This time Xue Bu didn't even scream.

Because she fainted.

When Xue Bu opened her eyes again, what she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

At the same time, Fang Zheng's voice sounded from beside her.

"Are you awake?"

“——!”

Hearing Fang Zheng's voice, Xue Bu was so scared that she sat up and curled up against the wall. Then she saw Fang Zheng sitting on a chair beside her bed, staring at her.

And then the next moment, Fang Zheng spoke.

"Ogiwara Yukiho!"

"Ah... yes! Mr. Producer...?"

Hearing Fang Zheng suddenly calling her name, Xue Bu suddenly felt a little nervous. She subconsciously looked around and realized that this should be a school's infirmary. In the whole room, there were only herself and Fang Zheng. This made Xue Bu even more frightened and uneasy... But before she could say anything else, Fang Zheng continued to speak.

"Why did you become an idol?"

"I……"

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Xue Bu hesitated.

"I... I don't have confidence in myself. I want to change my cowardly personality... That's why I... became an idol."

"I suppose so."

Fang Zheng nodded. This answer was not unexpected to him. If it wasn't for some special reason, it would be basically impossible for a shy girl like Ogiwara Yukiho to want to be an idol.

"Your idea is good, but..."

"but?"

"Did you do it?"

"Why?"

Xue Bu was stunned for a moment when she heard Fang Zheng's question, but Fang Zheng continued to speak.

"You became an idol because you wanted to change your personality and become a different person. So what are you doing now? Are you working hard to face all this?"

"I……"

"It's not surprising that you're afraid of men. But since you've decided to be an idol, you should know that this is a difficult hurdle you have to face. It's no use just running away, you have to cheer yourself up and take the initiative to face it."

Having said that, Fang Zheng stood up and stared at Xue Bu, who at this moment was also clenching her hands and looking pale.

"But you have been avoiding it. I don't know why you are afraid of men, but since you are determined to overcome it, you must have the courage."

“I…I…”

Hearing Fang Zheng's words, Xue Bu opened her mouth, then lowered her head in frustration.

"I...can't I do it well? I want to overcome my weaknesses, but I just can't do it. Am I really incapable of anything? I became an idol because my friend signed me up, so I participated. But...but I don't think I'm suitable to be an idol at all..."

"So you're going to deny yourself?"

Fang Zheng also saw that Xuebu's biggest problem was lack of confidence, which was normal. Shinji Ikari also had this problem. He thought he was incapable of anything, and even piloting the EVA was forced upon him. Later, after Fang Zheng's Spartan training, his personality gradually changed.

But of course Fang Zheng couldn't use Spartan training for Ogiwara Yukiho.

“…”

This time, Xue Bu didn't say anything.

“If you don’t have confidence in yourself, it’s no use for others to believe in you.”

If it were the protagonists in dating games, they would probably say something like "I believe in you, even if you don't believe in yourself, I will believe in you" to win Xue Bu's favor, but Fang Zheng was not in that mood. He was playing an idol development game, not a dating simulation, and in Fang Zheng's opinion, saying that was meaningless.

This is like the relationship between a teacher and a classmate. If they are classmates, they should be understanding and tolerant of each other. Of course, even if the other party does something wrong, as a classmate, as a friend, as a close friend, I am reluctant to point it out, and it is even okay to do what you want.

But it’s not the same for teachers. Even if they have a good relationship with their students on weekdays, they will not be happy about this, because teaching and educating is their job, so a beating is often unavoidable.

Of course, there may be many students who cannot understand at the time and even resent the teacher because of this, but when they grow up and enter society, some people will understand the teacher’s painstaking efforts.

Of course, there are some people who refuse to repent.

But it doesn’t matter.

Fang Zheng doesn't care.

"You have to know, Xue Bu, you are an idol now. You can find ten thousand reasons to escape from all this, but don't forget that other people are waiting for you. They believe in you... Well, to be honest, it's useless for them to believe in you because you don't believe in yourself. Now tell me, your so-called desire to become an idol and change yourself is just a momentary effort, right?"

“…”

"Answer me!"

"no!"

Facing Fang Zheng's question, Xue Bu screamed out in fright, then she clenched her fists.

"I, I really want to change myself, but I don't know..."

"You don't need to know. No one knows what the future will be like. Maybe one day you will be hit by a car and die when you go out. So, should I not eat today?"

Fang Zheng stared at Xue Bu, making her unable to raise her head.

"To be honest, I can't tell you that you can definitely overcome it, or that you absolutely can't overcome it. No one knows what the final result will be. You don't know, I don't know, and no one else knows. But this is life. We do what we can and leave the rest to fate. Now, let me ask you again, are you ready to take this step?"

“…”

Hearing this, Xue Bu was silent for a moment. Then, she raised her head uneasily and looked directly into Fang Zheng's eyes for the first time.

"Producer... Can I really take this step?"

"This is your choice. If you just stand here, you will never know whether success or failure awaits you after you take this step. Indeed, standing still is the safest. Although you will not succeed, at least you will not fail. However, if you want to stand still, do you think others will always stay with you and stand still?"

“…”

This time, Xue Bu did not answer, and Fang Zheng's voice became softer.

"But don't worry, I will push you from behind. No matter if you fall or keep going, I will be watching from behind."

Having said that, Fang Zheng stretched out his hand.

"From now on, it's your own decision. This is the path you chose, and you have to walk it alone."

This time, Xue Bu was silent for a long time. Then, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.

"I...I won't give up. I want to give it a try. Producer...I...I think I can do it!"

As she spoke, Xue Bu looked at the hand that Fang Zheng stretched out. She hesitated for a moment, as if what was in front of her was not a hand, but a piece of red-hot iron. Fang Zheng's movements did not change at all. Even if Xue Bu did not respond, he just stretched out his hand and stared at her.

After several minutes, Xue Bu gritted her teeth, as if she had made up her mind, reached out her hand, held Fang Zheng's hand, and stood up.

"How does it feel? Not so scary, is it?"

“Ah… um…”

Feeling the warm touch from the hands, Xuebu's cheeks couldn't help but turn slightly red. She was a little nervous at first, but soon, Xuebu felt a warm breath and the touch of both hands holding her, as if someone was gently holding her in his arms. Xuebu's heart, which was originally beating because of fear, couldn't help but calm down.

"Now that you have made your choice, get ready. We still have a lot of troubles to deal with next."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng loosened his hand and walked towards the door. Xue Bu felt a little empty in her heart after loosening her hand, but she only hesitated for two seconds before following Fang Zheng out of the infirmary.

Then, Xue Bu understood why Fang Zheng said “there are still a lot of troublesome things to deal with”.

Because it's a complete mess.

The venue for the mini LIVE performance of the celebration was the playground of Jiangxiang Village Primary School. A simple stage was built at the end of the playground, and that was all. The rest of the things, including the sound system, were all very old, and might even have been from when the primary school was built. It was good enough that it was barely usable at the moment.

Not only that, there are not even lighting and sound engineers here, which means that everything has to be done by everyone themselves.

So Chihaya and Takone were busy debugging the sound and mixing, while Yayoi and others climbed up the wooden tower next to them to operate the lighting, and some people were tidying up the backstage... It can be said that the idols of 765 not only have to wait to perform on stage, but they are also responsible for the backstage work.

Oh, by the way, because there are not enough people, they even have to prepare lunch and dinner themselves.

At this moment, the girls' initial fantasy about the mini LIVE had already been completely shattered, and they were all very busy. Fortunately, there was a youth group in the village to help, otherwise it would be really troublesome for these girls to handle so many things.

Even so, the group of people were exhausted.

But things didn't end there. With Fang Zheng's help, the group finally finished setting up the stage before lunch. But that was not the end. After lunch, they only rested for an hour before they had to get up to rehearse the show...

"This is really tough."

Looking at the girls rehearsing on the stage, Qiong wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"To be honest, I didn't expect it to be so troublesome. This is simply fatal."

"But no one complained, which is pretty good."

Looking at Xue Bu who was singing, Fang Zheng nodded.

"Next, let's look at the official performance."