The Gods Are Fighting Over Me - Chapter 35

This was the blandest meal Kenji Hagiwara had ever eaten.

Jinpei Matsuda picked up his bowl and chopsticks and unashamedly moved from his side to the other, sitting right next to Lin Jianyue.

This guy had no intention of hiding anything. He pointed at the people in the photo album and spilled all of Kenji Hagiwara’s embarrassing stories from back in the day.

This included, but was not limited to, the time when Kenji Hagiwara was surrounded by delinquents outside of school, but instead of fists, they handed him love letters. The moment he opened his shoe locker, love letters cascaded out like a waterfall.

On White Day, to repay the chocolate that the girls had given him, Kenji Hagiwara had to get a two-month allowance advance from his parents, which meant he had to shamelessly beg his sister or Matsuda for money for the next two months.

“You have no idea. Hagi’s favorite racing game just came out that month, and he practically hung on Chigusa-san’s leg, begging her to buy it for him.”

Matsuda’s memory was surprisingly good. He pointed out everyone who had confessed to Hagiwara, one by one, as if he were calling out names on a list.

Lin Jianyue was engrossed, occasionally glancing at Hagiwara from the cluster of gossip. When she got excited, she would even raise an eyebrow at him, her teasing look making Kenji Hagiwara’s scalp tingle.

Perhaps because Jinpei Matsuda himself had confirmed that he “didn’t have a ‘one that got away,'” Lin Jianyue didn’t show any signs of jealousy at all. Instead, she was thrilled. When she got really into it, she would even interrupt Jinpei Matsuda and ask him to wait a moment.

Then, in front of both of them, she would take out her tablet and start jotting down quick notes in her notepad.

“This part is good. I can add it to the manga,” Lin Jianyue said seriously.

Jinpei Matsuda smiled and raised an eyebrow. “If you’re going to put it in the manga, I know an even more dramatic rumor. When Hagi was in high school.”

Kenji Hagiwara couldn’t take it anymore. He slammed his cup down with a bang and propped his hand on the table, as if to say, “Give me a break.”But before he could finish, a sharp scream suddenly pierced through the lively noise of the izakaya.

Hagiwara and Matsuda were both stunned. They immediately got up and ran outside.

Lin Jianyue, on the other hand, was used to this. She nonchalantly took out a manga to read and picked up a snack from the plate to eat, showing no signs of getting up.

A few minutes later, Conan appeared at the door of the private section with his hands in his pockets. When he saw Lin Jianyue, he had a look of understanding, as if he had already expected her to be there. He just asked if she “noticed anything unusual” and then left.

The police officer in charge of this homicide was Inspector Megure.

Thankfully, Wataru Date was still alive, which allowed the overworked Inspector Megure to catch his breath and not be called out by a homicide phone call the moment he stepped into the police department, unlike in the original story.

In the main hall, Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda, for a change, didn’t interfere with the deduction.

After confirming that Conan was capable of handling the entire case on his own, the two of them leaned against the wall and watched Conan’s every move with great interest.

When they saw Conan grab a forensics officer and say in a disguised voice, “Inspector Megure wants you to send the earring you just found for examination,” Jinpei Matsuda raised an eyebrow, his tone filled with surprise. “He just bosses the police around like that?”

Hagiwara laughed and shrugged. “He’s done even crazier things. He used Officer Mouri’s voice to call out Inspector Megure and then used Inspector Megure’s identity to call out Officer Mouri, tricking both of them.”

He had seen this when he was staying at Lin Jianyue’s place a few days ago. He had flipped through her manga when she was busy drawing and had no time to pay attention to him.

The two of them looked at each other and saw the same approval in each other’s eyes.

If this kid went to the police academy, he would definitely push the rules to a new, almost strict level.

Then no one would point at their backs and say to the recruits, ‘See that guy? He’s the one to blame for why your instructors treated you like criminals at the police academy.’

Edogawa Conan will take their place and become a new rising star that the recruits will resent.

Half an hour passed, but the case’s deduction was still moving slowly.

Inspector Megure wasn’t good at deduction to begin with, and Kogoro Mouri was more like he was there to eliminate the wrong answers.

Seeing that Inspector Megure was about to let the suspects go, Matsuda looked around and didn’t see Conan. He frowned in worry.

He put down his arms that were crossed over his chest, and was about to walk over.

“Wait,” Kenji Hagiwara grabbed Jinpei Matsuda and motioned toward the corner. “The little detective is back.”

In his peripheral vision, Edogawa Conan quickly fiddled with his voice-changer.

The next second, Kogoro Mouri’s voice suddenly rang out. “Wait a minute, they can’t leave.”

Inspector Megure turned around in shock and confusion to look at Kogoro Mouri, who pointed at himself with an even more shocked expression.

Just then, Edogawa Conan rushed out of the corner and aimed his wristwatch at Kogoro Mouri.

The anesthetic dart shot out from the secret compartment. Kenji Hagiwara narrowed his eyes, catching a glimmer of cold light.

Wataru Takagi, who was bending over to help the forensics officer move a box, suddenly tripped, and the floor lamp next to his foot fell to the ground with a clang.

The shiny metal lampshade slowly tilted, perfectly blocking the path of the anesthetic dart and reflecting Conan’s wide, panicked eyes.

The silver dart hit the lampshade and, like a refracted beam of light, flew directly toward Lin Jianyue, who had just walked out of the private section.

Kenji Hagiwara’s eyes widened in disbelief. He only had time to utter one syllable before the cold, glimmering silver dart embedded itself in Lin Jianyue’s neck.

A faint, dull pain, like a mosquito bite, came from her neck. Lin Jianyue subconsciously covered her neck, meeting Kenji Hagiwara’s panicked and uneasy eyes.

She blinked blankly. Just as she was about to say his name, her body went limp, and she fell.

“Jianyue!”

Kenji Hagiwara’s arms caught her before she could hit the floor. He knelt and held her firmly, cradling her in his arms in an almost bridal-carry position.

Despite this, Lin Jianyue’s left hand still hit the floor with a dull thud, and the last few knuckles of her fingers instantly turned red.

“Jinpei, my jacket!” Kenji Hagiwara adjusted his posture so Lin Jianyue could lie more comfortably in his arms.

Matsuda understood after a brief pause. He grabbed his jacket and spread it over Lin Jianyue’s legs, covering the parts that might have been exposed due to her semi-lying position.

After all of that, Kenji Hagiwara slowly looked up at Edogawa Conan. The shallow, polite smile was still on his lips, but his eyes were so deep that Conan subconsciously took half a step back.

Wataru Takagi had already finished moving the things and ran over in a flustered way. “Is Miss Lin okay? Why did she suddenly faint… Was it because I hit the lamp?”

Although he didn’t understand the situation, he had already taken the blame on himself.

“Her bl00d sugar dropped. She’s fine.”

Kenji Hagiwara smiled and gently picked up Lin Jianyue. “I’ll leave this to you, Jinpei.”

With that, he carried her back to the room.

“Tsk.” Jinpei Matsuda put one hand in his pocket and irritably ruffled his curly hair. He let out a cold snort from his throat.

His gaze was heavy as he looked at the middle-aged man with glasses, one of the three suspects. Every step he took was like it was landing on the other’s heart, forcing the man to retreat again and again.

When he walked past Edogawa Conan, Jinpei Matsuda casually ruffled his hair and then stopped in front of the middle-aged man. “Are you going to confess, or am I going to throw the evidence in your face, and then you’ll confess?”

The deduction went unusually smoothly.

It only took Matsuda five minutes to make the suspect’s legs tremble and get him to kneel on the ground, crying and repeatedly saying the same line every murderer says when they confess: “It’s all my fault. I was wrong.”

Lin Jianyue still wasn’t awake. She was sitting obediently on Hagiwara’s lap, her head resting on his shoulder, her breathing even.

Kenji Hagiwara held the person in his arms and kept checking her breathing and pulse.

Lin Jianyue had told him that Conan’s anesthetic dart was set to be 100% safe, with no side effects, and that he didn’t have to worry about the dosage.

But the moment Lin Jianyue went limp and fell, anger still leaked out through the cracks of his emotional shell.

Kenji Hagiwara lowered his eyes to look at the sleeping face of the person in his arms.

Luckily, she can’t see this.

He just has to always be in a good mood in front of Lin Jianyue.

“Um…” A young boy’s voice sounded from behind the screen.

Kenji Hagiwara looked up and saw Conan poking his head out from behind the screen, his hands behind his back, looking a little flustered.

Two voices spoke at the same time.

“I’m sorry.”

Kenji Hagiwara and Edogawa Conan said in unison, and then they were both stunned.

Kenji Hagiwara stared at Edogawa Conan and was the first to give a gentle smile. He looked at the sleeping woman in his arms, smoothed the strands of hair by her ear, and then looked at Conan again. “I’m sorry. I let some bad emotions out on you just now.”

Conan smiled and shook his head. “It was my fault first. I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble.”

“It’s okay,” Kenji Hagiwara smiled.

“Conan, it’s time to go back,” Officer Mouri’s impatient voice came from outside.

“I know! I’m coming!” Conan replied to the outside and bowed to Kenji Hagiwara. He walked a few steps out but was stopped by a human wall that suddenly appeared.

Jinpei Matsuda had one hand in his pocket and his other hand on the screen, completely blocking the only exit to the main hall.

He grabbed the back of Conan’s collar, lifted him, and carried him back to the private section.

“Conan—” The urging from outside continued.

Matsuda yelled back without turning his head. “I’ve temporarily detained him. I’ll send him back to the Mouri Detective Agency later.”

Kogoro Mouri, who was outside, didn’t know what had happened, but after hearing Jinpei Matsuda’s voice, he instantly went quiet, followed by the rustling footsteps of the crowd leaving.

Jinpei Matsuda carried Conan and sat down across from Kenji Hagiwara. He tapped the table twice with his fingertips and stared at Conan. “Call the inventor of the anesthetic dart.”

Conan obediently took out his phone and called Professor Agasa. After a few beeps, the other person picked up.

“Professor Agasa, Officer Matsuda needs to talk to you.” Conan turned on the speakerphone and tentatively looked at Jinpei Matsuda.

Jinpei Matsuda crossed his arms and motioned with his chin toward Conan. “Tell him to send me the complete, unreserved formula for the anesthetic dart.”

“How can I do that! Shin—” The person on the other end of the phone suddenly raised his voice. He stopped abruptly when he was about to say the keyword and then changed his tone. “Conan, you know my research is top secret! I absolutely will not—”

“If you won’t, I’ll call the Public Security Bureau,” Jinpei Matsuda said, not bothering with any more nonsense. He took out his phone, pretending to make a call. “I feel like you could be locked up for many years.”

“Wait a minute!” Professor Agasa’s voice was filled with panic.

“Hello,” Matsuda had already dialed his friend’s number. “He’s not willing to cooperate. Just bring some people over.”

 I didn’t do anything illegal! What you’re doing is wrong.

“Professor Agasa,” Edogawa Conan whispered, cupping his hand over his mouth. “Your invention is already on the verge of being illegal in some ways.”

Matsuda ignored Professor Agasa’s wailing and started to give the coordinates. “The suspect is Professor Agasa. You can go to his address directly. If you’re afraid he’ll run away, you can freeze all of his bank accounts.”

“No! Absolutely not! Oh, what should I do, Shinichi!”

The words that Professor Agasa blurted out felt like an electric current running through Conan’s scalp. He fumbled to cover the speaker and started to act dumb under Kenji Hagiwara’s interested gaze. “P-Professor Agasa, why are you—”

He scratched the back of his head and let out a series of silly laughs. “Ahahaha, big brother Shinichi isn’t here, so even if you look for him…”

Kenji Hagiwara was smiling with his chin propped up, looking like he was enjoying the show. When he met the pale face of Edogawa Conan, he curled his lips, and his smile grew wider.

“Oh! I’ll give it to you! I’ll give it to you!!” Professor Agasa’s desperate cry came from the other end of the phone.

Edogawa Conan leaned his head back, his face completely drained of color. It was as if his soul was floating out of his wide-open mouth.

Half a minute later, the complete research formula for the anesthetic dart was in Jinpei Matsuda’s inbox, and he immediately forwarded it to Rei Furuya.

Conan sat obediently in his seat, his head down, sweat pouring down his forehead. He slowly raised his right hand, like a well-behaved student raising his hand to speak in class. “C-can I go now, please?”

“No. You can’t leave until we get the results back.”

After saying this, Jinpei Matsuda raised his eyelids and lazily looked at Edogawa Conan, his gaze filled with a mixture of admiration and teasing. Then, he said word for word, “Shinichi Kudo.”

Conan tensed up as if he had been struck by an electric current. He immediately went back to acting dumb. “What are you talking about, Officer Matsuda? How could I be big brother Shinichi?”

“Heh,” Jinpei Matsuda chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Conan. “Although Jianyue said that if I just threaten to ‘tell Ran,’ you’ll happily admit it. But I have a more effective way than telling Ran.”

He curled his lips. The bright light in his eyes, which seemed bright to Conan, gave off a chilling feeling that made his scalp tingle. “Do you believe me if I take you to the police department for a fingerprint and DNA test right now?”

Kenji Hagiwara smiled and added, “We could also do a handwriting analysis. After all, only your body shrank. Your handwriting didn’t go back ten years with it.”

Edogawa Conan’s eyes darted back and forth between their faces in shock. His voice was stuck, but his mind didn’t stop. A few seconds later, he asked with a tone of certainty, “When did you guys find out that I shrank?”

“The day you shrank.”

Jinpei Matsuda picked up the unfinished beer on the table, took a big gulp, and didn’t explain any further. Hagiwara also lowered his eyelids, hiding the complex emotions swirling in his eyes.

There are many genres of mystery stories.

Those that focus on logical deduction and puzzle-solving are called the classic detective genre ①. Agatha Christie is a representative figure of this genre.

Stories that mainly analyze the motive of the crime and use it to critique a certain social phenomenon, while rejecting the appearance of a great detective ②, are called the social detective genre. For example, Keigo Higashino.

Stories that incorporate morbid or bizarre elements but are still centered on solving the puzzle and focus on logic are called the bizarre detective genre.

In addition to these, there are also the new classic and hardboiled detective genres.

The commandments of mystery novels have always been changing, from the 10 rules in 1928 to the 20 rules, and now the 7 commandments. The core has always been the word “logic.”

Ever since Kenji Hagiwara found out that the world he was living in was a long-running mystery manga, he had always assumed that he was a police officer who died early in a classic mystery manga and that the protagonist had to be a smart and knowledgeable normal human.

He could be a high school student, but he had to be a normal human.

He could have a super high IQ, but he had to be a normal human.

He could be an all-rounder, but he had to be a normal human.

Before Shinichi Kudo appeared, the cases that Kenji Hagiwara handled were mostly based on logic and conformed to Newton’s laws.

But ever since the world line and the story line overlapped, technology started to advance in ways he couldn’t understand.

The appearance of APTX violated the mechanism of cell apoptosis and regeneration that carbon-based organisms must follow. Yet, the medical system built on this foundation stood firm on a pile of ruins, like a hanging garden.

Edogawa Conan’s various cheating gadgets that he carried with him violated scientific laws, including Newton’s laws.

Many of Professor Agasa’s inventions completely subverted Kenji Hagiwara’s understanding of modern science. And he made them by hand in his backyard, without even using the high-precision equipment that research institutes spent hundreds of millions on.

Is Tokyo really not going to have a second private inventor suddenly appear and create a nuclear bomb by hand and then destroy Japan?

The rules of mystery fiction once said:

There can’t be Chinese people in a mystery novel. They might kill people with things like qigong or curses, which would ruin the story’s meticulousness.

By the same logic, equipment that should only appear in science fiction movies shouldn’t appear in a mystery novel.

How can you guarantee that these magical gadgets will only end up in the protagonist’s hands and not the villain’s?

And how can you guarantee that a second scientist with a skill level comparable to Professor Agasa won’t appear and create some bizarre invention to kill the victim in a ridiculous way that’s comparable to qigong?

Stories with fantasy and science fiction elements are called suspense, not mystery.

Kenji Hagiwara had always assumed that he was living in a classic mystery world and had never considered the possibility of the protagonist getting harmed and shrinking.

Lin Jianyue always treated everything as a dream. Besides being guided to reveal the cause of the five’s deaths, she rarely mentioned the main storyline.

Hagiwara and the others all thought that Conan, like the protagonist of a normal mystery novel, was just getting into trouble because of cases and would get his happy ending after a few twists and turns.

After the worlds merged, he was just as shocked as Lin Jianyue. But it seemed that besides the few of them who should have died but were still alive, no one else found anything wrong.

“Why do you guys know my true identity?” Conan pressed. He was sure that he had never done anything that would reveal his identity besides that phone call just now.

Kenji Hagiwara curled his eyebrows, hiding the truth. “Because we’re police officers.”

“But Inspector Megure and the others didn’t figure it out.”

Kenji Hagiwara thought about it and added, “Maybe it’s because we’re the elite career officers.”

“Officer Shiratori is also a career officer, and he didn’t figure it out either.”

“…” Kenji Hagiwara was silent for a moment. “Alright, maybe the other police officers are a little slow.”

“Mhm…” Conan didn’t dwell on this question for too long. He turned his head to look at Lin Jianyue, who was still sleeping in Kenji Hagiwara’s arms. “Is big sister Jianyue connected to the Organization?”

“Yeah. The Organization might be looking for her, or they might have already given up. But I can’t tell you anything about her.”

Just then, Jinpei Matsuda’s phone vibrated. He looked at the message from the Public Security Bureau and curled his lips. “They confirmed that Professor Agasa’s formula is fine.”

He quickly read the entire message and raised an eyebrow. “It can take down a target safely, quickly, and efficiently, with no side effects and without needing to follow any anesthetic precautions.”

He paused, biting down on his words as he added, “It’s also very discreet.”

Kenji Hagiwara quickly understood, and his eyes lit up. “This way, we can give it to them to use without worry.”

Jinpei Matsuda also smiled. “Yeah, but the wristwatch isn’t very practical. We can go back and modify it.”

Edogawa Conan looked blankly at the two who had suddenly started to speak in riddles. Just as he was about to speak, Matsuda suddenly put his hand on his head and ruffled his hair. “Let’s go, little detective. I’ll take you back to the detective agency.”

“Oh, my stomach suddenly hurts!” Conan clearly didn’t want to go back.

“That trick doesn’t work on me.”

“Hagi, your girlfriend is your responsibility. I’m not going to bother with you guys.”

Jinpei Matsuda didn’t give Conan a chance to talk. He got up and walked out. Conan hesitated, his eyes darting between Hagiwara, who was focused on taking care of Lin Jianyue, and Matsuda, who was walking away. He gritted his teeth and chased after him. “Officer Matsuda, wait for me!”

The sound of footsteps gradually faded. Matsuda’s voice came from far away. “Oh, by the way, one more thing.”

“My friend wants me to ask you if you’ve met anyone from the FBI?”

“The FBI?”

“Based on your reaction, you haven’t. My friend told me to tell you that if you do run into anyone from the FBI, you should stay far away from them. They’re all bad news.”

Only a small bedside lamp was left on in Lin Jianyue’s bedroom. The warm, dim light spilled over the edge of the bed, casting a cozy splotch of light on Kenji Hagiwara’s hand.

He gently placed her on the soft bed and then sat down by her side.

When he was carrying Lin Jianyue out of the car earlier, she had opened her eyes. In a half-asleep state, she had hooked her arms around his neck and pleaded with him. Her warm breath fanned his face and neck. She had asked for a kiss in a soft voice, like an unweaned kitten, making his heart itch.

Kenji Hagiwara looked at her. His gaze lingered on Lin Jianyue. She was still wearing that light-colored qipao, and her body was outlined so elegantly. The skin revealed by the slit had a jade-like luster.

She exuded a demure dignity from the inside out, like a sacred forbidden area that no one could step into.

Because she had been drinking, her cheeks were a light red, and the color around the corners of her eyes was like a high-quality blush. When she had opened her eyes and pleaded with him, her misty eyes were filled with crushed starlight, and the scent of alcohol mixed with her unique scent, making for an intoxicating aroma.

His throat tightened when he saw her. His mind was filled with the urge to lean down and kiss her.

Kenji Hagiwara thought it, and he did it.

He slowly leaned down. Just as he was about to kiss Lin Jianyue, a pair of hands wrapped around the back of his neck and pulled him down with force.

The moment their lips met, the sweet scent of the glutinous rice wine in Lin Jianyue’s mouth rushed over, mixing with her unique scent and exploding in Kenji Hagiwara’s mouth.

He stared in shock, but the person below his eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

Lin Jianyue’s eyes were misty, and the emotions swirling within were as direct as a ball of fire, making him stiffen all over.

“Why didn’t you kiss me in the car just now?” Her voice was hoarse from just waking up, but it also had a soft, pleading quality.

Kenji Hagiwara’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The beautiful words swirled in his mouth, but in the end, he decided to tell the truth. “I was afraid I would get some dirty thoughts.”

Lin Jianyue chuckled softly. Her tongue gently licked the corner of his lips, a hint of cunning triumph in her eyes. “You already had dirty thoughts the moment you started worrying about it.”

Kenji Hagiwara’s eyes fluttered, and then he chuckled and lowered his head. He rubbed his nose against her neck and pleaded in a sticky, honey-like voice. “Then, will you give me a kiss, Jianyue-chan?”

Her warm breath brushed against his neck. Lin Jianyue smiled and let go of the hands that were wrapped around Kenji Hagiwara’s neck. Instead, she spread them out to her sides, making a gesture as if she wanted a hug.

She was slightly drunk, and her voice was as soft as a cloud, but it had a fatal charm for Kenji Hagiwara. “I’m so amazing. I won a new artist award less than a year after coming to Japan. Don’t you think I deserve a reward?”

Kenji Hagiwara stared at Lin Jianyue and lowered his head to kiss her lips.

He gently caressed her cheek, his voice so soft it felt like it was wrapping around Lin Jianyue. “Okay. What kind of reward do you want?”