Chapter 046 The Eve of the Banquet
Dong Yexi originally wanted to ask the third brother again about who he gave the ruby to, but the third brother made an excuse to have a party with friends and went out directly.
Seeing his frown, the eldest brother leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Don't worry, I've already hired someone to keep an eye on the third brother. I don't believe the Suzuki family's daughter would be interested in his things."
Dong Yexi nodded after hearing this. It seemed that the two brothers had the same idea.
Afterwards, the two were unwilling to deal with the old man and Dongye Xiajiang, so they made excuses to go back to their room.
The next day, Dong Yexi got up and didn't see his brother again. When he was about to go to school, he found that there were many more people downstairs.
A middle-aged man in a flowered shirt said with a smile, "Oh, our second young master finally got up!" He joked, "You got up so late, did you do something bad last night?" He was Dong Yexi's second uncle - Dong Ye Lang.
Higashino Hi: ...
The lady next to him pushed him and scolded him, "Second brother, as an elder, how can you joke with the younger one!" Then she turned around, touched Dong Yexi's face, and said with a smile, "Xiaoxi, long time no see~ Do you miss your aunt?" She was the third aunt - Dong Yeman.
Dong Yexi got goose bumps when the middle-aged beautiful woman touched his face. He leaned back slightly and smiled stiffly: "Yes, of course!"
Just when he couldn't help but want to dodge away, his aunt's hand was held by another person.
A gentle male voice came: "You're still talking about the second brother, aren't you also teasing the younger generation?"
Higashino Xi turned around and saw that this person was his legendary third uncle, Hanasaki Hiko.
I have to say that my uncle's face is really good. He is not inferior to the Dongye family, who are all good-looking. Moreover, he is already in his forties, but there is not a single fine line on his face!
I feel that if he goes to a banquet, he will definitely be surrounded by a group of women asking him questions about how to maintain his beauty.
"How can this be called teasing? This is my aunt's love for him~" Dong Yeman stuck out his tongue mischievously.
Dong Yexi discovered that his aunt's personality was very different from what the outside world had said. He couldn't help but feel puzzled: Doesn't she look like the type to get angry and throw things? As expected, most of the gossip tabloids are fabricated.
"I think mom just likes second brother's face!" A girl about fourteen or fifteen years old said with a giggle, "Hehe~ I like it too~" She is my aunt's daughter - Tono Hanasaki.
When Higashino Hi saw her name for the first time, he was stunned. It turns out that in Japan, people also combine the surnames of their parents to create a name.
Moreover, the surname of uncle is beautiful no matter whether it comes first or last.
"Aren't you going to school today?" Dong Yexi asked.
"There is an event at school today, and I don't want to participate, so I just asked for leave." said Tono Hanasaki.
"Middle school students nowadays have so much freedom." Dong Yexi suddenly felt a little envious.
"By the way, isn't the fourth brother coming back?" Second Uncle suddenly asked.
Dong Yexi recalled the tabloid gossip about his fourth uncle vying for power with his eldest brother and, after losing, simply starting his own business. He felt that someone with such a temper probably wouldn't come back.
Sure enough, the next second I heard my aunt say, "He's not coming back. He said he wouldn't go back specially to attend the younger generation's birthday party. Especially... um..."
My uncle quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "Okay, okay, everyone understands. Just say less."
My aunt blinked innocently.
Second Uncle showed a look of sudden realization: "That's true. Fourth Brother has never liked it... um..."
Before he could finish his words, his mouth was covered by his uncle's other hand.
My uncle said with a frown on his face, "Can you two be more careful? It would be so embarrassing if someone... heard us!"
My second uncle and aunt nodded in unison, indicating that they would not talk nonsense anymore. Only then did my uncle put his hand down.
Seeing how harmoniously they were getting along, Dong Yexi was puzzled: Why did the uncle and aunt seem so normal, while the old man had such a domineering and overbearing personality? Was it because he was used to being the boss?
They were communicating with each other here and soon led the "host" over.
"Oh! My second uncle, sister, and brother-in-law are all here! And my beautiful little niece! Come show her to your aunt!" Higashino Natsue started talking exaggeratedly while standing on the stairs, and opened his arms from a distance, wanting to hug Higashino Hanasaki.
Higasaki Tono quickly turned around and dodged her embrace, then smiled and held her hands, saying, "Aunt, long time no see~"
Higashino Natsue smiled and nodded: "Our Hanasaki is getting more and more beautiful!"
No one else present reacted, but Dong Yexi felt something was wrong. He secretly glanced at his smiling uncle and thought the words were a double entendre.
However, he clearly noticed that after Dongye Xiajiang came out, the smiles on the faces of the people present became fake.
It's that social fake smile.
Combined with what my second uncle and aunt didn’t finish saying, it seems that they were only being polite to Dongye Xiajiang, their “sister-in-law”.
And Dong Yexi also discovered a problem.
It was only after seeing his second uncle that he suddenly woke up. Except for the third son, the average height of the men in the Tono family was over 1.8 meters. And his aunt and cousin were not short either. His cousin was only in junior high school, but she was already nearly 1.7 meters tall!
This shows that the Higashino family has a tall gene.
What's with the third child being barely over 1.7 meters tall? And his mother is 1.65 meters tall, which isn't considered short for a girl. Wouldn't that be holding him back?
Moreover, the third child's eyes don't look like anyone else's in the Tono family. Although he inherited his mother's single eyelids, his eye shape doesn't resemble either the old man or her. The Tono family has peach blossom eyes, Tono Xiajiang's eyes are rounder, while the third child's eyes are narrow and long.
Dong Yexi couldn't help but think of a conspiracy theory: Could it be that the old man has a green head?
While this kind of random speculation isn't exactly good, this is the world of Detective Conan, where you can encounter all sorts of bizarre and melodramatic families. However, he wouldn't make random guesses without proof. And with the third child looking like this, everyone might have suspected it. What if the old man had already confirmed it?
So, he'd better keep silent.
Dong Yexi didn't want to listen to their greetings, so he slipped out on the pretext of going to school.
After arriving at school, he originally wanted to watch Hatori Yuichi's training, but Sakusaya Shinta said that he had taken a day off.
Dong Yexi frowned slightly: Why did you suddenly ask for leave? Did something happen?
After thinking about it, he sent a message to ask about the situation.
After a long time, Hatori Yuiichi replied: I took a day off because of some things at home, so you don’t have to worry about me, senior.
Dong Yexi was relieved after confirming that it was not a big deal.
Then he wandered off to the club room, where he spent the entire day.
\\
As soon as Hatori Yui put away her phone, she met Vermouth's meaningful gaze.
"Is that the child?" she asked.
Hatori Yui hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Ah~" Vermouth knew what he was struggling with. She could only advise, "If you don't want to get hurt, it's better to get out of here as soon as possible."
Hatori Yui said calmly, "Gin's mission is not something you can easily refuse."
Vermouth said, "I'll go and persuade him again."
Hatori Yui shook his head. "No need," he said. "At least now I have a legitimate reason to approach him."
"Okay." Vermouth looked at him, "As long as you remember to keep your heart and don't get hurt all over."
Hatori Yui lowered his eyes slightly. After a moment, he looked at Vermouth and asked, "Didn't I tell you not to come to me recently? You can call me if you need anything."
Vermouth smiled slightly: "Of course I have something for you." She took out an envelope from her bag and handed it to him, "Tomorrow's invitation. I think you might need it."
Hatori Yui opened it, took a look, and put it back.
"Don't you want to go?" asked Vermouth.
"Haven't you ever thought about where I, an ordinary student, got this invitation?" Hatori Yui asked. "Besides, the name of Chris Wynyard is clearly written on this invitation. If I take it, I will be arrested, right?"
Vermouth chuckled: "Not really~"
"People will ask about my relationship with you," Hatori Yuiichi said, "Are you really not going to use this pseudonym anymore?"
Vermouth sighed and said, "My identity is no longer a secret. The FBI chased me here from the United States just to deal with me. So once I appear in public, they will definitely follow me. At that time, the organization's actions will definitely be hindered."
Hatori Yuiichi raised his eyebrows: "Are you being hindered?"
Vermouth smiled. "Of course. If I attend the party as Chris Wynyard, the FBI will definitely find a way to sneak in. Then, whatever tricks Rum's people try to do will be discovered by them." She clasped her hands together, supporting her chin, and looked at Hatori Yui and said, "Do you want me to go?"
Hatori Yui frowned slightly: "But the FBI is always watching you. If you go, won't you be in danger?"
Vermouth shook her head. "Don't worry about that. They won't target me in public. Chris is a public figure after all. They have no formalities for pursuing her in a foreign country. If they sanction me in public, it will definitely cause chaos. And rather than killing me, they would definitely want to use me to lure Gin out."
Hatori Yuiichi still felt uneasy. He shook his head and said, "There's no need to take the risk. Besides, the fact that the senior didn't give me an invitation means he doesn't want me to get involved. I can wait for his news outside."
Vermouth looked at him tenderly and asked, "Are you worried about me?"
Hatori Yuiichi was stunned for a moment, and said with an unnatural expression: "I just don't want to see that kind of scene."
Vermouth suddenly smiled brightly. She said happily, "Thank you~"
Then she added, "Since you don't want an invitation, why not just dress up as a waiter and sneak in?"
Hatori Yuiichi: “Huh?”
"In order to see the princess, the poor boy disguised himself as a servant in the castle. This is a very classic plot~" Vermouth blinked mischievously.
Hatori Yui coughed lightly and retorted, "He's not a princess..."
"Okay, okay, Prince." Vermouth made an "OK" gesture, "I'll help you arrange it."
Hatori Yui thought about it and decided that this method was a good one, much easier to explain than having an extra invitation for no apparent reason. So he nodded in agreement.
Then, Toru Amuro, who was thinking about what to wear to the party, received a message from Vermouth asking for help.
Amuro Toru clicked on it and saw: ...So no matter what, he has to find a way to get a waiter position, right?
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