Tokyo: Idol Girls have absolutely no bad intentions!

The whole thing of working for free happened again. He was supposed to be paying off Hayakawa's debt, but Hayakawa himself didn't show up.

They claimed it was to repay Ito's kindness and work overtime to earn money.

According to Ito's understanding, he is probably drowning his sorrows in some small bar now.

Overtime is illegal in Japanese companies; only civil servants are not protected by labor laws and are forced to work.

However, the profession of an analyst at Hayakawa Securities is clearly not within this scope.

"Then why did you agree to Hayakawa-nee's unreasonable request, Ito? You should take responsibility for your own mistakes. Besides, if you're short of money, you can use your ID to get a loan from a shady organization."

Asada was still upset that Hayakawa had eaten up the limited edition pudding she had bought at a high price.

Ito glanced at the resentful Asada. Ever since he last mentioned using Yoshida Nai's identity to take out a loan, he had become desensitized to Asada's words.

It's not surprising to hear anything strange or unusual coming from the other person.

Humans cannot understand or comprehend the thoughts of Snorlax, let alone an evil Snorlax.

"I already explained it yesterday; it's about preparing you for your performance at the music festival next Saturday, which is equivalent to..."

Ito paused for a moment, then said, "Rehearsal? Or you can treat it as a part-time job."

"Just accept whichever explanation you find acceptable, and that's the reason you should believe."

Asada tightened the guitar bag on his back, but a knot still lingered in his heart.

"You should get paid for your job. I've put in the time and effort, but I haven't received what I deserve."

"I feel like I'm a complete idiot, being played like a fool by Hayakawa-nee."

"How could you have such an idea?" Ito stepped down the stairs. "You can't be so materialistic."

"Snobbish?" Asada followed behind Ito, looking up. "What's that new term?"

"I only know that if it were Ito, you would probably say something like that."

Another day of public opinion being attacked. Asada always manages to say hurtful things with an innocent expression, and she doesn't even realize it.

It must have been unintentional..., right?

Just as Ito was about to pull the doorknob, the door was pushed open from the inside, and an unexpected figure appeared.

"Manager Kitajima?"

“You…” Kitajima Seihei looked Ito up and down. “You’re Chinatsu’s boyfriend. I remember your name is Ito Yuujin.”

“You could say that,” Ito nodded.

Trying to assert her presence by standing on tiptoe, Asada was practically breathing out a puff of air the moment she heard the name "Morikami Chinatsu".

Even though Ito doesn't go to school, he still encounters things related to the other person. Just how much is this guy hiding from me?

Shouldn't partners be close, helpful, and united in friendship?

What kind of boyfriend is he? He's practically treating Ito like an appendage of Mori!

"Let me introduce you, this is Asada Sakura. My classmate and business partner." Ito stepped aside.

“The shop owner, Kitajima, runs a fortune-telling shop,” Ito continued.

“It’s a restaurant.” Manager Kitajima corrected Ito’s mistake, then nodded to Asada.

Asada nodded in return, indicating that he had already greeted her, and he appeared quite aloof.

She wasn't angry. She had no reason to be angry at a stranger, nor at the other person for specifically emphasizing that Ito and XX were a couple, and she certainly wouldn't take her anger out on others for Ito and Mori going to unhealthy places like fortune-telling shops or restaurants together.

She's not a stingy person, she's just... shy.

That's right, she's shy. She's definitely shy around strangers; that's her persona.

Thinking of this, Asada wanted to strengthen his own persona, so he hid behind Ito and reached out to grab the corner of Ito's clothes.

It's perfectly reasonable to hide behind someone you know.

But the moment she reached out her hand, she suddenly realized... Ito had a girlfriend.

It's one thing to show his dependence on Ito in front of Hayakawa and his gang.

But now he was facing a stranger, a stranger who knew that Ito had a girlfriend.

He withdrew his outstretched hand, took a small step to the right, and lowered his head without saying a word.

Ito is a scumbag, but... she's not a bad girl.

A faint sadness slowly spread, and Kitajima noticed Asada's subtle actions, but he didn't show it.

"Come in and talk."

.......

The "Night Star Concert Hall" contains several small tables and bar stools, with a semi-circular stage in the center. On the stage are microphone stands and Amazon speakers.

It must have just opened, so there weren't many people in the store. Ito and Asada were sitting in chairs, and Kitajima handed them each a glass of water.

"So you were introduced to perform by Hayakawa." Kitajima looked at the guitar case Asada had placed in the corner. "Hayakawa said it was a band, so I agreed."

"If it weren't for the band's sudden leave of absence..."

Asada held the glass in both hands, staring at the plain water with dead fish eyes, waging an invisible struggle.

Uncle Kitajima clearly wanted sparkling water, but the wicked Itō demanded that it be changed to hot water.

Who drinks water at a live music house...?

“I didn’t expect Hayakawa to be talking about you, Kitajima.” Ito was also a little surprised. “After all, no matter how you look at it, the fortune-telling shop and the live house have no connection.”

“That’s a restaurant,” Manager Beidao emphasized again. “Besides, it was actually my wife who wanted to open it; I’m just looking after it on her behalf.”

"I'm only here because of special circumstances like today."

From Kitajima's words, Ito sensed that his wife, the owner of the concert hall, seemed somewhat unreliable.

Is this a necessary condition for opening a live house, just like the manager of Saionji?

However... Ito looked around. The store's decor wasn't luxurious, but it had everything you'd expect, and some things that shouldn't have been there, like strange amethyst crystals, spider webs hanging in the corners, dilapidated tables and chairs, and ambient lighting that made it look like a haunted house...

These things do not exist.

The manager of the Saienji store is more dedicated.

"So what time does the show start tonight, and how long will it last?" Ito asked, as Hayakawa hadn't told him at all.

"Sigh~ Never mind," Uncle Beidao waved his hand, "I'll cancel tonight's performance. You don't need to go on stage. Is there anything you want to eat? I'll ask the kitchen to make some."

After careful consideration, Uncle Kitajima made a decision: judging from the fact that the other party only brought one instrument, it was clear that only this little girl named Asada would be performing.

He didn't seem like someone with real power, and he didn't have a habit of bullying children.

It's more interesting to explore the relationship between them than to have them perform.

"Um~ What can I order? Do you have pudding?"

Asada's switch was triggered, and she looked up at Uncle Kitajima.

"..." Ito pressed Asada's head down with his hand and asked in confusion, "Why cancel? If you have doubts about our abilities, then you can rest assured. Besides, if we don't perform, Hayakawa won't compensate us, right? Then you'll be at a loss, Uncle Kitajima."

"Actually, I didn't intend for her to pay for it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have just symbolically accepted a few ingredients and let her leave. In fact, the bottle of champagne she broke was the one my wife was planning to give to her."

"As for why I didn't tell her the truth..." Uncle Beidao said helplessly, "it was my wife who instructed me to do it after she found out."

"Why didn't she come in person?"

Having roughly understood the cause and effect of what had happened, Ito nodded.

So, in short, he went to great lengths to get here, while Hayakawa was having a good time, no wonder she wasn't in a hurry.

"It's not important, none of this matters." Ito rubbed his temples, unsure whether he was speaking to Uncle Kitajima or to himself.

Asada raised her hands, which were gripping the glass, and tried to pry Ito's hands off her head, frowning slightly.

"Let go, Ito."

“Uh… okay.” Ito moved his hand away and looked at Uncle Kitajima. “Please leave tonight to us. Uncle Kitajima, you don’t want the routine your wife has maintained since opening the shop to be broken, do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to hand it over to you, but…” Uncle Kitajima glanced at Asada, seemingly unintentionally.

Following the other's gaze, Ito also noticed that Asada was staring at the cookies on the bar counter in the distance.

I rushed over as soon as school was over. It's still dinner time, so of course I'm hungry.

“Ignore this guy, I have others.” Ito picked up his phone and checked the time. “They should be here soon.”

The moment Ito finished speaking, the bell hanging at the door rang crisply.

Three figures pushed open the door and entered.

Walking in front was Rin Iketani, her blue highlights gleaming coldly under the lobby lights, her wolf tail hairstyle neat and crisp.

She carried her bass bag and had no expression on her face.

Following closely behind was Kurokawa Ori.

She has a pair of unique blue-gray eyes, like a misty lake, and her short black hair has a long fringe on one side that almost covers half of her eyes.

She was equally taciturn, carrying a keyboard bag in her hand.

As Uncle Beidao watched the two young women file in, each more beautiful and possessing a unique charm than the last, his gaze instantly became somewhat complicated.

He glanced at Ito instinctively and muttered, "You little brat... you really did Chinatsu a disservice."

As Ito turned around in confusion, Iketani Rin and Kurokawa Ori had already walked up to them.

Kurokawa didn't say anything, but silently handed a guitar case to Ito.

Ito took it, opened it, and saw that it contained an electric guitar that he recognized.

Saionji Chizuru's spare koto.

Rin Iketani then took a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket and stuffed it directly into Ito's hand.

Asada Sakura immediately perked up her ears, like a wary little animal.

She strained her neck and stood on tiptoe, trying to see over Ito's shoulder to read the contents of the note.

"What are you looking at?" Ito didn't even turn his head. He stretched out his index finger, pressed it against Asada's forehead, and gently pushed it.

"Ugh!" Asada staggered backward from the push, puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, but didn't dare to go any closer.