Chapter 9: They really know how to cause trouble.

Orange Berry let out a helpless sigh, feeling a dull throb begin at her temples again.

Ah, well, it’s true she is a young lady from a wealthy family.

After all, she is the second daughter of a minor branch of the colossal Orange family.

That definitely qualifies her as a young lady.

But the problem is…

Orange Berry sighed again.

“She just surfs the internet at home way too much…”

At that moment, Rinko, wiping tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, was slapping the table.

“During the secondary review, when I teased her while sitting next to her, she still interacted with me. She’d catch any joke, things like ‘I don’t want to make money,’ ‘elbow strikes,’ ‘the choreographer teacher has a lot to consider’… stuff like that. She could even extrapolate from them, a real talent. And her dancing…”

The voice acting teacher sitting on the other side also smiled and chimed in.

“Although I’m in voice acting and not a dance expert, for an average person to dance to that level, they’d usually be so embarrassed they’d want to find a hole to crawl into, right? Or just start slacking off and going through the motions. But she…”

“She stubbornly gritted her teeth and finished the whole routine.”

“That’s right.”

Rinko nodded, her fingers unconsciously tracing the movements she had just seen on the tabletop.

“The movements felt quite standard? At least she got the expression right.”

“Exactly. Her timing was often off, but she executed the moves, and her singing breath control was very stable.”

Rinko, of course, knew the song Orange Quiet Forest had just danced to.

The original dance had nearly ten million views across various platforms, and even Rinko had done a cover and posted it online.

To be honest, the intensity of that song’s choreography was really difficult if you followed the original dance without adapting it.

Because the original was performed by an anime character.

For this kind of thing, either a professional dance teacher does the motion capture—Rinko has done that too—or they meticulously keyframe a 3D model.

Either way, the initial goal was to give the audience the best possible performance, maximizing the dance intensity—as long as it looked good, that was all that mattered.

In plain terms, the movements were large, physically demanding, and difficult.

Even for a professional like Rinko, practicing this song was quite tiring, and she was using the backing track, not singing live.

Orange Quiet Forest was singing while dancing…

The original song also had many large jumps, requiring the legs to be together in the air, then quickly folded inward once like a pocketknife, landing with the legs instantly splayed out into a horse stance.

Or, for example, those long-distance moves requiring an instant dash from the left side of the stage to the right.

For virtual idols who don’t need to breathe, this is a piece of cake.

But for a human?

And yet, Orange Quiet Forest actually finished it following the choreographic framework?

At least she didn’t miss any moves.

But, it was still danced poorly, with the movement amplitude varying wildly.

The most unbearable part was that little incident in the middle where she missed a certain move.

She missed several beats—probably the most she’d missed the rhythm.

A normal person would either stop and wait for the beat or just mess around to get through it.

But not her.

Her face showed no panic.

Instead, it was like she triggered some kind of overclocking mode, suddenly speeding up her movement frequency.

It was like watching a video at 3.0x speed; her arms and legs swung with afterimages, forcefully making up all the missed movements, and then she nonchalantly snapped back to the beat.

At that moment, Rinko almost burst out laughing on the spot.

What even was that?

Even professionals almost couldn’t hold it in.

Thankfully, they were professionals.

It really felt like a complete dance novice, one without a teacher, purely relying on brute force to create miracles.

Though her foundation was quite good.

But to dare choose such a difficult song… and she was the only one who did.

“Her thick skin is truly in a league of its own.”

“And this physical constitution… if she doesn’t become an idol, she might have potential in sports too.”

But more than the poor performance, the teachers were more surprised by Orange Quiet Forest’s tenacity in persisting through the entire performance.

Chu Yong also nodded.

“Her looks are practically cheating.”

“Indeed.”

Rinko shrugged.

“Anyway, this kind of thing is common in the industry. As long as the editor’s hand doesn’t shake, cuts out those ‘abstract’ live moments, adds more close-ups and face shots, does some audio polishing… she becomes a perfect beautiful girl.”

It’s harsh, but that’s reality.

Putting skill aside, her appearance was indeed the most outstanding among all the candidates.

She practically carried the dance on the strength of that face alone.

The opposite of that popular uncle who dances cute girl dances.

That uncle’s movements are enchantingly precise, but his face provides the contrast.

“But Orange Berry, you seem to have missed the most important point, always focusing on her ‘abstract’ aspects.”

“What?”

Rinko showed a meaningful expression.

“She didn’t take a single breath during the entire performance.”

“Huh? Wait…”

Thinking back carefully, Orange Quiet Forest’s breathing did remain steady throughout her performance.

Such physically demanding work, the song was also quite upbeat, with high notes too—definitely not easy to sing.

And the original song was a five-person group song, designed with breaks for individuals to catch their breath and change positions.

But this time, Orange Quiet Forest sang the whole thing alone, without a single beat of rest.

Outsiders who watch a lot of shows and performances might be used to it and think it’s no big deal.

But the vocal and dance teachers both acknowledged Orange Quiet Forest’s stamina.

Hand it to other newcomers, even some idols from major entertainment companies, and they’d probably be out of breath halfway through singing and dancing.

Even for Rinko, dancing is fine, but singing and dancing together…

She wouldn’t dare guarantee it.

If it were a five-person split lyric format, giving her time to adjust the pace, she’d be confident.

Orange Quiet Forest’s method of doing it all was a bit tough.

Rinko thought to herself.

Feels like… Orange Berry’s niece really is interesting.

Just playing along with her in this project would make it worth it.

Chu Yong looked at the various judges and staff.

“Then it’s decided! Orange Quiet Forest!”

“Ahem—!”

Orange Berry, sitting next to her, almost sprayed coffee all over the table.

Her eyes widened as she stared at her best friend and boss as if she were an alien.

While the others were still processing the statement, Orange Berry quickly reached under the table, pulled out her phone, and her fingers tapped on the screen as if striking sparks.

“Are you crazy? Didn’t you already decide to make Kunomi Umi the center? And now you want Orange Quiet Forest too?”

The other teachers couldn’t know, but Chu Yong knew.

Those two are mother and daughter!

Even if it’s by law, it feels like a huge hassle.

Since that person is already dead, Orange Berry felt it was better for Quiet Forest not to have any further connection with his daughter.

Besides, during the initial selection, Orange Berry was busy with other things.

Because the plan was to select five people, though the candidates weren’t finalized.

Orange Berry was conducting the final review of the character songs, hoping to leverage the popularity of these well-known musicians to attract some fans, and their music quality was good to begin with.

So she didn’t participate in the initial selection, and with the staff and these teachers together, her presence wasn’t strictly necessary.

She hadn’t expected Kunomi Umi to be there.

If Orange Berry had been present then, she would have found a way to eliminate her no matter what.