Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Chapter 232: Ticket Swapping
The next day, in the trainee dormitory, Room 501.

"The food is back, come down and eat!"

Xia Fan pushed the door open, carrying several large boxes of lunch boxes and sponsor-branded yogurt.

"saved……"

Martin, his head and body wrapped in a quilt, with only his two eyes and a mouthful of teeth showing, spoke weakly.

"How lucky I am to have a roommate like you who has a freakish physique..."

Basong, wearing a pink silk tank top, lay weakly on the bed with half of his body hanging in the air, stretching his muscles.

"Hurry, give me food! I'm going to starve to death before I'm killed by muscle soreness..."

On the opposite side, Jack was struggling like a zombie, trying to get out of bed, but every time he moved, his facial muscles would twitch with pain.

After all the members of dormitory 501 passed the theme song test, they were overwhelmed by fatigue and muscle aches. Several people basically spent the entire period from last night to this morning lying in bed.

Of course, Xia Fan, who got four "qualified" scores, was not among them. He still looked fine and even took the initiative to take on the responsibility of "serving meals" today.

"The popularity live video and voting method were launched on the program website early yesterday morning!"

"By the way, have you ever heard of 'Theme Song Law'?"

"In the theme songs of similar programs in previous years, more than half of the people who stood on the main stage and had close-up shots have debuted as a group!"

Martin said to the other people in the dormitory while eating steak.

"Half, is the chance that high? That's great. I also want to go to the main stage with the elevator..."

Basong ate his vegetable salad politely and gazed at the ceiling with longing.

"Hey, this kind of voting is mainly for local audiences... Most of them will vote for the trainees from District 11... International trainees like us have no chance..."

"However, Xia Jun is so popular now, he should have a chance to compete!"

Jack, who had the weakest dancing skills, naturally had the most severe muscle soreness. His shaking and sore hands accidentally poked the meatball into his cheek...

"I'd better forget it. Instead of asking people to spend money to vote for me, I might as well keep the money for myself and eat something good..."

While eating, Xia Fan flipped through the voting rules and shook his head like a rattle.

According to the voting rules announced by the program team, a one-month video membership with a recharge of 1,000 yen can get ten popularity votes, which is enough for him to have a meal at a convenience store.

Before he could finish his words, several message alerts rang out on his LINE.

"Hoshina Hanami: Xia Fan, I spent the whole day yesterday to catch up on the variety show you participated in. Your performance was quite amazing! I heard that President Higashino is mobilizing his connections to help you call for 'friendship votes' in the Burning Department company, so I also asked President Tachibana and the people around him to help. Come on!"

"Hoshina Hanami: But, a senior like Miss Yayoi actually appreciated you so much. Was it because she sang the song you wrote, or was there some other reason? You must explain it to her later!"

At the end of the message sent by Hoshina Hanami, there were a few cute "come on" emoticons.

"Horiie Tsubasa: Xia Fan, I'm writing to you... It's very rude to ask for leave to record a talent show without informing the class monitor. However, even so, my classmates and I will still help you set up a stall in school to canvass for votes."

The news about Horie Tsubasa was as gentle yet firm as ever.

"Calling on students from Tokyo University of the Arts and people from the Burning Department to vote for me? There's no need for that..."

Naturally, he had mentioned his participation in the show to Hoshina Hanami and Horie Tsubasa.

But because I was too busy after the program recording started, I didn’t contact him for a detailed chat afterwards, which led to the sweating now.

"Shirakawa Rika: You said you were going to participate in a variety show, but it turned out to be an idol audition variety show?! May I ask, how is the profession of an actor inferior to that of an idol?!" "Shirakawa Rika: I forwarded the variety show you participated in to the work group of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" so that everyone could criticize and condemn it. As a result, everyone actually said that they would send messages to help you canvass for votes... So, I will kneel down and thank you with tears of gratitude."

The next message came from Rika Shirakawa, who said one thing but acted another.

“Even the crew of “The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Knife” was involved?”

The strong sense of social death made Xia Fan's forehead drip with cold sweat.

"Mr. Xia, you've been sweating a lot. Are you really too tired these past two days?"

Noticing Xia Fan's unusual expression, Basong gently handed him a few tissues.

"No, it's nothing. I just came back in a hurry..."

Xia Fan was still wiping his sweat when he received two more messages.

"Yayoi Tsuki: Sister, I just bought a new car. Isn't it beautiful? I don't know why, but the 4S store also gave me tickets for the show. I don't know any other trainees, so I'll just vote for you, a pervert, reluctantly..."

The picture behind the message about Yayoi Tsuki is of a valuable red sports car, and a thick stack of "Idol Birth Festival" popularity tickets can be seen on the back seat.

"Hey, this new energy sports car, remember the suggested retail price is over 20 million yen, Yayoi is really rich..."

The smooth curves of the red sports car and the even smoother curves of Yayoi Tsukikoshi reflected in the windshield left Xia Fan dumbfounded.

"Jinguji Aoi: Mr. Xia Fan, the recent investigation into the 'Amabie' case has been very fruitful. Section 9 has uncovered several cult organizations named 'home'. Please don't worry and just focus on recording the show."

Xia Fan was relieved when he noticed that the last message was from Aoi Jinguji's regular work contact, and not someone trying to canvass for him.

"Xia Fan: Thank you for your hard work. It's really weird that 'Amabie' can control diseases. Agents, please ensure your safety. If you need any help, please feel free to contact me."

"Jinguji Aoi: By the way, the agents of Section 9 have been working really hard lately, wearing plain clothes and disguising themselves, hunting down cultists in the wind and sun. I asked Agent Aiba to pick out a full set of skin care products for a year as a souvenir for everyone, and I'll have someone send Mr. Xia Fan's portion over later."

「Aoi Jinguji: picture.jpg」

But after Xia Fan responded, the picture Jinguji Aoi sent back made him open his eyes wide...

Because, in that picture, there is a truckload of "SK skin care product sets" worth a lot of money...

In the upper left corner of the skin care product set, you can vaguely see the suspicious words "Designated popular support product for the idol birth festival".

"..."

Putting down the phone, Xia Fan sighed with lifeless eyes.

"You kid, are you trying to be okay even though you're clearly very tired?"

"The show is still long, and the first public performance elimination round is coming soon, so we must take advantage of these two days to rest!"

Martin and Jack gave him concerned looks.

"No, it's okay, the food is just not to my liking, hahaha..."

Xia Fan quickly laughed it off and continued eating with an uneasy mood.

"This... Now, I'm not going to be accused of cheating again, am I?"

……

(End of this chapter)