A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

Spicy, bitter, pungent, and burning.

Shoko Toyokawa, who thought she was used to the smell of alcohol in the rental house, was startled by the complex smell that instantly spread from her mouth to her nose. Fortunately, she managed her expression well enough and did not show any shock at all.

On the other side, when Supervisor Asayun saw Toyokawa Shoko put down her wine glass without changing her expression, the doubts on his face also dissipated a little.

The girl he just thought of was far from the age to drink, not to mention that what they just drank was a spicy and strong drink.

Even he couldn't help but let out a long breath after drinking the wine, but the young musician didn't react at all.

It seems that he really recognized the wrong person just now.

"Come to think of it, you didn't come to me just to introduce yourself, did you, Miss Oblivionis?"

"……Yes."

Toyokawa Shoko forced herself to ignore the heat spreading from her abdomen and said in a calm tone as if nothing had happened:

"I'm here this time to introduce you to my future band project - [Ave Mujica]"

……

"Huh... I didn't expect it to actually work."

Looking at the business card with Supervisor Asagumo's name printed on it, Toyokawa Shoko wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and muttered in a voice that could hardly contain her joy:

"Sure enough, using a 'stage name' and 'toasting' as a disguise is effective!"

This was the tactic she had just thought of, which could not only conceal her identity but also allow her to talk to him more naturally as a musician.

But the price is also obvious...

"It's really hard to drink, and my stomach feels so hot. Why would adults like to drink this kind of thing?"

Although she was able to use her willpower to conceal her expression at first, after more than ten minutes of brewing, the "fire" burning in her stomach began to spread throughout her body.

She reached out and touched her cheek, and sure enough, her cheek had become hot at this moment.

In addition to her body's reaction, her consciousness and thinking were also gradually affected.

"It's not good. My mood is starting to feel light-hearted..."

The worries and anxieties that had just lingered in her mind, unable to be shaken off, were now completely unable to squeeze into her increasingly narrow thinking space. And for Toyokawa Shoko, accustomed to thinking about multiple things at once, this was the first time she had experienced this feeling of "forced concentration."

At this moment, her mind was full of thoughts about how to win the attention and support of the next famous musician when she met him, and how to answer his questions. Apart from that, she had no time to think about anything else.

"...This isn't good. Looks like we need to make a quick decision."

Realizing that her mental state was rapidly declining, Shoko Toyokawa quickly picked up the water cup at hand and drank it in big gulps. Then she took several deep breaths, and then walked towards Qinglu, the arranger who had worked with SummerZodiac and was also one of the directors of this Live, with a slightly dizzy step.

As usual, he first got two cocktails from the waiter and still called himself by the stage name [Oblivionis].

However, the situation of this negotiation was completely different from just now——

"I was really scared when the power went out! But luckily the power outage happened right before the rap part, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do!"

The good news is that Mr. Aoka, the Live director, is much more enthusiastic about Toyokawa Shoko, the arranger, than the previous supervisor Asagumo.

The bad news was that his attitude was obviously a little too enthusiastic, so much so that after the two of them finished the wine brought by Toyokawa Shoko, he asked the waiter for a second glass.

"I want to thank you, Ms. 'Oblivionis'. Both the finale and the encore were excellent. If your band were to host a live performance, I would be happy to attend! Come on, cheers."

"……cheers."

Although her mind had become a little numb, Shoko Toyokawa still raised her glass with pretended calmness.

Because I chatted with Director Qinglu for too long, the effect of alcohol had spread to an extreme extent.

Despite the other party's enthusiastic and positive attitude, she was completely unable to make any further requests. After all, at this moment, she had already tried her best just to keep her words clear and her expression stable.

Fortunately, she had achieved a goal far beyond her expectations, that is, while getting the business card, she also inexplicably received his thanks.

If we can make use of this subtle personal connection in the future, it will definitely be of great help in organizing the [Ave Mujica] Live.

But... now she really can't care about so many things.

In order to end the conversation as quickly as possible and get rid of the effects of alcohol, she picked up the glass and prepared to drink it in one gulp.

This is obviously the most wrong way to deal with it.

Consuming too much alcohol in a short period of time while already drunk will only further aggravate gastrointestinal discomfort and cause hiccups and even vomiting. Especially for Toyokawa Shoko, who was drinking for the first time, this too rapid drinking method could even lead to acute alcohol poisoning.

Just before Toyokawa Shoko was about to drink the "poison" that would make all her efforts go to waste, a voice suddenly came from beside them.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm a little late! Oh, so you guys have already started chatting?"

Chihayatetsu had a slightly apologetic smile on his face, and as if he had unexpectedly broken an appointment, he hurriedly came between the two of them, holding up a glass of juice in his hand, and said to Toyokawa Shoko in a slightly complaining tone:

"Really? I told you to wait for me, didn't I? Doesn't this make me seem rude? Chuhua, Ai, you two should come and say hello to Mr. Qinglu."

At this point, he suddenly waved behind Director Aoka, and then Mikado Hatsuka and Hoshino Ai also walked over from the direction he waved. When Director Aoka turned around, Chihaya Tetsuya snatched the cup from Toyokawa Shoko's hand and stuffed it into her hand.

"..."

At this time, even though Toyokawa Shoko's consciousness had become slow and confused, she could still see obvious worry and anger in his eyes.

(Ah, I’m saved now…)

This thought emerged very clearly in her chaotic thoughts. Then, when Hoshino Ai and Sankaku Hatsuka also stood in front of her, her tense nerves finally relaxed. As for what happened after that, Toyokawa Shoko could no longer remember it.

All she knew was that when she regained consciousness and opened her eyes, she was already in an unfamiliar hotel room. Not only that, there was another person beside her who had not yet woken up.

"Tetsuya-kun!?"

Looking at the face of the person beside her who was still sleeping soundly, and her own loose body, Toyokawa Shoko was stunned for nearly a minute before finally squeezing out a short and confused voice from her dry throat:

"……Eh?"

73

Chapter 73: The truth comes out after drinking.

Ever since Chihaya Tetsuya saw Toyokawa Shoko's name on the list, he had roughly guessed what the other party was thinking:

She must have wanted to gain as many connections as possible for [Ave Mujica] without causing any trouble for herself.

In order to prevent others from knowing about their relationship, Xiangzi even tried to keep a distance from him by deliberately concealing the fact that he was invited to the celebration banquet. This was to protect him and to prove his determination to take full responsibility for his own choices.

Although Chihaya Tetsuya really wanted to do something for her, considering Toyokawa Shoko's personality and what she had said in front of Mori Minami, Chihaya Tetsuya decided to respect her choice and let her act according to her plan...

……

Of course, while silently watching over her efforts, he still had to do some basic preparations just in case.

"The guy in the white suit at the table near the door is Director Asagumo, and the guy with glasses drinking with President Watanabe is Director Aoka... It's really easy to understand."

After getting information from his agent about these people in the music industry whom Xiangzi was likely to greet, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately looked up to confirm their position, attire and appearance.

"After Xiangzi's situation is over, I'll reconcile with her... Chuhua."

"kindness?"

"If you have time, please keep an eye on Xiangzi's position and condition for me."

Under Sankaku Hatsuka's slightly evasive gaze, Chihaya Tetsu also said:

"If anything unexpected happens to her, tell me immediately."

"……understood."

After realizing that Xiangzi's little thoughts had been seen through by Chihaya Tetsuya, Sankaku Hatsuka could only sigh helplessly.

"It turns out that her little tricks can't be hidden from Mr. Tetsuya."

"It can't be called a small move."

Chihaya Tetsuya shook his head slightly.

"Although she was a bit stubborn, this was a choice she made out of her pride and character... I respect her opinion."

"You two really are..."

It is obvious that both of them are considering each other well, but what they do is alienating each other.

Just like their personalities and ways of thinking.

One side despises itself so much that it is willing to sacrifice everything for others, while the other side values ​​itself so much that even the way it considers others is so arbitrary...

These two people are really a good match in some ways.

With such a sigh, Sankaku Hatsuka silently followed Chihaya Tetsuya and chatted with the guests in the order on the list.

……

Thanks to his impressive live performance and the strong promotion of his two accompanying models, Chihaya Tetsuya easily exchanged business cards and contact information with the guests. Several industry professionals, particularly those interested in his designs, expressed their willingness to attend the StarrySky debut, which was the most valuable achievement of the celebration for Chihaya Tetsuya.

However, just as Chihaya Tetsuya was about to put the business card he had just received into his pocket, Sankaku Hatsuka suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

"Mr. Tetsuya, Shoko seems a little off."

"what?"

After hearing this, Chihaya Tetsuya quickly looked in the direction that Sankaku Hatsuka pointed, and then they saw Toyokawa Shoko taking the initiative to clink glasses with Director Aoka.

"Huh? I remember that thing she was holding was a bar? And it was a pretty strong one at that."

Before this, Hoshino Ai, who had been strictly restricted from drinking by her agent and Mikado Hatsuka, glanced at the wine glass in Toyokawa Shoko's hand.

"And her face looks so red, she definitely looks like she's drunk."

"This is probably to conceal my identity."

Sanjiao Chuhua suddenly revealed a rather complicated expression.

"This idiot who loves to dwell on trivial matters, even if he pushes himself to this point, doesn't he want to cause trouble for others?"

"..."

After seeing Toyokawa Shoko's unnatural expression and smile, Chihaya Tetsuya's brows suddenly frowned deeply.

He did want to respect Toyokawa Shoko's thoughts and choices, but this was based on the premise that she would not be harmed. If her stubbornness exceeded this limit, then even he would definitely not tolerate it any longer.

"Ai, Chuhua, the two of you go behind Director Qinglu and pretend to come over and say hello when you see my gesture."

As he spoke, he called the waiter next to him and asked for a glass of juice that looked similar in color to the cocktail.

Then, when Toyokawa Shoko picked up the glass again and was about to drink the second glass of wine, Chihaya Tetsuya finally arrived at her side...

……

"How are you, Xiangzi?"

After leaving Mikado Hatsuka and Hoshino Ai behind to hold Director Aoka back, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately took the wooden-faced Toyokawa Shoko to the empty corridor outside.

"Can you still hear me?"

"Um... Tetsuya... kun...?"

At this time, Shoko Toyokawa's speech had begun to become slurred.

"You...how's the situation over there..."

"very smooth."

Chihaya Tetsuya showed the business card in his pocket to Toyokawa Shoko.

"But that's not the point right now. How are you feeling? Do you feel like vomiting?"

"It's going pretty smoothly on my end..."

However, facing Chihaya Tetsuya's concern, Toyokawa Shoko seemed to have completely ignored it and continued to mutter the same topic:

"Qian, Director Qianyun... said... if my... ah-woo hen card... wants to release an album, I can contact him anytime... hehe... awesome, right?"

With the support of Chihaya Tetsuya, a silly smile appeared on her face, which was completely different from her usual calmness and dignity.

"Even though I still have a debt that I don't know when I'll ever be able to repay... I will definitely be able to help Tetsuya-kun... So... Tetsuya-kun..."

She raised her head and hugged Chihaya Tetsuya's shoulders.

"Wait for me a little longer... just a little longer... don't leave me so far behind in one breath..."

"..."

Hearing Toyokawa Shoko's words, which were forced out by alcohol and were mixed with strong anxiety and cowardice, Chihaya Tetsuya stared at her blurry eyes for a long time before he slowly sighed.

Then, he used one hand to support her limp body, and then took out his cell phone with the other hand and dialed Sanjiao Chuhua's number -