Tokyo: Idol Girls have absolutely no bad intentions!

She speaks very gently; if you hadn't experienced it firsthand, you would never imagine her demeanor on stage.

Asada Sakura hid behind Ito Yuujin, trying to use his body to shield herself.

Yuujin Ito looked at Airi Mei in front of him. She had already taken off her exquisite earrings and changed her high heels into canvas shoes.

She went from a rock and roll jazz queen to a girl-next-door type.

The phrase "older sister next door" doesn't seem like a compliment.

"It's like this, we seem to have missed signing one item during the signing session. The staff told us to come directly to you to get it signed."

Yuujin Ito stated his reason without changing his expression, while Sakura Asada, behind him, gripped Yuujin's clothes even tighter.

He insisted on coming, even though the staff had tried to persuade him to stay in the first place...

"Then come in, and find a seat anywhere."

After learning the reason, Mei Airi made way for Ito Yuujin and the others to enter the lounge.

As Asada Sakura, head down, hurried past Ume Airi like a little quail, the lead singer's gaze lingered on her for a moment.

The lounge was quite large, and they found a seat at random.

How old are you?

Mei Airi searched for markers and white paper, while also striking up a conversation with the two of them.

"18."

“18,” Mei Airi murmured, “that’s the same age as Rin.”

When her name was called, Iketani Rin stopped wiping her bass guitar and looked up to see the uneasy Asada Sakura and the smiling Ito Yuujin.

Seeing that he had nothing to do, he started wielding his bass again.

"Our performance was pretty good, wasn't it?" Mei Airi found a piece of white paper and signed her name on it.

"Fantastic! I've never heard such powerful music before."

"Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you like it."

Mei Airi's smile deepened as she handed the signed paper to the keyboardist next to her.

"Xiao Lin was so nervous before going on stage. She was walking back and forth backstage with her bass, afraid that she would not perform well and let everyone down."

“That’s completely untrue.” Ito Yujin turned his gaze to Iketani Rin. “Miss Iketani Rin, she is the second most talented child I have ever seen.”

Rin Iketani paused in wiping her bass guitar, then unconsciously leaned closer to them, wanting to hear more.

"Second place?" Mei Airi found it interesting and handed the blank sheet of paper to the other members. "Then who's first?"

"It's this child."

He pulled Asada Sakura, who was trying to minimize her presence, closer to her, put his hand on her shoulder, and looked resolute.

"Huh? I...no! I didn't!"

Sakura Asada vehemently denied it, shaking her hands and head incessantly, her words somewhat incoherent.

"Ito, you...I...I didn't say that! It wasn't me!"

She just came to get an autograph! She never said anything about being better than Rin Iketani! At least not openly!

Mei Airi was completely amused by Asada Sakura's intense yet adorable reaction, and couldn't help but chuckle softly, her shoulders even shaking slightly.

The laughter made Asada Sakura even more embarrassed, wishing she could find a hole in the ground and crawl into it immediately.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that the child is so adorable that I couldn't resist."

Mei Airi wiped away non-existent tears and continued, "Since you put it that way, what works can I enjoy?"

"Riko."

The guitarist, who had been listening the whole time, called out Mei Airi's name.

"It's okay, we have plenty of time, don't we?"

Yuji Ito handed his phone to Airiko Mei, which displayed the video that had been uploaded to YouTube.

"No." Asada Sakura tried to stop her, but it was too late. "That!"

Miss Meiriko has already taken the phone. Unless she ruins the persona she has worked so hard to build, there is no other way.

The thought of herself acting cute, singing and dancing made Sakura Asada feel incredibly ashamed.

That's outrageous, Yuujin Ito!!!

Why didn't you discuss it with me beforehand? Am I some kind of unreasonable person?

"A cherry blossom bento? That's a cute name."

As Mei Airi spoke, she played a video. She wasn't wearing headphones, so the sound was played directly from the speaker.

Everyone in the lounge could hear it, and at that moment, they all tacitly stopped talking.

Asada Sakura closed her eyes; she couldn't bear to look any longer.

Trying to show off one's limited skills in front of a group of talented musicians is so embarrassing that even I can't stand it.

This song starts with zero frames, giving Asada Sakura no time to prepare.

"Who is cute? (Everyone wants to be cute and charming)"

......

The song ended quickly, and Mei Airi nodded slightly.

"That's great. Is the song your own original composition?"

"Yes."

"As a newcomer, this song is really good, and it matches your style, which is also the style of this lovely student."

Mei Airi sat lazily in the chair, repeatedly flipping through the video with her fingers, listening to a certain melody over and over again.

“But…” she looked at Asada Sakura, “what’s your name?”

"Asada Sakura".

"Sakura, it seems you've only just learned to play the guitar, and your singing isn't very good yet."

She looked at Yuujin Ito again, "So this is the talent you mentioned that's even better than Rin's. If it's composition, she's not very good at it, but the piece probably wasn't composed by Sakura."

His somewhat aggressive manner of speaking gave Yuji Ito a strong sense of pressure.

The guitarist, standing to the side, sighed. He knew that his lead singer was like a completely different person whenever the topic came up.

Hopefully, the newlyweds can pull through.

"The editing and music are passable, but there's no synthesizer or anything like that in the soundtrack, just guitar sounds, paired with terrible technique and singing. Are you guys just playing house?"

His eyes were sharp, and his words were direct. The atmosphere in the lounge instantly turned cold.

That's too much, seriously!

The guitarist was getting anxious, wondering if creating a new artist like this would lead to bullying rumors.

Meeting Mei Airi's gaze, Ito Yuujin maintained his initial composure, as if her words had just been a compliment.

"Thank you for pointing out our shortcomings, but we are not just playing around. We were created with the belief of becoming the number one idol in Japan, and even the world."

Yuujin Ito stepped forward and, to Rin Iketani's astonishment, grasped Sakura Asada's hand, which was stiff with nervousness.

Chapter 11 Is this something that can be described as talent?

Feeling the warmth from Yuuhito Ito's palm, Sakura Asada's tense mood eased considerably.

"Although she doesn't play well now and her singing is a bit lacking, I still think Asada Sakura is the most talented person in the world."

The first part is unnecessary.

Asada Sakura secretly grumbled to herself, having originally thought that Ito Yuujin would offer some excuses for her.

What they received in return was genuine praise.

Even though I am a 'genius,' I don't need to say it out of the blue.

"Don't you think you're joking? Becoming the number one idol isn't a fairy tale. Nor is it a novelist's fantasy diary."

She pointed to the guitarist on the side, "Take him as an example. He has the skill level he has at this stage. What do you think it is? Talent? This industry has no shortage of talented guys."

“I understand, but I’m not exaggerating.” Yuujin Ito approached Rin Iketani. “Can I borrow your bass?”

Rin Iketani handed the bass to Yuujin Ito with a blank expression, though somewhat reluctantly, since it had just been wiped clean.

But she also wanted to see what Yuujin Ito would do next.

"If you don't believe what I'm saying, then please take a look at this paragraph."

When Yujin Ito said those words, he had already finished a simple tuning of the bass.

I used my freshly acquired popularity points to redeem a 5-minute Master Bass trial card in the shop.

He felt incredibly strong right now, and the sound of his fingertips gliding across the silk was exceptionally clear in the quiet lounge.

The moment he hooked the strap, he felt the bass guitar become an extension of his body.

The moment the first plucking of the string tore through the air, the originally loose E string stretched into a steel wire at his fingertips.

He didn't use a pick; he made the tone constantly switch and move around simply by switching between the tip and pad of his index finger.

The second section features a striking and hooking combination technique, so fast that the afterimages on the strings overlap into three superimposed images.

“This is…” The guitarist sat up abruptly. He recognized the intro; it was the piece he had played in this performance.

At this moment, in Yujin Ito's hands, it was like a tamed wild horse, with each sixteenth note falling precisely on the metronome, yet carrying a lively vibrato of improvisation.

When the syncopated rhythm of the chorus was suddenly accelerated, Rin Iketani watched helplessly as his ring finger struck a legato note on the B string of the bass, the very spot where she had made a mistake in the performance.

At this moment, however, he completed it from an angle that almost defied ergonomics, allowing the muffled sound of his knuckles striking the strings to blend with the resonance of the instrument's body.

Wow...that's amazing.

This thought wasn't just on Asada Sakura's mind.

Mei Airi watched Ito Yuujin play the instrument with her arms crossed, her beautiful eyes sparkling.