The next morning, inside the school classroom.
Lin Yi observed Ran; it was obvious she had been distracted all morning.
An entire class passed, and she hadn't turned a single page of her textbook.
Although she was looking at the blackboard, her mind was clearly miles away.
After class, Sonoko poked Ran's back as usual, initiating a chat.
But when Ran didn't respond at all, Sonoko let out an "Eh?" and immediately realized something had happened to Ran.
Immediately, she turned her head to look at Lin Yi, questioning him with her eyes: "Did you, you bad guy, do something again to upset Ran?"
Lin Yi shook his head helplessly, indicating it wasn't his fault.
Then he took out his phone and started texting Sonoko.
Not long after Sonoko pulled out her phone, she received Lin Yi's message and learned the whole story of why Ran was so distracted.
Holding her phone, she began typing with a series of beeps: [Didn't you go with Ran that day to keep an eye on Uncle Mouri? How did something still happen to him?]
Lin Yi replied: [I was watching, but I couldn't watch forever, could I? Besides, who knows when they'd finish drinking. If it were you, you wouldn't have kept watching either.]
[That's true... You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against one for a thousand days. Sigh, no wonder Ran was so listless when she greeted me. I thought she just hadn't slept well yesterday.]
She really hadn't slept well last night; she was too busy beating someone up.
Lin Yi muttered to himself.
Sonoko's text continued to arrive: "You don't know, Ran has always been dedicated to reconciling her parents, and has made a lot of effort for it... but it all failed. Uncle Mouri is just a piece of mud that can't be plastered onto a wall."
[... ]
To spare Ran's feelings, the two of them didn't talk directly, but chatted via their phones to exchange information.
By noon, the three of them gathered together to eat again.
Family matters are the hardest things to deal with in the world.
As the old saying goes, every family has its own difficult scripture to recite.
Even if you propose the best solution, you are a bystander and cannot know the inner feelings of those involved.
Therefore, this "best solution" is only the best solution from a bystander's perspective.
For the people involved, it might not be the best solution.
Words of comfort aren't very effective and are of no help.
It's better to remain silent, not bring up their family affairs, and let the people involved think it through themselves.
Unless they take the initiative to bring it up and vent to you, don't ask.
Sonoko opened the conversation as usual, talking about which side had a new store open, where there were big discounts, which store launched new products, and so on.
In the past, Ran would pick up these topics, and occasionally Lin Yi would chime in, passing the lunch break with back-and-forth chatter.
But today, Ran was not in the right state of mind, so the job of keeping the conversation going fell to Lin Yi.
"This afternoon, the supermarket near the school has potato chips for half price!!"
"Then let's go buy some together this afternoon... We can buy four bags for the price of two. What a bargain."
"Chanel just released a new lipstick; it's a 'man-killer' shade."
"Killing me? Is it that terrifying? It sounds ominous just by the name; let's pick another one."
"..."
The two of them chatted back and forth, and occasionally Ran would chime in.
Unknowingly, the roles of Lin Yi and Ran had been swapped.
They finally made it to the end of the school day.
Sonoko invited Ran to go shopping as usual.
Ran shook her head: "Sorry, Sonoko. I'm not in the mood to go shopping today; I just want to go home now. Maybe next time?"
Lin Yi gave Sonoko a look, and Sonoko nodded slightly, saying: "By the way, I haven't seen Uncle Mouri in a long time. I'll head over to your place later today."
Ran didn't say anything, but agreed.
After arriving at the Mouri Detective Agency, they opened the door to the office on the second floor.
As soon as Ran, Sonoko, and Lin Yi entered, they saw a bandaged man sitting in the work chair.
This gave all three of them quite a scare.
"Oh! Sonoko, long time no see... You're as beautiful as ever."
The bandaged man greeted Sonoko.
Hearing that familiar voice, Sonoko's eyes widened, then she walked over and said: "Uncle Mouri? You... how did you end up like this? Could it be... you were retaliated against?"
"Retaliated against? How is that possible!" Kogoro Mouri said smugly: "Do you think I practiced judo for nothing? If the criminal dared to get close to me, I would definitely make him unable to get up off the ground!"
"Then how did you get those injuries?" Sonoko asked curiously.
Kogoro Mouri also looked depressed: "This... I don't know either. I was actually thinking of asking Lin Yi! I went to the bar with you last night, so how did I end up like this?"
"When I woke up this morning, I felt uncomfortable all over, so I went to the hospital to get it checked. The doctor said I had bruises in many places... and even asked if I had been beaten up by a gang."
"Beaten up by a gang?"
Lin Yi looked at Ran with a "puzzled" expression: "I remember... last night, I put you back in your room, Uncle, completely unharmed. Ran saw it, right, Ran?"
"Yes."
Ran's absent-minded state vanished instantly, and she said sternly: "That's because you got up last night and fell while going down the stairs yourself! After I heard the noise, I quickly left my room and helped you back to your room."
Kogoro Mouri was still puzzled: "This... that's not right. Even if I rolled down the stairs, it's impossible to end up like this. There are too many bruises on my body..."
Ran said: "Because you didn't just fall once, but three times! You fell a full three times! You kept me up all night!"
Kogoro Mouri was stunned: "Three times? No way? Why would I fall three times?"
"You're asking me, how would I know..." Ran huffed: "I only heard you shouting 'Yumi, Yumi'... You better honestly confess! Who is Yumi!!"
Kogoro Mouri's heart skipped a beat, and he laughed it off: "Ah... who is Yumi? I don't know either... Maybe it was a client from before. Let's not talk about this, Ran. Hurry and have Sonoko and Lin Yi sit down, and pour them some tea!"
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