Yagyu Tao glared at them coldly, "We need to burn him along with the rest. Otherwise, do you really think that kid won’t retaliate against us?"
"This... big brother, isn’t this going too far?" A few of the underlings felt uneasy inside.
Arson and murder were both serious crimes, after all.
Usually, their activities were limited to coercion and brawls, but they had never actually taken a life.
Yagyu Tao said viciously, "As long as we do it cleanly and leave no clues, the police won’t be able to trace it back to us. Besides, if we can’t take care of Yamada Shinryu, Beiyuan Construction won’t let us off the hook."
On hearing this, everyone fell silent.
"Damn it, let’s do it! Even if the police catch us, we’ll just end up in jail. But if we miss the deadline set by Beiyuan Construction, we’re really going to die!"
"Let’s follow big brother’s lead, I’ll go get the gasoline."
With the first one taking the lead, the others stopped struggling and agreed to participate in this operation.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Aoyama Xiu Xin was in his office entertaining an exclusive interview with the female journalist Hashimoto Chiyoko.
Dressed in a black suit, Hashimoto Chiyoko sat on the sofa, her stocking-clad legs carefully serving Aoyama Xiu Xin. She widened her eyes curiously and asked, "Mr. Aoyama, why do you enjoy this?"
"It’s so beautiful, who wouldn’t like it?" Aoyama Xiu Xin responded nonchalantly.
The sheer black stockings continued upward until they disappeared.
Hashimoto Chiyoko made no struggle, "Is it limited to women? I’ve never heard of anyone liking men’s feet."
"It’s because women’s feet work, men’s don’t!"
Hashimoto Chiyoko appeared to semi-understand and took out a voice recorder, "Mr. Aoyama, let’s start the interview."
By now, she had basically become Aoyama Xiu Xin’s exclusive reporter, as her ability to secure exclusive interviews about him had made her somewhat famous in Hokkaido.
"Okay," Aoyama Xiu Xin acknowledged, and then he began to cooperate with Hashimoto Chiyoko in answering her various questions.
After the interview, Hashimoto Chiyoko started packing up to leave, "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Aoyama."
"Are you leaving just like that, Chiyoko? I gave you an interview, shouldn’t you repay me?" Aoyama Xiu Xin caught her hand, his expression a mix of jest and seriousness.
Hashimoto Chiyoko understood his implication, slightly embarrassed she bowed her head, her cheeks flushed as she murmured, "I need to rush to finish the draft."
Though she said so, she didn’t move from the spot.
"Work can be done at any time today," Aoyama Xiu Xin stood up, pulled her into his embrace, and whispered face-to-face, "Lie down on the couch, be good, Chiyoko."
Hashimoto Chiyoko bit her red lip shyly, glanced at him, and then obediently lied down on the sofa.
Just her silhouette was already inviting.
Aoyama Xiu Xin chuckled softly, walked to his desk, pulled out a pair of handcuffs from the drawer, and cuffed her hands behind her back; then he tied her legs back with her stockings to bind her.
"My god, Mr. Aoyama, what... what are you doing, untie me quickly," Hashimoto Chiyoko’s cheeks were so flushed they could drip blood, her hands and feet bound, she felt no security, only shame.
"Knock knock knock!" Suddenly the sound of knocking erupted.
Panicked, Hashimoto Chiyoko in a low urgent voice, whispered, "Someone’s coming, Mr. Aoyama, you have to release me quickly. It would be terrible if someone saw us."
"Hush, don’t make a sound, someone will see," Aoyama Xiu Xin put a finger to his lips, then took off his coat and covered her bound body with it, then called out, "Come in."
After speaking, he moved to sit behind the desk.
Hidden under the clothes, Hashimoto Chiyoko dared not speak or move. Trapped in the darkness, she listened to the sound of the door opening and footsteps. Amid the tension, she felt a thrill.
"Senior Police Director." Hattori, as he walked in, immediately saw the heap covered by clothes shivering on the sofa and the pair of silver high heels on the floor beside it, quickly guessing it was a woman under the clothes, but he quickly averted his eyes and reported without any change in his demeanor, "The car used to kidnap Kudou Kei has been found. The owner’s identity has also been confirmed as a security guard at Hokkaido University Hospital, I’ve put him under surveillance, please instruct me."
"How interesting, a hospital’s security guard kidnapping a factory’s?" Aoyama Xiu Xin gave a wry smile, shook his head and said, "Don’t arrest him yet, keep an eye on him for a while and see if anything turns up. If there’s no progress in a week, bring him in for questioning."
"Yes!" Hattori bowed, and then said, "Senior Police Director, if you have no further instructions, I’ll get back to work."
He didn’t want to interfere with the other’s pleasure.
"Go ahead," Aoyama Xiu Xin waved him off.
Hattori turned to leave, just reaching the door when Aoyama Xiu Xin called out from behind, "Mr. Hattori, pick up and straighten that pair of high heels that fell to the ground."
The covered Hashimoto Chiyoko suddenly stiffened, her breath hitched, almost fainting, her mind in turmoil, mortified and furious.
Hattori also hesitated for a moment, then realizing he had become a part of the play.
He couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth, walking over, bending down to pick up the fallen high heels and arrange them neatly.
Although Hashimoto Chiyoko couldn’t see Hattori, she sensed him approaching, stopping right beside her, and, in her mortification, she closed her eyes, her mind going blank.
"Thanks, Mr. Hattori. You can go now," while watching the trembling pile of clothes on the sofa, Aoyama Xiu Xin smiled, musing how the ancient proverb about playing people still held true, people playing people was indeed the most amusing, easy to indulge in and hard to extricate oneself