radicalducati Chapter 80 Immersed in Taiwu
Chapter 80 Immersed in Taiwu
More than half a year later, when Rito returned to the hospital he had visited during the New Year, his complexion was visibly worse than before. The nurse, who had initially intended to greet him, glanced at him, then stopped smiling and cautiously approached with medical supplies to bandage his wound.
Dengdengdeng.
Just then, a short-haired young woman came running from a distance in high heels, her footsteps making a loud thud. The nurse, with her back to the corridor, noticed that Kubo Rito's eyebrows were noticeably raised, and she couldn't help but feel curious. Her job at the private hospital was relatively relaxed, and she often read gossip online. She was already secretly wondering who it could be—the eldest daughter of the Guan family, or some idol? If she ran into her idol, Shiraishi Mai, would she have a chance to get an autograph?
As she thought about it, she quickened her pace, eager to find out the other person's identity as soon as possible. But before she could turn around, the menacing Suzuki Airi had already walked up to her and asked her, "Is it serious?"
Who is this person?
The nurse glanced curiously at the unfamiliar but still beautiful woman in front of her, thinking to herself, but not daring to stop talking. She quickly told her that Kubo Rihito's injury was not very serious, just a scratch, and that she didn't need stitches, just some medicine.
"If you had come later, it might have already healed."
Rito chuckled and interrupted from the side, his playful grin making Airi roll her eyes. She dismissed the nurse who still wanted to watch the drama, gave him a serious look, and asked gravely, "Stop fooling around. What's going on? Is there anything I can do for you?"
Rito slowly suppressed his smile, touching his scratched arm. The faint pain was still clearly felt through the muscle tissue. Although the wound wasn't deep, the darkness hidden within it disgusted him. Lespros, Honma Ken, and Nounen's manager—thinking of the culprits behind all this, his eyes flickered. Airi, standing beside him, suddenly felt a chill, reaching up to touch the goosebumps on her arm, but a knowing smile silently appeared on her lips.
"Help me contact the Suoh father and son from the 'Burning' genre. Also, I'm looking to hire two experienced actor managers. It's okay if they're not very capable, but they must have good character."
After a moment of silence, Rito suddenly said that Airi reacted quickly and immediately wrote down the two requests. Then, after glancing at his not-too-serious wound, she asked him if he planned to go back to the company, so that the two of them could go together.
"Wait a minute, Arimura took Rena Nounen to get a medical check-up. She said she wanted to commit suicide by burning charcoal, but forgot that the air conditioner was still on. I don't know if the carbon monoxide has damaged her brain."
Rito shrugged, not giving the little female warrior any face behind her back. No matter what, she was the one who swung the knife herself, so it was impossible for her not to be scolded. However, Airi knew that he was just saying that, and actually felt sorry for Nonen. Otherwise, why would he have asked her to find two managers? One to Arimura, and the other to whom? It couldn't be for her, could it?
After laughing, Airi volunteered to go check on the situation, but Rito, who was injured and didn't want to move, didn't go with her and lazily said, "I'll wait for you here."
"Okay, I'll be back."
Airi waved her hand and quickly left.
After she left, the nurse who had been hiding in the distance came over again with gauze and disinfectant to check the wound before going off to do other things. Rito sat there for a while, then felt a little bored, so she went to wander around the corridor.
He leaned against the railing, gazing at the scenery. The wound on his arm still throbbed faintly, but compared to the stab wound he'd suffered during New Year's, this injury was nothing. He was pondering how to get revenge on Lespros when he suddenly heard unhurried footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor. He turned his head, his eyes lighting up, and he raised his hand to call out.
"Rito? What are you doing here?"
Inoue Sayuri, wearing a loose-fitting sports jacket and holding a recently received medical report, walked over from around the corner of the corridor. Since they weren't in the company, she didn't bother with the formality of calling him "President," but simply addressed him by his name. Rito was quite pleased with this, leaning against the railing and glancing at her a few more times. Her hair had grown a bit longer than when they last met, her two long ponytails swaying from side to side, lacking any of the composure one would expect from a thirty-year-old, which made him chuckle to himself.
"Hey? What are you laughing at?" Sayuri knew what he was laughing at, and she was a little embarrassed. Spending so much time with young people had made her forget her own mental age, and it was a bit awkward to be exposed by Rito.
"No, no, I was thinking of happy things."
"What's wrong?"
My wife gave birth.
Sayuri's expression froze. Looking at the unserious club president, she was so angry that her teeth itched. Too lazy to pay attention to him, she turned to leave.
Li Ren was bored and wanted to chat with her a little longer, so he quickly reached out to stop her, but accidentally touched the wound on his arm. He immediately grimaced in pain and looked uncomfortable.
"Are you alright? How did you get hurt?"
Little Lily stopped in her tracks with a sigh and asked with concern.
"I was accidentally scratched by a naughty dog, it's nothing." Rito brushed it off lightly. It would be a bit embarrassing for a grown man to be scratched by a weak woman.
Xiaobaihe stared at him for two seconds, clearly not believing his explanation, but she didn't press him. She simply gave a soft hum, letting him off the hook. Her gaze shifted from his arm to the closed door of the examination room at the end of the corridor. As if remembering something, she suddenly spoke:
"By the way, I saw Nana Min's blog post yesterday, and there were birds in the photos."
Rito nodded, indicating that he was aware of the matter. After some setbacks, Nanamin had taken Asuka back to Japan and was taking care of her like a daughter, even neglecting her own needs. He felt both helpless and somewhat gratified about this. He was also quite busy lately, so he let the ancient couple have their fun on their own.
"It's wonderful, there are more and more familiar faces around, it feels like a dream." Sayuri's tone was tinged with nostalgia and anticipation, making Rito unconsciously smile. But suddenly, she changed the subject: "If we can perform on the Kouhaku Uta Gassen at the end of the year, then this dream will be even more perfect, President, what do you say?"
Upon hearing her words, Rito's smile froze instantly, and his recently healed wounds seemed to throb again. He leaned against the railing, letting out a long sigh, his voice filled with helplessness: "I got myself into all this trouble just trying to avoid you all. Can you please stop bringing up painful memories, Ms. Inoue Sayuri?"
"Then let us go," Sayuri winked, her tone slightly teasing. "Or are you really planning to give your spot to Keyakizaka?"
"Don't use the word 'let'. Keyakizaka's grades are so good, they deserve it if they get on the show." Rito rubbed his temples. "One Kohaku Uta Gassen is nothing. You know Nogizaka46 got on it for several years in a row before."
Xiaobaihe didn't speak immediately. She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the zipper of her tracksuit, pulling it up and down repeatedly, making a soft metallic scraping sound. After a while, she finally looked up and spoke in a slightly coquettish tone, her voice a few decibels softer than usual:
"President, we're first-generation members, you've mentored us all. How can you bear to let us lose to Keyakizaka?"
Her voice trailed off at the end, carrying a hint of half-joking, half-seriousness. In all the time he'd known her, Rito had rarely seen her speak in this tone—Yuri-chan, despite her "motherly" label, was anything but soft-hearted; aside from work, her truly vulnerable side was rarely seen. But now, with her head tilted slightly, her twin ponytails cascading from her shoulders, and her amber eyes looking at him through her eyelashes, her cuteness was in no way inferior to the true pinnacle of the "little sister" archetype, Konan.
Rito raised an eyebrow, knowing that this guy was acting, but she had to admit that he was quite good at it.
"Don't give me that." He shook his head, unmoved. "I'll go to NHK again in a couple of days to discuss it. If it really can't be done with both groups, then let them choose for themselves. Why should I take the blame?"
"Then I wish you great success, President." Sayuri immediately chimed in, giving him a thumbs up with sparkling eyes.
"Thank you for your kind words."
Rito rolled his eyes speechlessly, feeling like she was teasing him. Just as he was about to say something more, he heard footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor. He looked up and saw Airi walking in front, followed by Arimura Kasumi and Nounen Rena. Arimura Kasumi's complexion looked much better than before, while Nounen Rena walked at the back with her head down, her face pale, her hands clutching the hem of her clothes. She had lost the manic energy she had shown at the apartment and looked even more haggard than when they met at the beach.
Xiaobaihe followed his gaze, lingering on each of the three faces for a few seconds before standing up, zipping up her tracksuit, and slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"Then I won't bother you anymore, I'll go first." After she finished speaking, she paused, then turned around, pointed in Rito's direction with her index finger, and added in a low voice, "If it doesn't work, let Keyakizaka go. I'll help you appease Nogizaka."
"Okay." Rito stood up, gave her a small hug, and watched her figure disappear around the corner of the corridor.
Soon, Airi led the two of them to him. When Nonen saw the white bandage around Rito's arm, his previously pale face instantly turned red, and he hid behind Arimura, not daring to face him.
Rito glanced at her, then at Arimura Kasumi. Arimura nodded slightly to him, her expression a mixture of apology and pleading. He sighed, reached out, and gently patted Nobutoshi's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll have someone settle this score. You've just suffered an undeserved misfortune." His voice was calm and firm, which warmed Nen's ears. The female diver secretly breathed a sigh of relief and whispered an apology.
Looking at her like this, Rito inexplicably recalled that day on the morning drama set, when she had made everyone laugh by imitating a sea urchin during a break. What a lovely Kansai girl, ruined like this. Honma Ken had truly caused her so much trouble. He paused, waiting for her to calm down a bit before asking:
"Do you still want to go back to filming the morning drama?"
Upon hearing this, Neng Nian's shoulders trembled violently, and she seemed to shrink even smaller, as if something had been ripped from her body. She lowered her head, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke, her voice hoarse and hollow, as if she had already accepted some cruel fate.
"Even if I wanted to go back, the production team wouldn't allow it, this is NHK." She said, then suddenly laughed. Was it relief, or was it something more complicated? "Forget it, let's just say... let's just say it was a very long dream. The dream is over, I should go back to Hyogo."
The waiting area fell silent for a moment. Kasumi Arimura clenched her fists, her eyes reddening, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, all she could do was give her a hug to offer some comfort.
Li Ren looked at her. There was no anger or resentment in her eyes, only a mass of ashes completely burned away. But he always felt that if he gathered some things from beneath that ashes, perhaps a few sparks could still rise. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, his tone still unhurried: "But I think you're perfect for this role, more perfect than anyone else in the world."
Neng Nian suddenly raised her head, her bright dog eyes filled with disbelief. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
But to her surprise, after saying that, Rito changed the subject and didn't delve into it further, as if what he just said was just a casual remark. Nonen, who didn't understand, wanted to ask him several times, but she couldn't muster the courage—after all, she and Rito were not related, and their only connection was that she accidentally scratched him. She really couldn't think of any reason why he would help her.
Airi, who had been observing everything closely, walked over to Nounen while Rito went to get the car and calmly said, "Don't worry, you'll probably know in a couple of days."
Neng Nian nodded as if he understood, seemingly guessing something, but didn't ask any further questions.
After leaving the hospital, Rito asked Airi to help Nounen find a place to stay, while he himself tirelessly traveled around Tokyo. Nana also received instructions to cooperate with him within Dentsu to launch a crackdown on Lespros.
One morning, as usual, Nonen got up, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and then saw a message on his phone. The sender was Yui Aragaki, the head of the agency.
"Nounen, I heard you know Kubo Rihito, the president of Sakamichi. Could you give me his number? I need to talk to him about something."
The female diver frowned, brushing her teeth as she replied with a finger: "Gakki-san, what's wrong?"
"Lespros has declared bankruptcy, and the president is under investigation for suspected illegal activities. Your contracts, mine, and all the other artists' contracts are void, and I plan to find a new agency."
Gakki's reply was quite frank. Perhaps she had heard the rumors within the company and thought that Nonen had really climbed up to a big shot. Nonen held his phone, his expression suddenly changed, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, he replied with a brief "Okay".