I became a girl group idol for my sister.

"Thank you."

The door was pushed open, and Miyamoto looked at Nanbe Rika in front of him with some embarrassment. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, indicating that she had been crying.

"Rika, what's wrong?"

Miyamoto asked.

That's all he can say right now; he can't just ignore the other person.

"It's nothing." She forced a smile and walked forward, but she stopped again after walking a short distance.

"Nana-chan..." Her voice was low as she stood there, "If it's alright, could you keep me company for a while?"

"Okay, then wait for me a moment. I'll go see what Mr. Hasegawa wants to see me about."

"Well, I'll wait for you."

Seeing that the other party's emotions were relatively stable, Miyamoto Sei walked into the office. In addition to Hasegawa Subaru, there were other staff members in the office. After seeing him arrive, Hasegawa Subaru handed him a work schedule.

"Here you go, take a look at the work schedule for the next few days."

"Hmm, is there a problem?" Miyamoto asked, looking at the form with some confusion.

"Aren't you guys very busy right now? Do you need to take a break? If so, you can have a substitute go."

"No need, there's enough time. Besides, what will happen to the fans who bought tickets for me if I don't go on stage? After all, it's not like there's any force majeure." Miyamoto smiled.

"You really are..." Subaru Hasegawa nodded: "Okay, I got it. Take care of yourself, don't collapse again."

After he finished speaking, he took the work order back.

"Alright, then there's nothing else."

"Okay, I thought it was something serious, but it's just this." Miyamoto Sei pouted, not leaving immediately: "By the way, what happened to Rika?"

"You saw her..." Subaru Hasegawa was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "She's planning to graduate."

"This……"

There is no graduation speech when a graduate student graduates, or rather, leaves the country.

Upon hearing this news, Miyamoto Sei, combining it with what he had overheard at the time, immediately formed a deduction in his mind.

"Did she choose to leave on her own?"

“Yes, something happened at home, so I have to leave…” Hasegawa Subaru sighed and looked at Miyamoto Sei: “She should be leaving tomorrow, right? If you can, stay with her for a while.”

"I understand." Miyamoto nodded, feeling a sense of unreality.

More than half a year has passed. From being unfamiliar with each other at the beginning to becoming companions now, although I thought from the beginning that some people might fall behind or leave, when I actually encountered such a thing, I felt resistant.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down a bit, and then turned and walked out the door.

Not far away, Rika Kusunobu was leaning against the wall waiting for him. When she saw him come out, Rika Kusunobu smiled, but it was a forced smile.

"Let's go, you can choose a place." Miyamoto smiled at her, but the smile also seemed forced.

"Judging from your expression, it seems you already know." Rika Kusunobu said, turning and walking forward: "Come on, isn't there a coffee shop? Let's sit there."

"Ah."

Outside the theater is a café owned by SKR, where people often come to drink coffee. Miyamoto Sei and Nanbe Rika went in and randomly chose an empty seat to sit down.

After a moment of silence, Miyamoto asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Shaking her head, Rika Kusunobu looked out the window. Her eyes were still red, and tears began to well up.

"No, no need, thank you..." she said softly, "It's just that something came up at home, and I need to go back to help, so I won't be able to stay with you anymore..."

Towards the end, she was sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling and tears streaming down her face.

Perhaps because she was in such a small corner, she didn't pay attention to the people around her at that moment.

Because it was during working hours, there weren't many people here to begin with.

At that moment, she was too preoccupied to care about the people around her.

Miyamoto reached out and gently patted her shoulder, then took out a wet wipe and wiped Nanbe Rika's eyes, removing some of the tears.

Recalling the memories the other person left in her mind, she wasn't particularly talented, just an ordinary person. If there was anything special about her, it might be her favorite straight hair style.

However, she is very serious and hardworking; she is just an ordinary girl who knows how to work hard on her own.

Miyamoto's act of wiping away her tears finally made Nanbe Rika unable to hold back any longer. She threw herself into Miyamoto's arms, gripping his back tightly with both hands, and cried loudly.

"Why did this happen to me? Why?!"

She screamed, venting all the pain in her heart.

"I've worked so hard, I felt like success was just around the corner, and then...and then this happened..."

Letting the other person cry, Miyamoto silently waited for her to release all the pent-up emotions in her heart. After a few minutes, she slowly stopped wailing. When she looked up, she saw a large wet patch on Miyamoto's chest and felt a little embarrassed.

"This this……"

"It's alright. Did you feel better after crying?" Miyamoto smiled. "Besides, if something is wrong, you should say it out loud. It's not good to keep it inside."

After a slight sob, Nanbe Rika hesitated for a moment before slowly recounting what had happened.

“My family runs a ramen shop, and it’s an old shop that’s been around for over two hundred years. My mother inherited the craft from my grandfather. Because my father has his own job, he didn’t learn how to make it from my grandfather. My younger brother and sister are still too young to do these things…”

"So, besides your mother, you're the only one in the family who has inherited the family craft?"

"Yes, that's right. Originally, I planned to become an idol, and then after graduating, I would go home and take over from my mother as the new shop owner, but..."

When Rika Kusunobe said this, her expression became slightly downcast.

"I suddenly received a call at noon today. My mother... was in a car accident and is in the hospital now..."

It turned out to be a car accident!

Miyamoto was startled and quickly asked, "What about his vital signs?"

"His life is not in danger, but he is still undergoing treatment and the specific situation is not clear yet. His father can take care of his mother, but there is no one to manage the family restaurant right now, so I am the only one who can do this job..."

She paused for a moment after saying this, and clenched her fist slightly.

"So I have to go back, not just to see my mother, but also to help keep the noodle shop that my grandfather left behind..."

"Nana-chan!"

"Kusunbe Rika suddenly shouted."

She looked at Miyamoto Sei, her bloodshot eyes filled with an indescribable power, and she reached out and grabbed Miyamoto Sei's shoulders.

“I have to leave here, but you are different. You are the most outstanding among our ninth cohort of graduate students. No, not just that, you are the most outstanding among all of our current graduate students!”

Miyamoto looked into those eyes, which were red from crying, but now seemed to be red from a burning passion.

"As an idol, you're destined for great success; you'll definitely reach the top in all of Japan!"

Rika Kusunobu gripped her hands tightly, and her voice, like her forceful hands, was full of power.

“I can’t continue being an idol, but you can. You have to move forward, at least so I can see you on TV! After all, my hometown isn’t a big city, I can only receive local and national channels. If you can’t get on national channels, I won’t be able to see you.”

Her voice trembled, and Miyamoto knew that she was entrusting her unfulfilled goal to a companion with the same goal.

"Let me make this clear first: if you don't make it into the selection group, I won't let you off the hook!"

She said her last words with a smile.

Miyamoto fell silent. The selection team meant that they had to be at least in the top 20 of the general election, but that was impossible this time.

Then he laughed too.

Didn't he already agree to it with Higashikuse Ogiko a long time ago?

He wants to become a worthy opponent for Higashikuze Ogiko!

"As long as I'm not in the selection committee for this general election, that's fine."

“Even if I dream the most, I wouldn’t want you to make it into the selection group this time. We don’t even know if you’ll make it this time…” Nanbe Rika shook her head: “Make it into the selection group next year, and then the year after that. I’ll give you two years, how about that?”

To become a rival to Higashikuze Ogiko, joining the selection team is just the beginning...

Moreover, this is something my companion entrusted to me!

Miyamoto reached out and grasped the other person's hand that was gripping his shoulder. His voice was soft, but his reply was firm.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely make it into the selection group!"

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Stolen Center Position [Part Two]

Miyamoto lay in bed, feeling powerless for the first time in days.

He could handle anything that happened within the team, and he could help with any psychological issues that arose among the members. But this time, he was helpless when it came to Rika Kusunobu's situation.

All he could do was wish the other person well and hope for a bright future for them.

She jumped out of bed, walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of milk, and took a deep breath as she felt the smooth milk flow down her throat.

"Since I've already promised them, I absolutely have to make it into the selection group! No, not just the selection group, but I want to become an idol who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ogiko-senpai!"

……