A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

"Of course I'm worried."

Chihaya Tetsuya answered without hesitation:

"I said it the other day. We're both just pursuing happiness in our own ways. And my happiness naturally includes you."

“Zhe…”

After hearing these words, Hoshino Ai's eyes suddenly burst into extremely strong and rich love.

On the other hand, after hearing Chihaya Tetsuya's response, Sankaku Hatsuka shook his head speechlessly.

Although I know that what Chihaya Tetsuya said was just to express that he cares about the other person, anyone who heard it would feel that this guy was definitely confessing his love.

"Alas... you, just be thankful that I'm here..."

After that, she walked directly to the infatuated Hoshino Ai and reached out to gently pat her shoulder:

"Okay, you still have work to do next, right? I'll go with you."

"Well, just turn it down..."

Hoshino Ai said with a dazed look on her face:

"There are obviously more important things waiting for me now..."

"No, it will immediately affect the reputation of [Summer Zodiac] and the agency."

Sanjiao Chuhua's tone was very calm.

"Besides...it was you who agreed with Mr. Tetsuya to wait until May. Don't break your promise."

"..."

Hearing this, Hoshino Ai's eyes, which had begun to look a little out of control, instantly became clear.

"I understand……"

She raised her head and gave Chihaya Tetsuya an extremely sweet smile.

"For me, just being able to see Zhe is already a blessing. As for other things... let's talk about them when we are alone!"

"In the end, I still don't have any intention of correcting myself..."

Sanjiao Chuhua sighed.

"Forget it, this is indeed more in line with your style. Well then, Xiangzi, Mr. Tetsuya, to ensure the safety of all of us, I will escort her back to the office first. See you next time."

"Ah, please wait a moment, Chuhua."

Just as Sankaku Hatsuka forcefully pulled Hoshino Ai up from the chair and was about to leave, Chihaya Tetsuya suddenly stopped her:

"This weekend, [MyGO!!!!!] wants to invite you to their celebration party. Are you free that day?"

"……I?"

Sanjiao Chuhua was stunned after hearing this.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"After all, you did help them out that day, so it wouldn't be strange if I invited you, right?"

Chihaya Tetsuya said as a matter of course:

"Of course, everything still depends on your arrangements. If your time is inconvenient, I will convey it to them truthfully."

"…………"

After hearing this, Sanjiao Chuhua thought for a moment, and then asked:

"Since they're inviting even an 'outsider' like me... will Mr. Tetsuya go that day too?"

"Yeah. It's my sister's band after all."

"I understand. Then please tell everyone at [MyGO!!!!!] that I'll be attending."

"Ok."

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded.

"Well, we'll see you this weekend... Love too, see you next time."

"Well, see you next time."

After reluctantly waving goodbye to Chihaya Tetsuya, Hoshino Ai was taken away from the studio by Mikado Hatsuka...

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

"Inviting you to the celebration party... sounds a bit too humorous."

On the way back, Hoshino Ai couldn't help but say:

"You are obviously one of the reasons for that predicament."

"But at least I did help them out and let the Live go on."

"...You're helping them because of your own calculations, right?"

"Whatever you say."

Sanjiao Chuhua remained noncommittal about this.

"Besides that, I heard from Xiangzi that Mr. Tetsuya has already negotiated with a sponsor. Once he finishes this design, he should start working on his own business..."

Having said that, she paused for a moment before continuing to ask:

"Are we one step closer to the 'possibility' you've been waiting for?"

"...It's still too early. We have to wait until the company is completely established and successful."

Hoshino Ai snorted lightly, and then continued to ask:

"More than that, about that sponsor... tell me in detail."

The entire Japanese fashion industry's attention is clearly focused on nozAK!, which has dominated the spring sales charts, yet there are still people investing in Zhe during this period...

"I want to know, who on earth has such good vision?"

Chapter 13: There are more than one people with unique vision

"Are these the hot-selling clothes this spring?"

Looking at the list and accompanying photos that Yamabuki had just compiled for her, Sakurakouji Luna had a thoughtful expression:

"Let me think... At this point, we can't just judge it by whether it's boring or not. We have to consider its cost and style. If that's the case... well, this minimalist style combination... well..."

Sakurakoji Luna really wanted to point out, like Toyokawa Shoko had done last time, some ingenious design in this seemingly unoriginal outfit, perhaps due to cost savings or ease of mass production. However, no matter how she looked at it, this outfit was just an "industrial product" that happened to meet the current selling point and was over-promoted by the media...

"Yachiyo... I still can't find anything remarkable about this outfit."

Sakurakoji Luna complained:

"Could you please explain to me what makes it so great?"

"…………"

However, this time, Head Maid Yamabuki failed to respond to her master's expectations.

"I'm sorry, Lady Luna, I can't do this."

Head Maid Yamabuki shook her head.

"Because this design... in my opinion, has too many shortcomings."

After saying that, she immediately pointed to her upper body:

"First, there's the large logo. While it's perfectly normal to wear a commercial logo on such minimalist clothing, the garment's silhouette clearly wasn't designed for it. It's a very standard, loose-fitting garment. The biggest advantage of this design is that it can be worn by people of all genders and body types. However, once this large logo is added, the nature of the garment changes."

After saying this, Maid Yamabuki specifically pointed out the area on her chest:

"For example, if a fuller-figured woman wore this garment, the logo would be deformed by the natural folds, making the logo, which is supposed to be just an embellishment, noticeable and unsightly. Fortunately, their logo is simple in shape, otherwise it would have been a disaster. If they had intended to use a large logo from the beginning, they should have designed two separate styles for men and women, rather than just one size fits all."

"And then there's the lower body. The cuffs are completely superfluous. While they do appear to provide more adjustment, if you actually tighten the legs, you'll immediately notice that they significantly alter the shape and cause wrinkles to accumulate, which doesn't go well with the flat, loose-fitting white top."

At this point, Maid Yamabuki immediately shook her head:

"The original design concept of this outfit is actually very simple and easy to understand, and it also meets all the conditions for being a bestseller. However, it is precisely these unnecessary designs that make this otherwise refreshing and perfect design have many flaws."

"It's like a poorly modified suit."

After hearing Yamabuki Yachiyo's doubts, Sakurakouji Luna couldn't help but look at the design drawing again.

"Putting aside the big logo... Yachiyo, do you think this top looks familiar?"

Sakurakoji Luna pointed to the armpit of the clothing:

"Raglan sleeves, hidden stitching under the arms, avoiding 'penguin sleeves' while reducing fabric usage... We just saw this treatment two days ago—"

"Yes, it's Chihaya-san."

Yamabuki Yachiyo answered without hesitation:

"Please take a look at this. This is the autumn outfit that Chihaya-san sold at the Sanfeng Chamber of Commerce last year."

"………………ah."

Without even looking carefully, Sakurakoji Luna immediately saw the clue with just a quick glance.

"If we remove all the unnecessary designs... the final product should look like this."

"That's it."

Yamabuki Yachiyo nodded.

"For others, they might just think that the designer who designed this outfit has joined [nozAK!], but for those of us in the know, it's all too obvious what these two designs mean."

"Plagiarism."

Sakurakouji Luna's expression instantly turned cold.

“And it was handled in the most clumsy way possible.”

"I think this is exactly why Mr. Chihaya wants to start his own business."

Yachiyo Yamabuki said:

"While I don't know if there's any connection between the two, he seems to have been targeted by [nozAK!]."

"How arrogant..."

The displeasure on Sakurakouji Luna's face became more and more intense.

"He's acting recklessly, relying on his control over capital and the media... Tsk, but Chihaya Tetsuya's resume is too thin."

"Born in an orphanage, adopted at the age of twelve and sent to art school, she was admitted to Yihua University but dropped out less than six months later due to a plagiarism dispute. This kind of resume is not enough to compete with the established fashion brands that currently dominate the mid-to-low-end market."

Yamabuki Yachiyo put away the design drawing in her hand.

"Even just being independent isn't enough; he needs to make a louder voice, loud enough for the entire industry to take notice."

"...Does that idol's performance costume count?"

Sakurakoji Luna asked:

"Anyone who knows a bit about the clothing should be able to understand the level of that costume, right?"

"While their influence and popularity are indeed strong... they are merely [idols' performance clothes], not [fashion]."

Yamabuki Yachiyo gave a negative answer.

"To be recognized by the industry, he needs concrete results, like a successful fashion show, signing a famous artist, and sales that surpass nozAK!. But for someone like Chihaya, who started from scratch, it's hard to say how long it would take to achieve all of these."

Having said that, she couldn't help but look down at Sakurakouji Luna.

"I'm afraid Chihaya-san's personal brand won't be able to meet our expectations anytime soon. Even... establishing it will likely encounter considerable resistance."

“…It doesn’t matter.”

Sakurakouji Luna said calmly:

"Anyway, I never thought about getting a return on my investments before. This time, I finally found a project I like, so even if I lose money, it doesn't matter. Besides... you also said it's only a short-term thing. As long as we take a long-term view, it will be fine, right?"

"Yes, that's it."

Seeing that her master did not seem to intend to abandon this designer whom she had great confidence in for the sake of immediate benefits, Yamabuki Yachiyo immediately smiled.

"And thankfully, it seems we're not the only ones who think highly of him."