Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 588 Entering the game
Zhou You, with his mouth full of food, looked up at the sound.

Then, he froze.

At this moment, a young girl appeared before him.

Her clothes weren't fancy; she was just wearing a plain white dress, and her simple attire seemed out of place with the surrounding atmosphere.

however.

She was standing there.

Bright eyebrows and white teeth, a charming smile.

She was standing there.

She was just one person, yet she seemed to occupy the entire field of vision—in a daze, in this huge venue, there was only her.

Even with Zhou You's temperament, it took him several seconds to freeze before he uttered those two words in a daze.

"Hu Shuang?"

The girl raised her eyebrows and said, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

"Mr. Zhou, don't you recognize me?"

—No, I do know you, but your aura is just too strong.
Zhou You swallowed the food in his mouth forcefully, then smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"No, I was just... um, a little hungry, so I ate in such a hurry that I didn't notice anything. By the way, what are you doing here?"

“Mr. Zhou, you haven’t answered my question yet.” Hu Shuang sighed helplessly and then said, “Originally, Maki was supposed to be here, but as you know, she had some accidents. However, an invitation from someone of the governor’s rank can’t be easily turned down, and I have some fame in the entertainment industry, so they pushed me to be the one to go.”

It turned out to be the case.

Zhou You nodded, but just as he was about to ask something else, Hu Shuang repeated what she had just said.

"Mr. Zhou, aren't you feeling a little unwell right now? Why have you come here?"

Zhou You was taken aback.

"Ashikaga Hikaru brought me here."

".who?"

"Ashiga no Hikaru, wasn't it you who introduced him to me?"

This time, Hu Shuang finally remembered.

"Mr. Zhou, you might have misunderstood. I introduced you to him, but actually, I wanted to use his connections to smuggle you back to China."

So all that effort I put in was actually a mistake?
Zhou You looked slightly embarrassed—but just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out.

"Miss Hu Shuang, I've been looking for you for ages. It's about the invitation I gave you last time... Um, did I bother you?"

Turning my head, I was greeted by a polite face.

He was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a well-made, yet luxurious, suit. Although his appearance was slightly effeminate, he could still be described as handsome—though he was rather thin, probably due to a lack of exercise over the years.

At that moment, he also happened to be looking at Zhou You.

There was no hostility or disgust; he simply looked her over and then, as if she were an ordinary object, asked Hu Shuang a question.

"Ms. Hu, could you please introduce yourself?"

Hu Shuang really didn't know how to answer—after all, she didn't know that Zhou You wasn't using his real identity at the moment—but after seemingly casually glancing at the nameplate on someone's body, she showed her usual smile.

"This is Mr. Mori. We worked together for a while before. I didn't expect to see him here, so I came over to say hello."

"Um"

The young man didn't answer, but just looked at Zhou You's clothes, his smile becoming increasingly amused.

Hu Shuang seemed to realize that the atmosphere was not right, and then introduced Zhou You.

"Mr. Mori, and this gentleman is..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the young man.

He smiled and stretched out one hand.

"Hello, Mr. Mori. I am Shigeaki Yasuda from the Fuji Group. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Even if Zhou You were ignorant, he had heard of the four major Japanese conglomerates, and the head of the Fuji Conglomerate was surnamed Yasuda. Well, judging from his appearance, he was probably not a member of the main family, but a member of a branch family, but the size of the conglomerate was enough to scare most people half to death.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou You glanced at Hu Shuang and couldn't help but feel pity for her.

Being pretty has its downsides—look at the kind of guys chasing after this girl!
But Zhou You didn't care about this little bit of hostility. Anyway, the girl had clearly stated that she had someone she liked, and he was quite self-aware, so he simply held Yasuda Shigeaki's hand and smiled.

"Mr. Yasuda, is this? It's a pleasure to meet you."

However, Yasuda Shigeaki's expression froze upon hearing this friendly greeting.

Zhou You lowered his head and only then did he realize—

I must have been enjoying my meal too much, because my hands were covered in oil and cream.

"."

Zhou You silently wiped his hands on the tablecloth, and was about to apologize when Yasuda Shigeaki suddenly smiled again.

"Then, Mr. Mori, may I ask where you currently work?"

Zhou You answered almost subconsciously.

"Nothing much, I just opened a detective agency, known as Sleeping Impossible."

He quickly stopped his train of thought and then hurriedly said...

"It's nothing much. I'm just working as a temporary bodyguard for someone, earning a little extra money."

"Yes, a bodyguard."

Shigeaki Yasuda drew out a long, meaningful note, as if all the problems had been solved—

Of course, Zhou You didn't care at all about this blatant contempt—just as someone who has seen many storms wouldn't care about a light drizzle, this petty jealousy was no different from a fight between gorillas in heat.

It's fine to just watch the fun on ordinary days, but it would be too boring to actually participate yourself.

but.

Upon hearing his drawn-out tone, Hu Shuang's expression suddenly turned cold for some reason.

"Mr. Yasuda."

Upon hearing the girl's words, the young man immediately turned around and said excitedly.

"Miss Hu, is there anything I can help you with?"

However, Hu Shuang responded coldly to his enthusiasm.

“I hope you understand one thing—this Mr. Maori is my friend, and I don’t want anyone to insult him in any way, otherwise it would be an insult to me, do you understand?”

Perhaps because Hu Shuang had never spoken in such a tone before, the young man named Yasuda Shigeaki was somewhat at a loss—he seemed to want to explain something, but seeing Hu Shuang's icy aura, he finally deflated like a punctured balloon.

"Okay, Ms. Hu, please believe me, I meant no harm. I just don't want you to get hurt."

After giving a haphazard explanation, he could only helplessly leave first—but before leaving, he still glared fiercely at Zhou You's name tag.

But when he saw that name, he couldn't catch his breath and choked on his saliva.

"Mao, Mouri Kogoro?!!"

Zhou You smiled brightly.

"That's right, we also have a nephew named Conan. I'll introduce him to you another day."

The young man fled in panic. Hu Shuang didn't pay any attention to him, and instead looked at Zhou You with a smile.

"Mr. Zhou, you seem to be having a lot of fun. By the way, you seem to have put on makeup today, and it looks quite skillful. May I ask who did your makeup?"

"? It's nothing much, just their personal supplier to the Ashikaga family."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou You suddenly felt a chill creep up his spine for some reason.

Looking at Hu Shuang again, the girl was still smiling, but there always seemed to be some inexplicable emotions in that smile.

Finally, Hu Shuang said with a smile.

"Since you don't need my help anymore, Mr. Zhou, you can go ahead with your own business. I have some things to discuss, so I'll be leaving now."

Watching that clean and efficient departing figure, Zhou You could only scratch the back of his head in bewilderment.

"Why the sudden change in mood? I didn't say anything offensive. The ancients were right, a woman's heart is truly unfathomable."

"—What's a needle at the bottom of the sea?"

Just then, Ashikaga Hikaru's voice came from not far away.

—It was really a coincidence that this guy came back. Hu Shuang and that guy named Yasuda Shigeaki had just left, otherwise who knows what kind of show would have taken place.
Zhou You tossed the plate in his hand onto the table, then naturally took out a handkerchief from Ashikaga Hikaru's breast pocket, wiped his mouth—and then carefully put it back in before speaking.

"It's nothing serious, Ashikaga-san, you don't need to worry about it—by the way, have you finished discussing things with that governor?"

Hearing this, and looking at the greasy handkerchief on his chest, Ashikaga Hikaru's expression turned even more bitter.

"It shouldn't be said that the discussion is over, but rather that we haven't seen a single person at all."

"What?"

"They simply refused to see me, saying they weren't feeling well and couldn't schedule a private meeting with me."

"He's not in good health, yet he throws such a big banquet? And he even sends someone to assassinate you? Is he kidding me?"

Ashikaga Hikaru said helplessly.

"We can only accept being fooled; what can we do when the situation is beyond our control?"

The two looked at each other, speechless.

After a while, Zhou You took out a chicken leg and said sincerely to Ashikaga Hikaru.

"—Why don't you have something to eat first, Ashikaga brother? This roast chicken tastes really good. I was planning to take it home for a late-night snack. Would you like to try some?"

Ashikaga Hikaru was speechless once again.

After a long while, he finally refused.

"No, thank you for your kindness, Mr. Mori, but I'm not hungry right now."

"Never mind then." Zhou You cleanly and neatly removed a piece of meat from the chicken leg, then mumbled, "So what's next, Ashikaga-san? What are you planning to do?"

Upon hearing this, Ashikaga Hikaru's expression suddenly turned serious. He tilted his head and made a gesture to 'quiet down for now'.

"Although I didn't see it, I followed the governor's instructions to have our groups draft a set of rules and then inform him. That's perfect."

He took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Once I've dealt with these guys, I'll have some free time to provide you with an alibi, Mr. Mori."

Soon, the others also heard that the governor was ill and unable to attend, and they also expressed their regret in a very considerate manner—whether sincerely or not—and then went along with wishing the governor a speedy recovery.

Thus, the banquet entered its next phase.

It must be said that Japan has been imitating Europe for over a hundred years, and some customs have even become ingrained in its very being.

For example, right now, as the music changes, the banquet transforms into a dance party, and dozens of couples step onto the dance floor and begin to dance gracefully.

Zhou You's comment on this was only one sentence.

—A bunch of damn scumbags, are they going to have a sex party afterwards?
He himself couldn't dance, so he could only hold his wine glass and watch the dance floor with a bored expression.

Finally, even Ashikaga Hikaru was asked to leave by a still-attractive young woman. Zhou You, on the other hand, kept chugging his wine, silently calculating how much longer it would be before he could get down to business.

However, at that moment, a clear and melodious voice rang in my ears.

"Mr. Zhou, may I ask if I may have the honor of dancing with you?"

Zhou You didn't even turn his head, and answered instinctively.

"Sorry, I don't know how to do this."

Halfway through his sentence, he realized something was wrong and looked up again.

Sure enough, Hu Shuang turned back and was now looking at him with a smile.

"Miss Hu, are you done with your work?"

However, Hu Shuang did indeed speak as if she were being petulant.

"Mr. Zhou, are you genuinely ignorant or just pretending?"

"?"

Zhou You tilted his head, his eyes filled with clear confusion.

Seeing this, Hu Shuang could only sigh softly.

"Fine, that's just your personality. I've finally finished my work here and have some free time. I was just about to ask you to dance with me."

"Uh, like I said, I really don't know how to do this. If you bring me along, I'll only embarrass myself. Why don't you ask Ashikaga for help? Oh, by the way, that bastard got snatched up by a rich woman."

"Mr. Zhou."

Zhou You paused abruptly in his refusal, then couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly.

".you say."

"According to the rules of court balls, when a lady extends an invitation, a gentleman must never refuse, otherwise he will make the lady lose face completely."

"But this is Japan."

"Mr. Zhou?"

So Zhou You could only slump his shoulders helplessly and resign himself to his fate.

"Okay, but I have to make it clear first, I've never learned this stuff before. Don't blame me if I embarrass myself later."

Upon hearing this, Hu Shuang finally revealed a bright and sunny smile.

"It's alright. The next song is a beginner's level, and I'm good at guiding people. Mr. Zhou, you just need to follow my lead."

Having said that, she took Zhou You's hand and led him into the dance floor in an irresistible manner.

At first, no one paid attention, but soon, this strange pair attracted the attention of others.

"Isn't that the famous Ice Princess?"

".who?"

"Chairman Jin Chuan's secretary, that famous beauty who moved between politics and business in her early twenties, later after Chairman Jin Chuan's death, I heard that she was tired of political struggles, refused to inherit all of Chairman Jin Chuan's political legacy, and went into the entertainment industry."

"Ah, now that you mention it, I remember. But isn't she known for being unapproachable? How come?"

"I heard that when Iwasaki wanted to ask her to dance, she refused."

"so"

"—Who exactly is that guy?"

(End of this chapter)