Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Lin Xiuyi was somewhat surprised when she opened the door.

Standing outside the door was Tomizawa Chikage.

The girl was still dressed in her signature outfit: a white short-sleeved T-shirt, dark blue hot pants, revealing a pair of long, straight legs.

She carried a canvas backpack, her hands behind her back, and wore a sly smile, like a cat that had just successfully stolen a fish.

"Why are you here?" Lin Xiu asked instinctively.

Chikage Tomizawa raised an eyebrow: "Can't I come?"

After speaking, without waiting for Lin Xiuyi's reply, the girl skillfully squeezed past him and into the house.
“I came here yesterday, but Kogoro told me that you took your apprentice out, so I can only come again today.”

As she spoke, Tomizawa Chikage walked into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, her movements so practiced that it seemed as if this were her second home.

"Would you like some water?" Lin Xiuyi walked towards the refrigerator.

"You're welcome." Tomizawa Chikage waved her hand, but her eyes remained fixed on him. "Why do you look so tired?"

"How can you not be tired playing with kids?" Lin Xiuyi replied simply, took a bottle of water from the refrigerator, unscrewed it, and took a sip.

The cool liquid slid down my throat, slightly relieving my fatigue.

Tomizawa Chikage didn't press further. Instead, she smiled and pulled something out of her pocket—a neatly folded piece of paper.

She held it between two fingers and waved it in front of Lin Xiuyi: "Look what this is?"

Lin Xiuyi's gaze fell on the piece of paper. Although it was folded, he could tell it was a check.
"Were those three ancient paintings sold?"

"Ah."

Tomizawa Chikage nodded smugly and spread the check out on the bar counter.

The neatly printed numbers above made Lin Xiuyi raise an eyebrow slightly: 12,750,000 yen.

"Three ancient paintings sold for over 500 million."

Chikage Tomizawa's tone was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
"I have already distributed most of the money to the victims of the fire that occurred a thousand days ago."

The girl paused, her fingers lightly tapping the check.

"The remaining ten million or so will naturally be our payment, so let's just split it 50/50."

Lin Xiuyi looked at the check, remained silent for a few seconds, and then shook her head: "Keep it, I don't need it."

These words froze the smile on Tomizawa Chikage's face.

She opened her eyes wide, as if she had heard something unbelievable: "Hey, don't pretend to be a gentleman at a time like this."

The girl smiled wryly, her tone laced with teasing, but also with a hint of barely perceptible displeasure.

"We're a pair of phantom thieves, isn't it normal to rob the rich and give to the poor and keep some money for ourselves? It's the rule of the trade, and it's also compensation for the risks we take."

Tomizawa Chikage leaned forward, her hands resting on the sofa, looking directly into Hayashi Hideichi's eyes.
“You’re not going to say, ‘I’m doing this for justice, not for money,’ are you? Please, this isn’t a comic book.”

Lin Xiuyi was about to argue that she didn't think that way.

He certainly didn't do those things for the money, but he understood that Tomizawa Chikage had a point.

Risks need to be compensated; that's the rule of the underworld.

However, just as he was about to speak, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

The Ogiwara family's auto repair shop.

He remembered the image of Ogiwara Chisato washing her face in that factory filled with the smell of engine oil; he remembered her and her brother assembling bicycles themselves to save money.

I recall Matsuda Jotaro telling me privately that the Ogiwara family's auto repair shop was having a cash flow problem recently because of a batch of overpriced parts and the loss of several major customers.

This sum of over ten million is clearly not enough to cover the repair shop's financial losses.

A predicament of that scale might require tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve completely.

However, this money can at least help the Ogiwara family get through their current difficulties, giving them time to find new customers and adjust their business strategy.

With this money, Ogiwara Chisato might not have to work until late at night every day.
Kenji Ogihara might not have to give photos as birthday gifts to his friends because of a reduction in his allowance.
The girl who always tries so hard to keep smiling can finally breathe a sigh of relief...

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuyi almost subconsciously reached out his hand: "Then give it to me."

This sudden change startled Chikage Tomizawa.
Her hand was still on the check, her eyes fixed on Lin Xiuyi's outstretched hand, a suspicious expression on her face.

"Hey, why did you change your mind so quickly?"

The girl's voice was full of suspicion, and her gaze was so sharp it seemed she could see right through Lin Xiu.

"You just said you didn't need it, but now you're in a hurry to get it..."

She paused, as if she had thought of something, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"He wouldn't be thinking of using this money to win over some girl, would he?"

Lin Xiuyi's hand froze in mid-air, feeling a sense of frustration.

Are women's intuitions all that accurate? Or is Tomizawa Chikage particularly adept at reading people's minds?
"It's not about trying to please."

Lin Xiuyi withdrew her hand, trying her best to make her voice sound natural.
“I just remembered that a friend needed help. Her family’s auto repair shop has been having financial difficulties lately, and although this money isn’t much, it can at least help them out in the short term.”

"Oh? A friend?"

Tomizawa Chikage drew out her words, her eyes still fixed on Lin Xiuyi, her tone laced with a hint of teasing.

"What kind of friend could make you change your mind so quickly, make you abandon your so-called 'principles,' and be so eager to use this money to help her?"

"Your friend must be very beautiful, right? Do Eri and the others know?"

“She’s just a little girl, only slightly older than Reiko,” Lin Xiuyi said helplessly. “What are you thinking?”

"Tsk tsk, a little older than Reiko," Tomizawa Chikage said with a look of disdain for scum.

"Fine, I don't want it anymore, okay?" Lin Xiuyi withdrew her hand in annoyance.

Tomizawa Chikage didn't respond immediately. She stared at Lin Xiuyi for a while, her expression complex.

Then, she suddenly laughed—not the sly laugh from before, but a more meaningful laugh.
"I can give you all of this money, but you have to agree to one condition."

"Here we go again..." Lin Xiuyi had a headache. "Do all you girls like to play like this?"

Three girls had already said similar things to him, and Lin Xiuyi never expected to hear it a fourth time.

"Just tell me if you agree or not!" Tomizawa Chikage pretended to take back the check.

“Okay, I agree,” Lin Xiuyi could only nod. “As for the specific details of the conditions, we’ll have to wait until you remember them later, right?”

“…You’re really good at this,” Tomizawa Chikage said, pursing her lips. “I haven’t even told you yet, and you already know.”

Despite saying that, the girl still slipped the check into Lin Xiuyi's hand.
"Take it. Since your 'friend' is short of money, I'll lend her mine for now." (End of Chapter)