Nine o'clock that evening. Downstairs at the Mouri Detective Agency.
Kogorō Mouri, hands in the pockets of his navy blue coat, walked briskly upstairs, thinking smugly, They don't finish until 9:30. I'll be home by nine. Ran definitely won't know I was out. Hahaha.
He strolled up to the third floor, the clinking of his keys clearly echoing in the quiet hallway. With a click, he opened the door. The room was dark, which reassured him—he was sure no one was home.
He changed into slippers in the entryway and slowly walked toward the living room. His hand groped along the wall, touching a cold light switch, which he pressed firmly.
A click sounded. White light instantly filled the living room. Kogorō, still sporting a bright smile, froze as his gaze swept over the tatami mats. He jumped half a foot in the air, his hands instinctively raised to his chest, his voice trembling. "You—you're back?"
Three people sat side by side on the tatami mats: Ran, Kurosawa Hoshino, and Conan.
"Dad." Ran said expressionlessly, "When exactly did you leave? Or did you leave as soon as we left?"
Kogorō's heart skipped a beat. His mind raced, but he deliberately changed the subject. "Ran, isn't your cooking class supposed to end at 9:30? Why are you back so early? Did your teacher dislike you?"
"Dad!" Ran's tone suddenly rose. She slammed her hand on the low table in front of her, looking like she was about to hit him. "Don't try to change the subject. Tell me honestly—when exactly did you leave? Did you slip away as soon as we left?"
Kogorō's eyes darted around, and he said softly, "I left at eight—" He wanted to say "eight o'clock," but as soon as he caught a glimpse of Ran's suddenly cold eyes, he immediately changed his words, clasped his hands together in front of him, and adopted a pleading posture. "Okay, okay, I admit it. I went out shortly after you left. But I really didn't do anything wrong. I just went to that izakaya at the street corner, had some beer, and ordered a plate of edamame. That's all. I just chatted with the people there. You can ask the izakaya owner if you don't believe me."
Ran stared at her father for a few seconds, seeing his sincere (but actually guilty) expression, and finally frowned and sighed. "Dad, there have been a lot of cases in Beika Town lately. You shouldn't go out at night. It's too dangerous. See, you say it's dangerous when I go out, but isn't it dangerous when you go out?"
Kurosawa stood up and smoothed things over at the right time. "Ran, now that Uncle Mouri is back, I should take Conan back to rest."
"Okay." Ran nodded, then remembered something and reminded him, "Hoshino, you have to go to school tomorrow, so don't sleep in. Remember to set an alarm."
"Going to school? I know." Kurosawa suddenly realized that if Ran hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have known it was school again tomorrow.
While the two were talking, Kogorō quietly slipped back to his room.
The next morning.
A ray of pale golden sunlight pierced through the curtains, casting a thin band of light on Kurosawa's bedside table. Before the sunlight could fully illuminate the bed, the alarm clock rang precisely on time—sharp but not jarring, just enough to wake him from a light sleep.
Kurosawa's eyelids twitched, and he reached out to stop the alarm. Then he got out of bed, went to the window, drew back the curtains, and opened the window. The morning breeze, carrying the aroma of coffee wafting from the coffee shop across the street, gently ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead.
"Hoshino, good morning." A familiar voice came from the third floor across the street. Kurosawa looked up and saw Ran leaning against the windowsill, still wearing a light pink nightgown, her long hair loosely draped over her shoulders, and a soft, sleepy smile on her face.
"Ran, good morning." Kurosawa smiled back, waving the school uniform jacket in his hand. "I'll go wash up first. I'll be there in a bit."
With that, he left the room and quickly washed up in the bathroom. Then he went back to his bedroom, changed into his blue Teitan High School uniform, grabbed his schoolbag, and left home with Conan, who was also ready.
When they arrived at the Mouri Detective Agency's third-floor living room, they met Ran, who had just changed out of her room.
"Hoshino, Conan, please have a seat. I'll prepare breakfast."
"Thank you for your trouble." Kurosawa sat down on the tatami mat, picked up the remote control from the low table, and turned on the television opposite him.
A few minutes later, footsteps sounded at the door, and Sonoko walked in with a schoolbag, smiling. "Hoshino, good morning." Sonoko tossed her schoolbag onto the tatami mat and sat down next to Kurosawa, nudging him lightly with her elbow. "It's rare to see you oversleep today. I thought you'd forgotten you had school again and Ran would have to wake you."
Kurosawa's expression remained unchanged as he calmly replied, "I'm not the same person I used to be. I used to forget the time all the time, but I'm much better now."
"Really? That's great! You won't have to ask what time it is tomorrow anymore!" Sonoko's eyes lit up, her voice filled with surprise and a hint of joy for him.
Just then, a soft chuckle came from the kitchen. Ran leaned out and said to her best friend, "Sonoko, don't believe Hoshino. I reminded him last night that he had school today and told him to set his alarm. Otherwise, you could have come with me to wake him up again."
Kurosawa smiled and shrugged helplessly. He hadn't expected his lie to be exposed by Ran before it had even lasted ten seconds.
Sonoko was startled, then her eyes widened immediately after she realized what was happening. She gently patted Kurosawa's arm. "Oh, you! You lied to me again. I thought you were really better."
Conan, sitting next to her, secretly rolled his eyes, silently thinking, You're just too gullible. You believe everything he says without even questioning him.
"Oh, right." Sonoko grabbed her bag, rummaged through it for a while, and pulled out two notebooks. She shouted toward the kitchen, "Ran, I finished the script. Take a look after you've made breakfast. I'll revise it if anything's not right."
"Really? I'll be right there." Ran's voice from the kitchen was filled with joy and curiosity.
Kurosawa took one of the notebooks, looked at the title, and slowly read it aloud: A Chaotic Romance.
"The title's nice, isn't it?"
"It looks interesting, but I wonder what the content is like."
"Don't worry, it's still early. If anything's not right, I can revise it." Sonoko was quite confident.