The other side.
Jiangxia's mental backup plan for Hijikata Kozaburo wasn't exactly full understanding, but at least he could guess some of it.
To be honest, he had been pretty worried before—afraid that this guy was too cautious, and that the last cheating incident wouldn't even faze him.
But luckily, there aren't that many famous detectives in the world, so Hijikata Kozaburo didn't have endless options. In the end, he got caught by this guy.
Jiangxia finished replying to the text message, put down his phone, and recalled the order: "Don't bring strange people into the mix."
He silently looked over at Mouri Ran, who was conveniently charging her skateboard at Dr. Agasa's place and just happened to be picking Conan up.
…Such a polite and sensible elementary school kid, such a delicate and lovely high school girl—surely they don't count as strange people, right?
Besides, Mouri Ran seemed to be some kind of omnivorous fangirl. Anyone with a bit of fame, she chased after for autographs or something. This invitation definitely couldn't be refused.
…
The next day, Hijikata Kozaburo showed up at a café near Jiangxia's home and found him there.
To his slight surprise, there was a beautiful girl about Jiangxia's age, plus a little boy hanging around.
...Somehow, it gave off the vibe of "dragging the whole family along."
Hijikata Kozaburo quietly grumbled that Jiangxia wasn't listening and was bringing people around casually.
But when he caught the high school girl and himself exchanging glimmering, admiring looks, he swallowed his complaints.
…They're just kids, he thought. How could they resist meeting a veteran actor in person?
Plus, maybe Jiangxia totally missed the hint in his invitation text and genuinely thought this was a detective tutoring session. So, he invited his classmates along to show off, boasting that he was buddies with a star.
As an actor who's walked the road of passing gas, Hijikata Kozaburo wasn't disgusted by this kind of behavior—he was actually a little pleased.
Calming down, he thought: After the case is over, I'll send signed group photos to each of these kids.
After brief introductions, Hijikata Kozaburo stood up with a polite smile and lifted his sunglasses: "It's not convenient to talk here. Come to my place."
Jiangxia nodded and got up.
Mouri Ran happily touched the autograph book in her bag and followed along.
Conan finished his coffee and put down the cup, curious. Hijikata Kozaburo invited Jiangxia here to learn detective skills, so he can act more realistically in his future detective dramas.
But what exactly can Jiangxia teach? After all, Jiangxia's still a very junior detective, barely any experience… Can he really teach high-speed case-solving? If so, Conan wanted to learn too. He touched the camera in his bag—if he couldn't learn live, he'd at least take pictures and figure it out later.
…
Hijikata Kozaburo's home was in a fancy riverside apartment with a beautiful view.
To avoid any reporters, Hijikata Kozaburo slipped them into the apartment through the back door and pressed the elevator button.
The elevator arrived quickly on the first floor, and as the door opened, a young, handsome guy with a turban and dyed yellow hair stepped out.
Jiangxia had never seen this guy before, but with some clues from spoilers and the outfit, he vaguely guessed who he was.
Mao Lilan whispered excitedly to Jiangxia in a low voice, "That's Okita! That super popular actor actually lives here!"
Hijikata Kozaburo suddenly saw the handsome boy turn green-faced, looking twisted.
But as an old actor himself, he quickly adjusted and greeted him warmly: "Get going."
"Well, I'm going to the convenience store," Okita said bluntly, not bothering to act for the guests. He knew exactly what Hijikata Kozaburo wanted to ask and added, "Don't think too much. I'll be back at the appointed time."
Hearing this, Jiangxia thoughtfully paused and pretended not to care.
Since he'd been invited by Hijikata Kozaburo, he decided to avoid all topics that might put Hijikata on edge before getting what he came for.
Mouri Ran, not having so many concerns, asked confusedly, "Appointment? But Mr. Hijikata already made an appointment with Jiangxia this afternoon?"
"Ha ha, yes." Hijikata Kozaburo looked a little embarrassed and, as Okita left, explained: "It's... I plan to discuss with him and my wife—our neighbors talked and it got reported as cheating. We can't let that slide. After all, we've been neighbors for years. If this goes to the company, feelings get hurt. So I want to negotiate privately first—the appointment is tonight, so it won't interfere with Jiangxia's detective lesson."
Mouri Ran remembered the gossip about "Mrs. Hijikata suspected of cheating with Okita," realized she'd asked a bad question, smiled apologetically, and said nothing more.
The group quietly entered the elevator.
Silence filled the apartment. Green always gave a peaceful feeling.
Hijikata Kozaburo tried to keep quiet but couldn't help himself.
He blocked the elevator buttons with his body, pressed the button, then turned around and handed out business cards.
Jiangxia wasn't just there for show—this was part of a carefully planned method, and all preparations had to be done properly.
He glanced at the electronic screen showing the floor numbers while Hijikata Kozaburo lowered his head.
The screen was about the size of two palms, with a black background and three horizontal bars, four vertical bars, and seven segments that could display numbers from 0 to 9.
At that moment, the vertical bar on the lower left corner was blacked out by Hijikata Kosaburo with a black pen, blending into the background.
This trick made the number "6" appear as a "5" to the human eye.
Hijikata Kosaburo was rich—the two apartments on the sixth floor belonged to him.
501 was his.
502, surrounded by three houses, was the home of Okita.
Hijikata Kosaburo's murder plan involved his three apartments.
He had already decorated 601 and 501 exactly the same.
When he got into the elevator just now, Hijikata Kozaburo pressed the button for the sixth floor.
But he had rigged the elevator and the apartment numbers to make Jiangxia and the others think they were going to 501.
After confusing his guests, Hijikata Kozaburo planned to strangle his wife to death and use a timer device to make her fall backward onto the balcony of 602 at a specific time.
Then, by calculating the time her body fell, and inviting Jiangxia to watch the scenery, the guests would witness the body falling.
To the bewildered guests, the next-door apartment wouldn't be 602 (Hijikata Kozaburo's), but 502, where Okita lived.
Under their watchful eyes, the body would seem to have fallen from inside Okita's apartment.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 22/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*