*Unfortunately we didn't hit our goal this week, thus no bonus. Please vote if you enjoy! Thanks!*
Jiangxia Tongzhi felt totally out of sync with this bunch of busy, rich bigwigs.
But there was a case just last night, so the chance of another accident so soon was pretty slim.
Seeing Amuro Toru was planning to head back to Tokyo, Jiangxia boldly went over to say hi.
...Come to think of it, this time Jiangxia met Toru Amuro while traveling, but only caught one ghost. Jiangxia felt that this boss, with his double-experience card, still had some untapped potential to squeeze.
Amuro Toru didn't see through the ghost hunter's greed.
Seeing Jiangxia dragging along his whole family, Amuro casually asked, "How are you getting back?"
Jiangxia: "First take the tram to the station, then the Shinkansen."
After saying that, Jiangxia glanced longingly at Amuro's spacious car.
Amuro totally got Jiangxia's vibe and, guessing he was too shy to say it outright, offered, "I'll give you a ride — it's inconvenient taking the kids on public transport."
Mainly because that little boy was a total wild card, just thinking about him gave Amuro a headache.
That said, Jiangxia wasn't exactly an expert at wrangling bear children. He'd probably gotten a social thrashing on the way here, so now he was greedily eyeing the car on the way back. At least in the car, the kids couldn't run wild...
Haibara Ai, who'd followed Jiangxia along, figured Amuro was from the organization and thought Jiangxia would say no.
But she didn't expect Jiangxia, dragged by the corner of her sleeve, to quickly say, "Then I'll trouble you."
Haibara Ai lifted her head, stiff as a board: "...?"
...Security concerns aside, why was Jiangxia treating this 'wine' (Amuro) so differently than he treated Sherry before?
Amuro also piled extra work on Jiangxia without asking — according to Jiangxia, this guy had asked him to help attract attention yesterday, so in Jiangxia's mind, Amuro was one of those annoying "next-door handy leader types who catch the random men for extra work."
Unless this guy was actually Jiangxia's current direct boss, not some neighbor...
Haibara Ai thought about it and figured that was probably the truth.
Still, she felt like she'd been treated differently. Happy minus one, minus one, minus one.
She remembered the mountain of tonics she couldn't deliver before. Oh well, in a few days Jiangxia would probably see them mixed into soup...
…
On the way back, Amuro faintly noticed the shy little girl didn't really want to talk to him.
Instead, it was Conan, sprawled in the gap between the front seats, firing off questions non-stop, like he was auditing Amuro's bank account.
Amuro sighed to himself. If those two kids' personalities could somehow balance out, maybe they'd be normal.
How did Jiangxia handle the ride? …Too tough.
While Conan and Amuro chatted, Haibara silently listened in, ready to jump in if Conan started probing about his things that might lead to his death. Jiangxia seemed to be catching up on sleep in the front seat. Her heart was beating; she wanted to help out a little.
Haibara didn't like talking to Amuro, but not just because of Jiangxia's earlier behavior — it was because Amuro felt... different. If you just looked at his words and actions, he didn't seem like a member of the organization at all.
But Haibara was cautious — she knew some members with codenames keep a low profile, doing their normal jobs until the organization suddenly calls them into action.
And often, those people are the most dangerous and need the most watching...
Haibara dutifully clawed at the back of Jiangxia's seat, alert all the way.
Jiangxia had already fallen asleep, using the boring ride to recharge and reduce his murderous aura consumption.
Conan finally tired of questioning. Under Amuro's secretly relieved gaze, he sat upright, looked out the window, and began reviewing the info he'd just asked for, trying to figure out if Amuro had any problems — though he still cared a bit about Xiaobai's anesthesia. Of course, "it's too boring to ride in a car" was a big factor too.
…
The car quickly left Izu and headed straight for Tokyo.
Reaching the suburbs and passing through a forest, there was a sudden loud bang from the side, followed by a violent jolt — the tire had blown.
Jiangxia woke up to the movement. When he realized what had happened, surprise turned into sharp interest.
Then he skillfully gathered his puppets from the trunk. Good — Amuro always brought a spare tire.
Looking around, Jiangxia spotted a villa a dozen meters away, standing quietly in the woods.
A wild countryside ridge, a flat tire, a villa nearby, and a cellphone...
Jiangxia took out his phone and glanced at the signal — none.
Perfect.
...Amuro Toru was really a reliable cadre. He never disappointed.
At the same time, Jiangxia attached himself to the puppet he'd just rubbed out, opened his eyes in the trunk, and sabotaged Amuro's spare tire.
…He wanted to check out the seductive forest villa next door, but of course, he couldn't let Amuro fix the tire so easily.
He had to find an excuse like "borrowing a phone" to get inside.
…
Amuro realized what happened, quickly stabilized the car, and pulled over to the roadside.
At the same time, he muttered quietly, Is it just me, or do I get a flat every time I go out with these people?
Before, his spare tire sat unused for a year and a half, but now... the auto shop owner was already suggesting he get a yearly membership.
Thinking this, Amuro glanced subconsciously at the others in the car.
Jiangxia had just woken up and was staring drowsily out the window, then looked down at his phone, probably checking the time. Well, that matched the "who am I and what time is it" vibe when you wake up suddenly, so no worries.
As for the other two...
The cold little girl hugged the passenger seat, hiding behind it, so Amuro couldn't see her expression. Judging by her movements, she seemed a little flustered — like a kid's reaction.
Conan, on the other hand...
Amuro looked at Conan's calm face and got puzzled. Why was he so chill? A flat tire like that, with the violent jolt, would scare any kid...
Amuro asked suspiciously, "Aren't you scared?"
"Huh?" Conan was looking around and, hearing the question, pulled his gaze back, about to argue — he was a high schooler, how could he be scared of a flat tire?
…Too bad he couldn't say that out loud.
Conan settled on an excuse: "You mean the flat tire? Not scared. I've run into this kind of thing before. The doctor who usually takes me out... his car's tire quality isn't great…"
As he spoke, he paused — for some reason, Amuro gave him a strange look.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 3/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*