Anime Crossover: There are a lot of beautiful girls who like me.

"Idiot! I asked you to pledge your loyalty to me... no, I meant to form a band with me!"

"Simply put, you work for me, I'll let you live here for free and cover your daily food expenses, and I'll also give you a portion of the money you earn under the band's name as a salary."

"I didn't mean for you to sleep with me in bed, okay?!"

One second, two seconds, three seconds... several seconds passed before Tsukimi Eiko's brain, which had been frozen in place, finally came to its senses. Then, with a cry of "Ah!", she squatted down and curled up in a ball, hugging her hoodie.

Her fair cheeks turned even redder, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Of course, this time she cried because she was so stupid.

If there were a crack in the floor, she would definitely crawl into it immediately and never come out again until Kitagawa Yu left.

Unfortunately, Kitagawa Yu isn't leaving until he's finished eating.

"Okay, hurry up and put your clothes on, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner~"

"Oh......"

Although Tsukimi Eiko was unwilling in her heart (?), her body still obediently followed Kitagawa Yu's instructions.

Then, after she sat down at the table, Kitagawa Yu saw that she was still looking dazed, so he couldn't help but pick up a piece of fried pork cutlet and feed it to her. The delicious taste of the crispy and oily exterior and the salty and juicy interior finally woke up her dizzy brain and brought her back to her senses.

"One, one, it's kimasu!"

Eiko Tsukimi said with her cheeks puffed out, then reluctantly swallowed the fried pork cutlet in her mouth, a hesitant look on her face.

"Oh... forming a band... I don't know how to do anything about it..."

Perhaps out of long-standing habit, or perhaps out of fear of being kicked out by Kitagawa Yu, Tsukimi Eiko's voice was so soft that even though Kitagawa Yu was listening very carefully, he almost couldn't hear her clearly.

"If you don't know how, just learn! I'll teach you!"

To pull her out of her timid and insecure world, Kitagawa Yu deliberately adopted a lighthearted tone, jokingly saying, "With a genius like me teaching you, you'll definitely learn quickly. But as a price, our contract will last until I get tired of you and choose to terminate it, or until you get tired of this world and decide to embrace death! After all, as a genius, my time is very precious~"

In Kitagawa Yu's opinion, most girls, upon hearing his chuunibyou (delusional) remarks, would either burst out laughing and find it amusing, or look at him with a smug expression.

In any case, Kitagawa Yu considered it a success, regardless of which method it was.

However... Tsukimi Eiko is clearly not an ordinary girl.

So after hearing his words, Tsukimi Eiko was like Lu Xiaobu, who had finally found his adoptive father after a life of wandering... no, it should be like Zhuge Liang, who had finally met Liu Bei, after working in Nanyang. She looked at him as if she had seen her master, and said with utmost seriousness, "I... I understand. Unless Kitagawa-kun gets tired of me, I will follow Kitagawa-kun forever, even without a salary!"

Well, as long as food and lodging are provided, that's fine!

Chapter 18 Sunflower

"..."

What should I do if I feel even a tiny bit touched?

This time, Kitagawa Yu couldn't help but open his mouth wide, and he was stunned for several seconds.

When he came to his senses, Kitagawa Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

If idiots could be ranked, Himegami Karen would probably only be level three at most. As for Tsukimi Eiko... giving her level nine is just to prevent her from getting arrogant, so one level was deducted!

Fortunately, innocent and kind-hearted girls are usually quite lucky in the world of romantic comedies.

Otherwise, given Tsukimi Eiko's intelligence, if her original fate had deviated even slightly, she might not have met Kongming.

So even if she doesn't commit suicide today, she'll most likely be scammed and end up helping others count their money in the future.

"Remember, don't trust others easily in the future, and don't do whatever others tell you to do, understand? Learn to say no! Do you understand how to say no?" Kitagawa Yu said seriously after regaining his senses.

"I understand." Tsukimi Eiko nodded obediently.

Perhaps because she had already 'acknowledged the Lord,' she no longer seemed as fearful and uneasy as before, and appeared much more relaxed.

Seeing this, Kitagawa Yu didn't say anything more, and could only joke, "Of course, I'm an exception. Anyway, I won't hurt you~"

"Yes, I believe in my master!"

Eiko Tsukimi smiled sweetly, and with her unintentional head tilt and the word "master," her charm was even greater than when she was wearing panties.

"Ahem... Just call me You... You should be a year older than me."

As Kitagawa Yu spoke, he lowered his head, picked up a piece of teriyaki chicken, and put it in his mouth, trying to avoid Tsukimi Eiko's clear gaze that made his heart skip a beat.

"Oh... Yu..."

Eiko Tsukimi was stunned for a moment, then kept whispering the name 'Yu' in her heart.

A warmth and sense of security, deeply buried in her memory and felt only when she was with her father as a child, enveloped her completely, making her feel a lump in her throat.

Although she hadn't yet heard any music that moved her or experienced its charm, at this moment, she no longer wanted to commit suicide.

Master? Friend? Or perhaps something else that I secretly long for deep down.

In short, the warmth and reassurance that Kitagawa Yu brought her allowed her to re-establish a bond with this wonderful world.

"Although things have changed a little from the original plan, let me still show you the charm of music!"

After dinner, Kitagawa Yu casually tossed two clean lunch boxes into the trash can next to the dining table, then pulled Tsukimi Eiko, who was about to wash the dishes, and led her to the Roland Fantom EX synthesizer workstation.

To be fair, the arranger keyboard and the synthesizer workstation do look quite similar.

There is also a lot of overlap in their functions, so many high school band members may not be able to distinguish between the two.

However, Kitagawa Yu chose the synthesizer workstation at this time purely because the black and white keys of the synthesizer workstation felt more like a piano, while the keys of the arranger keyboard felt more like an electronic keyboard.

The piece he was about to play had a slow tempo and a relatively simple melody, and didn't require fast arpeggios, so he naturally chose a synthesizer workstation that felt more like a piano, since he had studied piano before.

"Sit down and listen carefully, this is one of my favorite A... songs."

"Oh......"

Eiko Tsukimi first glanced quickly at her wrist, which was being held by Yu Kitagawa, then suppressed her shyness and excitement and obediently sat down on the piano bench. She then looked at him with curiosity and anticipation.

To be honest, this is not an illusion caused by any reason.

Despite being dressed in loose, casual home clothes, Kitagawa Yu's demeanor completely changed the moment he turned on the synthesizer workstation and speakers and sat down next to her.

It was a different kind of relaxed and free feeling, unlike the previous gentle and casual one.

The clumsy Tsukimi Eiko didn't know how to describe it in words, but in short, she couldn't bear to take her eyes off Kitagawa Yu for even a moment.

Especially when that warm singing and melody started playing, she, who had never drunk alcohol before, suddenly felt drunk.

"Even though they really like it, they always say 'it's not bad'."

"Faced with my inability to openly express my joy, you looked at the summer sea, smiled, and said to me, 'It's nice like this, isn't it?'"

Even when the sunlight is too bright, and even when my tears have dried up, you are still by my side supporting me.

"Blooming like a sunflower..."

"Sunflower" is the theme song for the Japanese drama "18/40 ~Two People's Dreams and Love~" sung by Ado.

Although she didn't achieve a good ranking on the Oricon Top 100 chart, Ado's YouTube channel only has 20 million views, less than one-tenth of "Annoying" and "Odori," and she doesn't even rank in the top ten of all her works.

But it is Kitagawa Yu's favorite Ado work, without exception.

Although his warm voice and melody could not even achieve 30% accuracy when sung by him at this moment, they still drew Tsukimi Eiko into the world created by the song.

It's as if two people are holding hands, their fingers intertwined, lying lazily among sunflowers basking in the sunlight under a clear blue sky.

Their eyes met unintentionally, and their heartbeats seemed to overlap.

At that moment, Tsukimi Eiko stared intently at Kitagawa Yu, and suddenly understood why her father had been so insistent on pursuing his musical dreams back then.

At the same time, having finally felt the charm of music, she made up her mind at that moment.

No matter how difficult it is to learn, she will definitely do her best.

Having been trapped in a gloomy world for so long, she finally has something she wants to desperately pursue and hold onto tightly.

However, it seems that the gods also wanted the power in this song to warm more people.

A gentle evening breeze, through the crack in the window that Tsukimi Eiko had opened earlier, brought a refreshing breeze into the living room, and at the same time, it brought her warm, sunflower-like singing voice to the quiet night sky.

"Huh? Is someone singing?"

In another apartment just a wall away, Shiina Mahiru, who had already prepared for tomorrow's lessons, was, as usual, holding her favorite teddy bear, staring blankly at the only family photo in her hand, lost in thought.

Even the bright lights overhead couldn't bring her any warmth; instead, they made her instinctively wrap herself tighter in her pajamas.

But just then, the originally cool night breeze, carrying the sudden singing, transformed into a warm hand, pulling her out of the rainy world and leading her into a sunflower field under a clear blue sky.

A strong sense of vitality, like a sunflower seed eager to embrace the sun, bursts forth from the depths of her heart.

Chapter 19 The Same Impression

"I don't think I've heard this song before."

"And this sound... seems to be coming from next door."

So, is it him?

Shiina Mahiru subconsciously turned her head to look towards the window, then seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally putting down the photo frame in her hand, hugging the brown teddy bear in her arms, and getting up to go to the window.

The warm singing voice seemed to become clearer.

The deep night sky outside the window was like a black film from a camera, making the 'detestable' figure of Kitagawa Yuna involuntarily appear in her mind.

Then, somewhat unexpectedly, despite initially disliking Kitagawa Yu because of his 'rudeness' at the entrance ceremony today.

But if that warm singing voice came from Kitagawa Yu, she wouldn't find it strange.

"Did he originally study music? Then he must have joined a music-related club, right?"

"To be able to make friends with whom he can relax and laugh on the first day of the school opening ceremony, and to have such a smile on his face, he must be a very positive and sunny guy, just like this song."

"Although he's an rude and annoying guy, he's also very handsome and cheerful..."

Shiina Mahiru couldn't help but close her eyes, relaxing once again and immersing herself in the sun-embracing sunflower field.

The image of Kitagawa Yu in her heart, which was originally just a faint trace, gradually became clearer, along with that memory and the feeling of 'dislike'.

At the same time, Narumi Sena, who had just returned exhausted and happened to be passing by Kitagawa Yu's house, was also attracted by the sudden singing and unconsciously stopped in her tracks.

That's right, Narumi Sena also lives in this apartment building, and is even on the same floor as Kitagawa Yu's rented apartment.

However, because it was the apartment furthest from the elevator, and there was another apartment in between, Kitagawa Yu didn't know that Narumi Sena lived there even though he had been living there for a week.