Ms. Moriarty wants to save Beika Town today too.

Sonoko's eyes wandered from Winnet to Xiaoai, "By the way, Miss Winnet, she is the girl who was left at Xiaolan's house last time, right? I remember her name was Hui..."

Xiao Ai said coldly: "Graybara."

"Yes, Huibara." Sonoko looked at Winnett, "Did Dr. Agasa ask you to take care of her again this time? You are such an irresponsible parent."

"Didn't I also tell you last time when I was with Xiaolan...Actually, Professor Agasa and I are neighbors."

Although they were separated by half a path and only a few dozen meters, they should still be considered neighbors, Winette thought about it for a moment.

At this time, Ai had already walked up the stairs, leaving Sonoko and Winnet looking at each other.

"Miss Winnet, you are really in trouble to be asked to take care of such a troublesome child. By the way, why is she living in the doctor's house? Is there something wrong with her parents?"

Winette answered hesitantly: "In fact, her parents have passed away, and they happen to be relatives and good friends of Dr. Agasa..."

"So this is ah……"

After hearing this, Sonoko looked apologetic. Winnett felt that Sonoko seemed to attribute Ai's "weird personality" to this reason, and looked at her from behind with a somewhat sympathetic expression. If Ai herself had discovered this, she would probably ask her "what did you say to that girl?"

She and Yuanzi no longer stopped on the stairs, but turned around the thick wooden handrail at the top and walked out onto the corridor.

There are dozens of scattered rooms on both sides of the corridor. Xiao Ai has walked to the middle of the corridor and opened one of the doors.

"Oh, sorry." The moment Xiao Ai opened the door, she immediately closed it, then looked at Winnett at the stairs and explained, "I thought no one would choose the room on the shady side..."

Winnet understood what Ai meant. They were coming from the sunny slope, and the other half of the room faced the shady side of the mountain - covered with vegetation - and it was difficult for sunlight to penetrate during the day. To be honest, she did not agree with this choice. As Ai's lover, she had to remind her even if she was labeled as "nagging" - if she didn't get enough sun exposure, her body would lack calcium and become more damp.

Sonoko didn't care about Xiaoai's actions. She told Winnet to follow her and led them to a room on the sunny side. The moment she opened the door, Sonoko turned back and gave her a questioning look.

"Miss Winnet, is she sharing a room with you? To be honest, the rooms on the second floor are a bit tight," Sonoko explained.

Although there are idle rooms on the first floor, the furnishings and layout inside are not suitable for living in, and they are not cleaned well. Since the second floor is occupied by rooms such as bathrooms, there are not many rooms available as guest rooms.

"The other half really doesn't get any sunlight, so I think it's better to leave it unused," Sonoko said with an apologetic look, "Xiaolan will come over later, so I have to reserve a room for her." Then, as if she remembered a joke, she said, "I guess that little eyed brat will come with us, so let Xiaolan and him share a room - regular configuration!"

"It's a reasonable arrangement to have someone to look after the child," Winette smiled and responded to Sonoko's statement, "It's okay. I was originally planning to live in the same room with Ai, and I can live in a sunny room, which is great."

Sonoko also happily told Ai that she would listen to Winnet, and then went downstairs to wait for Xiaolan who had not arrived yet.

Winnett pressed the handle of the silver cylinder, smiled at Xiao Ai who was muttering "bad taste", and waited for Xiao Ai to enter the room first. The room was very clean and empty, without any extra decorations. There were two double beds with brand new dark green mattresses near the French window. Winnett opened the drawer of the bedside table, the inside of the small chandelier, the bottom of the bed, and finally opened the French window.

"No matter how hard you look, there's no way there's a bug, or a living person hiding in here," Xiao Ai stared at Winnett and said, "Is this an occupational disease?"

Winnet stood by the window, her hair blown by the wind. She turned her head and said, "Just taking a look. Staying alert is also the secret to living a long life. Another one is - never take risks."

Xiao Ai didn't take it seriously, closed her eyes and said, "Never take risks? I think you are just licking blood on the edge of a knife. You were just a crazy girl before."

Winnet shrugged. She knew that she was not as good as Ai in speaking, and being called like that by Ai in her current appearance made her feel very uneasy, even though she was older than Ai now and in the past.

Winnet packed her luggage for a while. They didn't bring much: one or two sets of clothes, toiletries, and some common medicines. She also found bottles of skin care products in Xiaoai's luggage. After placing these things neatly on the cabinet opposite the bed, Winnet walked to the window sill. Standing in front of the window sill, she could see the suspension bridge they passed when they came.

"Eh?"

When Xiao Ai heard Winnet's voice, she glanced sideways and asked, "What's wrong?"

Winnet was facing the late afternoon sun from the window, but she couldn't see clearly. She saw two figures, one big and one small, appearing at the bridge head - most likely Xiaolan and Conan, but there was another strange person on the other side of the bridge. The person was wearing a black robe in the sun, and his face seemed to be wrapped in something, with a sneaky look. Winnet had looked at the map when she came here, and it was at least two miles away from the nearby inhabited areas.

Could he be a participant in this party as well? Someone brought by other members of the Film Research Society?

Winnett looked thoughtful and replied, "I saw a strange figure around the villa. He didn't look like someone who was attending the party."

“Could it be a nearby resident?”

"I don't think so. The nearest residence is more than an hour's walk away, and his attire is strange."

"Can you still see the outfit clearly? You didn't see a few blurry blocks of color and mistook him for a potential criminal with suspicious behavior?" Xiao Ai walked to Winnet's side and saw Xiao Lan crossing the bridge through the window. She pressed one hand on the surface of the glass and gave Winnet a "don't worry" expression. She said, "This kind of desolate mountains and wilderness, even the organization's power can't reach it. If you are more worried than I am, I don't mind having one more person sleeping next to me."

drop!

Miss Winnett became alert.

Sleeping in the same bed with Xiao Ai...

No, just to the extent of sharing a bed.

Winnett couldn't help but think wildly for a moment. Xiao Ai saw Winnett's shy look and smiled. She pulled half of the curtain and pulled Winnett's sleeve.

"Now that we have packed our things and the girl has arrived, it's almost time to go downstairs." Ai walked to the door, opened it and said, "Although I think it's unlikely, but since Kudo Shinichi, the scourge star, has followed us, maybe you really saw a potential criminal with suspicious behavior... This is really a miscalculation. It's obviously a hard-earned vacation."

"Ah..." Winette scratched her cheek with her fingers. She didn't expect Xiaolan and Conan to show up. It was too coincidental. "There shouldn't be any necessary connection. Maybe it's just that I've been unlucky recently. I didn't expect Yuanzi to come and even invite Xiaolan... It's not good to be superstitious about witchcraft. We can just ignore Conan and enjoy this trip to the villa."

"hope so."

Xiao Ai walked out the door with a "no hope" expression on her face.

Winette was a little doubtful about this. Could it be that Kudo Shinichi really had a calamity-prone constitution? After all, there were more than one "superstitious things" in the world.

She caught up with Ai and walked down the paper boat-shaped stairs, just in time to see Sonoko answering the door.

Sonoko, who had been waiting for Xiaolan, watched from the window for a long time. When she boiled the water and returned to the window on the first floor, she saw Xiaolan and Conan crossing the bridge.

This really made her wait!

Yuanzi opened the door with a slight displeasure, gave a slightly reproachful look, and said, "Why are you so slow? Where have you been?"

Xiaolan, who was carrying Conan, smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Sonoko."

"We finally had the chance to invite you to our villa, but you were late. What a shame!" Sonoko complained, looking down at Conan wearing a little red hat, and said in a tone of "disappointment", "You finally brought him here."

Sonoko put her hands behind her back, bent down, and said to Conan: "Conan, why don't you feel embarrassed?"

Conan smiled awkwardly. He didn't want to come, but his uncle happened to be busy and he was also worried about Xiaolan being alone. He chuckled in his heart. It was not Sonoko's turn to teach him a lesson anyway.

Yuanzi put her hands on her hips and said in annoyance, "You can't have a romantic relationship with this brat around!"

"fall in love?"

"Yes, we came here today just to meet some nice boys!" Yuanzi put her left hand over her right hand, interlaced her fingers, and showed a love face looking forward to a wonderful encounter. "Here, we can have a romantic love with them surrounded by nature!" After saying this, Yuanzi immediately thought of something and added: "Besides, we already have a strong enemy. If we don't take the initiative, I'm afraid we will become a foil!"

Conan, who was watching from the sidelines, complained in his heart about Sonoko's behavior, but felt strange when he heard the second half. At this time, Winette appeared behind Sonoko.

Winnett naturally heard what Sonoko said. While Sonoko was describing this, she also felt Ai's gaze, then slowly raised her finger, pointed at herself and asked: "Could it be that the powerful enemy is referring to me?"

……

ps: Thank you readers for reminding me of the bug. It has been fixed. It was the author's carelessness.

268 Dark Clouds

"So you have self-awareness?"

"Uh……"

Winnet choked on Ai's comment.

"Someone who is fair-skinned and beautiful, at the right age for marriage, not only has a lot of wealth but also has a good reputation... at least that's what it looks like on the surface, isn't it?"

Winnett felt a rare strong embarrassment and shrank her neck. There were two other girls in front of her, and she always felt that this topic was not appropriate, but Xiao Ai didn't seem to have such concerns, and no one felt suspicious of her words.

In fact, the three of them gradually got used to Ai's "maturity", or that was their first impression.

Conan looked at Haibara with dead eyes. Even when facing someone he liked, his mouth was still as merciless as ever!

Winnet pursed her lips and said, "I don't have that idea, please don't worry about me..."

Ai thought to herself that Winnet still didn't get the point. She had a strong influence just standing here: it made people around her less interested in other girls. However, Ai was not worried. The people who came to the party today had met on the ship to Japan five years ago. At that time, Winnet showed her "pious side" - saying that she would not get married. Moreover, judging from Winnet's sensitive performance at that time, she was a woman with a strong opinion - this might not please Japanese men. Anyway, even if they liked her, it would be useless because she would not loosen a finger.

"Since I said so myself, you have to work harder, Xiaolan!"

"What? I need to cheer up!"

I don't know how to do it, but I'm sure you'll do it for a long time.

Xiaolan uttered a scolding sound.

However, Sonoko was in high spirits, and Xiaolan was also infected, and did not have too much resistance. She cooperated with Sonoko and walked towards the stairs. Sonoko saw that everyone was there, and said that she would go to help Ayako in the kitchen to prepare afternoon tea. Winette heard this and expressed her intention to help, but Sonoko refused with "You are guests." So Winette and Xiaoai took on another task - to guide Xiaolan to find the last empty room. As soon as they caught up with Xiaolan and the others, they saw her retreating from someone's room with a red face, in a panic.

"I know the location of the empty room. Come with us." Xiao Ai saw Xiao Lan's reckless behavior at a glance. She had done the same thing before. Although the reason was based on some common sense, the result was the same. "It's the third room from the left. Don't make a mistake."

After that, Ai sent Winnet down to help with some plating work, just like a reliable organizer. Winnet was happy to see this, which meant that Ai was well integrated into this trip. She walked downstairs, followed the source of the sound to the kitchen, and knocked on the door frame gently, making a sound. Ayako was wearing thick baking gloves, and when she saw Winnet, she smiled in surprise.

"Ah, didn't I tell you that you don't need to help, Miss Winnet? I wanted to give my sister a surprise!"

Yuanzi, who was carrying a teapot, complained.

"Sorry, Sonoko. I showed Ran and the others to their room. Ai is enough, so I thought I'd better help with the preparations. As soon as I smelled the aroma, I knew it was going to be a delicious afternoon tea."

"It's not as exaggerated as you say," Ayako took out the baked cookies, "When we were studying cooking together, you were the 'excellent student'."

Winette smiled helplessly and helped Sonoko place the tea set on the tray. In the five years since Ai returned to her country, she has also tried to maintain her current image. She attended a cooking class at the invitation of Ayako, thinking that she could hide her skills in front of Ai, but she never had the opportunity to cook for her. Although she has reduced her contact with Ayako recently, the main reason is just as Sonoko has been promoting all day long - her sister is recruiting marriage partners.

"By the way, where is the girl with you, Winnet?" Ayako suddenly asked, "Since we met on the ship, I haven't seen you two together again... I remember you said that she was going to study at a university in Japan, right?"

"Yes, but she is very busy. She hasn't contacted me for a long time, as you should know. She has to deal with academic issues such as research topics and supervisors. She also chose a short-term training program, which shortened the school year by nearly half. She is probably busy with her thesis all the time. Well, let's talk about today." Winnett didn't plan to continue talking about Ai. She was already here, and her time as "Shirley" was over. Winnett changed the subject, "Could it be that Ayako is interested in one of them?"

Ayako denied it flatly. She looked at the smiling Sonoko with a helpless expression. It was obvious who spread the rumor of "recruiting marriage partners". Sonoko had a lively personality and was very interested in the topic of love. This time, it was Sonoko who wanted to get to know them and see if there were any good candidates for love. However, Ayako didn't think it would succeed - Sonoko was a girl who was quite obsessed with looks.

After the cookies were taken out of the oven and cooled slightly, Winnet and Yuanzi placed them on a plate, covered them with a white cloth to prevent the heat from escaping, and then prepared tea for the number of people, and placed the prepared tea snacks in the dining room - a long table like the one used by aristocratic families. At this time, they sent Yuanzi to call everyone in the room upstairs, and soon everyone gathered on this long table, blowing the hot steam from the black tea.

"Oh, our protagonist hasn't seen us for a long time!"

Hiroki Kakutani showed up with a handheld camera and pointed it at Winnett who had just sat down. Hearing what he said, Sonoko looked like she had smelled gossip, and Ran and Conan also became interested.

Huiyuan, who was sitting next to Winnett, said suddenly, "With her as the protagonist - or so it seems, there was a half-finished short film shot."

"Eh!" Conan was very surprised, "Why do you know so much?"

Xiao Ai realized that she had let the cat out of the bag, so she pretended to be indifferent and said bluntly: "Of course she told me. The reason she attended this party was because of this accidental encounter. As someone she invited, there is no reason for me not to know, right?"

Conan choked up and stopped talking.

"I only heard that you met on the ship, but I have never heard of making a movie," Sonoko asked in great surprise, "What is going on?"

Hiroki Kakutani saw Sonoko's curious look, put down the camera in front of his eyes, and said with a smile: "I have specially prepared it for this party! But, that girl and that foreign gentleman are not here?"

If it weren't for inviting Ai, Winnet felt that she should have brought her along. However, a holiday without any work arrangements was also a time to relax for Clyde. She had mentioned this before, but he made it clear that he had no interest in the party - Winnet saw that he had a new tie, so maybe he was going on a date on the weekend.

Come to think of it, she came here with Ai, so it could be considered a date.

"They were all busy... Clyde had a date at the weekend and declined."

"Dating!"

Sonoko was very sensitive to this word. She also knew Clyde, who often appeared as Winnet's driver. "They could have come together. What a pity! However, it is also exciting to be able to see a movie starring Miss Winnet!"

Ayako looked at Sonoko and said, "Then let's watch it together at night."

Winette looked at Ayako gratefully. She was not one with a "star mentality". If this topic continued, she would probably want to die - this was far more distressing to her than being exposed to the enemy's shooting range.

"Then let's talk about your affairs in the club, sister."

Sonoko also sensed Winette's embarrassment and followed Ayako's words to change the subject.

"So you're all from the same club!"

Xiaolan looked surprised. She had not heard of this when she accepted Sonoko's invitation.

"Yes! They are all members of my sister's university film research club." Sonoko stood up from her seat and said, "The five of them have a very good relationship, so they get together every two years."

"Next to Xiaolan, it is Brother Ota who will be the main director."

The handsome Ota Masaru wore a green hat on his forehead, which was very beautiful.

"Next to him is Brother Kakutani who is in charge of photography."

Hiroki Kakutani, with a middle-parted hairstyle, raised the camera again, looked in the direction of Xiaolan and greeted her.

"Next is Brother Takahashi who is in charge of the big props."

"Hello."

The fat and kind-hearted Takahashi Ryoichi smiled naively.

"I'm sorry, I was rude just now..."

Xiaolan apologized to the three people. Before Xiaoai caught up with her, she had rashly opened their room and forgot about knocking on the door. Faced with this embarrassing situation, she placed her hands on her chest with her palms facing outwards and shook them gently.

"Nothing!"

The three of them said in unison.

"Well, what's going on?"

Sonoko looked confused and asked Xiaolan.

"Nothing! Nothing!"