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

"Okay, I just can't do anything with you."

Xiao Lan turned and raised her glass to everyone.

"Gentlemen, let's drink to victory!"

After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.

The crowd was taken aback at first, then erupted in cheers. He truly deserved to be today's karate champion.

Xiaolan turned around, and Yuanzi was staring blankly at her, her eyes hazy with drunkenness.

Xiao Lan leaned down slightly, her red lips close to her earlobe.

"Let's sleep together tonight."

The breath near her ear was so hot that a delicate blush instantly rose on Sonoko's earlobe, blending seamlessly with her cheeks.

A slight tingling sensation quickly spread from her ear to her whole body. Sonoko lost all her strength and collapsed into Ran's arms, her hazy eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, Lan."

"What are you saying, you fool?"

Xiao Lan gently hugged her with her left hand, and poured herself another beer with her right hand.

She raised her glass to everyone, but her sapphire-blue eyes, like those of a noble cat, remained fixed on Sonoko.

"Life is but a fleeting dream, like a bubble, Garden, don't think too much."

She then turned to look at the crowd watching her in silence.

"Gentlemen, time is short, so let us not forget each other."

Everyone's hearts stirred, and they raised their glasses high.

"Cheers!"

Xiao Lan smiled and took her cup back to drink.

Sonoko stared at her intently, her consciousness drifting away into the sky, constantly wandering.

Suddenly, the heavy rain poured into the hall of the villa, and for a moment, she saw that person again, that profile.

The past and present merge into one: the Sakura Class, Teitan Elementary School, her own home, Dorobika Land, Metropolitan High School, Ran's smiles and tears, and...

he?

The alcohol clouded her senses, countless memories intertwined and repeated, and where her skin touched hers, it was burning hot.

Sonoko suddenly wrapped her arms around Ran's neck, tilted her head back, and kissed Ran's blushing cheek.

Suddenly, the hall fell silent; all the laughter was put on hold.

In that instant, they were like tiny insects frozen in amber of time, staring blankly at that unbelievable scene.

thump—

With a soft click, Xiaolan placed the wine glass on the table.

The bewildered gazes of the crowd converged on her, and then Ran smiled slightly, stood up, and held Sonoko in her arms.

"Sonoko is drunk. I'll take her to rest. Everyone, please continue. I'll be down shortly."

After saying this, Xiao Lan picked up the garden and went upstairs.

Even so, apart from Xiaolan's footsteps going upstairs, there was no other sound in the hall for a long time.

Watching the two women walk upstairs, many people were completely bewildered and didn't understand what was going on.

This is……

Is the orange crop thriving?

But speaking of which, Ran has indeed become much more handsome since she got together with Mizuki-kun.

He was still as gentle and polite as ever, but he had become more composed and reliable than before.

Although she has somewhat deviated from the traditional Yamato Nadeshiko (ideal Japanese woman) archetype, she is no longer as quiet and virtuous as before.

But those stereotypical women aren't everywhere in Japan. In comparison, Ran is definitely more radiant and charming now.

pity.

They never had that possibility before, and now it's even less likely.

The Teitan High School students, realizing this, finally snapped out of their daze, reached for their wine glasses, and decided to get drunk to console themselves for being so useless. Waaah... they looked like NPCs no matter how they looked at it!

Boom-!

But before them, Makoto Kyogoku had already slammed down his wine glass and looked at everyone with shining eyes.

"Everyone, since this is a karate club gathering, how can we just focus on drinking?"

Everyone turned to look at him in shock. Huh?!

Hey, what are you trying to do, you violent lunatic? You absolutely shouldn't do that!

"The competition is over for today. I'm sure you've all gained some insights. Let's practice together and turn those insights into real skills!"

Makoto Kyogoku stood up, glanced at the two figures that had disappeared at the top of the stairs on the second floor, a flicker of emotion flashing in his eyes, before he immediately looked at the crowd with renewed vigor.

"Later, Mori will come down, and the two of us will guide you. Everyone, don't waste your youth!"

"........."

"........."

"Ah!! Help!"

"Start grouping, draw lots!"

A chorus of groans erupted as Makoto Kyogoku and a helpless-looking Yona Wada began writing on crumpled paper.

On the second floor, Xiaolan listened to the commotion downstairs, smiled slightly, and carried Yuanzi to her own room.

I took off her shoes, put them on the bed, and used a wet tissue to wipe her flushed cheeks.

Throughout this process, Sonoko kept her eyes fixed on Ran.

After Ran finished dealing with everything and turned to leave, Sonoko finally reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Don't leave."

Xiao Lan shook her head slightly and pushed her hand away.

Sonoko's eyes trembled slightly, then gradually dimmed.

"Okay, I'm not going anywhere."

Ran's gentle voice rang in her ears again, and Sonoko's eyes lit up as she quickly looked over.

Xiaolan moved the chair from the desk to the bedside, sat down, took her drooping hand, and looked at her tenderly.

For some reason, Sonoko's eyes started to sting at that moment.

I really am a terrible person.

"Would you like a bedtime story, Sonoko?"

Ran gently stroked Sonoko's hand, and the tightness in her hand gradually eased.

"Yes, I want to hear about the past."

When Sonoko was referring to "before," she was referring to about a month ago, before they had any connection with Hotaru.

"Okay, let's start from the past, when it was just the two of us. Do you remember the first time you took me to the movies..."

In the warm bedroom, the best friends' smiles continued.

Inside the lobby on the first floor, the group of people being forced into training by Makoto Kyogoku were groaning in pain.

Outside, the wind and thunder continued to rumble, and the rain poured down.

Under the deep darkness of the night, a black Volkswagen sped at an extremely dangerous speed on the overpass.

Lightning flashed across the horizon, illuminating the exquisite profile of the jade-like figure in the driver's seat amidst the pale world.

"Love +1..."

Ying Sheng murmured softly, wondering who could have given her this sudden hint.

While it's a good thing that his affection has increased, I inexplicably feel that he seems to have accumulated another sin.

"Qiansu, does your body still hurt?"

Ying Sheng smiled gently and looked at the rearview mirror.

"My body doesn't hurt as much as before, but my face hurts a lot."

Aoyagi Chisuke remained expressionless and spoke concisely.

"I'm sorry, because I wasn't very familiar with you before, I don't know what you should look like, so I can only make a rough resemblance first. I'll refine it after I see the template. Now that your wound has fully healed, it will need to be cut open again later, so I can only ask you to bear with it for now."

"it is good."

"Won't you resent me for this?"

"will not."

"It is normal for human beings to have emotions."

"it is good."

Ying Sheng shook his head and chuckled, then said nothing more.

Before long, they parked the car at No. 4-13 Beikacho, downstairs from the Hanakage House.

Ying Sheng got out of the car first, opened his umbrella and went to the back door to open it for Qing Liu Qian Su, so that the heavy rain would not wet her wound and increase her pain.

Aoyagi Chisuke got out of the car and followed closely behind him, heading towards the gate of the Flower Shadow Residence.

Ying Sheng pushed the door open, but it didn't open.

I took out the key to open the door, then pushed it again, but it still wouldn't open.

This left him somewhat helpless, so he gently knocked on the door.

"May I come in? I hope so."