, stop asking!" Ai suddenly looked up, her tone a mix of embarrassment and anger: "Anyway... anyway, nothing happened, I came back safely, and Gin and the others didn't suspect me."

Zheng Yi reached out and poked Ai's head with his finger.

With such a strong reaction, could it be that I was right?
"Ai Haibara," Shoichi deliberately dragged out his words, "You really did that? You coward, you have the guts?"

Ai shook her head vigorously: "No, no, I just suddenly ran into people from the organization. They said it was dangerous outside and offered to take me home."

"Ha." Zheng Yi said strangely, "Those organization members are quite kind-hearted, they even took you home."

Saying that is just asking for trouble.

When did the members of the organization become so kind, especially Gin and Vodka?

Zheng Yi looked at Xiao Ai strangely.

But Ai doesn't seem like the type to provoke Gin, so who gave her the guts?

But her shifty eyes and guilty expression seemed to fit this guess.

Ai couldn't stand Shoichi's gaze any longer, so she ran to the living room, sat on the sofa, and glared back at him, warning, "Don't ask any more questions! This matter ends here!"

"Alright, that's enough."

Zheng Yi said, "I didn't expect you to be so bold now, daring to directly confront Gin."

"You still dare to say that!" Ai blushed slightly.

She just suddenly had this idea and went ahead on impulse.

She didn't know where she got the courage from, but she felt like she might have been under some kind of evil witch's spell. Anyway, something just wasn't right with her.

Moreover, she wasn't actually trying to seduce Gin; she just wanted to sabotage his car, but Gin caught her.

Even though Gin caught her this time, nothing happened to her. It seems that children's health is still beneficial.

After Ai blushed and warned him, Shoichi stopped talking about her jumping on Gin's face, which relieved Ai.

Shoichi acted as if Gin had never been there, and stopped talking about the topic. Ai quickly returned to normal, no longer embarrassed.

But after Akemi Miyano returned...

"Ai! How could you go and cause trouble for Gin like that?"

Akemi stood in front of Ai, disapprovingly lecturing her: "That's too dangerous! How could you do something so dangerous!"

Xiao Ai looked dejected and glared at Zheng Yi, who was watching the show from the sidelines.

She whispered, "Actually, I wasn't that impulsive. I did it on purpose to make Gin think I was just a child."

And now it seems my actions were right; Gin didn't suspect I was Sherry at all, and treated me like a child.

"You still dare to argue!" Akemi poked Ai's head with her finger, making Ai's body sway.

Akemi said angrily, "It's because Shoichi spoils you too much that you've become a bit lawless, daring to be naughty in front of Gin."

Is Zheng Yi always indulging me?
Hearing this, Ai became a little unhappy.

Why would Zheng Yi spoil me?
At this moment, Zheng Yi said in an annoying way, "That's right, I also bear some responsibility."

Ai was about to retort, but seeing Akemi's dangerous gaze, she had no choice but to swallow her words and simply said softly:

"I know I was wrong." (End of Chapter)