Aspiring to be a girl in a band

Arakawa Kirika frowned and glanced back.

Xiangzi did not wake up; what he said just now was probably just unconscious babbling.

But... Chu Hua?

This unfamiliar name caught Arakawa Kirika's attention, and she planned to investigate further about who this Hatsuka, whom Shoko had mentioned, was.

Is it really so important that you would unconsciously call out the other person's name when you are sick?

……

Arakawa Kirika inspected the house for a while.

There was no food in Xiangzi's room, and Arakawa Kirika took another look at the kitchen but there was no sign of cooking.

So Xiangzi probably lay in bed all day and didn't eat anything.

She started walking towards the hall.

She soon saw the puddle of mud on the ground.

Arakawa Kirika knew that this was Shoko's biological father, but she had no liking for this kind of man who, while his daughter was still working hard, had his spirit broken and started to give up.

Arakawa Kirika walked up to Shoko's biological father and then kicked the man in the stomach.

After letting out a series of unintelligible sobs, the mud on the ground finally came to its senses.

Seemingly still not understanding why he was in pain, the man, who had just woken up, was about to reach for the wine bottle.

Then Arakawa Kirika stepped on his dirty hand again.

Only then did the man suddenly understand the situation and finally realize that someone was standing in front of him.

At first, he looked furious and embarrassed, and he was clearly about to utter some profanities.

But when he saw who was standing in front of him...

The rage vanished instantly, replaced by immense fear.

As an adult who had once mingled in high society, he naturally recognized the girl in front of him, and he had a deeper understanding of the significance of the surname "Arakawa" than he did of his own daughter.

He quickly changed his posture to a kneeling position.

Despite being an adult, he knelt down before Arakawa Kirika without hesitation, and he felt no shame whatsoever.

As for the hand that Arakawa Kirika had stepped on, he didn't dare to pull it back forcefully.

“Ms. Arakawa…you, no…how could you be in a place like this?”

The man's tone became somewhat hesitant.

Arakawa Kirika looked at the man kneeling in front of her with disdain.

If it weren't for Xiangzi, she wouldn't want to say another word to such a good-for-nothing man.

She lifted her foot slightly and released the hand that was being held down.

"Xiangzi is very ill, do you know that?"

Arakawa Kirika asked coldly.

...The man's expression suddenly became even more tense, because he knew that this was an accusation from [Arakawa].

He didn't have time to think about when his daughter had married into a wealthy family; the most important thing at the moment was to give the girl in front of him a satisfactory answer.

But... how exactly should I say it?

If I told them I knew, they would definitely press me to ask why I didn't take Xiangzi to the hospital...

In other words, lying will only further lower your standing in the other person's eyes.

So he had no choice but to tell the truth.

“I’m sorry… As you can see, due to various reasons… I’m living a very decadent life now… and I haven’t paid any attention to my daughter’s condition. If it weren’t for your arrival, I really wouldn’t have known that Xiangzi was sick… This is my dereliction of duty.”

The man remained kneeling in a respectful posture, speaking with a very serious expression.

He does have some brains, after all.

Arakawa Kirika mentally assessed the man before her. If he dared to lie to her, she would turn away without hesitation.

But now...

Arakawa Kirika placed the things she was carrying on the coffee table in the living room, then took a bulging envelope from her bag and threw it in front of the man.

"Go buy a nice suit and then come work at the place mentioned in the letter."

"Clean the house. If I come back next time and find her still living in the garbage dump, she'll have to bear the consequences."

Arakawa Kirika then pointed to the bag that had been placed on the coffee table.

"These are some supplements and medicines. If Xiangzi asks, just say you bought them yourself. Don't reveal that I was here, understand?"

The man nodded quickly.

Seeing this, Arakawa Kirika turned around with satisfaction.

Before leaving, she took one last look at Xiangzi's room.

The other person remained asleep, but their complexion was slightly better than when they first arrived.

She then left the old apartment building.

Phew... After seeing off the jinx, the man sat back down on the sofa, still feeling a bit shaken.

The effects of alcohol on him were negligible compared to the immense pressure he had just experienced; he was now perfectly sober.

He first weighed the envelope in his hand, then opened it.

Inside was a whole stack of freshly taken-out [Eiichi Shibusawa] photos; judging from the thickness, there were at least two hundred of them…

That is, two million yen.

Although somewhat surprised, he was still a man who had seen his share of ups and downs. Although it was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, he wasn't too shocked when he thought that the other party was from the Arakawa family.

What men care about even more is Arakawa Kirika's line, "I work at the company mentioned in the letter."

He looked again and sure enough, he found a letter of recommendation among the banknotes.

The recommended destination listed above is... [Arakawa Pharmaceutical].

A spark of hope was rekindled in the man's heart.

He immediately began cleaning the room as requested by Arakawa Kirika.

When the man cleaned Xiangzi's room, he felt a mix of emotions.

He looked at his daughter, who had slept all day because of her illness, and felt guilty for the first time.

Although he didn't know what had happened between his daughter and that Ms. Arakawa, it was clear that this opportunity to pull himself together was undoubtedly earned for him by his daughter.

The man quickly tried to recall.

He remembered Xiangzi telling him that he wanted to form a professional band...

I didn't listen to a word they said at the time.

But now I... have 200 million yen in cash, and I can even work for the Arakawa family's company and earn a high salary.

We should... be able to offer some support for Xiangzi's dream.

"Let's go buy some good ingredients..."

The man muttered to himself, preparing a sumptuous dinner before Xiangzi woke up.

Volume 1: Chapter 77 Dreams and Reality

Toyokawa Shoko felt as if she had just had a very long dream.

In the dream, her identity was swapped with Arakawa Kirika's.

Arakawa Kirika has become the young lady from a once-wealthy family who has fallen on hard times, while she remains the owner of the manor villa.

As for the reason that led to the Arakawa family's bankruptcy? That's not important.

Even in his dreams, Xiangzi couldn't seem to find a coherent explanation, so his brain subconsciously chose to ignore it.

In short, she is now the master of Arakawa Kirika.

So, how should we punish this scumbag who once rode on her head and bullied her?

Toyokawa Shoko wanted to see snow, so the season in her dream changed to winter. Of course, Toyokawa Shoko didn't find anything unreasonable about the abrupt change of seasons.

She felt light and airy all over, so comfortable she felt like she could fly.

She kicked Arakawa Kirika out of the house, and of course, she stripped her of her outer clothes before doing so.

Now, Arakawa Kirika is left with only her thin underwear, standing pitifully alone on the snow outside the house, shivering.

Xiangzi stood on the balcony of his second-floor apartment, looking down at Arakawa Kirika's miserable state of hunger and cold.

She seemed to see Arakawa Kirika breathing on her palms to warm them, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fight off the biting cold outside.

Soon, that scumbag was frozen and curled up in the snow, looking like he was about to stop breathing.

At first, Xiangzi felt that he had avenged his great enemy and was filled with joy.

But... soon, when she saw that Arakawa Kirika was really frozen to the point of death, she felt a pang of pity for some reason.

She ran downstairs quickly, opened the door, and dragged Arakawa Kirika's frozen body into the room.

The feeling back then... it's strange, really.

She didn't feel that Arakawa Kirika's frozen body was cold; on the contrary, she felt a just-right coolness.

She tossed the clothes to Arakawa Kirika and then brought over a blanket.

Arakawa Kirika quickly came back to life.

Then he immediately knelt down in front of Xiangzi, looking up at her with a respectful expression, as if he were worshipping her as a deity.

Shoko was very satisfied with Arakawa Kirika's expression, so she ordered Arakawa Kirika to take off her shoes and socks with her mouth.

The entire process was, of course, forbidden to be done with the hands; this was her act of revenge.

Seeing Arakawa Kirika obediently holding his stocking in her mouth, Shoko smiled happily.

Unfortunately.