Chapter 390: My Brother Can't Be This Diligent |
While still a dozen paces away from Hoshino Gen, the middle-aged man had already raised his hand, anticipating a handshake.
And from the moment the man was that distance away, Hoshino Gen found himself debating whether or not to actually shake it.
Personally, he absolutely did not want to. However, this was the Fanxing Building, the headquarters of the Fanxing Group. The man before him was clearly the person his father had mentioned yesterday, arranged in advance to receive him.
Since the man was working for Fanxing, basic respect was warranted.
With these thoughts in mind, Hoshino Gen raised his hand with a hint of helplessness and briefly shook the man's hand. He seemed oblivious to just how much his current behavior differed from his past self.
But when the middle-aged man chuckled and reached out with his other hand to clasp it warmly, Hoshino Gen pulled his hand back without hesitation.
The middle-aged man did not mind at all, maintaining his jovial laughter. "Young Master Gen, we have been eagerly awaiting your arrival! Especially these girls—ever since they received word this morning that you might visit, they have been standing right here waiting. But it seems their efforts were not in vain; you actually came!"
Noticing Hoshino Gen's calm expression, the middle-aged man subtly waved away the restless and excited female employees, signaling them to return to their posts. He then continued, "I am the President's assistant here, Sato Taro. I will also be your guide today as you tour Fanxing, Young Master Gen."
"The elevator is over here, Young Master Gen. Please follow me, and I will explain things in more detail on our way up."
"The Fanxing Group's business operations cover a remarkably broad spectrum. This includes cutting-edge technology industries like semiconductors, heavy industry involving materials and machinery, as well as energy and new energy sectors. We also handle livelihood industries such as food and beverage and clothing. Furthermore, there is the entertainment industry, which Fanxing only just entered last year because of the Young Lady..."
During the elevator ride up, Assistant Sato began to talk incessantly, meticulously introducing Fanxing's various business operations to Hoshino Gen. In truth, Hoshino Gen already knew most of this. No matter how little he cared, being constantly and subtly influenced by his environment made it impossible to remain completely ignorant.
Still, Hoshino Gen listened patiently to the end. As Assistant Sato provided his detailed explanations, Hoshino Gen even took a brief look at almost every floor of the thirty-story skyscraper.
Naturally, with the conglomerate involved in so many industries, they could not possibly all fit within a single building. This was merely an office building, and Fanxing possessed three such landmark-scale office buildings in Tokyo alone. In terms of sheer corporate power, Fanxing currently could not compare to the Hoshino Financial Group, whether in liquid capital or fixed assets. However, just looking at the sheer scope of these industries made one thing very clear: Hoshino Sosuke, the man who founded the Fanxing Group, harbored immense ambition...
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of a certain office on the building's top floor, Hoshino Gen did something exceedingly rare: he made a telephone call to his father, Hoshino Sosuke.
The call was answered almost immediately.
Whenever he communicated with others, Hoshino Gen always preferred to come straight to the point. Therefore, the moment the line connected, he asked directly, "Are there any business operations I can step into right now?"
On the other end of the line, Hoshino Sosuke seemed genuinely taken aback by the question, as if he had completely never expected his son to say such a thing.
But very quickly, a reply came through. "If you are willing, and if you are confident enough, then every single matter within the Fanxing Building you currently stand in can be handed over to your management. Furthermore, ten percent of Fanxing's shares will immediately be transferred to your name."
"......"
Ten percent of Fanxing's shares was a truly astronomical figure.
The total assets of Japan's premier financial group, the Mitsubishi Financial Group, stood at twenty-one trillion yuan. The Hoshino Financial Group, on the other hand, was a family-run financial group. Unlike Mitsubishi, which was formed by the amalgamation of multiple business empires, the Hoshino family's assets could not quite compare, sitting at just over two trillion yuan—placing them on a roughly even footing with South Korea's Samsung.
And Fanxing, while not as massive as the Hoshino Financial Group, was still a super business empire with total assets surpassing the one trillion mark. In other words, by taking that ten percent stake, Hoshino Gen would immediately catapult himself into the Hundred Billion Club.
Converted into Japanese yen, that amounted to a staggering twenty trillion!
But would Hoshino Gen accept it? At least for now, he would not. He only wanted to find something to do, something to immerse himself in. He had no intention of chaining himself to the massive juggernaut that was Fanxing just yet.
Thus, his reply to his father was quite simple. "I have no intention of throwing myself into the sea of business."
"......" The other end of the line fell silent for a moment before replying, "I assumed you set foot in the Fanxing Building because you had developed an interest in these matters."
"......I just want to find something to occupy my time."
"Occupy your time?" Hoshino Sosuke seemed entirely baffled by this reasoning, but he made no effort to try and understand it. Instead, he simply declared, "Since that is the case, I will leave the conglomerate's entertainment division to you. We only entered the entertainment industry last year anyway, so it has barely just gotten off the ground."
......
"Brother! What are you doing here?"
Dressed in an oversized white graphic T-shirt that draped perfectly over her denim shorts, Hoshino Rin jogged over. She wore white socks and sneakers, and her hair was tied up in a high ponytail that bounced playfully with her every step, radiating absolute youth and stunning beauty.
The twenty-seventh through twenty-ninth floors of the Fanxing Building were dedicated entirely to the conglomerate's entertainment division. TKY02, along with its agency, practice rooms, and activity spaces, were all situated right here.
The twenty-seventh through twenty-ninth floors of the Fanxing Building were dedicated entirely to the conglomerate's entertainment division. TKY02, along with its agency, practice rooms, and activity spaces, were all situated right here.
Hoshino Gen's sudden appearance was entirely unexpected for Hoshino Rin. After all, she had been back in this family for almost two years, and during that entire time, she had never seen her brother visit this place. Not even once!
The two siblings were currently standing in the activity center on the twenty-eighth floor. It was a bustling area with people constantly coming and going. However, those passing by could not help but sneak curious glances in their direction. Hoshino Gen even noticed several girls dressed in the exact same outfit as Hoshino Rin standing a short distance away, looking in their direction while giggling and whispering among themselves.
After briefly scanning the room, Hoshino Gen turned his gaze back to his sister and stated calmly, "Father has placed me in charge of the conglomerate's entertainment operations."
"Eh?" Hoshino Rin froze for a moment. She blinked rapidly, as though convinced she had misheard him. "What did you say?"
Hoshino Gen could not be bothered to repeat himself.
But Hoshino Rin was not about to let the matter drop. Her eyes went wide as she eagerly pressed him, "Are you serious? Brother, did you actually agree?"
"I was the one who asked to find something to do," Hoshino Gen replied truthfully.
However, this only made Hoshino Rin find the situation even more unbelievable. She actually walked a full circle around him, inspecting him closely as if trying to figure out if her brother had been replaced by an imposter. "Brother, you had better not be lying to me!"
If it was true, she would be absolutely thrilled. After all, if her brother was taking charge of the conglomerate's entertainment division, the amount of time they would get to spend together would drastically increase! They called it an entire division, but in reality, the only presentable asset Fanxing Entertainment currently had to its name was TKY02!
There was practically no difference between being the head of Fanxing Entertainment and being the producer for TKY02!
But why would he do that? Thrilled as she was, Hoshino Rin still felt that something was incredibly off about all this. After all, her brother could not possibly be this diligent!