They all pushed me!

"Well, the results were just checked out two days ago. Abizi, remember to keep it a secret."

"understood."

Samejima Abiko just nodded in response and turned around and joined the two people's formation naturally. She was a former idol who graduated from the group in the second half of last year, so she had not forgotten it very clearly. After adapting a little, she easily followed the movements of the two people.

"By the way, have Ruby and MEM-chu's graduation speeches been prepared?"

"Well, I wrote two copies here. The short one is for speaking on the spot, and the long one is for reading in the live thank you speech after graduation."

MEM nodded and replied. The seven or eight years of idol career, including the trainee career, had indeed completely changed the life trajectory of her and her entire family. She smiled a little embarrassedly:

“It just got so long as I wrote it.”

"Ah, mine is very short, but I thought about it for a long time."

Kitagawa Rumi tilted her head slightly and took the initiative to read out the graduation speech she had written in advance, which she was going to give on the second day of the performance, which was also the last day:

"I really want to thank the fans who came here yesterday and today, and those who couldn't come to the scene for their support over the years. This is not the result of my own efforts, but the support of everyone, which has made ACE what it is today. Once again, I sincerely thank every audience and staff member for allowing me to see today's grand occasion at the end of my idol career. I am already very satisfied in this life. Although I am very reluctant, idol Kitagawa Rumi has decided to officially graduate today."

The first half can be said to be a completely standard and stereotyped article, but when it comes to this, Kitagawa Rumi suddenly changes the subject and says the second half:

"As for the rest of my life, I haven't actually decided what I want to do, but maybe, starting tomorrow I can fall in love?"

"Who knows, you might become the lover of one of the audience members—"

“Maybe one of you will be able to honestly say to others, ‘My lover is Ruby’!”

After listening to Kitagawa Rumi's graduation speech, in which she couldn't hold back her laughter as the speech went on, Samejima Abiko and MEM-chu looked at each other helplessly and shook their heads at the same time.

At first glance, it seems like he is the most gentle idol who is still creating dreams for his fans at the last moment of graduation.

But if it comes from Kitagawa Rumi's mouth...

Isn't this a confession that couldn't be more obvious?

It’s customary to touch one day at the beginning of the month.

The third volume is about to enter its final stage. The fourth volume will be set more than a year later and will also be the final volume.

I hope to accompany you all on this final journey. After all, there is probably no one on the entire Internet who has completed a million-word book. Thank you all for supporting this book all the way to now.

Chapter 5: Single-Parent Families (k)

Just like Kitagawa Rumi still needs to prepare for ACE's Tokyo Dome performance a week later, the fact that she is pregnant does not mean that time will stop or fast-forward. After chatting with the best obstetrician and gynecologist she could contact and the person she trusted the most, Goro Amamiya, for half a night, Kitagawa Ryo, who still had a filming task to do, yawned and opened his eyes on time in the early morning of the next day thanks to his regular biological clock.

After slightly pulling the corner of the quilt for Ai who was still sleeping beside him, Beichuan Liang got out of bed quietly, put on his slippers, rubbed his eyes and walked out of the bedroom. As soon as he closed the door, he felt his right shoulder sink. He turned his head slightly and saw the proud kitten standing there.

"Good morning, Ying. I'll feed you later."

Reaching out casually to touch the other's forehead, Beichuan Liang walked all the way to the sink. Because Ai was pregnant, Ying's cat food bowl and litter box were naturally moved back to the second floor from the third floor, and the tasks of feeding and cleaning the poop were also given to him.

After washing up carefully in front of the mirror, the remaining sleepiness in Beichuan Liang's mind completely disappeared. He opened the window in the corridor, took a few deep breaths in the rising morning light with full energy, and then went downstairs briskly with the white cat, who once again seized the opportunity to jump onto his shoulder from the stair railing.

He poured in the cat food and cleaned the cat litter in an orderly manner, sorted the garbage into garbage bags and threw them into the yard, prepared two portions of breakfast in the kitchen, ate one and put the other in the refrigerator, and put a reminder note on the door of the refrigerator. Then, Kitagawa Ryo walked into the underground parking lot and prepared to drive to today's shooting set.

The news of Ai's pregnancy is now only circulated among a small circle of relatives and friends whom he trusts very much. He plans to announce it to the public and the media after the baby is actually born. After all, the incident when his extreme fans sent threatening letters to Ai when the two officially announced their relationship is still vivid in their minds. Kitagawa Ryo himself also plans to put his work aside for a while after the filming of the new drama "Pests" is completed, and accompany his wife wholeheartedly before she gives birth.

When Kitagawa Ryo arrived at the set, it was already quite lively. Perhaps because the filming in Miyazaki was going more smoothly than expected, the crew members were very motivated. Yasushi Gotanda sat in the middle and arranged the personnel and matters in an orderly manner:

"Has Miss Kamata arrived? Tell her to change her clothes and put on makeup as soon as possible."

"Please speed up the set and camera adjustments for the first scene. Shooting will officially begin in ten minutes - please prepare the props for the third shot in advance."

Kitagawa Ryo had just glanced at the equally motivated director with interest when he felt someone tugging at the hem of his clothes from behind. The moment he turned around, he met the smiling face of Arima Kana, who seemed to be holding something in her hand.

After half cooperating and being dragged to a remote corner by the other party, Arima Kana finally showed the things in her hand. They were two small things, obviously a scarf and a bib for babies. At the same time, she leaned forward and whispered:

"I heard from Ruby that Sister Ai is pregnant. Consider these as my congratulatory gifts... well, if they can be of any use."

Actually, Arimakana originally wanted to make two pairs of shoes and socks, but there are taboos in the gift-giving customs in Japan, especially between younger generations and older generations. If you give shoes and socks as a gift, it will make people feel that you are looking down on them. So in the end, she changed it to a scarf that she had been knitting very well in the past two years and a bib that should be useful.

"Thank you for the gift, Kana."

Kitagawa Ryo was slightly stunned and then accepted the gift with a smile. On the one hand, Magana was indeed very good at this. Although the scarves she hand-knitted for him in the past two years were not as bright and beautiful as those in other stores, they were quite thick, warm and durable. On the other hand, after all, this was also a token of her love.

After accepting Arima Kana's gift, Beichuan Liang also had an idea and asked casually:

"It seems Kana's birthday is coming soon too."

"Well, there's less than half a month left."

"Is it still the same as before? What flavor would Kana like to eat this time?"

Kitagawa Ryo naturally did not forget the ten-year agreement between him and Arima Kana to give a birthday cake as a return gift. After carefully folding the two gifts and putting them into his bag, he looked up again in the direction of Arima Kana and asked with a smile.

To his surprise, Arima Kana did not give a fixed taste as an answer like before. Instead, she hesitated for a moment before finally speaking:

"This year, I want to give it a try with Senior Liang."

As she spoke, she also explained in a somewhat flustered tone:

"After all, Senior Liang has been working alone before. As for this year... Look, I have also learned a lot about cooking from Akane. If I can help out - it should be no problem."

"Then let's go together."

Beichuan Liang could see a little bit of his junior's thoughts, but he didn't intend to expose them. After thinking for a while, he nodded and agreed:

"Kana can also DIY the pattern and style of the cake by then."

Because the shooting was about to officially begin, after simply saying these two sentences to Kana Arima, Kitagawa Ryo quickly walked into the preparation room, quickly changed into his clothes and put on makeup, and quickly went over the lines and script with Kana Arima again.

There was no scene with Akane Kurokawa in today's filming. In this case, whether an actor comes to the set or not is basically up to their own wishes. However, we haven't seen her yet, so she probably won't come. After all, she still has to take care of her studies, and now is not the spring break or summer vacation, so she should be going to school.

From this aspect, Kitagawa Ryo could understand Ai's idea of ​​wanting a child as well-behaved and sensible as Akane. After all, in addition to his performance, he remembered that Kurokawa Akane was also very talented in studying. He was also serious and hardworking, and his deviation value was always among the best in the school. He was simply a template for other people's children in every sense.

He naturally thought of his own sister, who had grown up with Akane and was a reincarnated person but was completely clueless about studying. Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help but sigh again.

When he thought of Rumi, who had been clamoring to become an actress for some time, Kitagawa Ryo had the urge to lock her in a small dark room to let her read for a few days and nights. Otherwise, he would suspect that the new actress Kitagawa Rumi would be in a tragic situation where she got the script and found that she could neither recognize the words nor understand it.

After all, there are quite a lot of words in Japanese that have different pronunciations and writings. In addition, the script often uses Chinese characters that are quite familiar to him but a bit of a nightmare for most Japanese. It is really hard for Kitagawa Ryo not to worry about his sister. Anyway, it took him a long time just to teach Hoshino Ai to recognize words.

As the clapperboard was raised and then lowered, Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to temporarily suppress all these chaotic thoughts into the deepest part of his mind, and as an actor, he was ready to take the stage.

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

What was somewhat unexpected for Yasushi Gotanda was that when the filming was halfway through, Akane Kurokawa, who was originally not scheduled to have any scenes today, suddenly came to the scene. She looked like she had just got out of school and was still wearing her junior high school uniform. The combination of a white shirt, red tie, pleated skirt and handbag naturally exuded a strong youthful atmosphere. She stood on the sidelines with a girlish smile, watching Kitagawa Ryo in the field. Her eyes seemed to be glued to him, just like a girl waiting for her boyfriend at the gate of a junior high school.

"Hey, why are you here?"

"After school, I thought it was still early, so I came to take a look."

In response to Gotanda Yasushi's question, Kurokawa Akane answered immediately, but his eyes were still fixed on the field. He wrinkled his nose with some concern and dissatisfaction, pursed his lips, and muttered to himself in a low voice:

"It feels...something's not right."

"What's wrong?"

Although Gotanda Yasushi was often described as stubborn by the outside world, he was quite willing to respect the opinions of the girl who was also the scriptwriter of this play. Therefore, when Kurokawa Akane started talking to herself, he immediately responded:

"If Chiyin has any ideas, just say it directly."

"Ah."

Kurokawa Akane nodded, and simply sorted out his thoughts. After making a rough draft in his mind, he slowly spoke:

"This part of the plot is about an everyday plot in which Ogata Satoshi, who has already semi-confirmed his relationship with Sachiko after the hot spring trip, decides to find a chance to confess to his daughter, but he can't find a good opportunity, fearing that the relationship that the father and daughter have repaired with great difficulty will be destroyed again."

"Ryo-senpai has indeed found the feeling of playing the role of a father, but the character settings of a father and a single father, or the emotions and details that should be expressed, are also different."

At this point, Kurokawa Akane also took the initiative to pause, turned his head to look at Gotanda Yasushi beside him and asked:

"Because he is a single father, the director's idea is that Ogata Satoshi's love for Natsuko should be doubled in a state of guilt, right?"

"That's right."

Yasushi Gotanda nodded. Although he did not point this out explicitly in the script, Kitagawa Ryo, who was always good at reading scripts, still figured out his thoughts. His acting skills were as superb as ever, so in his eyes there was nothing that needed to be pointed out.

Kurokawa Akane was about to continue explaining when Kitagawa Ryo, who was filming in the studio, suddenly frowned and interrupted his lines. He bowed slightly to apologize to the staff around him and his co-star, Arima Kana:

"Sorry, I feel something is wrong, can you do it again?"

Because Kitagawa Ryo's previous shots were mostly approved in one take, and he was quite polite this time, the crew members didn't feel any resentment. They just turned their eyes to Gotanda Yasushi, who was making the decision, and waited for his response.

"Ryo, Kana, come over here for a moment."

Seeing that the other party's reaction was almost identical to that of Kurokawa Akane just now, Gotanda Yasushi also had an idea and called Kitagawa Ryo and Arima Kana over:

"It just so happens that Akane also felt something was wrong just now. Can you two discuss it together? What about Kana? When you were acting opposite Ryo just now, did you feel anything was wrong?"

"A little, indeed, but I can't really put my finger on it."

Arima Kane is also a very serious actor. He walked over and said thoughtfully:

"In my opinion, the so-called single-parent family is actually one person acting as both the father and the mother. Senior Liang has indeed shown this effect, but I always feel that something is missing."

Beichuan Liang also nodded when he heard this, and spoke out his thoughts:

"I had a similar thought when I was performing just now. In my opinion, Ogata Satoshi wanted to show the delicacy and tenderness of a mother as much as possible to make up for the missing role in the family. However, he has been accustomed to playing the role of a taciturn father in the past ten years. This is a contradictory and complicated mentality."

Upon hearing this, Arima Kana also nodded in agreement. At least in the performance just now with Kitagawa Ryo, she felt this deep emotion in the other person's words and actions.

It must be said that she had actually dreamed of such a situation when she was young.

After all, for a long period of time, rather than being raised by a single mother, it would be more accurate to say that she spent more time with and liked Kitagawa Ryo, a father-like figure.

"Well, he wants to love his daughter for, or rather, on behalf of, his deceased wife, and make up for her share, so that his daughter can experience the feeling of being loved by two people."

As soon as Arimakana finished speaking, Kurokawa Akane simply shook his head.

"That's not the case, at least not in my opinion."

"In this script, the love that Ogata Satoshi pours into his daughter Natsuko is not two times, but three times. In addition to the love that Kana just mentioned as a father and the love that he has for his deceased wife, there is also the love he originally had for his wife."

"As written in the script of the first episode, the accident not only meant that Natsuko lost her beloved mother, but also that Ogata lost his beloved wife. However, his daughter could shut herself up, but he still had to cheer up."

"So, not only does he have to love his daughter on behalf of his wife, he also has to devote all the time and energy he would have spent on his wife, getting along with her, pleasing her and wanting to see her smile, to his daughter."

Kurokawa Akane said this while holding up three fingers.

"I see."

Gotanda Yasushi nodded in realization. He quickly thought of the situation at home and the years he had spent with his mother. He pounded his palm hard:

"That's exactly what happened."

Kitagawa Ryo and Arima Kana also immediately understood the meaning of Kurokawa Akane's words. Both of them are extremely talented actors, and they immediately discussed some lines and actions that could be changed based on the content of the script. Gotanda Yasushi also immediately joined in and excitedly expressed some new ideas he had on set design and shooting techniques.

Kurokawa Akane still had a gentle smile on her face as she watched the three people having a heated discussion. In fact, after her father passed away, she deeply understood this truth.

Because after that, the mother quickly suppressed her grief and continued her life with the mentality of trying not to cause trouble for her. And just like she treated her husband at the beginning, she gradually regarded her daughter as the pillar of the family and unconsciously respected her own choices and opinions.

On the other hand, she also took over her father's original position, becoming more and more unwilling to tell her mother about the difficulties she encountered outside. It was the same when she came back this time. She only talked to her mother about family matters, reporting good news but not bad news, and did not mention the recent trends related to her on the Internet at all.

From this perspective, she and Arima Kana indeed have reached the same destination through different paths.

They both come from single-parent families. The other person's mother has given up on herself and no longer cares about her. The only thing left between the two of them is a financial support relationship. So no matter what she does in her relationship, she will not feel any family pressure.

However, her mother poured all three kinds of love into her, and the two of them maintained a relationship that was almost dependent on each other, so -

No matter how out of line she is in her emotions, how difficult it is for others to accept and understand, how it goes against the public's cognition and even public order and morality.

As long as she goes back home and sincerely says to her mother, "Mom, this is the person I love most and the one I have chosen for my life," she will surely smile and give her the most sincere and heartfelt blessings.

Kurokawa Akane's original intention of becoming an actor was to act with Kitagawa Ryo.

But the confidence that made her willing to become an actor actually came from two natural die-hard fans who were there from the beginning.

Compared to Arima Kana's mother, who wanted to be a ticket seller right from the start and didn't care at all about what her child performed in the film, Kurokawa Akane realized very early that her parents were her most loyal audience.

Even though the two have become one, the other person will still sit there and watch for a long time, noticing the changes in her mood with a mother's keenness, just like when she just returned to Tokyo, the other person asked her at the dinner table, "Akira feels very good recently and is very energetic. Did something good happen at work?"

So, how did she respond?

"Because you're working with your favorite senior?"

"Because you are doing a job you love?"

No, she clearly said this:

“Because I’m working with my favorite seniors and doing work I like.”

Chapter 4: R&R (5k)

"Here, all of these are for you."

Two days before ACE's Tokyo Dome performance officially began, Ryo Kitagawa, who was called to the LALALAI Theater by Toshiro Kindaichi, had a bulging bag stuffed into his arms as soon as he walked into the other party's office.