Solving cases with Detective Conan's science? No, I'm a cultivator!

Conan wanted to slap himself. He had gotten too carried away and Ran had tricked him into revealing information.

"Ran-neechan, what are you saying? I don't understand." Conan pretended to be calm, trying to get away with it by being cute.

He couldn't let his true identity be exposed, because that could put Xiaolan in danger.

For a moment, Conan's mind raced, and then a brilliant idea struck him.

He ran to the TV, turned it on, and said in a child's voice, "Wow, I almost forgot, there's Kamen Rider today!"

Switching to the right channel, Conan watched the TV and imitated the actions on screen, shouting, "Kamen Rider, transform!"

He then secretly watched Xiaolan's reaction out of the corner of his eye.

Ran watched Conan's childlike behavior and felt that he seemed to be doing it on purpose, but she also wondered if she was just overthinking it.

If Conan really is Shinichi Kudo, then why is he hiding it from her?

"Conan, you said before that you were a relative of Shinichi's family, but I've never heard Shinichi mention you before?" Ran was still unwilling to give up and wanted to confirm it.

Conan explained, "Ah... because I've been living abroad for a long time, that's why Shinichi hasn't said anything to me!"

"I really admire Shinichi! He's known as the 'Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era,' and I've been learning deduction from him all along!" Conan continued to add to his own explanation.

"Is that so?" Ran scrutinized Conan.

At this time, the doorbell rang.

Ran had to temporarily abandon her "interrogation" of Conan and go open the door.

"Beichuan."

When Conan saw that it was Kitagawa Taki again, he was actually quite relieved. He wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a soft sigh.

He secretly made up his mind that tomorrow he would have Professor Agasa call Ran with a voice-changing bow tie. As long as he was there, Ran would believe that he was not Shinichi Kudo.

"Ran, here, this is Mr. Ogawa's commission fee." Kitagawa Taki handed the bag in his hand to Ran.

Xiaolan took it; the bag was full of money and a letter.

The letter was written by Dr. Ogawa. It turned out that Dr. Ogawa had forgotten to give Kogoro Mouri the commission fee when they parted ways that afternoon, so he asked Taki Kitagawa to bring it over for him. He also said that he would definitely come to thank him in person another day.

"One million?!" Xiaolan exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the amount.

This is the largest commission fee that the Mori Detective Agency has received so far.

Kitagawa Taki didn't know exactly how much Dr. Ogawa had given, but now it seemed that Dr. Ogawa was indeed very generous!

Xiaolan quickly thanked Kitagawa Taki.

"You're welcome, it was nothing."

Kitagawa Taki then took his leave.

Chapter 21 Miss Suzuki's Chocolate

a few days later.

During this time, Conan successfully used the voice-changing bow tie to temporarily dispel Ran's suspicions about him.

morning.

Ran and Sonoko walked together on their way to school.

"Hey, Ran, what are your plans lately?" Sonoko asked, quite excitedly.

"What?"

Xiaolan looked at Yuanzi, who was in high spirits, with some confusion.

"Chocolate, chocolate! Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! On this super important annual holiday, I must use chocolate to firmly capture the heart of my boy!"

Seeing that Ran seemed genuinely unaware, Sonoko gave her a vivid explanation.

Ran was taken aback at first, then covered her mouth and laughed, "Speaking of which, Sonoko, did you confess to Kitagawa?"

"This...this...I'm preparing..."

Now it's the gardener's turn.

Ran could tell from Sonoko's hesitant manner that she definitely hadn't taken any action yet.

"Could it be... Sonoko, are you scared?" Ran chuckled.

"H-How is that possible? I am Suzuki Sonoko. There is nothing I am afraid of. As long as I take action, it will be a piece of cake."

Sonoko patted her chest, but she seemed somewhat lacking in confidence.

Ran said seriously, "Seriously, Sonoko, you'd better seize this opportunity!"

In her opinion, Kitagawa Taki is handsome and capable. Since Sonoko likes him, she should make her move as soon as possible to avoid someone else getting there first.

Although Sonoko is very well-off and her family is very wealthy, Ran thinks that Kitagawa Taki is definitely not someone who is greedy for money.

Sonoko changed the subject, "Ran, let's not talk about me, what about you?"

"Me?" Xiaolan pointed to herself and asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, yeah, how are things going between you and that Kudo guy?" Sonoko asked with a mischievous grin.

"I have absolutely nothing to do with that reasoning idiot!"

Shinichi Kudo hasn't contacted her for a few days now.

Sonoko said indignantly, "He hasn't solved his old cases yet!"

Ran shook her head silently and said, "Shinichi said he's encountered a very troublesome case and can't get away from it for the time being."

"Hmph, case, case. When Lan gets kidnapped by someone else, he won't even know!" Sonoko pouted.

"Sonoko, what are you saying!"

Ran was pulled from her thoughts by Sonoko's words, and she patted Sonoko on the shoulder.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, Ran, you really have to help me." Sonoko suddenly hugged Ran and pleaded with her.

"Help with what?"

"It's chocolate!"

Xiaolan suddenly realized, "Oh, you want to make chocolates by hand and give them to Beichuan, right?"

"Mmm." Sonoko nodded.

She had never given chocolates to a boy before, let alone made them herself. Xiaolan was a very good cook, and she had tasted Xiaolan's chocolates before, which were almost the same as the ones sold in stores.

Sonoko had already bought the chocolates, but she felt that no matter how expensive the chocolates were, they couldn't compare to the ones she made herself. So, she had the idea of ​​learning how to make them herself.

"My favorite chocolate?" Xiaolan asked knowingly, suddenly feeling a bit like she was shipping a couple.

Like Sonoko, Ran is a lifelong single, but what young girl doesn't dream of love? She has read many romance novels and watched many TV dramas, and she also longs for beautiful love.

"Of course!"

Sonoko is quite frank with Ran.

Ran said, "How about this, Sonoko? After school today, let's go buy the ingredients we need to make chocolate first, and then come to my house! I'll teach you step by step, and I guarantee you'll get the hang of it quickly!"

"Okay, it's settled then!"

Sonoko is already looking forward to seeing Kitagawa Taki receive her chocolate.

……

After school.

Sonoko and Ran went to buy powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter.

Xiaolan explained, "We don't have much time now, so let's make dark chocolate."

Sonoko nodded repeatedly. She knew nothing about chocolate making, and she just did whatever Ran told her to do, knowing that Ran would never cheat her.

The two returned to the detective agency.

Xiaolan then began teaching how to make dark chocolate. First, she sifted the cocoa powder and powdered sugar, then melted the cocoa butter in a double boiler, requiring her to control the proportions and use a thermometer to precisely control the temperature.

Then add cocoa powder and powdered sugar, and continue heating while maintaining the temperature.

The most crucial and difficult step is tempering, using the marble tempering method to make the chocolate brittle, hard, and glossy.

Finally, the product is placed into the mold and shaped.

Sonoko almost failed at adjusting the temperature. She tried and failed repeatedly. As it got later and later, Sonoko simply called home. She was going to sleep with Ran that night and was determined to make chocolate by herself.

Finally, the two women worked until midnight, and Sonoko finally reached the last step: pouring the successfully tempered chocolate into various exquisite molds, then refrigerating it to set, thus completing the production.

Looking at the beautifully packaged chocolates, Sonoko smiled contentedly and thanked Ran beside her, "Thank you, Ran!"

Then, he pitifully pleaded, "However, there's one more thing I need your help with."

"Could you come with me to deliver the chocolates tomorrow? You can give one to Taki as a token of my gratitude!"

"Sonoko, you want me to cover for you, right?"

"Please, Lan."

"Ok."

Ran finally understood. No wonder Sonoko didn't ask her family's chef for advice; she was waiting for this.

However, she and Kitagawa Taki are also friends, so it's only natural that she would give him a gift of obligatory chocolates.

……

the next day.

Sonoko knocked on the door of the Kitagawa Exorcism Office with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

Kitagawa Taki opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see the gift boxes in Sonoko and Ran's hands.

"These are chocolates I made myself. I hope Taki likes them."

Sonoko shyly handed the chocolate to Kitagawa Taki and said softly.

Because of Conan's chaotic timeline, Kitagawa Taki had no idea that today was Valentine's Day, but he definitely couldn't leave out his thanks.

Judging from the dark circles under the two women's eyes, they must have had a bad night's sleep and put a lot of effort into it.