Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Chapter 334 Do you like me, or do you like my sister?

Shoichi's chewing motion was even more stiff than Ai's.

His expression instantly changed dramatically, from calm to shock, and then from shock to pain.

"How was it? How was it?" Ai blinked, asking expectantly.

Zheng Yi looked into Ai's clear eyes, then glanced at Hongye, who was pretending not to care but was actually eavesdropping not far away.

He forced himself to swallow what was in his mouth.

He chuckled dryly twice, patted Ai's head, and said against his will:

"Hmm... the taste... is very unique. Hongye's cooking style is indeed very distinctive."

Upon hearing this, Hongye's previously haughty expression instantly melted away.

Ai looked at Masakazu's expression, as if he'd swallowed a fly but still had to praise him against his will, and then at Momiji's smug look.

Silently, he picked up a piece of apple from the fruit plate and put it in his mouth.

Let's eat something normal.

"What about Curaçao? Let's leave some for her," Ai said with a smile.

"No need," Zheng Yi said casually. "She went home to visit her family and took a few days off."

Do even Curaçao have holidays?
"Ptooey! How can it taste so awful?" Hongye looked embarrassed after eating a piece of grilled skewer.

After trying her hand at the craft, she made a decision.

That is, she's definitely not cut out for cooking.

So she could only obediently sit with Masakazu and wait for Ai to feed her.

Zheng Yi first ate some fruit to fill his stomach, and the occasional disgusted look he gave Hong Ye made her want to crawl into a hole.

As night falls, the lights are on.

In the dining room of Zhengyi Villa, warm yellow light shines on the exquisite bone china tableware.

Dinner was prepared by Akemi and Ai together.

The long dining table was laden with tempting dishes.

A perfectly seared steak, an elegantly presented vegetable salad, and a pot of creamy mushroom soup that exudes a rich aroma.

Ai was tiptoeing, carefully placing the last plate of fruit salad on the table.

Akemi pulled out a chair for her, gently reminding her, "Be careful, don't burn yourself."

Wow! This is such a feast!

Hongye plopped down in a chair, looked at the table full of delicious food, and asked with a smile, "Ai, when did you learn to make such delicious steak?"

Ai climbed onto the chair opposite her and wiped the water off her hands: "My older sister taught me."

Zheng Yi then slowly walked out of the study.

He slept through his afternoon nap until now.

I glanced at the table full of delicious food.

"Thank you for your hard work," he said succinctly, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

He said sarcastically, "Well, at least we can finally have a normal meal."

Ai remained silent.

Mingmei looked puzzled.

Only Hongye's face turned red, and her chest heaved.

She just lacks practical experience!

After dinner.

Hongye dragged Xiao Ai to play karuta.

Mingmei placed a neatly organized folder next to Zhengyi, her movements natural and graceful.

She leaned slightly forward, her voice gentle: "Mr. Zhengyi, this is the latest assessment report for the coastal land you asked me to follow up on."

"The other party's counter-offer is a bit too high."

"Not bad efficiency," Zheng Yi said.

But the price is high?
Zhengyi dislikes people who ask for exorbitant prices.

Facing the renowned Zheng Yi, he dared to make such an exorbitant demand, giving Zheng Yi reason to suspect that he had powerful backing.

Say!
Are you connected to the mysterious black-clad organization?

Akemi shook her head slightly and continued, "In addition, the acquisition of Takeda Construction is nearing completion."

"I have already drafted countermeasures for the three additional conditions they proposed, which are in the appendix of the document."

The restaurant's soft lighting illuminated Akemi's focused profile.

Zheng Yi listened to her report, nodding from time to time.

Takeda?

Which company was that again? I don't remember it at all.
Never mind, let's just leave it to Akemi Miyano to handle.

While casually torturing Ai on the karuta cards, Momiji secretly observed Shoichi and Akemi out of the corner of her eye.

Because Momiji showed no intention of letting her win, Ai quickly lost interest in karuta.

Not fun at all.

Ai really wanted to give Koyo a few chemistry problems to solve.

Ai, resting her chin on her hand, stared at the karuta cards listlessly, and finally couldn't help but yawn.

The outcome of this game was a foregone conclusion; Momiji's reaction speed and familiarity with karuta were practically like having a cheat code.

She found absolutely no fun in it.

"Sister Hongye." Ai pushed the karuta board in front of her, her eyes drifting to the fashion magazine on the coffee table.

"Let's stop playing this, it's too boring."

Only then did Hongye realize that she had forgotten to give Xiao Ai water.

This is a bit too much of a bullying spree.

"Ok."

After Momiji nodded, Ai was finally free.

She climbed onto the sofa and started reading a fashion magazine.

When Koyo saw what Ai was holding, she couldn't help but feel a little strange.

Such a young child, yet he likes fashion magazines?
She glanced at the doll that Ai had placed on the coffee table.

Ai doesn't seem to like her gift that much.

Are children these days so precocious that they're obsessed with designer handbags?
Hongye fell into deep thought.

As Zheng Yi listened to Ming Mei's work report, he wondered how much money he had earned and how much more he would earn in the future.

Ai yawned and continued looking at the fashion magazine in her hands.

She thought a new bag was really beautiful.

Suddenly, Hongye sneaked up to her side and covered Ai's eyes.

"Guess who I am?" Hongye asked in a low voice, feigning fierceness.

"Sister Hongye, the cream smell on your hands is too strong." Ai sighed and pried her hands away, turning to look at her.

"what happened?"

Did you not have enough fun crushing the noobs earlier and want to play with me again?
Ai pointed in Shoichi's direction and said, "If you want to play, go find Shoichi."

She pursed her lips and said, "Don't be fooled by Zheng Yi's serious expression; he hasn't listened to a word of my sister's report."

He's just putting on an act.

Zheng Yi has been pretending to be a boss who is very concerned about the company's development.

But aside from eliminating competitors, Zheng Yi didn't really do much else.

Those companies have all been handed over to professionals.

The only thing Zheng Yi took seriously was checking whether anyone was wasting or embezzling his money.

Hongye tilted her head as she looked at Zhengyi.

You seem so focused, are you really not listening?

Hongye whispered, "Does he trust your sister that much?"

"It's not excessive to entrust all company matters to your sister. I'm really not worried at all that your sister will embezzle the company's assets."

Ai shifted her position on the sofa, pointed to her nose, and said:
"Because he has hostages."

Hongye smiled and pinched Ai's nose.

What kind of hostage are you?

Ai shook her head in dissatisfaction and pushed Hongye's hand away.

Really annoying.

Previously, only Zhengyi treated her like a child, but now that Hongye has come, she also treats herself like a child.

To conceal her identity, she even had to pretend to be a child in front of Kureha. "Ai, I feel like you want to bite me," Kureha said.

"No."

Hongye chuckled and sat down next to Xiao Ai, leaning forward.

"Ai," Hongye whispered in Ai's ear, "I have a serious question for you, and you must answer honestly."

Ai looked at her serious expression and felt very confused.

What serious questions can you ask me?

Could it be an academic problem?

Ai yawned, trying to make Momiji think she was serious too: "What's the problem?"

Hongye took a deep breath, staring intently into Ai's eyes, and asked, word by word:

"In your heart, is your older sister better... or me, Ooka Momiji?"

Ai fell silent.

This is indeed a very serious issue.

But do I really need to answer?
One is my older sister, whom I depend on for survival, and the other is a friend I haven't known for very long.

Ai glanced at Momiji.

I noticed that she seemed genuinely expecting my answer, and there was even a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

Ai wondered what tone and words she should use to make Momiji less disappointed.

"Tell me quickly," Hongye urged, shaking Xiao Ai's arm. "Do you like me or your sister?"

Ai tentatively suggested, "Why don't you ask me a different question?"

"For example, does he like you, or does he like Zheng Yi?"

Hongye shook her head, seemingly not wanting to change the question.

Hey~
Ai covered her face with the magazine and then lay stiffly on the sofa.

"oops."

Seeing Ai's refusal to speak, Kouye let go of her hand in frustration.

He grabbed a pillow from the sofa and shoved it over Ai's body.

"It's getting late, I'll head back now," Mingmei said as she walked over.

"Goodbye sister."

Ai removed the magazine from her face and waved at Akemi.

Akemi stepped forward and touched Ai's face, making Ai a little embarrassed.

"Okay, we'll be going now." Akemi nodded and knelt down to straighten Ai's slightly crooked collar.

Then he said to Koyo, "Goodbye, Miss Koyo."

"Bye-Bye."

After saying goodbye, Momiji squinted at Ai.

Ai blinked.

"It's so late, you should go to sleep," Ai said.

Hongye pinched Ai's cheek.

Zheng Yi walked over and said, "It seems I forgot to prepare a room for you. Why don't you sleep on the sofa?"

Hongye looked at Zhengyi without saying a word.

Zheng Yi then said, "Then you can sleep in Ai's room, and let Ai sleep with me."

"No need," Hongye said to Zhengyi. "I'll sleep with Xiao Ai instead. Xiao Ai just said she likes me a lot."

Ai was pulled into Koyo's arms again.

Ai nudged Hongye and said, "I've tidied up your room; it's right next to my bedroom."

Ai led Momiji to the bedroom that had been prepared in advance and carefully explained the layout of the room to her.

She then gently made the bed for Hongye.

"Wow! Ai is so considerate, much better than someone else," said Momiji.

Someone was leaning against the bedroom doorframe, but didn't go in.

"Alright, get some rest," Ai said.

"it is good."

Ai walked out of Momiji's bedroom and had just closed the door when Shoichi picked her up.

After a moment of stunned silence, Ai crossed her arms and looked calmly at Masakazu.

What are you going to do now?
Zheng Yi exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, you can actually cross your arms like that!"

Ai watched as Shoichi had already carried her far away, away from Momiji's bedroom.

She muttered under her breath, "I'm not a real child, don't talk to me like that."

"I'm really complimenting you," Zheng Yi said with a smile. "Hongye couldn't do something like that."

Xiao Ai did not understand what he meant.

But soon, she blushed and tried to bite Zheng Yi.

Thug! Pervert!
After Ai got a little tired of being swayed in Shoichi's arms, Shoichi finally put her down.

He asked Ai, "I saw you pretending to be dead in front of Momiji just now, so what did you and Momiji talk about?"

Ai asked Momiji's question with a puzzled look on her face.

She wanted Zhengyi to analyze why Hongye would ask such a strange question.

But who knew that Zheng Yi, this guy who lacked self-awareness, would directly ask:

"So, do you like me or your sister?"

“Of course it’s my sister,” Ai said disdainfully.

Do I still need to ask?
She wanted to cross her arms and say something sarcastic to Zheng Yi, but for some reason, she put her arms down as soon as she raised them.

Zheng Yi said, "I don't believe it."

Ai choked for a moment.

ha?
How can you not believe it?

One is my older sister, whom I depend on for survival; the other is my fake older brother, who likes to exploit and bully me.

Zheng Yi said, "You don't even dare to look me in the eye when you speak, so you're definitely lying."

Ai was so angry she laughed.

Is that your reason for not believing?
Then I'll make you give up completely.

She grabbed Zheng Yi's trouser leg and made him squat down.

Looking into Shoichi's eyes, Ai prepared to repeat what she had just said.

But before she could say anything, a hand covered her eyes.

“If it’s true, then look me in the eye and say it again,” Zheng Yi said.

Ai: ?
"If you're so capable, then don't cover my eyes," Ai said.