Conan's self-cultivation of fake wine

Chapter 568 Happy Birthday
"In fact, Jiro wanted to terminate his partnership with Asako. Jiro entered the entertainment industry after graduating from high school, but he got stage fright and wanted to give up the industry completely.

It was Asako who believed in Jiro's talent and constantly encouraged and supported him. The two debuted as a group for nearly ten years and finally achieved their current popularity. "

The agent Hisamatsu wiped the sweat from his forehead. He stuttered a little at first, but spoke more and more fluently later on.

"But as the performances continued, Ms. Asako's heart problems became more serious. Not only did she miss performances and TV shows from time to time, but her reactions on stage also became slower and slower."

Hisamatsu finally sighed and concluded with a hint of melancholy, "I think Jiro must have reached the end of his patience."

"If you put it that way..." Mao Li rested his chin on his hand, reminiscing, "I was secretly protecting Miss Asako backstage. After the performance, Mr. Imaoka scolded Miss Asako in the lounge, saying that she had no professionalism and that she was holding him back. He also said that it would be better for her to quit early."

"Imaoka Jiro asked Fujimori Asako to quit the Strawberry Duo as soon as possible." Megure repeated this sentence, and he looked at Maori seriously and said, "Are you sure that Imaoka Jiro said such a thing?"

"Yeah." Mao Li nodded and said affirmatively, "I'm sure."

"Speaking of which, his relationships with women are a little complicated." Qianye held a magazine in his hand and flipped through the pages to show everyone, "He has been photographed socializing with reporters and having trysts with female celebrities more than once recently."

"Regarding this matter, I also warned Jiro not to continue to degenerate like this and hurt Asako's heart. But he said that he wanted to go solo and asked me to persuade Asako to quit the entertainment industry as soon as possible."

Even though many days had passed, agent Hisamatsu was still excited when he mentioned the matter again.

But the other person involved has passed away today.

When a person dies, all debts are forgiven. Even if he was very indignant and disgusted with the matter at that time, it can now be written off.

"Jiro's success today is all thanks to Asako's support, but he..."

Thousands of words finally turned into a sigh.

During the period when her agent was revealing the shocking news, Asako Fujimori kept her head down, her body trembling slightly, and her eyes were filled with deep sadness.

Lu Ren took a look and then looked away. He knew that Fujimori Asako's current performance could not be acted out.

She was truly grieving, even though it was very likely that she was the one who killed the person.

It’s just that the two of them have known each other and supported each other for ten years. The hatred is real, and so is the affection.

Rather, it is because the love is too deep and the lover is too devoted that one would choose such an extremely paranoid way of revenge after the lover has changed his or her heart.

If the relationship was not that serious, they would not risk their lives like this. At most, they would just find a few good friends to eat and drink together, get drunk, and then denounce the other person as a scumbag.

"I have a question. Aren't the Strawberry Duo a crosstalk duo? Imaoka asked Miss Asako to withdraw. Has he already found a new partner?" asked Maori.

"No, he is going to do a one-man comedy. But unlike ordinary one-man comedy, Jiro is going to use props."

As he spoke, manager Hisamatsu pointed to the zombie mask that had been put into the evidence bag and said, "This is the rubber mask. Jiro has prepared more than a dozen of them. When we go on stage to perform, we can play multiple roles by changing the mask."

"He performed it for me privately, but I couldn't praise the performance because it wasn't funny at all."

Hearing his agent's words, Lu Ren narrowed his eyes slightly.

That's not right again.

Crosstalk is no different from other performances. The effect of the performance will be much better if there is a partner on the stage. The audience will enjoy the performance, and it will be easier for me to perform.

Just as Maori said, if Imaoka Jiro is dissatisfied with his current partner and wants to get rid of her.

The best thing for him to do next is to find a partner instead of doing a thankless job of performing stand-up comedy.

And it's a stand-up comedy with some fancy elements.

As for protecting one's reputation and hastily changing partners may cause dissatisfaction among the existing fan base.

This kind of thing is easy to solve, since it is an established fact that Asako Fujimori is in poor health.

Then just use this point to write an article.

The program is just about to be rehearsed intensively and non-stop, just waiting for Asako Fujimori to make a fool of herself on stage due to illness.

By then, he can issue a statement and hire some internet trolls to create momentum, and the wind direction can be easily reversed, thus helping him to smoothly get through the "difficult period" of changing his partner.

Another thing is that Jiro Imaoka doesn't seem like a person who cares about his reputation. His relationship with his partner Fujimori is well known to everyone, but he still reports it every few days, dating this person and having an affair with that person.

With his self-destructive style, if he had a stronger agent, he would have been stuck to the wall and could not be removed.

As for saying that considering the fierce competition in crosstalk duet, one wants to change track to continue development, that is just a joke.

Even if the competition is fierce, the Strawberry Duo has already successfully landed. They don't seek higher and better development, but at least they can maintain their basic market in the future.

Moreover, what is the difference between switching from double crosstalk to stand-up crosstalk and switching from mechanics to civil engineering?
No matter how big your dreams are, there must be a limit, otherwise they are just delusions.

Jiro Imaoka's thankless approach made Lu Ren begin to doubt his real purpose.

Maybe he went solo not for better development, but considering Asako Fujimori's deteriorating health, he wanted her to quit and have a good rest.

As for why I make such a speculation, it is because our predecessors have already set an example.

The former rock king, Tatsuya Kimura, once shared his own experience.

With such a predecessor as an example, Jiro Imaoka's actions are not surprising.

But if this is true, then it would be another tragedy caused by misunderstanding.

Well...even after coming to this conclusion, Lu Ren's heart remained calm.

He now had only one thought in mind, which was to finish the case as soon as possible and go back to pet the cat.

Even if it was a tragedy, it was a tragedy that could have been avoided. Since he had already made the intention to kill someone, he should have been prepared to bear the consequences.

In addition to the point just mentioned, another new suspicious point is the mask worn by Jiro Imaoka on his face.

If it is true as Lu Ren speculated, Imaoka Jiro's purpose is to let Fujimori Asako rest, then his stand-up comedy practice will definitely not avoid Fujimori Asako.

In this case, Fujimori Asako should be familiar with zombie masks. Even if she is not familiar enough, she should know something about it, after all, it is difficult to buy such a well-made and highly recognizable horror zombie mask on the market.

But Fujimori's previous testimony did say that after the criminals entered the house, she ran inside in a panic.

This is really hard to understand.

However, these speculations still cannot be used as evidence. However, if it was a "Kimura Tatsuya" type of murder of passion, things would be much simpler.

When Lu Ren was solving the case, he needed to use actual evidence. Now, he is considered an old hand and solving the case doesn't have to be so troublesome.

As long as he can resolve any possible misunderstandings, he won't have to worry about what happens next.

Lu Ren looked at Qianye and pointed at the magazine in his hand. "Officer Qianye, the magazine said that the female reporter who was dating Kimura, no, Imaoka Jiro, who is she?"

"Forehead……"

"Forget it, I'll call and ask myself." Seeing this, Lu Ren took out his cell phone and called Chisai Ichihara of the newspaper. "Uncle Ichihara, I have something to ask you. Please help me find the female reporter who dated Jiro Imaoka. I need to talk to her about something."

Having said that, Lu Ren walked out of the apartment.

There was a police cordon at the entrance, but it was not necessary for him. Without even asking, an unknown police officer took the initiative to remove the cordon and escorted Lu Ren through.

It was not until a quarter of an hour later that Lu Ren returned to the apartment.

When he entered the room, Lu Ren's expression was still a little strange. Even he could not fully predict the subsequent developments.

Fortunately, he was also a veteran and well-informed person. After a moment's pause, Lu Ren looked at Fujimori Asako and asked, "Do you usually read the newspaper?"

"No, I'm busy with rehearsals and don't have time."

"You should take a look, at least take a look at the manuscripts I wrote, such as the one about Kimura Tatsuya's death."

"Brother Lu Ren, is Tatsuya Kimura related to this case?" Megure couldn't help but ask.

"Probably a little bit." Lu Ren replied casually, and then handed the package in his hand to Fujimori Asako, "This is the birthday present that Imaoka Jiro planned to give you today. I asked the courier to send it over urgently."

"This, this is..."

Asako Fujimori's hands suddenly couldn't help shaking, and an unspeakable shadow shrouded her heart at this moment.

The first thing that was opened was a pink handwritten greeting card.

[Happy birthday this year? My birthday gift to you is a ring. Let's end the relationship between the crosstalk group and boyfriend and girlfriend and officially marry me!

It is really hard to tell you to quit the crosstalk world you love, so I can only express it in this letter. I am still as frightened as I was back then, on this important stage of life.

But as long as you are here, I believe everything will be fine. Just like you helped me in the beginning, please help me again now. Please take care of yourself and welcome a new life with me!

As for the Strawberry Duo, let them live forever in our hearts.

Lover: Jiro Imaoka]

The other thing in the package was, of course, the ring mentioned in the letter.

A diamond ring for proposal.

Asako Fujimori's hands were shaking more violently, and she could barely hold the object in her hands. The small diamond ring seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

Lu Ren's voice came faintly, as if it was far away in the horizon.

"I will report today's events truthfully. Ms. Fujimori Asako, do you still insist on your previous statement, 'Imaoka Jiro dressed as a zombie and broke into the house with the intention of doing something bad to you.'"

"The name of a murderer might not sound good to him. Of course, if you insist, I don't mind." Lu Ren chuckled, "After all, I am a professional."

"No, it's not like that. I did everything. I was the one who let Jiro down. I misunderstood him. I..."

Halfway through her words, Fujimori Asako suddenly choked up and then burst into tears.

"Oh, that's good. Officer Megure, I'll leave the rest to you. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Lu Ren waved his hand, walked past Fujimori Asako who was lying on the ground crying, and turned to walk out of the house.

For him, there was no reason or meaning to stay here anymore.

The moonlight hangs lightly on the branches, swaying gently and looking gracefully.

A mournful cry was faintly heard from the air. Lu Ren walked away without looking back.

I knew at an early age that life was difficult, so I took the world's dreams lightly.

If I had known this, why bother.

ps1: The author rewrote the words on the greeting card. I don’t know if it was a translation problem, but the previous one was a bit difficult to read.

ps2: This title feels so hellish the moment I think of it, but I still like it.

(End of this chapter)