As the saying goes: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." Endo Mami, self-proclaimed strategist in the battlefield of love, believed she had a duty to understand the tangled web between Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, and Jiangxia Tongzhi.
At the very least, she needed to figure out which one of them Jiangxia had spotted earlier that made him so mysteriously happy.
Instead of approaching them head-on, she went into stealth mode—light steps, circling around the shelves like a spy.
A minute later, Ran and Sonoko turned a corner, only to "accidentally" bump into Endo Mami emerging from the other side.
They paused, faces flickering with recognition. Endo Mami smiled warmly.
"I remember you two… Ran and Sonoko, right? Long time no see."
"Mami-senpai!" Ran and Sonoko perked up with joy.
Mami-senpai was the stuff of school legend—gorgeous, sociable, a grade-A student, and a club activity powerhouse. Realizing someone like that actually remembered them? Naturally, the two innocent schoolgirls were a little starstruck.
Endo Mami graciously accepted their admiration, using the opportunity to invite them to the Reasoning Party tomorrow.
She casually dropped the fact that Jiangxia would be there, watching their reactions like a hawk.
But instead of alarm or rivalry, both girls just looked genuinely happy. Not even a flicker of possessiveness. That either meant they weren't secret girlfriends… or they were so absurdly confident they weren't even worried about Jiangxia being stolen away.
Hmm. Suspicious. This required more investigation.
Endo Mami then floated the idea of having dinner together.
The two bear children—er, innocent girls—agreed with cheerful enthusiasm and went off to drop off their heavy shopping bags.
Mami waited, smiling, watching them go.
A minute later, her phone buzzed. Jiangxia had just sent a message: "Might be late."
"…"
The girls had just turned the corner and—ding!—Jiangxia's flake message arrived. That timing was way too suspicious to be a coincidence.
Clearly, one of them had messaged Jiangxia while putting away their luggage. Something like: "Hey, we saw Mami-senpai too, she invited us!"
And then Jiangxia… dropped out immediately.
Endo Mami stared blankly at her screen.
This didn't line up with her previous theory: "Jiangxia is madly in love with Ran or Sonoko, and his attention is locked on them!"
If that were true, shouldn't he want to attend if the girl he liked was going too?
But now…
Suddenly, Endo Mami remembered a phrase she'd heard online:
Sea Kings—legendary playboys—when they find that multiple unhooked "fish" from their pond are gathering in one place, will retreat in terror if they're not confident enough to handle the crossfire.
At this moment, Endo Mami had a flashback: Jiangxia, eyes glued to a pair of long legs by the soccer field. His laser-like gaze.
And suddenly, thunder cracked overhead.
Could it be… she had accidentally waded into someone else's fish pond?!
As a theoretical emperor but practical bronze, Endo Mami briefly panicked.
But she quickly collected herself.
Let's not jump to conclusions. Observe first. Yes… observe…
A few minutes later, Ran and Sonoko returned.
Endo Mami greeted them with a strange look, as if she was silently saying: So… you guys also got fished, huh?
Ran and Sonoko blinked. "Mami-senpai? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing." Endo Mami shook her head, snapping out of it. "Let's go."
As they walked to the restaurant, she couldn't resist anymore. She leaned in and whispered,
"Um… you two seem to know Jiangxia pretty well. What kind of person is he?"
Sonoko's eyes lit up immediately. "Sure! He's—"
Halfway through the sentence, she slammed on the brakes.
Wait.
What are you trying to do, woman?
Gunma Prefecture, Toyobai Town.
Kudo Yukiko knocked on the door of the Yabuchi residence.
The old wooden door creaked open, and a beautifully made-up middle-aged woman appeared. Her short curly hair framed sharp, clever eyes.
Upon seeing Yukiko, she brightened. But then her gaze slid to the boy behind her and she blinked. "And this is…?"
She had assumed it would be the famous Kudo father and son duo—the go-to mystery solvers.
"He's my neighbor's kid!" Yukiko beamed and pulled Jiangxia forward like a proud parent showing off their science-fair prodigy. "He's no worse at solving cases than those two from my family—" she bit her tongue before finishing the sentence with "idiots." "—Ahem, I mean, no worse than those two mystery maniacs!"
"Haha, is that so?" Yabuchi Hiromi smiled politely, though she felt a twinge of disappointment.
She wasn't someone who followed cases or knew any detectives beyond the basics. When it came to things like this, she trusted familiar faces.
Now her familiar detective was replaced by a complete stranger—one who looked suspiciously like a high schooler. Honestly, she felt like Yukiko was up to her usual unreliable tricks.
Still, she was a grown-up. She smiled, stepped aside, and said, "You must be tired from the trip. Come in and sit."
The group stepped into the courtyard, dry leaves crunching underfoot.
Yukiko, more anxious than the actual client, poked Hiromi with an impatient elbow.
"Okay, okay, we're here. Now spill it. What's this super mysterious case about?"
Hiromi looked around and, seeing no one nearby, lowered her voice:
"It's about my uncle."
Jiangxia followed them into the sprawling traditional Japanese garden, picking up bits of the story as they walked.
The Yabuchi family was one of the local big names. Just last month, the patriarch had passed away, leaving behind a large fortune.
The will hadn't been made public yet.
But everyone in the family had theories. Most expected that the inheritance would be split between his daughter, his son, his second wife (who was only two years older than the daughter), and his brother—Yabuchi Yoshifusa—who had returned from Brazil after being gone for more than 30 years.
Naturally, the more people named in the will, the smaller the slices.
Worse still, the late patriarch had apparently been very fond of his brother. There were whispers that he might've given him a bigger piece of the pie.
So to the rest of the family, this newly-returned "Uncle Yoshifusa" was Public Enemy No. 1.
But because he'd been gone for so long—over three decades!—Hiromi and others now suspected that this "uncle" might not be the real deal at all.
They needed a detective. Someone sharp. Someone who could expose whether this was really Uncle Yoshifusa… or just a well-trained cheat in disguise.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress:64/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*