Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

The ability to read minds allows Baijiu to know who is truly friendly to him, but it also prevents him from deceiving himself.

He faced everyone's true likes and dislikes, and couldn't even comfort himself by saying "that's tsundere" or "that's a trick of playing hard to get to attract me."

In Baijiu's silence, Yanfeng Qiaona continued to say to her sister: "The case has not been solved yet. Don't go home too late, don't go to places like bars, and be careful."

"Got it. You have to be careful too. Go home immediately after the interview." Kotomine China also said, "If you see anyone strange, call the police immediately."

Both sisters have jobs. The elder sister, Kotomine China, studied architecture in college. After graduation, she switched to become a girl's manga artist and has published a work called "Pure Love 100%".

Her younger sister, Kotomine Jonah, studied law and became a journalist after graduation. The medical scandal that rocked Japan broke out in early July was the work of her. She is very good at stirring up other people's emotions.

Because of that report, Kotomine Jona also received threatening letters and was stalked. Her family was very worried about her safety and once advised her to resign, but she flatly refused - because she really liked her job as a reporter.

After taking care of each other, the two sisters said goodbye. Kotomine Joanna walked towards the bus stop not far away, while the two others continued to wait there.

Baijiu looked at the time again and his expression became even more impatient.

He didn't like to stay in crowded places. His mind-reading ability, which couldn't be turned off, made him hear the inner voices of people around him from time to time. Those inner voices intertwined with each other, and he couldn't extract any important information at all, only endless noise.

Kotomine China was standing nearby. She took out a mirror to check her makeup, and then lowered her head again to check if there was anything wrong with her dress.

Several more groups of people poured out of the station, and when Baijiu was becoming more and more agitated, Hojo Toika finally appeared.

"You came really early." She looked at them in surprise.

Bai Jiu became even more annoyed when he heard this, but he did not lose his temper. He skillfully suppressed all his anger and forced a smile.

"fine."

……

After the three of them met up, they came to the Japanese restaurant that Baijiu had made a reservation at.

The waiter brought two menus. Hojo Tobiko naturally picked up one and opened it. Kotomine China handed the menu to Hakuba Suzuki.

"Shuyue-kun, you take a look first."

Bai Jiu didn't hesitate and directly opened the menu. When he turned his head inadvertently, he met the gazes of the guests at the next table.

In fact, just now on the road, Bai Jiu felt that many people were looking at them, especially at him. At that time, Kotomine China held his arm, and Hojo Toika would occasionally poke him and talk to him, just like he had two close and beautiful female companions.

This greatly satisfied his vanity. In addition, there was also a sense of pleasure of revenge.

His current girlfriend, Kotomine China, is the complete opposite type of Hojo Tobiko. She is considerate and gentle, full of love and kindness, and very willing to give to others.

Ever since he met Hojo Toika, he has been worried that she would recognize him, so he would reduce unnecessary contact. If they really had to meet, he would deliberately show preferences and behaviors that were completely different from his past self.

For example, he likes dogs, and one of his animal messengers is a dog. After entering the Metropolitan Police Department, he would play with the police dogs. But because Hojo Toika also liked them, after meeting her, he never summoned even one dog again. He only used cats, which he didn't like very much, and pretended to like them very much.

He was afraid and even terrified of Hojo Toika, but he really couldn't help but want to take revenge on her.

He would feel good even if the revenge was something the other party didn't even notice.

So Baijiu agreed to his current girlfriend's request and brought her to her.

——Look, now that my family is well off, I have found a woman who is much better than you! I don’t have to be servile to you anymore!!

While Baijiu was secretly happy, Kotomine China opened her bag to take out the gift she had carefully prepared. Hojo Toika on the opposite side noticed that she lowered her head, opened the game system, and sent him a message in the group chat among allies.

[Arrogant: Your girlfriend's nose looks a little weird when viewed from the side, has she had plastic surgery? ]

"........."

Baijiu held the chopsticks.

Her words made all the joy he had just felt disappear completely, and he felt a surge of anger in his heart.

But when he saw Hojo Tobiko's face, he suppressed all his anger.

【Jealousy: Not sure.】

There's no need to get into a conflict with her over a trivial matter.

Kotomine China on the side is not a player, but just an ordinary resident of this world. She cannot see the pop-up window and knows nothing about their communication.

She looked at the gift and thought about it, feeling that it would be a bit abrupt to give it to them now as they were not familiar with each other yet, so she put the gift back temporarily.

She raised her head again and noticed that the mustard bottle next to her was running low, so she raised her hand to call the waiter to replace it. The waiter immediately brought a full bottle and handed it to Baijiu, who was closest to him.

Bai Jiu took the green condiment and his face changed slightly. Hojo Tobiko asked casually, "Do you like mustard?"

"Yes!"

It was the first time that Kotomine China talked to her favorite author, and her cheeks turned red.

"I like it, too." Hojo Toika smiled, "Unfortunately my boyfriend doesn't like it and won't touch it at all. Before, I invited him to a Japanese restaurant and tricked him into eating his favorite dishes with wasabi. He vomited them out after eating them. It was so disgusting."

While they were talking, Baijiu opened the bottle cap.

He squeezed out a large dollop of mustard, added it to his soy sauce, and slowly stirred it.

"You like it too?" Hojo Toika noticed his actions.

【This is totally different from my boyfriend. 】

"...Yeah, I like it."

Chapter 84 The author couldn't think of a suitable title

This meal made Baijiu very unhappy.

He hated wasabi, but he couldn't show it in front of Hojo Tobiko, so he drank tea while eating, using the tea to buffer the pungent taste in his mouth.

By the time he had almost finished eating the food on the table, he had filled his stomach with water.

After eating and drinking, Hojo Toika picked up her small bag and went to the bathroom to touch up her makeup; Kotomine China had also finished eating, she wiped her mouth and looked at Hakuba worriedly.

"Shuyue-kun, you have been drinking water just now. Are you feeling unwell?" She asked in a low voice to save his face.

Baijiu Jiuyue is indeed feeling very uncomfortable now. As soon as he opens his mouth, he feels that the contents of his stomach start to surge up.

"fine."

He swallowed, trying to suppress the uncomfortable feeling. He looked at her bag and saw the gift that had not been given away. "You won't give it to her?"

"I don't know how to start." Kotomine China picked up the gift, her face full of hesitation, "I feel embarrassed to just say that I'm a fan, that I like her very much and want to encourage her... How did you introduce me to her?"

"I said I wanted to see her."

Hakuba Shutsukui really said this. When he proposed this meeting to Hojo Toika, he did not mention the fans.

In terms of star-chasing… Being fanatically fond of an author should also be considered star-chasing, right? In short, in terms of star-chasing, the two of them are completely different types.

Hojo Ibara was quite fanatical. She spent a lot of money on endorsements and tickets, organized fans to report all the comments she disliked, and taught young fans who hadn't even taken the college entrance examination how to buy more to boost sales... Baijiu was angry but dared not say anything about it, and was deeply impressed.

Kotomine China is the opposite. She is very reserved when pursuing someone. She obviously likes the novel so much that she can memorize it, but she hesitates to even attend the book signing event because she doesn't want to meet the other person face to face.

Like at Kyoko's book signing event a month ago, she hesitated for a long time and ultimately didn't go.

This time, she took the initiative to ask to meet her in person, because Hojo Toika had suffered severe cyber violence not long ago.

Bai Jiu himself treated those comments as pure refreshing articles, which made him feel happy, even though she later gave him a list of thousands of people to check; but she, on the contrary, was always worried and felt that the online support was not enough, so he wanted to stand in front of her and comfort and encourage her in person.

Thinking of the cause of the cyberbullying, Bai Jiu casually asked, "Is she still writing recently?"

The policeman was very busy with his work and he didn't read many novels. The only reason he knew about Kyoko's existence was because there was a junior around him who admired him and loved detective novels.

"She is currently writing a police extra chapter." Kotomine China answered, "Because the website was attacked, she uploaded the new chapter to the fan chat room. Currently, only fans can see it."

Fan chat room?

Bai Jiu was stunned. His first reaction was the fan group. His second reaction was to think of how Hojo Ibaraki managed the fan group in the past. Alarm bells went off in his heart.

In order to prevent his current girlfriend from being affected by a skill, he specially advised her to wear colored contact lenses today. However, there are many ways in the world to "modify" the will of others. His girlfriend is now in the fan group. Has she been guided by something? !

Bai Jiu was about to ask more questions, but at this time Hojo Toika came back, so he had to give up in disappointment.

"What are you talking about?" She noticed their conversation and saw the gift. "What is this?"

Being seen by the real person, Kotomine China's cheeks turned even redder. She no longer hid it, took out the gift and handed it to Hojo Toika with both hands.

"This is... this is what my sister wants to give you!"

The words finally came out of her mouth, but she was still too nervous and used her sister as an excuse.

"Eh?" Hojo Toika was stunned. "Your sister?"

"Yes, she is busy with work, so she asked me to bring it to you... She likes your work very much and hopes that you will not be affected by those online comments... She will always support you!"

Bai Jiu was speechless when he heard what his current girlfriend said, but he knew that was her character.

Kotomine China didn't dare to face her idol, and didn't dare to tell him directly that she liked and supported him. That feeling made her very embarrassed, but she could still say it in the name of someone else.

It's nothing, who hasn't said "I have a friend" a few times? It's just...

Yuanxiang doesn't understand all these twists and turns. She really treats "friends" as friends. If she meets them one day in the future and mistakes them for real fans, it will be very funny.

……

This Japanese restaurant is on the fifth floor of a shopping mall. After the three of them finished their meal and paid the bill, they did not rush back. Hojo Touka and Kotomine China both wanted to go shopping in the shops downstairs, and Bai Jiu followed them.

The stroll lasted until evening.

Hojo Toika walked out of the mall carrying a lot of bags, with a look of unsatisfied look on her face.

Suddenly her cell phone vibrated. Bai Jiu heard the noise and glanced at it because she was standing close to her. It turned out to be a message from her brother, asking her why she hadn't gone home so late.

Hojo Toika's face showed dissatisfaction, but she still said to them: "I have to go first, my family is urging me to go back."

"Then you should go back quickly and be careful." Bai Jiu breathed a sigh of relief.

It was not yet seven o'clock in the evening, but it was already completely dark. Kotomine China looked around, then looked at the many shopping bags that Hojo Toika was carrying, and finally looked at Hakuba.

She asked tentatively, "Shuyue-kun, can you help take Miss Yuanxiang home? I can go back by myself."

Bai Jiu was stunned, and before he could speak, Hojo Yuika said without hesitation: "Okay!" and stuffed the shopping bag in her hand towards him.

"........."

Bai Jiu took the shopping bag and tried to maintain a calm expression: "...Then be careful. If you get into trouble, call me immediately."

"Okay." Kotomine Kina responded with a smile.

……