Tokyo: Idol Girls have absolutely no bad intentions!

"Now!" Asada slammed his hand on the low table. His voice wasn't loud, but it was full of force.

She leaned forward slightly, and the neckline of her yukata slipped dangerously down a bit more due to the movement, revealing more of her snow-white skin, but she was completely unaware of it.

"Ms. Takikawa, please explain! Why are you refusing to pay back the money you owe? Why did you block Ito? Why... did you visit me in the middle of the night?!"

She emphasized the last two words.

Although Asada's question was pure, direct, and completely off-topic, it at least got to the point that Ito wanted to ask.

"Huh?" Takikawa was a little bewildered by the sudden change in the situation. Wasn't he just attacking Ito? How did it turn out to be his turn?

"Begin your testimony!" Asada placed both hands on the low table, her ahoge (cowlick) still stubbornly sticking out. "Do not make any unnecessary statements."

With no way to retreat and no way to escape, the only option is to face the challenge head-on.

Takikawa straightened her loose hair bun with her hand, then stared blankly at the gap between the tatami mats.

"Actually..." Her voice trembled with a deliberately suppressed sob, weak and broken, "I didn't want to do it...it's...it's..."

She pursed her lipstick-covered lips and kept repeating the syllable.

Asada's brows furrowed even more. "Speak quickly!"

Takikawa seemed to have finally made up her mind, and suddenly closed her light blue eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently.

She spoke clearly in a voice filled with humiliation and pain:

"It's Ito-kun!"

Ito's pupils contracted sharply, and a chilling sensation instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

She framed me!

She closed her eyes. "He keeps harassing me, asking me to spend one night with him in exchange for the debt being dropped. I definitely won't agree to that!"

"But!" her voice suddenly rose, "But! He... he still won't let me go! He's tracked me here! Tonight!"

"They're threatening me with that damn debt! They want me... they want me to come over late at night, or else..."

She relaxed her shoulders and raised her head slightly, as if trying to hold back her tears.

The air was deathly silent.

Asada's mouth gaped open, completely stunned. Her small hands, which had been resting on the low table, unconsciously loosened, and her body remained stiffly leaning forward.

Those clear, large eyes were filled with unprecedented shock, bewilderment, and...shaking.

"So that's how it is. No wonder Ito went to the trouble of taking time off to come see Takikawa, and no wonder Takikawa only blocked Ito." Asada murmured to herself.

"etc!"

Takikawa, who was sitting next to me, was so engrossed in his role that I could faintly hear him sobbing.

"Asada, you don't actually believe that, do you?!" Ito pointed at Takikawa. "This is a lie that sounds like it was made up on the spot to smear us! It's full of holes! Besides!"

"You know I have absolutely no interest in this guy who has no redeeming qualities other than his looks!"

Unable to maintain his kneeling position any longer, he suddenly stood up from the tatami mat.

For some reason, at that moment, all he could think about was how to explain things clearly.

"Even in explaining, you don't forget to harass Takikawa..." Asada shrank back, then raised her head. "And Ito, why are you reacting so strongly?"

"I really, really want to believe you, but just now... even Chinatsu didn't get this kind of treatment, being 'entangled' with Takikawa..."

"...Or...in places I don't know...you, have you...become 'tainted'?"

"Pfft." A soft laugh escaped Takikawa's lips; she simply couldn't hold it in any longer.

As you know, as an excellent actress, she is professionally trained and generally doesn't laugh on set unless she can't help it.

"Heh." A cold laugh escaped Ito's throat.

He slowly raised his hand, not pointing at Takikawa, but at the door of his own room.

"Leave." The voice was eerily calm.

"You two."

"immediately."

"Go back to your room!"

After he finished speaking, the two stared blankly at the door that Ito was pointing to, like children caught doing something wrong by their parents, without making a move.

No, it should be said that they were trying their best, yet naively, to cover up their behavior.

An eerie silence lasted for a full three seconds.

Asada seemed to have been suddenly reset, abruptly turning his head to look at Takikawa, forcing a stiff, meaningless smile onto his face, his dry voice breaking the deathly silence.

"Ah... Anna, I'm a little hungry, should we... should we go out and find something to eat?"

She tried to change the subject in the most clumsy way, pretending that the accusation that had just been so damaging to Ito's reputation had never happened.

Seeing the two's strange behavior, Ito turned his head toward the door in confusion.

Outside the sliding door, the dim light of the corridor outlined a tall, silent figure.

Upon recognizing the person who entered, he reluctantly withdrew his hand, while Director Hase stared intently at the commotion inside the room.

It's unclear when he stood there, or why he stood there.

Silence, deathly silence.

Director Hase's gaze slowly swept over Takikawa, who was covering his mouth and trying to suppress a laugh, then over Asada, who looked dazed and seemed to have left his body, and finally settled on Ito.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a deep voice: "Ms. Asada, please return to your room. If you are hungry, a waiter will bring you food later."

For some reason, Asada, who was specifically mentioned, gave a stiff "hmm".

Director Hase nodded, then looked at Ito and Takikawa, "You two... take care of yourselves, don't stay out too late."

Ito, who had expected to be criticized, was speechless. He thought it would be better to scold himself.

......

The next day.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on Ito's face. He slowly got up, feeling utterly exhausted.

After Director Hase left yesterday, the three of them had a long, frank conversation, at least that's what Ito thought.

He didn't give the other two a chance to speak, nor did he allow Asada to shake her clever little head.

If given a chance to show their skills, Ito would never be able to explain himself clearly.

He recounted the entire sequence of events from the previous night, regardless of whether Asada believed him or not.

Even the ahoge (cowlick) on the other person's head cannot reveal their owner's thoughts.

As for Takikawa, that guy is really tight-lipped, Ito just can't figure it out.

She was unwilling to reveal why she blocked him.

As for the debt, he only said that he would repay it as soon as he had the money.

Ito didn't press the issue further, since pushing her too hard might prevent her from even participating in the school play.

Although the other person's role is not significant, it is still indispensable.

During a break in the washroom, Ito habitually picked up her phone, intending to say good morning to Mori.

But after glancing at the message sent by the other party, "Senior, just pray that I don't run into you!!!", I deleted the text that was originally in the input box.

Forget it, he'll just stay in the "no network" no-man's-land and pretend to be out of contact.

But the next moment, as if sensing something, Mori was bombarded with messages.

Mori first sent a question mark followed by a screenshot.

The message "The other party is typing" is particularly eye-catching on the chat interface.

"!"

Ito's face showed a slight expression of surprise. This guy has moved into his chat interface, hasn't he?

In just one text message, Mori caught them red-handed.

Mori: "Senpai, I've been waiting for so long! What are you going to send?!"

Mori: "After playing with Asada-senpai, you finally remembered me, huh?"

Ito didn't dare to look at the messages after that. Since he had already been caught, he edited the "Good morning" message he originally planned to send and sent it again.

Mori fell into a brief silence, and Ito took the opportunity to review the message sent by Shinno.

The matter of getting rid of the other party has finally come to a conclusion; he sent a document.

It records information about the originally planned 'arranger'.

"Xinye's cousin?" Ito's head was filled with questions when he saw this.

No wonder he dared to travel; he has such a background and identity.

However, it's unclear what Xinye would think if he knew that he had taken his cousin's job.

Logically speaking, Director Hase is not the type to hire people based on connections, as evidenced by his hiring of Takikawa, who was being suppressed.

So Xinye's cousin does indeed have the ability; he graduated from Berklee College of Music, held more than one solo concert, and released an album.

There was definitely help from others, but their own abilities were also crucial.

But he really didn't understand why this guy could do something so foolish.

Forget it, I won't think about it anymore.

Ito put down his phone. The deadline was fast approaching, and since the other party didn't want to compose the theme song for "From Today, It's My Turn!!", he had no choice but to take on the responsibility.

When he arrived at the film set, it was already 10 o'clock, and the other party only gave him a polite and perfunctory reply.

"Take a look at the contract and see if there are any problems. If there are no problems, then sign it." Director Hase handed the contract to Ito without saying a word when he came over.

It seems that Director Hase had anticipated this outcome, which is why the contract was prepared well in advance.

Ito took the contract, and Asada came over with strawberries that the staff had given her. She stood on tiptoe and brought her face close to the contract.

"Three...three million?!"