Watching Kazusa Touma, who, though pretending to be angry, couldn't help the corners of her mouth lifting, her slender, elegant eyes filled with genuine laughter as she joked and bantered with Ye Xing, Setsuna Ogiso's eyes flickered, a complex feeling welling up in her heart.
As expected...
Though they were members of the same band, and she was the most important, front-and-centre lead vocalist...
In the end, she still couldn't intervene between these two...
Just then, the door was suddenly knocked gently. Setsuna Ogiso stood, smoothed her skirt, and opened the door, only to find her mother outside with a hesitant expression.
"What is it, Mum?"
Setsuna Ogiso's mother offered a slightly strained smile.
"Well... your father wants to have a word with you."
"Oh... alright."
Setsuna Ogiso turned around and smiled at Kazusa Touma and Ye Xing, who were sitting there.
"Setsuna, Ye Xing, you two chat first, I'll be right back."
...
Five minutes later.
"Eh!? At this point, you want me to withdraw?"
Setsuna Ogiso's father, just from his appearance alone, clearly seemed like a very serious person.
He sat opposite, watching his daughter's clearly reluctant expression, his brow slightly furrowed as he spoke in a deep voice.
"It's not about making you give up, but something as important as forming a band should be discussed with your mother and me before making a decision."
"But... I'm not a child anymore..."
Setsuna Ogiso's younger brother and mother chimed in from the side.
"That's right, it's just singing at the school festival, it's not that big of a deal..."
"After all, she's been in high school for almost a year now. Letting her have some freedom occasionally should be fine, right?"
Setsuna Ogiso's father snorted coldly, crossing his arms over his chest with a stern expression.
"Anyway, explain everything from the beginning, then we'll decide whether you should join or not."
"But my friends..."
"Though I'm sorry about it, they'll have to go back first."
"How can you..."
Setsuna Ogiso lowered her head, her hands unconsciously clutching the hem of her skirt so tightly that her knuckles turned slightly white from the strain.
Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded from the staircase.
"Am I interrupting your conversation?"
Ye Xing walked to the living room table, first nodding at Setsuna Ogiso's younger brother with a smile as he greeted him.
"Hello."
"H-hello."
Setsuna Ogiso's younger brother blinked in slight surprise upon seeing Ye Xing, then secretly nudged his sister with his elbow, leaning in to whisper teasingly.
"Sis, when did you get such a handsome boyfriend? I hadn't heard anything about this."
Hearing her brother's words, a blush spread across Setsuna Ogiso's pretty face as she retorted.
"W-what boyfriend... Don't talk nonsense."
After greeting Setsuna Ogiso's brother, Ye Xing casually pulled over a chair and sat down right beside Setsuna Ogiso, directly facing her father's position, still maintaining his smile.
"I was the one who invited Ogiso-san to join the band. If we're going to explain everything from the beginning, it would be more appropriate for me to do it, don't you think?"
Setsuna Ogiso's father frowned deeply, his expression serious as he remained silent.
Setsuna Ogiso herself, along with her mother and brother, looked somewhat surprised.
Is this Ye Xing really this bold?
Even as his daughter, Setsuna Ogiso would feel some illusion of fear when she saw her father's stern, serious expression.
This was Ye Xing's first time visiting their home, and his first time meeting Setsuna Ogiso's father - yet he showed no signs of stage fright at all?
His mental fortitude was quite impressive.
Setsuna Ogiso's father looked at Ye Xing sitting beside his daughter, and only after a long moment did he snort, his expression appearing somewhat displeased.
"Young man, this is our family matter. Isn't it rather inappropriate for an outsider like you to interrupt so abruptly?"
Ye Xing smiled first, then, under the table where no one could see, reached out and gently patted the back of Setsuna Ogiso's hand.
Setsuna Ogiso was momentarily stunned, then suddenly felt a sense of relief washing over her.
Had Ye Xing overheard her conversation with her father... and specifically came to help her out of this situation?
As expected...
Although he usually spoke in abstract ways, he was actually a very kind person.
"You're absolutely right, this is indeed Ogiso-san's family matter."
Ye Xing first nodded, then abruptly changed the subject.
"But after all, Ogiso is just a high school student. The benefits of her joining this band far outweigh the drawbacks. However, from her perspective, she probably can't explain it clearly herself, so I'll do it on her behalf. Isn't this exactly what friends should do?"
"Friends?"
Setsuna Ogiso's father frowned deeply.
"If she can't even explain her own situation clearly, how can she be considered a high school student..."
Before he could finish, Ye Xing interrupted with a smile.
"You see, you said it yourself - Ogiso is already a high school student. Yet something like joining a club still requires discussing with family first before making a decision. Doesn't this mean that in your eyes, she's still not mature enough?"
"From this perspective, your questioning of her reasons for joining the club shares the same starting point as my current effort to help Ogiso explain."
"Of course, unless you twist the standards and consider these two matters unrelated, then there's nothing I can do. But in this world, who can solve everything alone and never need anyone's help?"
"Even as a middle-aged man like yourself, haven't you had times at work when you needed to rely on others?"
"Taking everything upon oneself - is this maturity, or is it an immature act of lowering one's success rate just to save face? You should be able to figure out which one it is."
Hearing Ye Xing's words, both Setsuna Ogiso's family members and Setsuna Ogiso herself were stunned.
You're really something with words.
Facing her female classmate's serious father, not only was he not the least bit nervous, but he remained so calm and delivered such a long, logically clear, irrefutable, and well-reasoned argument?
Good heavens, are you forming a band or joining the debate club?
After a few seconds of silence, Setsuna Ogiso's father slowly nodded and spoke in a deep voice.
"You make a valid point. Now try to convince me, because I genuinely can't see what so-called help Setsuna could get from joining this kind of pleasure-seeking band that distracts from studies, aside from hindering her own academic performance."
Hearing this, Ye Xing didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked towards Setsuna Ogiso nearby and said with a light laugh.
"Ogiso, Kazusa must be quite bored alone upstairs. Why don't you go keep her company?"
"Eh?"
Setsuna Ogiso didn't expect Ye Xing to pull a reversal, wanting to send her, the daughter, away so he could speak with her father alone. She couldn't help showing hesitation.
"But..."
"Don't worry, it's fine."
Seeing Ye Xing's confident expression, for some reason, Setsuna Ogiso felt a sense of reassurance. Without saying much more, she just nodded.
"Well... alright then."
Watching his daughter go upstairs, Setsuna Ogiso's father looked at Ye Xing with growing appreciation.
This male classmate of his daughter's... is quite impressive.
To be honest, when Setsuna Ogiso's father first learned that his daughter had brought friends home, including a boy, and one who was forming a band at that, he had been quite furious.
In the mind of this rigid middle-aged man, anyone in a band was nothing but delinquent, not to mention there were boys involved – their wolfish ambitions were all too clear!
Yet after this conversation...
He had to admit, his daughter's friend was actually quite impressive.
At the very least, he showed responsibility, spoke with clear logic, and possessed excellent composure – not showing the slightest nervousness even when facing him.
Moreover...
He was genuinely handsome. Just based on appearance alone, even a serious middle-aged man like him found it difficult to dislike Ye Xing.
"What did you want to say? You can speak now."
Compared to his earlier stern attitude, Setsuna Ogiso's father was now merely pretending to be serious. He wanted to see whether Ye Xing could withstand the pressure and convince him to allow his daughter to join the band.
He had thought it through quite well.
Unfortunately, even in such a formal setting and being in an unfavourable position, Ye Xing didn't feel the slightest bit of pressure.
Are you kidding? You're trying to pressure Kyoto's number one eroge protagonist?
In his entire life, Ye Xing only felt pressure in two situations.
The first was when faced with an imminent, chaotic love triangle.
The second...
Was when Yui Yuigahama cooked her special love-filled dishes for him.
How could the current pressure compare to Dango's cooking that exceeded human imagination – dishes where a single bite made you feel like you'd touched heaven itself?
Impossible.
"Mr Ogiso, let me first introduce something. There's another member of our band upstairs – her name is Kazusa Touma."
Before Setsuna Ogiso's father could speak, Ye Xing said softly with a smile.
"And this Kazusa Touma's mother is none other than Youko Touma. If you haven't heard of her, you can search online."
"You... Youko Touma!?"
At the mention of this name, Setsuna Ogiso's younger brother, mother, and father all wore expressions of shock.
How could they not have heard of Youko Touma?
She was a world-class pianist from Japan, arguably the best in the world today. She could hold sold-out worldwide concert tours and was destined to be remembered in history. Her fame was practically household – how could they not know her?
"And Kazusa Touma's piano talent is no weaker than her mother Youko Touma's – in fact, it might even be superior. Anyone can see that it won't be long before Kazusa Touma surpasses her mother, Youko Touma, to become the world's number one pianist."
Here, Ye Xing paused slightly before continuing calmly.
"Forgive my bluntness, but this is the only chance Miss Ogiso will have to perform alongside – let alone become friends with – someone like this."
"This..."
Setsuna Ogiso's father opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
Ye Xing's words were simply impossible to refute.
An opportunity to perform alongside the daughter of world-class pianist Youko Touma – a girl who might very well become the world's top pianist herself in the future?
Who could possibly refuse such conditions?
"Just by the way, I'll mention this one thing – no particular meaning intended."
Ye Xing first prepared his defences before speaking.
"I was the top scorer in this year's joint examinations across Japan, and I also came first in the recent joint exam between Sobu High School and Shuchi'in Academy. Not that it means anything special, just mentioning it in passing."
Setsuna Ogiso's father looked speechless, thinking, 'Is this really just mentioning it in passing?'
This was clearly an attempt to preemptively shut down any objections from him.
Band practice affecting academic performance?
Then how did this person manage to come first?
Including reasons like negative influences, all such arguments became completely untenable when faced with results that even surpassed those of the prestigious private Shuchi'in Academy.
"So... you're that genius Setsuna mentioned before, the one who got first place in the joint exam..."
Seeing the situation turning around, Setsuna Ogiso's mother smiled and spoke up.
"Since things have come to this point, why don't we let Setsuna follow her heart this once?"
"Sigh... alright then."
Setsuna Ogiso's father truly couldn't find any more reasons to oppose. Besides, his original opposition wasn't that strong to begin with - he was mainly dissatisfied because his daughter had made such a decision without consulting the family.
"Wait a moment..."
Just then, Setsuna Ogiso's father suddenly thought of something and looked at Ye Xing with suspicion.
"Young man... You wouldn't happen to... have certain intentions toward my daughter, would you?"
"Ah, come now, what are you saying?"
Ye Xing waved his hand with a laugh.
"I have a girlfriend."
"Oh, I see."
Setsuna Ogiso's father let out a long sigh of relief, thinking that if it was just about forming a band, then there shouldn't be any problem.
Although Japan doesn't have the concept of puppy love, in his view, dating while still in first year of high school was indeed somewhat too early.
What Setsuna Ogiso's father didn't know was...
While Ye Xing did indeed have a girlfriend, more importantly, he didn't have just one girlfriend.
This was the verbal trap of the Harem God.
...
The next morning, inside the Yukinoshita Construction building.
"This entire floor is the event centre for the comic convention..."
Marin Kitagawa, carrying a suitcase, couldn't help but show excitement in her eyes as she looked at the hall filled with anime atmosphere.
"Saki, look! They really have dedicated changing rooms! Amazing!"
Saki Kawasaki smiled helplessly.
"Alright, alright, no need to act like you've never seen anything like this before."
During the last outdoor event in Tokyo, although Marin Kitagawa had enjoyed herself, it had been quite painful, too.
In the middle of summer, wearing such a heavy black chiffon dress, posing for photos under the scorching sun, and having to take trains back and forth...
It was practically torture.
This comic convention, however, was held indoors, with dedicated changing rooms and makeup rooms conveniently set up for both male and female cosplayers. Combined with the perfectly comfortable indoor temperature, it all spelt one word.
Professional.
So professional!
"Good thing you came along, too, Saki. Otherwise, even with the changing rooms, I wouldn't be able to get into this complicated outfit by myself."
"Then let's hurry up. Look, some people have already finished changing."
"Okay."
After speaking with Saki Kawasaki, Marin Kitagawa turned to Ye Xing with a smile.
"You can look around by yourself first. We'll be out soon."
"Alright."
After Marin Kitagawa and Saki Kawasaki entered the changing room together, Ye Xing looked toward the convention hall's most prominent spot, his expression complicated as he slowly walked toward it.
"My, what a handsome young man."
A beautiful woman in a kimono picked up a doujinshi from her stall - one that you could tell just from the cover wasn't exactly wholesome reading - and greeted Ye Xing with a smile.
"Interested in buying some doujinshi? Special convention discounts today."
Ye Xing looked somewhat speechless. He first glanced at the erotic books on the stall, then at the very familiar, mirror-image, life-sized Mask standee beside the stall, his expression slightly complicated as he said:
"This... what you're selling... wouldn't happen to be Mask doujinshi, would it?"
Ye Xing was really having a hard time with this.
He didn't mind people creating derivative works based on him.
The problem was they shouldn't be creating... questionable ones!
As a veteran eroge player, Ye Xing knew one thing very well.
Human fetishes know no bounds.
Could it be that this stall had... some gender-bent Mask doujinshi?
That would really be hard to take.
"Oh, no, nothing like that. After all, nobody knows whether Mask is male or female, so how could we draw doujinshi about them?"
"That's good to hear."
Relieved that the books weren't about him, Ye Xing let out a sigh of relief, then asked curiously:
"Then why do you have a Mask standee next to your doujinshi stall?"
Before the woman could answer, a familiar male voice, tinged with laughter, came from behind Ye Xing.
"Since Mrs Sawamura, like myself, is one of the sponsors for this comic convention, placing the Mask standee beside her booth helps attract more foot traffic and supports her business."
Ye Xing turned around to see that the speaker was the middle-aged man he'd previously encountered on the shopping street - the one who sold Mask figurines and donated all proceeds to the victims' families.
"Young man, we meet again."
The middle-aged man stepped forward and enthusiastically slung an arm around Ye Xing's shoulder.
"I'm Aoki Go. You can call me Brother Go, Old Go, or just Uncle."
The beautiful woman running the booth seemed to recall something, looking slightly surprised as she said, "Mr Aoki, could this be the person you mentioned..."
"Yes, exactly!"
Aoki Go patted Ye Xing's shoulder heartily as he spoke.
"This young man dared to publicly criticise that pervert Sunny Doll Killer in the media, and he's even cosplayed as Mask before. His cosplay is considered by many to be the most accurate Mask portrayal ever."
Saying this, Aoki picked up a pure black mask with a white smiling face pattern from nearby and covered Ye Xing's face, leaving only his eyes visible.
"See? Isn't it identical? Even his hair and eye colour match - he's practically born to cosplay Mask!"
The woman nodded in agreement.
"It's true, completely identical!"
Behind the mask, Ye Xing wore an expression of utter speechlessness.
Guess what?
I am the real deal, of course it looks like me!