Before Jiangxia got dragged off to work overtime by Gin, he was actually on his way to Yoko Kinoshita's studio.
He needed to find a way to get close to Yoko Kinoshita.
Because he had to touch a ghost.
From what he'd seen on TV lately, the little ghost child had been clinging to Yoko Kinoshita's wrist.
If the ghost fetus was weak or mild-tempered, Jiangxia could just go with his usual strategy—"grab and run," then kidnap it home.
But if the ghost turned out to be stronger than expected... well, he'd need to do some recon first. Observe the situation, come up with a plan, then make his move.
He'd already checked Yoko Kinoshita's public schedule. No fan events recently.
If he went straight to her agency to block her at the door... the security there was no joke. If things got messy and he caused a scene, he could easily end up at the police station.
And for someone in the Black Organization, "about to go to jail" was basically code for "about to get silenced by Gin."
That guy was an absolute model worker when it came to offing his own team—no way Jiangxia could give him the excuse.
It was best to settle things with Yoko Kinoshita "privately."
…
Yanping Town, beside an abandoned building.
(TN: Some town names are confusing. Not sure exactly what this is.)
Yoko Kinoshita and her manager were sitting in their car, waiting for their assistant to come back with something before heading to the next shoot.
They were on set for Yoko's new drama—a hot-blooded college-themed show. The director had picked a super realistic location: a neighborhood crawling with delinquents.
Normally, the local troublemakers ignored the film crew and minded their own business. But today felt different.
The manager had noticed a bunch of shady guys with covered faces roaming around with baseball bats, clearly looking for someone.
While the gang split up to search, she spotted a suspiciously good-looking young man weaving through the crowd and heading straight for their car.
That man was Jiangxia.
The manager didn't recognize him. She frowned, assuming he'd been blocked in by the gang and was trying to hitch a ride with them to escape. She wasn't planning to get involved.
But when Jiangxia reached the car, he didn't beg for help.
Instead, he calmly said, "I'm the paparazzi who's been following you lately."
Manager, Yoko Kinoshita: "?"
As the two stared at him, shocked and confused, Jiangxia leaned closer to the window and whispered to Yoko Kinoshita, "Sis, you've had an abortion."
Then he held up a CD like it was proof.
The manager froze, glancing hesitantly at Yoko.
At that moment, the leader of the delinquents—a dude with golden hair—spotted Jiangxia by the car. He whistled, revved his motorcycle, and charged forward, swinging a bat.
Jiangxia tilted his head and dodged. The golden retriever's bike couldn't stop in time and zoomed past them down the road.
Jiangxia glanced at the biker disappearing into the distance, then turned back to the car and sped up his pitch:
"Those guys are hired muscle. If they get their hands on this, the price only goes up. Help me escape now and I'll give you a 40% discount on the footage."
The manager frowned, not totally buying it.
But Yoko Kinoshita stared at Jiangxia, then at the punks prowling nearby, and suddenly said, "Let him in."
The manager was stunned. She turned her head sharply and gasped, "Yoko, you didn't actually—?!"
Yoko replied softly but firmly:
"Let him in."
———
Five minutes later.
Jiangxia sat in the backseat with a very obedient expression, holding the fake disc in his lap.
Yoko Kinoshita's car cruised down the road toward the city.
The manager gripped the wheel tightly, puffing on a cigarette and scoffing, "You've got guts. We told you to get in and you really did. Aren't you even gonna ask where we're taking you?"
Jiangxia, aware he was playing a dangerous game, decided to cooperate. "Where are we going?"
"Tokyo Bay." The manager exhaled a dramatic puff of smoke and said grimly, "Tonight, there'll be a new block of cement at the bottom of the bay."
Jiangxia: "…"
He kept his innocent tone. "You're all good people. I don't think you'd actually do that."
The manager laughed twice: "Ha. Ha."
After losing their tail and getting on the highway, the manager shot Jiangxia a glance and asked how much he wanted for the "evidence."
True or fake, she figured it was best to play along for now.
But Jiangxia gave her a shockingly cheap price—and then, as if he was embarrassed, added a small request:
"Could I talk to Miss Yoko alone? After following her all this time, I've noticed how charming she really is. I guess I've actually become a fan. That's why I've been sitting on the scoop and not releasing it."
The manager raised an eyebrow.
Did this paparazzi just... turn into a fan?
And now he wanted to trade blackmail material for one-on-one time with his idol?
She glared at him in the rearview mirror, feeling speechless.
What a puppy. So naive. He thought he could get a private moment and somehow charm the star?
Absolutely not.
But then Yoko Kinoshita, after a moment of thought, said, "Okay."
The manager: "…"
She nearly ran a red light. Slamming the brakes just in time, she stared at Yoko in the mirror with a betrayed look.
Yoko held her gaze, unwavering.
After a long pause, the manager sighed and looked away.
…
Eventually, she pulled the car into a quiet side road and got out. "You've got five minutes."
Then she turned to Yoko Kinoshita. "You're gonna explain all this to me later."
SLAM—door closed.
With decent soundproofing, the car fell quiet. Jiangxia turned to Yoko and confessed, "I actually don't have any dirt on you."
Yoko Kinoshita wasn't angry. She leaned back in her seat and smiled with a kind of Zen calm: "I figured."
She had had a miscarriage—but it was a spontaneous one. Back then, she was in a really bad place mentally and never even went to the hospital.
So the moment Jiangxia whipped out a "disc of evidence," she knew he was bluffing.
But she let him in anyway.
Partly because he looked young, and it felt like a waste to let some punk beat him into a pulp.
Partly because… she had some questions of her own.
She looked at Jiangxia and hesitated. "Have you really been following me lately?"
Recently, Yoko Kinoshita had been getting harassed by an unknown stalker—creepy letters, threatening calls, and even someone sneaking into her apartment and rearranging her furniture.
She'd been planning to hire a detective. But now that she'd run into Jiangxia, she wondered if he was the stalker. Maybe talking things out could solve the problem.
She had a whole speech prepared in her head.
But as soon as she turned to look at Jiangxia, his eyes were so clear and open that she hesitated.
I heard today's teens are super fragile...
What if he's not the stalker? And I accuse him anyway?
What if that turns him evil, and he decides: "You think I'm bad? Fine, I'll be bad!"
That'd be tragic. All her fault.
So she said nothing.
Jiangxia, sitting next to her, noticed her hesitation. After a full minute passed in silence, he got a little confused.
But he'd already picked up on the gist of the situation from her earlier question.
While a lot of things in this world were different from the Detective Conan universe Jiangxia had known, many things were still the same.
For example, he had a classmate named Shinichi Kudo.
And Shinichi had a childhood friend named Ran Mouri, who was beautiful, sweet, and could punch through a steel plate.
According to Jiangxia's "prophecies," Shinichi Kudo would soon get whacked on the head by Gin and shrink into Conan.
Then Conan would move into the Mouri Detective Agency, live with Ran, and start solving cases.
One of those cases? A request from "Miss Yoko" about a stalker.
Now, the timing was off and the surnames didn't quite match—"Okino" in the anime vs. "Kinoshita" here. But Jiangxia had a strong feeling this Yoko was basically that Yoko.
They didn't have much time before the manager came back.
So Jiangxia decided to help her out: "Are you trying to ask about the stalker?"
Yoko Kinoshita's eyes widened.
He hadn't even said anything yet—did that mean… it was him?!
Jiangxia caught her panicked look and quickly waved it off. "It's not me."
Yoko: "…" Huh?
"But," Jiangxia continued, "while I was following you, I did spot someone suspicious." He added, "I can help you solve this. As thanks for saving me earlier."
Yoko stared at him.
Was this kid trying to switch careers? From paparazzi to detective?
Well, in the Detective Conan universe, becoming a detective was a legitimate career path.
She still had doubts about his actual skills, but he looked determined, and she didn't want to discourage him.
So she nodded. "Alright."
She'd been planning to hire a detective anyway. Now, with a witness who'd seen the stalker, maybe the case would move faster.
Yoko gave Jiangxia her private phone number and address.
Jiangxia memorized them carefully, then casually held out his hand for a handshake.
This was his main objective all along.
Yoko didn't think much of it and shook his hand.
According to where the ghost baby had been sitting, this grip should've been enough for Jiangxia to make contact.
But the little ghost clearly disliked him—when Yoko raised her hand, it silently scooted backward just out of reach.
Missed again.