Girl idols are meant to be exploited!

The taste of protein/powder itself is actually not very good, and various tastes are simulated through natural or artificial flavorings.

The protein/powder formula in Taku Hoshikawa's hand is a sample of the original taste. He originally wanted to find a specialized laboratory to study and formulate protein/powder of various flavors to suit different groups of people. Now that he has the skills of a chemistry expert, he can formulate it himself.

It just so happens that Kikuri Hiroi can be the first “guinea pig”.

Hiroi frowned, carefully stirred the sugar cubes that were gradually dissolving in the cup, and took another sip reluctantly.

Although the taste was still strange, she muttered softly and drank the cup of protein/coffee mixture reluctantly under the calm gaze of Taku Hoshikawa.

"How does it taste to you?"

"It's still weird. The bitterness is barely suppressed by the sweetness of the sugar. There's also a slight fishy smell. There's no depth of flavor at all!"

Hiroi Kikuri wrinkled her nose and complained bluntly.

"Okay, I'll make a note of it."

Taku Hoshikawa took her advice to heart and used it as a reference for improving the flavor later.

After saying this, his gaze fell on Hiroi's face again, his eyes focused, as if waiting for something to change.

Hiroi Kikuri felt uneasy under his gaze. She couldn't help but touch her cheek and asked suspiciously: "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's nothing."

Hoshikawa Taku withdrew his gaze.

He originally thought that after drinking coffee, Hiroi Kikuri would enter the "intoxicated effect". It seems that either she has not yet become dependent on caffeine, or the amount of coffee is too small to trigger her characteristics.

Hoshikawa Taku didn't continue studying her characteristics at this time. He got up and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. He said to Hiroi: "Okay, let's go to the office."

Taku Hoshikawa's apartment is conveniently located near Shibuya, just a dozen minutes' walk from the office, so he arrived at his destination quickly.

When Taku Hoshikawa arrived at the door of his office, his assistant Lupa was sitting at the workstation at the door, concentrating on processing documents.

Hearing the noise, Lupa looked up.

"Manager... and Ms. Hiroi, good morning."

She greeted with a smile.

"Lupa, I don't think I need to introduce Hiroi Kikuri, right?"

Hoshikawa Taku smiled and briefly introduced Lupa, "She is now also a member of our firm."

Lupa blinked, put down the documents in his hand, and said with a teasing smile: "Hiroi-senpai... you were finally persuaded by Mr. Hoshikawa. You vowed at the beginning that for the sake of freedom, you would never join any firm..."

Hiroi Kikuri didn't blush at all. She shrugged her shoulders and said with a self-righteous look, "Eh? Did I say that? The conditions offered by Hoshikawa were good enough, so of course I joined."

She spoke so calmly, as if the unyielding look she had a few days ago had never existed.

Lupa covered her mouth and chuckled, as if she had expected this result.

"So, Ms. Hiroi, is it convenient for me to pay back the money I borrowed?"

Lupa said with a smile.

A few days ago, when Kikuri Hiroi came to ask Taku Hoshikawa to borrow money, Taku Hoshikawa was not there. Lupa felt sorry for her and lent her 40,000 yen.

I regretted it after borrowing it, and was worried that this guy would refuse to pay back the debt - Hiroi Kikuri has a very bad reputation in the circle, and she still owes Pochi money.

Lupa is not a wealthy young lady. She thinks that since Hiroi Kikuri has signed a contract with the agency, she should have money to pay off her debts, right?

Chapter 242: Rebellious Little Sister.

The words Hiroi Kikuri fears hearing most now are "pay back the money".

She spent all her money on alcohol last night and was literally penniless.

"That... Xingchuan..."

She looked at Xingchuan Taku for help, her eyes full of pity, "I don't have any money on hand right now, can you lend me some first..."

Hoshikawa Taku sighed and said to Lupa beside him without any surprise: "Lupa, let me help pay back the money she owes you first."

He handed the loan back to Lupa, then turned to look at Hiroi Kikuri and added calmly.

"But this money is not lent to you for free. It will be deducted from your salary."

When Hiroi Kikuri heard this, she didn't show a happy expression at first. Instead, her expression became tense, and she frowned and asked worriedly:

"If you're going to deduct my salary...will you also deduct my usual food allowance? And please don't deduct the indulgence meal and wine you promised me!"

"...No, I've already told you that we eat the same thing. I'm not going to reduce my own meal allowance just for this little money."

Hoshikawa Taku said unhappily.

"I can rest assured that!"

Hiroi immediately smiled again.

Hiroi Kikuri doesn't care at all about how much money she owes, she only cares about whether she can drink.

She must be "trained" well so that she can completely change this indulgent and chaotic view of money.

Hoshikawa Taku instructed Lupa, "Lupa, help Kikuri with the onboarding procedures. Also, arrange a separate workspace for her."

"understood."

Lupa responded neatly and took Hiroi to clean up the workstation.

Kikuri Hiroi followed behind Lupa, watching her handle the procedures for her, yawning lazily with a sleepy look in her eyes.

The fierce battle last night almost "drained" her physical strength. Even if she forced herself to drink a large cup of strong coffee in the morning, it did not have much refreshing effect.

Xingchuan Taku glanced at her and said casually: "If you feel sleepy, there is a lounge inside, you can go there and take a nap."

"no need……"

Hiroi shook his head and rubbed his temples. "I'm just a little tired, I'll be fine soon."

She lazily leaned against the door and yawned again. Then her eyes lit up and she seemed to remember something. She asked Xingchuan Taku: "By the way, didn't you say you wanted me to review Momoka and the others' new song? Where are they?"

Hoshikawa Taku looked at Lupa, who showed a slightly troubled expression and replied, "Momoka and Nina were still in the office just now, but... Nina's sister seemed to have come over, and the two of them went out together. They haven't come back yet."

Hearing this, Hoshikawa Taku's eyes narrowed slightly.

——Ichinose Renna’s sister?

The plot of the original work immediately emerged in his mind.

In the original work, Nina's sister was sent by her family to check on her because her family became suspicious of her because she had not been attending cram school.

In other words...hasn't Renai confessed to her family yet?

Half an hour later, the door of the practice room was pushed open.

Jing Serina and Kawahara Ki Momoka walked in one after another, both of them had unconcealable fatigue on their faces and their steps were a little heavy.

To Nina and Momoka's slight surprise, Hoshikawa Taku and Hiroi Kikuri were already waiting in the practice room.

The two men paused slightly, clearly not expecting someone to be there. The heavy expressions on their faces faded away, quickly replaced by bright smiles.

Momoka Kawahara was the first to put her expression back in order. She smiled and said hello, "Mr. Hoshikawa, Ms. Hiroi, you've come at the perfect time. I have a new song I want you to listen to."

As she spoke, she bent down and was about to pick up the guitar on the ground, but Taku Hoshikawa raised his hand to stop her.

"There's no rush for this."

Hoshikawa Taku stopped Momoka and cast a meaningful glance at Jing Qin Rencai. "Before that, don't you have anything to say to me?"

"Ah? What did you say?"

Rencai was stunned and asked subconsciously.

Hoshikawa Taku slowly said, "For example...about your family. Did your sister come to see you today?"

"I don't want to ask about the specifics of the conversation. I just want to know—have you convinced your family to support you in taking this path?"

Kawahara Ki Momoka suddenly showed a worried expression and looked at Isen Rina nervously.

Rencai lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. After a moment, she bit her lip and whispered:

"My family heard from the cram school that I haven't been to class for over half a month. They're worried that I might learn bad things in Tokyo, so they asked my sister to find out what I'm doing."

"Did you tell your sister?"

Hoshikawa Taku asked.

"Well, I told my sister the truth."

Nina raised her head, took a deep breath, and said as if she had made up her mind, "I told her that I'm in a band and have signed with an agency. I'm an adult who can make a living on my own in Tokyo."

"To prove it, I even returned her the family's passbook and told her she would never need money from home again!"

There was a stubborn pride in her voice as she spoke of this.

Hiroi Kikuri blinked, then revealed an expression of surprise and admiration, and gave a thumbs-up without hesitation: "Nina, you're amazing! I support you!"

However, the next second, she was hit on the head by Hoshikawa Taku.

"Support a ghost."

Hoshikawa Taku glanced at her unhappily, then turned his gaze to Jing Qin Rencai, and his expression returned to calm.

"Nina, logically, I shouldn't interfere in your family affairs. But do you really want to cut off ties with your family in the future... Are you really not going to reconcile?"

Rencai bit her lip, her eyes flickering a little, and after a while she turned her face away and muttered sullenly:

"In our family, my father has the final say... He's a teacher and he simply can't accept my decision not to go to school. I... I don't think I can convince that old fogey."

"So, wouldn't it be better to cut off financial ties and not give him the chance to interfere with me? As long as I stop taking his money, he won't be able to control me anymore..."

Rencai's tone was filled with stubbornness and a hint of grievance. It was obvious that she regarded this "severance" from her original family as the only way to freedom.

Hoshikawa Taku listened and did not refute immediately.

He knew that what Rencai said now was very consistent with her age - rebellious, stubborn, self-centered, and always thinking that as long as she broke away from the old constraints, she would be able to move towards freedom.

But he also understood that Renai's parents were not bad people. They were just like countless ordinary parents who did not know how to express their love correctly. There was no need to make their relationship so stiff.

Hoshikawa Taku softened his tone and adopted an almost persuasive tone, saying, "Nina, your parents aren't bad people. It's just... they don't know how to support you. Just like attending cram school is for the purpose of getting into university, they need to see the 'results' of your path."

"Results...?"

Renai's eyes widened.

Hoshikawa Taku nodded. "That's right. The purpose of playing in a band is to perform. As long as you perform well enough on stage and film your performance and send it home, they will naturally understand after seeing it - you are seriously pursuing your own path."

"Your parents are just worried about your future life. As long as you can prove to them that your choice is right, they will naturally support you."

Hearing these words, Renai's eyes, which had been somewhat depressed at first, gradually lit up with a fiery light.

"That's right...I must stand on the stage and prove myself!"

She spoke loudly, her fists clenched, her eyes revealing an extremely determined fighting spirit.

Xingchuan Taku smiled slightly and nodded: "Very good, then prove it to them with practical actions."

He paused, then emphasized again, "If your new song can meet my standards, then—I can guarantee that by the end of this month, you'll be able to perform on the concert stage against Diamond Stardust."

Upon hearing this, Renai and Momoka's eyes lit up almost at the same time.

They have been training hard for this month, isn’t it just for this goal? Now it is finally coming true!

Chapter 243: Who says you can’t get drunk by drinking coffee?

Momoka Kawahara picked up the guitar, took a deep breath, and began to play her own arrangement of the new song for Kikuri Hiroi.

The strings sound softly and the melody flows slowly.

Hiroi Kikuri closed her eyes and listened carefully, tapping her fingertips lightly on the sides of her legs and swaying slightly to the rhythm.

However, when she opened her eyes after the song ended, her brows were deeply furrowed.

"How should I describe your revision..."

Hiroi Kikuri chose her words carefully. "It's a bit of progress, but... it's still too conservative. Not passionate enough, and not bold enough."

"Where is it conservative? Where is it not enthusiastic enough?"

Kawahara Kimoka asked quickly.

As a senior, every comment from Hiroi Kikuri is of great reference value to her and can provide her with new ideas that she cannot see from her own perspective.