On the way home, while walking past the shopping street, Xiaobai suddenly froze, staring at a TV playing in a store window.
It tugged a strand of hair near Jiangxia's ear.
Jiangxia immediately thought, Is there a ghost again?
He stopped and turned, half expecting a spirit, only to see—
No ghost. Just a TV replaying a variety show where Yoko Kinoshita was promoting her new album.
Xiaobai's eyes lit up like a little ghost fanboy.
As a peaceful and friendly spirit medium, Jiangxia had, ever since adopting this ghost baby, bought all kinds of Yoko Kinoshita magazines and albums—sort of like prepping enrichment toys for a cat.
But this time… might not be so easy.
Jiangxia glanced at the rerun's air date shown on the screen and warned, "You can go check, but it might be out of stock."
…
The rain had let up, but now it was back again.
Jiangxia, umbrella in hand, looked at the messy ground outside the video store and got a bad feeling.
Sure enough, he stepped inside and found the shelves already picked clean.
So this is what true popularity looks like, Jiangxia thought, staring at the empty display for Yoko Kinoshita's new release.
Xiaobai gazed mournfully at the empty shelf, pressing its ghostly hand to the corner of its eye in dramatic disappointment.
Jiangxia, rather than feeling sympathy, felt his fingers itch. He flicked Xiaobai lightly on the head. Of course, to passersby, it probably just looked like he was brushing dust off his shoulder.
After that, Jiangxia dutifully made the rounds to a few more stores, playing the part of someone really trying his best.
Predictably, they were all out too.
Once he'd checked the last store in the area, Jiangxia sighed in relief. Mission complete. Time to go.
But just then, someone called out hesitantly behind him: "Jiangxia?"
He turned around.
No one was there—just a row of bookshelves.
Then, in the gap between two shelves, a pair of eyes stared straight at him.
Jiangxia froze. The phrase "Bookshelf Hidden Corpse Case" flashed in his mind.
…Search failed.
No ghost popped out.
As he was thinking this, the eyes blinked.
Bling-bling, they sparkled—not just alive, but suspiciously energetic.
Jiangxia recognized them.
It was probably Suzuki Sonoko peeking from behind the shelf.
Sure enough, she called out, "I told you it was him!" before zipping out from behind the bookshelf like she'd teleported.
A second later, she appeared right in front of him. Jiangxia took a polite half-step back.
"I didn't expect you to be a fan too!" said Sonoko, not noticing his subtle unease. She was just thrilled to discover a "shared interest."
Then she lowered her voice and leaned in conspiratorially: "Ran and I are going to Tatsuya's band celebration the day after tomorrow. Wanna come with us?"
"Tatsuya?" The name didn't ring a bell.
Jiangxia shifted his gaze and noticed a poster in the store window.
On it, a man held a microphone, singing with passionate intensity. His hair stood straight up like he could stab someone with it.
In the corner of the poster was a signature: "Kimura Tatsuya."
Pointy hair plus that name…
This time, Jiangxia successfully remembered a murder case.
And with that, his interest was piqued.
...Besides the Detective Boys, Suzuki Sonoko was actually a decent ghost magnet too. Being the daughter of a conglomerate meant she could access people he usually couldn't.
The two chatted amicably about Kimura Tatsuya.
Sonoko started to suspect Jiangxia might be a fake fan, but she quickly shoved that thought aside.
Who cares if he's fake or not?
What mattered was having dinner, singing karaoke, and seeing Kimura Tatsuya—with Jiangxia. Triple the joy!
A minute later, Sonoko, practically floating on sparkles and flowers, waved cheerfully as Jiangxia walked out of the store.
Another minute after that, she finally snapped out of it.
"…Wait, that counts as a successful invitation?" Sonoko rubbed her chin in disbelief and grabbed Mōri Ran. "I didn't mishear, right? He actually said yes?"
Ran nodded, just as stunned.
Jiangxia never bullied his classmates, and he didn't seem cold exactly, but he always kept a firm distance.
Part of it, of course, was that he missed a ton of classes. There just wasn't time for him to bond with people.
But also, his whole vibe was just… not the hangout type. He never joined small get-togethers, never liked going out to play.
Sonoko had invited him mostly on a whim—to get a better look at the handsome guy and then go sulk about not getting the album.
But somehow, after a few sentences… the guy agreed?!
Sonoko held her face in her hands dreamily and muttered, "Did something good happen to him?"
…If she could figure out what it was, maybe she could replicate it and invite him out any time she wanted!
Her eyes sparkled. She felt like she had just discovered the secret code to unlock the handsome guy.
Meanwhile, Conan—quietly standing by their feet—also found Jiangxia's behavior… strange.
Earlier today, he'd been playing with the Detective Boys in the park. But when it started raining again, they all headed home.
On the way back, Conan spotted Ran in the crowd and casually slipped into the girls' group, using his "innocent child" status as cover.
Now, watching Sonoko's heart-shaped eyes, Conan knew she'd completely misunderstood the situation.
He quickly tried to put out the budding nonsense: "Actually, this morning, we saw Brother Jiangxia's attending doctor commit a murder right on the street. The doctor was arrested on the spot, so…"
Sonoko: "…"
This… sounds like an S-tier difficulty side quest.
Conan looked at her blank expression and sighed internally. His and Sonoko's brain circuits were still utterly incompatible.
But still, he thought back.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes today, and had only heard those words, he'd probably also assume Jiangxia was secretly lighting fireworks inside his heart.
But he had been there.
Normally, no one could restrain Jiangxia in a fight—Conan had seen it firsthand, multiple times.
But today, as soon as the doctor cried out, Jiangxia stopped and even backed off a little… totally out of character.
And when the police asked him to ID the suspect, Jiangxia paused for a long time before reluctantly answering.
Clearly, there was more to the doctor-patient relationship than they'd thought.
And while Jiangxia rarely went to the hospital, the fact that someone who hated hospitals that much still went for checkups—without his guardian pushing him—meant something.
Sure, he bailed halfway through, but the effort still said a lot.
…So Conan came up with a more scientific explanation for why Sonoko's invitation worked today.
He looked up and found Ran and Sonoko watching him, clearly curious about the case.
So Conan recounted what had happened.
Then, unable to help himself, he launched into a low-volume psychology analysis—using the half-baked knowledge he'd picked up in Hawaii.
"Before the doctor was taken away, he was obviously disgusted with Jiangxia," Conan explained, referencing how Dr. Kazuto had screamed in despair after being kicked and unable to stand up.
"If Jiangxia had formed a stable bond with the doctor during treatment, then this sudden betrayal might've shaken him."
"People have an instinct to protect themselves. Now that the doctor's out of the picture, Jiangxia's subconscious might be trying to form a new connection to stabilize himself—so when you invited him, and since you've invited him a lot before, he probably felt some kind of kindness from you…"
Halfway through, Conan suddenly realized this theory had some serious holes.
Also… he forgot to say "Brother Jiangxia" again. Oops.
Worse, he might have accidentally hinted at some of Sonoko's recent desperate antics.
He started sweating and tried to backpedal.
But when he looked up, he didn't see the glare of suspicion he expected.
Instead, both Ran and Sonoko were tearing up.
They each pulled out a handkerchief to dab at their eyes.
Conan: "…?"
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 20/60(approx)*