He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

"Is it Drug A? A resurrection?!"

Ying Sheng had previously told Xiao Lan that the ultimate goal of the research on Drug A was immortality and resurrection. Since Xiao Lan had already seen the rejuvenation of Ai Haibara, she immediately connected it with the other goal when she saw the example of Chisato Aoyagi.

"Dead and back to life, dead and back to life..."

Seeing Ying Sheng nod in affirmation, Xiao Lan straightened up, but still couldn't help but murmur absentmindedly.

Reversing life and death—what a magnificent miracle! And now, it was so clearly right before her eyes!

The other two didn't say anything about her outburst, but simply waited quietly for her to come to her senses, since it was indeed an extremely unbelievable thing.

Smack smack—

Well, it wasn't too quiet. Ying Sheng handed the food box to Qing Liu Qian Su, who was wolfing down her food.

She was probably starving because her resurrection had consumed too much of her own energy.

A few moments.

Ran suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Didn't Ai say that Drug A is poison to people outside the Miyano family bloodline? Why was Aoyagi able to be resurrected?"

"How would I know? I'm just the one using the tools. Let the scientists study the specific principles."

Anyway, Ying Sheng originally planned to have Junai Ruik thoroughly study this special case and find out if there was any way to help the corpse hold on in case such a thing happened again, so that he wouldn't need to use his killing intent.

At the very least, let him know the minimum amount of killing intent he needs to use, so as to avoid wasting it.

Xiaolan nodded, her eyes already shining with excitement. Such mysterious and exciting things always have a great attraction for teenagers.

"Shall we go back to Tokyo now?"

"It's not 'we,' it's me. You have to stay here and cover for me, so that no one else can find us later," Ying Sheng said, shaking his head.

"Provide cover?"

Xiao Lan was slightly taken aback, and two red clouds instantly rose on her cheeks: "No, it can't be that kind of thing again, can it?"

Her tone was quite embarrassed and annoyed, and there was a slight tremor in her voice.

Friday night's incident was a pretense for the winery. Xiaolan doesn't usually have any contact with them, so although she felt ashamed, she could still accept it.

But if we did it here again...

Sonoko and her classmates are all here!

This...this...this!

That's absolutely impossible!

Xiao Lan's cheeks grew redder and redder, and steam was almost rising from her head. Seeing that she was gradually showing a resolute expression as if she were facing death, Ying Sheng finally shook his head and chuckled.

"Just tell me I got caught in a downpour and am feeling unwell. Put my pillow in my blanket and go keep Sonoko company. There won't be any misunderstandings."

Aoyagi Chisato had finished her meal quickly, and Hotaru carefully bandaged her wounds. Relieved, Koran also rushed over to help.

"With such heavy rain, your wound will be soaked through if you rush back," Xiaolan said worriedly.

"I'll take good care of her after she gets in the car and when we get back, so don't worry." He paused, glancing sideways at Xiaolan. "This is a rescue, so some physical contact is unavoidable. You won't mind, will you?"

Xiaolan rolled her eyes at him: "What do you take me for, a jealous woman? Even so, this situation should be an exception. Besides," Xiaolan sighed softly, "you just called Qingliu by her name directly, didn't you? I..."

Seeing that Qingliu Qiansu was about to speak, Xiaolan immediately stopped talking, a sense of self-reproach welling up in her heart.

Oh no, how could I say these things in front of Aoyagi-san? She was so quiet that I subconsciously ignored it.

The quiet Qingliu Qiansu remained silent this time as well, making two "hoho" sounds before falling silent again.

She stretched out her finger, pointed to herself, then to Ying Sheng, and waved to Xiao Lan.

This means...

Is it impossible between the two of them?

After Xiaolan understood this meaning, she felt even more guilty. She felt that she was really a bad person and a jealous woman, for making Qingliu make such a statement at this time. Shuiyue was clearly her only support at this moment.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."

Xiaolan slumped down, dejected. In a moment of desperation, she decided to say something like, "I'm giving Shuiyue-kun to you," as an apology.

But then she felt like she wasn't qualified to say such things, and...

I don't really want to say these things.

What if it comes true?

I'm a little reluctant to part with it...

In fact, neither Ying Sheng nor Qing Liu Qian Su cared about this. After all, Qing Liu Qian Su was just pretending that she couldn't speak because her voice didn't sound like it.

Aoyagi Chisato made that gesture because Hotaru had instructed her to make it clear that she was temporarily unable to speak.

Proactively explaining is certainly not as effective as letting Xiaolan notice the facts herself.

After bandaging himself, Ying Sheng touched his throat and looked at Xiao Lan.

"You know."

Xiaolan nodded in deep agreement, her eyes filled with pity as she looked at Qingliu Qiansu. However, when she thought that this person was also a "Greater Other" and looked down on her, her pity quickly disappeared. She stood up and bowed deeply to Qingliu Qiansu.

"I hope Qingliu gets well soon!"

"Most definitely."

Ying Sheng smiled and stood up, telling Qing Liu Qian Su to wait for him where he was, while he and Xiao Lan went back to the villa together.

To be a truly convincing imposter, he would at least have to make an appearance in front of other people.

"I'll be back before dawn tomorrow," Ying Sheng said.

Xiaolan nodded, hesitated for two seconds, then lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry, Shuiyue-kun, I had some terrible thoughts before."

"As I've said, thoughts arise and fall, they're just dust, there's no need to take them too seriously."

"Alright, how did Mizuki-kun save her?"

"As you can see, my relationship with her is actually quite good. After Zhongdao said those things at the hospital last night, I knew that Qian Su had encountered some trouble. You, Ai, and I went to the abandoned warehouse, and someone else was helping to search for her body."

"I see. So, Mizuki-kun really is always running on multiple threads."

Even the wisest person can make a mistake, so a fool like me must always think things through.

"...Then what am I?"

"I'm a big idiot, and you're a little idiot."

"Hmph, playboy."

……

This walk from the forest to the villa in the rain was one of the few sweet moments the two had tonight.

Although they weren't far apart, when the two pushed open the villa's main door and heard the good-natured laughter from the crowd in the hall, they smiled knowingly and clasped hands tightly together.

It seems pretty good.

Snapped--!

Sonoko Suzuki slammed a glass onto the banquet table, filled it with beer, and looked at Hotaru with hazy eyes, her cheeks flushed slightly from the alcohol.

"The last person to arrive will be punished with three cups of wine!"

The people around immediately joined in the commotion. Although minors are not allowed to drink alcohol, it's not some kind of inviolable law. Who cares if you're behind closed doors?

When a group of energetic young people get together for a gathering, how can they do without alcohol?

Ying Sheng laughed heartily, stepped forward without hesitation, and raised his glass.

"Gentlemen, let's drink to victory!"

He drank it all in one gulp, and the surrounding crowd immediately cheered.

Xiao Lan glanced at Ying Sheng's practiced movements as he poured and drank again, shook her head helplessly, and closed the villa door.

This guy is definitely an alcoholic!

She turned to look at the garden, its eyes blurry with drunkenness, and sighed softly in her heart.

So, what is it for you, Sonoko?

Chapter 293 Little Orchid Garden, the Orange Blossoms Are Flourishing

After a round of gatherings with everyone, Ying Sheng made an excuse to go upstairs, while the group continued their gathering in the hall.

A while later, Xiaolan received a call from Yingsheng. She went upstairs to check on him and came back to tell everyone that Yingsheng was not feeling well and had gone to bed.

Everyone expressed their concern, but after learning that it was just from being caught in the rain, they were not too worried.

Young people, a cold is nothing to them; they just need a good night's sleep.

Only Sonoko Suzuki secretly whispered in Ran's ear.

"Could he really be injured? Should we call a doctor? It won't be long before they get here from down on the mountain."

"Really, no, I was just hungry and cold before, and then I took a hot bath in a hurry and caught a cold."

Xiaolan shook her head, looking at the wine-red blush on Yuanzi's cheeks with some worry.

"Yuanzi, you..."

"What am I?"

Sonoko poured a glass of beer and handed it to Ran.

"You guys all seem to be acting weird lately. You're all hiding a lot from me, aren't you? Never mind, let's not talk about that. Have a drink."

Xiaolan glanced at the orange-yellow liquid bubbling in the large glass, its countless rhomboid surfaces reflecting her expression of helplessness.

She used to see Kogoro Mouri using this kind of cup at home, and she would always scold him in a bad mood.

How did I suddenly end up holding this kind of cup in my hand?

People around noticed what was happening and started to jeer. Xiaolan looked up at Yuanzi, who was pouting and looking pitiful.

"You drank sake on Wednesday, so why can't we have this? How about tonight?"