They all pushed me!

As if to make his words more persuasive, Kitagawa Ryo picked up the soft and fluffy Hotaru from his lap and held her in the air, motioning to his sister:

"If you're still worried, Ruby, why don't you try it yourself?"

Kitagawa Rumi took the kitten, but she had no intention of petting it. She placed Hotaru on the sofa on the other side like a transfer station, and walked straight forward and sat on Kitagawa Ryo's lap quite naturally. She tilted her head back slightly and blinked her bright cat-like eyes:

"Brother, please blow dry my hair too."

"Isn't it almost done?"

"That's fine. What if I catch a cold or get a respiratory or digestive tract infection because I haven't finished the work?"

"Is Ruby a cat? And if you want me to blow dry your hair, please sit on the stool over there first, okay?"

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head helplessly. Although Rumi was sitting quite quietly, just leaning on his knees and half of his thighs, with no intention of moving backwards, it always felt different to have a seven or eight-year-old child and a fifteen-year-old girl sitting in his arms, so he didn't dare to move at all.

“Meow meow meow meow—”

"Can't understand."

"It means that I will be like Hotaru and stay still."

"Brother should have been watching my live broadcast just now, don't deny it! I already knew that every time I live broadcast at home, my brother would always watch me."

Kitagawa Rumi also paused slightly when she said this.

It is true that Kitagawa Ryo did not have any romantic feelings for her past life, but there must be sympathy and heartache. Even though she is now Kitagawa Rumi, this relationship that has lasted for more than ten years will definitely not disappear without a trace as he said.

"In fact, when I was live streaming just now, I didn't even realize that I had been growing my hair for so long and that it was so, so long."

After a short silence, Kitagawa Rumi heard the sound of the hair dryer being turned on.

"Don't move."

His hand caressed along with the warm breeze, reaching into the silky golden hair.

Or maybe those silky threads wrapped around his fingers one by one.

Chapter 4: Disqualification

It is April again, and as the starting point of the spring semester, a large number of junior high schools and high schools have welcomed another batch of new students.

Today is also the day Kitagawa Rumi, a freshman in the performing arts department of Yangdong High School, enrolls. After politely declining several invitations from classmates to "have lunch together", she walked lightly to the central courtyard of the campus with the lunch box that her brother had made for her in the morning. On one of the benches, she found her good friend Samejima Abiko, who also attends the school but is two years older than her.

Because of the special performing arts department at Yangdong High School, all kinds of idols, actors, anchors, models and other industry professionals, both big and small, can be seen everywhere on campus. So even as a member of a popular idol group, Samejima Abiko, who was sitting there quietly as if she was painting, did not cause any waves and was no different from an ordinary student.

"——Ah, I'm so tired."

Kitagawa Rumi walked over and sat next to Samejima Abiko, unpacking her lunch box while casually complaining:

"When Abi was a freshman, MEM Chu came to help me get familiar with the campus. But when I came this morning, I couldn't find you."

"Because I'm not familiar with this place either. The only impression I have is what you said, Ruby, about the tour that MEM took me around two years ago."

Samejima Abiko glanced at Kitagawa Rumi, scribbled twice on the iPad in her hand with an electronic pen, showed the search interface to her, and explained lightly:

"And I did come here this morning, but I saw Ruby lingering at the door, smiling at the reporters waiting there, and posing for the camera. It seemed like she was having a lot of fun, so I thought about it and went back."

[Real footage of the first day of school for the Performing Arts Department at Yangdong Middle School. Beichuan Liang personally drove his sister to school, attracting onlookers! ]

[Ryo Kitagawa and Rumi Kitagawa appeared at the entrance ceremony of Yangdong Middle School. The brother and sister whispered in each other's ears and interacted intimately. Click here to see the highest-resolution pictures on the Internet! ]

Kitagawa Rumi's hands froze after being so quickly and neatly dismantled by Samejima Abiko, but she immediately bit her chopsticks and spoke vaguely:

"So what? It's only natural for my sister to be sent off on her first day of school. No, it should be natural."

"Although my brother drove to the airport to meet up with Sister Ai after sending me to school, it's really not their third wedding anniversary yet."

"Maybe because there are too many tourists during the May Day Golden Week? I remember Liang got married at the end of April, right?"

"Yes, it's April 23rd."

"…I always feel that the fact that Ruby remembers this matter more clearly than I do is a very pitiful thing in itself."

Samejima Abiko took a bite of the hamburger meat in her lunch box and said seriously:

"How about I add a personal plot for 'Shao Ji'? If the [Marriage Contract] is not enough, how about a setting of past and present lives?"

"…If I hadn't watched the first New Year special of "It's Not Easy to Run Away" earlier this year, I would probably be happy about Abiko's suggestion."

Kitagawa Rumi gave a dry smile mechanically:

"Haha - there will be a Golden Week special next month, and a Christmas special at the end of the year. It's no wonder that they have the capital to make three two-hour specials just for the sake of traffic."

Kitagawa Rumi shook her head, restarted the automatic filtering system in her mind, and simply changed the subject:

"Speaking of which, how's Abiko's momentum lately?"

With the rise and increasing popularity of online live streaming in the past two years, in order to adapt to the gradually changing industry environment, the three members of the ACE group also followed the trend and began to try to further communicate with fans through live streaming.

MEM啾 is now doing very well on the short video platform Tiktok, while Samejima Abiko followed Kitagawa Ryo's previous advice and drew a set of two-dimensional virtual characters for herself for live broadcasts. Her personality has improved a lot over the years, and now she doesn't have to face the audience directly. Combined with her painting skills that are not inferior to those of professional-level artists, the live broadcast effect is really good, attracting many viewers who originally only stayed in the virtual anchor circle. After being promoted by old fans in the live broadcast room that the person in the middle is also a member of an active popular idol group, and an equally cute beautiful girl, she rebelled on the spot and gained a lot of popularity.

Compared to the two of them, Kitagawa Rumi's live broadcast is quite inferior. After all, she is neither like Samejima Abiko who stays behind the suit to play the role of a virtual anchor, nor like MEM啾 who frequently appears on camera in person. Most of the time, she either lets her dolls broadcast on her behalf or calls Hotaru at home to lie in front of the camera. The content is basically meaningless chatter, and she ends the broadcast on time every time. It is estimated that only the most loyal fans who only support her singles can continue to watch.

"Momentum? It's really good. The character design pictures and the first two episodes of Tokyo BLADE that I released during the live broadcast a few days ago received good responses. Some platforms even came to me for consultation on related matters. Although compared to the work itself, it seems more like they were attracted by our popularity and traffic."

"If there is a suitable opportunity, Abiko can indeed consider officially serializing it. After all, it has always been your dream to draw a popular comic of your own."

Samejima Abiko was also stunned when she heard this. She remained silent for a while before she spoke again:

"But Ruby knows that I haven't finished this work yet. I only have about a dozen chapters in hand. If I really want to start serializing it, I don't have enough time or energy."

"Then don't be an idol."

"Ok?"

As if she didn't immediately understand what Kitagawa Rumi said, Samejima Abiko showed a rare moved expression. She turned her head and looked directly into her friend's pupils, but received a somewhat apologetic look.

"Actually, I know that Abiko agreed to my request to become an idol together simply to take care of me. It's like I'm forcing my dreams on you. Since Abiko has found a way to realize her dream, she should go for it."

"Besides, if Abiko can really turn Tokyo BLADE into a phenomenal work, wouldn't that be supporting me in disguise?"

Samejima Abiko pursed her lips and was a little moved. Just as Kitagawa Rumi said, her passion for the idol profession was not as sincere and ardent as that of her other two teammates.

"But—we haven't been to Tokyo Dome yet."

"Tokyo Dome..."

After hearing the name, Kitagawa Rumi inexplicably reached out and touched her chest. After the wedding, she had given up the boring and meaningless little action in the past. She would no longer compare herself in front of the mirror and patiently trim the rope of the pendant that she had worn for several years until it would naturally fall to her chest.

It was not until her sixteenth birthday last month that Kitagawa Rumi tried to adjust it again after a long time. Compared with a few years ago, the pendant no longer fell smoothly along the open plain, but instead swooshed across the valley between the two peaks and fell straight down.

Since then, similar scenes have continued to flash in Kitagawa Rumi's mind.

Lying flat in the bathtub on the second floor, if she stretched her legs forward, she could faintly touch the other end of the bathtub.

The doll that I have held for so many years now seems to have shrunk and become a tiny one.

Although there have been talks of amending it, the legal marriageable age for women is still sixteen.

[Note: It will not be officially raised to 2022 years old until ]

"Don't worry about that, Abi. In fact, my brother has already told me that with our current popularity and the number of audiences we expect to mobilize, we have already reached the level to perform at the Tokyo Dome."

Kitagawa Rumi said slowly, holding her chin in her hand, that when she was still an idol chaser, Tokyo Dome was still a very distant goal that could even be considered a dream.

But as she officially entered this circle and began her idol career under the care of her brother and president, Kitagawa Ryo, she learned more and knew more rules.

The highest stage that was regarded as a lifelong ideal by Saito Ichito and that made B Komachi and Hoshino Ai struggle for eight years to reach might just be a stage for others to debut.

For example, the industry leader, Johnny & Associates, to which Takuya Kimura belonged in the past, planned debut concerts for its two idol boy groups, Hey!Say!JUMP and Kis-My-Ft2, at the Tokyo Dome in the previous two years. The average age of the former when they took the stage was only fifteen years old, and the latter debuted in the same month and took the stage at the Tokyo Dome that same month, which took less than thirty days.

Kitagawa Ryo originally separated himself from the agency and went to great lengths to set up an agency under his own name. In addition to being a preparation for marrying Hoshino Ai, it was also to separate himself from the identity of an artist and to communicate and cooperate with other companies in the industry on a more equal footing.

Kitagawa Rumi herself is also aware that although her brother always says that he will not care about her after her debut, ACE has been able to get to where it is now because he has always been protecting and supporting them.

However, every time she vaguely brought up the topic, her brother would always say righteously, "As the president, it is natural for me to care about the public opinion and living conditions of the artists in the company. It is a manifestation of responsibility."

I don’t know where he learned it from.

But Kitagawa Rumi still enjoys the feeling of being pampered and loved.

To the point that even today, she can no longer foresee whether she will first appear on the Tokyo Dome stage as an active super popular idol girl, or -

Kitagawa Rumi lowered her eyes and stared at the dark shadow cast by the sunlight under her feet. Her pupils, which were facing away from the light, seemed to be dyed a dark red hue.

Can't help but become a disqualified sister?

-------------------------------------

Miyazaki Prefecture.

"If I tell Liang now that I want a child, will Liang agree?"

Hoshino Ai, who was walking on a mountain path, suddenly spoke to Kitagawa Ryo who was walking side by side with her.

"Is it because you saw Goro's son?"

As if he had anticipated that Hoshino Ai would ask this question, Kitagawa Ryoya had prepared his own answer, although this answer was just throwing back another question.

Before the two of them prepared to go abroad to celebrate their third wedding anniversary, Kitagawa Ryo and Hoshino Ai also made a special trip to Miyazaki to meet the son that Goro Amemiya and his wife had just given birth to not long ago. During the visit, they laughed and joked, "If the child was born earlier, I would have wanted to take him to appear in a TV drama, so that you two father and son would be equal in the entertainment industry."

The TV series he was talking about here is the New Year special of "It's Not My Fault That I'm Popular" which was aired not long ago. The content of the first episode is basically the story of the Tsuzaki couple preparing for pregnancy, getting pregnant, and finally giving birth to a baby.

In fact, on the set during the filming, Kitagawa Ryo had already noticed that Hoshino Ai showed a special attitude towards the fake baby who was the fruit of their love in the play. After seeing that his friend whom he had known for a long time also successfully had his own child today, it was not surprising that he would bring this up again.

“That’s the reason.”

As the person who thinks she knows Kitagawa Ryo best in the world, Hoshino Ai sensed her husband's attitude just from his words and kicked a stone on the side of the road in a sullen manner:

"The special episode of 'It's Not My Fault That I'm Not Popular' received such a good response, so it's inevitable that people will have expectations in this regard."

"Love, do you still remember how you confessed to me?"

"…Why are you suddenly saying this? She'll be a very good mother or something like that."

After hearing Kitagawa Ryo suddenly ask this question, Hoshino Ai also felt inexplicably shy, mainly because she remembered the various postures dominated by each other and the various lines that he loved in the three years after their marriage.

“So this is what I think.”

"It's different from the love that I'm prepared for. I don't think I'm ready to be a father yet. I don't know how to raise and educate my own children if they are born."

After saying this, Beichuan Liang also smiled at his wife beside him:

"But I won't let love wait too long. Wulang told me that it's best for a woman to get pregnant before she turns 30. In just two or three years, I will give love an answer."

"Ah."

Hoshino Ai nodded and agreed. After receiving this relatively affirmative answer, her heart calmed down again. She held Kitagawa Ryo's left hand again and stopped talking about this topic.

Any emotion cannot withstand temptation and doubt.

Of course she knew this.

However...after the two of them come back from vacation, they can indeed try to get Rumi to move out and live alone.

Chapter 5: New Project

It had just rained heavily in Tokyo in May. After the rain subsided, Kitagawa Ryo stood in the corridor on the third floor of his house and slightly opened the window.

The courtyard he faced was planted with large tracts of green plants. The grass leaves, which had become even greener due to the rain, seemed to have suddenly grown taller. The air was filled with the scent of rain, mixed with the not-unpleasant smell of earth and plants. The fine raindrops were denser than expected. Even though there were only a few cracks in the window, Beichuan Liang's cheeks were soon wetted by the breeze mixed with the drizzle, and he soon felt a little bit of coolness.

But Beichuan Liang turned a deaf ear to all of this. Rather, he needed these very things. He needed the drizzle blowing on his face to help clear his confused brain and cool down his blood-soaked skin.

Just now, he ended the most serious argument with Ai since they got married, or even since they met. They had just happily and carefreely ended their third wedding anniversary trip.

Before he knew it, the drizzle outside the window had completely stopped. Beichuan Liang leaned against the window frame, supported his chin and looked out into the distance. For some reason, he had the idea that he should smoke a cigarette at this time.

He has no habit of smoking, although he learned to smoke when filming "Tokyo Tower" two years ago in order to play the self-depraved protagonist, and learned many of the movements and gestures of a heavy smoker, but he quickly quit after the filming and never touched it again.

But at this moment, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly understood the mentality of a bunch of smokers he knew, such as Gotanda Yasushi and Saito Ichigo.

Looking back at the closed bedroom door behind him, Beichuan Liang took a deep breath, and walked down the stairs slowly. His footsteps were heavy, and his steps were so loud that they could even be heard.

After he and Ai returned from their vacation, the other party tentatively proposed to him that Kitagawa Rumii should move out, but Kitagawa Ryo naturally would not agree. The two of them became more and more heated about the issue, and by the end of the argument they were already arguing with their faces red. Fortunately, they both retained their rationality and decency, and each took a step back and said that they would ask the other party what he thought when Rumii came home from school today to see what the other person meant.

However, couples who live together will always have arguments, otherwise there wouldn't be the saying "quarrel at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed". In the past three years, they sometimes disagreed and argued for a while over various things.

But when Beichuan Liang came to his senses and reviewed the situation again, even he himself felt that his attitude at that time was a little abnormally extreme, and it was precisely his extremism that made the reaction of love become much greater than usual.

Is it because this time it involves her younger sister Kitagawa Rumi?

It's obvious that in the past three years, Ai would often set some family rules for Rumi, such as washing and drying her own clothes, not going out after 10 o'clock in the evening, and the curfew at home is also during this time. If you don't come home at night, you need to tell her in advance or it's cold, and it's best not to wear only close-fitting underwear at home unless you are in your own bedroom, etc.

"Well, I'm back from vacation. Thank you for your hard work these days, Mr. Izaki. I'll come to the company soon... It's okay. I'm in good shape and don't need to rest. I've adjusted to the time difference."

After taking out his cell phone from his pocket and making a brief call with Mr. Izaki, Kitagawa Ryo walked into the underground parking lot, inserted the key, started his car and drove out of the yard.

At the last moment before leaving, he rolled down the right front window and took another deep look at the third floor of his house.