I became a girl group idol for my sister.

The girl looked to be about 1.4 meters tall, and appeared quite petite.

She looked very cute and had a sunny disposition. She was holding her schoolbag in her right hand and her lunchbox in her left, and was about to walk outside.

Miyamoto walked up and called out, "Please wait a moment, may I ask you a few questions?"

……

Shinomiya Emi planned to leave the hospital and go to school. She wasn't really in the mood for school because her mother's situation was bothering her.

Medical insurance can cover about 80%, and with the maximum monthly medical expenses, the monthly treatment cost will only be 80,000 yen.

However, this amount of money is still a lot of pressure for her. She is currently helping out at an internet cafe because she is too young to work. She usually just helps out by watching the shop and delivering things. The boss gives her a sum of money every month as pocket money, which amounts to about 90,000 yen a month.

In addition, I usually eat and live in internet cafes, which are all free. So even though I only have 10,000 yuan left, it is more than enough, including tuition fees.

But she wanted to work even more. If she could earn a lot of money, she could give her mother the best treatment without hesitation, even if it meant removing her stomach and needing to spend money on treatment in the future.

Just then, she suddenly heard someone calling her from behind. It seemed like the voice was coming from her direction, and the person was very close!

She turned around and saw a person wearing sunglasses and a hat, making it difficult to discern their appearance at first glance.

Judging from her figure and voice, she should be a woman, a very beautiful woman.

What do you think of your idol?

She asked herself.

Chapter 100 Deception

Shinomiya Emi was stunned. She never expected the other person to ask such a question, and she had no idea what the question meant.

Why ask me my opinion on idols? Does she think I like watching idol dramas? I don't have time to watch idols at all these days. When I see my classmates at school discussing their idols, I'm envious, but I never have that opportunity!

Shinomiya Emi thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "I...I don't understand what you mean, sister."

Then, the person asked again in a very gentle voice, "What I mean is, what do you think of the idol profession?"

"The profession of idol?" Why is this a question? Is this some kind of random interview with a stranger? Shinomiya Emi became increasingly confused, but she still decided to answer anyway: "I think the profession of idol is amazing. You get to stand on stage and show yourself in front of so many people!"

These are professions full of promise, and the brilliance they exude is so dazzling that even the students in the school can understand how attractive these idols are.

Just like the magical girl anime that everyone loved watching when they were kids, it's so captivating!

"I'm sorry, I have to go to school and can't continue talking to you," Shinomiya Emi said, intending to leave quickly. If she was late for school, she would definitely be scolded by the teacher.

However, just as she was about to leave, one sentence from the other person made her stop in her tracks.

"Want to give it a try? To become an idol?"

"Me?!" Shinomiya Emi pointed to herself, and seeing that the other person was still looking at her, she immediately shook her head: "I... I definitely can't do it!"

"Let's find a place to talk," Miyamoto said, looking at the girl with a slight smile, showing no intention of letting go.

He could see the passion emanating from this girl—a passion for life. Miyamoto already knew about the crisis this girl was facing, but she was not defeated by it; instead, she continued to strive.

He's even better than he was back then, not in terms of ability, but in terms of mindset.

He didn't know if this girl could make it on the path to becoming an idol, but he felt he could offer her some help. However, this help couldn't be given directly; she should have to pay a small price for it.

Shinomiya Emi didn't know why she had inexplicably followed the person into a car, and after asking for her school address, the person actually said to the beautiful older woman driving the car, "Drive there."

“Okay, Miss Miyamoto.” Mizuhara Chizuki nodded. She didn’t know what Miyamoto Nana was planning to do, but she didn’t intend to ask. At least, it wasn’t appropriate to ask while this strange girl was in the car.

"Won't this be too much trouble? I'll just take the tram or bus there myself!" Shinomiya Emi immediately said.

"It's no trouble at all. I'll be taking up a little of your time, and this is the best place for us to talk properly. So, since this is the best place, it's perfectly reasonable to give you a ride there."

Miyamoto smiled and then said what he wanted to say: "Do you want to give it a try? In July, SKR will be holding a graduate student selection. If you become a graduate student, you can get a decent amount of money as a salary every month."

"salary?!"

"How do you support yourself now?" Miyamoto asked instead of answering.

Although she didn't know what the other party meant, Shinomiya Emi was really tempted by the suggestion of "salary". Of course, she knew that the so-called salary she was receiving was not actually a salary, but just pocket money given under the pretense of salary, because she was too young to work.

Her daily errands and odd jobs at the internet cafe were hardly a formal job, or even a part-time job!

"I... I earn about 90,000 a month now... It's... It's enough." After saying that, she quickly added, "I just sweep the floor at the internet cafe and deliver water for people, things like that."

It felt strangely like I'd run into a waiter... Miyamoto thought to himself, then smiled and said, "Nine thousand? That makes sense, considering you're too old to work."

This prompted Shinomiya Emi to give a soft "hmm." She also wanted to work and earn money, but the law wouldn't allow it...

The law, which is supposed to protect you, has become your shackles at this moment.

"Actually, there's no age limit for idols," Miyamoto suddenly said.

This made Shinomiya Emi immediately raise her head. She looked at the woman in front of her in surprise, wanting to know if the other woman was trying to fool her.

“Many of my companions became idols at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and some even became professional idols at twelve.” Miyamoto continued to deceive her, which surprised Shinomiya Emi: “Your companions? You are…”

The other person took off their sunglasses and hat, revealing their face. When Shinomiya Emi saw this face, she was stunned. She never expected to see this person!

Even though she won't deliberately follow celebrities anymore, she still recognizes some idols, such as Watanabe Hikaru, Naoki Sakurako, and Higashi Hisako Ogiko, because these people are so famous that they've completely broken out of their niche. You might see a lot of related billboards if you just go out for a walk.

And the person in front of you is one of these people!

Nana Miyamoto is currently SKR's strongest active idol, and she has also starred in a wildly popular drama and movie!

How did Miyamoto Nana find me?! What's she doing at the hospital?!

Her mind was filled with questions, and the identity of the person in front of her gave her a huge shock, leaving Shinomiya Emi in a daze.

She felt as if she were dreaming, and the dream was so unreal.

The strongest idol currently active has come to her, wanting to participate in the idol audition himself!

"How about it? Want to give it a try?" Miyamoto looked at the girl with a smile and slowly revealed more conditions that she couldn't refuse: "Besides being an idol, which is a job you can do right now, if you become an idol at SKR and become a graduate student, you'll have a basic salary of 70,000 yen per month."

The original base salary for SKR trainees was 50,000 yen. With the rise of live streaming, and because of its success, Risa Amagai raised the base salary for trainees from 50,000 yen to 70,000 yen, and the base salary for full members from 100,000 yen to 130,000 yen.

Of course, this is just the basic salary. The tips and rewards earned during live streams can also steadily increase the income of these fringe streamers. It can only be said that many people's lives have suddenly improved.

"A base salary of 70,000 yen?" Shinomiya Emi keenly recognized this money-related term: base salary! Base!

“That’s right. In addition to the basic salary, there are other subsidies, such as a housing allowance of 20,000 yen per month, and a certain amount of travel allowance for going to school and theater training. I think you definitely want to rent a house, right? After all, your mother needs a separate and quiet house to rest at home after her surgery.”

Miyamoto's words silenced Shinomiya Emi.

Their original house was long gone, since it was rented anyway. Now, the internet cafe owner gave her a small private room to stay in; otherwise, she wouldn't even know where to stay.

Moreover, all of this adds up to 90,000 per month, which is equivalent to my current income.

In addition, there are subsidies for travel expenses, etc... From this perspective, it seems that being an idol would result in a higher income.

However, 20,000 yuan is definitely not enough to rent a house, and the remaining amount must be paid by oneself.

So, it's not enough at all!

"It's only 70,000 yen for the first month, after all, that's just the base salary. In reality, once you start performing, you'll earn 5,000 yen for each performance. As graduate students, you can generally get at least 20 performance opportunities per month, provided that you have enough ability to become a key member of the graduate student team."

Miyamoto smiled as he said this: "If you are good enough, it is possible to have more than 35 performance opportunities a month."

"More than 35 times?!" Shinomiya Emi quickly calculated in her mind and came up with a number that made her swallow hard!

Even without housing subsidies, just the basic salary and the salary for 35 performances a month add up to an income of 24.5 yen!

This is almost two and a half months' worth of her current income!

Because she had been looking for a place to live, she browsed many cheap-looking apartments online. She knew that there were quite a few nice-looking apartments that could be rented for only around 60,000 yen a month!

With the 20,000 yen subsidy, that means you can rent it for only 40,000 yen!

In this way, I can save a lot of money for my mother's treatment, and then I can take her home to rest!

But you were saying the selection process wouldn't start until July, right? It's only the end of May now, it'll take so long. If we can't get the money soon... if we can't let Mom have the surgery without worry...

As Shinomiya Emi hesitated, unsure of what to do, Miyamoto Sei seemed to read her mind.

“If you go for the selection, I can pay for your mother’s treatment first. After your mother has undergone gastrectomy, she will definitely need to recuperate in the hospital for a period of time to observe her postoperative reactions, etc., which will give you enough time to participate in the selection.”

As Miyamoto said this, he secretly observed the girl's changing expression. Seeing that she was moved, Miyamoto knew that he was about to succeed.

"It's just a try, there's no loss for you. And even if you participate in the selection and fail, you can choose to work or something to earn money to pay me back. I can even wait until you graduate from high school to pay you back. Don't worry, there will be no interest."

If there was any hesitation beforehand, these words struck Shinomiya Emi's heart like a hammer blow.

She wanted to refuse, but she knew she had no right to refuse. If she refused, her mother would lose hope!

But why me?!

"Why did they choose me? I'm clearly... clearly not suitable to be..."

"Idols? Whether they're suitable or not, you'll only know by actually trying. By the way, have you ever watched any idol shows?"

She nodded slightly, then quickly added, "I've only seen it on TV before..."

She hadn't been there and didn't know what the atmosphere was like.

"are you free tomorrow?"

Tomorrow is Saturday, which is also SKR's big performance.

"I'm off tomorrow, but I need to go to the internet cafe..."

"Take a day off," Miyamoto said, taking out a ticket and handing it to the other person. "Remember to be there on time tomorrow, okay?"