Jiang Xia looked at the jumpy reporter and politely repeated himself. "I'm very interested in your program. When will filming take place?"
"The day after tomorrow!" The director was overjoyed. To keep Jiang Xia from changing his mind, he subtly played up the appeal of their show. "The schedule might be a little tight, but with you here, I'm sure we'll be able to solve the difficult problem that's been troubling us for so long!"
He deliberately left it hanging, intending to wait for Jiang Xia to ask what that problem was.
Unexpectedly, the Detective asked about something else first. "You just said you were going to meet a Detective from Osaka?"
All the director's prepared introduction immediately got stuck in his throat. Still, it was good enough that Jiang Xia was willing to talk to him. He hurriedly nodded, tossing the mysterious guest's privacy far out of mind. "Yes, Osaka's High School Detective—Hattori Heiji."
There were, of course, reasons for choosing Hattori Heiji as a spare tire... ahem, as a backup plan.
First of all, this High School Detective did have quite a few accomplishments to his name. Although he had solved more robbery and theft cases than Murder Cases, the overall number was impressive enough, and among them were several classic Murder Cases. He had a certain degree of fame.
Furthermore, limited printing technology, combined with the fact that many Murder Cases occurred after dark, meant that in many people's eyes, Detective Hattori was little more than a pitch-black silhouette with two gleaming eyes in the night.
—If such a Detective suddenly appeared on a color television screen, that would be something of a gimmick. If they also placed an advertisement in Kansai newspapers while the program aired, it would surely make for excellent publicity.
In short, for