Chapter 169: Free labor, might as well use it!

She cast her gaze toward Hoshino Ki.

She remained calm even after seeing him shirtless.

Miyano Akemi was slightly stunned after hearing Haibara Ai's words.

She hurriedly stepped forward to explain:

"Ah, Ai-chan, we didn't... well, okay, it was a fight..."

The guilty Miyano Akemi changed her tune.

"..."

Haibara Ai lowered her eyes slightly.

She turned her gaze toward Miyano Akemi.

There was a hint of awkwardness in the way she looked at her.

"Um..."

The dad finally walked out of the room.

"Excuse me..."

He looked very polite now.

"Ai-chan, let's go!"

Miyano Akemi glanced sideways at the dad.

Full of disdain.

She walked up to Haibara Ai without a word, took her hand, and walked into the room.

"Bang!"

The room door was slammed shut.

The dad raised his palm, looking apologetic.

He apologized to Hoshino Ki repeatedly:

"Your wife must have misunderstood... I'm so sorry!"

"Actually, I can help you explain..."

The dad bowed deeply to Hoshino Ki.

The words poured out of his mouth like a string of pearls.

"It's fine."

Hoshino Ki nodded slightly.

His pitch-black, deep eyes were as calm as water.

He didn't look at the dad again.

He turned around and returned to his room.

"Bang!" A heavy door-closing sound came!

"Eh?"

The dad looked up, looking confused.

The hallway was already empty...

After returning to his room, Hoshino Ki washed up and tidied himself.

After getting dressed, Hoshino Ki knocked on Haibara Ai's door.

Haibara Ai opened the door for him.

The "resentment" in her eyes was faint...

Hoshino Ki peered into the room.

Miyano Akemi was helping Haibara Ai pack her luggage.

Clearly, the two sisters were also ready to go.

They were heading back today.

After saying goodbye to Mouri Ran and her group, they set off on the return journey.

The atmosphere among the three was very strange the whole way.

Miyano Akemi, who was usually a chatterbox, kept staring out the car window.

Haibara Ai simply closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep...

"Eh? Is that Mr. and Mrs.?"

Just as the atmosphere among the three became awkward.

A pleasant male voice came from the side.

All three turned their heads to look.

It was the dad driving his beat-up little sedan.

"Bang, bang..."

His car kept shaking violently.

It felt like it would fall apart if he wasn't careful...

The baby was sitting in the passenger seat.

His eyes clearly lit up when he saw Hoshino Ki.

Two little chubby hands were raised high.

Asking Hoshino Ki for a hug.

Those grape-like pitch-black eyes were surprisingly similar to Hoshino Ki's.

"Tsk!"

Miyano Akemi straightened her face instantly and put on her sunglasses.

"Sister, do you know them?"

Haibara Ai's ice-blue eyes were slightly stunned when she looked at the baby in the passenger seat.

Then she turned her gaze toward Hoshino Ki, who was driving.

Although the hair color was different...

Those pitch-black pupils were simply a miniature version of Hoshino Ki.

It was really, really a little bit like him!

An illegitimate child?

"I don't know them!"

Miyano Akemi looked very angry.

"That... that thing just now was a... I can..."

The dad leaned out, anxious, and shouted toward Miyano Akemi.

But his car was just too beat up.

The sound of the engine completely drowned out his voice.

"He seems to be talking to you, sister."

Haibara Ai leaned on the car window and looked at the dad's lip movements, saying:

"He's saying that just now was a misunderstanding and he can explain."

"Oh, well, let's listen to his explanation then."

Miyano Akemi sighed.

Her anger had mostly dissipated.

She realized that she had indeed acted a bit impulsively just now.

Two men having a child...

How could that be possible!

So Miyano Akemi took the initiative to point to a drive-in restaurant ahead.

The dad nodded and gave Miyano Akemi a thumbs up!

"Screech!"

The car stopped in a parking space.

After getting out of the car, they entered the restaurant together and sat down.

After ordering, the dad opened the conversation:

"It's like this..."

After a long-winded explanation from the dad.

Miyano Akemi understood instantly:

"Ah, I'm so sorry!"

She stood up and bowed to apologize to the dad.

"It's okay... I'm actually fine!"

The dad smiled and waved his hand at Miyano Akemi.

"I'm really sorry!"

Miyano Akemi bowed and apologized again.

Her face was flushed red, and she was so embarrassed she wanted to hide.

Getting jealous over a man...

She just wanted to dig a hole and bury herself.

"Although I'm just an outsider..."

"But I've always believed that... a husband and wife should get along well."

"Don't fight all the time."

The dad held the baby in his arms.

His tone was gentle and warm.

"Your wife..."

Miyano Akemi seemed to have sensed something...

"Passed away... she was killed by someone!"

"!!!"

"Sorry!"

Miyano Akemi covered her mouth.

"It's okay! She tried her best..."

The dad's eyes suddenly dimmed.

"......"

Hoshino Ki's brow furrowed slightly.

Intuition told him things weren't that simple.

So he opened his mouth and asked:

"What about the killer?"

"......"

The dad's head lowered even further.

When he heard the word "killer," he shook his head gently.

"How could that be!?"

Miyano Akemi covered her mouth.

"Don't talk about the killer, we don't even know if the killer is a person or a monster."

"There were traces of animal bites on her body."

"But we don't have such fierce animals around here at all."

"The police couldn't do anything either..."

The dad was depressed; he clenched his fists and slowly released them.

"How can you give up!? Your wife might be watching you from heaven!"

"!!!"

The dad looked up at Miyano Akemi instantly.

His body froze there, not knowing how to react.

"Are you going to give up?"

Miyano Akemi's words echoed in the dad's ears.

His eyes were hollow, and he muttered:

"If I don't give up... what else can I do?"

Miyano Akemi was bursting with positive energy.

She clenched her fists and said:

"Of course, it's to drag the killer out and bring them to justice!"

The dad chuckled:

"Even the police can't do anything about it, as an ordinary person like me... it's easier said than done."

The atmosphere fell into silence once again.

Indeed, for an ordinary person.

They couldn't afford the high price to hire a detective...

After all, so many cases happen every day across the country.

Conan doesn't have the ability to clone himself and can't appear everywhere to solve cases for people for free.

So these ordinary people who aren't mentioned in anime can only be ignored.

Just then.

A waiter walked over with a receipt.

"Hello! Your meal total is 5,000 yuan..."

He placed the receipt directly on the table.

Then he bent over, waiting for payment.

Miyano Akemi was just about to take her wallet out of her bag.

"You calculated it wrong."

The dad looked up at the waiter without thinking.

He raised a finger and said seriously:

"We have three adults and two children here, three set meals plus two glasses of milk, plus the seating fee and service fee... it should be 2,500 yuan..."

The waiter was confused by the dad's rapid-fire words.

He looked at the receipt on the table and was slightly stunned.

Then he reacted instantly, smiling apologetically:

"Ah? I'm sorry, please wait a moment while I verify..."

After a while...

The restaurant manager walked over and bowed to apologize:

"I'm really sorry, this was our mistake, this meal is on the house."

"My previous job was an accountant, so I'm a bit sensitive to these numbers..."

The dad scratched his head embarrassedly.

Miyano Akemi asked:

"Your previous job... what about now?"

"You've seen it... I have to take care of the child, so no company is willing to hire me..."

"Is that so... you've had it so hard..."

Miyano Akemi looked regretful.

Just as the two fell into awkwardness again.

Hoshino Ki's voice came from the side:

"Are you interested in working for me?"

"???"

Everyone looked up at Hoshino Ki in surprise.

"You don't look very old..."

The dad questioned Hoshino Ki's ability.

"Ahem! Although Zhao Si-kun is only 17, he's very capable!"

"Do you know about the serial killer case that happened in the restaurant yesterday..."

Miyano Akemi was also very warm-hearted.

Seeing Hoshino Ki actually take the initiative to help others for the first time.

She was moved to tears.

So she used her silver tongue.

She poured out all of Hoshino Ki's advantages.

The two chatted enthusiastically on the side.