Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"That's right! Don't you see who I am?"

Kogoro Mouri proudly tossed his head, then proceeded to quote extensively from classical texts.
"Isn't there a famous saying that love makes people... um?"

Halfway through his sentence, Kogoro Mori suddenly realized the subtext of Hideaki Hayashi's words and immediately began to complain.

"Hey! What do you mean by that? Did I used to be stupid?!"

Just as the two brothers were teasing and bickering with each other, the restaurant door was pushed open from the outside for the fourth time.

"Squeak-"

The sound of the door hinges turning interrupted their conversation.

The person who entered was exactly as Kogoro Mouri had guessed—it was Yukiko.

She was holding a fluffy, soft-looking pillow and a fine fleece blanket in her arms, her face bearing a slightly arrogant expression that said, "I'm here to bestow a favor."

However, as soon as she walked in, her gaze instinctively turned towards Lin Xiuyi, and she was about to put the things she was carrying on his simple "chair bed" when she suddenly stopped.

Her gaze was fixed on the two blankets covering Lin Xiuyi.

Yukiko's slight arrogance vanished instantly, replaced by an expression that mixed surprise, dissatisfaction, and intense jealousy.

Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, her red lips pouted slightly, and her tone was sarcastic, carrying a questioning undertone:

"Huh? Where did this come from?"

She pointed at the two blankets, her gaze sharp as she looked at Lin Xiuyi.

"Who else has been here before me?!"

Her tone was exactly like that of a wife who had caught her husband cheating.

"This……"

Lin Xiuyi thought to himself, "They're here," but remained outwardly calm.

His reaction was lightning fast, almost without hesitation. His gaze, very "naturally" and with a hint of helplessness, glanced at Kogoro Mouri, who was listening intently to the performance, and instantly shifted the blame onto him.

"Oh, this is what Ruri brought to Kogoro just now. She took two extra items with her, and Kogoro saw that I was short of some, so he gave me two."

He spoke of it casually, as if it were simply the truth.

"Kogoro?!"

Yukiko immediately turned her scrutinizing gaze to Kogoro Mouri, her eyes filled with suspicion.
"Is what Xiuyi said true? Did Liuli really bring these two blankets?"

Kogoro Mouri felt a pang of guilt under Yukiko's gaze. He glanced helplessly at his good friend Shuichi Hayashi, who had an "it's none of my business" expression, and sighed inwardly, "It's me again!"

But since things had come to this point, in order not to make matters more complicated, he could only bite the bullet, force a simple, honest smile, nod vigorously, and accept this heavy burden of blame.
"No, that's right! Yukiko, when Ruri got me the pillow and blanket just now, she took two extra and gave them to Shuichi."

His explanation sounded somewhat dry, but combined with his seemingly "not very bright" honest appearance, it actually added to his credibility.

"That girl, Ruri!" Upon hearing this, Yukiko believed it to be about 70-80% true. She immediately pouted and began to complain.
"She really disgraced us girls! We agreed to stand together, no one was allowed to send you anything, and we were going to teach you a lesson! How could she soften so quickly! Her stance is so wavering! She's practically a traitor! I thought she could hold out a little longer..."

She berated Liuli in a serious manner, her tone indignant.

However, halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized that her current actions also made her a "traitor" who had secretly come to deliver the item.

If you complain like this, aren't you insulting yourself as well?

A fleeting hint of embarrassment crossed Yukiko's face.

She quickly coughed, abruptly changing the subject in an attempt to cover up her double standards:
"Ahem! Well... although you really went too far today, deceiving our feelings and making us worry for nothing, it's only right that you teach us a lesson!"

She first emphasized Lin Xiuyi's "crimes," then changed the subject...
"However... it is a bit much for Miss Ikenami to ask you to sleep in the restaurant. There isn't even a decent bed here. What if you catch a cold at night?"

As she spoke, she placed the pillow and blanket she had brought on Lin Xiuyi's chair, folding them over the two blankets.

Then, she began to find excuses for her "violations," and skillfully started to complain about others:

"Actually, I originally wanted to plead for you!"

She adopted a "I'm a good person" attitude.
"I already told the girl with glasses that a light punishment would be enough; there's no need to make you sleep in the restaurant like that. But..."

Her tone became more forceful, and a helpless expression appeared on her face.

"It's all because of the girl with glasses! She insisted on it, saying she wanted to teach you a lesson! She was very determined! I had no choice but to 'reluctantly' agree to her plan... Sigh, you know how she is, once she gets stubborn, no one can persuade her."

Yukiko seized the opportunity to launch into a tirade against Eri Kisaki, attempting to transfer Hayashi Shuichi's resentment onto Eri while simultaneously cultivating a positive image of herself as "kind-hearted" and "having tried but failed."

"That girl with glasses is not only flat-chested, but also petty and holds grudges!"

Yukiko counted on her fingers, speaking with great seriousness.
"You went too far this time, she'll definitely hold a grudge for a long time! You'd better watch out! Unlike me, I'm only angry for a little while and then I forget about it, I'm so magnanimous..."

She was talking non-stop, completely unaware that there seemed to be some extremely subtle, suppressed noise coming from the direction of the dining table.

……

Beneath the dining table, a completely different "lively" scene was already unfolding.

Reiko, Midori Orikasa, and Chikage Tomizawa listened intently to Yukiko's "performance" outside.

When Yukiko said, "That girl with glasses is not only flat-chested, but also petty," Reiko, who was curled up at the very back, couldn't help but cover her mouth, her shoulders trembling slightly as she laughed silently, her little face full of agreement.

She and Eri had been vying for their brother's attention and affection for over a decade, and were now like oil and water. Hearing someone so accurately criticize Eri, she couldn't agree more!
Meanwhile, Midori Orikasa, who was squatting next to Reiko, frowned slightly.

Although she also had some respect for Eri-senpai, she felt that it was inappropriate for Yukiko to speak ill of others behind their backs like that.

Midori Orikasa leaned close to Chikage Tomizawa's ear and whispered in an almost inaudible voice, "I remember... when the decision was made to punish senpai, Yukiko-senpai seemed to be all for it, right?"

"And just now outside, her opposition to us sending things was quite firm..." (End of Chapter)