Detective Conan: The Literary Genius is Actually a Great Scientist

night.

After dinner, I took a shower.

Eri Kisaki, wrapped in a bathrobe, sat down at the table on the balcony as usual, without turning on the lights. She poured herself a glass of red wine and drank it alone, admiring the night view outside.

The bathrobe was loosely tied around her waist, and the neckline was slightly open, revealing a fair and beautiful neck and delicate collarbone.

As usual, she was alone, with only her shadow for company.

But tonight seems a little different.

The empty room did not bring her a sense of loneliness; instead, it calmed her restless body.

A glass of red wine down my throat.

The lawyer's aloof face was flushed slightly, whether from being slightly tipsy or something else, and her temperature seemed to rise a little. She calmed herself down for a moment before taking out her phone, swiping through her contacts, and finally stopping at a name.

The call was answered after only two rings.

"Mishi Mishi~ My dear Eri~ What wind blew you today to think of calling this poor, lonely, and aging woman far away in a foreign land?"

A light and playful female voice came from the phone. As soon as the call connected, she chattered away like a lark: "It's 11 p.m. now. I finally fell asleep and you woke me up. Have you thought about how you're going to make up for my beauty sleep?"

Eri poured herself another glass of red wine, her voice low and languid: "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"How could that be! Eri, you're the person whose IQ is second only to mine in my eyes!"

The woman on the other end of the phone smiled slyly.

"So you went back to Japan?"

"Still in the United States."

"So... you thought I couldn't calculate time differences?" Eri crossed her right leg over her left, her bathrobe spreading out to the side, revealing a large expanse of her plump, fair, and smooth skin in the moonlight.

"Hehe~ You caught me, Eri, you're still so smart." The woman showed no embarrassment at being exposed; instead, she laughed even more heartily: "Tell me honestly, why did you suddenly call me so late?"

"Can't it just be that I miss you, Yukiko?"

Eri called out the woman's name.

"Come on!" Yukiko bluntly called me out. "You only call me at this hour when you're troubled. So, what's wrong this time? Did Kogoro upset you again?"

"It wasn't him."

"Huh?" Yukiko's voice immediately filled with gossipy excitement. "So there's something new going on? Tell me, tell me!"

Eri Kisaki was silent for a few seconds, looking at the red liquid swirling in her glass, before finally speaking: "I recently... met someone."

"man?"

"……Um."

"age?"

Eighteen years old.

"puff--"

A distinct spraying sound came from the other end of the phone, followed by a violent coughing fit.

"Cough cough cough... Wait! Wait! Eri, say it again? Eighteen years old?!" Yukiko's voice rose eight octaves, sounding utterly heartbroken: "I can't believe it! I can't believe it! Attorney Kisaki, this is... an old tree blossoming, an old ox eating young grass!"

Eri's cheeks flushed slightly in the darkness: "Don't talk nonsense, he's just... a very interesting boy."

"That means playing a younger man/older woman relationship simulation game~"

Yukiko's voice turned sly, "Tsk tsk tsk, this is even more exciting! Eri, you've been hiding this well!"

Eri Kisaki ignored her friend's increasingly outrageous teasing and continued talking, her tone carrying a hint of boastfulness that she herself was unaware of:

"He is a genius."

"How talented are you? As talented as this princess?"

Yukiko on the other end of the phone was very indignant.

Back then, she was already an internationally renowned film queen at the age of 18. In terms of talent, appearance, and ability, Yukiko Fujimine really has never made a film for anyone!

Eri Kisaki said calmly, "He just published a book in the first half of the year."

"Oh, you're a writer? What kind of books do you write?"

"Detective novels".

"He's in the same industry as Yusaku."

Yukiko, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, continued her enthusiastic inquiry: "And then? What's the book called? Is it popular? Should I, for your sake, buy a copy? Consider it a gift for your 'boyfriend'~."

Eri Kisaki slowly uttered the book title that is now a household name in the publishing world:

"The Devotion of Suspect X"

"..."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

Just as Eri thought Yukiko was stunned and fell silent, the other woman suddenly spoke in a slightly confused and reminiscent tone:

"The Devotion of Suspect X? That title... it sounds familiar... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before... was it on a magazine's recommendation list, or did Yusaku mention it?"

The lawyer's lips twitched slightly.

I didn't draw it for my friend, but for Yusaku Kudo.

"Wait a minute!" Yukiko on the other end of the phone finally dredged up the relevant information from the corner of her memory, her voice suddenly rising, "The Devotion of Suspect X! Don't tell me the boy you know uses the pen name 'Natsumori'?!"

Eri Kisaki smiled, pleased with Eri's shock: "That's right."

At this point, Yukiko fell completely silent.

She certainly knew the names "Summer's End" and "The Devotion of Suspect X," and they were practically household names to her.

For the past six months or so, these two names have been frequently mentioned in Japanese literary and artistic circles and media, as well as in the global mystery novel community, and have been adorned with various accolades: "a genius who appeared out of nowhere," "redefining Japanese mystery," "the crowning of the king of mystery novels," and so on.

As for why she would pay attention...

He's not her husband yet.

Since ancient times, those in the same profession have been rivals, and writers are inherently prone to mutual disdain. Although Yusaku didn't say it aloud, the feeling of being subtly overshadowed in his professional field by a "junior" who suddenly appeared clearly stimulated his competitive spirit.

As a result, I've been staying in the study for the past six months and haven't spent much time with her, which has caused her to throw a few small tantrums.

It's just a name!

When she first became an international film queen and was at the height of her fame, didn't she just retire from acting and get married in a flash? What's there to care about?

It took Yukiko a long time to recover from this explosive information, her curiosity burning brightly: "Are you sure he wrote it? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

Eri Kisaki frowned slightly: "You mean he's faking it?"

"No, no, I was just having a doubt."

"Don't have any doubts."

Eri Kisaki's tone was icy.

Across the Pacific Ocean, Yukiko couldn't help but shiver. Oh no, with this protective attitude, Eri has really fallen in love and doesn't even want her best friend anymore.

Thinking about it this way, Yukiko felt so wronged that she burst into tears: "Waaaaah~ Eri, you're so mean! I was just having a reasonable suspicion... and you're yelling at me... You used to call me 'Sweetie,' but now you've turned me into a shrew... Just because you like someone doesn't mean you can abandon your best friend! Waaaaah..."

Eri Kisaki ignored the drama queen, took a sip of red wine, looked at the night outside, and told her friend about how she and Lin Ran met in the library and their chance encounter at the coffee shop today.

After she finished speaking, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then, Yukiko's voice became unusually serious, less playful, and more filled with emotion and envy:

"A hero saving a damsel in distress, and a talented and handsome younger man at that... Tsk tsk tsk, Eri, your story is making me a little envious~"

"Yukiko."

Eri Kisaki suddenly called her name.

"What's wrong?"

"I advise you not to develop any curiosity about him."

Eri Kisaki's voice turned cold; she had something else to say.

This young man is like a potent and highly addictive poison specially formulated for mature women. Once curiosity is piqued, it's easy to uncontrollably want to get closer and explore, and then... one unknowingly falls completely into his trap, unable to extricate oneself.

"Tch~"

Yukiko completely disregarded her best friend's warning, her tone dismissive. "Eri, I think you've just been single for over a decade, and you're... well, incredibly thirsty. Do you think everyone's like you, so easily swayed by a young boy? What haven't I seen in my life? It's just a young man, what's so scary about him?"

Upon hearing this, Eri Kisaki responded with a cold laugh: "Heh, well... that's for the best."

Yukiko mimicked her sneer and teased, "Speaking of which, Eri, your supercar has been sitting in the garage for over a decade without being driven, hasn't it? The parts are probably rusting up. It's time to get it out there and give it a good run, add some lubricant, and let it experience speed and passion again! Otherwise, it's such a waste..."

slap~

The call was disconnected.

"Hey!"

Yukiko blinked her big eyes, she was so angry!

How dare they hang up on this princess! Call them back, call them back!

"Beep beep beep..."

busy tone.

"Snapped!"

The call was once again abruptly ended.

Beika City, balcony.

After hanging up on Yukiko's furious call again, Eri Kisaki downed the rest of her red wine in one gulp.

Yukiko's words echoed in her mind.

Are you extremely hungry and thirsty?

Unbeknownst to her, she hadn't carefully examined her own needs and feelings in this regard for a long time.

But there was one thing she was sure of—when Lin Ran said, "Because you, the great lawyer, are no busybody," her heart skipped a beat.

She hadn't felt that sense of being valued and treated specially for a long time.

Eri Kisaki stood up and walked to the railing. The night breeze lifted the hem of her bathrobe, revealing more of her fair skin.

The night in Mihua was still noisy, but her heart was unusually calm.

Lin Ran's appearance was like a ray of light, shining into her orderly but somewhat cold life.

"Eighteen years old..." she murmured to herself, but a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

Well then... let nature take its course.

What's meant to come will come, and what's meant to happen will happen.

And she was ready.

……

……

(Added 1 words...

The author didn't actually intend to add so much. The plan was always to write one chapter before bed and post it at noon, then write a little more in the afternoon—a perfectly clear schedule. But each time, the writing just went on and on...