Crossover Anime: I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha's Brother

Page 81

Two words spontaneously came to mind.

(You idiot!) Fan.

Chapter 0233 Luo Tianyi's Phone Call! (Two Updates)

"Huh?! What kind of looks are those? Do you think I'm an idiot?" Honoka looked around in surprise and protested in disbelief.

Sonoda Umi sighed silently, lowered her right leg which had been raised into a "split," walked over to Honoka's side, and patted her on the shoulder: "No doubt about it, you're an idiot!"

"Crack!" Like a bolt of lightning appearing out of nowhere, it struck Honoka's heart, turning her entire body into a grayish-white "plaster statue": "Umi...you went too far..."

"Alright, alright." Nozomi Tojo walked to Honoka's side with a smile, her eyes brimming with tears. "Since we can't generate a visual, and we've almost forgotten the plot, let's wait until the animated film is released before watching it... For this premiere, Hyakusei-sensei said that '390' (a nickname for a celebrity) can bring family or friends. Is there anyone you'd like to invite?"

At the premiere of "5 Centimeters Per Second", the studio staff, along with all the people from "rouge-en-rouge", Shinazugawa Bunko, and Chishima Publishing, barely filled half the screening room.

Regarding this "wasteful" behavior, adhering to the principle that "waste is shameful," Baili Xiao informed everyone, "For this premiere of 'Your Name,' everyone can bring their families! Friends are also welcome!"

Of course, the real reason is not just that. In fact, after accompanying Eriri back to the Kingdom of Great Britain, Baili Xiao already had such a plan in mind.

"Take this opportunity to let everyone get together with their families and friends"—this is Baili Xiao's true intention.

It's important to know that, apart from some people in the studio (Shiyu, Chuhai, etc.), the parents and friends of the rest (Muse, Yue Zhengling) are all in the idol city, which is "several hours away by plane".

Although none of the people expressed any desire to "go home and visit," it was not advisable for their superiors and teachers to be slow to realize this!

"As for me, there shouldn't be anyone I need to invite..." Sonoda Umi's eyes dimmed slightly.

Her parents have always adhered to a somewhat old-fashioned way of thinking—otherwise they wouldn't have "forced" her to learn Bushido and Kyudo (in this day and age, how could a girl in her prime possibly learn these things!—a lingering resentment from Sonoda Umi)—that's why they don't read light novels, much less go to the cinema to watch their animated film adaptations.

Furthermore... some of the plot of "Your Name" is not suitable for parents to watch. Sonoda Umi can even imagine the scene when they find out and, without even reading the plot, scoff and say "childish!"

"Huh? Is that so?" Honoka glanced at Sonoda Umi in surprise, oblivious to the strange look on the latter's face (she really is quite dense), and instead excitedly stretched out her finger: "For me, Mother, Father, and Yukiho (my little sister)..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Minami Kotori, who gave a wry smile and said somewhat helplessly, "My...mother is the chairperson of Otonokizaka Academy's board of directors, I don't know if she can come..."

Mid-October is the time for school to start—if it were Otonokizaka, which was on the verge of closing down in the past, it would be understandable for Minami Hiwako (Minami Daitori, lol) to abandon the school even as the chairperson.

But Otonokizaka Academy is now thriving, and has even purchased surrounding land to further expand its campus—that's right! Thanks to the promotion by "Muse," the number of students wanting to apply to Otonokizaka Academy each year far exceeds the academy's capacity, and the academy's ranking recently reached the top spot as the "Number One High School in Idol City"!

Under such circumstances, Minami Hiwako was naturally extremely busy. Even her daily video call with Minami Kotori was just a brief exchange before hanging up. It was impossible for her mother to attend the premiere of "Your Name" no matter how you looked at it.

"Me too!"

As soon as Minami Kotori finished speaking, Nishikino Maki, who had just walked in through the door, also raised her hand in greeting—her mother, Nishikino Mizuki, was a doctor at her family's general hospital, and her workload was just as heavy as Minami Hiwako's.

After all... doctors are "on duty" all year round!

"Hmm..." Following behind Maki, Yazawa Nico put down her bag in a muffled voice. Without being noticed by the others, she moved step by step behind Tojo Nozomi, using the latter's full but not at all "fat" body (especially her chest) to cover her petite body.

In her plan, "Mom and younger siblings" would come together! Even without including herself, that would already take up four people's spots!

Compared to what others said—"Oh, I don't have anyone to invite," "I don't know if they'll come," "They probably won't be free"—she felt her cheeks inexplicably flush.

It's a feeling that arises when you're at a buffet where you can bring as many people as you want, but you bring far more than everyone else...

However... her little action seemed to have been noticed by someone the fans privately called "Demon King"—Tojo Nozomi turned around with a smile, her eyes quietly looking at her: "Nicole, what about you?"

"Huh? Haha, me, I..."

Seeing Yazawa Nico's awkward laughter and stammering, Yue Zhengling, who was not far away, curled the corners of her mouth.

Since joining the studio, while constantly learning singing techniques from Baili Xiao, she has spent more time teaching these newly debuted "juniors" on behalf of the latter. Every day, she can see them full of energy talking about all sorts of things, and the laughter that comes from it adds a lot of smiles to her face. This is a life that she could never experience under the protection of Lezheng Group and her brother!

(Indeed, joining the studio was the right decision...)

With these thoughts in mind, Yue Zhengling's long black hair, braided into a ponytail, swayed slowly, and the sound of her clapping hands could be clearly heard in the dance studio.

"Alright, that's the end of the break. Now we'll practice another dance routine. You guys..."

Before he could finish speaking, his phone, which was set to silent mode, suddenly vibrated, and the caller's name appeared on the lit screen.

Luo Tianyi...

Chapter 0234 Foodie Luo Tianyi! (Third Update)

Luo Tianyi.

About a year ago, Yue Zhengling met a girl in the Celestial Empire.

What was the trigger?

Perhaps it was destined that I would meet her from the very beginning, starting with my long-cherished love for Chinese cuisine?

The Celestial Empire, a vast country with a long history, far surpasses the present-day Kingdom of Great Britain or the Sumerian Empire.

A long history, coupled with a vast territory, has made the Celestial Empire famous throughout the world for its... delicious food!

Unlike the simpler Great Britain, within the Celestial Empire, anything that can be called a delicacy must meet the standard of "color, aroma, and taste," and the "taste" aspect is particularly diverse.

Sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and all sorts of flavors that follow have covered the vast land of the Celestial Empire.

An average person might not be able to taste all the delicacies in their entire life. That's why millions of people travel to China every year just to sample its cuisine!

As for Yue Zhengling, she had heard of its great reputation several times in the idol city. Coincidentally, Yue Zhenglongya had an order for musical instruments that required her to go to the Celestial Empire to negotiate. Naturally, Yue Zhengling went with the group.

There, she made her first friend in her life (besides her family) – a girl named Luo Tianyi met her in a steamed bun shop one morning. Luo Tianyi's youthful clothes and fair skin that made people want to praise her as "cute" deeply attracted her.

Fortunately, Luo Tianyi, like her, loves music very much. Although she has not debuted as a "singer" like her, her impromptu singing when she is in the mood still made Yue Zhengling realize that this girl has extraordinary talent in singing.

More importantly... when they first met, Yue Zhengling was struggling to decide what kind of xiaolongbao to order...

"Pork? Chives? Mushrooms? Hmm... I want to try them all." Standing at the order counter, Yue Zhengling's muttered words, her brow furrowed, seemed to be heard by the girl behind her, and so...

"Do you want to eat them all?" The girl with gray hair swayed as she peeked out from behind Yue Zhengling and smiled slightly. "Since you want to eat them all, don't hesitate, order them all!"

"..." Yue Zhengling suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and sighed softly, "There's simply not enough to eat... Could I choose one of everything? I doubt they'd agree to that request."

"Hmm..." The girl blinked, her slender fingers resting on her chin as if she were thinking, "If you can't finish it, I'll eat it for you."

"Hey? Is it really okay?"

"Of course!"

And so, there was a girl who wanted to "try more flavors but didn't want to waste food," and a girl who wanted to "eat anything, no matter what flavor it was."

We met...

The flashback abruptly ended, and Yue Zhengling picked up her phone and walked out of the dance studio: "You guys practice on your own for a bit."

"Yes, Aya-sensei!" Honoka stood at attention and saluted Aya's back with utmost seriousness. Although they hadn't known each other for very long, and although Aya was even younger than some of the members of Muse, as a teacher who taught everyone to sing and a "senior" who debuted before them, Honoka should show Aya the most basic respect from any perspective!

Not just Honoka, in fact, everyone held this view.

...

"Tianyi." The moment she closed the door, Yue Zhengling answered the phone. An ambiguous "smacking" sound came from the other end of the line—after the initial surprise, Yue Zhengling raised an eyebrow, thinking of a possibility: "Are you eating again?"

"As expected of Aya, *smack*, you even noticed that, *smack*!" The vague reply was almost stammering—if it weren't for Yue Zhengling's extraordinary hearing, it would have been difficult to understand what Luo Tianyi was saying.

"Stop thinking about food all day! Have you been practicing your singing properly lately? You promised to come and find me, and the two of you would debut as an idol group together. It's been a year, and I haven't seen a single thing from you!"

As her long-held resentment erupted, Yue Zhengling's voice suddenly rose, but even so, it sounded incredibly pleasant.

All you think about is food! Have you gotten so fat that you're too ashamed to face me?

"Gulp! How could that be! My constitution is very special, Aya, don't worry, no matter how much I eat, I won't gain weight!"

Luo Tianyi, without realizing it, uttered words that would make countless women envious. Hearing this, Yue Zhengling gritted her teeth in anger—unlike Luo Tianyi, Yue Zhengling had always consciously controlled her food intake. While she wouldn't say she "gains weight even from drinking water," her identity as a "singer" still restricted her; she couldn't eat to her heart's content...

"You... well, okay, you win. What's wrong? Why did you suddenly call me..." Yue Zhengling took a deep breath, trying to calm the churning emotions in her heart, and threw the question at Luo Tianyi.

The latter seemed to put something else in her mouth, paused for three or four seconds, and then said, "Aya, I heard you joined a studio? And it has one of the top three idol groups in your idol city? Won't you face discrimination if you're alone? Like, not being allowed to eat your fill, like I am now..."

(Just how much do you love food to imagine "exclusion" as "not being allowed to eat your fill"?!)

A near-groan escaped her lips as Yue Zhengling pressed her right hand to her forehead, taking several deep breaths: "Tianyi, your worries are unnecessary. Here at 390, I can practically be considered their teacher, and... every day there are different kinds of delicious food waiting for me, I can eat as much as I want..."

"!!!" The voice on the other end of the phone stopped abruptly, even the chewing sound stopped!

As if she had been subjected to some intense stimulation, Luo Tianyi's voice trembled slightly: "Ah, Aya, are you, are you in heaven right now?"

"Why would you associate this with heaven?! You idiot, are you cursing me to die?"

"If it's not heaven... how could there be 'delicious food you can eat anywhere'?"

"...Don't believe me? Why don't you come and take a look at our studio?"

"Will there really be something delicious waiting for me? What if I get there and they don't give me anything to eat, and instead force me to work?"

"...If you keep doing that, I'm hanging up! They're waiting for me to teach them the dance steps!"

"Hey? Wait! Wait a minute! Address! Give me the address! Oh right, um... this..."

Luo Tianyi, who was usually outspoken, suddenly hesitated. While Yue Zhengling was surprised, she seemed to have made up her mind and pleaded earnestly.

"Aya, could you help me book a plane ticket? I accidentally ran out of my allowance for this month..."

Chapter 0235 Preparations for Amagi Radiant Amusement Park! (Fourth Update)

Everything related to "Your Name" is progressing smoothly. Whether it's the original artwork stage or the theme song, everything has become "completed" or "near completion" over time.

When the animated film was finally completed in late September and early October, it was immediately submitted to the relevant departments for review. At the same time, almost all the partners (theaters and companies) were eager to publish the news of "Your Name" in their theaters or in the "Upcoming Releases" section.

Overwhelming advertisements and movie posters appeared on the streets and alleys of various cities. Some of these were promotions carried out independently by partners according to the agreement, while others were advertisements paid for by Akane Kousaka. Even though everyone who loves anime knows that "Your Name" is being released, she wants to use the advertising effect to let more people know about it and change their perception of anime!

All external affairs proceeded smoothly under the management of Akane Kousaka and Sonoko Machida. Hyakuri Akira had little concern and simply said, "I'll leave the rest to you," before leaving the anime city—Amagi, the second major promotional location for the premiere of "Your Name," was his next destination.

...

"Teacher Baili, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Inside Amagi Airport, Latifa, wearing a white hat and a pure white long dress, stood quietly by the fence. Her eyes, which had been in a daze, gradually brightened when she saw Baili Xiao's figure. She clasped her hands together in front of her, wearing white silk gloves, and bowed slightly to him.

Baili Xiao approached Latifa's side, his eyes lingering intently on her cheek for several seconds until a blush rose on her face. Only then did he chuckle and look away.

"Judging from your complexion, you seem to be recovering quite well these past few days, right?"

Latifa is cursed and should theoretically be unable to leave the area where the amusement park is located. However, the ever-increasing number of visitors to the park has provided her with a large amount of soul power, enough to support her going out for a short period of time.

"Yes, it's all thanks to the teacher. My health is better than ever before, and I can even be like this now..."

Latifa gently lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands and turned around in front of Baili Xiao—as her golden wavy hair swayed, a tempting fragrance wafted into the latter's nostrils.

(Mmm, smells so good.)

Unlike the scents emanating from Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri, Latifa exudes a more natural fragrance, one that you can say you won't forget after just one look.

"It's okay to come out for a little while... This is the first time I've seen things outside the amusement park with my own eyes. If it weren't for my teacher, I probably wouldn't have had this opportunity before I die."