Little Ai, You're Down Again

As Guchuan closed the door, he happened to run into Conan, who was skipping school.

"Big Brother Guchuan, why are you at the Art Museum again?" Conan looked at Guchuan with curiosity, and his surprise grew even more when he saw the keys in Guchuan's hand.

"I just bought this Art Museum. I plan to use it to house some of my collections," Guchuan said, putting the keys in his pocket and taking Little Ai's hand.

Little Ai didn't greet Conan either, turning and leaving with Guchuan.

Conan watched their retreating figures, lost in thought.

Art Museum, murder, corpse, art, collection. The only thing that seemed to connect these words was a perverted serial killer.

That artistic murder yesterday, Guchuan seemed to really like it. Not only did he take the armor, but he also acquired this Art Museum.

He wouldn't try to commit murder using artistic means in the future, would he?

Conan's eyes widened, feeling his deduction was quite reasonable. Geniuses and madmen often went hand in hand, and given Guchuan's behavior, he seemed more like a madman. Nothing he did would be surprising.

Guchuan held Little Ai's hand and walked towards the amusement park.

"Little Ai, this is my first time going to an amusement park with someone else. I originally thought my first time would be with my girlfriend, but I never expected it to be with you."

Little Ai remained expressionless throughout, but her mind was filled with frantic complaints.

Someone like you, if you have a girlfriend, she must only be interested in your money and looks.

You can't expect a normal person to fall for a madman, can you?

"Aren't you honored, Little Ai?"

"With a brother like me, you're incredibly lucky, Little Ai."

"I'm so envious of you. Why didn't I have such a good older sister back then?"

"Say something, Little Ai."

All the way, only Guchuan was chattering. Little Ai's silence made him feel neglected.

"You're so noisy," Little Ai said, putting on her hat to reduce the noise around her.

"Big Brother Guchuan!" Conan ran over, out of breath.

"Conan, what are you doing here?" Guchuan asked, frowning.

"Big Brother Guchuan, where are you going?"

"To the amusement park to play," Guchuan replied.

"Can I come along?" Conan asked with a smile.

Guchuan also smiled, but didn't respond to Conan.

Are we really that familiar with each other?

Guchuan squeezed Little Ai's hand harder.

Little Ai glared at Guchuan, then looked at Conan with impatience.

"What are you, a annoying brat, doing following us? I want to go to the amusement park with my brother, and I don't want any flies bothering us," Little Ai said haughtily.

Conan looked awkward.

This little girl, her words are truly venomous.

"I'm sorry, Conan, my sister doesn't have a very good temper," Guchuan said kindly.

"Haha, it's fine." Conan chuckled, but still lingered.

With Conan following him every step of the way, Guchuan also started to feel irritated. What is this elementary school detective doing following me? I'm not his case.

Conan carefully observed Guchuan's expression.

He was very curious about Guchuan now. There had to be a deeper reason why Guchuan bought this Art Museum. As long as he followed Guchuan, he would surely uncover the truth.

Guchuan took out his phone to compose an email, then casually looked at Conan.

"Conan, today is Friday, isn't it? Why aren't you at school?"

"Because the school is closed for the anniversary celebration today," Conan glibly lied.

"Oh," Guchuan nodded.

"Speaking of which, Big Brother Guchuan, why isn't your sister going to school?" Conan asked curiously.

This little girl next to Guchuan looks like she's elementary school age too.

"Oh, her? She just came back from America and hasn't finished the transfer procedures yet," Guchuan said dismissively.

Once they arrived at the amusement park, Guchuan led Little Ai to the Masked Theater, then watched the performance on stage with great interest. Little Ai stared at the stage with a bored expression. What's the point of such an awkward performance?

"Conan!"

Conan jumped in fright, turning to see a fist the size of a sandbag.

"Ow!"

Conan clutched his head and looked sheepishly at Ran.

"Sister Ran."

Ran wasn't buying Conan's innocent act.

"Don't give me that look! If Mr. Guchuan hadn't emailed me, I wouldn't have known you skipped school again!" Ran glared angrily at Conan.

Conan shot Guchuan a look.

Guchuan put on a righteous face.

"Conan, how could a school anniversary possibly give students a holiday? Next time you make up an excuse, come up with a better one. I've always detested bad students like you who skip school."

"I just..."

"No 'just' about it! Come on, let's go back and apologize to your teacher." Ran said, tugging on Conan's ear.

Guchuan watched Conan with a chuckle. Go to school, great detective.

"Guchuan, how do you have Ran's email?" Little Ai tugged on Guchuan's sleeve.

"I sent it to Kogoro Mouri's email. As a detective who's recently become quite famous, getting his email was easy." Guchuan said with a wicked smile.

Little Ai nodded.

"Speaking of which, you should be in college at your age. Don't tell me you couldn't get into one?" Little Ai flashed a mischievous grin.

"Heh heh, I'm an outstanding graduate of Harvard University." Guchuan said proudly.

Although he hadn't been the one to get into that university, it was now his honor.

"You got into Harvard University?" Little Ai looked utterly scornful. No matter how I look at it, Guchuan doesn't seem like someone with good grades.

"I had a letter of recommendation."

"That makes sense then." Little Ai retracted her mocking gaze from Guchuan.

"Getting a letter of recommendation is also part of my ability. Otherwise, why would they give me one and not someone else?" Guchuan said shamelessly.

"Heh heh, well, of course, it's because you have a good dad."

"No need to be envious, you have a good brother now too." Guchuan said comfortingly, patting Little Ai's head.

Little Ai's mouth twitched. Can't you tell I'm making fun of you?

Looking at Guchuan's caring expression, Little Ai still closed her mouth and said nothing to spoil the mood.

For some reason, Little Ai felt a pang of discomfort looking at Guchuan's face.

There was no unprovoked love in this world. Guchuan was so kind to her all because he 'wanted a little sister'. If he stopped wanting a sister, all this gentleness would probably disappear.

Moreover, if it were another girl instead of her, Guchuan might be even better to 'her'.

"Little Ai, you're getting sad again."

Guchuan ruffled Little Ai's hair, pulling her out of her overthinking.

"I've told you so many times, don't mess up my hair!" Little Ai complained, swatting at Guchuan's hand. The two of them started playfully bickering again.

Hmph. It's not like I can't live without this annoying guy.

When everyone gets tired of each other, they can just go their separate ways.