Chapter１０

Chaninwouldliketosaythathejustneedstobecareful,notfromcompetitors...FromRan.

"I'lltellhim."Finally,Ihadtoanswersoasnottoattractattention.

Chanintalkstohermotherforafewwords,andwhenMomorupopsup,shepausesabruptly.

"I'msorrytobotheryou,butit'stime.Wehavetogo."

"When?"Chaninasked,withapuzzledexpressiononhisface.AsfarasIknow,heisnotallowedtogoanywhereexceptthehospital.

"Gotothecompany.Thereisameetingtoday."

Mamoru'sreplymadeChaninfrown.

Whatmeeting,orwhatdoyouwanttoplay?

"Comeon,don'tworry.ThenIcanlive."

Beforeshecouldask,hermotherurgedher.Althoughshewasveryuncomfortable,shehadtogetupfromherchairwhenshewascalledbyMamoruagain.

"I'llcomebackwhenI'mfree."

Ihavetosay,"Thatbastardletmecomefirst,andIwillcome."

Shenoddedtoherson.Hismother'ssmilegavehimencouragementtocontinueliving.

Alive...Imean,ifhesurvivesthethreatofamonsterlikeLane.

Theyoungmanwhocameoutofthewardstoppedsuddenly,seizedMamoru'sarmandaskedinasuddenstrongvoice.

"Whatdoesameetingmean?"

Mamoruglancedslightlyatthehandonhisarm,andwhenherealizedit,heletgoofhishandandheagreed.

"Meetingwithpartners,theyoungmasterboughtbackallthesharesinyourcompany.Todaywewillsumupagain.Ithinkwe'dbetterhurryandkeeptheyoungmasterwaitingsolong,whichwon'tdoanygood."

Withthat,MamorureachedoutandletChaninleadhislonglegsforward,thinkingflustered.

Buyallthestocksback...HowdidLanegetthefoxestosellthemsoeasily?

ThemostimportantthingiswhoRandisandwhyhehassomuchinfluence...

Itwasn'tlongbeforeMamoruandChaninreachedtheirdestination.Themeetingroomwasopenedatwill,andthemeetingwasnotapprovedbyapowerfulvicepresidentlikehim.Butwhatdoesitmatter?Nowitisnothimwhoisolderthanthevicepresident,butanotheryoungmansittinginthepositionofchairmanofthemeeting.

"Yourheadappears."

WhenRan'svoicesounded,alleyeswereonthenewyoungman.Chaninwasuncomfortablebeingstaredat.Usually,whenhefacesthedirectorsofthecompany,hefeelsuncomfortable.Butthistimeitseemstohavedoubled.

Hecouldn'thelpfeelingthiswaybecauseofthemanwhopretendedtobehismaster.

ChaninwalkeduptoRanandstopped.Ranleanedhislegsagainstthetableandthoughtforamomentwheretosit,becausetherewerenochairsaroundtheconferencetable.ItwasnotuntilRansaiditagainthatheturnedhiseyestothespeaker.

"Pleasesitdown."

Therewasnosoundinhismouth,andhesawhisbrother'ssmilingface,andheknewthattheotherpartywantedtodegradehisdignitybykneelingonthegroundinfrontofothers,andhedidn'twanttodoso,whichwassodespicable.Butwhenhenoddedwithoutcommand,hehadtokneelhelplesslyineachother'schairs,whilehekepthisposition,pickeduphisnewcigarette,andsmokedimpolitely.

Noonedaredtointerruptorobjecttoanything,becauseassoonasChaninfelltotheground,theatmosphereintheroomwasmoredepressingthanbefore,andtheeyesandexpressionsofthecompanypartnerswerenotverygood.Afteronlyonelookathim,heturnedhastily,andeveryonelookedathimwithasadface,andheonlynoticednowthattheatmospherehadbegunbeforehearrived.

Ortheywerekilled,

Don'twaitforsomeoneelsetoanswer.WhenAlansawthateveryonewasready,heblurteditoutinJapanese.

"Idon'tneedtoexplainwhyIcalledyoutoday."

Thereisnohonor,nopower,noqualificationsofothers,andnosuchpeoplecanlistenandspeak,buttheycanalreadylisten,speak,readandwrite.ThisgroupofoldfoxesalsocooperatedwithotherJapanesecompaniesinsteadofChanin'scompany.

"Asyouknow,Ihavesentpeopletonegotiatetobuythepartnersofthisstupidcompanyfromyou,andyouhavesoldthemalltome,whichmeansthat80%ofthesharesofthecompanyaremine,yours.Fromnowon,thereisnoobligationhere.IcalledyouheretoletmyslavesknowthatIhavefulfilledtheconditionsIagreedto.Don'tworryI'llplay."

Withthat,hegaveChaninalook.Helookedupandlookedthespeakerintheeye.HewashumiliatedbecauseRansaidhewasa"slave".Ifnooneaskedhim,heloweredhisheadanddidnotdaretolookthembothintheeye.Theseoldfoxesmadenosound,whichmadehimunsurewhetherwhathappenedwastrueornot.Mamorugetsthedocumentsfromotheremployeesandwalksintotheconferenceroomtodistributethemtoallthepartners.

Chaninalmostlookedupfromhispartnertoseewhathisdocumentwas,buthewouldn'twastetimebecauseMamoruhadalreadyexplainedit.

"Thepreviousdocumentisaresaleagreement.Pleasesignandfingerprintit."

Then,Lane'sotherdepartmentscamedownanddistributedpenstoeveryone.ChanningwatchedquietlyastheawkwardsaleandpurchaseagreementwassignedbeforeeveryonereturnedthepaperstoMamoru,whileLaneunceremoniouslydrovethemenaway.

"It'sover,goback."

AlllifequicklygotupfromtheirchairsandwalkedoutoftheroomundertheguidanceofRan'smen.HisexpressionandfrightenedexpressionmadeChaninask.

"Whatdidyoudo,theywereassimpleasthat."

Ireallywanttoaskyoudirectlywhatmethodyouuse,butdon'tanswer,Iguessitmustbeadirtymethod,soIwanttoknowwhattheseoldfoxeshavedone.

"WhatIdoisnoneofyourbusiness."

Runsaid,inasteadyvoice,tossedtheremainingcigarettesintotheashtray,pulledhislegsoffthetable,andthenstoodup,dodgingquestionsandtalkingaboutotherthings.

"Today,I'mgoingtohavedinnerwithyoutocelebrateourbusinesstogether."

Saythatfinishandwentout.Theword"prepare"meansanythingChanindoeseverydaybeforegoingtoRan'sroom,notpreparingdinner.

Theyoungmanletoutasigh,tootiredtobearLan'semotionsandthoughts.Heturnedround,andwhenhesawMamorunoddingtohisfeet,hewasevenmoretired.

"Go,gobackandrest,sothatyouwillhavetimetopreparefortonight."

"Seriously,whatrightdoesaslavelikemehavetoknowaboutyourboss?"

Finally,hespokeinasemi-sarcastictone,raisinghisfingertips,pushingthespectacleframeagainstthebridgeofhisnose,andtalking.

"Youcanknoweverythingtheyoungmasterwantstoknow.Ifyouask,buthedoesnotanswer,youhavenorighttoknow."

"Forexample,howdotheydoit,theysellalltheirshareswithoutreservation,andevenwhydotheyalwayslookscaredofyourbossinconversation?"

"Yes."

"ThenIdon'tknowwhoyourbossis.Whyareyousoinfluential?"

"Yes,you'dbetternotcallhimmyboss,youshouldcallhimsir,eitherinfrontorbehind,ifyouwanttogowell."

No,theanswerisnotenough.YouwillalsobeaddressedbyaMamoruduwhoisunwillingtousethepronounthattheotherpersonwants.

Thisisjustasynonym,heisnotinfrontofme,andIdon'twanttocallhimrespectfulorafraid.Isn'tthistrue?

Ifyoudon'tseeMamoru'sseriousexpression,youwillknowhowunhappyheis.

"Thereisnoproblem,let'sgo,soyouhavenotimetorest."

Whenthesoundwasover,hereachedouttothedoorandChaninwalkedaway,waitingforanotheraftershockofthenight.