Conan: The Romantic Daily Life of a Ghost Detective

"Leave it to us," Mitsuhiko replied politely.

Since no one was driving over from Wenshui, it wasn't a problem for everyone to carry seven or eight cardboard boxes together, but the key issue was that Bu Mei's house was quite far from here.

Moreover, the boxes contain exquisite dolls with many years of history, and it would be a great loss if they were damaged on the way.

Setsuko Kanno left the room to make a phone call.

Wen Shui and the others also helped to rewrap the Girls' Day dolls in paper balls and stuff them into the box.

During the process, Ran suddenly noticed that Ai seemed a little unhappy, and several times Ai looked at Wen Shui with cold eyes, so Ran thought that Ai was still angry about what happened earlier.

Just now, Ai Haibara explained why she kicked Nuku's shinbone by saying that she "suddenly wanted to join the group that bullies Nuku," which is a rather childish explanation.

But as the only eyewitness at the tennis court, Ran could easily connect Ai, a girl who is much smarter than her peers, to the possibility that she had sensed something and was taking this opportunity to retaliate against Wenshui.

To ease the awkwardness, Ran took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "Ai, you seem to like these dolls too."

“Yes, I’ve never seen the real thing before,” Ai Haibara said casually.

Ran felt like she had stepped on a landmine again, but Ai Haibara clearly knew the names of the dolls before. She had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Huh? You've never seen the real thing? But you knew the names of the dolls clearly when you were displaying them."

“I saw it on TV too.” Ai Haibara’s tone was somewhat melancholy. “When I was little, my parents were often not around, and there is no such custom in other countries.”

"Oh, I see." Xiaolan smiled awkwardly.

At the same time, he cursed himself for being too careless, having stepped on the landmines of two people in a row.

While Wen Shui can be appeased with love and affection, what about Ai Haibara? It seems that Ai Haibara is quite different from other little girls. She is not interested in anime like Kamen Rider and usually appears indifferent to other things.

It seems that Ai only acts more like a child when she's with warm water.

Huh?

Only with warm water...

Xiaolan's eyes lit up as if she had discovered the key to the problem, but the light in her eyes quickly dimmed again.

Sending warm water as a "gift" to Ai Haibara to apologize is indeed a solution, but that was before the tennis court incident. Ai Haibara might still harbor resentment towards warm water now, so how could it be a gift to break the ice?

Not to mention, Xiaolan was also a little worried that Wen Shui might accidentally escalate the situation again. That guy seemed to be a bit clueless in this regard, lacking any detective's keen sense of smell.

Xiaolan found herself in a dilemma again in a short period of time.

At this moment, Ayumi took out a small digital camera from her backpack, which contained snacks and water drinks: "Let's take a picture together before we put the dolls back in."

"Huh, Ayumi, you brought a camera with you?" Conan asked, somewhat surprised.

Ayumi nodded obediently: "Yes, Girls' Day is the day after tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to come to Aunt Guanye's house to pick up the Girls' Day doll, so I packed Dad's camera into my backpack in advance."

"Okay, let's take some pictures then." Ai Haibara seemed very interested in this, and even tidied up her hair.

Everyone moved the cardboard boxes in front of the Girls' Day dolls to the side to make the room look cleaner. At this time, Setsuko Kanno called back and took on the role of photographer.

However, something happened that put Wen Shui in a difficult position when it came to arranging the positions.

Ai Haibara's sharp gaze clearly indicated that she didn't want him to stand with Ran, because that would make her look like a third party.

However, if he actively positions himself as a couple with Ai Haibara, it will likely make things more complicated later on. Because sooner or later, Wen Shui will have to tell Ran about Ai Haibara, and if Ran finds out afterwards, she probably won't let him off the hook.

Damn it, having more wings suddenly means having so many more things to consider.

Since that's the case, we can only treat each side equally.

Wen Shui walked over, grabbed Conan by the neck, and handed him to Ayumi: "Conan worked hard retrieving the ball today, so as a reward, you can take a picture next to Ayumi."

"I don't want to! I want to be with Ran!" Conan struggled, but his resistance weakened after Ayumi grabbed his arm.

Ayumi smiled happily and said, "Great! I'll take care of Conan-kun."

Wen Shui looked at Conan and Ayumi hesitantly, wondering why the kid had stopped struggling. Could it be that he had been shrunk for too long and had already started planning to raise a new childhood friend?

Although Genta and Mitsuhiko were a little unhappy, they let Wenshui do as she pleased, considering that Conan had worked hard all morning.

After warming up Conan's situation, Wen Shui went over and took Ai Haibara's hand: "Ai, sit next to Ayumi. You two are best friends, and seeing this photo when you grow up will be a wonderful memory."

Ai Haibara did not struggle, but let Nuku lead her to sit down next to Ayumi.

Seeing Wen Shui sit down next to her, Xiao Ai felt a warmth in her heart, and her anger subsided considerably.

Xiao Lan was pulled to sit on his other side by Wen Shui, thus achieving the goal of having two people she loved who she could entrust her life to on both sides.

Although the formation looked a bit strange, there were quite a few people standing behind Conan.

However, considering Mitsuhiko and Genta's height, if they stood behind Nuku and Ran, only their heads would likely be visible in the shot.

Everyone was focused on taking photos and didn't delve into this detail.

Apart from Ai Haibara, only Conan knew about Nuku's little secret and rolled his eyes at him.

"Crack!"

The shutter of the digital camera clicked continuously.

To ensure she took good photos, Naoko Kanno took many pictures from different angles. Since it was a digital camera, she could delete them as long as she had enough memory.

After taking the photos, Setsuko Kanno handed the camera to Ayumi, and before they could even admire them together, they heard someone ringing the doorbell.

She left the room and walked towards the entrance.

Wen Shui glanced at the time; if she wasn't mistaken, the participants in the case should have arrived.

He was just about to join the group of kids to see how the photos turned out when Xiaolan pulled him aside.

Wen Shui looked at Xiao Lan with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong? What did you find out?"

"No, it's not a case," Xiaolan suddenly lowered her voice. "I've thought of a plan, and I need your cooperation."

plan?

Could it be a plan regarding karate training uniforms?

But then he thought, that shouldn't be the case. If it were that matter, Xiaolan wouldn't have rushed over to ask him without even looking at the photos.

Wen Shui nodded, completely bewildered: "Okay, go ahead."

Chapter 244: The secret plan targeting Ai Haibara, and the connection with Vermouth.

Ran first glanced furtively in Ai Haibara's direction and saw that she was busy helping Ayumi wrap the dolls in newspaper before turning to Wen Shui and saying, "Didn't you notice that Ai's gaze towards these Girls' Day dolls is a little strange?"

"Is that unusual?" Wen Shui recalled for a moment, "It seems a bit unusual. She usually doesn't seem interested in anything other than fashion magazines and the BIG Osaka team."

"Exactly, isn't that strange?" Xiaolan's voice rose slightly.

She shrank back, then secretly glanced back at the group of kids in the Junior Detective Club to see if they had noticed her whispering with Wen Shui.

Wen Shui asked in confusion, "So what exactly are you planning? Isn't it related to your promise to wear the karate training uniform?"

"Of course not, I haven't thought about that yet." Ran quickly dismissed Wen Shui's fantasy. "I just think it's pitiful for Ai to live alone at Professor Agasa's house. The day after tomorrow is Girls' Day, so why don't we prepare a surprise for her?"

"You mean the Daughter's Day doll?" Wen Shui's eyes lit up.

That's a good idea; it can help ease the tension that happened on the tennis court.

Moreover, Wen Shui had a bold idea in mind: if done well, it might help boost Ai Haibara's morale, so she wouldn't always be living in fear because of the Black Organization.

Xiaolan nodded, then lowered her voice and said, "Yes, we can ask Professor Agasa to make a similar shelf to display the Girls' Day dolls, and then go to that shop at the end of Beika Town to buy a few Girls' Day dolls. I saw some really pretty dolls in the shop window when I passed by before, and they weren't expensive."

“But she doesn’t understand the customs here. They probably don’t celebrate these kinds of holidays abroad, right?” Wen Shui shrugged.

Ran: "It's okay. When I asked Ai just now, she clearly had a strong desire for those Girls' Day dolls in her eyes. Ai must also want to participate in the rituals of this festival, just like Ayumi."

Wen Shui thought that she was missing her lost parents and her sister who was protected and could not be seen.

However, of course, she couldn't explain this to Ran, and Wen Shui had originally agreed with Ran's suggestion: "Okay then, but I think since we want to give Ai a surprise, why don't we make the dolls ourselves?"

"Make it yourself?" Xiaolan's eyes widened.

“Yes, it shows more sincerity when you make it yourself,” Wen Shui said with a smile. “And I suggest that everyone make a doll individually as a gift for Ai. She will definitely be moved to tears.”

Xiao Lan frowned slightly: "But this doesn't conform to the customs of Girls' Day..."

"It's okay, she doesn't understand the local customs anyway, it's more of a ritual that's being valued," Wen Shui said confidently.

Xiaolan thought for a moment, then shook her head: "That's a good idea, but the problem is that there are only two days left until Girls' Day. Isn't there too much time?"

Wen Shui suddenly smiled mysteriously: "Just leave this to Professor Agasa. I remember the professor developed a new type of clay last time. It can be done quickly with that. And it doesn't matter if it's a little ugly. It's the thought that counts, isn't it?"

Wen Shui's suggestion easily won Xiao Lan's heart.

Xiaolan herself is the type of person who doesn't value the actual worth of a gift, but rather cares more about the sentiment behind it.

Ran nodded gently: "Then it's settled. I'll find a chance to secretly tell Ayumi and the others later. Oh, and I'll call Sonoko later to tell her about it too."

"Why are you looking for the garden?" Wen Shui asked, puzzled.

Ran looked helpless: "It doesn't look good to have too few dolls on the shelves. It would probably take more than ten dolls to fill them up. We might as well bring Sonoko over to make up the numbers. She and Ai get along well, and their hairstyles are similar."

"I see." Wen Shui thought for a moment, "Then let's just invite Yukiko over too."

"Why are you calling Shinichi's mom?" Ran asked, puzzled.

Wen Shui thought to herself, "Because she's very big."

But he said, "We're all older brothers, and Professor Agasa is a grandfather. There has to be a female character that Ai can relate to."

“That’s true.” Xiaolan first agreed with Wenshui’s opinion, but then offered a suggestion for modification, “But Aunt Yukiko’s personality is not very stable, so it’s hard to imagine her as someone I can relate to. Maybe I should ask my mother to come and help.”

“No, I think this is a good opportunity for Mrs. Kudo to get some experience,” Wen Shui said righteously.

Xiaolan playfully punched his shoulder with her hand, complaining, "You're so annoying! He's an elder, it's very impolite to say things like that."

Wen Shui smiled shyly and didn't say anything.

The plan was tentatively set: everyone would make a doll that looked similar to themselves, so that Ai would feel that even though her parents couldn't be with her for the time being, she still had so many friends around her.

Of course, this is only the superficial reason.

Wen Shui actually had an even deeper opportunity. He planned to put Miyano Akemi's video recording inside the doll as a surprise, so that Haibara Ai might be able to stay calm for a while and not subconsciously become pessimistic when she thought about the Black Organization.

Furthermore, Wen Shui also wanted to use this opportunity to help Ai Haibara and Ran establish a close relationship.

This will make it easier for him to reveal his true colors later.

.

Setsuko Kanno walked to the entrance door.