Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 576: A little self-exposure trick every day! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
The sky is clear and the sun is shining.

Early in the morning, Conan led Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko, three of his friends from the Junior Detective Team, and skipped to the gate of a house.

"John!"

Standing at the gate of the courtyard, Ayumi raised her pink little face and looked inside with anticipation, then called out in a clear voice with a childlike joy in her voice.

"John!"

Yuantai and Mitsuhiko looked at each other and started shouting at the top of their voices. The force seemed to break through the sky, shaking the air around them slightly.

"John!" Conan also shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes fixed on the closed door. There was a bright light flashing in his eyes, full of anticipation for the reunion of his old friend.

The tranquility in the house was broken by the shouting one after another, and soon, a yellow and black German Shepherd ran out of the house like an arrow.

It stood steadily at the door, its amber-like bright and sharp eyes warily looking at the four little guys making noise at the gate of the yard, as if judging whether the newcomers were friends or enemies.

"Wang!"

As if it recognized Conan and the others and confirmed that they were friends it was familiar with, the German Shepherd barked excitedly, its voice full of joy and intimacy of reunion.

Then, without any hesitation, it spread out its strong and powerful four hooves and ran happily towards Conan and the others. Its tail was shaking like a rattle, drawing cheerful arcs.

Seeing this majestic and energetic German Shepherd jumping around beside the door, Conan, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko instantly broke out into innocent and bright smiles on their faces.

Yuan Tai's face was full of smiles, and he waved at it enthusiastically, "Hey, hey, hey, John, come here!"

The German Shepherd named John seemed to really understand what he said. He squatted obediently in front of the door of the house, sweeping his tail happily behind him, as if waiting for the children's praise and caress.

"Good boy, John!" Ayumi and Genta couldn't wait to reach out their hands and gently stroke John's soft and smooth fur. Their movements were so gentle as if they were treating the most precious treasure, and their eyes were full of undisguised love.

"John is so cute!"

"How old is John?"

Standing aside and watching this scene, Mitsuhiko's eyes flickered with curiosity.

Hearing Mitsuhiko's question, Conan subconsciously took two steps forward and said, "When I was in elementary school, John was still a puppy, so if you calculate it, he should be eight years old now, right?"

When John was still a puppy, he often came here to play with his childhood sweetheart, Mao Lilan, so he was particularly impressed by John, a German shepherd. The time he spent with Xiaolan and John was like a shining pearl, treasured in his heart.

"When you were in elementary school?"

Ayumi looked at Conan with a confused face, her eyes full of doubt and confusion.

Isn't her friend in primary school now? How come she was in primary school before she suddenly came?
Could it be that this little friend of hers had attended elementary school more than once?
Yuan Tai looked at Conan at the side strangely, and shouted bluntly: "What a joke, Conan!"

Noticing the strange looks on his friends' faces, Conan finally realized that he had let something slip by mistake. He quickly shook his hands at the three children who were looking at them stupidly, with an awkward but polite smile on his face, and explained: "Ah! It's nothing, I was just kidding!"

Oh no, how could I accidentally let something slip again? I was so careless.

——Whenever he thinks about the past or is absent-minded, he always reveals these careless flaws. This is a bad habit.

After all, he is no longer the high school detective Shinichi Kudo, but the elementary school student Conan Edogawa.

As an elementary school student Conan, he must always pay attention to his words and actions and must not make any mistakes. Otherwise, his identity may be easily exposed, which may bring danger to the people around him.

Especially his favorite Xiaolan, he absolutely cannot let her fall into danger.

Just as Conan was staring at the eyes of the sheepdog John with a serious face and made up his mind to be cautious in the future, a middle-aged man in a blue shirt walked out of the room.

Seeing Conan and his four companions coming, the middle-aged man was not surprised. Instead, he smiled amiably and said kindly, "Oh! It's you!"

Hearing his voice, Ayumi, who was stroking John, raised her head and called to him obediently, "Morning, Uncle!"

"We're disturbing you again!" Conan stood aside and greeted the middle-aged man with a smile.

Because the middle-aged man in front of him was none other than the owner of the German Shepherd John.

"Welcome, welcome. Come on, little ones, come in and sit down! Come on!"

Looking at the four polite and sensible little guys in front of him, the smile on the middle-aged man's face became brighter and brighter. He quickly and warmly invited them into the house to play. His tone was full of sincerity and enthusiasm, as if they were his relatives whom he had not seen for a long time.

"Okay!" Conan and the others didn't hesitate and followed him into the yard happily.

……

Walking into the house, the bright sunshine shines through the window unreservedly and falls on the wooden floor, casting patches of mottled and warm light and shadows, as if covering the entire house with a layer of golden velvet carpet.

The middle-aged man had a kind smile on his face. He pointed to the sofa in the living room enthusiastically and said in a gentle tone: "Little guys, sit down wherever you want. Just treat this place as your own home. Don't be polite. I'll get you some drinks."

"Thank you, uncle!" Ayumi said sweetly, and then she, Genta, and Mitsuhiko, like three happy little squirrels, jumped and sat on the soft sofa beside them. Conan stood quietly beside them, his eyes as if attracted by a magnet, still firmly staying on John, the depths of his eyes were full of indelible nostalgia, as if through John, he saw a precious memory that was sealed by the years.

John seemed to be keenly aware of Conan's gaze. He wagged his tail excitedly and walked briskly to Conan's feet. He rubbed his head gently against his legs and made an intimate "woohoo" sound in his throat, as if expressing his longing.

"Little guy, your name is Conan, right?" The middle-aged man came over carefully with a few glasses of juice. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly, with surprise and confusion written all over his face, "I didn't expect John to like you so much."

Why was his John so enthusiastic about this child?
In his understanding, although his John had a friendly personality, he had never shown such extraordinary enthusiasm to someone he met for the first time.

That warmth was just like meeting an old friend whom I hadn't seen for a long time and whom I missed day and night. It was so intimate that it seemed unreal.

Such things, no matter how you look at them, reveal an indescribable abnormality.

Hearing this, Conan slowly squatted down, stretched out his hand, and gently stroked John's head. The delicate touch from his fingertips made the warmth in his heart stronger, and a gentle smile unconsciously rose at the corner of his mouth, and he said softly: "Yes, John has always been very close to me."

Conan wasn't actually that surprised that John was so close to him.

After all, although my body has become smaller and I have turned into a short "dwarf", I am essentially still the same myself, and the smell on my body has not changed because of my body's shrinkage.

Dogs have always had a keen sense of smell. John was able to identify the identity of his old friend by the familiar smell. To Conan, this was a perfectly normal thing.

The middle-aged man was slightly stunned, a trace of doubt flashed across his face, and he repeated subconsciously: "Always?"

If he remembered correctly, this little guy named Conan should be stepping into his house for the first time and seeing his John? But why did he blurt out "always"?

Could it be that this child and John had met in some unknown situation? Or was there really some unknown, wonderful and mysterious fate between them?
Thinking of this, he subconsciously turned his inquiring gaze to Conan again, looking at him carefully, trying to catch a clue that could solve his doubts from the child's young face.

Conan was keenly aware of the middle-aged man's inquiring gaze, and his heart suddenly tightened. He secretly regretted why he accidentally said the wrong thing again. But his face remained calm, trying to maintain his composure, while his brain was like a high-speed precision instrument, thinking quickly about how to cleverly resolve this embarrassment.

"I mean……"

Conan's brain was working rapidly. After a short but seemingly extremely long silence, he finally found a barely acceptable explanation. "Ever since I saw John, it has been very close to me. That kind of intimacy makes me feel particularly close to it, as if I have known it for a long, long time."

After hearing this, the middle-aged man's frown instantly relaxed, a look of sudden enlightenment appeared on his face, and he smiled and nodded: "So that's how it is, then it seems that you two are quite destined to be together."

As he was talking, the middle-aged man seemed to be suddenly struck by a memory. He slapped his forehead and said to Conan, "By the way, Conan, you said before that you felt like you had known John for a long time. This reminds me of something. A few years ago, there was a little guy who looked a bit like you and often brought his friends to play with John. At that time, John was still little and was especially attached to them."

"But that kid should be in high school now, right? Time flies."

In fact, he did suspect that Conan was the child from that year.

After all, from the appearance, Conan looks very similar to the child he had met.

But the key point is that the child who looked somewhat similar to Conan came to play with John several years ago. Even if Conan was born with a baby face and looked very young, it is impossible for him to still be in elementary school after several years.

Besides, a high school student suddenly turns into a child without any warning. This kind of plot is like an absurd science fiction story. It is impossible for it to happen in the real world.

"Uncle, you are talking about Shinichi-nii, right?"

Conan's heart tightened and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, but he still had a decent smile on his face. He knew in his heart that the middle-aged man was talking about him and Xiaolan. He shrugged casually and said with a smile: "Maybe the reason why John is so close to me is that he accidentally mistook me for Shinichi brother!"

After saying that, he winked playfully, "After all, Shinichi and I are relatives and we look somewhat similar, so it's reasonable for John to make a mistake."

"So you and that kid are related? No wonder you look familiar to me."

The middle-aged man nodded thoughtfully, the doubts in his eyes completely dissipated, and he did not continue to ask questions. Instead, he handed the juice in his hand to the children one by one, and then sat leisurely on a chair beside him, with a gentle smile on his lips, looking at them quietly.

Ayumi held the juice carefully in both hands and sipped it, looking very well behaved. However, her eyes were attracted by a magnet and never left John, with love written all over her pink face.

"By the way, uncle, has John learned any new skills recently?"

Ayumi raised her head, curiosity glittering in her eyes, and asked crisply.

"Yeah, after not seeing you for such a long time, John must have learned a lot of amazing skills, right?" Mitsuhiko also echoed, his eyes full of anticipation, as if he had already seen the scene of John demonstrating his magical skills.

As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Genta, who was holding the juice and drinking it in big gulps with his cheeks puffed up like a hamster, stop instantly, but even Conan, who was usually calm, couldn't help but lean forward slightly, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

"Haha, this? Of course I have it!"

Noticing the eager anticipation on their faces, the middle-aged man put down the juice, a proud smile on his face, and then clapped his hands vigorously, making a crisp sound, "John, come on, show us a show!"

Hearing his master's order, John became instantly energized like a well-trained soldier hearing the charge horn. He stood up straight with his ears erected high, his eyes as focused as a cheetah staring at its prey, and his whole body exuding excitement and eagerness to try.

The middle-aged man took out a coin from his pocket and shook his wrist lightly. The coin spun rapidly in the air like a silver meteor, drawing a graceful and smooth arc.

John kicked his hind legs and jumped up quickly like an arrow. He was agile and nimble, and he held the coin steadily in his mouth. Then he took a brisk step and gently placed the coin in the palm of the middle-aged man's hand. He also wagged his tail proudly, as if waiting for his master's praise...

(End of this chapter)