Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

“I…you…” Eri opened her mouth, then remembered the strange feeling she had that morning. Suddenly, her face turned red, she slapped her forehead, grabbed Chieko’s arm, pulled her to the bed, and whispered, “Tell me, what exactly did you feel? I want to make the manga more vivid. It’s too monotonous to always use lines like ‘Help me’ or ‘It’s so scary’.”

"This...this is so embarrassing..." Chieko covered her bright red face.

"You dare to do it but not admit it?" Eri grabbed her bright red ear and shouted, "I'm your benefactor! Is this how you repay me?!"

"it hurts……"

Eri seems to be holding a grudge; she actually pinched me… She must be jealous of me… It hurts so much…

Chieko quickly broke free and stepped back.

"If you don't tell me, I'll grab your hair!"

“Okay, I’ll say it…” Chieko wanted to say, “Can’t you try it yourself?” She was worried that if Eri really took the initiative, there would be no place for her, since Hideaki had never hidden his womanizing ways.

Eri took out her notebook and looked very serious.

Chieko thought for a moment, then felt a surge of heat throughout her body. Where should she begin? This was so difficult…

The supermarket opened for business at 6 a.m.

After finishing the breakfast that Chieko had prepared in the microwave, Hideaki sat on a high stool next to the long table opposite the cashier, frowning slightly as he gazed at the revolving glass doors of the financial building through the transparent glass panel.

He was twirling a ballpoint pen in his hand, and in front of him was a stack of future project plans from a game development company.

Setting up a game development company is not as simple as it seems.

Of course, this is true for more than 95% of startups, provided there are no funding concerns.

The first stage, "attracting investment" and "issuer prepayment," can be skipped.

However, there is a fundamental problem: the publisher.

The Pokémon games were developed entirely based on Nintendo's Game Boy handheld console.

This means that even if they can develop it independently, they still have to share the copyright with Nintendo, since the lifeline is in their hands, and they might even demand an exclusive agreement.

That is, Nintendo has to take a liking to the game first.

Nintendo is at its most glorious and dominant right now. They won't even bother to look at a startup company without successful titles and industry background.

It's also impossible to start a hardware company based solely on a single "Pokémon" game.

After all, the development of console hardware, including chip development, hardware design, massive production lines, and overcoming technological barriers, has been fraught with difficulties even for a company as successful as Sony. While one might not lack funds through the stock market, the human, material, and time costs are simply too high.

Pokémon might already be on the market, while their own hardware company is still in the early stages of development.

Even if a startup were to establish a console hardware company, it would still have to directly challenge the two giants, Nintendo and Sega. There was simply no way for a startup to survive. Even companies as strong as 3DO and NEC ended up in dismal failure.

The success of Pokémon is inseparable from Game Freak's development, Nintendo's distribution and promotion, and Creatures' peripheral support.

Although he could use his shamelessness and ample funds to push aside Satoshi Tajiri's Game Freak and bypass him to renegotiate a cooperation agreement with Nintendo.

But if the agreement falls apart, Nintendo will bypass me and work with Satoshi Tajiri's Game Freak.

The most likely outcome is that I persist in pursuing the matter, suing Game Freak and falsely accusing them of stealing my copyright. Then Nintendo will weigh the pros and cons, abandon all cooperation, and there will be no more Pokémon, a hugely popular IP.

Of course, how can anyone be so shameless!

Shifting core strategies:

With the stock market as a safety net, money is never a problem. We shouldn't be fixated on controlling small IPs, but rather on controlling the company and its people.

Begging for the copyright is too petty; just buy the entire track.

Shota will be here soon, let's see what news he brings!

Now that we've established a game development company, we can't just focus on a little Pokémon thing.

The research and development cycle is too long. Historically, it took 6 years. Even if we throw money at it now, can it be done in 1 year? Even if it can be done in 1 year, it is still too long.

A restless society needs to be full of excitement.

Therefore, it is necessary to generate profits, build reputation, and train the development team on other projects.

When I passed by the arcade before, fighting games were just beginning to show signs of becoming popular.

Indeed, the intense social and life pressures of today, coupled with a well-developed legal system, have made society increasingly civilized. As a result, everyone's pent-up anger has nowhere to go. Some people vent through domestic violence, while others, with nowhere else to vent, turn to video games.

Street Fighter II has been out for 3 months, but the true full version, CE and Turbo, has not yet been released.

The game graphics are appalling, the combos are choppy, and there aren't even "burst mode" or "super moves." The blond guy with dyed hair treats trash like a treasure, playing against it every day.

Once the five gay squads arrive, we'll immediately form a fighting game development team to develop a high-quality fighting game.

Although I can't develop games, I have no shortage of inspiration.

The Three Kingdoms culture is well-known in Japan.

The Chinese novel *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was translated and adapted by Eiji Yoshikawa, who added many love stories and new interpretations of the characters, creating the "Japanese version of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*" that has become deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Later, Mitsuteru Yokoyama created the manga "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" based on the novel, which quickly spread and became a national IP that has endured for a long time.

"Hideaki-kun, would you like some coffee?" Chieko's cheeks flushed slightly as she demurely placed a cup of instant coffee beside Hideaki. "I... I made it for you..."

Three steps away, Riko was clinging to the shelf like a cat, her chin resting on her hand, pouting and tilting her head to look.

Xiuming picked up his coffee cup. "Did you pay?"

"Huh?" Chieko's cherry-like lips parted slightly. "What money?"

"I mean, did you pay for this coffee at the cashier?"

"without……"

"Then hurry up and pay the money! This is misappropriation of company funds for your own ulterior motives, and it will be condemned."

"Uh... I'm sorry, I'll pay right now..."

Chapter 108 Riko: Honey, your girlfriend called you.

When Chieko brought coffee to Hideaki, Eri was taking over for her at the cashier.

Her face flushed, she pulled out a 100-yen bill, which Eri snatched away, tapping her forehead with the bill while whispering:

"He's a heartless bastard who turns his back on you after you've done your bidding. You're incredibly stupid. What's the point of trying to please him?"

“He’s so approachable with me,” Chieko said, covering her face and peeking at Hideaki through her fingers before turning back and whispering, “I love how direct he is…”

Eri's hand trembled as she held the banknote. After a long pause, she stuffed it into the money box, muttering under her breath, "You're a pervert too... It's all because of guys like you that a woman's backbone is broken..."

“Even if you say that, I still have to please him… I’ll die if I leave him…” Chieko murmured dreamily, as if cheering herself on, “He’s really amazing… Although I don’t have any intention of getting a promotion or a raise through him, he gives me a lot of comfort in life. I have to work hard and please him at work…”

"I quit!" Eri slammed her hand on the cash register, stormed out, glared at Hideaki who had his back to the counter, then abruptly turned and headed towards the bedroom. "You slut... you have no self-respect at all... you're a disgrace to women..."

Chieko was startled, as if she had angered Eri, and she was somewhat at a loss.

Riko silently walked to the cashier. "Chieko-neechan, wouldn't you like to go and comfort her? She seems really angry!"

"Ah, thank you, I'm sorry... I, I'll be right back..." Chieko apologized and hurriedly chased after him.

Xiuming raised an eyebrow and glanced back.

Riko was about to speak but stopped.

"What's wrong?" Xiuming asked, sipping his coffee.

"No..." Riko lowered her head and shook her head.

"I can't stand your secretive way of hiding things,"

Hideaki slammed his coffee cup on the table, turned the high stool he was sitting on to face Riko, tilted his head and pointed at her, "Is something wrong? Tell me quickly!"

Such a gentle, considerate, virtuous, and generous wife deserves our utmost attention to minimizing her negative emotions. After all, her weak and easily bullied personality makes her prone to getting caught up in her own problems and then blaming herself for the mistakes.

Whatever the problem, resolve it for her on the spot.

Hideaki's tone was a bit stern at the end, and although Riko was no longer afraid of Hideaki, her shoulders still trembled as if by nerve reflex.

“Husband…” Riko subconsciously grabbed the white cotton rag on the cashier's counter and rubbed it unconsciously. She didn't dare look at Hideaki and asked softly, “You…you last night…did you…do ...

Last night, because Xiuming gave Chieko such a thoughtful massage, Chieko felt a sense of crisis and grievance. However, after Xiuming scolded Chieko so harshly just now, Chieko seemed a little pitiful to her.

Just as her feelings of pity for Chieko were building up, Eri's overly agitated behavior made her sense something unusual.

Riko roughly guessed why Eri was angry.

Eri always likes to sleep without wearing anything... So does Hideaki...

Could it be that last night...

If that's the case, then Eri-chan seems even more pitiful... After all, it was her first time ever, and not only did she not receive a massage, she was even ignored...

She felt conflicted, unsure how to define Xiuming's behavior...

Scumbag? Beast? But as a wife, it's wrong to talk about my husband like that... If it's really like what Eri said, "he pulls up his pants and then forgets about you," that's terrifying. Will I be treated like that too?

Eri is so pitiful... After all, they're already good friends, and she even recommended her husband's manga to her, though it's a bit vulgar and embarrassing to read...

"I thought it was something serious..." Xiuming said irritably, "Is it necessary to be curious about such a trivial matter? Haven't you already let it go? You're very supportive of me!"

“Uh…I…I really had no choice but to support it…Oh no,” Riko blurted out her true feelings, then quickly corrected herself, “Actually, I really support my husband’s decision…but…since my husband has already…taken Eri-chan…shouldn’t he…treat her better…she, she’s so pitiful…”

“Riko-chan, I really love your personality,” Hideaki walked to the cashier, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her on the forehead. “I didn’t do anything to Eri. You know me, when have I not woken you up first? I only started after you brought it up. I really respect a woman’s wishes.”

It was definitely the right thing to do to prevent her from being bullied by a group of women in the future; I firmly support Riko.

“But…” Riko couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when Xiuming spoke so frankly about their relationship, but she still felt a little uneasy and continued to ask, “Why was she so angry? She was glaring at you just now, and she looked so wronged, she was almost crying…”

“You need to change your attitude. I’ve already explained it once, and I won’t explain it a second time. It’s her business if she’s angry; it has nothing to do with me.”

"Huh? Well..."

"Silently repeat 'I firmly believe in my husband's explanation' three times in my mind. Oh, Shota's here, let's talk again tonight..."

Xiuming walked to the long table, took the written company planning proposal, and left the supermarket.

As for why Eri was angry, it's probably because he caught her dawdling.

I've never received any services at a bubble bath shop before, but I got to try them out at Eri's place.

She was embarrassed because she was still asleep at the time. When she opened her eyes, she noticed her sneaky and dawdling behavior. Then, she got nervous and deliberately ignored it, but she was bothered by it herself.

Although Riko kept it a secret and was too embarrassed to talk about it, it was still an embarrassing private matter for Eri, so she decided not to reveal it, since it would be quite boring...

It's 7 a.m. now.