Fukawa Shoko was visibly nervous in front of Duanmu Huai, and after exchanging a few words with him, she got up to leave. Watching her go, Duanmu Huai then turned his gaze towards President Saito Kyoko.

"What’s going on? B Komachi is adding new members?"

It’s not uncommon for idol groups to add new members; many of them eventually grow to have up to 48 members. It’s just that Duanmu Huai has never really liked this practice.

"I’d like to, but not right now. As for whether to add members in the future, it depends on what Ruby and the others think."

Saito Kyoko shook her head.

"Then why are you bringing in this little girl? It seems like she doesn’t have much experience."

"Hmmmmmm..."

Faced with Duanmu Huai’s inquiry, Saito Kyoko scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"It’s actually just a bit of help. I know her mother... Have you heard of the Fengchuan Group?"

"I’ve heard of it. Is this young lady here to experience life?"

"It’s a bit different. Her mother passed away from illness last year, and perhaps because of this, her father encountered business problems leading to massive losses for the company..."

"Oh..."

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai clapped his hands.

He had felt that the name Fengchuan sounded familiar from somewhere, wasn’t it just the sponsor mentioned in the gossip his assistant told him earlier?

"So her father resigned in disgrace and was also expelled from the Fengchuan family..."

"This young lady must be having a tough time, so she’s here to earn money for the family?"

Duanmu Huai almost understood what was happening. To be honest, he thought it was quite merciful of the Fengchuan Group not to encase Shoko’s dad in concrete and sink him in Tokyo Bay. A loss of a hundred billion, if it were Duanmu Huai knowing which idiot under his command was so wasteful, he’d have drawn his sword and chopped away without a second thought.

"Pretty much, so when she came to me, I thought I’d help her out. For children from good families like this, it’s not easy to go out and work. And at her age, it’s usually hard to find a job."

"That’s true. She’s in her third year of junior high now?"

"Yes, of course, she’s signed a contract with us... next year she plans to debut in a band. The goal is the Budokan, so I let her work as an assistant for B Komachi this year to gain some experience."

"Even with family conditions like that, she wants to form a band... forget it, I have nothing to say."

Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes.

"This year she’ll be studying at the Yanggao Performing Arts Department, and the agency will cover the tuition. Of course, we’re not a charity, so we’ll have to earn that money back from her in the future."

"That’s natural. If she doesn’t make money, she can just debut as a regular person."

"Don’t say such nonsense."

Saito Kyoko glared at Duanmu Huai, speechless.

"We’re a legitimate agency."

"I never said you weren’t."

Duanmu Huai spread his hands open.

"By the way, have you talked to Ruby and the others about this?"

"I’ll explain it clearly to them, after all, this is no small matter."

This year, Shoko graduated from junior high, which means she’s younger than Ruby. It’s normal for idol groups to add new members. So if Saito Kyoko doesn’t explain this clearly to Ruby and the others, they might worry about possible changes within the team. This year is crucial for B Komachi; nothing can go wrong.

"Speaking of bands..."

Duanmu Huai stretched lazily, lying on the sofa.

"I still don’t understand why anyone would be interested in bands."

"You’re just envious because you’re bad at singing."

Saito Kyoko rolled her eyes, speechless. Initially, she had considered having Duanmu Huai pursue a career as a triple-threat in film, TV, and music, but once he started singing, she quickly dismissed the idea. His voice was decent, but totally off-key.

Of course, with diligent training, it could be fixed, but Duanmu Huai showed no interest at all and firmly refused. Reluctantly, Saito Kyoko let him be.

However, thinking back to Arima Kaname’s complete market collapse, perhaps having Duanmu Huai focus solely on acting was a good choice.

"Why would I be envious? I just don’t find it interesting, and a girls’ band is similar to idols, surrounded by a bunch of men. What’s the point?"

"Actually, girls’ bands have a lot of female fans."

"Is that so?"

Hearing Saito Kyoko’s response, Duanmu Huai was a little surprised. He always thought that girls’ bands were just like idol groups, beautiful girls singing and dancing on stage, with a bunch of male fans below. But Saito Kyoko said that girls’ bands actually have many female fans?

"If you’re interested, you can check out places like Shimokitazawa; it’s quite interesting. Agencies and music companies often go there to scout bands or artists."

"If I’m interested."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand; he wasn’t particularly interested in such things, so he just casually brushed it off.

For Duanmu Huai, the appearance of Fukawa Shoko was just a minor episode, but he did mention it to Banai and the others at school. Like Duanmu Huai, Chitanda was unfamiliar with this, but Banai was quite excited.

"Oh, a girls’ band? I’m familiar with that. I sometimes go to see their performances with friends."

"Oh? How does it feel?"

"Quite fun."

While speaking, Banai mimed playing a guitar.

"Watching them perform makes me sometimes want to form a band just for fun, but forming a band requires a lot of practice time, which is not fun."

Yeah, that certainly fits Banai’s character.

"But I think I remember Fukawa Shoko; let me check..."

Banai took out her phone and searched around.

"Found it! I knew I’d heard that name somewhere. She was the keyboardist in a band called CRYCHIC. There are videos of their performances online, listen."

With that, Banai played the video, and music filled the air from the phone.

"Through layers of clouds, constantly sparkling, filling the heart and overflowing. The cheeks unknowingly, also sparkling and shining..."

"It sounds great..."

At this point, Chitanda was also drawn in.

"What’s the name of this song?"

"Hmm... let me see, it’s called Spring Shadow."

"The name is quite poetic."

Chitanda seemed to really like the name.

"But this band is probably disbanded by now; there’s been no news about them since. Little Ai, is Fukawa Shoko planning to debut at the agency?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Who knows?"

Duanmu Huai leaned back in his chair and yawned. He wouldn’t bother gossiping about Fukawa Shoko’s situation, though Duanmu Huai did find it quite tricky. As for her father — well, Duanmu Huai didn’t believe he could make a comeback.

Losses of hundreds of billions aren’t common in the industry; even Duanmu Huai, who’s only slightly involved in the business world, heard the rumors. Naturally, other companies have long known. Even if Fukawa Shoko’s father wants to make a comeback and find a job, no company would offer him a management position again.

After all, who’d hire someone capable of losing over a hundred billion?

Fengchuan Group is massive, so it’s not entirely devastated; in contrast, other companies might face immediate bankruptcy.

Who wants to hire a jinx like that?

Even Duanmu Huai wouldn’t recruit someone like that into the company.

Duanmu Huai figured Fukawa Shoko’s father might at most manage a small convenience store in the future.

Just don’t know if this guy could bear working those jobs, considering his daughter’s grown up, he’s probably not young either.

That’s awkward, lacking energy compared to the young, and he’s a hundred-billion-losing jinx. Fukawa Shoko being stuck with such a father, it’s quite unfortunate.

Oh well, forget about the family issues; as long as she doesn’t bring them into the workplace.

"Let’s not talk about these things. What have you found in your investigations recently?"

Duanmu Huai decisively shifted the conversation, starting to inquire about the investigation into supernatural locations, causing Banai to stick out her tongue.

"Oh dear, how should I say this, it’s not going well."

"Not going well?"

"Yes, Ai Liu found some spiritual locations in many books, but..."

"But?"

"After checking, we realized those places have all become tourist spots now! How could there be any true spiritual phenomena in such places?"

"..."

Fair point.

Ghosts haunting places full of tourists, it’s not like they’re malicious spirits, Duanmu Huai didn’t believe it either.

"What about haunted houses?"

"We’ve been to several places before but found nothing."

Mentioning this, Banai directly slumped over the table. Strictly speaking, there were indeed ghosts, but Duanmu Huai secretly crushed them by hand when they weren’t paying attention.

Though Duanmu Huai knew he had to tackle Banai with different methods.

"Here, don’t lie down, I’ve brought you some pastries."

"Really!"

Sure enough, hearing about food, Banai immediately perked up with shining eyes.

"Wow, Kyogoku Hall’s gourmet desserts! I’ll just help myself then!"

Saying that, Banai picked up a piece of pastry and popped it into her mouth.

Seeing Banai’s blissful expression, Chitanda was somewhat puzzled.

"Anan, I remember you saying you were on a diet before?"

"You just don’t understand, Little Ailu."

Facing Chitanda’s quip, Banai reached for another dessert while waving her finger.

"These are renowned desserts after all!"

"So?"

"Typically, famous shops skimp on quantity, lacking in weight often, so a dessert that looks large has only half the actual portion! Meaning, I’ve consumed only half the sugar, isn’t that dieting?"

If the shop heard Banai’s words, they’d sue her for sure.

"...Is, is that right?"

"Don’t mind it."

Seeing Chitanda’s puzzled face, Duanmu Huai patted her shoulder.

Taking Banai’s dieting method seriously is just asking for trouble.

"Ah, I just got an idea!"

Perhaps the sweets sparked her creativity, as Banai suddenly slapped the table.

"How about going on urban exploration!?"