Conan: The Romantic Daily Life of a Ghost Detective

Warm Water: "What is it?"

Miwako Sato: "After the forensic pathologist performed an autopsy on Aoi Kazama's body, they found something strange in her stomach."

Chapter 56 Yukiko Kudo's Attention

The autopsy revealed something strange in Xiao Kui's stomach.

Wen Shui frowned slightly, her curiosity immediately piqued.

But just as he was waiting for Sato Miwako to continue, he heard a chaotic sound coming from the other end of the phone, as if someone had discovered the Majima Group's secret base.

Sato Miwako seemed to have pressed her lips to the phone, and her voice sounded much closer than before: "Ah, sorry, I have to hang up now. Let's talk about the details tomorrow!"

After saying that, Miwako Sato hung up the phone.

Wen Shui stared speechlessly at the call timer that continued to tick on her phone screen.

Why does this woman only say half of what she means? How am I supposed to sleep at night?

Just as Wen Shui was feeling frustrated, hurried footsteps came from the stairs behind her again, and the person who came seemed to be filled with anger.

Wen Shui was startled. Just now, Ai Haibara and Sonoko Suzuki had both run up to him and had a somewhat inexplicable conversation with him in the corridor.

Could it be that Xiaolan will be replaced this time?

Wen Shui quickly reviewed in her mind whether she had done anything to offend Xiao Lan today that made her footsteps so heavy.

After thinking about it, it seems that the only thing I did was secretly drink the Coke that Xiaolan bought at noon.

In the blink of an eye, the person with heavy steps climbed up. To Wen Shui's surprise, the person standing in front of her was none other than the vice president of the Literature Club, Kosaka Keisuke.

Vice Minister Kosaka's face was filled with anger, and his face turned bright red.

Wen Shui: "Senior, what's wrong?"

Vice-President Kosaka: "Warm water? That's great. Were you here the whole time? Is anyone in the music room?"

"No," Wen Shui shook her head.

As if he didn't believe it, senior Kosaka pushed open the door to the music room. Wen Shui saw him checking around near the window for a long time, even sticking his head out to look left and right.

Finally, he returned to the corridor dejectedly, his anger seemingly subsided.

"What's wrong, senior? Are you looking for someone?" Wen Shui asked.

He then noticed that, besides anger, Vice Minister Kosaka's eyes also held a hint of lingering fear and terror.

Vice-Minister Kosaka frowned: "Yes, I was just passing by downstairs when a flowerpot flew out of the music room and almost killed me."

"A flowerpot?" Wen Shui asked in surprise.

"Are you sure it was thrown out of the music room? I've been here the whole time and haven't seen anyone go in or out of the music room."

Senior Kosaka frowned: "Probably. I was so scared I almost lost my mind. It was some female students I didn't know who told me they saw flowerpots fly out of the music room."

Wen Shui: "Maybe I misread it."

"Probably." Senior Kosaka looked dejected. "I had really bad luck today. I almost got electrocuted during swimming class this afternoon."

A flash of lightning suddenly struck Wen Shui's mind.

He asked urgently, "Was there an electrical outlet submerged in water on the bathroom floor while you were showering?"

Senior Kosaka took a step back warily: "Warm Water, how do you know so much? You're not planning to stage an accident to murder me, are you?"

Wen Shui: "No, I just suddenly had an idea for my novel."

Senior Kosaka looked incredulous.

Wen Shui smiled wryly: "It's true, and I have no motive to kill you, senior."

Senior Kosaka met Wen Shui's scrutinizing gaze: "Don't you want to kill me and then be with Manaka?"

Wen Shui's eyes widened: "Senior, so you like Captain Manaka?"

"Huh? Uh... well, you misheard me."

Kosaka-senpai looked embarrassed, as if he had just realized that he had accidentally let something slip.

Wen Shui gave a suggestive smile and patted his chest to assure her:

"Don't worry, Kousaka-senpai, I'll keep your secret. I didn't tell anyone about you jumping off the roof before, did I?"

Senior Kosaka said with a complicated expression, "Okay, you guessed it. But why do you always manage to find out my secrets?"

"Perhaps this is fate."

Senior Kosaka sighed: "If only you were a girl. If this were a light novel, discovering the protagonist's secret twice in a row would guarantee you a second female lead."

"Senior, I'm still a little scared when you suddenly say something like that." Wen Shui couldn't help but take a step back.

"Haha, just kidding." Senior Kosaka changed the subject. "By the way, what inspiration did you have? Was it for the club magazine?"

“It’s a mystery novel I want to submit,” Wen Shui said. “I want to incorporate the story of how you were murdered by a mysterious person at school into the story.”

"Would anyone like to read this kind of story?"

"Yeah, I think there will definitely be people who like it."

Senior Kosaka didn't take it seriously, but it didn't dampen Wenshui's creative enthusiasm.

The two then chatted as they walked down the teaching building toward the school gate.

As soon as he stepped out of the teaching building, senior student Kosaka couldn't help but look up at the ceiling, then hesitated before saying something:

"Seriously, it really wasn't you who threw that flowerpot?"

Wen Shui looked speechless: "Of course not, and if I wanted to compete with you for the real senior, it seems I could just make a move."

There's no need to get rid of you, is there?

"Damn, that sounds a bit hurtful." Senior Kosaka glared at him, then sighed softly, "Although you're right."

.

After returning home, Wen Shui immediately sat down at her desk and began creating.

He felt the skill attributes of Chikako Ikeda within him were already burning.

Of course, the inspiration for the warm water came not only from Senior Kousaka, but also from the two unexpected things Senior Kousaka encountered today, which reminded him of a novel he had read in his past life.

It is Higashino Keigo's debut work, "After School".

The story also takes place on a school campus. The male protagonist is a high school teacher who encounters a flowerpot attack and an electric shock device incident at school, almost dying. He is then drawn into a locked-room murder case in the locker room.

Wen Shui recalls that this novel seemed to have won an award at the time.

The location of the story, Wenshui, is also quite familiar, making it easier to write about. Moreover, since the story's strength lies more in its structure, it doesn't require as much writing skill.

It's perfect for the current warm water.

With the help of the mental formulas, Wen Shui finished writing the first few chapters in just a few hours.

He looked up at the clock; it was already past ten. But he wondered if Hiratsuka-sensei would be asleep at this hour.

Wen Shui was writing a novel for the first time, and he was understandably excited, eager to share it with others. So he picked up his phone, found his homeroom teacher, Hiratsuka-sensei's, number in his contacts, and called.

"Hello." A gentle voice, somewhat unfamiliar to Wen Shui, came from the receiver.

Wen Shui tentatively asked, "Hiratsuka-sensei?"

"Huh, that voice... are you Wenshui-kun?" Hiratsuka-sensei, the teacher on the other end of the phone, immediately resumed her energetic voice.

"It's me. Did I disturb your rest?"

Wen Shui politely replied, thinking that perhaps she had forgotten to save the number in her contacts.

Ryoka Hiratsuka was silent for a few seconds, then asked in confusion, "That's strange, why is your contact in my phone listed as 'A slightly handsome potential boyfriend'?"

Wen Shui couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

This is definitely your problem, and you shouldn't say this out loud, it'll be awkward when you see each other again.

Wen Shui had no choice but to change the subject: "I just wrote a beginning and I'd like you to take a look and see if it's okay."

After her initial surprise and astonishment, Ryoka Hiratsuka regained her composure: "Okay, send the things over."

Since Wen Shui's family didn't have a computer, he went to a nearby convenience store and asked the clerk to send the novel document to Hiratsuka-sensei's email address. Then he went home and waited patiently.

Not long after, Hiratsuka-sensei called, excitedly saying, "Not bad! Although the plot hasn't unfolded yet, I already feel drawn into the story, and the writing style is very clean. I never expected you to have such talent."

Wen Shui smiled sheepishly: "It's not that amazing."

Ms. Hiratsuka asked curiously, "But why aren't your usual short essays this good?"

"Well, maybe I'm the experiential type." Wen Shui had already prepared an excuse. "When I was writing just now, my mind was completely blank. I was just expressing my thoughts."

Hiratsuka-sensei didn't ask any further questions.

Perhaps someone with her writing talent, who has submitted articles for many years without achieving any results, cannot understand this feeling?

"By the way, you haven't registered for the mystery novel contest yet, have you? The registration deadline seems to be approaching," Hiratsuka-sensei reminded her.

Wen Shui: "Not yet. I only came up with this idea when I got out of school today, and I only wrote the beginning tonight."

"Oh, okay? Then I'll register you for now."

"Huh? You can sign up even if you haven't finished writing?" Wen Shui asked in surprise.

Ryoka Hiratsuka: "Hmm, it seems to be a format that the organizers of this competition came up with specifically, inviting many senior readers to participate in the selection process."

Novels favored by seasoned readers will receive additional votes in the final selection.

Warm Water: "Oh, I see. That sounds pretty down-to-earth."

Hiratsuka-sensei sighed: "After all, mystery novels are different from pure literature. They still rely on general readers for their livelihood, so readers' opinions are very important."

After saying that, she suddenly lowered her voice: "And I secretly found out some inside information. The organizers have invited a lot of well-known writers. Each of them will select a few promising newcomers. Although they may not win an award, they will receive a pretty good priority recruitment contract afterward."

I heard that among those invited was that mystery novelist, Yusaku Kudo, who lives far away overseas.

The face of Conan's father flashed into Wen Shui's mind.

"Then I'll trouble you. Do you need me to provide any registration information?" Wen Shui asked.

Hiratsuka-sensei: "Yes, you need to tell me your address first."