Chapter 199: Cute Shizuka is Targeted
On the other side, Hiratsuka Shizuka was being targeted by a group of strange people.
"Huh? Me, a singer? Haha, you must be joking," Hiratsuka Shizuka said, laughing and waving her hand, indicating that it was impossible.
The person talking to her was a man in a flashy suit and sunglasses, who handed Hiratsuka Shizuka a business card.
"Please don't be so quick to refuse. This is my business card."
Hiratsuka Shizuka took the business card and was startled. "Eh? The company that handles Super Sonico? Are you serious!?"
"Absolutely serious. If you agree to sign a contract now, I can guarantee an immediate promotional campaign. You'll definitely be a bestseller, at least in Paris. Then we can export your success back home; the Japanese music market is also very promising.
With the magical effect of your singing, you can become a superstar in less than three years. Striving to appear on Kōhaku on New Year's Eve wouldn't even be a dream!" the man nodded, trying to coax her.
"No way, absolutely not~! I'm not the age to be a high school idol anymore~!" Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hands repeatedly.
"No, no, it would be such a waste if you don't show how beautiful and young you are. Even if you don't become an idol, you can still be a pure singer, so..."
"No, and besides, I have the honorable profession of a teacher," Hiratsuka Shizuka said, backing away.
"It doesn't matter! You can still work as a teacher concurrently. Once you become a star, you can meet famous singers and actors!" the scout in sunglasses continued to work hard, unwilling to give up on this human treasure.
"Gulp." Hiratsuka Shizuka swallowed her saliva. She would never admit that she was momentarily tempted just now.
"Don't listen to him! A provincial rich guy like Sony isn't right for you. Our great Warner is your best choice!" At that moment, another group of people rushed over.
Their leader snapped his fingers, and someone behind him handed him a bank card and a contract with a pen clipped to it.
"Come on, sign it, and the 500,000 Yen signing bonus in this bank card is yours! As for the celebrities he mentioned, we at great Warner will only have more than him, never fewer."
"No... fundamentally, I don't have much interest in becoming a singer. My ideal is to be a teacher, like GTO!" Hiratsuka Shizuka clenched her fists and said with passion.
"What nonsense! Once you're famous, you can go back to teaching whenever you want! But the chance for fame may only come once in a lifetime, so sign it quickly!" The wealthy man tried to grab Hiratsuka Shizuka's hand.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing grabbing my hand? I said I'm not signing! Can't you understand me when I say no?" Hiratsuka Shizuka looked coldly at the man, clenching her fist, ready to retaliate immediately.
At that moment, a crowd of elderly men and women surged forward.
"Sir, that is very rude of you."
"As a gentleman, you shouldn't make such impolite demands of a lady."
The elderly French fans rushed over and blocked the man who was harassing Hiratsuka Shizuka. In fact, they saved half of the man's life.
"No, thank you for your kind intentions, but I refuse," Hiratsuka Shizuka said flatly, shaking off the man's hand.
"Well said! Everyone, can you please be quiet? She should not enter the filthy entertainment industry, but rather dedicate herself to God's reward."
At this point, a benevolent-looking, seemingly very devout clergyman walked towards Hiratsuka Shizuka, holding a Bible and smiling. He was the local priest, and he wanted to invite Hiratsuka Shizuka to join the large family of faith.
He swore that the woman before him was perfectly suited to become a nun who dedicated her life to the Lord.
"Father Alensy, let it go. Such an outstanding child like Shizuka, with all the excellent men back home chasing after her, how could she ever become a nun?"
A Protestant believer stepped forward and stood in front of the priest, saying with a smile.
"Hurry up and go~!" The elderly men and women winked at Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"What! That man actually wants me to become a nun? A nun who can never get married?! What a malicious person!" Hiratsuka Shizuka glared viciously at the priest. If no one were around, she would really want to grab him and beat him up, but for now, she slipped away.
In her state of possession with Martha, Hiratsuka Shizuka turned into a black shadow and instantly ran out of the area, making her escape.
The boy who witnessed this scene said strangely, "Hmm? What exactly happened to Hiratsuka-sensei?"
"Maybe she ate something bad?" Jeanne asked suspiciously, eating a piece of pastry.
At this moment, a boy from the Chiba Branch School found Shirou and waved his hand, shouting.
"Hey, Shirou, come and help out~!"
"Oh!" Shirou replied, then turned to the silver-haired girl and said, "Jeanne, explore the campus on your own for a bit. I'm going to help them."
"Oh, I know, I know! Just go, Shirou, you don't need to tell me all this. It's not like I can't take care of myself," Jeanne waved her hand impatiently and walked off in the opposite direction, looking for something interesting to do.
Shirou ran toward his classmate, and upon closer inspection, he was carrying a long piece of lumber.
Shirou walked up and asked, "What is this for?"
"Didn't the teacher tell you? The performances are over, and we're having a bonfire party tonight. They don't seem to have this tradition here, so we have to build the bonfire ourselves," the boy said, pointing to an open area near the boys' dormitory.
"I see. Where is the lumber?" Shirou asked.
"Just walk straight up here. The building with the open door is the storage room. The other guys are also heading that way, so you'll know the direction they're coming from. The lumber we need has already been selected; just move it to the muddy square ahead and stack it up," the boy said, pointing the direction.
"Got it," Shirou said.
"Oh, I'm counting on you, Mr. Never-Refuses!" the boy said, giving a thumbs-up.
"What's with that nickname?" Shirou muttered, but still headed toward the storage room up ahead.
After walking for a while, he indeed saw two familiar people. They were carrying a long piece of lumber together, walking toward him. It seemed they intended to light up the entire square with a large bonfire.
"Yo, hard work! The storage room is the building up ahead, right?"
"Oh, Shirou, yes, it's right up there," the man walking in front said.
"It's good that you're here, Shirou. Hiratsuka-sensei seems to be trying to lift a log by herself over there. The rest of the logs are very long and heavy. She definitely can't lift them, so hurry up and go help her."
Inside the storage room, the black-haired female teacher, who had been hiding to avoid those troublesome people, was now trying to help.
At that moment, she was rolling up her sleeves, squatting down, and exerting force to lift a piece of lumber about two meters long, which an adult man could barely encircle with both hands, onto her shoulder.
Shirou quickly walked up and helped the teacher lift the piece of wood, which weighed almost 50 kilograms, onto her shoulder.
"Oh, Shirou, you're here. No need for help, I can do it myself," Hiratsuka Shizuka said, standing up with the lumber on her shoulder, looking very relaxed.
"Sensei... even if you can lift it because of Martha, if you carry it out like that, you'll scare a lot of people," Shirou advised, amused.
"You're right! Good thing you came in time," Hiratsuka Shizuka said in surprise, finally understanding, and looking gratefully at the boy.
However, if she had actually done that, perhaps neither the scouts, the priest, nor the elderly fans would dare to approach her.
"Then, Shirou, can we discuss something... This time, I'll put the lumber on your shoulder, and I'll just support it from behind, okay?" Hiratsuka Shizuka suggested, pretending to be delicate and speaking softly.
"No, that would just look silly, so Sensei, you should just help carry it honestly," Shirou said mercilessly.
"Oh..."
So, Hiratsuka Shizuka and Shirou walked out together carrying the lumber, their steps light. After several trips back and forth, all the lumber was moved.
After that, in the muddy open space of the school, the heavy logs were stacked into a square wooden tower over three meters high. After being doused with oil and lit, a blazing red bonfire burned fiercely under the night sky, illuminating the entire open area of the campus.
First, the students from the Chiba School started the dancing, splitting into male and female pairs, holding hands, and dancing a folk dance around the bonfire. Some enthusiastic male and female students from the Paris Branch School also joined the bonfire dance floor, imitating the steps.
However, this kind of exotic dance was not something everyone had the courage to try.
"Hey, let's go dance too," a male student from the Paris Branch School suggested to a girl wearing glasses next to him.
"No, I don't know how to dance that kind of thing," the girl in glasses shook her head.
On the other side, Jeanne, who had excitedly dragged Shirou to join the dance, looked disappointed when she saw the dance being performed was different from what she had imagined. "Eh? So this is the kind of dance they mean?"
"I guess you still want to do the dance we did last time, Jeanne?" Shirou asked.
"It's not about wanting to!" Jeanne glared at the boy, muttering in a low voice, "If... if I was so excited about this earlier, I would look like an idiot..."
"Then let's dance! It's a dance, so any dance is fine next to the bonfire, right? If you like it, I'll dance with you the whole time. Come on!" Shirou said with a light chuckle, then immediately took the silver-haired girl's hand and walked toward the bonfire dance floor.
"Hmph. Fine, if you're going to be foolish with me, don't blame me if we get laughed at," Jeanne allowed the boy to pull her, pouted, but couldn't help but secretly curve her lips, accepting the boy's invitation.
"If you're always worried about what others think, you'll lose sight of what you should be doing," Shirou said.
So, the two of them danced a completely different set of steps by the bonfire, oblivious to the people around them.
"Hahaha~! Look at those two," a few students from the Chiba School who weren't dancing burst into laughter.
"Oh, Shirou-kun has quite the moves," the team leader said, resting his chin on his hand, looking smug as if he were saying, "That's my style from back in the day."
"We should go dance too~!" At this moment, a boy invited a shy girl next to him again.
"Eh? But I don't know anything," the girl said hesitantly.
"It's okay! Let's just do what we like, right?" The boy smiled, took the girl's hand, and pulled her into the bonfire line.
"Hahaha, here comes another pair, that's enough. Are you trying to turn this place into a circus?"
"It looks like fun. Let's go dance too."
Thus, in front of the raging bonfire, seven or eight different dances suddenly appeared. Some danced lightly like butterflies, some twirled with their skirts billowing out like circular fans, some tap danced, some tossed their hair, and a pair of Black men were seen performing a ritualistic spirit dance.
It was a scene of wild, joyful dancing everywhere, full of excitement.
Finally, the night ended, the bonfire burned down amidst the clamor, and was eventually extinguished with cold water.
The astonishing dream adventure, the fun activities, new competitions, and encounters—in short, the entire bustling day at the Paris Branch School in France was drawing to a close. After that, Jeanne was asked to stay in Hiratsuka Shizuka's room.
The next morning, something amazing appeared on television.
The events that took place on campus the day before not only made it onto the news but were also featured in a dedicated interview program.
The interviewee was the elegant and graceful black-haired beauty, Hiratsuka Shizuka, who sat gracefully on a sofa, being interviewed by a reporter.
"So, Hiratsuka-sensei, what do you usually do every day during your vacation?" the interviewer asked.
"Ahaha, when I wake up in the morning, I make myself a cup of coffee and then read a book for a little while," the elegantly seated Hiratsuka Shizuka said with a smile.
"I see," the reporter nodded repeatedly.
In people's minds, a picture was sketched: a beautiful black-haired woman in a luxurious, Oriental-style room, waking up in the morning, grinding coffee beans with her fair hands, brewing a cup of coffee for herself, then taking out a piece of literary fiction and slowly flipping through the pages. The morning sun shone on her back, making her waterfall-like black hair shimmer like a goddess.
The actual scene, however, was Hiratsuka Shizuka, unkempt, scratching her head, with messy hair, taking out a jar of instant coffee, pouring it into a cup, then pouring in boiling water, stirring it twice with a spoon, and tossing the spoon into the sink.
Then she carried the coffee to the table, leaped onto the sofa, pulled out a Shonen Jump manga magazine, crossed one leg over the other, and flipped through it with great relish.
Thus, broadcast on television, this overly idealized image of Hiratsuka Shizuka, along with her healing singing voice, entered the hearts of the Parisian people, and the number of her elderly fans was rapidly increasing.
After performing his archery demonstration, Shirou was dragged by the Culinary Club students to their classroom to receive instruction from the local teachers, along with Erina.
Together with these culinary geniuses, he tried various new dishes, developed killer recipes, and critiqued each other's cooking.
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