Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

He played almost the whole day today.

First they got up early to catch the Shinkansen. After leaving the art museum, they went to the shrine. During the trip, Secretary Nishino accompanied the lady with gray eyes who wanted to see Chairman Suzuki and her housekeeper to cancel the trip. Then Suzuki Sonoko took them straight to Universal Studios Osaka.

Conan Edogawa was not very interested in Universal Studios - he had already been to a similar one when he was in Los Angeles - but the other three were very excited.

Suzuki Sonoko went to several parks to check in and take photos. Mouri Ran spent a long time choosing gifts in the store. Aoyagi Akiko bought a box of multi-flavored beans in a candy store and asked them to challenge. Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko picked marshmallow or fruit flavors, but only Edogawa Conan unfortunately tasted the black pepper flavor, and now his mouth is numb.

As an "apology", Aoyagi Akiko bought Conan Edogawa some water and a bag of normal candy, while he slowly ate the remaining multi-flavored beans along the way.

This is the first time that Edogawa Conan has revealed that this usually reliable and steady former music teacher actually likes some weird foods.

The memory ended, and Edogawa Conan sat up again. Looking at the bag at hand, he found a brochure of the art museum's exhibitions buried underneath.

He was about to take it when Mao Lilan came over.

"Conan, Sonoko said the ice cream and cakes in the buffet restaurant upstairs are good and they're free. Do you want to go and have a look?"

Edogawa Conan looked at her smile, which was the same as always.

While playing in the movie theater in the afternoon, he had been paying attention to her secretly, fearing that she would mention Kudo Shinichi again, but fortunately she didn't. Even when she bought him a dinosaur ornament, she spoke to him in a normal tone, as if she were talking to a child.

After an afternoon of shopping, she still had the energy to eat the hotel dessert. She was really energetic... Looking at her like this, she didn't suspect anything at all, right? That look in the shrine was just an accident. It was a pity that he was so scared for the whole afternoon...

Edogawa Conan complained in his heart, pretending to be a child on the surface: "Okay!"

Mao Lilan checked the room card and cell phone, then pulled him out.

Just as they were about to reach the door, there was a knock on the door.

"Huh? Could it be that dad is back?" Mao Lilan was stunned.

When she arrived at the hotel, Maori Kogoro had not returned. She guessed that he might be drinking with Chairman Suzuki, so she did not call to disturb him. At this time, there was a knock on the door. Her first reaction was that he was back. She immediately let go of Edogawa Conan who was held by her hand, walked to the door and opened it directly.

"Dad, you go back——"

The rest of the words stopped abruptly. Mao Lilan widened her eyes and looked in surprise at a black camera pointing at her face.

The person standing at the door was not Kogoro Maori, but a young man they had never seen before, wearing a green jacket and a pink and purple shirt.

Mao Lilan looked at the man holding a DV and filming in shock and bewilderment: "Who are you...?"

“I got a nice shot of the expression.”

The man, whose face was half blocked by the camera, smiled very proudly when he saw her expression of surprise. After hearing Mao Lilan's question, he turned the camera and began to explain while filming the interior of the room behind her:

"Is this Kogoro Maori's room? I am also Chairman Suzuki's guest today. My name is Ryu Samukawa and I live on the same floor as you guys."

How rude.

Seeing him casually taking pictures of people without apologizing, Edogawa Conan frowned in dissatisfaction: "Uncle, how did you know we live here?"

"I looked at the chairman's secretary's schedule this morning, and your room number happened to be on it. By the way, most of the other guests visiting Chairman Suzuki today are staying on this floor."

Kankawa Ryu laughed, and regardless of how Mao Lilan and Edogawa Conan reacted, he finally left the room, turned around and walked towards the next room, knocked on the door in the same way, and the camera was pointed at the door again: "Next is Miss Pu Siqinglan!"

"Such people……"

Mao Lilan frowned at this behavior, but when she looked at the children beside her, she smiled again, "Conan, I'm going to ask Mr. Aoyagi if he wants to go with us. You wait for me at the elevator."

Edogawa Conan nodded. They had just come up together. Aoyagi Binguang's room was also on this floor, in the opposite direction of the elevator. "Okay."

He turned and walked towards the elevator. When he passed by Han Chuanlong knocking on the door, he couldn't help but glance at him, then reached for his phone in his pocket. He wanted to take advantage of the short time he had to wait for someone to search for news about this guy.

As a result, when he took out his mobile phone, a folded piece of paper was accidentally brought out with it.

Edogawa Conan was startled, then bent down, picked it up and unfolded it.

This is the fortune he drew at the shrine this afternoon:

Very bad, the thing you fear most has happened.

"..."

Seeing the fortune again, Edogawa Conan fell silent.

To be honest, after becoming "Edogawa Conan", he has a lot more things to worry about. He doesn't even know what his "biggest fear" is - is he afraid that the people in the organization will discover his identity, or is he afraid that Ran Mouri will find out that he is Kudo Shinichi?

If it was the former, then it was actually quite accurate. After all, he had just met a member of the organization a few days ago who had also become smaller and whose character was currently unknown.

But if this sign refers to the latter...

"what!!!"

In the corridor, a scream suddenly broke the silence!

Edogawa Conan looked up in that direction, and instantly a chill ran down his back - he recognized that it was Xiaolan's cry!

Ran Mouri's scream not only startled Conan Edogawa, but also scared Ryu Kamikawa who had just knocked on another door not far away.

His hand trembled, and the DV in his hand fell to the ground, but it was not broken, and he continued to film the interior at a skewed angle. He and Pu Siqinglan, who had walked out, looked in the direction of the scream in surprise.

"Xiaolan!!"

Edogawa Conan passed them and ran over there quickly.

The hotel corridor was not long, and he found the person quickly. He saw Mao Lilan standing in front of a closed door, holding her cheeks with both hands. She looked safe and sound, but a little... a little...

shy?

When Edogawa Conan saw the red skin showing between her fingers, he was completely stunned.

"…What happened, Sister Xiaolan?"

Mao Lilan blushed and explained in a low voice: "I just arrived at the door and saw that the indicator light at the door was green, so I pulled it and the door opened directly. Mr. Qingliu inside was changing clothes..."

Edogawa Conan: “…………”

He was speechless.

Not long ago, they were in the villa of Suzuki Sonoko's sister. Because she did not knock before opening the door, she looked at the bodies of several men in succession, including the murderer, which led to her being chased by the murderer. As a result, she still did not change this bad habit.

The door opened quickly and Qing Liu Bingguang was wearing a light and casual outfit different from the one he wore during the day. His long hair was not tied up and was scattered behind him. He looked at them helplessly.

"I'm really, really sorry, Mr. Aoyagi!" Mao Li Ran bowed 90 degrees.

"…It's okay." Qing Liu Bingguang waved his hands and coughed uncomfortably. "Fortunately, it's just the upper body… And it's not entirely your fault. I didn't close the door properly."

"no."

Conan Edogawa on the side tiptoed to touch the door handle. He tried it several times, then pointed to the indicator light below and said, "I think the sensor is broken, causing the door to not close at all."

Upon hearing this, Aoyagi Binguang lowered his head to check the door handle. After turning it a few times, he agreed with this explanation.

He stared at the door handle and said thoughtfully: "Strange, I checked it when I first arrived at the hotel, and it was obviously normal then..."

……

The buffet restaurant that serves free ice cream and desserts is on the rooftop terrace. Aoyagi Akiko first went to the front desk on the first floor to raise the issue of the room door, and Mouri Ran and Edogawa Conan followed him.

The front desk staff recognized him and knew that he was the chairman's guest. They apologized and bowed repeatedly, and changed his room to another one on the same floor.

After getting the new room card, the three of them went to the restaurant.

The view from the terrace is very nice. Half of the seats in the restaurant are indoors, and the other half are open-air. Standing outside, you can see the winding traffic below and the Osaka Castle Tower in the distance. This is a completely different view from Tokyo.

Conan Edogawa was unable to see the scenery due to his altitude, so he focused on the people around him. As he looked, he saw many familiar faces.

The four of them sat at a round table: the hostess of Nichimi TV, Rena Mizunashi, whom they had met once in the morning; Natsumi Kosaka, whom they had met at the shrine and then sent away by Secretary Nishino; Ryu Samukawa, who had just disturbed them; and finally, a woman in a red cheongsam.

Conan remembered the secretary's introduction and knew that it was the Romanov dynasty researcher, Pu Siqinglan.

Three of them were beauties with their own characteristics, which attracted the attention of many passers-by. The only male at the table, Ryu Kamikawa, was obviously enjoying this atmosphere, and he was showing something to Natsumi Kosaka.

"Mr. Aoyagi, Conan, let's sit here."

Mao Lilan didn't care about the commotion there. She chose a location where it was more convenient to enjoy the scenery.

"……it is good!"

Edogawa Conan came back to his senses. He took one last look over there, and this time he saw clearly what the other party was showing, it turned out to be a ring.

The other party's voice came from afar: "This is the stuff of Nicholas II's third daughter, Maria, and the princess' name is in it..."

Aoyagi Akimitsu didn't care about that and sat down directly opposite Edogawa Conan.

In the pitch-black night, one could faintly hear the sound of birds flapping their wings, but the noise was soon drowned out by the surging human voices and could no longer be heard.

----

I was so tired these three days. My family had to accompany me during the surgery... Fortunately, it was not a serious illness...

Chapter 278 Don’t Open the Door at Night

The night is dark.

The hustle and bustle of the day gradually faded away, and soon only a few guests were left in the restaurant. In order to have more energy to attend the opening ceremony of the art museum tomorrow, many people returned to their rooms early to rest.

In a room on the 10th floor, Ryu Hanchuan was still wearing the green jacket and pink-purple shirt he wore during the day. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, holding his cell phone and talking to someone on the phone.

"……very nice."

The other end of the phone was not quiet. My friend's envious voice came along with the sound of the tram announcement in the background: "You really have more freedom than me now. I was called to work overtime early this morning and I'm just getting on the tram now."

Hanchuan Long laughed and said, "This is why I resigned from Nichimei. Who wants to see those old guys' faces every day and be ordered around by them?"

This floor is the hotel's premium guest rooms, with excellent sound insulation. Even if he laughs loudly, people from the neighboring rooms will not rush over and scold him for disturbing others.

"Hey...if I wasn't so tired, I would also like to go to the new art museum."

A friend who I knew when I was a reporter and now works at another TV station smiled bitterly, then changed the subject back to him: "So you arrived in Osaka a day early. Did you meet Chairman Suzuki? Is the egg of memories really like the rumors say?"

Speaking of this, Hanchuan Long showed a trace of displeasure on his face, and he looked out the floor-to-ceiling window.

His room faces west, and he cannot see Osaka's iconic buildings, the castle tower or Tsutenkaku, but he is right opposite the newly built Suzuki Museum of Art.

It is said that Chairman Suzuki specially invited the best designer in the country to design this art gallery. A large amount of glass was used in the construction process. Now, under the reflection of the light, it is like a pearl falling on dark velvet, emitting dazzling brilliance.

"... Hanchuan? Hanchuan, are you listening to me?"

Hanchuan Long was distracted by what he was watching for a moment and almost forgot that he was still on the phone.

Hearing his friend's urging voice, Hanchuan Long turned and walked away from the floor-to-ceiling window and sat on the sofa in the middle of the living room.

There were two cushions on the sofa, and a laptop connected to a DV. He was saving all the images he had taken today into the computer, and he was already halfway through.