My daily life is getting weird because I am caught between being in a band and being an idol.

Chaoyang paused for a moment before continuing.

“Nina and I are not only friends, but also neighbors. She also works in my shop, so she consults me about everything. She's like a younger sister to me, but sometimes she's a bit immature and that can be a bit of a problem for me.”

"Yes~"

An and Subaru also smiled and echoed.

After hearing what Asahi said, Nina's cheeks puffed up, and she pouted, looking somewhat dissatisfied, and said in a slightly coquettish tone.

"No, I'm very sensible! You don't need to say that!"

His eyes held a hint of protest.

Ebi V was somewhat disappointed at that moment, even though the music had given her a lot of feelings.

But judging from Rencai's current performance, I have serious doubts about whether she can continue.

The atmosphere emanating from the rising sun is just like that in those youth romance campus comedies.

She wouldn't mind if it were a TV drama, but if there was such an idiot in the band, she would definitely be annoyed.

“Nina, now is not the time to discuss these things.”

Chaoyang sensed the unusual emotion in Hai Lao V Zhi's gaze and stopped the playful fight in time.

"Putting our affairs aside for now, the two of them must also be wondering why you asked Nina and the others to form a band? Is it because of Momoka? Otherwise, from a purely commercial point of view, some high school girl bands should be more popular than them."

For example, the band called Youyouzi that we met before.

Rupa spoke up at this point.

"Heh, even if we want to find firms with strong client acquisition skills, they won't pay attention to us if we don't have comparable strength. Besides, we're not a big shot, so don't overestimate us; we're about the same as you guys... But even so, some firms have still contacted us."

"Okay, great!"

Rencai immediately expressed her admiration.

Chaoyang also felt that if several agencies could take the initiative to contact them, it would definitely be much better than Renna and the others.

Rupa continued speaking.

"It's just that the firm's plans and our own ideals never really align."

Ebi V immediately expressed his dissatisfaction with the agency.

"In the end, they just stick to what's currently popular."

Upon hearing Ebi V's complaint, Asahi frowned slightly and, as someone who owns an agency, couldn't help but speak up.

"I completely agree that people should have ideals, otherwise what's the difference between them and salted fish? They also need to be aware of the constraints of reality. If they only focus on pursuing their ideals and ignore the path beneath their feet, they'll fall sooner or later. Everyone's seen Dragon Ball, right? Akira Toriyama initially positioned it as a fantasy adventure, adding some risqué jokes—this was Toriyama's favorite trope at the beginning. He initially planned to treat Dragon Ball like Journey to the West with some kung fu elements, making collecting the Dragon Balls the main task, with some fighting and lewd moments along the way. Did you know that at its worst, Dragon Ball dropped to 15th place in the Jump reader polls?"

It was the editor's suggestion to adjust the format, which led to Dragon Ball shifting its focus to combat and becoming the wildly popular franchise it is today. Returning to the core theme and upholding one's ideals is fine, but artists must find a balance between commercial success and personal ideals. Blindly rejecting trends and market demands, and simply clinging to one's own so-called ideas, is a form of laziness. Ultimately, this can lead to losing direction, failing to achieve one's ideals, and wasting one's prime years.

"......you!"

Ebi V Zhi stood up angrily, glaring at the rising sun.

Rupa immediately grabbed her arm.

Actually, Asahi was saying this to Nina as well. He knew from Nina's support for Momoka that they would definitely stick to their ideals regardless of anything else.

"Does Mr. Hiraishi think that Momoka-san is wrong?"

"Yes."

Since Rencai had asked directly, Chaoyang didn't try to avoid the question.

He had heard Tao Xiang's recollections while drinking with Chaoyang before, and after learning the whole story...

From any perspective, it's obvious that Momoka is the one who should apologize the most in Diamond Dust.

She persuaded her teammates to drop out of school and go to Beijing. She was unwilling to adapt to the market and make changes, which, in any case, was an unforgivable sin.

"..."

Although Nina didn't say anything on the surface, her inner voice was actually protesting strongly.

Momoka-san was right!

She firmly believes that Tao Xiang's choice and persistence were the right ones.

Chaoyang also heard her thoughts: if they signed a contract with him, Xiangzi and Rencai would definitely argue every day.

However, Nina has made great progress; at least she didn't argue with me to my face.

"It seems you don't agree, Nina. Now that we've confirmed the other party is harmless, I should probably take my leave. You two can discuss the rest yourselves."

Chapter 104 Advancing Side by Side

the other side.

Hanegaoka Girls' Academy.

Let's temporarily rewind to lunch break time.

At this moment, Tama, carrying her lunchbox, was very frightened as she peered into the Astronomy Department's activity room from the doorway.

"Yosh~ My sister's poster is up here~"

Hina not only entered the activity room without permission, but also brought her sister's poster and put it on the wall.

She nodded smugly at her sister on the wall.

"Hmm?... Stare..."

Then, as if noticing a gaze from the doorway, he immediately squinted and looked over.

“Hmm…”

The lamp immediately emitted an uneasy sound.

"Are you the head of the Astronomy Club? I'm here to join!"

"Um!?"

The lamp, which had initially looked frightened, immediately became somewhat excited.

"Really, really?"

"Yeah, yeah~ I've been so bored at school lately and have nothing to do, this is a good way to lift my spirits. What's your name?"

"lamp......"

"Tomori-chan, right~ Huh? Your pockets are bulging... Ah, they're so hard, what's stuffed in there?"

Hina wasn't shy at all and immediately went over to greet Tohru, but when she got closer she noticed something unusual about Tomori's pocket and immediately smiled and pointed to it, asking him about it.

Deng immediately went to the table and took the contents out of his pocket.

“…That, that’s a stone…This one looks like a cat…That one looks like a cherry blossom…”

"Hey~ Is Tomori collecting stones?"

"Hmm... collecting all kinds of shapes and types, like marble... obsidian..."

Facing the naturally strong and self-assured nature of the daytime dishes, I was still a little afraid and couldn't introduce them with the same excitement as when facing the rising sun.

"What? That sounds interesting! Tell me more~~ The producer is telling the truth, you really are interesting~ I didn't expect to meet you after being in this school for so long."

"Detailed, in detail... uh..."

At this moment, Hina's gaze shifted to the somewhat flustered light, and she slapped the back of her head, remembering what Asahi had said.

"Oh dear, the producer specifically said I shouldn't bully you, but I have no intention of doing so either. If I unknowingly do something to offend you, please tell me directly~"

"Ah... um."

The light was completely unable to speak and could only stare blankly at Hina.

"Okay, I'm going to the cafeteria for lunch then~~".

Before Akari could react, Hina had already jogged away from the Astronomy Club.

Because the light is single-threaded, she is currently focusing all her attention on a problem.

The producer... ... The producer she was referring to is...

. .

It's time to go home after school. Strictly speaking, this is the time for club activities at school, and this dismissal only applies to students who are not members of any clubs.

But Chaoyang and Deng agreed to suspend club activities this week.

After reassuring your parents that there's nothing wrong with the light, proceed with your usual routine.

On the way, Chaoyang had already received news that Hina and Akari had gotten together.

Chaoyang felt that his judgment wasn't too bad; for Japanese cuisine, the light was indeed a rather interesting type.

As before, considering that Haneoka is an all-girls school, it would be easy for gossip to spread if a guy were to openly wait for a girl to come out at the gate. So, as usual, we agreed to meet at a quiet intersection.

At this moment, Chaoyang stood with one foot on the wall, hands in his pockets, deliberately looking cool as he waited for the two high school girls to arrive.

"Pfft hahaha~ Producer, this pose really doesn't suit you! But it's fun, it feels good!"

Hina couldn't help but laugh out loud when she saw him.

"That Hina-chan guy really doesn't hold back."

At this moment, the lamp understood who the producer was referring to.

The lamp was a little shy, and lowered its head, whispering to save face for Chaoyang.

"No, no... Mr. Hiraishi... your posture is quite good..."

"Tomori-chan, would you like to join our band and get to know everyone?"

Upon hearing this, memories of the past instantly flooded Deng's mind.

Once again.

When Deng heard the word "band," her expression changed instantly. It was an expression of panic and fear, as if some long-forgotten painful memory had been ruthlessly awakened.

"To, Tomori!?"

Without saying a word, she abruptly shook off Asahi and Hina, turned, and ran wildly towards home. Her steps were hurried and frantic, as if she were trying to escape something she couldn't face.

Chaoyang couldn't shout in time, and of course, the lamp wasn't running fast enough for him to catch up easily.

He frowned, as if he vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

"Why did this child suddenly...?"

"Want to chase?"

Japanese girl asked.

"I'll chase after him. It would be terrible if he got into a traffic accident in that state. Hina, you go practice. Oh, and remember to tell everyone to get some nice clothes ready for the interview... That's all for now, or Tomori will run off. Goodbye."

After saying that, Chaoyang ran over at full speed.

"The producer is just as busy as my sister~ Clothes? Let's ask my sister to go shopping for new clothes together."

. .

Chaoyang quickly caught up with Deng, but kept a certain distance. He felt that Deng's matter couldn't be resolved today; her emotions were probably unstable right now. He would ask her about it when they met tomorrow.

Deng ran wildly, completely unaware that Chaoyang was silently following her from a short distance. Her eyes seemed fixed only on the road ahead, her mind filled with a jumble of emotions. She was terrified of being led into the sunlight only to be returned to the damp, cold rocks. She didn't want to experience that feeling of being consumed by painful memories again.

I followed her onto the tram and then followed the lights until I saw with my own eyes that she had arrived safely at the apartment.

Then, Chaoyang felt relieved and turned to leave, slowly walking towards the nearby Tsukimori Girls' School.

He had not forgotten the other task he needed to solve.

Meanwhile, inside the Moon Forest.

"...Learning live performances?"

Mashiro and the others, who had just finished practicing in the empty classroom, were chatting as they walked out.

The girls had a breakdown because of a less-than-successful performance... To be precise, Mashiro had a breakdown and sprayed two people with her liquor. However, with Asahi's help, they reconciled and then another person joined, making it a five-member group.

Nanami, who was walking next to Mashiro, nodded.

"Hmm, let's go and observe them~ I happen to know a suitable one... The agency of the person who helped us last time is organizing a performance in Shibuya, let's go check it out and thank him for his help."

The newly joined talented member, Hachishio Yui, doesn't understand what's going on.