Tokyo Girlfriend Guide

Chapter 948 My Brothers and I Are Connected

America's friend?

Hojo Kyosuke understood as soon as he heard it. It was about baseball again.

There were more than thirty invitations from Xisaki today, and many more were from other people he knew. Even the principal of an elementary school had the guts to act as an introducer for a not-so-famous team.

I really don't understand where the other party got the courage from. After all, thanks to that stupid head teacher, he didn't have a good impression of that school. The principal of Dongcheng was more knowledgeable and sensible. Although he also received the commission, he just told him calmly and asked enthusiastically if he needed help from the elders. If necessary, the principal would ask reliable alumni to help him.

Just like when he introduced Osaka Tsuyoshi to the Mystery Writers Association, Neon's alumni connections were very reliable. Hojo Kyousuke sincerely thanked him and then refused, because he already had a lot of useful connections in Tokyo.

Behind the dozens of invitations are dozens of teams or big companies who are eyeing them covetously. Hojo Kyosuke feels a little scared.

Logically speaking, he should be the absolute overlord at the top of the food chain. Even if there are people who have countless times more power and money than him, as long as he wants, he can send them to death within ten steps.

But at this moment, he was like a plate of tender steak, surrounded by countless wild beasts. They bared their fangs, drooled, had red eyes, and were eager to swallow him into their mouths.

They came for him.

In this dirty and cruel society, anyone with a little value will be eaten up mercilessly. It is better to be a waste and feel at ease.

Thinking of this, he inexplicably thought of the stupid dog at home, and a feeling of envy arose in his heart.

Imagine if Momotaro was a dog that could cheer and shout "Come on", would he still be so carefree hiding at home and sleeping? He would definitely have to be brought to the venue to cheer for Nitro-chan.

But it is just a stupid dog who can only whimper and brake with his jaw, so it can stay at home and enjoy the leisurely sunshine.

It's great to be a waste!

On the other side, in a spacious room, Kenzo Chikano, wearing a gray casual suit, was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, holding a phone in his hand.

On his left sat four or five white men, also wearing suits, some fat, some thin, some tall, some short, and you could tell at a glance that they were people of different professions. On his right sat Osaka Tsuyoshi, who was not wearing a suit, but a loose plaid shirt and jeans.

Osaka was just eating, feeling uncomfortable all over because no pretty lady came to accompany him for such a long time.

Several foreigners stared closely at Kenzo Chino, or rather at the phone in his hand. They had a translator among them, who had just translated Chino's words to them, but for some reason, Hojo Kyosuke did not respond for a long time.

Chikano was also a little embarrassed. He didn't understand what Hojo was doing. Was he disconnected?

"Hello? Hello! Hojo? Are you listening?"

He shouted, raising his voice.

Hojo Kyosuke replied: "Ah, I'm listening."

Chino finally breathed a sigh of relief, made an OK gesture to the foreigner and continued:

"Do you have time? Come over and have something to eat. We're in Kichijoji. You know that store."

Of course Hojo Kyosuke knew which store it was. Kono met an old lover before he got married at that club. Even after they got married, he still liked to go to that store to play. In a sense, it could be considered a long-lasting love.

Of course, this is what Osaka Tsuyoshi told him. Chino himself said that whenever he stayed in that store, his ideas would flow, and several of his books were inspired by it.

Still eating?

Hojo Kyosuke grinned, feeling his stomach was full, so he said lazily:

"I just finished eating, I really can't eat anymore."

Kenzo Chino turned around, covered his phone and spoke to the guests in English:

"Hojo-kun has a strict diet plan, and it's past his eating hours now. You know, that might be the secret to why he's so powerful."

Although he spoke fluently, his Japanese-style English gave several foreigners a hard time, and even the translator looked embarrassed.

Many people find it difficult to understand why Japanese English is so funny. This is because they have never learned Japanese. Once you learn Japanese, you will find that... it's even funnier. These idiots are learning English entirely using Katakana and directly skipping the step of learning phonetic symbols.

It can help Japanese people who have not received higher education to quickly learn foreign languages, and they can deceive themselves into gaining cultural confidence and thus become overconfident. The downside is that no one can understand it except themselves.

After Kenzo Chino finished speaking confidently, he was waiting for the responses from his foreign friends, but he saw that they were all staring at him blankly, and fell into silence just like Hojo Kyosuke just now.

He frowned, thinking that his translation of what he said to Hojo should be very accurate and elegant, which not only saved the face of foreign friends, but also highlighted the image of Hojo's strong self-discipline.

After swallowing a piece of cantaloupe, Osaka Tsuyoshi nudged his friend with his shoulder and whispered, "Stop showing off your crappy English. Even I can't understand you, let alone them. Just speak Japanese."

After hearing this and looking at the expressions on the faces of the foreigners, Kenzo Chikano's face suddenly turned dark, but he immediately repeated it in Japanese.

The translator let out a long sigh and quickly translated it. One of the white men who looked to be in his 50s or 60s immediately said with a smile:

"That's right, this is the excellent quality that our players don't have. Mr. Hojo is worthy of being the God of the baseball field, it should be so, it should be so!"

The others also showed expressions of "As expected of Hojo Kyosuke", as if what they heard was not the news that Hojo Kyosuke did not eat at night, but that the United States had landed on the moon again.

A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses who looked like an elite said, "Mr. Chikano, please be sure to invite Mr. Hojo. We don't need to eat, but just chat."

Kenzo Chino made another OK gesture. He could understand English, but this made him even angrier.

He said to the phone:

"Hojo, this is the coach and manager of the Dodgers. They want to talk to you. If you have time, please come over. And by the way, help me with some reference for the new book."

On the other side, while Kenzo Chino was arguing with him and making English, Hojo Kyosuke had already stood up.

At this moment, he leaned his arm against the balcony railing, with his upper body slightly outward. At this height, the noisy and lively atmosphere of the street merged with the cool air from the night sky, which was neither too hot nor too cold, just right. It had both the quietness of the night and the prosperity of the city, which was very pleasant.

It's really suitable for drinking. He inexplicably thought of Yang Nai. If it were that woman, she would definitely have happily opened a bottle of beer and drank it.

A breeze blew across his face, and he spoke with a smile:

"Kinno-san, you know, at this time of day, let alone chatting with someone I don't know, I wouldn't go even if you and Oosaka were drunk on the street and called me. After all, I'm a homebody. And I attended an anime launch conference during the day, so I'm so tired that I just want to sleep."

On the other side, Kenzo Chino looked serious and nodded from time to time: "Yeah, yeah, so I see. I understand."

Then he covered his phone and turned to look at the foreigners. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he heard the translator say:

"Kinno-san, please speak Japanese."

The translator gave him a friendly smile.

Baka! Isn't what I speak English? What kind of international language is this? We should all use sign language to communicate, asshole!

Kenzo Chino cursed in his heart, but said:

"Hojo-kun said that he had a very hard training today and now he really doesn't have the energy to go out..."

The white man in his sixties suddenly interrupted:

"After high-intensity training, professional care is necessary. This time when we came to Neon, we specially brought the team's sports science department director, who is a senior physiotherapist. Mr. Chikano, please be sure to invite Mr. Hojo. Our physiotherapists will be happy to give him a massage."

These teams brought almost the entire medical team because they wanted to assess Hojo Kyosuke's physical condition and see if he had overdrawn his potential too early.

Old bastard, wow wow wow wow, it's not popular to let men massage in Tokyo. If you had asked me to go to a high-end bubble bath, maybe I would have said a few good words for you, but this is the result?

Kenzo Chikano smiled, cursed in his heart but was humble in his words:

"Oh~ Coach George, you know, a man as strong as Hojo must have a will far stronger than that of an ordinary person, and he won't change his mind easily. Moreover, from what I know about him, he will never accept other people's kindness if the two sides are not close."

Seeing that some white people wanted to speak again, he raised his voice and interrupted:

"Besides, Hojo just said that he knows exactly what you are thinking, but he will not come to the appointment. Not to mention the Dodgers, even if the national team invites him, he will not come, because Hojo is an upright person, he will not easily make promises under unfair circumstances."

Hojo Kyosuke on the other end of the phone laughed out loud.

The Dodgers' "purchasing team" fell silent when they heard this. They certainly would not easily believe any lies about integrity. They just thought that Hojo Kyosuke wanted to wait for the best buyer.

Several people exchanged glances, and finally Coach George spoke:

"Mr. Chikano, please tell Mr. Hojo to listen to our Dodge's conditions before making up his mind. We are absolutely the most sincere!"

Kenzo Chino nodded seriously, but he didn't agree in his heart. Even though he was also a baseball fan, as a writer he had his own status and didn't look down on athletes who sweated all over the field and earned money by physical labor. If they were to be elegant, they had to be writers.

The value of a national teacher is not exaggerated. Writers can be called Mr. and Teacher. Can baseball players be called Mr. and Teacher? Besides, when it comes to making money, Kenzo Chino may not be as good as a baseball star, but Hojo is different. He can make enough to live for a lifetime by writing one book. Can a baseball player compare to this?

After conveying Balabala's original words, he explained it a little more:

"Hojo, the Dodgers are friends introduced to me by the publishing house I work with in America. They are very generous and friendly. You must seriously consider it for my sake!"

He was clearing himself of the issue and telling his friends not to worry about him.

Hojo Kyosuke could naturally understand it, and he would not care about Kenzo Chino. Only someone like Nitro-chan could influence his decision.

So he smiled and said:

"I can tell you a little bit of information, just listen to it and don't tell your American friends."

Kenzo Chikano replied with a "hmm", without showing any emotion on his face.

"I will most likely not sign with the team there because I won't play in the games. The local team has already said that as long as I sign, I don't need to train or play in the games, and they will just pay me for nothing."

Hearing this, Kenzo Chino couldn't help but exclaimed, what kind of shitty world is this? You can get paid just by sleeping at home?! What are they trying to achieve?

For a moment, he felt that his identity as a writer was not that noble. If he could get the same treatment as Hojo, he could give up his status and become a professional baseball player.

It's a pity that no one thinks highly of him.

After a few more hums, he covered his phone and looked at Coach George and the others, and said in a deep voice:

"Oh~~ My friends, I must tell you that in the battle for Hojo-kun, the competition you face may be more intense than you expected.

You know, the genius who appeared before, Shohei Otani, made other teams crazy when they missed him. Now no one will give up Kyosuke Hojo. After all, he is almost equivalent to God himself. Any team that can get him 100% can dominate the next half century.

He’s only 16, my friend.”

The expressions of several white people became more serious as they listened, and they couldn't help but talk in a low voice.

I don't know what the others said, Coach George shouted directly:

"Call Mr. Walter, call back immediately. We need higher authority and more funding. If we miss God, the American people will never forgive us!"

Someone walked out of the room with the phone in hand. The elite with gold-rimmed glasses said to Kenzo Chikano:

"Mr. Chino, thank you very much for your help. Please communicate more with Mr. Hojo and give us an opportunity to show our sincerity. Dodge will not let you and Mr. Hojo down."

Kenzo Chikano immediately understood the hint and knew that if the task was done well, he would be rewarded.

But he didn't care much, because his novels didn't sell well in North America, and he couldn't compare to Hojo Kyosuke at all, so there wasn't much room for cooperation with him. If he asked the other party to help him with advertising and marketing regardless of the cost, he didn't think he had the face to do so unless Hojo was really signed by Dodge.

After nodding solemnly, he chattered on the phone for a while, saying all the good things, and finally told Dodge's purchasing team:

"Hojo-kun is really busy, but he will give me an hour tomorrow."

It is indeed very busy. Hojo Kyosuke said: "Tomorrow I will skip all the training of the baseball club and the kendo club and go home to give a friend a crash course. But I can give you a chance to find someone to treat you to a meal." (End of this chapter)