I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

After reading the message in his phone's inbox, Chen Liang turned off the screen.

Chapter 421 I want to hear that Ah Zhen has fallen in love with Ah Qiang.

Chen Ya casually read the text message and replied with an "okay".

As long as we have a pleasant working relationship, that's fine.

It seems that Jin Lan's tantrums are only effective at home; she can't be tough on foreigners (because they wouldn't understand her anyway).

Immediately afterwards, another text message arrived in the inbox:

Ms. Shiina was using social niceties; in reality, she really wants to collaborate with you.

From: Teru Utada.

Chen Ya smiled slightly and typed on his phone:

Next time. Let's find an opportunity next time.

Before I could finish typing, a new text message arrived in my inbox, brief and to the point:

She sings off-key.

From: Miyuki Nakajima

Chen Ya quickly typed out the words:

I know, please teach her for me.

After doing all that, he could finally put down his phone.

comfortable.

With the three of them by his side, he should be able to relax and focus on his current job without worrying about things over there.

Through the window of the tea shop, Chen Ya saw the man she was waiting for walking towards the shop entrance, his brow beaded with sweat.

After the man entered, Chen Ya waved and said, "Here."

The man crept over furtively, carrying a briefcase. As soon as he sat down, he whispered in rapidly spoken Japanese:

"How dare you come back!"

Chen Ya smiled.

"What? You won't let me come back to visit? Mr. Kasahara, aren't you being a bit too unwelcoming?"

The man in front of me, who was showing signs of balding, twitched his face twice.

This man in front of him is troublesome; he's never been able to deal with him before.

The opponent has a unique Chinese temperament; he never uses honorifics and sometimes speaks with a thuggish, rogue-like air, but he's not vulgar or low-class. Because of this, he's particularly difficult to deal with.

"If you weren't wanted by both the Noda-gumi and the Shogunate, I would still welcome you back. Do you know how many people would want you dead if word got out that you were here?"

Chen Ya smiled and said, "You're the only one who knows I'm here. Kasahara-kun wouldn't let me face such a predicament, would he? You know, you owe your current status to me."

Kasahara was covered in sweat, and the scalp where his hair was thinning began to reflect light.

That's right, he owes his current status and income entirely to the person in front of him.

Moreover, he knew that everything he cherished could be easily destroyed by the person in front of him with just a flick of his finger.

"What exactly do you want?" Kasahara decided to get straight to the point.

In fact, he already had three million yen in his briefcase, which he could provide to this "Mr. Gai" if necessary.

If three million can get rid of him, I'll be thankful; I'm just afraid he won't take the money.

Chen Ya, however, did not intend to get straight to the point, but instead said seemingly casually:

"I heard that old man Asai's health is failing?"

"Keep your voice down!"

Kasahara glanced around to make sure no one was there, then leaned on the table and whispered:

"This is confidential. Do you know how much trouble it would cause if unrelated people found out? How can you talk about it in a place like this?"

Chen Ya seemed not to understand his Japanese and continued to ask:

"What's the situation now? Who will inherit the family fortune?"

Kasahara had no choice but to whisper:

"Currently, the group is divided into three factions: the wife faction, the son-in-law faction, and the newly established returning princess faction."

"Oh?" Chen Ya raised his eyebrows. "Tell me more about it?"

Kasahara said, "The Madam's faction advocates that after the Master passes away, the Master's first in line to the throne should take over the group. Because the Madam is young and strong, and familiar with the group's affairs, she is better able to control the situation in times of crisis."

Chen Ya nodded and said, "If I remember correctly, your wife is only thirty-eight years old, right? A thirty-eight-year-old widow, hmm, that's a good subject."

“The master isn’t dead yet!” Kasahara glared at him, then continued, “Then there’s the son-in-law faction, who advocate that the master’s adopted son-in-law, Mr. Shinjiro, who is now the group’s CEO, should take over the group.”

Chen Ya said, "The old man's daughter must be over fifty now, right? Come to think of it, isn't it a bit odd that the wife is younger than the daughter?"

Kasahara ignored him and continued, "Then there is the faction of the returned princess, or rather the faction of the eldest granddaughter, who advocates that Miss Ruriko, who has just returned from overseas, should take over the group."

Chen Ya smiled and asked, "Which faction are you from?"

"Uh……"

Kasahara was speechless for a moment, and after a while, he shook his head and said, "I'm just an ordinary employee, what right do I have to take sides..."

"Just answer me honestly, don't try to be all high and mighty with me."

“…I am Mr. Shinjiro’s secretary,” Kasahara said, bowing his head. “Which faction do you think I belong to?”

Chen Ya was very satisfied with his attitude, his expression seeming to say, "That's more like it."

Then, he pressed his body against the dining table and whispered:

"Didn't you just ask me what I wanted to do? I'll tell you what I want to do: I want to see Asai Ruriko."

Kasahara was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and said:

"Are you kidding me? How can I help you with this?"

"Don't overthink it," Chen Ya said, taking an envelope from her pocket and handing it to him. "You just need to give this letter to her. You're her secretary, so you must see her regularly, right?"

Kasahara looked at Chen Ya with some suspicion. He suspected that Chen Ya actually knew everything, but was just pretending not to know anything.

"Do you really think that a single letter will make Ms. Ruriko come to you on her own?" Kasahara said with a stern face. "Are you out of your mind?"

Chen Ya smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, just leave it to her."

"Get this straight!" Kasahara slammed his hands on the table. "You've been running away with her abroad for so long, and she finally managed to escape back. Do you really think she'd want to see you on her own initiative?"

He held up the letter and said, "If I give this letter to her and she finds out you're in the country, what do you think will happen? The entire Triangle Group will come out in full force to arrest you!"

Chen Ya smiled and said, "Kasahara, you don't really think I have any leverage over you, do you? Who gave you permission to talk to me like that?"

Kasahara's initial surge of confidence vanished instantly.

“Just do what I tell you to do. Stop with all the nonsense. You Japanese just love to nag.” Chen Ya said. “Hurry up and finish the task. I have more work for you to do later.”

Upon hearing this, Kasahara's head buzzed, and he stammered, "Th-if I'm found out I'm doing this for you, then I'll..."

“So,” Chen Ya interrupted him, “you absolutely must not be discovered.”

"Woooo..."

Kasahara let out a whimper, like a dog that had been heartlessly abandoned by its owner.

This guy on the other side is completely indifferent to his life or death!

As a high-ranking member of Lord Shinjiro's team, if he were to do something like this in private for Chen Ya, such as contacting Miss Ruriko, he would definitely be considered a traitor if discovered!

However, his life was in this guy's hands, and thinking of his wife's smiling face and the baby in his arms... Kasahara felt extremely indignant.

We absolutely cannot afford to lose our temper here; if we do, everything will be over!

"And the answer?" Chen Ya tapped his fingers on the table, his voice carrying a strong sense of pressure. The waiters nearby turned to look, hesitating whether to intervene.

"Yes, yes..." Kasahara lowered his head and clenched his fists.

"Why didn't you do this earlier?" Chen Ya smiled in relief and picked up the menu. "What do you want to eat? My treat? This place has really good omelet rice, I remember."

……

Jin Lan thought that nothing in the world was more infuriating than being alone in a karaoke room singing "Ah Zhen fell in love with Ah Qiang".

Now she realized, and what annoyed her even more was watching a group of people singing "Ah Zhen fell in love with Ah Qiang".

Before my eyes, three Japanese women were rehearsing the harmony of "Ah Zhen Fell in Love with Ah Qiang," stopping every now and then to make corrections to the sheet music.

The reason Jin Lan didn't rehearse with them was mainly because the three of them had different vocal parts, and Jin Lan was easily led astray by them.

They had tried to correct Jinlan before, but firstly, there was a language barrier, and secondly, the difficulty was too high for her. So the three of them discussed it and decided that Jinlan should not come in for the time being.

So Jinlan began to observe from the sidelines.

As she observed them, she realized that all three of them seemed to have something special about them.

The three of them seemed to be able to do everything; they could play guitar, keyboard, and bass, and they could even sing while playing.

Most importantly... they not only sing, they also write.

The original score provided by Chen Liang only has one voice part in its harmony.

The three of them were chattering away, as if they felt that one voice wasn't enough, so they added another.

Chen Liang's original arrangement only had five sections and many solos, but these three people made it longer and added a lot of fancy elements such as piano solos.

Jin Lan was initially not very happy. She had rehearsed for so long, and this change meant she had to memorize everything again, which was very mentally taxing.

But the three of them couldn't understand what she was saying. After a while, Jin Lan was surprised to find that it actually sounded pretty good.

The only problem is that Jin Lan suddenly feels that she is no longer needed as the lead singer.

These three women have amazing voices, each one better than the last; they could easily be lead singers. They're enough to handle the stage.

For the first time, Jin Lan felt a sense of crisis.

She desperately wanted to tell Chen Liang everything, but that damned Chen Liang just wouldn't come back.

It wasn't until the third day, two hours before the start of the competition, that Chen Liang returned, looking travel-worn and seemingly from nowhere.

Where the hell have you been?

As soon as Chen Liang pushed open the door to the karaoke room, Jin Lan walked up to him, clenched her fists, and said through gritted teeth:

"Do you know how many lies I told to cover for you?"

"Oh, thank you." Chen Liang's tone was indifferent and even cold, which made Jin Lan even angrier.

But Chen Liang ignored her and started chatting with the three women instead.

The three men, upon seeing him, immediately surrounded him, chattering amongst themselves, and seemed to treat Chen Liang with considerable respect.

What shocked Jin Lan the most was that Chen Liang could actually speak Japanese, and he spoke it quite well... If he closed his eyes, he could almost be mistaken for a native Japanese speaker.

After chatting for a while, Chen Liang walked over to Jin Lan and said:

"Alright, let's rehearse one last time and get ready to go on stage."

Jin Lan clenched her fists. She still had a lot to say to Chen Liang, but she held back and picked up the microphone.

...After the rehearsal, Chen Liang showed a rare expression of satisfaction. This time, he finally refrained from using his catchphrase, "You're off-key."

"It's alright. Just don't forget your lines."

His requirements for Jinlan were that low.

With three max-level players carrying the team, Jin Lan can easily advance as long as she doesn't deliberately cause trouble on stage.

He turned around and said something to Shiina, Utada, and Nakajima in Japanese, and then the group packed up their things and went to the stage together.

As they came out of the karaoke room, they bumped into Meng Xing and Lu Chujiu.

Upon seeing him, Meng Xing laughed heartily and said, "Long time no see!"

“Not long ago,” Chen Ya said.

"How are the preparations going?" Meng Xing asked.