Chapter 19

At the exit, Fukuda Ayumi was standing there, looking at Shen Zhenghui, who was dragging his luggage out, with an interested expression. Behind her stood her cousin, Kuroshima Jinichiro, dressed in a black suit, but his presence looked more like that of Fukuda Ayumi's bodyguard and driver.

"Hey!" Shen Zhenghui waved and greeted her, dragging his luggage and backpack out to see Fukuda Ayumi coming forward as if to embrace him.

Shen Zhenghui quickly extended his hand, blocking between Fukuda Ayumi and himself. As a result, Fukuda Ayumi had to slow down and then reached out to shake hands with Shen Zhenghui. Shen Zhenghui breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Shen, I just saw you talking to a young girl!" Fukuda Ayumi's eyes sparkled. "Who is she to you?"

"Just a travel companion I met on the plane," Shen Zhenghui explained, then greeted Kuroshima Jinichiro, who had followed, "Brother Kuroshima, hello!"

Kuroshima Jinichiro did not react to Shen Zhenghui's greeting but leaned down to Fukuda Ayumi's ear, "Ayumi, I've called the car. Let's go back to the company first."

Fukuda Ayumi nodded, "Okay." She looked at Shen Zhenghui and then said to Kuroshima, "Brother, could you help Mr. Shen with his luggage? I want to talk to him." She then took the suitcase from Shen Zhenghui and handed it to Kuroshima, naturally linking her arm with Shen Zhenghui's.

Kuroshima Jinichiro took the suitcase with a grim face. Shen Zhenghui quickly said, "I can carry it myself; it's not a big deal to roll it on the ground."

"You are our guest," Fukuda Ayumi said, tightening her grip on Shen Zhenghui's arm.

Kuroshima silently dragged the luggage toward the exit. Shen Zhenghui raised his eyebrows at Fukuda Ayumi, "You said we're going back to the company. What company? Aren't we going straight to Nara? I was looking forward to riding the Shinkansen!"

"Ha ha," Fukuda Ayumi laughed, "It seems you don't know yet."

"Don't know what?" Shen Zhenghui asked.

"We've already established a branch in Tokyo, which means we have a base here," Fukuda Ayumi explained.

Shen Zhenghui slapped his forehead, clearly realizing that it was logical to have a base in Tokyo for a country as small as Japan.

"Hehe, so can I play around in Tokyo for a few days?"

"I'm afraid not. We have a lot to do," Fukuda Ayumi said, walking while firmly holding Shen Zhenghui's arm. "Yoshida Keizo has become the Prime Minister, and he is expected to visit China after a year in office. That means we have a year to prepare."

Shen Zhenghui opened his mouth, "A year's time, you don't need to rush these few days."

"You'll realize that time is not enough once you start working," Fukuda Ayumi responded.

They had already walked out of the airport hall, and a Crown car had pulled up. Kuroshima was putting Shen Zhenghui's luggage in the trunk. Shen Zhenghui hurriedly put his backpack in as well.

Kuroshima glanced at Shen Zhenghui, said nothing, walked to the car, and opened the door for Fukuda Ayumi. He then sat in the passenger seat without a word. Shen Zhenghui, not knowing what to say, also got in and sat next to Fukuda Ayumi. The driver, following Kuroshima's instructions, started the car.

Narita Airport is far from Tokyo, so the drive was long. For a moment, Shen Zhenghui couldn't think of what to talk about with Fukuda Ayumi, but she quickly solved his problem.

"Mr. Shen, I told you that you would end up in Japan, and it's only been a year, right?"

"Ayumi, you really are a fortune-teller, so accurate," Shen Zhenghui laughed.

"It has nothing to do with being a fortune-teller; it's just that I'm good at gathering information," she said with a mysterious smile. "I know everything you've been doing in China!"

"Is that so?"

Fukuda Ayumi nodded, "I even have DVDs of 'Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.'"

Shen Zhenghui was speechless and felt a chill run up his back.

"It seems that what Mr. Shen has been doing is exactly as he told me in his plan," Fukuda Ayumi continued.

Shen Zhenghui scratched his head and laughed awkwardly, still feeling uneasy.

"Is it because of the real estate expansion that you had to flee to Japan?" Fukuda Ayumi asked. Shen Zhenghui clearly saw Kuroshima Jinichiro in the rearview mirror smirk.

"Well, it's not entirely that, but it's somewhat related, because it all started with..."

"Uh-huh, I know."

"Know what?"

"Your relationship with Miss Sun Jingfang caused jealousy from a second-generation, who cut off your funding to force you to flee to Japan." Fukuda Ayumi blinked, "I guess you must have transferred your shares to Wang Anran before you left."

Shen Zhenghui pinched his nose, "Alright, I believe fortune-tellers have powers."

"Mr. Shen, it's just information gathering," Fukuda Ayumi said with a smile. "I was already quite interested in you and the people and things related to you before I received your call." She interlocked her fingers and continued, "By the way, I heard that Sun Jingfang went to Yale University. Do you want to see her?"

Shen Zhenghui held his forehead, "I don't want to seek trouble."

"I think you don't need to worry about Li Rui."

"Hey, some people are still in China! Besides, I can't stay abroad forever, right?"

"That's true," Fukuda Ayumi nodded, "But it's only five years, and Miss Sun should be able to wait for you for five years."

"Please don't mention her. Just thinking about her gives me a headache. I know I can't blame everything on her, but... just let me have some peace."

"Then who should we talk about? Your fiancée in Pengcheng?"

"You really are like a know-it-all..." Shen Zhenghui squinted his eyes, "I'm starting to regret coming to Japan..." He shifted his gaze to the scenery outside the window.

Fukuda Ayumi took a deep breath, "Alright, let's talk about some serious business," she said, taking out a thick stack of documents, "We have already invested in GONZO and are their largest shareholder." She paused, "We had many promising companies to acquire, but..." she paused again, "Dealing with these animation guys is really annoying." She gritted her teeth, "We had a chance to buy GAINAX directly, but that old man refused to sell."

Fukuda Ayumi's words piqued Shen Zhenghui's interest. He took the documents from her and began to read them carefully.

"We have already reached an agreement with Fujimi Bunko," Fukuda Ayumi paused, "We have acquired the animation rights for 'Full Metal Panic.'"

"Huh?" Shen Zhenghui's eyes widened.

"We even proposed the right to make modifications to the author, Hidaka Shoji, and he agreed," Fukuda Ayumi smiled slightly.

Shen Zhenghui swallowed, "So?"

"Do you have enough people in your animation company?" Fukuda Ayumi asked.

Shen Zhenghui stroked his chin, "Should we proceed according to the original plan?"

"Of course," she replied, "But before that, we need to do a lot of preparation," she said seriously, "We hope to take advantage of Prime Minister Yoshida's visit to China next year, but even if we don't, it's not a big deal. The key is that your production capacity must keep up."

Shen Zhenghui began to think and calculate.

"I think a show like 'Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf' doesn't require many people," Fukuda Ayumi said, "GONZO has only produced OVA so far. If it's a TV series, we might need to practice with some works first."

Shen Zhenghui began to stroke his chin.

"Cough, cough, cough," Kuroshima Jinichiro, sitting in the front, finally couldn't help but speak, "Ayumi," he said, "I think you're just fooling around," his tone was steady, "You said you wanted to buy an animation production company, and I thought it was out of interest. Now," he glanced at Shen Zhenghui, "The Kuroshima family's business is not in this area. How much effort and money can you invest in this? As an outsider, you won't achieve much."

"Brother," Fukuda Ayumi glanced at Shen Zhenghui, "Have you forgotten the suggestions Mr. Shen gave us before?"

"His suggestions were useful," Kuroshima looked at Shen Zhenghui, "But the work still needs to be done by us. It can't be considered his achievement," he snorted, "The Kuroshima family is willing to maintain a business relationship with Mr. Shen, but," he turned to look at Fukuda Ayumi, "You don't need to buy an animation production company just to provide work for Mr. Shen's company."

"Is this your opinion or your parents' opinion, brother?" Fukuda Ayumi narrowed her eyes and asked.

"It's my advice to you," Kuroshima said, "Ayumi, you are still young. Don't let past success go to your head and rush into an unfamiliar field." He paused, "But even if this fails, we can bear it. I'm just worried," he glanced at Shen Zhenghui again, "It might cause a long-term burden."

Shen Zhenghui couldn't help but touch his face, do I look so much like a pretty boy?

Fukuda Ayumi looked at Shen Zhenghui, who blinked, waiting to hear what she would say.

Fukuda Ayumi said, "Also, we need to talk to the 'JUMP' magazine about the animation rights."

Kuroshima Jinichiro angrily turned around, clearly realizing that his words had been in vain, and Fukuda Ayumi hadn't listened to him at all.