Conan: The Magician of the End of the Century

Chapter 256 Eavesdropping
"Going to pick up my younger brother... Oh, it should be Naia." After listening to Ayumi's explanation, Xiaolan smiled and asked with a bewildered expression, "So are they going to Mihua Kindergarten to pick up Naia?"

"Yes, it turns out that Sister Xiaolan, you already know about Xiao Ai and their new brother's name, Naia. I thought we were the first to know about it." When he saw the other party, he immediately mentioned his little brother. Ayumi responded with a slightly surprised nod.

"No wonder, it's really hard for you to help. I didn't expect there to be so many guests on the first day of school. Leave the rest to me. You all should go home early." Xiaolan reached out and touched the other person's head. Then he hung his schoolbag on the wall hook as usual, went to the counter, put on an apron and started to help.

After seeing this, Yuanzi and Yangzi, who were behind Xiaolan, also put their schoolbags aside and took over the work of the three children in maintaining order on the scene. The children greeted them politely and then returned to the counter to say goodbye to Grace. Then I picked up my schoolbag and prepared to go home.

Since most of the students who come to the store to buy snacks are regular customers, when they see Grace at the counter, most people think of her as Xiao Ai, who often comes to the store to help, and do not notice her true identity.

Although some people noticed the change in height, they all regarded it as because they had grown taller during the holidays and did not pay too much attention to it. This made Grace, who was originally a little worried about being recognized, feel much more relaxed, and she quickly paid the bill. Work became easier.

In this way, it was not until the sun was about to go down that the number of students who came to the store to buy finally decreased. After handing over the cashier job to Xiaolan who came over to help, Grace took out a handkerchief and wiped the pimples all over her forehead. beads of sweat.

"Thank you, Grace, you did a great job."

Suddenly hearing a voice that made her feel kind and reassuring, Grace quickly raised her head and looked in the direction of the sound. Only then did she notice Belmode, who had been waiting by her side for a long time, with a happy face. He ran to the other party and said, "Mom, have you been waiting for me for a long time? Let's go home now."

"Well, I think your Aunt Natsumi and the others should be home by now. Let's go back and have dinner quickly." Belmore nodded with a smile, then looked up at Xiaolan and others who were still helping in the store and said, " Xiaolan, Yangzi, Yuanzi, I promised to invite you to have dessert, but I never thought that I would trouble you to help me instead. When you are done, you can just order whatever you want to eat, and I will charge it all to my account."

"It doesn't matter. Brother Ishino and Sister Natsumi have always taken care of us. It's our turn to help them occasionally, right?" Sonoko patted her chest after hearing this, then looked at Grace next to her and exclaimed, "But Your daughter and Xiao Ai really look alike. If I hadn't heard your conversation, I almost thought Xiao Ai had grown so much in just one summer vacation."

"Yuanzi is right, and this is also where I work during the holidays. Seeing that everyone is so busy, it's only right to help." Xiaolan in front of the counter also echoed.

At this time, Yangzi, who had not spoken much, also smiled and said to Belmode: "That's it. Sister Grace must be hungry after being busy for so long. Teacher Chris, you'd better take her home for dinner earlier, kid. Now is the age when you are growing up, so you can’t go hungry.”

"Then let's go home first. See you at school tomorrow." Seeing his mother acting like a caring mother for her grandchildren, Belmore muttered a few words in her heart before taking her daughter away from the memory. Sweet house.

Just as a few people were watching the mother and daughter leave, Toru Amuro, who had been paying attention here, found the right opportunity to walk to Xiaolan's schoolbag, and quietly stuffed a small bug into the hanging bag while no one was paying attention. Among the plush accessories on Xiaolan’s schoolbag.

The reason why he did this was, firstly, to find clues about Shirley by eavesdropping on Xiaolan's side. Secondly, he wanted to pay attention to Belmode's movements in the school and try his best to understand the progress of his investigation into Xiaolan. .After two days of investigation, Toru Amuro only found out that Grace was a famous American girl idol. Her parents recently died in an accident, so she was adopted by Belmore as his adopted daughter.

It seems that the American police deliberately concealed it. Even the Japanese public security intelligence network was unable to obtain detailed information about the other party's parents and the agency she had previously signed with. This unreasonable situation deepened Amuro Toru's doubts about Grace's true identity, making her He was even more convinced that Belmore had ulterior motives for approaching her.

However, since Grace comes to the store every day to help and study during this period, Toru Amuro feels that he does not have to rush for a while. As long as he keeps an eye on each other and Xiaolan at the same time, no matter what Bellmore plans next, he can do it. Respond immediately.

……

"Dad, Conan, I'm back." When Xiaolan returned home slightly tired, the sky outside was completely dark.

"Sister Xiaolan, why are you back so late? Are club activities training so late on the first day of school?" Seeing the other party's dusty appearance, Conan hurried over and asked with concern.

Hearing Conan's concerned inquiry, Xiaolan shook her head and explained: "No, there were too many customers in Sister Xia Mei's shop today, so I went over to help for a while, and then I got home late."

At this time, Mouri Kogoro, who heard the commotion, also poked his head out of the room, looked at his daughter with a slumped face and complained: "Xiaolan, you came back too late, my stomach is almost hungry, can you Are you going to make dinner quickly?”

"Okay dad, I get it." Hearing her dad's impatient voice, Xiaolan glanced at him angrily, then put the food bag in her hand on the table and said, "Knowing that I might go home There was no time to cook, so Mr. Amuro specially asked me to pack a dinner and come back. Come over and eat quickly. I have already eaten in the store and I have to take a shower first."

"There's dinner, so you're welcome." Mouri Kogoro came to the table in a few steps after hearing this. He looked at a bag of fragrant dishes and nodded with satisfaction, "It seems that the one named Amuro is Young people are really thoughtful in their work and their cooking skills are quite impressive.”

After saying that, he turned to his daughter who was about to go back to the room and warned: "Xiaolan, if you want to find a boyfriend in the future, you must find a man who is considerate and family-oriented. He is much better than a kid who only knows how to play detective games." went."

Hearing her father's nosy nagging, Xiaolan blushed, then glared at the other person with an unkind expression and retorted mercilessly: "I don't need you to worry about who I like, dad, it's better for you to go alone. Learn how to cook and be considerate from Mr. Amuro, and maybe mom will change her mind!"

(End of this chapter)