After bidding farewell to Mai's mother, Mori Shinra and Sakurajima Mai did not part ways.
On the contrary, their date for the day was just beginning.
The two walked hand-in-hand down the street, preparing to visit a nearby bookstore.
Mai needed to buy some supplemental study materials.
Although her grades were good, she still needed to study hard if she wanted to get into her ideal university.
Along the way, their conversation inevitably turned to Mai's future career.
Mori Shinra said, "I thought you would just choose to switch to a different agency."
Mai replied, "If I were going to switch, I would have done it from the start. Changing my mind at the last minute would just be messing people around. In your eyes, am I the type of person who has no plan for her future?"
After experiencing the supernatural event, the adolescent confusion that had troubled Mai had completely dissipated.
Like achieving enlightenment at Longchang, her future plans were now crystal clear.
Choosing to re-sign with her mother's agency was the choice that maximized her benefits right now.
This was because Mai's mother's agency had considerable operational experience.
After all, Mai had previously been the company's ace artist.
The company naturally had its own unique insights on how to package Mai, what kind of resources suited her, and which direction her future development should take.
Although Mai's mother's previous actions were a bit baffling, from a purely practical standpoint, they did help Mai's career.
And even though Mai said she wouldn't choose her mother as her agent, could her mother truly just ignore her?
The reason for this move was simply to add an agent between them as a buffer.
"In that case, after the acquisition is complete, wouldn't I become Mai-san's boss?"
"If I do anything to Mai-san after that, would it be considered... 'the casting couch'?" Mori Shinra had a sudden thought.
A female celebrity and her young boss... Eww~
Just thinking about it, he could come up with no less than ten different Japanese-style scenarios.
Upon hearing this, a bright smile immediately appeared on Mai's face.
However, because she was wearing a mask, only her crescent-shaped eyes were visible.
But Mori Shinra could easily imagine Mai's expression just from that.
Immediately after, he heard the young woman's slightly dangerous tone, "That's right. As far as I know, besides me, the company has quite a few other young female artists. Is our big boss planning to 'casting couch' them as well?"
"Haha... that wouldn't be good..." Mori Shinra laughed nervously.
He then felt a softness press against his right arm, followed by a small hand finding its way to his waist.
A familiar memory surfaced in his mind.
Mori Shinra immediately said with righteous indignation, "I hate the casting couch more than anything in my life! Once I take over the company, I will definitely nip this unhealthy trend in the bud!"
"Hmph. That person's company isn't that rotten."
In reality, although the entertainment industry is full of chaos, it still adheres to a certain order.
If you truly don't want to touch certain things, people generally won't force you.
Fools, after all, are a minority.
Of course, this isn't without its price.
The price is that your living space will be encroached upon by those who are willing.
The end result is that those with lower bottom lines are often more likely to get ahead in this circle.
To use a common phrase, "If you won't do it, there are plenty of others who will."
However, the situation at a company like Mai's mother's was relatively better.
After all, its main business was child stars.
Child stars generally require a guardian to accompany them for their activities.
Even if some excessive demands were made, they were mostly related to the business, like swimsuit photoshoots, which were still within a reasonable scope.
After the acquisition, Mori Shinra wouldn't interfere much with the company's operations.
His only goal was to ensure Mai's interests were not harmed.
If Mai were to generate a related wish power request later, that would be a different story.
In short, until a new request appeared, Mori Shinra would not invest any more energy in this area.
He would just follow the established plan from here on out.
After Mai finished picking out her needed study materials at the bookstore, her gaze fell on the stack of books Mori Shinra was holding, books that looked overwhelming just from their titles.
She asked with some confusion, "These books are..."
"Oh, these are all related to economics. It's rare to come to a bookstore, and this one has a pretty complete selection, so I just bought them all while I'm here. The main issue with buying online is that logistics can take ten days to half a month, which is too much of a delay," Mori Shinra explained.
With the help of 'Heaven Rewards the Diligent' and 'Photographic Memory', Mori Shinra had basically completed his foundational knowledge structure and was beginning to learn advanced related knowledge.
At this rate, he would probably be able to complete that forward-looking strategic report for his family by the time the semester ended in mid-July.
"You have to learn this stuff in high school?" Mai was a bit astonished.
Is this the legendary elite education?
It's a little too elite.
"Well, I'm free anyway," Mori Shinra didn't tell Mai that he was studying so hard to help "pay off her debt."
All gifts bestowed by fate have long been secretly marked with a price.
The family had allowed Mai's career to proceed smoothly; correspondingly, Mori Shinra needed to show his own value.
However, this was mutually beneficial for both parties.
A win-win.
The reason he didn't tell Mai was simply that it was unnecessary.
He no longer needed to use such methods to increase Mai's affection.
The system reward 'A Maiden's Heart' that he had obtained earlier was the best proof.
'A Maiden's Heart' represented absolute trust.
The reward's function was that from now on, if Mai had a wish power request, Mori Shinra would immediately and automatically accept it.
He no longer needed to go through all sorts of troubles, guessing this and that, before finally starting to solve the problem.
It was very user-friendly.
At the bookstore checkout, before Mori Shinra could take out his cash, Mai cut in front of him and handed her bank card to the cashier.
"I'll get it."
The most important thing in a relationship is give and take.
Mori Shinra had helped her so much, so of course, she couldn't do nothing in return.
Her haggling with her mother earlier was part of it, and paying for Mori Shinra's books now was naturally part of it too.
This action wasn't meant to draw a line between them.
On the contrary, in Mai's eyes, only by doing this could her relationship with Mori Shinra last.
She was not the type of person who could comfortably enjoy someone's kindness without knowing how to repay it.
But then again, these professional books were ridiculously expensive...
Mai looked at the total on the receipt, and for the first time, she had such a vivid understanding of the phrase, "There are houses of gold in books."