Chapter 21 Paradise Hunting (Edited) The Collapse of Reason...
After a while of hugging each other, Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and took Huiyuan Ai's hand: "Is this Ai's home? Mr. Agasa, are you Ai's grandfather?"
Her eyes were not as bright and gentle as when she asked the question, but rather contained a hint of sharpness, which made Dr. Agasa sweat a little, "Uh, yes? I, I am Agasa..."
"So, you are Xiao Ai's guardian now?" Lin Xi asked, "I want to talk to you alone."
Dr. Agasa and Conan looked at each other and started eye contact.
Dr. Agasa (winks): What should we do, Shinichi?
Conan (pussing his lips): Let’s see what she wants to do first.
Huiyuan Ai: ...
Haibara Ai applied to join the team voice.
Haibara Ai (shakes her head): Don’t disclose the organization’s affairs.
Lin Xi looked at the few people whose expressions suddenly became rich:?
Lin Xi applied to join the team voice.
Lin Xi (smiling): So, is there something you don’t want to tell me directly, and want to communicate secretly behind my back?
The other three: ...
"Ahaha, Miss Lin, please come here..." Dr. Agasa said with an awkward smile.
It's strange. No one said anything just now, but it seems like we have already had a conversation.
He led Lin Xi into the inner room.
"Ms. Lin, are you here..."
Lin Xi sighed.
"Please tell me the truth, are you really that child's grandfather?"
"Huh? Uh... of course, hahaha."
Dr. Agasa began to scratch his head again.
"Really? Do you know where I saw the child? I saw her in a dirty alley at dusk. When I found her, she had a high fever, was dirty, and was wearing ill-fitting clothes. With all due respect, no qualified guardian would let their child appear in a place like that in the middle of the night."
"Please forgive my impoliteness. When I walked in just now, I took a quick look at your residence. From the shoe rack in the entrance, the supplies in the living room, and the furnishings in the rooms, it seems this is just the residence of a bachelor. You don't look like a bad person, so please don't lie to me - are you really this child's grandfather?"
Dr. Agasa was sweating a little.
Ah, this girl looks gentle, but her words sound so oppressive!
What should I do, Shinichi!
Help me, Shinichi!
He hasn't even gotten married yet, why does he have to face this kind of questioning!!!
Ai Huibara, who was eavesdropping against the door, sighed softly and opened the door.
"Dr. Agasa is a distant relative of mine, but also a friend," she said. "He's a good man. My parents asked him to help take care of me."
"But because my parents left me alone in Japan, I...ran away from home on impulse. I ended up getting lost and fainted from a fever from being caught in the rain. Thank you for taking care of me last night."
Lin Xi looked at Huiyuan Ai intently, but didn't expose her lie: "I see. Is that so..."
She turned to Dr. Agasa and bowed. "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you. Since you are this child's friend, what I said just now was extremely rude. However, can you give me the contact information of this child's parents?"
"Huh?"
"It's too much to leave such a young child here alone." Lin Xi said calmly, "If possible, I'd like to have a brief chat with them. I took some photos of the child while he was unconscious. If we show these photos to the police, the Children's Committee will be able to intervene immediately."
Wow! This guy is emitting murderous intent!
Dr. Agasa was sweating profusely.
What should I do, Shinichi!
Help me, Shinichi!
Just now, when Haibara Ai introduced herself, she talked about her basic situation. Her parents died when she was young, and she only had one older sister. It seemed that her older sister was also in danger in the Black Organization... Where could he find her parents' contact information?
Conan's eyes widened as well.
This kind sister is so decisive! The sense of oppression is so strong...
What should I do now? Giving my parents contact information is out of the question because there's no such thing.
But seeing as this guy is ready to call the police if I don't give him his contact information, it seems hard to fool him.
There was silence, and even Haibara Ai didn't know what to say for a moment.
Seeing their silence, Lin Xi smiled and said, "It's really inconvenient for you to contact me for some reason, right?"
The silence of several people seemed to be a tacit agreement.
"In that case, please allow me to make a request that may resolve the current deadlock."
Dr. Agasa: "Uh, you say."
"Let her stay with me until her parents come back."
Dr. Agasa and Conan said in unison: "Huh??!"
"Although the apartment I live in now is not big, it is more than enough to accommodate another little girl. Although she is still in school, my parents left me a considerable amount of property before they passed away, so I don't have to worry about money. And as a woman, it should be more convenient for me to take care of Xiao Ai, who is also a woman. I also have a car and can pick Xiao Ai up and drop her off at school."
"Besides, my major is relatively easy, so I have plenty of free time to spend with Xiao Ai." Lin Xi talked about his own advantages. "However, in the end, it all depends on the child's own wishes."
She turned to look at Huibara Ai.
"If you want, I can take care of you as your sister, okay?"
“…” Huibara Ai lowered her head.
"Well, this matter really still requires the consent of the parents, right?" Seeing that the expressions of both of them seemed to be relaxed, Conan hurriedly winked at Haibara Ai.
You just said that we can’t involve strangers!
Haibara Ai was immersed in her own thoughts and did not receive Conan's radio waves.
Sister...huh?
It was incredible that the thing that he had been seeking but unable to achieve in the organization for seventeen years actually had the opportunity to be realized shortly after escaping.
The normal human life she longed for... a life without drug research, human experiments, intrigues, poisons, and murders...
Life with family...
But is this really a good thing?
The person in front of her only invited her to live with him because she looked pitiful, weak, and helpless. If she knew what kind of person she really was, would she still invite her so sincerely?
Reason tells Huiyuan Ai that she should make up some excuses to reject Lin Xi. However, the other side of reason - human sensibility - cannot refuse no matter what.
It's like putting a delicious blueberry peanut butter sandwich in front of someone who has been hungry for three days and three nights. Even if you know that eating it will bring bad consequences, the instinctive desire will drive you to eat it.
Hehe... I really am a despicable person. I knew it might bring misfortune to others, but I still agreed to it without caring about it.
A warm touch came from above my head.
"Ai-chan?"
"don't want……"
The black-haired girl squatted down and looked at her worriedly.
"What's wrong... Is there any reason why you can't agree to my request?"
With such an aggrieved expression...tears are about to fall.
Although Ka broke into Agasa's house when Haibara Ai's identity had not been dealt with yet, and took advantage of their reluctance to go to the police to make a proposal, was it too fast for the little girl?
For Haibara Ai, the Kudo family and Dr. Agasa are more trustworthy than her, a stranger, right?
Alas, tears still fell.
Lin Xi hugged her and patted her back gently: "It's okay, it's okay... You can choose whatever you want, Xiao Ai, don't worry."
"But please give me a little more trust. You have to believe that no matter what your true situation is, no matter what kind of 'trouble' you think you will cause me, I have the ability to solve all your problems. I want your sincere choice. Put aside all external conditions, what do you think?"
Ai Haibara leaned on her shoulder, tears rolling uncontrollably from her eyes.
...Wouldn't this be even more troublesome?
Such a sense of responsibility...If she is found to have any connection with the organization in the future, she will definitely investigate the organization. Wouldn't she be even more unable to get away then?
Besides, they had only known each other for a day...why was he being so nice to a stranger like her?
"Actually, when I first saw you, Xiao Ai, I thought you were adorable," Lin Xi said softly. "Although the environment was terrible at the time... and you were running a high fever, you looked up at me. 'Please save me, I want to live'... your eyes told me so. Even now, when you say 'no' with your mouth, your eyes keep looking at me, repeating to me: 'Please don't leave me'."
"I'm afraid something terrible has happened to you, so it's probably a bit unreasonable to ask you to trust me all of a sudden. How about this? Just think of my invitation as a short trip that you can leave at any time. You're just staying with me temporarily, so there's no need to feel any pressure. Even though we've only known each other for a day, please think of me as your friend—just staying with a friend for a while."
"Is that okay?"
Gentle words enveloped Huibara Ai like the ocean. She stared at the white wall behind Lin Xi with blurry eyes. There was nothing on the wall, but she seemed to want to find a hole in it, an excuse to reject Lin Xi.
But no. No matter what, a white wall is still a white wall, no spots or stains, nothing at all. Just like her heart, she couldn't find the thought of rejecting Lin Xi.
“…”
Ai turned her head away from the blank wall. She raised her arm to wipe away her tears, mumbling, "...Okay."
The hungry man finally swallowed the cake.
…
At this moment, the crying sound coming from behind made Haibara Ai freeze.
"Wuwuwuwu——" Dr. Agasa cried even louder than her, "So touching..."
Conan's half-moon eyes: "Doctor, why are you crying! They didn't invite you!"
"But it's really touching!" Dr. Agasa wiped the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief, "New... Conan, don't you think so?"
Touching words are indeed touching.
But this is too much like a movie plot.
To be honest, Conan was a little wary.
Whether it was Huiyuan Ai or Lin Xi, their appearances were so sudden and coincidental. Only a kind-hearted person like the doctor would believe them all of a sudden...
"Dr. Agasa, Xiao Ai promised me." Lin Xi stood up, took Haibara Ai's hand, and reminded Dr. Agasa with a smile.
...I always feel like this guy is showing off, Conan thought.
"Would you two like to come over to my apartment? It's almost dinner time, so if possible, let me treat you to a meal." Lin Xi said, "My house is quite big."
"What's this kid's name?" This question was asked to Conan.
"Uh, Conan, Edogawa Conan."
"Hey, is that an alias?"
"Eh, eh?!" Conan was shocked, "No!"
"Haha, sorry, your name is a combination of the surname of the famous detective novelist Edogawa Ranpo and the name of Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes, so I subconsciously thought it was a pseudonym. So, it seems your father and mother must really like detective novels."
"Ahahaha..." Conan scratched his head.
Who would subconsciously think that a child’s name is a pseudonym!
"Edogawa-chan, Dr. Agasa, can we leave now? We have fresh ingredients at home, so we don't have to go out and buy them."
Conan: "Wait—"
Dr. Agasa: "-Okay! Miss Lin, please lead the way... What's wrong, Conan?"
Conan looked at him resentfully.
Seriously, don't just follow strangers, you're such an incautious adult!
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