A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

As they left, a girl with silver hair at another table not far away was watching their backs with great interest...

Chapter 5: The world is driven by coincidences

"Brother! You look so handsome today!"

When Chihaya Tetsuya got home from get off work that day, the first thing Chihaya Aine did was to find him immediately and review today's meeting.

"When you were explaining clothing to them, you didn't even notice their eyes and expressions! The feeling of shock at first and then gradually turning into respect was really great!"

"Hmm? Really?"

Chihaya Tetsuya, who was completely focused on introducing the clothes at the time, was completely unaware of this.

Out of professional habit, he even forgot at one point that he was facing only a few kids who had just entered high school, so when he introduced the clothes, he subconsciously adopted the serious attitude he usually adopted when communicating with customers.

"However, I only introduced them to a few of the most common combinations. Due to time constraints, I didn't even have time to introduce all the varieties I prepared to them."

"That's enough! In fact, I don't even remember everything you introduced today."

"Isn't it because you've been staring at their expressions?"

"Someone's staring at me too!"

"This kind of distracted work style is totally unworthy of praise."

Faced with his sister's self-righteous behavior of skipping classes, Chihaya Tetsu couldn't help but shake his head:

"And the respect they have for me alone shouldn't be enough to make you the leader of this band, right?"

"That being said, it does feel really impressive to show off my brother in front of my friends!"

Even though she was being lectured by her brother, Chihaya Aine couldn't control the pride in her words and expression.

"And even if I can't gain their approval in a short time, at least I can salvage my image a little bit... You know what? Ever since I met my brother, even that Li Xi hasn't been against me anymore!"

"She only disagrees with you when you make an unfounded point, right?"

"You're usually pretty rude... especially when it comes to the topic of lights!"

Chihaya Aine crossed her arms and said:

"It's just like an overprotective parent... and we're all the same age!"

"Indeed, Shiina-san often subconsciously observes Takamatsu-san when she speaks."

Chihaya Tetsu, who was good at observing people's expressions, also noticed this.

"But, after all, they used to be in the same band, so it's normal for them to be close, right? Besides, Takamatsu-san does give people the impression that she needs extra protection."

"Well, this feeling...I can understand it."

Chihaya Aine also agreed with this statement.

However, speaking of Takamatsu Touma, another question immediately and naturally came to Chihaya Aine's mind.

"By the way, what's this 'planetarium' you mentioned today, brother? I've never heard you mention it before!"

"About this..."

Just now in the cafe, Chihaya Aine had expressed curiosity about this matter, but in order to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on Takamatsu Deng, he did not directly answer his sister's question.

However, now that they have returned to their home, they naturally have no concerns or worries.

Afterwards, Chihaya Tetsuya told his sister everything about his brief encounter with Takamatsu Touma at the planetarium.

After hearing the whole story, Chihaya Aine also showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"I see! No wonder Deng let down his guard so easily. It turns out he already knew that Brother was a gentle man!"

After that, she hesitated for a moment, then added:

"Actually, my biggest concern for this meeting is the lights, not Li Xi... After all, she's so shy, she'll definitely be nervous around a strange man. But thankfully, we had the 'planetarium incident' to pave the way, otherwise I'm really worried she wouldn't be able to say a word all day."

"Come to think of it, that kid is the lead singer, but his personality isn't that assertive at all."

Chihaya Tetsuya was also a little curious about this.

During his time learning about band culture, the styles and characteristics of the various musicians might have been different, but the lead singers left a consistent impression on him.

"As the most expressive member of the band, I also have the most direct contact with the audience. Is this introverted personality really okay?"

"Ah, about this... I was a little skeptical at first, but after I saw their old videos, I never thought about it again."

Chihaya Aine said as she took out her cell phone.

"First of all, her voice is beautiful, of course. Secondly, she's completely different when she sings than she is normally. That kind of total dedication, that kind of focus, is something not everyone can replicate... Ah, I found it!"

Having said that, she first clicked a few times on her phone, and then handed the phone to Chihaya Tetsuya.

"This is the video they uploaded when they first formed the band! You'll understand once you watch it."

"Is it?"

After hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya took the phone with some curiosity.

However, when he saw the image on the phone screen, an extremely familiar figure made his eyes widen unnaturally in an instant.

The background of this video was in a recording studio, and on that screen, in addition to the three girls he had met today, he also knew the other two band members -

(Wakaba-san...and Toyokawa?!)

Those two extremely familiar faces instantly put Chihaya Tetsuya's mind into high-speed operation.

His mind involuntarily recalled what Toyokawa Shoko had said about the band and the past on the tram that night.

(So, is this the band that Toyokawa mentioned earlier, the one who had to quit by verbally abusing others?)

In order to avoid reminding Toyokawa of that painful memory, Chihaya Tetsu never took the initiative to ask for the details of the matter.

Unexpectedly... at this point, he would actually be touched upon that past in such a coincidental way under the help of his sister.

Shock and amazement intertwined in Chihaya Tetsuya's heart, leaving him filled with the astonishment brought about by the surreal development. However, as the video continued to play, his attention returned to the screen.

(Toyokawa looks…really happy.)

Looking at Shoko Toyokawa standing in front of the electronic keyboard and microphone with a gentle smile on her face, Chihaya Tetsuya even felt an unattainable sense of strangeness in his heart for a moment.

Although Fengchuan often smiles in front of him now, the smile that has become decent and reserved under the polish of reality is indeed fundamentally different from the innocent and pure smile in the picture.

……

"What was the name of their previous band?"

"It's called [CRYCHIC]."

Chihaya Aine replied:

"The songs are so good, and everyone seems to be getting along pretty well. I don't know why they suddenly disbanded..."

"Yeah, why exactly?"

Chihaya Tetsuya murmured thoughtfully:

"I think the only way to answer this question is to ask the person involved..."

Chapter 6: People with no way out will always stubbornly choose the right thing

Although the night before, Chihaya Tetsuya was still planning to ask Toyokawa Shoko about the past of [CRYCHIC].

However, when he arrived at the studio the next day, he immediately fell into indecision.

"Chihaya-san, this is the paper pattern I made using your old design."

Toyokawa Shoko couldn't wait to hand her work to Chihaya Tetsuya, and then stood in front of him with a nervous look on her face.

"Could you please give me a score?"

"……Let me see."

The curiosity and questions that had been piling up in Chihaya Tetsuya's heart were instantly suppressed by Toyokawa Shoko's serious attitude.

Afterwards, when he carefully examined Toyokawa Shoko's paper pattern, he felt an irrepressible surprise in his heart.

(Why did you choose a design that requires bias cutting?)

Unlike ordinary cutting methods, because the cutting angle is not perpendicular to the structure of the fabric fiber, the fabric cut by the bias often exhibits a completely different stretchability from the general cutting method. At the same time, considering the stretchability of different fabrics, the difficulty of the bias cutting technique can naturally be imagined.

Similarly, for pattern makers, drawing accurate paper patterns under such circumstances is also a difficult task that requires a lot of understanding and skills.

however……

"As for the tolerance, is it about 3mm? No, considering that this part is made of georgette, it should be more stringent to minimize wrinkles."

Inevitably, the inexperienced Shoko Toyokawa left some errors in the pattern this time.

However, this error is already a very rare excellent result for beginners!

“…Excellent.”

In the face of Toyokawa Shoko's somewhat regretful expression, Chihaya Tetsuya gave this evaluation very seriously.

"I don't even think this is a pattern that a beginner who has only been learning for less than a month can draw."

"About this... I'm actually taking some shortcuts."

Toyokawa Shoko confessed truthfully:

"Because it's Chihaya-san's old work, I secretly asked a senior in the studio to show me the sample... To some extent, this is actually plagiarism."

"But this is a design that requires bias cutting. Even if you have seen the sample, you must consider the cutting angle and fabric characteristics when making the paper pattern."

Faced with Toyokawa Shoko's self-denial, Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head.

As a former pattern maker, he knows very well what kind of talent and effort is required to accurately pattern a "bias-cut" design.

Not only does it require accurate spatial imagination, but it also requires taking note of the degree of stretchability of different fabrics and the effects of cutting at different angles, and combining and trying them out.

It seems that even outside of work, Shoko Toyokawa is still studying and working hard.

"You're able to complete this level of pattern making at a beginner's level, and my evaluation of it remains unchanged. Fengchuan, your pattern making is excellent."

"...Yeah! Thank you, Chihaya-nii!"

Finally, a smile appeared on Toyokawa Shoko's face after receiving affirmation again.

"I will continue to work hard!"

"…………"

Sure enough, the smile was completely different from what we saw in the video at that time.

Compared to now, the smile that Fengchuan shows in the video may be more in line with her age.

For a moment, some conflicting thoughts arose in Chihaya Tetsuya's mind.

He admired Shoko Toyokawa's talent very much and hoped that she could continue to stay with him and move forward with him in the clothing industry.

But at the same time, Toyokawa Shoko's genuine enjoyment of music in the band and the ease she felt when being with people of her age made Chihaya Tetsuya think that "this is where she belongs."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask:

"Toyokawa."

"Yes!"

"If, I mean if, you were given a chance now and were asked to go back to the day you quit the band and make the choice again, would you... still choose to quit the band and stay in the clothing industry?"

"???"

After hearing this question, Toyokawa Shoko tilted her head in confusion, then said:

"If I had continued with the band, I might have had some income, but it would still be far from enough to cover my expenses."

"What if income isn't a concern? In other words, the income from the band can be on par with the salary here."

Chihaya Tetsuya asked again:

"What would you choose in this situation?"

"Chihaya-nii...things are a little strange today."

Faced with Chihaya Tetsuya's persistent questioning, Toyokawa Shoko's expression became more and more confused.

"Does this kind of unrealistic question really have any meaning?"