Chapter 11: Variety Show Invitation
Hikaru Hoshino sat in the meeting room of Strawberry Productions, quietly watching the two people in front of him as they intently reviewed the new work he had just handed over.
Ai was wearing a light blue short-sleeved dress with a perfectly cut V-neck and delicate white lace trim on the sleeves. The hem rested just above her knees, revealing her slender, fair legs. Her long hair was tied in a loose ponytail with a pale purple ribbon, with a few stray strands falling naturally across her cheeks.
When Hikaru first walked in, he couldn't help but stare for a moment. Her summer attire made her look exceptionally fresh and lovely, like a beautiful girl stepped out of an art book.
Ai was completely absorbed in the lyric sheet, her purple eyes scanning back and forth across the paper. She occasionally bit her lower lip—a habitual gesture whenever she was deep in thought.
Ichigo Saitou, wearing his glasses, was carefully studying the full musical score and lyrics. As the president of a small startup agency, he had to manage everything himself; he had encountered many works and possessed a solid musical foundation. His brow was furrowed as he seriously analyzed the structure and feasibility of the song.
The song Hikaru had provided was titled *Hadashi de Summer*. In his original world, it was a famous group track by the girl group Nogizaka46, and it was the next song he had chosen for Ai.
After a long silence, Ichigo finally set down the lyrics, took off his glasses, and rubbed his temples.
He stared at Hikaru for a while before asking, "How exactly do you write such youthful melodies? You personally come off as gloomy and sophisticated, like a withered old man. Do you secretly spend your time fantasizing about youthful romances? It's honestly a bit gross."
Upon hearing this, Ai immediately dropped the lyric sheet and looked at Ichigo with dissatisfaction. "President, that's not right! How is Hikaru old? He's clearly very young! He's just a bit more mature in the way he handles things. You're being completely biased!"
Hikaru agreed that he wasn't old at all. If one were to talk about being "sophisticated," he couldn't even compete with that brat Aqua.
"Ahem." Ichigo cleared his throat, cutting off the topic and bringing the conversation back to the song. He put his glasses back on and picked up the lyric sheet, reading the lines with an odd tone: "'What are you planning, you with the bare feet? Where are you going like that? Hey, what do you want to do?'"
He paused, looked up at Hikaru with clear teasing intent, obviously wanting to make fun of him, and continued in a poetic recital voice: "'Unpredictable actions, indifferent to the gaze of others, ever-changing... I'm always being jerked around by you.'"
Ichigo shook his head and read the last few lines in an even more exaggerated manner: "'Slow to react and exhausted, but even so, I still like you.'"
Finishing the reading, Ichigo put the lyrics down and gave Hikaru a skeptical look. "Tell the truth, do you have some tragic love story in your past? A crush that went nowhere?"
Hikaru waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing of the sort. Don't start rumors. Creators often have vivid imaginations; you don't have to experience something personally to write about it. In fact, people who haven't experienced love often have a better 'feel' for writing about it."
He had reasons for choosing this specific love song after much deliberation.
Currently, the styles Ai could master were limited. Hikaru hoped to cultivate her into an all-around singer capable of handling various genres, so Ai was the one who needed the most practice.
The reason he chose this song was that it was an idol song, fitting Ai's current positioning. Although it was originally a group song, rearranging it for a solo performance wasn't difficult. The style remained "girlish, romantic, and youthful," which meshed well with Ai's current stage.
Ai was still in a transitional phase, and this song served as the perfect bridge.
Thinking of this, Hikaru looked at Ichigo. "By the way, President, what is Ai's vocal range like? I know her high notes are strong, but I'm not sure about her low-end performance. In the future, I want to write some low-register ballads for her."
Ichigo rubbed his chin. "Ai has always taken the soprano route; we haven't tried low notes. But her 'hardware' is excellent, and her vocal cord function is strong. I think she has the potential; with training, she should be able to handle it."
He closed the score and said to Hikaru, "Strawberry Productions will still handle the arrangement. We'll send the specific contract to you in a couple of days."
"Alright. However, I have a manager again, so you can just send it to Takashi Kadomori at Xini Entertainment." Hikaru pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'll send you his contact info."
Just then, Hikaru's phone began to ring.
"Excuse me, I need to take this," Hikaru said to the two before getting up and walking to the floor-to-ceiling window in the corner of the room.
Ai watched as Hikaru stood by the window, his back to them as he answered.
"Hello, who is this?" Hikaru asked politely.
A low chuckle came from the phone. "Sorry to disturb you. This is Masaya Kaburagi."
Hikaru looked very surprised.
"Didn't we meet privately a while back? So, how have your considerations been going?"
"What?" Hikaru couldn't recall.
Kaburagi: "..."
"I invited you before to participate in a dating reality show project I'm producing. You said back then you'd think about it."
"You've been thinking for quite a while now; it's time for an answer."
"True," Hikaru nodded. "I'll think about it some more."
Masaya Kaburagi hung up the phone with a dark expression.
Hikaru turned around and proactively shared with Ai and Ichigo: "It was an old acquaintance. He suddenly invited me to participate in a dating variety show."
"A dating variety show?" Ai's eyes widened. Just as she was about to ask more, her own phone suddenly rang.
Hikaru watched with an odd expression as Ai answered. He saw her face shift from confusion to surprise: "Hello? ...Ah, Mr. Kaburagi... Yes, this is Ai Hoshino... A dating reality show? ...I'll need to discuss it with my President."
Soon, Ai put down her phone. She looked at Hikaru with a silly, dazed smile.
"Uh, it looks like I just got an invitation too."
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