"Senior Asami." Mao Lilan walked over to Uchida Asami, who was sitting dazed on the sofa, and asked softly, "Are you okay?"
Uchida Asami looked up at the red and blue police lights casting flickering shadows on the wall and gave a bitter smile. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you all. Thank you for helping me just now, Xiaolan."
"It's nothing." Mao Lilan smiled and sat beside her, smoothing out her black skirt. She couldn't think of any comforting words, so she could only sigh. "Senior Sawai is really… I can't believe he'd do something like that."
Uchida Asami laughed at herself and shook her head. "He's not wrong... A woman like me..."
"Senior, he was the one with bad intentions. How could this be your fault?" Mao Lilan frowned. "Don't believe his nonsense."
"I actually had a vague idea what kind of person he was... but I still felt something toward him." Uchida Asami looked down at her fingertips. Her neatly manicured nails were pale pink and coated with a thin layer of clear polish, making her fingers look elegant and clean, without a trace of worldliness. "Still, I invited him to my birthday party. After all, he's good-looking, academically excellent, and comes from a good family. Having a suitor like him around makes me look popular... I wanted to show off in front of Kudo. I wanted him to regret rejecting me."
"Eh?" Mao Lilan blinked. "Shinichi... rejected you? But Sonoko said a first-year student confessed to you."
"That was a rumor I started out of spite." Uchida Asami smiled and shook her head. "I was really popular in school. When I confessed, I thought for sure he wouldn't turn me down. But he didn't even hesitate. It was infuriating."
A hand reached out and offered her a bottle of mineral water.
"Here, have some water." Kazawa shook the bottle, showing that the seal was intact.
"...Thank you." Uchida Asami immediately understood the meaning behind the gesture and smiled. "You're so thoughtful."
"Given what just happened, we should all be careful about what we eat and drink. It's only natural." Kazawa shrugged and sat in the single-seat sofa next to them. "Feeling any better now?"
"I really have to thank you, Kazawa-kun." Uchida Asami held the water bottle and sincerely expressed her gratitude. "If you hadn't noticed in time, I don't even dare imagine what would've happened..."
"Luckily, Karasawa is always observant," Mao Lilan nodded in agreement. "He's always had a knack for this sort of thing. If you met Shinichi, he'd probably be persuading you to become a detective with him... Speaking of detectives, where is Akechi-kun?"
Uchida Asami stood and looked around the room. Not seeing Goro Akechi, she said regretfully, "He left? I wanted to thank him. What a pity. Akechi-kun looked so serious when he saw the medicine. Is he okay?"
Goro Akechi was famously known for his easygoing smile. Some adoring fans online even called him "the smiling detective" or "the aristocratic sleuth." But people who disliked him said his smile was fake, that it lacked sincerity... So his gloomy, furious look earlier had been very out of character.
"He left early," Kazawa said, nodding toward the police cars outside the villa. "This incident might involve smuggling or other things. He thought it best to let Mr. Mouri handle it. He also didn't want to be photographed by the media. Don't worry, he just spent a lot of time in the U.S. and has seen cases like this before. He's angry at Sawai Manabu."
Kazawa's explanation was full of careful turns and half-truths.
The real reason, of course, was that Akira Karasawa and Goro Akechi were technically the same person. It wasn't a problem to switch between them privately, but if it were reported in the media, it'd be hard to explain. So before the police arrived, Xingchuan quickly changed his clothes, put on his glasses, turned back into a low-key otaku, and quietly slipped out the back door.
"I see..." Mao Lilan felt something was off, but since she wasn't close to Akechi and Kazawa's explanation held up, she let it go.
"You looked really cool back there, Kazawa-kun." Uchida Asami smiled at him, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Suddenly I feel like that Kudo kid isn't anything special. Do you have a girlfriend, Kazawa-kun? Want to consider me?"
Mao Lilan's eyes widened as if she'd just overheard something explosive.
"Don't tease me, senior." Kazawa waved his hand, clearly picking up on Uchida Asami's joking tone. "You probably still prefer someone like Kudo-san. He's straightforward and honest. I'm really not like him."
Suzuki Sonoko and Conan had been about to join in the conversation, but froze when they heard that.
High emotional intelligence: No scheming.
Low emotional intelligence: Straight man.
Karasawa really knows how to talk. Suzuki Sonoko was amazed.
"Wow, you're really good at reading people." Uchida Asami raised her eyebrows in surprise, then chuckled. "Now I'm even more curious about you."
"Senior Asami, you really liked someone like Kudo... um..." Suzuki Sonoko tried to phrase it delicately, but gave up. "What exactly did you like about him?"
"What else could it be? Just like Kazawa-kun said—he's straightforward and honest." Uchida Asami unscrewed her water bottle and smiled. This time, it wasn't a practiced, calculated smile, but a bright, genuine one that showed her teeth. "When I first joined the soccer club to help, Kudo was already a starting player. I made lemon pies and brought them to school every day. The other players always ate them all and said they were delicious. Only Kudo said, 'It doesn't taste very good.'"
Suzuki Sonoko's mouth twitched. Yep, that sounded like him.
Conan looked away guiltily, not wanting to hear more.
"To be honest, my cooking was awful back then. When I asked the others, I found out they only said it tasted good to be polite. I couldn't accept that. So I made a lemon pie every day and kept improving it. It took me three months to finally get his approval."
Talking about the past, Uchida Asami's smile softened. It was no longer the pretentious nostalgia of before. She simply narrowed her eyes gently.
"I really fell for his sincerity and honesty. Ever since I was little, people called me a genius, praised everything I did. I was always surrounded by flattery... Only he treated me like a normal person. It felt real. Oh, and earlier I did something a little strange to you, Xiaolan. Just to tease you."
"Eh?" Mao Lilan blinked. "Why?"
"Because when I confessed to Kudo, he said..."
Here it comes! Conan panicked and lunged forward, trying to stop Uchida Asami from continuing.
...but was stopped by Kazawa's hand.
"He said, 'I've liked someone since I was a kid. She's really stubborn, cries easily... she's a very special girl.'" Uchida Asami tilted her head with a teasing smile, clearly enjoying Mao Lilan's reaction. She seemed to have let go of her old feelings and just wanted to watch the cute junior squirm.
Conan's face flushed red. He waved his hands awkwardly in the air.
Suzuki Sonoko's eyes sparkled.
She glanced at Kazawa's calm, gentle smile, then quickly looked to Mao Lilan. "Xiaolan, look, what he said—"
"Really? There's someone like that?" Mao Lilan put her finger on her cheek and tilted her head innocently. "Who is it?"
Pfft... Seeing this famous moment unfold live, Kazawa couldn't hold it anymore. He let go of the frozen Conan and covered his mouth, stifling laughter.
Uchida Asami choked on her water and laughed out loud, abandoning her usual refined demeanor and even slapping her thigh.
"Hahahaha... So you see, Kazawa-kun, straightforward girls are cuter, right?" Uchida Asami squinted at Kazawa with a smile. "Aren't they a perfect match?"
"Hm, very interesting," Kazawa chuckled lightly.
High emotional intelligence: Be honest.
Low emotional intelligence: Can't take a hint.
"We're pretty similar," Uchida Asami said as she wiped tears from her eyes. "So, will you consider my proposal, Kazawa?"
Waving his hands again, Kazawa replied more seriously, "It's exactly because we're similar that we're not suitable. I also prefer people who are more straightforward."
"Oh~ is that so?" Not sure if she was misinterpreting or teasing, Uchida Asami nudged Mao Lilan with her elbow. "All these flower protectors are top-tier, huh, little girl?"
Conan: Be alert.jpg
What? What flower protector? What are you all talking about?
His eyes darted anxiously between Kazawa and Mao Lilan, as if he could shoot laser beams to cut off any budding relationship between them.
Kazawa: "..." Finally managed to appease the jealous king... Can we stop now?