Band members, girls with fermented bean curd, step forward!

Page 46

"But why...why is it that even your Rupa-nee couldn't win your heart as quickly as this Toyokawa-san? I was here first, wasn't I, little brother..."

Chen had never seen such a rupa before.

Whether in the anime before his transmigration or in his previous interactions with Rupa, he never imagined Rupa would behave this way.

Rupa knew about the death of his loved one while watching the anime, specifically during the live episode in episode eleven.

He hadn't expected that Rupa would willingly reopen her wounds in front of him, just to make him understand her feelings.

His perception of Rupa, or rather, his stereotype, was that of a gentle older sister.

Therefore, Chen had never really valued her gentleness.

He naturally assumed that Rupa's approachable nature meant her gentleness wasn't exclusive.

Therefore, he was never very serious about Rupa's advances and was not very willing to accept her help.

After all, he still owed Rupa a favor for helping him find a job, so how could he accept her help with a clear conscience under these circumstances?

The same applies to becoming family. He didn't take Rupa's words seriously, so why did he respond?

A series of misjudgments led to the current situation.

Chen had never anticipated holding such an important place in Rupa's heart, and naturally, he was unprepared for any contingency plan to deal with this situation.

Let me explain my thoughts first.

Chen could only make this decision for now. The lightning strike at the opening ceremony so early in the morning was completely unexpected, and under these circumstances, he couldn't prepare any explanation.

“Sister Rupa..…”

Chen grasped Rupa's hands that were wrapped around his torso.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize how serious Rupa's feelings for me were..."

"Because Rupa is very approachable, I've always felt that I'm not special to her."

Behind Chen, Rupa suddenly froze. She hadn't expected that this was the reason her underling hadn't noticed her feelings.

"Therefore, I didn't take Rupa's previous invitation seriously. Besides, I still owe Rupa a favor, so no matter what, I don't want to bother you again."

"Little brother..." Rupa hadn't expected that her invitation would be completely disregarded by her little brother, and her resentment grew stronger.

"I know that if I go along with Rupa, accepting this invitation now is the best choice. It won't hurt you, and I can enjoy Rupa's care without worry afterward."

"However, I can't treat Rupa's feelings so seriously so lightly, so I have to tell Rupa my thoughts completely."

He tilted his head back, trying to observe the expression on Rupa's face, but Rupa behind him restricted his movements.

"Rupa, it's my fault. I've let you down... Even if I agree to your request now, I'll still feel guilty. I doubt you'd accept someone as rash as me, would you?"

"So... um...!"

Honestly, little brother, how could you say such a thing? How could you express your thoughts so honestly? How could you admit your mistakes in front of me like this?

In that case, wouldn't all my dissatisfaction simply dissipate into the distance with your words?

She leaned down, demanding that belated affection, greedily wanting to take everything from the boy before her.

P.S.: Thank you

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Sno's two monthly passes

Chapter 42 Financial Freedom One Month Later

Chen, caught off guard by Rupa's sudden attack, lost his last chance.

Miss Rupa's aggressiveness is on par with Miss Ichiri's.

"Why are they all so proactive! And so intense the first time? Did they even consider my feelings?!"

Chen was shocked and extremely frustrated, as were Boqi and now Rupa. Why were they always on the defensive?

Teacher Da Xiang went to make breakfast, not to go to work, so after venting her emotions, Rupa let her little brother off the hook.

Rupa was satisfied. She lowered her head and looked at Chen with a hint of mockery. Chen's expression looked quite depressed.

"This is a family kiss, little brother. I forgive you. Remember we're family, don't forget!"

As her arms loosened, Chen's body, which had been in her embrace, slowly slid down, lying flat on his back.

She adjusted her position, letting her younger brother lie on her lap, and gently massaged his cheeks.

Chen wanted to ask Rupa if he believed the so-called family kiss story. What family members would stick their tongues out when they kissed?

Doesn't Rupa feel any remorse for saying such things?

He can play dumb, but Rupa can't actually treat him like a fool. That's an open secret; everyone can see through his little scheme.

Chen's head throbbed even more. Yili, Aine, now there's another Rupa? Thinking back to the golden retriever's reaction last night...

He always felt that his roommate, who had such privileged circumstances, wasn't very safe. These two older women seemed to be into younger men; one grabbed his hand and let him touch it, while the other kissed him directly and even stuck out her tongue!

The only good news was that he could still play dumb. Since Rupa was using this excuse to disguise her true feelings, Chen would play along and make her words seem true.

What else can I do? Just tell her directly that I already have a girlfriend?

I have a feeling something terrible might happen, so it's best to rule out this option.

Chen sighed inwardly at his current predicament. If you asked him if he was happy, the answer was definitely yes. In his twenty-odd years of life, when had he ever been so popular?

But he's not a scumbag, and he can't just have his fun and run away. That's the biggest headache; he has to be responsible for other people's feelings.

However, Rupa's next words gave him some good news that he had expected.

"Hey bro, the song you gave us before, Xiao Zhi and I have uploaded it to our account~"

Chen Shangfang's rupa took out his phone and showed it to him; the astonishing number of views next to the video quickly caught his eye.

"2000k...two million views?!"

Looking at the numbers displayed below the video, he, who hadn't really wanted to move, suddenly sat up and leaned close to Rupa to confirm the information he'd seen.

"Xiao Zhi~ come in and talk to Chen~"

Rupa summoned Ash, who had created space for her to leave. The red-eyed girl looked at Rupa with a questioning gaze, and only breathed a sigh of relief after receiving a slight nod from her.

She took Rupa's phone and explained the various data on it to Chen.

In short, 2 million views would generate approximately 3 million yen in revenue. With additional channel subscriptions and after deducting the platform's share, the song's current earnings are around 4 million yen.

"So now you should understand the importance of those songs!"

Xiao Zhi looked at this boy, who seemed to have no concept of money, with a hint of exasperation. With their audience of around 50,000, it was completely impossible for them to achieve such high viewership or generate so much revenue.

It hasn't even been a week since the song was released, and they only released one song to see how it went, but the data has already left them speechless with astonishment.

The thought of receiving so much money for almost nothing made her and Rupa feel uneasy. They had come to Chen today to try and get him to take a larger share of the money.

They couldn't predict a fourfold increase in data over a month, but more than doubling was entirely possible.

That means they could earn around ten million yen this month just from this one song.

According to the previous 30/70 split, they would receive three million yen directly.

They didn't even have to do anything; they didn't make any changes to the original audio, they just simply uploaded it. The only thing that truly helped Chen was the basic playback provided by their existing fans.

Only an 80/20, or even 90/10, split would ease their consciences and prevent them from being unable to hold their heads high in front of Chen because of these foreseeable, ever-increasing sums of money.

"If we make around ten million yen by the end of this month, we'll be splitting three million of it. Don't you feel a little bad about that?!"

Xiao Zhi was a little emotional, and her expression wasn't quite accurate, so Rupa quickly covered for her.

"Little brother, in the end we didn't make any changes to the music. We tried other songs, but eventually gave up on them..."

"In other words, we're getting three million yen for doing nothing. We really feel bad about it, so please keep all the profits after you receive them."

Rupa understood the art of negotiation; only by saying she wouldn't take a single penny could she get her underlings to lower their share.

If I hadn't said that, I really would have given them every penny of that money.

Chen was also taken aback by the data Xiao Zhi provided. Based on a 1:20 ratio, he had already earned enough to buy a car in a month, and a decent one at that.

Money is the easiest thing for him to obtain right now; he can move an endless amount of music of all genres.

Moreover, it's not just music; all sorts of books can be moved, making the sources of income extremely diverse.

Compared to feelings, money meant nothing to Chen. Besides, the money came so easily; he had no intention of changing his mind and would give Rupa and Satoshi exactly what he was owed.

Having anticipated his thoughts, Rupa placed a finger in front of Chen's lips.

"Little brother, take it, otherwise we really won't be able to face you..."

Ash also cast a determined look, expressing his own thoughts.

Seeing their resolute stance, Chen almost laughed.

How can someone complain about having too much money? They won't even take money that's free? If someone had offered them that kind of money before, they definitely would have accepted it.

"Let's go with an 80/20 split then, following Rupa's suggestion. Without Ash and Rupa, I wouldn't have been able to get this much profit."

Seeing that Xiaozhi was getting a little anxious, Chen covered her mouth.

“We’re family, so we don’t need to be so formal. Please accept this. Money will never be as important as you and Sister Rupa.”

Xiao Zhi's face suddenly turned red, and he took a step back, breaking free from Chen's silencing.

She ran out again out of shyness.

Rupa looked at his underlings with a mixture of helplessness and relief. He had already used such words to shut them up; if they continued to say anything, it would be their fault.

"I'll transfer the money to your account once this month's settlement period is over."

Just as Rupa was about to pinch Chen's cheek, there was a regular knocking at the door.

"Chen, breakfast is ready! Come and eat!"

Xiangzi's words interrupted her actions, and as Chen said he was going to wash up, Rupa left the room first.

She nodded slightly to Miss Toyokawa; at least she was perceptive enough not to interrupt her and her younger brother's conversation.

The golden retriever in the other room also groggily got up, yawning and unkempt, and came out.

"Excuse me, oh, Momoka-nee! Good morning!"

Nina arrived just as promised, and seeing Momoka opening the door for her filled her with joy.

Her eyes darted around the other people in the living room, expressing her question about Chen's absence.

She had barely finished speaking when Chen came out of his room.

It's so lively! But why do people all look like they're about to break character?

Chen was somewhat puzzled by the expressions on the faces of everyone present, which resembled those of a powerful warrior.

"You, your hair... hahahahaha!"

In the end, it was Nina who couldn't hold back any longer. The patch of hair that had been shaved off for cleaning the wound made Chen, at such a young age, become a Roman...

Realizing what Renai was saying, Chen's face darkened, and he walked over to the child who couldn't straighten up, exuding an aura of oppression.

"Is it funny?"

His tone was somewhat frightening, which startled Nina, who quickly stopped laughing.

"Now, go to the street and buy me a hat. You pay for it yourself, or you won't get lunch! Do you hear me?"

Chen clenched his fist and gently probed the same spot on Rencai's head.

He also gave a death stare to the main force of today's cooking, and Xiangzi, Rupa, and Xiaozhi all suppressed their laughter and acknowledged his gaze.

Although they knew Chen looked terrible, they still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable seeing his comical appearance.

Fortunately, they didn't show it openly. After all, Nina had walked right into his line of fire; all they could do was silently mourn for Miss Nina.

"I know, I know!"

Rencai, who had been punished, ran out in a flash. Chen's low-pressure atmosphere was really too hard to face!

Ling/-m*/e*-n/g~Dream*First//Release ps:

Thanks to Lao Liu for the two monthly tickets.

There should be one more chapter tonight, I'm going to be added to mygo.

Chapter 43 Li Xi's Questioning, the Arrival of the Cat [5k5]