Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

Kaito Kuroba felt a little uneasy under that gaze.

But, since we're already here...

He instinctively felt that this invitation was very important and didn't want to leave.

The courtyard gate opened and then closed again. Kaito Kuroba followed him as he changed his shoes and went inside.

As soon as he entered, he saw Ran Mouri, who was also wearing an apron.

His eyes widened suddenly, and the tension he felt before entering the room was instantly forgotten.

My gaze swept back and forth between the two of them twice: matching aprons, the kitchen, the hot pot on the table, the warm yellow lighting—

He blurted out instinctively:

"Are you living together?"

"..."

Honestly, Qingze was speechless.

How should I put it... Kaito Kuroba's personality is a bit eccentric.

One second he was staring intently, with the kind of reckless courage to venture into a den of wolves, the next second he completely lost his composure, his eyes wide open, and he started gossiping.

Qingze spoke slowly and deliberately, "If having a meal is considered cohabitation, then when your dad calls your mom home, would you call that joint burial?"

Kaito Kuroba: "..."

Ran Mouri paused for a moment while holding the kitchen knife.

She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Kaito Kuroba opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

He silently shifted his gaze from Qingze's face, pretending nothing had happened, and began to examine the furnishings in the room.

The air was silent for two seconds.

"Come in and have a seat." Ran Mouri looked up, her smile still lingering, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "The hot pot will be ready soon."

Kaito Kuroba responded and went inside.

As he passed Qingze, he paused, lowered his voice, and quickly said:

"You have a really sharp tongue."

"He only had a sharp tongue, but he didn't poison you directly. I've already been more than generous." Qingze glanced at him and turned to go to the kitchen to get the dishes.

Kaito Kuroba frowned.

What does Qingze mean by this? When did he offend him?

Ran Mouri smiled and offered him, "What would you like to drink?"

"Juice is fine."

The aroma of the hot pot eased the tension and unease of being a guest in an unfamiliar place. Kaito Kuroba, who wasn't particularly hungry, couldn't help but salivate at the smell.

I had just set the table when the doorbell rang again.

Qingze raised an eyebrow.

He squinted at Kaito Kuroba, his gaze carrying a meaningful undertone, as if to say, "You've got a tail now?"

Kaito Kuroba spread his hands innocently, indicating that he was completely innocent.

Qingze turned and walked towards the door.

A tall, upright man stood outside the door.

He was around forty years old, with a refined and scholarly air, and a calm composure that suggested he had seen it all. He wore a dark suit jacket and stood in the twilight, his aura as serene as a deep pool.

Qingze's gaze lingered on his face for two seconds.

He recognized the face.

Yusaku Kudo.

The face standing at the door now is not the disguised version I saw at the hospital that day, but the real face.

Qingze didn't speak, but raised his eyebrows slightly and stared intently at him.

Is this Yusaku Kudo, or someone else?

Yusaku Kudo didn't rush to speak. His gaze quickly swept over Yusaku's entire body, then passed over him and swept across the room at the end of the entrance hall.

Warm yellow lights, a hot pot on the dining table, and two figures that are faintly visible.

There are guests having a meal together.

—He quickly obtained the information.

Yusaku Kudo withdrew his gaze, his expression unchanged, his tone as casual as if he had just come to visit:

"I apologize for this intrusion. Would you mind if I joined you for dinner?"

Qingze glanced into the room.

The hot pot was bubbling and steaming, and Kaito Kuroba was craning his neck to look in this direction. Ran Mouri was standing by the table, holding a bowl of freshly washed vegetables.

He looked back.

"It is indeed very presumptuous of me," he said, a slight smile playing on his lips, "but since I'm already here..."

He stepped aside.

Yusaku Kudo nodded slightly and stepped across the threshold.

The light from the entryway fell on him, and Kaito Kuroba stared at his face, stunned for a long while.

The strikingly similar face made him appear somewhat dazed.

Kudo Yusaku's gaze swept over him, and he paused for a moment.

He looked at Qingze, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but his tone remained calm: "What is this?"

“Kaito Kuroba,” Aozawa said casually, “a friend.”

He turned to Kaito Kuroba, who was still in a daze, and introduced him in a calm tone:

“Mr. Yusaku Kudo. The famous novelist, Shinichi Kudo’s father.” He paused, “He said he was here to freeload a meal.”

Kaito Kuroba's Adam's apple bobbed.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

"Hello, Mr. Yusaku."

Should we call him uncle or elder brother?

But since we haven't acknowledged each other as relatives, there's no need for it.

Kudo Yusaku looked at him, a smile that only he himself knew flashing in his eyes.

"Hello, Kaito-kun."

Ran Mouri walked over from the dining table and greeted him with a smile: "Uncle Yusaku."

“Ran is here too.” Kudo Yusaku looked at her, his smile becoming more genuine. “Perfect, it’s more fun to have hot pot with more people.”

Chapter 571 How does it feel to be cared about?

Yusaku Kudo sat down at the dining table.

The dining table was unusually full of four people, with the hot pot bubbling away in the center, the aroma of mutton mixed with the fragrance of spices filling the entire room.

Ran Mouri added a few slices of meat to the pot and picked up a piece of vegetables from Aozawa's bowl with her chopsticks, her movements as natural as if she had done it a thousand times.

Kaito Kuroba sat opposite her, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards her chopsticks.

Then he glanced at Aozawa, then at Kudo Yusaku across the table, before finally returning to the hot pot.

Qingze must have something to say to him if he invited him to dinner.

Kudo Yusaku's arrival was completely unexpected.

Judging from observation, Aozawa and Kudo Yusaku are not familiar with each other, so what is the purpose of his visit?

They even deliberately used the unconventional reason of "mooching a meal"...

“Kaito-kun,” Yusaku Kudo suddenly spoke, his tone gentle, “the meat is ready, eat it while it’s hot.”

Kaito Kuroba snapped out of his daze, looked down, and realized that several slices of meat had been placed in his bowl without him noticing.

"Thank you," he said curtly.

Qingze picked up the strainer and slowly scooped the vegetables out of the pot.

He glanced at the meat in Kaito Kuroba's bowl, then at Yusaku Kudo, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The hot pot was bubbling away, and the dining table was quiet except for the occasional hissing sound of blowing air and the clinking of bowls and chopsticks.

Ran Mouri gently stirred the soup in her bowl, her gaze falling on Yusaku Kudo's face. Her eyes held just the right amount of curiosity, along with a hint of barely perceptible inquiry.

"Uncle Yusaku came to see Azawa about something?"

Yusaku Kudo put down his chopsticks, his expression calm.

“I was just passing by,” he chuckled, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice, “and I was drawn in by the aroma. Remembering that I’d never visited Qingze-kun before, I mustered up the courage to knock on the door.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the bubbling hot pot on the table, then turned to Qingze.

"In hindsight, it was worth it to be shameless."

Qingze didn't speak, but just smiled slightly, exuding a peaceful and harmless aura.

Ran Mouri chuckled, "Then Uncle Yusaku, eat more. There's still plenty left in the pot."

Yusaku Kudo's gaze fell on Kaito Kuroba standing to the side, and he smiled, "Kaito, may I call you that?"

Kaito Kuroba paused in his grip on his chopsticks without looking up.

"Uh, sure."

Seeing that Yusaku Kudo's gaze was fixed on Kaito Kuroba, Ran Mouri asked softly, "Uncle Yusaku, are you thinking about Shinichi?"

“Yes…” Yusaku Kudo said softly, “This child looks just like Shinichi. Seeing him… is like seeing Shinichi again.”

As he spoke, the smile on his face faded slightly, replaced by a perfectly measured sadness.

Qingze glanced at him and continued eating his meat.

Kaito Kuroba's chopsticks paused in mid-air for a moment, then casually reached into the pot.

"How did you two meet?" Kudo Yusaku asked casually, his tone carrying the gentle warmth typical of an elder.

Ran Mouri looked embarrassed. "I mistook Kaito for Shinichi earlier..."

She started it, and the rest is self-explanatory; Kudo Yusaku understood.

Kudo Yusaku's gaze shifted to Aozawa.

"Where's Aozawa-kun?" he asked, his tone casual as if it were a casual chat. "And how did you meet Kaito-kun?"

Qingze picked up a piece of meat and slowly dipped it in the pot.

“I mistook him for a love rival,” he said, his tone as casual as if he were talking about what he had eaten that day, “and then I realized I had the wrong person.”

"Ah, this..."

Kudo Yusaku paused for a moment, then laughed helplessly.

The laughter wasn't loud, but it made Kaito Kuroba's lips twitch.

He maintained a poker face on his face, but inwardly he was rolling his eyes to the heavens.

Cooperate with their performance.

Just cooperate and that's it.

“One after another they all mistook me for Shinichi Kudo,” he said, his tone wistful. “I’m at my wit’s end.”

Ran Mouri's eyes crinkled, and a smile overflowed from the corners of her eyes.

"There's nothing we can do, you guys really do look alike."