Chapter 78

When Fuchida Hikari walked in, she surveyed the room with an imposing presence. Almost everyone averted their eyes when her gaze fell upon them, especially the young women. Shen Zhenghui felt a bit dazed; after Fuchida Hikari entered, he felt a sudden sense of relief and, standing, he plopped down with a thud.

"Sasaki-san is drunk!" Akiatsu Shingo frowned and said.

"Yes, he is!" Fuchida Hikari narrowed her eyes and then looked at Miyamoto, who was completely slumped in his seat. "Miyamoto-san doesn't seem to be doing well either."

"I was about to warmly invite them to stay the night," Akiatsu Shingo said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"I apologize for their drinking capacity to President Akiatsu," Fuchida Hikari waved her hand, and a burly man stepped forward to help Miyamoto and Shen Zhenghui up.

"That's too much," Akiatsu Shingo responded, a bit awkwardly, and bowed. "It's my fault for not entertaining the guests well enough, causing them to not enjoy themselves."

"Since that's the case, I'll take them back first," Fuchida Hikari said. "If President Akiatsu has time, you can visit my company."

"That would be a bother then," Akiatsu Shingo nodded and watched as the group headed out. Yoshizawa Michiko hurriedly followed behind them.

As the group's backs disappeared through the door, the young man acting as the strategist stepped forward. "President, what should we do now?"

Akiatsu Shingo glared at him. "The drugs you guys provided were too weak!" he shouted angrily. "Who was on guard outside? How could they just let them in like that?"

The innocent underlings looked at each other. Akiatsu Shingo took a deep drag on his cigarette, turned, and angrily shouted at the girls lined up beside him, "Get out of here!"

The girls immediately scattered.

Taking a deep breath, Akiatsu Shingo sighed, "The initiative is no longer in our hands."

Shen Zhenghui was helped into Fuchida Hikari's car and sat in the back seat with her. Before getting in, Fuchida Hikari took out a bottle of water, took a sip, and then sprayed it on Shen Zhenghui's face, instantly making him feel more alert. She then handed the bottle to Yoshizawa Michiko and said, "Do the same for Miyamoto."

Yoshizawa Michiko widened her eyes and took the bottle somewhat reluctantly. Fuchida Hikari then called over a bodyguard and said, "Drive Miyamoto's car and take him and Yoshizawa-san back." The bodyguard nodded and took the keys from Miyamoto, who was now more alert.

Miyamoto, feeling deeply ashamed, bowed his head and got into his car.

"Let's go!" Fuchida Hikari said, and several cars started and drove off in the direction they had come from.

"You were smart to call me," Fuchida Hikari said in the car.

"I didn't know the yakuza here were so low-level!" Shen Zhenghui said, looking a bit depressed. "I thought he would point a gun at my head and force me to shoot a pornographic film! I didn't expect them to be even worse than the triads in Hong Kong."

"Getting your hands on your pornographic film is more effective than pointing a gun at your head," Fuchida Hikari said. "They invested a lot, with so many young girls, many of whom were virgins!"

"You could tell that?" Shen Zhenghui raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Fuchida Hikari smiled and then said sternly, "You should focus on your own affairs." But she added, "However, I also have some responsibility for today's events. I didn't expect them to be so low-level, thinking they would just use honeyed words and threats."

Shen Zhenghui touched his face, feeling a bit embarrassed. "What do they do? Are they not a company that produces pornographic films? Have we worked with them before?"

"Didn't you know?" Fuchida Hikari glanced at him. "Akiatsu Shingo is the leader of the Tachibana-gumi. They are not a small organization in Tokyo, mainly producing, publishing, and distributing pornographic films. They also run some magazines and an artist agency, though most of the artists are tricked into shooting pornographic films."

"Oh..." Shen Zhenghui frowned. "Are they very powerful?"

"They have some good resources, I mean, girls. We have some normal business dealings with them," Fuchida Hikari continued. "The film you and Miyamoto shot was distributed through their channels." She pursed her lips. "Oh, and you didn't know, Aizawa Tomochika was once a signed artist under them. That's why he has a particular interest in you."

Shen Zhenghui felt a chill down his back and was startled by her words. "You mean..."

"The pornographic film industry is highly competitive, and the Tachibana-gumi's performance has declined significantly in recent years," Fuchida Hikari spread her hands. "So, your and Miyamoto's performance gave him hope. You know, when a company is on the brink of bankruptcy, they have fewer qualms."

"Bankruptcy?"

"I exaggerated a bit. They can probably limp along for many more years by continuously deceiving girls and using violence as a backup."

Shen Zhenghui slapped his forehead. "Was Miyamoto once their director?"

"He just worked as a director for a while, not signed to them. These people don't have the foresight to sign directors," Fuchida Hikari said.

Shen Zhenghui felt a headache coming on. "So, how should we handle this?"

"If you want to continue shooting pornographic films, you can continue working with them!" Fuchida Hikari's tone sounded like a joke to Shen Zhenghui.

"It was just a passing interest; I never thought of making it a career," Shen Zhenghui scratched his head. "Of course, I might have other scandalous thoughts from time to time."

"Men, oh men!" Fuchida Hikari sighed.

"Don't sigh about that. Come up with a solution for this, or I won't be able to focus on shooting tomorrow."

"The Tachibana-gumi has some good resources," Fuchida Hikari said to herself. "Especially with the intense competition in the pornographic film industry in recent years, Akiatsu Shingo is also considering expanding into other industries. He hopes to have a few artists like Aizawa Tomochika under his wing, so his interest in you isn't solely about making pornographic films."

"Hmm?" Shen Zhenghui felt very uneasy about Fuchida Hikari's repeated mentions of Aizawa Tomochika.

"Having such a pool of girls is also useful for entertainment."

"Hey!"

"You saw the scene today, didn't you? I'm telling you, you can do the same in the future!"

Shen Zhenghui covered his eyes. "Okay, I get it. I was wrong. Please stop joking about this."

Fuchida Hikari's lips twitched. "What can we do? Sue him for trying to get you drunk and then molest you? Since he has so many beautiful girls, we can continue to cooperate, and even deepen and broaden our cooperation."

Shen Zhenghui put down his hand and stared at Fuchida Hikari in disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that," Fuchida Hikari spread her hands. "If I were the president of Sony, I would look down on Akiatsu Shingo and wouldn't associate with him. However, business expansion can't rely solely on us; we need partners. You know how exclusive any Japanese circle is. Having a local gang like the Tachibana-gumi can make some things easier."

"But he was planning to shoot my pornographic film, right?"

"Didn't he fail?" Fuchida Hikari countered. "Do you want me to remain neutral in our cooperation and then compete with them in the business world, eventually acquiring their company? Come on, they are a yakuza organization, not a legitimate business."

Shen Zhenghui rolled his eyes and looked at the rapidly receding street outside the window.

"Alright, don't worry," Fuchida Hikari said. "Since we caught him trying to do this, we naturally have the upper hand in the next cooperation plan. We can get many favorable conditions, and even if we push a bit, they will have to accept it. So, don't worry."

Shen Zhenghui still felt gloomy. "Of course, it wasn't me who was drugged and forced to drink."

Fuchida Hikari raised her eyebrows. "So what if he shot your pornographic film? Would he really dare to sell it? At most, it would be a bargaining chip to gain some advantages in negotiations. Do you think he would dare to act recklessly?"

This sudden turn of events left Shen Zhenghui stunned.

"Or are you still thinking about having a deep conversation with those girls tonight?"

Shen Zhenghui was furious and embarrassed. "How could I? There were so many of them; I couldn't handle it."

"They were trying to lure you into their trap!" Fuchida Hikari huffed. "When the girls ask you to let them appear in your movies or TV shows, will you agree? Will you agree? Will you agree?" Fuchida Hikari stared at Shen Zhenghui with a teasing look. "That's the real Plan A! Several of those girls were quite good, and I had my eye on them, but I didn't expect Akiatsu Shingo to use them to please you instead of selling them to me."

Hearing Fuchida Hikari's words about trafficking, Shen Zhenghui was speechless for a moment. After a pause, he reacted. "Right, where are you taking me? Just drop me off at home."

"Alright." Fuchida Hikari licked her lips and called to the driver, "Take Sasaki-kun home!"

The car stopped in front of the apartment building where Shen Zhenghui lived. Before getting out, Fuchida Hikari said to Shen Zhenghui, "I'll have Fujitou pick you up tomorrow and act as your bodyguard."

Affected by the events of the evening, Shen Zhenghui felt a bit dejected and nodded absentmindedly as he got out of the car.

"Do you want me to take you up?" Fuchida Hikari asked from the window.

"No need." Shen Zhenghui shook his head. The car of the bodyguard who had followed Fuchida Hikari's car was parked nearby.

"Then have a good rest." Fuchida Hikari said and was about to close the window.

"Wait, I want to ask something," Shen Zhenghui suddenly remembered something, bent down, and stared at Fuchida Hikari.

"What?"

"When you sprayed water on my face, I felt immediately alert. What was in that water? How did you know it would help me?" Shen Zhenghui couldn't resist his curiosity.

"That's holy water from a shrine, capable of dispelling all negative effects," Fuchida Hikari answered seriously, then closed the window, and the car drove away.

"If you don't want to say, fine. What a joke," Shen Zhenghui watched the car drive away and pouted.

Walking upstairs, he unlocked the door. The lights were on inside. As he was about to take off his shoes, Aizawa Tomochika rushed into his arms with a gust of wind. "You're finally back!" Her voice was filled with unrestrained joy.

"Yes, I'm back." Shen Zhenghui patted Aizawa Tomochika's back. "Don't be so excited; nothing happened."

Aizawa Tomochika let go of Shen Zhenghui and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I was so worried. The people who came to pick you up were from the Tachibana-gumi. I called President Fuchida, and I saw her bring you back from upstairs."

"Hmm? You called her?" Shen Zhenghui was surprised again by Aizawa Tomochika.

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