Ai Hoshino's schedule hadn't been thrown off too badly. Hiro Saitou managed to accomplish multiple things at once—though the situation was far from ideal, Ai's debut would only be delayed by about a month. Not too bad, all things considered.
The president sighed softly.
Hiro said nothing. Instead, he opened the system mall inside his mind and scrolled through the list of items.
Pure Land of Bliss (Full dance + song sheet): 10 million popularity points
Wants to be Cute (song): 1 million
Thousand Layers of Routines (song): 1 million
Idol (auto-adjusted cover version): 1 million
So expensive…
Hiro's gaze lingered on the familiar tracks. He wondered when he'd ever be able to afford even one of them.
In his past life, he wasn't exactly a music buff, but he'd still heard some of these songs in the cities. He knew just how powerful they were—some tracks could go viral and blanket an entire website.
After seeing them listed in the system mall, he had searched online for them, only to come up empty. No matching songs. Not even a hint.
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
Before he reincarnated, he was just an ordinary person. His exposure to music had been limited, and he'd never trained in singing. The gaps in his knowledge were starting to sting a little.
He'd been reading books and studying hard just to keep up.
The school Ai planned to transfer to wasn't far from the orphanage. When the car stopped, Hiro stepped out with the president and the dean.
The president, noticing Hiro deep in thought, said, "We'll handle Ai's paperwork. You can wait in the car if you're tired."
"I'd rather walk around than sit alone. I'll go with you."
"Suit yourself."
Since it was a Sunday, the school grounds were quiet. No students were in sight.
(Back in the old days, weekdays in China, Korea, and Japan were named Moon Day, Fire Day, Water Day, Wood Day, Gold Day, Earth Day, and Sun Day.)
As they walked, Hiro asked, "When do you plan to debut Ai on stage?"
She still hadn't gone through professional training, and her dance skills weren't strong enough to handle an entire performance while smiling confidently.
"As soon as possible," the president replied, glancing at Ai. "But we'll train her for a few months before putting her out there."
"So soon? She still has school and training. That's a tight schedule."
Hiro had expected a year or two of foundational training before even thinking about debuting.
"You don't get it," the president said. "Watching an idol grow in real time makes fans more invested."
Hiro frowned. "The human heart is complicated…"
He'd never imagined that an imperfect debut could increase an idol's appeal. It felt backward.
"It's actually better this way. A few months of training is enough to get used to the stage. If you throw someone on a huge stage too early and they choke, they might never recover."
"Stage confidence builds gradually—from small venues to bigger ones."
The president sighed, his tone thoughtful.
Hiro understood, but something still felt off.
"Or maybe you're just saying that because small venues are all you have?" he said with a smirk.
"…Tch." The president opened his mouth but couldn't refute that.
"Let's wrap up this transfer quickly," the president grumbled, speeding up. "Otherwise, we'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Let's catch up," Hiro said, jogging after him. "He's got a point—we're running out of time."
Ai followed behind them.
Eventually, the president pulled some strings and got a friend to push the paperwork through. Ai's school transfer was finalized.
Monday
Hiro arrived early and took his usual seat—last row by the window. He cracked open a book and glanced at the door.
The night before, the president had sent him home, while Ai had stayed with Miyako. They were arriving separately today.
He didn't know exactly when Ai would show up, but he still wanted to be the first to see her.
The classroom was empty.
Time crawled. Every second felt like a year.
Still no sign of Ai.
"Hey, I just saw a beautiful girl in the teacher's office," a student in front of Hiro whispered to his friend. "She's not in uniform."
"Not in uniform? A transfer student?"
"Probably. School's already been going for a while, and I've never seen her before."
"Think she's coming to our class?"
As whispers spread, students glanced at the empty seat near the back—right beside Hiro.
Just then, the bell rang.
A woman in her forties entered with a textbook titled Chinese. She walked to the podium, set it down, and addressed the class:
"Good morning. We have a new transfer student joining us today. Please welcome her."
Ai Hoshino stepped in through the door beside the podium.
Today, she wore a gray-black coat, unzipped to reveal a white dress beneath. She had sleek black pants underneath that.
She looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine.
The teacher handed her a piece of chalk. "Introduce yourself."
Ai took the chalk and walked to the board. She drew a big heart and neatly wrote her name inside:
Hoshino Ai
Then she turned and smiled at the class.
"Hi, everyone. My name is Ai Hoshino. Please take care of me."
The teacher gave a nod. "Hoshino-san, take a seat."
Ai scanned the room, spotted a familiar face, and walked straight to the empty seat beside Hiro.
She pulled out the chair and sat down smoothly.
"Please advise me in the future," she said in a soft voice.
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