When Qianben Xixi left the police station, the sky was already growing dark. She glanced up at the sky and quickly hailed a taxi to head back to her shop.
This was already the tenth time this month she had been "invited for tea" at the police station. Forgot to mention—today was August 11th.
Half a month ago, she had just moved to Mihana Town and opened a small snack shop across the street from Teidan Elementary School, near the back entrance of Beika Park. Although the shop was old, small, and run-down, its prime location meant business was decent. Especially after school, elementary students often dropped by to buy snacks.
Everything was normal at first, until she met a group of kids who frequently visited her shop. Particularly that strange elementary student named Conan, who loved deducing things and immediately declared her suspicious.
Well, she was indeed suspicious—because she wasn’t from this world. She used to be called Xiaxi, a player of the Infinite Horror Game. After clearing the game, she chose to return to an ordinary life.
But that wasn’t the main point. Ever since meeting these kids who called themselves the "Junior Detective Team," it felt like she had been cursed with bad luck. Maybe it was karma for teasing elementary students, but lately, she kept getting inexplicably dragged into various cases. Either she was suspected of being a criminal, or she’d go to a restaurant for a meal and nearly get poisoned after being mistaken for a mistress.
Although the cases were always solved in the end by that little detective named Conan, being summoned to the police station every day for tea and statements severely disrupted her normal life. She spent her days doing nothing but drinking tea. And the tea at the police station wasn’t even good—it was tasteless.
With a gloomy mood, Qianben Xixi finally returned to her shop. It was dinner time, and the students had long since gone home. Apart from a few hurried office workers on the streets, there was no one else. Despite rushing back, she had still missed the golden after-school hours. If she had known, she wouldn’t have taken a taxi—she could have saved some money.
"System, tally today’s sales for me."
Soon, a mechanical, emotionless electronic voice sounded in her ear.
[System: Dear player, your sales today amount to 6 JJ Coins. You are still 538 JJ Coins away from upgrading your shop (462/1000). Please continue to work hard.]
Qianben Xixi: …
Even after half a month, upgrading still felt like a distant dream.
"Wait, I only earned 6 coins today?" she asked, unwilling to accept it. The System automatically converted this world’s currency into game coins for easier calculation. As any gamer knows, before upgrading, product prices are extremely low. But… only 6 coins? Wasn’t that a bit too exaggerated?
[System: Correct. You only operated for two hours this morning. You sold four cups of soy milk and one egg pancake, totaling 6 JJ Coins. No error.]
"Alright…" She had indeed spent the whole day at the police station giving statements. It should have been resolved in the morning, but an unexpected incident occurred—Officer Takagi, who was responsible for taking her statement, had to go out on duty and didn’t return until the afternoon, which was why it dragged on so late.
For over a week now, she hadn’t operated for more than five hours a day. If this continued, she’d soon be too poor to even afford meals.
According to the System’s exchange rate, 1 JJ Coin = 100 yen. That meant she had only earned 600 yen today—barely enough to buy a decent bento at a convenience store.
Oh no, converting it to cash would also require deducting a 10% handling fee, which is 540 yen. This meant her bento grade dropped yet another level.
Don’t ask why she didn’t eat the egg pancakes she made herself—the answer is she’s tired of them.
Qianben Xixi, clutching her 540-yen fortune, went to the convenience store next door. She first scanned the prices and found a shrimp and cheese bento that looked pretty good, priced exactly at 500 yen, leaving her with 40 yen to spare.
This is it, she thought, picking up the bento and heading to the checkout counter. The cashier was quick, and she soon paid and prepared to leave. But just as she pushed the door open, she ran headfirst into a group of kids rushing inside.
"Si-Sister Natsuya?!" Ayumi exclaimed in surprise. "Sister Natsuya, what are you doing here?"
Qianben Xixi suddenly had a bad feeling. Sure enough, when she looked down, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Conan—the entire Junior Detective Team—were all there.
Damn it, why do I run into these kids everywhere? Xiaxi felt her heart bleeding. It seemed like she wouldn’t be able to eat this meal in peace. Was this convenience store about to become the scene of another murder? Could she still leave in time?
"What a coincidence, Ayumi," Xiaxi said, holding her bento. "Sister came to buy dinner, so I won’t disturb your fun. I’ll just—"
"Sister Natsuya, have you seen a woman dressed all in black with a hat?" Conan suddenly chimed in, putting on his cute act. "Toshiya’s brother seems to have been kidnapped by them, and we’re really worried."
Qianben Xixi: …
Of course, she shouldn’t have hoped. Now it was too late to leave.
"I haven’t seen her. Who is Toshiya’s brother?" she asked, resigned.
"It’s my brother," a little boy said tearfully. "He’s been missing for a long time, so I asked Conan and the others to help me find him."
Only then did Qianben Xixi notice there was another child standing at the entrance. She took the photo of his brother from his hands and shook her head as she listened to their explanation. "No, I haven’t seen him."
"Okay, thank you, sister," Toshiya said, disappointed but still polite.
"Conan, where are you going? Wait for me!" At Ayumi’s exclamation, the entire Junior Detective Team took off running, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Huh, nothing happened today after all. It seemed she was just being overly cautious.
Probably Conan had discovered some clue and didn’t have time for her. That elementary school student was always observant, logical, and possessed insight and knowledge far beyond his years. But strangely, she didn’t find it odd at all—it even felt natural. Her intuition told her that’s exactly how he should be.
That feeling, or rather, that sense of familiarity, had been growing stronger and clearer lately. It was as if she had forgotten something, but she couldn’t quite recall it at the moment.
Qianben Xixi wasn’t one to dwell on things, and just as she gave up thinking about it, her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.
She took it out and saw an unfamiliar number. She didn’t want to answer at first, but then she remembered that this person had called her last week as well. She had assumed it was a telemarketer and hung up. After that, the caller had wisely not called again, so she hadn’t given it much thought.
Now that she thought about it, it didn’t seem to be the case. The other party might genuinely have something to discuss with her.
The phone kept ringing, and after hesitating for a moment, Xiaxi still answered the call.
But she didn’t speak immediately. As a former player of the Infinite Horror Game, she had grown accustomed to caution over the years—otherwise, she wouldn’t have survived until the end. So, faced with a call from a stranger, she chose to wait for the other person to speak first.
Thus, Qianben Xixi held her lunchbox in one hand and her phone to her ear with the other, leisurely pushing open the convenience store door. At the entrance, she noticed another first-grade elementary school student with a backpack—a little girl with tea-colored hair.
As if sensing her gaze, the girl glanced back at her, her eyes cold. Yet another elementary school student who didn’t seem like one at all, just like Conan.
“Haibara, hurry up!”
Ayumi’s voice came from ahead, and the little girl named Haibara turned and followed her away.
That familiar feeling again…
Xiaxi raised an eyebrow, somewhat concerned, but for now, her attention remained focused on the phone call.
Because the person on the other end of the line seemed to be just as cautious as she was, surprisingly sharing the same idea of waiting for the other to speak first. So…
One minute passed, and no one spoke.
Two minutes passed, and no one spoke.
Five minutes passed, and no one spoke.
Qianben Xixi: …
She realized that the person on the other end of the line was even more cautious than she was. At least she was habitually testing the waters because it was an unfamiliar call, but the other person clearly knew who she was and even had something to discuss with her. Yet they were still this cautious, insisting she speak first.
So, after five minutes of mutual silence, Xiaxi couldn’t help but break the deadlock and asked, “Hello? This is Qianben Xixi. May I ask what this is about?”
Almost immediately after she finished speaking, a low, hoarse male voice came from the other end. Clearly, he had been waiting by the phone all along, just for her to speak first.
Xiaxi was speechless as she heard him coldly demand, “Asti, why did you hang up last week?”
So it really was the same person who had called that day. But why was he calling her Asti?
“I…” Just as Xiaxi was thinking of how to explain, the other person cut her off, uninterested in her explanation. Instead, he continued with an even colder and more indifferent tone, “Where were you just now? Why didn’t you reply to the emails?”
This tone, this domineering series of questions, the strong sense of control in his voice, and that strange nickname… Xiaxi suddenly froze.
Holy crap, could this person be her boyfriend?!