Girl idols are meant to be exploited!

Hoshikawa Taku shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "If you don't have any work to show for yourself, wouldn't it be humiliating for me to invite them?"

"Even a brave warrior must be fully prepared before challenging the Demon King. He must upgrade his equipment to the maximum level."

Hoshikawa Taku paused, then deliberately provoked, "Of course... If you're not prepared and don't feel confident you can beat them, then I won't go."

Little sister can't stand stimulation the most.

"Of course there is!"

Nina immediately straightened her back, her eyes ablaze with fighting spirit. "Even if they're Diamond Stardust, they're not invincible! I'm sure Momoka and I's new song will beat them and rock the house!"

Unlike the noisy Rencai, Taoxiang considers more.

"I'm not worried about not being able to win...but I feel that if I suddenly challenge him at this time, he probably won't agree."

Although this might seem like a bit of a stunt, Taoxiang still said calmly, "After all, Diamond Stardust's popularity is far higher than ours... Fighting us wouldn't benefit them at all; it would only allow us to ride on the popularity."

"If it were me, I wouldn't accept the challenge."

Just like famous singers, they usually ignore their "imitators" and won't even look at them.

If you let them take advantage of the popularity, it will affect your reputation.

Hoshikawa Taku smiled nonchalantly and waved his hand, saying, "Don't worry about that. To be honest, they're the ones trying to capitalize on our popularity this time."

"Eh?"

Taoxiang and Rencai looked at each other, both puzzled, as if they didn't understand how a "Thornless" group like them, who had no reputation at all, could get any attention.

Taku Hoshikawa didn't keep the secret any longer.

"Let me be frank. You know Mizuno Ai, right?"

"Of course I do!"

Renai nodded immediately and said with emotion, "We were all there at the music festival... We saw her get struck by lightning so many times... It's incredible that she's still alive!"

"What does this have to do with Mizuno Ai?"

Taoxiang was still a little confused.

Hoshikawa Taku looked in the rearview mirror, confirmed his full view of the two men's expressions, and then slowly spoke the explosive news:

"Mizuno Ai...she's going to join our agency soon. This concert is her comeback concert. And you, Thornless and Diamond Stardust, are the guests I invited to appear at the concert."

"So... this time they were the ones begging us, not us begging them."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a brief silence in the car for a second.

The next moment, Renai suddenly let out a scream that almost blew the roof off the car. She suddenly jumped up from her seat and her head almost hit the roof.

"What did you say!? Mizuno Ai wants to join our agency!? She's a legendary idol nowadays, how on earth did you do that, Mr. Hoshikawa!?"

She looked up and down at Taku Hoshikawa in surprise, as if she was meeting him for the first time.

"It's because of my personal charm."

Hoshikawa Taku shrugged and said confidently, "Didn't you join the firm because you believed in me?"

"Well... that's not wrong."

Nina and Momoka exchanged awkward glances.

Although this is one of the reasons, the most important reason is that Taku Hoshikawa was the first person to extend an olive branch to them, and no one else came to them except him.

They were worried that there would be no other place to go except here with Hoshikawa Taku, so they grabbed this opportunity without hesitation.

——It’s not that I didn’t want to play professionally before, but no one wanted me.

Taoxiang quickly changed the subject and said, "If that's the case, why do you want us to go with you? Even if we don't go, Diamond Stardust will definitely agree, right?"

"That being said... But since this is a 'fateful duel', it would be too boring if there wasn't some tension. I called you here to personally deliver this declaration of war."

Taku Hoshikawa turned his head to look at the back seat with a playful smile on his lips.

"The members of Diamond Stardust don't know you're going to be there yet. Don't you want to give them a jolt? Especially Nina. Haven't you always been quite hostile to their vocalist? This is a good opportunity for you to get back at them, right?"

"Wow!"

Rencai's eyes lit up, and she suddenly became as excited as a lit powder keg, and threw an air punch in the car.

"Come on! Let's do it in style! We're going to openly challenge each other, and then—face off at the concert!"

As she spoke, she punched the air twice.

"Ha ha!"

"Wait, wait a minute—stop boxing in the car!"

Taoxiang quickly grabbed her wrist and pushed her back to her seat with a headache on her face, "You almost hit Lupa's head."

Lupa silently adjusted the rearview mirror, revealing a helpless and restrained expression: "Please keep a safe distance."

The car was already halfway there at this point. If Rencai had moved a little more, she might have been affected.

"Hey, sorry, sorry..."

Renai retracted her fist and scratched her messy short hair at the back of her head in embarrassment, but she couldn't hide the excitement on her face.

"I'm really looking forward to it more and more... Just think about it, how great it would be if I could beat Diamond Stardust in front of the whole audience! That would prove... Momoka was right!"

"Of course I'm right, otherwise I wouldn't have persisted. However, this doesn't mean that the current Diamond Stardust is wrong. They, like me, have been walking on the path they believe in."

Taoxiang rubbed Rencai's head and warned, "We'll meet them soon, so don't be too conspicuous. We might lose and get slapped in the face."

"We haven't even competed yet, Momoka, why are you already thinking about losing? This is not a good habit!"

Rencai retorted dissatisfiedly, "Besides, if we really lose, and we don't show off now, then won't we be frustrated from beginning to end? It's like the saying goes, hard work doesn't guarantee success, but not working hard will definitely make it easy!"

"...You are making a crooked argument."

Momoka really wanted to prove that Ninai was wrong, but she couldn't find any words to refute her.

"Alright, alright... no matter what you think, we'll be meeting everyone from Diamond Dust soon. Just act impressively and don't lose face."

As Hoshikawa Taku said this, he turned around and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"You have to make them understand that this is not an invitation — it's a challenge."

Renai nodded vigorously in excitement, while Momoka was silent for a few seconds before finally letting out a soft "hmm".

Chapter 263 Who is “right”?

With Lupa's increasingly skillful driving, the car slid silently into the parking space next to the Diamond Stardust office, and the engine slowly shut down after a low hum.

This firm is not small and has an independent building, but its location is much worse than that of the Hoshikawa firm. It is located in Edogawa Ward, which is a more remote area in Tokyo.

Although it cannot compare to the Xingchuan Agency in its heyday, it is still considered the "mainstay" of the industry and has signed many well-known artists.

The metal plaque in front of the door was engraved with the office's name, "Ageha," and it glowed slightly against the reflection of the person.

The receptionist at the front desk had already been informed of their visit. Upon seeing Hoshikawa Taku and his group enter, she immediately stood up and bowed politely. "Are you Mr. Hoshikawa? Please wait a moment. I'll call Ms. Imai right away."

After saying that, she dialed the internal number neatly and efficiently.

Not long after, the elevator dinged and opened. A capable woman in a suit walked out of the elevator. It was the agent of Diamond Stardust - Aya Imai.

Imai's agent extended his hand with a professional smile. "You must be Mr. Hoshikawa, what a handsome man you are. I've spoken with Nagaki Tanigawa's agent, and he said you'll be fully responsible for all matters related to the cooperation."

There was a hint of politeness in her tone, but then she changed the subject, her gaze paused on Taoxiang, and a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes.

"But... I didn't expect you to bring them here."

Imai turned his gaze towards Momoka, his brows raised slightly, "Excuse me, what is your relationship with Momoka...?"

Momoka had never met Imai Aya. When she was still there, it was not this agent who was in charge of Diamond Stardust, so she did not have any special reaction.

But the agent knew Momoka, knew her identity, and was very curious about why Hoshikawa Taku brought her here.

"Their band has signed to me, so I'm kind of their manager."

Hoshikawa Taku said in a calm tone.

Imai nodded slightly, his eyes wandering between Jinna and Momoka for a moment, as if thinking about something, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just smiled and raised his hand to make a gesture of invitation:

"This way please. We also happen to be having a small meeting, and they happen to be in the office."

Several people walked through the corridor together and came to an office with transparent glass walls.

Through the glass wall, one can see the four members of Diamond Stardust sitting around a long table. Several sheets of music and rehearsal schedules are spread out on the table. The members are whispering to each other, seemingly discussing future training issues.

The door was pushed open from the outside at this time, and the first person to turn around was lead singer Kondo Hina.

She immediately spotted Renna standing at the door. Her eyes trembled slightly, then quickly returned to her usual composure, with only a sly smile on her lips: "Oh, what an unexpected visitor, Renna."

In an instant, Renai's eyes became as sharp as a knife. She straightened her back as if ignited by something, and clenched her fists unconsciously.

The two looked at each other, and it seemed as if there was a strong smell of gunpowder in the air.

They were classmates in high school and had a close relationship, but they broke up due to differences in their ideologies and turned from friends into "rivals" today.

The "enemies" were extremely jealous of each other when they met, but before the two of them could ignite the tension, exclamations were heard from the other side.

"Eh? Momoka?!"

"Really you?!"

The other three members of Diamond Stardust stood up almost simultaneously, their expressions filled with surprise and unconcealable excitement in their voices.

Their eyes fell on Taoxiang, and they were particularly passionate, but that passion was quickly replaced by doubt.

"I heard from my agent that the guest here today is the person in charge of Mizuno Ai's comeback concert. Why did you come here at this time, Momoka..."

"Does that mean...your band will also participate?"

"Uh...this..."

Momoka didn't know how to explain it, so Hoshikawa Taku stepped forward at the right moment and clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.

Hoshikawa Taku spoke calmly, a smile on his face. "Everyone, you should remember me, right? We met at the music festival. I'm the manager of the Hoshikawa Agency. The band Thornless, formed by Momoka and Nina, is now under our agency."

He paused, his eyes sweeping over everyone present, "Also... Mizuno Ai's comeback concert will also be managed by our agency."

"With or without thorns? What is that?"

Kondo Hina looked at Nina with a puzzled look on her face, "Isn't your band called Shin Kawasaki?"

“We changed our name!”

Rencai immediately put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, saying proudly, "How about it? Doesn't it sound more imposing than before?"

Kondo Hina raised the corner of her mouth in a mocking smile. "I think it's quite stupid. It sounds like the left brain attacking the right brain. Is it thorny or not? It's as awkward as you are."

"you……!"

Rencai's face turned red with anger. Just as she was about to step forward, Momoka and Lupa quickly held her shoulders on both sides, fearing that she would rush forward and hit someone.

On the other side, Kondo Hina was also grabbed by her teammates and forced back into the chair.

"Okay, stop arguing and sit down and talk."

Imai waved his hand helplessly.

The members of Diamond Stardust all sat down again, and Taku Hoshikawa and his group also sat down across the conference table.

Imai Aya slowly put away her smile and asked doubtfully, "Mr. Hoshikawa, even if Thorny and Thornless participated in this performance, there's no need to bring them here for a discussion, right? What exactly is your purpose?"

"My thoughts..."

Hoshikawa Taku chuckled and said slowly, "Ms. Imai, you should know the relationship between Momoka and Diamond Stardust. To fans, Diamond Stardust and Thornless are two competing and incompatible bands."

"In that case...why not let these two bands have a 'same stage showdown'? Let them both stand on the same stage and let the audience judge who can really light up the scene."

Let the two bands compete on the same stage?

Imai quickly guessed the purpose of Hoshikawa Taku's actions.

She frowned slightly, her eyes darkening. "Well... to be honest, I think with [Cerebral Corruption]'s current popularity, if we were to compete with them, they'd essentially be piggybacking on our traffic and popularity. Win or lose, it wouldn't be any good for our band."

"I don't deny this."

Hoshikawa Taku shrugged his shoulders with a calm attitude.

But then he added meaningfully, "But for this performance, you can also take advantage of Mizuno Ai's popularity. To be honest... if it weren't for the relationship between [Thornless] and your Diamond Stardust, I wouldn't have invited you as guests at all."

"Everyone in the entertainment industry is always trying to leverage each other's traffic. Isn't this normal? Of course, you can refuse. In that case... there's no need to discuss our cooperation anymore."