·99｜Exclusive to Jinjiang·99
Stinky straight man, soft-hearted, love-struck idiot.
Inside the newly opened French restaurant in Beika Street, tables covered with white cloths were laden with exquisitely plated food. Raikawa Yomi squinted, a look of pure enjoyment on her face, as she used a metal fork to bring small pieces of foie gras to her mouth.
On the other side of the table, four or five staff members from Nichiri TV were standing close together. They held their recording equipment high, trying to capture every movement of Yomi Raikawa as she ate.
The owner of the French restaurant squeezed at the back of the crowd, craning his neck and rubbing his hands incessantly, as if every extra bite that Raikawa Yomi ate would bring him an extra pot of gold.
Yomi Laichuan quickly rose to fame after only a few appearances on Nikko TV, becoming a highly sought-after food connoisseur in the Tokyo area.
It was Yomi Laichuan who made Nichiri TV realize that there really are people who can eat food with an extremely elegant and delicious taste without any affectation.
When signing the contract, Nichiri TV originally intended to take the lion's share of the revenue, but after learning that Yomi Yorikawa was a law student at the University of Tokyo, they became a little hesitant and increased Yomi Yorikawa's share.
The Japanese broadcaster had no idea that Yomi Lai was a fake law student who had switched majors and knew absolutely nothing about Japanese law. Asking her to read through a contract and find its flaws was less useful than having her build a Gundam.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan didn't understand much, but the administrators were all shrewd people who had been in the business for many years. They could spot any traps in the contract at a glance.
The administrator didn't even bother to lift an eyelid: "Tell them to change it according to my instructions."
So, following the administrator's instructions, Lai Chuan Huang Quan pointed and said, "Change it here."
The deeply hidden, seemingly foolproof contract trap was exposed at a glance. The head of Nichiuri TV twitched his eye twice: "Let me explain, it's like this..."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan said with a stern face, "I don't want to hear it. Just tell me if you're going to change it or not. If you're not, I'm leaving."
"Hey! I'll change it, I'll change it!"
With tears in his eyes, the head of Nichiuri TV revised the contract until it met the administrator's expectations and then reprinted it.
If anyone else had dared to make such demands to Yomiuri TV, they would have definitely frozen them out. But they were gambling, betting that the economic benefits brought by Yomiuri Yoshinari would far exceed those of 90% of the artists under Yomiuri TV's management.
They were lucky; they made the right bet.
In just half a month, Lai Chuan Huang Quan became so famous that she could no longer go out to eat at will. Being recognized by passersby occasionally was a minor issue; the most troublesome thing was that when she went out to eat, it would trigger a celebrity effect—wherever she sat down, that restaurant would be packed within ten minutes.
So much so that every time Yomi Laichuan went out, the waiters at the restaurants would show completely polarized expressions when they saw her—"The God of Wealth has arrived," and "Damn, I'm going to be exhausted again today."
After this happened several times, Lai Chuan Huang Quan started to feel aggrieved. She squatted on the sofa with her knees drawn up, sulking and not wanting to say a word.
The detective boy from the Kudo family called to congratulate Yomi Raikawa, but after noticing her dejected mood, Shinichi Kudo frowned and asked Yomi Raikawa with concern if she had been bullied at work, and said generously that he would help her get revenge.
After figuring out the reason why Yomi Laichuan was depressed, Shinichi Kudo laughed wildly over the phone, his gloating clearly evident.
Yomi Laichuan: "...?"
She grinned and said, "You brat! I'm just not going out to eat anymore! It doesn't mean I can't leave the house! You think I won't beat you up?!"
Shinichi Kudo: "Tch, brat? You have an underdeveloped face too!"
...?
Lai Chuan Huang Quan was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth to powder: "I call this cute! This kind of face doesn't age easily, don't you understand?!"
"Honestly, you're just as annoying as Jinpei! If you weren't only in middle school, I would have definitely beaten you up!"
Shinichi Kudo asked in confusion, "And who is Jinpei?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "He's the captain of the Metropolitan Police Department's Explosives Disposal Unit 1, a super ace, currently holding the rank of Assistant Inspector. That guy is a clueless straight man just like you, completely clueless about how to make girls happy."
“Kudo, let me tell you, if you keep doing this, Mori will run away sooner or later.”
On the other end of the phone, Shinichi Kudo's fair skin flushed red like a shrimp boiled in boiling water. He stammered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a very unconvincing sentence: "You, you shouldn't talk nonsense! I don't like her!"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan stared with a half-moon shape in his eyes, and slowly uttered a cold word: "Oh."
"What are you 'oh' about!"
"nothing."
"Seriously! I'm hanging up now, I'll call you back next time!" He then hurriedly hung up the phone.
After teasing the little detective, Lai Chuan Huang Quan curled her lips into a horizontal "[3]" shape, and her mood improved considerably. But before she could turn around, a dark shadow loomed over her.
Behind Lai Chuan Huang Quan, a handsome man in a suit, the one who had just been criticized, gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. He spoke each word as if he wanted to chew Lai Chuan Huang Quan to pieces: "Who are you calling a stinky straight man?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan was so frightened that she instinctively shrank her neck. She didn't even notice when Matsuda Jinpei had arrived.
Yomi Laichuan stood stiffly like a robot, silently turning to the side as if he hadn't heard anything, trying to turn the back of his head towards Jinpei Matsuda.
Matsuda Jinpei: ...?
He grabbed Lai Chuan Huang Quan's head and pressed it down: "Stop playing dumb!"
Without hesitation, Raikawa Yomi threw herself into Hagiwara Kenji's arms. The whole action was executed flawlessly: "Eek, Kenji! The gorilla is bullying me!!"
Matsuda Jinpei: ? ? ?
"When did I bully you!? -- Wait, Hagi, why are you cooperating so quickly to coax me? You clearly saw what happened just now! -- Ugh, damn it!"
Kenji Hagiwara gently stroked his girlfriend in his arms, kissed her forehead, and softly uttered comforting words. He glanced at Jinpei Matsuda, feeling both helpless and amused.
It is said that humans are good at imitation from birth, but Matsuda Jinpei has been working with Hagiwara Kenji for so many years—almost twenty years, at least—why hasn't he made any progress?
Four years into his time with the Metropolitan Police Department, Matsuda Jinpei's personality has gradually become more composed. Arrogant yet incredibly capable, he's a mysterious, dangerous, and extremely popular figure in the eyes of the female officers. Hagiwara Kenji initially thought Matsuda Jinpei would also improve his manner of speaking, but he repeatedly proved to Hagiwara with his abilities that Jinpei will always be Jinpei, and that he can never change.
However, perhaps Matsuda Jinpei had already quietly come to his senses, but simply chose to let go gracefully.
...
"Miss Lai Chuan, are you really not considering joining the Earth Ladies Team?"
The popular manager from Nichiri TV looked at Yomi Lai with a regretful expression, while holding a stage outfit specially made for Yomi Lai.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan stared intently at the sexy and hot stage outfit in front of him: "I don't want it."
The top agent was clearly not giving up: "We've also found four team members for you, all of them are very cute girls, and each of them has a different style, so there's absolutely no need to worry about internal discord due to overlapping fan groups."
An excited flush spread across his face, as if he could already foresee Lai Chuan Huang Quan's meteoric rise to fame. If it succeeded, Lai Chuan Huang Quan would become the third popular artist he had personally mentored, bringing him a large bonus and a steady stream of income, further elevating his status in the talent agency industry.
But Lai Chuan Huang Quan just glanced at his manager with a look of disdain: "Please, I became popular because of my reputation as a food connoisseur. How can a food connoisseur become an idol singer?"
The agent chuckled: "You don't understand, do you? Back then, there were so many male viewers begging you to debut that the TV station received so many letters that they filled the mailroom."
Furthermore, food critics have a limit to their popularity, but a "worldly lady" can become a sensation throughout Japan. This project was a plan that Japanese TV stations researched and developed for a long time, so there definitely won't be any problems!
Lai Chuan Huang Quan hesitated: "But..."
"40/60! The TV station sells 40%, you sell 60%!"
"make a deal!"
This is a mutually satisfactory deal. Yomi Laichuan can make his wallet bulge faster, and Nichibumi TV can reap fame and fortune by promoting a super popular idol group.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan sat on the sofa in the lounge with her arms crossed, chuckling to herself as she mentally calculated how long it would take to buy the car in full for Hagiwara Kenji.
But it was this incident that reminded Lai Chuan Huang Quan, who suddenly looked at her manager: "I... I have a boyfriend, but aren't idols not allowed to date?"
Upon hearing this, the top agent, who had expected another bonus, froze on his face, his smile vanishing, and his hand, which was massaging Lai Chuan Huang Quan's shoulders, stopped. He practically forced out the words through clenched teeth: "...Can we break up?"
Without even thinking, Lai Chuan Huang Quan refused outright: "No."
Agent: "Is there absolutely no room for negotiation?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan snorted: "Not at all. Debuting is not as important as being a second-year graduate student."
The agent looked dejected after being completely rejected. It felt like buying a lottery ticket that perfectly matched the winning numbers, excitedly rushing to claim the prize, only to be told that the ticket was a losing ticket from the previous draw.
The agent was completely petrified, cracked into pieces, and seemed ready to turn into a pile of sand at any moment.
Yomi no Yomi was in no better shape.
Not being able to debut means one less source of income, and the dream of buying a sports car for my second year of graduate school seems even more distant.
But what troubled Raikawa Yomi even more was yet to come.
She was brooding on the sofa in the lounge when her phone suddenly rang.
He is a professor at the University of Tokyo.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan only listened to the brief conversation before her expression visibly fell. Holding the phone, she protested softly to the other end, "Professor, this topic is too difficult, I don't know how!"
But the professor clearly didn't think so. He was practically ready to write "No, you can!" on a sticky note and slap it hard on Lai Chuanhuang's forehead. No matter how Lai Chuanhuang tried to evade the issue, he insisted, "Your words are absolutely correct," and forcibly dumped the coursework, which was so difficult that it was even beyond the curriculum, on Lai Chuanhuang.
When Yomi Lai returned home, she saw Kenji Hagiwara cooking in the kitchen wearing an apron. She let out a wail and rushed over to him, hugging him from behind: "Kenji, waah, the professor is so mean, I want to drop out."
Kenji Hagiwara turned his head, but he couldn't see Yomi Raikawa directly behind him. He could only smile helplessly and turn his gaze back to the frying pan, flipping the omelet rice with chopsticks as he did so: "What's wrong?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan buried his head in Hagiwara Kenji's back, his hands encircling his narrow, slender waist, which was muscular and full of hidden power: "The professor assigned an extremely difficult assignment, and I have to complete it within half a month! The question is completely beyond the syllabus, I don't know how!"
As they were talking, the sound of a toilet flushing came from behind them. Matsuda Jinpei walked out of the bathroom and said, "Hmph, idiot."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan pouted, gave Matsuda Jinpei a disgusted look, and muttered under his breath, "What are you doing here?"
Matsuda Jinpei scoffed, "Is it strange that I'm at my brother's house? Besides, you two aren't even married yet."
Kenji Hagiwara placed the fried egg on top of the plump grains of rice: "It's not like you wouldn't come to visit if we got married."
Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow with a smile: "What, not welcome?"
The next second, Kenji Hagiwara and the clingy little guy sticking to his back said in unison, with a mischievous grin, "Yes, you're not welcome."
Matsuda Jinpei: ...?
"You two aren't even married yet! Isn't it a bit too early to be siding with outsiders?"
Kenji Hagiwara just curled the corners of his mouth, smiling like a big brown bear that had stolen some honey: "So Jinpei, come and help out too, about the homework on soft bread."
"Tch," Matsuda Jinpei leaned against the wall, his long shadow cast by the kitchen light. "I know, I'll definitely help."
He looked at Yomi Yomi, his azure eyes reflecting both youthful vigor and the maturity gained through trials and tribulations. A smile played on his lips as Matsuda Jinpei turned to look out the window.
The moonlight is beautiful tonight, serene and moving.
But this heartwarming scene lasted only three days before it was shattered.
The culprit wasn't the bomber, but rather the homework left by the professor.
After reviewing the assignment and briefly glancing at the materials, Hagi and Matsu were convinced that this was definitely not an assignment that a university-level mechanical engineering student could complete independently. If it weren't for the mechanical engineering professor's constant praise of Yomi Yorikawa as a promising student worthy of careful cultivation, they would have almost suspected that the professor was deliberately making things difficult for them.
Hagi and Matsuda are undoubtedly geniuses, especially Matsuda Jinpei, whose talent in mechanics is unparalleled. Both graduated with exceptionally high marks and were practically begged by professors to stay and pursue graduate studies.
It's true that the mobile unit often deals with bombs and mechanical objects, but not all of their knowledge is applicable. Furthermore, both of them have been out of school for over four years, and some of the more obscure details have almost been forgotten.
The assignment the professor gave this time was more theoretical than practical. It was also quite difficult, with complex topics, and couldn't be completed in just a few days. Left with no other choice, the two former geniuses of the University of Tokyo's Mechanical Engineering Department were forced to dig out their old university textbooks, filled with notes, and start studying them all over again.
Three days passed, and the three of them huddled in Kenji Hagiwara's house, writing and drawing, their eyes straining from staring at a table full of discarded draft paper.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan put down the master's-level mechanical engineering textbook, which was barely thinner than a dictionary, her sky-blue almond-shaped eyes now swirling like two vortexes. She pouted, dropped the book, and ran off: "I'm hungry! I'm going to buy some food!"
But before he could even stand up and take two steps, Yomi Laichuan was grabbed by the back of his collar by Jinpei Matsuda: "You come back here!"
Yomi Lai ignored him and stomped her feet, but even she couldn't match Kenji Hagiwara's strength, so how could she possibly be a match for Jinpei Matsuda?
She tried to move forward, but Matsuda Jinpei firmly gripped the back of her neck, preventing her from breaking free. Her body was positioned at a 45° angle, with her feet running forward and her head chasing behind.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan pursed his lips, looking aggrieved: "Jinping, I'm hungry."
Matsuda Jinpei sneered, clearly not buying her act: "Come on. This is the fifth time in three hours you've said you're hungry. I know you have a good appetite, but don't try to use hunger to escape reality."
With his scheme exposed, Lai Chuan Huang Quan instantly turned into a puffy-faced mess and sat back down, whimpering.
"Sob QAQ"
Matsuda Jinpei crossed his arms: "Hagi, look at your woman."
Kenji Hagiwara had faint dark circles under his eyes. He looked up from his book and gave a indulgent smile: "You're very energetic, so cute."
Matsuda Jinpei: ...
What is this subtle feeling of something suddenly getting stuck in your throat?
He gave Hagiwara Kenji a cold glance and, unusually, cursed aloud, "Tch, you love-struck idiot."
Kenji Hagiwara rested his chin on his hand and immediately countered with a smile: "Don't you think soft bread is cute, Jinpei-chan?"
Matsuda Jinpei: ...
feel.
But that doesn't stop me from calling you love-obsessed.
[Author's Note]
We finally made it!!
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