Chapter 399: Arigato

"Bastard! Who are you? How dare you come here?!"

Akiyama Tsuyoshi clearly had not expected an extra person to be there; in his shock, he quickly jumped off the bed and lunged at Chen Che, his large hands reaching out forcefully to snatch the phone from Chen Che's grip.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just here to watch the show."

Chen Che dodged with ease, his teasing tone making Akiyama Tsuyoshi even more furious; he let out an angry roar and charged at Chen Che like a wild bull.

"Boom!"

Chen Che turned, using the momentum to give him a push, and Akiyama Tsuyoshi slammed headfirst into the pristine white wall, seeing stars instantly as he slumped to the floor.

Chen Che leaned in and took another series of photos of him: "Young Master Akiyama, strike a pose!"

Akiyama Tsuyoshi was dizzy and lightheaded, his head aching even when he tried to open his eyes; he furrowed his brows tightly and demanded, "Who exactly are you? And what is your objective?"

Chen Che put away his phone and stopped smiling: "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Chen Che, and I am from Xia."

"From Xia?"

Akiyama Tsuyoshi touched his head and winced; he was bleeding, and the alcohol had worn off. He finally realized something was wrong: "How did you get in? You can't get in here without an invitation!"

"That is not the point."

Chen Che paused and said, "Qingyuan Group, you're familiar with that, right?"

Akiyama Tsuyoshi's expression did not change much as he said, "So you're here because of that female spy from Xia... but you've found the wrong person. I don't handle matters for the Takiji Group."

Chen Che smiled: "Young Master Akiyama, you had better cooperate honestly. Otherwise, with so many people here today, you wouldn't want to become a laughingstock, would you?"

Akiyama Tsuyoshi snorted angrily, stood up while leaning against the wall, and glared at Chen Che: "I have never been threatened. It doesn't matter if you expose things; I won't die anyway, but you might not be able to walk out of here today."

Chen Che smiled as he took out his phone again, deliberately turning up the volume of the touchscreen clicks.

"Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap..."

The dense sound of clicking keys rose and fell, while Chen Che kept smiling at Akiyama Tsuyoshi.

Akiyama Tsuyoshi's expression shifted from fierce to nervous, gradually becoming flustered. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, seeping into his bleeding wound, making him tremble all over from the pain.

"Enough!"

Finally, Akiyama Tsuyoshi could not hold back and roared, "What exactly do you want?!"

Chen Che's smile did not fade: "I shouldn't need to say it again."

"I told you, I don't know! My dad and my sister are in charge of the group's affairs; you should go find them!"

Akiyama Tsuyoshi stared at the phone in Chen Che's hand: "If you want to extort some money... just name a number, and I'll pay you triple!"

Chen Che looked Akiyama Tsuyoshi over carefully: "It seems you really don't know, but you've helped me out nonetheless..."

Chen Che shook the phone: "With this thing, your sister should tell me the truth. As for the money, forget it; that isn't my goal."

Akiyama Tsuyoshi looked grim: "Then get out of here quickly. I don't want to see you again!"

"I'm leaving now."

Chen Che shrugged and subconsciously glanced back at Miyanaga Rika, who was curled up on the bed.

Her high-end custom evening gown had been torn by Akiyama Tsuyoshi, leaving much of her fair skin exposed.

Chen Che hesitated for a moment, then walked over, took off his jacket, and draped it gently over her.

"What are you doing?!"

This action made Akiyama Tsuyoshi feel as though his property was being coveted; he jumped up directly and grabbed a chair from the side to smash it at Chen Che.

Chen Che flicked his hand, and the chair flew back; Akiyama Tsuyoshi's eyes widened, and he ducked down abruptly.

"Clang!"

The chair smashed against the wall and fell to pieces.

Chen Che walked over slowly, patted Akiyama Tsuyoshi on the shoulder, and warned him: "I'm not interested in your family's soap opera. I just want to remind you that she is your father's woman now. If you really have the ability, go and stand up to your father. Picking on a woman only makes you look even more cowardly."

Akiyama Tsuyoshi panted heavily, glaring viciously at Chen Che.

Miyanaga Rika also stared fixedly at Chen Che, a strange light flashing in her eyes; she didn't know what she was thinking, but she pulled the jacket tightly around herself.

Chen Che left without looking back. Akiyama Tsuyoshi stood up with his hands on his knees and looked back toward Miyanaga Rika.

Miyanaga Rika, however, jumped off the bed at that moment and dashed toward the door barefoot.

Just as Chen Che stepped outside, he felt a gust of wind from behind; Miyanaga Rika grabbed Chen Che's arm and ran off with him.

After running for who knows how long, Miyanaga Rika stopped to lean over and catch her breath. She looked back and, seeing that Akiyama Tsuyoshi had not caught up, finally felt completely relieved.

"Arigato."

Miyanaga Rika looked at Chen Che and took off the jacket to return it to him.

Chen Che did not rush to take it: "Your dress is ruined."

"I'll go change into another one in a moment," Miyanaga Rika said.

Chen Che shrugged and, without dawdling, took the jacket and put it on: "Then... goodbye."

Waving his hand, Chen Che walked straight away.

Miyanaga Rika watched Chen Che's back for a while before saying in a voice only she could hear: "... Goodbye."

Akiyama Minako finished using the restroom and deliberately dragged her feet by the sink, washing her pale, slender fingers over and over.

She had been tricked into coming by her bastard father today, thinking it was a business cocktail party, not realizing it was actually an engagement party.

But it didn't matter; it was no secret that her bastard father was a shameless lecher, constantly swapping out the women around him, spanning every age group.

This time, he had even gone so far as to get his own son's ex-girlfriend, and was making a big show of holding a banquet, claiming he was going to register their marriage.

Since he had already done plenty of embarrassing things, there was nothing left to care about; after all, the Takiji Group still had to grow.

After mentally preparing herself, Akiyama Minako finally turned off the faucet, but as she walked out of the restroom, she bumped straight into Ji Xuan.

"Miss Akiyama, long time no see." Ji Xuan took the initiative to greet her.

Back when the Qingyuan Group and the Takiji Group were collaborating, Akiyama Minako had dealt with Ji Xuan quite often, so they knew each other and, in a sense, were even considered familiar.

It's just that the meeting of acquaintances was not as warm and enthusiastic as one might imagine.

Akiyama Minako kept a cold face and asked, "Miss Ji, why are you here?"

Ji Xuan smiled and said nothing.

"You really are persistent, but I have nothing to tell you; no matter how many more times you look for me, it will be the same."

Akiyama Minako pushed Ji Xuan aside and strode out of the restroom.

Ji Xuan followed behind and said, "Miss Akiyama, I think we should sit down and have a proper talk."

"We have nothing to talk about; if you have business, you should go find the Shadow Organization, not me."

Akiyama Minako said very coldly.

Seeing that Akiyama Minako was about to return to the reception hall, Ji Xuan steeled herself, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into a nearby corridor.

Akiyama Minako shook off Ji Xuan's hand and said with an angry face, "Miss Ji, please show some respect! I have already made myself very clear to you! I have nothing to talk to you about!"

"Then talk to me."

Chen Che walked over at this moment and stared at Akiyama Minako.

"And who are you?" Akiyama Minako asked with a frown.

Ji Xuan introduced him, "This is Special Commissioner Chen from Xia."

"A Xia person..." Akiyama Minako guessed Chen Che's identity and purpose, "Guests are welcome, and I welcome you to Japan, but unfortunately, I have nothing to talk to you about either."

Chen Che chuckled, "If you don't want to talk about President Lin, then let's talk about your younger brother."

Akiyama Minako's expression changed, and a flash of vigilance crossed her eyes: "What do you mean?"

Chen Che held up his phone to show her and said, "Your brother is fooling around with your stepmother; may I ask if your father knows about this?"

Akiyama Minako was stunned for a moment, then immediately cursed viciously, "That idiot!"

Chen Che smiled, "Can we talk properly now?"

Akiyama Minako took a few deep breaths, her tone much softer: "It's the Shadow Organization, it's Yamamoto Tomoya, he..."

"Woo—woo—woowah—"

Suddenly, a sharp alarm broke the liveliness of the Takiji Group building, followed immediately by a deafening explosion, and the entire building began to shake violently.

………