A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

Then, after a brief hesitation, she suddenly asked again:

"...I said so."

"what happened?"

"Xiangzi is working for you...is she happy?"

"I do not know."

In response to Nagasaki Suyo's question, Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head very decisively.

"You should ask her in person about this kind of thing."

"you……"

Feeling somewhat speechless, Nagasaki Motoyo subconsciously raised her head and glared at Chihaya Tetsuya. However, when she met Chihaya Tetsuya's unwavering and calm gaze, she slumped her shoulders again.

"Well, you're right. There's really no point in asking anyone other than the person himself about this..."

Having said that, she couldn't help but cast a somewhat resentful look at Chihaya Tetsuya.

"But even so, can't you just tell a few lies to put me at ease?"

"Is this issue important to you? If so, then you must never lie so easily."

Chihaya Tetsuya said:

"Sometimes, even white lies can lead to misunderstandings. You've probably experienced this firsthand, haven't you?"

"Forget it, I can't argue with you, I'm leaving!"

Completely refuted by the argument, Nagasaki Motoyo curled her lips, then turned around and walked towards the station without hesitation.

Before entering the station, she suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Chihaya Tetsuya again.

At the same time, Chihaya Aine, who had just sent Takamatsu Deng home, had returned to his side, and the two seemed to be preparing to go home together...

If I could become a family with that guy, even if it was just the most cramped and shabby apartment, it would definitely be warm and comfortable, right?

She couldn't help but recall the first time she met Chihaya Tetsuya in the cafe.

In fact, ever since she first met him, she would often fantasize about what her life would be like if she had a brother like Chihaya Tetsuya.

……

"I'm so envious...Chihaya Aine."

After leaving such a sigh quietly, Nagasaki Suyo looked away and prepared to return to the empty home.

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

"Phew~ I really put in a lot of effort today to cooperate with my brother's plan."

After everyone left, Chihaya Aine stretched out her body.

"In order to calm Wakaba-san and Sushi, I really used all my lifelong skills in observing people's expressions! How was it? Wasn't the effect of that phone call great?"

“Well, as expected of Aine.”

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded and gave his praise without hesitation.

"Thanks to your cooperation, Shigaraki-san probably won't want to leave the band anymore."

Even though she didn't want to admit it, at this moment, this band had become her new home.

And after the misunderstanding was resolved, Wakaba, Toyokawa and her were able to resume contact.

Although there was still a long way to go before the relationship of [CRYCHIC] was fully restored, at least both she and Fengchuan had taken the first step well.

"elder brother."

"kindness?"

"Thank you."

Chihaya Aine smiled and put her arm around his.

"You're interfering in their affairs so actively because of me, right?"

"That's certainly the motivation, but after learning about their stories, I really can't just sit back and watch."

Chihaya Tetsuya reached out and ruffled his sister's hair.

"Also, this can be considered as helping my assistant solve her problems. From today on, she should be able to focus more on learning about clothing than before."

"…………"

She only found out about the relationship between Chihaya Tetsuya and Toyokawa Shoko today.

However, while lamenting fate and coincidence, she recalled Chihaya Tetsuya's many comments about the "assistant lady" and couldn't help but ask:

"Brother, I will always be your only sister, right?"

"Well? Isn't that natural?"

Chihaya Tetsuya looked at Chihaya Aine with some surprise.

"Unless Mother and Father decide to have another child."

"Oh, that's not what I'm talking about... But never mind!"

Chihaya Aine tightened her embrace.

The time for the band ends here, and the rest of the day belongs to the family.

"Let's go home, brother!"

Chihaya Aine, today is also a very fulfilling and happy day.

Chapter 26: Countdown to the Burning Fuse

"Huh... let's stop here for today's practice."

Sanjiao Chuhua, who had just finished his daily homework, first looked up at the time, then walked towards the lounge not far from the practice room.

"…Love, it's already ten o'clock at night."

Sanjiao Chuhua knocked on the door gently several times.

"You're going to record a radio show next, right?"

"…………"

There was absolutely no response from the lounge.

Sanjiao Chuhua was not too surprised to see this. She first sighed slightly, then pushed open the door and pressed the switch at hand.

Snapped--!

The lights instantly illuminated the originally dark lounge, and on the sofa in the lounge, Hoshino Ai was curled up like a sleeping baby, holding tightly in her arms the pajamas made for her by Chihaya Tetsuya.

"Just go to bed and sleep well..."

Sanjiao Hatsuka shook her head, then came to Hoshino Ai's side and gently pushed her shoulder:

"Love, it's time to get up..."

“………………Hmm?”

Finally, in response to Sanjiao Hatsuhua's call, Hoshino Ai opened her eyes with great reluctance.

"Is it time already?"

"kindness."

"…Give me a few minutes."

Hoshino Ai first sat up slowly, then walked towards the bathroom with a staggering step...

"Is this really okay?"

Looking at the haggard and tired figure, Sanjiao Chuhua couldn't help but reveal a worried expression.

Recently... or rather, ever since that MV became popular, Hoshino Ai's schedule has been extremely scary.

Commercials, photoshoots, interviews, recordings, classes, and a week-long night radio broadcast.

This devilish work intensity has resulted in the continued popularity of [Summer Zodiac].

With the active participation of Hoshino Ai, the popularity brought by the first MV has not gradually cooled down over time, but has instead shown a trend of further development.

Not only that, her partner has also become extremely busy recently.

However, compared to Hoshino Ai's all-around work, her work content is basically concentrated on recording and composing new songs. And these are exactly what she is best at and what she likes most.

The reason why she chose to debut as an idol was to become a real professional singer, and the popularity of "Summer Zodiac" has indeed allowed her to make great strides in pursuing her dreams.

However...this kind of progress at the expense of his companions' health was indeed not what Sanjiao Chuhua wanted.

"Huh... ready."

Not long after, Hoshino Ai, who had finished washing up, returned to her again.

Her expression, full of energy and vitality, showed no sign of the sleepy look she had just had. Her purple eyes, which had originally been a little dim, now once again shone with their usual brilliance.

"Thank you for waking me, Chuhua!"

Hoshino Ai smiled and waved to Mikado Hatsuka:

"Then, we'll see you tomorrow~"

After saying that, Hoshino Ai turned around and prepared to leave the lounge.

However, the next second, a call from behind made her stop suddenly.

"like!"

This time, Sanjiao Chuhua did not silently see her off as usual, but said to her in a worried tone:

"If you keep going like this, your body won't be able to take it."

"Huh? I still make sure I get five hours of sleep every day."

"This includes naps in the car and the breaks in the middle of each workday, right?"

Mikado Hatsuka, who knew her companions' schedules well, would naturally not be fooled by Hoshino Ai's statement.

"No matter how hard you try, you still have to maintain basic health, right? If you keep pushing yourself like this, you might—"

"Don't worry, Chuhua."

Hoshino Ai shook her head, and the fake cheerful smile on her face gradually faded.

"I wouldn't push myself to that point, you know that... I still have to go find Zhe next! If I really hurt my body, he'll definitely get mad at me. He's really scary when he gets angry, even the adults in the orphanage don't dare to mess with him easily!"

"But your behavior is completely unconvincing."

Recalling how Hoshino Ai looked when she just got up, Sankaku Hatsuka could not accept her one-sided statement no matter what.

"You're the one who knows best what your current physical condition is. Perhaps you can handle this level of workload for a short period of time, but how long can you keep it up?"

"…………"

This time, Hoshino Ai was silent for a long time and couldn't think of any excuse to fool people.

So next, with no more room for maneuver, Hoshino Ai had to completely drop all her disguises——

"Chuhua, if I remember correctly, your dream seems to be to become a professional singer, right?"

"Yes...why did you bring this up suddenly?"

"The popularity of [Summer Zodiac] should have taken you a big step forward as a singer, right?"

Hoshino Ai tilted her head and looked at Sanjiao Hatsuka with a look that showed no smile:

"Isn't that enough? What else does anything else have to do with you?"

"……What did you say?"

"I know you care about me, Chuhua, and I value this group that gave you the opportunity to realize your dreams. I'm also very grateful for your continued care, so I'm helping you with the tasks you don't enjoy, so you can focus on creating music. This way, once you're fully recognized by the music industry, even if you don't have [Summer Zodiac] anymore, you can still continue to pursue your dreams under the name [Triangle Chuhua]."

"As for you saying I can't keep working at this intensity for long... I understand that, of course. My agent understands it better than either of us. But even so, she still agreed to my crazy schedule. Can you guess why?"

"...?"

Under the bewildered gaze of Mikado Hatsuka, Hoshino Ai said with a matter-of-fact tone: