The next morning, Shiraishi E went to class as usual. During lunch break, he took his bento to eat with Ran and the others.
During lunch, Ran proposed, "Shinichi, Shiraishi-kun, and Sonoko, how about coming to my place for dinner after school today?"
"Ooh!! I'd love to go! It would be so lively with so many people!" Sonoko's face was full of excitement, but then her expression dimmed. "But... I'm still grounded, so I can't leave the school."
"It's a shame you can't come, Sonoko," Ran said, genuinely disappointed that her best friend couldn't join them. She then turned to Shinichi with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Tch, I'd better pass," Shinichi said, munching on his bento. "If I go, Uncle Mouri will definitely say I'm stealing his work. He's the one who's not skilled enough, yet he blames me!!"
This gave Ran a headache. It was indeed the reason Shinichi didn't like going to her house. Her dad and Shinichi didn't get along at all; they argued every time they met.
Shiraishi E spoke up, "We can always have a get-together after the competition!"
"Mm-hmm, I guess that's the only way," Ran said helplessly. The thought of the tension between Shinichi and her dad made her head ache even more. She didn't know how to handle it.
This problem preoccupied Ran for the entire afternoon. She was so distracted that she was even absent-minded during training.
Noticing this, Shiraishi E didn't say anything. Instead, he found an opportunity and threw a punch towards Ran's face.
"Ah!" Ran jumped in fright as the fist magnified before her eyes. Luckily, the punch stopped just short of her face and didn't hit her.
"Can you focus now?" Shiraishi E asked, retracting his fist.
"Ye... yes, I can," Ran said, her face red with shame.
"Then let's continue," Shiraishi E gestured for Ran to attack, then proceeded to give her another sound beating to help her focus.
In the afternoon, after training ended, Ran bowed to Shiraishi E on their way home. "I'm really sorry, Shiraishi-kun. I was distracted during training today." She felt guilty, as if she hadn't appreciated his efforts. He was willing to sacrifice his own time to train her, yet she had been daydreaming.
"Learning to focus is a required lesson," Shiraishi E comforted her. "What were you thinking about just now?"
"I was wondering... why can't Shinichi and my dad get along?" Ran confessed her troubles in a soft voice. "It feels like they argue every time they meet."
Shiraishi E thought, Is that all? He chuckled. "No father wants to see the daughter he raised with so much hardship be taken away by another man. Especially when that man has a bad attitude towards him, and his own daughter sides with the man! If it were me, I wouldn't be happy either."
Hearing this, Ran immediately understood. She quickly asked, "Then... is there any way to solve it?"
Shiraishi E shrugged. "There's no solution! We can only wait for Shinichi to figure it out himself." He paused for a moment and added, "And you, Ran, you're biased. You can't always side with Shinichi. You need to try and see things from your dad's perspective sometimes."
Faced with Shiraishi E's reprimand, Ran lowered her head guiltily. "I... I know." She wasn't foolish, just a teenager driven by hormones, which made her subconsciously pay more attention to Shinichi and neglect her father's feelings.
"Um... Shiraishi-kun, are you still coming to my place for dinner tonight?" Ran asked shyly. "My dad was really happy after you came yesterday. I haven't seen him that happy in a long time!"
"I was planning to, even if you hadn't asked," Shiraishi E smiled. "I find that Mr. Mouri and I hit it off right away."
"Really? That's great!" Ran was overjoyed that Shiraishi E was willing to come. However, she remembered something and quickly said, "But don't buy any alcohol this time!"
"Alright," Shiraishi E nodded.
But when they got to the Mouri Detective Agency, while Ran was cooking dinner, he and Kogoro Mouri started chugging beers anyway!
Are you kidding me? If men don't drink, how can they find topics to talk about? How can they get closer? How can they make progress? Most importantly, he had just spent 500,000 yen yesterday on the [Bottomless Drinker] skill. If he didn't drink, wouldn't that be a waste of money?
"Dad, Shiraishi-kun, dinner's... ah! Are you two drinking again?" Ran came downstairs after finishing cooking, a look of exasperation on her face. She was both happy and helpless at the same time!
Kogoro Mouri immediately retorted, "This beer is only 5% alcohol. It's barely beer, it's just water! What's the difference between this and drinking tea?" He then quickly beckoned Shiraishi E to come upstairs for dinner.
During dinner, Shiraishi E showered praise on Ran's cooking. "Ran, your Chinese food is excellent, much more authentic than those so-called Chinese restaurants outside!"
"Really?" Ran was delighted by the compliment. "Then you should eat more, Shiraishi-kun!!"
After laying the groundwork, Shiraishi E finally revealed his true purpose. "Ran, I was wondering if I could have dinner here from now on? Don't worry, I'll pay for my meals!" He had to admit, Ran's cooking was amazing. Her Chinese food was authentic... which was why he wanted to come over. Now that he had money, who would want to cook?
"Huh?" Ran was caught off guard by the sudden proposal. At the same time, she was very happy, feeling that her skills were being recognized!
"Of course, no problem!" Kogoro Mouri readily agreed. "From now on, just come over with Ran after school!! As for the food expenses, ten thousand yen a month will be fine!" He didn't ask for much, just a token amount.
Shiraishi E knew that Kogoro Mouri was looking out for him, so he nodded in agreement. He wasn't short on money; he could just buy them some gifts later to make up for it.
After dinner, he and Kogoro Mouri started chatting. But just then, his phone rang.
Shiraishi E took out his phone and saw a message from Akemi. She had just intercepted some information: there was an illegal transaction happening at the Beika pier in an hour.
Shiraishi E's eyes lit up! Finally, some action! He couldn't be bothered to chat with Kogoro Mouri anymore. He said his goodbyes and left, heading to Akemi's location.
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