Rebuilding Sakamichi in a chaotic worldline

Chapter 39 Shadow Dance

"So, you were dragged here directly while filming the Nightmare music video?"

Meiqing rambled on and on, but it all boiled down to just one sentence. Rito thought she was being too long-winded, going on and on about Rika and Yuzu, so he kindly shortened it for her. As a result, he was unsurprisingly given a death stare in return.

"I was just worried it would get too late. Okay, okay, you can continue."

Li Ren muttered something and quickly apologized, but Mei Qing had already lost interest. She pouted and spread her hands, as if she were talking about you.

As a senior who had done this before, Rito was quite efficient this time, explaining her situation in no time. Although it sounded a bit bizarre, Mio herself was a victim of time travel, so she was quite accepting of it and quickly expressed her understanding.

"So, why do you live here? Are you one of the Eight Women?"

The grand accounting session came to an end, and Rito looked around at the interior, which was clearly a single-person residence, and suddenly became a little curious.

"No, after I came here, I found out that the parents here are not the parents I know. They don't really care about me, so I just went to live with my grandparents in the countryside. This is my secret base. I usually stay here until I go to sleep before going back."

Meiqing shook her head, her words tinged with sadness, but judging from her expression, she seemed to have long been used to it.

"Really? What about the rent?"

"Then I have to thank YouTube for covering my expenses."

Hearing her say that, Rito chuckled and considered telling her about the nightmare he had unintentionally, but then thought better of it. The era she lived in was the height of the feminist movement, and it wouldn't be good if she thought he was being servile.

After praising the girl's self-reliance, Li Ren thought for a moment and then asked:

Have you heard about the second-generation member selection?

"I heard about it, what happened?" Meiqing nodded. Although she lived in a remote area, she was still a product of the information age and was far more dependent on the internet than her peers. Of course, she would know about this big news.

"Will you come?" Seeing this, Rito didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

"My idol..."

Meiqing's gaze fell on the unopened oolong tea can on the low table. Her eyes gradually lost focus, and countless memories of the past followed with those two words, slowly overflowing from the can.

"Meiqing..." A smile suddenly appeared on Meiqing's lips, "When I chose to join, I just wanted to try something completely new. Now that I've already tried it, asking me to start all over again is actually quite boring, isn't it?"

"I didn't expect that, but the second generation includes your most respected Kobayashi Yui, won't you reconsider?"

As a businessman, Li Ren knew that not refusing meant there was room for negotiation, it was just a matter of whether the price was acceptable, so he remained unmoved and continued to go around in circles with her.

Meiqing shook her head slyly: "Respect is something you just keep in your heart. Sister Xiaolin is my senior, and being her classmate would make me unsure of how to behave. But—"

Knowing that the main event was about to begin, the man quickly sat up straight and listened attentively.

Meiqing shook her head and continued with a smile, "If my old teammates were here, perhaps I would have had the courage to go back on stage."

"Eh?" Rito's expression froze for a moment, then she showed a helpless look and spread her hands to explain, "You're making things a bit difficult for me. I can't just create whoever I want. It all depends on luck. I haven't even pulled Risa-sama, who I've always wanted. As for collecting all the third generation members, who knows when that will be?"

"Then you figure it out yourself. Anyway, I only have one condition if you want me to become an idol again. If you can't do it, I'll be fine with just living like this."

Mei Qing seemed to have made up her mind not to leave without assembling the original team. Li Ren tried to persuade her a couple more times, but found that he couldn't change her mind, so he stopped wasting his energy.

"Okay, I understand. The second generation auditions are coming up soon. If I draw other third generation members, I'll save them for when everyone is ready before opening the auditions together. I'll let you know when that day comes."

Li Ren resignedly said that the system itself was very much like a game, so he simply treated Mei Qing's request as a task in the game. Anyway, the results of the first three orders were so good that he had earned a lot of achievement rewards, which was more than enough to build a draw group for one period.

By the way, just using the regular pool isn't enough. If we don't put them in the main pool, the quality might not be good enough.

He slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering a problem he had previously overlooked. Then he thought of the conditions for obtaining the center position, and his gaze involuntarily lingered on the girl's pink lips.

"What do you want to do?"

Feeling the sudden heat, Meiqing immediately took a step back, crossed her arms over her chest, and appeared very wary.

"Uh, it's a misunderstanding, it's not what you think."

Li Ren shook his head and quickly offered an explanation. After listening, Mei Qing felt speechless and embarrassed. She spat at him under her breath and then asked him to leave.

"Even if you don't say anything, I'm leaving."

Seeing the girl's suddenly flushed face, Rito belatedly realized that whether at this moment or during the MV shoot, she was still a minor. He suddenly regretted saying these things to her, but apologizing now would only make the atmosphere more awkward, so he could only stubbornly reply to her and walk out of the room pretending to be very natural.

Opening the door, a cool breeze blew in. The stars, obscured by the neon lights of Tokyo, could finally vent their frustrations in this small place, showing off images from hundreds or even thousands of years ago to the people below with all their might.

"I'm leaving. If you encounter any difficulties in life, feel free to call me. Also, if you plan to come to Tokyo after graduating from high school, please contact me. After staying in Tokyo for so long, it must be very difficult to adjust to going back to this small town. Whether you want to be a YouTuber or do something else, coming to Tokyo is definitely the right choice."

Before leaving, Li Ren didn't forget to promote the good things about his hometown. Mei Qing pouted, looking a little unconvinced, but after thinking it over, she had to admit that what he said was right.

"Okay, we'll talk about it later. I won't stand on ceremony with big capitalists."

She waved her hand, then quickly closed the door, the resulting air rushing towards Rito and blowing his bangs into a comical shape.

"You little brat, I'll remember you."

Li Ren shook his head, took a step downstairs, and the stairs creaked and groaned again, as if urging him to send it to its rightful place as soon as possible.

On the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, Rito leaned against the window, watching the scenery rushing past, his mind still replaying Miko's words. The sky outside was overcast, as if rain was imminent. He took out his phone, intending to send a message to Nana Min, but saw an unread message on the screen from an unknown number not yet saved in his contacts.

"President Kubo, this is Yui Kobayashi. Has the audition for the second generation begun?"

Li Ren paused for a moment, then laughed: "I just mentioned her, and this lonely little dog came to my door on its own."

He quickly typed a message and sent it, then put his phone back in his pocket and closed his eyes. The slight swaying of the Shinkansen felt like a soothing frequency, pulling him out of the fatigue of the journey. Accompanied by the rumble of the train, Mi-aki's voice echoed in his ears again—"I want to find my everyday life again."

"I'll help you find it, but who will help me find it?"

Accompanied by mutterings that were half complaining and half melancholy, the club president tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep.

-----------------

"Huh? What did you say?"

Inside a building belonging to Dentsu, newly hired employee Nanami Hashimoto stared in shock at Rito Kubo, a figurehead at headquarters. Her eyebrows furrowed, and a dangerous glint flashed in her eyes.

"I said, can I kiss you?"

Even though Sister Qiao's anger was practically written all over her face, the fearless Kubo Rito still repeated his words like a fool, and the result was obvious.

Bang.

That was the sound of him hitting Nana Min's fist with his head.

"Ouch!" Rito, who had been punched, stuck out her tongue and complained softly, "If it's not okay, it's not okay. Why be so violent?"

"Kubo Rito!" Nana Min said sternly—though her face was still slightly flushed. "Are you sick? Why are you suddenly saying something like that? Did you lose a game of truth or dare?"

"Listen to me, the second generation is about to hold auditions, and I was thinking of helping them to strengthen their forces."

"What are you talking about, replenishing combat strength... Oh, I remember now."

Nana Min was about to start cursing when suddenly a thought struck her, and she remembered something he had told her before. Her expression softened slightly, but not by much.

"Even so, you need to make things clear first."

Nana Min was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

When Rito's lips pressed against hers, Nana Min actually had a chance to refuse. After all, his actions were not rough, but rather gentle, like a tentative question mark landing on her cool lips. However, whether she had already anticipated this day or had not expected him to do this, her only resistance was to widen her eyes and subconsciously place her hands on his chest.

The office was so quiet that only the low hum of the air conditioner and the increasingly erratic breathing of the two people intertwined were the sounds of the setting sun. The light of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting streaks of light and shadow on them, like a silent countdown.

Li Ren didn't take it any further; he was still waiting, whether it was a slap, a scolding, or simply waiting for a signal.

The signal has arrived.

Nana Min's fingers, which were gripping his clothes, suddenly loosened. Her hand slowly moved up his chest, her fingertips tracing his collarbone, his Adam's apple, and finally stopping at the back of his neck, where she gently pressed him down a little.

Receiving a response, he no longer restrained himself, freeing one hand to cup the back of her head, his long fingers running through her soft hair, the force of his kiss gradually spreading towards a burning intensity. Nana Min was pushed from the middle to a corner by him, her back against the wall, her whole body collapsing into his arms like a lump of mud.

Between their lips and teeth, there was a sense of disorientation brought about by the disorder of time and space. Each collision of their tongues was a mixture of confusion about their respective fates between the time traveler from the future and the bewildered native with an extra memory. The spiritual homeland they could not return to was certainly not perfect, but it was still the place that gave them birth. Although their circumstances were different, at this moment, apart from Nomi Ao, who was far away in Kyushu, the two of them should be the only ones who could understand each other.

After an unknown amount of time, Rito finally released her.

Their foreheads touched, their breathing slightly unsteady. Nana's eyes were slightly red, whether from lack of oxygen or something else, it was hard to tell. Her lips were swollen and red from the kisses, glistening with a thin layer of moisture in the setting sun, making her look both disheveled and beautiful.

"...How was it? Did it work?"

She spoke, but her question was very practical, as if she wanted to characterize the kiss as a purposeful act of help.

"I don't know, right now you're all I can think about."

Rito lowered his head, gently kissed the bridge of her nose, and then touched her lips, answering honestly.

"You're so pathetic." Nana Min rolled her eyes at him, but hugged him even tighter. Rito could clearly feel her body temperature rising, so he considerately unbuttoned her white shirt.

"No, not here."

Nana Min held him back. She wasn't against doing that kind of thing, but she didn't want to do it at work or during work hours.

"Okay." Rito didn't insist. He helped her put her clothes back on, put his arm around her waist, and led her to the window.

Outside the window, the outline of Tokyo Tower gradually lit up with warm orange lights in the deepening night. Silence fell over the office, only the lingering afterglow of the climax still hanging in the air. Rito rested his chin on Nanamin's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Nanamin, are we also part of God's plan now?"

Nanamin turned her head to look at him, gently touched his cheek with the tip of her nose, and said with a smile:

"What, do you have a strong obsession with the existence of gods?"

Li Ren hummed twice, then slipped his hand inside the white shirt, gently caressing and teasing Nana Min's body. Soon, Nana Min's body tensed up, her slender waist arching back forcefully. Her right hand gripped the man's trousers beneath her, and beads of sweat appeared on her flushed skin. The sunlight streaming in from outside shone on her, creating a mysterious and magnificent beauty.

"Um...don't be naughty, I haven't gotten off work yet."

"It's alright, they all know you're one of my people."

"That won't do either. I want to be a self-reliant person who benefits from connections."

The tall and slender Nanamin kept squirming in Rito's arms. Just as the friction between their skin was about to ignite a real fire, Rito stopped at the right moment.

"I understand. Come with me to look at an apartment in a couple of days."

He laughed heartily, then carefully tidied Nana Min's clothes, making sure there were no flaws, before taking her hand and walking to the door.

Nana Min raised her arm, sniffed it with her prominent nose, and felt there was still some scent on it. She glared at Kubo Rito, took a wet wipe from her bag, and said casually:

"What house? Can't it talk? It's our home."