Tokyo: Idol Girls have absolutely no bad intentions!

A silence fell between them.

The only sound in the living room was the ticking of the clock, and the warm yellow light seemed somewhat cold at the moment.

Asada stared stubbornly at the darkness outside the window, while Ito gazed at her silent profile.

The questions surrounding Rin Iketani have been temporarily shelved, replaced by a subtle stalemate.

"Ding-dong—! Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang wildly in an extremely cheerful, even somewhat inappropriate, rhythm, breaking the stagnant air in the living room.

Both of them seemed to be startled awake, and looked towards the door at the same time.

Outside the door, Miki Hayakawa's signature voice, languid and playful yet penetrating, rang out.

"Hey, hey, hey~ Xiaoyou? Xiaoyingli? I can smell the heavy 'resentment' in the air even through the door! Open the door, open the door! The savior who brings warmth (and beer and potato chips) has arrived!"

It's Hayakawa Miki from next door, who always appears at the most awkward moments.

Ito sighed silently, stood up, and went to open the door.

Asada quickly adjusted his posture, turning his face completely towards the window, leaving only a silent and stubborn profile at the doorway.

It seems the pitch-black night outside the window is more appealing than the stalemate inside.

The door opened.

Miki Hayakawa was wearing a loose-fitting loungewear outfit (which looked more like a bathrobe) printed with a giant cartoon cat, and fluffy slippers.

Ito frowned as he looked at the other person's attire; he vaguely remembered that these were Takikawa's pajamas.

She leaned against the doorframe with a grin, carrying a dozen cans of beer in one hand and an oversized bag of potato chips in the other.

Her eyes swept across Ito's expressionless face, then precisely bypassed him, landing on the low-pressure figure in the living room radiating an aura of "keep away."

"Wow!" She sniffed dramatically, completely ignoring Ito, and nimbly slipped past him, heading straight for the living room.

"This low pressure... it seems my sister arrived just in time! She bears the heavy responsibility of saving world peace!"

She slammed the beer and potato chips onto the coffee table, making quite a noise, in an attempt to get Asada's attention.

"Come here! Little Sakura! Look what your big sister brought you! The latest flavor of extra-large potato chips! And ice-cold beer! Oh right, idols can't drink beer? There's juice too!"

As if by magic, she pulled a box of juice out of her pocket.

Asada's body twitched slightly, but he didn't turn around; he just tightened his grip on his knees a little.

Undeterred, Hayakawa Miki plopped down on the chair next to Asada, leaned closer to her, and lowered her voice, tinged with exaggerated sympathy.

"What's wrong? Tell your sister! Did that little brat Yu bully our cute little Yingli again? Look at your face, it's so sad it breaks my heart!"

Asada remained silent, only lowering his head even further. This silent grievance was more powerful than any accusation.

Hayakawa Miki immediately turned to Ito, hands on her hips, looking like she was about to interrogate him.

"Hey! Xiaoyou! What's wrong? Look how wronged our little Sakura looks! Tell me! Did you say something hurtful again? Or did you do something that deserves everyone's wrath?"

As she spoke, she frantically gestured to Ito with her eyes, urging him to "quickly appease him."

Ito closed the door, walked back to the living room, sat down on the sofa, and spoke in a flat tone.

“I was just asking her about Rin Iketani and her ‘teacher’.”

"Rin Iketani? Teacher?" Miki Hayakawa looked blank, clearly having no idea about the name or the topic.

"What do you mean? What does this have to do with our little Sakura being wronged? Wait a minute..."

She suddenly seemed to grasp the key point, "Oh! I see! Did you force Sakura to tell you because she didn't want to? And you said some nasty things? Was that it?!"

Without waiting for Ito to explain, she immediately transformed into a champion of justice, pointing at Ito and beating him up.

"Ito-san! That's not right of you! Girls should have a few secrets, what's wrong with that?"

"Everyone has things they don't want to talk about or don't want to talk about for the time being, right? You're a grown man, why do you have to dig so deep? And you've made her feel so wronged! Look! Look how sad our little Sakura is!"

She turned to Asada, her tone instantly becoming incredibly gentle, with a hint of inflammatory rhetoric.

"Little Sakura, don't be afraid! I'll stand up for you! Did he call you stupid? Did he yell at you? Tell me! I'll teach him a lesson! This kind of guy who doesn't know how to be gentle with women needs to be taught a lesson!"

Asada was a little confused by Hayakawa Miki's "support" and subconsciously shook her head slightly, but still didn't say anything. However, her tense shoulders seemed to relax a little.

“I didn’t call her stupid,” Ito tried to clarify, but his tone remained flat. “I just pointed out that her excuse was too lame, and…”

"And what?!" Hayakawa Miki immediately interrupted him, her tone aggressive. "So what if the excuse is lame?"

"When a girl makes excuses to brush you off, it's because she's giving you face! It means she doesn't want to ruin things! Why do you have to expose her? Where's your emotional intelligence?"

She presented her fallacious logic with such conviction.

"Xiaoyou, I'm not trying to be mean, but your inquisitive nature is a real disadvantage when it comes to girls! You need to learn to play dumb! Do you understand? Playing dumb is a virtue!"

Ito looked at her and didn't try to argue anymore.

Trying to reason with Miki Hayakawa, especially when she's determined to "uphold justice," is a complete waste of effort.

He picked up his water glass and took a sip.

Seeing that Ito had "gone quiet," Hayakawa Miki thought that her "lesson" had worked and nodded in satisfaction.

She then took Asada's hand and said earnestly, "Sakura, don't take it too hard."

"Xiao You is a bit of a blockhead; sometimes she speaks and acts without thinking, she's very straightforward. But she's not a bad person at heart, right?"

She paused, lowered her voice, and spoke with a mysterious air of someone who had been through it all. Her eyes also changed, no longer purely mocking, but carrying a hint of subtle meaning.

“However, I also want to remind you of something.” She tapped Asada’s hand lightly with her finger, as if conveying some kind of secret signal, “Some things… it is certainly a girl’s right to keep them hidden, but it also depends on what is being hidden.”

"Some things, if you hold onto them too tightly, might burn your hands, especially... when it comes to certain 'teachers'."

She spoke the last few words very softly, but clearly enough for Asada to hear them, and also caused Ito, who had seemed indifferent but was actually listening, to have a slight twitch in his eyes.

Asada's body visibly stiffened.

She suddenly raised her head and looked at Hayakawa Miki, her eyes, which were always a little watery, filled with astonishment and a hint of barely perceptible panic.

Hayakawa Miki responded to her gaze with a carefree smile.

She patted Asada's hand: "Okay, okay, don't think so much! Come on, have some potato chips! A super big one! You'll forget all your troubles after you eat them!"

She let go of Asada's hand, tore open the bag of potato chips, and started crunching away. Then she opened a can of beer.

Buzzing... Buzzing...

Ito's phone, which was on the coffee table, vibrated and the screen lit up, showing the caller ID: Naoto Shinno.

The sound seemed particularly jarring in the living room, which had temporarily regained some of its liveliness.

Miki Hayakawa, interrupted, clicked her tongue in annoyance: "Who's so clueless... always picking on me..."

Ito had already picked up his phone, glanced at the screen, and understood why Naoto Shinno was calling at this time. He swiped to answer, his voice steady.

"Hello, Xinye?"

Naoto Shinno's usual calm voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's Ito. Is now a good time to talk?"

Chapter 191 Some Surprising Encounters~

In a simply decorated coffee shop, Asada wasn't quite used to the atmosphere.

She sat next to Ito, holding a coffee cup in both hands, her eyes fixed on the latte art.

"I suppose Shinno has already told you." Sitting opposite Ito was a woman wearing sunglasses.

She wore hoop earrings and exuded the aura of a reliable adult, a level that Hayakawa could never reach in his lifetime.

“Yes.” Ito nodded. “He gave a brief introduction to your program.”

"So, Mr. Ito, what are your thoughts?" The woman in sunglasses took a contract out of her bag and placed it on the table. "How about we look at the salary first before giving an answer?"

She casually scooped up a few pieces of sugar and put them into her coffee, stirring gently with a spoon. She seemed confident that Ito had agreed to the plan.

After all, in her view, the other team was just a group of newcomers who had suddenly become popular, so she would definitely rush to accept such an opportunity.

Of course, one thing she had to admit was the potential of this team. She had also learned about the songs they had released—without exception, they were all masterpieces.

Especially the song "So Annoying," which her younger sister, who was in high school, even changed to that as her ringtone.

If she hadn't known that the other party wanted an independent entertainment company, she would have really wanted to bring them under her wing.

“I’ve looked at the compensation.” Ito glanced at the contract briefly and placed it on the table. “I’m sorry, although you are very sincere, I do not intend to participate.”

Ito only glanced at the terms and conditions a few times, without even reading them all, and he never intended to agree to their terms from the beginning.

A quick glance at the compensation figure revealed that it was indeed a very good offer for newcomers like Ito.

With director Hase leading the way, Ito got a little carried away, or more accurately, he looked down on the money.

Participating in a full episode of a variety show earns 800,000 yen, while other newcomers might only receive a paltry 100,000 yen, or even less.

However, considering that the variety show was comedic in nature, Ito abandoned the idea.

The five million yen he currently possesses, plus the five million yen he will receive after Asada finishes his training, has given Ito confidence.

He wouldn't let Asada participate in variety shows that are famous for prank games.

"Hmm?" The woman in sunglasses took them off, her sharp eyebrows slightly raised. "Mr. Ito, may I take this as you toying with me?"

"If you don't want to agree, why come here in the first place? Or perhaps..." She paused for a moment, "that you have something else you want to talk to me about?"

“That’s true.” Ito nodded. “I’d like to discuss a collaboration with you.”

There's nothing to hide. Ito isn't interested in that prank show, but that doesn't mean he's uninterested in anything else.

"Ms. Yoshinaga, as far as I know, you've been preparing for a music festival recently, haven't you?" Ito revealed his purpose.

"That's true." Yoshinaga Mei took a sip of her coffee. "You want to participate too?"

She carefully sized up the two people in front of her. Ito exuded confidence, while Asada...

The little girl is very cute.

After a moment of silence, Yoshinaga nodded. After all, the music festival company didn't seem to care much about it, and besides, the other party had the resources to do so.

"Actually, it's not impossible for you to participate, but I have to tell you in advance that this music festival is open-air and not very large. If you come now, the location will be very remote."