Model worker and his little darling

"The doctor asked us to help them find a letter."

"Looking for a letter? What kind of letter?"

Professor Agasa gestured with his hand, "The letter inside the postcard-sized envelope is a wedding invitation from a professor I know, for his son's wedding."

Facing the messy room in front of him, Conan sighed, "There's no other way, let's all search together."

Ping Qing silently shed a tear of sympathy for the PhD student. All the other PhD students from the same cohort had their sons married, while the PhD student remained a bachelor.

Hearing the three kids complain, Haibara yawned, "Stop complaining. You're also responsible for Shin's disappearance and the mess he made here last night while playing video games."

Seeing that Haibara was listless and kept yawning, Conan couldn't help but tease her, "You got up early this morning to go to school with Ayumi to visit the rabbit, no wonder you're so sleepy."

Ayumi was taken aback. "Conan, how did you know?"

"It was the ginkgo leaves on your heads that told me that there are only ginkgo trees near the school's rabbit cages, and I also heard that the rabbits haven't been feeling well lately."

As he spoke, he pulled out a pile of dusty letters from behind the TV: New Year's cards, greetings, and a driver's license renewal notice...

Conan quickly found the invitation, but the professor's mind was no longer on it. He was deep in thought, holding a postcard.

The childish handwriting and the doctor's flushed face sparked gossip among the detective team.

Is it a love letter?

The doctor generously recounted his past experiences related to postcards: "Forty years ago, I remember it was the first day of school. Because I was going to be late, I took a shortcut. I saw a girl who was a year younger than me standing there, pale-faced and afraid to move."

“She was afraid of the big dog next to her and didn’t dare to go over, so she hid behind me and went over. She said that she was bitten by her own dog when she was a child, and she hasn’t liked animals since. After hearing this, I took her to the house of a friend who keeps golden hamsters. At first she was really scared, but she gradually got used to it and was no longer afraid of even that big, fierce dog.”

"So, the professor and that girl went to school together every day after that?"

"Actually, it was only during the autumn season, one rainy morning at the end of November, that I waited for her for a long time. After school, I went to her house, only to be told by the neighbor that she had moved away that morning."

The detective team was very disappointed. "Didn't they even say goodbye?"

Upon hearing this, Haibara started to feel emotional, "It must be that she wanted to say it but couldn't, because goodbye is a word that would hurt each other's hearts more than sadness."

The doctor quickly explained, "No, the postcard I found in my mailbox that day was left by her."

"Thank you for these past three months. I'm so glad I got to know Agasa. I don't like saying goodbye, so let's meet again. Ten years from now, before the sun goes down, let's meet in that place full of memories. If we don't meet, then wait another ten years. Even if I'm an old lady, I'll still wait for you. So if you're free then, please come and meet me, for my favorite Agasa."

"Doctor, have you seen Ms. Kinoshita?"

Professor Agasa scratched his head. "I really can't think of where that place full of memories is. In the first decade, I went to the Noi family, but she wasn't there. In the second decade, I went to the Chono family, but she wasn't there either."

Ping Qing blinked. Goodness, even the professor only sees his first love once every ten years.

The three members of the detective team calculated the time. "Today is November 24th, exactly 40 years ago. Maybe that girl is still waiting for the doctor in that place."

Haibara crossed her arms, looking speechless. "But the most important location, the Doctor can't remember at all."

Conan glanced at him with half-moon eyes, "Really, it turns out that Dr. Agasa has always been so oblivious to these kinds of things since he was a child."

"Doctor, have you sent her a letter?"

"I don't even know her name or address, how am I supposed to send it?"

"Why don't you just ask the school about this?"

"I also thought about going to ask, but then I thought about how we would meet again in ten years, so I didn't go."

Ping Qing sighed, "Doctor, you're truly single by choice."

A simple matter has been dragged on for forty years.

Upon hearing the three little ones say they were going to the school to check the girl's name and address, Haibara rolled her eyes at the professor again.

"Even if we manage to get them to meet, it will only hurt her, won't it? She'll find out that the Doctor doesn't know anything about the place of memories she's always cherished, and she'll have wasted forty years, waiting in vain."

The PhD student scratched his head awkwardly.

Fortunately, Conan had a clue at that moment: "Look at this row of numbers, it might be a code that hints at that location."

4163 33 6 0, the clue is an animal.

Pingqing glanced at the postcard and thought to himself, "Wow, he's so young and he's already learned how to use secret codes."

"Brother Pingqing, do you know what this means?"

Seeing the three little ones' expectant eyes, Ping Qing's lips twitched. "Do I look like I know?"

"If the girl only waits until sunset, she will only have four hours left to solve the mystery."

Hearing Haibara's hint, the three children became very nervous. "In that case, we have no choice but to ask the sleeping Kogoro for help in deciphering this code."

"Uncle went to a joint concert by Yoko Okino and Misa Nakayama, so he didn't have time."

"Then let's ask Sonoko-neechan for help. She said she solved some case last time."

"Sonoko-neechan isn't here either. She dragged Ran-neechan to queue up early this morning so she could buy the limited-edition designer items that were being released today."

Upon hearing Fusa's name, the doctor was taken aback, feeling that the name sounded somewhat familiar.

"It's a brand with a ginkgo leaf logo. They not only have expensive items, but also a considerable number of reasonably priced products."

Upon hearing the word "quantity," Ayumi had a clue. "Could this code refer to the number of animals in our school? For example, there are 6 rabbits, 33 birds in total, and 0 refers to the number of turtles that died during the summer vacation."

The professor beamed. "That's impossible. When I was in elementary school, turtles were still alive and well. Besides turtles, the only other animals the school raised were chickens."

"I heard that every time a tortoise dies, the school gets another one from the zoo."

"I heard that the turtle was a graduate of Teitan Elementary School, and was donated to the school by Yoichiro Koten, the first director of Toto Zoo, with a heart full of blessings."

Heiji looked at Professor Agasa with puzzlement. He could remember such an old name, but he couldn't remember his first love's name.

The three little ones' attention was focused on the zoo director's name.