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After finishing the statement and fleecing Kazato Kyosuke, Jiang Xia planned to head home.

On the way back, as they passed Commercial Street, Xiao Bai froze for a moment while looking at the TV in a storefront display.

It tugged on Jiang Xia's ear.

Jiang Xia paused, thinking there was another harvest to be had.

But when he stopped and turned expectantly, he found that this time, what had caught Xiao Bai's attention was not Killing Intent.

It was a variety show on TV.

—On the screen, Kinoshita Yoko was promoting her new Album.

Xiao Bai stared longingly at the screen, its eyes full of desire as it looked at the Album.

Jiang Xia: "..."

Since picking up the Ghost Infant, he had already bought plenty of Magazines and Albums related to Kinoshita Yoko. It was the same principle as preparing little toys when raising a Cat.

It was just that new Albums like this usually required lining up to fight for one...

Jiang Xia checked the rebroadcast time displayed on the TV and made an agreement with the Ghost in advance. "We can go take a look, but they might not have any in stock."

The rain stopped for a while, then began falling again.

Holding an Umbrella, Jiang Xia found a place that sold Albums.

The moment he saw the trampled, messy ground outside the video store, he had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, when he went inside, the new Album had long since sold out.

"..." Only at times like this could Jiang Xia truly appreciate just how popular Kinoshita Yoko was.

Xiao Bai looked at the empty shelves, rubbed at the corners of its eyes, and let out a whimper.

Jiang Xia: "..." Raising a Ghost was such a hassle.

He checked a few other stores, making a token effort.

As expected, the other stores were out of stock too.

After checking the last store and perfunctorily satisfying the Ghost, Jiang Xia let out a breath and prepared to leave.

But then someone behind him suddenly called out hesitantly, "Jiang Xia?"

Jiang Xia turned toward the voice.

There was no one behind him, only a row of bookshelves.

Looking more closely, he saw a pair of eyes peeking through a gap in the shelves, staring straight at him.

Jiang Xia froze. The keyword "Bookshelf Corpse-Hiding Case" immediately flashed through his mind.

...No results found.

"..." There did not seem to be a case like that...

As he wondered about it, the eyes between the bookshelves blinked lightly.

They sparkled brightly, looking not only very much alive, but almost excessively energetic.

"..." At that moment, Jiang Xia recognized her.

—Suzuki Sonoko?

On the other side of the bookshelf.

When Suzuki Sonoko saw Jiang Xia turn around, she happily said to someone beside her, "See? I told you it looked like him!" Then she vanished with a whoosh.

A second later, Jiang Xia looked at Suzuki Sonoko, who had moved in front of him with what seemed like teleportation speed. Without showing it, he took half a step back, startled by her speed.

"I never thought you were into celebrities too." Suzuki Sonoko did not notice Jiang Xia's subtle alarm. She was simply delighted to discover their "shared interest."

Then she remembered something, lowered her voice, and mysteriously invited him, "Oh, right. Ran and I are going to Tatsuya's Band celebration party the day after tomorrow. Want to come take a look?"

The Suzuki Conglomerate invested everywhere and held considerable influence in the Entertainment Industry. Suzuki Sonoko had access to many celebrities, making it very convenient for her to follow stars.

Jiang Xia: "...Tatsuya?" The name sounded a little unfamiliar.

But soon, his gaze shifted slightly, and he spotted a Poster in the store.

—The Poster showed a man passionately singing with a microphone in his arms. The male star's hair was extremely sharp, every strand standing upright, making it look as though he had a hedgehog perched on his head.

In a corner of the Poster was the singer's signature: "Kimura Tatsuya."

That distinctive hair, along with that name...

Jiang Xia quickly remembered something, and his interest was immediately piqued.

He and his Suzuki classmate chatted amicably for a few moments about "Kimura Tatsuya."

During their conversation, Suzuki Sonoko vaguely felt that Jiang Xia was a fake fan, but she did not care at all.

Whether he was fake or not was unimportant.

What mattered was having dinner and singing karaoke with Jiang Xia, plus Kimura Tatsuya. Double the happiness!

A minute later, illusory Little Flowers floated around Suzuki Sonoko as she smiled and waved, watching Jiang Xia leave the store.

Only after some time did she gradually come back to her senses.

"...Wait, I got him to agree just like that?" Suzuki Sonoko suspiciously rubbed her chin and turned to Grasp Mouri Ran. "I heard that right, didn't I? He really agreed, right?"

Mouri Ran nodded blankly as well.

Jiang Xia never bullied his classmates and did not seem particularly cold, but there had always been a strong sense of distance between him and the others.

...Of course, a large part of that was surely because Jiang Xia skipped too many classes and had not given everyone much time to get close to him.

But it also had to do with Jiang Xia's usual Way of Doing Things—he never joined private get-togethers and did not like going out with his classmates.

When Suzuki Sonoko had invited him just now, she had not actually expected to succeed. She had only wanted to use the conversation as an excuse to admire a handsome guy up close, so she could enjoy the sight while eating later and make up for the regret of not buying the Album...

Yet unexpectedly, after just a few words, she had directly lured him out.

"..." Suzuki Sonoko held her face in a daze for a while longer, then suddenly had an idea. "Did something good happen to him?"

...If she could figure out what that was, then in the future, could she not simply repeat the good thing, make Jiang Xia happy, and invite him out anytime she wanted to enjoy the sight while eating?

Suzuki Sonoko's eyes shone. She felt that she had firmly Grasped the secret code to handsome guys.

Conan stood gloomily beside their legs, also feeling that Jiang Xia was acting a little strange.

—Earlier, Conan had been playing with the children in the park. But while they were playing, it suddenly started raining again, so the four of them had to go home.

On his way home, Conan spotted Mouri Ran at a glance amid the bustling crowd.

So, relying on the fact that he was a child, he casually slipped into the girls' shopping group.

Now, seeing Suzuki Sonoko's eyes gradually curve into Peach hearts, Conan felt she had gotten the wrong idea.

So he hurriedly nipped his classmate's strange thoughts in the bud. "Actually, when we went to the Police Station together this morning, we happened to see Brother Jiang Xia's attending Doctor murdering someone in the street. Then the Doctor was arrested on the spot, so..."

Suzuki Sonoko: "..."

That, that seemed a little hard to replicate?

"..." Seeing her strange expression, Conan felt that he still could not get on the same wavelength as this lovestruck classmate—Jiang Xia definitely had not accepted the invitation because he was "happy that the Doctor had been arrested."

Because Conan felt that Jiang Xia and Doctor Kazato, as patient and Doctor, seemed to have had a fairly good relationship.

After all, when Jiang Xia started beating people, no one could stop him. Yet today, when the beaten Doctor merely shouted once, Jiang Xia recognized him and immediately stopped.

Besides, although Jiang Xia rarely went to the hospital, looking at it from the other side, someone who hated hospitals so much had actually gone for an examination on his own initiative... Though he still had not finished it and left halfway through, that alone said a great deal.

...In any case, Conan had already come up with a more scientific explanation for why Suzuki Sonoko had so smoothly managed to invite Jiang Xia along.

Conan looked up and saw that both Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko were looking at him. They were very concerned about the case he had just mentioned and asked him to explain it in detail.

So Conan briefly described what had happened.

Then, facing his two listeners, he could not help slipping into deduction mode and applying the half-baked amateur psychology he had learned in Hawaii.

"Before the Doctor was arrested, he had made his dislike for Jiang Xia very clear."

Conan was referring to the shout Doctor Kazato had yelled in despair when he had been kicked down and could not get back up.

"If Jiang Xia had already formed a relatively stable connection with the Doctor during his previous treatment, then this might have dealt him a blow.

"People have an instinct for self-preservation. Now that the connection between Jiang Xia and the Doctor has been forcibly severed, his subconscious might try to form new connections with other people in order to save itself and keep him grounded—just as you invited him, and you have invited him plenty of times before. Perhaps he sensed the kindness in you..."

Halfway through, Conan suddenly realized that there were quite a few holes in what he had said.

Not only had he forgotten to add "Brother" when mentioning Jiang Xia, he had also accidentally revealed some of Suzuki Sonoko's past behavior... Th-this would not expose him as "Kudo Shinichi," would it?!

At that thought, cold sweat broke out on Conan's back, and he felt somewhat regretful.

Yet when he cautiously looked up, he did not meet Mouri Ran's scrutinizing gaze.

Instead, he saw tears in Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko's eyes. Both had even taken out handkerchiefs to wipe them.

Conan: "...?"