Holidays are always short, and after school starts, it’s back to busy and warm daily life.
Every day when going to and from get off work and school, after school Kurosawa Akira would call Natsume and Kuroko to play in the park, and they would get to know some new kids.
They enjoyed a happy and carefree childhood.
It is said that Teitan Elementary School will hold a children's basketball game soon, with grades 1 to 6 competing separately. Kurosawa Akira, who often plays basketball with Kuroko, is a key player in the class and does not neglect his training outside of class.
Jiang Lai would occasionally go to the park to cheer the children up or bring them drinks and snacks, appearing there as a big brother that the children liked.
But most of the time, they let their children play by themselves, while Jiang Lai prepares lessons at home, or chats with Zhu Fu Jingguang and discusses what to do next.
Kenji Hagiwara is in much better condition now. He is no longer such a workaholic who neglects his health. Sometimes when he has a light work day, he will leisurely ask Jiang Lai to go out for barbecue.
But what is more often seen is his hard work and overtime, especially cases related to bombers, men in black, etc., which always remind him of something and make him pay special attention.
This made Jiang Lai think of Matsuda Jinpei. He had not contacted him since he materialized, which made him wonder if he had gone abroad on a mission.
It couldn't be a worse situation... Jiang Lai didn't want to speculate in other directions.
The image of Kanna also does not appear in the manga, and now the story has begun to revolve around Conan's daily crime-solving.
Forum: [Main plot, main plot! I want to see the main plot! I want to see Jiang Lai the boss woooooooooooo!!]
[I want to see the handsome Jiang Lai Wuwu! I like him very much! ]
Jiang Lai: ...Thank you?
He silently put away his phone and used his other hand to carry things - today was the day before Kurosawa Akira's children's basketball game, and Jiang Lai went to the supermarket to buy meatballs, intending to cook them tonight.
By the way, I also bought other kitchen supplies.
The voice-activated light in the corridor seemed to be broken. Jiang Lai stomped his feet, but there was still no response above his head.
It was rather dark inside the stairs, but fortunately it was only evening, and even without the lights one could still see the stairs clearly, so Jiang Lai didn't need to take out his cell phone for lighting.
Hmm... Morobushi Keimitsu, who will be accompanying Kurosawa Akira in the small park, will probably remind him to come back for dinner. I'll go home and cook now, so it'll be just in time for them to come back.
Jiang Lai was calculating the time in his mind and planning his daily life after returning home. When he turned a corner, he caught a glimpse of a man in black walking at the bottom of the stairs. He was wearing a hat pulled down, and it was difficult to see clearly in the dim light.
Ah...it's time to get off work.
Jiang Lai didn't think much about it and continued walking upstairs, complaining in his heart that he actually rented the sixth floor at that time and it was tiring enough to go up and down the stairs every day.
But the good thing is that as it is on the top floor, there are no users upstairs, so there won’t be any noise from dropping things or running or jumping to disturb your sleep.
After turning onto another step, Jiang Lai instinctively glanced down again. Seeing that the man in black was still following him up, he realized something was wrong.
Now I have reached the junction of the fifth and sixth floors, and the family across the street from me is going on a trip recently, so I should be the only one who continues to go up!
“…”
Feeling alert, Jiang Lai put his free hand into his pocket and fumbled for his cell phone, ready to dial the emergency number immediately if any problem occurred.
At the same time, he himself was also ready to fight back, his muscles all over his body were tense, and the fighting skills he had learned were displayed in his mind one by one.
The man in black behind him seemed to have noticed Jiang Lai's discovery, so he no longer restrained his noise and walked upwards naturally. His leather shoes made a "tapping" sound on the empty stairs, neither hurried nor slow, as if he did it on purpose.
"..." Jiang Lai took a few steps up the stairs and reached the ground. He put down the bag in front of his door and took out a newly bought rolling pin as a temporary weapon. His eyes pierced through the dim background and stared straight at the figure walking up with a burning gaze.
As the distance shortened, the other person became clearer and clearer. Under the lowered hat, the playful black curly hair that was barely visible was fluttering upwards. Jiang Lai felt a vague sense of familiarity in his heart.
"Jiang Lai." Her magnetic voice with a hint of laziness called out his name directly.
He took a few steps up the last step, his sunglasses sliding down his nose, revealing his dark eyes.
...Matsuda?!
Jiang Lai recognized the other person immediately, but did not say the name.
The neon lights of the distant buildings shone through the corridor windows, and Matsuda Jinpei's expression flickered. The slightly cool air gave Jiang Lai goosebumps. He looked at the figure a few steps away from him, and his mind was filled with multiple guesses, and he was prepared for the worst.
Jiang Lai put on his usual smiling face, mixed with some doubts, and said, "Teacher Shen Na? What can I do for you?"
He called the other person by another name.
Matsuda Jinpei did not answer the call, neither did he acknowledge the address nor did he deny it. He simply took off his sunglasses and shook them in his hand, staring at the black-haired young man in front of him with his eyes unclear about his emotions. The only sound in the quiet environment was his breathing.
"..." Jiang Lai's smiling expression remained unchanged, "Teacher Shen Na?"
The other person chuckled and suddenly walked towards Jiang Lai with his long legs. Jiang Lai's alert value instantly reached the maximum. His other hand in his pocket was ready to press the police phone -
"Surprise!" Matsuda Jinpei gestured and waved his hand, "The police officer is back~"
He bent forward, his cold face now replaced by a smile, and said with a hint of teasing, "Hey, Jiang Lai, were you scared just now?"
Matsuda Jinpei restrained his momentum and returned to his normal demeanor, with a casual and relaxed demeanor.
He played with the sunglasses in his hand and continued, "But you are alert enough to call me by my pseudonym."
"......?!" Jiang Lai was stunned, silent for a few seconds, and then slowly smiled -
Then he raised the rolling pin in his hand and hit him!
"Wow! So irritable~" Matsuda Jinpei raised his hand to block it. He smiled and straightened up, "Rolling pin, are you going to eat dumplings tonight?"
Jiang Lai sneered: "Eat green pepper cubes, stir-fried green pepper shreds, and stewed green pepper slices."
"Hey, hey... What kind of devilish dish is this? No normal person would eat it..."
"What you just did is something a normal person would do?"
——It’s scary to have no clear camp! ! How can we play this kind of red and black judgment game!
Jiang Lai said that he felt like he was on a roller coaster and almost went to the ICU. He used his key to open the door while complaining about Matsuda Jinpei's bad behavior.
Jinpei Matsuda yawned exaggeratedly, shook his fingers and said, "This is to train my mentality," looking very leisurely.
“……”Be patient.
"And it's really interesting to see you, Jiang Lai, pretending to respect your teacher."
“……”There is a knife above the word "忍".
Jiang Lai took a deep breath.
——After all, let’s have a fight!
Matsuda Jinpei's boxing is very powerful, but Jiang Lai also has his own fighting skills. Neither of them used their full strength, but they just fought as a joke. Although both of them were still injured, it surprised Kurosawa Akira who entered the door.
"Is there a thief in the house? What happened to you?" This is Kurosawa Akira with a shocked face.
"Oh? Matsuda is back. You two...are you going to have a fight to warm up the relationship after not seeing each other for a while?" This is Morobushi Kagemitsu who is floating on the side.
"I want to seriously accuse Matsuda of his vile and frightening behavior. Jingguang, you go and teach him a lesson." Jiang Lai jumped up from the sofa. "I'm going to cook. I just had a fight and even delayed dinner... Xiao Zhao, come to the kitchen and help me. You can also eat earlier."
"There's nothing to look forward to in the green pepper set meal..." Matsuda Jinpei said, still leaning crookedly on the sofa, looking up.
"Sorry, the green pepper dinner is for you." Jiang Lai said with a fake smile, "Xiao Zhao and I will eat meatballs tonight."
Kurosawa Akira: "Yeah, I like meatballs!"
Matsuda Jinpei: “???”
Morofushi Kagemitsu watched his friends laughing and raised his lips as he floated to Matsuda Jinpei's side: "So, don't offend the chef if you want to offend anyone."
Matsuda Jinpei's eyes half-mooned: "I'll make noodles for myself later."
"This is my home." Jiang Lai said with a smile, "You can cook for me. I charge 30,000 yen per meal."
"Wow, Jiang Lai, are you doing a robbery? I'm a policeman."
"You knew that too?" Jiang Lai rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen carrying the bag. However, after putting the things down, he stuck his head out, straightened his expression, and looked at Matsuda Jinpei, "...You must remember this, Officer Matsuda." His tone was calm.
"..." Matsuda Jinpei looked back from afar, his lips curled up slightly, "Of course." Despite his usual lazy attitude, his words were extremely serious.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds, and Jiang Lai smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad. You are allowed to eat meatballs with us tonight."
"Oh? Should I say thank you, God?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled and said, "It's not enough to just say it, you have to follow the full etiquette, Matsuda."
"What! Zhu Fu, you are actually on Jiang Lai's side? This is so sad."
"This is called standing for justice." Jiang Lai's words came from the kitchen, along with Kurosawa Akira's small words "I also support Jiang Lai brother", which made Matsuda Jinpei jokingly complain that he had no status in this family at all.
Everyone laughed and returned to their former state of getting along with each other.
Kurosawa Akira had a children's basketball match tomorrow, so he was urged to go to bed early. Jiang Lai, Matsuda Jinpei, and Morobushi Kagemitsu were all gathered in another study room.
This is the most important part of today.
"How are you doing in the organization, Matsuda?" Jiang Lai asked first.
There was also concern in Morofushi Jingguang's eyes. As a former undercover agent, he was very aware of the organization's suspicion and sensitivity.
"Ah... how should I put it," Matsuda Jinpei paused, "you adapted surprisingly quickly."
Whether it was understanding the organization, getting along with other members, or going out on missions, everything went very naturally and smoothly, and I was integrated into it without any disturbance.
"...Really?" Jiang Lai paused for a moment and smiled, "Very good, this state is naturally conducive to the development of the undercover business!"
Matsuda Jinpei said, "But I don't seem to have any information about the contact person in my mind. Even if I have intelligence, I don't know who to pass it on to."
"Don't report it directly to the Metropolitan Police Department," Morobushi Kagemitsu warned first. "The hidden mole hasn't been caught yet. Even if he remains anonymous, he may be able to catch you through the Internet and expose your true identity."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too, so I never contacted the Metropolitan Police Department." Matsuda Jinpei exhaled, "I also considered contacting individuals, but the only police colleague I trust 100% is Hagi... and I don't want him to get involved in these things."
"...Indeed." Morobushi Jingguang was silent for a while, "In fact, there is also Zero, but..."
"But it's better for us not to get too close, so that he won't be discovered about his previous identity as a police academy student - after all, I was a member of the Explosives Unit that couldn't be hidden." Matsuda Jinpei quickly followed up.
"And... I actually didn't see him at all. Furuya probably didn't even know I was here. Ah, I can't contact him for the time being."
"..." Zhu Fu Jingguang was silent.
"Then send it to me." Jiang Lai, who had been silent just now, spoke.
He raised his warm brown eyes and said in a clear and crisp voice: "——Let me be your intelligence contact."