A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

In order to survive in this industry that is about to fall into turmoil and to protect their own industries, they have to consider a lot more than this emerging designer who has unlimited possibilities and prospects.

……

"Mr. Chihaya."

After hesitating for a moment, the employee reminded:

"If you insist on starting a personal brand now... be very careful of [nozAK!]'s suppression. They seem to be expanding at an alarming rate lately. If it were just an ordinary brand, it wouldn't be a problem, but with your abilities... your brand will definitely be noticed. With them already dominating the market and media resources, your situation could be quite dangerous."

"It doesn't matter. Rather, even if I didn't do anything, they would have already targeted me."

Chihaya Tetsuya smiled, his tone very calm.

"And even without [nozAK!], there would always be others who dislike me and see me as a rival. In the clothing industry... or rather, in the fashion industry, this kind of thing is all too common. Their existence may have indeed made me take this step a little earlier, but in the end, it was only a matter of time."

"Don't worry, I've struggled my way through the lowest levels of society. This level of pressure won't make me back down."

"……I see."

After receiving this answer, the employee could only nod and send his blessing to this young and overmature emerging designer.

"Well, I wish you all the best... and I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together again in the future."

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

"Your live show has been confirmed to be held on May 20th."

Inside Watanabe's office, the agent said to the two people from Summer Zodiac:

"The location is [K-Arena] in Yokohama."

"Eh?"

Sanjiao Chuhua suddenly made a sound of great surprise.

For idols, Yokohama's K-Arena is basically the highest level in terms of scale and stage level.

For many idols, being able to perform on such a stage can even be considered the ultimate goal.

"The first live show...is this the place you chose?"

"Well, because the stage and the performance are so large, this time, while you will be the main performers, we will also invite seniors from the agency to perform supporting performances."

Manager Higuchi said expressionlessly.

However, this seemingly understated answer made Sanjiao Chuhua's heart suddenly tighten.

As the industry's top idol agency, the seniors of [Watanabe Agency] are basically all super popular idols with national titles. Being able to invite them to help out, one can imagine how much attention this Live will receive.

"Thanks to those two brats who secretly went to a livehouse to perform a surprise live without telling their agency, thanks to the fanfare and various social media outlets, anticipation for this live has skyrocketed thanks to the 'new costume preview'. And... Hoshino Ai."

"kindness?"

"You mentioned before that this live performance might become your graduation performance."

"Eh? Ah... um..."

Although Hoshino Ai had indeed informed her agent of her situation in advance, she still felt a little panicked when she heard it said so directly.

"I've found the reason why I became an idol...so..."

"You don't have to explain this to me. Like I said before, our agency has extremely strict selection criteria, but our contracts are more relaxed than any other agency. If you don't want to be an idol anymore, you can quit at any time."

Even though the most popular idol in the agency is about to graduate, the agent's tone remains calm:

"I just want to confirm one thing. Our firm has prepared the perfect stage for your 'finale.' So, are you ready to leave this stage and never return?"

"…………"

After hearing this, Hoshino Ai was silent for a while, and then she said:

"Compared to him, none of this matters."

"That's good."

The agent nodded, then turned to look at Sanjiao Chuhua.

"Regarding the future of Summer Zodiac, although this may be very disheartening to you, Hoshino Ai's graduation will inevitably cause the group's popularity and influence to plummet."

"……I see."

Sanjiao Chuhua had already realized this.

"But even so, I still have to keep going... After all, I have my own goals."

"I knew you'd say that, so... as for the new member, we already have a candidate, but we'll have to wait until after the Live in May."

The agent took off his glasses and said:

"This live will be the most influential in the entire idol industry in the first half of this year, and it will be a grand event that will have the entire entertainment industry focused on it. Every one of your performances will be infinitely amplified, becoming a huge voice heard nationwide... So whether you want to continue moving forward or retire, you must wait until you have completed this live well."

"[Summer Zodiac], or rather, the future of both of you, will begin anew on that day."

Amidst the two idols' different expressions, the manager dropped one final sentence:

"I hope both of you can give answers you won't regret."

Chapter 16: Mature people always have a different perspective

Since the celebration party was held on a holiday, the time was naturally set in the afternoon or evening, which was more convenient for everyone.

Before leaving for the celebration party, Chihaya Tetsuya fell into deep thought about what souvenirs he should bring...

"[Giving a gift that doesn't suit the other person's taste or style is considered disrespectful]."

He still remembers Shoko Toyokawa's teachings.

But it was precisely because of this that he couldn't choose a suitable gift...

Nagasaki Suyo's family was undoubtedly extremely wealthy, so if he wanted to give a gift that matched her taste, he would have to think twice given his financial resources. Furthermore, if he wanted to give a gift that matched her preferences, he knew very little about Nagasaki Suyo...

"So, do you really need a gift?"

Looking at her brother who was sitting on the sofa at a loss, Chihaya Aine, who had already finished cleaning up, couldn't help but tilt her head.

"We're going to hold a celebration party, not to visit or anything..."

"It's a matter of attitude."

Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head.

"It would be fine if it were just you girls, but as a man who has already entered society, it's not right for me to go to a girl's house so casually."

"Well, that's what I said..."

But in the final analysis, this is a celebration party held by the band to commemorate this Live, and as an important contributor to the success of this Live, Chihaya Tetsuya should be the one to receive thanks in this celebration party.

Preparing gifts and such, although it makes sense, I always feel that Su Shi won't accept it so easily...

"Anyway, I think there's no need for brother to be so distant with Su Shi."

"This isn't being awkward; it's basic etiquette as a guest."

Chihaya Tetsuya gently pushed her forehead.

"And have you ever thought about what her parents would think if they saw me visiting her home empty-handed?"

"Although according to Su Shi, her mother basically won't come home...but we can't rule out this possibility."

Chihaya Aine nodded immediately.

"I see. Then I'll help my brother think about it... Let me think about it. Has Su Shi ever told us what she likes..."

"..."

Just as Chihaya Aine was lost in thought, Chihaya Tetsuya was attracted by what she had just said.

(My mother rarely comes home...)

Now, when she invited Nagasaki Suyo to her home that night, she also said something very concerning—

[To me, this ordinary apartment actually feels more like home.]

Nostalgia for ordinary apartments.

A mother who doesn't come home often.

And the nostalgic attitude that had always been attached to [CRYCHIC] before that.

……

"I thought about it."

Chihaya Tetsuya suddenly stood up from the sofa.

"Come on, Aine, let's go to the mall before we officially go to Shigaraki-san's house."

Under Chihaya Aine's curious gaze, Chihaya Tetsuya said:

"Although it might be a little strange as a gift, I think she'll like it."

…………3 p.m.…………

"It surprised me that……"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Shoko Toyokawa showed a rather surprised expression.

"Chihaya-san is surprisingly the last one to arrive. Every time we went out together before, he always left early."

"..."*n

After hearing this, everyone present suddenly showed different expressions.

Kaname Rakuna and Wakaba Mutsu didn't react much, Shiina Tatsuki was a little surprised, Takamatsu Touma was absent-minded, Mikado Hatsuka seemed lost in thought, and Nagasaki Motoyo frowned...

"Maybe it's because I stayed in bed."

Nagasaki Suyo curled her lips and said:

"After all, that guy usually goes to bed very late, and since he doesn't have to work in the studio today, it's even more likely that he'll oversleep."

"Hey...you even know when Mr. Tetsuya usually goes to bed."

After hearing this, Sanjiao Chuhua couldn't help but look at her in surprise.

"The relationship is surprisingly good."

"After all, I was forced to stay at his house for a night before this."

Nagasaki Suyo said calmly:

"By the way, his bed is littered with books he didn't have time to put away after reading them... Really, he's so reliable outside, but his lifestyle is so sloppy..."

Hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko immediately turned her head to look at Nagasaki Suyo, while Sankaku Hatsuka's expression became completely amused.

"Hey... so you actually slept in his room that day?"

"I can't help it. I was planning to sleep on the sofa in the living room, but he insisted that I go to his room."

Nagasaki Suyo sighed helplessly.

"Because it was really late that day, and I was the guest, I really had no room to refuse."

"Well……"

After hearing this, Shoko Toyokawa immediately showed a very complicated expression.

Although she had already had this premonition when she heard that Nagasaki Suyo was going to stay at Chihaya Tetsuya's house that day, she never expected that Nagasaki Suyo would actually sleep directly in Chihaya Tetsuya's room...

She could understand the reasons, but...it was still really enviable...Su Shi...

"I see."

On the other hand, after listening to Nagasaki Motoyo's words which were called "complaints" but were actually "showing off", she suddenly remembered the incident that she had not yet understood the full story of.

"No wonder Mr. Tetsuya slept with Chihaya that day and left behind that photo that stimulated my love. It turns out it was all because you occupied his room..."

"..."

After hearing these words, the expression on Nagasaki Suyo's face froze instantly.

The others also showed expressions of sudden enlightenment.

Although the events of that day have completely passed, everyone was still able to complete the cause and effect of the entire incident thanks to Nagasaki Motoyo's words.

“…There’s nothing we can do about this, right?”