Jiangxia Tongzhi successfully interrupted an interrogation.
Then he turned to Inspector Megure, who was looming behind him, and—before the inspector could say a word—Jiangxia casually explained,
"I had a quick chat with him earlier. From what he said, it seems like he has an accomplice. I didn't call the police right away because I was worried the accomplice might overhear. I figured I'd take him somewhere secluded—either to lure the other one out or get him to spill where they are..."
Inspector Megure: "…"
Honestly? He believed more than half of that.
Mainly the part about Jiangxia wanting to catch both criminals at once—because that sounded like something Jiangxia would absolutely want, for smacking purposes of course.
And the part about wanting to "ask" the suspect directly? Also plausible. This wouldn't be the first time Jiangxia ran his own off-the-record interrogation.
The only part Megure mentally raised an eyebrow at was the "worried about being overheard" thing. Jiangxia was a detective. Eavesdropping and anti-eavesdropping were his bread and butter. Finding a bug on a half-dead suspect wouldn't have even slowed him down.
Still, after glancing at the eager TV crew behind him, Megure swallowed the urge to scold and nodded along, pretending to buy Jiangxia's story.
A few veteran officers—ones familiar with Jiangxia's shenanigans—stepped up and hoisted the collapsed suspect off the ground. They tugged the guy's clothes back into place, leaving only Hiruta's hands and face visible.
…There were definitely bruises under there, but the suspect was in decent shape. By the time they reached the station, most of the marks would fade, and the guy would wake up without lasting damage.
The scene was a mess, but an organized one.
No one questioned how Jiangxia had known the photographer was the culprit. Maybe they'd all just subconsciously accepted it by now—that this weird detective could instantly sniff out shady behavior like some kind of human crime detector.
——
By the time the police stuffed the suspect into the cruiser, the final whistle had blown.
Only then did Jiangxia remember he had a senior he was supposed to be shadowing today. He dutifully returned to his original seat, where Endo Mami stood in a faint cloud of what could only be described as ghostly flame aura.
Endo Mami inhaled deeply, then let it out in slow, furious silence.
She couldn't even find the words for how Jiangxia had vanished mid-case. Not quite bailing, but definitely worse than bailing.
Still, she'd managed to get him to come back. As someone who liked structured plans, this counted as a minor victory.
And… Jiangxia had remembered to return. Maybe he really had something urgent.
Endo Mami talked herself down from the ledge.
She turned the page in her planner—metaphorically—and moved on to the next phase of her scheme.
As they exited the stadium, Endo Mami lowered her head a little, adopting a faint air of melancholy. In her best "I'm a considerate and reflective person" voice, she said,
"Sorry, I forgot to ask if you still liked soccer. I must've bored you."
Jiangxia answered honestly, "No, I had a great time."
Endo Mami nodded internally. Expected. Basic politeness. She was the host today—no decent guest would say "Today sucked" to her face.
Everything was going to plan.
She pressed forward.
"This time, I didn't think things through. But I've got something I know you'll like. I'm organizing a live-action mystery game in a few days. Lots of fellow mystery enthusiasts will be there. Want to come?"
...If Jiangxia said no, she'd pull out the "Oh, so you think everything I suggest is boring, huh?" card, complete with vulnerable teary eyes. That'd trap him into agreeing just to not look like a jerk.
But unexpectedly, Jiangxia didn't refuse.
Instead, he repeated slowly, like confirming the words in his brain,
"Live-action mystery game?"
Endo Mami blinked, then smiled. "Mm!"
She did have an event planned in a few days.
But the main purpose wasn't the mystery game. It was her birthday.
The party would be at a rented villa with her club, and the mystery game was just one part of the celebration.
She didn't mention that now.
On the surface, she told herself it was because bringing up her birthday might seem like fishing for a gift. That would be embarrassing.
But deep down, she knew the truth: based on today's events, Jiangxia seemed way more likely to show up for a mystery game than for her.
Also, if he arrived and realized it was her birthday—without a gift—he'd probably try to make up for it.
Then she could wave it off with a "presents don't matter, it's the thought that counts!" and suggest something like "you can make it up to me by taking me to XX." Jiangxia was too kind to say no.
She felt like a genius. If she'd put this much effort into dating before, she would've been unbeatable. Actually, no—she still could be unbeatable. Jiangxia wouldn't be a -1 on her life scoreboard!
Jiangxia, for his part, had no idea that the girl next to him had a mental processing speed currently rivaling that of Conan's.
He just repeated the phrase "live-action mystery game" internally.
Images rose in his mind—detectives trapped in a remote mountain villa, everyone slowly getting picked off, no survivors.
Then he shook it off. Nah, probably not like that.
He didn't recall any cases involving it.
But he had already ditched half a soccer match today. Seemed bad form to say no now.
Plus, Endo Mami seemed like the kind of person who attracted incidents like a bear child attracts broken furniture. She'd probably get a flat tire on the way and wind up stuck in a repair shop run by a bunch of Reapers.
So Jiangxia mentally added "live-action mystery game" to his calendar.
——
For the next few days, Jiangxia lived a simple three-stop routine: the detective agency, home, and late-night rides on the highway.
He figured his peace would last until the game.
He figured wrong.
Right before the big day, he ran into an unexpected visitor near his house.
—An extremely angry Yukiko Kudo.
Conan's mother.
She'd forgotten her keys and was now standing outside the Kudo residence, seething. After a moment of brooding, she straight-up kicked the front door, clearly on the verge of exploding about something.
Jiangxia hesitated, then walked over and politely asked,
"Would you like to come inside for a bit?"
Yukiko snapped out of her rage spiral when she saw him.
She walked right up to Jiangxia, and with zero hesitation, patted his head.
"Sure."
Jiangxia brought her inside and brewed her a pot of tea.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 65/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*