With that, Yamada staggered out the door. Sure enough, he really did return in no time.
Not only did he return, he brought an extraordinarily beautiful woman with him.
Chen Fan had seen plenty of the world, and his eye was certainly discerning. His heart jolted at his first glimpse of the girl.
Although her outfit looked like an ordinary ivory kimono, silver threads shimmered across it. One glance was enough to tell it was anything but cheap.
And her clothes were not the only impressive thing. She was beautiful too, with picture-perfect features and an exceptional air about her.
The next moment, Chen Fan read the detailed information that popped up about her on the system panel and froze in utter shock.
Fujiwara Kyoka, chief of the Tokkō Cipher Section, honorary imperial colonel, senior official of the Empress's Household.
She was a fucking official, and a high-ranking one at that...
Would a woman like this come out to work as a dancer? She hardly looked short of money, much less men. Could she have some unspeakable interest?
How could that be...
Chen Fan had never imagined anything so ridiculous happening, so, fuck, Yamada had most likely made a mistake.
He had mistaken this woman for a dancer and dragged her in.
Normally, Yamada would certainly have questioned Fujiwara Kyoka's identity after seeing her clothes.
But now he was so damned drunk he could barely tell people from animals. All he saw were women. What else could he notice...
And Fujiwara Kyoka happened to be a woman, a good-looking one at that. Well, drop-dead gorgeous would be more accurate.
Yamada shoved the woman straight into Chen Fan's arms. "Chen-san, this must be the companion Inoue arranged for you, right? She's really pretty."
The woman stared fixedly at Yamada Ryosuke. When she spoke, it was in a flawless Kyoto accent. "How dare you! You hurt me just now. What are you trying to do?"
Chen Fan hurriedly apologized. "Miss, I'm sorry. My friend's had too much to drink."
"He thought you were here to drink with me. Please don't take offense. I'll take you back right away."
Only upon hearing his voice did Fujiwara Kyoka turn her gaze to Chen Fan's face. The next instant, her eyes reddened, and her right hand gently stroked his cheek.
"Have we met somewhere before?"
"Have we met?" Her gaze made Chen Fan uncomfortable all over. No, to be precise, it made his skin crawl...
Had you ever met someone whose eyes brimmed with tears at the very first sight of you, as though they wanted to imprint you in their eyes?
Fujiwara smiled. "You want to drink? I'll drink with you..."
"Wouldn't that be a little inappropriate?" Chen Fan visibly hesitated.
Chen Fan really had not seen many girls this stunning in nightlife venues. Aside from being a little short, her face and figure were both absolutely top-tier.
Especially that cool, aloof air. That was not something an ordinary actress could possess.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it." Fujiwara Kyoka grabbed a cup from the table, filled it with rice wine, and drained it in one gulp.
Then she muttered something Chen Fan did not quite catch. It sounded like something about a birthday...
Still, judging by that drinking capacity, she looked like a professional drinking companion.
Chen Fan hurriedly drank a cup with her. Fujiwara watched him for a while, then suddenly asked, "Sir, may I have your surname?"
Chen Fan answered in Japanese, "My surname is Chen. I run a small business."
Fujiwara smiled. "A small business. A small business is good. How old are you?"
Chen Fan could not help growing wary. What was wrong with this woman? Was she conducting a household registration check right off the bat?
Chen Fan hesitated for a moment but answered honestly, "Twenty-four by traditional reckoning."
"Twenty-four is good. Twenty-four is good..." Fujiwara repeated, picking up her cup and taking another drink. Then she suddenly said, "Mr. Chen, why aren't you asking about me?"
Chen Fan was at a loss over Fujiwara Kyoka's behavior.
This woman was so forward it was a little hard to handle...
"Miss, what's your name?"
As though remembering something, Fujiwara Kyoka blushed for no apparent reason. "Remember it. My name is Fujiwara Kyoka."
Kyoka? Chen Yang looked at the two hundred million on her chest...
Yes, Kyoka. That really did make perfect sense...
Seeing Chen Fan and Fujiwara chatting so animatedly, Yamada hurried over. "Miss, you must take good care of Chen-san."
"Chen-san is a really good man."
As he spoke, he picked up the wine and moved to fill Chen Fan's cup.
But Fujiwara snatched the cup first. "Mr. Chen, drink less. Too much alcohol is bad for you."
Yamada chuckled. "Chen-san, this lady really looks after you."
"All right, you two have fun. I'll entertain Yoshino for you."
With that, Yamada staggered off again to challenge Yoshino to a drinking contest.
Chen Fan watched anxiously. They had drunk enough by now, and this was the perfect opportunity to talk business. Forget buying weapons-even if he wanted to steal weapons, Yamada would agree without hesitation and promise to take care of everything...
Just then, the door opened again, followed by a string of "Sumimasen."
"Mr. Chen, Miss Yoshiko..."
Mrs. Inoue pushed the door open and entered, only to stop halfway through her sentence.
Seeing the woman in the ivory kimono nestled in Chen Fan's arms, she seemed to understand something. "Mr. Chen, you already have a companion."
"Enjoy yourselves. If you need anything, just let me know. Sorry, I won't disturb you any longer."
With that, Mrs. Inoue hastily closed the door. Yamada muttered something, not sensing anything amiss at all.
Mrs. Inoue's sudden appearance did not dampen the lively atmosphere in the slightest.
Everyone drank and exchanged toasts. Even the normally quiet Fujiwara Kyoka became considerably more outgoing after finishing a 1.5-liter bottle of sake.
Not only did she join the conversation, she occasionally sang a few lines of Kyoto folk tunes to the dancers' shamisen accompaniment.
After singing, she clamored for more wine. Honestly, she could really drink. She finished three 1.5-liter bottles of Chrysanthemum Valley rice wine all by herself.
Egged on by Yamada and the others, Fujiwara even held wine in her mouth and fed it to Chen Fan, making everyone roar with laughter.
Chen Fan could not help marveling that Fujiwara was a fucking wine barrel come to life. She could drink so much...
She hadn't come here to cadge free drinks, had she?
Before they knew it, it was well past midnight, and everyone was thoroughly drunk. Chen Fan had managed to restrain himself at first, but later Fujiwara Kyoka had practically pinned him down and forced him to drink quite a bit.
Seeing that there was no chance of discussing business tonight, Chen Fan gloomily took a sip. This woman had ruined everything good he had planned for the evening.
"Minasan-hello, everyone..." Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a figure appeared in the doorway.
The newcomer was short and thin, with a shrewd gleam in his eyes.
"Inoue, you're finally here." Yamada went up, warmly wrapped an arm around Inoue Kazuhiko, and held a cup to his lips.
Just then, another voice rang out. "Oh, Inoue, you came too."
"Good. Come have a drink."
Before Inoue Kazuhiko could swallow the rice wine in his mouth, he heard that voice and spat it out with a splutter.
He stared in disbelief at Fujiwara Kyoka, whose face was flushed and whose body was half draped over Chen Fan.
How had this perpetually stern Cipher Section colonel become so uninhibited today, like a... like a...
"Fujiwara... Colonel Fujiwara..."
Yamada roared with laughter. "Inoue, you've had too much, haven't you? What colonel would we have here?"
Her eyes hazy with drink, Fujiwara extended a delicate hand and pointed at her own nose. "Inoue means me."
"You? You're a colonel? Hahaha..."
Yamada clearly had not realized how serious the situation was, nor had he noticed Inoue Kazuhiko frantically signaling him with his eyes, begging him to stop talking...
Fujiwara chuckled. "Yes. My name is Fujiwara Kyoka, and I serve as chief of the Tokkō Cipher Section."
"In the eighth year of Showa, I was responsible for designing the Kwantung Army's encrypted codes to support the empire's operational plans. It was a tremendous success."
"For that achievement, His Majesty personally awarded me the rank of honorary colonel in the Imperial Army."
"I am now an army colonel and concurrently a senior official of the imperial Empress's Household..."
What?
Yamada, Yoshino, and Shimura instantly sobered up...