Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 185 Winning again

Mio Takahashi clutched her head, a pained expression on her face. She pouted, gave him a huffy look, and said coquettishly:

"Can't I even be curious? It's not like I don't know there's a trap involved. I just want to see how many he opened..."

Shiratori Seiya nodded, glanced at her, and said:

"Looks like he's not that stupid after all; he knows there's a trap inside."

"Of course."

Mio Takahashi rolled her eyes at him and said speechlessly:
"I'm not some idiot who would let someone sell me out and then be the one counting the money for them. I definitely wouldn't sign for less than 200 million."

As soon as she finished speaking, Mio Takahashi smiled and gave him a meaningful look.

Upon hearing "two hundred million," Shiratori Seiya recalled what Mio had said when she took care of him during his illness. A slight thought stirred within him. He reached out and grabbed Mio's arm, pulling her closer to him. He then unfolded the contract again and began to speak:

"Actually, there are many things to pay attention to in a contract. The first thing is to read it carefully..."

He pointed out the problematic points one by one to Mio.

As he said, to laymen, the contract seems reasonable on the surface, but it is actually not right at all. For example, the contract period is ten years. Although the initial salary is indeed at the level of a second-tier top star, approaching that of a first-tier star, it does not mention the treatment after Takahashi Mio's fame rises. She can only accept the announcements arranged by the company.

In other words, even if the company arranges for Mio Takahashi to take nude photos, she has to do it if she wants to earn money, otherwise she won't earn a single penny.

These things weren't explicitly written in the contract; they were the so-called hidden rules. Even a newcomer like Mio Takahashi, or even an agent, wouldn't easily notice them without years of experience with contracts.

He spoke for a while, then noticed that Mio Takahashi didn't react, which puzzled him.

Turning her head, she found Mio Takahashi resting her face on her hand, her peach blossom eyes sparkling, the corners of her eyes slightly curved, staring at her with a smile as if she were looking at a very precious toy.

【'Mio Takahashi' Affection Level: 88→90】

"..."

"Why did you stop talking?"

"That's about all I have to say."

Shiratori Seiya put away the contract, casually tossed it aside, and asked casually:

Why are you staring at me like that? Is something wrong?

"No, I just think you're quite handsome."

Mio Takahashi complimented her, but as soon as she said it, she felt her face getting hot, a faint blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears.

My heart started racing involuntarily.

I'm going to die, ......

How come I never noticed he was so handsome before?
Just looking at Shiratori Seiya's face, the image of him splashing water on Fujikawa Shunpei's face kept replaying in his mind.

Shiratori Seiya was unmoved by such praise.

Furthermore, some of his doubts remained unresolved. After thinking for a moment, his expression turned serious, and he said directly:

"Let's not talk about these useless things. I actually have some questions to ask you."

Sensing that something was amiss, Takahashi Mio's expression stiffened. She suddenly felt a pang of anxiety, swallowed hard, and nodded, asking:
"what is the problem?"

"Fujikawa Shunpei told you about the contract a while ago, right? Why did you only think to tell me yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, Mio Takahashi lowered her head guiltily, staring at the glass table, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and stammered:
"I...you...I didn't want to tell you at first, but I really didn't intend to agree."

Shiratori Seiya gazed at her for a moment, then nodded and said:

"I know you didn't intend to agree, but why didn't you tell me about this right away?"

"I……"

Mio Takahashi opened her mouth, then quickly explained:

“I was worried too… After all, this is your first film, and I was thinking, if I don’t agree to his request, will we be able to continue filming…”

"Thinking back on it, I realized something was off. He emphasized to me not to tell you, and that's when I understood he must have some kind of conflict with you, and..." As she spoke, she twisted her hands together, glanced at Shiratori Seiya, and seeing that he didn't seem very angry, muttered:

"Besides, haven't you been quite busy these days? You've been busy with Hojo Suzune's matter and with this 'virtual streamer' thing."

Meeting Takahashi Mio's resentful gaze, Shiratori Seiya, whose jealousy was so intense it almost made his coffee sour, could naturally sense it, and his feelings were complicated for a moment.

He reached up and rubbed his temples, explaining in turn:
"First of all, even if this is my first film, there are some bottom lines. I started writing the script because of you. He poached people from my company at will and gave you a contract with hidden traps. So even if we break up, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about me not being able to make a living. Even if he has absolute power at the TV station, Tokyo isn't just one TV station. Besides, I don't know what I'm doing..."

He thought to himself that this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.

But he stopped halfway through his sentence, fearing that Mio might misunderstand.

Previously, when Xiyin was being trained, the company forced him to write songs for other singers or they would squeeze Xiyin's resources. Because of this issue, he had a big argument with the company.

This is my bottom line, and I will never compromise on it.

His relationship with Shunpei Fujikawa may have already broken down when he refused to invest in Fujikawa's company.

Of course, even if they broke up, it didn't have to be this ugly. He didn't expect Fujikawa Shunpei to be so petty.

However, since he dared to reach out to Mio, then let's just tear off the mask of politeness.

Mio Takahashi was listening happily when he suddenly stopped, blinked, and asked:
"What again?"

"I don't care."

Shiratori Seiya continued:
"Secondly, even if you've fallen out now, don't worry, just focus on filming."

Mio Takahashi was taken aback, raised an eyebrow, and asked:
"Filming? How can you even film like this?"

"Ah."

Shiratori Seiya nodded, recalling the details of the contract in his mind, and leaned back as he explained:
“I left a lot of loose ends in the contract I signed with him back then. I guess Fujikawa Shunpei didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but it’s too late to go back and check the contract now.”

He casually opened his phone and zoomed in on the electronic version of the contract to show Mio Takahashi:

"For example, Article 23 states that the screenwriter is fully responsible for the content of the script, and once the lead actors are confirmed, they cannot be changed unless there is force majeure..."

"In conclusion, unless I cause some problem, it's difficult for him to tamper with this drama. Otherwise, he can forget about filming it. But it's also impossible for him not to film it, since the money has already been approved and spent, and the male lead has been confirmed. If he doesn't film it, he'll face a lawsuit."

At this point, Shiratori Seiya thought about how Fujikawa Shunpei was busy starting a company, which meant he would have even less time to manage the film crew.

"Oh."

"There's one last thing."

Shiratori Seiya took a sip of coffee and continued:

“I’ve been quite busy lately, busy with starting my company and such, so I might have missed some things about you. But essentially, it’s all for your future development. I want you to become a top star, and all of that requires resources. I don’t trust other companies, so I decided to start my own.”

He paused, then said helplessly:
“I didn’t tell you any of this because I was afraid it would put a lot of pressure on you, but rather than letting you overthink it, I might as well tell you directly.”

He practically broke everything down and explained it to me in detail.

Mio Takahashi pursed her lips, the corners of her lips slightly upturned, her eyes glistening with sweet tears, and nodded sweetly with an "Oh".

Seeing that she was visibly happy, Shiratori Seiya breathed a sigh of relief and said as he stood up:

"Alright, everything's been explained. Don't overthink it anymore, you idiot."

Mio Takahashi wrinkled her nose and nodded obediently, saying:

"understood."

"Um, waiter..."

Shiratori Seiya called the waiter to settle the bill.

Mio Takahashi stood behind him, watching his back with a smug smile on her face.

……
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(End of this chapter)