Conan: Ran turns into an elementary school student and calls me dad.

Chapter 29 Infiltrating the Inside

"Wow, that's amazing..." Xiaolan said in disbelief.

She originally thought Lin Xiu was just a rich man and a famous writer, but she never imagined that he was also so academically outstanding, holding a doctorate from Harvard University!

"Haha, back in Teitan High School, I was the only one who could beat your mother academically!"

Lin Xiuyi became even more smug and began to boast about his glorious deeds from back then.

"Back then, I was always first in my grade in every exam, while your mother could only come in second. She would often get angry with me about it!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Eri's cheeks flushed red as she retorted, "I was clearly first in the grade on several occasions!"

"What do you mean by 'several times'?" Lin Xiuyi retorted without backing down in front of her daughter. "I remember it clearly. In all three years of high school, you only got first place once, and that was because I had a fever that day and didn't perform well!"

"Do some people want me to reveal the real reason they studied psychology in college?" Eri Kisaki suddenly snorted.

Lin Xiuyi's smile froze on his face instantly, and he quickly admitted defeat and begged for mercy.

"Eri, I was wrong. You shouldn't say things like this in front of Ran. It's damaging to my image as a father."

Xiaolan blinked in confusion: "Mom, Lin... he studied psychology back then, was there some other special reason?"

She had intended to continue calling Lin Xiuyi "Uncle Lin," as she had previously agreed with him.

But for some reason, after Lin Xiuyi took her to school this morning, Xiaolan found it hard to say the word "uncle."

They had no choice but to revert to referring to Lin Xiuyi as "he" from the beginning.

Eri Kisaki gripped the steering wheel, a barely concealed smile playing on her lips.

"Hmph, that guy confessed to me back then, and I rejected him."

She paused, glancing at Lin Xiuyi in the back seat out of the corner of her eye.

"Then, in a fit of anger and embarrassment, he insisted that I had psychological problems from studying too much, which is why I specifically chose psychology as my major in college, hoping to 'correct' my personality through this."

"Pfft..."

Xiaolan couldn't help but laugh out loud when she heard this.

"Tch, back in Teitan High School, what girl couldn't I get my hands on? But I had to run into Eri!"

Lin Xiu's cheeks flushed slightly, and she scratched her head sheepishly.

"Back then, you were like a block of wood. No matter how I tried to amuse you or please you, you didn't react at all. Wasn't it normal for me to think that way?"

"Hmph, that's what happens when you're always chasing after other girls!"

Eri's fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel, her tone clearly tinged with jealousy.

"Especially Yukiko, you knew perfectly well that my relationship with her was complicated back then, yet you still hung out with her every day, passing notes in class, going to the cafeteria together after class, you completely ignored me!"

"So, Mom, the reason you rejected his confession back then was because you were jealous, right?" Xiaolan couldn't help but tease.

When her daughter so bluntly exposed her thoughts, Eri's cheeks instantly turned even redder.

This time, however, she surprisingly didn't refute it; instead, she quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, Shuichi, what did you and Ran's teacher whisper about just now? You were being so secretive."

"It's nothing, I just wanted to find something to do, I can't just stay at home all day."

As Lin Xiuyi answered, she subtly raised her hand and touched her cheek.

This was a secret code he and Eri used when they were in school many years ago, meaning "I'll tell you the details later, but don't mention it in front of the children."

Eri saw his little gesture through the rearview mirror, then glanced at Ran beside her, who was full of curiosity, and instantly understood what Lin Xiuyi meant.

"That's not bad either; it's better than you being bored and causing trouble everywhere."

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

Ran looked at Eri in the front row with a blank expression, then turned to look at Hideaki in the back seat.

The unspoken understanding between them as their eyes met suddenly made her feel excluded, and she couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

"...You'll find out tomorrow. Don't worry, it's a good thing."

Lin Xiuyi noticed the disappointment in her daughter's eyes, and her heart softened slightly. However, thinking of the surprise she had prepared for her tomorrow, she gritted her teeth and chose to keep it a secret.

Xiaolan pouted, turned her head away dejectedly, and looked out the window at the fleeting scenery.

"Just don't let it be like today!"

……

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Judy arrived at Eri Kisaki's apartment building on time in her car.

Lin Xiuyi took Xiaolan's hand and quickly walked out of the apartment and got into the car.

"Boss, the task you assigned has been completed." Judy lowered her voice, a hint of smugness in her eyes.

She worked through the night and got everything sorted out in no time.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Lin Xiuyi nodded in satisfaction.

The two of them acting so mysteriously only fueled Xiaolan's curiosity.

Knowing she couldn't get an answer from Lin Xiuyi, Xiaolan changed her approach.

"Sister Judy..."

Unexpectedly, Judy politely declined her offer as soon as she opened her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lan, the boss instructed me to keep this a secret from you."

"Tch," Xiaolan puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and turned to look out the window with dissatisfaction.

……

At the entrance of Teitan Elementary School, after watching Ran enter the school, Judy drove to Teitan High School, which was not far away.

Teitan University has a very comprehensive educational system, covering four stages: elementary school, junior high school, high school, and university. All four schools are located in Beika Town and are not far from each other.

What Lin Xiuyi asked Kobayashi Chengzi yesterday was whether Teitan Elementary School had a psychologist position.

Sumiko Kobayashi answered that yes, but the three schools—elementary, junior high, and high school—shared one psychologist.

Universities, due to their larger size, have their own dedicated teams of psychologists.

This is normal. After all, mental illnesses are different from common colds and fevers, and the incidence rate is not that high. For primary and secondary school students, what they need more is psychological counseling and emotional comfort. Therefore, it is more than enough for three schools to share one psychologist to meet their daily needs.

What Judy did last night was to find the psychologist in charge of Teitan Elementary, Middle and High Schools overnight, and through a series of money offensives, persuade him to give up his position at Teitan. Before leaving, he even recommended Lin Xiuyi to Teitan.

Teitan University was puzzled as to why this psychologist, who had worked diligently for many years, would suddenly resign.

However, after seeing Lin Xiuyi's resume, especially the section on education which prominently displayed "PhD in Psychology from Harvard University," the school did not hesitate and immediately agreed to hire him.