Great, now we are dead!

Even trendy online games like "ALO," which should have been strictly prohibited by the Fujiwara family, were glossed over by Chika's excuse of balancing her studies and making friends.

Ye Shou was the breakthrough in her life.

Without anyone teaching her, Chika probably still doesn't realize this; she just adapted to the situation and it developed into what it is now... There's really no other explanation besides that it's a natural progression of destiny.

Ye Shou had sensed part of the truth, but he couldn't detect any malice in Qian Hua's actions, so he was happy to help.

For him, this childhood friend was extremely difficult to deal with.

Having spent so much time together and having a close relationship, Ye Shou should have had plenty of opportunities to earn gold coins. However, over the years, he has only earned one gold coin from Qianhua, which is less than Liulichuan, who has only been with him for three years!

It's normal for a maid to be paid so little, since she's not from a popular anime and her fate might not be very strong. But Chika is a popular supporting character from a well-known work, so this amount of money is really stingy!

It gives people a feeling of being slippery and unpredictable, like an eel, leaving them unsure how to handle it.

Ye Shou has basically given up on Qian Hua now, feeling that there's no better way to get gold coins than to force himself on her. But the thought of considering her a romantic interest just feels a bit strange.

Tsk, this woman has such a lewd body, yet she has absolutely no sex appeal!

"Hmph hmph hmph"

Unaware that she was described by Ye Shou as "completely unappealing," Ms. Fujiwara Chika is currently happily shopping with her girlfriends.

—Asuina, Shirogane Kei, Miko.

Perhaps due to her innate optimism, she can get along with anyone. She brought together several girls with different backgrounds, ages, and personalities.

There was also a pink-haired girl following Kei, holding his hand affectionately. She looked quite similar to Chika and had a similarly voluptuous figure, making her stand out among girls of the same age.

——Fujiwara Moeha.

The youngest of the Fujiwara sisters, she is a classmate and close friend of Kei. Like Chika, she is cheerful and outgoing, but seems to have higher emotional intelligence than her older sister and is very good at reading the atmosphere.

Ye Shou mentally assessed her as a cunning girl who was "even more difficult to deal with than Qianhua".

It was still quite hot, not yet autumn. The girls wore flowing long skirts, revealing glimpses of their fair calves as they walked, or sheer stockings. Only Gui wore denim shorts, her straight, slender legs radiating youthful energy in the sunlight.

Their looks, temperament, and figure are all impeccable. They are more natural and beautiful than pretentious girl groups. The five of them naturally attracted a lot of attention when they walked down the street.

Kei and Miko happily accepted Chika's invitation, for a very simple reason:

They really enjoy playing ALO.

For Kei, it was just a hobby, but for Miko, ALO was like a spider's thread in the abyss, sustaining her small sense of happiness.

Because cyber ghosts don't appear in virtual reality (and even if they did, they wouldn't bother her), Jianzi would hide inside when she wanted to escape reality, and she would sleep peacefully at night.

Professional cosplay costumes are expensive, which would be a considerable expense for these two girls from modest backgrounds. However, Ye Shou offered to provide them with cosplay costumes, so the financial issue was no longer an issue.

In order not to hurt the girls' self-esteem, Ye Shou also specially created the title of "special guest". All cosplayers who went to the event, whether professional or amateur, could receive a subsidy as a reward for coming to help the game in the hot summer.

Chika and the others naturally received the highest level of subsidy, which was directly converted into a "special cosplay outfit"—after all, they were a group of friends and family!

They went out to buy the remaining necessities:

Cosplay isn't just about changing into a costume and wig; it also involves makeup, false eyelashes, a bra wrap, breast pads... cough!

It should be noted that the last two items are not necessary for everyone; it depends on individual circumstances.

Many skincare products are inconvenient to have others buy for you, since more expensive products aren't necessarily better. Only women know which brand and series are suitable for their own skin type.

Despite being only sixteen or seventeen years old, they are quite knowledgeable about this. Asuna and the Fujiwara sisters, in particular, are very knowledgeable about the pros and cons of various domestic skincare products, which made Keiko and Kei nod in agreement.

In Japan, makeup is a highly regarded skill for women, considered to enhance their feminine charm even more than cooking or handicrafts, and is practically a required course.

(In South Korea, it's even more extreme; men also wear makeup.)

In Japan and South Korea, the standard is that "light makeup" is considered "bare face"!

Many cute high school girls appear to have no makeup on, but in reality, they have excellent makeup skills and can make their natural makeup look flawless.

Of course, people like Asuna and Kei Shirogane are truly naturally beautiful and don't need to put in much effort. They just need to take good care of their skin and let their natural beauty shine through.

Even the most unreliable Qianhua will provide comprehensive protection without any blind spots, especially when you're out in the blazing sun!

Many anime feature a "high school debut" plot, where an unremarkable girl or nerdy guy in junior high school undergoes a glamorous transformation when he starts high school, suddenly becoming fashionable and beautiful.

This means that you should start paying attention to your appearance at the latest in high school, otherwise it will be difficult to integrate into the class's inner circle.

Of course, it's important to strike the right balance. Dressing up doesn't mean you have to become a hot girl or a bad girl; just meet mainstream standards.

Don't be overly anxious!

Although it sounds complicated, there are underlying reasons for it, such as helping teenagers who are attracted to young women to build self-confidence.

School-themed anime are produced every year because Japanese high schools are truly rich in material, whether it's romantic comedies or passionate sports... Of course, there are also the dark side of bullying and melodramatic youth drama that accompany them.

Qianhua and her friends either come from wealthy families or have outstanding looks and intelligence; they all belong to the standard upper class, so those negative factors don't affect them.

"...Wow, do we really need to buy so much?"

Gui listened as Qianhua listed each product one by one, from basic moisturizing foundation and primer to lipstick, mascara, eyeshadow, and eyebrow pencil... Gui's small mouth slowly opened.

She actually has quite a few skincare products. Although her family has financial problems, her father and brothers love her very much. They even prepared a special dressing table for her at home, which, while not all of them are luxury brands, are all reputable brands with guaranteed quality.

But she had only focused on skin and hair care before, and hadn't really explored the world of makeup, let alone professional-level cosplay makeup!

"Kei-chan, you're surprised, aren't you?"

Chika chuckled and said, "In order to get as close as possible to the character's image, cosplay makeup is actually more elaborate than the makeup and styling in many movies—that's why manga adaptations look exaggerated."

"But buying so many things can't be done with just pocket money,"

Gui scratched his cheek in annoyance, "I thought all I had to do was buy some false eyelashes or something."

"Of course we don't need to take it so seriously."

Chika hugged the slender Kei and rubbed against him like a lovesick fool, not caring about the heat.

"Kei-chan only needs a little bit of dressing up; if she goes too far, she might steal the spotlight from the professional players."

"Sister Qianhua is exaggerating too much."

Gui resisted and pushed Qianhua away, his face slightly flushed.

"Will it really look good? Won't it attract too much attention...?"

"There will be many fans like us then, so don't worry!"

Mengye hugged him from behind, and Gui, who had just escaped the tiger's mouth, fell into the wolf's den.

"We must show the world how cute Kei-chan is!"

"Moe-chan, it's so hot!"

Seeing this, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "You two have such a good relationship, you look like sisters."

"That would be perfect! I've always wanted an innocent and naive little sister like Kei-chan."

Moeha pressed against Shirogane Kei's back, immersed in the scent of shampoo mixed with a slight smell of sweat, and took deep breaths.

"Because I'm the youngest in my family, I really look forward to being the older sister."

“I’m happy that you feel this way… but I’m afraid I’m the older sister.”

Shirogane Kei struggled to pull Moeha's small hand away. "I'm the one who looks more mature, aren't I?"

"Kei-chan's birthday is in August, right? Mine is in June, you know."

Mengye's eyes were hazy as she murmured, "Come on, call me Big Sister—it hurts!"

Bang!

Chika mercilessly struck Mengye on the head, forcibly waking her sister from the rose-colored atmosphere.

"Moe-ye, really, don't turn on those weird switches here!"

"It hurts so much... Sis, you're so mean... Brother Shou wouldn't do this to me."

"It's precisely because he spoils you too much that I need to be stricter with you, otherwise I'm very worried about your future!"

—You have no right to say that, do you?

Everyone turned to look at the free-spirited Chika, which startled her.

"What's wrong, is there something on my face?"

"It's nothing, I just feel that Moeha isn't the only one who's been spoiled by Kuze-senpai."

"?"

Chika was puzzled, but then she passed by a billboard where several idols were handing out flyers on the street, which immediately caught her attention.

In the neighboring University of Tokyo, the word "idol" has become almost synonymous with "star" and "actor," but in Japan and South Korea, the birthplace of idol culture, it doesn't actually carry much weight.

Before the bursting of the bubble economy in the last century, idols were a relatively rare commodity. However, due to the economic downturn, both Japan and South Korea chose to vigorously develop the entertainment industry, and idols have since become products of an assembly line.

Various boy groups and girl groups are like McDonald's fast food, with new products appearing every week. In order to satisfy the public's taste, they can customize various personas.

In the face of fierce competition, few can truly succeed, and even those who reach the top of the idol industry may fade into obscurity if they fail to adapt in time—they don't earn much and are far less wealthy than their peers from Tokyo University.

Excluding businessmen and politicians, the highest earners in most industries are actually sports stars, whose status is far higher than that of idols, such as Son Heung-min in South Korea and Otani in Japan.

Sports stars can bring glory to their country!

Gaining fame through Messi and Ronaldo is completely different from gaining fame through a girl group!

Especially in South Korea, where there is a strong sense of inferiority, a gold medal is truly a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Underground idols who personally hand out flyers on the street might seem unbelievable at the University of Tokyo, but it's quite common in Japan.

Before they made it big, they were in the same niche as street bands, or even worse... Small bands could still do abstract things and play with twisted ideas, but if idol groups dared to cause trouble, they would be gone the next day!

"Thank you for coming to visit."

"Thank you."

Chika skillfully took the flyer, nodded in acknowledgment, and didn't intend to linger, but the contents of the flyer made her pause slightly.

"AL0, isn't this a flyer for Fairy Dance?"

With its vibrant illustrations, familiar characters, and impactful fonts, this is undoubtedly Ye Shou's large-scale offline event!

Are we starting to promote it heavily now?

Just then, Miko's excited shout rang out: "It's Backstreet Girls! My friend loves you guys, she even took me to a live show... Oh, are you promoting ALO? What a coincidence!"

Backstreet Girls?

Qianhua's mind raced for a moment, and she vaguely felt that the name sounded familiar.

There are quite a few of these underground idols. They usually have a limited number of fans, but a high percentage of die-hard fans. Sometimes they can really appeal to certain people's tastes. Maybe one of them is Jianzi's friend.

"That's right, we're promoting that game, A!"

The brown-haired man in the center, holding a flyer with his hands on his hips, spoke with a strong voice, simple and clear.

"Our agent said that this is a rare opportunity to connect with a big company, so we must do our best!"

In fact, they came to do the promotion for free, which shows how dedicated they are.

"It's so hot, you must be working so hard."

Seeing this, Zi exclaimed excitedly, "I'll be there that day too, and I'll definitely cheer you on!"

"Oh, thanks!"

The girl in the center gave a thumbs-up: "I will never forget this kindness, you adorable young lady!"

"Hehe, you guys are still so funny, just like the old man."

Seeing Zi cover her mouth and chuckle, she thought it was just a characteristic of the "Backstreet Girls"—after all, these days, cultivating a persona is very important.

In fact, the occasional "mature man" vibe they exude does amuse some people, turning them into fans.

"Let's invite your friends along too, everyone should... Hmm? Aiko? What are you spacing out for? Stop staring at her, even though she is very pretty—can't you see she's bothered?"

"Oh, sorry!"

The woman with long, straight black hair, wearing a miniskirt, suddenly woke up, took a deep breath, and hurriedly bowed in apology, almost parallel to the ground.

"I was daydreaming, I'm sorry!"

"Hey? No need to get so worked up, it's not a big deal."

Asuna was startled and bent down as well, saying, "Please don't mind."

"……it is good."