vstars Chapter 47 The Cold Wind Does Not Weep
Chapter 47 The Cold Wind Does Not Weep
"In my plan, Keyakizaka will consist of two parts, tentatively named Wild Group and Rational Group. Each single will release two title tracks, with each group responsible for one track. The members on both sides are not fixed and will be reorganized according to the needs of each song... Konno-san? Konno-san?"
It was another ordinary afternoon. Kubo Rito was in the office communicating his ideas for the new group to the operations team when Konno Yoshio, who was sitting opposite him, started daydreaming. Rito frowned, displeased, and reminded him.
"Hey?" The old thief suddenly woke up and quickly apologized: "Private Marseille, Kubo-san."
Liren glared at him irritably, but considering that this guy had made great contributions to the company, she didn't say anything more and continued to explain the completely different operating philosophy of the new group to the PPT.
Half an hour later, the meeting ended, and the other operations staff packed up to leave, except for Lao Ze, who was called away by the manager to stay.
"Tell me, what happened?"
Rito stood with his hands in his pockets and asked expressionlessly, "Regardless of his abilities, this old thief's work ethic has always been excellent. I've never seen him daydream during a meeting before. Rito suspects that he has encountered some kind of misfortune in his life, so he's keeping him behind for humanitarian care."
The old thief, being a veteran in the workplace, could tell what his boss was thinking just by looking at his expression. He couldn't help but show a wry smile and quickly waved his hand to explain:
"Kubo-san, it's not what you think. I'm just worried about Nogizaka46."
"Nogizaka? What happened to them again?" Rito felt a little relieved when he heard this. After all, he had planned to hand over the main responsibility to the old man after Nogizaka got on the right track. If he suddenly couldn't concentrate on his work, it would be quite distressing for him.
"President, don't you know? It's about Shiraishi's sudden arrival and Nishino joining the first row. The atmosphere within the group has been really tense lately."
This time it was the old thief's turn to look at Rito with a strange expression. After all, Rito had always been very close to the members, and he thought that such a thing couldn't be kept from him.
"Oh, you mean this?" Rihito nodded in realization, and said in a relaxed tone, "It's a small problem, don't worry, I believe they can handle it themselves."
"Really?" Compared to Rito's unfounded confidence, the old thief wasn't so optimistic. He secretly glanced at the president and reminded him, "I heard that Sayuri and Nishino have been giving each other the cold shoulder for a while because of this. The two of them never speak to each other backstage. Are you aware of this situation, president?"
"Yeah?"
Li Ren smiled. Due to a break from her studies, she was parachuted into the front row and was subjected to passive-aggressive treatment from the members. So, Nana Sai, you're following the script of your former sister-in-law. It's truly karma, an unpleasant cycle.
"Alright, I understand. I'll figure something out. Konno-san, you should focus on promoting the fourth single. From now on, the company's focus will be on the new group Keyakizaka. If the new single does well, Nogizaka46 will be in your hands."
After marveling at the intriguing coincidence, Rito regained his composure and assigned the next task to the old thief. Seeing Rito's calm demeanor, the old thief stopped worrying, nodded repeatedly, and left the office.
"Tsk tsk, last time the first generation members had the upper hand and swept all the top positions in the group, which was why they were able to keep the second generation members from getting angry. This time the situation is completely different. I really want to see how things will develop."
After the old thief left, Rito leaned back in his chair, muttered to himself with interest for a while, then picked up his phone and dialed that woman's number.
"Hey, Nanamin, you should be fine handling Shiraishi's matter, right?"
Nanamin didn't waste any words when she received the call. She simply said, "I know." After all, whether it was because of her friendship with Shiroma or her guilt towards the former second generation members, she had a reason to do this and was also the most suitable person to do it.
"Well, I think with Shiraishi's emotional intelligence, it's only a matter of time before she can resolve this. She's not some reckless little brat."
"Don't be so condescending. Hori has no choice, and she's already tried so hard. What more do you want from her?"
Nanamin, of course, could not agree with Liren's sarcastic remarks and immediately spoke up to defend Houli.
"Well, if only everything in this world could be solved with hard work." After casually making a comment, Rito quickly changed the subject before Nana Min could get angry: "By the way, I have to go take care of Keyakizaka's business next, so I might not be able to come home on time like before. I'm letting you know in advance."
"I know, after all, Keyakizaka is your favorite, I can tell from Nagahama Naru."
She teased him sarcastically, but Nana Min, who preferred being alone, wasn't too disappointed. They chatted for a few more minutes before ending the call.
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By the end of February, Kyushu had largely shed the concept of winter, having been conquered early by the goddess of spring. The tea gardens, having emerged from hibernation, were transformed; light green buds and dark green mature buds were arranged haphazardly on the hillsides, not perfectly neat, but brimming with vitality. Nono Mio stuffed her last spring outfit into her somewhat worn suitcase, glancing around at her "secret base," where she had stayed for almost a year.
The Nogizaka46 poster on the wall was already curled at the edges; it was merchandise she bought with her first earnings from YouTube. Actually, she wanted to put up a poster of Sakurazaka46, but that man was a little too slow. On the table sat an old laptop, its screen still lit, displaying the backend interface of her YouTube channel.
"It's time to leave."
She muttered to herself, her voice sounding particularly weak in the empty room. Her grandparents had already completed the transfer procedures for her a few days ago. Although the old folks were very reluctant, they knew that their granddaughter shouldn't be trapped in such a small place for the rest of her life.
"Kubo Rito, you better not be lying to me."
Meiqing muttered to herself, zipped up her suitcase, took one last look at the tea garden outside the window, and then pushed open the door without looking back.
Tokyo was much colder than Kyushu. She wrapped herself tighter in the nightmare stage outfit that had gone viral online for a while, stood at the Shibuya intersection, and looked up at the giant LED screen. The screen was playing the music video for Nogizaka46's latest single, "Girl's Rules," with Mai Shiraishi standing in the center, singing her own song, as if nothing had changed.
"Mio, over here!"
A somewhat familiar voice came from not far away. Kubo Rito leaned against the roadside railing and waved to her. He was dressed very creatively today, wearing all Nogizaka46 merchandise and with a Kobayashi-senpai towel around his neck, as if he wanted everyone to know he was an idol otaku.
"Kubo-san, have you been given a mission?" Mikoto walked over, dragging her suitcase, her tone as cool as ever.
"To make you feel at home, I specially chose your favorite Yuipon towel. Does it feel nice?" Rito took her suitcase and walked naturally towards the parking lot. "By the way, don't tell Kobayashi, or she'll think I have feelings for her."
Meiqing rolled her eyes and followed behind him. Liren's car was parked in the underground parking lot of a nearby building. After getting in, he took a brown paper envelope from the glove compartment and handed it to her.
"What is this?"
"Your parents asked me to give this to you."
Meiqing paused for a moment, then opened the envelope. Inside was a stack of ten thousand yuan in banknotes, along with a handwritten note. Her mother's handwriting was crooked and messy, yet possessed a beauty untouched by intellectual taint: "Meiqing, there's nothing we can do to help you, this is all we have. Do your best in Tokyo, and call us if you want to come back."
She stared at the note for a long time, then silently folded the envelope and stuffed it into her backpack. Rito didn't look at her; he simply started the engine. To be honest, he didn't have a good impression of her parents—poor, stubborn, and uncultured, like weeds growing in a crack in the rock, possessing a kind of stubbornness born of having nothing. But perhaps because of this, their love for their daughter was as simple and resilient as those weeds, almost bringing Rito to tears for the first time since his transmigration.
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to take their side," Rito casually explained. "I understand how you feel if you can't see them as your real parents, but you should still go home and visit them occasionally. After all, you were carried and born for ten months."
"My family affairs are none of your business." Meiqing turned her head, wiping away her tears where he couldn't see, and gazed at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window. "Where are we going?"
Rito didn't answer immediately. As the car crossed the Rainbow Bridge, he suddenly turned on his turn signal and turned onto a road she had never seen before. The surrounding buildings gradually became unfamiliar; it was no longer the high-rise commercial district of Shibuya, but a quiet residential area. Bare beech trees lined both sides of the road, with snow piled around their roots, and occasionally a streetlamp or two cast a dim yellow light.
"I'll take you somewhere first," he said.
The car eventually stopped in front of a three-story building that looked a bit old but was well-maintained. There was an inconspicuous sign hanging at the entrance that read "Seed & Flower Contract Company".
"You even moved this over?" Mei-qing stared at the sign for three seconds, then couldn't help but laugh, whether out of nostalgia or simply out of exasperation.
"Of course, we have to go all the way." Rito took out the keys, opened the car door, and said, "Come in and take a look."
Meiqing followed him into the building. The first floor was a typical office area, with several desks displaying newly purchased computers, and the filing cabinets were still empty. The second floor had been converted into a spacious practice room, with brand-new wooden floors reflecting the white light of the overhead fluorescent lights, and an entire wall covered in mirrors. The third floor was a small recording studio; although the equipment wasn't fully in place yet, soundproof walls and a mixing console had already been installed.
"This will be Keyakizaka's territory from now on." Rito stood in the center of the empty practice room, turned around and looked at her. "How's it going?"
Meiqing looked around, casually tossed her bag onto the floor, then lay down on it, gazing at the ceiling with a nonchalant air, and said:
"What happened to the third generation? Don't forget my conditions. I won't agree to anything you want until I see them."
"I understand, wait for me a moment."
Rito made a playful face, sat down opposite her, and closed his eyes. Meiqing guessed that he must have gone to activate the gacha system, and couldn't help but feel curious, so she leaned closer to take a closer look.
At first, everything seemed normal; Rito appeared to be asleep, and Mio didn't notice anything amiss. But gradually, she felt a strange pulling force, as if someone was gently tugging at her consciousness, causing it to sink. She instinctively tried to resist, but it was too late. As the force slowly increased, she finally succumbed to the darkness and passed out.
When Meiqing opened her eyes again, she found herself in a boundless, pure white space. There were no walls, no ceiling, and no floor—but she was indeed standing on something solid, though all she could see when she looked down was endless white.
"Good evening."
A voice woke her from her daze. She turned her head and saw Kubo Rito sitting cross-legged beside her, resting his chin on his hand and looking at her.
"Where...is this place?" Meiqing gave him a cryptic look.
"You already guessed it, didn't you?" Rito stretched and snapped her fingers. As soon as the sound faded, a giant gashapon machine appeared out of thin air. This gashapon machine was much more ornate than Rito's own—it was a deep, dark green with white and turquoise light patterns flowing across its surface, and a blooming cherry blossom adorned the top, its petals outstretched and lifelike.
"I always felt that the game's designer was a fan of Green, otherwise why would they have bothered with such detailed modeling?" Rito shrugged, walked over to the gashapon machine, and ran his hand over the light patterns on its surface. "Hey you on the ground, stop spacing out and come over here."
Meiqing took a deep breath, walked to his side, and looked up at the behemoth that was twice her height. The light patterns shimmered gently under her gaze, as if responding to her arrival.
"This event pool is called 'Who Will Ring That Bell?'" Rito said, tracing a line in the air with his finger, and a semi-transparent screen of light appeared in front of him. "It was opened to celebrate Nogizaka46's total sales surpassing 500,000, though of course, I don't really believe that."
"What's inside?"
"All members from Keyakizaka46 to Sakura, excluding the center position." Rito patted his pocket and pulled out the tokens he had been working hard to accumulate recently, enough for about ten draws.
"This is...unbelievable." Meiqing looked at him, her eyes filled with shock.
"Right, I think so too." Rito smiled, turned his head, and looked at her seriously. "Want to give it a try? Since you're so eager for your comrades to come back?"
"...Of course." After hesitating for a moment, she took a deep breath, walked to the gashapon machine, and took two tokens from its outstretched hand. "What do I do?"
"Insert the coin into the slot, then pull the lever down hard."
Mio closed her eyes. Ten faces flashed through her mind—Yuzu, Hitomi, Miu, Reina… She remembered the days they spent sweating together in the rehearsal room, the anxiety she felt when she was first chosen as the center for the theme song, the three-term concert at Osaka-jo Hall, the ten live performances by Shinzanbun, the group training in Yamanashi Prefecture, Captain Sugai's concert…
Suppressing all her memories for the time being, she opened her eyes and used all her strength to pull the lever down.
The gashapon machine emitted a short symphony, which Rihito recognized as the opening of the Keyakizaka Republic in 17. Inside the transparent tube, a white and pink gashapon spun and tumbled rapidly, its surface flowing with purple and red light patterns, before falling into the dispenser with a "plop".
The man helped her open the capsule toy. A photo of an official document slowly floated into the air.
The girl had long, jet-black hair, and her delicate face had a wonderful blend of youthful innocence and maturity. When Meiqing saw her, she immediately broke into a big smile.
"It's Aiki-chan! That's great!"
Mom is here.
Hilarious today