“Were you sleeping just now?” Saito Hiko heard the girl’s confused voice and said, “Sorry to bother you at this time.”

When Hoshino Ai heard Saito Hiko say this, she immediately sat up from the bed and woke up from her daze.

She had been with Saito Hiko for three months and had gotten to know him a little bit.

Saito Hiko had apologized so much, mostly after teasing her, but this time he didn’t tease her at all, but told her directly like this, was there something wrong with him?

She suddenly thought of the scene where Saitohiko’s amulet was burned, and worried that something had happened to him.

The girl quickly sorted out the situation and asked, “What happened?”

“It’s nothing, I just want to talk to you. Is it convenient for you to come out for a while?” Saito Hiko agreed to Hoshino Ai’s question.

“Where are you? I’ll come to you right away!” When Hoshino Ai saw that Saito Hiko did not deny it, she suddenly panicked.

Saito Hiko heard Hoshino Ai’s reply in a flustered tone, thinking that she might be thinking something bad, so he comforted her: “Don’t worry, I’m fine, it’s not me who’s in trouble.”

After he comforted her, he told her the meeting address and where he would wait for her.

Chapter 183 Preparations

“That’s good. You really scared me when you suddenly said that.” Hoshino Ai only realized that she had lost her composure when she heard Saito Hiko’s words.

If she had been calmer and listened carefully to what Saito Hiko said, she would have found that he was indeed fine and would not have asked her out for a talk if he had something wrong.

When she realized it was a false alarm, she lost her nervousness and asked Saitohiko directly, “Can’t you tell me over the phone?”

“It’s not convenient. It will take a long time to talk.” Saito Hiko didn’t want to discuss with her on the phone.

This way he couldn’t observe her expression, and it was difficult for him to make the right choice and change the content of his speech in time.

“Okay, then you wait a moment.” When Hoshino Ai heard that they would talk for a long time, she agreed to Saito Hiko’s invitation.

Saito Hiko went to the agreed location, booked a private room, sent the box information to Hoshino Ai, and waited for her arrival.

Half an hour later, Hoshino Ai found the box where Saito Hiko was and walked in.

Saitohiko saw her walk in wearing a white hooded dress and a hat on her head.

The hood also has a hood… weird.

He complained in his mind.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” Hoshino Ai walked over and sat down opposite Saito Hiko.

“No rush.” ​​Saitohiko asked Hoshino Ai to order, “I suddenly called you out, so just order whatever you want.”

“Then I’ll be welcome.” Hoshino Ai ordered a cup of hot milk.

“Is this what you mean you’re welcome?” Seeing that Hoshino Ai only ordered a cup of hot milk, Saito Hiko ordered a few snacks and a glass of orange juice.

Not long after they placed the order, the waiter brought their order over.

“Okay, tell me quickly.” Hoshino Ai held the paper cup of hot milk in both hands and looked at Saito Hiko.

“Didn’t I tell you before that you should practice the song hard so that you can perform on stage?” Saito Hiko said as he picked up the orange juice cup and inserted the straw into it.

“I think I’ve said that, but isn’t that what I usually do?” Hoshino Ai had some impression of these words, but not much. She continued to hold the hot paper cup, letting the warm paper cup warm her palms.

“I want you to perform on your own.” Saito Hiko told the girl.

“Performing alone? What about Akane, Tsukuyomi, Suzune and the others?” Hoshino Ai heard Saito Hiko’s words and didn’t know why he said that. She had just established good relationships with the six people from B Komachi.

She played with the paper cup. After a while, she picked up the straw next to it, put it into the cup, and carefully sipped the straw, cautiously increasing the suction force to absorb the milk.

“I’m not asking you to quit the group, I just need you to perform alone.” Saito Hiko replied.

He took a sip of orange juice and picked up the snack biscuit in front of him to eat.

Hoshino Ai took a sip of the milk, then found it was too hot, so she spit it back out.

He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue slightly. After listening to Saitohiko’s words, he replied, “If you’re not quitting the group, then I have no problem with it. It’s just a performance, right? What’s there to ask?”

“If you perform alone, they might be jealous of you.” Saito Hiko didn’t know whether Hoshino Ai had thought of this, so he reminded her.

“No way…” Hoshino Ai found it hard to understand what Saito Hiko said. Why would they be jealous? If other members had the opportunity to perform independently, she would definitely congratulate that person and be happy for her.

“People’s hearts are filled with ulterior motives.” Saito Hiko felt that Hoshino Ai might not understand, so he added: “Everyone has a different personality. Some people will secretly criticize those people when they see others become successful, and if they have the chance, they will definitely drag that person down with them.”

“I don’t understand what you are saying. Can you give me some simple comparison?” Hoshino Ai didn’t understand what Saito Hiko was saying, so she spoke out.

Seeing that she couldn’t drink the milk for the time being, she picked up a small triangular cake.

“Take the combination, for example.”

Saito Yan thought for a moment, and then thought of the group that Rika used to be with, and said, “Do you still remember the underground idol Rika that you and I went to see together?”

“Are we familiar with each other?” Hoshino Ai looked at Saito Hiko in confusion. She had some impression of the name, but couldn’t remember it.

“It was only a one-time encounter. They are a trio.”

Saitohiko replied, and continued, “If the three of them were to perform, but only Rika was invited to perform, what do you think her teammates would think?”

“They should give their blessings, right?” Hoshino Ai said uncertainly.

She took a small bite of the cake and picked up the milk and tried to drink it again.

“Well, if they are not jealous, they will indeed bless her.” Saitohiko first acknowledged what Hoshino Ai said, and then said: “But if they are jealous of Rika, they may expose Rika’s black material and bring her back.”

Hoshino Ai took a sip of the milk. The temperature was a little hot, but within an acceptable range. After hearing Saito Yan’s words, she couldn’t help but retort: ​​”Your assumption is too extreme.”

“You’re right. This is indeed an extreme case. But if they are not that extreme and are jealous of your teammates, they will be sarcastic.” Saito Hiko replied, “Even if they are not sarcastic, they will have a gap between you and think, ‘Why her? And not me?’ She will rely on her connections to get to the top.”

“…”

When Hoshino Ai heard what Saito Hiko said, she didn’t know how to answer him. She could only drink milk in silence and wait for him to continue.

“That’s jealousy,” Saito Hiko concluded, then added, “Actually, I think it’s a good thing that you’re performing independently this time.”

Hoshino Ai did not interrupt Saito Hiko, but just quietly ate snacks, drank milk and watched his performance.

Saito Hiko didn’t wait for Hoshino Ai to ask, so he just continued: “If you perform independently this time and other members are jealous of you and protest, it means that she is not worthy of your close friendship. People who are only jealous are not worthy of being your friends, let alone being your teammates!”

“Why do I feel like something is wrong?” Hoshino Ai felt that what Saito Hiko said was correct, but she felt something was wrong.

It seems like I missed something important.

“Can you tolerate a teammate who is jealous of you?” Saito Hiko asked Hoshino Ai, “She will definitely stab you in the back in the future.”

Hoshino Ai shook her head. She didn’t want to be friends with someone who was jealous.

“In that case, I’ll let the president tell them the good news of your independent performance.” Saito Hiko edited a text message on his mobile phone and waited for Hoshino Ai to nod. Then he sent the message to the president and asked him to notify them.

Hoshino Ai felt that Saito Hiko was right, so she nodded in response.

Saito Hiko sent the message, and then said to Hoshino Ai: “If they ask you what you think about this, what will you say?”

“I don’t know…” Hoshino Ai shook her head.

She was not able to answer again, which made her feel unhappy.

“Very good, answer like this.” Saitohiko saw Hoshino Ai’s confused expression and gave her a thumbs up to praise her: “As long as they ask you this for the first time in the future, you can answer like this, and it will be fine.”

“Eh? Is this all right?” Hoshino Ai was surprised to hear Saito Hiko say that her answer was okay. She bit the straw and frowned as she thought.

He just said he would inform the president… Was it him who fought for this opportunity?

I’ve only been practicing for three months, but you’re wasting money on finding me performance opportunities…

“Yeah.” Saito Hiko nodded.

“Hey, Yanjun, how much did you spend on the last Spring Festival, and how much did you spend on arranging a performance for me this time?” Hoshino Ai hesitated for a moment, but still asked what she wanted to say.

“Don’t worry about it. Money and other things are not important. What’s important is to be happy.”

Saito Hiko tried to downplay Hoshino Ai’s concept of money, “Don’t worry about me, I will do what I can.”

Act within your capabilities?

When Hoshino Ai heard Saito Hiko say this, she remembered the promise he made in the car.

From the situation of Ichigo Pro run by the president, and Saito Hiko’s past views on money.

They are not the kind of people who are particularly interested in money.

Especially Saito Hiko, he is a minor like her. Even if he earns a lot of money, he must have little left due to his unrestrained spending.

After the Spring Festival ended, she secretly looked up the details of the Spring Festival in previous years.

Even if there were performances before, they would not be prepared for the big screen, so he must have invested in the Spring Festival stage behind the scenes.

Hoshino Ai made a simple estimate and found that Saito Hiko had spent at least 2 million yen on the Spring Festival.

I wonder how much it cost to let her perform independently this time.

Hoshino Ai took a sip of warm milk and asked Saito Hiko, “Hiko-kun…how much did you pay me to perform this time?”

It’s counterproductive…

Saito Hiko felt helpless when he heard Hoshino Ai talking about money, he didn’t want to talk about money.

Because he already has 10 billion yen in his account, which is a sum that an average person cannot earn in a lifetime.

“I didn’t spend any money this time. I just asked someone to help you get one.” Saito Hiko told a true lie.

He did commission Fujiwara Yu and did not spend any money, but the opportunity to participate in prime time is not so easy to get.

In other words, he hasn’t told Hoshino Ai where the independent performance will be held.

“Live house?” asked Hoshino Ai.

Saitohiko thought for a moment and replied, “The venue is about the same size as that one. It’s just a recording session, so don’t worry too much.”

“What? I thought the venue you wanted me to participate in was as big as the Kasuga Festival.” Hoshino Ai secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she heard what Saito Hiko said.

When Saito Hiko saw Hoshino Ai’s relieved look, he knew that she must have misunderstood again and thought that the stage was just about the same size as the one she had agreed with the president.

But he didn’t explain. If he explained it clearly, it might put a lot of pressure on her.

I’ll talk to her after she finishes recording.

So he misleads: “Well, it was precisely because the venue was small and there were not many spectators that he agreed so easily.”

After Saito Hiko finished speaking, he re-edited the information and asked the president not to inform others about the details of Hoshino Ai’s performance for the time being.

He pressed the send button, and the president quickly replied with a text message: ‘You are causing me trouble again!’