My daily life is getting weird because I am caught between being in a band and being an idol.

"...However, since this isn't a formal rental process, there might be some risks. Remember to let me know if you encounter any problems... And please take this..."

Chaoyang handed her an envelope.

"This is?"

Xiangzi immediately realized that it contained money.

"The salary you're given as a secretary is 300,000 yuan. Your monthly salary will be 250,000 yuan, and the extra 50,000 yuan is a moving allowance."

Xiangzi looked at the envelope and muttered something to himself.

"...I had saved some money before."

Chaoyang had already turned the doorknob and stepped outside, using the door as a support.

"It doesn't matter. I said it's an advance. If you mind, you can save it for payday... Okay, just enjoy living alone."

After he finished speaking, the door was already closed.

Xiangzi was the only one left in the room.

"...What a busybody..."

. .

By afternoon.

Chaoyang has already taken care of the initial preparation of ingredients and moving things in the store, and has instructed Taoxiang and Rencai to help look after the store. If they are too busy, they can decide to close the store depending on the situation.

I wish there were more beautiful girls who dropped out of school.

Chaoyang is no longer as concerned about the store's revenue, because the money distributed by the system is now significantly more than the actual revenue from the business.

However, just as he was about to leave, Nina asked him curiously where he was going.

Of course, Chaoyang wouldn't dare to say that he wanted to secretly contact his idol and go on a date or have dinner together.

That would definitely result in being overwhelmed and attacked by the eccentric Nina.

"The agency has a lot to do there. Actually, the concert is at the end of this month. There's no way they can manage without me."

Upon hearing what Asahi said, Renna immediately clenched her fists and cheered herself up to reassure Asahi.

"Ah... Mr. Hiraishi, thank you for your hard work! You can rest assured and leave the shop to us!"

"Kotone will come over right after school. There shouldn't be any problem with the three of us sharing a small izakaya."

"Know!"

After confirming that he could finish everything ahead of time, Chaoyang took off his apron and went home first.

Dressed neatly, sprayed on men's cologne, opened a drawer as if just in case, took out a balloon I'd never used before, put it in my wallet, and headed out to Ikebukuro.

Chapter 68: A Date with Chisato.

"Ah~ I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting, producer~~"

Asahi was already standing at the north exit of Ikebukuro underground station, passing the time by playing on his phone. Five minutes before the agreed time, Chisato's voice came from down the stairs at the station exit.

Looking up at the rising sun, Qian Sheng was wearing a light blue shirt with a light pink knitted cardigan over it. Her lower body was covered by a pleated skirt that was neither too short nor too long, revealing a bit of her slender calves that was hard to look away from, but not so short that it would seem frivolous.

Her high-heeled boots made a crisp sound as they stepped on the ground. She walked quickly to the rising sun, brushed her bangs aside, and then looked up at it.

Chaoyang turned his head away, slightly embarrassed, and spoke.

"I didn't have to wait long; I just arrived myself."

At this moment, Qian Sheng suddenly covered his mouth as if he had remembered something.

"On my day off, I guess it's better if I don't call him producer?"

Chaoyang replied, his gaze still fixed in another direction.

"I'm fine with either, and you can call me by my first name if you'd like."

"Then... Mr. Chaoyang?"

At this moment, Chaoyang calmed down from her shyness and looked at her directly.

"Oh, by the way, which restaurant did you book?"

At this moment, Qian Sheng put his hands together in apology and said.

"Mr. Chaoyang, I want to apologize. Actually, I haven't eaten much Chinese food, so I chose a restaurant based on online reviews. Please don't be offended if it doesn't suit your taste."

"How could that be? All the Chinese restaurants around here are pretty much the same. You can eat at any of them."

"Um... let me see... I made a reservation at a restaurant called Aliya. Just walk along the railway and turn left, it's in a building next to Don Quixote."

"Well, let's go then."

With her hands holding the bag in front of her, Qian Sheng looked every bit the lady, completely lacking the naivety of a high school student.

Since it was Qian Sheng who initiated the idea, Chao Yang didn't want to take the lead, so he let her lead the way, keeping a little distance between them.

"Speaking of which, Sensato, would you mind talking about some work-related matters before dinner?"

"How could I mind? It's me who's causing Mr. Chaoyang trouble during my break."

"Some small news websites want to do some exclusive interviews with you, but it seems like they have ulterior motives. Should you refuse? I personally would like to refuse, but of course, refusing might be exactly what they want. Right now, your situation is similar to how breathing is a crime."

"...If possible, I'd like to accept it...Keeping away from it won't solve the problem."

At the very least, you should clear yourself of any wrongdoing.

"Is that so? Then I'll have my secretary contact them for you tomorrow."

"Thank you very much!"

"How could that be? If we encounter any difficult problems, we can just blame it on the firm."

Qian Sheng immediately shook his head.

"You're joking. This is naturally our own responsibility... Ah, once we get up the stairs... Ah!"

Qian Sheng had just stepped onto a few steps when she noticed that the floor tiles were a bit greasy. She slipped and, being in high-heeled boots, lost her balance and was about to fall.

Chaoyang reacted quickly, stepping forward and embracing Princess Qiansheng with open arms. Due to his enhanced strength, his arms didn't even sink slightly.

"Oh dear, Princess, you'd better be careful."

Chaoyang said with a hint of teasing.

Qian Sheng was stunned for a moment, and the image of a certain friend instantly flashed into her mind, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Why......"

She responded softly, sounding slightly flustered.

Seeing that she was not injured, Chaoyang gently put her down.

"No, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"nothing."

Chaoyang glanced at the stair railing and found it covered in dust and grease.

He could only shake his head and then extend a hand to Qian Sheng, who was standing in front of him.

"Alright... take my hand and let's go upstairs."

"...Okay, thank you very much."

Qian Sheng hesitated for a moment; she didn't really want to have any physical contact with Chao Yang.

However, after noticing that the handrail hadn't been wiped clean, she eventually gently placed her hand on Chaoyang's palm.

. .

Hello, how many are in your party?

(Chinese)

A Chinese woman in work clothes greeted someone in Chinese as soon as they came in.

"Hey?"

But when he started asking questions in Chinese, Chisato was completely dumbfounded.

Embarrassed, he racked his brains and managed to utter a couple of sentences in Chinese.

"Nee, nee-ho? Thank you (Colonel in Chinese)... Um, can you speak Japanese?"

"Oh dear, it's Japanese... Wait a moment..."

It seemed she wanted to call over another waitress who spoke better Japanese, but Asahi didn't want to waste time and stopped her directly.

"Sorry, there are two of us."

"Hey? You're Chinese? Seriously, why did you let your girlfriend walk in front? By the way, our food is more suited to Chinese tastes, will your girlfriend be able to eat it?"

"It's okay, she'll only eat this once."

Seeing Chaoyang having an encrypted call with the waiter, Qiansheng was naturally very surprised. After all, the stereotype of Chaoyang, who runs an izakaya and yakiniku restaurant, is that he doesn't have much education, just graduated from high school and inherited the family business, and it's unlikely that he knows any foreign languages.

"Mr. Chaoyang, you are truly outstanding. I never expected you to speak Chinese."

"I took it as a second foreign language in college."

Chaoyang was still using this excuse.

The two were led to sit down by the older woman.

Looking at the menu, Qian Sheng was amazed. He didn't see any familiar dishes until he flipped to the last page, which featured main courses.

"Please, please come on over! Fried rice, dumplings, spring rolls, meat buns!..."

Qian Sheng started ordering food with a lack of confidence.

However, the waiter looked towards the rising sun, assuming that Qian Sheng was joking.

"Please place your order as she says... and add two more dishes: shredded pork with sweet bean sauce and hot and sour shredded potatoes."

After the waiter left.

Qian Sheng asked the question shyly.

"Was there a problem with my order? I felt like the person next to me was laughing?"

"Oh, Chinese people generally don't order that many staple foods when they eat at restaurants, and they often eat them for breakfast."

"Oh, is that so? Actually, I wanted to order Mapo Tofu and Shredded Pork with Green Peppers, but I couldn't find them."

"Oh, I see. This restaurant is from northern China, so they usually don't serve Mapo Tofu. And you probably couldn't handle the spiciness of authentic Chinese Mapo Tofu."

Qian Sheng nodded repeatedly, echoing Chao Yang's explanation, his face showing just the right amount of admiration.

"Ah, I see! Mr. Chaoyang is indeed very knowledgeable!"

Her seemingly ignorant demeanor was actually somewhat deliberate.

Qian Sheng wasn't truly ignorant; rather, she wanted to satisfy the sense of superiority that the man beside her felt because of his "extensive knowledge" through this method.

She intentionally showered him with praise, paving the way for her future actions.

Chapter 69: Falling short of success.

"Mr. Chaoyang's orders were all delicious!"

Qian Sheng picked up a little potato shreds and put it in her bowl. After taking a bite, she covered her lips with her finger and praised it in surprise.

Hearing too many flattering words made Chaoyang feel ironic, wondering if he had run out of things to praise.

"Hehe, I'm just ordering food, Qian Sheng, you don't need to be like this, I'm actually embarrassed... By the way, I watched one of your works a while ago."

He gave a brief response and then shifted the topic to Qian Sheng.

However, this is exactly what Qian Sheng wanted to say.

"Oh, that's an honor. May I ask which work it is?"

"...It's called The Street of Loneliness. Chihiro's acting is amazing. I feel like I could watch it a few more times. On a side note, Chihiro was also very cute when she was little."

"That's too kind of you... Actually, 'The Lonely Street' is a work that left a deep impression on me personally... Unfortunately... after that, it seems like I hit a bottleneck, and my career didn't improve at all. Although I've acted in TV series and movies, they haven't received much attention..."

"Life is not always an uphill journey; ups and downs are the normal situation for most people."

"Yes... but some problems can actually be solved immediately if someone helps."