Chapter 28: The Verdict of the Nobles

  "No, you don't understand!" The staff nearby were still saying.

  "Do you think Sakaguchi can be saved? Look at Sakaguchi now, does he look like someone who has seen a lifesaver?" the staff member said.

  Zhou Xiao also looked curiously at Sakaguchi after hearing this sentence, and when he took a look, he was really shocked.

  If Sakaguchi could barely maintain his image and demeanor earlier, he was now limp and almost collapsed to the ground, his legs trembling as he desperately looked at Shimada Shinsuke stepping into him but couldn't say anything useful.

  "Isn't Sakaguchi's program just what Sengoku-san said? Why is he so afraid?" asked a staff member beside Zhou Xiao.

  "Hmm, you just don't understand, what level of artist is Sosuke-san and what level is Sakamaki? It's true that Sosuke-san has brought up countless newcomers over the years, but it's probably precisely because of this point that Sosuke-san would say something to make Sakamaki do a warm-up performance. But if you really think Sakamaki has some kind of relationship with Sosuke-san, then you're greatly mistaken! If they really had a relationship, Sosuke-san could easily have him appear on his regular program for just a few minutes and it would be more valuable than doing 100 warm-up performances here!"

  So, Sakaguchi and Senzuka-san must not have any connection at all! And copying someone's material is something that all comedians detest, it's an action that would provoke them to gang up and attack. It's impossible for Senzuka-san to sacrifice his own reputation for him!" said the staff member beside him.

  "This gentleman is quite right, may I ask your surname?" Zhou Xiao asked the staff member who was popularizing to the surrounding crowd.

  This staff member has a round face and looks like he's in his early twenties. He seems to be quite familiar with the inside story of the entertainment circle.

  "Alright, I'm Mōri Shinobu," said the young man.

  "So, if Sakaguchi really plagiarized, then this kid is...?" The crowd surrounding Zhou Xiao looked at him and tacitly loosened their grip, finally allowing Zhou Xiao to stand up straight again.

  "He's fine... nothing much this time..." Young Mouri Shin looked at Zhou Xiao Dao.

  Looking at his hesitant attitude, Zhou Xiao furrowed her brow. What reason could make him still have this attitude now that he was almost confirmed to be a plagiarist in Sakaguchi?

  Zhou Xiao immediately looked over at Uncle Inoue, only to find that his face didn't look so good either.

  "Strange, wasn't it said that Shimada Jirō wouldn't lean towards Sakaguchi's side? Why is Inoue-ossan's face now not as composed as it was just a moment ago?"

  When Zhou Xiao was suspicious, the staff in the studio had already finished setting up the DV camera brought by Uncle Inoue. At that time, the camera was still a relatively new product. Later, Zhou Xiao learned that Uncle Inoue's camera was originally borrowed specifically to record his own performance, and he had long been thinking of introducing himself to the TV station. When he first saw Sakaguchi's performance, Uncle Inoue was indeed very angry, but Zhou Xiao's action gave him enough time to think. If he rushed out at that moment, Sakaguchi might not have finished performing his program, which would have made the accusation incomplete. It was precisely because of this that Uncle Inoue waited for Sakaguchi to finish his performance before suddenly jumping up and causing trouble.

  The TV station had the most video digital equipment, so neither the audience nor the staff on site needed to squeeze in front of the camera's small lens. After the staff took over the camera, it was connected to the TV within a minute, and then everyone saw the footage of Zhou Xiao's performance at the small theater that day.

  The initial performance was not part of the plan, and it wasn't until Uncle Inoue made some adjustments that he was finally able to pause the camera playback at the moment Sakaguchi appeared. Of course, they also saw the time displayed in the bottom right corner of the camera screen, which made what was inside the camera the most important piece of evidence.

  The audience and staff on the scene saw Sakaguchi's performance first, that day Sakaguchi's entire routine was quite ordinary, but the audience in the small theater and the studio were not of the same level. Those who can go to a small theater to watch performances are actually people who like what they see very much, but the problem is that those who can watch performances in a TV station studio are even more crazy.

  In the 14th year of the later generation, the audience recruitment in the studio had already been networked. With a computer or mobile phone, it was very convenient to apply. However, in the year 2000, there were no such advanced things. Although there were many ways to recruit audiences, none of them were simple. Telephone recruitment, magazine and newspaper recruitment, even the relatives of TV station staff members were the main source of these audiences. How could their requirements for performances be low?

  So, on the scene, although Sakaguchi's performance was still good, and the camera occasionally transmitted the laughter of the audience at that time, but in reality, there were few laughs.

  But this problem became even more apparent after Zhou Xiao took the stage. The program Zhou Xiao performed that day, except for the pervert segment, was quite poor in other parts. In the studio, from the audience to the host and staff, they couldn't help but glance at Zhou Xiao several times while watching the performance. They were skeptical, could such a boring performance really produce that segment?

  Finally, everyone saw Zhou Xiao being forced into a desperate situation, and then he exploded.

  "I'm a pervert!" The performance that day appeared in the studio.

  "It's actually true as he performed it!" Many people looked at Zhou Xiao with some disbelief when they saw him shouting out the bedroom variation.

  "That's right, I did it!" Zhou Xiao stared back at everyone without flinching.

  Ishibashi Takamasa and Shimada Kōsuke were also watching the performance on the screen, but unlike the audience, there was no surprise in their eyes. Especially Ishibashi Takamasa, who has been in the Japanese entertainment industry for so long, is quite clever. When Inoue rushed out, he might have been angry for a moment, but soon he saw most of the truth from Inoue's fearlessness and Sakaguchi's fear. This was the main reason why he did not participate in the capture of Inoue and Zhou Xiao.

  Shimada Jirokichi's face was so bad it looked like he wanted to kill someone.

  He himself has a background of the underworld, and his serious face is enough to stop a child from crying at night. Sakaguchi, who had just recovered a bit of energy after collapsing to the ground, fainted again upon seeing Shimada's appearance and couldn't get up anymore.

  Zhou Xiao's performance ended quickly, and when the video was turned off, the large studio was almost silent!

  The facts are now clearer than ever, Sakaguchi has indeed plagiarized Zhou Xiao. It's simply shameful for an adult to do so! The people present may not know who Zhou Xiao is, but looking at his beardless face, he's obviously a young man under 20 years old. A veteran artist with over 10 years of experience plagiarizing a newcomer? It's utterly despicable!

  Shimada Jinsuke walked up to Sakaguchi, who was lying limp on the ground, and stared at him for a good ten seconds with his arms crossed. Then, he lifted his foot and kicked Sakaguchi's body violently!

  "Bang!" Sakaguchi was kicked almost flying!

  Zhou Xiao was shocked, this is the entertainment circle, barely considered as the literary world. In Zhou Xiao's mind, people in such places may not be bookworms, but at least they are civilized. But unexpectedly, Shimada Jirou actually kicked him so brutally! And looking around, it seems that others are not surprised by his behavior at all!

  "Shameless thing!" said Shimizu Tsukasa.

  "Get out! There's no place for you to survive in this circle, did you hear me?! And him! Don't tell me you haven't saved a penny all these years! 300,000, that's the usage fee for this joke performance!"

  Zhou Xiao was once again shocked and couldn't speak, 300,000 yen wasn't a lot, but under the circumstances where there was no review at all, could they really just go ahead with the transaction?

  Surprisingly, Zhou Xiao didn't notice that the expression on Inoue's face, who was not far away, became even worse after hearing the number 300,000, as if this 300,000 was what Shimada wanted Zhou to give to Sakaguchi.