Onstage and Offstage

The two of them happily wrote the script all night long.

"So sleepy--"

Karuizawa Kei flopped onto the bed without any grace. This was Hotaru's room. Although Hotaru was receiving treatment abroad, the room was kept quite tidy and was comfortable enough for someone to live in.

There was also a poster promoting Kitagawa Ryo's play pasted on the headboard.

"A phenomenal new star – her acting skills are highly praised!"

Leading actor:

Macbeth – Kitagawa Ryo, Lady Macbeth – Karuizawa Kei

Karuizawa Kei drifted off to sleep.

[It feels like so much time has passed...]

They just need to grow, to grow to the point where they can protect Liang.

But for now, let's just stay here and keep him company.

Chapter Thirty-Two: On Stage, Off Stage

How does Hui view idols? Or rather, what kind of existence are idols?

One evening while revising the script with Karuizawa Kei, Kitagawa Ryo casually asked a question.

"Oh."

After thinking for a moment, Karuizawa Kei replied:

"They are dazzling figures, people who inspire admiration."

"Furthermore, starting with idols from the bottom creates a kind of 'raising-a-child' feeling. Watching them gradually climb to bigger stages through hard work feels like your own dreams are being realized step by step."

"So idols are just projections of the audience?"

"Well, you can't really say that. It's just that we're used to projecting our own likes and dislikes onto the stage."

"From a pessimistic perspective, idols are actually a pitiful and pathetic group of people."

"But don't all performers on stage eventually end up like this? So the process is the most important thing."

Karuizawa Kei seemed to be recalling some things about herself:

"The best performance is simply conveying your feelings."

"Thank you all so much for coming today. Please be careful on your way home."

"Thank you all for your hard work!"

"There will be a special bonus event later. Please line up and wait a moment if you purchased a bonus or won a photo opportunity."

The venue was chaotic after the concert ended. Fans of different ages and social classes, but all with the same excited expressions, walked happily toward the exit, not caring whether they knew each other before. After all, everyone who came here was already connected by the same bond, and every discussion about her was a common topic for everyone.

Kitagawa Ryo, holding a sign that read "[End of the Line]", quickly attracted a lot of attention. This wasn't because they recognized Kitagawa Ryo, since he had already covered his face completely with a hood and mask before he arrived. Besides, the overlap between the audience for dramas and the audience for idols should be quite low.

However, Kitagawa Ryo quickly found the reason.

The problem was with his clothes.

Unlike other fans, those who are willing to spend a lot of money to buy special items or win photo tickets and then queue up here are undoubtedly die-hard fans of their favorite idol. These fans often pay more attention to all sorts of strange and unusual details.

For example, the fans lined up in front of Kitagawa Ryo were all wearing limited edition support outfits that were different in style and pattern from the regular support outfits, and featured hand-drawn illustrations by [Shizuku].

In this community of groups, Kitagawa Ryo, dressed in an ordinary white shirt, was like a black swan among white swans, so conspicuous that one could even hear the surrounding fans whispering and speculating whether he was pushed over by another idol to cause trouble.

If Kitagawa Ryo does anything even slightly out of line, fans might just step in to defend him.

The truth is, she simply lost the only limited-edition fan-made support outfit she owned.

Kitagawa Ryo let out a deep sigh.

Actually, normally speaking, if there isn't a limited edition support outfit, wearing a regular one would be fine. Kitagawa Ryo had considered this beforehand, but quickly abandoned the idea.

Although Sakayanagi Arisu had previously criticized the ugly support shirt with its completely unknown patterns for selling for 20,000 yen, and had also mocked her for wearing the pink and white support shirt herself.

But--

After seeing the words "[Shizuku-chan for life]" written in strong, powerful calligraphy on the regular support shirt, Kitagawa Ryo finally made peace with the past.

So he resolutely came here wearing only a thin white shirt.

On one hand, it was so that I could talk to Hotaru about her current situation and interesting things when we video chatted. On the other hand, I also wanted to have a long-awaited chat with Shizuku, no, I should say Sakura Airi.

While spacing out, he waited for the line to move forward. Because he was the last one and there was a rule that he should leave as soon as possible after taking a photo so as not to delay other fans, by the time Kitagawa Ryo reached the front of the line, he was the only one left in the entire venue.

And he was smiling broadly at his idol.

Perhaps influenced by Horikita Suzune's imitation last time, Kitagawa Ryo subconsciously noticed the other person's hairstyle first.

Her pinkish-red hair fell smoothly all the way down, but she tied it into a high ponytail above each ear, giving her a more playful and lively impression.

I remember the first time I met Sakura Airi, she had her hair styled in low twin ponytails below her ears.

Therefore, changes in hairstyle can indeed reflect changes in a person's mindset to some extent.

Horikita Manabu, your understanding is indeed correct.

"Cold!"

"Thank you so much for coming today."

"Um."

Kitagawa Hiroshi took off his mask and then removed his hood:

"The performance just now was excellent."

Sakura Airi stared directly into the other person's dark pupils, and suddenly remembered a line she had learned during her internship at the Theater Troupe, a line she still remembered:

"He is the eyes of the court officials, the eloquence of scholars, the sharp sword of soldiers, a beautiful flower admired by the nation, a mirror reflecting the times, a model of human ethics, and the center of global attention."

This is a poem by Ophelia, Hamlet's lover, praising her beloved, and it is also the best description of Sakura Airi Ryo himself, who plays Hamlet, in Kitagawa Ryo Airi's mind.

"I saw Ryo during the concert just now, and they even did a special move for her. Did Ryo notice?"

Sakura Airi quickly closed the distance between them. Today, she was dressed in a red and white uniform-style performance outfit, with the skirt almost reaching her knees. White stockings perfectly covered her calves, and a faint mark could be seen two centimeters below her knees where they met her skin.

"I saw it."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, remembering it was a heart-shaped gesture, and even blinked his right eye.

Liang seems a bit listless today.

"It's just that I've been staying up late a lot these past few days writing the script."

"Mingmingliang used to spend ages telling me what I did wrong after every concert."

"Perhaps it's because Airi is already a pretty perfect idol."

Sakura Airi smiled with narrowed eyes after hearing this, but she quickly noticed Kitagawa Ryo's clothes:

"Is Liang not wearing his support outfit today?"

Her spirits suddenly collapsed, and even the tuft of hair that had been sticking up on her head drooped listlessly.

"Has she switched to supporting a different idol?"

"You know I'm not really interested in the idol industry. I wouldn't have gotten involved if it weren't for Airi."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head and denied it:

"There was just a slight accident; I accidentally lost that support outfit."

"There's nothing we can do about it..."

Sakura Airi gently rested her chin on her right index finger, lowered her head to think for a moment, then turned to her manager beside her and said:

"Hinata-nee, could you please take that out?"

The female manager, known as Hinata-nee, sighed as she rummaged through a nearby cardboard box and pulled out a new support outfit wrapped in plastic. Sakura Airi handed it to Kitagawa Ryo, saying:

"I happen to have a few items left that I was going to give to the staff, but they're unopened. If Liang doesn't mind, you can take them."

"After all, quite a few fans were watching Liang closely because of this."

"How about we give it a try and see if it suits us?"

Before Kitagawa Ryo could react at all, Sakura Airi had already opened the package and was holding the support shirt up to Kitagawa Ryo's chest.

"Alright."

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't refuse such straightforward kindness. Having seen the regular support outfits, his initial resistance to this limited edition inexplicably lessened.

Since it was already May, Kitagawa Ryo, who was only wearing a shirt, casually put on the support outfit. Although it was a little uncomfortable, he figured he would only wear it for a short while to try out the size and fit.

"It's the perfect size."

Sakura Airi circled Kitagawa Ryo before nodding in satisfaction. She then turned back and picked up a ballpoint pen from the table.

The reason why limited edition fan support clothing is so expensive is because it comes with the idol's own autograph.

However, Kitagawa Ryo himself didn't bring any shikishi (art paper) or postcards/posters that he could use for autographing, Sakura Airi hesitated for a moment while holding the pen:

"How about we sign it on the support shirt?"

She seemed to think the idea was excellent, and couldn't help but chuckle softly again:

"Hmph, it will also prevent Liang from being careless and losing things again."

"Whatever you want."

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was about to take off his support outfit for Sakura Airi's autograph, he noticed that she had already come over first.

"Do not move."

Sakura Airi placed her left hand on Kitagawa Ryo's chest, and with her right hand, she began to sign her name on the patch of his shirt that was above his heart with an oil-based pen.

The rough touch of the pen tip against his skin through his clothes was slightly itchy, and the faint fragrance wafting to his nose and the warmth emanating from the other person's hand made Kitagawa Ryo freeze in place.

TO: Ryo--Shizuku

"Please continue to take care of me in the future!"

After doing all this, Sakura Airi raised her head again and waved her right hand energetically.

"Please continue to take care of me in the future."

Kitagawa Ryo sized up the little girl in front of him, who looked to be about the same age as him. Based on his first impression, he didn't think she had the ability or talent to stand on the stage.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, the other person shrank back slightly.

She is afraid of contact with people.

She was afraid to look people in the eye when she spoke.

And she was afraid to be in crowded places.

Sakura Airi had only been with the Theater Troupe for less than a week, and this was the assessment everyone gave her.

Being introverted isn't terrible, but if someone is so introverted that they even have slight communication difficulties, that's the most fatal flaw for an Actor who makes a living by performing.

So that's why the Theater Troupe leader left this little girl with him?

Kitagawa Ryo crouched down and quietly looked into her eyes, following her gaze wherever it wandered.

Sakura Airi never closed her eyes, even though she kept avoiding eye contact with Kitagawa Ryo.

This is the evidence.

Kitagawa Ryo stood up with satisfaction, but unlike the others, he made a completely opposite judgment.

Sakura Airi definitely has the ability to showcase herself on stage, just not necessarily in theater.

After working with Karuizawa Kei to help Sakura Airi resolve her inner conflict regarding her body image, Kitagawa Ryo gradually came to understand Sakura Airi's true nature.

Use desserts and patience as your weapons.

Sakura Airi truly possessed the qualities, because even though Sakura Airi was withdrawn and introverted, she deeply longed for someone to connect with her on a spiritual level.

She wanted to convey her feelings to others and to inspire positive emotions in people through her.