n

n

nYamaguchi Aiko took a sip from the drink she held elegantly in her hand. She looked out the window and watched the blue sky and white clouds as she said leisurely, “If I said it was all a coincidence, would you believe me?”

n“Yes, of course. I’ll believe anything you say.” Gu Yanran cocked her head with a smile and placed a thin blanket over her legs. “I’m just curious why you don’t leverage the Prime Minister’s influence to expand your business in the Huaxia Empire? You’re close to him, right?”

n“Yanran, you’re a natural business person.” Yamaguchi Aiko set her coffee cup down and glanced at the other woman’s curious expression. She smiled subtly. “But not everything can be measured with money.”

n“Of course I understand that, but what you did was…” Gu Yanran averted her eyes. Her disapproval was apparent.

nYamaguchi Aiko’s smile faded, and she looked down thoughtfully before explaining carefully, “Yanran, we’ve known each other for a few years now. You know what kind of person I am. If I told you I wasn’t doing this willingly, would you believe me?”

n“Of course.” Gu Yanran winked playfully at Yamaguchi Aiko. “It came from you, so I believe it. After all, I’m able to witness your ability myself.”

n“Good.” Yamaguchi Aiko sighed. “Okay, thanks for helping me this time. I’ll make sure to tell my people once I get back. We’ll be sure to repay you.”

n“It was nothing. Why make a big deal out of it?” Gu Yanran shook her head casually. “You don’t need to be so polite, just make sure to be more careful and try to stop doing this kind of thing. Not only are you done for if you’re discovered, but I might get in trouble too.” She sighed heavily. “I don’t have powerful supporters like you do. If something happens to me, no one will help.”

n“I know. This was just an emergency situation. It’ll never happen again,” Yamaguchi Aiko quickly promised.

n“Good.” Gu Yanran closed her eyes for a nap.

nAfter witnessing Gu Yanran’s reaction, Yamaguchi Aiko knew the situation was not as trivial as she had claimed. After all, she’d lied to her and fabricated an identity.

n“Yanran, I have my reasons. I…” Yamaguchi Aiko frantically explained because she didn’t want to cross Gu Yanran.

n“No need to explain. I already said I believe you.” Gu Yanran opened her alluring eyes and gently squeezed Yamaguchi Aiko’s hand. “We’ve already been friends for so many years. There’s no need for such explanations.” They had become acquainted through business and later grew close because of their similar tempers. The relationship had evolved from a purely a client and manager relationship to a deep and intimate friendship.

nYamaguchi Aiko was touched. No one had ever trusted her unconditionally like this. Her troubles from before the age of 18 had never been respected, but after she turned 18, her life underwent a tremendous change. She was now 25 years old. It had only been seven years since she began her new tumultuous life. She didn’t want to lose her lifestyle or the envy and respect of others. She was unwilling to give up fame, fortune, or men. As the plane’s engine grew louder, it drowned out their voices. Like Yamaguchi Aiko, Gu Yanran wanted to take an afternoon beauty rest, so the conversation quickly ended, and they both fell asleep.

n…

nIn the Huaxia Imperial Capital Airport, a woman with black framed glasses and straight bangs collapsed on the floor. Streams of blood flowed from under her body. Groups of police officers and military officials cordoned the scene, and Prime Minister Dou and his wife were taken to the VIP lounge for protection.

n“You people can’t delay our foreign affairs delegation! Are you willing to take responsibility if there’s a delay in this ASEAN multilateral talk!” Prime Minister Dou shouted at the police officers. He was full of confidence and thought his Achilles heel had finally been eliminated.

n“Prime Minister Dou, we have learned that the woman shot outside was the person we’ve been pursuing all this time: Yamaguchi Aiko,” a plainclothes police officer said calmly. “We also wanted to ask you why she was part of your foreign affairs delegation and your wife’s personal assistant.”

nPrime Minister Dou sneered. “You must be kidding! Are you really taking advantage of a dead person who can’t even defend herself? How can you prove she is Yamaguchi Aiko? Do you have evidence?”

n“Of course.” The plainclothes officer presented a special arrest warrant and inventory of evidence signed jointly by the court and Senate. “We’ve already presented them to the court, and if you still have a different opinion on the matter, you can explain it to the court. Mr. and Mrs. Prime Minister, please come with us.”

nPrime Minister Dou blanched at the sight of the inventory of evidence. He’d never suspected that Yamaguchi Aiko would leave behind so many clues. Now the Secret Service was catching onto them! His wife’s heart dropped and she went pale. She hadn’t known that woman was Yamaguchi Aiko! And she had been specifically hired as her personal assistant by Prime Minister Dou. Had he set her up? It was too late to say anything now. Prime Minister Dou made one final attempt to free himself. “So what, you’re going to arrest me? Don’t you want a representative at the ASEAN multilateral talks? This will bring shame to the nation!”

n“Prime Minister Dou, the Senate has already authorized Minister Bai to replace you in the ASEAN multilateral talk, and their new delegation should have taken off by now. There’s no need for you to worry. This way please.” Another military official in plain clothes stepped in to take the Prime Minister and his people away.

n“Minister… Minister Bai? Bia Jiancheng?!” Prime Minister Dou almost fainted. After all his precautions, he never expected the Minister of the Imperial Administration, Bai Jiancheng, to block his exit.

n“Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Prime Minister, please come with us,” the man repeated and stepped aside politely. People in the airport watched as the police officers escorted the Prime Minister and his wife out of the airport in cruisers.

nThe TV networks and the internet were immediately abuzz. Countless reporters conducted interviews trying to piece together what had happened with the Prime Minister. Various conspiracy theories began by sympathizing with the Prime Minister, who had come from nothing and climbed to his position on his own merit. But not long afterward, his deal with Yamaguchi Aiko was exposed, and his public opinion reversed.

n“How could he work with the Yamaguchi-gumi to rig the Prime Minister election? Who does he think he is?”

n“Did he go crazy? Hahahahahaha!”

n“The Prime Minister is willing to go to any lengths to win the election.”

n“All the Prime Minister’s children are mentally challenged. His wife is too. Out of all people to be her personal assistant, why would she choose a Japanese spy?”

nAlmost overnight, the grassroots Prime Minister who had enjoyed a high support rate saw his reputation plummet. People had already initiated petitions to ask Prime Minister Dou to resign. He had been elected so only the voters themselves could remove him from office. Thus the Senate stepped in to form a grand jury to impeach Prime Minister Dou. The dramatic reversal in public opinion instantly became the hottest topic in the nation and was cleverly manipulated and leveraged to support the replacement of the Prime Minister. This merged with the flood of support for Minister of the Imperial Administration, Bai Jiancheng. While he was still attending the ASEAN multilateral talk, his domestic support skyrocketed.

nAmidst the celebrations in the Secret Service, the Cabinet, and the military, only the Special Operations Forces remained silent. Huo Shaoheng, Zhao Liangze, and Yin Shixiong sat quietly in their office and analyzed the incident.

n“Mr. Huo, I actually think it’s less believable now that Yamaguchi Aiko has been exposed so thoroughly.” Yin Shixiong frowned as he flipped through the information sent from the Secret Service and military.

n“Something is definitely wrong.” Zhao Liangze slapped the desk. “Just look at the evidence. It’s almost as if it was all planted intentionally. Prime Minister Dou was set up!”

nHuo Shaoheng mulled this over for a long time and clicked on the evidence with his cursor before finally replying, “Actually Prime Minister Dou wasn’t wrongfully accused. He really did collude with Yamaguchi Aiko, and she promised him the Yamaguchi-gumi’s support for the election. There’s no way he can deny that.”

n“That’s true.” Yin Shixiong nodded thoughtfully as he looked at Zhao Liangze. “Little Ze, your little lady’s father is making quite the rise in ranks, isn’t he?” He was asking about Bai Yueran’s father, Bai Jiancheng, who was officially representing the Huaxia Empire in the SEAN multilateral talk.

nZhao Liangze grinned widely but pretended to be humble.

n“What do you mean rising in the ranks? I don’t understand, but Minister Bai is truly capable and humble. His reputation is true to character.”

nHuo Shaoheng glanced at him and nodded. “Bai Jiancheng is a good candidate.” He was comfortable as long as Bai Shuang wasn’t the one Zhao Liangze liked. Bai Yueran and Bai Jiancheng’s branch of the family wasn’t impacted by Bai Yusheng.

nWith his Chief’s approval, Zhao Liangze became even happier. However, Huo Shaoheng still made sure to remind him, “I don’t think the Yamaguchi Aiko incident is over yet. I don’t believe that woman who was shot was really Yamaguchi Aiko.”

n