"Hello."
In clumsy Chinese, Sonoko came over to strike up a conversation—something Liu A'dou had already expected. "Hello, your Chinese sounds very standard."
"Hahaha." Sonoko laughed brightly. "Actually, I only know greetings. But Liu A'dou, your Japanese is amazing. You don't sound like a foreigner at all."
"You flatter me."
"I'm Suzuki Sonoko, and this is my best friend, Mouri Ran," Sonoko introduced.
"Nice to meet you."
"You can follow the lessons, right? If you don't understand, the two of us beautiful ladies can tutor you." Sonoko didn't forget her real purpose. Her and Ran's grades were actually pretty good.
"No need for now," Liu A'dou thought. 'But later, if I want to join the plot, it might be a good excuse.'
"Don't be shy. Anytime."
As Sonoko chatted casually, Ran seemed like she wanted to say something too.
"Mouri-san, do you have something to say?" Liu A'dou asked curiously.
Ran tensed for a moment, then made up her mind. "I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for not sitting in Shinichi's seat."
"?" Liu A'dou played dumb, pretending to look puzzled.
"Because I also believe Shinichi will come back."
Sonoko made an exaggerated sour face. "We all know you're Shinichi's wife already. Enough, seriously."
"Shinichi? Are you talking about Kudo Shinichi, the famous high school detective?" Liu A'dou kept acting clueless.
"That's right. And this Mouri Ran is his childhood sweetheart, his loooover~~" Sonoko even dragged out the last word.
"Oh, I see. I get it."
"Ran has Shinichi. But I'm still single. Liu A'dou, do you want to go on a date with me?"
"Sonoko?!!" Ran was startled by her boldness.
Liu A'dou was stunned too, then gave a bitter smile. Sonoko was really Sonoko—no matter what world she was in, she never changed. He remembered in the last detective world, she had also asked him out. History really did repeat itself. But no, this time he had to pursue his wife all over again. That was the whole point of the game.
In Sonoko's eyes, A'dou was just too handsome, and she couldn't help being straightforward. Liu A'dou had to reject her gently. "Suzuki-san, I can't. You're not my type."
That was polite enough, Liu A'dou thought.
Sonoko's heart collapsed, but with Ran comforting her, she quickly recovered. Liu A'dou added, "But we're friends. Going out to eat is fine. How about a café? My treat for dessert."
After sulking for about 5 minutes, Sonoko's expression shifted. "Fine. I'll fill the hole in my heart you left with cake."
What kind of lOkic was that? Ran probably had a lot of pressure having a friend like this. She gave Liu A'dou an apologetic smile.
After class, Liu A'dou walked together with the two beauties, making plenty of boys envious.
"You two decide. I'm new here and don't know which restaurants nearby are good." Liu A'dou gave them the choice.
"Let's go to the new shop in front of the station. Everyone says it's really good," Sonoko suggested.
Ran was tempted too. "I've never been there either."
"Then it's settled," Liu A'dou said.
Elementary school kids finished earlier than high schoolers. The Detective Boys had already wrapped up an investigation and were heading home when they ran into them in front of the station.
"Ah, it's Ran-neesan and Sonoko-neesan, and a super handsome onii-san!" Ayumi's sharp eyes had always been good at spotting details, and she was often the first to notice tiny clues at crime scenes.
"Really? They actually sneaked off to eat something good without us." The moment Genta saw food, his energy shot up.
"Damn it, who's that guy?" Conan's face turned sour the instant he saw Ran walking with another man.
Haibara Ai chuckled inwardly. 'Men are so childish.'
Mitsuhiko explained, "This place is famous. Their pastries are made with Italian techniques. They're delicious. My mom brought me here once." Truly the words of a rich kid.
"Let's go in! Sonoko-neesan will treat us!" Before the words were even finished, Genta rushed into the shop. "I want to eat too!"
Here they come. Just hearing the voices of these little troublemakers made Liu A'dou shiver instinctively. These brats never listened. Wherever danger was, they'd head straight there—walking disasters on legs. If not for plot armor, they'd have died at least 10 times over.
"Conan, and everyone." Ran always treated kids with patience.
"Ran-neesan, who's this onii-san?" Of course Conan would be wary of any handsome guy near Ran.
"He's the new transfer student today," Ran said.
Behind Conan's cute face, a demon awoke. A transfer student who just arrived and was already eating with Ran after class??!! No way, absolutely not. Lucky he showed up, or who knows what trouble might've happened.
"Ran-neesan, I want to eat too, I want to eat too!" Ran looked awkwardly at Liu A'dou.
"It's fine. Kids, order whatever you like." But inside he was thinking, 'What don't you like eating? I've never seen it.'
Sure enough, before the words faded, Genta had already ordered 3 of the most expensive desserts. Taste didn't matter to him—his lOkic was that the priciest ones must be the biggest.
Mitsuhiko, on the other hand, thoughtfully introduced Ayumi to two desserts he'd tried before and finally ordered one for her. A genuinely considerate guy—perfect spare boyfriend material.
Conan wasn't focused on food at all. His whole purpose was blocking Liu A'dou. As for Haibara Ai, she was more emotional. She ignored appearances and just picked something by name: "Gray Love." Who knew what that even was? Gray usually symbolized disappointment, so it was probably designed for broken-hearted singles.
"Ahh, I want to eat everything." Sonoko's chronic indecisiveness flared up again. If she'd come alone, she probably would've ordered plenty. But in front of a handsome guy, she had to act reserved. "Ran, what are you getting?"
Ran hesitated too.
"Why not let the staff recommend something?" Liu A'dou suggested, and they quickly agreed.
Conan frowned. To him, that was lazy. Or maybe it was just that he already disliked Liu A'dou for being with Ran.
Conan's attitude was obvious, but Liu A'dou expected it. In fact, this was exactly what he wanted—to mess with him. He secretly laughed.
Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko dug right in. Haibara Ai sat in the corner, taking small, careful bites. Conan just kept glaring at Liu A'dou, ready to stop him if he made any move that was too much.
Heh. Foolish detective. This was only the beginning.
After finishing dessert, Liu A'dou had at least officially met these main characters. He paid the bill and left, while the others scattered and caught the subway home.
Conan held Ran's hand as they walked. "Ran-neesan, you seem to treat that A'dou guy really well."
"Mm." Ran admitted.
Jealousy burned inside Conan. 'No. Ran. Absolutely not.'
But Ran wasn't done. "Because today…" She told him how Liu A'dou had refused to sit in Kudo Shinichi's seat. "Because of Liu A'dou, I believe even more that Shinichi will come back."
Conan exhaled in relief. 'So that's what it was.' His opinion of Liu A'dou shifted a little, but he couldn't relax. Ran's impression of A'dou was too good. With even the slightest slip, things could get dangerous. A'dou was handsome and gentle—the perfect lady-killer. Conan swore he couldn't let Ran fall for some pretty boy. He was practically a walking jar of vinegar.