Tokyo Psychic

Page 218

Looking into the girl's deep blue eyes and her lively yet alert expression, Lai Qixiao couldn't help but reach out and stroke her head.

The iconic narrow path outside the gate of the private Xiujin Academy is gradually becoming more lively.

Groups of two or three students walked by together.

"Good morning, seniors!" The enthusiastic voices came from the first-year students, Yoshizawa.

Yoshizawa Kasumi and Yoshizawa Sumire greeted Kurusu Akira hand in hand, then quickened their pace toward the school gate.

One of them is the class monitor, and the other is the student on duty for the day; both of them need to arrive at school early.

"Hey, Amamiya, going to school with Isera again?" Mishima from Class 2-D was looking down at his phone when he noticed Akira Kurusu, who was exuding a strong "normie vibe" next to him. He greeted her enthusiastically and then continued to make the most of his time before school by studying deck building in "Master Duel".

"Good morning, Amamiya, Mishima, and Izare," Ryuji Sakamoto said as he ran past the group, turning back to wave his fist in greeting.

Then, while running up the steps, he didn't notice and bumped head-on into the muscular, broad chest of the physical education teacher, Kamoshida.

Kamoshida grabbed Sakamoto Ryuji's shoulder with one hand. "You've come at the right time. I'll ask for leave for you during the first period this morning. Come to my office and we can talk about something."

"Huh?!" Sakamoto Ryuji instinctively thought he was about to be punished, but when he saw Kamoshida's pained expression, he immediately changed his mind, "I understand, I'll come find you after I put my bag down!"

......

"What's wrong with them?" Jingqin Rencai asked Laixi Xiao in a low voice.

Akira Kurishi was already used to Serenai Ike's endless questions, "It's probably about scholarships or something."

"Ok?"

"Don't you know? Sakamoto comes from a single-parent family. His living expenses, tuition, and club training fees... are all supported by his mother working many part-time jobs. Although Sakamoto won a few awards in the school track and field competition in Shibuya Ward last year, the prize money was only enough for him to have a buffet dinner on the weekend, which is not even a fraction of Hideaki's tuition for a year."

Akira Kurusu continued, "Teacher Ito helped Sakamoto apply for a school grant, but his academic performance was so poor that his applications were rejected every time."

"So, what's wrong with Mr. Kamoshida...?"

"It's not hard to guess, he's probably planning to lend Sakamoto the money out of his own pocket," Akira Kurusu said. "After all, the expenses for competitions and training in various places are considerable... I heard that Sakamoto has been missing the track and field team's off-campus training since last week."

"Mr. Kamoshida is such a nice person!"

"Yes, a mature and reliable adult."

The two talked as they walked into the school.

The debut song "Hello, Happy World!" was playing in the school building. The cheerful song sounded out of place, but it made the group of high school students, who were used to the monotonous school life, discuss it with smiles.

Akira Kurusu noticed the smiling faces of everyone along the way and couldn't help but think that this was probably also one of Shin Genmaki's schemes.

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(This chapter includes new illustrations; please click "Refresh Chapter Content" in the upper right corner to see the images. There will also be a "three-in-one" chapter this evening.)

(Finally, I'd like to recommend two books by members of the group:)

187. Mitsuko Miku in a triangle at the observatory (two-in-one)

(Bonus chapters: 4/6, 5/6... Don't ask, it's just for review.)

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"Good morning, Xiao Chu!~"

The beautiful girl in front of me, as always, wore a vibrant smile.

Mitsukasa responded with a somewhat forced smile, appearing preoccupied.

As the second member of the idol group "Sumimi", Mana Junda naturally greeted her only partner and best friend warmly.

They walked into the agency side by side. The innocent and cheerful girl looked at Misaki Miku with a puzzled expression. "Hatsune Miku, have you been having some troubles lately?"

“Ah…you found out,” Misaki Miku’s reply sounded particularly difficult, but she knew she couldn’t fool her partner who she was with day and night. After a brief hesitation, she chose to change the subject, “But there’s a concert the day after tomorrow, right? Although the songs we signed up for have been practiced many times, we as guests should practice them a little.”

The concert that Misaki Miku was referring to was of course the Seibu Dome concert organized by "Morfonica," but she had recently had a major conflict with the organizing band and "End Band," who were also special guests. It's hard not to think that she's "guilty" when she brings up the matter now.

Junda Mana visibly paused for a moment, and after hesitating for a long time, she tentatively asked, "Are we really still going to attend that concert?"

“I must participate,” Misaki Miku answered decisively, causing Mana Junda to look troubled.

Junda Mana couldn't understand Misaki Miku's motive for insisting on attending that concert at all—if Junda Mana knew that this girl was still going to attend the concert even though they had a conflict, just so she could have a chance to openly meet her niece... and that Toyokawa Shoko, even someone with Junda Mana's excellent temper and personality would probably look at her with new eyes, right?

But Mana Junda was destined never to know what Misaki Miku was thinking.

After all, no matter how well they cooperate, it's still not mind reading.

Before Junda Mana could even begin to agonize over it, the elevator at the end of the corridor opened, and the manager met the two of them with an extremely beautiful girl.

After giving a brief greeting to "Sumimi", the manager enthusiastically introduced the guest next to her, who, although she had never appeared in the entertainment industry, had looks that almost surpassed those of many popular teenage idols: "This is Ms. Anhe, whom I mentioned before. Today she will be visiting and learning at our agency."

Anwa Subaru politely greeted Junta Mana and Misaki Hatsune in front of him, "Nice to meet you, I'm Anwa Subaru."

At this moment, Mana Junda forgot about her partner's little schemes and leaned closer in surprise, then excitedly grabbed Anwa Subaru's outstretched right hand and shook it vigorously, "You're that Anwa Tendo's...!"

An and Subaru withdrew their hands subtly, and said somewhat reluctantly, "Yes."

“Subaru is even more beautiful than her grandmother was when she was young,” the gray-haired manager recalled how she and her classmates would fight over a movie ticket given to An and Tendo by the club, pulling each other’s hair behind their desks. Seeing An and Subaru’s face, which was even more stunning than An and Tendo’s at their peak, she couldn’t help but marvel.

Mana Junda realized her lapse in composure and quickly apologized to Subaru An.

After exchanging a few polite words, the atmosphere gradually became more harmonious.

The two discussed various interesting gossips in the entertainment industry and soon got down to business.

"Ms. Anhe, what do you want to learn at our firm this time?"

"Well...actually, I want to experience the work pressure of an active idol, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, so that I can make better preparations for my future."

As An and Subaru spoke, An glanced discreetly at Mitsuko Misaki standing next to Junta Mana, secretly sizing up the guy who had almost stirred up public opinion and ruined the reputation of Akira Kurusu and the girls in the band.

Miku Miku has an outstandingly beautiful face. To be precise, this girl has an innate "star quality." She's the kind of girl that a professional talent scout would immediately think, "Ah, this girl should debut as an idol," just by glancing at her on the street.

She walked demurely down the corridor, the lamplight dividing her face into shadows and sharp points.

As if sensing An and Subaru's attention, Misaki Miku immediately smiled at her. It seemed she really was just an ordinary girl who was lucky enough to become an idol.

If Akatsuki Kurusu were here, she would definitely be able to clearly perceive the twisted jealousy in Misaki Misaki's heart—

However, An and Subaru are not like Akira Kurusu, and do not have his overly keen perception. At the same time, Misaki Misaki does not show the kind of distorted and extremely magnified jealousy when facing An and Subaru.

Seeing them getting along so harmoniously, the agent secretly breathed a sigh of relief, took out his phone to discuss things briefly with the person in charge of the department, and then quickly walked in front of them to lead the way.

Anwa Tendo, once a national idol in Japan and a beloved figure for countless people born in the 70s and 80s, is indeed a prominent figure in the entertainment industry today. If he wants to introduce some resources to his granddaughter, it basically only takes a single sentence.

After all, those young fans from decades ago have all grown up, and there are many people eager to help with simple tasks.

However, this also consumes so-called human relationships. Once all the accumulated remembrance and emotion are exhausted, Anhe Tiantong's voice will no longer be as loud as it was at the beginning.

However, she is already in her sixties or seventies, and she is still willing to take on roles in TV dramas so that she can gain more connections when her granddaughter inherits the business in the future.

......

[12:27 AM.]

The daytime classes ended quickly.

Math classes always seem to fly by.

With her backpack on, Akira Kurusu squeezed out of the student supermarket and walked slowly toward the club building.

Pushing open the door to the music classroom, Ishigami Rina sat at the table playing on her phone, idly refreshing her Twitter homepage, hoping that the "End Band" account would gain a new follower.

Those two performance videos recorded at STARRY have already garnered thousands of views.

Unfortunately, the growth in the number of fans has stagnated.

No matter how much traffic you draw from other bands' updates, the effect will always be limited.

"Dreaming of being in a professional band again?" Akira Kurusu saw right through Nina Izayoi's thoughts. "Even if you stare at her with bloodshot eyes, your fan base won't grow at all."

The girl put away her phone somewhat embarrassedly, then glared at the boy in front of her, "You still haven't told me what you were doing when you suddenly disappeared this morning!"

"Looking for the cat."

"So he's going to find Lena?"

"?" Akira Kurusu found the girl's thought process a bit mysterious. "Of course it's Morgana."

Jing Qinrencai seemed to suddenly become very happy, and her tone became lighter, "Did you find it?"

“Found it.” Akira said dejectedly, “Someone took it home and is keeping it. But it’s strange, there’s no one living there at all… But I can understand, after all, adults need to go to work and children need to go to school… But isn’t it a bit too careless to leave a stray cat that just arrived home to roam freely in the living room?”

Where is Morgana now?

Akira Lai placed her bulging schoolbag on the table in front of Serina Ii.

Jing Qinrencai originally thought that the contents were all the tutoring materials for her today, but when she unzipped the zipper, she found a black cat quietly lying inside, grooming itself.

"Oh dear, I've been suffocating!" Morgana finally saw the light of day again, but still cautiously poked his head out and looked around before stretching and jumping onto the table.

"Hey! You human over there, come and give me a massage!" Morgana commanded Serina without any politeness, but to Serina's ears, his voice was just a very delicate "meow meow meow".

Akira Kurusu expressionlessly pressed Morgana's head down, picked it up, and stuffed it back into her bag. "Stop messing around. You're not allowed to keep cats at school."

Morgana let out a strange cry, "I thought you could really do whatever you wanted here."

"Those rigid old folks will go crazy if they see you here."

Izakura watched enviously as Akira Kurusu and Morgana bickered for a while before finally asking him, "You can actually talk to a cat...?"

“Xiangzi and Mao can both do it.”

“And Lena.”

“Rakuna is an exception.” As Akira Kurusu spoke, she took out a bag of milk and fried noodles wrapped in a plastic bag from her schoolbag and handed it to Serina Ii. “Your lunch.”

Jingqinrencai seemed to have completely forgotten her teenage troubles. She took the bread and milk and happily thanked Laiqixiao.

The lunch break was spent in the sweltering heat of midsummer. The girl swung her legs, chewed on her bread, and occasionally complained or sighed to the boy next to her about the trivialities of the internet and life.

Unintentional skin contact seems to have become insignificant.

After a while, Kaori Yoshizawa and Sumire Yoshizawa came over with their schoolbags on their backs.

They didn't practice gymnastics today, since they took half a month off to participate in a competition, which inevitably slowed down their coursework.

Seeing the somewhat inappropriate and intimate interaction between Akira Kurusu and Nina Izayoi, Kasumi Yoshizawa puffed out her cheeks and clenched her fists in frustration.

Yoshizawa Sumire shook her hand and whispered, "Sister, didn't you have a question you wanted to ask him?"

"I don't want to ask anymore."

"All right......"

So the two of them silently began to do their homework.

When the bell rang to end the lunch break, I carried my backpack back to the teaching building to the tune of "Hello, Happy World!", the song that had just been released.

The afternoon classes are civics and Chinese language.

Akira Kurusu finished reading the latest volume of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" that Ryuji Sakamoto had brought, and left his seat in the middle of the Japanese literature class.

The teacher on the podium, Sadayo Kawakami, dared not be angry or speak out, and watched helplessly as the student, who had been specifically named by the new principal, Shin Tsurumaki, to receive special care, walked out of the classroom.

At the main gate of Xiujin, Laixi Xiao took out her phone to ask An and Subaru about the results of their intelligence gathering that day.

[Four ships jumped: How's it going? Any results yet?]

Pleia: Misaki seems like just an ordinary girl.

[Four ships jumping: I don't think so.]

[Pleia: Tch, go see for yourself! Anyway, you're going on a "date" with her later!]

[Four ships jumped: We've agreed to meet at the observatory in an hour.]

[Pleia: Don't tell me about this! Go on your way!!]

[Four Jumps: Didn't you know that Triangle Classmate is actually Xiangzi's aunt?]

Pleia: ? ? ?

The three consecutive question marks fully express the girl's shock.

[Four Jumps: This is an internal secret of the Phantom Thieves. It means that we've identified Miku as our next target for repentance, which is why we're telling you this.]

[Pleia: Now that I think about it... I suddenly feel like she had a motive to do that kind of thing. After all, Lian is indeed a rare and extremely scummy guy, so it's perfectly reasonable for her not to want her family to get too close to a guy like that!]