manynovel Chapter 37 The Suspicious Kudo
Chapter 37 The Suspicious Kudo
Xiao Lan subconsciously assumed it was someone who had come to her door, so without thinking much of it, she put down the rag in her hand and ran over to open the door.
The moment she opened the door, the smile on her face froze, and she wished she could close the door immediately!
Because the person standing outside the door wasn't a client at all, but her childhood friend, Shinichi Kudo!
The high school detective originally came to find Kogoro Mouri to inquire about Shuichi Hayashi.
But upon seeing the little girl in front of him, with her sleeves rolled up and a rag in her hand, Shinichi Kudo was suddenly reminded of his childhood sweetheart.
Every time he came to the office, Xiaolan was always cleaning, with a gentle yet helpless smile on her face.
The two people, one big and one small, stood quietly at the door, awkwardly staring at each other.
The air seemed to freeze; Xiaolan's heart pounded wildly, and her mind was in complete chaos.
A moment later, it was Shinichi Kudo who reacted first.
He suppressed his doubts and remembered that the little girl was Lin Xiuyi's daughter.
Although Lin Xiuyi had someone beat him up, Kudo Shinichi wouldn't stoop to the level of arguing with a six-year-old girl.
What's more, she's his childhood sweetheart and younger sister.
"Little sister, what are you doing here? Still... cleaning?"
Shinichi Kudo leaned down, his gaze falling on the rag in her hand, his tone tinged with doubt.
How could such a young child be doing this kind of work here?
"……this."
Ran lowered her head, looking at her dusty little hands and wet sleeves, then at Shinichi Kudo's probing gaze. Her heart pounded with anxiety, and she began to stammer.
"Yes, Sister Xiaolan asked me to help clean this place!"
"Xiao Lan?"
Shinichi Kudo's brows furrowed instantly, his eyes filled with even greater confusion.
"You're so young, how could Xiaolan let you do such heavy work?"
"No, no, that's not it!" Xiaolan quickly waved her hand. "Sister Xiaolan just asked me to come over occasionally to help her look after Uncle Mori! After all, Aunt Liuli is often not home when she has work."
"I only helped clean because I saw the office was too messy; it has nothing to do with Sister Xiaolan!"
Afraid that Shinichi Kudo would continue to press her for answers, she quickly changed the subject, forcing a sweet smile onto her face.
"Shinichi...brother, are you here to see Uncle Kogoro? He's still sleeping."
"I see."
Shinichi Kudo nodded thoughtfully, his gaze sweeping around the room. Seeing the gradually tidy environment, he felt a growing fondness for the little girl.
"Little sister, let me help you clean. It'll be faster if there are more people."
"No need!" Xiaolan quickly refused, waving her hands repeatedly.
She knew better than anyone how intelligent Shinichi Kudo was!
I'm not good at lying to begin with, so if I clean with him, and I accidentally slip up and he finds out the truth, that would be terrible!
However, Shinichi Kudo completely ignored the girl's rejection.
He walked straight into the office, reached for the rag, and said, "It's okay, I have nothing to do anyway, so it's good to help you out."
As he spoke, Shinichi Kudo picked up a rag and began wiping the stains on the sofa. Although his movements were a little clumsy, he was extremely serious.
Watching his busy figure, Xiaolan felt both helpless and nervous. She could only keep her nerves on edge, pick up the trash bag, and continue picking up the remaining trash.
However, he kept a close eye on Shinichi Kudo's movements out of the corner of his eye, afraid that he might give himself away.
The two cleaned in silence, the only sounds in the office being the swishing of rags against furniture and Kogoro Mouri's snoring.
Before long, the office was almost cleaned up.
Xiaolan had gathered all the trash into several trash bags and was about to pick them up and throw them away.
Seeing this, Shinichi Kudo quickly walked over and grabbed the trash bag first.
"I'll go! This trash is too heavy for you to carry. I'm leaving anyway, so I'll just throw this away while I'm at it."
It's too heavy...
Xiao Lan's heart skipped a beat. Although her body had shrunk, for some reason, her strength was still about the same as before.
If Shinichi Kudo saw her easily lifting such a large garbage bag, he would definitely suspect her identity!
"Thank you, Shinichi... brother."
"It's okay, this is Xiaolan's job."
Shinichi Kudo smiled, picked up the trash bag, and turned to leave.
He had only taken two steps when he suddenly remembered that the little girl in front of him was also named Xiaolan, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Sorry, I forgot, your name is also Xiaolan."
"Actually, you can call me Little Lan."
Xiaolan lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"That's what Sonoko-neechan, another friend of Ran-neechan, calls me."
"Sonoko?" Shinichi Kudo asked, somewhat surprised. "You know that gossipy rich woman?"
"I don't know her, I just saw her once on the street," Xiaolan quickly explained. "Sister Yuanzi said that I look a lot like Sister Xiaolan when we were little, so she started calling me that."
"That gossipy old woman wasn't wrong about that." Shinichi Kudo shrugged and was about to step out the door.
Xiaolan had just breathed a sigh of relief when the other person suddenly asked,
"By the way, is the trash disposal area still the same as before?"
"No, it's in a different place. Turn right after you go out, and it's about 50 meters ahead."
Xiaolan blurted it out unconsciously, only realizing her mistake after she finished speaking.
Given her current status, how could she possibly know so much about the surrounding area?
Isn't this just admitting guilt without being asked?
"Little girl, you know this area very well!" Shinichi Kudo turned around and stared meaningfully at the little girl in front of him. "You don't seem to be here for the first time."
"I...I heard it from Sister Xiaolan!"
Xiaolan spoke in a panic, her eyes darting around, her words becoming incoherent.
"Sister Xiaolan told me about the situation here, that's how I know!"
"It's Ran again..." Shinichi Kudo raised an eyebrow, his expression turning somewhat strange.
He stared at Xiaolan for a few seconds, and seeing her nervous expression, he didn't ask any more questions.
"I'm going to throw out the trash. Be careful here."
"Okay, okay!"
Ran nodded hurriedly, and only after watching Shinichi Kudo's figure disappear at the top of the stairs did she breathe a sigh of relief. Her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.
The girl didn't dare to linger for a moment. She immediately closed the office door, locked it from the inside, and then rushed to her desk. She picked up the phone and, with trembling fingers, dialed the number for Eri Kisaki's apartment.
The phone rang only a few times before it was answered, and Lin Xiuyi's gentle voice came through the receiver: "Hello, is this Xiaolan?"
"Shinichi just came by!" Ran's voice trembled with tears. "He...he saw me cleaning and asked me a lot of questions. I think he might have already figured out what's wrong with me! What should I do?!"