Chapter 104 The Prodigal Son Returns (I)
Kudo Shinichi went back first, and Higashino Higashi and others had a hearty breakfast in Shanghai before leaving with satisfaction.
When they returned to Japan, their eldest brother had already arranged for someone to pick them up at the airport. Higashino Hiroshi allocated a car for them to take Maoli Ran and Suzuki Sonoko back.
Although there have been some unexpected events over the past few days, compared to the frequent deaths on tours, it's been quite peaceful. Mao Lilan even went to the amusement park with her boyfriend for the first time in a long time, which was really satisfying.
Until she got home, her whole body was covered with pink bubbles.
The first thing she did when she got home was, of course, sorting out the souvenirs she'd bought and the ones the police had sent her. She placed everything on the coffee table, looked around, and asked, puzzled, "Dad, where's Conan?" In the past, when she'd just returned from a trip, Conan would excitedly run over to her, asking questions. Why wasn't he there today?
Maori Kogoro unpacked the box expectantly and said casually, "He went to see Professor Agasa after you left and said he wanted to play games."
"Ah? Isn't he having a fever? Instead of staying at home to recuperate, he's still thinking about playing games?!" Mao Lilan said angrily, "I'll go to the doctor's house to pick him up later and I must have a good talk with him."
"Yes, yes, don't let him go easily." Maori Kogoro nodded repeatedly. He rummaged through the books and pulled out a bottle of wine. His eyes lit up as he asked, "Is this Baigan?"
"I don't know either. But my cousin said this is good and asked me to bring it back for you to try."
"Cousin? Higashino Xi?" Maori Kogoro looked up in confusion. "Didn't you go with Sonoko?"
Mao Lilan said happily, "Yes. My cousin also won the special prize. Isn't it a coincidence!" Her cheeks flushed slightly. "And what's even more coincidental is that we met Shinichi at Disney. He happened to be working on a case in China."
Maori Kogoro's face twitched, and he said sarcastically, "That's such a coincidence."
He picked out a few things and put them in a bag, then handed it to his daughter and said, "These are for Professor Agasa. You should go to his house and pick up Conan. He must have been so busy playing that he forgot to do his homework."
When Mao Lilan heard this, she didn't bother to share her joy with her father and hurried out with the gift.
On the other hand, Kudo Shinichi, who returned to Japan early, was temporarily unable to go home and could only hide in Dr. Agasa's house in the middle of the night. And not long after, he turned back into Edogawa Conan.
Ai calculated how long the drug's effects would last and found it was much longer than expected. She frowned and asked, "Why is this happening? This shouldn't be the case?"
Edogawa Conan said guiltily: "I ate another one in the middle."
Haibara Ai: ...I don’t know what to say anymore.
"Do you eat the antidote like jelly beans?"
Edogawa Conan said helplessly: "What should I do? I can't keep pretending to be Conan, right? Wouldn't that give me away? After all, I waited half an hour before eating."
Huiyuan Ai rolled her eyes and said, "What's the difference between taking it in such a short time and eating it right away? What if you produce antibodies again and can't change back at all?"
Edogawa Conan asked back: "Then you can't research the final antidote in one go?"
After hearing this, Huiyuan Ai immediately flew into a rage and yelled, "Do you think I don't want to? It's not as easy as you say."
Conan Edogawa was startled by her, and Dr. Agasa immediately came out to smooth things over: "Okay, okay, don't quarrel. Shinichi, Ai has been working day and night to research the antidote, so don't put any more pressure on her."
Edogawa Conan muttered, "I didn't put any pressure on her." He saw Huiyuan Ai's face turn pale and immediately apologized, "I'm sorry."
Huibara turned and left angrily.
Conan Edogawa shrugged at Dr. Agasa and went to bed.
Dr. Agasa: ...You deserve to be scolded.
When Edogawa Conan woke up, Mouri Ran had already arrived and chatted with Professor Agasa for a long time.
Seeing that he had gotten up, Mao Lilan squatted down, pinched his cheek and said, "The doctor said you played games all night, so you slept until now. Is this how you recuperated while I was away from home these days?"
Conan Edogawa: ...How can the doctor use such an excuse? Isn't this clearly asking him to get beaten?
Dr. Agasa looked away guiltily. "Sorry, Shinichi, it's your fault for always using such excuses."
Edogawa Conan had no choice but to take the blame. He tearfully said, "I'm sorry, Xiaolan. I was wrong!"
Ai Haibara on the side gave him a mocking look.
Mao Lilan let go of her hand, put her hands on her hips and said, "I heard from the doctor that you haven't done your homework in the past two days. Come back with me and make up for it!"
Edogawa Conan rubbed his red cheeks, lowered his head and said, "Okay." He looked as aggrieved as he could be.
Haibara Ai thought to herself: Ah, this kind of dark history, I really want to take a picture of it and play it at their wedding later.
Conan Edogawa didn't know that Haibara Ai had such "evil" thoughts. He obediently held Ran Mouri's hand and went home together.
\\
After sending the Hatori brothers home, Higashino went straight to the Swiss Bank. He was really curious about what his mother had deposited there.
Arriving at the bank, he easily received a small iron box containing a floppy disk and a piece of paper. The paper was covered with numbers and English letters, which seemed to have no pattern at first glance, like garbled code.
Higashino Hi: ...I didn't expect my mother was also a riddler.
So, after returning home, he gave the specialty to the old housekeeper, and then hid in the room to try to decode it.
After a few hours, Higashino realized he wasn't cut out to be a detective. He wasn't cut out for anything like deciphering secrets.
It didn't matter if he couldn't figure it out, Dong Yexi decided not to embarrass himself. He put the things away and waited for a chance to ask the professionals later. Specifically, the detectives.
He also tried the floppy disk, but it prompted for a password when it was plugged into the computer. It seemed that was what was written on the paper.
Now, no matter how curious Dong Yexi is, he has to wait until it is decrypted before he can see the contents.
Now there is another question. That is, what is the secret affair between Hatori Yuiichi and Kudo Shinichi.
First, let's rule out emotional issues. That would have to be Hatori's only discovery of Conan's identity. After all, Kudo Shinichi doesn't have any big secrets other than this one.
Higashino was a bit puzzled. If that was the case, how did Hatori find out? And since he didn't even know Kudo Shinichi, how could he connect the two?
Higashino Xi thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. Finally, he decided to scare Conan and get some information out of him.
But just as he was about to go out, he received a call and learned that he would have no time for the next few days.
The reason was that his second uncle Dong Yelang asked him to help with something.
My second uncle said that he had found true love and was about to enter the grave of marriage, so he asked him to help comfort the children at home.
Dong Yexi felt that it was a bit outrageous when he received the call.
His second uncle, Dong Yelang, the playboy who never got tangled up in the world of flowers, was actually getting married?!
Who would believe it if I told them? Not even the gossip reporters who were constantly spreading rumors that he had found his "Mr. Right."
Dong Yexi leaned closer to the phone again and asked seriously, "Second Uncle, are you serious?"
"Of course! I wouldn't joke about such a thing!" Tono Nami's voice was very cheerful. He said, "I plan to hold my wedding on the beach of the Izu Islands to commemorate our first meeting."
Dong Yexi: ...I can tell he really loves her. Anyway, there's no one older than him in the family, and his aunts and uncles haven't said anything, so let him be.
But, is it really necessary to educate children? Shouldn't they have been desensitized long ago?
Dong Yexi thought that he should first do some ideological work on his future second aunt. With five more children suddenly appearing, he wondered if her mentality could change.
When Dong Yexi arrived at his second uncle's house and saw the five children, he felt that there was no need to do any ideological work on them.
They are all very good and well-behaved children!
These five were the only children taken in by Second Uncle. It's said there were a few more left out, but their mothers were strong-willed and unwilling to give up their children or accept support from Second Uncle. Second Uncle respected their decisions. As for these five, either their biological mothers didn't want them, or their biological mothers only wanted to use them to advance their careers but failed. In any case, their biological mothers didn't have much love for them, and they were all pitiful little things.
Among them, the oldest boy was seventeen years old, the youngest girl was only five, and there were three others: a fourteen-year-old boy and a pair of nine-year-old twins.
And none of them have the surname Dongye. Either they take their mother's surname or they choose it themselves.
Dong Yexi learned from his uncle's housekeeper that his uncle was very polite to the children and not particularly close. He also learned that his uncle and his assistant attended every parent-teacher conference at school. The housekeeper also explained that his uncle planned to raise them until they graduated from college, then give them some start-up capital and let them go.
He seemed to be telling them in this way that he took them back only because he couldn't bear to see his children living a bad life, but for the inheritance rights, there was no talk.
This kind of education method, if not used properly, will spoil the children. But judging from the children's attitude, they don't actually have much resentment towards their uncle.
The eldest son, Fujiwara Hisashi, said, "Father has given us so much, and we cannot be greedy and ask for more. We must walk the path ahead on our own."
He said his father did not stop them from studying. As long as they really wanted to learn, he would help them find the best teachers. If they grew up in such conditions, they would not be able to support themselves in the future and would be truly useless.
The Higashino family was wealthy, and their uncle had set aside a special education fund for their children, covering any expenses related to their studies. Furthermore, thanks to his wide network of connections, he even found a renowned teacher for their son, who wanted to learn painting. The son was also gifted; at only fourteen, he had already become a renowned and talented artist.
As for the twins, one studies violin and the other piano, their teachers are both internationally renowned musicians. If you tell others about this, other children who study music will be so envious that they will cry.
This little girl, who's only in kindergarten, doesn't seem to have any talent, but she's beautiful! She's like a doll. Even if she doesn't have any talent, she can become a star just by relying on her face.
Fujiwara Hisashi, as a role model for these children, bravely ventured into the stock market at a young age. Within a year, he doubled the 50 million yuan capital given to him by his father.
Dong Yexi: ...Compared to these kids, he's nothing but good-for-nothing. But it doesn't matter, as long as their family has an older brother, he can outdo them all!
Now, the pressure fell on Hanasaki Higashino.
Hanasaki Tono, who only cares about eating, drinking, and buying little skirts every day: ??? Our family is so rich, and we still want to compete internally?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
