They all pushed me!

"Because the experiential group values ​​life experience and qualifications. To put it more clearly, the older you are, the more popular you are. After all, the longer you live, the more people and things you have seen."

Beichuan Liang smiled upon hearing this and said comfortingly:

"Xiao Qian is still a child, there's no need to be so hard on yourself."

"But—I don't want to lose to Kana."

The words that Arimakana said to her in the Miyazaki hot spring that day once again came to Kurokawa Akane's mind. Although she knew that the other party's method of provoking her was not very clever, what he said was indeed a fact that she could not refute.

Compared with the current Kana Arima, Akane Kurokawa has almost no comparable achievements in any other aspects except that they are both nominally juniors of Ryo Kitagawa.

"Then try reading."

Seeing Kurokawa Akane's sudden desire to win, Kitagawa Ryo carefully gave his opinion.

"I know Xiaoqian usually reads various psychology books, but the theory is just a skeleton. It needs more characters and stories to fill it out."

He changed his address and began using the other person's stage name.

"For Kurokawa Akane, who is still just a child in reality, books are a backup world, where there are backup dreams, backup tranquility, backup poems and everything."

“In that world, there will be many familiar souls dancing with you while you read.”

"They are the material library of your 'experiences'."

Kitagawa Ryo himself is also a person who likes to read. Even under his influence, Hoshino Ai has gradually developed the habit of reading over the years.

"Then, Xiao Qian can also try to step out of her current comfort zone as much as possible and take on other types of roles that she has never played before, for example, playing some more 'bad' characters?"

Although he didn't say it openly, he knew it very well in his mind. The roles played by Akane Kurokawa in recent years were actually the same as her in real life. They were basically good children who were well-behaved and sensible. Although he knew that this was done by Akane Kurokawa to take care of her parents who occasionally came to watch their daughter's performance, it also subtly restricted her talent.

Including the "Homeless Child" that Akane Kurokawa had decided to audition for before. Although the heroine in the movie looks like a bad kid, the essence of her actions is also for her seriously ill mother. She is the image of a daughter who deeply loves her mother.

She is good at and likes to play this kind of role.

However, seeing the slight hesitation and hesitation that Kurokawa Akane subconsciously showed, Beichuan Ryo felt that he was a little too hasty and immediately added:

"Of course, I didn't intend for Xiao Qian to take such a big step all at once. This is a gradual process. Whether it's the accumulation of reading volume or the transformation of acting skills, it really can't be achieved overnight."

"Well, I know Senior Liang is thinking about me, and it was me who wanted to make the change in the first place."

Akane Kurokawa looked at Ryo Kitagawa, who was suddenly trying to make amends in a somewhat embarrassed manner, and suddenly burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth and spoke in a low voice.

"But what Senior Liang said does make sense. Drama performances have a lot of literary exaggerations. It really requires a lot of reading to feel and replicate the emotions in them. After all, some things feel like you will never be able to experience them in person once in your lifetime."

"Well, it's not just drama actually."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed to have suddenly remembered something and suggested to Kurokawa Akane again:

"If Xiao Qian decides to devote herself to the troupe's activities in the future, she can try out a variety of repertoires besides drama, including opera, drama, musical, stage play, etc."

"By the way, I don't think I've ever heard Xiao Qian sing."

Having said that, Kitagawa Ryo looked at Kurokawa Akane with a smile on his face, an expectant look on his face.

"I don't quite—"

"Kana sings very well."

“…Is it not okay for me to sing?”

Kurokawa Akane clasped her hands together in a somewhat uneasy manner, raised her head and glanced at Kitagawa Ryo, who had leaned forward slightly to listen, her face flushed, and she whispered again:

"Do not laugh."

Then, she began to sing softly, "The Sun and Sunflowers", which she had been 'forced' to listen to a few days ago until her ears were almost callused.

"As summer approaches, the quiet, untold secrets increase."

"I can't be a child anymore. The longing in my heart is more intense than a dream."

Beichuan Liang listened to Kurokawa Akane's singing, and gradually gained some understanding in his heart. He immediately smiled and praised:

"Xiao Qian sings beautifully. There's no need to be modest."

"Before Ruby received systematic vocal training and the staff's tuning, her pitch might not have been as good as Xiao Qian's."

“Although I can’t perform in an opera that’s mainly bel canto, it should be more than enough for me to participate in a children’s musical.”

After getting Beichuan Liang's affirmation, Kurokawa Akane gradually relaxed her nerves, separated her hands again, and placed them neatly on her knees. She stared at Beichuan Liang with her eyes and asked sincerely:

"So does Senior Liang have any recommendations?"

"Let me think about a children's musical suitable for Xiaoqian's age."

Kitagawa Ryo stroked his chin and began to think about a suitable play for Kurokawa Akane.

"Annie, Cats, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz... Oh, by the way, I remember Uncle Min said a few days ago that several theater companies seem to be discussing a joint performance of Matilda."

"Matilda?"

Akane Kurokawa tilted her head and felt that the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember it for a moment.

"Well, it's adapted from the novel of the same name by British writer Roald Dahl. The previous version of this musical was remade by the Royal Shakespeare Company of the United Kingdom. However, this is the first time it has been introduced to Japan, and it seems that they are currently auditioning for various roles."

"The heroine Matilda's age setting is similar to Xiao Qian's. Do you want to give it a try?"

"If it's okay, I'd like to go home and watch the original work and the live performance of the last remake that Ryo-senpai mentioned."

Akane Kurokawa did not agree immediately, but instead explained her plan in detail.

"Of course, I'm just suggesting it after all."

Beichuan Liang was also very pleased that Kurokawa Akane had her own ideas. He reached out and touched her little head, and encouraged Kurokawa Akane:

"come on."

After saying this, Beichuan Liang took out his cell phone and checked the time, then stood up apologetically and said:

"That's all for today's class. I didn't expect Ruby would be waiting for me to go back and cook at this time."

"I'm sorry for wasting Senior Liang's time."

"That's okay."

The two said goodbye to each other, and after Kitagawa Ryo left the LALALAI Theater Building, Kurokawa Akane also packed her things and returned to her home carrying a small bag.

She found her father who was reading a newspaper at home and explained the reason. After getting his permission, Kurokawa Akane went to his study, turned on his computer, and began searching for information about "Matilda" mentioned by Kitagawa Ryo.

This is indeed a rare musical with children as the main character and perspective. The protagonist Matilda was born in a family where her parents did not like her and only doted on her younger brother. As a child prodigy, she had read almost all the books in the library when she was five years old. She was smart and childishly naughty, and even awakened the super power of mind that children dream of, and used it to tease and punish her vulgar and snobbish parents and the principal who liked to use violence to solve problems and abuse students. It can be said to be a fairy tale that children love to hear and hear.

After placing an order for the original novel on the shopping platform, Akane Kurokawa also searched for the Broadway version of "Matilda" on the video platform and watched it with great interest while sitting in front of the computer.

Because it is in the form of a musical, it naturally contains a large number of songs that are suitable for children and are full of childlike innocence and fun.

After school, the children on the swings imagined their lives when they grew up. They sang together:

"When I grow up, I will be smart enough to answer all the questions that I can't answer before I grow up."

"When I grow up, I can eat candy on my way to work every day."

"When I grow up, I can go to bed later every night."

"When I grow up, I can watch cartoons until my eyes look like the TV."

"But no one will say anything to me because I'm not a kid anymore."

Because the tune was catchy and contained many repetitive parts, Kurokawa Akane subconsciously hummed along:

"When I grow up—when I grow up."

At this moment, she suddenly understood another truth.

When I was a kid, if I said or did many things, I would be called a "bad and disobedient child", but as I grew up, it didn't matter anymore...ah.

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"Cool! Our ACE is finally famous!"

On an early autumn morning, Beichuan Liang, who had just woken up from a dream, felt someone pressing on him. He opened his eyes, and his sister's rosy red eyes and cries of joy poured into his still somewhat confused brain.

"Only one night has passed and the MV has already exceeded five million views!"

"Oh... congratulations, congratulations."

After yawning lazily, Beichuan Liang closed his eyes, turned to the left, and uttered a few perfunctory congratulations.

The MV of "The Sun and Sunflowers" was finally successfully edited at the end of September. After so many days of sufficient warm-up, this debut single of ACE became a hot trend as soon as it was released, and the number of views on the original single also increased rapidly.

"Liang hasn't reposted it for me yet, hurry up and wake up, that incompetent fan who said he wanted to promote me alone--"

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo looked like he was going to fall asleep again, Kitagawa Rumi rolled over to his left side, poking Kitagawa Ryo's cheek with her hand while speaking in a coquettish tone.

"I know, I know."

Reaching out with difficulty to get the phone from the bedside table, Beichuan Liang casually forwarded the link of the MV using his personal account, and couldn't help but glare at his sister:

"Okay?"

Then, he noticed that Kitagawa Rumi had dark circles under her eyes and a few bloodshot eyes, and she looked like she hadn't slept well:

"Hey, you didn't stay up all night last night just watching the number of views on this video."

“Hehe… Because I’m worried. And I read not only the number of views, but also every comment. Many people praised us—hehe.”

Kitagawa Rumi smiled a little embarrassedly, but she was still quite excited mentally.

"Are you relieved now? Go and get some rest."

"Oh."

To Kitagawa Ryo's surprise, Kitagawa Rumi agreed quite obediently.

Then, she naturally lifted a corner of the quilt and slept next to Beichuan Liang without any hesitation. She hugged Beichuan Liang's arms skillfully and closed her eyes neatly:

"Good night then."

Perhaps it was because a taut string in her heart suddenly relaxed, and it was as if she had returned to the most peaceful home after a long time. After a while, Kitagawa Rumi really fell asleep with even breathing.

The warmth of skin is indeed better than that of a fluffy doll... a hundred times better.

Chapter 31: Love Story

Looking at Kitagawa Rumi who fell asleep next to him in a second, Kitagawa Ryo shook his head, but he didn't pull his arm away like before. He simply closed his eyes:

"…I'll sleep too, okay?"

Kitagawa Rumi felt sleepy because she was worried about ACE's debut single the whole night yesterday. The reason why he was so sleepy early in the morning was actually the same as hers.

He slowly emptied his thoughts and let the growing sleepiness occupy his mind once again. Just when Kitagawa Ryo was about to sink into a deep dream again, his left thigh suddenly felt heavy. Kitagawa Rumi's legs had been twisted up restlessly, hanging all over him.

Ever since the two of them came back from Miyazaki Prefecture, the relationship between Kitagawa Rumi and him has undergone subtle changes. Not only does she stubbornly use "Ryo" instead of "brother" in private occasions, but their daily interactions have also become more intimate.

Just like the intimate act of almost sleeping in the same bed this morning, this is definitely the first time since Kitagawa Rumi and he started sleeping alone in separate rooms seven or eight years ago. Excluding the influence of the stalker fan incident, this is definitely the first time.

Tracing back to the source of all these actions, it all comes down to the conversation Miyazaki had earlier.

Although Kitagawa Rumi told Kitagawa Ryo the first lie in two lifetimes, there are two facts that are undeniable.

Kitagawa Rumi is indeed the reincarnation of Tendouji Sarina.

And, Kitagawa Rumi confessed to him the fact that she was a reincarnated person.

Kitagawa Ryo, who is also a time traveler, has been in this world for twenty years. Even when facing his closest friend Hoshino Ai, he has never, and may never, confess the deepest secret in his heart.

But on this issue, Kitagawa Rumi, who to some extent stood on the same side as him, confessed everything to him. Regardless of whether this was a truth that had been delayed for nearly twelve years, this trust and affection from the bottom of her heart made it impossible for Kitagawa Ryo to ignore or neglect it.

Kitagawa Rumi arbitrarily awarded her to herself and refused to appeal.

Beichuan Ryo, who suddenly found it difficult to sleep, half opened one eye, turned his head to gaze at the peaceful and quiet sleeping face of his sister who was right next to him.

Frankly speaking, Kitagawa Rumi in this life and Tendoji Sarina in the previous life do not actually look alike. Compared with the twelve-year-old child trapped in a corner of the ward in his memory, the twelve-year-old girl in front of him is much more outstanding in every aspect.

From this perspective, the other party has actually realized his wish at that time.

Born into a family of entertainers, she was gifted with enviable looks and connections. She escaped from the hospital ward and gained a body that could move freely and was not tortured by the disease. Then, she became an idol who could infect every audience member with her passion and performance under the spotlight of the stage.

If this were a fairy tale told to children, it would have reached its happy ending here.

But Kitagawa Rumi, who seemed to have fulfilled all her wishes, has a new wish. This is a fact that Kitagawa Ryo cannot deceive himself no matter what and he has already recognized it.

The kiss that day had already made the truth clear.

Kitagawa Rumi, his family member who had lived with him day and night for twelve years, had heterosexual feelings for him.

This is really the most troublesome development.

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