I'm in Detective Conan, and the system has assigned me a succubus.

In fact, Miss Shirley had already had a simple dinner before coming to meet her.

But in the universe of "pretty girls," main meals and desserts have always belonged to two parallel universes, each with its own independent and non-interfering "stomach."

Especially freshly baked, hot, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside pastries with an irresistible sweet aroma.

For Miss Shirley, its allure was comparable to a set of experimental data in a laboratory that perfectly matched expectations—

They have almost no resistance.

"It's good that you didn't eat it."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded knowingly, a mischievous smile flashing in his eyes. Then, under Shiho Miyano's expectant gaze, he brazenly brought the taiyaki to his mouth and took a big bite!

"Perfect, now I can enjoy this delicious food all to myself in front of you without any worries."

The crispy batter crackled pleasantly between his teeth, and the rich chocolate center was faintly visible under the light.

Ok? !

Shiho Miyano was stunned; her small nose even twitched slightly in surprise.

She...she thought...she would at least get half of this taiyaki!

A surge of emotion, a mixture of shame and annoyance at being teased and frustration at having my expectations dashed, welled up inside me.

She took a deep breath of the cool night air, turned around abruptly, and faced Uesugi Tetsuya with her straight but slightly thin back. Her shoulders under her black coat were slightly tense due to her sullenness.

He displayed a resolute attitude that said, "I never want to talk to you anymore, you bastard."

Despicable! Despicable! Absolutely despicable!

Miss Shirley gritted her teeth and swore in her heart—

If she were to say another word to this jerk who enjoys teasing her, Shiho Miyano would be a dog!

But less than three seconds after the thought crossed her mind, she felt something was off.

Why should she be the puppy? That's not fair!

It should be changed to—

If you talk to this bastard again, Uesugi Tetsuya is the dog!

"Give."

Just as Miss Shirley was undergoing a fierce and childish "vow revision" in her mind.

That familiar, yet unusually gentle voice came from very close behind me.

At the same time, a taiyaki, warm and sweet-smelling, with a bite taken out of it revealing a rich chocolate filling, was placed in front of her, diagonally in front of her within her line of sight.

Miss Shirley's body suddenly stiffened, but she didn't turn around immediately.

She quickly glanced at the hand holding the taiyaki out of the corner of her eye—

With its distinct knuckles and long, slender fingers, it's definitely Uesugi Tetsu's hand.

Then, Miss Shirley very quickly and secretly glanced at the profile of the man beside her, whose face was adorned with a distinctly mischievous smile.

The sweet aroma of chocolate lingering around my nose was simply too tempting.

The comforting warmth of the taiyaki wafting through the oil paper from my palm can still be felt...

The will to resist crumbled quickly in the face of delicious food and someone's initiative to "make peace".

After struggling internally, or rather, holding back for about two seconds, Miss Shirley slowly turned her head to the side with a somewhat reluctant yet haughty demeanor.

She didn't look into Uesugi Tetsu's eyes; her gaze was fixed on the taiyaki that had been bitten, making it look even more tempting.

The hesitation lasted only a moment. Miss Shirley quickly reached out, her fingertips inevitably brushing against the man's warm palm, and took the half of the taiyaki.

The pastries, wrapped in oil paper, were at the perfect temperature, warming her slightly cool palms and quietly dispelling the pervasive, bone-chilling cold of the winter night alleyways.

"Humph."

Miss Shirley squeezed out a single syllable from her throat, which was her way of responding to the apology, albeit reluctantly.

She turned around and faced the deep alley again, no longer with her back to Uesugi Tetsu.

Then, Miss Shirley carefully took a small bite of the cut surface, which was dripping with dark chocolate sauce.

The crispy, slightly sweet crust, mixed with the warm, rich chocolate filling with a hint of bitterness characteristic of high-end cocoa, melts instantly on the tongue.

The sweetness is just right, with a subtle hint of bitterness that perfectly balances out any potential cloying sweetness, resulting in the rich flavor of premium chocolate.

"Huff, huff..."

However, Miss Shirley underestimated the calories contained in the freshly baked chocolate filling.

Her hasty bite caught the scalding hot chocolate sauce off guard and landed in her mouth.

This caused Miss Shirley to unconsciously furrow her delicate brows, and her usually clear and cold eyes instantly became misty with moisture.

Her pink and moist lips parted slightly in surprise, and she exhaled several breaths of hot, sweet-smelling air.

The crisp winter night air met this warm breath instantly, and under the dim streetlights, it turned into wisps of fleeting white mist that drifted away from her slightly parted lips.

It added a touch of liveliness and warmth to Miss Shirley's cool profile.

The burning sensation on her tongue made her stomp her ankle boots lightly, the heels tapping on the cold cement floor with two crisp, soft sounds.

This slightly childlike action instantly shattered her deliberately maintained icy aura, making her appear lively and charming, even endearingly clumsy and cute.

However, Miss Shirley's pride and rationality quickly returned.

She almost immediately forced herself to suppress all the emotions on her face, pursed her lips again, and tried to straighten her back, attempting to cover up the momentary loss of composure she had just experienced.

She returned to her usual calm and composed self, determined not to give this overly observant jerk any ammunition to make fun of her.

However, Miss Shirley's adorable appearance just now, with her brows furrowed and panting after being burned, was quite different.

And the vivid image of the black coat hem lifting up when she stomped her feet, revealing the taut curves of her calves wrapped in black stockings.

Uesugi Tetsu, who was leisurely eating another taiyaki with his rice, had already seen everything without missing a single detail.

He felt that the red bean-flavored taiyaki in his hand had gained a different, sweet taste.

"call--"

Uesugi Tetsu played along perfectly, exaggeratingly blowing on the sea bream he had taken a bite out of.

As if dispelling the non-existent "heat," it perfectly concealed the almost overflowing smile in her eyes, considerately refraining from exposing her feigned composure.

"How is it? Is it delicious?"

Uesugi Tetsu asked casually, as if nothing "interesting" had happened.

"Ah."

Miss Shirley nodded slightly and responded.

Perhaps it was the lingering aroma of chocolate in her mouth, or perhaps it was the lingering embarrassment, but her voice was much softer than usual.

Like melted toffee, it has a cloyingly sweet taste and is extremely fun.

The two stood side by side in the depths of the quiet, deserted alley, with the dim, old streetlights casting two elongated shadows that sometimes separated and sometimes overlapped, isolating them from the faint noise coming from the shopping street not far away.

It seemed to be a secluded world, isolated from the rest of the world, filled with sweet fragrance and subtle ambiguity.

The night wind swept through the alley, carrying the chill of late winter, blowing a few strands of brown hair peeking out from under Shiho Miyano's beret, and gently brushing against her cheeks, which were flushed with a faint blush.

"When I came over just now, I saw that many shops on the shopping street were having Valentine's Day promotions, it was very lively."

Uesugi Tetsu leaned lazily against the mottled, cold brick wall, his gaze falling on Miyano Shiho's profile, which was outlined with a beautiful curve by the light.

"right."

Miss Shirley responded calmly, her fingers holding the taiyaki tightening slightly.

A fleeting glint of light flashed in those clear blue eyes beneath the shadow of the hat brim, before returning to calm.

She had actually seen all the overwhelming advertising, and... at that moment, she was harboring a little-known girlish worry about the "Valentine's Day chocolate."

In terms of cooking skills... she's probably still a hundred times worse off than Toru Uesugi... well, maybe a hundred Akemi Miyanos?

In her mind, Mingmei's cooking skills were the ceiling for "ordinary people".

In short, Shiho Miyano's experience in cooking is practically zero.

While studying in the United States, the only thing she could independently make that could be considered "food" was probably a "blueberry peanut butter sandwich," which was a level of "engineering."

This made Miss Shirley, who had always been successful in academic and intellectual fields, feel real distress and frustration about "life skills" for the first time.

Although reason tells her that she could do what most people do: buy top-quality ready-made chocolate, melt it in a double boiler, pour it into carefully selected molds to reshape it, which is simple, convenient, and guarantees the taste.

However, in the eyes of the proud and brilliant scientist Shiho Miyano, this method is tantamount to academic cheating and is a "heretical path" that lacks sincerity and creativity!

Miss Shirley secretly made up her mind and is using all her spare time to secretly study chocolate-making tutorials, determined to make chocolate with her own hands and brain.

Present Uesugi Tetsuya with a unique chocolate gift that is at least "decent".

This is Miss Shirley's awkward romance and persistence.

"The implication of my words... shouldn't be as obvious as it gets, right?"

Seeing that she only gave a dry reply without any intention of continuing the conversation, Uesugi Tetsuya bluntly threw out a direct question, his eyes filled with a smile as he looked directly at her slightly trembling eyelashes.

Shiho Miyano's heart skipped a beat, and the heat that had finally subsided on her face seemed to be rising again.

Not to be outdone, she returned the same direct question, but her gaze involuntarily began to wander, landing on a tenacious weed growing in a crack in the wall across the alley: "Dogs... can't eat chocolate, it'll poison them."

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Tetsu raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

He suddenly leaned down without warning and moved closer to Shiho Miyano.

The imposing feeling brought about by the height difference between the two instantly enveloped them.

As he leaned down, his warm breath mingled with a faint, cool scent belonging to Toru Uesugi himself, brushing against Shiho Miyano's sensitive earlobes and the exposed skin of her neck.

Miss Shirley's muscles tensed instantly, like a startled cat.

The curves of her body beneath the black fitted coat, especially the soft arc of her chest that rose and fell slightly as she unconsciously held her breath, became exceptionally clear at this moment.

She could even feel her heart pounding in her chest.

However, the anticipated further "attack" did not occur.

Uesugi Tetsu's target was the chocolate taiyaki that was still mostly uneaten in her hand.

He quickly bent down and, without any hesitation, took a big bite right next to where she had just bitten!

He devoured almost a third of the taiyaki in her hand, leaving a clear, forceful tooth mark next to his previous bite mark.

Shiho Miyano: "..."

She looked down at the taiyaki in her hand that had instantly become "broken," and was stunned for two seconds.

Seemingly still not fully recovered from the heart-pounding closeness, and also not expecting Uesugi Tetsuya's "attack" target to be so "simple and unadorned".

Immediately, a surge of shame and anger at being "snatched from the tiger's mouth," mixed with an inexplicable sense of being mocked and wronged, rushed to the top of my head.

Miss Shirley raised her small fist, which wasn't holding a taiyaki, and, disregarding her cool and aloof image, lightly but forcefully punched Uesugi Tetsuya's shoulder with a gesture of venting her anger.

Bang, bang.

Two muffled thuds, the force soft and weak, were less like punches and more like a coquettish, feeble protest, or even a kind of affectionate whining.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong, I was wrong!" Uesugi Tetsu immediately raised his hands in surrender, his tone a casual and insincere admission of wrongdoing, but the smile in his eyes deepened.

He handed her the red bean taiyaki with a chipped corner, saying generously, "Here, take a bite of mine! Just one bite, that's all!"

Shiho Miyano glared at him, her usually calm and icy blue eyes now shimmering with tears, appearing exceptionally bright and vivid with anger and embarrassment.

She was about to turn her face away haughtily, saying "I don't care," but then she thought about it again and felt extremely unwilling.

Why should I?!

Uesugi Tetsuya took two big bites of her chocolate taiyaki!

She only took one bite of him, and it was he who offered it to her!

This is a huge loss!

Moreover, my chocolate taiyaki is now only a pitiful half left!

Driven by a strange competitive spirit of "not wanting to be at a disadvantage," Miss Shirley took a deep breath and slightly tiptoed.

Facing the golden taiyaki in Uesugi Tetsu's hand, which exuded the sweet aroma of red beans, she aimed at the bite mark next to it and took a big, vengeful bite!