NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31: Chapter 31
Sonoko wanted to object, but she was stopped by Ran, so she repeated, "Then let's save it for next time."
She thought they had talked enough for today and felt somewhat embarrassed, so they would leave it for the next occasion.
Sonoko glared at Ran, thinking to herself, "She's setting the stage for a future date; you're such a fool."
Lin Yi looked at the sky outside the window. Night had already fallen. He glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "It's late… almost two hours have passed. Why hasn't Kudo come back yet? I'm a bit hungry; do you want to go eat something first?"
"Ah... it's already past seven?"
After seeing the time, Sonoko was quite dissatisfied with Shinichi. She had already waited for two hours, which was enough, and she didn't want to pay any more attention to him. She said, "Let's eat something first… I'm really hungry too."
"I... will call Shinichi to ask how things are over there."
The kind Ran took out her phone, but just as she was about to dial Shinichi's number, she paused, thinking of something:
Right… Shinichi mentioned he had a date tonight. He probably won't have dinner with us; calling him now might interrupt his investigation. It's better to just send him a text.
After considering this, Ran dismissed the idea of calling and decided to send him a text instead. That way, he would see it when he had time.
Sonoko noticed this and asked, "Aren't you going to call?"
"No, a text is enough."
Sonoko didn't say anything more, took Ran's arm, and headed outside.
"That restaurant is close; we'll get there in ten minutes!"
"It's called Asakusa Imanhan; it's a century-old restaurant!"
"Eh? A century-old restaurant? It must taste really good!"
"I haven't tried it before… I don't know if it tastes good, but it's definitely very unique."
"…"
While the two girls chatted animatedly, Lin Yi stepped back and looked toward the art museum. He rubbed his chin and said, "It seems he has taken longer than I imagined… it's already been more than two hours."
"It looks like the current Shinichi has solved very few murder cases; he still has little experience solving cases, and his level isn't very high… maybe I overestimated him a bit."
A high school student got out of a taxi and, while walking, asked people, "Where is 'Asakusa Imahan'?" He asked several people before getting a response.
"Excuse me, where is 'Asakusa Imahan'?"
"Turn right at the next street; it's over there."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
...
Kudo Shinichi opened the door, and as he entered, a waiter approached to greet him.
"A table for one?"
"No, I'm looking for a friend..."
The waiter saw Shinichi's high school uniform and understood where he was headed: "I understand, please follow me."
The waiter led Shinichi to Lin Yi's table.
As soon as he arrived, Ran and Sonoko began to complain nonstop:
"Why are you so late?"
"Really… if you had known you wouldn't finish quickly, we could have gone shopping."
Faced with the complaints of the two, Shinichi could only smile bitterly: "I'm sorry… it's my fault."
"Kudo, after investigating all afternoon, you must be very tired… come eat something first."
At that moment, Lin Yi, who had previously acted as the villain, showed consideration and offered food to Shinichi.
"Yeah…"
Lin Yi's kindness left Shinichi unable to find any fault. Although it made him uncomfortable, he decided to keep it to himself.
Shinichi picked up his chopsticks and started eating something to fill his stomach.
Once Shinichi joined the dinner, the situation began to turn awkward under Lin Yi's manipulation.
When Shinichi wasn't around, Lin Yi chatted happily with Ran and Sonoko, filling the place with a cheerful atmosphere.
However, upon Shinichi's arrival, Lin Yi became reserved and spoke less.
In Ran and Sonoko's perception, Lin Yi used to be a handsome and quiet person; he only opened up when they were alone together.
With Shinichi's arrival, Lin Yi, not knowing him well, became more reserved, which wasn't a problem in itself.
But without Lin Yi's lively participation, the table fell into an awkward silence, creating a rather uncomfortable atmosphere.
It subtly gave people the impression that Shinichi shouldn't be there, as if his presence had altered the environment.
Shinichi, for his part, was oblivious to it all. He was just thinking about filling his stomach, having been deep in thought all afternoon and feeling very hungry.
Ran noticed this change...
With the intention of breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere, Ran quickly asked, "Shinichi, what happened next? How did the investigation of the murder case turn out?"
"With me here, of course, it was resolved!"
Shinichi replied with great pride.
When it came to solving cases, Shinichi couldn't stop; he paused eating and said, "Guess… who the murderer is! The result will definitely surprise you!"
"Really? Who is it?" Ran asked, pretending to be curious.
"Listen well… the murderer is Director Ochiai!"
Shinichi said it word by word: "You didn't see that coming, did you? To be honest, when I reached this conclusion, I was also surprised and even doubted my reasoning… but all the evidence at the scene pointed to him."
"As Sherlock Holmes said, 'Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'"
"I deduced it from the message left by the victim…"
"…"
Watching Shinichi talk nonstop about the murder case.
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