Crossover Anime: Starting with Adopting the Homeless Melon God

Chapter 33 Identity Exposed

Let's sit there~

"Ah."

The store is not very spacious, and is rectangular in shape. Apart from three four-person tables on the left side against the wall, there is only an L-shaped bar counter where people can sit.

Perhaps because it was past dinner time and curry wasn't a good choice for a late-night snack, the only other place in the restaurant besides two middle-aged men in suits sitting at the bar was the four-person table at the back, which was already full.

For a comfortable distance, Kitagawa Yu subconsciously chose to stay away from that table, which was another four-person table near the door.

But just as they were about to sit down, Anya suddenly shouted excitedly.

"Ah! Ayako-neechan! You're here too!"

"Ayako?"

"???"

Everyone in the store instinctively looked over at the sound, with Kitagawa Yu and Chizuka looking completely bewildered.

There were only ten customers in the store, including them. It couldn't have been those two middle-aged men who were overworked and overworked, could it?

so.

Kitagawa Yu looked at the table in the corner, and coincidentally, four girls dressed in a rock-and-roll style also turned their faces towards her.

then

"what--"

A gasp came from one of the girls wearing smoky eye makeup.

Immediately afterward, the girl, like an ostrich encountering danger, abruptly turned around and buried her head between her breasts.

Even in just a brief second, Kitagawa Yu had already realized that this girl with smoky makeup, looking guilty, was the one who owed him money for food and coffee that day.

Oh, right, and there's an umbrella!

In short, this person was still wearing the same clothes, and Kitagawa Yu recognized her at a glance.

but

"and many more!"

"Ayako?!"

It was as if a lightning bolt had struck Kitagawa Yu's mind, and all his previous doubts suddenly became clear as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

But Kitagawa Yu, having figured everything out, had an extremely strange expression.

Just then, a muffled laugh came from beside her, and Kitagawa Yu turned to look at Anya, then tapped her on the head in an annoyed manner.

Others, unaware of her mind-reading abilities, would simply assume she had merely recognized Ayako Asuka by chance. But Kitagawa Yu knew that this girl was absolutely doing it on purpose.

On the other side, Ayumi still hadn't recognized which one was Ayako, and was still staring wide-eyed, curiously sizing up the girls.

At least, she knew that Ayako couldn't possibly be one of those two older men.

Chizuka, like Kitagawa Yu, saw through Ayako's disguise at a glance. She was stunned for a moment, then her pupils dilated and her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

The contrast between the elegant and aloof rich heiress and the rock-and-roll-style smoky-eyed girl is just too great!

At this moment, Ayako's teammates seemed to realize that something was wrong, or perhaps they had a contingency plan in place for "what if Ayako runs into a classmate". They all pretended not to know who to call and calmly looked away.

As for Ayako, it seemed that after some struggle, she finally stood up and walked over awkwardly.

"Hey, you guys—Ayumi-senpai, Chizuka-neechan, Anya—you've all come to Shimokitazawa too!"

At this moment, Ayako Asuka was so embarrassed that she wanted to die. Her brain was almost shut down, and she could barely speak.

Besides the embarrassment, she also felt a kind of nervousness and fear that she herself didn't know why she felt, like a little girl who had made a mistake and was facing her parents.

Her eyes were slightly red.

At this moment, everyone's attention was once again focused on Kitagawa Yu and Asuka Ayako, who were clearly at the center of the incident. Chizuka originally wanted to say something, but after her gaze swept over the two of them, she did not interrupt rashly.

"what's the situation?"

"He must be the boy that Ayako cares about a lot."

"Is it the one that sends out a message before every performance?"

"Who else but him."

"So what's this now?"

"She said she was going home, but she secretly came to perform without telling him, and now she's been found out. This kind of thing can be a big deal or a small deal, it all depends on whether the boy can accept Ayako's hidden side."

"What about us?"

"."

Sada Anri quickly exchanged a few whispered words with Chiyo Momoko and Kasuga Minami beside her, and then prepared to stand up to help Ayako out of the predicament.

However, Kitagawa Yu, who had just recovered from his shock, already showed the gentle smile that Ayako was familiar with.

"Why are you making that face? It's just playing in a band, it sounds really cool! It's a shame we didn't come sooner, then we could have seen you perform."

Ayako suddenly raised her head, looked into Kitagawa Yu's eyes, and her face showed an expression of disbelief and surprise.

Kitagawa Yu, however, couldn't help but laugh when he looked at the smoky-eyed face so close to his own and compared it to Ayako's usual stunning appearance.

There's nothing he can do; he's not a professional actor, and he just can't help it at times like this!

His laughter startled Ayako again, and her pretty face instantly turned red. She felt both ashamed and angry.

However, with that smile, the remaining awkward atmosphere vanished without a trace, and even the air seemed to become more relaxed.

"Ara ara~ So Ayako-chan is in a band? That's so cool!"

"Yeah, yeah, Ayako, what's your position in the band? Are you the guitarist? Do you smash your guitar on stage?"

"Aya-neechan, when are you going to take us to see a show? Anya wants to see a show!"

"."

Chizuka and the other two curiously walked over and surrounded Ayako.

At this moment, Kitagawa Yuya laughed and teased, "To be honest, this smoky eye makeup really doesn't suit you, it's just too funny~"

"Senior!"

Although her makeup had been criticized by Anri Sada and the other two quite often, Ayako still couldn't help but stomp her feet in anger at this moment.

The group then joined together at one table, introduced themselves, and Ayako began to tell them their stories.

"Is it just ticket sales tonight?"

"Yes, the official performances are on Thursday and Friday nights."

Kitagawa Yu didn't ask her why she had to be all made up just to sell tickets, because the answer was too obvious. She was probably the kind of person who could easily make a living off her looks, but chose to rely on her talent instead.

"Can I listen to your songs?"

"Of course, CDs aren't selling well these days, so we haven't made CDs; we've just uploaded them to online music platforms. But there aren't many people buying them, and even free listens are rare."

Sada Anri grinned and reached out to hook her arm around Ayako's neck, preemptively saying the somewhat embarrassing truth for her.

Kitagawa Yu had anticipated this, otherwise Ayako and the other three wouldn't have been selling tickets on the street until now.

Kitagawa Yu then took out her phone and, following Sada Anri's instructions, downloaded the app of Japan's largest paid music platform, and then searched for their band by name.

Then, looking at the data showing only 86 paid purchases for the three songs, Kitagawa Yu almost couldn't hold back even though he was somewhat prepared, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

It's important to understand that Japan has a high awareness of paying for copyrights, so 86 paid purchases are not just bad, they're extremely bad.

Of course, he didn't want to listen to Ayako's band's songs to embarrass her.

He just wanted to see what style their band was, as well as Ayako's timbre and vocal range when she sang, and then see if he could borrow a few songs to help her.

However, to his surprise, perhaps because Ayako felt that the data was too embarrassing, she triggered a system notification due to her extreme desire.

[Oh God, please grant me inspiration so I can quickly write a great song to play for my senior!]

Chapter 34 Sisters' Storytelling Session?

"Do you want me to give you inspiration, then write a song and play it for me?" Kitagawa Yu couldn't help but smile.

However, he could probably understand how Ayako felt at that moment. It must have been just like a struggling author being asked by relatives and friends what works they had done – incredibly embarrassing.

Fortunately, he had watched a lot of anime and listened to many popular Japanese songs in his previous life. It's unlikely he'd be able to copy the lyrics along with the song, but if it's just humming a melody to help Ayako find inspiration, that should be fine.

It was already late, and after eating and drinking their fill, everyone felt sleepy, so they didn't continue shopping.

Ayako first took Kitagawa Yu and the others to check out the nearby performance hall, and took the opportunity to remove her makeup and change back into her usual clothes. Then she went to the bus stop with them.

"See you tomorrow, senior!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow~"

The group waved goodbye in front of the bus stop.

As soon as Ayako Asuka boarded the bus, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

Finally being able to share her secret with her best friend made her feel much more relaxed. However, little did she know that a girls' tea party, which she dreaded most, was waiting for her at home.

"His auntie~"

Perhaps she was getting a little cocky after successfully passing the test. After changing her shoes in the entryway, Ayako glanced at the living room, which still had its lights on in the distance, and actually walked over there on her own.

"Oh, Ayako-chan is back? You seem to be much later than usual today. Is it because you missed your boyfriend so much that you came back so late?"

"Is it not allowed?" Ayako raised her chin slightly and asked in a cold voice.

"Of course! After all, you're a couple deeply in love. Ayako's in high school now, she's an adult, so it's okay for her to stay out all night!"

".nerve!"

Ayako blushed slightly and gave in.

She was clearly still a little reserved on this topic.

"I'm going to take a shower and go to bed now~"

Ayako turned and walked towards the stairs, her mind filled with platitudes like "things change every thirty years."