Chapter 23 The Vermouth's Test

In Kogoro Mouri's car, Cheng Youxian showered Kogoro with compliments, saying, "Uncle Mouri's reasoning ability is just as good as the two policemen's." Kogoro Mouri stretched his neck and laughed heartily.

Cheng Youzhen thanked Conan and patted Conan's head: "Thank you so much, Conan. You're really amazing, little detective."

"No, it's just that I find it suspicious." Conan scratched the back of his head and smiled.

[Congratulations, host, you have completed the selective task of "solving two cases with Conan." Wow, that's awesome, host!] The system's voice suddenly rang out. Cheng You had completely forgotten about it because it hadn't appeared for so long, and he was startled.

Cheng was speechless: [...]

[Host, congratulations! The second backtracking mission is about to complete loading. Current progress: 95%. Please prepare accordingly.]

It's coming so soon. Cheng thought to himself, the incident involving Morofushi Kagemitsu is imminent.

[System Master reminds you again, you can disguise yourself, but only once per mission~ This is a golden finger that the System Master gave to my dear little white flower host, so be sure to make good use of it~]

Cheng You: ...

This task is indeed difficult to complete... Morofushi Kagemitsu, being from Scotland, isn't easy to approach, let alone establish a relationship with. We need a method that won't significantly impact the progress of the main storyline. We must truly die at the brewery, letting them see the body, so they won't suspect anything or investigate Scotland. Even if someone later appears who looks very much like Scotland, the brewery will only think it's a resemblance, definitely not Scotland.

"Ahhhhh!" Cheng You couldn't help but scratch his hair.

"..." When Cheng You looked up again, everyone in front of him was staring at him. "Ah...ha...ha...ha..." He chuckled dryly. "I was just too worried about Youyi..."

“I see… Mr. Cheng, you don’t need to worry too much. Children are indeed more prone to illness.” Xiao Lan nodded, indicating that she was also quite worried, as it must be very uncomfortable to suddenly fall ill.

Conan's attitude towards Cheng You wasn't much better; he felt even more suspicious of this well-informed man. Cheng You didn't seem like a high-ranking mafia boss or anything like that; instead, he seemed like a down-to-earth villain who was secretly accomplishing something big and was very good at disguising himself.

Cooperation? Conan still didn't really want to cooperate with Cheng You. After all, as long as Cheng You and the winery weren't around, Conan's life wouldn't be particularly dangerous for the time being.

After finishing the IV drip, Yuichi quickly fell asleep, and Kogoro Mouri took them home.

After parking in front of the Mouri Detective Agency, Cheng You gently woke up the still-sleeping Yuichi and sincerely thanked Kogoro Mouri again: "Thank you, Uncle Mouri, and thank you, Miss Ran and Conan. You'll get a discount next time you visit my dessert shop!"

He then looked at Conan, smiling broadly, and asked, "Conan~ would you like to come to my dessert shop for a bit? I'll treat you to some small cakes, and we can chat~" He secretly hoped to collaborate with Shinichi Kudo. Come on, come on! Come collaborate with me! I'm so kind! =v=

Conan smiled and declined, "No, thank you, Brother Cheng You. Please take good care of Youyi, Brother Cheng You."

Is Cheng feeling disappointed, so he still doesn't want to cooperate with me? I'm so kind and sincere T_T.

He said goodbye to Mori and the others, and took Yuichi back to the dessert shop. Cheng You changed the "Closed" sign, and looking at the sleepy Yuichi, he couldn't help but pinch his cheek. "If you're sleepy, go upstairs to your room and take a nap." The upstairs room was also an asset given to him by the system =v=, thinking about it this way, the system is pretty good in some ways.

It's okay, Shinichi Kudo will understand his feelings sooner or later, and then Shinichi will be begging me to cooperate with him, hahaha. (Hands on hips)

Cheng You was busy preparing materials for the shop, but he vaguely felt that some eyes were watching him. He thought to himself that there were quite a few people watching him in the current situation. It could be the winery, or it could be Takeda Ryosuke from Sakura no Blade Pavilion. But Cheng You remembered that he saw Akai Shuichi wearing Okiya Subaru's skin that day. What was he doing here?

Mouri and the others were also present that day. Cheng You hadn't thought much of it, but the scrutinizing and probing gaze was definitely not that of someone just passing by. Why? Why would Shuichi Akai be watching him?

No, maybe it wasn't him. Did Cheng stop thinking about it? What if he was wrong? He was just scaring himself, haha.

Cheng You put aside his thoughts and waited for the people investigating him to come. However, the people hiding in the shadows did not come out all day. When it was time to get off work, Cheng You took Youyi home. Because Youyi was still sick, he curled her up into a ball and put her in thick clothes.

After packing, Cheng You took Youyi's hand and left the store. It was already night, and they could still feel the gazes of strangers as they walked down the alley. Youyi noticed this as well and tightened her grip on Cheng You's hand.

But the two still went to the sushi restaurant as usual and bought two hot sushi pieces for dinner. To shake off the people following them, as they passed the pet store, Yu-yi tugged at Cheng-you's hand and pleaded, "Brother, brother, I want to raise a kitten~"

"No, I don't have time to take care of other family members, and our roommates wouldn't like this either." Cheng knew that Youyi was putting on an act to delay going home, so he cooperated by refusing, thus prolonging the situation.

"But brother, wouldn't having a little furry creature make you happier?"

"Hmm? I've been in a great mood the whole time."

"Really? I always feel that Brother Cheng You has a faint sadness about him. Why is that?" Youyi tilted her head and held Cheng You's small hand, conveying warmth.

"Really?" Cheng You paused for a moment, then thought for a moment, "Maybe it's because... I've been away from home for too long."

“Yes, it’s been too long,” Yuichi sighed.

Being away from home for so long and being alone in this place is indeed tiring, but Cheng You also has things she wants to do and friends she likes. "It's okay, I'll adapt quickly."

"Then let's get a fluffy one for brother~" Youyi said in a coquettish tone, pulling Cheng Youyong along.

"No, honey, if you really want to raise a furry pet, you can ask our roommates what they think first," Cheng patiently advised.

As they talked, the gaze that had been watching them from the shadows noticeably softened. Cheng hesitated about whether to directly confront the person who had been following them, but after much deliberation, he decided against it.

Following him so closely, it couldn't possibly be Takeda Ryosuke anymore; it was most likely someone from the brewery. He remembered that the people investigating Matsukawa Yuichi were Vermouth and Bourbon, both from the brewery. They were both very strong, and Cheng You wasn't confident he could go toe-to-toe with them.

It's better to pretend to be an ordinary person. Cheng You thought to himself, his expression calm. He took Youyi's hand and said, "Let's go, Youyi. I'll make you your favorite dessert."

"Hmm, okay. Brother, I want to eat chocolate lava cake," Yuichi said with a smile.

"Hmm...you can only eat a little. I told you before, don't I? Eat less chocolate cake tonight." Cheng You squinted at You Yi's bright smile, a little suspicious that You Yi was trying to trick him. You Yi had already eaten quite a bit at the store, and it was clear that he really liked the chocolate lava cake.

"Hehehe." Youyi stuck out her tongue at Cheng You with a mischievous expression.

The two chatted casually along the way, and Cheng You would occasionally tell You about interesting things in China. Soon they entered the Mi Garden residential area, where the security was extremely good, and only homeowners could enter.

But if someone is determined, they can still climb over the wall and get in. Fortunately, they stopped sensing the gazes watching them shortly after entering the residential area. Before Cheng You could even breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly remembered something, and his body abruptly stiffened.

On the other side, watching two figures, one tall and one short, enter the Rice Garden residential area chatting and laughing, Vermouth in disguise and Amuro Tooru in disguise also prepared to retreat.

When Amuro Tooru saw the child suddenly appear beside Cheng You, he had some doubts. After all, he had witnessed that Conan was actually Shinichi Kudo, so this wasn't so hard to accept. But without seeing the child's face, he couldn't make a conclusion. Even if it was true, he couldn't let Vermouth know.

Vermouth maintained her noble smile, but inwardly she was sighing. She had to investigate the sudden appearance of the child. She was wary of Bourbon beside her, fearing that he might recognize the high school student named Matsukawa Yuichi as a child, which would cause trouble for Cool Guy.

So they both tentatively spoke at the same time.

"What did you find?" Vermouth asked with a smile.

"It doesn't feel strange at all." Amuro Tooru shrugged and sighed.

"Oh? Is that so? Then let's go back first. It seems this mission can only end like this." Vermouth smiled and tidied her disguise skin's wavy hair.

"Is this how it ends?" Amuro Tooru asked, still uneasy.

“Otherwise what? He’s a dead man anyway, what’s there to investigate? Even if that high school student named Matsukawa Yuichi wasn’t dead, what kind of trouble could he cause?” Vermouth said confidently, then turned and left.

She glanced at Bourbon, who had driven up, and smiled. "I have other things to do. You can drive away by yourself."

Watching the wavy-haired woman's departing figure, Amuro Tooru narrowed his eyes. He was certain that Vermouth's claim of having something to do was most likely related to investigating the child next to Cheng You; she already suspected something.

Amuro Tooru shook his head. For the sake of his undercover mission within the organization, he couldn't expose himself in such a situation. Besides, Vermouth had warned him before not to harm Conan. Although he didn't know why, Amuro Tooru felt that even if Vermouth knew that Shinichi Kudo had become Conan, she wouldn't harm Conan.

After hesitating for a moment, Amuro Tooru drove away.

Vermouth watched the white Mazda drive away from the shadows, the gloom in her eyes slowly dissipating. Bourbon hadn't noticed anything amiss; she was certain.

"Then let me go see if you're really dead, Matsukawa." A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Vermouth's eyes.

In front of the Mori Detective Agency, Cheng You ran anxiously and rushed into the agency, asking frantically, "Something terrible has happened, Uncle Mori! My brother is missing!"

Ran Mouri, who was standing nearby, paused for a moment and asked with concern, "But... isn't Yuichi still sick? How come he suddenly disappeared?"

"I don't know, could you help me look for it..." Cheng You looked nervous.

Conan squinted and asked, "But Brother Cheng You, weren't you always with Youyi? Where did he go?"

"I don't know..." Cheng You touched his pocket, and a photo accidentally fell out of it.

Conan picked it up for him. Cheng didn't see the photo and said, "Thank you, Conan. What is this photo? I don't remember having any photos in my pocket."

Looking at Yuichi in the photo, Conan fell into deep thought. It did look like Yuichi, but there was something strange about it. The eyes, the temperament, and the facial details were not quite the same.

"Ah, is this a photo of Yuichi? Why does it look so strange?" Conan returned the photo to Cheng You.

The other person took the photo without saying anything more. He pretended to check his phone for a message, then suddenly slapped his forehead. "Ah, Youyi messaged me saying he's already home. I'm so sorry to have worried you all."

"It's alright, Mr. Cheng You," Ran Mouri said with a smile.

"..." Conan's eyes gleamed with an unscientific, super-white light as he looked at Cheng You who was leaving. It was very strange, extremely strange.

Where he couldn't see, Cheng You curled the corners of his lips, looking at the photo that used technology to simulate the face of high school student Matsukawa Yu, and slowly said, "Gotcha." His tone was filled with murderous intent.

A note from the author:

Because Cheng Youye was afraid the distillery would investigate Youyi, he usually had Youyi rest on the second floor. The two people sent by the distillery couldn't see Youyi's true face. So, they needed to test him...