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

Chapter 16 An Inescapable Blow

"Don't worry, didn't you say that kid didn't have any club activities today?"

Seeing Xiaolan's nervous expression, Lin Xiuyi gently comforted her.

"He'll definitely come out soon."

"But... what if they hurt Shinichi?"

Xiaolan turned her head, her eyes filled with worry.

"Those uncles look terrifying. What if they go too far?"

"They're just a backup plan," Lin Xiuyi explained. "If Judy can successfully lure him in and get the hair, then they won't need to do anything."

Lin Xiuyi leaned back in the car seat, feeling bored. He watched as Xiao Lan kept staring at the direction of the school gate with concern, and suddenly felt a little uneasy.

He finally understood why most of his fathers-in-law in his previous life didn't like their sons-in-law.

The feeling of watching your carefully nurtured little cabbage about to be eaten by an outsider is truly awful.

"By the way, Xiaolan..." Lin Xiuyi suddenly spoke, breaking the silence in the car.

"Hmm?" Xiaolan turned her head and looked at him in confusion.

"You still haven't figured out how to address me?" Lin Xiuyi looked at her, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible expectation.

Since they met yesterday, Xiaolan has deliberately omitted how she addresses him, which makes him feel somewhat disappointed.

"...I'm sorry, I..."

Xiaolan lowered her head with some difficulty. She really couldn't bring herself to call a strange man "Dad".

Seeing her daughter's embarrassed expression, Lin Xiuyi already understood what she was thinking.

He was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "Since you can't bring yourself to call me 'Dad,' you can temporarily call me 'Uncle Lin.'"

"...Really?" Xiaolan looked up in surprise, unable to believe her ears.

"Hmm." Lin Xiu nodded gently. "I understand that you can't accept me right now. After all, I abandoned you and your mother for so many years; it was my fault."

He paused, then gave a serious instruction.

"But remember, you absolutely must not call me that in front of outsiders, understand?"

"Yes!" Xiaolan nodded happily. "Thank you... Uncle Lin."

Haha, it feels really complicated to be called "uncle" by your own daughter.

Lin Xiuyi sighed inwardly, feeling both disappointed and gratified.

He was disappointed that he didn't immediately hear his daughter call him "Dad," but he was also relieved that at least their relationship had made some progress.

At the same time, at the entrance of Teitan High School, a figure that Ran looked extremely familiar appeared.

It's Shinichi Kudo!

He was wearing the Teitan High School uniform, carrying a backpack, and strode out of the school gate.

Shinichi Kudo is a member of the soccer club. Since there were no soccer activities this afternoon, he decided to go to the Mouri Detective Agency again to ask Ran why she suddenly went to his house yesterday, and also to clear up the doubts in his mind.

He always felt that there was something wrong with the little girl named Lin Xiaolan.

For some reason, when he was with that little girl, he always felt a sense of déjà vu as he did with his childhood sweetheart, Lin Lan.

As soon as he stepped out of the school gate, Shinichi Kudo saw a group of Teitan High School students gathered not far away.

As a detective, curiosity is essential.

Shinichi Kudo immediately became interested and quickly went over.

Squeezing through the crowd, he saw a sexy blonde woman standing on the street, looking confused and asking for directions in broken Japanese: "Excuse me...where is the Beika...cafe?"

Even worse than the blonde beauty's broken Japanese was that she seemed to understand no Japanese at all.

Several kind girls patiently pointed out the directions to her, gesturing with their hands as they spoke, but the blonde beauty still looked blank and shook her head to indicate that she didn't understand.

Hehe, this is when I come in!

Shinichi Kudo, who always loved to show off, was secretly pleased.

As a child, he traveled all over the world with his father, Yusaku Kudo. Putting everything else aside, his English level is absolutely top-notch, and he has no problem communicating with foreigners.

Shinichi Kudo walked past the crowd of onlookers and stood in front of the blonde woman, saying in fluent and standard English, "Hello, are you going to Beika Cafe? I know where it is, I can give you directions."

"Oh, thank you!"

The blonde woman's eyes lit up, and she quickly thanked her, still speaking broken Japanese.

"But I'm a little worried about getting lost. Could you show me the way? I can pay you."

Shinichi Kudo thought for a moment and decided that leading the way was nothing to worry about.

Moreover, the coffee shop the blonde beauty wanted to go to was nearby, so it wouldn't take long and she readily agreed.

The two walked side by side toward the destination the blonde woman had indicated, chatting as they went.

Shinichi Kudo also learned that the beautiful woman's name was Jodie, and that she had come to Japan to work as a secretary for a wealthy man. She had only been in Japan for a short time and was not yet familiar with the environment.

"My boss is both unscrupulous and stingy."

Judy seized the opportunity to retaliate, her voice full of complaints as she launched into a long tirade against Lin Xiuyi.

"It's only my first day at work, and he's already ordering me around like that. He has absolutely no respect for people."

Shinichi Kudo listened quietly, nodding occasionally in agreement.

As they chatted, they soon arrived at the entrance of a quiet alley.

"Go through here, and that coffee shop is right across the street," Shinichi Kudo pointed to the alley.

In broad daylight, in a familiar neighborhood, Shinichi Kudo didn't think much of it and had no guard up at all.

To lead the way, he stepped into the alley first. But after only a few steps, a sharp pain shot through the back of his head, his vision went black, and he was thrown forward uncontrollably.

Before he completely lost consciousness, Shinichi Kudo noticed through his blurry vision that four muscular figures dressed in black had appeared beside the blonde beauty from before. Each of them had a cold expression and was clearly not an ordinary person.

Who are these people?

Why did you attack me?

Is Judy one of them too?

Countless questions flooded his mind, but before he could figure them out, his consciousness was completely plunged into darkness, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

Why did you hit him with a stick?

Judy, her face stern, glared at the bodyguard who had struck her, her tone icy.

"Didn't the boss's daughter say not to hurt him?"

"It's the boss's order," Li Long, the Chinese bodyguard, stepped forward and answered expressionlessly. "The boss said that this kid is too trusting of strangers. He's going to teach him a lesson this time so that he'll remember it and not get beaten up by others again."

What is that bastard up to now?

Judy clenched her fists, feeling a sudden surge of anger rising within her...