Chapter 34

Throughout the entire negotiation, both parties communicated through translators. No one present had ever thought that Xiaoyu Mai would know Japanese, and he spoke it fluently.

Nakamura felt as if he had been stripped bare, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Despite his age and the tough skin he had developed over the years, he now wished he could find a crack in the ground to hide in.

Why didn't you say you knew Japanese earlier?

What kind of innocent act are you putting on?

Deceitful Chinese!

Nakamura's embarrassment was always a source of joy for Xiaoyu Mai.

Hiding his knowledge of Japanese was a professional trait of a con artist.

After that strange dream, he suddenly became proficient in multiple languages.

Japanese, Korean, English, French, German, and Italian—he could manage a few sentences in each, all related to his identity in the dream.

An internationally renowned cultural critic, if you only knew Chinese, how could you expect your critical articles to be published in influential international film review magazines? At major film festivals, would you give comments in Chinese? When arguing with foreign fans, knowing only Chinese would get you shouted down to silence!

He had been patient and restrained, waiting for the right moment to strike. Now, with all the negotiations... Mai had heard everything, so was there any need to continue?

Hilton Hotel, Room 333.

The room was booked by the Japanese, and the room number clearly showed that 3 was the luckiest number in their eyes.

The negotiation was over, and now they needed to discuss and negotiate the lengthy contract.

The contract template was in Japanese, but that was no problem for Mai, who was fluent in Japanese. However, he was not familiar with the legal clauses involved.

Yang Linfei kindly offered to find the legal department manager of Feiyang Publishing to help review the contract terms, but Mai politely declined.

"Old Wu, do you know any lawyers?"

"Specializing in publishing contracts."

"International."

"Japan."

A phone call later, and half an hour later, Wu Guodong arrived at the Hilton Hotel with Lu Ruiheng.

Lu Ruiheng was in his late twenties, fair-skinned and refined, dressed in a suit, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Behind the glasses, his eyes were sharp and worldly, yet still retained a hint of scholarly innocence.

After a brief greeting, the contract was handed to Lu Ruiheng through Wu Guodong, and he began to review it clause by clause.

Lu Ruiheng, a law graduate, had studied law in Japan after university and returned to China to become a lawyer, mainly handling legal work for trade contracts between Chinese and Japanese companies.

What Mai saw as similar contract terms, Lu Ruiheng found numerous issues with. He cited laws from both China and Japan, leaving Nakamura speechless and forcing him to seek help from the domestic office.

Contracts are never completely fair. When a large entity deals with an individual, unfair terms are common. The big store pressures the customer, and the big customer pressures the store—this has always been the case.

If the contract were to be revised according to Lu Ruiheng's requirements, Shueisha would have to send a company lawyer from Japan, and it would take at least three to five days to finalize.

Mai's time was precious. He could set up another deal in that time!

Therefore, after communicating with Lu Ruiheng, Mai confirmed that the overall contract had no hidden traps. For the details, he sought help from Yang Linfei. Both were veterans of the publishing industry, and the intricacies of contracts were similar.

Sure enough, the clauses that Lu Ruiheng found problematic seemed perfectly normal to Yang Linfei. The contract terms of Feiyang Publishing were similar. Except for one clause—during the serialization of "Naruto," the author Mai must not reveal his identity.

How could this be? I want to use Mai's Chinese identity to promote "Flower Boy"!

Yang Linfei strongly opposed this, but Mai readily agreed.

He was a con artist, a professional one, advocating for a low profile to enjoy the benefits.

He would get every penny he deserved, so why worry about anything else?

Not only that, considering that the 15 million yen for the recording could not be processed through official channels, Mai proposed a cash transaction in US dollars, 250,000 USD.

Thus, Shueisha finally felt Mai's "considerate" nature, and the contract was smoothly signed!

The manuscript fee was 15,000 yen per page after tax, with Mai delivering one volume per month. If a single-volume edition were to be published in the future, the royalty would be discussed separately. During the cooperation period, if any disputes arose, both parties would resolve them through friendly negotiations.

Less than twenty minutes after the contract was signed, two more Japanese men arrived, said nothing, and directly handed a briefcase to Nakamura.

Inside the briefcase was 250,000 USD.

Wu Guodong took the confused Lu Ruiheng and the two Japanese men to the bank to deposit the money, then returned to the hotel.

Mai gave a nod, and Mai handed an SD card from his phone to Nakamura, who went to the bathroom to verify the contents...

The entire process was shrouded in mystery, making Lu Ruiheng secretly marvel.

After leaving the hotel, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Wu, what are they up to? Why don't you ask?"

"Why should I ask?"

"It doesn't seem like a legitimate deal... Are they selling state secrets?"

"That's not a funny joke."

"I'm serious. Brother Wu, how long have you known him, and do you know him well?"

"I knew him when I was a commander." This sentence stirred Wu Guodong's thoughts, and his tone turned melancholic.

Lu Ruiheng was curious, "Was he one of the Nine Gates back then? Who is he?"

"Mai."

"Mai? I've never heard of him."

"You must have heard of his father, who is very famous in your legal field."

"Who is he?"

"Mai Yingxiong."

"Mai Yingxiong? Mai the Great Lawyer!" Lu Ruiheng's eyes widened, "I've never heard that Mai the Great Lawyer has a son."

"So, don't talk about today's events, especially don't say you've met Mai, especially not to Mai the Great Lawyer."

...

At this moment, Mai and Yang Linfei had returned to the music tea house, each ordering a cup of coffee.

The contract for "Flower Boy" had yet to be discussed.

Yang Linfei found it hard to speak. Not to mention 15,000 yen per page, even 6,000 yen per page was beyond his means.

Chinese comics started late, the market was immature, and they were heavily impacted by Japanese comics. Authors' manuscript fees were generally low. Considering economic and price factors, even the top Chinese comic artists only earned 4,000 to 5,000 yuan per page, less than a Japanese comic newcomer.

"Where's the contract?" Mai put down his coffee and asked.

Yang Linfei smiled awkwardly, "About the manuscript fee..."

"500 yuan per page, is that a problem?"

"No, no problem!" After a moment of wild joy, Yang Linfei calmed down, "Is it a bit low?"

In the room earlier, Nakamura had mentioned "Flower Boy," expressing a willingness to sign the contract for the shoujo manga with a manuscript fee of 11,000 yen, equivalent to 1,375 yuan in Chinese currency.

"You helped me, and you have a good daughter."

The contract for "Naruto" took one to two hours to sign, while "Flower Boy" took only a few minutes.

After signing the contract and holding a copy of Mai's ID, Yang Linfei still found it hard to believe.

Is this it?

It's too... childish.

Why?

Just because Mi Mi likes his comics?

Is he thinking about Mi Mi?

No, Mi Mi is only fifteen this year, he... Oh my God!

On Mai's real ID, the birth year was clearly printed: 1979.

A seven-year difference... is that a big deal?