They all pushed me!

She is quite familiar with this place, and sometimes she would even come here by herself and find an empty room to practice dancing.

Although she is not a member of the troupe, her guardian is the general manager of the LALALAI troupe, her brother is the absolute top star of the troupe, and she is smart and cute. It can be said that in the entire troupe, Kitagawa Rumi is treated like a little princess.

"You won't fall."

I heard familiar voices and familiar sentences.

At the end of the field of vision, Kitagawa Ryo caught Kurokawa Akane who was lying backwards with his hands.

The little princess tilted her head, she was confused.

Chapter 55: Ruby's little trick

In fact, Kitagawa Ryo noticed his sister walked into the practice room at the first moment, but he had finally managed to get Kurokawa Akane in front of him into the state. He couldn't interrupt for the time being, so he could only put his right index finger on his lips, made a silencing gesture to Kitagawa Rumi, and then turned his gaze back to Kurokawa Akane.

He has now discovered an advantage of Kurokawa Akane. Although she is slow to get into the state, once she does, she appears to be quite immersed. One can sense with the naked eye that her body is relaxing little by little, and her mind is also relaxing little by little.

Seeing that her brother was concentrating on the child in front of him, although she was a little angry for being ignored, Kitagawa Rumi was not a naughty child who did not consider other people's feelings after all. She quietly found a corner and sat down by herself, supporting her little face and waiting eagerly for Kitagawa Ryo to finish.

"Why is Ruby here today?"

On the other side, Hoshino Ai, who was reading the script, noticed Kitagawa Rumi coming in. She put away the script with some confusion, walked to her side, bent down and asked.

"Because I heard that my brother was going to stage a new play... so I came here specially to watch it."

Kitagawa Rumi raised her little face and just answered one sentence, when she suddenly felt the real pressure from a twenty-year-old adult woman.

After taking a deep breath because of the really cool air in the air-conditioned room, Kitagawa Rumi decisively looked away.

She is the type that would make you feel bad for her brother's future if you look at her for even a second.

"I see."

Hoshino Ai nodded in understanding. She looked around and sat down next to Kitagawa Rumi, showing her the script in her hand:

"There is indeed a new play, but it's not really 'new'. It seems that the troupe has performed it before, but I wasn't a formal actor at that time, so I couldn't go on stage."

The name of the play that was dangling before Kitagawa Rumi's eyes was "Oedipus Rex."

Written by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, who is known as the "Master of Fateful Tragedy", and called a "Perfect Tragedy" by Aristotle, "Oedipus Rex" mainly tells the story of Oedipus, who was predicted by the oracle to kill his father and marry his mother, but was at the mercy of fate. In the end, he really killed his father and married his mother, and after learning the truth, he blinded himself and exiled himself.

Whether it is because Freud forced him to have an 'Oedipus complex' (i.e., mother complex) because of the murder of his father and marriage of his mother, or because of the famous Sphinx and its puzzle that appear in the story, "Oedipus Rex" is actually a well-known work.

And because Kitagawa Ryo has starred in this drama many times before, Kitagawa Rumi is actually not unfamiliar with it. She is just a little curious why Kindaichi Toshiro chose to bring it out and rehash it again.

"So, sister Ai knows why you chose this play?"

"Because Liang is the most familiar with the role, the rehearsal time can be reduced."

Hoshino Ai replied as a matter of course:

"Ruby should be the one who knows best that Ryo's schedule is so full."

"It really is."

After listening to Hoshino Ai's explanation, Kitagawa Rumi nodded in conviction.

Since the recording of the last dating variety show was completed, Kitagawa Ryo has returned to his previous workaholic state, running between Tokyo and various places without any fatigue. Even Kitagawa Rumi can clearly feel that her brother has spent less time at home during this period.

"Come to think of it, I haven't had the chance to ask Sister Ai who she's playing this time?"

Kitagawa Rumi couldn't help but cast her gaze towards her brother and Kurokawa Akane as she asked this question casually.

"It's Jocasta."

Unexpectedly, Hoshino Ai answered this question very quickly, and one could even hear obvious anticipation and excitement in her tone:

"She is Oedipus (Liang)'s mother."

and wife.

Hoshino Ai kept the second half of the sentence in her heart.

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

"Do you remember the feeling just now?"

"If you can keep your body relaxed, it should help relieve your fear and nervousness."

On the other side of the room, Kitagawa Ryoya had completed the trust training with Kurokawa Akane. He took a dry towel from the shelf and handed it to her. While watching her wipe the sweat from her forehead and cheeks, he whispered:

"That's all for today's class. Qian can stay in the practice room for a while. If you want to go home, I can help contact your father to pick you up."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work today, Senior Liang."

The well-educated Akane Kurokawa bowed to Ryo Kitagawa and thanked him politely and sincerely:

"I want to watch the performances of my seniors in the practice room again."

"no problem."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't mind and took the initiative to find another female troupe staff member and asked her to take Kurokawa Akane to take a shower and change clothes first. After all, they were sweating and the air conditioner was on in the practice room, otherwise it would be easy to catch a cold.

After watching Kurokawa Akane being led out of the practice room, Kitagawa Ryo finally found the time to walk over to Kitagawa Rumi, who had been waiting for half a day.

"Who made Ruby angry again? Tell your brother, I will help you get revenge, okay?"

As soon as he came up, he saw his sister deliberately looking away and pouting, and Beichuan Liang also smiled and moved closer to her, deliberately raising his voice in an exaggerated tone.

"Humph……"

After thinking for a while, Kitagawa Rumi felt that there was no need to be angry with a five-year-old child. She snorted a little lacking confidence and then softened again.

"Just now, Ruby seemed to say that she was very interested in Oedipus Rex. Does she want to act in the play too?"

Hoshino Ai, who was sitting on the other side, tentatively put forward her idea. She had just noticed that Kitagawa Rumi had been stealing glances at the script in her hand.

Especially after hearing she was going to play Jocasta.

"……no."

Kitagawa Rumi spoke in a low voice. Call it stubbornness or being picky, she was still thinking about the agreement she made with Kitagawa Ryo in the ward about the idol.

Nothing else is allowed, only idols are allowed.

She really wanted to make her own individual response to Kitagawa Ryo in the audience on the Tokyo Dome stage, and then tell him everything after the concert, telling him that she had fulfilled this long-awaited promise.

Kitagawa Rumi thought so, and then she tugged at Kitagawa Ryo's clothes:

"I have something to say to my brother."

Hoshino Ai blinked her eyes. She immediately realized that this was a conversation unique to siblings, so she stood up and raised the script in her hand:

"I'm going to go over there and memorize my lines first. Greek names are even harder to remember than those in the former Soviet Union..."

After Hoshino Ai walked away, Kitagawa Rumi leaned close to Kitagawa Ryo's ear and whispered:

"Our school is having a dance competition for the lower grade group next week. Can you come and watch, brother?"

As if she was afraid that Beichuan Liang would not agree, she immediately added in a wronged tone:

"I've already told the rest of the class that my brother will be coming to see me."

"Okay, okay. I know I've been busy lately and haven't had much time to take care of you. So, let me apologize to Ruby first, okay?"

Beichuan Liang thought it was something big that had to be kept so secret, and he even sent Hoshino Ai away. He reached out and ruffled his sister's hair:

"Of course I can go to watch Ruby's game, but Ruby should remember in the future that it's best not to make promises to others easily before things are confirmed."

"Uh-huh."

Hearing that Kitagawa Ryo agreed, Kitagawa Rumi nodded repeatedly, and her rosy red eyes were instantly filled with excitement and longing.

"You can tell at a glance that he didn't take it seriously."

Beichuan Liang shook his head. He remembered what Hoshino Ai had just said about her sister being interested in "Oedipus Rex". He pointed to the script in his hand and slowly introduced it to Beichuan Rumi in a storytelling way:

"This is the oracle engraved on the Temple of Delphi. The Temple of Delphi is the temple in Oedipus Rex that predicted that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother."

"In real Greece, there are still ancient ruins of the Temple of Delphi. One of the three oracles on the stone pillar is γγ α π ρα δ' ηη, which means that if you make a false oath, disaster is near."

Beichuan Liang stroked his sister's head and narrated as simply as possible:

"Whether in Greek mythology or in reality, there are many examples of tragedies caused by easy promises. Ruby, do you understand?"

Kitagawa Rumi had actually read the story of "Oedipus Rex" a long time ago, but at this time she still nodded cooperatively, acting as if she already understood it completely.

Then, she suddenly buried her head in Beichuan Liang's chest, making it impossible to see her expression for a moment.

"elder brother."

Kitagawa Rumi called out like this for no reason.

"Ah."

Without showing any impatience, Beichuan Liang also listened very quietly.

"I have been learning dance for more than four years, but I have never been good at singing."

"Ah."

“But I still want to be an idol.”

“I want to stand on the stage of Budokan, on the stage of Tokyo Dome.”

As Kitagawa Rumi spoke, she curled herself up little by little in Kitagawa Ryo's arms. She was already petite, and now she looked even smaller.

"elder brother."

"Ah."

"When I debut in the future, will you support me?"

Kitagawa Rumi's face was still buried in her collar, her hot breath penetrated the thin shirt and hit Kitagawa Ryo's skin.

"of course."

With almost no hesitation, Beichuan Ryo answered immediately.

"Didn't my brother just say 'If you make a false promise, disaster will come'? Why did you promise so easily now?"

As if she had received a satisfactory answer, Kitagawa Rumi deliberately prolonged the last syllable of her words, and with a bit of coquettishness in her voice, she finally raised her head, hugged the other's arm and rocked it.

"So, it's because it's Ruby."

Beichuan Liang used his strength to pull up his sister who was leaning on his chest, and he smiled calmly and gently.

“Am I special?”

"Well, Ruby is special."

Kitagawa Rumi really likes to hear her brother say these words, and she will be happy for a long time after hearing one of them.

She is a very easy-going sister.

But even so, she still has her own selfish desires.

Kitagawa Rumi is planning her future in her mind.

It was still four years before her brother turned twenty and became an adult, and she would be twelve years old at that time.

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

This was exactly the age when Hoshino Ai debuted as an idol.

Chapter 5: The Fearlessness of Being Favored (5k)

After Kitagawa Ryo had comforted his sister, a staff member came to call him and said that Mr. Kindaichi wanted to see him for something and asked him to go to the office on the third floor.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Beichuan Liang nodded, he leaned over and raised his eyebrows at Beichuan Rumi:

"Ruby, just sit here for a while."

Because Hoshino Ai, who was not far away, seemed to be acting with someone, Kitagawa Ryo didn't want to call her over to look at Ruby. He looked around, and finally his eyes lit up and he waved to Kurokawa Akane on the other side.

"This is my sister, Ruby."

"This is Akane Kurokawa, the youngest member of our LALALAI troupe."

After calling Kurokawa Akane over, Kitagawa Ryo took the initiative to introduce the two children to each other.

Because Kurokawa Akane's age is indeed much different from that of other people in the troupe, he was originally worried that his junior would not be able to make many friends. Now that he thinks about it, Ruby is a perfect candidate for friendship.

Kitagawa Ryo has been teaching Kurokawa Akane for quite some time, and he recognizes her qualities in all aspects. Moreover, she is only three years younger than Kitagawa Rumi, so they should be able to play together... probably.