Girl idols are meant to be exploited!

In addition, there were seven or eight cheering boards for the bands Diamond Stardust and Extension Cord in the venue, arranged neatly and with no less momentum.

The number of support boards for [With Thorns or Without Thorns] is the least, only three, standing alone in the corner.

Of course, Taku Hoshikawa would not say that among these three pieces, except for one that was custom-made by Momoka's fans who spontaneously organized and pooled their money, the other two were custom-made by him secretly.

There is no way, there are indeed few fans of Thornless. Apart from Momoka who is slightly famous, Nina and Subaru are almost unknown.

Even though An Hemai is a second-generation star, she has not yet officially debuted, has never mentioned her background to the public, and is not very famous at present.

Although the Extension Line band only performed once, both Guitar Hero and Meow Dream have a large number of loyal fans. Their band received seven or eight flower baskets and standees, which is comparable to those received by Diamond Stardust.

Everyone called over by Taku Hoshikawa started looking for their own cheering boards and happily discussed the blessings on them.

Renai, Momoka and the others also came over and quickly found their only three cheering boards. They were not disappointed because they received the fewest congratulations. Instead, their faces were full of surprise.

"I didn't expect we would receive support! That's great! We have fans supporting us too!"

They also knew that their band was not famous, so receiving a flower basket was beyond their expectations.

Seeing this, Hoshikawa Taku tactfully did not tell the truth and let them continue to be happy.

"Since your band has the least support items, let me take a picture of you guys first."

He turned his head and gestured to Agent Hasegawa who was not far away.

Hasegawa holds several positions. Today, in addition to being an agent, she also picked up a camera and became a traveling photographer.

Hasegawa walked over with a camera in hand, skillfully adjusting the focus of the lens while directing several people to pose in front of the cheering boards.

However, except for An and Subaru who were at ease and could change angles in an instant before the shutter fell and strike various poses that were full of camera sense, Nina and Momoka were obviously not very used to this posing process. Their poses were very awkward and they had to be guided by Hasegawa one by one.

"Nina, don't be so stiff. Relax your shoulders."

"Momoka, put your hands naturally at your sides and smile a little softer."

While twisting her body stiffly, Renai sighed somewhat helplessly, "It feels like this performance is different from all the previous ones. It seems to have suddenly become super formal, and the process is so complicated... How could we have done this before?"

An and Subaru changed their poses while laughing and jokingly saying, "That's because we weren't the protagonists before, so these good things didn't happen to us 'scraps'. You'll gradually get used to it."

"We...are the protagonists."

Renai was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up, as if she truly realized this fact for the first time.

"In that case, let's do our band's signature pose!"

She suddenly raised her little finger high in excitement, making her signature "provocative" gesture.

Subaru and Momoka smiled at each other and did the same thing in front of their band's cheering board.

It was as if they were announcing to the world that they were going to turn the world upside down with their own strength!

However, when the three of them were having fun, they found that Toyokawa Shoko and Hachiman Kailing, who were standing aside, had never participated. They just watched with a smile and had no intention of joining in.

"Xiangzi, Hailing, don't you two want to come over and take a photo together?"

Renai waved enthusiastically, "Let's take some more pictures together!"

Xiangzi shook his head and said calmly, "We two are temporary staff. During the performance, we will wear masks to hide our identities so that the audience can focus on the three of you. Therefore, the promotional photos will only show the three of you."

Rencai was slightly stunned, and then she remembered this.

Although Xiangzi and Hailing have been working with them for a long time, they are still "guests" and not official members.

Hoshikawa Taku smiled and patted Xiangzi's shoulder: "It's okay to take a few photos together. Even if they are not made public, it's good to keep them as a souvenir."

Xiangzi always obeyed what Taku Hoshikawa said. She no longer resisted, nodded, and walked over with Hailing to take a photo with Renai and the others. They also raised their signature "little thumbs" to the camera together.

The shutter clicked and the picture froze at that moment.

Rencai stood in the middle, and suddenly an idea came to her mind.

It would be great if the two of them were official members of their own band, so they could form a five-member group...

However, even though she thought this, Nina did not express this idea out loud.

She knew that Hai Ling was a legendary mercenary who worked part-time in several bands, and Xiangzi had also written many original songs, obviously preparing for her future debut.

Let's talk about this matter after the performance. If we say it now, it will affect the team atmosphere.

Although the possibility is slim, it's worth a try...what if?

Chapter 301 Now comes the part of making harsh remarks.

Next, others took photos in front of these cheering boards.

While they were filming, Taku Hoshikawa walked into the venue alone.

The venue was already bustling with activity.

The skeleton of the stage has been built, and the lighting, sound, tracks, brackets and other equipment are being adjusted intensively by the staff. Some technicians are squatting on the edge of the stage to test the audio, while others are climbing on the high-altitude crane to adjust the spotlight angle.

This venue is the main hall of Zepp Tokyo. Although it is not a giant concert venue that can accommodate tens of thousands of people, it can accommodate 2500 spectators, making it the largest livehouse.

This place is fully functional and provides a closer interactive experience. Many singers use this stage when they are on tour.

The person in charge of this work is none other than the director with whom Taku Hoshikawa has had many pleasant collaborations—a middle-aged man who is a bit old but full of energy.

He noticed Taku Hoshikawa's arrival, walked up to him quickly and gave him a warm hug.

He laughed heartily, patted Xingchuan on the shoulder, and said admiringly, "Brother Xingchuan, I never thought you would be so generous on your first solo venture. You actually signed Mizuno Ai and organized a concert for her so quickly!"

Xingchuan Taku smiled and said: "This is all thanks to you, Director. If you hadn't asked me to be the lighting engineer for the concert, I wouldn't have had the chance to meet her."

"Hey, buddies, there's no need to be polite. Besides, I should actually thank you. If you hadn't been there, someone might have died..."

After sighing for a while, the director brought Xingchuan to the front of the stage, pointed at the stage structure that had already taken shape, and said proudly: "How is it? Is our setup okay? If you need any adjustments, just let me know."

Xingchuan glanced around, his eyes moving across the main stage, the lighting rails and the LED screen, then looked at the space reserved for the camera in the middle of the venue and nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good, you've even taken care of the details I expected. I really didn't choose the wrong person."

The director is worthy of being a veteran who has been in charge of many large-scale performances. He set up the structure exactly as Taku Hoshikawa required, and there was nothing wrong with it.

The director laughed heartily upon hearing this, scratching his short beard as he said proudly, "Since you trust me so much, I must give you a satisfactory answer. We'll be done in half an hour. Once your artists come for rehearsal and we debug the streaming system, it will be completely finished."

This time it was mainly because it was an indoor venue, and Zepp Tokyo was originally a place specifically for performances, so a lot of infrastructure had already been preset, so the venue was set up relatively quickly.

If it were an outdoor venue like a concert, it would take at least until the afternoon to set up.

"Thanks for your hard work."

The director smiled, and suddenly his tone changed, with a hint of meaningful admiration in his voice.

"But seriously, Brother Xingchuan... your online ticket sales are outrageous, aren't they? You haven't even started the show yet, and you've already sold over 50,000 tickets! That's probably more money than you could make from a live concert for 10,000 people. You really made the right bet."

"Mizuno Ai's popularity was already very high, and everyone is curious about her current situation, but she doesn't have many die-hard fans. Most of them are casual fans who learned about her because of this accident."

"Although these audiences are curious, they are still reluctant to come to the scene to watch a performance. The ticket price is secondary. The main reason is that the travel expenses and time consumed are too high. After comprehensive consideration, an online concert is more suitable."

Hoshikawa Taku explained with a smile.

He paused, then looked at the ceiling of the stage, "Besides, she is more suitable for this form of performance."

The director followed his gaze and after a moment, a look of realization appeared on his face.

Mizuno Ai had an accident because she was performing on an open-air stage. If she returns to hold a concert on such an open-air stage, and if there is something wrong with the weather on that day, she might suffer from PTSD again.

The director nodded in admiration and said, "You've really thought about this. I feel that after this, your firm will gain a firm foothold in the industry. If you become successful in the future, don't forget me, your brother."

"Of course, of course..."

After a while of exchanging commercial praises, the director returned to the construction team to continue scheduling the progress, and Xingchuan turned around and walked back to the outside.

At this time, the girls have already finished taking group photos. Some are still looking through the photos they just took, while others have already started "online business".

The most active among them are the activists Aiyin and Miaomeng, who can't wait to post the photos on their social accounts.

"All right."

Xingchuan clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention. "I just went to the backstage to check. The stage will take a while to set up."

"Everyone, please go to the lounge to rest, drink some water, and adjust your posture. In half an hour, you will all enter the venue for the first rehearsal."

"it is good!"

Amidst everyone's responses, people walked towards the backstage in twos and threes.

Hasegawa also followed behind with his photographic equipment, browsing the material he had just shot while planning the next behind-the-scenes shooting.

Today, Taku Hoshikawa invested heavily and booked the entire Zepp Tokyo venue in one go. Not only was the stage meticulously built, but even the backstage lounge was divided by band to ensure that each group of artists had their own independent space.

Everyone also entered the lounge with their band name tags at the door to replenish water, eat some snacks, and prepare for the upcoming first rehearsal.

In the [Thornless] lounge, everyone sat down except Jing Qinrencai, who paced back and forth in the room like a wound-up spring, chattering non-stop, like a fresh graduate preparing to introduce himself before an interview.

An and Subaru leaned in closer to listen and discovered that this guy was actually saying some provocative words, as if he was planning to speak harshly to the people from Diamond Stardust in person after meeting them later.

An He Subaru rolled his eyes and said speechlessly, "Nina, sit down and rest for a while. We don't know when they'll be here yet. If you keep reciting all this now, be careful not to forget it when you go on stage and tell the audience... then we're doomed."

"No way! I already know the lyrics by heart!"

Nina turned her head to look at her, her face full of fighting spirit, and said, "That Kondo Hina girl always says nasty things to me with that annoying smile of hers every time she sees me. I must be more prepared than her this time, and I can't lose in words!"

"Okay, okay, you're awesome, keep going..."

An Hesuba curled his lips and ignored her, continuing to lower his head and send messages to someone on his phone.

Momoka curiously leaned over to take a look and discovered that the people Subaru was chatting with were her grandmothers, An and Tendou.

The other party seemed to be planning to come to the concert and asked Subaru when he should go out.

"Wow, Subaru-chan, your grandma is coming too?"

Taoxiang smiled and joked, "Your grandma is a big star. If she came, wouldn't the whole audience run to her for an autograph?"

"No, although my grandmother is very famous, her fans are all married and have children. Among the young people, not many people watch her TV series."

An He Subaru casually replied while typing, "When I go out with my grandma, it's hard to find fans who want to take photos with her or get her autograph."

Taoxiang smiled and said, "Who says there aren't things young people like? Isn't Xiaozhi next door a loyal fan of your grandma? I heard from Lupa that she still follows your grandma's detective drama every week."

"Xiaozhi really likes my grandma. She even asked me for her autograph. However, it's rare to find a girl like her who likes classical style. I guess she was influenced by her family to like my grandma..."

Speaking of family, Taoxiang just remembered something.

"Come to think of it...it looks like Nina's family is coming too."

When Momoka mentioned her parents, Nina, who was about to continue practicing her provocative words, finally came to her senses.

"Oh, I almost forgot about this!"

Renai quickly pulled out her phone. "When I asked them last night, they said they would come to see the show. But they've never been here before. Could they be lost?"

Seeing Rencai eagerly contacting her family, Xiangzi's eyes moved slightly, and he remembered something, so he lowered his head and picked up his mobile phone.

Just this morning, someone contacted her and said that he would also go to the concert and support her.

This person is not Nagasaki Suyo, but Sankaku Hatsuka.

Unlike Su Shi, Sanjiao Chuhua was very sensible and didn't even ask whether his presence would disturb her. He just said that he wanted to come and support Xiangzi.

How could Xiangzi refuse such a restrained and gentle request?

Xiangzi looked through their chat records and a smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of his mouth.

As the two were chatting, Chuhua also said that if Xiangzi formed a band, he would give the position of lead singer or guitar to himself, and he would come even if he had to quit the agency.

Xiangzi just took this as a joke.

Chu Hua gave up her potential as a big star and chose to be the lead singer of this band that has not even started yet. How could that be possible?

But what she didn't know was that Chuhua was serious, and she had been secretly in contact with Xingchuan Taku for a long time.

……

About half an hour later, there was a knock on the lounge door.

Nina rushed over immediately, thinking that it was Hoshikawa Taku who asked them to go to rehearsal. She was about to respond enthusiastically, but the moment she opened the door, the smile on her face froze.

Standing outside the door were none other than several members of Diamond Stardust.

The one leading the group was naturally Nina's nemesis, Kondo Hina.

The smile on Renai's face instantly disappeared and her expression darkened.

"...Why you?"