Conan: Ran turns into an elementary school student and calls me dad.

Chapter 34 Secrets Make Women More Feminine

"Yes, I'll be careful," Judy said, her teasing smile fading. "By the way, boss, should we go check on Teitan Elementary School now? Miss Ran should be getting out of class soon."

"Let's rest for a while." Lin Xiu stretched and rubbed her throbbing temples. "Today was really tiring. High school girls these days are so enthusiastic, one wave after another. I didn't even have time to drink some water."

"Boss, weren't you just as popular back in high school?"

Judy raised an eyebrow and laughed with a hint of sarcasm.

"Didn't you say that the girls who were pursuing you could line up from the classroom to the school gate? Now you're actually not used to that kind of enthusiasm?"

"High school girls twenty years ago were much more conservative than they are now."

Lin Xiuyi stood up, walked to the corner and turned on the TV in the counseling room, casually replying as she spoke.

"These high school girls nowadays are too..."

Before he could finish speaking, his voice abruptly stopped, and he froze on the spot, his eyes fixed on the television screen, his expression turning serious.

Judy, standing to the side, also lost her smile instantly, her expression turning gloomy as she stared intently at the television.

What caused such a strong reaction from both of them was an entertainment news story playing on television.

In the news footage, a woman in a red dress stands on the red carpet, her makeup exquisite, her beauty captivating, and her aura cool and mysterious. She is none other than Chris Vineyard, a famous American star.

"It is reported that American superstar Chris Vineyard will arrive in Japan in ten days to collaborate with a renowned director on a new film. This will be Chris's first time working in Japan..."

The news anchor's voice slowly drifted in, and clips of Chris's interview were playing on the screen.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar beautiful face on the television screen, Lin Xiuyi's thoughts drifted back to many years ago, recalling the time he spent with Sharon Vineyard, also known as Vermouth.

He suspected that Vermouth's body shrinking was a way of getting revenge on him.

But Xiaolan also said that she had never seen any strange foreign women before her health problems appeared.

Of course, it's also possible that Vermouth disguised herself as someone else and secretly approached Ran.

After all, her nickname is "The Ever-Changing Witch," and her disguise skills are superb; it's not difficult for her to impersonate anyone.

Seeing this news now, Lin Xiuyi couldn't help but doubt her previous guesses.

Ran's body suddenly shrank a week ago. According to news reports, Chris should have been in the United States at that time, and had no time to come to Japan to do something to Ran.

Could it be that Vermouth wasn't the one who made Ran shrink?

Who could it be?

Is it someone else from the Black Organization, or is there something else going on?

A series of questions swirled in Lin Xiuyi's mind, causing him to furrow his brows and fall into deep thought.

Judy, standing to the side, looked somewhat confused.

She recalled what Chris Vineyard had said at her mother's memorial service: "Secrets make women more feminine..."

That sentence bore a striking resemblance to the words left by the murderer who killed her father, leading Judy to suspect that Chris was the murderer.

Ultimately, however, Chris's age didn't match the age of the woman from back then, Vermouth.

Judy then abandoned that guess and turned her suspicious gaze to Chris's mother, Sharon Vineyard.

Sharon Vineyard passed away in an accident a few years ago.

Although the FBI has always suspected that Sharon faked her death, because she was cremated after her death, they were unable to investigate her body and therefore could not find any evidence to prove that she was still alive. As a result, the suspicion that Sharon faked her death could only remain speculation and could not be completely confirmed.

Judy disguised herself as a secretary and infiltrated Lin Xiuyi's circle in order to use Lin Xiuyi's identity to see if Sharon would come looking for her "old lover" if she really faked her death.

But to her utter surprise, Sharon, the mother, had not yet shown up, but instead her daughter, Chris Vineyard, had rushed to Japan.

Could it be that the rumor the FBI uncovered during their investigation back then was true?

Judy couldn't help but turn to look at Lin Xiuyi beside her. After noticing that the boss's expression as he stared at Chris was somewhat strange, she became even more certain of her guess.

It turns out that when the FBI was investigating Sharon Vineyard, they also investigated the reason for her breakup with Hideaki Lin.

One particularly outrageous rumor claims that Lin Xiuyi had an affair with Sharon's daughter, Chris, which enraged Sharon, the mother, leading to a fierce conflict and ultimately their breakup.

The FBI didn't take the rumor too seriously at first, since the "mother-daughter donburi" thing was just too absurd and outrageous to believe.

But looking at her boss's reaction now, Judy couldn't help but wonder: Could the rumors from back then be true?

Boss really did have entanglements with both Sharon and her daughter back then, managing to have his way with both of them.

Once the idea took hold, it grew wildly in Judy's mind like a vine.

This made her look at Lin Xiuyi with shock, disbelief, and a hint of inexplicable contempt.

The news about Chris Vineyard on TV ended quickly, and the screen switched to other content.

Lin Xiuyi slowly came to his senses, turned to look at Judy beside him, and found her staring at him thoughtfully with wide eyes. He couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"N-nothing..."

Judy quickly looked away, pursed her lips, and in her mind, she lowered her expectations of this boss even further.

She gave a perfunctory smile and quickly changed the subject.

"It's nothing, I just think this Chris Vineyard is quite pretty, I didn't expect her to come to Japan to develop her career."

Lin Xiuyi didn't notice the perfunctory tone in her voice, and simply nodded, her eyes still showing a hint of seriousness.

Chris's sudden trip to Japan—was it for filming, or did she have another purpose?

No matter what, he had to be vigilant and protect Ran and Sonoko, making sure they didn't get hurt in any way.

Silence fell over the counseling room. A subtle atmosphere filled the air. The two were lost in their own thoughts and neither spoke. Only the sound of the news broadcast from the television echoed in the room.

……

At Teitan Elementary School, the first-grade B class students split into boys and girls and headed to the changing room to change into their sportswear because their next class was physical education.

Ran was naturally with Ayumi, and the two walked side by side down the corridor.

Just as they turned the corner, Ayumi suddenly tugged at Ran's arm and pointed to the school building not far away.

"Xiaolan, isn't that... isn't that your dad?"