Model worker and his little darling

Seeing that Ran and Uncle were still at odds, Pingqing quietly changed the subject, "Has Shinichi Kudo's ability declined? If he really encounters a difficult case, he should just say so and we can solve it together. Besides, we still have Uncle, the famous detective. Why doesn't he ever ask us for help? Ran, next time Shinichi Kudo calls, you should talk to him properly. Uncle and I are still very willing to help."

Xiaolan nodded, indicating that she understood.

"I think this kid might be too embarrassed to show his face in front of us because he can't solve the case."

Conan: ...

Speechless, he looked at the uncle and Ping Qing, these two old men. Did he not want to talk? Or was he unable to talk?

Hmph, it's all those two men in black's fault.

"Sister Ran, don't worry, I believe Shinichi will be back soon."

Hirai pulled Conan over and looked at him curiously: "Conan, why do you always speak up for Shinichi Kudo?"

"Because I believe in Shinichi-nii, he's the best."

Taira no Kiyoshi: ...

This narcissistic personality must have come from Yukiko.

Then he posed a crucial question: "In your heart, is Shinichi Kudo more important, or Ran?"

Conan stared at Hirai in bewilderment. How could someone ask such a question?

Seeing that Ran was also looking expectant, Conan had no choice but to take Ran's hand and say with a serious expression, "Of course Ran-neechan is more important."

Upon hearing this, Ran blushed. She had some doubts that Conan was Shinichi, but she still hoped that the two were different people.

Looking at their hands clasped together, Ping Qing smiled slightly, thinking, "Did you think this was the end of it?"

"Since Ran is more important, and she's always been so good to you, yet you only speak up for Shinichi Kudo, have you ever thought about Ran's feelings? Conan, you're acting like an ingrate."

Upon hearing this, Conan jumped up in a panic, "Brother Pingqing, don't talk nonsense! I'm not an ingrate! I'll definitely treat Ran-neechan very well, very well..."

Pingqing sighed, "Alas, it's a pity you don't have a chance anymore. Ran already has Shinichi Kudo."

"Pingqing, don't talk nonsense. Who has anything to do with that stupid reasoning maniac?"

Seeing Xiaolan's face practically steaming, Pingqing didn't say anything.

Conan, however, looked at Hirai, hesitant to speak. He really wanted to say that he was Shinichi Kudo and beg Hirai to stop talking nonsense in front of Ran.

After teasing the young couple for a while, Uncle Ping Qingchao waved his hand and said, "Uncle, let's go to Moriya Teiji's party together tomorrow."

……

The next day at 6 PM, at Moriya Teiji's residence.

After checking the invitations, the security guard let them in.

"Wow……"

Xiaolan looked at the courtyard design and couldn't help but sigh.

"This is indeed a traditional 17th-century British Stuart dynasty building, with a symmetrical design. Professor Moriya spent his entire high school years in England..."

In an instant, the group looked at Uncle Mori with surprise, not expecting him to know so much about architecture.

Until Uncle Mori pulled out... a cheat sheet from his pocket (⊙o⊙)...

"Haha, it's an honor to receive your praise. I am Teiji Moriya, Mr. Mori. Please come in."

Seeing the man's perfectly symmetrical beard and eyebrows, Pingqing knew that the host of the banquet had arrived—a strange old man with obsessive-compulsive disorder. If it weren't for Xiaolan's incredible luck in not cutting the red thread, the young couple would have been going to meet their maker.

"Hello, I am Ran Mouri. Since Shinichi Kudo was unable to attend the banquet, we came in his place."

Teiji Moriya's eyes flashed. Ha, so Shinichi Kudo really didn't have the guts to come?

When the group arrived at the backyard, they discovered that the people attending the banquet were all high-society figures.

Pingqing immediately took a liking to a maid who was extremely cute and had a soft, sweet voice, and his gaze followed her for a long time.

Conan, who was standing nearby, noticed that Hirai was standing still. Following his gaze, he saw a maid and tugged at Hirai's clothes with a gossipy look on his face.

Pingqing looked down and saw Conan with a lewd expression. "Pingqing-nii, so you like that kind of girl? Do you want me to get her contact information for you?"

"Yes." Pingqing nodded generously in admission. Come to think of it, he had never tried a maid outfit before, especially since he didn't know how to sing that soft, sweet voice.

Conan had originally intended to mock Hirai, but unexpectedly, Hirai openly admitted it.

Pingqing picked up two pastries and stuffed them into Conan's mouth. "Alright, this is an adult matter. You're just a kid, don't think about it. These are pastries made by a world-renowned architect. Eat up, because you won't have another chance to have them."

With no other option, Conan had to eat the snacks, just like a little hamster.

Teiji Moriya, who was standing nearby, harshly criticized young architects of the time, saying that they lacked aesthetic sense and a strong sense of responsibility for their work.

Then he revealed his true colors to Uncle Mori.

"Mr. Mori, I need help with the computer password for a company run by three people. Since you are the famous detective Kogoro Mori, you should be able to crack it right away."

Uncle Mori, sensing the whispers around him, straightened his collar with a confident expression and said, "Please speak."

Teiji Moriya had the code paper distributed to everyone present. "The secret is a word composed of the three of them, consisting of five hiragana characters. You have three minutes to try it out."

"The answer is Momotaro." Conan held up the coded paper and said confidently, "Their zodiac sign happens to be Momotaro's sidekick."

A hint of surprise flashed across Moriya Teiji's face. "Little brother, you got it right. That's amazing."

Looking at Conan's smug little face, Pingqing personally handed the code to the Japanese gunpowder depot to the enemy, and then the enemy brought explosives to send him to his death.

"Since Conan answered correctly, I'll treat you to a tour of my exhibition room as a reward. Miss Ran, Mr. Mori, and this young friend, please come along as well."

After thanking him, Taira no Kiyoshi went to visit the exhibition hall together.

Looking at the works on the wall, Ping Qing marveled. As expected of a world-renowned architect, these buildings are truly remarkable.

When questioned by Teiji Moriya, Ran revealed everything about her plans to go to the movies with Shinichi Kudo, celebrate her birthday, buy him gifts, and even that they both liked the color red.

Uncle Mori looked unhappy when he heard that Ran was determined to go on a date with Shinichi Kudo. If there weren't other people around, he would have flipped the table again.

Pingqing patted the uncle on the shoulder, saying that Xiaolan was just too naive and too kind.

……

There have been several arson cases recently, and Inspector Megure is so worried that he can't eat or sleep properly. No matter how he investigates, he has no clue about the culprit.

So, Inspector Megure went to the Mouri Detective Agency. Recently, Mouri's deductive reasoning skills had been of great help to him, and he believed that he could do the same this time.

Uncle Mori carefully examined the photos that Inspector Megure had brought, but found nothing amiss.

Hirai also brought two photos as a formality. Tsk, if Conan were here, he might actually discover something, but he went to Agasa's house.

"These buildings look so familiar, I feel like I've seen them somewhere before."

Seeing Xiaolan's puzzled look, Pingqing quietly said, "These should all be works by Moriya Teiji."

Inspector Megure nodded. "We've already contacted him, but he doesn't know who might hold a grudge against him, and he hasn't been threatened, so he refused police protection."

"According to reliable sources, a large quantity of explosives containing ammonium nitrate was stolen from a gunpowder depot in Japan the day before yesterday. Police have deployed over a hundred officers to conduct the search..."