Chi Feichi offered to take Haibara Ai home. It was nearing evening by the time he returned to the Morizono residence with Morizono Kikuhito.
Just as Morizono Kikuhito parked the car, he heard a commotion at the gate. He stepped out of the garage to look, and his gaze instantly turned gloomy.
Chi Feichi also took a look from a distance.
Sure enough, besides Shigematsu Akio and a girl walking at the very back, the trio of Conan, Mouri Ran, and Mouri Kogoro had arrived. Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha were there as well.
"Let's go inside first."
Hearing Chi Feichi's calm voice, Morizono Kikuhito cooled down a bit and nodded. However, he remained silent and sullen until they were back in his room on the second floor.
Chi Feichi walked to the window and watched the group of people approaching outside. "The girl walking at the very back is your fiancée, right?"
"Yeah..." Morizono Kikuhito nodded.
"She's wearing the same necklace as Mr. Sakuraba," Chi Feichi said.
Returning at this specific time was a deliberate move. He wanted to point this out before Morizono Kikuhito mentioned it himself. By taking the initiative, he further implied that he was looking out for Kikuhito's interests and standing on his side, strengthening the trust between them.
Morizono Kikuhito's expression fluctuated. After a moment, he said, "Uncle Shigematsu threatened me to cancel the wedding, probably because of that guy Sakuraba. He watched Sakuraba grow up and treats him like his own child, so he's helping that guy steal my fiancée!"
"You could smash some things," Chi Feichi suggested.
Morizono Kikuhito choked on the torrent of words he was about to unleash, feeling stifled. "Smash things?"
Chi Feichi turned around. "I'll go call Uncle Shigematsu up here."
Morizono Kikuhito was puzzled. "Call him up now? Are we having a showdown directly?"
"We're going to bluff him..."
Five minutes later, Chi Feichi left the room and went downstairs.
Bluffing?
He was really worrying himself sick trying to reconcile this family...
"Feichi, you guys are back? Where's Kikuhito?" Morizono Yurie was just about to head out. seeing Chi Feichi, she immediately grabbed him. "Never mind him, let's go see his fiancée first!"
Outside, the group had already walked into the yard.
Shigematsu Akio looked blankly at the messy yard.
The fallen leaves on the ground had been swept clean, but among the large trees, several stood nearly bald, sticking out like sore thumbs.
By the walkway, the row of bushes that looked like they had been chewed by dogs was equally eye-catching.
He had only been gone for a day; what had happened to the house?
"This..." Mouri Kogoro held it in for a moment before laughing loudly. "What a unique aesthetic! This must be abstract art!"
"Uh..." Shigematsu Akio didn't know how to explain for a moment.
Although Katagiri Kaede had visited the Morizono house before and knew what the yard originally looked like, hearing Mouri Kogoro say this made her unsure. "Is... is that so?"
"Old man, you really know how to spout nonsense!" Hattori Heiji debunked him with a punchable smugness, pointing to the bushes by the road. "Come on, look closely. The breaks in the branches are uneven in length. It's obvious they were snapped off, not intentionally pruned. And over there, look at those two shredded leaves that weren't swept away. The edges are irregular and jagged; scissors wouldn't cut them like that."
Conan had already moved closer, picking up two shredded leaves and observing one of them. "The base of this shredded leaf looks like it was cut forcefully by something sharp, but the cut isn't very smooth. It was likely torn apart by some kind of animal."
After speaking, he turned his head and asked Shigematsu Akio in a childish voice, "Butler-ojisan, do you keep cats here?"
Shigematsu Akio nodded. "Ah, yes, we do..."
Hattori Heiji also leaned in next to Conan, bending down to look at the shredded leaves. "The other shredded leaf has marks from bird pecks. This mess was probably caused by a cat and a bird fighting, right? But how many cats and birds would it take to turn the yard into this..."
Behind them, Chi Feichi heard their conversation as he walked over.
Detectives really do love deducing everything. But isn't Conan being a little too reckless...
Morizono Yurie blinked at Chi Feichi, let go of his arm, adjusted her dress, and walked forward. She sized up Katagiri Kaede with a haughty, scrutinizing gaze. "Oh my, so you're the woman who's my brother's princess? Listen well, I don't care if you're the daughter of some big company president. You'd better be prepared. Starting today, I'm going to set some proper rules for this household!"
Katagiri Kaede was frightened. "Uh, yes..."
After their initial surprise, Mouri Kogoro, Hattori Heiji, and the others all turned their gazes to Chi Feichi, who was walking up behind her.
Chi Feichi nodded to the group.
Mouri Kogoro was instantly speechless. Why do I run into this brat everywhere I go?
"Hmm?" Morizono Yurie noticed everyone was looking behind her, completely unfazed by her intimidation. She turned to look at Chi Feichi. "Is he scary than me?"
Conan looked at Chi Feichi's emotionless eyes, then at Morizono Yurie's puzzled and curious face. He wanted to nod, but he held back.
"I know them," Chi Feichi explained to Morizono Yurie.
"Is that so?" Morizono Yurie turned back to see Katagiri Kaede looking meek. She laughed, "Alright, I'm just kidding. I'm Kikuhito's sister, Yurie. I usually live abroad, so I won't be around to nag you. You can relax. He is my cousin, Chi Feichi. He'll soon be your cousin too. He's staying here temporarily. With his personality, he won't be nagging anyone either..."
"Young Miss," Shigematsu Akio stepped forward to greet her.
Once Morizono Yurie started talking, she couldn't stop. She continued to pull Katagiri Kaede into conversation. "Besides, his father is coming to pick him up in a couple of days. You won't have to look at his cold face for much longer."
Shigematsu Akio saw Chi Feichi's indifferent expression and didn't say anything more about it, greeting him as well. "Young Master Feichi."
Chi Feichi nodded in acknowledgement.
Shigematsu Akio looked at the overly chatty Morizono Yurie, then at Chi Feichi, who stood silently staring at them. He sighed inwardly.
Over the years, he had always missed the former butler of the Chi family.
One of them faced a family of closeted chatterboxes all day, while the other faced a family of sullen mutes. In the past, when the two of them got together to chat, they could at least offer each other some comfort.
It wasn't easy being a butler.
He had only heard that the Chi couple rarely came home anymore, and Young Master Feichi had moved near his school after starting high school. The servants and butler at home had been dismissed long ago. He wondered where his old friend had gone...
"Speaking of which, you're quite capable," Morizono Yurie laughed and nudged Katagiri Kaede with her elbow. "You come here often, and you actually managed to tame my playboy brother."
Shigematsu Akio snapped back to reality and hurriedly explained, "No, Young Miss. Actually, it was the Young Master who fell in love at first sight!"
"Is that so?" Morizono Yurie looked puzzled. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"This..." Shigematsu Akio hesitated.
"But anyway, weren't you the one who played matchmaker?" Morizono Yurie didn't wait for an answer. She stepped forward, winked with a smile, and lowered her voice. "If this works out well, you might get some kind of reward from my dad!"
"Yes..." Shigematsu Akio responded uncomfortably.
Chi Feichi suddenly spoke up. "Uncle Shigematsu, could you come with me for a moment?"
Shigematsu Akio paused, turning to look at Mouri Kogoro and his group. "I can, but..."
"Cousin Kikuhito is looking for you," Chi Feichi said.
"Alright, alright, I'll take them inside. It's a good chance to tell them about the situation here," Morizono Yurie saw Shigematsu Akio's dilemma and took over the hosting duties. She looked at Mouri Ran and Toyama Kazuha, smiling. "There are two cute girls here, too. Maybe someone can help Feichi settle down as well..."
"Don't play matchmaker. They're already taken."
Chi Feichi dropped a reminder and led Shigematsu Akio away.
Hattori Heiji looked at Toyama Kazuha in confusion. "When was Kazuha taken?"
Toyama Kazuha had black lines dropping down her forehead, silently cursing Idiot in her heart.
Mouri Kogoro said unhappily, "What nonsense! My daughter has nothing to do with that detective brat!"
Mouri Ran instantly blushed, her eyes turning into dots. Did dad just confess without being pressed...
While laughter and chatter filled the yard, the atmosphere in Morizono Kikuhito's room was extremely heavy.
Shigematsu Akio followed Chi Feichi into the room and immediately saw the mess on the floor.
All the ornaments in the room had been smashed to pieces, scattered in chaotic disarray.
Morizono Kikuhito was sitting on the sofa in the corner of the room. He waited for Chi Feichi to close the door before looking up at Shigematsu Akio, whispering, "Uncle Shigematsu, I know everything."
Shigematsu Akio looked panicked for a split second. "Young Master Kikuhito, I..."
"Kaede and Sakuraba's relationship, your thoughts—I know it all," Morizono Kikuhito interrupted. "Did you think you could hide something from others forever? You watched me grow up, too. I want to hear you explain it to me yourself."
Shigematsu Akio hesitated. Seeing Morizono Kikuhito's confident expression, he felt increasingly unsure. He sighed. "You're right. Nothing can be hidden forever. The Master probably knows about the Madam and me, too..."
Morizono Kikuhito's feigned composure nearly crumbled, and he almost stood straight up.
Wait, what does this have to do with my mom and dad?
Why does that sentence sound so wrong?
Chi Feichi sat down next to him and pressed down on Morizono Kikuhito's shoulder, signaling him to stay calm.
Morizono Kikuhito sat back down, but his mind was rapidly conjuring up a pile of melodramatic soap opera plots, along with doubts about his own parentage. His expression became extremely complex.
Shigematsu Akio looked up and saw the change in Morizono Kikuhito's expression. Believing the secret was out, he sighed, "At first, I didn't know Miss Kaede came to find Sakuraba. I thought she liked the Young Master, so I brought you two together. I only found out recently myself. But by then, the marriage was already set, and you had settled down for Miss Kaede's sake, Young Master. I couldn't bear to tell you the truth, so I thought of using the company matters to threaten you into backing out..."
"You threatened me for that? Did you ever consider that using the company to threaten me made it even harder for me to accept?" Morizono Kikuhito couldn't help but stand up in agitation. "No, forget that for a second. Tell me, what exactly is going on between you and my mother?!"