They all pushed me!

"You guys chat for a while, I'll go upstairs first."

After leaving these words, Kitagawa Ryo hurriedly left the practice room and trotted towards the office where Toshiro Kindaichi was on the third floor.

"Hello... Hello, I'm Akane Kurokawa, please take care of me."

Recalling the skills that Kitagawa Ryo had just taught her today, Kurokawa Akane tried hard to stare into the eyes of the girl in front of her who looked two or three years older than her.

Although she wanted to make a normal self-introduction in a relaxed state of mind, as soon as Kitagawa Ryo left, Kurokawa Akane felt that her speech became unclear again. Not only did she bite her tongue while speaking, she even inadvertently used honorifics.

"Ah - hello, my name is Kitagawa Rumi, written as Rumi and pronounced as Ruby, just call me Ruby."

However, Kitagawa Rumi didn't care. She walked up to her and hugged Kurokawa Akane's arm affectionately, and gestured her name with her fingers in her palm.

Although some words that were of great significance to the relationship between her and her brother were said to Kurokawa Akane by Kitagawa Ryo unintentionally, Kitagawa Rumi, who had lived two lives, was unlikely to really have any aversion to the child in front of her for this reason.

Moreover, Kitagawa Rumi's clever little head only took a moment to realize her brother's intention of introducing Kurokawa Akane to her.

Kitagawa Rumi's beautiful eyes rolled around. If she thought about it carefully, if she could become good friends with Kurokawa Akane, wouldn't it be like having her own exclusive eyes in the LALALAI troupe?

Hoshino Ai has returned to the troupe now, and I can't be here to keep an eye on her all the time. But if I have the help of Kurokawa Akane, a formal member of the troupe, wouldn't my brother's safety be more secure?

When she thought of this, Kitagawa Rumi's tone became more cordial and warm:

"Just now I heard my brother say Akane - ah, it should be okay to call her that."

Akane Kurokawa nodded blankly. It was the first time in her life that she met a child of the same age who was so warm to her.

"Hmm... I just heard from my brother that Akane is the youngest member of the entire LALALAI troupe. That's amazing. Let me tell you a secret. Even though the troupe is a little bit declining now, LALALAI is still one of the top troupes in Tokyo and even in the whole country."

Kitagawa Rumi thought that since the other party could join the troupe at such a young age, he must be a child who is interested in drama or the troupe, so she took the initiative to talk about related topics.

"That's for sure, because Senior Liang is here."

What Kitagawa Rumi didn't expect was that Kurokawa Akane answered her like this as a matter of course.

Before Kitagawa Rumi could figure out what the other person meant by this, Kurokawa Akane mustered up the courage to ask her:

"Is Ruby Ryo-senpai's biological sister? It doesn't seem like that."

The brother has black hair and black eyes, and the sister has blonde hair and red eyes. From their appearance, they do not look like biological siblings.

"Yeah, my brother and I are not related by blood."

"But we still live together like real siblings."

Kitagawa Rumi has almost gotten used to people asking her this question since she was a child, but what makes her a little sad is that every time she invites her good friend Samejima Abiko to her home, she always feels that she, who has the same black hair and black eyes as her brother, is like her brother's biological sister and a member of the family.

Thinking of this, she raised her eyes and observed the appearance of the girl named Kurokawa Akane. She had blue-purple hair and eyes of the same color, and she was blinking at her.

I always feel that she is inexplicably similar to Hoshino Ai, whether it is hair color or eye color.

"Then Ruby, can you tell me something about Ryo-senpai?"

Kurokawa Akane, who seemed to have suddenly become as active as a normal child, looked at Kitagawa Rumi eagerly, but immediately lowered her head and said in a low voice:

"If it's too much trouble, forget it."

I always feel that if I say no now, I will feel a guilt that I can’t express with words.

Kitagawa Rumi pulled the corner of her mouth. Although she realized something was wrong, she still raised her chin as if nothing happened, thinking about her original plan.

"Only fans like you who haven't had much contact with him would think that Brother is so great. In fact, he is not as amazing as you think. Sometimes he stays in bed too late, sometimes he has nightmares, and, he is also a sister complex."

In fact, she had no idea what the word "sister control" meant, but Kurokawa Akane was still in awe. She understood the atmosphere very well and slightly opened her mouth, showing a shocked expression.

Kitagawa Rumi was getting more and more excited as she spoke. She counted on her fingers and explained one thing after another to Kurokawa Akane:

"For example, my brother turned sixteen a while ago, and his fans bought him the right to name sixteen asteroids. But my brother said he liked the hand-folded paper crane I gave him the most, and also said that there are many stars in the sky, but as long as he finds my one, it will be enough."

"Also, my brother learned how to cook just for me, especially desserts, because I love them. And even though I'm already eight years old, my brother is always willing to feed me, and after feeding me he would wipe the corners of my mouth very gently."

Ahem, the imagination for the second half of each paragraph mainly comes from the Ryo's One Direction fan fiction "The Sky Full of Stars Tonight Is Not As Good As You" and "An Ordinary Meal Between Ryo and Me" collected by Kitagawa Rumi.

Akane Kurokawa didn't quite understand what she heard, but she was deeply shocked.

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

Just when Kitagawa Rumi was trying her best to instill in Kurokawa Akane's mind that Kitagawa Ryo was an ultimate perfect brother who was rare in heaven and unparalleled on earth, outside the office on the third floor of the theater building, Kitagawa Ryo finally arrived, knocked on the door twice, and after hearing "Come in" from inside, he pushed the door open and walked into the room.

"Uncle Min, looking for me?"

When I walked into the room, I saw only Kindaichi Toshiro, and Kitagawa Ryo also found a seat and sat down casually.

He and Kindaichi Toshiro have been friends for more than ten years. Although he has never really become his godson, in the hearts of Kitagawa Ryo and even Kitagawa Rumi, Kindaichi Toshiro can be regarded as their elder and adoptive father.

In addition, Toshio Kindaichi himself is now in his forties and has no intention of getting married or having children, so the future care and funeral responsibilities will probably fall on him and his sister.

"It's Liang, come here."

Kindaichi Toshiro looked up from behind his desk, motioned for Kitagawa Ryo to come over to him, and then pointed at the computer screen and asked casually:

"This is the sample plan for selling peripherals for this performance that the publicity department just sent over for approval. How about you take a look?"

"it is good."

Beichuan Liang nodded, pulled a chair next to him, and sat in front of the computer, sliding the mouse to look through the open files.

This is also one of the marketing methods of the LALALAI Theater in the past two years. After all, with the rising cost of stage props and actors' salaries, it is actually difficult to support the troupe's expenses relying solely on ticket revenue. Therefore, during each performance, the troupe will also sell some small peripherals related to the drama performed that day.

If Kitagawa Ryo is in charge of starring in the film, the troupe will also launch limited-time and limited-quantity peripheral gifts signed by him personally, which will be used to boost popularity on the one hand, and also generate considerable income on the other.

After all, Kitagawa Ryo's fans have a strong desire and spending power.

Beichuan Liang dragged the page down, carefully reviewing the peripheral samples this time. Although his fans basically bought these without thinking, Beichuan Liang would not produce shoddy products. He tried his best to give back better every time.

After all, for fans who can accept the price of a few thousand or tens of thousands of yen for these small dolls, pendants, key chains and the like, Kitagawa Ryo still hopes to make up for the difference in attitude.

The play being performed this time is "Oedipus Rex", so the peripheral samples submitted by the Publicity Department are basically related to the story of "Oedipus Rex". Among them, the one that Beichuan Liang cares most about is the Q version pendant of the Sphinx.

The Sphinx is a female demon with a lion's body and a human face in the story. She would stand on the edge of a cliff and ask passers-by the famous question:

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night?"

If the passerby could not answer, the Sphinx would eat him or push him off the cliff. Over time, the Sphinx became a local scourge.

In the end, it was killed by Oedipus who guessed the riddle "man" while passing by. It was with this achievement that Oedipus finally ascended the throne.

Although in Greek, Egyptian and West Asian mythology, the Sphinx is a hideous composite monster similar to the Chimera, this is an era after all, where even evil gods can be feminized.

Therefore, the Q version of the Sphinx pendant that appeared in Beichuan Liang's vision was completely devoid of any horror. It could even be said that -

"Isn't this totally a beast-eared girl?"

Beichuan Liang enlarged the graph with his mouse speechlessly.

"The Sphinx is crying, isn't it?"

“That’s how it sells.”

Kindaichi Toshiro waved his hand nonchalantly:

"And the story also says that the Sphinx's female face is very beautiful. The structure of a human face and a beast body is originally a symbol of temptation and fear. Since it is a temptation, it is normal to draw it beautifully."

Listening to Kindaichi Toshiro's rather shameless speech, Kitagawa Ryo shook his head helplessly, but he remembered what he had just said to Kitagawa Rumi, and casually said:

"I feel that this first edition is a bit empty in the middle. You can try to carve something. The three oracles of the Temple of Delphi are good and related to the story. Besides, the Greek text looks unclear and powerful, and it can be more distinguished."

"good idea."

Kindaichi Toshiro clapped his hands in admiration, stroking his beard and grinning mischievously:

"And this way we can sell them as a set. How about making a blind box or a capsule toy? Should we deliberately lower the shipment rate of one of the items? It would be very uncomfortable for a collector to miss one item..."

Ignoring Kindaichi Toshiro who was already turning into a profiteer, Kitagawa Ryo stood up and walked out while waving his hand casually:

"Is there nothing else? I'm leaving now."

"After the real thing is made, remember to give me two sets first to see the effect."

"It's alright, Liang, go and get busy. I'll send you a few sets once the actual products are ready."

After receiving the reply from Kindaichi Toshiro, Kitagawa Ryo nodded, opened the door and walked out of the office.

When he leisurely returned to the practice room on the second floor, the first thing he saw was the excited Kitagawa Rumi and the admiring Kurokawa Akane who nodded repeatedly.

Didn't expect that the two of them would get along so well?

With such a pleasant thought in mind, Kitagawa Ryo had just taken two steps closer when he heard his sister vividly describing the super popular beautiful girl idol in reserve that he had 'conferred' upon her.

If he didn't know his sister's true situation, just by listening to her tone, Kitagawa Ryo would have thought that she had already held ten consecutive solo concerts at the Tokyo Dome.

"Ruby?"

Beichuan Liang called her sister's name softly from behind.

Like a kitten with its neck grabbed, Kitagawa Rumi froze in place for a moment, and turned around mechanically little by little:

"Haha...Brother, you're back?"

"Yeah, and I heard a lot of interesting things."

Beichuan Liang replied with a smile.

"I was wrong."

Kitagawa Rumi immediately admitted her mistake and put on a pitiful expression.

"Don't brag anymore. It's okay to be as proud as you can after you've accomplished something."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head helplessly. He really couldn't get angry with his sister. He could only rub her hair and lightly tap Kitagawa Rumi's smooth forehead a few times as a punishment.

This scene was reflected in the pupils of Kurokawa Akane, who was standing aside. Combined with what Kitagawa Rumi had just said, she subconsciously felt a bit of envy for this kind of brother-sister relationship, which is unique to only children.

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

"Mother Kana, I've told you so many times that since Kana has signed a contract with our company, we will definitely be responsible for her future work arrangements."

"Your actions show that you don't trust our company and me as your agent."

Mida Shoko considers herself to be a person with a pretty good temper. She has been working in the agent circle for twenty years and can be considered experienced.

But since she accepted the company's request and became Arima Kana's agent, she realized the dangers of the world.

During the period after Arima Kana signed the contract, Mita Shoko could swear that the time she spent arguing with those producers and sponsors combined was not as long as the time she spent competing with Ms. Arima.

Although they knew that the other party was not particularly satisfied with signing the contract with their company in the beginning, they never expected that even after the contract was signed, Ms. Arima would still casually interfere in her daughter's work, and it was common for her to secretly find others to take on the work.

"Isn't that your problem?"

Ms. Arima, who was sitting in front of Oda Shoko, had no intention of pampering her at all. She frowned and asked:

"If I didn't know that Kitagawa Ryoya was signed by your company, how could I let Kana join?"

"What's the result? He invited my daughter, but he still has no intention of bringing her. How long has it been since the last Spider movie was released? The director won the Best Director award, and Kitagawa Ryo won the Best Actor award, but Kana got nothing? And it didn't go on the domestic line, so the box office didn't make much money."

"Ms. Arima, how can such hidden benefits be measured in money? Don't you know that after Spider, Kana's reputation in the industry is almost the same as that of Kitagawa back then?"

"You sound nice, but in the end you're talking about needing to hone your acting skills. You haven't gotten any big jobs for Kana in a few months. How can I trust your company?"

Ms. Arima was outraged:

"If you ask me, this job is better than the one I found for Kana with my connections. Kana has been a good singer since she was young, so this commercial shoot and singing job for "Big Green Pepper Gymnastics" is perfect for her."

Ms. Arima and Oeda Shoko were still arguing with each other about work.

Outside the box, Ryo Kitagawa, who came after hearing about this, happened to run into Kana Arima who was doing nothing at the door.

"Senior Liang."

After seeing Kitagawa Ryo, Arima Kana also waved.

"Kana."

Kitagawa Ryo also called her affectionately, because the other party's mother often reminded him of the Kitagawa couple. Besides, she was his junior who was brought into the company after all, so he would take better care of Arima Kana on weekdays.

He walked forward and took out a small and cute pendant from his pocket, and handed it to Arima Kana with a smile:

"It's for you."

"what is this?"

Arima Kana took it. It was a Q-version animal-eared figurine with a line of incomprehensible letters carved in the middle.

"The Sphinx in Greek mythology. Our troupe is about to put on Oedipus Rex, and we made this merchandise specifically for it."

Seeing that Arima Kanae seemed interested in the line in the middle, Beichuan Ryo added:

"That's the Greek γν θι σεαυτ ν, which means [know thyself]."