Accepting the System's proposal, Qianben Xixi decided to submit her Infinite Flow novel on the Green Jinjiang website to solve her urgent financial needs. However, stuck at home without a computer, she went directly to an internet cafe near Mihana Town early the next morning to start writing.
Perhaps because of her personal experiences, every detail from those years remained vivid in her mind. Memories Xiaxi thought she had long forgotten surged back like a tidal wave in an instant, making the writing effortless.
In just an hour, she had written three chapters totaling ten thousand words. Then, she registered as an author, uploaded the chapters, all in one go.
After shutting down the computer, Qianben Xixi got up and left the internet cafe, planning to hurry back and open her shop.
"Sister Natsuya! What a coincidence!"
Qianben Xixi's footsteps suddenly halted, her heart skipping a beat. She looked down to see Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko, Conan, and the little girl named Haibara she had met last time—the Junior Detective Team was fully assembled once again.
"What a coincidence… aren't you all in school today?"
Mitsuhiko: "No, it's summer vacation now, Sister Natsuya. We just went back to school for a few days the other day."
Qianben Xixi: "I see… did you find the person you were looking for last time?"
"We found them!" At this, the kids of the Junior Detective Team grew excited, chattering over each other to share their incredible experiences.
"Conan was amazing. He used his deduction to find where Toshiya's brother was kidnapped. It turned out he was taken to print counterfeit money," Ayumi said. "And also, when Haibara shot the criminal to save us at the end, it was super cool!"
"Oh, and Haibara is our new member~" Ayumi added, walking over to Ai Haibara's side to introduce her to Sister Natsuya.
Qianben Xixi listened in astonishment. Although she had already witnessed Conan's deductive abilities, the previous cases had only been minor incidents like love-related murders or locked-room mysteries—ordinary people killing each other over grudges. But this time, it was real criminals, counterfeit money… no joking matter.
And… elementary school students shooting criminals, elementary school students successfully taking down a counterfeit operation. Were these really elementary school students? Was this some kind of joke? She was genuinely starting to wonder if something was off about this world. What happened to the ordinary, peaceful life she expected? What about a normal world? How could even an elementary school student's experiences be more thrilling than a movie?
Moreover, she had recently read quite a few news articles. High school detectives were shining brightly everywhere, and the police relied entirely on detectives to solve cases. In this world, detectives held a remarkably high status, and all kinds of people existed. Thinking about it this way, elementary school detectives didn’t seem so hard to accept after all…
"Ahem, it wasn’t that amazing~" Perhaps noticing Qianben Xixi's incredulous expression, Conan suddenly realized that he and Haibara might have overdone it. Especially since, although they had grown more familiar with her, there were still many suspicious aspects about her. What if she really was from that Organization? He couldn’t afford to let his guard down too much.
"Oh, it was nothing special," Ai Haibara said, still cold and expressionless, but at least trying to save face. "I just imitated the actions from TV dramas. I didn’t think too much about it at the time."
Yeah, I believe that. 🙂
"Sister Natsuya, let's not talk about that anymore," Conan continued acting cute. "Do you want to come to the park for a picnic with us?"
Qianben Xixi looked down at the little detective tugging at her pant leg and trying his best to be adorable, deciding to let him off the hook for now. So she went along with his suggestion and said, "Sure, I just passed by the shop, so I can make you some more delicious snacks."
"Great!" The three genuine children cheered and jumped with excitement. As for the other two…
Qianben Xixi deliberately gave Conan a mischievous glance, her expression clearly asking why they weren't acting like Ayumi and Genta.
Startled, Conan quickly imitated Ayumi and Genta, pulling Ai Haibara along to jump up as well, letting out a half-hearted cheer, "Yay."
Qianben Xixi couldn't help but laugh, holding back her amusement as she ruffled Conan's hair.
Conan also realized what a silly thing he had done and could only scratch his nose and chuckle awkwardly. This earned him a disdainful look from Ai Haibara beside him.
She hadn't sensed any trace of the Organization at all and had no idea why Conan was suddenly being so cautious. Besides, even if the other person really was from the Organization, Conan's clumsy acting would have given him away long ago.
…
An hour later, on a grassy patch in Beika Park, Ran Mori and Sonoko Suzuki had already laid out a beautiful cherry blossom-patterned picnic blanket, sitting in the shade under a tree. They opened the homemade bento boxes they had brought from home and arranged the food to look both pretty and appetizing.
"Wow, Ran, the desserts you made look amazing~" Sonoko Suzuki picked up the camera hanging around her neck, eager to take photos from every angle.
"It's alright, I just followed a new recipe," Ran Mori said somewhat shyly. "I thought since there were so many kids today, I'd try something new. I didn't expect it to turn out this well."
"It really did turn out great!" Sonoko said, snapping more photos of the beautiful scenery in the park. Just as she was getting into it, a tall, slender figure suddenly walked into her frame. "Hey, hey, hey, Ran!!"
She excitedly patted her best friend Ran Mori's arm, her eyes sparkling. "Look, Ran, there's a handsome guy! So handsome! Look quickly!"
Ran Mori only felt her arm aching from Sonoko's enthusiastic pats. Despite her usual delicate and refined appearance, Sonoko wasn't weak at all.
"Sonoko, keep your voice down," Ran Mori said, feeling a bit embarrassed and somewhat helpless about her best friend's fangirl tendencies. "It wouldn't be good if someone heard you."
"No way, I was really quiet. There's no way he could have heard… Ahhh, he's coming over. Did he actually hear me?" Sonoko's eyes lit up with hearts as she quickly straightened her clothes, checking if anything was out of place. The handsome guy was really walking toward her—could it be that her luck with love had finally arrived? The thought alone made her giddy.
Qianben Xixi followed behind the Junior Detective Team, slowly walking toward a grassy area near the trees. From a distance, she could see two girls sitting leisurely under a tree, with a picnic blanket spread out in front of them, covered in beautifully arranged food.
These were probably the 'Sister Ran' and 'Sister Sonoko' the kids had mentioned. But why was the girl named 'Sonoko' looking at her so strangely?
"Sister Ran, Sister Sonoko!" Ayumi was the first to run over, excitedly exclaiming, "Wow, there's so much delicious food!"
"Ayumi, you're here," Ran Mori said gently. "Look, I brought lots of delicious food for you all, including the eel rice Genta loves."
"Wow, there's eel rice!" Genta threw himself onto the grass, waving his arms excitedly.
"Conan, come over here too," Ran called out. "And Haibara, I made plenty of desserts for you to try… Oh, Sonoko, could you grab those plates over there for me?"
"Hey, Sonoko?" Ran called again when there was no response, turning to look.
"Haha, she's daydreaming again," Conan said gleefully. "And this time, she's daydreaming about a girl."
"W-what girl?" Sonoko Suzuki started. "You little brat, explain yourself!"
"Hello everyone, I'm Qianben Xixi, the Sister Natsuya the kids mentioned," Qianben Xixi greeted with a smile, finally snapping someone out of their dazed state, only to leave them completely petrified…
"Hello, I've heard about you from Conan and the others. I'm Ran Mori," Ran was the first to react, greeting her warmly. "Just call me Ran."
"Nice to meet you, Ran," Qianben Xixi blinked. "You can all call me Xiaxi too."
"Sure, Xiaxi," Ran said affectionately.
"Ahhh, why… I'm heartbroken again, waaah," Sonoko suddenly felt a pang in her heart. After staring at Qianben Xixi's face for a long time, she still couldn't believe it and murmured, "Why aren't you a boy? What a shame…"
"Hey, Sonoko…" Ran couldn't stand it and quickly reminded her. "That's really rude to say…"
"Alright, alright, I was just joking," Sonoko finally snapped out of her disappointment and greeted Qianben Xixi with a smile. "Hello, I'm Sonoko Suzuki. Remember to call me Sonoko~"
"Hello, Sonoko," Qianben Xixi said, taking out the lunchbox she had prepared and opening it. "This is a Chinese-style egg pancake I just made. It's a traditional Chinese snack. Give it a try~"
Inside the lunchbox, the freshly made golden egg pancake was still steaming hot, and the moment the lid was opened, its aroma filled the air.
"I cut it into small pieces for easy eating," Qianben Xixi explained.
"Thank you!" Curious about this Chinese snack they had never tried before, both Ran and Sonoko each picked up a piece and put it in their mouths.
The kids nearby, who had been drooling over it while watching Xiaxi make it, quickly grabbed a piece each and ate it too.
"Sister Xiaxi, I think this tastes even better than the ones you sell in your shop!!" Ayumi instantly wore an expression of bliss. "There's so much filling inside~"
"That's right. I specially added seasoned shredded potatoes, grilled cheese sausage, lettuce, and pickles. And I also put in a whole slice of cheese, which does make the texture even better," Qianben Xixi explained.
This was actually her usual way of eating egg pancakes, and she thought it would be perfect to share with everyone.
"Wow, it really is delicious, Xiaxi. Do you run a snack shop?" Sonoko also closed her eyes in enjoyment. "I never knew egg pancakes could be made like this."
"Sister Xiaxi's shop is right next to Beika Park, across from our elementary school," Conan explained between bites.
It really was delicious. But…
"By the way, Sister Natsuya, why don't you sell this version?" Conan looked up, his glasses reflecting light as he feigned innocence. "Wouldn't it sell better and for a higher price?"
"Yeah, yeah, Sister Natsuya!" Genta quickly nodded in agreement. "It's so delicious! I wish I could eat it every day. I never knew an upgraded egg pancake could taste this good!"
Because the shop hasn't been upgraded yet. Even if she paid out of her own pocket to sell this deluxe version of the egg pancake, the System would still calculate it at the original price of 2 JJ Coins—she'd be losing money hand over fist.
In the end, it was all the System's fault. This kid was so annoying, always poking at her sore spots. Qianben Xixi looked at him with a resentful expression and said, "Because it's still in the experimental stage, so it's not quite ready yet. But if you like it, I can make it specially for you."
But Conan still wouldn't let it go. "I think this flavor is already really good. Even if it hasn't reached perfection, compared to the basic egg pancake, this version is clearly much tastier, Sister Natsuya~"
Qianben Xixi: …
Why did he always have to dig to the bottom of things? Was this detective's curiosity always so strong? For a moment, Qianben Xixi felt like turning around and walking away—this kid was just too persistent.
Fortunately, just as she was running out of patience, her phone rang and saved her. So Qianben Xixi quickly stood up, said "Excuse me," and hurried over to the other side of the tree with her phone.
"Hello, who is this?" Qianben Xixi answered without checking the caller ID. Instantly, the voice of the man called Gin came through—low, husky, and unmistakable as always.
"Come to the Training Facility tomorrow morning. I'll send the address and time to your email." Gin got straight to the point without a single wasted word.
"Oh, okay, Gin, got it." Qianben Xixi thought of something and lowered her voice to ask quietly, "Can I ask what kind of club training it is? Tennis or basketball… What should I bring?"
"…" Gin was silent for a long moment before sneering coldly. "Bring yourself."
Then he hung up directly.