Shinji: Remember What Happened to Me During the Heaven's Feel Release Window?

"And that blindfolded woman next to you! I'm right here, and you're still talking bad about me! Do you even respect me?"

Ophelia merely curled her lips in disdain at Yu Ji's accusations.

"You bastard!"

Yu Ji's lips twitched incessantly, and with a forceful squeeze of both hands, she crushed a piece of the conference table.

"Alright, everyone, calm down."

Shinji, with his legs crossed, chuckled and said, "Joking aside, I genuinely want to invite you to play the second female lead, Old Karuta."

Yu Ji scratched her head helplessly. "If you're really sincere, you should at least change how you address me first."

After she expressed her intention to join Shinji's team, this man gave her a new name— Akutagawa Chiko.

That's not a big deal. Besides, many celebrities have stage names, and she couldn't possibly appear in public with the name Yu Ji.

They're not Europeans or Americans, so their names are just a few variations, and the Heroic Spirit don't even need to change them.

Furthermore, Yu Ji didn't dislike the name Akuta no Akutagawa Chiko; she was able to connect it to herself indirectly, suggesting that Shinji put some thought into choosing the name.

What annoyed Yu Ji was that, even though she hadn't gotten used to the pseudonym Akutagawa Chiko, Shinji was already calling her "Old Karuta"Old Karuta so naturally.

Although Yu Ji knew that Shinji didn't mean any harm by calling her that, and it was just a slightly teasing joke, it still made Yu Ji feel a little awkward.

In particular, Shinji used the excuse that "calling you a few more times will help you get used to your new name sooner."

[But what's with this feeling of resentment? It's like losing a game and no one mocking you.]

Yu Ji —no, Akutagawa Chiko— bite her nails and muttered to herself.

Shinji, however, maintained his smile, "What do you think, Old Karuta? I think you're perfect for the role of this yandere girl. Your expression when you're being toyed with when you transform into True Ancestor is a perfect match for Asagami Fujino ~"

"What the hell are you talking about! And how did you know I, the True Ancestor, transformed?"

Old Karuta let out a furious sound.

Shinji downplayed the issue, saying, "Old Karuta, you think you're unsuitable simply because you don't understand your own circumstances."

"What are the conditions?"

"You're so perfect! That nose, those eyes, that face—you're practically a once-in-a-millennium gem in China!"

Shinji said from the bottom of his heart, "Someone with your image is perfect for playing a yandere. Old Karuta Ryugu Rena, Katsura Kotoha, Amano Yukiteru 're good to go."

"This kind of thing only appears once every few thousand years, right?"

Akutagawa Chiko gave a cold laugh, then slapped her handprint on the table.

"Shinji Matou, are you trying to put on a Spring Festival Gala for me?!"

Chapter 296 Shinji: Do you remember what happened to me during the HF period?

Old Karuta from other Parallel world might appear ignorant and uninformed because he is far removed from human activity.

But this absolutely does not include Old Karuta in this world. Because she has always been a flight attendant, Old Karuta is no stranger to human society and knows the jokes on the Chinese internet like the back of her hand.

She might not know Amano Yukiteru and the others Shinji was talking about were, but she recognized the hint of Zhu Shimiao in their voices.

What, you little brat who hasn't even grown a beard yet, do you think I'm Chen Peisi?

You're acting like Wu Dalang suckling at his mother—jumping and stomping around like that!

"Shinji Matou! Are you making a fool of me?"

Old Karuta stared at Shinji with a look of irritation.

"..."

Shinji glanced at the handprint on the table, then looked at his own thin arms and legs, and could only obediently follow his heart (cowardly).

"Just kidding, using jokes from your hometown can help you integrate into a new environment more quickly."

Hehe~

Akutagawa Chiko's disdainful look said it all.

Shinji had no choice but to bow his head and admit his mistake, saying that he genuinely hoped that this old lady—no, this beautiful young lady—would play the role of Asagami Fujino.

Ms. Akutagawa Chiko expressed her approval of Shinji's swift admission of guilt, generously forgiving his overstepping of Shinji and stating that she would perform well.

A crisis that could have triggered the True Ancestor to go berserk has temporarily vanished.

"Boss, I don't really understand."

After Akutagawa Chiko left, Ophelia asked, "Why did it have to be Sakura who was more suitable for the yandere role?"

Shinji let out a laugh as cold and dejected as Stephen Chow's, "Hahaha~ Ophelia, do you remember how many beatings I got during my Heaven's Feel broadcasting days?"

"I see."

Ophelia had no further objections.

Shinji rested his chin on his hands, striking a pose Commander Ikari, and said, "I know Old Karuta; she's the type who refuses a toast but accepts a wedding feast. You all need to treat her well during this time and make sure she feels right at home in Fuyuki City."

Upon hearing Shinji's words, Red A jokingly asked, "Shinji, should you put quotation marks around your words?"

"Of course not! I haven't lived enough yet."

Shinji rolled his eyes and said, "I'm going to Italy for the Venice Film Festival soon. Make sure she has a good time while I'm there; she's our most important new guest right now."

"Boss, I couldn't tell at all when you were joking with her."

The Little Secretary Ophelia, muttered a complaint under her breath.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Shinji's departure did not bring the Kara no Kyoukai project to a standstill; even without him, the project team continued to operate.

Old Master Li trained the confirmed actors; Red A and Touko confirmed the special props that would appear in the movie; the location shooting team traveled all over Japan to find Location Shoot that matched the story of <Kara no Kyoukai>; the audition team began large-scale auditions; even those who were on the fringes stayed by Grandma Akuta's side to make her happy.

So when Chloe once again arrived in Fuyuki City as a representative of the Jidai Group, she was dismayed to find that everyone was quite busy.

As the person in charge of following up on the "Kara no Kyoukai" series within the group, she has always been optimistic about the future of "Kara no Kyoukai".

In particular, after receiving several story outlines from Shinji, Chloe realized that this could very well be developed into a feature-length film series.

What does that mean?

That means there are more than three parts in the series!

For a Film Company, this is a gold mine.

Once she had confirmed this, Chloe had been working hard to persuade the top executives at the Jidai Group. to invest heavily in Shinji's new series.

Otherwise, the Jidai Group wouldn't have so readily handed over tens of millions of yuan to Shinji —in fact, this money didn't even belong to the Jidai Group itself, but was from the company's film scheduling and financing pool.

Making movies without using your own money is a consensus within the industry.

Despite convincing the Jidai Group, Chloe still felt uneasy.

Contrary to her expectations of being able to completely take over the Kara no Kyoukai project, the Jidai Group ultimately chose to co-develop the series with Type-Moon.

"Why be so hesitant about a business that can generate ten times the profit once it's secured? Don't they know that the one dollar they're giving up now could be tens of millions in profit later?"

Initially, because he didn't value the Kara no Kyoukai project enough, Shinji originally planned to outsource the entire project and just work as J. K. Rowling on Kara no Kyoukai, earning extra money by writing stories.

This is actually the biggest reason why the Jidai Group has doubts about the "Kara no Kyoukai" project.

If this project is so good, why doesn't Shinji Matou do it himself?

Unfortunately, Chloe didn't think so. She believed that it was the company's higher-ups who were too hesitant, which allowed Shinji to regain control of the Kara no Kyoukai project.

"These insects are really asking for trouble! Now our Jidai Group will only be able to earn a pittance for Xiao Er Er again."

Chloe knew very well that the commercial value of the Kara no Kyoukai series would only become more and more apparent over time.

Given the appetite Shinji showed for Fate, the Kara no Kyoukai project will most likely follow the same pattern: Shinji gets all the meat, Jidai Group gets the soup.

In reality, the amount given as "soup" and "hard-earned money" is definitely excessive, since in terms of the amount of money made, Jidai Group, as the publisher, still took the lion's share.

However, judging solely from the input-output ratio, Shinji undoubtedly made money much more easily.

In particular, upon hearing that Shinji Matou planned to personally direct the first Best Actress "Kara no Kyoukai," Chloe knew things were in trouble.

"Little Er'er is taking advantage of our lack of interest in this project, so he's planning to expand it and make it bigger, just so we can all be envious! He's still so petty!"

As for the possibility of <Kara no Kyoukai> failing, Chloe didn't see it at all.

Perhaps the Jidai Group would fail if they operated Kara no Kyoukai on their own, but with Shinji personally involved, there's only one outcome: success.

At that time, the control of Kara no Kyoukai will completely fall into the hands of Shinji Matou.

Although Chloe is emotionally inclined towards Shinji, she still hopes that her family's Jidai Group can become more powerful in the business world.

From FSN to now, Jidai Group has only followed Shinji's lead, and has hardly ever successfully undertaken any major projects on its own, remaining in a state of passively making money throughout.

This is not a good sign.

A healthy partnership should be like Romeo and Juliet, sweet and harmonious.

But now, the overly assertive Shinji has turned Type-Moon and Jidai Group. into Romeo and Kublai Khan.

If this continues, Jidai Group. will become nothing more than a ruthless cash cow and publisher for Type-Moon.

Therefore, even with the risks involved, Chloe hopes that the Jidai Group will take the "Kara no Kyoukai" project upon itself.

After all, the projects Shinji provides tend to have a higher success rate than those whose details are unknown.

"Unless we take over the entire project during the planning stage!"

Chloe came up with the idea.

Unfortunately, the top management of the Jidai Group ultimately did not accept Chloe's plan, and they once again chose to give up.

"What if Shinji succeeds again? He'll be in charge of the project again."

Chloe asked, utterly disappointed.

"It's alright. As long as we can make enough profit from the project, spending more money is worthwhile. Anyway, our Jidai Group can afford it!"

"..."

Seeing that her board of directors had become so subservient that they would only open their mouths when food was practically placed in front of them, Chloe was speechless.

Ultimately, it's not that the top executives of the Jidai Group are stupid; it's just a move by Grand Duke seeking stability.

Since Shinji Matou can keep succeeding, let's just follow him.

Perhaps in the eyes of the tycoons of the Jidai Group, Shinji Matou, this monkey, can't escape the Jidai Group's control.

But Chloe didn't think so; her second brother was a ruthless character like Sima Yi.

"Forget it, I can't be bothered with it."

Since the higher-ups have chosen to lie down, Chloe might as well lie down too.

Shinji Matou were to take over the Jidai Group, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for Chloe and Flora Family.

"What if that bastard gets all high and might come to his senses and decide to marry me?"

Miss Lizzie's idea was purely like Kenseth taking a drive in a convertible—a wildly imaginative notion.

However, she felt good and began to focus her attention on the <Kara no Kyoukai> project itself.

Based on the content of Chloe and Shinji Matou's conversations in the early stages, it seems that Shinji himself wanted to make some extra money through the Kara no Kyoukai series.

I'll also try to curry favor Ryougi Shiki's sly fox assistant.

"Tsk! That damn womanizer!"

The mere thought of this made Chloe so angry that her whole body seemed to radiate black smoke.

While it's not uncommon for big bosses to get Lead Actor for their mistresses, for the boss to personally approve a project and then, damn it, come to the actress herself asking for money to make the movie...

Shinji is probably the only one like him in the whole world!

Fortunately, Shinji himself didn't take it very seriously at first, and had no interest in being tied to the Kara no Kyoukai series like he was with Fate.

If Shinji really intends to take over the entire "Kara no Kyoukai" project, then Chloe will probably grab a knife and rush to Fuyuki City to get rid of the fox spirit.

"Considering that Xiao Er Er didn't volunteer to be the Director this time, we'll forgive him for now."

"Now it's simple! Just wait for Little Er'er to create another miracle, and that's it."

As for how much less money the Jidai Group would receive after the success of "Kara no Kyoukai," Chloe simply didn't consider it.