Chapter 151: Toshihide Takada’s Cold Snort! This Is Tokyo Tv!
“Deputy Director Takada! It’s me! Shunsuke!”
Shunsuke Kamiki’s voice instantly shifted from his previous rage to a tone filled with grievance and dependence, almost like a spoiled plea:
“You… you have to help me! That guy in your station named Hiroshi Nohara, he… he actually bullied me in front of everyone! He also said… he also said he’d blacklist me! Hurry and come! Come and help me teach him a lesson!”
A long silence ensued on the other end of the phone.
That deathly silence, like an invisible hand, gradually choked Shunsuke Kamiki’s throat, causing his already suspended heart to sink uncontrollably, little by little.
“Takada… Deputy Director?” he probed, calling out again, his voice carrying a hint of apprehension that even he hadn’t noticed.
“Shunsuke-kun.”
Finally, Toshihide Takada’s voice, as cold as ice and devoid of any warmth, slowly resonated: “Where are you now?”
“I… I’m backstage at Studio Number Three.”
“Very good.” Toshihide Takada’s voice remained flat: “Then, look up now. Look above your head. What do those characters say.”
Shunsuke Kamiki subconsciously raised his head. Through the gap in the dressing room door, he saw the huge, cold, metallic-looking sign at the end of the corridor.
Above it, in the most conspicuous font, were printed several large characters—
【Tokyo Television Station·Production Bureau Headquarters】.
“This is Tokyo Television Station.”
Toshihide Takada’s voice was like a devil’s whisper from hell, each word carrying a chill sufficient to freeze a person solid.
“This is not your Kirin Office where you can do as you please, nor is it Chairman Tokugawa Sato’s private back garden.”
“Here, I, Toshihide Takada, call the shots. And Hiroshi Nohara…”
He paused, his voice carrying a hint of apprehension that even Masao Iwata had never heard.
“…is someone I, even I, can’t easily move.”
“What are you, then?”
“Boom—!”
These humiliating words exploded in Shunsuke Kamiki’s mind!
He clutched the phone dazedly, all the color draining from his handsome face in an instant.
“No… impossible…” he muttered, his voice trembling, “Managing Director Takada… did… did you make a mistake? Sato… Chairman Sato he…”
“Tokugawa Sato?”
Toshihide Takada let out a disdainful cold laugh, “He is indeed rich and powerful. But, no matter how capable he is, can he control our television station’s internal personnel appointments and removals? Can he influence the normal recording of one of our nationally popular variety shows?”
“Shunsuke-kun, I advise you to understand your position.”
Toshihide Takada’s voice turned completely cold, “You are merely a Persian Cat raised by Tokugawa Sato, one that is still quite pretty. When he’s in a good mood, he can buy you the most expensive cat food and the most gorgeous collar. But if he’s in a bad mood, he can throw you, this disobedient pet, onto the street to fend for yourself at any time.”
“Do you believe me? If I call Tokugawa Sato right now and tell him that the little cat he raised, unaware of its place, has caused immense trouble for us at Tokyo Television Station out there…”
His voice was as light as a feather, yet it landed on Shunsuke Kamiki’s heart with the weight of a mountain.
“—Guess whether he will protect you, or… personally come to apologize to me?”
This was a comparison between fundamental interests and extraneous playthings.
Anyone could distinguish this.
Real estate developers still needed media, especially television stations, especially the largest one, Tokyo Television Station, to promote their property developments.
And Tokyo Television Station was currently the only mega-media entity in the Kanto Region.
Within its various departments.
There was the News Bureau!
Specifically in charge of today’s news and news being investigated in recent days.
If they truly offended Tokyo Television Station, and their high-ranking officials colluded, then which real estate developer could be certain that their property development had no flaws or problems?
Yes, real estate had money.
But if they offended this media, then just one small negative report for a continuous period would likely lead to a death they wouldn’t even know how it happened!
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Shunsuke Kamiki stood frozen in place, his already pale face now only holding a deathly ashen hue.
He finally understood.
Or rather, he had understood long ago, but was unwilling to admit it—
He was merely a commodity, a plaything!
A worthless luxury item that could be traded or discarded at any time!
“…I’m sorry.”
After a long while, he finally squeezed these three words, filled with humiliation and unwillingness, from his throat.
Immediately, a smile, sweeter than crying, filled with fawning and flattery, bloomed uncontrollably on his handsome, bloodless face.
“Deputy Director Takada~” His voice instantly shifted from shock to a nauseating, spoiled tone, “You… you don’t be angry. I… I was just joking with you just now. You know, I listen to you the most.”
“Hmph.” Toshihide Takada snorted dismissively through his nose.
“Then… then I’ll go apologize to that… Minister Nohara now! I promise! I’ll definitely make him satisfied! I absolutely won’t cause you any more trouble!”
Shunsuke Kamiki’s voice grew sweeter and more subservient.
“As you wish.”
Toshihide Takada uttered these two words and decisively hung up the phone.
“Beep… beep… beep…”
Listening to the cold busy signal in the receiver, the smile on Shunsuke Kamiki’s face instantly froze.
He slowly lowered the phone in his hand.
Then he turned around.
All the subservience and flattery had faded from his handsome face, leaving behind only a chilling, somber darkness devoid of any warmth.
He looked at Masao Iwata, who had been standing there like a wooden man the entire time. In his alluring peach blossom eyes, a disquieting malice, like that of a viper, flickered.
“Director Iwata.”
His voice was very light and soft, like a lover’s whisper, yet it carried a cruelty sufficient to send a chill down anyone’s spine.
“You heard everything just now, didn’t you?”
“…” Masao Iwata’s body trembled uncontrollably.
“Very good.”
Shunsuke Kamiki’s lips curled into a devilish smile.
“There’s nothing for you to do here anymore, so you go tell that guy named Hiroshi Nohara. Tell him that I, Shunsuke Kamiki, apologize for my rudeness just now.”
“Yes.” Masao Iwata immediately turned and left.
At this moment, Junichi Watanabe also happened to return. The two nodded at each other, and then Junichi Watanabe closed the door.
“What’s wrong?” Junichi Watanabe was surprised to see that this spoiled brat wasn’t throwing a tantrum.
This was not Shunsuke Kamiki’s usual behavior.
“Also… Toshihide Takada.” Shunsuke Kamiki slowly uttered this name, his eyes incredibly cold, “A Persian Cat’s claws can be very sharp if given the chance!”
“Huh?” Junichi Watanabe was even more taken aback.
But Shunsuke Kamiki paid him no mind. He calmly walked to the already shattered mirror, picked up an eyebrow pencil from the messy cosmetics, and began unhurriedly to reapply makeup to his handsome face.
His posture was elegant, and filled with a certain chilling, pathological composure.
He knew he had to endure.
But he also knew that this game was far from over.
He wanted to return to Tokugawa Sato’s side, and he wanted to use his most skillful way to whisper the gentlest words in his ear.
He wanted to let the man who controlled his entire destiny know that his most beloved pet had suffered immense grievances outside.
He wanted to make that guy named Hiroshi Nohara and that bastard named Toshihide Takada pay the most painful price for everything they had done today!
