Chapter 494: I… Can

At the foot of the mountain, in the rustic hot spring inn named Benkei, six middle-aged men were gathering for the first time in five years.

"Five years really flew by in the blink of an eye."

Mao Li Xiaowu couldn't help but sigh.

"That's right. Through all these storms and winds, before we knew it, so much time had passed—it feels like last year's class reunion was just yesterday."

Ayashiro Yukio let out a deeply emotional sigh.

Five years is still a long time for a person, but gathering again here after five years truly stirred countless emotions—it felt as if the last reunion had been just yesterday.

After sighing, he lowered his head and saw the little boy with glasses beside Mao Li Xiaowu.

"Actually, I just asked—Xiaowu, when did you get a son?"

"Five years ago, you brought Xiao Lan. Now, after five years, instead of bringing Xiao Lan, you've brought your little son?"

"Looks like you and Eiri have made up."

Facing these teasing remarks, Mao Li Xiaowu rolled his eyes right back.

"This kid isn't my son. He's my friend's son. Lately, those two went abroad to enjoy life and dumped their little boy on me."

Ayashiro Yukio stared wide-eyed at the boy, then turned back to Xiaowu.

"Your friend's got guts, leaving their son with a slob like you. But it's fine—Xiao Lan's here, right? If you can't take care of him, Xiao Lan can."

"Isn't that true?"

Mao Li Xiaowu couldn't help but agree, but then his whole face sagged in resignation.

"If I could leave him to Xiao Lan, I'd be relieved. Our place isn't big—just me and Xiao Lan was fine, but now with this brat added, it's too cramped."

"Xiao Lan's already sixteen. Sleeping with a little kid isn't appropriate. So after this brat moved in, Xiao Lan moved to live with Eiri."

Hearing Mao Li Xiaowu's lament, the five other old classmates looked at him with pity.

Among the old classmates, the only other woman—Ayashiro Noriko, Ayashiro Yukio's wife—was also curious.

"Xiaowu, five years have passed—Xiao Lan must be a full-grown girl now, right? She's changed a lot since five years ago. Do you have a photo I can see?"

"What kind of dad carries his daughter's photo around?"

Mao Li Xiaowu never carried photos of his daughter with him.

"I have one."

Katsura Yumi smiled and pulled out a photo from beside her—clearly, it was prepared in advance.

"Last Monday afternoon, I passed through the shopping street and ran into Xiao Lan. Five years have passed—she's grown from a little bean sprout into a full-blown young lady."

Ayashiro Noriko took the photo, and her eyes instantly lit up.

"Wow! Is this Xiao Lan now? Has this child grown this much in five years?"

Ayashiro Yukio, Da Cun Chun, and Zhongdao Hezhi all crowded over, and at just one glance at the girl in the photo, they were all stunned.

"Whoa! In five years, a little bean sprout can grow this mature?"

"This kid doesn't even look like Xiaowu's daughter."

"True."

Hearing the three friends' mockery, Mao Li Xiaowu's temple twitched with a visible vein.

"Hey! What the hell do you three mean? Can't my daughter be beautiful? She takes after Eiri, okay!"

At that moment, Zhongdao Hezhi suddenly laughed.

"Xiaowu, so you're admitting you couldn't possibly have fathered such a beautiful daughter?"

"Damn it, you bastard!"

Mao Li Xiaowu froze for a second, then exploded.

"Even if Xiao Lan takes after Eiri, she's still my daughter. Hmph! My daughter is beautiful—you're just jealous!"

The three men without daughters twitched their eyelids, and right then, they couldn't help but want to teach this bragging bastard a lesson.

Fighting wasn't an option—they weren't sure they could win.

So the three men exchanged glances; five years of unspoken understanding gave them the same idea.

Ayashiro Yukio's lips curled, his voice turning sinister, thick with anticipation of a show.

"Xiaowu, enjoy your happiness now—I wonder how you'll feel when Xiao Lan gets a boyfriend."

That single sentence instantly doused Mao Li Xiaowu's triumphant mood.

The boy who'd recently tried to court his cabbage had had an accident, but given his daughter's growth trajectory, suitors would surely keep coming—he feared the day might come too soon.

The only other person who didn't want that day to come, besides Mao Li Xiaowu, was Chuankenan.

He'd staked everything on investigating the Dark Organization that shrunk him into a child, even choosing to abandon his identity as Kudo Shinichi, erasing it completely.

But precisely because he erased it, Chuankenan had no escape route left.

If he didn't uncover the Dark Organization—uproot it entirely—he'd never regain his true identity.

And precisely because of that, Chuankenan was the one who most hoped Xiao Lan would never find a boyfriend.

I hope… before I catch that organization, Xiao Lan doesn't find a boyfriend.

He's just a child now. Even now, he and Xiao Lan don't live under the same roof. What happens later? It's impossible to say.

"Xiao Lan… do you like me?"

On the mountainside not far from Benkei, Ren Amamiya asked Xiao Lan in a speculative tone.

"I… can't be sure."

If she didn't like him, Mao Li Lan would answer decisively—even if she softened it with "maybe."

But because she truly couldn't be sure, she hesitated even more.

"I think I like Shinichi—this feeling probably started when I was very young, from living together for so long."

"But… I'm not sure anymore."

In the past, Mao Li Lan was certain she liked Shinichi, and she had even thought so right up until the end of that date at Tropical Land.

But it was that very day that made her learn far, far too many things.

For example, Shinichi was clubbed over the head because he spotted two suspicious people, and was even force-fed some mysterious poison that shrank his body into that of a small child.

For example, in order to investigate the organization behind those two men in black, Shinichi chose to deceive her rather than to trust her.

For example, Shinichi was also worried about her, deliberately making sure to stick close by her side.

If none of those things had happened, Mao Li Lan could still have opened her mouth and said she liked Shinichi.

But because those things did happen, bit by bit they wore away her feelings for Shinichi.

Especially the methods he used at the end to move into her house, and that possessiveness of his—having clearly chosen to hide the truth, yet still clinging to her relentlessly.

On top of that, Shinichi had also gone and killed off his own identity.

Perhaps it was right around then that Mao Li Lan has already completely let go of her feelings for Shinichi—how could she possibly like someone who had already decided to be dead?

PS: New book on the shelves, begging for data.