Losing money, mygo, what does it mean that I really lost money?

This was Momoka Kawahara, who had accepted an invitation from ExElio agency to come to Tokyo. ∶∩∩∠

Then, she seemed to hear something unbelievable.

"What, you completely agree? And it can be written into the contract?"

"What do you mean by 'the band can be handed over to me directly, I can be the leader, and I even get extra commission compared to the other members'? No, no, it doesn't have to be like that. Let's focus on the music..."

Main text: Chapter 38, Chapter 37: Momoka Kawahara and Subaru Anwa

Momoka Kawaharaki, former guitarist and songwriter for the band Diamond Star. Driven by dreams of music and a martial arts dojo, she dropped out of high school to form the band Diamond Star.

After the band changed its philosophy and moved closer to an idol style, she tried the idol style but still couldn't adapt, so she chose to leave the band, feeling that she could find her own path.

But after all these years, I'm almost 20 now, and I've come to terms with myself. In this era of teenage girl bands, talented band members are as numerous as fish in a river, and there's no need for another less outstanding musician like her.

But the other party seemed to have a firm belief in her musical style.

No matter how unreasonable the demands were, they always said they were open to discussion.

This made Momoka Kawaharaki, who had just left the band due to ideological differences, feel somewhat flattered.

Although the most outrageous request she could think of was that the band must follow her musical pursuits and ideas, and that the agency could not interfere with the band's style and positioning.

It would be a lie to say that Momoka Kawahara wasn't tempted, especially since she was, to put it nicely, a freelance musician, but to put it bluntly, a high school dropout and a street urchin with no decent job.

After hanging up the phone, she suppressed the urge to grin and rub her hands together, and whispered to the long-haired black-haired girl sitting next to her, "No, I've exhausted all my options... I've made some outrageous requests and they've all been accepted. I can't think of a reason to refuse! To be honest, I'm already incredibly tempted."

"Subaru, tell me this is all a conspiracy by the agency, and bring me to my senses!"

The girl with long, straight black hair smiled and advised, "You've gotten a good deal, so don't act like a child. Tokyo is still Tokyo, it can't compare to Kawasaki. I feel like the band agencies here are all very open-minded."

Her name is Anwa Subaru, the granddaughter of renowned actor Anwa Tendo. Having been groomed to be an actress by her family since childhood, Anwa Subaru rebelled against them and joined a band.

After Momoka Kawara mentioned being invited by the agency, she searched for the agency's recruitment information for virtual YouTubers, became very interested, and immediately asked to accompany her to Tokyo to take a look.

Her family doesn't support her playing in a band, so how about becoming a virtual streamer?

Furthermore, ExElio has stated that the same group of virtual YouTubers will try to form a band to perform together, which is essentially a roundabout way of playing in a band. Virtual YouTubers are practically An and Subaru's dream job.

Kawara Momoka flipped through Yuhan's message: 哵∶≤｀〓∪△钐〔◎、【Erxia’s message to the other party:

"However, I joined the first generation members who are about to debut, and the first generation already has a drummer, so it seems you can only join the second generation members who are still in the planning stages. The second generation currently has one keyboardist and one guitarist. It seems we won't be able to play together when we form a band in the future."

An and Subaru said, "So what? Second generation is second generation. On the contrary, your first generation lineup seems strange. I see from the information of the first generation that there doesn't seem to be a bassist."

"We only need a drummer, and a backup bassist will suffice," Momoka Kawara waved her hand.

She noticed the unusual setup of the first-generation members. Considering they were virtual YouTubers, perhaps the first-generation members had other talents for being virtual YouTubers that overshadowed the band setup; it wasn't a big problem.

Let's pretend there's no one or two people, and play it as a four-person band.

......

In the rehearsal room in Toshima Ward, Momoka Kawara readily signed the contract:

"President Jin, right? Since you trust me so much and give me such great authority over the band, I'll reciprocate that trust by signing your name."

"Welcome. I am the president of the agency and also the producer of the first generation."

After a brief handshake with Momoka Kawara, Ima Teruyuki looked at Anwa Subaru, who was holding a contract beside her, and said, "You're a high school student, right? You can go back and show it to your family. There's no rush to sign it here."

"No, I sign!"

Upon hearing his family's words, An and Subaru immediately made up their minds.

She was originally planning to go back and carefully review the contract details, but now she has no choice but to sign it. Anyway, Momoka Kawaharagi works in the same agency as her, so she shouldn't be bullied, right?

"Welcome, welcome. But as you know, the agency is currently preparing for the debut of the first generation members. If you are a second generation member, your debut will be a bit much later."

Jin Zhaozhi explained the firm's arrangements to her, and she seemed to have no objections.

In this way, although the personnel configuration is not the most perfect, at least the five members of the first generation are all together.

The second generation of trainees has also initially formed three members.

The other two are former Crychic guitarist Mutsumi Wakaba, whom Shoko Toyokawa told her could be developed into a relationship.

To put it bluntly, the first generation of virtual YouTubers was there to develop the virtual YouTuber market, and most of the popularity they generated will be inherited by the second generation. Therefore, Ima Teruyuki has higher expectations for the second generation band, which is centered around Toyokawa Shoko, and the chances of it becoming a huge hit are also greater.

"So, that means I'm the captain of the first generation, right?"

Momoka Kawahara was rubbing her hands together, clearly eager to start drawing as the planner. "Where are my teammates? It's already afternoon, why aren't they in the rehearsal room yet?"

"At school."

"Uh." Momoka Kawaharaki choked, wanting to say something but unable to. "Then I'll communicate directly with you, the producer. If you have other plans, I hope we can talk soon."

“Yes, that would be best. 90% of a team’s problems stem from poor communication. There’s a coffee shop not far from here, let’s go there, it’s my treat.”

"Oh, there's a coffee shop here? That sounds great. Are there any LiveHose shops on this street?"

"There was once," Jin Zhaozhi replied calmly.

He brought Momoka Kawaragi and Subaru An to the Momiji Cafe.

He chatted with Momoka Kawaragi along the way.

"Ms. Kawaharaki, you considered it for several days before agreeing to join the agency. Was there any concern you had?"

"Ah, I was getting some tips on the street those few days, so I went drinking and accidentally drank a bit too much. I could only glance at the messages vaguely. I thought I had replied to you, but it turns out I was dreaming."

Kawara Momoka raised her eyebrows and chuckled.

"drink wine?"

To my surprise, Momoka Kawaharaki, who was only 20 years old, was an alcoholic.

The impact on the other four underage girls in the band is immeasurable. Hopefully, the good girls in the band won't be corrupted by this alcoholic and pick up any bad habits.

Kawahara Momoka flipped through the band member introductions provided by Imaizumi and had already begun thinking about what new songs to write for the band. This was certainly not because the agency would give extra commissions for songwriting and composing.

She just really wanted to improve along with the band.

However, after glancing at it a few times, she realized something was wrong:

"What is this Himeko-hime here for? Doesn't the band already have Arale Nakamachi as the lead vocalist, and Aine Sakuraba can also sing? Does the band need so many vocalists?"

"Each virtual streamer must have at least one singing ability; we need to consider the needs of virtual streamers more thoroughly."

"Hmm...that's true. You've entrusted these underage girls to me, so I can't expect them all to be talented geniuses. As the captain, I should train my own team members."

After thinking for a moment, Kawara Momoka nodded.

Main text: Chapter 39, Chapter 38 Peach Fragrance: Yang Palace Consort, that won't do.

Kawara Momoka said:

"Do you have their practice audio recordings? Let me listen to them."

Once she had a goal, she acted swiftly and decisively.

As she herself said, since Ima Teruyuki trusted her so much, she had to reciprocate in kind. Not only with the same trust in Ima Teruyuki, but also with the determination to train the first generation members well.

Compared to bands with their own ideas, a blank canvas is easier to paint on, and importantly, she has the power to make decisions.

After listening for a while, she had an idea.

"Let's make this clear first, I'm only commenting from the perspective of a band. You know more about virtual streamers than I do."

Within a minute, team leader Momoka Kawara gave a scathing review of all the first-generation members: "Arale Nakamachi, the little girl is very talented, a natural lead vocalist, I admire her. Aine Sakuraba, so-so, alright among the students. Drummer Neyame, has she only been practicing drums for a short time? That's pretty good."

"As for Yang Gongfei, is the focus on the anchor rather than the band... let's leave it at that."

Her assessment was that she was fairly satisfied with the first-generation members; they weren't complete newcomers.

That's just not right for Consort Yang. (＼∧泀］疤贰思∧≈弎衫○°灵{嗖索:)

It's not that it's completely impossible, it just needs time to evolve.

If Momoka Kawahara were to choose the members, she would definitely hope to exchange Hitomi Hino for the keyboardist of the second generation. The second generation members would debut a little later, and maybe she would have her chance to shine then. Unfortunately, that keyboardist seems to be a captain with a similar status to her, a core member.

An and Subaru awkwardly tried to cover for her: "Well... Momoka has already decided on her virtual streamer persona. She's playing a mischievous child, and there's a bit of role-playing involved."

“It’s fine to be direct internally, since revenue and staffing are things we should naturally pursue.” Imaizumi expressed his understanding towards Momoka Kawaharaki.

Momoka Kawara scratched the end of her platinum blonde hair:

"I have no problems with the band. I have some ideas, but I'll talk to them about them when they come to the rehearsal room this afternoon. What about the agency? President Jin, do you have any other plans?"

Jin Zhaozhi said, "Yes. According to our estimates, at least 60% of our business is in China. In order to continue to earn this money, the band needs to do some specialized operations in that market. Your literary lyrics should be more popular there. I will send you the details."

"60%? Really?"

Momoka Kawara was completely stunned.

She took Imaizumi's phone and looked at the Bilibili-exclusive performance that had already surpassed one million views. "The exchange rate for this is 1 to 15 yen, which means... this is 100,000 yen?"

The fact that they gave her red SCs so readily, and not just one at a time, gave her a little shock. ♀“）—五￣

"is that OK?"

Momoka Kawahara looked through the agency's files:

"No problem, I'll write songs based on their style. Besides... how should I put it, this 'ancient style' is actually a pop music style, just add some ethnic elements, it's not that difficult."

She thought it would be much more complicated.

Take this song with 500 million views, "My Taoist Friend," for example. Isn't it just Ayachi Tainaka's "Ichibanboshi"? So it turns out that Japanese pop songs with lyrics in the style of ancient Chinese music can be counted as ancient Chinese songs. That's too easy. Momoka Kawahara is confident that she can handle it.

If you really want to do in-depth research, it will take a lot more time.

Generally, she wouldn't agree, but the Bilibili audience was offering just too much. Sixteen-year-old Momoka Kawahara might have refused, but the twenty-year-old wouldn't. For the sake of her agency, band, and her own revenue, what's wrong with making a simple compromise and writing a few ancient-style songs specifically for Bilibili? It's not shameful.

She and Jin Zhaozhi reached a friendly consensus.

Jin Zhaozhi was very satisfied with the band members he had personally selected, and Kawara Momoka was also very satisfied with the agency that not only delegated authority but also offered her an irresistible salary. It was a win-win situation for both of them.

The band members, except for her, are all high school students. She treats it like taking care of kids. Since they pay her a lot of money, she happily takes care of them!

"Oh, by the way, you should be more careful with your drinking, and it's best not to do a live stream while drunk. Even if you have to do that, you should have someone watching over you and keeping track of the script's rhythm while you're drunk."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I don't even have money to buy two bottles of wine right now..."

Kawara Momoka readily agreed.

She took a sip of the strawberry-flavored taro ball milk tea that Jin Zhao had treated her to, and felt it had a sweetness level that middle and high school girls would like. She still preferred alcohol, especially the feeling of drinking a whole glass of alcohol in one go.

As I drank it, I began to appreciate the peach aroma of the river wood.

"That's interesting. President Jin, another drink, please."

"Tao Xiang, we didn't come here for milk tea, did we..."

An and Subaru were about to advise Momoka Kawaraki not to behave too strangely in front of the president when they discovered that her apple bubble tea had also been taken away and was now empty.

"Haha." She casually put her hand, which was originally reaching for the milk tea, on her face and rubbed it.

To cover it up, An and Subaru started a conversation:

"So, what about me? What kind of people are the second generation members?"

"The first generation of trainees at the agency focuses on virtual YouTubers, while the second generation focuses on bands. The band name that the keyboardist and I have come up with is veMjic, a dark gothic band where each virtual character exists in the same world, and they will wear masks when appearing on camera in real life..."

“So cringey,” An and Subaru said with a smile. “It’s all for commercial purposes. In reality, they’re not much different from normal bands, right? Like Roseli?”

Jin Zhaozhi didn't laugh, but stared at her.

The smiles on An and Subaru's faces gradually disappeared.

"Not much different from a normal band, right?"

Jin Zhaozhi shattered her illusions: "Before each performance, there will be a specially scripted performance, and you will sing according to the plot development in the performance, just like a musical."

"!..." Kawara no Momoka was filled with awe.

That's so rock and roll! This is real rock and roll! (柶)

An and Subaru clutched their heads. "I've never heard of a girl band doing this before?! Tokyoites are so avant-garde! Sorry, are there still third-generation members to choose from?"

"No."

"..." An and Subaru imagined themselves wearing a dark-style mask and gothic dress while playing drums, and felt a chilling sense of social death enveloping them.

Meanwhile, Momoka Kawahara, who was watching the commotion, was still sipping her milk tea and giving the captain a thumbs up.

She loves watching this; it's so avant-garde. (Lu)

Just as An and Subaru were trying to make a move, at least to avoid such a childish style, a voice came from behind them.