Crossing over, and then being blocked by a rich JK.

Chapter 558 A Pillow Delivered to Your Door

It turns out that the more you want something to happen, the lower the probability of it happening.

She didn't notice anything amiss with Risa Yasuhara's 'boyfriend' until everyone finished their casual chat and started heading towards the karaoke booths in the hotel.

On the contrary, with the help of Risa Yasuhara and Orihime Asada, Yu Watanabe suddenly became a celebrity in everyone's eyes.

Even when they walked into the karaoke room, he and Risa Yasuhara were surrounded by everyone.

Just like Risa Yasuhara was surrounded by them back then.

"Tsk."

She gritted her teeth, her eyes turning cold.

Why does Risa Yasuhara always seem to get in her way?
Why does she always try to take what is rightfully hers?

She is clearly the one who should be the one receiving everyone's attention and adulation!
"Speaking of which, Risa, have you made any progress?"

Surrounded by the crowd, Orihime Asada took her friend's arm and started a conversation.

"What progress?"

Risa Yasuhara paused for a moment, then looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Yes, she knows Orihime quite well, but even with that knowledge, she can't withstand such a nonsensical remark.

God knows which aspect of progress you're referring to.

"It's about singing, and..."

Orihime Asada didn't finish her sentence, but just glanced at Yu Watanabe silently, her brows furrowed with worry.

It's worth noting that Aragaki Yumezuki always makes a name for herself in the karaoke segment, which is why Risa always feels awkward during this segment.

In fact, Risa's voice is excellent; you could even say she's almost a born singer.

Her voice is highly recognizable, with bright high notes and clear low notes; her vocal abilities are exceptional. However, because she hasn't received systematic training, her performances tend to fall short each year.

If it were any other classmate, they might not have said anything, and everyone would have just applauded and moved on. But Aragaki Yumezuki would seize on this topic and launch into a long, rambling discussion.

It's one thing if it happens once or twice, but the problem is that she does this every year. Everyone in the class is starting to get annoyed. Last year, two or three classmates changed the subject, and this year it's estimated that there will be even more.

It's no exaggeration to say that Risa's connections in the class are equivalent to three times that of Yumezuki Aragaki.

Admittedly, whether during her school days or now that she's working, Aragaki Yumezuki has always treated her classmates well and is fairly casual in her conversations, but she's anything but sincere.

Risa, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. Aside from things that can't be said to save face, Risa's main selling point is sincerity.

No matter what others ask her, she will give her opinions sincerely and objectively.

Although some people initially felt that she spoke too directly and was not tactful at all, which was quite un-Japanese, they later became her loyal fans.

In a sense, Risa and Yumezuki Aragaki represent two extremes.

One relies entirely on sincerity, the other relies entirely on 'pretense'.

"I've definitely improved, and you're not worried about him, are you?"

Risa Yasuhara raised an eyebrow. Although she hadn't received Yu's music tutoring for a few days, she felt she had made a lot of progress after attending two or three lessons.

At least compared to before when she relied solely on her physical abilities, she has now learned some techniques.

This includes, but is not limited to, how to properly warm up one's voice, and how to take subtle breaths between the frequencies of lyrics.

As for You, mentioned by his friend, given the karaoke skills of everyone in the class, they shouldn't be too worried about him.

To put it bluntly, one is in the sky and the other is on the ground.

One sings purely for entertainment, while the other has already monetized this skill and gained market recognition.

The difference between the two is so great that it's almost absurd. Even her previous analogy, that one is in the sky and the other is on the ground, is rather inappropriate.

"Yes."

Orihime Asada nodded generously.

She had a good impression of Watanabe Yu, and she didn't want him to embarrass himself.

Moreover, this is the first time Risa has brought her 'boyfriend' to meet everyone. Logically speaking, even if she doesn't expect him to steal the spotlight, he should at least make a safe and unsham landing.

"Don't worry about him." Risa Yasuhara paused, carefully choosing her words before speaking, "Do you know this Jay?"

To be honest, she was a little nervous when she said this, because compared to other classmates, her friend was always busy with work, which meant she probably didn't have much time to pay attention to the domestic music scene.

In other words, Orihime may have been completely unaware of the storm Jay stirred up on the hit song charts.

Fortunately, her worries came to nothing.

"Of course I know. He's been a hit since his debut, and many people say he has the potential to become the most talented and greatest singer in the next fifty years."

Orihime Asada nodded, giving an affirmative answer.

Although she doesn't pay much attention to the domestic music scene, she's not completely out of touch with the internet.

—The main reason is that Jay has already broken out of his niche; even if she doesn't deliberately search for him, she will be bombarded with news articles about him.

"To be precise, there is one more that no one can surpass."

The young woman standing next to Orihime Asada added a comment.

"Moreover, in my opinion, the statement that no one can surpass him is entirely objective, because as of now, and foreseeably, there shouldn't be another person as exceptionally talented as Jay in the next five years."

As she spoke, she raised her eyebrows and looked towards the end of the corridor.

The hotel's karaoke room is right in front.

As the person in charge of booking the venue, she had already tried out the karaoke there beforehand.

The private room was large enough to accommodate everyone without feeling crowded.

The hardware facilities, such as microphones and speakers, are also quite good, basically at the level of a high-end chain store.

Most importantly, their staff have an excellent service attitude.

It's to the point that once you miss this opportunity, it's very difficult to find this shop again.

"What if someone can surpass him?"

Orihime Asada opened her mouth and asked a question.

She didn't actually want it to be like this, but seeing how certain the other person was, she instinctively wanted to retort.

In her opinion, everyone is saying that Jay is not old, so under this premise, what fans should do is not blindly praise him, but to evaluate him rationally, objectively and comprehensively.

To put it bluntly, while flowers and praise are certainly pleasing, if you want to walk lightly and go far, you inevitably have to listen to words that are not so pleasant to hear.

To use an old Chinese saying, this is called "honest advice is hard to hear".

However, the saying "honest advice is hard to hear" has its own interpretation. Some people make baseless criticisms, which should definitely not be listened to.

Moreover, upon closer examination, it is somewhat difficult to distinguish which voices are well-intentioned and which are simply trying to drag people down.

Fortunately, she didn't need to distinguish between them.

Le.jpg
"impossible."

The short-haired woman shook her head, giving a firm no, and then proceeded to explain her reasons in detail.

"The reason is simple: have you ever seen a singer become famous faster than him, and every song he releases becomes a hit? Every single one of his songs has made it into the top ten of the hottest songs charts."

This is the core reason why she is so confident.

To put it bluntly, anyone who wants to surpass Jay's legend will have to reach at least the same level.

Moreover, this is an understatement. If it were to be completely banned, every song that came after would have to be in the top five of the hit songs chart, otherwise it would be completely unconvincing.

It's the kind of performance that will impress people, but they won't think it truly surpasses Jay's.

“But Jay’s new songs don’t seem to be as popular lately,” a man in the crowd questioned.

However, although he was questioning me, his tone wasn't aggressive; it was more like a normal discussion between classmates, or a classic 'battle power discussion'.

“The problem is that even if his recent song ‘Marigold’ wasn’t ideal, it was still seventh on the hot song chart.” The short-haired woman paused. “And you have to understand, this was the result of Jay personally helping to drive traffic and divert viewers.”

In their eyes, if Jay hadn't been trying to elevate his partner, his song "Marigold" would already be in the top three.

Diverting traffic is still too damaging.

"In theory, a song that can make it into the top ten of the hot songs chart already has exposure."

The man calmly offered his opinion.

It is indeed an objective fact that Jay split the fanbase with his partner, but he felt that Jay's fans were exaggerating a bit.

Traffic generation is only useful at the beginning. Once you reach a certain platform and have sufficient exposure, the so-called 'traffic generation' becomes less effective.

Unless the person helping with traffic generation can turn this into a breakout news story.

"Recently, many entertainment magazines and accounts have reported on Jay's help in attracting traffic, including the program that suddenly issued an apology statement, which also mentioned this point."

The short-haired woman seemed to have guessed he would say that, and then gave an explanation.

To be honest, Jay's actions to attract traffic were far more dramatic than most people imagined.

This was not only his first time promoting a song, but also the first time he had publicly stated that a particular song was good.

Even if he's just advertising for his partner?

For the general public, this was originally something new and intriguing.

Even if Yuki's singing is a little bad, people will still selectively buy her songs, not to mention that Yuki's singing is not bad at all, and she does have a more romantic feel to her singing than Jay.

"That's true."

The man shrugged, indicating that he was convinced.

The angle the other party mentioned was indeed one he hadn't considered.

“That makes sense.” Orihime Asada nodded in agreement, and upon reflection, it was indeed the case. “But the problem is, with all the flowers and praise, won’t this singer find herself in a dilemma?”

"What I mean is that sometimes sharp words don't necessarily blind people, and the person saying them may not mean any harm."

"Similarly, all praise is not necessarily a good thing; it may also plant a bigger time bomb at some point where problems arise."

Her line of work allows her to meet and interact with many young people.

Many young people are full of vigor and ambition, but after two or three years, that vigor and ambition disappears, replaced by fatigue, exhaustion, confusion, and deep self-doubt.

Life has its ups and downs.

In her view, both smooth sailing and setbacks are temporary phases, and being too complacent will definitely lead to problems.

This has been proven time and again by facts.

"I don't think Jay would make such a basic mistake."

The short-haired woman offered her opinion.

This is also the conclusion reached by many of Jay's fans after analysis.

In their minds, Jay was a rather humble person.

This can be seen from his previous written interviews.

Instead of believing that such a person will become a megalomaniac, it's better to believe that Japanese football can win the World Cup.

"Who knows."

Orihime Asada shrugged, not intending to dwell on the matter any further.

To put it bluntly, the other party's mindset is that of a typical person who only supports others.

Your idol is always right, and they will never make a mistake.

But the problem is that everyone makes mistakes.

"I think Asada-nee makes a good point."

Watanabe Yu finally seized the opportunity and chimed in with a comment.

To be honest, as the person involved, he was really about to lose his temper listening to that woman's awkward boasting.

Even if what the other person said was true, he still found it hard to keep his composure.

Thinking about it, it's probably because he's too thin-skinned; otherwise, he would have already echoed his boasting in the first person.

"You underestimate Jay."

The short-haired woman shook her head, then gave Watanabe Yu a look that said, "You're wrong."

"..."

Watanabe Yu didn't respond, but simply shrugged silently.

He now understands what a die-hard fan really means.

The meme had even popped into his mind.
——Watanabe Yuu's Jay.jpg
"How about we sing all of Jay's songs later?"

Suddenly, Aragaki Yumezuki, who had been following at the back of the group, coughed lightly and joined the conversation.

While Jay's songs are catchy, they are widely recognized as difficult to sing.

It's difficult for ordinary enthusiasts to sing without cracking their voices, let alone 'enthusiasts' who have formally studied vocal music.

But her husband could do it.

At the same time, she can also do it with her husband's help.

It just so happens that everyone is talking about this, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to find such a suitable opportunity.

"I'm fine with it, just don't complain about how badly I sing."

To everyone's surprise, the first to answer was none other than Risa Yasuhara.

At this moment, there was no trace of annoyance towards Aragaki Yumezuki on her face; instead, she was enthusiastically echoing her 'old classmate's' words.

"..."

Orihime Asada glanced at her friend, but ultimately said nothing.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the latter should be absolutely certain of success.

I just don’t know…

She silently gazed at Watanabe Yu.

Does my friend's confidence come from him?

"Of course not, just sing with confidence."

Aragaki Yumezuki also gave a reassuring look.

What is this called?
This is like someone bringing you a pillow when you're feeling sleepy!
She was just worrying about what would happen if Risa Yasuhara didn't accept the challenge.

In hindsight, she was overthinking things.

Without even needing to provoke them, the latter came to them willingly.

"Here we are."

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the main entrance to the hotel's karaoke room came into view.

(End of this chapter)