Chapter 88 The whole family must be together! 【VIP】
The next day, when Edogawa Ranpo opened his eyes, he saw Lin Chen squatting on the floor in front of the bed, with Fukuzawa Yukichi resting with his eyes closed next to him.
He felt creepy for a moment, and then he woke up and his whole body exploded.
"Hi! Squinty-eyed cat." The player greeted him with a smile.
Then, in front of Edogawa Ranpo's wide-open eyes, she took out a school uniform like a magic trick and stuffed it into his stiff hands.
"You're awake, it's time to go to school."
“…I don’t want it!” Edogawa Ranpo turned to look at Fukuzawa Yukichi, but the white-haired man on whom he placed his last hope silently looked away and faced him with the back of his head.
Edogawa Ranpo had already sensed helplessness from the president's attitude, but he still tried to struggle again without giving up.
He curled up in his bed, hugging the quilt, rolling around like a livid cat. "The famous detective is already sixteen! And he graduated a long time ago!"
The player tilted his head, an innocent smile on his face. "Don't lie to me! Your board clearly says you're expelled. And Chuuya and Oda are both in school, right? As my followers, you need to be in good order."
"President..." Ranpo drew out his tone and looked at Fukuzawa Yukichi with wet green eyes.
Fukuzawa Yukichi coughed lightly. "Ranpo, this is indeed... a good experience."
He turned and looked out the window, his shoulders shaking suspiciously.
"President! Can you at least try to struggle?" Ranpo looked at his president in disbelief. The latter was pretending to be very interested in the poster on the wall.
"Akiko!" Ranpo 7 turned to Yosano Akiko, only to find that she was already tying her tie skillfully.
"I think it's fine." Akiko slung her bag over her shoulder. "My work at the detective agency isn't too busy anyway."
Her eyes sparkled, and she was obviously looking forward to campus life.
The players clapped their hands: "Alright! Three votes to one, democratic approval!"
Like a magic trick, she pulled out a school bag and shoved it into Ranpo's hand, "Packed it with stationery and a lunchbox~"
Ranpo held his schoolbag, his eyes wide open: "Bento?"
"That's right!" the player puffed out his chest proudly. "I made this myself! A loving bento!"
Fukuzawa Yukichi turned his head sharply when he heard this: "You did it?"
"Don't worry," the player waved his hand. "It's very healthy. It's the kind that will leave all the students stunned!"
Having already witnessed the players' craftsmanship, Ranpo happily opened the bento box, which contained rice balls, tamagoyaki, and fried chicken neatly arranged inside.
It doesn’t look as good as yesterday’s meal. He sighed in disappointment.
"Now!" the player pulled up the still dazed Ranpo, "Let's go to school! Chuuya and Oda are waiting for you!"
At the school gate, Nakahara Chuuya and Oda Sakunosuke stood side by side. Chuuya looked hopeless, while Oda Sakunosuke's ahoge hair swayed gently in the morning breeze.
"Hey!" The player waved happily, "New classmates are here!"
"How can you be considered a new classmate if you're not even in the same school?" Chuuya complained.
Ranpo was pushed into the top 100 and reluctantly tugged at his tie: "Why would a famous detective do such a thing..."
"Because I can't stand seeing you so leisurely." The player laughed, "And..."
She suddenly lowered her voice. "You're actually looking forward to it, right? Going to school with your peers and stuff."
Ranpo's ears turned slightly red: "No!"
Jingzi ran towards the gate excitedly: "Should there be anatomy classes in school?"
"Wait! There's no anatomy class in high school!" Chuuya chased after him.
——
Yesterday afternoon, Ranpo had already fallen asleep.
The setting sun dyed the paper door of the Japanese-style room a honey color, and Fukuzawa Yukichi was frowning at the letter.
Since he founded the detective agency, he has been overwhelmed with matters, big and small, and there are also requests related to his previous security work, which have been put on hold until now because they are difficult to handle.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound and quickly pressed the handle of the knife. The room became quiet and he could clearly hear someone outside the window muttering, "Why is this trash can full of garbage?"
Fukuzawa Yukichi was silent for a while, and after only 10 seconds he figured out who the outsider was, he relaxed slightly.
"Ms. Player, the door is that way."
"Walking through the door is so frivolous!" The player climbed onto the windowsill, her muddy shoes making cheerful footprints on the floor. As she stepped forward, a pair of large hands seemed to appear out of thin air, wiping away all the stains on her body.
Fukuzawa Yukichi's fingers tapped lightly on the letter paper, his gaze calmly fixed on the player who was browsing his bookshelf with a particularly unrestrained sense of boundaries. "Ms. Player, am I trying to trespass into someone else's office...?"
The cute player completely ignored his question and interrupted him directly. She tiptoed a few times and pulled out a photo album from the top floor, flipping through a few pages. "Wow, the president was quite handsome when he was young!"
She followed randomly and naturally.
, "Where was this photo taken?"
"Ten years ago, I tried to retrieve the photo album in Jingsedi, but Player rudely pushed my hand away and disappeared in the blink of an eye. 'Ms. Player, explain your intentions.'"
The player took a few steps back, warily away from him, and turned around to ask, "What do you think about letting Ranpo go to school?"
She casually pulled out a knife, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunset, "Nice knife!"
Fukuzawa Yukichi's brow furrowed slightly. "Ranpo has been away from school for a long time."
"That's why he should go!" The player thrust the knife back in, making a crisp clang, then naturally thrust it back into the seemingly endless void behind him. "Look, he spends all his time eating snacks and solving cases now, and he doesn't socialize with his peers at all."
She jumped over to the desk, resting her hands on it. "And Jingzi wants to go too, right? I saw her staring at the students the last time she passed by the school."
Fukuzawa Yukichi put down his pen and folded his hands: "The work of the detective agency..."
"We can do it after school!" the player interrupted him, "Besides-"
She suddenly lowered her voice and asked, "What if something happens to you someday? What will happen to Ranpo?"
The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment. Fukuzawa Yukichi's eyes grew sharp.
The player, however, seemed oblivious to the change in atmosphere and continued counting on his fingers: "Now we have Chuuya and Sakunosuke. How wonderful it is that the three of them are already attending school together! Even if you're gone in the future, they can still protect Ranpo and Akiko. Chuuya's gravity manipulation can prevent sneak attacks, and Odasaku's precognitive ability can help us avoid danger..."
"You have thought it through very carefully." Fukuzawa Yukichi said slowly, looking at the man in front of him who had suddenly become very reliable.
The player shrugged: "After all, I picked up the cat, so I have to take responsibility for it."
She leaned closer with a sly smile. "So? Agree?"
Fukuzawa Yukichi pondered for a moment: "What does Ranpo think?"
"Of course he'd say no," the player rolled his eyes. "But that guy probably says that because of his past experiences. He doesn't have any friends—not the kind you'd find at the detective agency—the kind you'd skip classes with, share comics with, or team up with in gym class."
She pulled a lemon candy from her pocket and popped it into her mouth. "Besides, with Ranpo's intelligence, going to school won't affect his ability to solve cases. Maybe it can even provide some fun for the unsolved cases at school!"
Fukuzawa Yukichi's lips curled up slightly. "You seem to know him very well."
"Of course!" the player puffed out his chest proudly. "It's better to say that I understand everyone. Everyone is completely transparent to me."
She suddenly said seriously, "President, you can protect him temporarily, but not forever. Wouldn't it be better for him to make more friends?"
Fukuzawa Yukichi stared out the window in silence. The setting sun dyed the maple trees in the courtyard golden, and a red leaf slowly drifted down.
"If..." he began slowly, "I mean, if I agree..."
"Great!" the player cheered, jumping up from his chair. "I knew you, President, would be incredibly reasonable!"
She turned around and was about to jump out of the window.
"Wait a minute," Fukuzawa Yukichi called out to her, "how are you going to convince Ranpo?"
The player turned around and gave a sly smile: "Well... can he refuse me? Impossible~"
Before she could finish her words, she had already climbed out of the window, leaving only the swaying branches to prove her presence.
Fukuzawa Yukichi shook his head and picked up his pen again. He paused on the paper and finally wrote the word "agree".
——
Time goes back to the next morning, Chuuya and Odasaku went to elementary school, and Ranpo and Akiko went to high school.
"Rikkai University High School?" Akiko tilted her head and read out the name of the school.
"When Chuuya and the others graduate, they'll also go to this school's junior high school," the player thought for a moment. "Sakunosuke will probably go straight to high school with you guys. Hmm... in that case, wouldn't Chuuya have to go to school separately from you guys? That sounds so pitiful."
"I'm not pathetic." Chuuya tilted his head. "Don't act like I don't have any friends at school, okay?"
"So how many friends do you have?" The player immediately leaned over, staring at Chuuya with shining eyes.
Chuuya choked and stammered, "Until... until all my classmates know me..."
"Just knowing someone doesn't make them friends!" The player laughed and patted his shoulder. "But it's okay. I'll help you make ten good friends today!"
Oda Sakunosuke's ahoge twitched. "Family Visit Day is not a social gathering."
"What's the big deal?" the player skipped forward. "We're still dealing with people anyway!"
Akiko checked her uniform tie and suddenly asked, "By the way, why do we have to go to school in Kamakura? Aren't there any good high schools in Yokohama?"
"Because—" the player lowered his voice mysteriously, "it's the closest school with a special plot in the school assignment!"
The four of them fell silent at the same time.
Ranpo: "That reason... is very Player-like."
"Besides!" the player raised his index finger. "Kamakura's seafood bento is super famous! I checked, and the school cafeteria has a special tuna rice bowl every Wednesday!"
Chuuya held his forehead and said, "What kind of reason is that?"
"What's the big deal?" the player shrugged. "I have my teleportation ability, so I'll be there in a second!"
Oda Sakunosuke silently opened his notebook: [Lin Chen's criteria for choosing a school: 1. Special plot 2. Delicious cafeteria]
"Hey! There's no need to write down this kind of stuff!" Lin Chen jumped up and gave Oda Sakunosuke a slap. Oda Sakunosuke didn't intend to dodge it at all and accepted it calmly.
Ranpo suddenly approached Chuuya Momozen and asked, "Speaking of which, are there going to be performances for the elementary school's family visit day?"
Chuuya's expression changed instantly: "Wait... You're not..."
"The great detective has seen through everything!" Ranpo proudly pushed up his newly put-on glasses, which still reflected strange light. "Your class is going to sing a chorus, right? As the 'parent', Player will definitely—"
"I want to lead the singing!" The player immediately raised his hand, his eyes shining frighteningly.
Chuuya held his head in despair: "I knew it..."
Jingzi suppressed her laughter and patted his shoulder: "As for... isn't her singing bad?"
"It's even worse than that!" Chuuya wailed. "Last time, she suddenly got the urge to sing 'Dumpling Family' to the plants and made the whole field wither!"
The player put his hands on his hips in disbelief: "That's because they don't know how to appreciate art!"
Oda Sakunosuke closed his notebook. "Time's up."
"Ah! We're really going to be late!" The player grabbed Chuuya with one hand and Oda Sakunosuke with the other, "Hold on tight! The transmission begins—"
With a dazzling flash of blood-red light, the five of them instantly appeared at the elementary school entrance. The player proudly adjusted his not-so-messy clothes: "Well, how's that? My teleportation never makes people dizzy!"
Ranpo squatted on the ground and retched: "Next time... tell me in advance... and Akiko and I are not in this school..."
Jingzi supported him and looked at the player helplessly: "Can't you be a little gentler?"
"What's the matter~" The player clapped his hands and grabbed them both. A flash of light passed by, and the two people disappeared again.
She jumped out of the strange gap and skipped towards the school gate. "Look! There's a marshmallow stall over there! Chuuya, I'll buy you one~"
"Don't treat me like a child!" Chuuya protested with a red face, but still followed.
Oda Sakunosuke looked at the four people's noisy backs and wrote in his notebook:
【Today is a special day.】
Although our destinations are different, we are all heading in the same direction.
[Just like Player said——]
This is what family is like.
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