Chapter 73: Kohaku Uta Gassen
New Year's Eve, December 31, 7:15 PM.
"Aqua, Ruby, come quickly and watch TV!" Ai, wearing fluffy loungewear, shouted loudly from the living room toward the twins' room. "The song festival is about to start!"
The two little ones ran out of their room. Aqua walked over to the sofa expressionlessly and sat down, while Ruby hopped excitedly to Ai's side.
On the coffee table lay the prepared snacks: a plate of strawberry daifuku, a few bags of seaweed-flavored senbei, and warm zenzai with mochi. Ai had specially prepared this for New Year's Eve; although her skills were still not practiced enough, it at least looked decent.
Looking at the food, Ruby spoke before her brain could catch up: "Is this all for New Year's Eve? I really want to eat the food made by Hikaru."
She covered her mouth in surprise. She had clearly never complained about anything to her mom before! It was all Hikaru's fault!
Ai was also helpless, "Hikaru is inside the television, so there's no way he can come over and cook."
On the TV screen, the hosts were standing in the center of a gorgeous stage, with a massive red and white background wall behind them. "The 69th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen officially begins now! This year's slogan is 'Songs of Dreams and Emotion'!"
The audience section below was packed to maximum capacity, and applause rang out like thunder. The camera swept over the singers of the Red team and White team, who were sitting on opposite sides of the stage, their faces filled with anticipation and nervousness. Hikaru was among the White team, looking small and rather inconspicuous.
"Hikaru is the twenty-eighth to perform for the White team," Ai stared at the screen without blinking.
Aqua turned his head, "How do you remember it so clearly?"
"Of course I remember!" Ai's cheeks flushed slightly. "I specially looked up the performance order."
"This placement is too far back," Aqua made a judgment. "He won't be able to appear until Part 2."
Ruby blinked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
Aqua then explained: "The song festival is divided into two parts. Part 1 plays until 8:55 PM, then interrupts for five minutes of news, and Part 2 starts after 9:00 PM. So if we want to see Hikaru's performance, we still have to wait a very long time."
"Aqua is so amazing to know all this!" Ai gently hugged him from behind, like holding a tiny throw pillow.
"I want a hug too." Seeing this, Ruby pounced on them as well.
Aqua broke free from Ai's embrace and quietly looked at Ruby.
They had clearly watched the Kohaku Uta Gassen together several times in their past lives, which was why he was so familiar with the process, but now Ruby acted as if she didn't remember anything at all.
*It's probably because Sarina always fell asleep while watching,* Aqua found an excuse for her.
*This year, I can actually find the interest to keep watching.*
Looking at the thoroughly excited Ruby, he was also infected by the atmosphere, and a smile surfaced on his small face.
Meanwhile, the Shirogane household's living room was equally lively and bustling.
"Miyuki, is the fried noodles ready?" the Shirogane father sat on the sofa, shouting toward the kitchen while watching TV.
"It's coming right now!" Miyuki Shirogane emerged from the kitchen carrying four portions of fried noodles, carefully distributing them to everyone.
Kaguya Shinomiya elegantly accepted her plate, softly offering her thanks, while Kei Shirogane unceremoniously began to take small bites.
"How was life in America?" Shirogane's father asked while eating the fried noodles. "Is the academic pressure heavy?"
"What kind of academic pressure could my bro even have?" Kei Shirogane said without lifting her head.
"At the very beginning, it did feel quite difficult," Miyuki sat down next to Kaguya. "But after that, it felt like nothing special."
"Keep it up," Shirogane's father nodded. "Then when are you guys heading back?"
Kaguya chimed in: "Probably around mid-January. We will finish celebrating the New Year in Japan."
Kei Shirogane put down her chopsticks. "By the way, Kaguya-san, is it really fine for you to spend New Year's Eve at our place? Don't you need to go back to your own home?"
"There isn't really anyone around at home anyway," Kaguya sat up straight in a dignified manner. "It feels a bit lonely."
"It seems like there's a newcomer making their debut appearance on Kohaku this year," Shirogane's father shifted the topic. "Word says he only debuted as a singer half a year ago, making it the fastest Kohaku appearance in history."
"It must be another guy pushed hard by a major agency," Miyuki stared at the fried noodles in front of him.
Kaguya covered her mouth and smiled softly, "The President isn't wrong either."
"Bro isn't the President anymore, right?"
"Kei, don't meddle too much in the affairs of adults," Shirogane's father strictly pointed out the truth. "This is clearly an affectionate nickname between them!"
Inside the office of Xini Entertainment, Takashi Kadamori was lecturing a few newcomers.
If Hikaru were to see this, he would definitely exclaim "How tragic!", since they were dragged to the agency to be pressured even during the year-end holiday.
Kadamori said with a cold face, "The recent results for you few are a bit poor; we can't even recoup the promotional investments."
A green male artist withstood the pressure and said: "Please give me another chance, I will prove my value!"
"Please give me another chance too!" "Don't give up on me!" the other artists said one after another.
"The agency will naturally give you chances, but if you fail to grasp them again, we can only slash your resources," Kadamori's tone softened slightly. "If you can't blow up individually, I'm afraid you can only form a group and re-debut."
"We are all still newcomers, could you lower the requirements a little bit?" an artist begged like this.
"Being a newcomer is no excuse!" Kakumori pointed at the computer screen. "For this year's song festival, I have already sent in a newcomer who only debuted half a year ago."
"That's a monster!" another artist trembled with fear. "How could we possibly compare to Senior Hikari!"
"True," Kadamori said. "So he is merely your role model."
Several young trainees lowered their heads with trepidation, not daring to make a sound.
"You must learn from your role model."
In the dormitory of the Lalalai Absolute Theater Troupe, Taiki Himekawa lay on his bed reading a romance manga. The television was left on to the side, broadcasting the background audio of the Kohaku Uta Gassen, but he was clearly paying more attention to the manga in his hands.
Or rather, he didn't care much about the manga either, merely flipping through it absent-mindedly.
*It's the New Year,* Taiki Himekawa murmured in his heart. *How did we use to spend the New Year in the past?*
His father, Sejuro Uehara, would take him to the shrine to pray for blessings and would also give him New Year's pocket money, while his mother, Airi Himekawa, generally didn't manage things much.
*Should I go out tomorrow?* Taiki Himekawa pondered.
He wanted to ask Aqua to hang out together, but thinking that Aqua had his own family and would definitely be very busy, he abandoned the thought.
*Must be nice, a family.* Taiki Himekawa lay lazily on the bed. He tossed the manga under the bed, then rolled over.
The magnetic singing voice coming from the television made him feel a bit irritated. Taiki Himekawa scratched his hair, picked up the remote, and turned off the TV.
The more it was this kind of time that should be celebrated, the more he felt like a stray dog.
Taiki Himekawa pillowed his arm, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, suddenly missing the times from before a little.
"Boring. I'll just keep practicing my acting tomorrow."
In the home of Ichigo Saitou and Miyako, an exquisite candlelit dinner was set out on the dining table.
"It would be great if Ai could go up there and perform sometime too," Miyako said while cutting her steak.
"With Hikaru's capability, that can probably be achieved next year," Ichigo took a sip of red wine. "That kid indeed has a trick or two up his sleeve."
Miyako looked at her husband with a smile: "Deep down in your heart, you actually believe in him quite a lot too."
Ichigo nodded: "That kid is actually a very reliable person. Sometimes I'm just a bit dissatisfied with him snatching Ai away. But in reality, as an agency president, I admire this kind of artist who possesses talent, understands worldly ways, and strives to climb upward."
He paused for a moment, a trace of emotion in his tone: "It's just that Ai has really grown up after all, so it feels a little bit lonely."
Miyako suddenly put down her knife and fork, looking at her husband seriously: "Then shall we have a child too?"
Ichigo froze for a second, then immediately revealed a smile: "You said it yourself."
Time flew by quickly, and the singers on television completed their splendid performances one after another. Ai and the twins sat on the sofa, patiently waiting for Hikaru's appearance.
Finally, the host's voice rang out once more: "Next, please enjoy the twenty-eighth performer of the White team, Hikari bringing us *Lemon*!"
The stage lights dimmed, and a spotlight hit the figure slowly walking onto the stage. Hikaru was wearing a simple black suit, his golden hair sparkling under the lights. He walked up to the microphone and bowed deeply.
The intro of *Lemon* played, followed by Hikaru's magnetic vocals.
"If it were all a dream, how wonderful that would be..."
Ai stared at the screen without blinking until Hikaru slowly finished singing the entire song and lowered his microphone.
"To this day, you are still my light."
Aqua carefully observed the television screen and noticed a detail. When other singers performed, the camera would cut to their close friends and family support groups in the audience section, but when it was Hikaru's turn, there was nothing at all.
He informed Ai and Ruby of his discovery, then said expressionlessly: "It feels like he's a bit all alone like this."
"Did his family and friends not go to the venue?" Ruby asked instinctively.
"Hikaru is a gentle person," Ai embraced Ruby's head. "He must hope that everyone is happily spending the New Year in their own homes, rather than going to the venue to cheer for him."
Aqua nodded, "Sounds like something he would do."
"So..." Ai dragged out her words, "When next year comes, I will stand on the stage together with him!"
Ruby bounded up on the spot, "Awesome!"
Watching the image of Hikaru bowing on the television, Ai revealed a brilliant smile, appearing happy to the absolute limit.
"When that time comes, you guys can just sit in the audience section as our family and friends," she said with a laugh.
[End of Volume 2]
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LanLi: I thought this is the end, f I should have checked. Last update was in August last year. Although the author said they r taking a break and will update. I am highly skeptical. (PTSD from How to Raise Your Regressor's Author.)
LanLi: Old note above. Stil no updates yet.
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