The two looked at each other.

At this moment, Ai's expression was calm, just as Mitsuyu had thought before; she didn't take this small matter to heart.

I just helped tidy up a bit.

"You're quite the talker, aren't you?" Kōyū put down his chopsticks, a smile on his face, and looked at Ai.

"Just doing it on the spur of the moment." Ai's answer was exactly what Kou had expected, so her expression didn't change much when she said it.

It was just a small, insignificant thing; there's no need to take it to heart.

If Kousuke were to tell Ai Haibara what he had been thinking, she would probably reply, "Compared to what you've done for me, what I've done is nothing."

Suddenly, some noise came from the direction of the bathroom. Guangyou guessed that Xiaolan and the others would be coming out soon.

"Ai, come here for a second," Mitsuyu said to Ai after thinking for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Ai frowned slightly, walked towards Guangyou, and glanced at the instant noodles that were still mostly left on the table.

"Can't you finish it? If you can't finish it, just throw it away. Be more careful next time."

“No, I can eat it.” Guangyou shook his head and stood up from the ground.

"Then what's wrong with you?" Ai asked, puzzled.

"I just suddenly wanted to hug my Ai..." Kōyū's expression softened instantly, and he opened his arms to hug Ai.

Suddenly being hugged, Ai was stunned for a moment. After regaining her senses, she hugged Kousuke back and gently patted his back, trying to soften her voice.

"What’s wrong with you?"

She was worried that Guangyou was overthinking things again.

"I just wanted to hug you..." Kōyū listened carefully to the sounds coming from the bathroom, his head buried in Ai's shoulder, his voice a little muffled.

"Don't overthink it..." Ai paused for a moment, then changed her words, "If you want to hug me, then hug me, but Ran and the others will be out soon."

It wasn't that she was unwilling, she just didn't want to be seen by others.

"I'll be careful." Kōyū felt that Rin and the others were about to come out of the bathroom, so he let go of their hands and looked at Ai.

"You should get some rest. I'm going back now," Ai said with concern.

"Mm." Kōyū nodded, watching Ai walk towards the room, his smile widening even more.

...