The moment Miyano Shiho spoke, the atmosphere immediately turned a little awkward.
The corner of Kudo Shinichi's mouth twitched slightly:
I'd painstakingly finished my deduction.
Aren't you even surprised?
Damn, I actually ran into someone who didn't follow the script.
This was truly a first. Even the great detective Kudo was left somewhat speechless.
Even Mouri Ran was so embarrassed that she did not know what to say, and could only force herself to maintain a polite smile.
And after seeing this, Lin Xinyi became even more convinced that Miss Miyano's personality was abnormal.
Of course, that could not be helped.
Because he could never have imagined what Miyano Shiho had gone through before.
After all, having never watched Conan, he still believed he was living in a real world with a sound legal system.
And in the real world, an underground criminal organization?
Would they dare set up a base for developing illegal drugs right in the center of the capital?
Would they openly organize armed forces and imprison an expert who had returned from overseas?
Were they tired of living?
Was it that the Chaoyang District residents could no longer pick up their phones, or that the Skynet Project's wires had burned out?
Something like that was absolutely impossible back home. And even if Japan's public safety situation was different, it was still a developed country. How could it possibly let criminals shit and piss all over its heads?
So, based on the common sense of a modern person, Lin Xinyi simply could not imagine the truth hidden behind all this.
He merely found Miss Miyano very strange:
She was clearly in the prime of her youth, with a boundless future ahead of her, yet her eyes always carried the weariness of someone who had endured countless darknesses and pains.
Uh, she had probably read too much of Japan's abundant depressive literature and developed a somewhat gloomy personality.
At that thought, Lin Xinyi looked at Miyano Shiho with even more helplessness in his eyes.
Miyano Shiho, however, clearly did not care what others thought of her.
After a stretch of awkward silence, she was the first to break it:
She absently played with the two coins in her hand as she coldly said to Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran:
"Are you still using the vending machine?"
"If not, please move aside. I'm in a hurry."
"Uh..." Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran looked at each other.
The atmosphere became even more awkward.
Lin Xinyi, standing nearby, helplessly offered an apologetic smile:
"Sorry. She's always been like this."
Kudo nodded and smiled faintly, indicating that he did not mind:
"I understand. I could tell."
Mouri Ran's lips moved slightly, as though she wanted to say something but held herself back:
It must be hard for Mr. Lin Xinyi to keep looking after this young lady who had no sense of social etiquette, right?
He must not get overwhelmed and go try to kill himself by the river again.
That would be so pitiful.
In silence, the three of them completed a brief yet complicated exchange through their gazes.
Miyano Shiho seemed to have noticed everyone silently criticizing her.
But she still did not care.
Given her identity, taking the initiative to keep her distance from ordinary people was actually for their own good.
After all these years, Miyano Shiho had long grown used to a life utterly cut off from social contact, with no friends at all.
In the end, amid a complicated silence,
Kudo and Mouri Ran consciously turned back toward the vending machine and inserted coins as they pressed the buttons.
Lin Xinyi also obediently stayed by Miyano Shiho's side, waiting in line with her.
He was still working, after all. Everything had to prioritize Miss Miyano's feelings.
The air grew quiet once more.
If things continued like this, Lin Xinyi would soon wave goodbye to Kudo and Mouri Ran after they bought their drinks, then continue his work of protecting Miyano Shiho as she went to meet her sister.
But just then, not entirely unexpectedly,
Two more passersby joined the short line waiting to buy drinks from the vending machine.
They were two male high school students wearing black uniforms.
Both had cigarettes in their mouths—cigarettes that minors were not legally allowed to touch. At a glance, they were clearly not law-abiding model students.
As they waited in line, they began chatting with each other:
"Ishikawa, are we really going to be okay doing this?"
"What if that guy goes to the police again? Wouldn't that be a huge hassle?"
One of them, a relatively skinny male high school student, spoke up.
He was not quiet, and all four people ahead of them in line, Lin Xinyi included, could hear him clearly.
"Heh, what are you scared of?"
"Aoki, you're still way too timid."
Ishikawa, the more heavily built male high school student, cursed as he spoke:
"We only lightly 'bumped' into him. It's not like we crippled or seriously hurt him."
"What good would it do if he went to the police again?"
"We're minors. Could we really go to prison over something this trivial?"
Japan's laws had always been relatively lenient toward juvenile offenders under twenty.
It was just school bullying. As long as they did not cripple or kill anyone, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department would not bother with it.
Ishikawa took a deep drag of his cigarette, then cursed bitterly through the choking smoke:
"That little bastard just needed a beating!"
"Last time, we only asked to borrow a little spending money from him, but he actually had the nerve to go to the police."
"And what happened? The whole thing blew up, the police informed the principal, and now the school wants to expel us because of it!"
"Since we're getting expelled anyway, what's there to be afraid of?"
"Of course we have to teach him a proper lesson!"
"But..."
Aoki, the skinny male high school student, hesitated:
"The principal said we won't be expelled as long as we get a letter of forgiveness from that guy."
"If we beat him up like this, how could he possibly forgive us?"
"Heh, do you think he'd forgive us if we didn't beat him up?"
Ishikawa rolled his eyes disdainfully and sneered:
"He probably just wants to use this chance to kick us out of school."
"Bastards like him need to be taught a lesson. Only when we beat him into submission will he obediently listen."
"That makes sense..."
Aoki nodded as though enlightened:
"Then it looks like we went too easy on him today."
"No problem."
Ishikawa laughed with immense satisfaction:
"There's plenty of time. From now on, we'll block him on the road every day."
"Hmph. We have to make him understand the price of going against us."
"..."
The conversation between the two male high school students temporarily came to an end.
All four people in front of them—Lin Xinyi included—had heard every word.
Clearly, Ishikawa and Aoki had just bullied one of their classmates.
Not only did they feel no shame for what they had done, they were even smoking, reminiscing, and laughing smugly about it here.
Such an ugly display was truly nauseating.
They were simply...
"Scum."
Mouri Ran unconsciously clenched her fists.
A series of crackling pops rang clearly from those seemingly petite and delicate fists.
The sound was as crisp as a string of firecrackers, and it carried considerable force.
Unable to restrain herself, the flames of justice within her were already blazing fiercely.
Yet at that moment, the two male high school students at the end of the line had no idea what terrifying existence they had enraged.
"Cough, cough. Calm down, calm down."
Kudo Shinichi hurriedly held down his childhood friend's fist.
Although Mouri Ran had a gentle nature, never abused violence, and rarely fought with others,
Kudo knew very well that if his childhood friend was truly provoked into stepping in to uphold justice,
ordinary school bullies really could not take a hit from her.
So while Kudo quietly tried to soothe Ran, he cast a pleading glance at Lin Xinyi behind him.
The helpless look in his eyes seemed to be asking him to say something too—
Lin Xinyi had attempted suicide, after all. People had to take his words into account; they carried weight.
But Kudo's plea had absolutely no effect.
Not only did Lin Xinyi fail to help persuade Ran to calm down, he instead said with a serious expression:
"Isn't it fine?"
"I remember Miss Mouri Ran practices karate. She probably won't lose control."
He had learned that morning that Mouri Ran went to the river for morning training because she was preparing for the Tokyo Karate Tournament.
If she could participate in a fighting competition of that level, her skills had to be quite good.
And if things got out of hand, he was there to back her up. Teaching two school bullies a lesson would be more than easy.
Come to think of it, Lin Xinyi's current body was unexpectedly sturdy.
In every aspect combined, it was even a little stronger than the body he had built through martial arts training since childhood in his previous life.
How should he put it?
Was this truly the caliber of an 890,000-yen Security Director?
"Kudo, don't worry."
"If Miss Mouri Ran runs into trouble, I'll definitely back her up."
After thinking for a moment, Lin Xinyi said this with complete confidence.
"Hey, hey..."
Kudo's expression grew even more helpless:
"That's not what I'm worried about..."
"You don't need to worry about the legal side either."
The one who spoke was Miyano Shiho, who had remained silent the whole time.
This young lady, who had always acted cold and indifferent, had actually taken the initiative to involve herself in someone else's business. That surprised Lin Xinyi somewhat:
"Miss Mouri Ran is wearing a high school uniform, so she's a minor too, isn't she?"
"Just like those two said—"
"Minors can beat up two people, and it still won't amount to much."
Miyano Shiho said some very terrifying things without changing her expression.
"..."
Kudo Shinichi became even more helpless:
You two don't understand at all. If Ran got carried away and failed to hold back, the consequences would not be as simple as injuring someone.
People would break apart.
Beika Town's utility poles had plenty to say about that.
Before you continue