I'm in Detective Conan, and I start with the Grand Theft Auto system.

Just after four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was no longer so strong on the streets of Beika Town, and the wind carried a bit of the evening coolness.

Ran ran back from Teitan High School with her schoolbag on her back, a thin layer of sweat beading on her forehead.

She first turned into the building where the Mouri Detective Agency was located, climbed up to the third floor, went back to her bedroom, opened the door, put her schoolbag on the table, took out the maid outfit that was hanging in the closet, and then turned around and went downstairs.

She crossed the street and pushed open the door of café 221B.

The wind chimes on the door jingled crisply, as if welcoming her.

The coffee shop was lit with a warm, soft yellow light, and the air was filled with the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans, mixed with a hint of freshly baked cookies.

There were quite a few customers in the afternoon. Two young women were chatting by the window, a middle-aged man was wearing headphones and looking at his computer at the bar, and an old man was flipping through a magazine in the corner.

Akemi was standing behind the bar wiping the steam wand of the coffee machine. When she saw Ran come in, she looked up and smiled at her: "Ran's here! Was it hot on the way here today?"

Xiaolan smiled and replied, "It's alright, it's alright," then walked into the staff room as if she knew the way well and closed the door behind her.

When she came out again, she had changed into a black and white maid outfit, with the apron straps tied into a neat bow at the back of her waist.

She casually tied her hair into a low ponytail, revealing a section of her fair and clean nape, making her look refreshing and neat.

She walked to the bar, tied her apron, glanced at the seating situation, picked up a clean cloth, and began wiping the table where a few water stains had been left by a customer.

The shop has a steady stream of customers, just the right amount, which keeps her in a state where she has things to do but isn't overwhelmed.

She wiped down tables, collected several empty coffee cups, carried them back to the bar on a tray, and then refilled two glasses of water for the two girls at the table by the window.

Xiaolan enjoys this busy yet calm pace.

The better the business at the store, the longer she can work and earn more money.

Although her main goal was to pay back the money in the garden, she gradually discovered that she really liked the job.

As she was placing the washed coffee cups on the drainer, the wind chimes on the door rang again.

Xiao Lan subconsciously raised her head and gave a standard business smile towards the door. She only managed to say the first two syllables of "Welcome" before she paused—it was Lin Shen who pushed the door open and walked in.

He was wearing a light gray casual suit jacket over a white T-shirt, looking like he had just returned from running errands. He appeared both casual and clean.

The moment Xiaolan saw him walk in, her heart skipped a beat.

Immediately afterwards, the scenes from the Moonshadow Island Hotel flashed uncontrollably through her mind, as if a play button had been pressed.

Her ears turned slightly red, and she smiled at Lin Shen in as natural a tone as possible, her voice carrying a forced composure: "Good afternoon, President!"

Lin Shen smiled and nodded, then walked to the bar and sat down on a high stool: "Good afternoon, Xiao Lan. The shop is quite busy today."

He casually chatted about the weather and passenger flow, then abruptly changed the subject, asking Xiaolan a question that surprised her: "Xiaolan, I heard—you're a karate champion?"

Xiaolan was wiping the edge of the bar with a rag in her hand when she heard the question. She paused for a moment and stopped what she was doing.

She tilted her head slightly and smiled a little shyly: "Well... it's not that amazing. To be precise, I'm the national girls' high school champion in the Kanto region."

After she finished speaking, she added, "Actually, it was just good luck..."

Lin Shen smiled, his tone becoming more serious: "That's still very impressive. The Kanto region championship isn't something just anyone can win."

He paused for a moment, then said, "There's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

Xiaolan stopped what she was doing, put the rag on the bar, turned around and looked at him seriously, blinking her eyes: "Hmm? What's up, President?"

Lin Shen looked at her, his tone more serious than before: "I would like to ask you to teach me karate."

Xiao Lan was stunned.

She blinked twice, thinking she had misheard, and leaned forward slightly to confirm, "...Huh? President, you want to learn karate?"

Lin Shen nodded, his expression serious: "Yes, I'm serious. The unexpected situations I encountered on Moonshadow Island last time made me realize how inadequate I am in dealing with danger."

"I think I should learn some fighting skills, so that I won't be completely helpless when I encounter problems."

He said this without changing his expression, his tone sincere as if he were a genuinely ambitious young man reflecting on his shortcomings.

But in reality, the reason he wanted to learn karate was simply because he was extremely annoyed by the experience of being beaten up in close combat at the Kuroiwa residence.

Lin Shen managed to withstand several blows and blows thanks to the system, but the feeling of being suppressed and beaten made him feel frustrated for several days.

No matter how powerful your long-range firepower is, if you don't address your weaknesses in close combat, you'll still suffer greatly when you encounter truly skilled opponents.

After hearing his explanation, Xiaolan was stunned for a moment, then her face visibly turned red. She waved her hands repeatedly, her tone becoming somewhat hurried: "No, no, no! I can't!"

"I've never taught anyone! Go find someone else! There's definitely someone better than me—"

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, and the last part of her sentence almost became a mutter.

Actually, she was more concerned about another issue—she was a girl and Lin Shen was a man, so physical contact was almost inevitable.

Just thinking about correcting his posture during training, and possibly touching his hands and shoulders, made her cheeks burn.

Lin Shen couldn't help but smile when he saw her nervous expression.

Of course he knew what Xiaolan was worried about.

He did consider finding someone else to teach him.

But after careful consideration, he realized that it would be difficult to find a second suitable candidate in Tokyo.

A pretty and cute girl, but not as good at karate as Ran.

People who are better at karate than Ran aren't necessarily as good-looking as her.

If you're going to learn, it's only natural to want to find a coach you find agreeable.

Lin Shen didn't voice his true thoughts, but instead used a more direct approach to persuade him: "You're a karate champion, what can't you do? Teaching a beginner is a piece of cake for you, isn't it?"

Xiaolan shook her head again, her ears turning red: "No, no, I'm afraid I won't hold back and hurt you—"

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Shen casually added, "Also, I'll charge you tutoring fees by the hour. Ten thousand yen per hour."

Xiaolan's words of refusal were on the tip of her tongue, but she suddenly stopped herself from saying them.

Her mouth opened slightly, as if an invisible thread had stopped her refusal.

10,000 yen per hour.

She quickly did the math in her head—even if she only taught three times a week, two hours each time, that would be 60,000 yen a week, and 240,000 yen a month.

Two hundred and forty thousand!

This money is enough for her to pay back part of Sonoko's debts, and she might even be able to save some money after paying off the debts.

Not to mention that her father has been unable to take on any cases these past few days due to his injuries, and the family's income depends entirely on her working here.

An extra source of income means she can let her father rest for a while longer.

Xiaolan struggled in her mind for about three seconds—on one hand, there was the shyness and nervousness of "practicing martial arts alone with a young man," and on the other hand, there was the huge temptation of "a monthly karate tutoring fee of more than 200,000 yuan."

Ultimately, the competitive spirit of the karate champion and the practical pressures faced by ordinary high school students both played a role.

Her shoulders slumped slightly, as if she had let go of some burden, and she nodded with a blush: "Okay... alright. But let me make this clear first—I really don't know how to teach, so you can't blame me if I don't teach well."

Lin Shen smiled and extended his hand: "Deal."