111. The Number One Fan

Could that expression not mean she really wants to become an idol? Speaking of which, Nishikino-san truly is a tsundere, isn’t she? The lingering weakness coursing through his body clung to Jiang Yu like a shadow. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he tried hard to stay alert as he listened to her utter, “na ne suo ne, i mi wa ka nn na i!” silently rolling his eyes.

However, upon seeing Nishikino Maki’s unmistakably tsundere demeanor, before Jiang Yu could even attempt to persuade her, Honoka Kosaka and Kotori Minami began to pour out their words one after another: “Maki, you should just join us… you wrote all our songs, after all,” “I think you’d be perfect as an idol~,” “Your singing is so beautiful—wouldn’t it be such a waste not to become an idol?”

Then Umi Sonoda launched her own appeal, extending her right hand to Nishikino Maki with a smile: “μ's is currently in need of new members, you know?”

Jiang Yu watched with a smile as, amidst the chorus of the three girls, Nishikino Maki’s tsundere facade gradually softened into genuine sincerity.

In the end, after some hesitant back and forth, Nishikino Maki became the fourth member of μ's, the idol group of Otonokizaka Academy.

Having accomplished such an important recruitment, Honoka Kosaka’s gaze began to linger on Jiang Yu again. Just as she looked excited and was about to say something, Jiang Yu beat her to it: “I’m not even a student at Otonokizaka, you know? Besides, a girl group like yours isn’t going to accept a guy like me… so Honoka, you should just give up.”

“Ah~ that’s true… I thought we could gather the entire club in one go,” Honoka said, nodding in sudden realization. Kotori Minami and Umi Sonoda looked on with resigned familiarity at Honoka’s usual cluelessness, while the newly joined Nishikino Maki regarded them all with a somewhat strange expression.

Kotori pondered for a moment before speaking: “But Jiang-kun, you’ve helped us a lot—there’s just this feeling that we should thank you somehow.”

Upon hearing this, Honoka and Umi nodded in agreement, looking at Jiang Yu earnestly.

Jiang Yu waved his hand helplessly and said, “I don’t think I did anything remarkable. All the applause you get is your own doing.”

Seeing the girls’ obvious disagreement, Jiang Yu sighed lightly and joked, “Then just think of me as your number one fan, okay? The super enthusiastic kind~”

Honoka pretended to think deeply for a moment, then excitedly declared, “In that case, let’s appoint Jiang-kun as the head of μ's support group! Oh, but you’ll have to recruit the members yourself!”

“...Who’d want a figurehead like that?” Jiang Yu muttered.

...

After bidding farewell to the girls at the gates of Otonokizaka Academy, Jiang Yu headed straight for the train station, planning to go directly to the café where he worked—a plan he had made from the start for the day.

The return journey was much smoother than the way there. It seemed he was the kind of person who, once he had walked a path, would form a lasting impression of it—even in games. Even after years, when revisiting the same game, he retained a faint memory of its details.

But... number one fan, huh? Jiang Yu shook his foggy head, a smile of uncertain resignation or joy spreading across his face.

He pulled out his phone to check the time and was surprised to see several unread messages on LINE, all from the few friends he had at school—more precisely, from the club members.

TAKI: “Ayuu, what’s wrong? Why did you suddenly go home? @Tosu”

That message was from Renge Aki. But that wasn’t the main point; the key was that it was sent in the club’s group chat.

From there, the conversation became lively.

Kasumino Shiko: “Oh my~ Senpai must have overworked himself and had to take a day off to rest?”

Are you addicted to dirty jokes or what, Kasumino-senpai?

Eri Kashiwagi: “Going to die? Well, good riddance then.”

Hey, what grudge do you have against me?

TAKI: “Stayed up too late? I saw you looking pretty tired this morning.”

By the way, why do people in this group all use their pen names as their usernames?

Finally, a direct message came from Megumi Kato. So why doesn’t Megumi say anything in the group chat?

Megumi: “Jiang Yu, are you sick? You looked a bit unwell today.”

Sharp-eyed as ever, Megumi... but that had to be the most obvious guess, right? So why was the group chat full of nonsense?

Amused and exasperated, Jiang Yu replied in the group, “It’s nothing, thanks for your concern,” then answered Megumi privately: “Just caught a bit of a cold, but it’s nothing serious. Maybe I’ll feel better by tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to come visit you then?”

Huh? Such a quick reply? Megumi’s speed was impressive!

With a subtle expression, Jiang Yu typed back: “No need to trouble yourself. You’d probably be too lazy to come out on your day off anyway.”

After that, no more replies came for half a day. Slightly puzzled but without much energy to investigate, Jiang Yu decided not to dwell on it. After all, although not serious, the weakness and burning sensation in his throat were unpleasant.

...

Upon entering the café, Jiang Yu was immediately met by Ayane Mizuno, who was quite a headache for him to deal with. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him aside, wearing a strange expression as she asked, “I heard you became popular online?”

Jiang Yu struggled to free his arm, rubbed his wrist, and replied irritably, “What do you mean popular? Besides, it’s not online exactly, just on that N Station website.”

Ayane waved it off, “Well, it’s close enough. But can I interview you? What’s it like to suddenly become popular?” Her tone shifted at the end to the teasing manner Jiang Yu was used to.

He inwardly groaned at the question: how was he supposed to know? Should he confess he was worried about becoming the next meme fodder on the site?

Outwardly, Jiang Yu raised his hands in surrender and pleaded, “Ahh… please go easy on me, Ayane-nee?”

Satisfied, Jiang Yu finally changed into his uniform and prepared to start his shift.

Yet... when he sat down at the piano, the dizziness seemed to lessen. Furrowing his brow, he found the songs of μ's, which he had heard earlier that day in the Otonokizaka Academy auditorium, echoing in his mind. His fingers instinctively mimicked playing on the keys.

The customers in the café were surprised to notice that tonight’s music had taken on a livelier tone than usual.