Conan: Ran turns into an elementary school student and calls me dad.

Chapter 39 A Massive Scene of Shame

A long silence fell on the other end of the phone; the air seemed to freeze.

Shinichi Kudo held the phone tightly to his ear, even his breathing became cautious.

Just as he thought the call had been disconnected and was about to dial again, Yusaku Kudo's deep voice came through the receiver.

"...I know him, so why bring him up all of a sudden?"

Having been raised by Yusaku Kudo since childhood, even though the father and son haven't seen each other much in the past two years, Shinichi Kudo can still discern clues from his father's tone.

His mood right now is absolutely terrible!

Father indeed knew Lin Xiuyi, and the relationship between the two must have been exceptionally bad!

Shinichi Kudo secretly made up his mind, and then told Yusaku Kudo everything that had happened in the past two days.

"That bastard... Lin Xiuyi actually went back to Japan?"

Kudo Yusaku's tone on the other end of the phone suddenly became serious, tinged with disbelief. After a pause, he slowly spoke...

"That Lin Xiaolan could indeed be his daughter. Lin Xiuyi and Fei Yingli used to be a couple, but an accident happened later and the two separated completely."

"As for him having someone knock you over, he probably just wanted to investigate some things. This is a grudge between adults, so don't get involved or worry about it too much."

Yusaku Kudo's tone softened slightly, but it still carried a hint of barely perceptible seriousness.

"As for your childhood sweetheart suddenly going abroad, something is indeed a bit off, but since they said they went to relax, they'll get in touch eventually, so don't worry too much."

Yusaku Kudo answered his son's questions one by one, but these ambiguous answers not only failed to dispel Shinichi Kudo's doubts, but instead made him even more suspicious.

For example, why did the father immediately assume that Lin Xiuyi was investigating something as soon as he heard that he had been hit on the head?

What exactly is the grudge between them?

Is Xiaolan's trip abroad also related to Lin Xiuyi?

Countless questions swirled in his mind, but Shinichi Kudo did not pursue them further.

As a detective, he prefers to uncover clues and find out the ins and outs of things himself rather than learn the truth from others.

I had just hung up the phone with my father when the landline rang again.

Shinichi Kudo frowned as he saw an unfamiliar number displayed on the screen. Judging from the number's structure, it appeared to be a phone number from New York State, USA.

A phone number from New York State, USA? Could it be my godmother, Yukiko?

Shinichi Kudo looked at the landline with some hesitation, his hand hovering over the receiver, not picking it up for a long time.

He was raised by Yusaku Kudo from a young age, and he could only see his godmother Yukiko once every two or three years.

He had also wondered who his biological mother was, and whether Yukiko might be his biological mother.

But he had asked Kudo Yusaku this question when he was a child, and all he got in return was his father’s helpless bitter smile and a long, inexplicable sigh.

After he became sensible, he never asked about it again.

Having not seen each other for many years, the bond between mother and son was naturally very weak, and Yukiko had almost never taken the initiative to call him before.

Why did she call so suddenly this time?

With his doubts lingering, Shinichi Kudo finally made up his mind and picked up the receiver: "Hello, who is this?"

However, it wasn't Yukiko's voice that came through the phone.

Rather, it was the girl he had been thinking about and longing for these past two days.

"Shinichi, it's me."

"Xiao Lan!"

Shinichi Kudo sat bolt upright on the sofa, his voice brimming with excitement.

"Where are you? How have you been these past few days? Why did you suddenly go abroad without telling me?"

……

In Eri Kisaki's apartment, the family of three huddled around Hayashi Shuichi's phone, and Shinichi Kudo's excited shouts came through clearly from the other end of the line.

The female lawyer's face instantly darkened, and she glared at her phone with obvious displeasure.

Lin Xiuyi pursed her lips, a mocking smile on her face.

Xiaolan blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment, wishing she could disappear into the ground.

Making a phone call to your childhood sweetheart while being watched by your parents the whole time, and having your father read aloud what you have to say, is an incredibly embarrassing situation!

Xiao Lan inwardly groaned, but now that things had come to this, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue.

To minimize embarrassment, she wrote very concisely on the paper, simply introducing her life in America, saying that everything was fine, and telling Shinichi Kudo not to worry.

But her deliberate distance was interpreted by Shinichi Kudo as her being unhappy and just putting on a brave face to comfort him.

"Xiaolan, what's wrong? Did something happen? I..."

When Shinichi Kudo was with Ran, he was quite arrogant. Although his heart was already full of the girl, he never said it out loud.

But after not seeing him for more than ten days, and knowing that his childhood friend was now in a foreign country, Shinichi Kudo could no longer maintain his haughty demeanor.

"I...I've really missed you these past few days..."

Just as he was about to say something cheesy, Eri Kisaki's face turned so dark it looked like it could drip water, while Hideaki Hayashi was suppressing a laugh, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Ran could no longer bear the shame. Her face flushed, she grabbed the phone and hurriedly said into the receiver, "Shinichi, I have something to do here, I have to hang up!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone immediately without waiting for a response from the other party.

"I'm going to bed!"

Xiaolan lowered her head, her cheeks as red as ripe apples, and hurriedly ran back to her bedroom, forgetting to even close the door.

Only Lin Xiuyi and Fei Yingli remained in the living room. Lin Xiuyi could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.

"Kudo is quite attentive to Ran, but his tone is a bit too mushy. No wonder you're angry."

"What's so funny?"

Eri glared at him, her tone tinged with displeasure.

"Ran is already a high school student. She should focus on her studies instead of spending all her time flirting with that brat from the Kudo family."

"Besides, given her current physical condition, she shouldn't have too much contact with Shinichi Kudo. It would be terrible if he discovered the truth!"

"Eri, don't you think you look exactly like your mother did when she scolded me?"

Lin Xiuyi smiled and leaned closer to her, his tone slightly teasing.

"I remember when we were high school students, whenever I went to your house to see you, your mother would have a dark face and make sarcastic remarks to me, saying that I was interfering with your studies."

"Hmph, my mom's just worried I'll be fooled by you!"

Eri Kisaki snorted coldly, her cheeks flushing slightly. She struggled to push him away, but he held her even tighter.

"Stop fooling around, Xiaolan is still inside. It wouldn't be good if she saw us!"