I became a girl group idol for my sister.

"You haven't gone back yet?"

The voice coming from behind was that of Mai Yasunaga, the team leader. Miyamoto Se did not stop dancing and answered her while dancing.

"I want to continue practicing. Including the graduate student performance, I need to memorize sixteen songs and sixteen different dances in these days. Originally, the pressure was somewhat relieved because of the encouragement from my seniors, but now the pressure has risen again."

“A little pressure is a good thing, so let’s train together.” Mai Yasunaga said, putting her things aside. She didn’t change out of her training clothes and went straight into training. “You can ask me if you don’t understand anything. After all, this is your first time training Team R’s dance.”

"Eh? Aren't you going back, senpai?" Miyamoto asked, somewhat puzzled. "I can ask you the questions tomorrow, there's no need to stay."

"I'm the captain of Team R, and if I don't train hard, I'll be surpassed. Extra training is something I do all the time, so you don't need to worry about it."

Yasunaga Mai's words surprised Miyamoto Sei again. Even among the members of the selection team, there were people who worked so hard.

No, it's precisely because they're in the selection group that they work so hard.

He usually trains with everyone, but even during rest periods, he trains alone.

As a graduate student, I naturally need to work even harder.

Dancing to the music, watching the CD and observing Mai Yasunaga's movements beside me, my movements became more precise, yet also more spontaneous.

It's as if Miyamoto Sei was led astray by Yasunaga Mai.

They were led astray by the feeling called freedom.

"That's right, that's the feeling. Incorporating your own understanding into a specific dance is a very important step. You are a member of SKR, but you are also yourself!"

Seeing the change in Miyamoto Sei's movements, Yasunaga Mai immediately shouted happily. After today's training, the two had become somewhat familiar with each other, and Yasunaga Mai was now speaking more freely than at the beginning.

I am a member of SKR, but am I also myself?

Moreover, the range of my movements just now wasn't actually that large, and there were no problems coordinating with the others. From this perspective, it does indeed fit my own dance characteristics quite well.

"However, Nana-chan, your movements are still a bit too powerful, giving off a Team K vibe. Our defining characteristic is cuteness, so you need to be even cuter!"

"cute?"

“That’s right, cute!” Mai Yasunaga emphasized the key word again, raising her hand: “Showing the cute side of yourself as a girl to your fans, that’s Team R!”

I'm a guy... the cute side of girls and stuff...

"I heard that Nana-chan was really cute during her first performance."

"Huh? I acted cute? How could that be?!"

"But look at the comments online, aren't they all saying you're cute?"

As Yasunaga Mai spoke, she took out her phone, quickly searched through it, and then handed it to Miyamoto Sei.

[Nana-chan is so cute when she tilts her head and says she's a boy!]

[Yes, yes, I died in that instant, it felt like being shot in the heart!]

[Has any talented artist drawn this?]

[It's already on Pixiv. Apparently, Sasaki-san was at the performance that day and captured this moment.]

Huh? Pixiv? Artist ZuoA?

Miyamoto quickly opened Pixiv and typed "Miyamoto Nana" into the search bar. Several pictures popped up in the search results, one of which was clearly related to her.

The girl smiled playfully, gently tapping her cheek with her finger. Her eyes sparkled as if they could speak, and next to them were a few words written.

He's a boy, you know!

Is this me back then?

She looks like an absolutely pitiful and adorable teenage girl, her cuteness is absolutely irresistible!

Yasunaga Mai leaned closer, looking at the drawing on her phone.

"This drawing looks just like it, but it's exactly the feeling you're looking for. Since you did this move yourself, Nana-chan, I think if you can bring back that feeling and incorporate it into your dance, you can make yourself cute throughout the whole thing."

Can this feeling be incorporated into the dance?

Recalling my mindset and impulse at the time, although I didn't think too much about it and it was just a small response to the possibility of my identity being exposed in the future, I recalled my state of mind at the time.

If my behavior in that state is considered cute, then I will incorporate that state of myself into my current dance.

So, recalling his stand-up comedy routine during the performance, Miyamoto Sei slowly started dancing again.

Through constant recollection, constant dancing, and constant fusion of that feeling with the current dance, Miyamoto Sei's overall atmosphere gradually changed, even though the dance movements themselves remained the same.

Mai Yasunaga, who had been training with her, stopped what she was doing. She looked at Nana Miyamoto beside her and felt the completely different aura emanating from the other woman. It was no longer that heroic spirit, but a very gentle, youthful, or rather, cute feeling.

This is the kind of dance that makes fans shout "kawaii" (cute). Even if you're not particularly skilled at it yet, it doesn't matter because the atmosphere is already there!

This child... her talent is just too terrifying, she's practically a born idol!

So, is this the real reason she was sent to fill in as the substitute Center for Team R, teacher?

As Yasunaga Mai thought to herself, in this atmosphere, she actually had an urge to dance along.

She knew that her inner emotions had been completely stirred up by the other person.

……

"Humans adapt to their environment. Even the same actions and words can sound different to different people because everyone is different. However, there is a similar tone. We can describe this tone as cute, sexy, or tough. There are all sorts of descriptions, but one thing is certain: if you stay in a certain environment for a long time, you will tend to express yourself in that way."

"I simply hope that Miyamoto Nana can incorporate a little bit of cuteness into her current style. It doesn't need to be completely fixed. It's just that when she needs to be cute in the future, she can make herself cute. Perhaps you can understand it better if I put it this way."

After finishing her sentence, Tenbe Risa looked at the young woman in front of her.

"Teacher, no matter what, she's only a ninth-generation member who joined not long ago. Is it too demanding for her to juggle both the graduate student performance and the R performance in such a short time, with so many songs?"

The young woman is Higashi Hisako Ogiko. She saw the two people training inside Team R's dance studio when she passed by, which led to this conversation.

Do you remember what happened back then?

"I memorized more than a dozen songs in a month and then officially performed them on stage."

"Her advantage over you is that she has the talent, and she's also gone through a month of training. She should be able to handle the R performance in just six days. Of course, I'm just saying she should be able to." Tenbei Lisa looked at her most prized student with a smile: "What? Do you feel like I'm bullying your junior?"

"I just feel that you are too harsh on her. You could have let her continue with the graduate student performances a few more times and memorize more new dances and songs. That way, it would be easier for her to take on the role of Center later."

“I want to put pressure on her, enough pressure, but pressure she can handle. Only under this kind of pressure can she achieve the best growth.” Risa Tenbei’s smile remained, full of confidence in herself: “She has already made me win once, so this time I will gamble again. Choosing to make her the substitute for Hikari in the R performance is the right choice.”

Higashikuze Ogiko looked at her teacher, who had taken good care of her since she was a child and made her the center, even though she thought she was not qualified for the position at the time, and she had come this far.

She, Higashi Hisako Ogiko, is the unwavering Center of SKR!

Therefore, she trusted the woman's judgment and believed that this person was a good teacher.

But such strict requirements...

"Teacher, are you so confident because she, Ms. Miyamoto Nana, is a man?"

Ever since Risa Amagai's unusual reaction to Nana Miyamoto's speech during the first performance of the ninth generation of trainees, this guess had been forming in her mind. Now, faced with such a strange and strict requirement, Ogiko Higashikuze finally said those words.

"Don't you think she's an interesting person?"

For Higashikuse Ogiko, this irrelevant answer was sufficient.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Tracking Plan [First Update]

Dragging his heavy body home, Miyamoto Sei put down his backpack and immediately collapsed onto the bed.

"elder brother?"

Yukiko Miyamoto, who had already returned home, peeked out from the sofa and looked at her brother with curiosity.

During this period, she noticed that her brother had been like this all along. The first thing he did when he got home was to run to his bedroom and lie down for a while. He seemed like a middle-aged man who was physically exhausted.

They have no energy, just want to lie down, and don't even want to turn over.

"It's okay, I'll lie down for a while, then I'll go cook." Miyamoto Sei said to Miyamoto Yukiko in a voice that sounded like she was about to die.

"I've already cooked dinner. You've looked so tired these past few days, so I tried cooking for you," Yukiko Miyamoto said with a grin. "How about that? Your little sister is so good to you!"

"My sister is so good to me, she's like an angel!" He cheered, but the strain on his system was too great, leaving Miyamoto Sei still without much energy.

He struggled to get out of bed and headed to the bathroom: "Let me wash my hands first."

"Okay, I'll put the food on the table. You can come and eat after you've washed up."

Inside the restroom, Miyamoto looked at herself in the mirror. She saw this face every day for over a decade and had long since grown accustomed to it.

However, with a little dressing up, this face can transform into another person, somewhat similar yet different. Even acquaintances would find it hard to recognize that it is their own face; it is the face that belongs to Miyamoto Nana.

Two different identities, yet the same person. Right now, I'm carrying these two different identities, and I'm busy to the point of exhaustion every day.

Literally, he really felt like he would ascend to heaven if things continued this way.

After all, he had gone all out to memorize a total of sixteen songs. During this period, he only slept five hours a day and relied mainly on energy drinks and large amounts of protein to sustain his energy.

He washed his face to shake off his fatigue, and then dried himself off before going out.

On the table was dinner prepared by Yukiko Miyamoto: two poached eggs, a whole tomato, sliced ​​cucumber, and two slices of bread.

It was a very simple dinner, but at least it filled my stomach and provided both protein and vitamins, so it was not bad.

After quickly finishing his meal, Miyamoto took the bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen. Since it was Miyamoto Yukiko who cooked the meal, he would wash the bowl and chopsticks.