My daily life in various anime crossovers can't possibly be this sci-fi.

Fans who like their idols don't just like one aspect of the idol, but the entirety of the idol as a person. From their songs to their appearance and personality traits, from their outlook on life, values, and worldview to small details like whether they eat with their left or right hand, or whether they prefer sweet or savory tofu pudding, everything is appreciated.

Therefore, having a suitable persona is indispensable for idols.

In terms of character development, ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) possesses an unparalleled natural advantage: within fictional stories, readers can experience the emotional changes and fluctuations of the characters with an unprecedented sense of immersion, achieving a kind of "spiritual connection." Therefore, stories have always been the most effective "meme catalyst" for making people like something.

Moreover, for the nine members of μ's, this approach of combining ACG with idol culture allows them to maximize another advantage. Based on Jiang Jinghua's initial understanding of the nine members in this short period of time, almost each of them has a personality that is so distinct as to be somewhat exaggerated, giving people a feeling that they are "rarely seen in the world," almost as if they were pulled out of an anime work that transcends reality.

As for the nine characters' appearances, it's even more striking: their looks are almost identical to the art style of mainstream moe anime in this world, and even in Jiang Jinghua's previous life! Moreover, the rich facial details unique to three-dimensional characters and their unique, idealized facial "art style" are perfectly combined on their faces, resulting in a beauty that transcends all preconceived notions about the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds. To exaggerate a bit, simply take a picture of them, add some simple filters, and upload it to Pixiv, and you'll get a top-tier illustration.

In this way, fans in the real world and fans in the anime world can form a fairly stable whole!

Jiang Jinghua found a relatively quiet corner, took out his phone, and dialed Honoka's number.

……

"Hello? Is there anything I can help you with, Lord Jinghua?"

The person who answered the phone had a subtly different voice from Honoka's.

“It’s Umi. Where’s Honoka?” Jiang Jinghua asked.

"Oh, that? You'll understand once you listen to it yourself."

Then, Jiang Jinghua heard Honoka's shouts coming from afar:

"Please... this absolutely... absolutely won't do! We can't go any further! It'll... it'll break, it really will break!"

"..." Jiang Jinghua didn't know what to say, "...You're working very hard as always."

"As you can see, Honoka is currently working hard on her flexibility training," Umi said on the other end of the phone. "So if there's anything you need, just let me know."

"Okay, I understand. But don't go too far, it wouldn't be good if you actually got hurt."

"Don't worry, Honoka is actually very strong; this level is no problem for her at all. She's just a bit afraid of pain," Umi said. "So, as her good friends, we need to keep a close eye on her. Anyway, I'll thank you for your concern on her behalf. By the way, what were you trying to say just now?"

"Hmm... Umi, are you interested in ACG?"

"Huh? It's alright, I don't have any particular feelings about it, but I don't really dislike it either. However, Koka and Kotori have always liked it."

"If that's the case, have you ever thought about linking this to your idol activities?"

"Connect them? That's what you say, but how exactly do we do it, and why do we need to do it?" Judging from her tone, Haiwei seemed to have developed some interest in Jiang Jinghua's suggestion.

Over the phone, Jiang Jinghua briefly discussed his understanding of the relationship between idols and ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games).

Umi paused for a moment on the other end of the phone before speaking, "This is a very valuable idea. Um, if you have some free time, could you perhaps organize the details of this idea and discuss it with us in person when we return?"

"Oh, that's great. Don't worry, I'm available anytime."

However, Jiang Jinghua regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. After all, he wasn't "available all the time"; in fact, he was extremely busy.

However, since the words have already been spoken, it's not appropriate to take them back.

"Okay, sure. We're going back the day after tomorrow, see you then," Umi said. "Oh, by the way, I think we'll have plenty of opportunities to hang out together in the future."

"Yes, that would be best. Goodbye then."

Jiang Jinghua hung up the phone.

Oh no, I accidentally agreed.

He only has twenty-four hours in a day, and the combined workload of the Nameless Society and his school courses is enough to keep him busy. It seems he has to make some appropriate choices among the three.

However, at that moment, quite unexpectedly, Jiang Jinghua suddenly received a text message from Aki Tomoya.

"A major announcement will be made at tonight's meeting! Everyone must be present!"

A major event? How major is it, and what kind of event is it?

Jiang Jinghua put away his phone and continued strolling through the bustling streets of Akihabara. There was still some time before evening, so he could wander around a bit more. Besides, since he had promised to help μ's with their strategies, he needed to make the most of his free time to learn more about the school idol industry in this world.

Thinking this, Jiang Jinghua put away all the flyers he had received so far, and then walked into a merchandise store whose entrance was covered with posters.

what

Section 67 Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Malice of the Cosmic Will

That night.

After spending the entire afternoon researching idols, Jiang Jinghua ate at a nearby restaurant and then returned home. Since his current situation was essentially "sick leave," the school didn't assign him any extra homework during the few days off, so he was able to play games for a long time... To be honest, he had been very busy these past few days, and playing games for two hours straight like this was a luxury.

Jiang Jinghua didn't log out of the game until around 8 o'clock, just before the video conference was about to start.

The others in the group weren't all online yet: Kasumigaoka Utaha wasn't online, and Sawamura Eriri's webcam was empty, as if she had temporarily left for something. However, Aki Tomoya was already waiting at his computer desk, and the annoyed look on his face was so obvious that anyone who wasn't blind could see it at a glance.

"They said there's something important to announce, but what exactly is it?" Jiang Jinghua asked.

"Jinghua-kun, please wait a moment. I will let you know when everyone arrives," Aki Tomoya said, frowning.

"Aki-kun has seemed to be in a bad mood since earlier," Kato Megumi nodded. "She must have run into something bothering her."

Two or three minutes later, Kasumigaoka Utaha's profile picture lit up, followed by Sawamura Eriri reappearing in front of the camera.

“Well, it seems everyone’s here.” Aki Tomoya tapped the table. “Let’s begin the meeting. There’s only one agenda item for this meeting, and that is…”

"...I hereby announce that the game development work of Wuming Studio will be suspended, and will be suspended periodically."

"Huh?" Jiang Jinghua asked in confusion, "A pause? And an 'irregular' pause at that?"

“Yeah… Damn it, coding is more troublesome than I imagined…” Aki Tomoya said with a bitter face, “The number of bugs in the game is increasing every day, and almost all of them are serious bugs that severely affect the gaming experience. So I think I need some time to sort out my thoughts.”

"I see, that's why we're planning to pause." Jiang Jinghua nodded.

At that moment, Eriri Sawamura suddenly perked up: "Pause? That's perfect! I happen to have a manuscript for the fall commercial to finish!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded as well: "Speaking of which, I was planning to say this tonight. At the request of my editor and readers, I had to start serializing my new book. So, well..."

"Why is it that as soon as Lunye mentioned a pause, you all suddenly had something to do?" Jiang Jinghua shook his head. "Although I'm not in a position to say that, because I've been quite busy lately myself, with all sorts of things to do."

“Is that so…” Aki Tomoya sighed dramatically, looking at Jiang Jinghua with a strange gaze, “Jinghua-kun has completely evolved into a winner in life.”

"Hey! I never said I was going to help them..."

“I didn’t say that just now.” Aki Tomoya shook his head. “Anyway, I wish you good luck in your military campaign.”

"..."

Jiang Jinghua was too lazy to explain now, and simply continued, "In short, I will draw up a new production plan..."

"No need," Aki Tomoya waved his hand. "You can make that kind of thing when I ask you to."

"Alright then." Jiang Jinghua nodded. Since even the powerful boss behind the scenes, Aki Tomoya, seemed indifferent, it wasn't appropriate for him, as the supervisor, to say anything. There was no need for him to be the one worrying more than the emperor… oh wait, that analogy doesn't seem quite right here…

"Anyway, since it's already paused, there's nothing more for me to do, right? I'm logging off now." As soon as Eriri Sawamura finished speaking, she turned off the camera.

Jiang Jinghua shook her head slightly; it seemed that her relationship with Lunye was still very bad.

"Well then, I'll log off now." Kasumigaoka Utaha's chat window went dark.

Jiang Jinghua also left the group chat.

Looking at the almost empty computer desktop after closing the windows, Jiang Jinghua sighed. He had originally planned to choose among the three, but fate had already made the decision for him. He had never believed in things like fate, but this coincidence was just too much of a coincidence.

But then again, if there really is such a thing as "fate," then he's been a little too generous to me lately. Should I consider going to a temple or shrine to burn some incense as a way of returning the favor?

With strange ideas swirling in his mind, Jiang Jinghua opened a webpage and began searching for content related to school idols.

He had some understanding of Japanese idol pop music. Although he had almost never been a fan of any celebrities, either in his past or present life, there was one exception. Before he came to this world, he had a period of obsessive fandom for a certain group, and his current knowledge of Japanese idols basically came from that group… But to be honest, it was truly ironic that he couldn't even remember the name of that group.

It's quite a coincidence that the group that was developing in the 2D and 3D worlds is the same as the plan that Jiang Jinghua is making now.

Since the goal was to study school idols, it was natural to start with the most popular individuals. Therefore, Jiang Jinghua opened A-RISE's homepage. Although the word "school" before "school idol" inevitably gives people an unprofessional impression, this did not seem to be the case for A-RISE.

First, the homepage design makes a very good first impression, balancing aesthetics and practicality, making it easy to find any information you want. At the same time, the guidance for new fans is very comprehensive: with just a few clicks on the webpage, they can gain a basic understanding of the group's history and characteristics within half an hour.

If they put so much effort into even the smallest details like the homepage design, then the most important part—the songs—must naturally be even more outstanding. Although Jiang Jinghua had absolutely no professional knowledge in this area, he could at least draw a simple conclusion from the videos on the website: they were pleasant to listen to.

If μ's members give off the vibe of naive high school girls, then A-RISE feels like seasoned veterans of the nightlife scene. This isn't meant negatively, but rather a metaphorical summary of their performance style. Their singing, dancing, and even their every smile and gesture during a performance seem to possess an inexplicable allure, involuntarily raising the audience's emotions and creating a feeling of wanting to "join in." While Jiang Jinghua personally prefers idols like μ's who take a sweeter route, he also finds their nightclub-style music quite appealing.

what

Section 68, Chapter Sixty-Eight: Strange Dreams

Of course, since the two sides have completely opposite styles, Jiang Jinghua couldn't draw any applicable lessons from A-RISE's performances. Therefore, his focus was mainly on another important aspect of idol activities: the interaction between idols and fans.

A-RISE possesses a noble and aloof persona, thus maintaining a delicate balance in their interactions with fans. While they often give off an unapproachable vibe, they are adept at showing kindness to their fans at crucial moments and skillfully using suggestive language to evoke their emotions... Honestly, this approach rivals even professional idols; having them as "school" idols is a waste of resources.

However, it's worth noting that the mainstream of school idols isn't club-style groups like A-rise. In fact, the second to eighth places in the popularity rankings all belong to the classic sweet-type school idols.

Despite going against the mainstream of the industry, A-RISE has managed to stand at the pinnacle of the school idol world with their outstanding strength, making them a truly admirable group.

Humans are animals that collect data through investigation, transform that data into information, and then use that information to guide their decisions. After collecting a sufficient amount of information, Jiang Jinghua was also about to begin his own decision-making process.

He casually picked up a blank sheet of paper and began writing on it with a pen. Soon, the writing on the paper gradually formed a grid resembling a mind map.

Compared to the top-ranked A-RISE, μ's fans are more likely to refer to the more established idols who rank slightly lower. Just as he predicted, none of these established school idols neglect to emphasize their individual characteristics and highly value interaction with fans. In fact, compared to the highly professional A-RISE, the time and effort they spend on the songs themselves might not even match the amount they dedicate to promotion.

However, this is understandable, because idols, especially non-professional "school" idols, should not prioritize professional standards. That would be putting the cart before the horse, because what idols' fans need is not great songs or professional performances, but a lovable friend and companion.

Time seems to fly when you're completely absorbed in something. So when Jiang Jinghua put down his pen, he was surprised to find that it was already past 10 p.m.

After packing his things, he prepared to go to bed.

Will I have the same strange dreams as before today...?

Jiang Jinghua slowly closed his eyes.

……

"...achieved nothing..."

"...It's not...disbanding...it's just...ceasing activities!"

"...What can you possibly do..."

"...the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet...the First Island Chain...a long-standing standoff..."

"...His speech at the summit fully demonstrates our country's..."

"...No, no, no, this is the best!"