"Actually, I was going to refuse, but I kept pleading, and it was hard to refuse, and it was ......"

On the train to Akita Prefecture on the northeast coast of Japan, Gao Cheng and Xiao Ai mentioned the matter of the daily TV "Dessert Talent".

"After all, that kind of thing happened to Mr. Takeki, and he really needs someone to replace him, and Mr. Takeki also put in a lot of effort at the beginning of this show, if it is destroyed like this, I'm afraid the old gentleman will be very sad, right?"

Xiao Ai listened to Gao Cheng's explanation expressionlessly, and his eyelids never lifted.

When the train arrived, I got on a tram that ran through the mountains, with only two carriages and almost no people on board, and then I had to take another shuttle bus to a small village in the countryside.

"So," Xiao Ai was led out of the train by Gao Cheng, looked at the station built in the middle of the remote mountains, and asked, "Why did we come to this kind of place?" ”

"Huh? Didn't I say it? Gao Cheng was stunned and said, "Aunt Jimei, who used to take care of me very much, lives here, and I heard that her husband seems to be sick, so I thought I would come over and have a look while I had time." ”

Xiao Ai lifted a bag of desserts on his hand: "This is the gift you prepared?" ”

"yes, it's the TV station...... I asked them for a special dessert that was hard to buy outside. ”

Gao Cheng was looking for a waiting point for the bus at the station, and found that a car was about to leave, so he hurriedly picked up Xiao Ai and hurried to the bus.

"The car to Snow Shadow Village is over there, hurry up!"

"Put me down!"

Aunt Jimei is the past owner of the building of the detective agency, and she helped Gao Cheng a lot at first, but later moved back to her hometown due to physical reasons, and Gao Cheng learned the news recently.

Compared to the metropolis of Tokyo, the countryside is like a paradise, although it is not so prosperous, as if it is not in the same era, but it has a quiet atmosphere that the city does not have, and it is very suitable for retirement.

The tranquil mountains and seas have a special power to eliminate impetuousness, Gao Cheng sat on the mountain road, looking at the mountains and the sea with the sun shining in the distance, and the whole person also relaxed a lot.

Even if he is a detective, he is easily tired when his spirit is tense all the time, and he has his own way of relaxing, but it is really more relaxing than watching TV at the office.

Snow Shadow Village is a village built on the seaside, with a harbor and a steamer, but there are almost no people in sight, and it is a little lonely.

Gao Cheng walked out of the car with Xiao Ai, and he could see the whole village at a glance.

Unlike the fast-paced city of Tokyo, time here seems to have slowed down, although time in the world of Conan is already strange.

"I miss it!"

A small high school student wearing glasses next to him also got out of the car, still wearing a student uniform, and looked at the village with a little excitement.

"It's exactly the same as it was 5 years ago......"

Gao Cheng glanced at the small high school student, and walked into the village with a note with the address written on it, and the latter looked at Gao Cheng and the two who were traveling with him.

"It looks familiar, but it's also from Tokyo?"

Without waiting for the teenager to think about it, a high school girl waved over in the back, and the long-lost classmates soon made the teenager forget about Gao Cheng.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, you're still the same, Kosuke! Haven't grown taller at all, still so short! ”

"You don't need to say anything in particular, do you?! The personality is still so bad......"

Not far from the shuttle bus stop, Gao Cheng didn't walk for a while before he met Aunt Jimei who came out to pick him up.

"Ah, why don't you make a phone call first? It would be bad if you got lost! Aunt Jimei was very happy to see Gao Cheng.

In any case, it is rare that this child will come all the way from Tokyo to such a remote countryside, and it feels very warm for a couple who have never had children.

"How's Uncle?" Gao Cheng asked.

"It's okay, it's not a serious illness," Aunt Yoshimi said with a smile, "I often see your news on TV, but now that you're a detective, I'll be happy if Joto-sensei finds out......

"Hmm." Gao Cheng smiled awkwardly.

He wasn't very familiar with the cheap grandfather who left the detective agency, and he had almost forgotten about it by now.

"This kid is ......" Aunt Jimei noticed Xiao Ai who was following Gao Cheng, and was obviously stunned for a moment, and looked at Gao Chengdao in surprise, "Is it?" ”

"It's a friend's child, Xiao Ai," Gao Cheng hurriedly interrupted Aunt Jimei's fantasy, "There is no way to leave it to me to take care of for the time being, because she doesn't worry about staying alone in the office, so she comes by the way, and she keeps crying and trying to come out." ”

Xiao Ai followed and posed as a poor little girl, and secretly pinched Gao Cheng's thigh meat.

"Really?" Jimei looked at Xiao Mourn as if she was about to melt, "Poor child, did Ah Cheng really take good care of you?" ”

"Well, don't worry," Gao Cheng said with sweat on his forehead, "I, my life is much better now than before, there is a coffee shop downstairs, even if I am not there, the store manager will help take care of Xiao Ai." ”

"Go back with Auntie first, Auntie has already prepared lunch," Aunt Jimei said with pity looking at Xiao Ai, "Hungry, aren't you?" ”

Aunt Jimei hurriedly led the way in front, leaving Gao Cheng and Xiao Ai in the back to glance at each other.

"Who takes care of whom?" Xiao Ai glared.

"Give some face......

Aunt Jimei's house was very large, and it was probably a hotel, but there were no guests in this meeting, so she cleaned up a balcony room facing the sea for Gao Cheng and Xiao Ai.

"It used to be a hotel, but three years ago, a big wharf was built nearby, and all the workers went there, and the hotels in the village were idle, and we didn't have time to rebuild it after we came back, so we thought it would be better to keep it like this."

Aunt Jimei sighed when she helped clean up.

"I don't know if it's because I'm older, and I don't like it very much, but when I was young, it was like this here, and the village was ......."

"If it's a building full of memories, wouldn't it be nice not to change it?"

Gao Cheng poked his head out and took a casual look at the balcony.

Because of the different heights of the buildings in the village, you can still see part of the sea view, and you can still hear the sound of the boat horn in the direction of the pier in the distance.

"Speaking of that sweet tooth show, was Mr. Takeki really killed?" Aunt Jimi asked.

"yes, because I found out the secret of the director's assistant leaking the theme."

"Ah Cheng, you will also be a gourmand in the future?"

"No, I only occasionally go as a special guest......

Gao Cheng looked down and noticed that the little high school student had entered a nearby house with his friends, and people in black suits were coming in and out, as well as the arrangement at the door, it seemed that someone had died and held a funeral.

"It's a child of the Hatano family," Aunt Jimi said lamentingly, "It's also a poor child, who committed suicide by the sea at a young age, and the funeral will start tonight, and it's probably a friend from another place who came here at this time." ”

"Oh." Gao Cheng retracted his gaze.

Professional habits, always particularly sensitive to death and the like.

However, this kind of small village in the countryside should not be able to encounter an incident just after coming here......

The little boy also found Gao Cheng, looked up in confusion for a while, and the girl next to him asked strangely, "Xiaosuke, what are you looking at?" ”

The boy said uncertainly: "There was a person just now, it seems that he is also a high school student from Tokyo, and he is a little familiar, I wonder if he also came to the funeral......

"What are you talking about? You're the only one in high school in Tokyo, so you might have come to play," the girl speculated, "and you don't look like you're from the village." ”

"Yes, yes......"

The young man weakly followed into the house to offer condolences.

He still felt that he had seen Gao Cheng somewhere, but he couldn't remember anything, but now was not the time to care about an outsider.

He moved to Tokyo 5 years ago to study, and he returned to this village again because he suddenly learned that his junior high school playmate had died, and he had the impression that the other party was a very quiet and gentle girl, but he didn't expect to commit suicide......

He was shocked when he heard the news, and he still couldn't believe it until this meeting, he knew about the frequent murders in Tokyo, but he didn't expect that his classmates in the countryside would also die.

So how can a good woman suddenly commit suicide?