Chapter 84 (Previous Chapter 83) - A Bitter Almond-Flavored Qixi Festival Special (Part 2)...

Why don't you make our relationship public?

Just because we're not related?

The deceased, lying in the shop, was a well-dressed young man. Half of his body remained in the fitting room, while his upper body slumped forward on the floor in front of the fitting room. His contorted face revealed that he had suffered great pain when he died. The business card holder on his body was gaping open from the fall, and the snow-white business cards were scattered all over the floor like snowflakes.

The person who screamed was the shop assistant who had just helped Zhuge Tongzhi and Natalie with their shopping. At this moment, she collapsed on the ground not far from the dead, trembling all over, her pale face drained of all color in an instant.

In addition, there was a woman with long, wavy hair standing in front of a sofa. Judging from the marks on the sofa, she must have been sitting on it for a while before the incident. Another woman was a capable woman with shoulder-length short hair, who was standing at the entrance of the store looking surprised.

Zhuge Tongzhi's gaze swept over the various expressions on the faces of the people in the shop, before he held tightly to Natalie, the fourth witness beside him.

The blonde woman was clearly startled by the sudden incident, but she quickly calmed down, squeezed the girl's hand to show that she was alright, and took the initiative to proceed with the process, saying, "I'll call the police."

“Well, don’t worry about Natalie.” Zhuge Tongzhi patted Natalie’s hand, looked up and smiled, “We’ll find out the truth soon.”

As they were talking, two teenage detectives, one big and one small, emerged from the crowd and quickly shouted to maintain order inside and outside the shop, demanding that no one who had been inside leave.

Conan, who never calls the police himself, turned his gaze to Zhuge Tongzhi. Just as he was about to ask the other party to call the police, he heard the blonde woman next to the girl already speaking precise and concise location information into the phone.

"...Yes, we are currently in the 'wait for you' clothing store on the 5th floor of the mall. The deceased had no obvious external injuries..."

Conan closed his mouth again, quickly taking advantage of the opportunity to examine the deceased's clues with Hattori Heiji. However, since their intention was to go out with their childhood friend, they naturally wouldn't be carrying anything like rubber gloves, so they only observed the details from a distance.

However, a good detective can discover many details from the details alone. After Conan and Heiji Hattori each observed around the semicircle, they quickly made a judgment about the deceased's life details and cause of death.

"The deceased had a ferocious expression and died suddenly while trying on clothes. The only clothes in the fitting room were his own clothes that he had taken off, indicating that the clothes he was wearing were the only ones he was going to try on, yet he died from poisoning in a short time."

Conan, who had been half-crouching beside the deceased, stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and analyzed, "A rosy complexion, pink lips and nails, and the ability to kill quickly in a short time..."

He and Hattori Heiji exchanged a glance and said at the same time, "□□ poisoning."

"To confirm further, we need to check if there's a bitter almond smell in the deceased's mouth. But the perfume here is too strong; let's wait for the police to arrive before testing." Conan glanced at the display case of various perfumes in the shop and continued to examine other details.

"Pathway: The bitter almond scent hidden within the perfume (completed)"

Standing beside the two, Zhuge Tongzhi listened to this reasoning about the cause of death, but felt no emotion whatsoever. He didn't even bother to feign a surprised "I see."

As many Conan fans know, Japanese people are very susceptible to **sexual addiction** (scratch that).

Next waypoint: The discordant perfume stand (incomplete)

Following the navigation arrows, Zhuge Tongzhi walked toward the perfume display stand, which looked no different from when he left.

The black-haired girl stood on tiptoe and looked for a while, then suddenly turned her head and caught the gaze of the woman with wavy hair. After the woman hurriedly looked away, the girl raised her phone and took a picture of a blue bottle of perfume.

"Waypoint: The discordant perfume stand (completed)"

Next step: Where do striped T-shirts come from? (Incomplete)

Zhuge Tongzhi raised his eyebrows as he looked at the question on the navigation box. The striped T-shirt was taken from the clothes rack in the store, so where else could it have come from?

The girl in the red dress with the green hem slowly walked past the deceased, following the blue and white navigation arrows, heading towards the clothing section with a row of identical T-shirts hanging there.

The two detectives behind him continued to analyze the deceased.

"The deceased was well-dressed and had a habit of wearing watches, necklaces, and earrings. There was also a white mark on the left middle finger from wearing a ring, indicating that the deceased was engaged."

Hattori Heiji summarized his findings, glanced at the plain-looking man on the ground, and said speechlessly, "But he took it off on purpose today. This guy probably came here shopping with his crush."

"Yes, the deceased's name was Shunsuke Yajima. He was the heir to a well-known listed company, and news of his engagement broke around last year." Conan picked up a business card from the ground, flipped it over to reveal a detailed company introduction: "It's a company that deals with entertainment news and has made many internet celebrities famous."

However, none of them have truly mastered long-term traffic. They often rely on a single eye-catching event to ride a wave of traffic before being swept away by the next wave.

For example, the woman with long, wavy hair standing in front of the sofa. Conan quickly searched for the deceased's company on his phone and soon confirmed that she was none other than Saotome Nao, a former internet celebrity who had become very popular online.

However, just like her meteoric rise to fame, Saotome Nao has also quickly faded from the spotlight. It now seems that her relationship with the deceased was probably not just a simple superior-subordinate one.

As for the capable-looking short-haired woman, Conan hasn't found a photo of her yet, but she's probably an employee of the deceased's company.

The two detectives quickly uncovered the victim's life story through observation alone. Zhuge Tongzhi followed the navigation instructions and walked around the shop. He quickly figured out the killer's method by noticing some differences in his appearance before and after entering and leaving the shop.

But that wasn't enough, Conan, Heiji Hattori, and Kirito all thought of at the same time.

Fortunately, Tokyo's police response speed had been honed to perfection during this period, and within ten minutes, familiar officers from the Tokyo First Investigation Division and the detectives had all gathered together.

Inspector Megure greeted Heiji Hattori, the famous detective from Kansai, glanced at Conan, and then began looking around for Kogoro Mouri.

"That's strange, why didn't Mori come?" Inspector Megure scratched his head, looking down at Conan with a half-moon eye: "But I knew you little brat would be there."

"Hahaha, what did you say, Inspector Megure? It just so happens that Heiji-nii came here to play." Conan laughed and said in a sweet voice.

Heiji Hattori gave off a "Hahaha, Kudo, you really are" expression of suppressed laughter, but after Conan stepped on his foot with a sweet smile, he turned into a mask of pure pain.

Inspector Megure remarked, "Every time I run into you, it's either you or that kid Kudo. You guys should go to the shrine and pray sometime."

When Conan was mentioned at the same time as Ran Mouri, he immediately became a little nervous. He looked around to see if Ran was nearby, while racking his brains to figure out a reasonable way to cover it up.

Anyway, Hattori's right there, so we won't need today's dose of tranquilizer darts. Two ominous white reflections appeared on Conan's glasses, and his right hand silently reached for the side of his watch. Maybe he should just take Inspector Megure down.

Fortunately, at that moment, Date Wataru, who had finished talking with Natalie, came to the rescue.

Having overheard the conversation, the burly police officer silently separated Conan and Inspector Megure. Quickly getting into work mode, the man exuded a serious aura and promptly reported the case's background provided by the public to Inspector Megure, steer the conversation towards the case itself.

Unaware that he had escaped a needle prick, Inspector Megure nodded and began directing his fully dressed subordinates to examine the deceased, quickly getting to work.

Watching his superior walk away, Date Wataru pulled out two pairs of rubber gloves and handed them to Hattori Heiji and Conan, giving them a thumbs-up and a hearty smile, saying, "Let's work together to find out the truth!"

After saying that, he turned around and handed a pair of gloves to Zhuge Tongzhi, who was accompanying Natalie, and then joined his colleagues in the investigation, starting to record the personal information of the people at the crime scene.

Hattori Heiji put on his gloves and looked at Date Wataru's retreating figure with a puzzled expression. "Kudo, are you familiar with this officer? Or is he always like this?"

In the past, Conan would probably have told Heiji Hattori that it was because Wataru Date, who had been transferred to Tokyo, had finally adapted to local customs. However, after "interrogating" Ran and Officer Hagiwara about what they had talked about yesterday... Conan looked at Wataru Date, who was in the same police academy class as Kenji Hagiwara, and silently put on his children's rubber gloves.

Has the secret that he is Shinichi Kudo become so casual now?!

Fortunately, most of the people who know the inside story are trustworthy, and what can you do if you don't trust them? Conan sighed and briefly explained to Heiji Hattori, "We met because of the case, and Inspector Date's reasoning and insight are very strong, so please don't call me Kudo."

Even if the other party most likely already knows who you are, you should at least be mindful of how you address them!

"Hey Conan, make sure you hold Heiji's hand tight."

"hehe."

"Ouch! My instep is going to swell up!"

Despite their bickering, the detective duo worked quickly, rapidly examining the deceased and sharing their findings with Inspector Megure.

"Okay, I understand." Inspector Megure flipped through the brief record of personal information in his hand, looked at the wavy-haired woman sitting uneasily to the side, and said, "Ms. Saotome, please tell me about the situation before the incident."

Nao Saotome, 26 years old, is the girlfriend of the deceased Yajima and one of the internet celebrities who collaborate with the deceased's company.

Saotome Nao hesitated for a moment, repeating her words of self-defense several times before swallowing hard and saying under Inspector Megure's reassurance, "I came here with Shunsuke to pick out clothes because tomorrow is Tanabata, and we both want to prepare for our date."

"After we entered the store, Junjie went to the changing room to try on clothes and started screaming in pain. We quickly opened the door to see what had happened, and he just collapsed on the ground and died!"

As the woman with wavy hair spoke, she pointed at the shop assistant who was being helped up and said loudly and confidently, "She must have done something to kill Jun-suke!"

A baseless and incorrect answer. Zhuge Tongzhi turned to look at the flustered Saotome Nao, then continued to listen intently to the confrontation on the other end.

The main ways to be poisoned are through oral ingestion, inhalation, or seepage through wounds. Since the deceased suddenly died from poisoning while changing clothes, the most likely cause is seepage through a wound.

The black-haired girl, crouching beside the corpse, deliberately lifted the clothes on the deceased's wrists, waist, and back of the neck, finally discovering a rather ambiguous scratch on the back of the man's neck.

She raised her hand and gestured to the others who were also looking for the wound. Conan, Heiji Hattori, and Wataru Date immediately saw the still very fresh wound and touched the collar of her t-shirt.

The slightly damp feeling on the gloves made his expression change slightly. He quickly pinched out a small wisp of translucent, fluffy substance from the back of his neck. Conan and Heiji Hattori exchanged a glance, and they basically had a plan for the murder method.

So, the next step is to determine who will make the move.

Date Wataru went to report the important discovery to Inspector Megure, who soon expressed his hope that everyone who had come into contact with the T-shirt would explain. Obviously, the store clerks who had come into contact with the T-shirt changed their expressions drastically.

The woman with the wavy hair pointed at her was deathly pale, and she vehemently denied it, saying, "Why would I kill this gentleman! I'm just a sales assistant. I even hope he can buy a few clothes to boost his sales figures. What does that have to do with me!"

"Stop making excuses! You must have tampered with the clothes!" Saotome Nao raised her voice, trying to drown out the shop assistant's. "You were the last person to touch this t-shirt!"

The shop assistant got flustered and turned to point at the short-haired woman who was on the phone next to her, saying rapidly, "If anyone else has ever touched the clothes, it's her! She brought the clothes to me and insisted that I iron them! She's the culprit."

“Um, this…” Inspector Megure flipped through his notebook, but before he could find the record, the short-haired woman who had been involved hung up the phone and calmly introduced herself: “Chika Morimura, Mr. Yajima’s secretary.”

Chika Morimura, who had been helping the deceased Yajima with his company business as his secretary, was also one of the people accompanying him today.

“I just informed the chairman.” Chika Morimura nodded to Inspector Megure and then said to the panting shop assistant, “Mr. Yajima is a germaphobe and always has the habit of sterilizing clothes at high temperatures before trying them on. I believe Ms. Saotome is aware of this as well.”

"Moreover, I wasn't in the store when the clothes were being ironed. I had some urgent business to attend to at the company, so I went out to answer a phone call. When I came back, Mr. Yajima had already collapsed on the ground."

The secretary showed everyone the call log on her phone, and the police officer who was reviewing the surveillance footage nodded in agreement that what the other party said was indeed correct.

The woman with wavy hair standing next to him nodded with a grim expression, indicating that the deceased did indeed have obsessive-compulsive disorder, so the requirement for high-temperature ironing was not unusual.

For a time, the investigation of the case was stuck in a rut.

Everyone's account was truthful and credible. Inspector Megure tapped his notebook with some difficulty, and was about to turn around to ask Date Wataru and the detectives for their opinions when he saw the four people standing behind him wearing cryptic smiles.

"Do you think the same way I do, Conan-kun... cough, Conan-kun?" Heiji Hattori coughed and chuckled.

"Ah, that's about it." Conan put his hands in his pockets and looked at Nao Saotome. "But there are still some doubts."

"Yes, but the process of the crime is already quite clear." Date Wataru picked up a toothpick from somewhere and it was now bobbing up and down as he spoke.

"Hmm, but I understand everything now," Zhuge Tongzhi smugly hummed. "Everything!"

"Haha, Tongtong is very smart." After agreeing with Natalie on how to address him, Ida Kou raised his hand and ruffled Zhuge Tongzhi's hair, giving him a thumbs up.

"Oh? How did you find that?" Conan and Heiji Hattori raised their eyebrows, and after Zhuge Tongzhi showed them a photo, they both looked towards the perfume cabinet. Finally, they realized and said, "The details here are hard to notice."

“After all, you came to the store after the incident, so it’s normal that you didn’t notice.” Zhuge Tongzhi put away the photos and smiled. “Now, everything is clear.”

So, what exactly did the four of you understand...? Inspector Megure looked at the four inhuman people in front of him and felt that his police career, which seemed to be about outsmarting criminals, was actually just cooperating with the detectives' stage play.

And what's wrong with you, Date Wataru, hanging around with the detectives?! Give me a proper report on your findings! Exhausted, Inspector Megure closed his eyes. Fortunately, the detectives weren't going to keep him in suspense forever.

"Hey, saleswoman, isn't one of your perfumes missing?" Zhuge Tongzhi pointed to the neatly arranged perfume counter and asked the saleswoman, "I remember there used to be a blue bottle of perfume there."

The sales clerk, when asked the question, instinctively retorted, "Our perfumes are currently featuring warm colors, so we shouldn't have any in blue bottles...wait?"

Everyone saw a bottle of blue perfume on that display stand, surrounded by other items in the very center of the stand. At first glance, one might mistake it for some kind of deliberate display.

"No, this is not one of our products," the sales clerk firmly denied, walking over to pick up the bottle of perfume that didn't belong to our store, intending to spray it on to try and identify the brand.

"You'd better not press it, it contains a deadly poison that will kill you if you inhale it." Zhuge Tongzhi's words made the shop assistant freeze, and the slipping perfume bottle was caught by Yida Hang.

"What does this mean?" Inspector Megure asked, puzzled. "What's in this perfume? It looks no different from ordinary perfume."

"That's because a small amount of dry ice was used on the display stand for the sake of the set design, so the bottom of the perfume bottle was covered by white smoke, making it difficult to see the difference at a glance," Zhuge Tongzhi explained, and asked Yida Hang to show the bottom of the perfume bottle to everyone.

"But it is precisely because of those dry ice particles that can cool things down that the perfume owner's intentions are exposed."

When Date held up the perfume bottle to show everyone, Inspector Megure noticed something amiss when he looked closely at it against the light.

"There seem to be crystals at the bottom of the bottle."

“Yes, and there are two reasons. One is the dry ice refrigeration I just mentioned, and the other is that perfume is basically 75% alcohol.” Zhuge Tongzhi explained, waving his finger. “Potassium cyanate has the properties of being ‘slightly soluble in ethanol’ and ‘sparingly soluble in cold water’.”

"Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the reason the deceased was poisoned was that his wounds came into contact with potassium cyanide. He had numerous scratches on his back and back of his neck, making it very easy to start from the wounds."

"The murderer intended to kill the victim by spraying perfume on the wound while testing the perfume, but each bottle of perfume on the perfume display stand had a groove, so she secretly replaced one of the bottles, planning to switch it back after committing the crime."

“After all, who would notice the perfume stand in a clothing store?” Zhuge Tongzhi said, glancing at Saotome Nao, whose face had turned pale. “Therefore, the owner of the perfume must have a bottle of perfume in her bag that should have been in the center.”

“I remember there was an inscription on that perfume bottle that said ‘L’attente sans espoir’,” the girl said in French. “It can be translated as ‘futile waiting,’ right, Miss Saotome?”

All eyes turned to Saotome Nao, the woman with wavy hair, who forced a smile and retorted palely, "Shunsuke and I are boyfriend and girlfriend, how could I possibly want to kill him?"

But her tightly gripped handbag betrayed the truth. The secretary beside her gave a mocking smile and said, "Love? Ever since you asked Mr. Yajima to make you popular again after you were rejected, you've hated him to death, haven't you?"

Nao Saotome opened her mouth, but Inspector Megure interrupted her, saying, "Well then, ladies, please show us what's inside your backpacks."

As soon as he finished speaking, Conan and Heiji Hattori rushed to the sofa. One of them opened Saotome Nao's bag, but his attention was obviously on the bag next to her. The other opened Morimura Kazuka's backpack and poked his head inside.

"Hey..." Inspector Megure looked at the two men who had taken the bottle of perfume as evidence from their bags but seemed distracted, and said helplessly, "Now that the case is solved, it's time to put the evidence in bags."

"But, Ms. Saotome is not the murderer."

Zhuge Tongzhi's clear and crisp words startled Inspector Megure. He turned to look at the black-haired girl who had her hands in her pockets. "But didn't you say she killed the victim by spraying perfume?"

“She can only be considered an attempted murder.” Zhuge Tongzhi shook his head and said, “When I left the shop, the deceased hadn’t tried on the clothes yet. Miss Saotome probably intended to commit the crime after trying on the clothes, but someone beat her to it.”

In this day and age, do you have to stake out a location and be the first to arrive to commit murder?

Will the next case be a relay race where the killer takes turns slashing someone, and then forwards it to their friends saying: "I'm slashing Mr. X, you should slash him too."

Inspector Megure looked puzzled.

"The real cause of death was indeed potassium cyanide poisoning, but it was because there was liquid potassium cyanide on the back of the collar, which came into contact with the wound and caused the poisoning," Ida Wataru explained to everyone. "So, the real culprit is the person who poisoned the T-shirt."

The shop assistant's face flushed red with anxiety, and she shouted, "It wasn't me!"

"Of course it's not you, because you probably didn't even notice the problem with the clothes you're wearing."

Heiji Hattori revealed a confident smile from under his baseball cap, "The clothes you received are from the store, but they are not the ones displayed in the store today."

"Detective Hattori, what do you mean?" Inspector Megure was getting confused by this kind of sentence that was like "you are you, but you are not you."

"To put it simply, someone bought this T-shirt in advance, modified the back of the collar, and then brought it into the store today for the deceased to try on. The poison was then applied to the wound on the back of the neck to kill the victim." After Hattori Heiji finished speaking, he looked at Morimura Kazuka, who had a calm expression, with a sharp gaze: "Right, Miss Secretary?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Kazuyoshi Morimura calmly replied, "Mr. Yajima took a liking to this outfit at first sight. Besides, how would I know he would have a wound on the back of his neck? This is simply too fantastical a deduction."

“Besides,” the short-haired woman said, crossing her arms and looking at the detectives with suspicion, “I wasn’t there when they were ironing and changing clothes, so how am I supposed to kill my boss?”

“But the older sister is a personal secretary, right? She goes shopping with her boss and must take care of his daily needs.” Conan said innocently in a high-pitched voice, “My mom knows what clothes I like to wear, so the older sister must know the deceased’s preferences too.”

"Yeah, you love wearing blue suits, red bow ties, and shorts the most." Zhuge Tongzhi said with a deadpan expression.

An outfit that exudes an even more deathly aura than a black cloak and scythe.

“This store only has one type of striped T-shirt, and I don’t think they have the largest size left.” Conan continued in his childlike innocence, “That’s strange, how come the deceased happened to be wearing the only one in the largest size?”

Kazuyoshi Morimura tightened her grip and retorted, "That might just be a coincidence. The largest size is always in short supply."

That makes a lot of sense. For example, sizes S and 4XL are often out of stock in stores. But Zhuge Tongzhi said, "But the quantity of clothes is wrong."

The black-haired girl, who had just followed the navigation around the store, said, "I counted. There were 36 pieces of clothing hanging there before the deceased entered the store, and there are still 36 pieces now."

Morimura Kazuka's pupils contracted sharply as he looked at Zhuge Tongzhi in disbelief.

“But the deceased was wearing a striped T-shirt, which wasn’t one of the clothes that came in at the store today.” Zhuge Tongzhi finished speaking and added, “I counted them when I was bored.”

Who would bother counting this kind of thing? Conan and Heiji Hattori looked speechless, while Zhuge Tongzhi remained calm.

Her approach to solving cases is completely different from that of the detectives. The reason she asked about the blue perfume bottle earlier wasn't because of any color inconsistency; it was simply because O-Navigation had informed her that there hadn't been a blue perfume bottle here before.

The problem with the T-shirts was discovered because O said the quantity of clothes was incorrect.

In addition, compared to when she left the store, there were many other differences that the navigation pointed out: only the striped T-shirts in the men's clothing section had been searched, the equipment in the steam sterilization area had been moved, the perfumes on the perfume stand had been switched, and so on.

There was also a disguised Morofushi Kagemitsu in the crowd. She glanced at the green triangle marker in the crowd, then looked away. It was probably his turn to escort Date Wataru on duty.

So, while the detectives follow the clues on the deceased, Zhuge Tongzhi is playing a game of finding the differences between two scenes, and the altered differences will be traces of the case.

However, although she mentioned the issue of the number of clothes, the store clerk did not count the number of clothes, and the surveillance camera responsible for filming the T-shirt area was consistently malfunctioning.

So Zhuge Tongzhi left the scene with regret, and then snuggled up to Natalie, where the blonde woman picked him up and gave him a proud kiss.

Well, anyway, she already got the correct answer.

The case was handed back to Conan. The black-haired, blue-eyed boy picked up the secretary's backpack and said, "The secretary is wearing a very professional business outfit today, but she's carrying a large, sporty backpack. This is to avoid too many creases in her clothes so that it won't be noticed."

"At the same time, there's a very obvious chemical smell in your backpack, typical of new clothes," Hattori Heiji reasoned, following Conan's words. "But the backpack shows signs of use, so it's clearly not brand new. Therefore, the smell doesn't come from the backpack itself."

"But Ms. Morimura wasn't at the scene when the incident occurred. How could she have ensured that the T-shirt was disinfected by someone else, and that the victim's wounds came into contact with potassium cyanide?" Inspector Megure asked.

Inspector Megure, a narrator who serves as a bridge between different parts of a mystery. Zhuge Tongzhi, standing beside him, shook his head calmly.

"This is because Ms. Morimura considered the role of steam, or rather, high-temperature steam is necessary for the plan to proceed smoothly." Date Wataru held up a small plastic bag, showing everyone the translucent, fluffy substance inside: "This was found on the back of the deceased's collar."

The burly police officer revealed the answer without any suspense: "Water-soluble paper, or rather, I think it's more like glutinous rice paper, the kind of edible coating that's often used to wrap candies or desserts. It dissolves in water and has a bit of a stickiness."

Zhuge Tongzhi quietly explained: It's the sugar coating on the outside of White Rabbit milk candy, but this time the murderer used it to coat potassium cyanide.

I used to enjoy licking the candy wrapper slowly, but now I'd die if I tried it.

Date Wataru revealed Morimura Kazuyoshi's crime step by step, saying, "Based on his knowledge of the victim, the murderer prepared a striped T-shirt in advance and wrapped potassium cyanide powder in rice paper and stuck it to the back of the collar."

"In this way, as long as it is sterilized by high-temperature steam, the glutinous rice paper that comes into contact with the moisture will melt along with the potassium cyanide powder. Potassium cyanide is easily soluble in water and easily volatilized, so it is difficult to find the traces without specifically checking the collar."

"Then, perhaps out of understanding or for other reasons."

Considering there were children present, Ida Wataru tactfully avoided the topic of the scratch marks on the back of the neck, saying, "The murderer knew that the victim would have wounds on the back of the neck and back, so when trying on clothes, whether the poison happened to be on the back of the neck or grazed the back, it would seep into the wounds."

Hearing this, Kazuyoshi Morimura, who had been silent all along, slowly let out a breath.

“As for the evidence, I think we can find out the truth by following the number on this T-shirt.” Date Kou pointed to the shirt on the ground with the number tag still on, and continued, “These measures are hard to carry out quickly without being noticed, so the shirt must have been prepared in advance.”

Conan nodded to himself. He had deduced the same thing: the clothes had probably been switched. He had initially thought that Zhuge Tongzhi had also deduced the same thing, but it turned out that it was because he remembered the number of clothes?

"Are you some kind of scanner with a photographic memory?" He had just made a sarcastic remark when he remembered the information Ai Haibara had given him, and he paused for a moment.

"No, it seems that Al really does have a photographic memory." The great detective muttered to himself. Heiji Hattori, who was beside him, didn't hear anything and gave Conan, who was wiping his face, a strange look.

Date Wataru looked at Morimura Kazuyoshi and said, "Is that right, Ms. Morimura?"

The capable secretary smiled and readily admitted, "Yes, that's exactly right. Your reasoning is completely correct."

“I prepared the clothes laced with poison beforehand, I scratched the back of his neck myself, and I personally brought him and his lover into this shop.” Morimura Kazuyoshi’s eyes revealed extreme hatred. “Originally, I could have just let his stupid lover do what he wanted, but I still wanted to deal with this scumbag myself.”

"Oh, it's time for the murderer to recall his criminal intent." Zhuge Tongzhi blinked, somewhat regretful that he didn't have any popcorn on hand.

Nao Saotome, who had been judged to be an idiot, couldn't sit still any longer. She pointed at Kazuyoshi Morimura's nose and yelled, "Who are you calling an idiot? Shunsuke and I are boyfriend and girlfriend who fell in love at first sight!"

"Oh, is that what he told you?" Morimura Kazuyoshi burst out laughing, laughing so hard his stomach hurt. "Looks like he says that to every lover. It's amazing how patient he is to repeat it over and over again."

“But that’s not what he told me.” The woman’s smile vanished instantly, and she looked coldly at the man on the ground with a ferocious expression. “He told me to wait for him, so I waited from university until graduation, from becoming his secretary until he got engaged to someone else.”

"His sincerity is as worthless as dog shit, yet I believed him for so long. How stupid of me."

Kazuyoshi Morimura made a self-deprecating remark and concluded, "Perhaps he was sincere at first, but my years and days of waiting did not bring me the love I wanted. Instead, I received empty promises that had become rotten and corrupt."

"L'attente sans espoir, this is just futile waiting, isn't it?"

So, did you deliberately choose a store called "waiting for love"? Zhuge Tongzhi thought about the store's name and the various items in the store that were themed around waiting, and finally sighed.

Perhaps in the end, Kazuka Morimura was still waiting for the person she loved in her memories to reappear.

But this is destined to be a futile wait.

The people present fell into a deep silence. Conan's glasses reflected the light, while Hattori Heiji and Zhuge Tongzhi also felt a strange sense of resonance.

The woman raised her hands to the police officers, and Inspector Megure gestured for his subordinates to handcuff the murderer. The First Investigation Division quickly cleaned up the crime scene, while the detectives were found by their long-awaited colleagues. The group had no choice but to find a nearby place to begin explaining the ins and outs of the case.

While Ida Kou was cleaning up the scene, Natalie and Zhuge Tongzhi decided to wait for him to go back together, so they went to sit down with the high school students.

Since the daily case has already occurred, it doesn't matter if we go together. Zhuge Tongzhi followed along indifferently.

…

Husband storage area

After listening to Conan's story, Ran Mouri, with her strong empathy, sighed with great distress and said in a low voice, "I can understand Ms. Morimura's feelings. The pain of waiting coupled with the betrayal of her lover must have broken her down."

Conan looked at his childhood friend, who had a sad expression, for a moment, and then asked, "Ran-chan, does waiting for Shinichi-nii-san cause you pain?"

Ran, did my concealment break your heart? Shinichi Kudo's spirit, emerging from Conan's small body, looked up at Ran Mouri and whispered, "I made the decision to hide it from you, making you wait for me all this time. Did you feel the same pain as Kazuka Morimura? If so, then I..."

Ran Mouri was taken aback by the question, but after thinking for a moment, she replied seriously, "Waiting is indeed not an easy thing, because I really want to meet that person, walk and chat on the street, go to the newly opened dessert shop together to eat desserts, or even just listen to him tell the story of the 1001st Sherlock Holmes."

Conan's expression showed signs of struggle.

“But I don’t think it’s hard.” He paused, looking at the girl in the distance with a longing expression. She said, “I don’t hate the feeling of waiting either. Because the longer I wait, the happier I will be when we meet. I will cherish every meeting with Shinichi.”

"Don't worry about me, Conan-kun." Ran Mouri reached out and ruffled Conan's hair. "Besides, it also has a lot to do with who you're waiting for. Ms. Morimura is waiting for someone who doesn't love her or cherish her, so no matter how long she waits, it will be in vain. But I believe Shinichi won't..."

As she spoke, she suddenly realized the meaning of those words, her face flushed red, and she changed the subject, saying, "Oh dear, we haven't bought any clothes yet."

Conan, who also realized what was happening, silently blushed.

Zhuge Tongzhi, who was watching from the sidelines: Burp, I'm so full.

Heiji Hattori glanced back and forth between Conan and Ran Mouri with his crescent-shaped eyes, then looked at Kazuha Toyama, who was standing beside him with a face full of emotion, and scoffed before looking away.

He never intended to make Kazuha Toyama wait for him! But confessing his feelings always resulted in inexplicable failures, and he failed repeatedly.

The troubled Osaka Black Chicken looked at the still-childlike Shinichi Kudo and secretly resolved to confess his feelings successfully before his best friend.

Sonoko Suzuki then promptly teased Ran Mouri: "Oh dear, what can't Shinichi do?"

Ran Mouri blushed and frantically waved her arms, denying, "No, Sonoko!"

"I think if you have an irresponsible boyfriend like that, you should dump him as soon as possible." Sonoko Suzuki, firmly on Ran's side, pulled her childhood friend close and declared, "That guy dared to hurt my Ran, he should never come back! Ran, you're coming to my Valentine's Day party tomorrow, there are lots of handsome guys there..."

"Sonoko, you idiot, what are you saying to Ran?!" Conan suddenly panicked and jumped up to interrupt this dangerous topic.

"I'll try the drug when I get home tonight, and I'm definitely going to ask Ran out to confess my feelings tomorrow!" Shinichi Kudo vowed in desperation, and began harassing Sonoko Suzuki, who had extended an invitation to join the queue. In return, the young lady delivered a heavy punch to his head, just like Kogoro Mouri.

Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the high school students in front of him, who, apart from Suzuki Sonoko, were all mutually attracted to each other but were still single, and revealed a half-moon eye.

What a bunch of idiots.

“It’s so nice to be young.” Natalie touched her cheek and smiled gently.

“Nata is very young too.” Zhuge Tongzhi hugged Natalie, who was also waiting for Date Hang to clean up the bento box, and said sweetly, “She looks like my older sister.”

The boisterous and enthusiastic high school students quickly steered Natalie into the topic of romance. After hearing about Natalie's long-term relationship, everyone showed expressions of being touched by her sweetness.

Ran Mouri took Natalie's hand and sincerely wished her well, saying, "I believe Officer Date will resolve this matter as soon as possible, and you will surely have a smooth marriage."

“Yes!” Natalie smiled. “I believe in Hang.”

Yes.

Zhuge Tongzhi looked up at the phrase "waiting for love," which had spoken of countless joys and sorrows. Finally, he jumped off the chair, took Natalie's hand, and said, "Officer Ida seems to be leaving. Let's go over there, Natalie."

The answer you've been waiting for so long shouldn't be the news of your beloved's death, Natalie.

You will surely reap the happiness that matches this wait!

"Current path: Bitter Almond Flavored Qixi Festival (Completed)"

Next stop: The last bento box (incomplete)

-----------------------

Author's note: Hehehe

A very long story!

After finishing this case, I feel like I'm such a sweet tooth, hahaha!

(Actually, there are still many logical flaws) (Hesitant)

May all your waiting be rewarded!

If not, then kick that scumbag to the curb and live a wonderful life on your own!!

…

Xinlanhe Rice Morning Star produces and sells its own food (grab a bowl and eat like crazy)

Zhuge: It's delicious, I'm a little full.

…

Mwah!