Chapter 10: Why are there still more?

Only one of these two could stay.

As for why Chu Yong chose that introverted girl…

It was the power of “I think.”

Chu Yong said that the traditional idol center position was either a sunny beauty or a quiet beauty.

She wanted to choose a training system introverted, gloomy beauty, and even said she could see the will in her eyes or something.

“Can’t you all see it? Deep within her evasive gaze, a strong will to change the world is burning?!”

She really could stir up trouble.

Orange Berry gritted her teeth in frustration.

Her phone vibrated.

Chu Yong’s reply popped up.

“I believe in their chemistry.”

“……”

Sure, nitroglycerin exploding is also chemistry.

Are you ready to collect the pieces of this group?

Orange Berry didn’t want to deal with it anymore.

Anyway, it wasn’t her money being spent.

If the group really blew up, she’d just go back to her old company.

Chu Yong seemed very satisfied with her decision.

She once again crossed her hands and rested her chin on them, striking a classic thoughtful pose.

“Then… we’re just missing the final member. Producer, do you have any thoughts?”

Chu Yong looked at Orange Berry beside her.

No thoughts.

This was a complete mess.

She didn’t even listen when told to choose between Kunomi Umi and Orange Quiet Forest.

What else was there to say?

The other teachers also exchanged glances.

A brief silence fell over the meeting room.

Because they knew there was an obvious good choice on paper, but there were external factors.

Ueda Sha.

Eighteen years old, a college freshman.

A child of the spotlight.

The child of the film queen, Ueda Ikiru.

Though the diva’s stage name was Puchi Sheng.

The reason she was coming to a new company like this was because her mother didn’t agree with her entering the entertainment industry.

So she was looking for opportunities everywhere.

While it wasn’t explicitly forbidden, similar rumors had been circulating in the industry.

Even a major company wouldn’t necessarily want to strain relations with a film queen over a rookie.

And if Ueda Ikiru was really willing to let her daughter enter the entertainment industry, why not let her join the agency she herself founded first?

So, while Ueda Sha was talented, she was absolutely a hot potato.

Ueda Sha had talent, but she was by no means an irreplaceable genius.

Although her performance today was among the best of everyone they had seen.

And…

Actually, Orange Berry also wanted to choose Ueda Sha.

Because Chu Yong had picked a few too many… unique individuals.

She wanted to choose a reliable one as a safety net.

Chu Yong kept saying.

“Because it’s a training system, I think personality is more important than skill, because skill can be developed slowly.”

But Orange Berry felt the personalities of the current picks weren’t that great either.

Orange Quiet Forest…

Orange Berry always just thought she was an indoor type, loved playing games, and was a smart kid.

Usually a good girl.

But ever since the audition, to get herself eliminated, she kept deliberately acting abstract.

If she debuted and kept up that style of work…

That would be very… unique.

Kunomi Umi, her relationship with Orange Quiet Forest went without saying.

It was bound to blow up sooner or later.

And her personality was too introverted.

If an introverted girl as the center could become a new trend, that might work.

But if you’re so introverted you stutter when you talk, always hunched over and looking down, would anyone really buy into that?

The other two…

Jing He Xuanyiang, a senior in high school, seventeen, doesn’t plan to go to college, wants to be a manga artist.

After a few interactions, she seemed like the mysterious, sexy beauty type, with a somewhat aloof aura.

She should be qualified as an idol.

Her personality seemed decent, at least she could communicate normally.

Verdict: A normal person.

Cao Qian Ju, eighteen, a college freshman, studying at a nearby finance and economics university.

Based on interactions so far, she made Orange Berry feel the most comfortable.

She could control the rhythm of a conversation, was good at chatting, and handled Q&A sessions even one-on-ten with ease.

Seemed like a healing-type girl who probably had many friends at school too.

She was gentle, polite, had good looks, and had some foundation in singing and dancing.

If there were offline events in the future, she’d be reliable to have around.

Verdict: A normal person.

So now it was two versus two.

Orange Berry really wanted to pull in another normal person with a foundation and skill.

She had to suppress those two unique individuals.

And Ueda Sha, having grown up immersed in the entertainment industry, had skill and foundation, and could also play a role in guiding the newer members.

As for offending her mother… that wasn’t Orange Berry’s problem.

If anyone had a problem, they could take it up with her boss.

Since her old man was willing to throw so much money at her just to hear a splash, he must have already prepared himself to lose it all.

At worst, Chu Yong would just obediently go back to work for her old father and lose her inheritance position…

Finally, Orange Berry forcibly took control of the atmosphere, suppressed the others’ unease, and decided on the final person.

At least for this crucial final person, she had to let Orange Berry decide.

She had conceded on the previous two unique picks.

Ueda Sha.

She pulled out Ueda Sha’s profile and slapped it down hard in the very center of the table.

“It’s her. No hesitation. If anything happens, the boss takes the blame.”

“Ohh, I quite like her too.”

Looking at the photo of the girl on the profile, with her stubborn eyes and an aura of starlight about her.

‘I hope your desire for your dream can properly lead this team to victory.’

‘I hope you can be a good brake.’

—

Just as Orange Quiet Forest was playing a certain four-character catgirl game and finally won after three overtime matches…

She looked at her sniper rifle’s fifteen thousand damage, satisfied with the screen.

Actually, going to school wasn’t so bad.

Playing games every day could get boring sometimes, cause anxiety, and lead to arguments with Mom.

Now, going back to school solved everything again.

Pretty comfortable, meow.

People really shouldn’t be too slothful.

Then she received a message.

It was actually the final selection.

She had slacked off so much, and she still passed?

Could it really be that she was just too good-looking?

This time, before Orange Quiet Forest could message Orange Berry, Orange Berry came to her first.

Orange Berry opened Orange Quiet Forest’s door.

“Quiet Forest.”

“I don’t want to go.”

“I’ll buy you a little dress, okay?”

“NO. Our family has money.”

“Then what do you want? Do you hate being an idol that much?”

Hate it?

Orange Quiet Forest just didn’t want to waste her gaming time.

Her family wasn’t short on money, and time couldn’t be bought with money either.

Orange Berry pressed on.

“Being an idol will definitely be fun.”

“Fun how?”

“You’ll know once you go.”

“You make it sound like I’ll definitely get chosen.”

“That’s the boss’s choice. I tried to talk her out of it and she wouldn’t listen.”

Orange Quiet Forest pretended to think it over.

Actually, she thought the singing and dancing from the other day were somewhat interesting.

But being an idol meant training, classes… wouldn’t her gaming time shrink even more?

Seeing Orange Quiet Forest hesitate, Orange Peach delivered the final blow.

“If you’re working, including practice, you can get proof of that. It’s fine if you don’t go to class. My Quiet Forest is so smart, you can pass the finals without going to class, right?”

“Definitely.”

If it was using the time meant for university classes… she didn’t have too many objections.

Of course, skipping too much would annoy the teachers, but it was acceptable.

“Fine, I’ll go to the final selection. But whether I want to be an idol or not, I’ll still think about it some more.”