CHAPTER 1556: CHAPTER 1608: TONOHEI OUT OF CONTROL

The official did not mishear. Although at first, he thought he had heard wrong, after verification, he realized he hadn’t. Facing Tonohei’s questioning, the official simply nodded, showing a regretful expression on his face, and said, "I’m very sorry, but that’s the result. If you have any doubts, please ask the Minister of Commerce. I’m just here to inform you."

What do you mean tell me, damn it, Tonohei’s face was almost turning livid with rage, his eyes filled with anger. He really wanted to twist this official’s neck and ask him why he told him the signing ceremony was canceled.

Tonohei was a bit at a loss. If everything had gone normally, by now he would have completed the signing ceremony and exchanged contracts on the spot. But now, the Minister of Commerce suddenly emerged to stop the signing ceremony.

"Why? Who made the decision, tell me!" Tonohei grabbed the official’s clothes and demanded.

The official looked displeased and replied, "Don’t ask me. I’m just a messenger, and please let go of me."

Tonohei continued to grab the other person, looking even more frantic, and asked, "No way, you have to give me an explanation. Why can’t we sign? Who made that decision?"

Tonohei pointed at the Minister of Commerce and asked. The official rolled his eyes, grasped Tonohei’s arm, applied slight force, and Tonohei felt like his wrist was going to break. The other person pushed him away and said, "I said, don’t touch me. This wasn’t my decision. If you want to ask, ask over there. Don’t lay hands on me!"

After saying this, the official turned and walked away. Tonohei stood there, forcing himself to calm down, rubbed his face vigorously, and then strode over to the Minister of Commerce.

After announcing the decision, the Minister of Commerce did not leave immediately but stood aside, waiting for something.

As Tonohei approached, the Minister of Commerce happened to turn his head. Tonohei rushed over and grabbed him, loudly demanding, "Tell me, why interrupt the signing ceremony! I’m the representative from Japan; you must give me an explanation, or I will protest to your country!"

The Minister of Commerce frowned, his eyelids drooped, looking at this short Japanese man. Hearing his awkward English, he waited until Tonohei finished shouting before saying, "Because your qualification is insufficient, after re-evaluation, we decided to choose another company!"

The Minister of Commerce’s explanation was concise, and Tonohei felt like he was hearing thunder in a clear sky. He was dumbfounded until the Minister of Commerce walked away. He finally snapped back to reality and was about to catch up when his arm was grabbed by Honda Takeshi.

Honda Takeshi had just finished a phone call with people back home, talking about this very incident. His face was still full of joy and pride. He had just made several excited calls back home, boasting about his achievements there. After hanging up, he saw Tonohei and rushed over, eager to share the news with him.

"Tonohei, did you know many media in Japan are ready to heavily report this event, uh... what is with your expression? Did something happen?" Honda Takeshi said halfway and noticed Tonohei’s expression was off, even looking like he was about to eat someone. Honda Takeshi twitched at the corners of his mouth and continued to ask, "Speak, what happened? The signing ceremony is about to start, what are you doing here, hurry up on stage, wait, where are those officials on the stage?"

As Honda Takeshi continued his endless chatter, he saw Tonohei’s complexion becoming increasingly off, like someone with diarrhea unable to find a toilet, or as if he had been cooked red. His face was flushed, and his body trembled slightly. Honda Takeshi realized something was wrong, watched as Tonohei suddenly charged out like an angry bull crashing into the crowd. Honda Takeshi called out a couple of times, but Tonohei didn’t respond at all.

In the crowd, Honda Takeshi looked mad, rushing straight towards Prince Parsons.

Parsons had just come to Li Yifei, with a strong smile, ready to chat, when he felt a cold wind behind him. He quickly turned around and saw a wine bottle flying towards him. At that moment, Parsons displayed astonishing reflexes, bending down immediately to dodge the flying bottle.

Behind Parsons was Li Yifei, who, upon seeing the bottle coming, quickly reached out and caught it.

"Parsons, why?" Tonohei glared with red eyes, charging over towards Parsons, shouting angrily.

Parsons was also very angry and replied, "Tonohei, was it you who threw that bottle? Have you gone mad?"

"It was me! You need to give me an explanation, or I will not let this go!" Tonohei stopped, panting heavily. At this moment, he was slightly calmer inside, but still couldn’t stop the surge of anger.

Originally, he wouldn’t have placed all the blame on Parsons, but when he saw Parsons standing with that Huaxia man, Tonohei couldn’t control himself.

Parsons squinted his eyes, let out a cold laugh, and looked Tonohei up and down, then said lightly, "Tonohei, are you drunk? Talking to me like this."

"I’m not drunk; I didn’t drink at all. It’s you, Parsons, who took my money and now turns around to help someone else?" Tonohei waved his hand and said, "Tell me, why did that person come over and the signing was terminated! Why?"

However, Parsons just shook his head, ignoring the frantic Tonohei, and said, "This is not under my control. Since the Minister of Commerce has terminated it, it conforms to the national interest. Also, don’t slander a prince in this kind of setting, or you’ll have a hard time."

Wu Shuwei was right next to Li Yifei. When she saw that chubby prince from yesterday coming over, she was worried that Li Yifei might clash with him, because judging from last night’s stance, if Li Yifei was mocked by the other party, he might impulsively retaliate.

And it wasn’t just her who was worried. Angelina and Sarama were also concerned. Sarama was even thinking that if Parsons spoke, she would immediately pull him away to avoid conflict.

But when that Japanese person rushed over and shouted a few words, several people were puzzled. How, from the sound of it, today’s signing ceremony was called off? Did Japan encounter difficulties?

Thinking of this, Wu Shuwei’s eyes lit up with delight. Could this be the legendary twist? If it’s true, that’s a hugely good piece of news, at least for Wu Shuwei.

Angelina also found it a bit magical. Beneath that Japanese man’s strange English, it clearly revealed an important piece of information: the cooperation had met with an accident, and he was very displeased.

Sarama blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering, and she stared at Tonohei with some displeasure. Although her relationship with Parsons was not good, as a member of the royal family, she also didn’t wish for others to shout at her kin like this. Her toes moved slightly, and Sarama seemed ready to kick out a foot at any moment to send the noisy little Japan flying away.

Everyone reacted differently; Li Yifei was the most relaxed. He took a step back, looking like he was watching a play, put the wine bottle down, crossed his arms, and didn’t intervene.

Last night’s negotiations already made Parsons aware of the stakes. He would make the choice of a smart person; otherwise, Li Yifei also had other ways.

For now, it seemed Parsons made the choice to strive for something, even though he hadn’t yet had the chance to communicate with Li Yifei.

Regarding Parsons’ heartlessness, Tonohei was extremely furious. He found it hard to imagine how an old pervert who was nearly carousing with him last night could, a day later, seem like a completely different person. Wasn’t he the one who indiscriminately accepted bribes before? Wasn’t he the one who wanted to be sworn brothers? Was the other party just playing him?

A series of question marks stoked the flames of rage in Tonohei’s heart even more. He especially couldn’t accept that the man beside Parsons was still watching as if seeing something extremely amusing.

Unbearable! Tonohei scanned around, desperately suppressing his fury, and said, "Parsons, I’m giving you a chance. You’d better resolve this matter, or I’ll report you immediately, reporting you for accepting a one hundred million US dollar bribe. I still have those videos!"

Parsons looked around and sure enough, many people were watching, and some reporters were secretly recording. If it had been before last night, Parsons would have been absolutely terrified of such a threat. But now, Parsons was not so afraid. Hearing the other party’s words, Parsons just smiled faintly and said to the people around him, "This guy is probably out of his mind, saying I accepted bribes. How could that be? My own assets are enough for me and my descendants to live for several lifetimes; I have no need to take others’ money."

After speaking, Parsons lowered his voice a bit and said to Tonohei, "I think the wisest thing for you to do now is to turn immediately and leave, rather than entangle here. Otherwise, the one who ends up humiliated is you. You don’t believe me, you can try."

"Why, is it because this person offered more money than we did? You could discuss it with me; at worst, I’ll apply for some more..." Tonohei said, he and Honda Takeshi, along with a few subordinates, had already publicized in Japan, and even prepared some press releases ready to be sent to major newspapers and television stations. But now, just before the signing, it was called off. Isn’t this making a fool of people?

It’s like boasting about having cattle, only to find out there’s no cattle... If this gets back to Japan, it’s a huge joke.

Not just him, Honda Takeshi, who came running over afterward and understood the situation, was also dumbfounded. He immediately thought of the consequences, and upon thinking of them, he felt an unprovoked fear. If this thing succeeded, returning to the country would mean great praise, not only gaining family recognition but also adding capital and experience to himself. But if it failed... especially in this manner, when it gets back to Japan, it would be a massive scandal, an unthinkable one, the kind that would leave him and Tonohei unable to gain a foothold in Japan.