Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Hiroshi Yamazaki, who was standing next to him, murmured sadly.

"Ok?"

"No, I mean, Xia Fan happens to be here today, right outside. I'll call him in right away!"

Seeing Yoshihiro Kishimoto looking at him, Hiroshi Yamazaki left the office as if running for his life.

"Here we are, you two, let me introduce you, this is our new talented producer from the music department, here we are!"

After a while, Yamazaki Hiroshi came back, followed by Xia Fan, who looked embarrassed.

"Xia Fan?"

"Hey, so you are the music producer, 'down to earth'?"

The moment her eyes met Xia Fan's, Yayoi Tsuki's pupils dilated slightly.

Only Xia Fan could see that her pair of "animal ears" stood upright, and she was obviously more surprised by this "encounter in a different world" than she seemed.

"Yes, I am Xia Fan. Please give me your guidance."

Xia Fan said meaningfully.

"Mr. Xia, I invited you to come to the meeting because you are here today... I want to make it clear in advance that this matter is limited to this office..."

Naturally, Yamazaki Hiroshi could not understand the deeper meaning behind the conversation between the two people, and he just started to explain the situation on his own.

"I see... I need a song that can be heard even by people with hearing loss, and the quality should be above the standard..."

After a while, after understanding the whole story, Xia Fan also frowned.

"I'll go back and study it. If I find a suitable DEMO, I'll send it to you two through the music department."

After thinking for a while, he said so.

"Well, thank you for your time. Let's end today's meeting here. Miss Yayoi's matter is top secret within the company. Please keep it confidential before it is made public."

Manager Konishi stood up and bowed politely to the three people.

Seeing that the famous "Xiafan" was so young and gave such a noncommittal answer, she obviously didn't hold out any hope.

"Xiaomao, I've been looking for you for many days. Let's go to my studio for tea..."

After saying goodbye in the corridor, Yoshihiro Kishimoto excitedly reached out his hand, wanting to grab Xia Fan...

"Sorry, Mr. Kishimoto, I need to borrow Producer Xia Fan for a while."

But Yayoi Tsuki took the lead, approached Xia Fan and grabbed his sleeve.

The unique sweet body fragrance rushed into my nose, but there was less smell of alcohol than that night.

"Come here, let's talk for a moment."

"Oh."

Ignoring the surprised looks of her agent and Yamazaki, Yayoi Tsuki pulled Xia Fan and walked into the lounge next door.

"I never thought that you, the high and mighty 'slug' psychic, would actually be a talented music producer working in the same company as me?"

After closing the door of the lounge, Yayoi Tsuki raised her chin and looked at Xia Fan with a playful look.

Of course she had heard "Sakura" and "Red Lotus", and she admired these two songs very much.

However, he did not expect that the producer who "came down to earth" would actually be the psychic who had "meddled in other people's affairs" and reported and saved him.

"Who is to blame for the 'slugs'... I never thought that the top female singer of Bethesda would be a 'half-demon' who likes to go to the rooftop without clothes in the middle of the night."

Xia Fan met her gaze calmly and fought back without hesitation.

"Two things to be clear about in advance..."

Hearing the word "vacuum", Yayoi Tsuki seemed to recall some subtle experience, and looked away with a slightly red face.

"First, my fox bloodline has a 'charming' effect in my singing. It will only attract people to listen to the songs more immersively. It will not cause any other side effects. The authorities have already confirmed this."

"Secondly, my actions on the rooftop that night were influenced by some 'supernatural factors'. It was not entirely my own will."

She said every word.

"Can singing actually have a 'charming' effect? ​​Why didn't I hear it..."

"By the way, what 'supernatural factors' would influence you to do something like that?"

Xia Fan asked curiously.

"I signed a confidentiality agreement. Section 9 is still investigating. You can ask them for details."

Yayoi Tsuki's slender fingers made a "zipper" motion at the corner of her lips.

"Forget it. The more you know about 'supernatural' things, the more trouble you'll have."

"Anyway, I'm just working here. As long as you don't break the law, I won't interfere in your affairs. We can just treat each other as normal workers."

Xia Fan shook his head, as if he was bothered by the trouble, to make his attitude clear.

Not to mention that both of them have signed a "supernatural confidentiality agreement" with Lesson 9. A "psychic" and a "half-demon" revealing each other's identities in the workplace will not benefit either of them in any way.

"Huh, I didn't expect you to be more sensible than you look."

Yayoi Tsuki raised her chin, smiled coldly, and let her fox ears fall to the sides, obviously relieved.

"By the way, regarding the invitation to sing, I know my request is too willful, you don't have to take it to heart."

After the "chat", she pushed the door and left.

"I'm sorry for not seeming to understand things... As for songwriting, I will make my own judgment based on my duty as a music producer."

Xia Fan followed her out with a wry smile.

"Wow, the music department's decoration details are quite nice. Even the doors are made of solid wood."

"Ahahahaha, you're awesome. I carefully selected the material for this door panel."

Agent Konishi and Hiroshi Yamazaki, who were standing behind the door and listening attentively, twisted together in panic.

The book is almost gone...

Chapter 110 Unnatural Suicide

2024-07-13

"Come to think of it, they are actually fox ears? I was always guessing they were cat or dog ears..."

Watching Yayoi Tsuki and her agent leave, Xia Fan's gaze remained on her pair of lively animal ears.

"Because ordinary people can't see, they are more accustomed to using their ears to express their true emotions like animals, so their facial expressions are not that rich?"

A boring doubt in his mind was finally solved, and he also came to a "half-demon observation conclusion" by the way.

"Hey, everyone's gone, but you're still watching."

"Mr. Xia, Yayoi Tsuki never shows off her affection to others. Not only is she very aloof in the company, but she has never had any scandals in her three years since her debut. Yet, she actually approached you for a 'closed-door private chat' just now without any hesitation..."

When Xia Fan came to his senses, he found that Yamazaki Hiroshi was looking at him with a teasing expression.

"Section Chief Yamazaki, the look in your eyes... don't get me wrong, we were just talking about songwriting in the room just now."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand. Handsome men and beautiful women, talking about music, it's normal, it's great to be young..."

Ignoring Xia Fan's serious explanation, Yamazaki Hiroshi had an ambiguous expression of a "experienced person".

Just then, Xia Fan's cell phone rang.

"Hello, Miss Jinguji."

Seeing that the caller was Aoi Jinguji, he quickly picked up the phone.

"Mr. Xia Fan, is it inconvenient for you to have other people around you?"

On the other end of the phone, Jinguji heard something strange in Xia Fan's address and asked sharply.

"Well, I'm working."

"There is an urgent investigation here and I need your help. Is that okay?"

"Yes, I can... Specifically, what kind of investigation is it..."

Although Jinguji Aoi's tone was as respectful as ever, Xia Fan could hear a hint of anxiety in it.

"Speaking of this matter, you have been implicated to some extent... Where are you now? I will pick you up right away. We can talk about the details on the way..."

After confirming the location with Xia Fan, Jinguji Aoi ended the call in a hurry.

……

Twenty minutes later, Xia Fan was already sitting in the speeding black business car.

"In the past three months, the suicide rate in the entire 5th district has increased by basis points year-on-year."

"That is to say, in the past three months, the number of suicides per 10 people has increased by five compared to last year."

"The Metropolitan Police Department noticed the abnormality of this indicator last month. Section 9 initially screened a number of recent individual and group suicide cases and found no 'supernatural factors'. The Metropolitan Police Department attributed it to factors such as rising unemployment, rising prices, and economic downturn."

In the front passenger seat, Inspector Higurashi was respectfully reporting the case.

"Since it has been confirmed to be an ordinary suicide, why are we reopening the investigation now?"

Hearing this data, Xia Fan was not too surprised.

Due to a combination of factors such as frequent natural disasters, continued economic downturn, the popularity of the aesthetic of mono no aware, the suppression of individual personality, and the dominance of men over women, the people of District 11 have regarded suicide as a "solution" since ancient times, resulting in the suicide rate being consistently ranked among the top two in the world.

According to statistics from the past decade, half of suicides are due to "health problems", a quarter are due to "family problems", and another quarter are due to "economic/life" problems.

Over time, in District 11, "suicide" has become a traditional culture, and many literati and poets even regard suicide as a kind of "beauty".

What’s even more exaggerated is that in recent years, there have even been websites that guide people to “suicide by appointment.” Many young people who are strangers to each other get together through the website, eat, drink, and have group sex, and then commit suicide together.

Of course, after eating, drinking and exercising, many people may regret it later.

"Speaking of which, it was you, Mr. Xia Fan, who first discovered the clues..."

Sitting side by side with Xia Fan, Jinguji Aoi, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden costume, rested her chin on her hand, looked at the scenery outside the window, and said softly.

"because I?"

"That's right. Last month, you helped others and saved a beautiful half-demon fox girl..."

"The next day, when the ninth lesson went to conduct a 'suicide prevention follow-up visit', the half-demon mentioned that he was drinking at home because he was in a bad mood. He flipped through a booklet and suddenly had an uncontrollable 'suicidal thought'."

"But after you rescued her and she returned home, she couldn't find the booklet at home, and she couldn't remember anything about the contents of the booklet."

"Chapter 9 recorded this 'abnormal factor' at the time, but was unable to continue investigating because the suicide victims were already dead."

Jinguji Aoi narrowed her eyes lazily, glanced at Xia Fan resentfully, and told the story slowly.

"No wonder Yayoi Tsuki said that her suicide was influenced by some 'supernatural factors'. Does it sound like it has something to do with 'a certain manual'?"

Thinking of the conversation he had with Yayoi Tsuki in the B Company building just now, Xia Fan suddenly realized.

"Just two hours ago, the Tokyo Suicide Prevention Center's 24-hour suicide hotline received a call for help..."

"The caller said, 'Although I am very depressed about being fired and the manual also taught me to die, I really don't dare to do it.'"

"When the local police arrived at the caller's residence through location tracking, the man was already lying on the outside of the balcony on the 12th floor."

"According to the description of the police officers at the scene, when they broke into the room, the other party just said, 'I'm sorry to trouble you, but the manual taught me to do this,' and then jumped down."

After Rimu finished explaining the case with a heavy face, the business car stopped downstairs of a row of elevator apartments.

"Eh?"

Several people got out of the car and appeared in front of Xia Fan. When he looked up, he saw "himself".

On the side of the road in front of him, there stood a life-sized conjoined human billboard...

On the left side of the billboard is himself dressed as a samurai.

On the right is the shrine maiden, Aoi Jinguji, wearing a bunny mask at an angle, revealing only her beautiful profile.

At the bottom of the billboard, it says "Matsumoto Kiyoshi Israel Binilai Dead Sea Black and White Mud Mask".

"I was shocked. It turned out to be an advertisement for a drugstore."

When he came to his senses, Xia Fan noticed that the street-facing shop downstairs from the apartment building was the ubiquitous "Matsumoto Kiyoshi" drugstore.

"Wait, you actually agreed to authorize them to make human-shaped billboards?"