"When we went to check Nagashima Ruko's classroom yesterday," Orisaka Midori frowned slightly, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Perhaps the reason Teacher Kitamura rushed over to chase Senior away was because he was worried Senior would uncover something..."
Kisaki Eri, standing nearby, couldn't help but shake her head upon hearing this: "Teacher and student... Sakuragaoka Middle School really is something..."
Halfway through her sentence, she remembered that the two girls in front of her were also Sakuragaoka students, so she quickly stopped speaking.
However, her unfinished words still provoked the Yellow-Haired Girl's dissatisfaction. Her eyes widened, and she slammed the table forcefully: "What's wrong with our school? Go on and finish your sentence!"
Kisaki Eri glanced at the girl's brightly colored hair, and the corner of her mouth lifted into a cold sneer.
This attitude naturally made the Yellow-Haired Girl even angrier.
"You..."
"Alright, every school has its bad apples. At Teitan, we recently expelled two students who conspired with a psychic to defraud classmates of money," Hayashi Shuichi quickly changed the subject. "By the way, is there any evidence for the rumors about Teacher Kitamura and Nagashima Ruko?"
"How could ordinary students have evidence for something like that?" The Yellow-Haired Girl pouted. "But the school leaders seem to have caught wind of it. Teacher Kitamura has been temporarily suspended this afternoon, which is why our P.E. class was canceled."
"What kind of person is Teacher Kitamura?" Hayashi Shuichi asked curiously. "What's his reputation among the students?"
"He's alright," Orisaka Midori thought for a moment. "Although he was strict during class, he treated all students equally. Even if something happened, he wouldn't show favoritism towards any student. Before Nagashima Ruko went missing, his reputation was generally good..."
"Enough, can we stop talking about this?" The Yellow-Haired Girl, Meizuki, impatiently waved her hand. "Great Detective, didn't you say you were going to treat us to a meal? Why aren't you making it faster? I'm starving..."
As she spoke, she exaggeratedly rubbed her stomach.
"Meizuki!" Orisaka Midori gave her friend an embarrassed glare.
Hayashi Shuichi, however, rather enjoyed the girl's straightforward personality. He nodded, then turned and headed to the cooking counter.
"He really can cook," the Yellow-Haired Girl muttered, then nudged Orisaka Midori with her elbow, a mischievous grin on her face. "No wonder Auntie Orisaka took a liking to him..."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Orisaka Midori quickly covered her mouth, then looked apologetically at Kisaki Eri. "I'm sorry, Senior Kisaki, her mouth just loves to run wild."
"Whether she's talking nonsense or not has nothing to do with me!" Kisaki Eri huffed haughtily. After returning Pudding to Orisaka Midori, she turned and walked back to the cash register to read her book.
"When did I talk nonsense?" Seeing only the two of them left, the Yellow-Haired Girl immediately complained miserably. "Auntie Orisaka clearly said it yesterday..."
"Enough, can't you tell the time and place for talking?" Orisaka Midori scolded in a low voice. "Senior Kisaki is Senior Hayashi's childhood friend and is very likely his girlfriend. If you say those things in front of her, Senior Kisaki is bound to get angry!"
"Tch, what's so great about that woman with small chests and a small butt?" The Yellow-Haired Girl said disdainfully. "If I were Hayashi Shuichi, I would definitely choose you, Boss. Big chests and a big butt—that's what a woman is."
"Can't you just shut up!" Orisaka Midori's face flushed with embarrassment. "I really regret bringing you along today!"
"Everything I said is true," the Yellow-Haired Girl, Meizuki, continued. Then, she suddenly turned and asked Hayashi Shuichi, who was busy behind the counter: "Hey, Great Detective, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Huh?" Hayashi Shuichi was focused on preparing ingredients and didn't quite hear her.
"I asked if you have a girl..."
The Yellow-Haired Girl raised her voice again. Fortunately, Orisaka Midori was quick and managed to cover her mouth in time.
"Can you please stop causing trouble for me!"
"Wuwu!" The Yellow-Haired Girl blinked innocently. I just asked if he had a girlfriend! Why such a big reaction?
Afraid that her companion would act foolishly again if she let go, Orisaka Midori could only explain to her in a whisper: "There's another very beautiful female chef in this izakaya. Her relationship with Senior Hayashi is a bit... you understand, right?"
The Yellow-Haired Girl, Meizuki, froze for a moment, then nodded in sudden realization.
After Orisaka Midori let go, the Yellow-Haired Girl immediately said contemptuously: "So, that means this guy named Hayashi is two-timing! No wonder you don't like him, Boss. Turns out this guy is also a fickle playboy."
"That's part of the reason," Orisaka Midori nodded, a hint of regret in her expression. "Senior is a very nice person, but you still need a loyal boyfriend."
The Yellow-Haired Girl deeply resonated with this and agreed: "Handsome pretty boys really can't be trusted. None of them are any good."
The reason she felt so strongly was that before she joined Orisaka Midori's Rose Thorns gang, she had dated a handsome boyfriend at school.
Unfortunately, that person turned out to be a total scumbag, maintaining relationships with several girls while dating the Yellow-Haired Girl.
When the Yellow-Haired Girl found out the truth, she immediately beat the scumbag up in public with a stick at school.
Since then, she had hated pretty boys, feeling the urge to teach any handsome guy a lesson.
Her initial bad attitude towards Hayashi Shuichi stemmed partly from this.
The two girls leaned together, talking in low voices, completely forgetting about the little dog, Pudding.
Orisaka Midori had been busy covering her best friend's mouth and had casually put the little fellow down on the floor.
Seeing that Pudding was no longer being held, Wangcai's dog eyes instantly lit up, and it tried to sneak over to bully it.
However, Pudding was a stray dog that had lived on the streets. Facing Wangcai's ill-intentioned approach, it didn't show the slightest fear. Instead, it aggressively opened its mouth, showed its fangs, and rushed forward first.
Wangcai had been raised by Hayashi Shuichi since it was a puppy and had always lived a life of comfort. In terms of ferocity, it naturally couldn't compare to Pudding, which had been a stray just yesterday.
Seeing this companion, who was more than half its size, charge at it with a "vicious" expression, Wangcai actually tucked its tail and chickened out first, scrambling towards the izakaya door, trying to escape back home upstairs.
Wangcai had just reached the door when it was suddenly pushed open, and Reiko walked in, carrying her school bag.
Seeing her little owner, Wangcai regained its courage, having something to rely on, and turned around, baring its teeth at Pudding.
Unexpectedly, Reiko suddenly pushed it aside and reached out to pick up Pudding.
Pudding was also very smart. Just moments ago, it was fiercely chasing Wangcai, but as soon as Reiko picked it up, it reverted to the appearance of an adorable little puppy, narrowing its eyes and continuously rubbing its head against Reiko's palm.
"What a cute little guy!" Reiko's eyes sparkled. "Onii-chan, did you take in another new puppy?"
"Woof..." Wangcai whined pitifully, trying to draw Reiko's attention. Unfortunately, the girl's gaze was completely focused on Pudding, and she didn't look at it at all.
"That's Pudding, the dog Midori adopted," Hayashi Shuichi said aloud. "Didn't I tell you about the incident last night?"
"This is the little guy that found the corpse?" Reiko joyfully held the puppy up. "No wonder it looks so clever, completely different from the silly, clumsy Wangcai."
"Wuwu..." Wangcai was severely disheartened. Its head hung low, and its tail drooped weakly, looking like a frosted eggplant.
While playing with the puppy, Reiko walked over to Orisaka Midori's table and greeted the two girls.
Orisaka Midori had seen Reiko before but wasn't familiar with her, so she just smiled and nodded.
The Yellow-Haired Girl, Meizuki, on the other hand, was an only child and had always longed for a younger sister. After joining Orisaka Midori's Rose Thorns gang, her favorite thing to do was forcibly make the younger girls in the crew call her 'Big Sister.'
Seeing that Reiko was well-behaved and cute, the Yellow-Haired Girl's sister-complex immediately flared up, and she enthusiastically pulled Reiko into a hug: "What a cute little sister!"
"Meizuki, don't scare her," Orisaka Midori quickly intervened.
The Yellow-Haired Girl reluctantly let go of Reiko, but still held her hand, sighing continuously: "I wish I had a little sister this cute. How could such an adorable girl be the sister of that heartless scumbag, Hayashi Shuichi?"
"Meizuki!" Orisaka Midori immediately glared at her companion. How could you talk bad about someone's brother right in front of their sister!
"Sorry, Reiko, she didn't mean to..."
"It's okay, Big Sister Midori," Reiko's eyes curved into crescents. "Onii-chan does have some shortcomings, so it's normal for this big sister not to like him."
Speaking of which, the girl looked at Meizuki's cup, which was empty.
"Big Sister, your cup is out of water. I'll go get you some!"
Saying that, without waiting for the Yellow-Haired Girl to reply, Reiko put Pudding down, swiftly picked up the cup, and left.
"What a diligent little sister," the Yellow-Haired Girl's face was full of envy, and her eyes followed Reiko's retreating figure. "Why don't I have such a wonderful sister?"
"Even if you had a sister, you wouldn't be a good big sister," Orisaka Midori said, exasperated.
"Nonsense! Why wouldn't I be a good big sister!" The Yellow-Haired Girl refuted, unconvinced. "Don't all the younger members in the crew love calling me 'Big Sister'?"
That's only because you force them to... Orisaka Midori rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with her.
Just then, Reiko returned, smiling, carrying the cup of water: "Big Sister, please drink this water."
"Good, good," the Yellow-Haired Girl nodded repeatedly, eagerly picking up the cup and gulping down the water.
The next second, with a "Pftt" sound, she spat all the water out of her mouth.
Reiko had clearly anticipated this and had already stepped aside.
"Wha—what kind of water is this? Why does it taste so strange..." The Yellow-Haired Girl looked distressed, her face full of shock, coughing incessantly.
"I thought your mouth sounded quite dirty, so I added some cleaning agent to it," Reiko said with a sweet smile. "Don't worry, it's the kind we use to wash dishes, so nothing will happen even if you drink it."
"You..." The Yellow-Haired Girl glared at her, completely shocked that such a cute little sister had ambushed her.
"Big Sister, even if Onii-chan has problems, it's not your place to say so!" Reiko huffed, then turned and greeted Hayashi Shuichi before going upstairs to their home.
"Do you still want a little sister now?" Orisaka Midori asked, amused, looking at her companion, who was dry-heaving.
"Ugh... that hateful little brat!" The Yellow-Haired Girl clenched her fists in anger, her face bright red. "How could I have been so blind just now to think she was cute!"
"That's what you get for talking bad about Senior Hayashi right in front of her," Orisaka Midori shook her head, amused. "As a sister, she naturally has to stick up for her brother."
Since he was treating the Yellow-Haired Girl to a meal, Hayashi Shuichi didn't hold back. He busied himself at the counter for a long time, meticulously preparing a table full of dishes.
Mouri Kogoro also returned at the perfect time, and everyone sat down at the table, ready to eat.
Hayashi Shuichi noticed that the teapot on the table was somewhat empty, so he asked Reiko to refill the water.
Seeing this, the Yellow-Haired Girl proactively stood up to help: "Let me do it. Where is the hot water?"
"Big Sister, I'll do it," Reiko picked up the teapot, saying meaningfully, "Don't worry, once your mouth is clean, I won't need to add any more cleaning agent."
"What are you saying?" Hayashi Shuichi affectionately tapped his sister's head. "Hurry up and refill the tea..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the izakaya's door was pushed open, and Detective Satō and Detective Megure walked in.
"Please join us for dinner," Hayashi Shuichi enthusiastically invited them, asking Mouri Kogoro to add two more chairs.
Detectives Satō and Megure couldn't politely refuse and both took a seat.
The Yellow-Haired Girl picked up a piece of grilled fish and took a bite, her eyes immediately lighting up: "The Great Detective's cooking is actually really good. The flavor is fantastic."
"Onii-chan's cooking is highly praised by all our customers," Reiko proudly puffed out her chest, her face full of pride.
Orisaka Midori was also trying Hayashi Shuichi's cooking for the first time. After taking a gentle bite, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes, a look of enjoyment on her face.
Her mother, who had been a delinquent in her youth, naturally wasn't a good cook.
Orisaka Midori had eaten "dark cuisine" daily as a child. When she grew up and was able to cook herself, she quickly took over the kitchen duties. Although her cooking wasn't particularly delicious, it was still better than Mrs. Orisaka's terrible meals.
After a couple more bites, remembering the awful food at home, Orisaka Midori hesitated for a moment, then spoke up: "Senior, could I follow you to learn how to cook?"
"Learn how to cook?" Hayashi Shuichi looked surprised. "Of course you can here, but do you have the time?"
"I..." Orisaka Midori wrinkled her brow in distress.
She really didn't have much free time. She had to attend school, and when she was free, she also had to help her mother manage the flower shop.
"If you want to learn, Boss, then just go for it," the Yellow-Haired Girl patted her chest. "I'll handle the flower shop."
"Really?"
Orisaka Midori looked at her best friend joyfully, then quickly looked at Hayashi Shuichi, waiting for his answer.
"If you truly want to learn, just come to the shop every evening," Hayashi Shuichi smiled. "Cooking actually isn't difficult. You can learn a lot just by watching."
"That's not necessarily true," Mouri Kogoro said, stifling a laugh. "Some people can watch you cook every day and still never learn..."
(End of Chapter)
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