During lunch break, the playground of Teitan Elementary School
"Pass the ball!"
"Winner intercepts the ball, defenders be careful, goalkeeper get ready!"
A football match is underway on the green field, and Conan, wearing a blue and white jersey, is leading the pack with the ball.
He dribbled the ball past one player after another on the field, successfully reaching the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a powerful kick.
The football shot out like a cannonball, then passed through the gap under the goalkeeper's arm and finally went into the net.
For a moment, Conan's team erupted in cheers.
"It's in!"
"Edogawa-kun, you're really amazing!"
Conan's soccer skills are already on the verge of becoming a professional player, so beating these kids is a piece of cake.
Even though he won easily and effortlessly, Conan was still happy that he had scored the goal.
The stadium was bustling with activity, while the area under the trees beside it was remarkably peaceful.
Two figures leaned against the thick tree trunk. These two people were none other than Guangyou and Xiao Ai.
Having spent too much time in bed recently and forced to become a shut-in for a while, Guangyou jogged four or five laps around the track to regain his strength.
He himself didn't feel anything, and could easily run another ten or eight laps, but Ai told him to stop.
Her exact words at the time were: "It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. You're feeling a bit better now, so you should exercise in moderation."
Guangyou simply smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's find a place to rest for a while."
So the two found a relatively quiet spot and sat down.
The rain in the morning didn't stop until around 10 a.m., but thankfully the sun came out quickly and the sunlight was warm, and the ground is now almost dry.
Otherwise, Guangyou would have to put in some effort to find something to sit on, or stand to rest, or simply go back to the classroom and sit properly.
Missing the warm sunshine, he naturally couldn't choose the latter, and fortunately, the weather was pretty good today except for the morning.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating patches of light on the ground. A gentle breeze occasionally swept by, making Guangyou feel very comfortable.
Ai, sitting next to him, was leaning against a tree trunk, holding a book and carefully flipping through it.
This time it wasn't a cookbook or a food magazine, but a very ordinary novel.
Kōyū glanced around to make sure no one was looking his way, then shifted his position closer to Ai, leaned to the side, rested his head on her shoulder, and asked softly, "What is this book about?"
Ai casually flipped through the book and said indifferently, "It's about a woman who killed a man out of love turned to hate, and the ending was quite tragic."
After listening to the introduction, Guangyou felt that she was implying something, and tentatively said, "Ahem, I always feel that you are trying to tell me something by reading this book."
"You actually believed that?"
Ai closed the book, showed the cover to Kōyū, then turned back to the previous page, smiled triumphantly, and said, "Just kidding, it's just a book about my travel experiences."
"How could I believe that? I'm just playing along with your act."
He cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness, and quickly glanced at the text on the page. The content was indeed as Ai had said, telling stories that happened during his journey.
Because the book cover had no illustrations, only a short title and author's signature, Kōyū actually believed Ai's words before, but he certainly couldn't reveal this.
He has his pride too!
"Um."
Ai simply smiled faintly at Kōyū's forced explanation and then continued reading the novel in her hands.
For the next while, Kousuke didn't try to start a conversation. He just leaned on Ai's shoulder and closed his eyes to rest. Ai, on the other hand, was reading a novel. Occasionally, she would glance at Kousuke, lose herself in thought for a moment, and then turn back to immerse herself in the world depicted in the words.
As time goes by, lunch break is almost over.
The people on the playground dispersed and returned to their classrooms to prepare for the afternoon classes.
After reading for a long time, Ai decided to give her eyes a rest. She then realized that there weren't many people left on the playground. So she patted Kyou, who seemed to be asleep on her shoulder, and whispered, "Lazybones, it's time to get up. Class is about to start."
"Hmm~"
As Guangyou let out a soft, contented groan, he slowly opened his sleepy eyes.
"Let's go, it's time for class."
Hearing the greeting again, Kōyū snapped out of his daze, stood up first, stretched out his right hand to Ai, yawned, and said to her, "Let's go then."
"Um."
Ai closed the book, then extended her right hand and placed it in Kousuke's palm. With a push from Kousuke's arm, she stood up from the ground.
The two let go of each other's hands, dusted themselves off, and then naturally took hands together and left the playground.
The playground was deserted at this time, and Guangyou was not worried about being seen by others. He glanced at the time and saw that there were still more than ten minutes before class, which was quite ample.
Therefore, the two walked very slowly, as if they were enjoying their last lunch break.
...
The afternoon classes were the same as usual. Although Guangyou understood everything the teacher said, he still listened very attentively.
As the group was preparing to leave the school after school in the afternoon, they suddenly heard Genta shout to them, "Look, we have a request!"
Upon hearing this, Guangyou was visibly taken aback, then laughed in surprise, "There really are people who have come to ask these kids for help. I hope it's something like finding a cat or dog, and that they don't cause any more trouble."
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