"Yo, good, tell me more about this Hashimoto Manami," Aoyama Xiu Xin said casually.

"Hashimoto Manami is just a rookie cop with less than a year on the job. For some unknown reason, she has been ostracized and subjected to silent bullying by her colleagues. She's quiet and reserved and spends all her time working, with hardly any friends in the department."

"Workplace bullying, huh! That's terrible," Aoyama Xiu Xin shook his head and exclaimed, "Such behavior must be eradicated!"

Hattori's mouth twitched. You're one of the prominent workplace bullies, after all, having pushed out Director Fujimoto Takayoshi from the police headquarters.

Of course, he wouldn't dare say that out loud and continued, "At the beginning of the month, Secretary Hashimoto happened to see her being bullied when she went to the General Affairs Department. She defended her, and afterward, they struck up a friendship."

"She has a kind heart," Aoyama Xiu Xin remarked.

He always liked these kinds of kind-hearted women.

Easy to deceive.

"Go, call Hashimoto Manami over."

"Yes, sir!" Hattori left to carry out the order.

Hashimoto Manami was utterly bewildered when she learned that Minister Aoyama Xiu Xin, a towering figure with immense authority, wanted to see her. She couldn't grasp why such a big shot would summon someone as insignificant and invisible as herself.

She knocked on Aoyama Xiu Xin's office door with a mixture of trepidation, excitement, and nervousness.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Come in."

As Hashimoto Manami entered and was still standing at the doorway, she bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, "Minister Aoyama!"

"Don't be nervous, close the door, and come closer," said Aoyama Xiu Xin with a pleasant tone.

Hearing his gentle voice, Hashimoto Manami felt her nerves ease quite a bit. After turning to close the door, she walked up to Aoyama Xiu Xin but kept her head bowed.

"Lift your head," Aoyama Xiu Xin instructed.

Hashimoto Manami lifted her head stiffly.

Aoyama Xiu Xin sized her up; her figure seemed fine, but her face was rather plain—average at best.

Far inferior to Habamoto Youko.

"Officer Hashimoto, I've heard that you've been bullied by colleagues in the General Affairs Department?" inquired Aoyama Xiu Xin indifferently.

Hashimoto Manami pursed her lips and remained silent.

"Being bullied isn't a nice feeling, is it?" said Aoyama Xiu Xin. Without waiting for her to answer, he continued, "Do you know why you're being bullied?"

"Because I... am timid and scared and don't have any friends," Hashimoto Manami whispered with her head down.

"Wrong! Completely wrong!" Aoyama Xiu Xin declared emphatically, "It's because of your status!"

Hashimoto Manami looked up in confusion. She did not understand why he had called her in to say this.

"If you were a lieutenant, let's not even say lieutenant, just a lieutenant's assistant, would those colleagues of yours still dare to bully you?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked calmly.

Hashimoto Manami shook her head, and as if in a daze, she suddenly realized something. Aoyama Xiu Xin would not speak without cause; if he mentioned this, could it mean she had the opportunity to be promoted to a lieutenant's assistant?

At this thought, her breathing became rapid, her hands gripped the fabric of her pants tightly, her cheeks flushed, and she stared at Aoyama Xiu Xin with bitten red lips, asking, "Minister Aoyama, what do you mean?"

At that moment, her heart was in her throat, fearful that she was just getting her hopes up for nothing.

"Literally." Upon seeing her reaction, Aoyama Xiu Xin knew she had understood. Good, she had potential. He stood up, walked behind her, and placed a hand on her shoulder, asking, "Do you want to be promoted to Assistant Police Inspector?"

Hashimoto Manami's body shivered.

"You've been on the job for less than a year. Normally, you'd have to wait another year to be promoted to Patrol Captain. With only a high school diploma, you'd need to work for four years to become a Patrol Chief, and another four years for Assistant Police Inspector. By then, a decade will have passed. How many decades does one have in a lifetime?"

Listening to Aoyama Xiu Xin, Hashimoto Manami felt dizzy as she remembered those colleagues who looked down on her with arrogance, those who isolated her, and how those same colleagues behaved nervously around Habamoto Youko.

Her gaze slowly grew determined. Gradually, she reached for her pants and began to lower them, revealing her pale buttocks, her voice trembling, "Aoyama... Minister Aoyama, I'm willing, please enjoy me."

After speaking, she obediently lay across the desk.

Aoyama Xiu Xin: "(ー_ー)!!...…"

"Get up, put your pants back on."

"Ah!" Hashimoto Manami was startled, looking back at Aoyama Xiu Xin in confusion while she lay on the desk.

Hadn't he suddenly called her in and promised to promote her to Assistant Police Inspector as part of an unspoken rule?

Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a dark face, "What are you thinking about? If we were to do this, would I be taking advantage of you, or you of me? Who would be getting the better deal, do you think? Could I possibly suffer such a loss?"

"Ah!" Hearing these blunt words, Hashimoto Manami felt both ashamed and embarrassed, realizing her misunderstanding. She quickly pulled up her pants and turned around, bowing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, Minister Aoyama, I..."

"Enough," Aoyama Xiu Xin interrupted her and got straight to the point, "I hear you're on good terms with Hashimoto Youko. I'm very interested in her. If you help me get her, I'll promote you to Assistant Police Inspector."

"Ah, this..." Upon hearing this, Hashimoto Manami was surprised and then enlightened but fell into a quandary.

If it were her own body being traded for advancement, she wouldn't hesitate.

But to betray Hashimoto Youko, who had extended a helping hand when she herself had been bullied, made her hesitate.

In a low voice, she said, "She is already engaged."

"Uh-huh, I know. That's exactly why I'm interested in her," Aoyama Xiu Xin replied indifferently.

Hashimoto Manami's eyes widened in shock.

"Officer Hashimoto, think about it. You and Hashimoto Youko are both women, share the same surname, both are police officers. Why should she be high above, while you are trampled into the dust? Is it because she has already sold her body? Her fiancé is the son of Director Zhongshan. Trading her body again for your career advancement is no big deal."

Aoyama Xiu Xin's words echoed darkly in her ears.

Hashimoto Manami indeed felt gratitude towards Hashimoto Youko, but sometimes, seeing the other's radiant success, she also felt a dark surge of jealousy.

Her expression flickered between light and shadow, and after a long while, she finally made up her mind, "I agree."

She didn't want to be bullied any longer!

"Yoshi, Officer Hashimoto, you've grasped a rare opportunity in life," Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a satisfied smile, suddenly understanding why she was ostracized by her colleagues. If she could so easily betray and backstab the person who had helped her, what kind of person had she been in the past?

With the first step taken, the psychological burden lightened greatly. Hashimoto Manami took the initiative, asking, "What do you need me to do? Get her drunk? Drug her?"

Your character certainly matches the bullying by your colleagues.

Well, I'm not exactly a saint either, so let's not judge others, Aoyama Xiu Xin thought to himself.

"That's too crude. I never resort to such tasteless methods," he shook his head, saying with an air of nonchalance, "What you need to do now is forge a strong relationship with her, become best friends who share everything. She has no friends in Hokkaido, and I believe it wouldn't be difficult for you to achieve this quickly. I can provide any resources you might need, and we can discuss the rest after you have achieved this goal."

The subsequent plan must be built on this foundation.

"Yes, sir!" Hashimoto Manami responded respectfully.

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