Conan: The Heart Thief

"I wonder which of them this boy named Lin Xiao is the boyfriend of?" Sayuri Matsumoto thought silently.

"A-choo...um...Teacher Matsumoto, can we go into this villa first? It's so cold here..." Conan sneezed and said with a bitter face as he looked at these people standing in the snow and chatting.

After hearing Conan's suggestion, Sayuri Matsumoto was stunned and said, "But... I don't have the key?"

"Huh? What's going on?" everyone was surprised.

Everyone thought that Mr. Hisatsune Sugiyama, who had invited everyone to the party, must be waiting for them in the villa. However, they pressed the doorbell for a long time but received no response. From the outside, there was no light in the entire villa, which proved that there seemed to be no one inside.

Conan was even more puzzled. He had already figured out from the tiny icicles formed under the eaves of the villa that someone must have come in and turned on the heating before. How come no one was here now? This gave him a bad feeling...

"Ah... speaking of keys... could it be this one? It's in the drawer of my desk together with my invitation letter..." Just when everyone was worrying, Misato Nakamura on the other side took out a key from her bag and said uncertainly.

When Akiko Yonehara saw it, she immediately smiled and said, "It must be, because when I was teaching at Teitan Elementary School, weren't you responsible for all the gatherings among us teachers? I think this must be the key that Mr. Shanshan left for you."

However, when Teacher Mihara was speaking, only Lin Xiao noticed her slight expression. When she mentioned Teacher Shanshan, a look of extreme resentment flashed across her eyes.

While Nakamura Misato was trying to open the door with the key, Xiaolan and the other girls behind Lin Xiao gathered together, nervously discussing something...

"Hey, Xiaolan, do you think the horror legend we heard on the road is true? It is said that in the depths of this snowy mountain, on a snowy night, a snow girl will appear. She will quietly take away people with filthy hearts, and then hook away the person's dirty soul. Finally, she will freeze the soulless body forever, and use pure snowflakes to purify all the filth..."

At this time, Suzuki Sonoko spoke to Xiaolan beside her with an exaggerated look on her face.

They had heard this legend from local residents on the road. In Japan, the legend of the Snow Woman is different in each place. In some places, the Snow Woman is kind, in some places she is evil, and in some places it is hard to tell whether she is good or evil. But it is obvious that in the snowy mountain where they are now, the legendary Snow Woman should be a kind monster.

Xiaolan, who was originally a little scared of these weird and scary legends, held Sera Masumi's arm even more tightly after hearing what Sonoko said. She pretended to be calm and gave a forced smile, and said carefully: "It should...it should be just a legend..."

Gently patting the back of Xiaolan's hand, Zhenchun said helplessly: "Yuanzi, don't scare Xiaolan. No matter what, my master will protect you."

Zhenchun turned his head and looked at Lin Xiao, and asked with a smile: "Isn't it, Master?"

Lin Xiao couldn't help but give Zhenchun a thumbs up. He was worthy of being his direct disciple and was really capable of handling things.

Lin Xiao stepped forward and rubbed Zhenchun's little head: "Not only Xiaolan and Yuanzi, I will also protect you as my apprentice."

Suzuki Ayako looked at the harmony between the four people and felt envious. Why didn't she meet so many good friends when she was in high school?

At this time, everyone had settled down in this luxurious snow mountain villa. After they came in, they carefully explored the structure of the villa and looked to see if Teacher Shanshan was here. Naturally, they found nothing. So, everyone was carrying out their own activities.

Misato Nakamura and Ayako Suzuki were preparing dinner for everyone in the kitchen. The ingredients were purchased near the ski resort at the foot of the mountain. Xiaolan and Sonoko were ready to help, but they were rejected by Misato and Ayako.

At this time, Lin Xiao and others were sitting next to the fireplace in the living room of the villa, warming themselves by the fire and chatting about interesting things in Teitan Academy.

"Teacher Sayuri, do you like lemon tea?"

When everyone was chatting excitedly, Lin Xiao asked subconsciously when he saw Sayuri Matsumoto take out a can of lemon tea from the shopping bag beside her, then put in a straw and started drinking it sweetly.

After hearing Lin Xiao's words, Sayuri Matsumoto took another sip of lemon tea and said sweetly, "Well, because this is the taste of my childhood... Do you want to try it?"

There was more than one bottle of lemon tea in Sayuri Matsumoto's shopping bag.

"I don't need it." Lin Xiao waved his hand.

Conan, who was squatting by the fire in the corner, was speechless. What a taste of childhood... I didn't expect such a fierce teacher to be so sentimental. It's really unbelievable...

"Ok?"

Zhenchun, who was beside Lin Xiao, also noticed the master's reaction. Then, she saw Matsumoto Sayuri walk up to Conan and observe him very seriously.

It was at this time that Conan, who had already warmed up, felt cold again. He acted like a child and said with a cute smile, "Mr. Matsumoto, do you have anything to say?"

But as soon as Conan finished speaking, Matsumoto Sayuri stretched out her hands without saying a word and pinched his cheeks hard, almost tearing his face into a pancake shape. The pain made him almost cry.

Xiaolan and Sonoko, who were walking over from the kitchen, were also shocked when they saw this scene.

"Ah. Teacher Sayuri, what are you doing?" Xiaolan covered her mouth in surprise.

"Hehehe... I guess Conan made Teacher Sayuri unhappy." Sonoko thought maliciously.

"What are you doing? Sayuri!" Just as Conan's eyes were being pinched and tears were coming out, Akiko Yonehara came over and yelled at Sayuri Matsumoto. As a teacher, how could you bully an elementary school student like this?

"Didn't you notice? Conan looks like Kudo Shinichi. Did Kudo Shinichi turn into a child?"

Teacher Sayuri ignored Akiko Yonehara's questioning and was instead angry and extremely confused.

Hearing what Sayuri said, Sonoko woke up from her dream and said, "Yeah... I've always been annoyed with Conan because he looks like Kudo Shinichi. Xiaolan, what do you think?"

Xiaolan was also confused: "Conan is a smaller Kudo Shinichi, is this really possible?"

Conan saw that his identity was about to be exposed and didn't care about the burning pain on his face.

"I'm really not Kudo Shinichi. I just look like Shinichi-nii."

In order to cover himself up, Conan even played the victim: "Mr. Matsumoto, you pinched me and hurt me. You have to apologize to me, otherwise I will cry in front of you..."

"Ah?" Sayuri Matsumoto realized her mistake: "I'm sorry, Conan, I just felt weird and couldn't help it..."

Sayuri Matsumoto was deeply impressed by Kudo Shinichi. Not only was that guy arrogant, but he was also completely tone-deaf, a level that even Buddha couldn't save.

"I don't accept this kind of frivolous apology..."

Conan got the advantage and still acted like a good boy, as if he wanted Mr. Matsumoto Sayuri to get off his seat.

Lin Xiao came up and punched Conan on the head: "Conan, you're almost there. Mr. Matsumoto is not wrong. You just look like Kudo Shinichi, why don't you admit it."

After hearing what Lin Xiao said, Conan immediately panicked, because Lin Xiao knew his true identity and he was afraid that Lin Xiao would expose his identity.

"I know." Conan immediately restrained himself.

Sayuri Matsumoto looked at Lin Xiao with gratitude. Although she didn't say it explicitly, she was very grateful to Lin Xiao for helping her out.

After this episode, the observant Masumi Sera became extremely suspicious of Conan.

why?

Because Masumi Sera's mother, Akai Mary, also regained her youth, turning from an old aunt into a beautiful girl.

"Master, is Conan really the smaller Kudo Shinichi?" Masumi Sera asked Lin Xiao in a low voice.

Lin Xiao did not give a direct answer, but said something philosophical: "As a good detective, you should trust your intuition and judgment. Use this as a direction to look for evidence!"

"Yes, master!"

After hearing Lin Xiao’s wise teachings, Shiliang Zhenchun was filled with joy.

Chapter 224: Snow Girl's Life

"Ding Dong", "Ding Dong".

Suddenly, there were bursts of clear and pleasant doorbell sounds coming from the direction of the villa's main door.

"Hehe, it seems that the organizer of our party, Mr. Shanshan, has arrived. Let's go and greet him together." Hearing the doorbell ringing, Shimoda Kohei, who was smoking and chatting with Itai Ryuichi in the distance, put out his cigarette and said to everyone with a big laugh.

Misato Nakamura and Ayako Suzuki, who were cooking in the kitchen, also heard the doorbell and came out of the kitchen.

"Okay, Mr. Shanshan, stop ringing the doorbell. I'll open it right away...ah...you...you...is it you?!"

Hearing the doorbell ringing again, Misato Nakamura thought it was Hisatsune Sugiyama, and hurriedly walked forward with a smile to open the door. However, when she saw the figure standing in the wind and snow outside the door, she stopped the words she was about to say in horror, and instead pointed at the person outside the door and spoke in horror.

The person standing outside the door and ringing the doorbell was a thin man with short hair and gray clothes. He was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a pointed face and a pair of dead fish eyes, giving people a very gloomy feeling.

"Ah! It's you! Why are you here?!"

At this time, the people at the entrance also saw the man in gray outside the door. The reactions of Shimoda Kohei, Itai Ryuichi, Yonehara Akiko, and Matsumoto Sayuri were the same as before, with expressions of shock on their faces.

Xiaolan and the others saw the teachers' reactions and asked in surprise, "Teacher Yonehara, Teacher Sayuri, what's wrong with you? Who is this person?"

However, at this time, Akiko Yonehara and others were looking at the man in gray with a look of doubt and confusion on their faces, and they had not yet recovered from their shock.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Mori Atsushi, and I'm a newspaper reporter for a news agency in Beihua City."

The gray-clothed man named Mori Atsushi curled his lips in disdain after seeing the reactions of the teachers in the room.

When Atsushi Mori mentioned what happened three years ago, the teachers in the room looked even more uncomfortable. Physical education teacher Sakai Ryuichi immediately said angrily, "You, what are you doing here! This is a private party of our Teitan Academy!"

"Oh! You teachers are so heartless. Have you forgotten what happened three years ago? You're still holding a private party here. But it's such a coincidence that all the teachers who were involved in that incident three years ago are in this villa..."

"It seems that the anonymous letter I received before is true. The letter said that something very magical will happen in this villa tonight. If I publish it, I will definitely become a well-known reporter. I think this "magical thing" is related to you ruthless teachers. I wonder if it is related to what happened that year. It's really exciting..."

After hearing Itai Ryuichi's angry words, Mori Atsushi spread his hands indifferently and said sarcastically.

"Something's going to happen here tonight?!"

After hearing what Mori Atsushi said, everyone asked with doubt and surprise. Conan was the most sensitive among them, because he had a bad feeling from the small icicles under the eaves of the villas before, and now the mysterious anonymous letter received by the newspaper reporter made him even more suspicious.

"Yes, that's why I drove here immediately. I didn't expect there would be heavy snow in this snowy mountain, which delayed me for a long time. But it seems that I am lucky. You are all fine, which proves that I am not late." Mori Atsushi said casually with his hands in his pockets, then changed into a pair of slippers at the door and walked directly into the living room of the villa.

Seeing how rude Mori Atsushi was, Shimoda Kohei angrily shouted, "Wait a minute! Who allowed you to come in?!"

"Oh? I think it should be okay, otherwise I will publish it in the newspaper that you teachers of Teitan Academy are so inhumane that you left a poor reporter to spend the night in the icy snowy mountains. This will affect the reputation of your Teitan Academy." Hearing this, Mori Atsushi just retorted to Shimoda Kohei with a sarcastic look, then turned his head and went to the living room.

Seeing this guy being so arrogant, Ryuichi Sakai and Kohei Shimoda were both very angry, but there was nothing they could do.

At this time, Conan was even more curious about what happened three years ago and the unusual reactions of these teachers. Many things tonight were unusual. The anonymous letter might be true. Something bad might really happen in this villa tonight...

Thinking of this, Conan raised his head and asked: "Mr. Yonehara, may I ask, has Mr. Shanshan not called you yet?"

"No, he didn't call any of us, and just now Teacher Misato called him but he didn't answer. This is really strange." Yonehara Akiko shook her head and said.

After hearing what Yonehara Akiko said, Conan became even more suspicious, but there was nothing he could do now, so he could only take it one step at a time...

Meanwhile, the observant Sera Masumi whispered to Lin Xiao, "Master... after Mori Atsushi mentioned what happened three years ago, Shimoda Kohei showed not only shock and anger, but also panic and guilt. His eyes became a little erratic. That look showed avoidance! Do you think there will be problems?"

Lin Xiao felt the same way: "It's very likely."

"What should I do?"

"We'll see what happens."

"Let's see what happens?"

Shiliang Zhenchun pursed his lips and said, "Master, what you said is as good as nothing you said."

After some time, dinner was ready.

In the restaurant.

Everyone sat around a large dining table and ate dinner prepared by Suzuki Ayako and Nakamura Misato.

However, the dining atmosphere at this time was not very good and a bit dull. The reason was naturally the uninvited guest, Atsushi Mori. With the presence of this uninvited reporter, even Sayuri Matsumoto, who was very cheerful before, was not very active. She just lowered her head and drank lemon tea silently.

"Wow. Isn't this the Suzuki sisters? If you allow me, can I interview you?"

The two sisters, Suzuki Ayako and Suzuki Sonoko, looked at each other and said in unison, "Of course not."

After hearing the rejection, Mori Atsushi still kept smiling. She couldn't afford to offend the daughter of the Suzuki family.