Basketball miracles

Chapter 167 [The Beauty Pageant Guy]

On Saturday, Xiao Tu didn't go play basketball with Mitsui Hisashi; he wanted to do something else.

He suggested going to see the "Cutest High School Girl" beauty pageant in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Instead of taking a car, they rode bicycles to get some exercise.

The main reason is that Mitsui Hisashi needs to train, while Xiao Tu doesn't. The point guard's physique might be due to his light weight, but he has super strong stamina.

Xiao Tu plans to buy a vehicle, otherwise getting around is very inconvenient. In Japan, you need to be 18 to get a regular driver's license. He knows how to drive, but he can't get a license in Japan, so he can only choose a motorcycle or bicycle.

Xiao Tu preferred riding a motorcycle; bicycles were too slow and not cool at all.

In 1990, the romantic film "A Moment of Romance" was released in Hong Kong and subsequently became a hit across Asia.

Finally, the scene where Andy Lau and Wu Chien-lien, dressed in snow-white gowns and wedding dresses, ride a Suzuki RG500 down the road touched the hearts of countless young people and exemplified what romance truly means.

Afterwards, more and more young people started riding motorcycles, and Mitsui Hisashi said he happened to know some of these people. Through a friend's introduction, Xiao Tu was able to buy a motorcycle at a much lower price.

The two chatted as they rode their bikes, Xiao Tu thoroughly enjoying life in the 90s. He hadn't been doing the things young people did in the 80s; now this was a truly relaxing vacation.

Mitsui Hisashi asked, "Why would you be interested in this kind of activity?"

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "Someone recommended this place to my dad. They gave him the tickets, but he wasn't interested in coming, so he gave them to me instead."

"Why would they recommend this?" Mitsui Hisashi didn't understand.

"I don't know either." Xiao Tu certainly knew why; it was because he was a pimp.

Robert Shaw can simply tell the organizers if he sees a high school girl he likes, memorizes her number, and they can arrange for her to come over. It's so wicked.

Xiao Tu wouldn't explain that "Flame Man" Mitsui Hisashi was still at the age where he was experiencing occasional bouts of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) and pretending to be a gangster with thugs, and shouldn't be exposed to these real dark sides.

Xiao Tu was different; Robert treated him like a buddy, telling him everything. When giving him the tickets, Robert even reminded him to tell any Japanese girl he liked that he'd break up with her after half a year of vacation, lest he get sick from being cooped up in Japan.

Japan has countless beauty pageants. This high school girl pageant was held in a large auditorium, and the top ten winners received prizes; it seemed quite formal.

Xiao Tu locked his car at the door and had only taken a few steps when he saw a young man wearing gray and white trousers and a black casual jacket sneaking around the lobby, his posture close to the wall resembling Chopper's.

Was he spying on the girl he had a crush on?
Wow, this hairstyle and outfit are so trendy! If he changed into overalls, wouldn't he look like a smaller version of Kun Kun?
Xiao Tu suddenly felt a mischievous urge and deliberately stepped forward, patted the other person on the shoulder, and asked, "Hey bro, what are you peeking at?"

"Huh? I didn't peek." The short-haired, side-parted "young man" was startled and quickly turned around to explain, his voice very gentle, clearly that of a woman.

When she saw Xiao Tu, she was surprised to find that the person speaking to her was a handsome foreign man. She was just like Fan Xian when he first met the chicken leg girl at the temple—completely stunned (〇_ｏ).
Xiao Tu was also somewhat surprised to see the person's face, but he managed to control his expression.

She has short, neat hair, big doe eyes, thick eyebrows, delicate features, and an androgynous appearance.

He casually patted someone on the shoulder, and it turned out to be someone he knew?

Xiao Tu knows very few Japanese celebrities, only about a hundred, including Akiho Yoshizawa, Yui Hatano, Yua Mikami, Asuka, Mio Kimishima, and Arina Hashimoto.

The woman in front of him wasn't the teacher, but Xiao Tu recognized her. She was incredibly famous and had a very distinctive appearance; she was a top star in the 90s, comparable to Takuya Kimura.

She is Shin-chan's favorite, one of the actresses whose photobooks Shin-chan always looks at when he goes to the bookstore, and sometimes Shin-chan even fantasizes about her being his mother.

This person is none other than Yuki Uchida, the female celebrity who has turned countless girls gay and possesses the most youthful charm.

At this time, Yuki Uchida had not yet debuted, but she already had a signature short haircut with an astonishing amount of hair, coupled with a healthy wheat-colored complexion. She was completely different from the traditional Japanese beauty, possessing a unique charm.

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "So you're a girl. You're here to participate in the competition, right? I heard there's an event here, so I came with my friends to be spectators."

Yuki Uchida was even more stunned, wondering if she was dreaming. How could there be such a handsome foreigner with such a pleasant voice? His Japanese was also amazing.

Thinking about how she looked like a man and had been mistaken for someone else, Yuki Uchida felt a little embarrassed: "I just wanted to come and see... How can I participate in the competition looking like this?" Yuki Uchida had indeed registered, but after quietly observing the people in the hall, she was already prepared to withdraw. Even though it was late February and the weather was cold, all the other girls were wearing skirts to the competition, making her look completely out of place.

Xiao Tu looked into her eyes and encouraged her, "I think you should give it a try; you might be surprised by what you get."

"why?"

"Because this is the cutest high school girl competition, it's not about who has the prettiest dress or the longest hair," Xiao Tu said seriously. "If you go on stage in this outfit, you'll definitely leave a deep impression on everyone. The others are too similar, so they won't get good results."

Yuki Uchida immediately understood. "You mean they all look pretty much the same?"

“Yes, you have a unique style. If I were a judge, I would be tempted to ask, ‘What kind of look is this? It’s quite distinctive.’ Then you can start telling your story.”

Yuki Uchida was taken aback: "I wasn't planning on telling a story."

"That's a good idea. When you introduce yourself, you can talk about why you're participating in the competition. Say that you're facing many difficulties but you will never give up. A good story will be more appealing." Future talent shows will always involve comparing misery, and Xiao Tu's perspective is beyond what modern people can match.

Why did Xiao Tu help Yuki Uchida? Purely out of boredom. Even if he hadn't helped, Yuki Uchida would have become famous in the future, perhaps even this year.

After hearing Xiao Tu's words, Uchida wanted to participate in the competition again today. She asked curiously, "You're not Japanese, are you? How come your Japanese is so good?"

"I'm American, here in Japan for fun. You should sign up first so you don't miss this opportunity. I'll be there to applaud you when you go on stage." Xiao Tu didn't know how Yuki Uchida originally debuted, but participating in this competition would.

"Thank you, I'll give it a try." Yuki Uchida made up her mind and bowed to Xiao Tu before leaving.

Mitsui Hisashi remained quiet until Uchida Yuki left, then he smiled and asked, "Did you deliberately trick her into registering? How could she possibly get good results looking like that? I thought he was a boy too."

"She's got a bright future, you'll see. Come on, let's go inside and see where we're sitting."

Xiao Tu's two tickets were in the front row. As soon as the person in charge, Hinata, saw him, she came over to greet him warmly and instantly recognized his identity, showering him with compliments in English.

Japan's education system is one of the key reasons for the phenomenon of worshipping foreign things. It places great emphasis on English education, starting in elementary school, and assigns a significant weight to English grades, leading to frequent use of English in daily life and fostering a sense of reverence for the language.

Xiao Tu felt great, experiencing a sense of exhilaration, as if "the world revolves around me."

Staff members also explained the competition rules to Xiao Tu: the organizers would not provide costumes; participants had to prepare their own. The winner wouldn't immediately become a star; at most, the Tokyo media would report on it.

There will be opportunities to shoot photo albums later, to let the girls test the waters first. If the photo albums sell well, then there will be other opportunities.

Xiao Tu discovered that this was the precursor to the future "Japan's Cutest High School Girl" competition, which later held its finals in Tokyo, with tens of thousands of participants from six regions across Japan.

Xiao Tu knew about this because a future champion was being heavily criticized. The champion was an average-looking girl with very thick, "carrot-like" legs. Japanese netizens were outraged: Where was the cuteness? Was she a nepotism hire?

Chinese netizens also discussed it, treating it as a joke.

As the match began, Mitsui Hisashi became more and more engrossed, while Xiao Tu was almost falling asleep.

The so-called talent is that the girls go on stage to introduce themselves, strike a pose, sing a song or recite a short poem.

The girls' styles were all pretty outdated, and then they tried to act cute. Even Ayumi Hamasaki, the "lazy girl" from Fukuoka, was a rather plain-looking girl when she first debuted, and her career was struggling. She only became famous after meeting Avex's president, Masato Matsuura, and dyeing her hair blonde.

When number 105 was called, Yuki Uchida entered the game, and the match finally had a highlight.

Just as Xiao Tu said, the audience erupted in noise as soon as she appeared on stage. There were only a few hundred people in the auditorium, but everyone was curious as to why a handsome young man was participating in a beauty pageant.

"Hello everyone, I'm Yuki Uchida from Fujimura Girls' High School. I'm 17 years old, 165cm tall, and my hobbies are sports and singing." As soon as Yuki Uchida spoke into the microphone, the audience knew she was a girl.

(End of this chapter)