Chapter 222 — All Sorts of Troubles, Troubles Everywhere

The radio show could wait — no need to talk about that just yet.

Let’s start with the aftermath of the recent chaos.

After performing Hikoutei, Aoki Kei hadn’t paid much attention to what was happening online.

Everything about Kessoku Band and NH Music, he’d only heard from Ryou in the following days.

For example—

He couldn’t remember exactly which day it was, only that it happened one morning while brushing his teeth.

[TL Note - My man model is sucks wwwwww]

Ryouu stood beside him, toothbrush in her mouth, water dripping from the ends of her hair.

She was wearing that same oversized T-shirt — the one Aoki Kei had long gotten used to seeing her wear as pajamas every night.

Though he couldn’t remember the exact date, he clearly remembered what she had said the night before while wearing that shirt:

“When I sleep in this shirt, I can still smell Suki-san’s scent on it… just like that jacket before.”

Cute as hell. Truly devious, this woman.

Anyway, it was just an ordinary morning — brushing their teeth side by side.

Half-asleep, Ryou was scrolling through her phone, skimming through trending topics.

Every now and then, she’d mumble something out loud with her toothbrush still between her teeth:

“Takeuchi Yuuto’s going into seclusion for a while, refusing all interviews…”

“A famous producer is offering a big reward for a new song from Aoki-sensei…”

“Kessoku Band fans claim it’ll be the greatest band of the 21st century… wow, that’s a bit much.”

“Ah—this video channel updated again. Looks like that clip of my bass solo on stage… well, it’s only natural for someone as amazing as me to attract attention…”

Kei glanced at her screen.

Once he realized it was that content creator — the one who kept uploading “Aoki × Ryou” shipping videos —

“That’s probably another one of those ship videos, right? Fans editing random moments to make them look like something they’re not…”

Ryou quickly protested:

“Impossible! Suki-san, this one is clearly a highlight reel of my personal excellence! Look, look—”

But before she could finish, her voice trailed off.

When Aoki looked sideways, he could only see Ryou’s light blue hair clinging to her neck, and the tips of her bright red ears poking out from beneath it.

The video was well-made.

Even people who didn’t know Kessoku Band would probably find it stunning.

There was one shot in particular—

Paired with the sweet melody in the background, it showed Ryou on the station platform, smiling faintly as she said, “Cheer up, okay?”

It was beautiful. Almost cinematic.

Ryou muttered under her breath, pretending to sound neutral:

“Touching your hair at the platform, glancing at you during the bass solo, harmonizing together, going out shopping the other day… hmm, this video’s actually not bad…”

Her voice sounded calm, but the trembling at the end — and her still-burning ears — betrayed her completely.

Aoki Kei continued brushing his teeth in silence, just watching her.

When she realized he wasn’t saying anything, the awkwardness faded and she got bolder again.

“What’s wrong, Suki-san? Embarrassed? Come on, how do you feel watching something like that?”

That was Ryou all over.

Innocent to the core, yet somehow loved provoking people.

Aoki sighed softly, rinsed his mouth, then turned toward her.

When she finally averted her eyes, cheeks slightly pink, he calmly reached out and pinched her cheek — not too hard, not too soft.

Then he turned, left the bathroom, and changed the topic mid-stride, all in one smooth motion:

“What do you want for breakfast? Steamed dumplings?”

“M–mhm… anything’s fine…”

And so, once again, Ryou was left defeated — toothbrush still in her mouth, face frozen, ears blazing red.

That was more or less how things settled after the whole commotion.

Though there were probably still details Aoki Kei wasn’t aware of—

Like how, due to his contract with EMI Records, most Japanese listeners had to use other music platforms like Spotify or just go to Youtube just to hear his new song.

EMI Records’s user count had exploded in just a few days.

Or the things he had heard —

Like Imai Takashi posting on Twitter, criticizing Takeuchi Yuuto and saying that songs written without real emotion could never surpass the work of true creators.

And so on, and so forth…

Anyway, to get back to the radio issue—

A few days later, after coming home from driving school (and losing his juice to Ryou, as usual), Aoki Kei received a call from Niijima Yusuke.

He was calling on behalf of someone else — the director of “360 Degrees of Sound! Please Listen!”

Their show’s ratings had plummeted, and the director, Morisaki Shousuke, was desperate.

None of his plans worked, until he heard from a friend that his old pal Niijima happened to know the famous musician Aoki Kei.

The director was thrilled.

If he could get Aoki Kei to appear as a guest, the show’s popularity would skyrocket overnight.

So, he made the request.

And Niijima, who owed the man a favor, reluctantly passed it on.

“He said your appearance fee’s high, but asked me to convince you anyway…”

Listening to that, Aoki sighed.

To be honest, he really didn’t want to deal with radio again.

Too many bad memories — especially the “fan letter” segment, where the letters had felt more like death threats than support.

Still, it wasn’t just up to him.

When he looked over, Ryou was whispering softly beside him, almost chanting, “Say yes… say yes…”

Aoki shot her a helpless look and made a hand gesture meaning, Let’s at least ask the others first, gently pushing her away.

Ryouu pouted but didn’t press further.

Meanwhile, Niijima — ever the gossip — asked curiously,

“Aoki-san, it’s kind of noisy around you… you’re at home, right?”

“Yeah?” Aoki replied, a bit confused.

“Then, uh… are you and Yamada-san dating?”

“Huh?” Aoki raised an eyebrow.

Niijima was a good guy, but always a little weird.

“No, of course not. You’ve been reading too many tabloid sites, haven’t you?”

“Well, I have… wait, wait! Are you saying—you’re living together without dating!?”

Technically… that was the case.

Aoki glanced at Ryou, who was blatantly eavesdropping.

She quickly looked away, pretending innocence.

After two seconds of silence, Aoki sighed.

“...Yeah, yeah. Niijima-san, I’ll talk to the band about the radio thing. Gotta go.”

“Wait, Aoki-sensei! One more thing—how do you feel about those shipping videos online—”

‘Beep. Beep. Beep.’