Aside from the constant stream of news from the manga side, good news was also coming from the music side. Although the second variety show Rin participated in hadn't started airing yet, the CD sales for "Marigold" finally broke 1 million copies today!
This also meant that 『Tsukirin』 had officially entered the ranks of quasi-A-list artists!
To mark the occasion, Haruka told them that Being planned to hold a small celebration for them.
"A celebration, huh—"
These kinds of corporate gatherings sounded like a hassle, and Akira wasn't particularly interested.
However, he also knew that this celebration was not only to celebrate their achievements, but also to thank the other team members who contributed to the production and promotion of the single, as well as to improve team cohesion and so on.
In his previous life, when he was doing project implementation, every time he went on a business trip to support other projects, there would always be such a dinner after the project successfully reached a milestone.
In short, this was probably something every office worker would experience, right?
The location for the small celebration was chosen to be a private room in a high-end restaurant in Minato Ward.
There were more than twenty participants in total, but the only ones Akira and the others actually knew were a few: Haruka, the recording studio staff, A&R Director Shingo, and Keiko, who had received them when they signed the contract.
That was it.
In addition, there was a big shot participating in this celebration whom he had heard of before but never met: Daiko, the president of Being.
Consistent with the style of artists under the Being label who liked to remain mysterious and low-profile, Daiko was also a quite mysterious president; the outside world could find almost no reports about his appearance.
From this point of view, he was even more mysterious than Sakai Izumi.
So, he curiously sized up the other party for a moment.
Daiko looked like a middle-aged man with a bit of an artistic flair, around fifty years old, and there was actually nothing particularly special about him.
However, he and Rin were arranged to sit on the other party's right-hand side, and his seat was almost right next to him.
Sigh.
Sitting next to the boss is the most troublesome situation.
As the biggest figure at the celebration, Daiko naturally spoke first. As soon as he opened his mouth, it was the classic flavor of a leader, not at all like someone who worked in music.
As the protagonists of this celebration, he and Rin naturally had to speak as well. Their words were nothing more than the standard routine of thanking everyone.
And unsurprisingly, after everyone else started eating, Daiko began to strike up a conversation with him.
"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've met, isn't it?"
Daiko said with a smile, "However, I've actually been following you two for a long time. Especially Mochizuki-kun."
"Me?"
Akira was a little surprised to hear this. Regarding this, Daiko didn't continue to explain, but suddenly shifted to another topic, saying, "I heard that when you signed the contract, Mochizuki-kun said he started writing songs just to make money. Now it seems that the original goal has been successfully achieved. Congratulations to you both."
"Thank you."
While reciprocating the greeting, Akira recalled and found that this was something he had said to Shingo when he was preparing to leave after signing the contract. He didn't expect it to reach the other party's ears.
Looking at it this way, the claim that he had been following them for a long time was indeed true.
At the same time, Daiko continued, "But I'm a bit curious. Was Mochizuki-kun certain from the very beginning that the songs he wrote would definitely make money?"
Akira answered frankly, "To say 'definitely' would be lying, but at least I had a lot of confidence in them."
After all, times were different. Even songs that were huge hits in his previous life might flop if placed in another period; no one could say for sure.
But at least they had indeed been successful before, and that point alone was enough.
"A lot of confidence, huh—?"
Daiko sighed with emotion, then reached out and patted his shoulder with a smile, "Well said! As a musician, you should have such confidence!"
"Looking at it this way, the future of Being lies with your generation of young singers."
We only signed a three-year contract; there's no need to talk about the future yet, is there?
Akira muttered in his heart.
But it had to be said that, at least so far, the cooperation with Being had been very pleasant.
In particular, their constraints on artists were relatively loose, and there weren't many things they needed to worry about on a daily basis. This was a situation both he and Rin were quite satisfied with.
So, on the surface, he still smiled and echoed, "We will continue to work hard."
The celebration lasted for more than two hours. After it ended, Haruka still drove him and Rin back to the apartment building.
At this moment, he couldn't help but stretch and sighed, "As expected, it's quite a hassle!"
This celebration was different from the work dinners he had attended in his previous life.
In his previous life, when he worked at a company, he was just a low-level employee. As long as he didn't crowd around the leaders' table and sat with a few colleagues he got along with, whether they chatted while eating or just ate without talking, it was quite comfortable.
...
But this time, as the protagonist of the celebration, while he was eating, all sorts of random people would constantly come over to talk to him, and he had to deal with them. He couldn't even enjoy his food properly.
"Indeed."
Rin, who was beside him, deeply agreed.
But then, she seemed to think of something and suggested with a calm-looking smile, "How about we celebrate separately by ourselves?"
"Just us?"
Akira looked at Rin. Although her expression seemed very natural, her slightly flushed face still seemed to faintly indicate something.
So, he smiled and said, "Sure. But how should we celebrate? Go to the old place?"
"Um—how about cooking at home? I'll cook this time."
After pretending to think for a while, Rin said somewhat shyly, "I also want Mochizuki-kun to taste my cooking."
Pulling this move, huh?
Akira thought to himself, 'You're good.'
But it had to be said that he was indeed a bit curious about Rin's culinary skills.
So, he nodded with a smile and said, "No problem. But let's cook together then; there are some dishes I want to make too."
"Okay!"
Seeing Akira agree, Rin also nodded decisively, revealing a bright smile.
The two then discussed the matter in detail and finally set the celebration time for the day after tomorrow.
That day was when the One Piece anime was scheduled to air. While having dinner, they could also watch an episode of the anime together. It was simply perfect.
"But speaking of which, there seems to be one more question now."
After finalizing the general situation, Akira couldn't help but reveal a trace of a smile and asked Rin one last question: "When you said 'cook at home' just now, were you talking about your house or my house?"
"—?!"
Rin instantly realized she had spoken too casually. Her face immediately turned red, and she said shyly and bashfully, "That—"
"It's at your house."
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