Chapter 101 Atobe Steals the House! So, is it a love triangle? ...
In mid-April, Risa was writing the script for Hyotei's promotional video on the living room sofa when her phone suddenly vibrated.
"Matsuno, it's an emergency."
A message popped up from Akito Kurosawa: "There's an urgent job with great pay. Join the crew immediately for half a month."
She had just finished reading the message when the phone rang.
"Hello, Mr. Kurosawa?"
"The second female lead in 'Spring Sonata' had an accident, and the crew needs someone to replace her. She has half a month's worth of scenes to film. She has to join the crew in two days. The filming location is Karuizawa."
Kurosawa's voice carried a hint of urgency, "The director is Morita, whom I worked with last time. She believes that only you can capture the essence of this character."
Risa hesitated for a moment: "But regarding the time..."
“Matsuno, this is a rare opportunity, so please do me a favor. This drama is bound to be a huge hit after it airs, which will do you no harm, and besides…” Kurosawa paused, “the production team is willing to pay double the industry rate.”
Double the pay? That's tempting.
She had previously declined many opportunities recommended by Akira Kurosawa, citing preparations for the trade show. But now, considering there are only three weeks until the trade show, what if something goes wrong...?
Risa bit the pen cap, her mind replaying Atobe's expression that seemed to say, "You expect me to condescend to wait for you?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kurosawa, it's not that I'm being disrespectful. I already have a prior engagement, and I simply can't get away..."
I guessed so.
On the other end of the phone, Kurosawa was silent for two seconds before continuing:
"But what if I told you that the production team has already reached an agreement with Keigo Atobe of Hyotei?"
Risa was taken aback: "What?"
"When he heard you were going to turn down this very important opportunity, he offered to postpone the Hyotei promotional video. His exact words were—"
Kurosawa cleared his throat, mimicking Atobe's arrogant tone, "'I'm not so low as to compete with a temporary film crew for actors.'"
Risa rubbed her forehead, the image of that young master lightly touching his beauty mark as he spoke those words already appearing before her eyes.
“However…” Kurosawa changed the subject, “he has a condition.”
Risa asked warily, "What are the conditions?"
"The Atobe Foundation wants to insert advertisements into your new drama."
Risa: "......"
This is definitely in Atobe's style.
They did a favor while also keeping their business interests in mind.
"So?" Kurosawa pressed.
Risa glanced at the title of the script she was writing halfway through—"Hyotei Emperor: From Villain to Legend".
She sighed softly and closed the script: "...Okay, I'll take it."
-
Two days later, on the set of "Spring Sonata" in Karuizawa.
Risa, dressed in her costume, sat in the dressing room, her phone screen lit up with a message from Yukimura:
"I heard that a certain actress has temporarily switched careers to become a troubleshooter?"
She replied with a smile:
"Just a temporary replacement, I'll be back in two weeks. But you, don't lose the game too badly →_→"
The message had just been sent when the production assistant knocked on the door: "Ms. Matsuno, filming will begin in five minutes!"
"Okay, got it."
Risa put away her phone and rushed to the filming location.
-
The filming of "Spring Sonata" is progressing more smoothly than expected.
The May wind swept cherry blossoms across the Tokyo sky, and Risa hurriedly stepped off the Shinkansen with her suitcase, heading straight for her hometown in Bunkyo Ward.
Tomorrow is the opening trade show for Concept Store, which will be held on the fifth floor of a shopping mall in Ginza.
Yuzuki, Asuka, and Chinatsu arrived in Tokyo yesterday and have settled in to make preliminary preparations.
When she pushed open the door, Risa was stunned by the sight before her.
In the living room, Yuzuki was inspecting LUMIERA brand posters on a ladder, Asuka and Chinatsu were squatting on the floor sorting products, and Akina-nee—surprisingly, there were two strange girls standing next to her, carefully putting dust bags on the standees.
“They are my roommates from law school, Naomi and Keiko.” Akina winked at Risa. “I heard you were short-handed, so I came to help.” She waved her complete set of 24 solar terms art cards. “I’ll use these to pay your fee.”
"Qiu Nai!" the girl with the ponytail exclaimed, "This is practically robbery! This set of art collection cards was originally worth almost an astronomical price."
Risa tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smiled gently, and said, "I'm so grateful to my seniors for helping me. Feel free to pick anything you like from the surrounding area; consider it a token of my appreciation."
"Wow~ Thank you so much, generous little sister!" the two girls exclaimed happily.
At midnight, the seven girls finally collapsed amidst the packaging materials scattered on the floor.
"Everyone, let's replenish our energy." Risa had ordered takeout in advance. The table was now filled with fried chicken, hamburgers, and sushi, and the aroma of the food filled the room.
After eating and drinking her fill, Qianxia grabbed a towel and rushed to the bathroom, saying, "I'm going to take a shower first!"
"Wait! The poster isn't here yet—"
Asuka, you have cream in your hair!
In the noisy night, Akina, chewing on a lollipop, swiped her fingers on her tablet: "The venue is at the G Department Store in Ginza, right? We'll split into two cars tomorrow." She turned to Risa, "Should you double-check your posters?"
Risa shook her head, packing the last brochure into a cardboard box. "Everything's ready." Looking at the mountain of goods, she suddenly chuckled, "I didn't expect so much to be prepared..."
The next morning, the two cars were already parked downstairs at the apartment building.
Akina neatly reversed the car and rolled down the window: "My car is full of big items. Naomi, the three of them will ride in your car."
Naomi and Keiko nodded, gesturing for Asuka and Chinatsu to get in the car. "Don't worry, we won't lose our juniors."
Akina patted the steering wheel. "Keep up close, Tokyo's morning rush hour is terrifying."
Risa loaded the last box of merchandise into the car and glanced back at the living room—
Cardboard boxes were scattered on the sofa, empty beverage cans were left on the coffee table, and seven pairs of slippers were lying haphazardly in the entryway.
"Let's go!" Yuzuki waved from the car. "Today's a big day!"
As a startup niche brand, LUMIERA was assigned a 6-square-meter booth behind the corner of the restroom. Compared with the dazzling G, D, H and other exhibition areas in the main venue, it was as shabby as Cinderella who had accidentally entered the world of fame and fortune.
"At least our views are good." Yuzuki assembled the banner and asked Chinatsu, "How's it going with the fan group?"
Chinatsu scrolled through her screen: "Our regular customers are already lining up to get in!" She excitedly showed the reservation list, "This Mizuki-san is a veteran card collector with millions of YouTube subscribers, and this one..."
Risa paused slightly as she smoothed the curled corners of the poster.
The three of them began their frantic preparations as early as six months ago when they received the invitation from Concept Store.
By leveraging Instagram visual marketing and Line community viral marketing, launching topic giveaways, building fan groups, and sharing brand stories, design inspirations, and trade show countdowns on social media, the brand attracted the attention of many niche enthusiasts.
Over the past six months, Qianxia's Instagram account has amassed a loyal following.
This marketing plan was the result of several weekends of brainstorming by the three of them. Risa was ultimately put in charge of its approval.
While she was supposed to be overseeing the project, she was actually busy filming in Karuizawa at the time, and all she did was draw a chibi-style girl making a "thumbs up" gesture on the last page.
After the trade fair opened, crowds thronged the area.
People who had made appointments arrived as scheduled. Yuzuki and Asuka were busy greeting them, while Chinatsu stood at the entrance of the booth, smiling as she handed out brand brochures and small gifts.
Risa's assigned task was—live streaming!
She took a deep breath, adopting the persona of a seasoned live-streaming sales host, and adjusted her expression in front of the ring light:
"Everyone, welcome to LUMIERA's Fantasy Garden~"
This account, which describes itself as a "17-year-old designer," already has hundreds of viewers.
The live stream was instantly flooded with comments:
"Is the anchor Risa?! I think I've seen you in 'VIVI' magazine before!"
"Ahhh! It really is Risa."
"Sister, look at me! I've watched Blue Bird three times and I'm a die-hard fan."
"Me too! Me too, Risa, I absolutely love your 'Missed Call'!"
"They've only just gained some fame and they're already trying to make money by selling products? That's such a disgusting way to do it -.-"
"Can the person upstairs please stop starting with just one picture and making up the rest? This is the streamer's own brand."
"That's right, they were already making merchandise before they became famous, they're original designers! You should just be jealous."
"Is the design on the card based on Rikkai University's tennis club? I recognize Sanada's hat!"
The comments section was flooded with messages, and Risami had one message that kept repeating itself:
"The hair clip on the streamer's head is so beautiful, can I get the link?"
She explained with a smile, "The hair clip is a custom-made gift from my boyfriend; it's one of a kind in the world!"
"Wait! The quality of that black pearl..."
"Is it a Tahitian black pearl?! A pearl of this quality would cost at least five figures..."
"Excuse me! I'll leave now! ε=ε=ε=┏(゜ロ゜;)┛"
Just as Risa was about to introduce the product, the screen was suddenly flooded with golden special effects—
User "Atobe_King" gave away 10 "Galactic Battleships"
(The most expensive gift on the platform, worth 100,000 yen per gift, broadcast throughout the entire site)
A barrage of comments erupted:
"????"
"Is that the young master of the Atobe Group?!"
"Who is this streamer?!"
Just as Risa was completely bewildered, the comments on the screen started scrolling wildly and began to spiral out of control:
"So the streamer's boyfriend is Atobe-sama?!"
"I agree to this marriage!"
Suddenly, an account with a Kirihara Akaya's image entered the live stream:
[User "Rikkai's Ace": What nonsense are you talking about! Risa's boyfriend is clearly our club president (￢.￢☆)]
First, it caused a huge stir, and the live stream went completely crazy:
"Wasn't that seaweed-headed guy Kirihara Akaya who flashed by just now?!"
"Minister?! It's that 'Child of God,' Yukimura Seiichi?!"
"So, young master Atobe raided the house while Yukimura was away?!"
"So, it's a love triangle?"
Risa: "......"
Just as she was trying to pull back from the brink, more high-profile accounts appeared one after another:
User "Kurosawa Akira" gifted 5 "Starlight Yachts"
P.S.: Matsuno-san, have you considered the female lead for your new film?
User "Morita Chika" gifted 3 "Rainbow Waterfall" items.
Comment: It was a pleasure working together last time, let's work together again!
[Famous entertainer "Shota Sakurai" enters the live stream]
"The artwork for this card is beautiful!"
Risa sighed and smiled wryly, glancing at the upper right corner of the screen; the number of viewers in the live stream had already surpassed 50,000.
User "Atobe_King" gave away 20 "Galactic Battleship" items.
P.S.: Continue introducing the products; ignore them.
User "Seiichi_Y" enters the live stream room.
Postscript: Atobe ^_^
The barrage of comments froze for a moment, then exploded at an even more frenzied speed:
"This ID..."
"Is this the Seiichi I'm thinking of?!"
"The Son of God has fallen!!"
Meanwhile, at Narita Airport.
“So, Minister,” Kirihara hopped over to reach the suitcase on the baggage carousel, “we’re going straight to the trade show, right?”
Yukimura checked his phone, the screen's glow reflecting in his eyes: "Hmm."
-----------------------
Author's Note: I don't know why my replies are always under review. Yesterday, a comment from a user named "Baby" was deleted by the administrator. Ah Jin is practically an HR professional turned HR (doing absolutely nothing). Reviews take days to pass, but deletions are quick [crying emoji].
——
The live stream chat was slightly modified to connect with the new plot added in Chapter 98 — August 31st
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