They all pushed me!

As the person who had stayed with Kurokawa Akane for several nights at the first opportunity, Kitagawa Rumie naturally knew that the other party was not as strong as she showed to the outside world. Just like doctors often cannot heal themselves, even if she learned a lot of psychology knowledge, when her own psychological problems began to occur, she had no way to deal with it and did not even notice it.

"I had originally invited Xiao Qian to come over and play with us today, but she's been busy with her new drama recently. Even though filming hasn't even started yet, it seems like she's already had a lot of private rehearsals with Kana. Reporters even snapped a photo of the two of them entering the LALALAI Theater building together, although their current publicity strategies are indeed tied together."

At this point, Kitagawa Rumi spread her hands half helplessly and half melancholy:

"But sometimes I also think that if Xiao Qian can temporarily divert her attention through acting, it seems to be a good thing."

"Indeed, and it can make money."

For MEM, who also comes from a single-parent family, the economic aspect is always a topic that cannot be avoided. Although Kurokawa Akane's family does not have two extra younger brothers to support and their original foundation is much stronger than hers, she still said this subconsciously.

"Well, it seems that my brother is also planning to change the profit sharing when the contract is renewed next time, just like when MEME啾 did."

"Well, isn't this a conscientious president?"

MEM啾 said this jokingly, but she was touched in her heart. On the day she signed the contract with the agency a few years ago, she actually noticed the preferential treatment given to her by Kitagawa Ryo. At that time, Kitagawa Ryo did not sign the entire ACE, but signed contracts with each of the three members of the group separately, so that they could carry out other commercial activities besides idol activities, and the proportion of profit sharing was also quite generous. This was also one of the most important reasons why she was able to quickly change the family's financial situation in the past two years and let her mother, who had been working hard for three children until now and was in poor health, rest assured to recuperate.

"But speaking of money, it seems like the one among the three of us who earns the most money has remained silent? Hmm? The current super popular genius bishoujo manga artist, Ms. Samejima Abiko?"

Being suddenly called out by Kitagawa Rumi, Samejima Abiko also rolled her eyes:

"What are those messed up prefixes in front of it? I'm not like Ruby, who cares so much about being super popular or a beautiful girl."

"This is not my original idea. Anyway, it is still very useful as a gimmick to attract passers-by. No matter how well Abiko's "Tokyo BLADE" is drawn, it still has to trick people first."

Kitagawa Rumi smiled and hugged Samejima Abiko's neck from behind, looking even happier than she actually was:

"It looks like an anime adaptation has already begun, right? The next step should be a 2.5-dimensional stage play, right? Right?"

"Yes, yes, I am really defeated by Ruby."

Samejima Abiko sighed and felt that the biggest mistake she had made in her life was being stopped in kindergarten by Rumi, who had the same smile as she did now. It could be considered a bad fate.

It has been almost a year since the official serialization of "Tokyo BLADE". Because it is a weekly magazine, it has been published in over 50 issues and six volumes of the book have been released. With the popularity of the work rising steadily, the animation was soon decided.

"It should be this year's October anime. I've been to the set twice and everything is going well. It's a wonderful feeling to see the characters I wrote move and talk."

Recalling what she had seen and heard on the set some time ago, Samejima Abiko nodded with satisfaction, as if she couldn't wait to see the final product.

"That's good. After all, I've seen many adaptations of popular works turned out to be a mess. The animations were underfunded, and the live-action movies were too distorted. It was so embarrassing to watch."

Kitagawa Rumi nodded with a sense of relief, and said with a blush:

"But I still have to say that Abiko's Shibuya Protest is so well drawn. I can see a lot of fan works of BLADE and Shoji just by searching recently."

Compared to the unpopular and even weird ones that she had to customize as an anonymous sponsor, the CP article of herself and Ryo, as the hot IP that has already announced the animation of Akane, the number of netizens on various platforms on the Internet who are following the male protagonist and Shoji in "Tokyo BLADE" is really astonishing. The various secondary creations and fan articles make Kitagawa Rumi feel satisfied as if she fell into a candy jar, and her eyes are a little straight and she can't see them all.

"I've seen a lot of them, too. It seems that many people think that the male protagonist BLADE looks a bit like Ryo. Some people even used Ryo's scenes from Rurouni Kenshin to make secondary creation videos."

MEM啾 who was standing by also joined the conversation with great interest.

"After all, it was originally drawn based on Ryo's face. Since many people have noticed it, I might as well just write that the inspiration for Tokyo BLADE came from Ryo in the author interview next time."

Samejima Abiko seemed indifferent. She even made some changes when she was drawing the Scabbard Princess, but the protagonist BLADE still faithfully followed her earliest setting. It can even be said that it was exactly the ancient swordsman style of Kitagawa Ryo. Anyway, Kitagawa Ryo himself had known it and acquiesced to it.

Although he certainly didn't expect at that time that "Tokyo BLADE", which looked like just a child's doodle, would now be on its way to becoming a big hit.

"Eh? Is it okay to admit it directly like this?"

MEM啾 asked with some confusion.

"It's okay. In fact, many fans have almost dug it out. After all, I was a member of ACE before, and ACE is a group under Ryo's personal agency. And I didn't intend to hide it when I drew it. The character's birthday is the same as the real Ryo."

Samejima Abiko crossed her legs and explained calmly:

"Besides, there are many authors in the industry who like to use people around them as prototypes for their characters. I didn't deliberately try to discredit Liang. If I admit it openly, it will just lead to a few more 'double-chef ecstasy' comments."

"What about me and Shoji?"

Upon hearing this, Kitagawa Rumi asked with anticipation.

"Love really makes girls stupid—"

Samejima Abiko sighed deeply, reached out her hand and tapped Rumi's forehead twice:

"First, I admit that the protagonist is based on Ryo. Then, the prototype of Scabbard, who is engaged to him, is Ruby. If we tell anyone, we will both be enraged."

"Well...but I'm still thinking about acting in stage plays and comic-adapted movies with my brother."

Kitagawa Rumi covered her forehead and sobbed.

"It's okay for acting, but I can't admit it. It's not uncommon for artists in the entertainment industry to sell siblings, such as the voice actors Uchida Maaya and Uchida Yuuma who I met on the set just now. Ruby, you know, it's because the public thinks this is really impossible that they are willing to half-jokingly accept and play with this aspect of the joke. For example, Ryo was previously labeled a sister complex, and every time Ryo comes to Ruby's house, reporters don't care."

"understood."

Kitagawa Rumi nodded obediently, indicating that she completely understood.

But what none of the three people expected was that before Samejima Abiko could reveal in the next author interview that Kitagawa Ryo was the source of inspiration for her creation of "Tokyo BLADE", the other party's name was first said by someone they were all very familiar with.

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

After the press conference for the official start of the new drama "Pests" directed and written by Gotanda, and starring Kitagawa Ryo, Kurokawa Akane, and Arima Kana, a large number of reporters surrounded the leading actors with their microphones for interviews. Kurokawa Akane, who was already quite familiar with this situation, randomly pointed to a man in the front row, and the other party immediately spoke excitedly:

"Hello, Ms. Kurokawa. I am Yamagami, a reporter from Daily Entertainment. This is Ms. Kurokawa's second time starring in a TV series after Tomorrow, Dad and Mom Are Away. How are you feeling now?"

"Well, first of all, I would like to thank all the fans who have always supported me and encouraged me. As for my mood, right now, I just want to give back and respond to the expectations of the fans through hard performances."

"Hello, Ms. Kurokawa. I am Nakamura, a reporter from Weekly Bunshun. I would like to ask what you would like to say about the incident in which our reporter photographed you and Ms. Arima entering the LALALAI club building together some time ago?"

"That was just Kana and I practicing our acting skills in the practice room in the theater building. This was also to present the best state in the play. As you know, Kana and I have always had this kind of relationship."

"Hello, Ms. Kurokawa. I'm Murata, a reporter from the Mainichi Entertainment News. This is your first time working with the well-known director Gotanda. At the press conference just now, he spoke highly of you. What do you think of him?"

"Director Gotanda has always been a favorite director of mine. Spider and Homeless Children, which he directed, are also my favorite works. It is a great honor for me to get his recognition and work with him. I will also work hard."

After three or five questions, Kurokawa Akane felt a little bored. Just when she thought the time was about up and was about to end the interview, she suddenly heard a familiar question.

"Ms. Kurokawa has been very popular among teenagers recently. Would you like to tell us about your ideal type?"

I don't know what made him feel that way, but as if possessed by some strange ghost, Kurokawa Akane raised his eyes to the camera, and spoke calmly under the dazzling flash lights:

"Since I started learning acting, Liang-senpai has been my idol and my mentor. If I were to talk about an ideal type, he would be my ideal partner..."

"it's him."

“…Only him.”

Chapter 37: Emergency Public Relations

As soon as Kurokawa Akane's words came out, there was an uproar among the reporters around him. The commotion was so loud that it even attracted the attention of his colleagues who were interviewing Arima Kana and Gotanda Yasushi nearby, and they all turned their eyes over here.

"…That was the last question."

Kurokawa Akane, who had just come to her senses at this time, also reacted and immediately took two steps back, leaving the circle of reporters, avoiding the microphones that were coming so close to her and almost touching her nose because of her previous answer, and hurriedly returned to the backstage.

However, those reporters had no intention of chasing and intercepting them. After looking at each other, they dispersed tacitly. They were all eager to release the relevant reports as soon as possible. After all, the new drama "Pests" had just started filming, so how could it be as big of a gimmick as what Kurokawa Akane had just said?

"Did something happen over there? It seemed a little noisy."

Kurokawa Akane had just returned to the backstage with her head down when she ran into Mr. Izaki who had just finished explaining some things to the staff. The old man, who was over 70 years old this year, was still in good health. He nodded at her in a vigorous manner and asked with concern.

As the general manager of the agency's artist and agent affairs department, Mr. Izaki, who is getting older, has been doing some management work in the company. This was originally a way for Kitagawa Ryo to take care of him. However, since Kurokawa Akane's popularity has gradually increased and his family has experienced changes, Mr. Izaki, who knows that Kitagawa Ryo attaches great importance to this girl, has taken the initiative to express that he can come out again and be Kurokawa Akane's agent for a period of time.

Although Kurokawa Akane joined Kitagawa Ryo's personal agency a few years ago, before "Tomorrow, Mom and Dad Are Away", almost all of his activities were carried out in the LALALAI Theater Company, and various performances were basically handled by the troupe's head, Kindaichi Toshiro. But after "Tomorrow" became a success and Kurokawa Akane himself began to become famous in the entertainment industry, this management model was obviously no longer sufficient.

Unlike Kana Arima, who had her own agent Shoko Mida with whom she had worked for almost ten years, and Rumi Kitagawa, who directly hired Saito Kyoko, the wife of the president of the neighboring agency, as her agent, the issue of Akane Kurokawa's agent did trouble Kitagawa Ryo for a while, especially after the other party's father passed away.

This is also the main reason why Mr. Izaki took the initiative to apply for a transfer. After all, for him who is already childless at this age, the position, salary, and benefits are actually not that important. What's more, even if it is not out of love for the whole family, he also has a good impression of Kurokawa Akane.

Just like that, the agent Mr. Izaki took over all of Kurokawa Akane's affairs again, and Kurokawa Akane himself was quite happy about it. On the one hand, it was because Mr. Izaki, as a veteran agent, was skilled in business and had a good personality. On the other hand...

After all, the last artist he managed was named Kitagawa Ryo.

"Just now another reporter asked me about my ideal type."

"Why are these reporters still asking this kind of question? To minors..."

Mr. Izaki frowned and wanted to criticize them, but before he could finish his words, he heard Kurokawa Akane raise his head and add the second half of the sentence:

"I answered and said that Liang-senpai is my ideal dating partner."

Seeing Mr. Izaki's suddenly frozen expression, Kurokawa Akane also realized that he seemed to have made a rather problematic statement just now, and his voice unconsciously became a little lighter:

"...Will it cause trouble for everyone?"

"Can Chiyin repeat your answer again? It would be best if not a single word is wrong."

"Since I started learning acting, Liang-senpai has been my idol and my mentor. If I were to talk about my ideal type, he would be my ideal partner, and only him."

"it does not matter."

After thinking for a while, Mr. Izaki seemed to have come up with a public relations plan. He nodded solemnly and comforted him:

"The rest will be handed over to the agent and the company's PR. I'll communicate with Director Gotanda and announce this to the public as a promotional plan for Pest. After all, Akane mentioned the teacher in her speech, and this movie happens to be about a teacher-student relationship. We can say that this is actually what Akane's character Sachiko wanted to say to Ogata Satoshi, played by Ryo, and it was arranged in advance by the company. We can combine it with Akane's answer of 'no' when she was asked about her ideal type in a previous interview and release it together."

"After all, when such a sensitive topic comes up, most people will let it slide for a while. As long as an answer like 'it seems more resonant and credible' is thrown out at this time, many people will naturally think that this is the truth. Compared to the tabloid media that will hype up the topic to a vulgar level without any bottom line, there should be a considerable number of netizens who will not think that Akane is serious. After all, Ryo is already married, and Akane is only fourteen years old."

"Well, this reminds me of when Ryo was a child star, many idols in the industry would say Ryo's name to get around the issue when asked about their ideal type or favorite artist of the opposite sex. From this perspective, we can come up with another PR plan."

After listening to Mr. Izaki's methodical and lighthearted resolution of the entire matter, Kurokawa Akane breathed a sigh of relief and bowed slightly, saying:

"I'm really sorry to have caused you trouble."

"It's okay. If it's handled well, maybe it can gather some traffic and attention for Pest in advance. Akane just needs to pay more attention next time. Well, come with me to find Director Gotanda first. We need his cooperation on this matter."

Mr. Izaki smiled. Just as Kurokawa Akane was listening to his words and turned around to find Gotanda Yasushi and other staff to discuss emergency public relations matters, he heard Mr. Izaki's tone with some hesitation, as if he was hesitating about asking the last question.

"...Speaking of which, what kind of statement did Akane make just now?"

Of the two PR plans he described, the first is to break the fourth wall of collaboration between characters and actors both on and off the screen for popularity, and the second is to choose the best answer to deal with such issues once and for all.

After asking this question, Mr. Izaki stared intently at the changes in Kurokawa Akane's expression, but he always felt as if he already knew the other party's answer.

"Can it be true?"

Kurokawa Akane finally answered the question with a question. She tilted her little face slightly upwards and looked at Mr. Izaki seriously in a declarative tone. Her slightly trembling blue-purple pupils suddenly made him vaguely remember another girl who had been with Kitagawa Ryo more than ten years ago.

“…I have no way to answer that.”

At this moment, Mr. Izaki realized what kind of whirlpool he, a "love expert" who had been talking about it on paper for decades, had been drawn into. Not knowing what to say for a moment, he made up his mind and decisively threw this troublesome mess to the other party:

"Akaine should ask Ryo."

"Let's go, let's deal with the things at hand first."

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

Ryo Kitagawa, who had just flown back from London and had not yet adjusted to the jet lag, just returned to Tokyo and saw the overwhelming news about Kurokawa Akane and himself on the Internet. It made him, who was a little drowsy, wake up again. After covering Ai, who was exhausted and had fallen asleep, Ryo Kitagawa walked out of the bedroom, made a cup of coffee in the kitchen, and called Mr. Izaki while drinking the coffee.

After learning the whole story from the other party, Beichuan Liang also nodded:

"This emergency PR is pretty good. What's the current trend of public opinion?"

"It's nothing now. After all, he's just an ideal type, and Ryo is already married. Except for a few unscrupulous media outlets that are still using this incident to hype up the divorce of Ryo and Ai, everyone else basically thinks it's just a promotional plan for Pest. To be honest, Director Gotanda gets more criticism than Akane. After all, his teacher-student romance theme was suspected of riding on the popularity of the film, and this time many people accused him of using underage actors for improper publicity."

"Of course, many people, under our guidance, thought that Chi Yin's answer was just a perfunctory response to such questions. Many people even protested and expressed their hope that reporters would no longer ask such sexually suggestive questions to underage artists."

"That really is unfair to Gotanda. I'll have to treat him to a drink next time."

Beichuan Liang also smiled when he heard this. Just when he was about to hang up the phone, he heard Mr. Izaki on the other end suddenly speak in a serious tone:

"Does Liang have no other opinions on this matter? For example, why would Akane say this?"

"I just got into the role. Actors who are experienced sometimes bring the emotions of the characters in the play into reality. And Chiyin encountered something like that some time ago, so it's normal to have such a reaction. Just like you said, in the final analysis, isn't it just an ideal type?"

Mr. Izaki sighed on the other end of the phone. Every time he tried to convince himself, he would always remember Kurokawa Akane's last look, and answered tiredly:

"...Anyway, it's Liang's own business. Well, it would be great if it were really like this."

"This is also caused by many accidental factors. After some time, when Chiyin grows up a little bit, this shouldn't be the case anymore."

Speaking of this, I don’t know if it was an illusion, but Beichuan Liang always felt that his words sounded a little familiar, as if he had said the same thing to other people a few years ago.

After ending the call with Mr. Izaki, Kitagawa Ryo discovered that Kurokawa Akane had sent him several messages a minute ago, and it seemed that he had learned from somewhere that he had returned to Tokyo.

"Ryo-senpai, I'm really sorry that my mistake in speaking has caused trouble to you and Ai-nee, to Mr. Izaki, to Director Gotanda, and to many others."

"Please don't take the content of my speech to heart for now. I was probably too tired during this period, so I answered without thinking and just said it subconsciously."

"I am also glad that the incident did not get out of hand. Senior Liang should have returned to Tokyo not long ago. I am very sorry to bother you. Please make sure to have a good rest."

After looking at Kurokawa Akane's message for a long time, Kitagawa Ryo replied briefly:

"I understand. Chiyin should also have a good rest."

After confirming that the message he sent had been read, Beichuan Ryo put away his phone, yawned all the way, walked back to the bedroom, and lay down on the bed.