In the background, as Senichi and Yukiko were about to change the topic, Sonoko stepped in and interrupted.
"Hehe, it's rare for you to come back. Why don't we all go out for a meal together?"
Sonoko teased, nudging (Kudo)Shinichi playfully.
"You have no idea how much Ran talks about you when you're not around. She even helps clean your house. You should at least show some gratitude."
As the conversation was being steered back again, Sonoko, the good friend, was aggressively helping the two. Things were getting a bit awkward for Kudo Yukiko who pretended to be her own son for his girlfriend.
No matter if it's role-playing as her own son or going on a date with his girlfriend, this whole situation was a bit embarrassing!
Moreover, it wouldn't be an issue if it was an unfamiliar person, but for Ran, who had grown up together with her son since childhood, Kudo Yukiko wasn't entirely confident that her cover wouldn't be blown.
Besides, her son and Ran had experienced a lot together, and even as a mother, she couldn't possibly know everything. There was a risk of exposing some details at any moment.
So, solo dating was out of the question. The only option was to eat together with everyone, and with Senichi and Conan's help, try to maintain the facade and help her get through this tough situation.
Although she was panicking inside, Kudo Yukiko, as an actress, had great composure. She quickly came up with an excuse.
"It's alright. Let's all go together today. After all, it's been a long time since we've seen each other, and Heiji and Kazuha are here too. It wouldn't be right not to treat them."
While maintaining a calm demeanor, Kudo Yukiko smiled and gave this reasonable excuse for refusing the solo date.
Seeing that Sonoko still wanted to assist her good friend, Yukiko quickly continued, "Besides, I'm not leaving today. I have plenty of time tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Sonoko abandoned the idea of helping further and whispered some encouraging words to Ran, making her blush and feel shy.
Having successfully passed this hurdle, Yukiko couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As for tomorrow's date, she would leave it to her own son to handle. After all, as the mom she couldn't be the one to kidnap her future daughter-in-law!
That's right, because Haibara had made some progress with the antidote for the APTX 4869, he was eager to change back to his true self and confess his feelings to Ran.
Although initially, in Senichi's plan, there was no intention to make Conan take the medicine; the original idea was to have Yukiko impersonate him and be done with it.
However, since Conan strongly insisted, and Haibara also wanted to collect experimental data on the drug, Senichi eventually modified the plan to allow Conan to take the antidote and revert to his true form for one day.
There was another advantage to this approach: it could effectively dispel Ran's suspicions. After all, no matter how good the impersonation was, it couldn't be real, and that was the reason Yukiko didn't dare to spend time alone with Ran.
If such a situation occurred, Ran might still become suspicious. But if Conan were to grow back to his original size through the medicine, then there would be no such problem.
And with Conan's appearance today, it would completely eliminate her doubts.
So, after the school festival ended and everyone had dinner together, Kudo Yukiko's impersonation work was finally coming to an end.
"Ah, Ran-neechan, I'll be staying at (Kudo)Shinichi-niichan's house today."
When it was time to part after dinner, just as Ran was about to take Conan home, but the cute little Conan spoke up first, "It's been a long time since I've seen (Kudo)Shinichi-niichan, and there are many things I want to ask him about."
"Hehe, you little brat, always wanting to ask about cases?"
"Kudo Shinichi" ruffled Conan's hair and then looked at Ran, saying, "I'll take this little one with me. After all, it's been a while. Let him stay at my place today."
"I see, then see you tomorrow, Conan-kun," Ran nodded and bid the two farewell.
"Well then, we'll be going too."
Sonoko and Ayako smiled and said goodbye to everyone, and then Heiji and Kazuha rushed to the train station, leaving only the three of them: Senichi, Conan, and Yukiko.
"Don't forget to have Haibara come to your house tomorrow to replace you," before leaving, Senichi reminded Conan once again.
"Ah, I know. Don't worry, I already have a cold as an excuse," Conan smiled and said,
"Thanks again this time, Officer Senichi."
Senichi waved his hand and left.
...
Once the mother and son returned to their own home, Yukiko immediately relaxed and revealed her true form.
She unbuttoned her high-necked shirt and took off the collar-shaped voice changer that had been developed early on due to Senichi's suggestion. "This thing was choking me. It's really uncomfortable to wear."
"Thanks for your hard work, Okasan," Conan spoke up. "You helped a lot."
"Hehe, Shin-chan, I'll be leaving now. The plane is about to take off soon." Without taking a rest, Kudo Yukiko immediately began packing her luggage. After putting everything into the suitcase, she was ready to say goodbye to her own son.
"Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Didn't you agree to stay for another night?"
Conan looked puzzled as he saw his mom packing in hurry and asked, "What's going on? What happened?
I'm not sure if the antidote will work yet, and if it doesn't work and you're not here, it'll be a disaster."
"Then just come up with an excuse like having an urgent matter to attend to, anything to get by!" Yukiko looked rather annoyed. "I called your dad earlier, and guess what? He went out drinking with his friends!
I even heard a woman's voice. He must be fooling around with those buddies of his! I'm going back to catch him red-handed and see if he still dares to say I'm making a fuss for no reason!"
"Mom, you're really..." Conan had an embarrassed expression on his face as he heard his mother's sudden and hasty reason for going back. "Isn't your reaction a bit too exaggerated?"
"Hmph! Men need strict supervision!" Yukiko said, then turned to her son. "By the way, I left your dad's credit card with you, and I already booked the hotel you wanted in advance.
It's the best table in terms of ambiance. Remember, your dad proposed to me there back in the days~"
As she said this, Yukiko's gaze gradually became narrow, and she continued, "I've done all I can to help you. The rest is up to you, so be courageous! Take a step forward!"
As soon as those words were spoken, Conan's face turned red, and his eyes became small dots. It was evident that he was extremely embarrassed by his mom's "public execution."
Seeing her son's embarrassed and shy expression, Yukiko encouraged with a playful smile, "Be brave, and I hope to hear good news when I come back next time~"
Before Conan could react, Yukiko left like the wind.
As Conan lay on the bed, he recalled his mom's words and couldn't help but feel embarrassed, but thinking of Ran, his determination grew stronger.
"Tomorrow, for sure..."
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