Japanese Entertainment: A Comeback Beginning from Bankrupt President

"How about returning the name? I noticed that the company still holds the commercial rights to Amano Aki's name. Could we use that as leverage to return it and get some bargaining chips?" The secretary raised a very important point.

That was a symbol of Watanabe Entertainment's power and a signal to blockade Amano Aki.

As long as they hold onto this, other television stations and traditional media will respect Watanabe Entertainment, rather than seeing it as just a company with empty promises.

Releasing this information is tantamount to proactively telling everyone that the agency has abandoned its blockade of Amano Aki for some reason, which means the agency has yielded.

This decision may not be entirely up to Watanabe Sōta.

This is because the impact of releasing commercial rights on Watanabe Entertainment needs to be considered, so Watanabe Souta's father has to make the decision to see if it can compensate for the impact of Yoshioka Yuko's actions on the matter.

Of course, the secretary believed that such a thing would not happen.

Sōta Watanabe only needs to consider the projects he is in charge of, such as his idol group and the entertainment division where Yūko Yoshioka is located, while his father needs to consider the entire agency.

This is true.

Sōta Watanabe immediately had an answer: "I can't make that decision, and I don't think my father would agree to it."

"It concerns the firm's prestige, which I understand, but this is the only bargaining chip we have." The secretary was just saying what he had to say; after all, he was just a secretary.

To have a conversation, you need leverage.

A conversation without leverage is not only extremely passive, but also prevents you from getting what you want.

But if we don't do that, there's only one possibility.

"If we give up on Yoshioka Yuko now, won't our losses be much smaller? That way, I can give an explanation to the board of directors."

Since there's no room for negotiation, we should cut off our own arm to minimize losses. Sometimes, you just have to be ruthless with yourself.

Before his secretary could produce the data, Watanabe Sōta had already decided on Yoshioka Yuko's future: "Let's proceed according to the plan and minimize the losses before the other party exposes the matter."

"It will take time, but after you made the call, I felt that the other party was already in contact with Bunshun."

The secretary was glad that Watanabe Souta was able to make the decision, but he had to take into account his opponent, who was a person who was constantly learning and, simply put, was not stupid.

The new problem now is that before we've finished dealing with this, Bunshun has already leaked the information. We shouldn't take any rash actions before we know exactly what they're going to reveal.

Adultery is just the basics; no other crimes should be added on top of that, so as to minimize the impact.

Reminded by his secretary, Watanabe Sōta also thought of this.

He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before giving clear instructions: "Don't take on any new jobs for her yet. Drop all the ones you're currently negotiating, and suspend all her current work. Let her stay home alone for a few days to reflect on her situation. Make sure she looks a bit haggard in preparation for the press conference."

It might happen in the next few days, so get ready to accept all of this.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kazuya Sawashiro also held a small meeting to discuss the issue of Yuko Yoshioka.

Watanabe Sōta wouldn't call for no reason, and he must have guessed what was going on over there during the call, so now we have to catch them off guard before they finish making their arrangements.

The person meeting with Kazuya Sawashiro was not Takuya Kurosaki, who was always busy collecting materials, but the equally unremarkable Yumi Kazama.

To others, she was just a housewife who focused on her work in the recording studio. Her daily work consisted of being busy in the recording studio, and the work she did was inconspicuous. Even when her secretary was collecting materials, she didn't pay any attention to her.

But Ze Cheng also knew that she was not that simple.

After Yuko Yoshioka's song was released, she began to use her own experience to find the person who wrote the lyrics for Yuko Yoshioka.

This kind of thing can't be done openly. As soon as Watanabe Entertainment gets wind of it, they'll hide that person so that no one can find them again.

If it were a public figure, the risk of doing so would be very high, but for a nobody who hasn't yet made a name for himself, Watanabe Entertainment can easily control the situation.

It was through this constant exploration that Kazama Yumi found the person who wrote the lyrics for Yoshioka Yuko.

He was a 23-year-old young man from Tokushima who lived in Tokyo. His name was Hayato Yagami, and everyone around him affectionately called him Hachi. Kazama Yumi had to go around in circles to find him.

As for Yagami Hayato's purpose in helping Yoshioka Yuko write lyrics, it was mainly because Watanabe Entertainment offered him a good price.

One million yen per song, four songs provided per year, and as long as you don't go around talking about it, you can do whatever you want with the rest of the time.

So, while writing songs for Yoshioka Yuko, Yagami Hayato also worked part-time at a karaoke bar, since he still had to pay off his university scholarship.

After finding this person, Kazama Yumi began to persuade him with reason and emotion. Although she did not immediately make Yagami Hayato think of turning against her, Kazama Yumi felt that she was just one step away from success.

However, sometimes, the final push is just a matter of one's own idea.

In fact, Kazama Yumi and Yagami Hayato have never met in person; she has only spoken to Yagami Hayato a few times on the phone.

Originally, they planned to get to know each other slowly, but Watanabe Souta's phone call shattered the peace. Sawashiro Kazuya had to discuss with Kazama Yumi how to persuade Yagami Hayato as soon as possible to become the sharp blade aimed at Watanabe Souta.

"So do I need to meet with him? I'm actually quite good at negotiating," Kazuya Sawashiro said, playing a recording of the phone call. "We don't have much time. Sōta Watanabe is probably already making arrangements. The sooner we get decisive evidence, the better."

All they know is that Hayato Yagami is writing lyrics for Yuko Yoshioka, but no one will believe that if they just say it out loud; they need to provide conclusive evidence to prove it.

Documents, audio recordings, or videos—anything that can prove that Yagami Hayato did this, combined with Yoshioka Yuko's overnight stay scandal, could deal a heavy blow to Watanabe Souta.

"I don't think so... but time is indeed very tight. Perhaps it's a good decision to have you come, but you can't talk to Yagami Hayato like that," Kazama Yumi agreed with Sawashiro Kazuya's confidence, while also expressing her concerns, "Yagami Hayato's mental state isn't that stable. That's a problem that only geniuses have."

"I understand, so can you contact him now? I'd like to meet with him as soon as possible."

Time is of the essence; if we delay for a day or two, we might not be able to contact Yagami Hayato anymore.

Kazama Yumi understood this, so she didn't waste any time and called Yagami Hayato right in front of Sawashiro Kazuya, then brought in Sawashiro Kazuya, the negotiation expert.

"Yagami Hayato-san, tomorrow will be a sunny day. How about we go out for a drink? There's a genius who's about your age who wants to meet you."