He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

Thinking of this, Hotaru asked, "Miss Aida, have you really eaten?"

Masayo Aida paused for two seconds, then said, "No."

"I'm so sorry, I'll give you financial compensation. Ms. Aida, please take care and get some rest. Do you need to ask for leave?"

"Is the weekend tomorrow and the day after okay?"

"Of course, may I ask if you've been using this number all this time? To ensure you can go to work on Monday without worry, I'll try to get that Mr. Kurosawa to call and apologize to you."

"This is the number, thank you Mr. Shuiyue."

"I should be glad I hired a very good therapist. Goodbye."

Xiaolan bent down to hang up the phone, turned it off, and continued putting on her protective suit. After a moment, she was fully dressed, glanced around, and walked towards the riverbank.

"Let's get started."

Ying Sheng readily agreed, took the PXRF out of the trunk, closed the trunk lid, and walked down the sloping concrete riverbank with Xiao Lan. Halfway down, they entered a huge sewer outlet. The ground was covered with soft silt, and the water flowed only up to their ankles in their protective suits.

After testing the water quality and confirming it was good, Ying Sheng nodded to Xiao Lan, stepped forward, and casually asked:

"You don't think I'm too despicable, do you?"

"To be honest, a little."

Ran sighed softly, "But that's not why I'm not saying anything. Judging from Shinichi and Yukimatsu's behavior later on, they are definitely true love. Your scheming is only one aspect. Besides, you even told me about this, so what else can I say?"

"what is that?"

"It's just... sigh, it's just that I suddenly feel like time is passing so fast, and everything is different from before."

“That’s what growth is.”

"Yes, it's a kind of growth that leaves me speechless."

What kind of future did you originally envision?

"Go to school and come home normally, find opportunities to go on dates with Shinichi, and try to establish a relationship with him before graduating from high school, because I'm worried that we won't be in the same school for college."

After graduating from university, I will find a job and marry him after working for about a year or two. Before that, I will persuade my parents to reconcile, hoping that they will be as loving as ever at my wedding, jointly approve of my choice, and send their blessings to me and Shinichi for our future.

That's roughly it.

Ying Sheng nodded: "It's a very good idea, vague and beautiful, just like a fairy tale."

Xiaolan rolled her eyes: "Shuiyue-kun is saying that my ideas are too unrealistic, right?"

"Perhaps, I think you should have your own judgment by now."

"Yes, so you were just too naive."

Ran sighed softly: "In the future I originally envisioned, everything revolved around Shinichi. Now I know that's not right."

With this attitude, if I were to actually establish a relationship with him, he would probably only become more and more obsessed with me, with his mind and eyes completely consumed by me.

He enjoys deduction, solving cases, and pursuing the truth, which makes me worry about him, and makes him hesitant because of my worries.

It would be very painful for both of them to live together.

Considering Shinichi's personality, to avoid worrying me and to prevent me from holding him back, he'll probably keep everything from me, just like the previous incidents.

But the fact that he's hiding this from me only makes me more worried. I feel guilty for not being able to help him, and I even start to have wild thoughts, like he's cheating on me or something.

"excuse me."

Ying Sheng asked, "Question: When did John H. Watson begin his memoir?"

Xiao Lan thought for a moment: "Is it the opening of 'A Study in Scarlet'? In 1878, he received his medical doctorate from the University of London."

"Further question: On the evening of March 20, 1888, Holmes thought Watson was very suitable for marriage. Why?"

Xiao Lan pondered for a long time. The sewer was silent except for the dripping water and the sound of their footsteps as they waded through it.

As a small gray mouse squeaked across the back of her foot, she finally looked up and spoke somewhat uncertainly:

"Is it because he's gained weight?"

Ying Sheng pressed further, "How much weight has he gained?"

"This... seven and a half pounds?"

"It's seven pounds."

Ying Sheng finally laughed: "Xiao Lan, I didn't expect you to actually go see Sherlock Holmes. Doesn't that mean your self-blame for not being able to help him in your vision of the future doesn't hold water? Kudo would be very happy if he knew about this."

Xiaolan turned her head to look at Yingsheng. Although the light was dim, her strange gaze was still evident.

"Who do you think I read detective novels for? You should know, I really hate them."

Hotaru was slightly taken aback: "Isn't it for Kudo?"

Xiaolan sighed softly: "Are you pretending to be stupid? Shuiyue-kun, of course it's because of you."

Chapter 213 Xiaolan Takes the Initiative and Confirms Yingsheng's Feelings

"Me?" Ying Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"Although Mizuki-kun says he's not interested in reasoning, he's actually very good at it, especially in seeing the big picture from small details, which always manages to scare people."

Xiaolan sighed softly: "On Monday night you told me not to be too superficial in my thinking, and on Tuesday noon you told me to take initiative. How should I put it..."

Like a teacher giving earnest guidance, yet also with a sense of disappointment and frustration.

You've been helping me all this time, without asking for anything in return. I'm wondering what if I perform poorly and you find me unworthy of your guidance?

I have to put in some effort, I can't really let you down.

In the dim world, Ying Sheng's face was not clearly visible, and his already dark and deep eyes were now even more integrated with the darkness.

Xiaolan looked into the darkness and smiled sweetly: "How was it? Did I meet Teacher Shuiyue's expectations even slightly?"

"Ah…"

Ying Sheng chuckled: "Not bad, but the direction is off."

"Eh? What?"

"Striving to avoid losing my attention—isn't that still living for the gaze of others? I've always believed that the ultimate goal of a person's existence is to pursue the fulfillment of their own soul, followed by the pursuit of a higher level of happiness, and then..."

"But I'm very happy about this."

Xiao Lan interrupted.

"Happy?" Ying Sheng asked in confusion. "Didn't you say you hated mystery novels? What's so happy about forcing yourself to read them?"

“But isn’t that how learning is? I used to hate going to class and thought teachers were awful, but later when I actually needed the skills, I would regret not studying harder.” Xiaolan chuckled. “And after I actually read Sherlock Holmes, I found that I didn’t hate it that much, and I quickly became immersed in it.”

"why is that?"

Ying Sheng asked curiously, "Just like you said you didn't want to go to class, you haven't even started working yet, so you probably haven't had any regrets, right? It feels like you're just making a fuss over nothing, and this kind of forced argument won't convince me."

Xiaolan shook her head: "Absolutely not."

Regarding the class, didn't I already know about the Minamata disease incident? As for mystery novels...

The main reason is that the only detectives I was familiar with before were Shinichi and my dad. When I read a mystery novel, I would subconsciously think of them and connect them to my daily life.

Shinichi abandons our date to solve cases, and when I try to chat with him, he always acts like Sherlock Holmes; Dad is drunk all the time and can't get any big cases, and once he even messed up a case while investigating someone's infidelity.

Ah, all sorts of unpleasant emotions just surfaced.

But it is different now.

I've met you, Shuiyue-kun.

Although you won't compete with Shinichi or face him head-on, you explained your reasoning process to me step by step. Compared to Shinichi's approach of leaving me completely confused from beginning to end, your explanations left a much deeper impression on me.

I thought to myself, "So this is what a detective is like. So this is how a detective thinks."

Ok……

When I read detective novels with this in mind, I wonder how Mizuki would think and act if he were in Sherlock Holmes's shoes.

Can you do better than him?

Do you approve of his conduct and attitude towards criminals?

And just like that, without even realizing it, I was engrossed in it.

Xiao Lanhu's blue eyes sparkled with a bright luster, standing out even in complete darkness.

Ying Sheng looked at that radiance and smiled gently, but it did not illuminate the darkness after all. Apart from her, the world remained a chaotic void, stretching to infinity.

"Interesting idea, but it makes me feel even more that you're actually a hopeless romantic."

"Hmph, so what?"

A fleeting sense of disappointment welled up inside her, and Xiaolan chuckled, "I can't be sure about other aspects, but in terms of daily life and interpersonal relationships, Shuiyue is far superior to Holmes. Besides, Holmes uses cocaine, and sometimes..."

"Stop."

Ying Sheng chuckled: "I mean, you're not going to become a Sherlock Holmes fan from now on, are you? Besides, as a professional detective, he's already quite charismatic as long as he excels at reasoning and solving cases; everything else is just minor details."

Furthermore, cocaine was not a prohibited drug in the 1880s; it was even added to Coca-Cola at the time. It was only after the UK passed the Dangerous Drugs Act in 1920 that it began to be strictly controlled.

"……Oh."

Xiao Lan sounded listless.

After a period of silence, Ying Sheng finally spoke again: "I actually don't like you acting in a way that's meant to please others. You should put yourself in the spotlight more. Constantly seeking attention from others makes you an easy target for manipulation."

Xiaolan was silent for a few moments: "So, according to you, if I don't want to please you, should I just completely ignore what you said?"

"Haha not bad."

Ying Sheng smiled and said, "There are all sorts of great principles in this world, and many of them are contradictory. You can listen to them all, but you can't do them all. Which part you choose to believe and which path you choose to take is entirely up to your own heart."

"What is the meaning of Mizuki-kun's teachings?"

"My expectations are only my expectations; how you grow is your own business. They are two different things. Is there a problem?"

"...I can barely understand it, but..."

Xiaolan hesitated for a long time before saying, "Shuiyue-jun's attitude is too casual. Has he never been persistent about anything?"