Chapter 365: Pursuing a Dream in the Entertainment Industry
"I'm going to take a leave of absence from school."
Inside the Nakano sisters' house.
Time seemed to freeze; it took several minutes before anyone could react.
"Take a leave!?" Itsuki's voice was full of shock. She even dropped the bowl she was washing, hurried out of the kitchen, and stepped into the living room.
Why did Ichika suddenly want to take a leave from school? She had never mentioned this before!
Itsuki had always taken on the role of the mother, and as a mother, when her child suddenly said she didn't want to go to school anymore, it truly frightened her.
In Japan, university isn't the only path; many students choose to start working right after high school. Moreover, the Nakano family wasn't poor at all — with Nakano Maruo's assets, they could live comfortably for the rest of their lives without any worries.
However, Ichika suddenly bringing up this topic still left Itsuki utterly stunned.
'Hasn't her studying and tutoring been going just fine…' Itsuki thought to herself.
Ichika's grades were better than Yotsuba's, and not even worse than hers.
Among the five sisters, her intelligence ranked near the top. Itsuki considered herself the weakest of them; she studied for long hours every day and didn't have any time-consuming extracurriculars, yet her grades still couldn't compare to Nino or Miku…
"It's just a leave of absence, not dropping out…" Ichika waved her hand, signaling her younger sister not to get so worked up.
Itsuki's expression made even Ichika feel like the matter was being blown out of proportion… it really wasn't that serious.
Besides, she couldn't take a leave this semester anyway, since the application could only be submitted during the first week of a new term.
"Are you serious?" Nino also turned her attention away from the TV screen.
The idol drama she had just been watching was so overly cheesy that she was still dazed from it.
The male lead got hit by a car! But didn't die!? What the hell, the power of love or something!?
'How can this plot even keep going…' Nino thought the show would be ridiculous if it dragged on any longer!
"Of course. I've been thinking about it for a long time," Ichika said seriously.
She wasn't saying it out of a passing impulse, but as a conclusion reached after careful consideration.
"Actually, with our current grades, there are plenty of universities we can choose from," Miku said as she turned off the music she was listening to. She had only meant to take a short break, but Ichika's words made her stop and think deeply.
Shuchiin had a deviation value of 77, so even though the five sisters' grades were only average, aside from top-tier prestigious universities, they could easily get accepted into almost any other school.
"That's right. We've worked this hard up to now — giving up would be…" Itsuki continued trying to persuade her.
Ichika rubbed her temples. She had always been the mature one who rarely showed her emotions, but right now she was clearly troubled. She explained, "I know quitting halfway isn't good, and I understand that Sensei-chan has worked really hard for us, but I can't balance both anymore."
Acting and studying — ever since around half a year ago, Sakurai Saki had once called her aside to talk privately in the library.
Ichika still remembered — it was right before the sports festival.
Back then, Sakurai had asked her: "Do you think you can balance both?"
Ichika answered: "For now, I still can."
At that time, her acting career had just begun; the roles she got were minor, with little screen time, and Ichika herself hadn't yet dared to truly chase her dream.
But recently, her work had started to take off — she had already been recognized a few times while walking outside without a mask.
Now, Ichika was like an eagle whose wings had fully grown, standing atop a high cliff — all she needed was a strong gust of wind to soar into the sky, flying as high as the clouds above nine thousand miles.
Nakano Ichika did not want to give up on her dream.
"...But still." Itsuki was about to continue persuading.
The one who had remained silent all this time — Yotsuba — spoke up in a gentle tone: "Since Ichika has already made up her mind, I guess all we can do is congratulate her, huh? If one of our sisters becomes a superstar, it's gonna be such a hassle when we go out, right? After all, we all look quite similar."
"At that point, we'll even have to wear masks?! What a pain." Nino followed Yotsuba's lead, naturally steering the topic in another direction.
"..." Itsuki didn't say anything more either.
What Ichika said wasn't without reason — if she couldn't balance both sides, and still forced herself to continue, neither would end well.
"Ichika…" Miku looked at her and said seriously, "Do your best!"
Nakano Ichika looked at her younger sisters, feeling a warm emotion welling up inside her.
"Oh right, Ichika, have you told Sakurai-san yet?"
"Uhm~ about that, I'll tell Sensei-chan soon."
"If Sakurai-san finds out about this, he's probably going to be really angry, huh?" Nakano Yotsuba recalled the extra class earlier that day, and her face instantly went pale.
Sakurai-san, if you get mad, please only scold Ichika, don't take it out on us… I'm begging you~
Yotsuba silently prayed in her heart.
"Ichika, you'd better be careful," Nino said with a smile.
Sakurai had held quite a few private lessons just for Ichika, and now she was saying she wouldn't study anymore — who wouldn't get mad about that?
Ichika swallowed hard: "..."
She suddenly started to feel genuinely scared.
...
After that conversation, the topic naturally shifted toward Sakurai Saki.
"...Actually, a lot of students started taking extra classes last year. Classes end at four, and apparently they study until nine at night."
"After all, everyone's aiming for prestigious universities. Without a recommendation slot, no matter how powerful your family is, you still have to rely on your own exam results," Nino said, finding it perfectly reasonable.
"But Sakurai-san's teaching skills really are incredible. He predicted every single question on Shuchiin's exams."
Shuchiin Academy had an extremely strong faculty team, and their tests were notoriously difficult, so it was perfectly normal that the Nakano sisters had once ranked at the bottom of the class.
Effort was essential, but having the right method was just as important.
If you just keep running in the wrong direction, you'll get lost sooner or later. The five sisters' academic level was certainly not below average — they had simply been using the wrong way to study before.
"It really is a miracle," Itsuki sighed in admiration.
In just one year, Sakurai had lifted them from the bottom of the class to above average.
But thinking about how Sakurai Saki wasn't an ordinary person, she found it not so surprising after all.
"For him, that's just a small matter," Nino said proudly.
"Saki-kun has always been amazing," Miku said, her voice full of almost blind faith in Sakurai Saki.
"Sensei-chan really is hardworking."
As Ichika said that, she suddenly recalled how he had "caused trouble" for her and her younger sisters…
Nino and Miku seemed to like him already, and of course, she herself wasn't an exception either. It seemed that only Yotsuba and Itsuki still maintained a purely teacher-student relationship with him.
Yotsuba was always running around helping others, so her interactions with Sakurai Saki were relatively few.
But as for Itsuki…
Ah, it was probably because she was too obsessed with food and always had her mind on eating.
Just as that thought crossed Ichika's mind, Itsuki's phone suddenly rang.
"Ring ring~"
Itsuki took out her phone. "Sorry, let me take this call."
She said that and stepped away from her sisters, walking out to the balcony.
Standing on the balcony, the rain outside had stopped, and the air was fresh.
She pressed the answer button and asked curiously, "Dad, what is it?"
It turned out to be a call from her father, which surprised her a little.
...