Chapter 39

"Are you worried she will cooperate with us?" Liu Xin asked with some concern.

"This depends on how well our movie performs later. Although I am very confident that she will yield, we still can't be too obvious about it," Fukuda Mitsumi responded to Liu Xin's words, while flipping through her notebook and then taking out her phone. "It's necessary to put some pressure on her. Since we're in Taiwan, it's also good to get to know more local figures." She began assigning tasks to her subordinates, asking them to contact the bigwigs in Taiwan's entertainment industry.

Unlike Fukuda Mitsumi, who was engaged in a business struggle in Taiwan, Shen Zhenghui was facing a different kind of trouble.

As soon as Fukuda Mitsumi left, Shen Zhenghui received a call from Murahama Shoji, saying that Anno Hideaki wanted to meet him and hoped to meet at Gonzo.

This sudden suggestion surprised Shen Zhenghui. "Why does he want to meet me?"

Murahama Shoji explained over the phone, "Didn't President Fukuda sign the copyright agreement for 'EVA' with Anno Hideaki? She has the independent right to adapt the subsequent works. Mr. Anno has already read the script for 'Re-take' that you prepared, and he is very dissatisfied. He wants to discuss the script."

Shen Zhenghui found it incomprehensible. "Since the copyright has been sold, shouldn't he contact President Fukuda?"

Murahama Shoji also felt frustrated. The production of 'Re-take' was supposed to be handled by Gonzo, which was a big cake. If it didn't work out, it would be a loss for both Fukuda Mitsumi and Shen Zhenghui. "Isn't President Fukuda not in Tokyo?" he said. "I've already contacted her, and she said she has entrusted all these matters to you."

What a load of nonsense, I don't even have any shares in Gonzo. Shen Zhenghui really wanted to curse Murahama Shoji over the phone for disturbing his "script adaptation," but he couldn't do that. So he took a deep breath and asked, "When and where should we meet?"

"If you are available," Murahama Shoji said, "let's meet at Gonzo this afternoon at two o'clock."

Shen Zhenghui looked at the clock in his room; it was 11:30. According to this time, he would have to rush to Gonzo right after lunch. Murahama Shoji was clearly just notifying him, and the time had already been set.

"An hour later, at three o'clock," Shen Zhenghui said over the phone. "I can't make it on time."

"Alright," Murahama Shoji hesitantly agreed.

Shen Zhenghui put down the phone and rubbed his face, then took out a stack of storyboards for 'Re-take' from the bookshelf.

"Is something up?" Aizawa Tomo, wearing an apron, poked her head out of the kitchen. "I'll leave after we eat." She said as she brought out two servings of omurice, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, my cooking isn't very good."

"It's fine," Shen Zhenghui said, sitting down at the table with the storyboards. He picked up a spoon and started eating, lost in thought. "It's about the animation company. Fukuda isn't here, so I have to go."

"Is it about the sequel to 'EVA'?" Aizawa Tomo was quite excited. "I can't wait to see 'Re-take.' Asuka is so pitiful!"

"Isn't Rei also pitiful?" Shen Zhenghui countered, swallowing a mouthful of rice. "This is really good, you're very skilled!"

"I'm still far from my mother's level!" Aizawa Tomo said. "Rei is indeed very pitiful!" She looked sympathetic. "If they could both be happy, that would be great."

"It's impossible for them both to be happy. If that were the case, 'EVA' wouldn't be so popular," Shen Zhenghui said with a smirk, continuing to eat. "I need to think about how to persuade the father of 'EVA' later."

Aizawa Tomo looked at Shen Zhenghui with affection. At that moment, her phone rang. She got up apologetically and answered the call, repeatedly saying "Yes," "Yes," "No," and "Sorry." After a long time, Aizawa Tomo hung up and sat back down at the table.

"What's going on? Who was it?" Shen Zhenghui asked, frowning.

"It was my agent," Aizawa Tomo replied, somewhat worried. "Several variety shows have invited me to participate, and my agent is asking for my opinion."

Shen Zhenghui sneered. "Didn't Fukuda Mitsumi tell him that you don't need to participate in these shows?"

"The agent is just looking out for me," Aizawa Tomo explained. "Appearing on variety shows is necessary to maintain popularity and build connections in the entertainment industry."

"You're not just a regular star..." Shen Zhenghui smirked, about to continue, but Aizawa Tomo's phone rang again. She got up apologetically and answered the call.

Shen Zhenghui frowned. "If it's that guy again, tell him to stop calling!" he said, trying to control his anger.

Aizawa Tomo covered the phone, saying "Yes" and "Yes" repeatedly. Under Shen Zhenghui's angry gaze, she finally finished the call.

"What's going on?" Shen Zhenghui asked, irritated. "Should I have Fukuda Mitsumi fire that agent?"

Aizawa Tomo was very embarrassed. "It was President Fukuda," she said, very apologetically. "She asked me to prepare and go to Taiwan as soon as possible."

"Huh?" Shen Zhenghui's eyes widened. "What for?"

"It seems to be for movie promotion or something."

"Are you going alone?" Shen Zhenghui asked, confused.

"It seems I'll be going with several junior colleagues from the company," Aizawa Tomo replied.

"What's this all about?" Shen Zhenghui frowned. The girls currently signed with Queens were all models and had never acted in any movies or TV shows. Why were they being called to Taiwan for promotion? Shen Zhenghui couldn't understand Fukuda Mitsumi's intentions, so he decided to focus on preparing for his meeting with Anno Hideaki.

...

"Why did you suddenly decide to do this promotion in Taiwan?" Liu Xin asked.

"It's not sudden at all. Look, Mr. Cai and Mr. Wu are very interested, especially Mr. Cai. He's already prepared everything. Since there's nothing for the company to do in Tokyo, we might as well come to Taiwan for a trip," Fukuda Mitsumi replied to Liu Xin's question.

"Is that the only reason?" Liu Xin looked very skeptical.

"Yes, it's also to show others. Since we have this opportunity, why not make good use of it?"

"Is there enough time to prepare?"

"Ha ha, don't worry," Fukuda Mitsumi smiled and clapped her hands. "Not everything needs meticulous preparation. Sometimes, a lack of preparation can be even more surprising for fans."

...

"Box office exceeds 150 million New Taiwan dollars, 'Cruel History of Kitakawa High School' lead actress to visit Taiwan to thank Taiwanese audiences."

"Former adult film actress arrives in Taiwan, to meet Taiwanese audiences up close in Taipei."

"Lead actress of 'Cruel History of Kitakawa High School' may be invited to Taiwanese variety shows, 'Guess Who' a strong possibility."

Through extensive media hype, this was also what the Taiwanese theater owners wanted to see. The more the hype, the higher the box office. Taiwanese people have a special affection for Japan and Japanese adult film actresses, and they are not hesitant to express this affection. For example, there are many fans of Aizawa Ai in Taiwan. Although most of them haven't seen Aizawa Tomo's adult films, the title of adult film actress has created a kind of transference, shifting all their affection for adult film actresses to Aizawa Tomo. Even if they don't show it in public, buying a ticket to 'Cruel History of Kitakawa High School' is still something they can do. With the film's box office already performing well, this further boosted its popularity under the Matthew effect.

Thus, Aizawa Tomo was greeted by thousands of fans at Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan. Surprised by her popularity in a foreign country, her gentle smile only fueled more people's fantasies.

Taiwan's traditional culture is not to be underestimated, especially with the arrival of not just one but a group of Japanese girls.

Subsequent meet-and-greets, handshaking events, and movie promotions continued one after another. Despite the hardships, Aizawa Tomo maintained a gentle expression and even greeted the "fans" in Chinese, which made Taiwanese audiences even more enthusiastic.

The box office continued to soar to 200 million New Taiwan dollars, a huge surge. When Aizawa Tomo appeared on 'Guess Who' and responded to Wu Zongxian's jokes in a cute and clumsy manner in Chinese, the Taiwanese people erupted in excitement as if it were a festival.

A box office of 300 million New Taiwan dollars seemed certain. Now, the question was whether it could break 400 million, or even 500 million. All the theater owners were eagerly anticipating.

At the same time, Fukuda Mitsumi finally received a call from Chai Zhiyi. "President Fukuda, I agree to your cooperation plan in principle, but can we discuss the details further?"

At the same time, in Japan, the box office had already reached 1 billion yen.

A few days earlier, Shen Zhenghui, who was in Tokyo, was sitting nervously in Gonzo's meeting room. Next to him was the equally anxious Murahama Shoji, and across from them sat Anno Hideaki, the master of anime money-making, and the famous anime producer and manga artist, Sadamoto Yoshiyuki.

Shen Zhenghui took a deep breath, preparing to use all his abilities to persuade these two original creators of 'EVA'.

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