He had agreed with his assistants to meet directly at the 『JumpFesta』 venue, behind the Tokyo International Exhibition Center.
Although it was Saturday, nearly eighty thousand visitors were expected to attend the event, and barring any surprises, the vast majority of them would likely choose to travel by subway.
Therefore, it was to be expected that the stations near the Tokyo International Exhibition Center would be absolutely packed to bursting.
Fortunately, they didn't have to squeeze onto the subway to attend the event this time.
As soon as he and Rin left the apartment building, they saw a black sedan parked on the side of the road.
Akira didn't know much about cars and could only tell it was a Toyota from the emblem, while Hisashi was standing by the car waiting for them.
Akira was not a guest at 『JumpFesta』, and their visit to the exhibition was outside of work matters, so logically, Hisashi didn't need to pick him up.
However, as a veteran editor for Shonen Jump, Hisashi knew well that the so-called deep bond between an editor and a Manga Artist was not just reflected in work, but also in every aspect outside of work.
Sometimes, the things outside of the written rules were where an editor truly needed to put in effort.
Therefore, after confirming that Akira was planning to attend the event, Hisashi had taken the initiative to offer a ride.
Akira didn't hesitate much and gratefully accepted with a smile.
After all, even without Hisashi's ride, he would still have to contact Hisashi first to get in once he reached the Tokyo International Exhibition Center.
And if Hisashi could come to pick him up, the whole process would be much more convenient.
"Good morning, Mr. Sasaki."
Akira greeted him with a smile. Hisashi heard the voice, looked over, nodded, and smiled, "Good morning, Mochizuki-sensei."
At the same time, inevitably, he immediately noticed Rin standing beside Akira, a flash of amazement crossing his eyes.
He had seen Rin on television before, but he hadn't expected her to look even more beautiful in reality than on screen!
He exclaimed in his heart.
Akira was also a very handsome guy with striking looks; the picture of the two of them standing together was very pleasing to the eye, and there was an indescribable harmony and compatibility between them.
However, now that the three of them were standing together, from an observer's perspective, his own presence might appear slightly intrusive.
Ahem!
There was really no need to talk about that sort of thing.
That said, Hisashi didn't feel too surprised that the two of them walked out of the same apartment building.
Because Akira had already explained the situation to him beforehand.
However, when he first received the news, he was indeed taken aback.
He hadn't expected that Rin, the lead singer of 『Tsukirin』, would actually live in the same apartment building as Akira.
After he got down, he was a bit suspicious—could it be that these two had planned this all along?
Of course, it was useless to talk about that now.
Meanwhile, facing Hisashi, Rin bowed slightly with a polite yet serious demeanor and said, "Hello. My name is Rin, and I am the lead singer of 『Tsukirin』. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"My name is Hisashi, and I am the manga editor in charge of Mochizuki-sensei."
Seeing this, Hisashi immediately returned the bow and smiled, "I have actually known about Shimizu-san for a long time. Come to think of it, my daughter is a fan of yours."
"? Really?"
Rin blinked in surprise and couldn't help but turn to look at Akira beside her, her gaze revealing a hint of coquettish reproach.
Why hadn't he told her about this before?
If she had known earlier, she would have prepared a little gift.
In response, Akira spread his hands with an innocent expression; he hadn't known beforehand either.
However, he could straightforwardly ask Hisashi, "Mr. Sasaki, why didn't you mention this to me before?"
"Because my daughter is a fan of Shimizu-san, not a fan of yours. Why would I have anything to discuss with you about it?"
"Uh—"
That seemed to make some sense.
Akira was speechless.
Seeing his deflated look, Rin couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Hisashi had them get in the car and started heading toward the International Exhibition Center.
At this moment, looking at the car cabin with only the three of them, Akira asked Hisashi with some curiosity, "Mr. Sasaki, didn't you say before that you would be attending with your wife and daughter this time?"
So where are they?
He had been thinking about meeting Hisashi's family for the first time and properly greeting them.
Hisashi smiled and replied, "My home isn't far from there. After I drop you two off at the venue, I'll go home to pick them up."
While answering the question, he also had a small doubt in his mind—
There were two men and one woman in the car. Generally speaking, shouldn't Akira be sitting in the front passenger seat with him, leaving the back seat space for Rin alone?
Why did Akira also run to the back seat with her?
And—
He silently observed the situation through the rearview mirror.
Even though there was more than enough space for three people in the back, both of them insisted on leaning toward the middle, maintaining only a gap that was almost about to touch.
The expressions of the two were very natural, as if neither of them thought there was any problem.
Something was wrong.
When Akira introduced her to him, he only said she was a "friend."
But looking at this posture, Hisashi, as someone who had been through it before, keenly sensed a scent that definitely didn't belong to ordinary friends.
A faint, sour smell of love.
You rascal, Akira, could this actually be your real purpose for venturing into the music industry?!
Hisashi felt he had seemingly grasped the truth.
However—
He re-examined the two in the back seat, especially Rin, his gaze taking on a hint of scrutiny.
As for their looks, there was no need to say much; they looked quite compatible.
As for ability—
He had seen her performance, and he had to admit that although the songs were written by Akira, Rin was able to perform them so brilliantly, so her ability was not to be underestimated.
As for personality—
Although it wasn't easy to tell in a short time, at least her first impression on him was quite good.
Hmm... it's not like it wouldn't work.
Akira didn't know that Hisashi had suddenly started playing the role of his old father; he just felt a little sleepy because he had gotten up earlier than usual today.
Thinking that there was still a half-hour drive ahead, he simply closed his eyes, preparing to take a short nap.
But time seemed to pass quickly; Akira felt that not long after he closed his eyes, the car suddenly stopped, and at the same time, Hisashi's voice came through, "We've arrived."
"—We're here already?"
Akira struggled to open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was half of Hisashi's face reflected in the rearview mirror.
For some reason, the other party showed a somewhat ambiguous smile, carrying a hint of lewdness.
Then he suddenly discovered that his left shoulder felt a bit heavy—
It turned out that Rin had fallen asleep at some point and was resting her head on his shoulder.
Now he understood why Hisashi had smiled so strangely.
Akira immediately woke up a bit and gave Hisashi a speechless glance, but the other party didn't grasp his meaning and instead gave him a thumbs up.
Ah, this—
But I have to say, Rin looked quite cute while sleeping.
He gently nudged Rin and smiled, "Wake up, we've arrived."
"—We're here already?"
The familiar words left him somewhat amused and helpless.
Rin rubbed her eyes and sat up. After becoming a little more awake, she suddenly realized the situation of her sleeping posture just now, and her whole body stiffened instantly.
—It's over!
Akira watched her reaction with some amusement, but after glancing at the situation outside the car window, he decided not to tease her for now, so he smiled and said, "Alright, anyway, let's get out of the car first."
"—Mm."
Rin, with a slightly blushing face, tried her best to bury half of her face in her scarf and followed behind Akira out of the car.
However, after getting out of the car, looking at the scene before her, she seemed to have suddenly forgotten the embarrassment from just a moment ago and exclaimed, "So many people!"