Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 932 Enemies
Looking at the boy standing in front of her, a trace of surprise flashed across Pu Siqinglan's face.

Everyone she met in President Suzuki's office was more or less related to the Suzuki Group. She certainly would not take it lightly and naturally memorized the appearance of everyone. So she was not too surprised to hear him greet her like that.

What really surprised her was running into the person himself.

Out of caution, she almost never chooses the type of sniper. In order to prevent others from easily stealing her home through weapons, she will even consciously change the type of weapon she uses regularly. And as long as she can get close to the prey, she will find ways to shoot at close range to avoid missing.

Anyway, as Scobin, the Romanov dynasty plus the damage to her right eye were already a distinctive enough mark that required no additional work to identify her, and she had always been proud of the connection between these keywords and herself.

Therefore, before preparing to snipe a new target, she would obtain materials nearby, do some simple gun modifications or even assemble them from scratch. When she arrived in a city, the first place she would look for was a gun or model shop.

These are places that teenage boys and girls shouldn't like to come to.

She was wondering in her heart, but her expression quickly adjusted to one of surprise and then a smile: "Hello, it's a coincidence. Are you visiting Osaka Castle?"

"Well, Sonoko and the others went to the shrine. I'm not very interested in places like this, so I came out to look around by myself. It's hard to tell, but I'm half a military fan." Tang Ze nodded, and naturally mentioned Suzuki Sonoko, and once again emphasized that he was a person related to the Suzuki Group, and then changed the subject, "You are Chinese, right? This is the first time I've met a Chinese like you."

Pu Siqinglan tightened her grip on the fisherman's bag slightly.

She knew that she was actually far from the image of a real Chinese person. Some of the incongruous elements on her body and the almost exaggerated Chinese style of dress were all for the purpose of making her clothes eye-catching enough to leave people with the impression of a "Chinese girl", so that people would ignore her personal physical characteristics.

In addition, although her eye and hair colors are not particularly common, her overall features are much smoother than those of ordinary Slavs due to the intermarriage of her ancestors. She can barely be explained as mixed-race or a minority, which is why she has managed to maintain this setting. However, as long as you know a little about real Han people, it will not be easy to be fooled by her.

However, she was prepared for this, so she just smoothed her hair and replied in a gentle tone: "Ah, maybe it looks a little different. How should I put it? China is a complex country with many ethnic groups living there. I am not Han, so I look a little different."

Although their number is not large, there are indeed Slavs, that is, the Russian ethnic group, in China.

This is why she knows that she is not really that “Chinese” and yet dares to boldly call herself so.

If anyone becomes suspicious, she can throw out this kind of trivia to refute it. If that still doesn't convince people... anyway, she thinks she knows Chinese well, and there won't be any problem unless she's caught by a real Chinese person.

"Oh, I've heard of that!" Tang Ze showed a look of realization, "It is indeed true. After all, 'the land is vast and the resources are abundant', right?"

The four words "Tangze" were spoken in the most standard Mandarin, and Pu Siqinglan certainly understood them.

Because she understood, her eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

She had almost never heard Japanese use similar adjectives to praise China.

Most of the Japanese she met, especially young men, were full of the common shortcomings of island nationals, namely, closed-mindedness, arrogance and xenophobia. This was a commonality found after geopolitical research and was also related to the difference between continental and maritime civilizations. In short, even if they did not show hostility, rather than being friendly and peaceful, these people were more likely to show a lack of passion and therefore were too lazy to give feedback...

However, even though she was a little bit doubtful, after all, he was an international thief who had seen a lot. She immediately calibrated Tang Ze's personality in her heart, pushing him in the direction of "a niche non-mainstream pretender" and "a rare left-wing person", then smiled and nodded: "Yes, there are dozens of different races over there, and there are many exceptions due to geographical reasons and mixed residence... Your pronunciation just now was very standard, have you learned Chinese?"

No wonder he suddenly stopped himself here. It was probably because of his admiration that he wanted to get close to a rare Chinese person as soon as he met him.

Have I ever learned Chinese? Of course I have.

Tang Ze's smile became more sincere. "Well, I have a little talent for language learning, so when I heard President Suzuki's introduction today, I couldn't help but be a little curious about you... Sorry, it's rare to meet a foreigner like you, I'm a little excited, I hope I didn't cause you any trouble?"

Although he said this, Tang Ze actually did not show any apology or move back to a proper social distance. Instead, he went a step further and walked forward to lift the heavy fisherman's bag for her.

Pu Si Qinglan was a notorious thief, and he was not completely ignorant of physical skills, but he was, after all, someone who mainly relied on firearms to commit crimes. Apart from his firearms skills, he had no advantage in pure fighting. She had almost no time to refuse, and the bag in her hand had been forcefully snatched away by the other party.

As the long package swayed, there was a slight sound of metal parts colliding, which immediately made her forehead sweat.

How to say it, she certainly didn't think that a teenager could judge the contents of the bag based on this noise alone, but her most important tool was suddenly held in the hands of a stranger, so she should panic.

Tang Ze weighed the bag in his hand and looked at her with raised eyebrows, but he didn't do anything extra. He used more honorifics: "It's quite heavy. It's not easy for you to carry it by yourself. It must be very tiring. I'll help you carry it for a while. It's just right. I also want to know more about life over there."

As he said this, he changed his hand and moved the heavy bag full of metal parts for guns to the side away from Pu Siqinglan.

Pu Siqinglan's eyebrows jumped again.

Her car was parked at a corner of a street away. It was a very low-key black sedan, which was consistent with her habit when hunting targets.

If you hadn't come and got in the way, I would have put it in the car in two minutes. It wouldn't be that hard.

She didn't know whether this person did it intentionally or unintentionally, but with such a deadly thing in his hand, even if she wanted to politely refuse the other party, she was no longer in a position to speak.

I have to get the things back safely without arousing his suspicion...

"Okay, shall we find a place to sit?" Pu Siqinglan caught a glimpse of Tang Ze's handsome young face with a smile on his face, and her mind moved. She quickly changed her strategy and pointed to the other side of the street. "There's a cafe over there, and it's time for afternoon tea..."

"Oh, you like afternoon tea, are you from Shanghai or Chengdu?" Tang Ze asked out of the blue, and before Pu Siqinglan could respond, he changed the subject, "Let me treat you. Since you are wearing a cheongsam, well, I'll treat you as a Shanghainese. Coffee, right?"

The setting was not written in such detail, and Pu Siqinglan only intended to use some stereotypes or common images to fool people: "..."

What happened to this kid...

----

"Great luck, a good sign, worthy of Xiaolan..."

"It seems like things are going well between you and Kudo?"

"You two..." After carefully reading the fortune, Mao Lilan quickly rolled it up and coughed to cover it up. "I wasn't thinking about him when I drew the fortune."

After all, that guy was completely distracted by Kaito Kid's puzzle and ran away with Hattori Heiji...

"Really?" Suzuki Sonoko tilted her head and glanced at her love-brained bestie with disbelief, "Then what were you thinking about just now?"

"I was thinking about something else..." Knowing that Sonoko had misunderstood something, she did not explain but just smiled slightly, "As long as everything goes smoothly, that's fine."

This is the career lottery she drew for Sonoko.

The announcement letter from Kaito Kid and the appearance of Goro Akechi did attract a large number of people's attention to the newly built art museum, but this also meant more surprises and uncertainties.

If possible, she sincerely hopes that her best friend's appearance can be a complete success.

"Let's not talk about this." After carefully putting the signature into her wallet, Mao Lilan asked, "Have you invited Kitagawa-kun? It's thanks to him that you were able to complete the work successfully this time. He should really be invited to the opening ceremony."

In addition to the factors of exhibition hall design, since Suzuki Sonoko's main reputation in the art world is related to Kitagawa Yusuke, in the eyes of most people, their connections are tied to each other, which gives Suzuki Sonoko the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity.

In addition to the rich collections from the Suzuki family treasure house, the Museum of Modern Art still needs many modern and contemporary art works to fill its collection inventory.

During the construction of the entire exhibition hall, it seems that Kitagawa Yusuke has nothing to do with it, but his actual contribution is quite significant.

"Of course I invited him! Thanks to him, I also borrowed a painting of Fuji autumn scenery from Mr. Kisaragi's inventory." Suzuki Sonoko put her hands on her hips, a little proud, "He said he was busy with a new work recently and didn't have much time, but he would find time to come and show up."

"That's great..." Mao Lilan sighed.

This is what it means to take time out to stand up for her and show his attitude even if he is busy. Suzuki Sonoko's sponsorship is indeed a step for him to rise, but in fact everyone - including Kitagawa Yusuke himself - should know that Sonoko did not really value his ability, but simply threw some resources that were nothing to her because of her liking for him.

Kitagawa Yusuke, who knew this very well, never felt resentful for this reason. Instead, he sincerely thanked Suzuki Sonoko in various public occasions, saying that without her recommendation, he might not be able to participate in the grand prize and thus lose an important opportunity, so he was very grateful for her appreciation.

Kitagawa Yusuke seems to be a weirdo who is not worldly-wise to a certain extent, but he never disappoints people when it comes to such important matters.

"Hehe, I was just lucky and met a nice guy." Suzuki Sonoko raised her head, "I can indeed meet a kind and handsome guy, right?"

Yuanshan Heye touched his chin: "You said it as if Tang Ze is not a handsome guy..."

"That's different..." Suzuki Sonoko waved her hand, "He's a classmate, and a very good friend. Well, I always look at my friends in a very good light."

"So your eyes on handsome guys are no good?"

"What are you talking about? Ah Zhen is still a good person..."

Just as Mao Lilan was about to make a few jokes, she suddenly noticed a familiar shadow out of the corner of her eye and turned to look.

Under the parasol across the street, they saw Tang Ze, whom they had just mentioned, sitting with a woman, with his usual smile on his face, drinking tea and chatting about something.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

When she turned her head, Suzuki Sonoko and Toyama Kazuha, who were traveling with her, also turned their heads to observe, and then frowned.

"This is the woman I met this morning. Oh, she's a researcher from China..." Yuanshan Heye pinched his chin, with a strange expression, "Why would a Chinese person study the Romanov dynasty?"

She wanted to ask this when she heard Pu Siqinglan's name in the morning, but she was embarrassed to ask because of the atmosphere.

As for Tsarist Russia, well, anyone who knows a little about world history should know a little about it.

A person with high EQ would say that it is very romantic and has a unique historical flavor, while a person with low EQ would say that...

In short, it is hard to imagine who, apart from the descendants themselves, would be interested in studying this matter all day long.

"Well, I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I'm interested..." Mao Lilan smiled awkwardly, not wanting to continue.

Suzuki Sonoko narrowed her eyes warily and rolled up her sleeves: "She can't be, because she can't buy the Egg of Memory from my dad, so now she's targeting someone else and trying a different route, right?"

"Change route? Try to start from Tangze's side? Then isn't this route a bit too tortuous?" Yuanshan Heye frowned strangely.

"Of course, Karasawa can't plead for her. But if she can get some information out of Karasawa, such as information related to Mingzhi's work, or cooperation with the police, then she may be able to find some breakthroughs. My father doesn't actually plan to sell it. After all, this thing has good historical value, and it's good to put it in the exhibition hall here to show off. I heard him say that among these people, the one who is most obsessed with it is this woman with a weird name..." Suzuki Sonoko couldn't bear to watch it anymore, "No, we can't let her cause trouble for Karasawa."

If it were someone else, such as Kogoro Mori, Suzuki Sonoko probably would not pay any attention.

Even if Pu Si Qinglan used the beauty trap to extract some important information from Maori Kogoro, as long as it did not interfere with the police's arrangements, given Maori Kogoro's reputation and relationship with the police, no one would bother with him.

But Tang Ze is different. Tang Ze's identity is the most sensitive among their group, and the one that cannot be left in doubt.

Tang Ze is indeed still a minor, so when facing criminal punishment, there is still a chance of protective observation, but he is 18 years old, not 13 years old, and this suspended sentence is not so light. Once he gets into trouble, the case may really turn into a real prison sentence...

"Let's go over and have a look."

Pu Siqinglan, who was sitting opposite Tang Ze with a smile on her face, did not notice a few girls who were approaching stealthily from another direction.

All her attention was now on the bag at their feet.

In addition to guns, there were also things that were very important to this operation, such as the map she had marked and the prepared retreat route.

There are still two or three days until the opening day, which is also the day when Kaito Kid announced that he would steal the Egg of Memories. She must take this opportunity to make full preparations.

Osaka is not a city she is familiar with. Even though she has been to Japan several times, most of the time she has only been active around Tokyo. These preparations are necessary.

Although she is not completely a solo thief, she is still a lone ranger in general, and no one will do this kind of work for her.

And this guy who inexplicably stopped me and kept talking would waste an extra afternoon...

Thinking of this, she became more anxious.

Her condition was not apparent on her face, but her subtle body language certainly could not fool a professional like Tang Ze.

He glanced at the other person's index finger that was tapping the rim of the cup unconsciously, but his speech speed became slower: "...Speaking of which, you just said that you were born in southern China, so you like cheongsam and have been wearing it when you are abroad, because the people you want to contact will be aware of your nationality at the first time and will not have any impolite misunderstandings. Your accent is quite rare. Didn't you speak Mandarin enough before?"

This sentence was somewhat sarcastic and meant to hint at her.

You speak Chinese so well that Chinese people don't think you are Chinese. You say you dress like this because you hope foreigners can find out you are Chinese at the first sight... That's a bit funny, sister.

Why does this sentence feel vague and strange?

Pu Si Qinglan frowned and looked at Tang Ze uncertainly. Not seeing any other meaning from his smiling face, she looked away suspiciously.

She didn't realize that she was hit by the double buff of Kyoto and China. She quickly adjusted her expression, smiled and lowered her head: "I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable about these. You're right, I speak more dialect when I was a child because of the environment I lived in. I learned Mandarin later. What's wrong, does it sound bad?"

"Dialect..." Tang Ze nodded slowly, "Then I can understand. The teacher I learned Chinese from was from Sichuan and Chongqing, so I do know a little bit of dialect. But if you are Russian, you should speak more Russian, right?"

Pu Siqinglan's brows jumped again.

In order to avoid arousing suspicion, she fabricated the identity of an expert and scholar in order to avoid any connection with Russia as much as possible and thus alert people in advance.

Now, speaking of Russian...

"Oh, they can speak a little. I don't speak much." Pu Siqinglan's smile was really a little stiff this time. "Maybe their accent was affected."

"No wonder you sound like you like to roll your tongue." Tang Ze's face was full of satisfaction after his curiosity was satisfied. "If I didn't know, I would really think you were Russian."

Pu Siqinglan took some effort to stop her eyelids from twitching.

You are the only one who knows Chinese, you are the only one who understands China, right? What are you showing off, this kid...

So much talk, it's really unpleasant.

After thinking about it, she decided to use her ultimate move.

"Your Chinese seems to be pretty good. Why don't you say a few words for me? If there's anything wrong with your pronunciation, I can help you correct it. It's rare to find a foreigner who understands us as well as you do."

Tang Ze raised an eyebrow: "I told you? Don't make me laugh."

Pu Siqinglan's expression became genuinely confused.

(End of this chapter)