Chapter 73 The mystery of life experience
Chapter 74: The Mystery of Life

After Xiaolan left, I turned over and came down from the roof, leaned against the wall, and tears silently rolled down my face.

"This is... a lie, right? How could Xiaolan have a brother? Could Xiaolan's brother... be me..." I leaned against the wall in disbelief, my eyes had long lost their former luster, I really couldn't believe this fact. Xiaolan in the original painting didn't have a brother, since she said that, then there was only one possibility, that is, her brother was me who didn't originally belong to this world. Although I didn't want to believe it, I heard Xiaolan's words so clearly.

"Xiao Lan..." My body trembled, "How can I be her brother? I am a demon in hell. How can I be the brother of an angel? I..." My mind was in a mess. Apart from the memory just now, I couldn't remember anything else. No, I must find out who I am. Am I Xiao Lan's brother? Am I... the brother of that holy angel?

He shook his head, threw away all the pain, and walked towards Kudo's room.

"Shiho, you can come out now. She's gone." I knocked on the cabinet and said calmly.

After hearing what I said, Shiho walked out of the closet, but her expression was a little serious.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Bing..." Shiho frowned, "I just checked this closet and found that all of Kudo Shinichi's clothes from elementary school are gone.

"Really?" I answered indifferently, unable to concentrate.

"Bing?" Shiho looked at me with some confusion. "What's wrong with you? Why are your eyes red?"

"Ah? Is that so?" I looked at Shiho's slightly frowned brows, and then my eyes became dull again. I was really worried about what happened to Xiaolan just now.

"Bing, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Shiho touched my forehead with some concern.

"Ah. I'm fine." I reached out and grabbed her little hand, gently squeezed it and said lightly. "Shiho. Have you finished your investigation?"

"What's wrong with you? Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Huh? Did you say anything just now? Sorry. I really didn't hear it."

"I said, all of Kudo Shinichi's clothes from his elementary school days are gone. Bing, you look weird. What happened to make you so distracted?" Shiho seemed to read my mind. "Is it because of the girl who just barged in?"

"Huh. Eh? Did you hear it?" I said with some surprise.

"Of course I heard that loud shout." Shiho closed the closet door and turned to look at me. "Do you care about her?"

"Hmm... hm? No. Haha. How could that be?" I said embarrassedly.

"Don't lie to me, it's clearly written on your face that you care a lot." Shiho said with a hint of displeasure. "The girl just now called Shinichi, right? She should be Kudo Shinichi's family member or lover or something. Do you want me to find someone to investigate her?"

"No!" I rejected Shiho's opinion loudly. Shiho was also frightened by my voice. In the ten years since I met her, she had never heard me speak to her so loudly.

"Ah. Sorry, Shiho, I scared you." I apologized hastily when I saw Shiho's expression. "Shiho, don't tell the organization about what happened just now, okay? I beg you."

"Bing...what's wrong with you? Is that girl really worthy of your attention?" Shiho frowned.

"Haha, silly girl, don't be jealous." I smiled faintly. Then I gently pulled Shiho into my arms, but Shiho didn't agree and shook my hand away fiercely.

"I won't agree unless you explain clearly." Shiho's expression was firm. No one expected that Shiho would have such a strong sense of crisis about a girl he had never met.

"Shiho. Don't tell the organization about this. I have something that concerns me. Please don't be angry and listen to me first, okay?" I held Shiho's shoulders with both hands, hoping she would calm down.

"...You say." Shiho returned to her original cold expression, but at least she was calm now.

"Hu..." I took a deep breath and said to Shiho seriously.

"Shiho, please wait for me at the place where I parked my car. There is a cafe there. Have a cup of coffee and take a rest. I have something that I must find out right away. It is very important to me." "Is it about the girl just now?"

"...That's right. I have to investigate some of her affairs, so please don't report this matter to the organization yet, okay?"

Shiho didn't say anything, she just looked at me quietly, with a hint of strange emotions flashing in her ice-blue eyes from time to time.

"Shiho, don't think too much and trust me. Okay?" Seeing Shiho in such a state, I was a little embarrassed.

"...I understand." After a long silence, Shiho said calmly, "And I'm not jealous. I just don't understand why you keep so many things from me."

"Silly boy, I wouldn't hide anything from you. It's just that I'm not sure about many things right now. When I'm sure, I'll tell you everything. In order to give you a clear answer, I have to investigate some things now, so please wait for me. If I have investigated everything clearly, I will tell you everything I know tonight."

"Okay, I'll wait for you, be careful." Shiho said and walked out of the house. When she brushed past me, I gently pulled her back.

"Shiho..." I gently hugged the person I loved with my life from behind. "Shiho, don't be jealous, don't forget, I am destined to love you in this life."

"Who would be jealous of that girl? Go quickly, I'll wait for you." A blush flashed across Shiho's cheeks. She broke away from my hands around her waist and walked out of the room.

Looking at Shiho's departing back, I smiled slightly, and then my expression became solemn again.

"Xiaolan..." I sighed slightly, turned and walked to the window, and jumped out of Kudo's house. The height of the two floors was no burden for me at all, and I didn't go through the front door because I was afraid of the embarrassment of meeting Shiho again.

————The scent of orchids, the scent of lavender, the scent of home & the wings of angels, the wings of demons, the wings of guardians————

It was already past eleven o'clock in the evening when I arrived at the Mori Detective Agency in Beika-cho Go-chome. Standing behind a telephone pole below the agency, I looked sideways at the darkened office and my heart trembled. Finally, I was about to start to understand the whole plot, and I didn't know where the plot was going. Forget it, no matter what, I had to figure out my identity today, whether I was Xiaolan's brother or not.

Of the two windows on the third floor of the office, one was dark. That was the room of Maori Kogoro and Conan. The other window had a faint light. It looked like Xiaolan was still awake. Just as I was thinking about how to sneak in, the window with the faint light was suddenly pushed open. Looking closely, it was Xiaolan in her pajamas standing in front of the window. With the soft white light of the street lamp, I saw a tear mark on her delicate face.

Did she... cry?

My heart trembled slightly, and I was a little scared, afraid that I was really Xiaolan's brother. If that was really the case, how could I face her? I was a demon with blood on my hands. How could a demon live next to an angel?

Xiaolan was still staring at the sky, and I was looking at her in a daze in the corner, feeling indescribably uncomfortable. Time passed by, and Xiaolan had no intention of going back to sleep. She just looked at the moon in the sky quietly. It was as if she was praying to the moon. The two of them just looked at the things in front of them quietly without moving. The silence was broken only when the moon slowly climbed up to the roof and no more moonlight could be seen from Xiaolan's window. Seeing Xiaolan closing the window in disappointment, my heart was once again clenched. But soon, I calmed down, because tonight's infiltration plan had just begun.

After standing downstairs for nearly half an hour to make sure there was no light in the room, I quietly walked into the door of the office. The first floor was a cafe, which must have been rented out. The second floor was the office, and the third floor was where Xiaolan and the others lived. With the lock-picking skills taught to me by Uncle Daoyi, I easily opened the door of Maori Kogoro and Conan's room, placed a hypnotic gas bomb at the door, and then closed the door. This gas bomb can promote human sleep. Unless there is a loud noise to interfere, people will not wake up. Similarly, I also placed a gas bomb in Xiaolan's room, and then walked to the office on the second floor, quietly opened the door of the office, and took out a small flashlight from the necklace. With the help of the weak light, I began to search step by step. I didn't miss the table, the cabinet, and even the drawer of Xiaogoro's office. I searched every corner carefully, but there was no information about the Maori family. I put everything in the office back to its original place, and after confirming that everything was correct, I left the room.

Huh... I let out a long breath, and then walked towards the third floor. After more than ten minutes of gas rendering, I believe they have already fallen into a deep sleep. I tiptoed to the third floor and walked into Maori Kogoro's room. At the same time, I took back the gas bomb and looked at the middle-aged uncle sleeping on the tatami with his head tilted back. He had two small mustaches on his face. He looked as wretched as he could be, and he kept muttering. "Ms. Yoko, Miss Yoko." I thought this must be Maori Kogoro. I smiled slightly. This wretched uncle was not honest even when he was sleeping. The quilt was kicked aside. Next to Kogoro, there was a little kid with glasses and messy bangs.

Haha, Kudo? No, it should be Conan now. Conan at this moment is not wearing the classic blue suit and gray shorts, nor the foot-strengthening shoes and voice-changing bow tie. At this moment, Conan is like an ordinary elementary school student, sleeping in a cute pajamas, but on his face, he has never taken off the glasses that even Superman can hide. With a slight sigh, I walked towards the table in the room. The purpose of today is not to see these protagonists, but to find out my life experience. I gently opened the drawer and rummaged inside, but there were all kinds of documents used by Maori Kogoro for office work, and there was nothing suspicious. After returning the documents to their original positions, I opened the cabinet where the clothes were placed. It is my habit not to miss any possible corner. If I cannot do it perfectly every time I go out on a mission, it is very likely to cause a threat to my life.

I checked each item in the closet, feeling extremely nervous. I really hoped that I could find some clues, but at the same time I was afraid of what I would do if I did find them.

Finally, there was only one locked drawer left in the whole cabinet that I hadn't checked. When I checked just now, I found a small key from Kogoro's trouser pocket. It should be the key to this drawer. I inserted the key into the lock ring. With a click, the drawer opened. Looking back at the two people who were still sleeping, I felt a little relieved. This broken lock made a really loud sound.

Gently opening the drawer, I saw a lot of clothes. Judging from the size, they looked like they were for children, and boys at that. Judging from the sealing, they hadn't been touched for a long time, and Conan had definitely been in this office for no more than three months, which meant that these clothes were not prepared for him. I grabbed a pair of pajamas, a white one with a lavender pattern on it.

Lavender... I took out the lavender brooch that had accompanied me for ten years from my necklace, and the uneasiness in my heart surged up again. Could it be that I really... I didn't dare to think about it anymore. I put my pajamas back to their original place, locked the drawer again, closed the cabinet, turned around and left the room. There was only one room left...

I stood quietly at the door of Xiaolan's room for a long time, and finally mustered up the courage to quietly open the door. Xiaolan had already fallen asleep on the tatami in the room, but if you look closely, you can vaguely see that Xiaolan's eyebrows are still slightly frowned, and there are traces of tears beside her eyes. Seeing Xiaolan like this, the feeling of heartache is getting stronger and stronger.

Gently walked to the desk. There were three photo frames on the desk. The one on the far right was a commemorative photo of sixteen-year-old Xiaolan and Shinichi when they went to the tropical park. The one on the far left was a photo of Xiaolan when she was about four years old and sleeping soundly. In this photo, in addition to Xiaolan wearing pink pajamas with orchids printed on them, there was also a little boy wearing white pajamas with lavender printed on them. In the photo, Xiaolan was snuggling up to the boy and sleeping soundly, with her little hand tightly holding the boy's pajamas. The photo in the middle was a photo of the Maori family, but the difference was that there were four people in this family photo instead of three in the original painting. The young Maori Kogoro was holding the little Xiaolan and smiling happily, and next to the young Eri Kisaki, a little boy with a faint smile was holding Eri Kisaki's hand tightly. In the lower right corner of the photo, there were clearly written a few words "Mauri Family Portrait".

I had been planning to carefully check the entire room, but after seeing the photos on the table, I found that I could no longer move. Tears dripped down my eyes and fell to the ground. The memories before the age of six seemed to break through the barrier and instantly flooded into my mind.

(End of this chapter)