Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

“It’s so delicious!!”

"Right?" Su Shi also showed a relieved smile, returned the spoon to her, and said, "Our signature dishes are Earl Grey tea and this matcha parfait. Chinana is really good at ordering~!"

Chinana felt a little embarrassed by what she said, "No, no. It's just because she looks beautiful..."

Born into the Hiiragi family, the "Kanjo Bugyo" (Kanjo Bugyo) who oversaw Inazuma's finances, despite being uneducated, Hiiragi Chinana learned some basic business knowledge through rote learning. For example, the main product must use the most beautiful promotional images to attract people at first sight: from this perspective, the menu of the big brother's restaurant is really well-designed!

She shifted her gaze hesitantly, not noticing Su Shi's scrutinizing gaze for a moment.

...Heh. That's it.

The girl with a slightly evil expression sneered.

The store manager's eyes were almost rolling to the back of his head.

Why are you, a woman, competing with a child?

He even suspected that in Nagasaki Suye's mind, he was some kind of humanoid self-propelled artillery piece, someone who could have sex with any female he saw. Otherwise, why would this kid be so wary of any female around him?

Even against someone like Chinanai, a conspicuously unrestricted young lady whose only casualties in her "territory" were protected by plainclothes bodyguards, she stepped forward to suppress her nonexistent arrogance. It was as if she had already mentally prepared for the worst: Even if I couldn't stop her, I was going to make a big move!

Could it be that my life story as Baodeng Zheli is labeled as a harem?

But on second thought, it's better for this girl to use her cunning in such a place than to engage in intrigue.

At least when I see her secretly grinning at others, she looks really cute.

"Miss China, do you have anything to talk to me about today?"

Guessing that Su Shi was probably satisfied, Zhe Li took over the topic.

Qiannai perked up and gave Zheli a big smile. "I'm here to help Mora today."

"...Is that so? Thank you. China-san didn't betray my 'trust'."

Credit is an exchange of trust. Yesterday, Zheli used this argument to convince Chinana to return her precious hair bun.

Although he didn't really need the money...but since it was a matter of great importance to the other party regarding their values, Zhe Li had no right to comment: if someone gave him the money voluntarily, it would be too pretentious to refuse it.

"Oh!" China nodded and took out a small purse from her bag.

Then he seemed to hesitate for a moment and took out another bag of money.

Zhe Li looked at the other purse, "What is this?"

"Actually, I have another request—"

Qiannai took a deep breath, tensed her face, and looked up at Zheli seriously.

"I want to learn singing from 'teacher'!"

Chapter 22: Autumn Frost and Falling Maple Leaves, Snow Clears and Meets the Plum Tree: Chapter : The Way to Become an Idol

That was another day.

Hiiragi Chinana accompanied her sister and father to visit the capital "Inazuma Castle".

When the two of them reported government affairs to the castle tower as magistrates, she visited the "Mokuroku Teahouse" accompanied by her guards.

The "Hyōjōsho," the agency responsible for overseeing all aspects of Inazuma's government affairs, was comprised of the "Three Bugyos": the Shrine Bugyo, the Tenryō Bugyo, and the Kanjo Bugyo. The Shrine Bugyo, named after Narujin Taisha, was primarily responsible for Inazuma's rituals, ceremonies, entertainment, and other public activities.

The Kamisato family, who controlled the shrine's magistrates, had their home at the foot of Kagemukaiyama, where Narujin Taisha Shrine stood, quite a distance from Inazuma Castle. Therefore, like the Hiiragi family, who operated as magistrates on outlying islands, the Kamisato family also had their own base in Inazuma Castle—the "Mokuroku Teahouse."

China, who has a close personal relationship with Kamisato's second daughter, Ayaka, showed her pass to the waiter at the door, dismissed the guards, and walked into the Mokulou Teahouse alone.

She hadn't walked far when she heard whispers of conversation coming from the inner room:

"Are you really not going to think about it again?"

"Ms. Alice, thank you for your invitation, but I have important matters to attend to..."

"Eh~?"

Who is he?

Hiiragi Chinana knocked lightly on the sliding door handle, making a sound, and then opened the paper door.

The sound of the paper door sliding stopped the conversation between the two.

The person behind the door was none other than Kamisato Ayaka. This usually gentle and polite girl had a troubled expression on her face, waving at another woman in a pointed hat. China's gaze lingered for a moment on Ayaka's face, a rare expression of displeasure, before shifting to examine the stranger.

"Oh? This little girl is...?"

The woman who sounded older turned around, revealing a face that looked like a young girl.

Her skin was so white that it seemed to be woven from wave foam, and her long, pointed ears were unlike those of an ordinary person; her scarlet eyes seemed to have blood and flames flowing in them, and they were as bright as the sun.

Chinana paused for a moment, then quickly saluted the other party: "Hello! I'm Chinana. I'm from the Hiiragi family, the Kanjo Bugyo—"

"Ouch? Let me see."

"--Wow!?"

When he raised his head, the woman who was some distance away a moment ago was already very close. With a hint of smile in her eyes, she looked at China's face and body wantonly, like a cheetah observing the best part of a little rabbit to bite.

At this time, Kamisato Ayaka also came forward and said in a slightly cold voice:

"Ms. Alice, Miss China is my guest. Please don't be too rude to her."

"Oh! Sorry, sorry. Don't be offended, little Chinae. Auntie was a little excited for a moment." The young woman called Alice squinted her eyes and showed a gentle smile, gently patting Chinae's shoulder.

Chinana quickly waved her hands, "No, it's okay! I was just a little surprised."

Although they were strangers, the woman's smile was quite friendly. She didn't understand why Ayaka was slightly impatient with her—to outsiders, Ayaka seemed to be maintaining her manners, but Chinana, who knew Ayaka well, knew that this was the tone she would use when she was in a very unpleasant situation.

To be able to provoke this "White Egret Princess" to this extent, Ms. Alice is no ordinary person!

Hiiragi Chinana thought so a little heartlessly.

"I see. A child of the Hiiragi family? ...You're even more 'suitable' than Chisato."

Ms. Alice hugged her chest, tapped her cheek with her finger, looked down at Chinae, and suddenly revealed a strange smile.

If she were in a convoy of officials, no matter how unruly and unruly Hiiragi Chinana might be, she was still the second daughter of the Hiiragi family, and her words and actions reflected the family's reputation: she had to hide her often dazed expression, smile more often, nod, and cover her mouth with her long sleeves when speaking...

It's not necessary to wear a twelve-layer kimono every time you go out, as that would be too ostentatious, but at least you should wear a hakama.

The complicated etiquette and clothing became the best accessories, allowing the young girl to show the elegant and noble temperament of a lady at that moment.

But that wasn't comfortable at all.

So she never clamored to go up to the castle tower with her father. Instead, she would wait until the convoy entered the city, then change into a light yukata in the villa and sneak into Hanamizaka to see what delicious food and fun things there were in Inazuma Castle.

For example, at this moment, she was wearing a white yukata, with soft black hair draped over her shoulders, staring back at the suspicious woman with a pair of curious eyes.

Image: "China Reference Picture", Location: "Images/1729625472-100406221-112262306.jpg"

"Xiao Qianna, Auntie wants to ask you something."

China was startled by Alice's earnest tone, "Yes, yes?"

Alice's silence piqued Chinana's curiosity. After a few seconds, she spoke:

"Do you know 'idol'?"

"……Eh?"

Kamisato Ayaka looked troubled, but a book that she had read so many times that it looked a little worn out flashed through China's mind.

"Idol." Chinae repeated softly, "Shining, beautiful, dazzling..."

"Actually, I'm currently organizing a 'Teyvat Idol Group,'" Alice said proudly, her nose curled up. Then, her beautiful brows dropped, a look of worry on her face. "But Kamisato-san has already refused to join the group for the sixth time. Really? With Princess Egret's dancing skills, she'll surely lead the group to the top of Teyvat."

Linghua sighed softly and repeated the reason for her previous refusal: "I'm sorry. The company's executive is very busy. Ms. Alice, please find someone else... Eh, is that possible?"

At the end of her words, her eyes widened in surprise.

"--then!"

Alice grinned widely.

"Would you like to join our 'Teyvat Idol Group'? With Kamisato-san's dancing and a beautiful voice like China-chan taking care of the songs, the combination of the two Inazuma-sans alone would be enough to make the seven kingdoms a hit!"

"So, I didn't agree to join..."

Kamisato Ayaka's amusing and sad words vaguely linger at the end of her memory.

●

Hiiragi Chinana clenched her fist and said solemnly:

"I was previously invited by Ms. Alice to join an idol group!"

“…….” Why is it Alice again?

How many great achievements has she made?

"She said I should be in charge of singing and Miss Ayaka should be in charge of dancing..." Chinanai lowered her head and counted on her fingers, almost muttering, "But I've never learned to sing. When I secretly practiced in the yard, my sister scolded me and told me not to scream in the house--"

"Wow..." Oh, that really hurts.

"But but. After hearing big brother, no, after hearing 'teacher' singing yesterday, I finally understood!"

"Oh? What do you understand?" I still didn't understand anything.

Chinana excitedly waved her hands like a primary school student who had just solved the last math problem of her summer homework.

"That's also written in the 'idol magazine' Miss Linghua gave me! The so-called 'song' isn't about being melodious or using a lot of vocal techniques, like in Liyue opera, where you can sing out completely different characters..."

She held up a finger triumphantly.

"As long as you can convey your inner voice to the audience, you can become a qualified idol!"

Zhe Li nodded in agreement, "If you put it that way, it is indeed true."

In modern popular culture, there is a tendency among idol fans to underestimate the singing ability of their own idols: it is not that singing and dancing skills are unimportant for idols, but simply that there are things that are important "before that".

The inner voice, or "what I want to convey to you as an idol", is what brings smiles to people's faces.

Zheli smiled and nodded, then looked at Qiannai and said, "So, you've already learned how to be an 'idol', haven't you?"

"Well, this is—"

Xiao Qiannai suddenly showed an embarrassed expression and touched the back of her head.

"...Teacher, what is 'inner voice'?"

"————."

Zhe Li raised his eyebrows and blinked.

"Eh?"

Is it your turn this time?

Chapter 23 of the Box: Autumn frost and falling maple leaves, snow and clearing: Chapter : Even if we meet twice

"'The lyrics of the lamp are a cry from the heart.' A nobleman once said this."

"Oh! He's such an amazing person!"

Hiiragi Chinana looked with shining eyes at the gray-haired girl in front of her who had her head slightly lowered and averted from her gaze, as if she was not used to being stared at.

As expected, you can’t judge a person by his appearance. Just a minute ago, Chinana thought that the other party seemed a little timid and was thinking about how to cheer her up, but she didn’t expect that she was already a legendary singer with many works!

"Um, well... I'm not that great..."

Takamatsu Deng felt a little uncomfortable because of China's fiery gaze.

Shoko Toyokawa was tidying up the table, but she had the same strange expression as Deng: Could the "noble family" that the store manager was talking about be me?

"Deng." Hearing Deng's self-deprecation, Chinana didn't react. Instead, Lixi came closer, looked at Deng's profile seriously, and said, "You can accept the audience's praise with your head held high. Deng's lyrics are so powerful. It's Deng's lyrics that connect us all."

Nagasaki Suyo agreed, "Yes, yes, Xiao Deng is too modest. You can't keep going like this."

After the most controversial member, Shoko Toyokawa, returned (she herself insisted that she was only there to provide support), CRYCHIC now has the foundation for stable activities: the instrument section is complete, they are both lyricists and composers, and they are all the same age (it is not easy for their schedules to not match due to career plans). So it is time to think about how the band should continue.

But no matter what route is chosen, it all depends on Takamatsu Touma, who is both the lyricist and the lead singer.

The songs she could sing, the musical styles she could perform, and the words she could say during the breaks between songs... each of them was definitely not something that could be simply decided by practicing in the studio.

"Otherwise, how will I handle the MC part when I'm on stage later?"

"Yeah, yeah." Gao Songdeng looked at Su Shi's serious expression and nodded with his lips pursed.