"Exactly," Reiko also nodded vigorously in agreement, "Sister Eri usually has a stern face, as if everyone owes her money, so why is she in such a good mood today? Could it be..."
As she spoke, the little cousin suddenly remembered Hayashi Shuichi's previous injury and immediately linked the two.
"Onii-chan, did you fight at school today for Sister Eri?"
"Hmm?"
The other three were all stunned. After looking at each other for a while, Hayashi Shuichi and Kisaki Eri exchanged glances, already understanding that the girl had misunderstood.
Mouri Kogoro, however, didn't know the details of Hayashi Shuichi's injury and was still completely confused, unable to make sense of it: "What..."
Seeing that he was about to let slip, Hayashi Shuichi hurriedly interrupted: "Alright, Kogoro, no need to keep it a secret anymore. Reiko already knows that my clothes were torn in a fight."
"Your what..." Mouri Kogoro's eyes widened, still not reacting.
Kisaki Eri helplessly glanced at Hayashi Shuichi, bit her lip slightly, hesitated for a moment, but still decided to help him cover up the lie.
She put on an angry expression: "At this point, Kogoro, stop pretending! Do you still want to push the blame on me?"
Hayashi Shuichi added: "If you hadn't gotten into an argument with someone at school, I wouldn't have been dragged into it and ended up fighting with a dozen people."
Mouri Kogoro looked at Hayashi Shuichi, then at Kisaki Eri. Although he still didn't understand why they were lying, he already knew that he was going to take the blame today!
"...Yes," Mouri Kogoro said through gritted teeth, "It's all my fault, I insisted on arguing with someone!"
"Kogoro-niisan, you caused trouble again!" Reiko put her hands on her hips, her small face flushed red, and her mouth started lecturing like a machine gun, "How many times has Onii-chan helped you fight? Can't you just study hard at school and stop causing trouble..."
Mouri Kogoro skillfully lowered his head and hunched his shoulders, just like he would deal with a school teacher, obediently listening to Reiko's scolding, occasionally nodding his head, with a look of admission of guilt on his face.
"Alright, Reiko," Hayashi Shuichi hurriedly stopped his sister, "This matter today can't all be blamed on Kogoro, it was those students who started it."
"No matter what, you can't fight," Reiko snorted, "By the way, where's that foreign female teacher? Why did she drive you back?"
Foreign female teacher?
Kisaki Eri and Mouri Kogoro's gazes, like two sharp beams of light, all focused on Hayashi Shuichi's face.
Where did this foreign woman come from? You didn't mention her just now! Kisaki Eri glared.
Wasn't he going to drop off Yukiko? Brother, where did you meet another foreign girl? Mouri Kogoro's face was full of envy.
"That foreign teacher just came to school to teach oral English," Hayashi Shuichi avoided their gazes and bravely explained, "When I was coming back, she saw my shirt was torn, so she lent me a shirt and drove me back."
"Then you should have said so earlier," Reiko patted her small chest in relief, "I thought this fight was too serious and the teacher was going to visit our home."
"How is that possible?" Hayashi Shuichi hurriedly waved his hand, "Both sides were at fault in this matter. The school's reprimand will be the end of it."
...
After dinner, dusk slowly settled in.
Reiko returned to the second floor to do her homework. Hayashi Shuichi put away the dishes and was about to open for business when he saw Kisaki Eri and Mouri Kogoro blocking the counter. The former's eyes were filled with suspicion and scrutiny, while the latter's face was full of curiosity, both waiting for him to explain.
"That foreign woman is Ms. Sharon, whom we met at the movie event at Beika City Hall before," Hayashi Shuichi said, "When I dropped off Yukiko today, she was also invited by the crew to make a cameo appearance. Later, when we left, Yukiko's friend's car broke down, and I was in a hurry to get back, so I hitched a ride with Ms. Sharon."
"You said you encountered a landslide and were buried earlier," Kisaki Eri frowned, "Was it with this Ms. Sharon?"
As soon as Hayashi Shuichi nodded, Mouri Kogoro next to him immediately widened his eyes, his mouth wide open, and exclaimed in surprise: "What did you say? Shuichi, you were buried in a landslide?"
"Yes," Hayashi Shuichi reluctantly replied, "That's why I wronged you just now! If Reiko knew that I skipped school to drop off Yukiko and almost lost my life, Reiko would definitely tell her mom. By then, I would definitely have to move out of here and be taken home by Aunt."
"You should have said so earlier." Mouri Kogoro patted his chest, a hearty smile on his face, and said casually, "We're brothers, what's a little blame?"
Kisaki Eri was focused on another issue.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of sharpness in her gaze: "Nothing happened between you and Ms. Sharon when you were buried in the landslide, right?"
It was no wonder she was suspicious. Kisaki Eri and Hayashi Shuichi had grown up together, and she knew he was never good at handling emotions, and had never made any bold moves before.
But today, he suddenly wet-kissed her and fed her water mouth-to-mouth. At the time, she was dazed by the kiss and didn't notice anything wrong.
But now, the more she thought about it, the more something felt off!
She heard that foreign women were very open, kissing and sleeping together not long after meeting. Could Shuichi have learned these fancy tricks from Sharon?
The more Kisaki Eri thought about it, the more suspicious she became, and her gaze towards Hayashi Shuichi grew colder.
"What else could have happened?" Hayashi Shuichi's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm and he said steadily, "We were buried in the car for over two hours, and almost suffocated from lack of oxygen. At the time, all we could think about was whether we would survive, so how could we have time to do anything else?"
That actually makes a lot of sense...
Kisaki Eri nodded, still with a hint of suspicion in her eyes, but she couldn't find a loophole to pursue for the time being.
"That Ms. Sharon is a standard blonde beauty, and her figure is exceptionally good," Mouri Kogoro said enviously, "To be trapped in a cramped car with such a beautiful woman for over two hours, Shuichi, you truly have good luck with women."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Hayashi Shuichi secretly glanced at Kisaki Eri, "I was injured at the time, so I didn't care who was next to me. Even if it was a big black gorilla, I would have stayed..."
"Wait a minute," Kisaki Eri's heart stirred, and she suddenly interrupted, "When you rode in that big star's car, were you in the passenger seat?"
Damn it...
Hayashi Shuichi also reacted, but since it had come to this, he could only nod.
"If you were in the passenger seat, how did you hurt your back?" Kisaki Eri angrily pressed, "Could it be a hero saving the beauty, to save the blonde beauty, you even risked your life?"
Since this couldn't be hidden anyway, Hayashi Shuichi could only nod and admit it.
"I really didn't think much at the time. When I saw the landslide, I subconsciously helped her block it..."
(End of this chapter)
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