I became a girl group idol for my sister.

While Mika Komatsu did not get promoted, she did get the chance to debut, along with Miyamoto Sei and Miyu Nagasu, who were new members of the ninth generation.

The pressure has definitely arrived.

Being an idol group, especially a graduate student group, is inherently competitive, and extremely competitive at that. If you can't stand out, you'll only end up at the bottom.

It's difficult to offer blessings to one's opponent; refraining from cursing is already considered a sign of restraint.

Those who become official members will feel that it's not them who got promoted, since they have all been promoted. Those who didn't get anything will naturally feel more resentful and will appear inferior. If this is not handled well, it will cause a lot of trouble.

Risa Amagai, you've really given me a lot of trouble...

Miyamoto thought to himself, pondering what he should do.

Before leaving, Miyamoto Sei went to the theater stage and sat down on the edge of the stage.

This is the place where we usually fight together and have gone through so many performances, but when someone walks out first, this kind of thing still happens.

Jealousy is a feeling that can never be erased.

Do you feel isolated?

Hearing the voice in his ear, Miyamoto turned to look at the woman standing to the side.

"Senior Higashi Hisayo, what brings you here?"

"I was just passing by and saw someone sitting here alone, so I came over to take a look. What's wrong? Do you feel hurt by how everyone treated you?"

As Higashi Hisako spoke, she also sat down to the side.

"No, I wouldn't..." Miyamoto said, looking into Higashikuze Ogiko's eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to say what he was about to say.

He turned to look ahead, and seeing the two supporting pillars of the theater, he gave a wry smile.

"I do feel a little hurt. Aren't we all partners who have gone through thick and thin together? Why would someone react like this at this time..."

He took a deep breath, then exhaled, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Actually, I know that feelings like jealousy and resentment will always exist, even between the closest people. But when I actually encounter this situation, it still feels uncomfortable. I guess this is what they call the choice between reason and emotion..."

As Miyamoto spoke, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.

“From my perspective, I shouldn’t have entered Unit. This opportunity should have belonged to Yurina. I took her opportunity away.”

"Because you are a man, does that gender make you feel guilty?"

“Because this is a girl group, a girl group, a team of women. My identity means I shouldn’t be here in the first place…” Miyamoto pointed to himself, his smile still somewhat bitter: “I’m the one who has no right to be here, but I still insist on interfering.”

"You even said you wanted to snatch the baton from your seniors, do you mean you're planning to give up?"

"No way! The ninth generation, or even the seventh generation, will one day take the baton back through their own abilities!"

"Oh, really?" Higashikuze Ogiko stood up and put on sunglasses. "What do you plan to do next? Comfort the other person? Explain that this wasn't originally what you wanted?"

"No way, I'm a winner right now. Wouldn't it seem fake for a winner to say these things? Besides, what is this? Charity?"

Miyamoto shook his head and stood up. The bitter smile on his face had disappeared, and the smile that reappeared was sunny.

"Although I was indeed hurt, I believe in them. We've been through so much together, supporting each other to get to where we are now. So what if there are conflicts? With their dedication to their idols and the perseverance they've shown in their daily lives, they'll figure things out on their own!"

"You do have some emotional intelligence. Since you have nothing else to do, I'll be going now."

As Higashi Hisako Ogiko spoke, she left the theater, while Miyamoto Sei stretched and headed towards the exit.

He muttered to himself as he walked.

"Of course I have emotional intelligence. If I didn't, I would have been played to death by that guy Tianbei long ago..."

……

After getting into her car, the manager started driving, and Higashi Hisashi Ogiko, sitting in the back seat, took out her phone and made a call.

"Apple? I've taken care of what you asked me to do, but I feel like you're worrying too much. She's fine."

"Sakurako? Didn't that guy keep saying there would definitely be no problem? Isn't Sakurako always good at judging people?"

After hanging up the phone, Higashi Hisashi Ogiko looked out the window at the fleeting scenery, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Let me see how you plan to take the baton from your senior, Miyamoto Nana.

……

SKR graduate student dormitory.

Yurina Shimada was soaking in the bathtub, looking rather listless.

She took a deep breath and plunged into the water, bubbles churning on the surface.

After a while, she finally poked her head out of the water, climbed out of the bathtub, and dried herself off.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she gently ran her fingers across her cheek.

"It's really ugly... I..."

She murmured to herself.

After getting dressed, I went outside, and soon there was a knock on the door.

After opening it, you'll find several graduate students, all of whom are in the same cohort.

Let's have hot pot together!

"Kusunabe Rika called out, and walked inside with the ingredients in her hand."

"Wait, I'll go get the pot and the electric stove. You guys wash the ingredients."

As Shimada Yurina spoke, she walked to the side, where the induction cooker and pot she usually used for hot pot were placed.

"I'm all done washing! I was expecting you to come out, so I started washing right away!"

As Nanbe Rika spoke, the group looked at each other and laughed.

Cooking hot pot while looking at the crab meat and vegetables like radishes inside is always a very comfortable thing to do on a cold day.

However, compared to usual, the atmosphere today was not so cheerful.

"I said... let's go apologize tomorrow..." Nanbe Rika said softly.

“There’s no need.” Shimada Yurina shook her head. “Just act like usual.”

"But I'm really, really unwilling to accept this!" A low, mournful cry suddenly rang out. Ootori Riho, also a ninth-generation student, gripped her clothes tightly with her right hand, her head bowed, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"Me too, I was so unwilling, why wasn't I chosen? That was practically all I could think about at the time..."

Rika Kusunobe said, her hands clenched tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms: "My heart really aches. I've tried so hard, but in the end, there's still no result..."

Tears streamed down my face, one by one, and landed on my pants.

“Yes, everyone is working hard, constantly striving…” Shimada Yurina said, feeling her eyes welling up with tears. She forced a smile: “But they are working even harder than us, aren’t they? Even Miyu, that timid child, is working so hard…”

"You two are about the same age, right?"

"Shut up! Don't argue with me at a time like this!" Shimada Yurina said, then laughed through her tears. "Everyone, let's get back on track tomorrow and keep trying. Even though we're not satisfied, let's use that feeling of frustration as motivation!"

"I feel like Yurina is starting to act like a captain. Usually, it's Nana who says these things."

“She definitely wanted to say it, but she didn’t dare. Given her current status, she couldn’t say it to us… So, I had to say it, because we’re in the same boat, all in the bottom group.” Shimada Yurina shook her head: “But isn’t it wonderful? The three of them.”

"Isn't Yokoyama Nai there?"

"The fact that these three were chosen and required to debut directly, instead of being placed in a team first, shows the higher-ups' intentions towards them. In a sense, those three are the members of our graduate student selection team, three people who stood out from all the graduate students!"

"So, you really don't need to apologize?" Rika Kusube asked again.

“The main thing is that nothing has happened yet, so it would be weird to apologize suddenly. Besides…” Shimada Yurina looked at the group, “I think Amagai-sensei will definitely ask the three of them to do something even more difficult than the problem we faced last time, even though they haven’t said anything…”

Inada Yurina's words caused the group to exchange glances, their eyes filled with curiosity rather than suspicion.

What would the requirements be?

"Yeah, does it mean that you have to complete something like a live performance for 5,000 people to be promoted?"

"Teacher Amaga is as scary as a ghost! If that's the case... then Nana-chan and the others must be under a lot of pressure! So, what should we do today...?"

No one doubted that Risa Tenbei would do such a terrible thing; they simply speculated about what conditions Risa Tenbei had offered.

After all, the other party had already done this once before.

Doing it again would seem perfectly normal.

"If possible, besides turning our unwillingness to accept defeat into our own motivation, let's also support them from behind. Although we are rivals, we are also partners..."

"Ah, it's cooked!"

"That crab leg is mine!"

"You guys, don't start eating while I'm talking! Let go, that's mine!"

At that moment, they all smiled, their smiles becoming much more natural and kind than before.

Chapter Three: Stardust Girl