Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

A figure slowly emerged from behind the beam of light.

She was wearing an elegant dark purple silk nightgown, her hair loosely tied back. She was Chi Bojinghua, who couldn't sleep and was strolling around the courtyard.

The girl frowned slightly, her face showing obvious confusion. Her gaze swept back and forth between Lin Xiuyi and Tomizawa Chikage, finally settling on their obviously pajamas and the dirt and grass clippings stuck to their clothes.

"Is it you?"

Ikeba Shizuka spoke, her voice calm, yet carrying a subtle hint of coldness and inquiry.
"It's so late...where have you two been?"

Her gaze lingered on Lin Xiuyi's face, as if waiting for a reasonable explanation.

Late at night, a man and a woman, dressed in pajamas, climbed back over the wall from outside...

No matter how you look at it, this is unusual.

"I……"

Lin Xiu looked down at herself: her pajamas were wrinkled, her trouser legs were covered in dust, and even a stubborn withered leaf clung to her cuff...

With that kind of appearance, if he said he went out for a walk in the middle of the night to enjoy the moonlight, even a three-year-old wouldn't believe him.

He opened his mouth, his brain racing, trying to come up with a reason that didn't sound too far-fetched.

Does he mean he was sleepwalking? Or that Tomizawa Chikage had a nightmare and he wanted to go for a walk with her?
They all seem pretty stupid.

Seeing that Lin Xiuyi was stuck, and in order to prevent her identity from being known by more people, Tomizawa Chikage suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Xiuyi's arm, even leaning her body slightly towards him.

At the same time, her face instantly switched to an expression that mixed shyness, reproach, and a little bit of annoyance at being caught in her "good deed."

"What could a man and a woman be doing sneaking out like this so late at night? You're just asking a question you already know the answer to!"

Her words were ambiguous yet pointed, and combined with her tightly holding Lin Xiuyi's arm, her slightly flushed cheeks, and the contrast brought by her cartoon pajamas, she instantly brought the "late-night rendezvous" to life.

Ikenami Shizuka clearly hadn't expected Tomizawa Chikage to give such a direct... even bold, answer.

Her gaze moved from Lin Xiuyi's embarrassed face to Tomizawa Chikage's "righteous" yet shy face, and finally settled on the two's arms tightly clasped together.

She didn't immediately believe it, or rather, she wasn't completely swayed by Tomizawa Chikage's acting skills.

Ikenami Shizuka ignored the boisterous Tomizawa Chikage and looked at Hayashi Shuichi again, asking in a calm but unavoidable tone:
"She means, you two... went on a date?"

She emphasized the word "date" slightly, looking directly into Lin Xiuyi's eyes, clearly wanting confirmation from him.

Lin Xiuyi felt uneasy under Chi Bojinghua's gaze and instinctively wanted to shake his head and deny it.

Are you kidding me? Him and Tomizawa Chikage?
Friends are friends, but this kind of misunderstanding is unacceptable!

Moreover, this lie is too easy to expose; there's no romantic atmosphere between them at all.
However, just as he was about to utter that "no"...

hiss!
A sharp pain shot through the soft flesh of my waist! It was Tomizawa Chikage!

Her hand, which was holding Lin Xiu's arm, had somehow quietly moved to his lower back. Two fingers precisely pinched a small piece of flesh and twisted it almost 180 degrees without any mercy!

"Ugh!" Lin Xiuyi gasped in pain, almost crying out.

He abruptly turned his head to glare at Tomizawa Chikage, but all he saw were her lowered eyelids, slightly trembling eyelashes, and a faint, threatening smile at the corner of her mouth.

The meaning couldn't be clearer: Dare to deny it and see what happens?
Under the dual pressure of "pain" and "justification," Lin Xiuyi could only swallow back the denial that was on the tip of her tongue.

"...Uh, well, you could call it...a date." Silence spread down the corridor, with only the beam of a flashlight steadily illuminating the awkward air between the three.

A few seconds later, Ikeba Shizuka finally spoke again, her voice still steady, but a few degrees colder than before.
"It seems I have disturbed you both."

Her gaze swept over the two of them.

"However, although this is the Ikenami family home, as the hosts, we never interfere too much with our guests' private...activities."

She paused, her gaze sweeping meaningfully over the "traces" from outdoors on Lin Xiuyi's body once more, her tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of sarcasm and admonition.
"If you two are... unable to control yourselves, you can certainly... take care of it in the room. The soundproofing in the rooms of this mansion is quite good. There's really no need... to climb over the wall and run out, getting covered in dust and mud. It wouldn't be good if you caught a cold or encountered any accident."

These words were quite blunt, even somewhat harsh.

After saying that, Ikeba Shizuka stopped looking at them and turned around. The beam of her flashlight drew an arc with her movement, illuminating the empty corridor in front of her.

She walked steadily toward her room, the hem of her purple robe brushing lightly against the wooden floor, and soon disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

Only the fading, rhythmic footsteps and the final, soft sound of the door closing announced her departure.

Only when the sound of Ikeba Shizuka's footsteps completely disappeared and the corridor was once again shrouded in darkness did Lin Xiuyi feel that he could breathe smoothly again.

He immediately shook off the hand that was still holding his, and rubbed his still throbbing waist with annoyance: "You hit too hard!"

Tomizawa Chikage completely ignored his complaints.

She crossed her arms, tilted her head, and looked in the direction where Chibo Jinghua had disappeared, a meaningful, slightly amused smile on her face.

"...It smells so sour."

The girl clicked her tongue, her tone teasing, and glanced back at Lin Xiuyi with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"This doesn't seem like they simply treat you like a younger brother or care about the safety of guests."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Lin Xiuyi rolled his eyes at Tomizawa Chikage in annoyance.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore."

Knowing when to stop, Tomizawa Chikage let out another big yawn as drowsiness washed over her again.

"I'm going to sleep now. I have important things to do tomorrow."

"good night!"

"good night!"

The two finally separated successfully and headed towards their respective rooms.

……

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the window, but Lin Xiuyi was still fast asleep.

"Boom boom boom, boom boom boom!"

A sudden, urgent knocking broke the silence of the room and startled Lin Xiuyi from her sleep.

He rubbed his sore eyes, yawned, and said in a grumpy voice, "Who is it? Knocking on the door so early." (End of Chapter)