The Final Arrangement

Observing Kogoro's expression, Lin Maoxian guessed his thoughts. Recalling the mission, he took out a bankbook. "Mr. Mouri, I must trouble you with this matter. There is 10 million here; it is for Conan's living expenses and a token of gratitude for taking care of him recently. If he wants anything, just withdraw the money and buy it for him. If the funds run out, you can contact Fumiyo, and he will provide more."

"10 million?" Kogoro snatched the bankbook immediately. Upon seeing the string of zeros, he burst into laughter. "It really is 10 million! Don't worry, Conan can stay as long as he likes, no problem at all. Actually, I've always been quite fond of this kid."

Kudo Shinichi heard this and thought to himself: I think what you're fond of is the money.

Hearing Kogoro's words, Yukiko finally set her mind at ease. "Since you agree, Mr. Mouri, I will leave Conan here to stay for a while. I'm truly sorry for the trouble."

Clutching the bankbook, Kogoro laughed heartily. "It's no trouble at all. You can rest assured and leave him with me; he can stay as long as he wants."

Lin Maoxian reminded her from the side, "Fumiyo, we still have things to do. The time is about right; we should go."

Yukiko was stunned. Things to do? There shouldn't be anything, but she still said to Kudo Shinichi, "Conan, we're leaving now. Remember not to cause any trouble for others while you're here, understand?"

"I know, I know. You guys go ahead," Kudo Shinichi said gloomily. He was still feeling bitter about not obtaining that medicine.

After Lin Maoxian bid farewell to the Mouri father and daughter, he and Yukiko went downstairs and drove away.

"You shouldn't have given him so much money just now. I think 1 million would have been plenty." Yukiko was somewhat dissatisfied with Lin Maoxian giving Kogoro 10 million. In her view, there was no need to give that much, as the vast majority of it would surely be squandered by Kogoro himself.

"Is it too much? I don't know how long Shinichi will have to live there. If I give Mr. Mouri such a sum, he should treat Shinichi better, which will make his future investigations much easier." Lin Maoxian made up a casual excuse for Yukiko. He couldn't exactly say he gave Kogoro 10 million for the sake of a mission. If he really said that, it would be hard to explain what kind of mission it was.

"Fine, you have your reasons. You said earlier that you had things to do—what are they? You can tell me now, right?" Setting the topic aside, Yukiko asked about the matter she had been harboring in her heart.

"You know I'm from China. Since my business in Japan is finished, I'll be heading back tomorrow. I need your help with something. Let's go to my hotel, and we can talk about it in detail once we get there." Lin Maoxian continued to play his game of deception.

"Let's go to my place instead. I feel strange dressed like this; I need to go back and take off this makeup."

"That works too. Your place is fine," Lin Maoxian replied casually.

"So mysterious. Why can't you just say it now?" Yukiko muttered, but she didn't say anything more, and the car fell into silence.

After hearing the car start up downstairs, Ran Mouri asked Conan, "Conan, are you very familiar with that Mr. Lin? What is his relationship with your mother?"

"I only just met him recently. My mother and he are just ordinary friends," Conan said, explaining his relationship with Lin Maoxian, then asked curiously, "Ran, why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just a little curious. Conan, can you tell me what kind of person he is?" After learning the nature of her mother's relationship with Mr. Lin, Ran wanted to know more about the man. Seeing him drop Conan off, she had wanted to ask.

"Ran, I don't really know either. You wouldn't happen to be..." Conan thought of an ominous possibility.

"It's not what you're thinking! I was just asking casually. If you don't know, then forget it." Seeing Conan's expression, Ran knew he had misunderstood. She had only met the man a few times; how could there be any such relationship?

The car didn't drive for long before arriving at Yukiko's home. After getting out, the two walked inside together.

"Lin, you wait downstairs for a moment. I need to go up, remove my makeup, and take a shower before coming back down. You'll have to wait a while." Yukiko told Lin Maoxian before heading upstairs to her room.

"Alright, go ahead," Lin Maoxian replied. He then wandered toward the kitchen and, upon seeing the coffee machine, a smile touched his lips.

After Yukiko showered and changed, she came downstairs to find Lin Maoxian sitting there drinking coffee. "You're quite relaxed, aren't you? Pour me a cup, too. Now, tell me what you need help with."

Lin Maoxian poured her a cup, and after seeing her take a sip, he said, "I know you have a good relationship with Doctor Agasa. I want you to give this money to him as research funding. If I have the chance to return to Japan, I hope he can provide me with some finished products of his inventions." As he spoke, he handed over a bankbook.

Yukiko took it, glanced at it, and tossed it onto the table. "That's a small matter. Agasa will be very happy to know you're supporting his research. Surely that's not the only thing you need my help with?"

"Of course not." He took out another bankbook and said, "After I go back this time, I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to return to Japan. I hope you can pass the money in this bankbook to Eri. I hope she can live even better." With that, he placed it next to the first one.

Yukiko picked up the bankbook Lin Maoxian had just set down and checked it: 50 million. "Lin, you're quite generous. You only gave 10 million to support Agasa's research, but you gave 50 million to Eri. Tell me, just how far have you two developed?" Yukiko's gossipy curiosity was burning intensely.

Lin Maoxian looked at Yukiko's excited face and said with a wry smile, "How far could we have developed? It's just like that. Because I'm leaving, I boldly confessed my feelings to her. However, although she said she has a good impression of me, she wants to take some time to consider it properly since we've spent so little time together. She hopes I'll look for her the next time I come to Japan, and she'll give me a satisfactory answer. But even I don't know if I'll have the chance to return. I know she isn't short on money; this is just a token of my sincerity, so she knows that someone is truly sincere about her."

"Ah? I thought you two had already developed into something more. I'm so envious that Eri has someone so devoted to her," Yukiko said with a hint of jealousy.

Lin Maoxian looked at Yukiko with burning intensity. "If that woman were you, I would treat you the same way."

"What does that have to do with me?" Yukiko was startled by his intense gaze. In it, she saw admiration, desire, and agitation. Under his stare, for some reason, Yukiko felt a fire burning in her heart, as if it were about to burn her to ashes.

"Lin, do you feel hot? Why do I feel so hot?" Yukiko said, taking off her coat and placing it on the sofa.

Lin Maoxian looked her over, and his eyes became glued to her. Because she had just showered, her body was still slightly damp. Through her thin undergarments, her tender skin was faintly visible. Her devilishly hot figure, her long, wavy golden hair emitting a dazzling luster, and her long legs clad in a light blue skirt revealed a perfect, peerless physique. The scene was pure temptation.

Swallowing hard, Lin Maoxian said, "I didn't feel hot before, but now I don't just feel hot—there is a fire burning in my heart. I can feel that if I don't extinguish it, it will burn me to ashes."

Seeing the way Lin Maoxian looked at her, Yukiko didn't need to guess what it meant; she had seen such looks too many times. She playfully winked at him, teasing, "Oh? That won't do. Lin, you'd better extinguish that fire as quickly as you can."

Struck by her coquettish wink, Lin Maoxian knew he couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up, walked over to Yukiko, and gently cupped her chin with his hand.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't you dare mess around, or I'll tell Eri on you." Seeing the man before her cupping her chin and looking at her with burning eyes, Yukiko realized her joke had gone too far. If she didn't warn him to hit the brakes, something bad would happen.

"Yukiko, you are the one who can help me extinguish this fire. Even if Eri finds out, I'm only doing this for self-preservation. I believe she won't blame me." Lin Maoxian teased her. Things had reached this point; it wasn't so easy to stop. Even if he could agree, his 'brother' wouldn't—it had already raised its banner in rebellion and was no longer obeying orders.

"You..." Yukiko was infuriated by this logic. What kind of twisted reasoning was this? He was the one who wanted to do such things, yet he was making such excuses.

Lin Maoxian cut off her next words with direct action, pulling her into his arms and kissing her red lips fiercely.