"How is it? Did Xiaolan agree?"
As soon as they were out in the hallway, Mouri Kogoro couldn't wait to ask.
Lin Yi said, "She agreed."
"Really!" Mouri Kogoro was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.
He patted Lin Yi's shoulder and said with a smile, "You're the best!"
Lin Yi smiled wryly: "It took me a lot of effort to get Xiaolan to agree... She said that she could not go this time, but next time, she must be allowed to go."
"Okay, okay, okay... Anyway, who knows when the next alumni association will be held."
Mouri Kogoro readily agreed.
Having argued to this point, it wasn't really about whether to bring Xiaolan or not, but had risen to the level of a trust issue.
"Uncle Mouri, Ran is only doing this because she's worried about you, so don't take it to heart."
Lin Yi then continuously said things like "Ran is doing this for your own good" and "Don't hold it against her," buying time for Ran.
Mouri Kogoro nodded repeatedly; he didn't realize anything was happening behind his back and simply thought Lin Yi was trying to resolve the conflict between father and daughter.
After chatting for about five minutes, Lin Yi saw that it was about time and finally stopped the conversation.
He opened the door and returned inside the house.
Mouri Kogoro sat back down in his work chair and continued reading the newspaper.
Lin Yi went over to Ran's side and whispered, "How is it? Did you get the address?"
"Mm."
Ran nodded and then turned her phone around to show Lin Yi a Hot Spring Inn, while also saying, "They plan to meet there at three o'clock."
"Three o'clock? It's already eleven now... Including the travel time, there isn't much time left."
After checking the contact information for the Hot Spring Inn, Lin Yi said, "Then let's head over there first..."
"Okay, I'll go pack some clothes right now."
Ran nodded, left the sofa, and went up to the third floor without even sparing Mouri Kogoro a glance.
Lin Yi said to Mouri Kogoro, "Uncle, I'm taking Ran out to relax for a bit..."
"Mm, go ahead. Stay safe."
Mouri Kogoro nodded and continued reading his newspaper.
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Upon arriving at that old-fashioned Hot Spring Inn, Lin Yi requested a room.
Then, he took Ran inside to take a look.
Ran said in a nostalgic tone, "I came here five years ago too! It brings back such memories! I was still very small back then."
While Ran was feeling sentimental, Lin Yi noticed a problem.
He said to Ran, "This inn is too small... If we stay here too, it'll be very easy for Uncle Mouri to discover us."
"Ah? Then what should we do?"
After being reminded by Lin Yi, Ran also realized the problem.
The lounge was only separated by screens, the entertainment room could be seen from the outside, and the hot spring was even worse—it was a mixed bath for men and women.
"Hmm... How about this."
Lin Yi said mysteriously, "You go back to the room first."
"What are you going to do?" Ran asked curiously.
"You'll find out in a bit. Go back first, I'll be there soon."
"Oh."
Ran didn't know what Lin Yi wanted to do, but she knew she just had to listen to him; he would have a way to solve the problem.
Not long after returning to the room, Lin Yi came back.
Seeing him carrying a laptop, Ran said with some surprise, "Where did you get that?"
"Asked the owner for it."
Lin Yi brushed it off with a random excuse, then tapped the screen and said, "Look."
Ran looked at the screen and found it divided into a nine-square grid, showing nine different views.
At first, Ran thought the scenes looked familiar, but looking closer, she couldn't help but cry out, "This... this is the entrance we just came through... this is the lounge, this is the billiards room..."
Ran understood, and she looked at Lin Yi in surprise. "You... you installed surveillance in all those places?"
"Right, this way we can keep an eye on Uncle Mouri without being discovered by him!" Lin Yi said.
"That's great!"
Ran happily hugged Lin Yi and gave him a kiss, but as she smiled, she thought of something else. Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by worry as she said, "But... doesn't this count as violating other people's privacy?"
"It doesn't."
Lin Yi said seriously, "We don't intend to do anything bad, we're just checking to see if Uncle is having an affair. Besides, these are all public areas. If I had installed cameras inside the rooms, that would be a violation of their privacy."
Hearing this, Ran breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that they weren't invading anyone's privacy.
In reality, however, Ran forgot that installing surveillance without the owner's permission is itself an illegal act.
Ran's head was currently full of thoughts about Mouri Kogoro, and she subconsciously ignored everything else.
"Alright, let's change to a different inn."
Lin Yi closed the laptop.
"Eh? Change to another one?"
Ran looked at Lin Yi with a face full of confusion; clearly, her mind couldn't keep up with him.
Lin Yi said, "This inn is too small. Unless we stay in the room and never go out, we'll likely be spotted by Uncle Mouri the moment we step outside..."
"Since we have the surveillance anyway... we might as well switch to another inn so we can stay comfortably. Besides, I just heard from the Waiter at the front desk that there's a Fireworks Festival at six o'clock tonight."
Upon hearing that, Ran was immediately tempted. It was a rare outing, and she didn't want to just stay cooped up in a room.
However, she was still a bit worried. "But... what if Dad does something he shouldn't, and we're at another inn... I'm afraid we won't make it back in time."
"That's easy. We just need to come back here to stay tonight," Lin Yi said.
"Mm... then let's do that!"
Ran was very happy after hearing Lin Yi's plan.
She could have fun and monitor Mouri Kogoro for any signs of an affair at the same time!
She felt that asking Lin Yi to help her was truly the right choice.
"Then let's go."
Lin Yi left the hotel with Xiaolan.
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