Tokyo: To reiterate, this is not a dating system.

In the silent room, rapid vibrations continuously stimulated Genji Aoyama's palms.

He answered the phone.

"Good evening."

A pleasant voice came from the other end of the phone, accompanied by the sound of a book being closed.

"Good evening," said Genji Aoyama.

"Genji-kun, really..."

Haruka Minatsuki grumbled softly, then continued in a resentful tone, "I clearly saw the message, but I haven't replied yet. Can't I even find the time this weekend?"

"Feel sorry."

Genji Aoyama paused for a moment, thinking about how to reply.

"Um--"

A drawn-out tone followed, then Haruka Minatsuki's displeased voice: "Is Genji rejecting me?"

"No, I was just thinking about how to answer..." After thinking for a moment, Genji Aoyama decided to speak up, "I was just about to reply that we'd meet on Saturday, but before I could send the message, I received a call."

"Um."

Her voice was gentle, signaling him to continue.

"Are you familiar with the company Avex, Ms. Haruka?"

"I know a bit about it. I've been researching a lot about it lately, all for Genji-kun's sake."

Genji Aoyama briefly recounted how Avex contacted him—in fact, they didn't say much either, and describing it further might make it even more complicated.

I think I've digested some of the content.

Haruka Minatsuki pondered for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Genji-kun didn't directly refuse, why is that?"

"People are prone to making wrong judgments when swayed by emotions, so I always strive to maintain maximum rationality and restraint."

Genji Aoyama thought so.

However, if he says this at his age, people might suspect that he has some psychological problems.

"Hmm... how should I put it," he looked up at the ceiling, pausing slightly, "I think it would be better to tell Ms. Haruka first."

"Is that so~"

Haruka Minatsuki let out a pleased sound—her satisfied tone almost said, "You're very good!"

There was a silence between them for two or three seconds.

Genji Aoyama spoke up: "After all, we have a cooperative relationship."

The breathing that was clearly audible on the phone seemed to slow down a beat.

"That's true." Haruka Minatsuki paused for a moment, the laughter in her voice seeming to fade slightly. "So, Genji-kun always tells me first, right?"

The smiles diminished, but the gravity increased, as if an invisible pressure was gripping Genji Aoyama's neck.

"Of course." Even so, he quickly gave his answer.

"Then, leave Avex to me~" Haruka Minatsuki's tone became cheerful again.

"That will be of trouble. I will send you my contact information later."

The phone call ended, and the room returned to silence. The computer screen had gone black after being in standby mode for a long time.

Genji Aoyama lay back in the chair, the soft foam enveloping him and supporting his body, allowing him to drift into brief moments of thought.

But what if it were the other way around? Genji Aoyama thought about it for a moment and still felt it was a bit difficult.

He laughed.

I shook the mouse and turned the computer screen back on.

Genji Aoyama took out his phone, first sending his contact information to Haruka Minatsuki, and then began checking the video's release status on various platforms.

Within just ten minutes, the related content was already trending on several platforms.

If you swipe the top of the screen again, the notification bar is already overflowing with messages, with more than a thousand messages stacked up.

Not only were there likes, comments, and shares, but the inbox was also flooded with private messages.

There are fans and haters.

There were also major music companies and agencies—unlike Avex, who obtained contact information through shady means, Genji Aoyama even developed some goodwill towards these companies.

After glancing through the messages, Genji Aoyama felt that this kind of thing... really shouldn't be handled with a private account.

However, in the early stages of a business, this is the only way to proceed.

I glanced at the comments section again, and this time it was surprisingly harmonious.

Even the joke about the handsome guy from Omotesando has decreased, and the top-rated comments are mostly from people who have some knowledge of music.

"Thankfully, the transformation is finally complete."

This time, he won't be stubborn—Genji Aoyama actually doesn't like this nickname.

After browsing through the comment sections of a few more platforms, he switched the interface back to LINE.

[A group of 5 beautiful girls]

They're talking about the new person in the group who isn't actually a pretty girl.

[saki: Sharing a link to "The World's Number One Princess"]

A dozen minutes later...

[Kanna: Unbelievable! Is this really our band's manager?]

[yui: Saki Saki has done a great job!]

[saki: Meme - Smug Rabbit]

[hina: It is indeed a very excellent work, it even feels unreal...]

[Saki: What is Rena doing? @OmotesandoHandsomeGuyNumberOneFan]

[Omotesando's handsome guy's number one fan: Sorry, I just had a friendly conversation with Anti (Kuroko) in the video comments section!]

[Saki: Someone's spying on pretty girls chatting! @Aoyama]

Hmm... The message I just sent shows that 6 people have read it. LINE is really a great app.

[Aoyama: Huh? How come there are 6 people in the group of 5 beautiful girls? Please change the group name! @yui]

He had to bring this up no matter what.

hum - hum - hum -

Presumably, the communication had yielded results, as Haruka Minatsuki called again.

"How is it?" Genji Aoyama asked.

"Hmm... They seem very arrogant. Even though Genji's work was only posted a few minutes ago, they were already calling to contact us, acting as if we had no choice but to cooperate with them. It's really awful."

Haruka Minatsuki's voice sounded exactly like a young girl complaining to her boyfriend about something that made her unhappy.

"I'm sorry to have put you in charge of these things."

"Hmm~ It's nothing," Haruka Minatsuki's voice sounded like she didn't care much. "It's what I should do. After all, rights and obligations are always equal."

"Anyway, thank you for your hard work, Ms. Haruka."

"So, Genji-kun's answer was...?"

Genji Aoyama knew what was going on and couldn't pretend to be clueless.

He pretended to think for a moment before speaking, "How about a date tomorrow? Haruka-san seems a bit tired lately, so let's relax a bit."

"Hmm—can't Sunday work? Avex might invite us to an in-person meeting, but we're not sure which day of the weekend it will be."

"Didn't Miss Haruka refuse?"

Genji Aoyama frowned slightly, not because of his personal likes or dislikes of Avex, but because he disliked this feeling of uncertainty and being unable to control.

"So...maybe in some way, I'm really similar to Haruka Minatsuki?"

After having this thought again, Haruka Minatsuki answered from the other end of the phone.

"I simply rejected the buyout offer. I stated my position, and the other party needs to negotiate further."

"It was definitely the right choice to entrust this to Ms. Haruka," Genji Aoyama said with a smile.

It was clearly an irresponsible statement, but Minatsuki Haruka seemed quite happy about it.

"So, Genji-kun, is something going on Sunday?" Her tone sounded slightly amused.

"There's something I need to take care of," said Genji Aoyama.

"What kind of thing is it?"

"For public performances, the band has to practice on Sundays, and as their manager, I have to be there to supervise."

Is being honest, but only half honest, considered dishonest?

Qingshan Yuanzhi had no time to think about it.

"Um……"

Haruka Minatsuki pondered for a moment, then smiled: "If there's an offline discussion, I'll try to schedule it for tomorrow. After that, please keep our date, Genji-kun~"

"Okay, please contact me as soon as you've made up your mind."

"Okay~"

The call was not disconnected.

Genji Aoyama thought she had more to say, so he held his phone and waited quietly.

All I could hear through the receiver was the sound of breathing coming from the other end.

"Is there anything else, Haruka-san?"

Before he could ask, Haruka Minatsuki calmly replied, "I slept very well last night."

beep-

The call was disconnected.

"Yesterday...it feels like it happened so long ago?"

Genji Aoyama recalled the sound of Haruka Minazuki breathing that he heard on the other end of the phone that morning.

It was soft and sounded very even, like someone enjoying a beautiful dream.

My thoughts suddenly became clear.

Moreover, time seems to be managed very well.

The combination of these two happy events finally brought a smile to Genji Aoyama's face.

However, as he relaxed, he suddenly realized another problem—

Trying to cover up problems with "time management" will likely only cause them to surface at an even worse time.

Once this thought arises, it cannot be ignored until it gives rise to an indescribable, subtle feeling in the mind.

Well, Genji Aoyama can’t laugh anymore.

◇

Things I can't let go of... I want to eat strawberry cake, I want to go to karaoke, and I want to go on a date with someone.

Also, Aoyama-kun smells like other girls...

This passage was typed and deleted repeatedly in Yuko Asahi's chat box.