"Shinichi, I'm never helping you again!"
After solving the case at the Kurokawa residence and returning to the Kudo house, Yukiko angrily threw down this sentence and stormed back into her bedroom.
"Sigh..." This made Conan feel a bit helpless.
He always felt that his Mother was like a child, throwing tantrums at the drop of a hat. It was exhausting!
Yusaku, who was working in the living room, saw this scene and asked curiously, "Shinichi, how did you make your Mother angry again?"
"I didn't make her angry this time," Conan said, walking over and sitting next to Yusaku. He told his Dad about his plan to give up on winning back Ran and focus on solving his own problem.
"Oh?" Yusaku looked at Conan with surprise after hearing his thoughts.
"What? Are you going to try and persuade me too?" Conan said, pouring himself a cup of tea.
"I don't have that intention," Yusaku temporarily put his laptop aside. He looked at Conan with great satisfaction and praised, "It seems the decision to let you live alone was the right one. After only a few years apart, you've become so sensible."
"Is... is that so?" Conan felt a little embarrassed being praised.
"Of course," Yusaku said seriously, "A sign of maturity is learning to make choices and learning to let go."
Seeing his Dad support his decision, Conan felt a degree of joy in his heart and said, "I just feel that in my current state, even if I were to win back Ran, I wouldn't be able to stay by her side."
"Very good, you've started to learn how to consider others," Yusaku smiled and rubbed Conan's head, saying, "Seeing you become more and more reliable puts my mind at ease."
In Conan's heart, Yusaku's image was very tall and great. Receiving his approval and praise made the corners of his mouth involuntarily curl up with happiness!
This directly diluted some of the disappointment in his heart.
"Oh, by the way, someone sent you a letter. I put it in the study," Yusaku reminded him.
"Okay, I'll go take a look now," Conan said, immediately heading towards the study.
As soon as he entered the study, Yukiko came out of the bedroom the next second. She said with some dissatisfaction, "Why didn't you try to persuade Shinichi?"
"I couldn't persuade him," Yusaku pushed up his glasses helplessly and said, "You know his personality."
"Since that's the case, it's better to give him affirmation and recognition."
Of course, there were some things Yusaku didn't say.
Conan had shown extraordinary talent when he was one year old.
He felt that Conan was even more talented than him when it came to deduction!
Spending time and energy on dating was truly a waste.
If Shinichi could fully utilize his talent, by the time he reached this age, his achievements in deduction would undoubtedly far surpass his own.
"That might be true!" Yukiko was still a bit unwilling, saying, "Giving up just like that... it feels like such a loss!"
Just as Yusaku was about to say something, Conan came out of the study.
He walked over with the envelope and said, "That's strange... Who is Mori Valley Teiji? Why would he invite me to his flower tea party?"
"Mori Valley Teiji? I've seen his name in the newspaper, he's a genius architect," Yusaku had some impression of the name and said, "Recently, several houses were burned down... I checked, and they were all his works."
"It seems he's also realized that he might be targeted for revenge, so he wants to invite you to go and help investigate!"
Conan suddenly understood, then he subconsciously glanced at Yukiko.
"What are you looking at me for? I told you I wouldn't help you again!" Yukiko, of course, knew Conan's intentions. She turned around and walked towards the kitchen without any hesitation.
"Uh..." Conan knew that his Mom was truly angry and wouldn't help him anymore.
He turned to look at Yusaku and said, "Dad, can you go instead of me?"
"I'm busy investigating those two Black-Clad Men recently, I really can't spare the time," Yusaku said, taking two photos from his pocket and handing them to Conan, "Look, are these the two?"
Conan looked closely at the photos, his eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "That's right! It's them! Dad, how did you find them? You're amazing."
"I also asked my FBI friend, that's how I found out," Yusaku said, "These two are internationally known criminals, and they belong to a mysterious Organization."
"No one knows their names, only that others call the long-haired man Gin, and the other is his subordinate, called Vodka."
"They are both very dangerous individuals!"
"Anything else?" Conan pressed impatiently.
"Further investigation is needed," Yusaku didn't say much more and took the photos back.
Seeing this, Conan stopped asking his Dad for help and instead started planning to ask Uncle Mouri... No, I can't ask him to go!
He'll ruin my reputation. I'd better ask Baishi to go instead!
...........................
The next day, Teitan High School, rooftop.
Baishi Hui, Ran, and Sonoko changed locations to eat their bentos.
"Here, Shinichi asked me to attend Mori Valley Teiji's flower tea party in his place. Do you two have time to go with me?" Baishi Hui showed the text message to Ran and Sonoko.
"I want to go!!" Ran excitedly raised her hand. She was very interested in these flower tea parties!
"I want to go too!!" Sonoko immediately raised her hand as well, but then she thought of something, her expression dropped, and she mumbled, "Ah... but I have something scheduled that day."
"After school, I have to rush home and take a plane to Osaka to attend a banquet hosted by the Osaka Mayor."
"Sigh, you two go!"
Speaking of this, her face was full of regret.
Baishi Hui and Ran were already immune to Sonoko's unintentional display of wealth, knowing she didn't do it on purpose.
"If Sonoko isn't there, we'll be unsure of ourselves," Baishi Hui didn't hide it and said, "Neither of us has experience attending these banquets."
"That's true," Ran also showed some worry.
"It's okay, you don't need to be nervous," Sonoko said to the two when she saw their expressions, "Just dress appropriately."
"As for what to say, you don't need to worry about it either, since you probably won't meet them again anyway."
"Also, make sure to eat your fill before you go. You shouldn't eat the snacks at the flower tea party as if they were a meal, that would be very rude."
"If you feel bored, stay for about half an hour, say hello to the host, and then you can leave."
"..."
With Sonoko's reminders, the two of them were somewhat mentally prepared.
As the break was about to end, Ran and Sonoko parted ways with Baishi Hui and returned to the classroom.
On the way back to the classroom, Ran thought for a moment and said to Sonoko, "I think... I won't go after all?"
"Huh? Why suddenly not going?" Sonoko looked at Ran with great surprise.
"This..." Ran hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to tell the truth, saying with apology, "If I keep going out with Shirashi-kun, it will make Sonoko misunderstand."
"Even though Sonoko likes him, I'm always the one spending time with him... you must feel a little bothered by it, right?"
After hearing Ran's thoughts, Sonoko laughed heartily and said generously, "It's okay! I won't mind!!"
Ran hesitated for a while and tentatively asked, "But... Shirashi-kun is so excellent. I'm worried that if I spend a long time with him, and I accidentally fall for him... that would be troublesome."
Instead of getting angry, Sonoko burst into laughter and said, "Ran, why else would we be such good friends? We even have the same taste in men!"
"Don't worry, Ran. I'm not that petty, you don't need to feel any psychological burden!"
"Besides... I don't think I'll lose to you!"
Her tone was full of confidence, looking as if victory was already in her grasp.
Sonoko believed that her relationship with Hui had developed to the point where they could touch each other's thighs.
With such intimate actions, how could Ran win?
Thinking of this, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
I'm sorry, Ran... I've already won at the starting line!
Ran saw that Sonoko was still the same as ever, with a mysterious confidence.
She really wanted to say that she had actually kissed Shirashi-kun... Although it happened for a reason, it was still a kiss, wasn't it?
She whispered, "But what if I win?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!" Sonoko waved her hands repeatedly, full of confidence, "If you can win, I'll personally host the wedding for the two of you!!"
"That's not necessary," Ran felt that was too much. She said, "Just promise not to break off our friendship when that happens."
"Same here!" Sonoko said confidently.
The two looked at each other, secretly feeling happy in their hearts, both believing that victory would ultimately be theirs!
——————————————————————
Ginza, a high-end clothing store.
"Huh? 640,000 yen? So expensive!!" Ran looked at the price of a simple white lace-trimmed dress and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "Never mind... things here are too expensive."
"It's okay, I have a 70% off coupon! It'll be a lot cheaper!" Baishi Hui said, taking down the 640,000 yen lace-trimmed dress and handing it to Ran, saying, "Try it on, it suits you very well!"
"But... even with 70% off, it's still nearly 200,000 yen! That's too expensive," Ran kept pushing it away, feeling she couldn't wear such an expensive dress.
"Ran, I didn't realize you were such a materialistic girl, caring so much about money!" Baishi Hui said with great disappointment.
"This... I... I'm not," Ran quickly denied it, she wasn't materialistic at all!
"If you're not, then try it on... This is my token of appreciation!" Baishi Hui said, pushing Ran into the fitting room, throwing the dress to her, and closing the door.
Ran quickly caught the dress, afraid of damaging such an expensive item.
"Shirashi-kun is so overbearing..." Although she said that, she couldn't help but feel happy inside... because she really liked this dress!
Outside the fitting room, Baishi Hui had just sat down when a female sales assistant walked over. She politely said, "Sir, I'm very sorry, I accidentally overheard your conversation just now... I don't recall our store offering any 70% off coupons. Did you get the store wrong?"
Baishi Hui didn't speak. He took out his wallet, grabbed a stack of fifty 10,000 yen bills, and handed them over, saying, "Here, the 70% off coupon!"
The female sales assistant was stunned for a moment, then she realized... He was trying to trick the girl with a made-up reason because she was concerned the gift was too expensive.
She took the stack of bills and smiled, "I understand... I'll get you a 70% off coupon right away! Please wait."