America: My Time

Chapter 195 Kuroki Hitomi

Chapter 195 Kuroki Hitomi
A plan? No, there is no plan, and time doesn't allow it. In this limited time, it's impossible to carefully plan something wonderful. There are too many people eyeing the female PR girl right now. If I waste my time carefully planning, I'll only let others seize the opportunity.

The benefits John revealed this time exceeded everyone's expectations. If many people were interested before the party, it was only a small group, and they were only interested in real estate such as shopping malls and commercial centers. Now it's different. Mitsui's performance and the benefits that Sony received have made more people interested.

Profit is the greatest temptation. Faced with profit, these Japanese guys are capable of anything, and a mere beautiful female public relations officer is no exception. Therefore, Kuroki Hitomi's experience can only be attributed to her bad luck. She encountered such a situation at this time and was forced to get involved, without even having the right to choose.

The opportunity was right in front of them, and it would be a shame not to seize it. That was the true thought of the people in Sanhe. If there had to be any connection, it was the unexpected incident involving Kuroki Hitomi. It was Saijo Hideki who came to her aid, and then John and Naoko happened to appear at the last moment. That was fate, and that was their excuse. Even though the excuse was lame, they didn't care. As the saying goes, if you don't care, you don't need to care about what others think.

Hitomi Kuroki was a gift these people used to build relationships, a beautiful hostess, and a return gift for Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. It might sound crazy, unbelievable, but these people didn't see it that way, at least not in their eyes. A woman, a beautiful woman, was the basis for them to get closer to John. The excuse was lame but effective; they'd learned it from Akio Morita. A beautiful hostess was their best excuse.

However, the biggest problem with Sanwa and his group was Naoko, who was by John's side. Getting Naoko away was impossible, and directly sending Kuroki Hitomi to John was inappropriate, even with a pretext. Sending another woman to John when he already had one would be seen as provocative. Naoko might not object, but it would be a completely different story for Morita Akio; it would practically be a slap in the face!
Since resistance is futile, Hitomi Kuroki can only accept her fate. She has no power to resist the power of capital. If she insists on not knowing when to advance or retreat, the consequences will be unbearable for her, and it will also implicate her good friend, Daichi Shin'o, who has been kind to her. In the face of capital, they are just ants!

Is real estate really that alluring to Sanwa? No, for giants like Mitsui and Mitsubishi, what they value isn't real estate, but rather banks and loans. Sanwa wants a share of the profits from Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, and the prospect of loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars is too tempting for them. Compared to that, real estate and shopping malls are now insignificant to them, far less important than finance!

Sanwa acted a bit late, and the benefits they could share were limited. That's why they had this idea. As John's expansion accelerated, the required funds were staggering, and most of the loans were taken by Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank. This was unacceptable to Sanwa; they weren't short of funds, so why should all the benefits go to them? Moreover, in their view, Naoko, being from Osaka, should naturally be an asset to Sanwa.

If there hadn't been so much internal strife at Mitsui, Sanwa would have had a hard time getting involved. But now that Mitsui is embroiled in internal conflict, with Toshiba clearly clashing with Sony, Sanwa has found an opportunity. Moreover, the fact that this party was hosted by Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank makes it even more appealing to Sanwa. Opportunity knocks but once; who knows what will happen after today?

John was relaxed at the party, without so many worries, and he didn't have to face those old foxes. However, the more relaxed he was, the more he couldn't let his guard down or be careless. Those bastards in Japan were not to be trifled with; they were a group of greedy people who would devour people without spitting out the bones. No one knew what would happen next or what unexpected events might occur.

As the party drew to a close, John and Naoko composed themselves and decided to leave. Although many people were still there, it didn't matter anymore. Almost all the big shots had left, and John saw no need to waste his time and energy staying. Chatting with a group of beautiful girls was relaxing and enjoyable, but he didn't have that much time!

As John and Naoko stood up, Miwa had been waiting for a long time. In a short period of time, they made a crazy decision: to force themselves on John and send the beautiful hostess, Hitomi Kuroki, away without considering his feelings. What she thought was not important!

John was dumbfounded. Although he knew Japan was patriarchal and women had a low social status, he hadn't expected these people to be so crazy. Sending a beautiful hostess over as he and Naoko were about to leave was outrageous and utterly shameless, leaving John stunned and unable to believe what was happening. Most importantly, these bastards didn't even give them a chance to refuse; they just sent the 'hostess' over and left, leaving John and Naoko in an awkward situation! If they didn't know this 'hostess,' they could completely ignore her feelings, but since they knew her and had even had brief contact with her, ignoring her seemed inappropriate. This was clearly a well-planned scheme.

Of course, John could also cruelly turn a blind eye, but doing so might lead to even greater trouble and be a disaster for Kuroki Hitomi. These capitalist forces don't care about the process; they only care about the result. If Kuroki Hitomi is completely useless, her fate will be incredibly tragic. In the eyes of capital, she is merely an ant, subject to their manipulation.

Naoko was shocked by Kuroki Hitomi's plight and felt a pang of sympathy for her. She had been in a similar situation, but her circumstances were better, and she hadn't encountered such an embarrassing situation. Most importantly, she was doing very well now. In contrast, Kuroki Hitomi was much more miserable and had no freedom at all!

Although there weren't many people around, waiting awkwardly like this couldn't go on indefinitely. Prolonged waiting would only lead to unnecessary trouble, especially since Kuroki Hitomi was a stunning beauty, naturally attracting attention. However, once he accepted this special 'beauty PR gift,' he would be taking on a huge problem. Setting this precedent would make his future life much more 'painful.' Beautiful women were nice, but if they kept pulling this kind of stunt on him, how was John supposed to handle it?

At this moment, John was extremely angry, but he was completely helpless because the other party had already left, leaving him no chance to refuse. This was the first time he had encountered such an awkward situation, and he didn't know how to handle it!
John had no intention of getting involved in the power struggles between the Japanese conglomerates; their competition for interests had nothing to do with him. But now Sanwa had made its move, and with such a 'killer move' that it left him no room to maneuver.

As an idol herself, Naoko understood Kuroki Hitomi's awkward situation. No one would want to face such an embarrassing predicament and be bullied like this. Although the other party had ulterior motives, Naoko didn't want to see anything tragic happen. She gently tugged at John's sleeve, signaling him to take Kuroki Hitomi away.

Naoko knew perfectly well that John couldn't possibly have only one woman, and having already met Ye Qianwen, she wasn't bothered by Kuroki Hitomi's appearance. Although it was a bit of a slap in the face, the kind-hearted Naoko chose to silently endure it. This party also had a significant impact on Naoko. While chatting with Riko, Naoko understood Sony's predicament and knew about Morita Akio's difficulties, so she took on a task that shouldn't have been hers.

You can't hit someone who's smiling. If such a beautiful woman is offered to you, even if you're not satisfied with her behavior, you can't refuse. Japanese people value face a lot, and refusing her would cause more trouble. The construction of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka might be hindered. Moreover, if you refuse such a beautiful woman who's offered herself to you, she'll lose face even more!

Soon, John, along with Naoko and the stunningly beautiful Hitomi Kuroki, left the party venue and headed towards their residence. The entire event was very short, and safety needed to be ensured in such a setting to avoid attracting too much attention and causing unnecessary trouble.

Although it was only for a short time, it still attracted the attention of those who cared. At least Riko, who had always been very attentive, noticed everything. Such an important matter naturally needed to be reported to Akio Morita, as it would affect Sony's interests and even their relationship. John had another woman by his side, and a beautiful one at that, which inevitably worried Riko. She wasn't only worried about Sony and Akio Morita, but also about her younger sister, Naoko, fearing she wouldn't be able to handle such a crisis!
Soon Riko found Akio Morita and told him everything she had seen. Akio Morita remained very calm about this unexpected turn of events, as if he had everything under control. He did not show any anger and listened to Riko's words calmly, his expression still indifferent and natural.

(End of this chapter)