Chapter 16: It's Just a Script
The scene shifted to another location, where Jin Fuyuno was standing in front of a mirror, straightening his clothes. He wore a clean white shirt, and his black hair was combed meticulously. He looked a bit nervous; his chest rose and fell slightly as he continuously took deep breaths to steady himself.
Next to him, massive white post-production subtitles appeared: *The rookie actor decides to make a proactive move.*
Then, a female voiceover came from the television: "Jin plans to invite Ai out on a date. Will he succeed?"
With a flash of the camera, Jin proactively approached Ai, asking if she would like to visit a dessert shop. He explained earnestly, "I did some private research and found out that Senior seems to really love sweets. I wanted to take Senior to a shop with an excellent reputation."
In truth, Jin had done quite a bit of homework before this date, scouring the internet to find various habits and lifestyle preferences Ai had revealed during her interviews back in her B-Komachi days.
Hearing that there was dessert to be had, Ai's eyes lit up instantly, and she agreed without a moment's hesitation.
An excited female voiceover piped in: "Ai accepted the date invitation! Jin's offensive is a massive success!"
The footage cut to a warmly decorated dessert shop. Jin and Ai sat by the window, exquisite cakes and coffee laid out on the table. Surprisingly, Ai showed absolutely no idol baggage, digging into her ice cream in huge mouthfuls, her expression blissful and innocent.
Seeing Ai enjoy her sweets with zero regard for her image, Aqua couldn't help but bury his face in his hand. "Ai, is this really okay?"
"In the past, you'd still pretend to be a proper lady in front of the camera. Why have you completely let yourself go now?"
Ai replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world: "If ice cream is served up on a silver platter, there's no reason not to eat it!"
"As for my image, or my fans, none of that matters anymore! I'm going to follow my heart completely and become a slave to sweets!"
Ai waved a potato chip in her hand, wearing a look of fierce determination.
"Your image is one thing, but the real problem is... Ai, won't you gain weight like this?" Aqua said with a wry smile.
Ai looked as if she had been struck by lightning.
On the screen, Jin watched Ai happily eating her dessert, a gentle smile gracing his face. He didn't overdo the flattery, remaining restrained and gentlemanly. He asked, "Is it good?" and Ai nodded repeatedly while eating, looking genuinely happy.
After watching this segment, Ruby couldn't help but comment, "Heh, this guy sure plays the part of a gentleman well."
"It's definitely an act! Who knows what kind of bad intentions he's hiding under that stomach!"
Aqua chimed in: "Pacing the offensive isn't a bad strategy. But if you ask me, it's only at this superficial level. This skin-deep gentleness, heh..." Aqua let out a cold snort.
"He's not even a patch on Hikaru Hoshino."
Ruby declared, "Mama would never be fooled by a pretty boy like him!!!"
Aqua agreed, "That goes without saying!"
Ai watched the two children achieve total consensus, letting out a helpless, wry smile.
Inside the living room, Ai, Aqua, and Ruby remained seated on the sofa, continuing to watch the dating show.
Following Jin Fuyuno's date, the footage cut from the dessert shop to Hikaru's segment. Hikaru appeared on screen with a handsome, bright smile, accompanied by a large white caption: *The rapidly rising Hikari is also drawing heavy attention.*
Then, the TV screen suddenly split in two. On the left was a close-up of Koromo Shiranui's face; her dazed yet exquisite features made one want to lick the screen, captioned with the description: *A beautiful idol girl who is no less stunning than Ai.*
On the right was a close-up of Emi Sai's confident smile, her blonde twin-tails shining brightly, with massive characters plastered beside her: *The hot and vibrant, beautiful tsundere maid.*
A dramatic voiceover from the host filled the air: "Koromo Shiranui-san plans to pull closer by playing games together, while Emi Sai-san intends to go straight for the kill and make Mr. Hikari's heart skip a beat! In this grand strategy operation by two beautiful girls, who will grasp the ultimate victory?"
Looking at Koromo Shiranui appearing on the screen, Ai suddenly felt a bit guilty.
The camera quickly cut to the footage of Emi Sai taking Hikaru out on their date.
"What do you want to eat?" Hikaru asked casually. "How about that French restaurant in Ginza? I heard the atmosphere is quite nice."
"Ah, actually..." Emi smiled and waved her hand. "I have a place I'm much more interested in. I want to take you to experience it, Hikaru."
Hikaru had initially assumed they would go to some high-end restaurant, so he never expected the two of them to end up standing before a maid café with a pink sign.
"This place..." Hikaru looked at the entrance, which was plastered with anime posters, a bit surprised.
"How is it?" Emi looked very excited. "You've probably never been to a place like this before, right? How does it feel? Look, you have all these beautiful girls in maid outfits revolving entirely around you."
Hikaru was indeed surprised; he hadn't expected Emi to bring him here.
"It feels very novel," he nodded, speaking with a smile. "But why would I be interested in these maids when the most beautiful lady is already right by my side?"
"Hmph, always so smooth-tongued. Who knows how many girls you've tricked with those words." Emi's face flushed red, and she quickly stepped inside the shop.
She expertly ordered an omurice, flipped her hair, and stood up confidently. "Please wait a moment. Let me personally serve you."
Emi disappeared into the back of the restaurant, leaving Hikaru sitting alone, looking around at the anime-themed decorations of the shop.
With a flash of the lens, Emi made a grand entrance wearing a pink maid uniform, the camera freezing on a close-up of her.
The puffy skirt was paired with a white lace apron, a cute bow tied at her chest, and a white lace headpiece nestled in her hair. Her blonde hair was tied into twin-tails, looking exceptionally cute under the accent of the headpiece, with a few stray strands falling naturally across her cheeks.
Most striking were her slender legs, clad in white thigh-high stockings that revealed a small strip of fair skin on her thighs, paired with small black leather shoes. The entire outfit was pure yet carried a hint of allure. Her expression was serious and focused, and with her dazzling blonde hair, she looked exactly like a "defeated heroine" character straight out of an anime.
Emi bent down, intently using ketchup to draw a heart on the omurice in front of Hikaru.
Seeing this scene, Ruby couldn't sit still anymore. She stood up with a *bang*, pointing her index finger at the television. "Scumbag! An absolute scumbag! And this girl is simply shameless!"
Ruby didn't realize that the deeper source of her anger was actually a feeling that Hikaru was being unfaithful to Ai, which left her deeply dissatisfied.
Ai tried to find an excuse for Hikaru, pouting as she said, "Hikaru couldn't help it either; it's all the production team's fault."
Her voice was also inexplicably low, and her heart felt strangely hollow.
Aqua maintained an expressionless face, but internally, he was baffled by the situation. He couldn't understand what qualities Hikaru possessed to attract these girls, and he began to count Hikaru's various flaws in his mind.
Irresponsible...
*Well, if I view Hikaru after his amnesia as a completely different person, he's actually quite responsible,* Aqua reluctantly admitted to himself.
This led Aqua into deeper reflection. He recalled all the things Hikaru had done for Ai: saving her life, thoroughly helping her transition her career, always staying by her side... Although he loathed to admit it, Aqua had to accept one fact—Hikaru truly treated Ai with absolute sincerity.
Yet, there were still too many suspicious points about him. Various facts suggested that Hikaru might not be as harmless as he appeared.
Aqua decided to approach from a different angle and investigate the past romantic history between Ai and Hikaru. He figured he could start his investigation with the Lalalai Theatrical Company; there were likely people in the know there. As for Ryosuke... given Aqua's current age, he really didn't know how to go about it. He stared at Hikaru's face on the television, his eyes losing focus as his thoughts drifted far into the distance.
Perhaps he should look for someone better suited to help.
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