anwhile, at Maike Pet Hospital.
Only after the pet cat was sent to the post-operative observation room did the group of figures in white coats erge one after another.
"...This situation is quite common. The cat's stomach previously had so ulcers due to improper diet. After swallowing a foreign object, the owner discovered it late, leading to a stomach infection. During the surgery, attention must be paid..."
Chi Feichei walked while taking notes in his notebook. The senior recomnded by Soma Taku was quite good; he got along well with others in the hospital normally, and his skills were indeed high, saving Chi Feichei a lot of trouble in docunting the work.
"...The situation was more complex than expected, but actually not too troubleso," Hirata Masato glanced at the sky outside, then turned back to Chi Feichei with a smile. "It seems a bit late. You seem to be heading back before dinner recently. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask tomorrow."
"Thank you."
After changing clothes in the office, Chi Feichei discovered missed calls on his phone from Mouri Kogoro and Araide Tomoaki.
Could it be such a coincidence?
Today's surgery happened to encounter so trouble, finishing later than expected, and Mouri Kogoro happened to go over at this exact ti?
Although he already had a guess in mind, Chi Feichei still called Araide Tomoaki back.
"Hello..."
"Are you finished with your work?" Araide Tomoaki's voice was gentle as always.
"Yes, I'm heading back now. You called because..."
"Mr. Mouri ca to pick up the report. I wanted to call and let you know, but your phone was off. My father invited them to stay for dinner, everyone is waiting... Hmm?"
"What's wrong?" Chi Feichei asked.
"Ah, it's nothing... The power went out," Araide Tomoaki said. "Probably tripped a breaker. Dinner is ready, so I won't talk long. Hurry back."
"Alright..."
After the call ended, Chi Feichei stared at his phone screen for a mont.
"Master, what's wrong?" Hissashi poked its head out of the warm box, shivered from the cold air, felt a bit stiff, and decisively retracted its head.
Chi Feichei remained silent for a mont, put on his jacket, and went to pick up Hissashi. "Doctor Yoshiteru is done for."
As Chi Feichei reached out, Hissashi zipped into his sleeve. "Good grief, it's really cold outside! Master, you said Doctor Yoshiteru... Huh? Doctor Yoshiteru is done for? What does 'done for' an?"
"Dead."
Chi Feichei didn't explain further, zipped up his jacket, and left the office.
He didn't feel much about Araide Yoshiteru's incident.
Even though the Araide father and son were kind and addressed him quite intimately, Araide Tomoaki was one thing, but Araide Yoshiteru treated him more like a client, a matter of routine.
He hadn't participated in the very late surgeries recently, going ho for dinner every day. If he could have rushed back in ti to prevent it, it would have been repaying their kindness. If he couldn't make it, he wouldn't spend too much effort trying to stop it.
Perhaps he could have warned Araide Yoshiteru in advance, but setting aside whether Araide Yoshiteru would think his condition had worsened if he ran up saying 'your wife wants to kill you', if Araide Yoshiteru had believed him, things might have changed even more, perhaps leading to a counter-killing...
And Araide Yoshiteru himself had issues. Araide Yoko's murderous intent probably hadn't developed overnight. He had inadvertently seen Araide Yoshiteru being intimate with a female patient in the clinic room, which felt awkward even to him. Only an innocent child like Araide Tomoaki would believe his father was just checking if the patient's heart had any abnormal sounds.
The conflict had been sown long ago. It could be blocked temporarily, but not forever.
Alright, these were just excuses. Ultimately, he just didn't want to bother getting involved.
In this lifeti, he probably could never understand the 'all life is precious' idea held by Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran.
In his eyes, life only had two distinctions: 'important' and 'unimportant'. Otherwise, he wouldn't have beco a bounty hunter.
...
By the ti Chi Feichei drove back to the Araide Clinic, the police had already arrived.
The police officer standing at the back door saw a car stop outside and approached to ask, "Hello, may I ask who you are..."
"I'm staying here temporarily." Chi Feichei parked the car and got out.
"Brother Chi, you're here! Inspector gure is waiting for you!" Conan ran out of the door, then turned to the inquiring officer with a smile. "Inspector gure asked to co find Brother Chi and ask about the situation."
The questioning officer understood imdiately and returned to guard the back door.
Conan pulled Chi Feichei inside, still wearing an innocent child's smile as they passed the police.
"Too fake," Chi Feichei let Conan pull his sleeve corner, reminding him, "Sothing just happened. Don't smile, be serious."
Conan stiffened slightly. Seeing no one else around, he stopped, let go, and turned to look at Chi Feichei's calm face, his own expression becoming sowhat serious. "You're right, I really shouldn't be smiling... Doctor Yoshiteru is dead."
He didn't find it strange that Chi Feichei could guess sothing had happened; after all, the police cars were parked outside. But Chi Feichei probably didn't know how serious things were yet, so staying calm was normal.
Knowing soone had died, smiling was indeed wrong, even if it was to pretend to be an innocent child...
Chi Feichei remained silent. He really wanted to express surprise or so other emotion, but that seed too fake.
They knew each other so well, who didn't know who...
Conan saw Chi Feichei was still calm and indeed didn't find it strange; he could never figure out Chi Feichei's mood anyway. "Hey, I have a question for you..."
Chi Feichei looked at Conan, waiting for him to continue.
Conan took a deep breath, staring at Chi Feichei. "You don't happen to like Sister Ran, do you?"
Chi Feichei: "..."
He had considered Conan might ask about the Araide family relationships, if they had any grudges, if he had noticed any suspicious people... The one thing he hadn't expected was this question!
Conan waited anxiously for the answer, then suddenly realized Chi Feichei had reached out and placed a hand on his forehead: "..."
No fever...
Chi Feichei retracted his hand, reminding him again, "Soone is already dead."
Conan gave a half-lidded stare. Knowing soone was dead, wasn't Chi Feichei perfectly calm too? Still, he was a bit out of line asking this question. "There's sothing suspicious about Doctor Yoshiteru's death, but I'm finding it hard to focus my thoughts. I wanted to ask you clearly first..."
"Being friends with Ran is good." Chi Feichei interrupted.
Conan understood this ant Chi Feichei hadn't considered developing a romantic relationship. He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, then asked again, "What about Doctor Araide Tomoaki? Didn't you go to Teitan High School together? How is his relationship with Ran?"
Chi Feichei roughly guessed why Conan was overthinking. "It's just that Ran greeted after seeing . They've t, but they don't have much interaction."
"Are you sure?" Conan was puzzled, that shouldn't be right...
"Certain," Chi Feichei reached out and poked Conan's forehead. "You're not even calling her Sister Ran now?"
Conan dodged, covering his head. Considering Chi Feichei knew about his feelings for Ran, he didn't bother arguing. He didn't think Chi Feichei would go gossiping about this to Ran, and even if he did, Ran might not take it seriously. "Then, while staying at the Araide house, did you notice anything unusual? For example, how are the family relationships, are there any conflicts with Doctor Yoshiteru..."
"Doctor Yoshiteru was having an affair, being intimate with female patients. Mrs. Yoko knew but didn't argue, her attitude was unclear," Chi Feichei said.
"Miss Yasumoto Hikaru often broke things and was scolded by Doctor Yoshiteru. As for the old lady... because Doctor Yoshiteru married into the family, after her daughter died, Doctor Yoshiteru changed the house's interior decoration to a Western style, which made her very dissatisfied. Additionally, Tomoaki is going to work at a hospital in Aomori, she feels the only person in this house with blood ties to her is also leaving, so she holds a strong grudge against Doctor Yoshiteru."
End of Chapter
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