A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

"This, this..."

Shiina Riki hesitated for a while after hearing this, and then she said:

"But no matter what, it's definitely not now. At least now I definitely can't beat Xiangzi!"

"Then just keep writing until you think you've beaten her. As for the ones you're not satisfied with, why not just throw them away?"

Having said that, Chihaya Tetsuya turned his gaze towards the others and asked with a confused look on his face:

"Eh? Could it be that... composers are different from designers and can't scrap their drafts?"

"That...is not..."

In response to Chihaya Tetsuya's question, Shiina Riki replied blankly:

"Rather... my sister... the composers I know often scrap their drafts..."

"Well, isn't that the end?"

Chihaya Tetsuya spread his hands.

"If you, Shiina-san, really want to surpass Toyokawa, then feel free to experiment with your arrangements. You can discard any compositions you're not satisfied with and only keep the ones you approve of. As for the live in ten days, it would be best if you can catch up, but if not, there's no need to force yourself to participate."

"It's not a bad thing to have a sense of responsibility, but there's no need to push yourself too hard. After all, you're just high school students. There are no contractual requirements, and no restrictions forcing you to achieve a certain goal... Just move forward at your own pace and slowly move yourself towards your ideal direction."

Having said that, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately looked at Shiina Riki again.

"What do you think, Shiina-san?"

"I……"

Shiina Riki's expression changed several times before she said in a very unconfident tone:

"I can try...but I can't guarantee when I'll be able to produce a decent work..."

"Well, that's all... Then it's Takamatsu-san who's next."

"Yes!"

Takamatsu Deng responded like a student being called by a teacher:

"What's wrong, Chihaya-san?"

"I'll leave the lyrics to you, is that okay?"

"Eh? Oh, no problem, this is my mission!"

"Aine, I haven't heard you practicing the piano these past few days. Starting today, increase your practice."

"Eh……"

Chihaya Aine subconsciously dragged out the sound, as if she wanted to soften Chihaya Tetsuya's tough attitude by acting coquettishly.

However, Chihaya Tetsuya didn't buy it at all, and asked again in his usual calm tone:

"Did you hear me?"

"heard it!"

Realizing that her clever trick wouldn't work, Chihaya Aine immediately stuck out her tongue.

"I'll get back to the amount of practice I had during Golden Week!"

"Well, then, Nagasaki-san will be in charge of monitoring Lena. If you don't know how to communicate with her, you can always contact me."

"……understood."

Nagasaki Suyo said with a straight face:

"Besides, you just gave me a very vivid example. I already know how to deal with her."

"That's good, finally it's Lenai."

"kindness?"

"Clothes, do you prefer loose or slim fit?"

"Loose."

"Got it. As long as you can show up for practice on time, I'll prepare the parfait and clothes for you."

"it is good."

Lenai nodded, then lazily slumped over the table, no longer looking like she might run away at any moment like she did just now.

In this way, Chihaya Tetsu quickly and decisively arranged respective tasks for everyone.

"A band is a band because everyone has to fulfill their roles. You're not the only one with shortcomings, and neither are you the only one shouldering responsibilities. It's just that your perceived lack of ability is something you can only overcome on your own."

"Of course, as an adult, I can't just order you around with words. Let's put it this way. Within ten days, Fengchuan and I will personally complete the costumes for the five of you."

Under Shiina Rikki's almost dull gaze, Chihaya Tetsuya said:

"It won't hurt to give it a try anyway. Let's try it together with all our strength and without any psychological pressure."

——There are still 10 days until the Live starts.

Chapter 32: The Designer’s Self

"Making five sets of clothes in ten days...eh? Seriously?"

After hearing the "mission" brought back by Chihaya Tetsuya, Toyokawa Shoko was completely petrified.

"Although I know you're amazing, Chihaya-san, making five pieces of clothing from scratch in ten days is a bit too much, isn't it?!"

"...? Starting from scratch?"

Hearing Toyokawa Shoko's exclamation, Chihaya Tetsuya was stunned for a moment before nodding in sudden realization.

"Ah, I see. So far I've only shown you how to customize something from scratch, but I haven't taught you how to make modifications to a ready-made garment."

As he spoke, Chihaya Tetsuya walked towards the product room and waved to Toyokawa Shoko.

"Come on, Fengchuan, I'll show you the real main battlefield of [KaZoKu]."

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

Before this, Toyokawa Shoko had never entered the production room where ready-made clothes were stored, because she had only seen Chihaya Tetsuya making clothes from fabrics and paper patterns.

But when she actually walked into the product room, she immediately couldn't help but exclaimed:

"How many clothes are there...?!"

In the finished room, which is no less than an office in size, except for the workbench at the end of the room used to stack packaging boxes and ribbons, all the rest of the space is occupied by hangers and clothes.

Men's and women's clothing, long-sleeved and short-sleeved tops and bottoms, everything is available.

"Because they have to be replaced every season, there are probably only about a thousand or so pieces."

Chihaya Tetsuya said as he picked up a sweatshirt from the side.

"After all, as a clothing studio that specializes in Real Clothes (everyday clothing), it's more efficient to modify existing pieces rather than designing from scratch."

"……makes sense."

If every piece of clothing has to start from the design drawing, then the efficiency of launching clothing for a studio whose main selling point is everyday clothing would be too low.

And in the final analysis, the reason why Chihaya Tetsuya treated those two pieces of clothing so seriously and cautiously last time was entirely because of the other party's special identity.

Hoshino Ai...

Thinking back to this top idol who is currently on the rise, Shoko Toyokawa's heart was suddenly filled with conflict.

On the one hand, it was because of the shocking fact that she had concealed from Chihaya Tetsuya, and on the other hand, it was because of her envy of the irreplaceable relationship between the two.

The outfit that belonged exclusively to Hoshino Ai was made possible by Chihaya Tetsuya's dedication of almost everything he had. It was an outfit that belonged only to Hoshino Ai. At the same time, the posture that almost burned herself out also belonged only to Hoshino Ai.

At least for Toyokawa Shoko now, if she wants to catch up with Hoshino Ai and stand on the same level as her... there is still a long way to go.

Not only that, with Hoshino Ai's recent activeness, the gap in status between the two will become wider and wider...

Eh? So...if Chihaya-san were to start his own business, [Models] would probably be a very important part of it.

If Hoshino Ai could be Chihaya's model, it would definitely be a huge boost to the development of his personal brand. And I think Hoshino Ai would definitely not refuse...

But, but...if she did that, wouldn't it just bring them back to their closest working relationship, thus narrowing the distance between them? If that happened, wouldn't all her worries come true?

"Hmm...what should I do?"

Shoko Toyokawa was suddenly in a dilemma.

On the other side, Chihaya Tetsuya was holding a dozen or so clothes he had just picked out and staggered towards her.

"What's wrong, Fengchuan? Is there anything that bothers you?"

"Eh? Ah, nothing!"

As if waking up from a dream, Shoko Toyokawa hurriedly took some clothes from Tetsuya Chihaya.

"Are these all for revision?"

"Yes."

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded.

"This also includes some clothes you can use... Anyway, let's move them to the workbench first."

"Yes!"

Then, at the instruction of Chihaya Tetsuya, Toyokawa Shoko placed the clothes on the workbench and spread them out one by one.

"Then, what we have to do next is to find the parts we need on these ready-made garments according to our designs."

Chihaya Tetsuya said as he picked up a jacket with a lot of street graffiti textures.

"For example, I like the way the cuffs of this one are done. So we can just..."

Click——!

Under Toyokawa Shoko's stunned gaze, Chihaya Tetsuya used a pair of tailor's scissors to tear the dress into several parts.

"Eh?"

Seeing this, Toyokawa Shoko was stunned:

"Just, just like that... it was taken down?"

"Well, after all, I only need a small part of it. Not the whole thing."

Chihaya Tetsuya said calmly:

"And for us who have very little time left, this patchwork approach is the most feasible - don't worry, the overall style and pattern will still be produced according to my design, so it will not constitute plagiarism."

"Original, that's how it is..."

Toyokawa Shoko nodded in sudden realization.

"So, these clothes here also need to be disassembled?"

"Yes."

As Chihaya Tetsuya spoke, he put aside the parts that he could use.

"The parts that can be used are directly assembled by sewing. If they really can't find the right materials, they will make them themselves. This is also a common method used by many handmade clothing shops."

"I see. Then... these are the remaining parts."

"Throw it away."

Chihaya Tetsuya answered very decisively:

"Since it can't be used in our design, it's useless and can be thrown away."

"…………"

That strength and self-esteem, which was completely different from what she had imagined, made Toyokawa Shoko feel an inexplicable tingling sensation on her skin.

Although it was just a few words, Shoko Toyokawa still felt Chihaya Tetsuya's extremely strong personal opinion as a designer from his words and actions.

Not only that, but his serious attitude when designing clothes for Hoshino Ai and his erudition when discussing the summer special edition all proved that he is a person who is fully committed to fashion design...

So, would someone like Chihaya really give up his career as a designer for Hoshino Ai?

If she really took the initiative before Hoshino Ai and told her feelings to Chihaya Tetsuya, what choice would Chihaya Tetsuya make?

Shoko Toyokawa couldn't help but fall into deep thought again.