GOAL BONUS CHAPTER #8
Originally, one of Jiang Xia's reasons for visiting Dr. Agasa today was to remind Haibara Ai not to take off his "organizational vest."
But upon arriving at the doctor's house, Jiang Xia realized the environment wasn't ideal—too few people, and Dr. Agasa could easily notice his actions. If he whispered to Haibara Ai, who was supposedly "meeting him for the first time" in front of the doctor, it might seem suspicious. And if Dr. Agasa had been locked out while Jiang Xia dragged Haibara Ai to hide inside to talk... he had a feeling the doctor would call the police and send him to juvenile detention with tears in his eyes.
The only good chance was when Dr. Agasa was repairing something for just a minute, but the miniature Sherry was so entertaining that Jiang Xia accidentally missed the best moment.
Thinking about it now… anyway, Dr. Agasa goes to bed early, so he'd just wait for him to fall asleep later, and then sneak over to talk to Haibara Ai alone.
Meanwhile, Haibara Ai was silent, observing the terrain around Dr. Agasa's place.
Anonymous sure knew how to pick locations.
At least she hadn't been exposed in front of Jiang Xia today.
Still, she was so close to him now. She'd have to be extra careful in the future. One wrong move, and it could cost at least three lives.
Thankfully, being a child was too absurd—Jiang Xia likely didn't suspect a thing.
Haibara Ai paced and pondered, walking past the workbench. Her eyes stopped on the table.
—There was a bucket of instant noodles on the table.
Haibara Ai froze. This had been brought by Jiang Xia just now.
He'd used instant noodles as a gift? Was this junk food a staple for these two?
Dr. Agasa was tidying up his toolbox.
It was almost dinner time, and he'd been flipping through a phone book trying to decide what to order. Nothing sounded right, but then he remembered the instant noodles Jiang Xia had brought.
In Dr. Agasa's memory, Jiang Xia could be quite particular about junk food—he only ever chose the most refined kind. Instant noodles weren't all the same, after all. Even within the category of instant food, there was a world of difference. Dr. Agasa recalled some snacks Jiang Xia had brought him before, and his mouth watered. He stood up to go find a face to eat.
Just as he turned around, he saw Haibara Ai holding the bucket of instant noodles. She looked at the ingredients, then tore off the lid and peered inside with a cold expression at the spicy chicken flavor.
Dr. Agasa was stunned.
Haibara Ai glanced at him and set the noodles aside. "I'll cook tonight."
"Ah? That's not necessary…" Dr. Agasa glanced at the small child who looked no older than a first-grader, and suspected she couldn't even handle a pot.
But Haibara Ai wasn't asking for advice. She'd already walked into the kitchen while speaking.
There were some fairly fresh vegetables in the fridge. Haibara Ai glanced at the refrigerator like a scientist inspecting test subjects and picked out a few.
Dr. Agasa peeked uneasily at the door for a while. He saw Haibara Ai step on a small bench to wash and cut the vegetables, working quickly and skillfully. He relaxed a little.
He temporarily handed the kitchen over to this mysterious "Black Organization researcher" who had suddenly decided to cook, and returned to the workbench to continue his experiments.
Half an hour later, Dr. Agasa looked at the dishes on the table.
"...For the two of us—one old, one young—this might be a bit much?"
Haibara Ai wiped her hands, glanced at the table, and said flatly, "Sorry, I haven't cooked in a while, so I lost track of how much I made."
"It's fine, it's fine." Dr. Agasa could never be mad at a kid who'd made dinner for him.
He took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma of the vegetables. He was already hungry, but now he was starving. "Let's put some in the fridge, and we can eat it tomorrow."
Haibara Ai shook her head. "It won't be fresh tomorrow. I'll make something new tomorrow."
"Haha, right." Dr. Agasa was so captivated by the delicious smells that he didn't want to think too much about it.
He picked up his chopsticks, about to dive in, but just then, Haibara Ai put a rice bowl on the table with a loud thud.
Dr. Agasa jumped, sensing something was up. He looked at her suspiciously.
Haibara Ai had been trying to give subtle hints, but none of them worked. She sighed in frustration, took a deep breath, and pushed the rice bowl in front of him.
She grabbed the instant noodles she'd just opened: "Think about it, you're right, it's wasteful. I'll eat these as my main meal tonight."
Dr. Agasa stared at the instant noodles, then at the massive spread of food on the table, lost in thought.
He felt something was off with Haibara Ai's understanding of "waste." Sigh… the Black Organization was really a terrifying place that could warp someone's perception so easily.
But with the instant noodles sitting in front of him, Dr. Agasa remembered something—Jiang Xia.
He had an idea: "By the way, why don't we send some of these dishes to Jiang Xia? He probably hasn't eaten yet."
Once he said it, Dr. Agasa remembered the food wasn't made by him, and he wasn't sure it was right to distribute it without permission. He looked at Haibara Ai again for her opinion.
"Jiang Xia? Is that the person who came to see you just now?" Haibara Ai put her chin in her hand, pretending to think for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
She stood up and walked back to the kitchen. While looking for containers earlier, she'd noticed a food box in the cabinet, so she took it out and began washing it.
As she packed the food into the box, she reminded the clueless doctor in front of her, "Don't tell him I made this. Normal kids can't cook like this. I don't want my identity revealed, and I know he'll definitely be freaked out that an adult can shrink. If he goes around talking about it, it'll cause trouble."
"Haha, don't worry, Jiang Xia's mouth is tight. He won't be scared." Dr. Agasa waved his hand. "Actually, before you, he has already met someone who shrank."
Haibara Ai's chopsticks clattered onto the table.
She exclaimed, "What did you say?!"
Dr. Agasa didn't expect such a big reaction.
Haibara Ai was afraid Jiang Xia would find out there were people who could shrink, but Dr. Agasa immediately misunderstood, thinking she was concerned about the "other person who shrank." He explained:
"Remember that case of shrinking I mentioned? I'm talking about him. I was going to discuss it with Shinichi first, and then let him come see you… Well, are you okay?"
Dr. Agasa looked at Haibara Ai's increasingly pale face and knew he'd said too much. He hadn't realized how terrifying Shinichi Kudo was in the eyes of the Black Organization members. Just mentioning his name had almost petrified Haibara Ai into a statue…
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 3/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:0/10*