As Kuroki Jin expected, Sonoko, Xiaolan and Kudo were among the last wave of guests received. There was no room left in the store, so they simply stood aside, patiently waiting for Kuroki Jin to finish his work, and at the same time helped pack some candies from time to time, just like temporary workers in the store.
For this, Kuroki could only politely express his gratitude and often give them some small candies and the like.
When there were not so many customers, the carefree Sonoko started to pull Kuroki Jin to ask why he didn't come to the store yesterday and this morning.
"A friend came back yesterday, and I gave him a break." Kuroki Ren lied to Bobon casually, his face not red and out of breath.
"Eh? Are Mr. Kuroki Hitoshi's friends as handsome as you?"
"Yuanzi~" Xiaolan pointed at her best friend with her finger, reminding her to be careful.
"Haha." Kuroki Jin smiled and waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, "I appreciate the compliment, but that friend of mine is much more handsome than me."
"Really?" Sonoko's eyes suddenly shone, and she rushed forward to hold Kuroki's hand. "Does Mr. Kuroki's friend have time? Can I go on a date with him?!"
Kuroki Ren: "..."
"Sonoko!" Xiaolan quickly pulled back her girlfriend who had jumped away, bowed to Kuroki in embarrassment and apologized, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Kuroki, Sonoko didn't mean anything else."
"It's okay." Kuroki Ren didn't care, "It's just that he may be busy recently and can't spare time for a date." This is not an excuse, but a fact.
Kuroki Jin turned to look at Kudo Shinichi again, "But my friend may be able to chat with you Kudo. He is also a detective."
This time Kudo's eyes shone.
Kuroki Jin was not repulsed by being held by a beautiful girl, but he did not want to be held by someone of the same sex in excitement, so before Kudo could rush up to him, he quickly said: "I'll take him to my candy house after he finishes his work. , I’ll introduce you to him then.”
It just so happened that Bourbon was transferred back to Tokyo. On the surface, this little detective's identity could be used to cover up the situation a little bit if he came into contact with a high school detective from Kanto.
As for whether Kudo Shinichi will reveal his identity?
Kuroki Jin said that was overthinking. If bourbon was really that good, it would have been killed by gin a few years ago.
Kuroki Hito was chatting with them while cleaning up, while Anayuki carried Wakaki Onto to the back to do his homework. Wenren's lingering eyes glanced at Kudo Shinichi.
Kudo was suppressed in front by Kuroki and Xiaolan, and he might not be able to enter the kitchen until Wen Ren finished his homework.
Regarding the fact that everyone was guarding against him, Kudo Shinichi said that they were making too much fuss. Kudo and Onuto, who have exchanged contact information, can chat anytime they want. Through his guidance to Onuto during this period, the latter is almost able to solve some minor cases.
The entrance examination will be in December soon, and Kudo has already planned to take Onuto around in various major cases after the exam is over, so that he can get training in actual combat.
Because Xiaolan had to go back to prepare dinner for her father, the trio did not stay here for a long time. They left before Kuroki Ren finished cleaning up. Before leaving, Kuroki Ren let them take whatever they wanted as usual. Order some sweets and go back to eat.
There were not many guests at night, so Kuroki really tested Wen Ren's English lessons. For intelligence agents, mastering foreign languages is a basic quality. Even if you don't know how to read, you still need to be able to speak and listen. This will also make it easier to collect information.
Fortunately, Wen is somewhat talented in this area. His current English level is enough to enable him to converse with people from non-native English speaking countries. As for locals from the UK or the United States, generally no one can understand them when they speak dialects. .
In his spare time, Kuroki Ren replenished his candy reserves, and thought that he had not released a new candy style for a long time. It was time to develop it before December, so that it would be on the shelves in the new January.
Thinking of research and development, Kuroki Ren was stunned, and he finally remembered what he had forgotten.
"Xiji, take a look at the store!"
Kuroki Ren's complexion changed slightly. He took off his apron and reached for his coat. He paused before going out and quickly picked up a few good-looking candies on the counter and put them in his pocket.
"Hey, you just came back to work-!"
Anayuki's voice chased Kuroki's figure out, but Kuroki had already gotten in the car and rode away. Only Xi Ji and Wen Ren, who leaned out to watch the excitement, were left looking at each other.
Kuroki just remembered that the drug developed by Shirley was used by Gin. He had forgotten to remind Shirley about this before. If she got excited and rushed to find Gin to argue, it would be in trouble.
Kuroki Jin didn't answer Shirley's call, which made him believe in his idea even more.
R018 is still a certain distance away from Kuroki Jin's candy house. Kuroki thought for a while and called Gin to test his mood.
Gin was in a bad mood - this was already the third phone call Kuroki Jin had made to him today. How many things did he need to ask him for advice on?
But he had to answer it, after all... what if?
Kuroki Jin sensed something was wrong from the "hello" Gin said when he picked up the phone. Because he was distracted while driving, he couldn't make up a lie for a while, so his head short-circuited and he asked:
"D-Have you eaten?"
Gin: "..."
"Come to the Inspection Department's combat training ground!"
The call was hung up with a bang. Kuroki hit the brakes and buried his head on the steering wheel, feeling deeply annoyed.
It is impossible to go to the Supervision Department, even in this life! Kuroki started the vehicle and continued to move towards R018. He only bought a bottle of whiskey when passing by a convenience store, and deliberately avoided rye, Scotch and bourbon.
Avoiding the first two is because they are undercover agents of the organization. When Gin sees them, he will think of the past, and his mood will only become worse. The reason why he didn't choose bourbon was because the relationship between the two was actually not that good. Gin had mentioned before that bourbon easily reminded him of Belmode, with the same annoying mysticism.
That's right, the reason for buying the wine was that Kuroki Ren said he was too straight and planned to go straight to Gin after going to Shirley's place. He would try this bottle of wine before the fighting arena to see if he could avoid the beating.
Kuroki Jin parked the car where he last parked it, got out of the car and went straight to the elevator to go to the top floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, he could feel the depression in the air on this floor.
"Um," Kuroki Jin stopped a passing researcher, "Where is your team leader?"
"The team leader is in the laboratory." The male researcher stopped in his hurry and asked, "Who are you...?"
"I'm looking for her." Kuroki Ren didn't give his code name, "Can you show me the way?"
"I just want to go to the team leader to report the data. Come with me." The male researcher pushed up his glasses and switched the data sheet in his hand to another hand. "My name is Goto Hirakawa, and I am the team leader's." Deputy, you can call me Goto.”
Kuroki Jin nodded. He put his hands in his coat pockets and grasped the candy he brought.
