Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 582: I would rather die than let my friend die! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
"Uncle Maori, please don't hesitate."

Conan saw what Maori Kogoro was thinking, and his eyes rolled around, revealing a sly look. He said slowly, "Work is something that can never be finished, and you can do it anytime, but class reunions are rare opportunities. If you miss this one, you don't know when you'll get together again."

"Besides, you might come across some unexpected interesting things at the party, which will add some exciting new material to your detective career. This way, you will have more topics to talk about when you chat with your clients in the future."

Conan paused for a moment, leaving the audience in suspense, before continuing, "The most important thing is, Uncle Maori, you are so capable. Your classmates back then must have been very successful in their respective industries. They are the best of the best, and the elites from all walks of life. Building good relationships with them will be of great benefit to your detective career. In the future, when your detective agency expands its business, you may get a lot of help from them."

When Kogoro Mouri listened to Conan's words, his heart was filled with ripples. He felt that what the little brat said made sense. All the little memories of his past interactions with his classmates suddenly came to his mind like a tide.

He looked at the text message in his hand, and the faces of his classmates who were eagerly waiting for him appeared in his mind. He gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh hard, and finally made up his mind and said, "Okay, in that case, I will go to this appointment. Speaking of which, it has been a long time since I last saw those old classmates, and I really miss them!"

In the past, when he was not doing well as he wished, he was too embarrassed to brag about himself even at class reunions.

After all, we are now living in an Internet society where information spreads rapidly. You can find out how Kogoro Mori is doing in the outside world with just a simple search, and the lies can be exposed with just a touch.

But now it’s different. He has finally transformed himself into a famous detective. It would be a shame if he didn’t show off in front of his old classmates.

After all, as the ancients said, if you don't return home in splendor, it's like walking in splendid clothes at night.

At this moment, the phone screen lit up again, and it was another text message from Nakamichi: "Kogoro, there are many classmates coming to this party, and everyone is looking forward to seeing you again, so don't be late! We have also prepared a special program for you, which will make sure your trip is worthwhile. It would be a pity if you don't come!"

Kogoro Mouri looked at the text message and his curiosity was instantly aroused.

Special program? What program?
It has to be said that Zhongdao's text message successfully aroused his strong curiosity and made him look forward to this class reunion.

Thinking of this, he looked at Mao Lilan and Conan beside him, then raised the phone in his hand, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealed a mysterious smile, and said: "It seems that this party will be very interesting!"

"Such an interesting party, I really want to go!"

As Maori Ran spoke, she folded her hands over her chest and looked at her father expectantly. The enthusiasm in her eyes seemed to completely melt the last bit of hesitation in Maori Kogoro's heart.

"Dad, can you take us with you?"

Hearing this, Maori Kogoro didn't even think about it, and blurted out almost reflexively: "No!"

Because of the issue of transportation fees, he was originally hesitant about whether to attend the class reunion.

After all, the recent economic situation is not optimistic. Various expenses are constantly consuming his savings like water, making him feel stretched frequently.

He had finally hardened his heart and convinced himself to keep the appointment, but even so, he still felt a little sad and conflicted.

The bus fare alone is already painful enough for him. If he brings Xiaolan and Conan along, the extra expenses will be a huge blow to his already empty wallet!
How could he be willing to accept such a 'tragic' thing!

As soon as these words came out, the bright smile on Mao Lilan's face froze instantly. Her eyes were full of confusion and displeasure. She stared at Mao Li Kogoro and asked, "Dad, why can't you take us with you?"

Maori Kogoro sighed helplessly, the wrinkles on his face deepened because of his entanglement, and said unhappily, "Why did you go there? There's nothing fun there!"

"But, five years ago, you took me with you to your class reunion!"

Maori Ran looked at Maori Kogoro with a reproachful look, her tone both coquettish and filled with dissatisfaction.

Maori Kogoro slowly took out a cigarette from his jacket pocket, lit it with a lighter, took a deep breath, and slowly blew out a smoke ring. He looked calm and said calmly, "You were a child before, and I couldn't just leave you alone at home, but now you've grown up, and it's time for you to have your own circle of activities!"

Mao Lilan took a deep look at her old father, folded her arms tightly across her chest, her face flushed with excitement, and said loudly with an extremely firm attitude: "I don't care, I'm going."

In fact, at first, she just said it casually and didn't really want to go.

After all, going to a class reunion with your dad is no match for dating her boyfriend!

But now, Kogoro Mori's tough refusal has aroused the stubbornness in her bones, and this time, she has to go.

There's nothing I can do about it, since her dad's class reunion included not only male classmates but also female classmates.

And who knows if there is a woman among them who is interested in her father!

At least as far as she knew, there was a female classmate among her stinky father's junior high school classmates who had always been obsessed with him.

She had learned from the previous experience, so she had to be on guard!

Well, if her father was the kind of gentleman who could remain calm and self-disciplined, she would naturally not have such worries.

But the key to the problem is that her father, when he sees a beautiful woman, he becomes like a lost soul, staring at her intently and unable to move away.

She was really worried that if she didn't go with her father this time, when his father came back from the class reunion, there might be a stepmother in the family for no reason!
This is definitely not the situation she wants to see.

Maori Kogoro tried to persuade his daughter again with a tone of helplessness and anxiety, "Xiaolan, why are you so stubborn? It's my dad's and my classmates' reunion! We old classmates get together and talk about the past. If you go along as a child, you can't get a word in and you'll be bored. Why bother?"

Who has a serious class reunion and brings their daughter along?
Moreover, others may not know his daughter's personality, but as an old father, how could he not know?
Mao Lilan has always been very strict with him, limiting the amount of smoking and placing many restrictions on his drinking. She is like a "housekeeper".

With his housekeeper daughter around, he couldn't drink freely when he went out, and he had to be careful about his words and actions, fearing that his daughter would nag him if he made a mistake. It was really depressing. The most important thing was that this party was at a hot spring hotel in a hot spring town. I heard that there was a hot spring pool for mixed bathing for men and women, and he might run into some beauties while bathing in the hot spring.

But if his daughter went with him, there was no doubt that even if there was a beautiful woman like a fairy present, he would have no chance to approach her and talk to her, let alone have the privilege of appreciating her bathing.

When he said this, Maori Kogoro seemed to be worried that Maori Ran would continue to pester him. He rolled his eyes and added: "Also, the office cannot be left unattended. What if we all leave and there happens to be a big case? What should we do?"

"Dad, stop making excuses. I'm already this old, how could I be bored?"

Mao Lilan became even more unhappy when she heard this, and retorted, "Besides, if there is really a big case, we can't handle it if you are out!"

Unless she transfers these big cases to her boyfriend.

After all, it is true that her father, Kogoro Mouri, is a private detective, but her boyfriend is also an excellent famous detective.

But the key point is that if she really wants to do this, the first person who would stand up and express displeasure would probably be her father.

There's nothing we can do about it. It's because that old guy values ​​money more than anything else.

Especially if the firm's business is transferred out, it means that the money earned will also be lost, and the other party will not be happy no matter how they think about it!

Thinking of this, she lowered her head and looked at the little carrot head beside her, "Conan, you must also want to go to the hot spring, right?"

"Let's go to a hot spring hotel and soak in the hot springs?"

Conan was suddenly asked this question and was stunned at first. The scene of the hot spring hotel instantly appeared in his mind and his thoughts began to drift uncontrollably.

His little heart began beating uncontrollably at the thought of being able to spend time in the hot spring with Mao Li Ran.

During the last Tianka No. 1 Festival, he was unable to take a bath with his childhood sweetheart because of some nasty guy's 'troublemaking'. Now that he finally had another chance, how could he miss it?

As for what to do if Mao Lilan is unwilling to take him with her?
Well, if he was still the famous high school detective Kudo Shinichi, then he would naturally not have the opportunity to take a bath with his childhood sweetheart, but now he is only a child of six or seven years old.

I think his Xiaolan wouldn't mind taking a bath with an innocent child like him!
Thinking of this, Conan felt that the corners of his mouth were about to grin uncontrollably to his ears. He hurriedly wiped the saliva that was about to flow out, nodded desperately like a chicken pecking at rice, and said eagerly: "Yeah... Sister Xiaolan is so right, I really want to go!"

Seeing that Conan, this brat, actually changed sides at the last minute and stood decisively on the side of Maori Ran, Maori Kogoro suddenly felt that the situation was not good. He was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. He hurriedly said, "Didn't I tell you that I can treat you to a delicious meal to compensate you!"

Maori Kogoro was still struggling, trying to tempt his daughter and Conan with delicious food, "Xiaolan, be obedient, Daddy promises to bring you delicious food when he comes back. This time is really not suitable for you to go."

"We don't want anything to eat!"

Mao Lilan stamped her feet, and then with the unique coquettish tone of a little girl, the ending tone rose slightly, looking at her old father expectantly, "Just take us to the hot springs, okay, Dad!"

Maori Kogoro frowned and said loudly: "Stop joking!"

"Traveling domestically these days is much more expensive than traveling abroad! You've asked me to pay for two more people all of a sudden. Have you ever thought about my wallet?"

As soon as he said this, he seemed to have opened up a chatterbox and couldn't help but complain, "Xiao Lan, why don't you understand your father? Dad is doing this to save money. Our family is in a tight financial situation right now, and you know that it's better to save as much as possible."

Mao Lilan put her hands on her hips and said with a dissatisfied look: "Isn't this the point?"

She said that when she attended a reunion of her dad’s classmates before, the other party didn’t say anything.

But this time, no matter what she said, that old man was unwilling to take them with him.

After all this time, you are just feeling sorry for your own money!
Well, besides feeling sorry for the money, it is possible that he also wants to get rid of her as the housekeeper.

Only then did Kogoro Mouri realize that he had let the cat out of the bag. He quickly covered his mouth, looking annoyed and cursing himself in his heart for speaking too quickly.

Seeing her father's annoyed look, Mao Lilan snorted lightly, her eyes rolled, and suddenly an idea came to her mind. She turned her head to look at Conan and said slyly: "Conan, I found that my father spent too much money on alcohol recently. How about we cut down on this part of the expenditure and give you the extra money as pocket money?"

Oh, the old man said that he was reluctant to take them because of financial constraints, which was certainly one of the reasons, but the real "trick" was probably that he was afraid that if she went, it would ruin his "romantic encounter" at the party.

Her father's little thoughts are almost written all over his face, and he still wants to hide it from her?

Moreover, the reason why her family's finances were tight was because of a guy who had no self-control and could not control his hands, squandering money on horse racing, cigarettes and alcohol.

If for no other reason than to "punish" her father's unreliable spending habits, she had to find a way to teach him a lesson this time!
Conan understood what she meant and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Okay, Sister Xiaolan!"

For him, betraying Kogoro Mori and standing on the same camp with Ran Mori did not feel any psychological pressure at all.

As for the question, is this too cruel to Kogoro Mori?
Sorry, in his heart, having the opportunity to enjoy the happiness of hot springs with his childhood sweetheart is much more important than considering the feelings of old man Kogoro Mouri.

After all, a dead Taoist friend will never die a poor Taoist.

For his welfare, it's okay to be cruel to Kogoro Mouri. It's better than watching the wonderful opportunity to go to a hot spring inn and bathe with your childhood sweetheart go to waste!

(End of this chapter)