Ke Xue: Xiaolan delivers goods to your door at the beginning

Lin Xiaofeng said confidently. There is absolutely no high school student in Japan as strong as him.

"Hehehe... I'll take that as true."

Her smiling, watery eyes clearly reflected Lin Xiaofeng's face. A faint smile played on her lips, yet an unintentional allure lingered. The rosy glow of her lips exuded a strange, bewitching charm.

"You do not believe?"

She lay naked on Lin Xiaofeng's body, responding softly.

"I believe it, I absolutely believe it. I feel the alcohol is too good; if I continue, this mysterious woman like me will lose all my mystery and become a fool."

"You're right, Sister Bei, you're my little silly girl."

"You're an idiot!"

……

Back in Tokyo, Lin Xiaofeng resumed his daily life, but the atmosphere at Teitan High School was tense as the final exams approached.

Even Sonoko and Ran couldn't just play all the time; they had to study too.

During this time, Lin Xiaofeng received a call from Qiu Tinglianzi.

Reiko Akiba was invited to the Shitara family's birthday party and decided to have Xiaofeng Lin accompany her.

Lin Xiaofeng arrived downstairs at Qiu Tinglianzi's house. He saw Qiu Tinglianzi wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, dressed casually, looking cool.

"Reiko, why are you dressed so mysteriously?"

“It would be bad if we were photographed by paparazzi. You and I are both public figures now, you know? If we were photographed together, the media would definitely make a big fuss about it. I don’t care, but you’re still a high school student and you still have to study.”

Reiko Akiba was very considerate of Lin Xiaofeng.

"Reiko, you're so kind. You really think of me."

“I’m older than you, I’m your older sister, so of course I have to be considerate.” Qiu Tinglianzi led Lin Xiaofeng to the parking lot and then helped him into the car.

Lin Xiaofeng sat in the passenger seat, and Qiu Tinglian sat in the driver's seat, starting the car.

"Xiao Feng, it's been a while since we last saw each other. Have you missed me?"

"Of course I've thought about it. But lately I've been busy preparing for final exams, my studies are very demanding..."

“That’s true…” Akiba Reiko recalled her previous meeting with Lin Xiaofeng. It felt like a long time had passed, yet also like not long. “Why do I feel like this year has been particularly long? I wonder if it’s just my imagination.”

"Hmm. I think it's just my imagination. There are 365 days in a year, no more and no less, and there's no such thing as a year that's longer or shorter."

“That’s right.” Akiba Reiko thought Lin Xiaofeng’s words made a lot of sense, and could only explain it as a misperception. “It’s probably because I especially wanted you to graduate from high school as soon as possible, Xiaofeng.”

"Hmm..." Lin Xiaofeng realized that he was truly the only one in this world who had discovered that time was out of balance. If he revealed the truth to the world, he would definitely be sent to a mental hospital. "Are you taking me to your friend's party to introduce me to your friends?"

"Yes. The Shitara family is a musical family, and I have a very good relationship with them. My music teacher was Shitara Furuto, who passed away a year ago. The Shitara family's youngest daughter, Shitara Renki, is a good friend of mine."

"Shira Renki..." Lin Xiaofeng recalled the name, it seemed that something would happen on this trip.

As expected, before Akiba Reiko even arrived at the Shitara residence, Lin Xiaofeng, in the passenger seat, spotted a charred villa billowing black smoke in the distance.

There were also fire trucks parked at the entrance.

"Excuse me, what happened at the Shitara family's house?" Akiba Reiko parked the car near the entrance, got out with Lin Xiaofeng, and asked the firefighters.

"The villa is on fire." The firefighter glanced at Akiba Reiko and Lin Xiaofeng a few times before answering, "The fire started from a carelessly discarded cigarette butt."

After thanking the firefighters, Akiba Reiko turned and walked into the Shitara family home with Lin Xiaofeng.

In the courtyard, Lin Xiaofeng saw that familiar figure.

"Mr. Mori...?"

"Huh? Lin Xiaofeng? Why are you here?" Hearing someone call his name, Kogoro Mouri turned his head and met Lin Xiaofeng's gaze. "You, perhaps, have also received a request."

"No, I'm just accompanying Miss Akiba Reiko to the banquet." Lin Xiaofeng pointed to Akiba Reiko beside him.

At this moment, Akiba Reiko had taken off her hat and sunglasses, revealing her stunning beauty, which immediately amazed Kogoro Mouri.

"It's... the beautiful soprano, Reiko Akiba!"

"Reiko-chan!" Shitara Renki suddenly rushed over and hugged Akiba Reiko. "Listen to me, something terrible has happened! Uncle Genzaburo was burned to death in the fire!"

"Is it Mr. Genzaburo who had an accident this year? I know, Renki, please accept my condolences..." Akiba Reiko gently comforted Shitara Renki by placing a hand on her back.

“Waaaah (delicious) waaah…” After Akiba Reiko’s outburst, Shira Renki suddenly noticed the male companion, Hikaru, who had come with Akiba Reiko.

"Reiko-chan, he is..."

"Let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Lin Xiaofeng."

"Boy friend?"

Upon hearing that he was Akiba Reiko's boyfriend, Shiraki Renki carefully examined Lin Xiaofeng. He was truly a handsome man, unparalleled in the world, so handsome that he had no family.

"You, you are... high school detective Lin Xiaofeng!"

"That's right, I am Lin Xiaofeng."

Lin Xiaofeng felt that his reputation had almost reached the level of being a household name, even though he hadn't solved that many cases, which was a bit of an exaggeration.

"Wow—" Shiraki Renki exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise. "Thinking about it, that makes sense. Only high school detective Hayashi Kofumi is worthy of Reiko-chan."

289. That's incredibly disrespectful.

Kogoro Mouri's eyes widened. Lin Xiaofeng had suddenly become Akiba Reiko's boyfriend. Just how many women had Lin Xiaofeng been boyfriend to? He was such a jerk.

Kogoro Mouri was filled with envy and jealousy towards Lin Xiaofeng, who was surrounded by beautiful women, each one different. Fortunately, he had one source of comfort: Eisuke Hondo. Although the two didn't officially become lovers, they became comrades-in-arms in their battles.

"Where's Mr. Shitara? I'll go say hello to him first," Akiba Reiko asked, patting Shitara Renki's head.

“Grandpa went to rest with Grandma,” Shiraki Renki replied, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes. “After all, Grandma has suffered a great deal of emotional distress after what happened.”

“I’m very sorry, Miss Akiba.” The Shitara family’s butler, Tsukumo Kosei, suddenly bowed to Akiba Reiko in apology. “I should have informed you of the cancellation of the birthday party beforehand. This is my dereliction of duty as the butler.”

“No, don’t say that, Ms. Tsugumi,” Akiba Reiko shook her head and replied, “You’ve done very well. Besides, I was in such a hurry that I forgot to bring my cell phone.”

“Oh right, Reiko-chan, I haven’t introduced you yet. This is my cousin, Kyosuke Haga.” Shitara Renki pulled Kyosuke Haga, who was standing to the side 153cm tall and looking at Reiko Akiba, over to introduce him, “He is a musical genius.”

"Uncle, this is my good friend, Akiba Reiko, a famous soprano singer."

“Miss Akiba, I’ve heard so much about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me.” Haga Kyosuke extended his hand to Akiba Reiko.

As it turned out… Akiba Reiko simply nodded indifferently, making no attempt to shake his hand. This left Haga Kyosuke feeling incredibly awkward; she was being extremely disrespectful.

"I think I've discovered something," Kogoro Mouri suddenly said. "I need to write it down and summarize it." After saying that, Kogoro Mouri went to the Shitara family's living room, took out paper and pen, sat on the sofa, and began to make notes.

Seeing this, the others also followed to the living room.

"Counting from today thirty years ago, four people, including Mr. Kyosuke's father, have passed away. To summarize briefly, the first person to pass away was Mr. Kyosuke's father, Mr. Tōichirō's younger brother, Tanjirō. The second person to pass away was Mr. Tōichirō's youngest brother, Mrs. Eimi, who passed away two years ago. The third person was Mr. Tōichirō's son, Ms. Renki's father, Mr. Shiroto. Finally, the fourth person is Mr. Genzaburō today."

Kogoro Mouri was sweating profusely as he recorded this.

"Based on my reasoning, if things continue like this, it would be better not to hold birthday parties for Mr. Tsuneichiro in the future."

“There will be no chance to think about it again.” Standing on the side of Kogoro Mouri, Kyosuke Haga suddenly said, “Uncle Ichiro has lung disease, and the doctor said he doesn’t have much time left, only about six months.”

"Huh! Is that so!" Kogoro Mouri looked up in astonishment at Kyosuke Haga, whose face showed a sad expression.

"D, E, F, G... there really is a pattern." Lin Xiaofeng muttered, frowning.

"Ah, indeed... wait a minute!" Kogoro Mouri suddenly stood up. "If this order continues, wouldn't the next person to be cursed to death be Ms. Renki, whose initials are H?!"

"Huh? Am I next?" Shiraki Renki asked, pointing to herself with a blank expression.

"By the way, Mr. Mori, you've already labeled Shitara Renki as a curse, haven't you?" Akiba Reiko said, expressing her concern for Shitara Renki's condition.

"Haha, no way. I think it's just a coincidence, it's not a mystery novel." Shira Renki chuckled and waved her hand.

At this moment, Lin Xiaofeng looked up at Yuhe Xiangfu and asked, "Mr. Xiangfu, could you take me to see the fire scene?"

"Huh? A fire scene?" Yuhe Xiangfu looked at Lin Xiaofeng in confusion. "What are you looking at there for?"

"To be honest, I'm a detective too, and there are some things I want to know," Lin Xiaofeng replied.

"Ah, please wait a moment," Butler Jinqu suddenly stepped forward to interrupt. "Before we go to see the scene, could we confirm who will be performing the Requiem tonight?"

"A Requiem?" Kogoro Mouri looked completely bewildered.

“That’s a family tradition,” Shiraka Renki explained. “Whenever a family member passes away, a member of the family plays a requiem for the deceased.”

“Until last year, it was Mr. Genzaburo who performed, but the master and madam are not in a good condition to perform now…” Butler Tsukumo’s gaze darted back and forth between Setara Renki and Haga Kyosuke.

"Ah, I can't do it!" Shira Renki waved her hands repeatedly, "I'm not good enough."

“Then I’ll do it,” Kyosuke Haga replied. “How about you all join us? It’s not easy to hear Kyosuke Haga perform live.”

"Ah, okay..." Kogoro Mouri nodded, looking completely bewildered.

"Moreover, I can also take Detective Lin to observe the fire scene and check if there are any musical instruments in the annex that were not burned."

“If you don’t have one, you can use my violin,” Shiraki Renki said, pointing to the violin placed to the side.

The villa of the Shitara family...

Lin Xiaofeng put the few cigarette butts in the ashtray that were only wet from being soaked into a sealed bag, and smiled and nodded to Yuhe Xiangfu.

"Detective Lin, have you discovered something?" Yuga Kyosuke asked, leaning closer.

“Yes, I have indeed made some discoveries.” Lin Xiaofeng stared at Yuhe Xiangfu and nodded in reply. “At the very least, I know that Mr. Genzaburō’s death in the fire was not just due to an accidental fire, but also the possibility that he was deliberately murdered.”

Kyosuke Haga's eyes suddenly sharpened.

“Oh, is that so? But when we broke in, the doors and windows were all locked,” Haga Kyosuke said casually. “This room is designed as a locked room.”

Lin Xiaofeng smiled but did not answer.

Have you found a usable instrument?

The topic was changed, and Kyosuke Haga's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

But he quickly transformed this emotion into regret over the damage to the musical instruments in the annex.

"No, not even a violin that can still be played is left." Kyosuke Haga shook his head with a hint of sadness.

"I see. Then the requiem for the following days can only be played on Renxi's violin."

290. Shira Renki: Am I next?

When the clock showed that the current time was midnight, Yuga Kyosuke took Renki's violin and walked to the window, turning his back to the window and facing the crowd, ready to begin playing a requiem.

"Next, please enjoy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem in D minor, K626..."

A gentle sound emanated from the violin as Kyosuke Haga moved his arm.

"Wow, amazing..." Kogoro Mouri exclaimed, his mouth agape.

“Yes, Uncle Xiangshan; after graduating from the German Music Academy, he has always been the principal violinist of the theater troupe.” Lianxi said with a proud look.

"Hey, Renki, why is Mr. Kyosuke leaving the window open?" Akiba Reiko asked, pointing to the half-open window.

“That’s how it’s always done when playing a requiem,” Renxi explained. “It’s so that Grandpa and Grandma can hear it too… This is Grandma’s bedroom.”

"Since Grandma's bedroom is next to Grandpa's bedroom across from the storage room, are the rooms connected?" Lin Xiaofeng continued to ask.

“The dorm rooms are locked from the inside, so you can’t get in from the storage room.” Lianxi didn’t care about the privacy of the family and generously told Lin Xiaofeng everything she could. “However, you can get in from the corridor using the master key that the housekeeper Jinqu keeps.”

Why do my grandparents and their spouse sleep in separate rooms?

“Oh, that’s because Grandpa was a heavy smoker, but Grandma really disliked the smell of smoke,” Lianxi replied with a wry smile. “Grandpa smoked all the time before he got lung cancer.”

"So, if Grandpa passes away, who will inherit that very valuable violin?" Lin Xiaofeng's questions were becoming increasingly private and intrusive.

"It was originally supposed to be given to Uncle Genzo, but now it might be given to Grandma. However, Grandpa also mentioned this, saying that he wanted to take that zither into his coffin."

"But in my opinion, it would be best to give that violin to a genius musician like Uncle Kyosuke. Hehehe..." Renki stuck out her tongue a little shyly.

"Xiao Feng, what are you trying to do? Why are you asking so clearly?" Qiu Tinglian looked at Lin Xiao Feng suspiciously. Could it be that he has taken a liking to her best friend? Speaking of which, her best friend is also very beautiful and younger than her, so she has to be careful.

"I just wanted to help; I'm a detective too," Lin Xiaofeng said with a wry smile. Qiu Tinglianzi hadn't yet grasped his compassion and needed his enlightenment.

click!

A crisp sound suddenly came from upstairs.

Before Lin Xiaofeng and Kogoro Mouri could react, a figure quickly fell from the window.

Everyone looked towards the window with expressions of horror.

But Kyosuke Haga, who was playing with his eyes closed, did not notice anything unusual.

It wasn't until the sound of the heavy object hitting the ground that he snapped out of his reverie.