First Meeting with Yukiko

Detective Conan: First Meeting with Yukiko

Looking at Kogoro, who had been full of excitement just moments ago and now looked utterly wilted, it did not take much thought to guess what was on his mind. But in any case, Lin Maoxian was not really trying to find Kudo Shinichi. He only wanted to use him to pass his commission on to someone else.

He immediately stopped paying attention to Kogoro's reaction, patted the bag set off to the side, and said with a smile, "I still believe in the abilities of a famous detective. This is five hundred thousand yen. Consider it the deposit for my commission. As for after you find Kudo Shinichi, I will pay another five hundred thousand yen as compensation. So I hope the famous detective will put in some effort."

"Five hundred thousand! And another five hundred thousand after that? No problem. I'll definitely find that little brat." After hearing that the reward totaled as much as one million yen, Kogoro had long since thrown his previous thoughts aside. With this money, not only could he eat and drink to his heart's content, but if he bet on the horses and won big, then he...

Seeing Kogoro's imagination running wild, and seeing that he had already accepted the commission, Lin Maoxian cut him off directly to avoid any further complications. "Mr. Mouri, since you have accepted the commission, I will head back first. I will visit again tomorrow evening. I'll be waiting for your good news then." As he spoke, he stood up.

Although Kogoro felt very displeased that his beautiful vision had been interrupted, he still said, "Please rest assured. I, the famous detective Kogoro, will absolutely find that little brat. Tomorrow evening, there will definitely be good news waiting for Mr. Lin."

"That's good." After saying that, Lin Maoxian paid Kogoro no more attention and left the detective agency directly to go find Kisaki Eri.

In the evening, Conan returned to the agency on foot after school.

Looking at the table full of delicious dishes, he asked Ran Mouri in surprise as she stood in the kitchen, "Ran, why is the food so good today?"

Before Ran Mouri could answer, Kogoro, who was sitting off to the side drinking beer, burst into loud laughter. "I made a fortune today. If I complete this commission too, I'll have another huge sum of income. Then..."

Looking at Kogoro lost in his fantasies, Conan felt somewhat speechless. He could only ask Ran Mouri, who was carrying out a dish, "Ran, what kind of fortune did Uncle make?"

Ran Mouri said in annoyance, "You mean Dad? He just accepted five hundred thousand yen from a client in advance. He hasn't even finished the job yet, but he's already started spending the commission fee. If he can't complete the commission when the time comes, let's see what he does."

Hearing his daughter's words, Kogoro waved a hand carelessly. "What's the big deal? You have to believe in your dad's abilities. Your dad is the famous detective known far and wide. For me, something as minor as finding someone is nothing at all, isn't it? Wahahahaha." By the end, he was laughing exaggeratedly.

Conan looked at Kogoro laughing with his tongue sticking out and was truly defeated by his ugly state. He thought, Which of your cases wasn't solved with my help? But he still asked curiously, "Ran, can you tell me what the commission is? I'm really curious too. What kind of person costs five hundred thousand yen to ask Uncle to help find?"

Ran Mouri was a little shy, but still answered happily, "Shinichi. It's Shinichi. The client wants Dad to find Shinichi. After Shinichi is found, I'm going to ask him where he's been running off to lately, and whether he really ran off to fool around with those women." By the end, her face was full of "killing intent."

Looking at Ran Mouri's face full of "killing intent," Conan was shocked. Who? Who wants to find me? What is his purpose in looking for me? Could it be those people...

With these questions in mind, Conan immediately asked, "Then, Ran, do you know who commissioned Uncle? Do you know where he is now?"

Although Ran Mouri did not know why Conan was asking that, she still smiled and said to him, "You mean the client? Conan, you know him too."

"I know him too? Then who could it be? Ran, just tell me directly." Conan clearly did not know who Ran Mouri was talking about, so he could only ask her directly.

Looking at Conan's puzzled face, Ran Mouri laughed softly. "Conan, you definitely can't guess, right? It's that Mr. Lin we met yesterday. We almost had a meal together too."

"What? It's him! I knew there was something wrong with him. No wonder he kept asking about Uncle and me. He must be with those people. Could they already suspect that Kudo Shinichi isn't dead? What should I do? If they find out that I'm Kudo Shinichi, Ran and Uncle will all be in danger when the time comes. No, that's not right. He probably doesn't know I'm Shinichi yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't have commissioned Uncle to find me. He would've just captured me or killed me directly." Hearing what Ran Mouri said, Conan knew he had guessed correctly. There was indeed something wrong with that man. He then asked thoughtfully, "Then, Ran, do you know when he'll come again?"

Kogoro, drinking beer, said directly, "Tomorrow evening. He'll be coming over tomorrow evening. But I, Mouri Kogoro, will absolutely find that little brat by then. At that time..."

Looking at Kogoro, who had fallen into his fantasies again, Conan thought, Tomorrow? Luckily, tomorrow happens to be Sunday, so there's no school. I can stay at the agency all day. Even if he comes early, I'll be able to see him. When the time comes, I'd like to see exactly what he's planning to do.

The next morning, after getting out of bed and seeing the world outside covered in white, Lin Maoxian realized it had snowed. He received a call from Kisaki Eri, saying that Yukiko had taken a fast flight and had already arrived in Japan around nine in the morning. She told him to go to her place first, and then the two of them would go to the hotel together to meet Yukiko.

Hearing that Yukiko had arrived in Japan so quickly, Lin Maoxian was also very happy. He did not have much time, less than five days. If he could meet Yukiko earlier, then he could also make arrangements earlier. He agreed with a smile and said he would go over to her place right away.

He called a taxi, arrived at Kisaki Eri's place, picked her up, and the two of them rushed toward the hotel where Yukiko was staying.

When they arrived at the hotel, they explained the situation to the front desk attendant, then headed toward Yukiko's room.

Knock, knock, knock!!!

"Coming. Is that you, Eri?" The person who opened the door was a woman with a head of brown hair.

Looking at the woman before him, Lin Maoxian's face was filled with admiration. Although she looked travel-worn, clearly having been on a plane for a long time, and her expression also seemed extremely exhausted, her pair of faintly light-blue eyes were still as cool as a sweet spring in the desert, clear and bright like a pool of emerald water, making anyone who saw her feel pity. Even with her face full of exhaustion and dust from travel, one could still see her petite face shape and exquisite features, a strange and dazzling beauty like that of a mixed-race woman. Her delicate, fair skin was like goat's milk curd, like translucent crystal-colored Xinjiang mare's milk grapes, so crystalline and clear that one could hardly bear to look too long, fearing that if one's gaze landed too solidly, it would pierce two holes in her face. They were both beauties, but the woman before him gave him a completely different feeling from Kisaki Eri. Kisaki Eri gave him a feeling of nobility, elegance, and coolness. But she gave him a feeling of cuteness, allure, and pity.

"That's right. You came back pretty quickly. Lin and I came over together. It's been so long, but you still haven't changed much." As Kisaki Eri spoke, she led the way inside.

"More or less. You haven't changed much either." As Yukiko spoke, she pointed at Lin Maoxian standing to the side and said, "So this is the Mr. Lin you mentioned on the phone, the one preparing to invite me to China to meet his elder?"

Hearing Yukiko mention him, Lin Maoxian hurriedly replied, "That's right. I'm the one who asked Eri for help this time. I hope Ms. Yukiko can make the trip with me. Whether it's money, or anything else I can do, everything is negotiable. I hope Ms. Yukiko can help me."

"Ohohohoho." Yukiko covered her mouth and laughed, ignoring Lin Maoxian. Instead, she teased Kisaki Eri, "One is called Lin, and one is called Eri. Eri, I think the relationship between the two of you is not simple at all. When did it develop? Tell me about it."

Kisaki Eri had not expected Yukiko to say something like that, and she immediately lost her usual calm, her face flushing red. "Where... where is there any relationship? We're just ordinary friends."

Seeing Kisaki Eri's blushing face, Yukiko became even more enthusiastic. "Oh my, if there's no relationship, why are you blushing? Looks like I hit the mark, and now you're shy. Come on, come on, tell me, when exactly did you meet, and how far has it developed?"

Hearing Yukiko's words, Kisaki Eri felt embarrassed and pulled a stern face, pretending to be angry as she said, "I already said we're just ordinary friends. If you keep talking nonsense, I really will get angry."

Seeing Kisaki Eri's poor expression and not knowing whether she was truly angry, Yukiko could only let the topic go. She said to Lin Maoxian at the side, "Help? You really only want me to go to China to see your elder? I don't think it's that simple."

Before Lin Maoxian could say anything, Kisaki Eri at the side hurriedly defended him. "Yukiko, what do you mean by that? Of course Lin only wants you to go see his elder and help fulfill a regret. What other purpose could there be?"

"Is that so?" Yukiko seemed to be speaking to Kisaki Eri and Lin Maoxian, and yet also seemed to be talking to herself. "It's been almost twenty years since I was popular, hasn't it? And I was only popular for a while before immediately retiring from acting. Although I also think I'm very charming, a Chinese person becoming my fan, and staying my fan for nearly twenty years, is already unbelievable enough. What's even more unbelievable is that when he's about to pass away, what he thinks of isn't his other relatives or friends, but me, his idol, and he even has his juniors come find me so I can meet him once. Don't you think that's very unbelievable?"

Hearing Yukiko's doubts, Lin Maoxian immediately replied, "Although I also find it unbelievable, I still have to say that this is the truth."

"Oh, is that so? I think you must have some other purpose, don't you? How did you find your way to Beika City, and how did you find me through Eri? I don't believe that after you came here, you just happened to run into Eri, and just happened to know she was my friend, and then found me through her. Tell me your purpose, Mister Lin." By the end, Yukiko's entire body gave off a kind of aura, an aura of having seen through everything, of having everything under her control.