Conan: The Heart Thief

"A kindergarten teacher. Not worthy of my son, Liang Zang!" Liang Zang waved his sleeves and shouted.

"What era is this? Is it so important to marry someone of the same social status? Besides, being a teacher is not a bad profession."

"I said no, that's no!"

Tears welled up in Kawai Rie's eyes. She turned and ran away. Ryoichi gritted his teeth and glared at his father as he chased after Rie. The room was silent. No one expected things to turn out like this.

"This tea ceremony master seems to have poor moral cultivation." Zhenchun muttered between his teeth.

"That's right. So fierce!" Xiaolan also agreed.

"Strange... the previous Master Liangzang was not like this." Yuanzi was confused. When she saw Master Liangzang before, he still looked very immortal.

Lin Xiao did not comment and silently sipped the boiled water in the cup.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you all." After his son and future daughter-in-law ran away, Ryozo seemed to have just remembered that he still had guests to entertain at the tea party today, and he hurriedly apologized to everyone.

Sonoko's mother Suzuki Tomoko quickly waved her hands and said with a smile: "Children nowadays have independent thoughts and are difficult to manage. Teachers should relax."

Yuanzi next to him couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Is he talking about me?

Master Zang Liang sighed, and Lin Xiao looked at his expression, which seemed to be hiding something.

……

In the afternoon, the tea party started. But the tea party was not held in the villa, but beside a lake in the mountains. The lake was round and located in the forest. The water was clear but bottomless.

Master Liang Zang prepared the professional tea set, and the nanny Hanazaki Yoshiko was making tea with charcoal. Everyone sat on the wooden platform on the shore to look at the lake and mountains, and feel the wind blowing through the trees, feeling very comfortable.

"What a beautiful scenery!" Xiaolan exclaimed from the bottom of her heart.

"Hehe, don't be fooled by the beautiful scenery. In fact, this lake has a terrible legend." Yuanzi smiled wickedly.

"Legend?" Zhenchun was quite interested in this.

Lin Xiao was impressed by this legend.

Legend has it that a woman's body fell into the lake and turned into a giant snake to seek revenge on the man who had killed her.

The story Yuanzi told was the same as what Lin Xiao knew. It was about a woman who was murdered by someone and then drowned herself in a lake, turning into a snake demon to seek revenge on the man who killed her.

Xiaolan was very scared after hearing this story and hugged Lin Xiao.

Zhenchun glanced at him and followed suit, hugging Lin Xiao.

"No, Xiaolan is afraid, but are you afraid too?"

"I am your apprentice. Can't I be afraid? Master, do you dislike me?"

"..."

Lin Xiao was speechless. Was Zhenchun trying to deceive him?

The tea was ready and the nanny poured a cup for everyone. The light green tea looked very comfortable.

"The so-called tea ceremony is actually life..."

Grandmaster Liang Zang began to talk about the philosophy of tea art, and he really had the demeanor of a master.

Lin Xiao silently watched Master Liang Zang talking, but he didn't listen to him. His tea art was advanced enough and he didn't need to learn anything. But the other three female classmates were infected by the master's temperament and really listened attentively.

Suddenly, Lin Xiao felt something soft in his lower body.

When I looked down, I saw that Suzuki Tomoko, who was sitting opposite me, was actually extending her black silk stockings to me across the hollow base of the coffee table and gently stepping on and rubbing them.

When he looked up again, he saw Suzuki Tomoko looking at him charmingly with a faint smile on her face.

It is better to taste the feet than to taste the tea. He did not dare to make a sound and tasted the feet carefully, not daring to let the other three female classmates find out anything unusual.

Chapter 177 If you don’t vomit, you won’t be happy

The refreshing feeling of happiness nourished Lin Xiao's heart, which made him feel uncomfortable. Lin Xiao quickly grabbed Suzuki Tomoko's ankle and stopped her from continuing her prank.

Suzuki Tomoko's lips twitched slightly, she held her chin with one hand, and said with a smile: "Xiao Xiao, does Auntie make you feel uncomfortable?"

It wasn't discomfort, it was just too comfortable. Lin Xiao didn't dare to do that in front of everyone...

"Aunt Pengzi, if you continue I will explode..." Lin Xiao said bitterly.

Grandmaster Ryozo, who was still explaining the philosophy of the tea ceremony, glanced over and said, "Mrs. Suzuki, did I say anything wrong?"

Suzuki Tomoko retracted her foot and looked serious: "Teacher, you explained it very well, please continue..."

After the tea party, everyone left the lake and returned to the living room in the villa to sit down and rest.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon when Liang Zang's son Liang Yi suddenly ran back in a panic. His helpless look made Liang Zang very dissatisfied.

Liang asked everyone: "Everyone, have you seen Rie?"

"I didn't see her. What happened to Miss Rie?" Xiaolan replied.

"She's missing. I can't find her. The phone is also unreachable." Liang Yi answered anxiously.

When everyone heard this, they guessed that Ryozo did not agree with their marriage and that Rie was hurt, so she probably ran back home because of that.

"She should have gone home." Sonoko guessed.

"No. I said I would persuade my father again and ask her to stay. She agreed." Liang Yi looked worried. "Also, I asked the guard at the entrance of the mountain path, and he said that no one had come down the mountain."

"In other words... Rie didn't go down the mountain but lost her trace on the mountain?" Sera Masumi analyzed, touching his chin.

At this time, Lin Xiao stood up and said, "Since Miss Lihui is missing, let's look for her together."

……

There are many scattered wooden houses on the mountain for tea pickers, but now is not the tea picking season, so the wooden houses are empty. When his marriage proposal was rejected, Ryoichi took Rie to one of the wooden houses.

Everyone helped Ryoichi find Kawai Rie, but after searching the entire tea garden, they couldn't find any trace of Rie.

"She didn't run to the lake, did she?" Zhenchun asked tentatively.

This sentence immediately caused everyone to think: "Yes. We haven't been to the lake yet!"

Then, everyone walked through the forest and came to the lake where they had tea before, but the lake was empty and Rie was not there.

"It seems that Rie is not here!" Ryoichi was extremely anxious, "Rie... where did she go?"

Lin Xiao said: "No. Lihui has indeed been here. Look over there..."

Looking in the direction Lin Xiao pointed, everyone's faces changed drastically, because there was a pair of sandals on the grass on the shore, which were the ones Rie had worn before.

But why were Rie's shoes by the lake?

Everyone's faces sank, and a bad feeling rose. Rie disappeared, and the shoes appeared by the lake. The answer was obvious...

"Rie, Rie!" Liang rushed over and tried to jump into the lake. Lin Xiao hurriedly grabbed him.

"Let me go! Rie is in the lake! I want to save her!" Liangyi struggled and roared frantically, but was held tightly by Lin Xiao.

The lake may seem calm, but if non-professionals go down to salvage the bodies, they might even lose their lives.

"Calm down. It's too dangerous to go directly into the lake!" Lin Xiao warned, "Besides, Rie has been missing for so long. If she really sank in the water, she might have already..."

"No! Impossible! Rie must still be alive!" Ryoichi insisted that his girlfriend was alive.

……

The police arrived at the scene after receiving the report. This place belongs to Shizuoka Prefecture, and the leading detective is Inspector Yokomizo.

The police heard that someone had committed suicide by jumping into the lake, so they brought water-friendly equipment. After a diving search, the police successfully found Rie's body and brought it to shore.

The sun shines on Rie's soaked body, and the colors are overwhelming. She looks alive even though she's dead, presenting a strange beauty.

Liang fell to his knees with a plop, crying heart-wrenchingly, and everyone couldn't help but feel infinite sympathy for him.

Seeing their master's son so grief-stricken, the disciples Yagura Morio and Ichimura Yukari wanted to comfort him, but they didn't know what to say and could only sigh.

Xiaolan wiped her tears and couldn't accept this result: "Why is it like this?"

Yuanzi was also so upset that she was speechless.

Then, Inspector Yokomizo asked everyone about the whole story.

"I see. After Ms. Rie disappeared, you started looking for her. You found her sandals by the lake, and then you called the police."

There was no sign of a struggle on the body, and the deceased was carrying a bag filled with stones, which she probably prepared for her suicide. She also took off her sandals and left them on the shore, which was suicide no matter how you looked at it.

"The reason she committed suicide was probably because Liang-'s father opposed this marriage," Sera Masumi analyzed.

Inspector Yokomizo also agreed with this statement. However, Ryoichi shouted loudly: "No, that's not right. Rie didn't commit suicide, she was murdered! The murderer was my father!"

Liang Yi turned around and pointed at his father: "Don't think I don't know. Before Rie disappeared, you looked for her and met with her privately. You must have killed Rie!"

"Mr. Ryozo, is this really true?" Inspector Yokomizo asked.

Aonoki Ryozo did not hide anything, and said with his hands behind his back: "It is true. However, I did not kill her. I called her here just to talk to her, hoping that she would leave my son. For this, I also promised her benefits."

"Oh? So she didn't agree, so you killed her?"

"Nonsense!" Liang Zang said angrily, "Do I need to kill someone for such a small matter? What's more, after my persuasion, she has already promised me to break up with Liang Yi."

"Impossible! Rie and I were truly in love! How could she agree to break up with me? Dad, you must be lying. Rie must have refused to obey you, so you killed her in a frenzy!" Ryo pointed at his father and shouted angrily.

"How can this be absurd! You are such a rebellious beast, how can you slander your own father like this!" Liang Zang blew his beard and glared.

They are clearly father and son, but now they have become mortal enemies.

Listening to their quarrel, Lin Xiao was puzzled. Why did Ryozo oppose Ryoichi and Rie's marriage so much? To be honest, Ryozo was not a big shot. A kindergarten teacher was completely worthy of his son.

Could it be another Japanese melodrama about a couple who end up as siblings? The Japanese love to play that kind of thing.

The imperial family has been involved in these kinds of palace dramas since ancient times, and it is conceivable that the upper and lower classes will follow suit.

Chapter 178 Suzuki Tomoko Embezzled

After investigating and analyzing the case, Officer Yokomizo ruled out Ryozo's suspicion of murder. Ryozo was too old to have the strength to kill a young woman like Rie. Moreover, Rie's body did not show any signs of a struggle.

After ruling out Ryozo's suspicion of murder, it can be basically confirmed that Rie committed suicide by jumping into the lake. It was a suicide case, not murder.

"There is mushroom-like foam in the deceased's mouth, which confirms that he died of drowning. However, we need to analyze the drowning fluid after we return to determine whether he drowned in the water in this lake." The forensic officer reported to Inspector Yokomizo.

Yuanzi asked in confusion: "Mr. Lin, what is that mushroom-like foam?"

Lin Xiao casually explained: "Mushroom foam is a kind of foam formed by the mixture of respiratory mucus and water. It usually appears in the mouth of a drowned person and is an important reference condition for judging death by drowning."