He is an idol and a childhood sweetheart.

"Well...that's what I say, but if they really go too far, Enxiang, you can stop the recording at any time."

Although what Tanaka Ayako said was indeed a small prank, Watanabe Kento decided to take this situation seriously.

After all, nothing is more important to him than the feelings of his idol.

"You don't need to worry about any consequences. As long as you think your status has been affected, just respond to us directly. Even if the recording fails this time, you must not let yourself suffer any grievances. Do you understand?"

“…………I haven’t seen you like this for a long time.”

Because he had complained about this to Kento Watanabe before, he rarely showed that over-protective attitude in recent times.

But in the face of this actual threat, he is still the responsible and protective guy.

"Let me start by saying that I am not fragile enough to be frightened by the pranks of a few children."

In order to reassure Kento Watanabe, Enka Higuchi looked up at him and said in a serious tone:

"But of course, if they really go too far, I will still make my attitude clear, so you don't have to worry anymore."

"……kindness."

Seeing the unflinching look in Higuchi Enka's eyes, Watanabe Kento nodded with peace of mind. Then, he turned his gaze to Tanaka Ayako, who bowed his head slightly, and bowed his head to thank her:

"Thank you very much for the notice, Miss Tanaka."

"No, it's nothing... This is just a small return gift from me."

Tanaka Ayako shook her head quickly and said:

"Yesterday, after my producer listened to your suggestions, he immediately started adjusting my look... As you can see, the producer and I are very grateful for your advice."

"Ah, regarding this, I was actually surprised just now."

Kento Watanabe truthfully expressed his feelings:

"I originally thought that your producer would still stick to yesterday's plan, so I was still wondering if he would just turn a deaf ear to what I said..."

"……Will not."

Regarding Kento Watanabe's statement, Tanaka Ayako shook her head in denial:

"My producer... is actually not a bad person, he just has no other way, so he wants to use that method to get me attention... If there is a better way, he will definitely do it. made."

"Even so...it is obvious that just making this minimum adjustment can greatly improve the

Changed the status quo, but in the end he didn't even notice this.Frankly, this is complete incompetence and dereliction of duty. "

Probably because of what he just heard, Kento Watanabe, who was in a bad mood, could be said to be unkind in his words at this time.

"Miss Tanaka should also express her objections properly when facing this situation."

"This one……"

After listening to Kento Watanabe's sermon, Tanaka Ayako first showed a flustered expression, and then nodded dejectedly:

"You mean..."

"...Okay. Sage."

On the other side, after seeing Tanaka Ayako's depressed look, Higuchi Enka gently pulled off Kento Watanabe's clothes and said to him:

"You're going to talk to the person in charge about the release of the program later, right? In that case, go as quickly as possible before the recording starts."

"how about you?"

Kento Watanabe was very worried about leaving Enka Higuchi alone in such a "hostile" environment.

"If you want, you can stay with me until the recording starts."

"It's not necessary."

Higuchi Enka shook her head.

"I don't mind their sight or opinions at all, and among them, there are still kind-hearted people like Miss Tanaka, right?"

"...Well, if you insist so much."

Facing Higuchi Enka's insistence, Watanabe Kento had no choice but to agree, and then handed the small suitcase in his hand to Higuchi Enka.

"Then I'll go find the person in charge of the program team first... If anything happens, remember to call me immediately."

"Yes, yes, I know."

Higuchi Enka waved to him pretending to be impatient:

"Go and do your business, Mr. Overprotective."

Although she does not dislike the attitude shown by Kento Watanabe at this time, there is something she wants to do more now than the care she has long been accustomed to...

........................

"Speaking of which, why didn't Ms. Tanaka reject me along with those people?"

After Kento Watanabe left, Higuchi Enka immediately asked Tanaka Ayako who was still bowing her head:

"Logically speaking, your position should be the closest to theirs."

"...Because, even if I do the same thing to you as them, it doesn't mean that I can be a good idol, right?"

Tanaka Ayako did not emphasize her kindness, nor did she remove herself from these people.

She simply stood from the perspective of profit and loss, and explained in an extremely calm way:

"And... I don't want to leave such a disgraceful memory in this last event as an idol."

"the last time……"

Higuchi Enka raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this.

"Miss Tanaka, have you decided to graduate?"

"……kindness."

Tanaka Ayako nodded.

"Not just for me, but also... for my producers."

"........."

Under Higuchi Enka's slightly curious gaze, Tanaka Ayako sighed slightly, and then told her about her experiences in the past six months...

Chapter 22: What losers say

The story of Tanaka Ayako is pretty much what Higuchi Enka originally expected.

To put it simply, it is a story between a girl from the countryside and a producer who has reached the end of his career.

Although in terms of standpoint, the producer of Ayako Tanaka is very similar to the original Kento Watanabe, the gap in ability between the two can be said to be worlds apart.

He doesn't have outstanding communication skills, doesn't know how to cultivate idols, and he doesn't have any stage knowledge. Even his appearance is very ordinary. As for the network resources and so on, it is even more idiotic.It is also unfortunate that Tanaka Ayako's qualifications as an idol are also very mediocre... Therefore, the final result of the two is just like what Higuchi Enka sees now.

"The reason why we can be on this show this time is because my producer put his last dignity on the line and begged the president on his knees... So, this can be said to be our last chance in the true sense."

Having said this, a rather forced smile suddenly appeared on Tanaka Ayako's face.

"The producer was driven to a dead end by the pressure, so he said those words to me that day... Normally, he actually respects my opinions and doesn't force me to do anything I don't like at all. So… I hope you and Mr. Watanabe won’t dislike him because of this.”

In fact, the producer was very clear about the situation between himself and Tanaka Ayako.

Especially after the producer listened to Kento Watanabe's opinions and went back to re-examine the more than half a year he spent with Tanaka Ayako, he finally confirmed again the fact that Tanaka Ayako had already figured out——

"Thanks to Mr. Watanabe's advice, this look is the most satisfying I have ever done since I became an idol. Moreover, the producer and I also learned a lot from the guidance on camera and recording techniques."

Although the suggestions given by Kento Watanabe are not many, they are concise and practical.

Especially for the producer who has a low professional level and no stage knowledge, this simple statement

The short advice is simply the bible they need most at this time.

"But... it was precisely because we saw Mr. Watanabe's excellence that we realized once again that the reason for our failure was simply because the two of us were too mediocre, not mediocre enough to gain a foothold in this industry. Just go down..."

I can't blame anyone, let alone hold grudge against anyone.

Tanaka Ayako has long accepted her mediocrity in her failed career, so now, she is no longer jealous of Higuchi Enka like several other guests.

And after receiving help from Kento Watanabe, she and the producer also truly felt his kindness as a person and his excellence as a producer.

It was precisely out of this consideration that she approached Higuchi Enka in the lounge in front of everyone, and told her the "conspiracies" she had heard——

"To hurt others because of my own narrow-mindedness and shortcomings... Even if there are no such reasons, I don't want to see this happen."

Tanaka Ayako said:

"But for me, who is incompetent, being able to tell you these situations is the only thing I can do. And then, the only thing I can do is to use the most satisfying method I have ever had since my debut. I’m going to celebrate the last event of my idol career with this style.”

"........."

Seeing Tanaka Ayako's expression as if she had thought about it, Higuchi Enka was silent for a moment, and then said:

"The wise man... who is also my producer once said that idol activities are a manifestation of the way of survival."

"……Eh?"

"No matter what form or posture, what an idol presents to the audience must be the side of himself that he most wants to show, that is, his most ideal appearance."

Under Tanaka Ayako's somewhat dull gaze, Higuchi Enka continued:

"It has nothing to do with things like popularity, popularity, and money. As long as you implement your own way of survival in activities, then you are a qualified idol."

To the loser in front of him who had almost given up on himself, Higuchi Enka said calmly:

"As for whether you have achieved this...only you know."

........................

"So...after this collection is completed, I don't plan to do this anymore."

Outside the studio, the tq producer who took the initiative to chat with Kento Watanabe put down the cigarette in his hand and said:

"Unlike you, I have been in the industry for nine years. But so far, I have not cultivated even one capable artist. Although I also questioned it at the beginning, was it because the artists in our agency were not good enough? , but as time went by, I gradually discovered my shortcomings.”

"...Didn't any other producers teach you this?"

"Of course not. Although we all belong to the same firm, colleagues in the industry are often the purest enemies."

Having said this, he suddenly shook his head in a funny way:

"Rather, people like you who lend a helping hand to other firms are the weirdest. At least I haven't met them in the past nine years... Speaking of this, I really want to ask, why do you Would you want to help us? What good does it do you to lend a helping hand to people like us who basically have no future?"

"........."

After listening to what the other party said, Kento Watanabe also slowly took a puff of his cigarette.

Regarding the ecology of this industry, after the Pulchra incident and one and a half years of understanding it, he already has a very clear understanding.

In this industry that is constantly being homogenized and materialized... people including Fujito and Yanagita have stressed to him more than once about "interests" and "gains and losses", and he has indeed I almost gave up on my ideals and persistence because of reality.

But fortunately, he had a childhood sweetheart named Higuchi Enka who had always cared about him, and after that, he was lucky enough to meet two geniuses, Yuuko Daifu and Rinse Morino.

Even in such a profit-oriented industry, with talent, hard work, and luck that others cannot match, he still has the confidence and capital to boldly pursue his ideals.

"Although this sounds a bit untrue, but... I really became a producer just because I like idols."

Kento Watanabe said:

"I hope that all idols can get the stage that suits them best, and I hope that every idol can shine. Therefore, I will help you not to care about gains and losses, I just hope that you It’s just that idols can become better. You don’t have to think about anything superfluous, just treat it as a nosy person and talk a little more.”

"…………"

After listening to Kento Watanabe's words, the producer of TQ Studio first took a long drag on the cigarette, and then exhaled a long puff of smoke——

"This is the margin for excellent people... Really, the gap is so huge that I don't even feel jealous anymore."

"..."

"Hey, do you think this is strange? Although the current idol industry looks very bad. But I always feel that you and your 'Unius'...may have the potential to change this industry.

. "

The producer from tq office stubbed out the remaining cigarettes and threw them into the cigarette butt trough of the nearby trash can.

"As for me... maybe I don't have the talent to be a producer, but after working for so many years, I am still quite sensitive to certain things. Something is not right in the idol industry recently. The leader Pulchra has not been there for almost a week. News about the event has arrived. It seems that the remaining major companies have not recruited any good talents this year. For a long time to come, the members of 'Unius' will be the most popular new idols, just like Qian last year. Kuratoru is like that."