Tokyo: My Girlfriend

Akemi Aoki, holding a cucumber in her hand, stood earnestly and dramatically in front of Shinichi Kitagawa, simulating an interview.

"Hello, esteemed judges. My name is Aoki Akemi, and I'd like to begin!"

"Please, this contestant, begin your presentation."

She closed her eyes to gather her emotions, parted her red lips slightly, raised one hand, and sang several of her best songs for Shinichi Kitagawa with great feeling.

Shinichi Kitagawa used his last bit of money to buy music guidance skills from the system shop. He listened to and watched Akemi Aoki's performance, somewhat unexpectedly.

Mingmei has such a hot personality, yet the songs she sings aren't rock rap but tender love songs? Several of her songs in a row are in the same style.

His voice is indeed impeccable, and his potential to be SS is no joke; it's just that his singing technique definitely has issues.

Moreover, her music library doesn't match her fashion style, so if you were a judge at a music company, you'd feel a bit awkward.

This awkwardness even amplifies her already less-than-perfect singing skills, and this is even though she wasn't wearing any overly revealing or sexy outfits today...

"So, Kitagawa-kun! What do you think?"

After hearing this, Shinichi Kitagawa rested his chin on his hand and said, "Sixty-five points, I guess."

"A perfect score is seventy?!"

"The full score is 120."

Aoki Akemi blinked, somewhat disappointed. "Does that mean I won't even pass? So if Kitagawa-kun is really a judge, I won't pass either, right?"

Shinichi Kitagawa found a notebook and pen and wrote down the problems that Akemi Aoki had:

"You do have quite a few questions, and they're all pretty clear. If you really like this style of music and want to be on stage as soon as possible, you should definitely take these suggestions into consideration."

Seeing him writing, Aoki Akemi quickly moved closer to him, staring at the dozen or so questions he had written down, and muttered to herself:

"So, is there really something wrong with my singing technique? And my high notes... and my makeup style? What does 'makeup style' mean?"

Shinichi Kitagawa, looking closely at her beautiful, delicate oval face, suggested:

"It's for the initial stage character design. If possible, how about choosing a lighter shade of red for the red number when going out in the future? And try to wear clothes like today as much as possible in the future, less of the sexy style, and also change the style of the earrings, and I think you can take off these colorful bracelets."

Akemi Aoki blinked her fox-like eyes and stared intently at Shinichi Kitagawa, who was standing right in front of her: "Then...where's the eyeshadow?"

The red eyeshadow amplified the allure in her eyes.

"You don't need to touch up your eyeshadow. Your eyes are your unique feature. Of course, what I said above are just suggestions." Kitagawa Shinichi thought she would resist appropriately, after all, he had made many requests, some of which didn't seem to have much to do with singing.

If she really doesn't want to change certain specific details, Shinichi Kitagawa has new solutions.

Unexpectedly, Aoki Akemi squinted her eyes and happily said, "No problem! This is nothing compared to achieving my dream of becoming a singer!" She then took Kitagawa Shinichi's arm again.

"So from now on we're on the same team, right! Kitagawa-kun will be my mentor and manager from now on!"

Shinichi Kitagawa was surprised that the other party was so obedient, and nodded with a smile.

But then she awkwardly reminded him, "However, aren't we standing a little too close? Do we have to be this close to talk, Akemi-san?"

The two of them are now almost touching.

Akemi Aoki glanced at their arms linked together, blinking blankly. "Really? I think it's alright. Don't singers and their managers usually sit close together? Besides, who doesn't like being next to a handsome guy? Especially such a capable one."

"That being said, it's easy for people to misunderstand, so it's better to keep a little distance."

Aoki Akemi watched as he removed her hand again, and after a moment of stunned silence, a smile suddenly appeared on her lips as if she had figured something out.

Huh? I see... Kitagawa-kun really liked his ex-girlfriend. Is it possible for a handsome guy with such a face to have such an attitude towards relationships?

That makes me a little tempted.

The following week, Shinichi Kitagawa began his dedicated journey of nurturing Akemi Aoki as a singer.

Shinichi Kitagawa never expected that this guy would actually listen to advice so readily.

In just one week, she not only transformed her clothing style into a fashionable blend of gentleness and edginess, but her makeup also underwent a significant change. While retaining the eyeshadow Shinichi Kitagawa mentioned, her lipstick and foundation were no longer as heavy as before.

Nail art has also changed from a shiny style to a uniform pink.

Compared to before, she looks almost like a completely different person, though her personality remains the same. Shinichi Kitagawa also carefully guided her singing techniques.

The two would occasionally meet on the school rooftop, sometimes outdoors, and sometimes at the home of Shinichi Kitagawa or Akemi Aoki.

Driven by this intense passion for her dream, Akemi Aoki successfully advanced to the next level in just one week.

He has grown from a novice singer to an intermediate singer.

The system reward of 20,000 yen was also credited to my account.

Even Shinichi Kitagawa hadn't expected this speed, because compared to Kana... ever since she last came into contact with Kana Sato about painting, her improvement speed had been terrifyingly slow, even though she always said she was a free person.

But she seems to be busy every day, busy with something, which is very different from Aoki Akemi's enthusiasm. Even Hina didn't seem to be as excited as Akemi back then.

It's the new weekend, and my parents will be arriving in Kabasaki Town soon.

Shinichi Kitagawa and Rena went to the station to pick up their parents, but while waiting for the train, Shinichi asked curiously, "What have you been doing this week? Why are you coming home so late every day?"

Rena Kitagawa is holding a black doll:

"I recently joined the school's international student association and I've been helping Kana with some of the students' problems, but I mostly just watch from the sidelines and can't really get involved. Kana does most of the psychological counseling."

"Student social club? While I'm happy you're joining clubs and such, would a social club like this be a good fit for you?"

Rena Kitagawa pursed her lips and replied, "I just wanted to find an answer."

"Answer?"

Rena Kitagawa blushed for a moment: "Anyway, there hasn't been much progress. These past few days, I've felt it's time for me to quit. Joining that thing doesn't seem to have helped me at all, but Shinichi..." She looked up at Shinichi Kitagawa, a hint of jealousy in her eyes:

"You seem to be getting quite close to Aoki Akemi from our class lately, haven't you? You've been chatting during breaks. I heard you're teaching her how to be a singer? Why?"

Shinichi Kitagawa frankly said, "There's no particular reason. Akemi really aspires to be a singer, and I happened to know some related knowledge, so I taught her. We also agreed that if she makes money, we'll split the profits, just like she'll earn some extra income."

Rena Kitagawa scrutinized Shinichi Kitagawa's eyes, and for some reason, that look... didn't make her feel too worried.

It's probably the kind of feeling that once you've seen the Demon King, you won't feel afraid of the minor leaders.

This is completely different from how Shinichi always talks about Haruhi Hina before. When Shinichi talks about Akemi, his eyes hardly change, but when he talks about Haruhi Hina, she finds his eyes immediately soften and she hates it.

It was as if Shinichi's attention was completely focused on that woman, not on himself.

"I see..." Kitagawa Rena looked ahead: "If it's possible, you can teach her at our house from now on. After I leave the mixer, I'll keep an eye on you two at home. I won't interfere with Shinichi making friends, but it's best not to be alone together."

Shinichi Kitagawa chuckled and didn't refuse: "Sure, you'll be able to hear Akemi sing sometime, she sings really well."

Akemi Akemi... well, hearing her called that still makes her a little jealous.

Rena Kitagawa turned her head slightly, a sour look on her face, and snorted coldly: "I'm really sorry that I don't have any strengths to show Shin. I can't sing or dance at all."

"No, I'm already happy just being able to chat with Rena like this. In the end, Rena is different from other people in my heart, and she doesn't really need any special skills."

Rena Kitagawa glanced at Shinichi Kitagawa out of the corner of her eye; Shinichi held a special place in her heart.

They should both see each other this way, but why did Haruhi Hina have to come along... Ever since she appeared, no matter how hard I try, I always feel that there is a large area in Shinichi's heart that I can't enter.

Even though they had broken up, this feeling still made her very uncomfortable.

The tram in the distance finally arrived at the station, and a couple got off the tram hand in hand. Like Shinichi and Rena, they all had silver-white hair.

Shinichi Kitagawa walked over with a smile: "Mom and Dad! You've finally arrived!"

Rena Kitagawa also politely said, "Uncle and Aunt, it's been a long time."

The couple, holding hands, looked at their children and exchanged a glance.

The mother patted her son's head and smiled, saying, "Shinichi, have you grown taller again? And Rena, that rabbit you're holding..." She felt it looked familiar. "Auntie used to have one too. Your uncle gave it to me when I was little."

When her husband saw the rabbit doll, he seemed to be in a different world: "It really is the same doll. Okay, Qiong, let's go home with the child first, and we can talk when we get home."

"Okay, Yu." Mom pushed the two children from behind. "Let's go home together."

-------------

In Tokyo, at a certain high school, the school bell rang.

A beautiful woman wearing high heels, a white skirt, and a blue shirt held a book in her hand. Her graceful figure moved as she walked, and her long, flowing yellow hair swayed slightly.

Students nearby greeted her, and the woman smiled and nodded, saying, "Class is about to start, hurry back to your classroom."

As soon as they entered the classroom, the students quickly sat down. Haruhi Hina smiled and said, "Alright, students, class is about to begin. Please find your textbooks."

"The teacher looks so beautiful today!"

"Long live Hina-sensei!"

Haruhi Hina, hearing the students' commotion, feigned seriousness and said, "Thank you, but you can't say things like that during class. I'm about to start the lesson, and the teacher will be angry if you joke around during class."

Looking at the students' responses in the classroom, she wondered if Shinichi was also sitting in class at that moment.

It's been a month since we last met, Shin-il... I wonder what you've been doing all this time.

"Hina-sensei?" A sudden voice interrupted Haruhi Hina's thoughts. The head teacher outside the classroom said, "Please come out for a moment, I have something urgent to tell you."

Haruhi Hina responded and quickly went out: "Chief? What's the urgent matter?"

"It's about your school transfer. Come with me to my office."