Chapter 132: Sakura: This gossip isn't juicy enough!
"Let's pass on the whole 'becoming a family' thing."
Shinji immediately rejected Cloris' suggestion. He righteously said, "I, Matou Shinji, would rather starve, die in the streets, than live off a woman!"
Cloris sneered, waving her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Say whatever you want, just don't regret it later."
"Of course I won't. I'm a man of principles."
Though Shinji's words were full of confidence, his next sentence revealed his true thoughts.
"Is the promotion of the new screens going well?"
"So-so."
Cloris smirked. "You got lucky with your timing. Many cinemas were already planning to upgrade from film to digital projection systems. If not, your technology wouldn't have spread this fast. You're really quite fortunate."
"Obviously."
Shinji chuckled coldly.
He had specifically timed the promotion of his technology to coincide with the global shift in cinema equipment.
Otherwise, promoting his naked-eye 3D devices would have taken much longer.
"Compared to standard 3D screens, IMAX's rollout is much slower," Cloris remarked. "The cost of building and maintaining those special screens is enough to open a small cinema."
Shinji sneered. "That's fine. Once my movie is out, the theaters will know what to do."
Cloris lazily waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know you're the best at making movies. But what's that got to do with theaters demanding a bigger share of the profits?"
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget? I hold the patent for the naked-eye 3D technology. Every time a 3D movie is shown in those theaters, they have to pay me a royalty fee."
When it came to those American cinema owners who thought they could exploit him, Shinji made his stance clear: however much you take from me, you'll pay back in full.
Shinji wasn't about to fight directly with the world's strongest tax collectors, but he also had no intention of feeding the American leeches with his own money.
So, he only planned to pay taxes at the rate for foreign films.
Compared to the U.S. tax office, which could send tanks to physically collect money, the cinemas were much easier to deal with.
Not to mention, Shinji still had their lifeline in his grasp.
"If they dare try to take advantage, then whatever extra profits they make can go straight to paying my patent fees!" Shinji said viciously. "If they want to take my money, I'll make sure they never earn a cent!"
"Hey... cough cough... you... cough... guy... cough..."
Cloris started coughing uncontrollably, pointing at Shinji, unable to speak.
Shinji, in a rare show of kindness, patted her back. "Lissy, are you okay? Don't let big brother upset you too much."
"I'm fine. Just choked on the wasabi."
Cloris' cheeks were slightly flushed as she said this.
'Eating Japanese food does have its perks, at least wasabi is a universal excuse' Cloris thought guiltily.
Unfortunately, this excuse could only be used once.
If she kept choking on wasabi, wouldn't that make her seem incompetent?
So, for the rest of the meal, Cloris was extremely cautious, afraid that she might actually choke on wasabi this time.
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At that moment, Sakura was feeling a bit down.
She had come along with Shinji, hoping to get a free meal because she knew he was dining with Cloris.
Sakura didn't fully understand the complex relationship between her brother and Cloris, but she did know that Shinji had been avoiding her.
This time, with Shinji inviting her out, Sakura thought something exciting might be happening between them.
Driven by the spirit of "enjoying juicy gossip" – ahem, I mean, by her desire to safeguard her brother's future happiness, Sakura shamelessly tagged along.
She knew that her presence would likely make Shinji and Cloris behave more conservatively, but Sakura was confident that with her sharp eyes, she could pick up on any hidden clues.
This was evident in how Sakura kept sneaking glances at Shinji and Cloris throughout the meal.
In fact, compared to the sushi and tempura she was eating, Sakura's meal was flavored more by the anticipation of some spicy gossip.
Originally, Sakura thought the dinner would be quite exciting.
After all, she might learn something unknown about her brother.
The thrill of discovering secrets and the excitement of eavesdropping...
Tsk tsk, Sakura finally understood why paparazzi are so persistent when it comes to celebrity gossip about her brother.
Too bad, though – none of you reporters can ever dig up anything on a magus like my Onii-sama! In the end, the only one who can uncover Matou Shinji's secrets is me, Matou Sakura!
And then... nothing happened.
Sakura never expected that her brother would spend the entire dinner talking business with Cloris.
The only personal topics that came up were that her brother was broke again and that Cloris got choked by wasabi.
What on earth was this?!
Onii-sama, where's your legendary charm? Why aren't you flirting with this silver-haired, red-eyed beauty, Cloris?! Your gentlemanly behavior is making things difficult for me!
'Tch, I was expecting some juicy gossip tonight.'
Sakura stabbed her chopsticks into her tempura fish, mashing the fish into pieces without even noticing.
"Don't waste food."
Shinji, clearly annoyed, gave Sakura a light smack.
"Hmph!" Sakura glared at her brother, leaving him confused.
But since she was his precious little sister, what else could Shinji do but placate her?
"If you're bored, just wait a little longer. We'll be done soon."
Cloris, however, wasn't pleased. "Hey! Are you saying I'm boring, Shinji?"
"Of course not, Lissy. You're actually quite fun," Shinji teased with a mischievous grin.
"Shinji, you really are a jerk," Cloris muttered, her face slightly flushed.
Her eyes darted toward Sakura, seemingly weighing whether the girl had understood what Shinji just said.
Her action piqued Sakura's interest immediately.
"I'm not bored at all, brother," Sakura said with a sweet smile. "You two can keep talking business. I'm just here to watch."
'This girl… she just wants to see her brother embarrass himself.'
Seeing the expression on Sakura's face, Shinji couldn't be more aware of what she was after.
"Alright, Sakura, just sit tight for a bit longer."
Shinji nodded seriously and continued his conversation with Cloris. "Now, about the screen promotion, I think the North American cinema chains should…"
'Onii-sama, are you seriously still talking about work?!'
Sakura's face fell into despair as the conversation stayed firmly focused on business.
'This silly girl… trying to dig up gossip about her own brother.'
Noticing Sakura's crushed expression, Shinji struggled to suppress the urge to laugh as he continued his discussion with Cloris.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
The rest of the evening saw Shinji and Cloris leisurely eating their Japanese meal while discussing their plans for the North American market.
Midway through, Shinji even ordered a serving of oden to warm his stomach after all the cold sushi.
As someone who had traveled to this world, Shinji didn't have a special love for Japanese food, but he didn't dislike it either.
Cloris, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying the meal.
After all, she was used to eating steak every day in North America, so Japanese food was a nice change of pace—though she still struggled with using chopsticks for sushi.
Nonetheless, it was refreshing.
What's more, Shinji wasn't avoiding her this time, which she considered a big improvement.
Meanwhile, once Sakura confirmed that the conversation was entirely business-related, her desire for gossip morphed into hunger.
She devoured the food in front of her, though it seemed she wasn't even tasting it anymore.
Shinji couldn't help but feel sorry for the restaurant's chef.
Cloris didn't stay in Fuyuki City for long.
After just two days, she headed to Tokyo to negotiate next year's business deals with Bandai. In fact, that was the real reason she came to Japan.
Visiting Shinji was merely a side trip—or so she claimed.
Although her visit was brief, the news Cloris brought was crucial for Shinji.
The growing resistance from North American cinema owners made him wary.
His success had clearly made them jealous.
While Shinji could understand their feelings, there was a big difference between understanding and accepting.
He wasn't about to let those money-hungry vultures exploit him.
Sitting idly by and doing nothing was never Shinji's style. He was already planning his counterattack.
Using his naked-eye 3D technology to profit from both ends was just the first step.
Next, he would accelerate his expansion into the Chinese movie market to solidify his base.
At the same time, he intended to broaden the influence of his Type-Moon production company across the entire film industry rather than focusing solely on one area.
In fact, he was already thinking of starting new projects with less commercial appeal.
"Hmm… it's about time," Shinji mused, sitting in his director's chair during a break.
"Master…"
Perhaps noticing Shinji had some downtime, Cu Chulainn poked him gently.
"Um… Master," Cu Chulainn said meekly. "Don't you think I've been doing pretty well lately?"
Shinji rolled his eyes. "You mean 'doing well' like when you got strung up for damaging the company?"
"That was Gilgamesh's fault! I'd never do something like that on my own!" Cu Chulainn protested. "In fact, Master, shouldn't you be compensating me for my emotional distress?"
"You're right."
Shinji slowly nodded as if considering something. "Your acting has improved a bit. It's time to give you more responsibility."
"See? I knew it! I've been—wait, what did you say?"
It took Cu Chulainn a moment to realize what Shinji had just said.
"You've been wanting to play the lead, haven't you? I'm giving you the chance now. There's a new project, and you'll be the star."
"Really?!"
Cu Chulainn's face lit up with excitement.
"Of course. It's a great project, and it suits you perfectly."
Still, Cu Chulainn found it hard to believe his luck had changed so suddenly. He asked cautiously, "It's really the lead? You're not just giving me some weird role, are you?"
"A bona fide leading role. The movie's title is even named after your character."
"Fantastic!" Cu Chulainn threw his hands in the air, nearly dancing in joy. "Master, you've finally come to your senses! You should have done this ages ago!!"
Cu Chulainn slapped Shinji on the back enthusiastically, his grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Master, what's the title of the new movie?"
"Seven X."
"Ha ha ha! Seven X, huh? Wait—Master, are you making me a suit actor?!"
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