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Matsushita Heisaburo was a good driver. He drove quickly and steadily, and soon they arrived at the foot of Tokyo Tower.
Shu Yunwen rolled down the window and glanced outside. He quickly spotted Conan and the other three in the sparse crowd—the four little kids huddled together were easy enough to find.
After having Matsushita Heisaburo pull up beside the four kids, Shu Yunwen waved and feigned surprise. "Hey! Genta! What are you four doing here?"
Genta, Conan, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko all turned their heads at once. "Brother Yunwen?"
Genta looked surprised. "Brother Yunwen, what are you doing here? Did you come to have fun too?"
"Ha, I had something to take care of and just happened to be passing by." Shu Yunwen casually made up a lie. "But what about you? Weren't you supposed to go to the Beika Art Museum? Why are you at Tokyo Tower? Don't you have to go home for lunch?"
Ayumi said sweetly, "My mom isn't home at lunchtime today, so she gave me money for lunch and told me to eat out."
"Same here," Mitsuhiko chimed in.
Genta spoke up. "My mom gave me money for lunch too. Also, Brother Yunwen, we came here today to look for treasure! We found a treasure map in front of the museum, and Mitsuhiko says there must be a huge treasure marked on it!"
As he spoke, Genta waved the treasure map in his hand.
"Heh..." Conan stood nearby, giving a dry chuckle with his half-lidded eyes.
The Junior Detective League?
Hearing that name brought Shu Yunwen back to his senses. Oh, right! Come to think of it, this was probably about the time the Junior Detective League was formed.
Keeping his expression neutral, Shu Yunwen reached through the window and snatched the treasure map from Genta. "What kind of treasure map is this? Let me see!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Brother Yunwen, how can you steal our treasure map? That's so mean!" Kojima Genta protested. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko clenched their fists too, looking furious.
Inside the car, Shu Yunwen pretended to lose his grip, and the paper fell onto his foot. At the same time, he leaned down and pulled out a Polaroid camera. With a click, he took a picture of the paper. Then he picked it up and handed it out the window with an annoyed look. "All right, all right! Quit yelling! Here's your treasure map. Take it! Besides, this obviously looks like something a kid scribbled on a whim. How could it possibly be a treasure map?"
Genta snatched the paper back. "Darn it! It is a treasure map! It's so rude of an adult to bully kids like this!"
"I liked you so much, and you look down on us!" Ayumi was still upset.
Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes and was about to make a few more jokes before leaving when he suddenly felt someone watching them. He looked up and met the eyes of several men in black suits. One was East Asian, while the other two looked foreign. All three had fierce expressions.
Hmm... Were these guys members of the Italian Bandit Group?
As he recalled, these three had indeed been following Conan and the others around.
Shu Yunwen looked away and narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't think it was a good idea to let these three keep following the kids. Even though Conan eventually managed to deal with them in the anime, it still seemed too risky!
After thinking it over, Shu Yunwen put on an apologetic expression. "Ha! Fine, it was my fault, okay? Now stop making a fuss, you little brats. To make it up to you, I'll treat you to lunch. How about that?"
"Really?"
"I want to eat lots and lots of yummy food!"
"I want sushi!"
The kids immediately stopped being angry. Conan gave another dry chuckle, thinking that these little brats were so easy to appease. All it took was a meal.
It really was hard for a high schooler like him to be stuck with a bunch of little kids.
Shu Yunwen pursed his lips. "All right! Get in the car. We'll decide what to eat later."
Once the kids had climbed into the car, they began chattering away in the back. Conan was fairly quiet. He curiously glanced around the car, then picked up the paper showing the location of the treasure and continued studying it.
The car pulled away. While the kids chattered noisily, Shu Yunwen ruefully patted his wallet and quietly said to Matsushita Heisaburo, "Find a place nearby that's cheap and tasty."
Matsushita Heisaburo nodded. After thinking for a moment, he remembered a decent family restaurant, turned the key, and started the car.
About five minutes later, Matsushita Heisaburo parked in a lot that had been converted from an open area. The kids got out one by one, and he led everyone to the restaurant entrance. The kids all gave Shu Yunwen half-lidded looks and began to complain.
Genta: "Brother Yunwen, I don't think there's anything good to eat in a place like this."
Ayumi: "Even if you're treating us, picking a place like this is a little too half-hearted, isn't it?"
Mitsuhiko: "Oh, well. At least we have something to eat. You're only a high school student, after all. You probably don't have much money."
Conan gave another dry chuckle, his eyes still half-lidded.
Shu Yunwen smacked Genta on the head. "Cut the complaints! Do you want to eat or not? If you do, get inside!" Then he reached over and pinched Conan's cheek. "And you, kid—your expression is really annoying!"
"All right! We get it!" The kids drooped their heads dejectedly.
The place was called Meiwako Family Restaurant. Its sign and entrance looked a little worn from the outside, but the restaurant was packed and buzzing with noise. As soon as they entered, Shu Yunwen glanced around and spotted three girls sitting together, chatting and laughing. His expression immediately changed. "Oh! It's too crowded in here. There aren't even any seats. Maybe we should try somewhere else..."
Before Shu Yunwen could finish, Ayumi pointed at one of the girls sitting at a long table and shouted, "Look! It's Sister Kazumi! Sister Kazumi and her friends are eating here too!"
Mitsuhiko immediately added, "She really is! Should we go say hello to Sister Kazumi?"
"Of course! It's only polite!" Genta voted in favor.
Conan glanced at Shu Yunwen, puzzled. He felt like Shu Yunwen was trying to avoid Tsukamoto Kazumi. As far as he knew, Tsukamoto Kazumi and Shu Yunwen got along really well.
While the kids were talking, Tsukamoto Kazumi had already looked over, surprise in her eyes.
Shu Yunwen inwardly groaned.
Damn it! These little brats were such a nuisance. He'd only wanted to leave because he'd seen Tsukamoto Kazumi, okay?
After all, when he'd run into her in front of the Beika Art Museum earlier, he'd said he had something else to take care of. Now, not much time had passed, and he'd shown up with four kids to have lunch...
She'd see right through him!
But now that Tsukamoto Kazumi had spotted him, turning around and walking back out would be downright rude.
With no other choice, Shu Yunwen smacked Genta on the head again. Ignoring Genta's bewildered and annoyed expression, he led Matsushita Heisaburo and the four kids over to Tsukamoto Kazumi and greeted her with a smile. "Kazumi, I never expected to run into you here. What a coincidence..."
As for the two friends sitting beside Tsukamoto Kazumi?
Well... Shu Yunwen ignored them completely. He didn't remember who they were, anyway.
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