Tokyo Psychic

Page 167

Let's go back to the present.

Morgana stared tremblingly at Yao Lena in front of him, still unable to understand why he had left the Impression Space following the scent of the Mind Thief, only to fall into her hands.

It suddenly sniffed, smelling a familiar scent.

Akira Kurusu is here.

Morgana turned its head and looked at the sign that read "SPACE." It remembered that humans used "Livehouse" to describe this building. It was certain that Akira Kurusu's scent was inside this abandoned Livehouse.

......

Inside the "SPACE" Livehouse at this moment.

Lai Qixiao, holding a "Property Ownership Certificate" and a "Water and Electricity Bill Payment Notice," walked onto the stage and found the location of the power switch backstage.

With a "click" sound, bright lights quickly filled every corner of the space.

At this point, the "Fengchuan Real Estate" trademark can be clearly seen printed in the lower right corner of the certificate.

As the incandescent lights came on, everything in the livehouse became clear.

The stage curtain draped down like the hem of an old woman's kimono, and dust motes danced in the remaining spotlight. A beer stain, spilled by a lead singer years ago, smeared the floor, forming the outline of Mount Fuji. The megaphone in the corner, covered in cobwebs, still held its posture, gaping open in a roar. The green light from the fire escape climbed onto the rusty cymbals, like a somber green funeral for dead musical notes.

“I remember this used to be a performance hall where very famous bands performed.”

Wearing a mask, Toyokawa Shoko swept away the dust on the ground with tools. The abandoned tables and chairs were stacked together, forming a comical artificial mountain.

Perhaps many young people once chased their dreams here, but now all those dreams that never came true are buried under this artificial hill, submerged in dust, and wasted by time, until two years later, when they were rediscovered by three phantom thieves.

Following the light, you can clearly see that the old musical instruments that were not taken away in time and have nowhere to go are pressed into the gaps between the stacked tables and chairs.

“It’s now our Mind Thieves’ secret base.” An and Subaru, also wearing masks, looked up at the windows that had been blocked off with newspapers and wooden boards, preventing any light from entering. No one would have imagined that this livehouse, which had been abandoned for many years, would suddenly have new owners move in overnight.

Akira Kurusu folded up the two sheets of printed paper in her hand and handed them to Shoko Toyokawa. "The eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family used to like famous bands such as Glitter*Green, Poppin'Party, and CHiSPA, so she specially bought this abandoned performance hall, which has been the birthplace of countless legendary bands, but is now a parking lot, as a memento."

Toyokawa Shoko took them, saying, "That sounds reasonable."

Akira Kurusu squatted down at the foot of the artificial hill made of stacked tables and chairs. "'The young lady's favorite oversized band merchandise', there is no more suitable reason in the world."

An and Subaru brought the trolley they had brought in through Impression Space to the stage, then took out the rags and plastic buckets from the trolley, found the washroom backstage where the running water had been restored, and started running water. "What are we going to do about the water and electricity consumption here?"

“Navi has already taken care of this for us,” Akira Kurusu said. “She has altered the dates on all the consumption records. Although we can’t hide it for long, we will only be using this place as a secret base for a short period of time.”

"The last 'secret base' was Xiujin's music classroom."

"I should tell you the principle of 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows'." Lai Qixiao pulled out a very old jukebox from between the tables and chairs with some difficulty.

"So we'll be going to find a new 'secret base' soon?"

"Ah."

"What should we do here?"

“Maybe we can put this to good use and open a coffee shop,” Akira Kurusu said, placing the jukebox on the floor. “I can’t let my coffee-making skills go to waste.”

He observed the old antique at his feet.

The cracks in the jukebox glass stretched into a Tokyo subway map, and the handwriting on the playlist blotted out in the dampness, forming an unfamiliar musical staff.

Akira Kurusu's fingers moved slowly along the cracks in the glass, as if she could really decipher some very distant melodies from within.

The melodies became clearer as they drew nearer.

Because there really was someone playing guitar outside the livehouse.

At that moment, the faint sound of running water in the bathroom stopped.

Shoko Toyokawa, who was cleaning the floor, also stopped what she was doing.

Akira Kurusu's eyes underwent a subtle change.

“The plan has changed.” He stood up and walked over. “We’re not the Mind Thieves anymore, just enthusiastic fans following in the footsteps of our music industry predecessors… You guys continue cleaning, I’ll go open the door.”

Lai Qixiao walked to the door, inserted her homemade lock-picking tool into the keyhole and twisted it, then slowly pushed the roller shutter door upwards.

The sound of the guitar playing suddenly became clearer and louder.

A white-haired girl stood by the door, humming a melody and strumming the strings while holding a worn-out guitar. The lamplight shone on her childlike face, illuminating the slight upturn of her lips.

“Ah, I know you,” Akira Kurusu said expressionlessly. “Your name is Kaname Rakuna, right?”

"Mmm!" Yoro Nai responded with a joyful and excited voice.

Why are you here?

"This is Rana's home!" Rana held up her guitar, presenting her most prized instrument to Akira Kurusu like a precious treasure. "Here, take this!"

It looked just like a kitten that had been forced to wander outside for a long time, and then tentatively returned home with its favorite plush toy in its mouth.

The cat can't understand when the door will open; it only knows that it's home. No matter how many snacks it gets from strangers or how many cardboard boxes it finds that it likes, none of these things can compare to the warmth of its original little nest.

Akira Kurusu was about to make up some excuse to get rid of the middle school student, but when she saw her swaying figure holding the guitar high, so slender in the contrast between the lamplight and the darkness, a soft spot in her heart was touched, and her original resolve quickly softened.

The lingering "heart" within her body clearly tells Akira Kurusu just how much Rakuna values ​​the guitar in her hands.

But she wanted to entrust her only and most precious possession to Lai Xixiao.

Those heterochromatic eyes were fixed on the space behind Akira Kurusu, filled with a hazy hope and longing that tugged at the heartstrings.

Akira Kurusu could recognize these emotions...

That's the anticipation and anxiety of someone who's been away from home for a long time, when they see their door open.

Suddenly, Yao Lenai felt a lightness in her hand. Just as she was feeling reluctant and disappointed, the guitar was pressed into her arms again.

The girl hugged the guitar in her arms tightly, puzzled, and then looked at the boy in front of her.

The kitten-like girl tilted her head, looking confused and frustrated. "Lena, Lena only has this."

“I have my own guitar.”

Kaoru looked timidly at the boy in front of her, just as she was about to hand over the guitar she was holding again...

"It's very dirty inside, and they're cleaning it up right now. If you don't mind, please sit there for a bit." Akira Kurusu instructed Shoko Toyokawa, "Shoko, please get a chair ready."

"Understood," came Toyokawa Shoko's reply from the livehouse.

Having received permission, Rakuna put the guitar back in its case, then tentatively crouched down and slipped through the roller shutter, glancing back at Akira Kurusu as she closed the door.

She quickened her pace, then turned around and stood gracefully in front of Akira Kurusu. As if to confirm something, she gently sniffed, her eyes narrowing like a kitten smelling catnip. "The smell of strings and picks, it smells nice."

"Hmm?" Akira Kurusu turned to look at Rakuna Kaname with a puzzled expression. "The smell of strings and picks?"

Lena nodded vigorously, "There."

She extended her index finger and pointed to the location of Akira Kurusu's heart. "It smells nice, so it has a nice voice."

Akira Kurusu was visibly taken aback for a moment, then smiled as if she had found a treasure, "This used to be your home, right?"

You need to nod to Lena.

"Then you can stay here from now on," the phantom thief invited the stray cat by the roadside.

A few minutes later, a petite figure could be seen behind the stage, diligently wiping the walls and floor with a rag.

It looks like the kitten is trying to clean itself by licking its fur.

......

The roller shutter was about to close when a faint voice came from outside.

"Hey! Contractor! Wait for me!"

As Akira watched Morgana swiftly slip through the crack in the door, his eyes were immediately filled with a look of interrogation.

So you're the one who attracted these unrelated ordinary people?

Morgana read the meaning in Akira Kurusu's eyes, and trembled all over. "Um... could you please explain a little?"

-----------

(After watching seven episodes of "Mother Hen Card," I was quite annoyed, so I specifically wrote about the "dumpling-making" reconciliation scene earlier, which slightly delayed the main plot.)

(Now we've finally reached the main storyline of repentance. To ensure you can read the whole story of Wakaba Mutsumi's parents' repentance in one go, I've cut a portion and put it in tomorrow's update, so tomorrow's will be a "seven-in-one" update.)

141. When Wakaba Mutsumi Learns to Rebel (7-in-1)

"Yes, I'd like to have a special guest added to tomorrow night's show... The new script doesn't need any changes."

"Are you sure?" the director asked on the phone. "That's your daughter."

"It's only because she's my daughter that I have a choice..."

Wakaba Takafumi answered in a hoarse voice.

Facing a wall piled high with variety show trophies and certificates, he suddenly felt a little dazed, and a hint of struggle appeared in his eyes.

But soon, what little rationality remained was consumed by distorted desires.

A chilling indifference emanated from his murky pupils.

If Ye Longwen hung up the phone, he would be in the recording studio and see the microphone stand casting a rib-like shadow in the ultraviolet light of the insecticidal lamp, just like the organ specimens he had seen in the laboratory when he was in high school.

Even though the TV screen was completely black, he seemed to see the curve of his daughter's waist as she bowed to the audience, which suddenly reminded him of the unfinished slits left by a samurai during seppuku.

The gleaming marble tiles reflected the night view of Shinjuku, countless lights flickering like breaths, like sequins sewn onto a stage costume. It seemed as if countless greedy and covetous eyes were scrutinizing the exquisite yet silent girl from the darkness...

The printer started clicking away, and the warm paper contract was ejected, pulling Wakaba Takafumi back to reality.

His expression was a complex, ferocious one, as if he wanted to rebuke some unseen enemy, but when he looked up at the LCD screen of the television, the dark screen reflected a distorted face.

And so, all the inner struggles disappeared.

Wakaba Takafumi quickly walked to the printer and picked up the contract.

The paper was as hot as blood gushing from an artery. He looked at the trademark for a variety show in the lower right corner of the contract, where a cartoon character opened his mouth wide, as if to swallow all the unseen blood in an exaggerated way.

Takafumi Wakaba took out his phone and dialed the director's number again.

"I'll have Mu come over for the rehearsal tonight at nine o'clock... Remember to sign the contract."

He hung up the phone, then looked down at the printed paper in his hand, and dialed "Mori Nami's" number on his phone.

After a brief busy tone, Minami Mori's voice came through the receiver, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Mu will officially appear on my show tomorrow night... Remember to prepare in advance."

"Does that mean you're going to put those vulgar and obscene jokes on her?" Minami seemed unsurprised by Wakaba Takafumi's choice. "I understand. I'll step in and 'teach you a lesson' beforehand."

Takafumi Wakaba said calmly, "What type of 'debut work' do you think would be more suitable to capitalize on this popularity?"

“Let’s do a photo shoot,” Minami Mori said. “The ocean, the beach, swimsuits, beautiful girls, the daughter of a big star… There’s no better photo shoot than this for Mutsumi’s debut, and it would also perfectly capitalize on all the erotic buzz that’s stemming from your show.”

As they said this, they seemed to completely disregard Ruoye Mu's own feelings, and brazenly placed her life as a pawn on the chessboard.

Even if Ye Mu would have to endure countless strange looks online and in real life, even if she would become a vessel for the filth in the minds of some people, suffer all sorts of disgusting rumors, and be labeled with a series of vulgar and low-class tags...

While this can indeed be considered a shortcut in the entertainment industry, allowing the name "Wakaba Mutsumi" to spread into the public eye at the fastest speed, it's a development method that only agencies or studios with considerable resources can confidently operate.

With proper management, after Ruoye Mu quickly accumulates an exaggerated amount of traffic, the usual "whitewashing" methods can be used to create a completely new persona for her.

By then, Wakaba Mutsu will have successfully established herself in the entertainment industry and become a popular teenage idol...

But neither Takafumi Wakaba nor Minami Mori seemed to have considered that the consequences of "failure of the operation" would be that Mutsumi Wakaba's life would be completely ruined.

Perhaps they had considered all of this, but due to various distorted desires, they ignored or disregarded the possibility of failure...

But is it really just because "desires are distorted" that such a choice is made?

When the call ended, Wakaba Takafumi pressed his finger on the switch on the wall, and with a click, the night lights in the studio went out.

Only the dim purple light of the mosquito-killing lamp shrouded his gloomy face.

When a person's expressions, whether serious or angry, appear "ridiculous" to the audience, that is when he is at his most tragic moment.

As for Takafumi Wakaba, a comedian who has truly equated himself with "humorous comedy" through numerous works and is undoubtedly a successful one, he has had enough of this tragedy.

No matter what kind of film he chooses, whether he plays a vicious villain, a rigid scholar, or a righteous hero, fans' first reaction upon seeing his face is, "Haha, he must be making me laugh."

However, Ye Longwen was unable to offer any explanation or objection to this.

He not only cannot transform the situation, but also has to work hard to maintain the status quo.

Otherwise, his career, his life, and even his very existence as "Wakaba Takafumi" would collapse in an instant.