The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 34 Lucky Mutual Aid Society (26)

After hearing President Oiwa's shocking speech, everyone fell into confusion, looking around and expressing their doubts. The entire venue was shaking slightly because of the noisy voices of the crowd, but with the maintenance of the security personnel, there was no major disturbance.

"Everyone! Everyone listen to me!" President Oiwa said hurriedly, "Maybe this is a bit alarmist, at least there is no problem with the accounts on the surface, but why do I still want to accuse him? Because I found that the donations from everyone are far more than the numbers on the accounts! Some of the money just disappeared out of thin air and is nowhere to be found! And guess who is managing this money? That's right, because of trust, the accounts of the Lucky Mutual Aid Association have all been managed by Ryoji Matsui since its establishment! So the only truth is that he took advantage of our trust and embezzled our property for his own selfish reasons! And we are still thanking him and praising him! This is betrayal, naked betrayal!"

"President Oiwa! Is this really the case? Mr. Matsui...he wouldn't do that." A member who had a good relationship with Matsui shouted, "Is there some misunderstanding here? Mr. Matsui, please come up and explain it quickly!"

Oiwa glanced at the audience and found that Matsui had no intention of grabbing the microphone, so he continued: "Regarding this issue, I think it should not be a misunderstanding. I guarantee it with my personal reputation. And I do this entirely for the common interests of everyone. Lucky Mutual Aid Association is a harmonious big family, and I will not allow anyone to destroy it. So, Mr. Matsui, do you have anything to say?"

President Oiwa has a very high reputation. After he made his solemn promise, the crowd was outraged and many people began to roar.

"Matsui! You are a smiling but treacherous fellow. I have long seen that you are not a good person!"

"Hey, stop standing there and say something."

"Traitor! President Oiwa trusts you so much, and we trust you so much!"

"I can't believe that Mr. Matsui is such a person."

"I've long disliked this man in a suit!"

"You're screwed, Matsui! Even Jesus can't save you! I said it!"

Amidst the noise, President Oiwa seemed to hear a familiar voice, but he couldn't remember who it was. Only Inuyama Heita looked over there speechlessly.

"Since...everyone wants me to explain, then I will respectfully obey your orders." Matsui's expression was very calm. He slowly stepped out from the audience onto the stage and walked to the side of President Oiwa. He held another microphone in his hand and said, "I didn't expect things to turn out like this. I want to apologize to everyone for this matter."

The members in the audience were not buying it and cursed: "Apologizing at this time? Isn't it too late? You bastard who embezzled the donations will definitely be punished by God!"

"President, can I speak?" Matsui asked politely.

"Please." President Oiwa nodded. He wanted to see how Matsui could fight back. Matsui was indeed safe staying behind the scenes. Even if he was attacked from the outside, the damage would not be concentrated on him. But who would have thought that the attack came from him - the president of the mutual aid association? The advantage of being a puppet in the front was that he had enough reputation to overwhelm the other party. No matter what the other party said, he could refute it with his prestige and let the fanatical members attack him. Now allowing the other party to speak was not for the sake of grace, but just to maintain his gentleman image.

"Well, I'm sorry." Matsui said to the audience, "My apology just now was not about the so-called embezzlement of donations, but about something else."

"What on earth are you going to say?"

"If you have any excuses, just say them!"

"Traitor! Traitor!"

"Fuck you, give us back! Do you think you can handle this for us? Give us back!"

Matsui said expressionlessly, "What I want to say is a fact, a truth that has deceived everyone for a year, that is... President Oiwa is not President Oiwa at all. His real name is Harada Taro. He is a shut-in who has stayed at home for 30 years, not some business elite or university professor."

The audience exploded. They simply could not tolerate Matsui's slander against the beloved President Oiwa. All kinds of insults were heard one after another. Only a few people were in doubt and seemed to be thinking about the truth of the matter.

Matsui said, "You don't seem to believe it? That's no wonder. Harada's appearance is indeed very deceptive, because this is the image I designed for him. If you don't believe it, you can go and investigate. Those university positions and company names are all fake. There are no actual addresses and positions. Just go and investigate in person and you will know if what I said is a lie. You can even take the photo to ask around Harada's house. I believe there are many people there who know about his family."

"No way! It's not true!"

"It's slander! It's absolutely slander!"

"President Oiwa, please tell us that this is all made up by that bastard Matsui." "Good! Tear it up well! Tear it up louder!"

Chairman Oiwa... no, it's Harada Taro now. After hearing Matsui's revelation, his heart beat a little faster, but that was all. It was not his weakness. He picked up the microphone and said, "... Although it's a little hard to say, I can only tell you that what he just said is not wrong. My name is indeed not Oiwa Satoru, but Harada Taro."

"what?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of wailing from the audience, and some people even fainted. However, Matsui looked at Harada, somewhat surprised.

"You've grown up... old man." Matsui raised his eyebrows and said secretly.

Taro Harada said in a deep and emotional voice: "I once escaped from home for 30 years because of a major change in my life. I added a heavy burden to my parents. I am an unfilial son. I am the same as you. I was once a loser, a person who was plagued by bad luck and stuck in the quagmire. But I still walked out and awakened some insignificant talents, so I swore that I must help other people who are as unfortunate as me and help them get out of the quagmire of life... No one believes the words of a loser who has stayed at home for 30 years, so I forged this identity. I am very sorry for this. Please forgive me."

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the audience.

After a brief shock, many people came to their senses.

"President Oiwa... No, President Harada, it turns out that you are just like us..." Many members' eyes were moistened. It turned out that the president was just like them, a poor man played by fate, not a higher god! Such a president, however, felt closer to them.

A fanatical member stood up and roared, "President, no matter if you are Oiwa or Harada, you will always be our president! Ahhhhhh!!! President!!!"

"President..."

"President, you did nothing wrong. You don't need to apologize! It is an undeniable fact that you helped us!"

"President, we respect and love you!"

"President! President! President! President..." Countless voices gradually merged into two words, resounding in the conference hall.

With tears in his eyes, Harada Taro choked up and said, "Thank you... Thank you for your trust! Thank you very much!"

After saying these words, he glanced at Matsui with a smug look in his eyes, thinking: "Asshole Matsui, I managed to get through even the evil scheme of exposing your past safely, you don't have any tricks left, right? Oh, yes, there is still that trick... Hehe, but I'm not afraid of them anymore, just come at me, I said I would give you a surprise, these idiots chose to believe in me as a puppet instead of you as the mastermind, they really deserve it!"

However, Matsui was not as hysterical as he imagined. Instead, he coughed and said into the microphone: "Ahem, um, everyone please be quiet. I have another piece of news to tell you."

"What else is there to say now?"

"Just wait for death! I'm going to call the police and have you put in jail!"

"Pay back the money! Pay back the money, bastard!"

"Ouch~~~~Refund!"

Matsui ignored those people, turned up the volume of the microphone, and said slowly: "Although it is very unfair to do this to the president, I have to do it. What I want to say is - Harada Taro, he is actually... a mental patient."

As soon as this word came out, the audience was silent.

"Wow! Wonderful!" Qian Xiaoyi applauded and took a sip of Coke to moisten his throat.

(End of this chapter)