As soon as he sat down at the table, a pair of small hands grabbed Kazawa's wrist and held it tightly.
Although this amount of force couldn't harm Kazawa at all, he still felt the full wrath of the Jealous King.
"What are you doing..." Kazawa glanced at the others at the table, pulled his hand back, but didn't move further.
"Kazawa..." Conan pressed himself against his arm and said with a tone full of sadness and anger, "You can't do this!"
Kazawa sighed helplessly and looked at Mao Lilan, who was smiling while cutting the pie she made, unaware of the commotion. He simply picked Conan up, who refused to let go, and placed him on his lap.
"What did I do?" Kazawa whispered. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"
"Then why did you touch her head?" Conan stared at Kazawa with intense suspicion, his eyes sharper than ever. "Tell me the truth, are you—"
"I didn't!" Kazawa cut him off and covered his mouth. "Let me be clear—I'm not into that type, I don't like people of that age. I patted her head purely out of friendship. End of story. Do you have anything else to say?"
As soon as Kazawa let go, Conan blurted out, "Xiaolan is so good. Why don't you like her?"
Kazawa: "...So do you want me to like her or not?"
Conan: "…" He seemed like he just wanted to argue.
"Anyway, rest assured." Kazawa rubbed his forehead helplessly. "I really didn't mean anything by it."
Conan stared at him for a few seconds with suspicion, then hesitantly said, "But—"
"Shut up." Kazawa's expression dulled, and he gave him a sharp look. "If you ask again, I'll just say I don't like girls."
Xingchuan Hui hurriedly covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh that almost burst out. He pretended not to hear anything, changed hands to hold his cup, and kept his head down.
He couldn't laugh—if he laughed, Conan would notice, and Kazawa would never let him off.
But it was just too funny... He wanted to record it and play it back for Mingmei.
Conan sulked in silence but still glared at Kazawa with deep resentment.
Kazawa gave him a light smack on the head and shook it. "Fine, here, I'll pat yours too. We're even now, alright?"
Conan glared at him with narrowed eyes, then reluctantly looked away—and immediately noticed the bottle of clear liquor on the table.
Tch… the organization again… damn organization...
Kazawa pushed the lemon pie in front of him toward the jealous king. "Here, it's all yours. Stop overthinking, kid."
Mao Lilan looked at the pie she had just sliced, clasping her hands together, seemingly recalling what Kazawa had said earlier.
"What's wrong, Xiaolan? You've worked so hard on this, aren't you going to eat it?" Suzuki Sonoko noticed her spacing out and leaned closer.
"Sonoko..." Mao Lilan came back to her senses and reached out to the warm pie. "I was just thinking about something."
"Thinking about Asami-senpai?" Sonoko nudged her shoulder. "Don't overthink it. Asami-senpai is amazing—smart, beautiful—it's no surprise that Shinichi liked her. But they didn't end up together, right? Cheer up."
"Senpai Mami… I'm not really worried about her..." Mao Lilan took a bite of the lemon pie. The sweet fruit flavor filled her mouth, and she couldn't help but smile. "Actually, I'm more worried about something else."
"Something else?" Sonoko tilted her head.
"Sonoko… am I being too much? I even asked you to help me clean Shinichi's house... It's like I've become some fool hopelessly in love." Mao Lilan took another bite, thinking about the way Kazawa had spoken, and sighed, "Shinichi's out there working hard on cases. He has his ideals, his career. But I'm just standing still, waiting for him to come back..."
"That's on that mystery geek," Sonoko said, waving her hand angrily. "He left without a word and hasn't shown up for months. You have nothing to feel guilty about. This isn't your fault."
"But with Shinichi out there seeing more of the world, meeting new people, facing new cases every day... if I stay where I am, can I really keep up with him?" Mao Lilan chewed her pie thoughtfully. "Kazawa was right. I should become a better version of myself—so brilliant that he can't ignore me, so he won't leave me behind again."
Sonoko was stunned for a moment hearing this new side of her best friend, then burst out laughing.
"Did Kazawa tell you that? He really knows how to talk." Sonoko reached out and patted Mao Lilan's back. "A sweet talker and good-looking… You've got options, you know? Why worry so much? You're beautiful and super popular, Xiaolan! If that mystery geek doesn't come back soon, someone else might just snatch you away!"
Conan, who had just returned from Karasawa's side and was about to sit next to Mao Lilan: "!"
He took a deep breath and stared straight at Kazawa.
Kazawa! You said you—
"Ah!!!" Before Conan could yell at him, a scream rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
Kazawa had grabbed Sawai Manabu's wrist, twisted it behind his back, and slammed his face down onto the table. The half-eaten lemon pie in front of him splattered as his face hit the plate in an awkward position.
"Y-You! What are you doing?!" Sawai Manabu struggled violently, but couldn't escape Kazawa's grip. His face twisted, and he flopped like a fish out of water.
Everyone was stunned. Tomoko Hayasaka froze before finally screaming, "What's happening?! What are you doing?!"
Xingchuan Hui quickly moved to Kazawa's side. Seeing Kazawa's dark expression and heavy presence, he stood beside him grimly.
"What is this..." Hoshikawa Teru reached out and pulled a white pill from Sawai Manabu's clenched fist. "Can you explain this to us, Mr. Sawai?"
"What were you planning to do with this stuff?" Kazawa asked coldly. His grip didn't waver—in fact, he pressed Sawai Manabu's face even harder into the plate. "What were you trying to add to Ms. Uchida's drink?"
"Eh?" Uchida Asami, who had been sitting opposite, suddenly realized and looked at the wine glass near her hand. It was indeed close to Sawai Manabu. Remembering how Kazawa had suddenly grabbed his wrist, she covered her mouth in shock.
"President, you…"
Hoshikawa Teru examined the pill in his hand repeatedly, his expression darkening. He could no longer suppress the fierce hostility in his gaze—Hayato's chilling presence burst through.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Xingchuan Hui grabbed Sawai Manabu's hair and yanked his messy head up. "Do you have any idea that this stuff is addictive?!"