Chapter 17: The Man and Woman Who Attract Hatred

While Akemi Miyano was feeling uneasy, Shoichi had already wandered off elsewhere.

Although Yotsui owed money and hadn't paid it back, Shoichi was a man of great character; he wouldn't do anything to ruin someone else's banquet. He was simply going around offending people.

"Miss Rika, that necklace of yours is beautiful."

"Your compliments to others are like cheap perfume—sprayed too much and too heavily, they lose their true essence."

"Miss Rika, you look very beautiful today."

"Looking at you now, you are identical to the previous person; you only possess this kind of unoriginal, tedious flattery."

He offended everyone equally, making them all feel quite uncomfortable.

However, those able to participate in this gathering were people of certain status; where had they ever seen such an arrogant fellow? Some did not recognize Shoichi, but with a face that clearly had never been bullied and such a flamboyant, domineering personality, it was obvious he didn't come from an ordinary family. Furthermore, his manner of speech and his sarcastic insults made it clear at a glance that he hailed from a great clan.

Therefore, most people chose to endure his mockery and instead went to bully those who were easier targets. Kogoro Mouri, a detective who had not been famous for very long, became their object of ridicule.

Conan glanced at Shoichi, who was busy offending people everywhere, and quietly averted his eyes. He was actually somewhat afraid of interacting with Shoichi, wondering if Shoichi had investigated his identity.

The banquet ended.

Neither Yotsui nor Rika Yotsui looked particularly good. A perfectly fine birthday party had turned somewhat disastrous because of one person's presence. Yotsui glared at Shoichi with deep resentment.

*You bastard, don't even think about getting that construction payment back! If you're unhappy, sue me in court—if you manage to get the money, I'll consider it my loss!*

"Chairman, Miss Rika's car has a flat tire," a security guard said, walking over.

"Then take my Porsche back."

"Take my Bentley instead."

"Take my BMW."

Yotsui had only one daughter. If he could marry her off, he could directly become the president of the Yotsui Group, so he did not lack people willing to flatter her.

"But, your cars have flat tires as well," the guard said.

"What?"

They immediately went to check their cars and discovered that perhaps that villain was being sympathetic to the poor. The tires of all the luxury cars had been punctured; only the car Kogoro Mouri had rented remained intact.

Mouri said, "Why don't you all just ride in my car back?"

"Sure," Shoichi nodded and sat in the back seat.

Akemi Miyano gave a helpless smile and also got into the car to sit beside Shoichi.

Mouri's mouth twitched. *I was talking to Miss Rika, what are you doing getting in?*

"Today is my birthday, I don't want to squeeze into someone else's car to go back," Rika said willfully.

Yotsui doted on his daughter excessively. Upon hearing that his daughter didn't want to leave, he immediately decided to stay with her, spending the night in the villa of the mountain estate. Her group of "simps" also decided to stay.

Shoichi said to Kogoro Mouri, "Old man, are you going back or not?"

Ran supported Mouri and said, "Dad has drunk too much; he can't drive."

"Then lend me the car. I don't want to spend the night here," Shoichi said.

Living in the same villa as the "Death God" family would surely result in someone dying. Shoichi only wanted a quiet environment for sleep. Wouldn't it be much better to go home and sleep while holding Akemi Miyano's sister?

Just as Ran was about to hand the keys to Shoichi, Rika suddenly rushed over, snatched the keys, and threw them directly into the trash can.

"If you go back now, the Yotsui Group will sever all cooperation with you in the future!" Rika looked at Shoichi arrogantly.

*An interesting man. You have successfully caught my attention.*

Shoichi was momentarily stunned. *You foolish woman, do you think I actually want any cooperation with the Yotsui Group?*

The corners of Akemi Miyano's mouth curled up slightly. Seeing Shoichi treated this way gave her a subtle sensation. The Shoichi who was always bullying others could, it turned out, also be bullied.

Shoichi glanced at the trash can and said, "Get out of the car."

"Fine."

Akemi Miyano got out of the car with Shoichi.

"Prepare a quiet room for me to sleep in, otherwise, I'll burn this place down," Shoichi said calmly.

Rika looked at Shoichi with a deep smile. *A very cocky man, even more willful than me. How interesting.*

The alarms went off in the hearts of Rika's simps. This sudden competitor was somewhat terrifying; he seemed to have already figured out Rika's preferences and was prescribing the right medicine. They glanced at Shoichi's appearance again. *It might not be that he figured out her preferences; he might just be plain handsome...*

Shoichi was taken to a room to rest, and he warmly invited Akemi Miyano to share his bed. However, Akemi Miyano refused him.

In the villa's living room, Rika watched the cocky Shoichi go upstairs to rest and said to the remaining crowd, "I'm going upstairs to change my clothes. I advise you not to be like that guy. To put it plainly, you are all birds in a cage; if I don't feed you some grain, you won't be able to survive at all. So, you'd better learn how to please your master."

Leaving behind a highly provocative remark, Miss Rika went to the second floor.

Rika was indeed very good at attracting hatred. But the simps staying here were all men who wanted to become Rika's husband. If they couldn't even endure this bit of her temperament, how could they endure the grievances and pain of becoming the President of Yotsui?

They quickly adjusted their mindsets and began playing cards for entertainment.

A long time passed, and since Rika still hadn't come down, they felt somewhat uneasy. The simps exchanged glances. *That guy named Shoichi is resting on the second floor. Could Miss Rika have gone to find him? That would be terrible. If that's really the case, we'll all become complete clowns.*

Conan, however, didn't think in such bad terms; he somewhat suspected that Rika had already met with foul play.

"Why hasn't Miss Rika come down yet? Could she have run into trouble?" the first simp said.

"Let's go upstairs and look for her."

"Okay, let's go up and check together."

With a clear goal, they went straight to the door of the room where Shoichi was resting. From outside the door, they could see that the lights in the room had already been turned off.

The first simp knocked on the door and asked softly, "Excuse me, is Miss Rika inside?"

"No, get lost! Ask again and I'll burn the villa!" Shoichi's irritable voice came from inside the room.

The first simp rubbed his nose. *What a nasty fellow.* He actually found himself thinking, *What is wrong with me, thinking this nasty fellow and Miss Rika actually suit each other?*

"Miss Rika shouldn't be in there," the first simp said.