A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

“Although I can’t guarantee that it will be accepted by everyone, at least from my personal experience, this kind of single-minded and sincere advocacy sometimes creates works that move people’s hearts…”

Chihaya Tetsuya replied:

"It's like the costume I designed for Ai. I only had love for someone in mind when I designed it, but in the end, I still created a piece that everyone agreed with. Although I don't know what everyone saw in that costume, at least they did recognize and praise it."

"…………"

As a witness, Sanjiao Chuhua was also quite impressed by the incident of the performance costume.

To others, that costume may just be an extremely exquisite performance costume, but to Hoshino Ai, it is a "letter" that records Chihaya Tetsuya's mood and thoughts.

Even if the truth is really as Chihaya Tetsuya said, that this costume is the work of Hoshino Ai alone, it can still be accepted and recognized by people who have nothing to do with it.

"Furthermore, for creators, it's inherently difficult to predict the success of a work before it's completed. If a creator is afraid to create simply because they're worried about failure, they'll likely end up living in a spiral of self-denial."

Sankaku Hatsuka's hesitation reminded Chihaya Tetsuya of Shiina Riki a few days ago.

Unlike Tatsuki Shiina, as a professional singer, Mikado Hatsuka does not have the time and leeway for unlimited trial and error.

But even so, what the two of them have to do is the same——

“In a way, we creators are like the stars in the Tokyo night sky.”

Chihaya Tetsuya's metaphor made Sankaku Hatsuka subconsciously turn her gaze towards him.

"What does it mean?"

"There are far more stars in the sky than we can see now, but even so, we can only see a small fraction of them."

Chihaya Tetsuya looked out the window at the night sky where only sporadic stars could be seen.

"It is because their 'claims' are so weak that they cannot penetrate the lights and dark clouds that obscure the sky."

"But if we move to a clearer sky, even these stars with a slightly weaker 'opinion' will be visible to others."

Sanjiao Chuhua retorted.

"And stargazers don't necessarily just want to see bright stars! They might want to see a sky full of stars shining brightly!"

"Perhaps so...but what does this have to do with 'stars'?"

Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head.

"No matter what their preferences are or where they choose to gaze up at the stars, none of this has anything to do with the stars. From the very beginning, the stars can only do one thing: radiate their light. As for everything after that... it is all determined by the stargazers."

"If he admires your brilliance, he'll naturally stay and become your fan. Otherwise, he'll leave to find the starry sky he's pursuing. So, putting aside the issue of love, if you truly want to continue to be active as a creator, then there's actually only one thing you need to do from the very beginning: express yourself without hesitation. Otherwise, regardless of whether love remains with you, you'll never find your creative state."

"…………"

Chihaya Tetsuya's words were like thunder, creating a bright and shocking crack in Sankaku Hatsuka's hazy heart.

These words, which seem to completely contradict common sense, are surprisingly convincing when spoken by fellow creator Chihaya Tetsuya.

As a stargazer, she had never thought that she could understand the relationship between the starry sky and stargazers, or between creators and fans, in this way.

This inspiration from Chihaya Tetsuya is not just about this love matter. If she wants to continue to be active in the industry as a singer-songwriter in the future, she must always consider these things.

Is it just about expressing your own opinions and leaving the rest to the audience?

For idols who need to cater to the needs of fans all the time, this way of thinking that goes its own way is a bit too unorthodox.

But for a creator, perhaps what she needs is this kind of self-confidence that always sticks to herself.

...Speaking of which, it's not just Chihaya Tetsuya, Hoshino Ai's idol path is also like this.

Even though she was an idol who shone for only one person, even though her performance was not meant to be dedicated to this stage from the beginning, her unwavering self-assurance still caught everyone's attention... including her own.

If Hoshino Ai really changes her mind and stays in [Suumer Zodiac], then... can she really keep up with Hoshino Ai's pace if she is only hesitant about the reviews of her new songs?

Is the reason why she wants to keep Hoshino Ai just because of her self-blaming complaints about her, or is it because of her lack of self-confidence?

Why did she want to become a professional singer? And why did she stand on the stage?

……

Mikado Hatsuka, who had been watching Hoshino Ai all this time, suddenly realized something.

This is her last chance to express her opinions and ideas before the last bit of guilt is severed from Ai's heart.

Even if she ultimately failed to succeed in keeping her, at least she would not have any regrets.

Whether as the "Summer Triangle" of the "Summer Zodiac" or as the "Triangle of Early Life" as a singer-songwriter, she should no longer be so hesitant.

Thinking of this, Sanjiao Chuhua suddenly raised his head and let out a long breath.

If she is in this state...she is confident that she can create a new song for love!

Not just this time, if she can always maintain this belief, she may be able to go further on the path of being a creator!

"By the way, Miss Triangle, even though I just told you a lot, I still want to make it clear... I don't mean to force you to write a song for love."

However, just as Sankaku Hatsuka's heart was already bursting with endless desire to create, Chihaya Tetsuya suddenly said:

"Just as love has the right to choose, as a creator, you also have the power to decide your own work. My personal opinion is not binding in any way and can only be regarded as a suggestion at best. If you feel that doing so goes against your creative philosophy, then please forget what I said."

“…………………………Eh? Are you sure you want to say this at a time like this?!”

It was clear that Chihaya Tetsuya was standing in front of the creator and sharing his experience with her just a second ago, but the next second he suddenly said that it didn't matter if he forgot all this?

Sanjiao Chuhua was stunned by the sudden temperature difference.

"That's a bit too cunning, isn't it? I was listening to you carefully just now, just like a student. Now, even if you asked me to forget it, I definitely can't do it, right?!"

"No, no, no... I have absolutely no intention of calling myself a teacher. What I just said is merely my personal opinion."

Facing Sankaku Hatsuka's complaints, Chihaya Tetsuya quickly shook his head and said:

"Besides, Miss Triangle is already a professional singer with excellent music, right? The popularity of that music video wasn't just due to the love and the costumes, but also the quality of the song itself. So, in my opinion, there's no gap between us that would warrant calling us teacher and student."

"…………"

Alas, it’s another true statement like this, sandwiched between compliments.

He was clearly older than me, with far more experience and abilities than me, but he had no self-awareness at all, and even unconsciously narrowed the distance between us by lowering his status...

After hearing something like this, it would be impossible to become depressed even if I wanted to!

"Mr. Chihaya... you are indeed a true 'creator'."

Feeling the excitement in his heart that had not yet cooled down, and looking at the innocent-looking man in front of him, Sanjiao Chuhua couldn't help but sigh.

"I have clearly received your proposal."

"So, about writing a song for love?"

“…regardless of its feasibility, I want to try it.”

Sanjiao Chuhua puffed out his chest and said in a firm tone:

"I don't want Summer Zodiac to disband so hastily, nor do I want to face the rest of my singing career with regrets."

"That's it..."

Chihaya Tetsuya also smiled after hearing this.

"Thank you for taking Ai so seriously, Miss Triangle. I will also work hard to make Ai change her mind."

"………………By the way, Chihaya-san."

"what happened?"

"As a singer and idol, I would prefer you to call me by my 'stage name' rather than my last name."

Sanjiao Chuhua said with a serious face:

"I also need to get more accustomed to being called that."

"……I see."

Indeed, especially for an artist with such super high popularity, calling her by her stage name is also a form of respect for her.

Thinking of this, Chihaya Tetsu made the decision without hesitation.

"Then...if everything goes well, please continue to take care of Ai from now on, Miss Chuhua."

"Well, whether it's for love or for ourselves, let's work hard together from now on—"

Sanjiao Chuhua smiled and responded:

"Mr. Tetsuya."

Faced with such a sudden change of address, Chihayatetsu couldn't help but be stunned.

“? I don’t have a stage name like that.”

"Because I think this name sounds better... or do you not like this name?"

"That's not the case..."

"Okay, then the question of how we're going to address each other is settled."

Seeing Chihaya Tetsuya's dazed expression still unable to recover from his shock, Sankaku Hatsuka stood up from his seat.

"Well, I'll go back to writing songs tonight. See you next time, Mr. Tetsuya."

The speed of the tram gradually slowed down, and finally stopped after a slight shake.

Walking on the empty platform, Sanjiao Chuhua watched the train leave while muttering to himself:

“It’s great to be able to take this last bus today.”

After saying that, she raised her head and looked at the night sky again.

Although there were still only sporadic lights, Sanjiao Chuhua no longer felt unhappy or confused about it.

"From an astronomical perspective, the Summer Triangle is also composed of first-magnitude stars."

At the end of April, when summer is approaching, the long-awaited Summer Triangle seems to be finally ready to shine in the night sky.

Chapter 48: Final Adjustments Before Completion

As Chihaya Tetsuya cut the last thread in his hand, he had completely completed the production of the performance costumes for the four girls.

All that’s left now is for Fengchuan to complete the final adjustments, and then the five-person performance costumes will be completed.

however--

"Chi-Chihaya-nii..."

As Toyokawa Shoko put the sample garment on the mannequin, she suddenly showed an embarrassed expression:

"I had a small accident here."

"What accident?"

"Do you know Su Shi's exact bust measurements? Both upper and lower."

"…………"

Hearing this, the experienced Chihaya Tetsuya immediately understood what the accident that Toyokawa Shoko was talking about was.

"Because the four pieces of clothing I have are all loose and one size fits all, you subconsciously forgot about it, right?"

"Yes……"

Shoko Toyokawa looked at the sample clothes in front of her with considerable frustration.

"If I follow the mannequin's bust, then the deformation process will definitely be completed as I envisioned... But the problem is, this is the mannequin's bust, not real-life, so I can't guarantee the actual effect of this dress at all."

“…This is a classic mistake.”

Chihaya Tetsuya came to the mannequin and looked at the part that was the focus of Toyokawa Shoko's design.

"If the bust is larger than the mannequin, then there will be a very obvious sense of tension before deformation. If it is smaller than the mannequin, this critical tension will not be enough to make it completely loosen up..."

Having said that, Chihaya Tetsuya once again imagined the specific effect in his mind.

"No, it's not just the bust. The waist and abdomen are also very important. When I modified the pattern for you, I also took the stretching from below into consideration. If I only adjusted the bust, it would directly cause the entire pattern to be unbalanced."

"Eh!?"

After hearing this, Shoko Toyokawa was shocked.

"What should we do? Is it too late for us to adjust now?!"

"There's still enough time, but... honestly, if you want to achieve the best deformation effect, it's best to adjust it according to the model's actual situation."