Chapter 68: More Cards

“You don’t need to attend the briefing anymore,” Tao Zhiming instructed Yosuke Ueno as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “You’ve already invested five million yen in principal with me, and you’ll get a steady twenty percent monthly return. Not a single yen will be missing. Rather than going to briefings for practice, start considering, as I did today, how to really approach a project.”

Yosuke Ueno nodded vigorously, no longer concerned about what exactly these beautiful girls he was supposed to manage were. Twenty percent of five million, that was a stable one million yen each month. Wasn’t that just like having a full-time job already? It was terrifying. Ever since this guy came back from the brink of death, his changes had been frightening.

Today, he’d accompanied him the whole time, witnessing how Dalang set a trap for his enemies. Yet, with his own head, Yosuke Ueno couldn’t make sense of the logic behind it at all. But seeing Hiroshi Omiya so excited and looking forward to their cooperation sent a chill down Yosuke Ueno’s spine.

Having someone like Tao Dalang as a friend—thank goodness. What else was there to say? Hold tight to this lifeline. Didn’t he just perform so brilliantly today, managing to borrow another 1.5 billion yen? And the foreign exchange—he must have made a lot of money there as well!

“So, what do you want me to do?” Yosuke Ueno straightened his posture, embracing his role as the underling.

Tao Zhiming smiled, “Two things. First, no matter what methods you use, find the suppliers who provide books, magazines, newspapers, and videotapes to bookstores. Gather their product catalogs and supply prices, get all that information clear.”

Yosuke Ueno nodded.

“Second, learn about others who run bookstores—what are the key points they need to pay attention to in managing a bookstore? The best way is to find a privately-owned small bookstore and work there for a while!”

“Huh?” Yosuke Ueno was a little confused. “Me? Work at a small bookstore?”

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t fit your prestigious University of Tokyo status?” Tao Zhiming teased. “Don’t underestimate this. You said your father runs a pottery workshop and is both a craftsman and a businessman—ask him how hard it is to run a small business. Yosuke, this is the real beginning of stepping into society. Real business is a whole different matter from interviews. Do you know why, after joining a company, you go through at least three years of hard work as a regular employee?”

“…I understand.” Yosuke Ueno looked at Tao Zhiming’s increasingly serious expression and responded earnestly.

Tao Zhiming was satisfied. “That’s more like it. If you’re to be my right-hand man in the future, you still have much to learn.”

He then tossed him a sweetener, joking, “If you can handle the role of store manager before I finish choosing and renovating my own first bookstore, we’ll still need staff. As for the beautiful girls, you’ll get to interview them and choose who’ll work in the store.”

The tables turned, and Yosuke Ueno’s eyes gleamed. “So there will actually be real beautiful girls to manage!”

Tao Zhiming struck back with a stick, “But if the business isn’t run well, there’ll be nothing left, and I’ll hire a burly man to manage you instead!”

Yosuke Ueno shivered, looking at him with a sad expression.

“Do your best!” Tao Zhiming patted his shoulder, then yawned and stood up. “I’m off to bed. Oh, one more thing. About Miyako’s schooling—since you’re not going to the briefing, help resolve it as soon as possible.”

“Alright… Dalang, about what you discussed with Yuta, are you still going to go ahead with it tomorrow?” Yosuke Ueno started worrying again.

“Don’t get involved in that. Stay out of it. I haven’t even dealt with you for eavesdropping yet!”

“…But aren’t you going to keep watching the news? Isn’t today important?”

Tao Zhiming walked away, shaking his head. “Nothing worth paying attention to—there’s a lot to do tomorrow. Did you get too worked up from all the excitement today? Then focus on how to complete my challenge for you!”

There was indeed no need to obsess over the exchange rate. Even if it fluctuated back a little, it would just mean earning less. Anyway, the positions weren’t closed yet, and the yen’s appreciation was far from over—what was there to fear?

Moreover… Once he entered his room, closed and locked the door, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes as he opened his desk drawer.

Inside lay a sharp knife.

That was enough.

No doubt, that taxi was driven by someone from Kita City Society. Hiroshi Omiya’s request was probably to find a way to take him to some remote spot and then extract the information he wanted.

As soon as they asked about anything related to the model Tao Zhiming had spoken of today, the party acting would either be Mosho Real Estate or Tomokazu. Hiroshi Omiya must have realized that. His own fate wouldn’t be pleasant, for Tao Dalang had no family and few friends. As long as things were handled cleanly, if he vanished from the world, no one would tirelessly pursue the truth.

But now, things were different.

Hiroshi Omiya had already learned most of what he wanted today. With a better option now, would he still choose to proceed as before?

At this point, Tao Zhiming’s sudden disappearance would trigger a much bigger reaction—would Hiroshi Omiya be concerned about Hidefumi Kinoshita’s response? If he really went ahead, would he worry that Kita City Society would have dirt on him?

So, if that taxi appeared again tomorrow, it probably wouldn’t be a situation where he’d be knocked out by a tranquilizer as soon as he got in, or forcibly controlled by some other means.

Tao Zhiming slowly closed the drawer.

The odds of success had increased.

Of course, mere delay wasn’t enough; he needed to gain more cards!

Once he lay in bed, he finally set these worries aside and thought of Runa Onodera.

Tao Zhiming kept a composed expression, knowing that woman must be feeling quite ill at ease right now.

But first, lower her expectations, then treat her kindly—the results would be altogether different.

Besides… Did Runa Onodera ever really have any unrealistic expectations for the future to begin with?

After pondering for a while, Tao Zhiming let that concern go as well.

There was much to do tomorrow.

…

When dawn came, Tao Zhiming didn’t get up until nearly eight o’clock. Stepping out of his bedroom, he saw Runa Onodera sitting in the living room, with Miyako Inoue watching TV nearby.

Hearing Tao Zhiming’s footsteps, Runa Onodera quickly stood up, though her eyes avoided him as she bowed her head and asked, “Good morning. What would you like for breakfast?”

“Is Yosuke up yet?” Tao Zhiming glanced at her without any particular reaction, then said to Miyako, “Miyako-chan, after I finish washing up, let me have the TV, alright?”

“…Okay.” Miyako Inoue replied, a little reluctant.

Tao Zhiming smiled, then said to Runa Onodera, “Anything is fine, I’ll leave it to you.”

Runa Onodera bowed lower. “Understood. As for Yosuke… he’s already left.”

“This early?” Tao Zhiming was a bit surprised. “Did he say where he was going?”

“He said to wait for good news about Miyako, and… that he needs to complete Tao-san’s challenge properly.” Runa Onodera answered as she began preparing his breakfast.

Hearing the sounds of washing from the bathroom, Runa Onodera finally lifted her head, shooting a quick glance in that direction.

Her eyes were bloodshot and a little swollen—she seemed to have spent a difficult night.

Did she ask Yosuke last night to help resolve Miyako’s schooling?

As she prepared breakfast for Tao Zhiming, Runa Onodera’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.