Girl idols are meant to be exploited!

With Mizuno Ai's current skin condition, even if she forces herself to put on makeup, she can never return to her former smooth and flawless appearance, not to mention her current skin condition, which makes it difficult for her to even use ordinary skin care products, let alone professional cosmetics.

However, the voice coming from the other end of the phone was that of Taku Hoshikawa, who sounded a little cold and disappointed.

"Don't you want to take a gamble? Or... have you already decided to let Mizuno Ai face the scrutiny of the whole world in her current state?"

Taku Hoshikawa's words made Hasegawa feel extremely guilty.

She tapped her fingers nervously on the table, her fingertips making a slight "tapping" sound.

Her eyes fell on the photo wall in the corner of the office. It was a group photo of her, Mizuno Ai and other members. In the photo, Mizuno Ai was smiling brightly and confidently.

——She was so shining at that time.

Hasegawa bit his lip, his eyes flashed, and he finally made a decision in silence.

"...Mr. Hoshikawa, I'll leave it to you then."

Her voice lowered, but with a hint of determination to burn her bridges.

After hanging up the phone, Hoshikawa Taku's expression still did not improve, with increasingly obvious confusion and suspicion in his eyes.

He really didn't understand why Mizuno Ai's agency would come up with the "operation" of letting her, a seriously injured person who had not yet recovered, start a video live broadcast?

Don’t they really understand that given Mizuno Ai’s current condition and mental state, she is not suitable to appear in front of the camera?

Even if it's just a live radio broadcast, or simply sending a handwritten letter, or a photo of your back with your face covered... it's much better than facing the camera directly.

And...if it was just to quell the online rumors, why didn't the firm's public relations department take action earlier?

Hoshikawa Taku's eyes gradually grew colder, he slowly sat down, resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his fingers against his chin, his brows furrowed.

As soon as the "disfigurement" rumors began to spread, the agency should have stepped in immediately, contacted the fan club, major water army groups, and media platforms to issue a unified press release, guide public opinion, and suppress malicious speculation.

Mizuno Ai has so many fans now. If she just finds some fan groups and unifies their rhetoric, she can suppress these groundless rumors, right?

This is not normal.

Very abnormal.

Is this firm too useless and doesn't know how to do crisis public relations, or... is this something the firm did on purpose?

An idea came to Taku Hoshikawa, and he immediately took out his cell phone and called the employee in his own office who was in charge of online research, asking her to investigate when the rumor originated and what caused it to escalate.

The other party responded and quickly hung up.

About half an hour later, the staff reported the results of the investigation to him.

"Mr. Xingchuan, I found it."

The employee spoke rapidly, "The source of this 'disfigurement' rumor is a coordinated effort by several industry troll teams to spread it—and it's clear that this rhetoric is being orchestrated."

"Many accounts simultaneously posted similar content, focusing on several popular music communities to spark discussion... They were immediately criticized by Mizuno Ai's fans, but it also sparked heated discussions, causing fans to worry about Mizuno Ai's health and face."

Hoshikawa Taku whispered, "In other words, this is a manipulation of public opinion that was deliberately exaggerated."

The employee nodded. "Yes, it's almost certain that someone is manipulating this situation. However... at the moment, we can't pinpoint which organization or rival is behind this."

This made Hoshikawa Taku very puzzled. What kind of enemy or rival did Mizuno Ai have that made them so jealous of her?

She just came out of the emergency room and hasn't even recovered yet, but some people can't wait to start slandering her?

Doesn't her firm care at all?

Taku Hoshikawa closed his eyes gently, and his mind quickly replayed a series of abnormal operations of the agency since Mizuno Ai was injured.

Don't speak at the first moment.

No crisis public relations.

Instead of refuting the rumors, they arranged for her to appear in a live video broadcast with her "real face".

One thing after another, all seemed to be pushing her into the volcano of public opinion.

Is this really just a "mistake"?

If all of this was done intentionally by the firm, then what was their purpose?

Why does the agency hate Mizuno Ai? If they make good use of this huge amount of traffic, they can take this opportunity to push Mizuno Ai to the top.

Unless... the agency doesn't want Mizuno Ai to become popular, and is even deliberately suppressing her popularity and traffic, so that the traffic brought by this strong wind will quickly disappear.

But isn’t Mizuno Ai very valued in the agency? Haven’t they always trained her as the captain, the core member, and the most promising C position?

Is there any reason that suddenly made the agency change its opinion of her?

What is it that makes the firm not even want to make money anymore?

Wait…making money?

Suddenly, an idea flashed upon Hoshikawa Taku.

Such a serious accident happened to Ai Mizuno while she was "working". As the agency that signed an employment contract with her, they also have to bear certain responsibilities, or even the main responsibility, and need to bear the medical expenses of Ai Mizuno.

Generally speaking, in order to avoid accidental risks, most agencies will purchase commercial insurance or work injury insurance for their artists. In this way, they only need to advance a part of the medical expenses and will not lose too much.

But the problem doesn't end there. An accident is not just about medical expenses.

Mizuno Ai is an idol, a profession that relies on her looks and personality to make a living. Her "appearance" and "public image" are her greatest assets.

Now, because of this accident, her face may be permanently scarred and she may not even be able to continue her acting career.

This meant that her career suffered a serious blow.

In other words, the agency will have to pay huge compensation - including losses caused by damaged appearance, interruption of performing arts, mental trauma, etc., as well as compensation for expected income in the next 5 to 10 years. These added together may be hundreds of millions of yen in compensation!

This is no small sum.

Of course, not all the compensation will be paid by the agency. The organizer of the music festival, as the party responsible for the event, also has to bear part of the responsibility. It is not clear who is "primarily responsible" and who is "secondarily responsible" at the moment, but what is certain is that both parties have to pay a lot of money.

Could it be that... the firm just doesn't want to pay compensation, so it's doing this kind of trick behind her back and letting these rumors about her run rampant?

No, this is just a guess. I can't just think of the firm as a bad guy. Maybe I'm overthinking it, and the firm is just slow to react?

Thinking of this, Taku Hoshikawa called the director.

He did not ask directly what he wanted to ask, but instead asked indirectly whether the director was troubled by the incident involving Mizuno Ai and whether the organizer had identified him as the person responsible.

The director had recovered a lot after two days and said in a relaxed tone:

"What responsibility can I have? I'm just a staff member setting up the stage. This venue is strictly according to the standards."

"There were lightning rods and grounding devices on site. When it started to rain, I reminded the group that they could suspend the performance. It was their manager who contacted the agency and insisted on continuing the performance."

"I have done everything I should have done, so I naturally have no responsibility."

He paused and said, "Of course, the festival organizers are directly responsible for the safety and security of the performance venue, but this has nothing to do with me."

Chapter 103: Teacher Da Miao's "Honey Trap"

The director is not the investor, but the director invited to be in charge of the stage. He has taken all the necessary safety measures, so he naturally does not need to take the blame.

It is not his turn to make money, and it is naturally not his turn to lose money either.

He paused, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said in a low voice:

"By the way, I heard that the organizers are currently negotiating compensation with Mizuno Ai's agency, and I heard they're in a state of panic."

This is what Xingchuan Taku wanted to hear. He pretended to be casual and asked: "Director, do you know how the responsibilities are divided among them?"

The director thought for a moment.

"I can't say for sure, but after the festival, the organizers specifically talked to me and asked me if I had informed Mizuno Ai and the others about the weather conditions that day and whether the performance was carried out according to regulations."

"I told them everything I had done, that I had given them a heads-up and that the decision-making power lay with the firm. Then they left happily, giving me some money before leaving and saying they hoped I could testify if they needed anything in the future."

Fearing misunderstanding, the director quickly emphasized, "I didn't say anything for money! I'm telling the truth! The agent made the call in front of me, and the staff around me can all testify to that!"

"Well, of course I believe you."

Hoshikawa Taku's tone was soothing, but a look of understanding flashed across his face.

He has basically determined the nature of the matter.

Mizuno Ai died in an accident at a music festival.

If the organizer fails to fulfill its safety obligations, it should bear most of the responsibility and the compensation amount will be higher.

But the fact is - the organizer not only gave an advance warning, but also reminded the performers that they could suspend the performance.

Ultimately, the decision to continue the performance was made by the agency.

That means that the firm bears the primary responsibility for the accident, and naturally the proportion of compensation it has to bear will be greater.

Once Mizuno Ai is completely denied by public opinion, her image is ruined, and her career ends, the agency can use the reason that "Mizuno Ai has lost her commercial value" to lower the compensation standard and pay less.

Even if they are even more shameless, they can even drag their feet on paying the money. When Mizuno Ai can no longer bear it and takes the case to court, they can just act like "deadbeats" and refuse to pay.

This also explains why they turned a blind eye to those rumors and even fanned the flames behind the scenes...

Mizuno Ai is still quite popular now, but once she loses her popularity, a little idol who has no channels to express herself will be easily manipulated by the agency.

"Ah……"

Hoshikawa Taku sneered, "It's really... dark enough."

Although this accident was an unexpected disaster for the firm, it is reasonable to want to reduce the losses.

But the problem is - Mizuno Ai didn't endure this voluntarily.

She was just an idol who worked hard to perform. When she was struck by a "natural disaster" like lightning, she should have received the most timely protection and comfort.

Since the firm took away her income for the next few years, it should bear its due responsibilities. Now that something has happened, instead of thinking about solving the problem, they are trying to find ways to escape at the first moment?

This firm is really black-hearted, which is in line with Taku Hoshikawa's expectations of capitalists.

Compared to them, Taku Hoshikawa felt like he was doing charity.

He was originally thinking about how to "poach" Mizuno Ai to join his team, but now... he already knew clearly where to start.

……

[With Thorns and Without Thorns] The band’s debut performance at the Livehouse was pretty good.

Although there were only a few audience members in the audience at the beginning, most of them were looking down at their phones, as if they had no interest in the appearance of the newcomers.

But when the first sound of Taoxiang's guitar plucked cut through the air, and as the drum beats and melody gradually unfolded, the audience's attention was drawn to her.

They raised their heads one by one, their expressions changing from indifference to surprise, and then they stared with interest at the shining girls on the stage, and at the lead singer Nina who was "trying too hard" in every song.

At the end of the performance, they not only won applause, but also gained several fans who decided to follow them on the spot.

In a highly competitive environment like Livehouse, this is already a very good result.

Ichichi Xingge nodded with satisfaction.

"Your stage performance is very good, I like it very much. If you want to perform on stage any day, you can tell me a day in advance, and I will arrange a good time slot for you."

After being praised, Renna's nose turned up high, and she couldn't wait to ask: "Can we perform tomorrow? We want to perform every day from now on!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Taoxiang, who was standing beside her, rolled her eyes speechlessly and raised her hand to tap her forehead.

"Performing every day? Aren't you tired? And don't forget, I still have the task of composing new music. We can only perform every other day at most, and the rest of the time should be used for creation and self-improvement."

"Oh, that's true..."

Rencai covered her head and nodded as if she suddenly understood. She almost forgot about this.

Seeing that they have adapted to the rhythm of the Livehouse and started to get used to the atmosphere here, Hoshikawa Takuya felt relieved.

He smiled and said, "I won't be accompanying you for the next month's performances. You can come here on your own. For the rest of the time, I don't care whether you stay at the agency or at home. I'll give you plenty of freedom. I only want the results after a month."

Since Taku Hoshikawa has promised not to interfere with their performance style, he will not rashly give more guidance in this regard. He will take care of the band's operations and marketing. As for style and creation - he is willing to believe in their talent.

A gentleman will die for his friend. This kind of decentralization and complete trust in their attitude deeply moved Momoka and Nina, and they made a bold promise, saying that Hoshikawa Taku looked forward to their growth.

In the next few days, as he said, Taku Hoshikawa never appeared at their performances again.

However, Momoka and Nina did not slack off at all. Instead, they became more diligent. They came to the agency on time every day to punch in and use the free practice room here to hone their performances.

Taku Hoshikawa had no time to care about them. At this moment, almost all his energy was devoted to the excavation plan of Mizuno Ai, and he was considering various plans day and night.

In addition, he has been keeping an eye on Miao Meng's situation.

Ever since the video that took advantage of Mizuno Ai's popularity was released, Miao Meng's comment section has been blowing up.

It started with just a few criticisms, then turned into hundreds of insults accusing her of "taking advantage of others' misfortune," which soon became an unstoppable torrent of malice.