Chapter 1006

The June rain had briefly stopped in the evening, but the sky still pressed down with thick cloud layers, like the Queen of Glory soaked in a subspace storm.

When Uesugi Muneyuki and Eirina returned home, a warm current of air mixed with the scent of miso and grilled fish rushed toward them; Uesugi Muneyuki smiled, knowing Asuka had already arrived home early.

This is the good thing about administrative female officers: they have no hope of promotion, and they don't go to the frontline, so naturally they can't have that much overtime and extra work. Only if there's a chance for promotion, a possibility of progress, or generous rewards and the joy of achievement would someone voluntarily work overtime; unless you deceive them, it's impossible. Of course, you can deceive one generation, but you can't deceive generation after generation.

Since the late 1990s, Japan has seen the widespread use of dispatched workers. For the older generation of Japanese, there was still some sense of responsibility and mission, so the dispatched workers back then were still relatively responsible. But for dispatched workers after 2010, it's only 200,000 yen a month — why sell your life? Slow work produces shoddy results; haste makes a mess. Being able to hand this matter to me shows it's not important.

At worst I'll change positions; anyway, we're all dispatched workers — besides firing me, what can you do? Anyway, we're all dispatched workers, isn't it just working at a different place? 7-Eleven and Lawson convenience stores can pay 1,200 yen an hour (night shift up to 1,300 yen) — why sell your life? But for Uesugi Muneyuki, it's different.

His monthly salary has now reached 1.6 million yen; even after taxes and various fees, his take-home is over 1.2 million yen. And even if he goes to Roppongi to drink and entertain, the Metropolitan Police Department will reimburse him.

You treat me as a national scholar; I will repay you as a national scholar.

So Uesugi Muneyuki has always voluntarily worked overtime (triple overtime pay, and compensatory leave), and whenever the Metropolitan Police Department needs him, he never has any complaints.

Loyalty! Sincerity!

The living room light was on; warm yellow light cast a soft sheen on the dark wood floor. Minami leaned against a pile of cushions on the sofa; the swell of her lower abdomen pushed out a rounded curve under the loose off-white knit dress she wore.

She held a book, "Blue Bridge Dream Legacy," but wasn't reading it — instead she was secretly scrolling on her phone.

The TV was on, volume turned very low, playing the evening news.

From the kitchen came the clatter of spatula against wok, accompanied by a faint, rhythmic tossing sound. Asuka stood at the stove wearing a pale blue apron, gripping a wooden spatula as she stir-fried vegetables; her hair was casually tied in a low ponytail falling behind her head, revealing a slender, soft nape.

She wore a white T-shirt and dark gray cotton shorts at home, barefoot on the kitchen mat; her lower legs below the knees were wrapped in the gentle haze of thin flesh-colored pantyhose, her small feet catching a faint sheen under the light.

"Seas may dry, rocks may crumble, heaven may collapse, earth may split — we stand shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand." Seas may dry, rocks may crumble, heaven may collapse, earth may split — we stand shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, hand in hand, hand in hand~" The girl was humming a song.

Meanwhile Eirina had already changed into a black T-shirt and shorts; the "e" pendant at her chest was stretched completely out of shape. With a couldn't-care-less expression, she tossed her clothes toward the balcony, then nestled into the sofa to chat idly with Minami, the two talking and laughing as they ate Pringles. This 120-square-meter three-bedroom, one-living-room, two-bathroom tower apartment already counted as quite good living conditions in Tokyo.

But Uesugi Muneyuki stood at the boundary between the entryway and living room and swept a glance: Minami's cushions and blanket were piled on the sofa; Asuka's promotional brochure samples were spread on the coffee table; a corner of the dining table held Eirina's police gloves and notebook she hadn't had time to put away.

The three bedrooms were occupied respectively by Eirina, Asuka, and Uesugi Muneyuki himself… actually he often rotated between different rooms; the remaining space was packed full with all kinds of daily necessities. 120 square meters was indeed starting to feel a bit cramped for four adults. And Minami would give birth soon — one more person in the house.

Uesugi Muneyuki took off his suit jacket and hung it on the entryway coat rack, walked into the living room, and casually picked up the cushion about to slide off Minami and tucked it back behind her.

Minami Ojou-sama slightly opened her eyes, glanced at him, then closed them again, pouting: "You're back? Dinner's almost ready."

"Mm." Uesugi Muneyuki sat on the other side of the sofa and turned the TV volume up a little.

The news screen was scrolling a report: Akai Saka 46's concert at Nagoya Dome had already started tonight, but Hirate Sarina was not on stage; the members spread out in formation amid an ocean of countless glow sticks, and guarding the center position was a slender, grave-faced girl — Yui Imaizumi.

Subtitles read: "Hirate Sarina absent from Nagoya performance due to poor health; group performs with ten-member lineup, some songs without center." Asuka walked out of the kitchen carrying the stir-fried dishes, set the plates on the dining table, leaned over to glance at the TV, and pursed her lips: "Her again. How many times is this now? Do Akai Saka fans really not get angry?"

"The ones getting angry aren't those cursing online; the people who actually bought tickets and went to the venue are the ones enduring it." Uesugi Muneyuki leaned against the sofa back and couldn't help sneering: "This time she didn't even issue a prior statement — just pulled a disappearing act. She really doesn't want to pretend anymore."

Asuka untied her apron and hung it on the chair back, sat down, poured herself a glass of water, eyes still on the TV screen: "Why does she hate being an idol so much? Akai Saka is so popular, she's the center — a position countless people want but can't get. First year they made Kouhaku, 'Fukyouwaon' was a huge trend, called the national girl group, 'Kuroi Hitsuji' sold 900,000 copies!"

Asuka's main task this past month has been shooting various promotional videos and Metropolitan Police Department posters.

And the outside reaction was… super popular!

Asuka's appearance made the Metropolitan Police Department's account gain followers like crazy; tens of thousands petitioned for Asuka to participate in "Hand of God" filming; every one of her promotional videos broke a million views, and the comments were all "Sister arrest me," "Sister interrogate me," "Sister step on me with high heels," "Sister execute me by firing squad!" Asuka was quite proud of this; she even enjoyed it.

This Ashura Rei is the Face of the Metropolitan Police Department, okay!

Then Ming Sha Jie, Minami Jie, and the succession after that!

Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, and beckoned her over. Asuka walked up with a puzzled face; he reached out and lightly ruffled her hair, like stroking a little bird that had hopped over.

Hehehehehe~ Asuka laughed cheerfully, gesturing for Uesugi Muneyuki to rub more.

"Asuka, have you ever thought there are two kinds of people in the world: one kind gets famous through a certain image and will love that image all their life; the other kind gets famous through a certain image, but from day one is thinking how to shake off that image." Uesugi Muneyuki withdrew his hand and leaned back on the sofa: "Hirate is the second type. She became famous through being an idol, but she feels the idol thing is too 'low.' She thinks being an actor is high-class, has artistic pursuit, won't be eliminated by time. Idols have an expiration date — past twenty-five or six you have to prepare for graduation — but actors can act until sixty. And idols essentially sell dreams, harvesting people's emotions with fresh young bodies and youth, but actors are art."

"Heh heh!" Eirina coldly laughed twice, not speaking.

Eirina hopes everyone will focus on her case-solving ability, her investigative ability, and her dedication.

However, the outside world's impression of Eirina remains: tall beauty, huge breasts, judo female officer.

"If one day you get promoted into the management-track female officer sequence because of solving cases and field work, A-shu, you wouldn't want people recognizing you through the promotional videos and posters you shot during this period either." Minami Ojou-sama also said helplessly.

Uesugi Muneyuki smiled without speaking.

He recalled Jia Ling from his previous life.

Jia Ling became famous through comedy sketches and her chubby "silly big sister" image, then directed several well-received blockbusters that made huge box office — and then she urgently wanted to shed that image. She truly loathed playing the silly big sister and that kind of dull little character for people's amusement and jokes; she didn't want to play the clown.

Huang Bo too — after they completed their initial accumulation and popularity accumulation, both couldn't wait to transform. After all, no one wants to play a clown on stage for a lifetime.

Result: both failed to transform.

Even Shen Teng — the difference is Shen Teng's image and acting can play serious people.

Eirina didn't know when she had also brought a bowl of rice to sit at the dining table, eating while interjecting: "I know, that who… Meng Shao Zhi talks about in class all the time, the Korean Bae Suzy! She's also from an idol background — who still remembers she was a miss A member? All Koreans call her 'Nation's First Love,' Actor Bae Suzy."

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded slightly: "Not just Bae Suzy — Guangmo Liangzi, Hashimoto Kanna, all from idol backgrounds, but once they established themselves as actors, they started disliking people digging up their old idol accounts. They themselves mention that experience less and less in interviews, like a tacit understanding — 'that's my past; now please treat me as an actor.'"

"Hirate Sarina probably thinks the same. She feels she's already qualified to be an actor, doesn't want to be bound by the 'Akai Saka center' label." Uesugi Muneyuki folded his hands on his knees, his tone carrying a calm that seemed to have seen through everything: "But the problem is, before she's completed her metamorphosis, she starts despising that platform. Her backers can indeed give her big-production resources, but without Akai Saka's traffic as a springboard, who would care what movies a newcomer acted in?"

Minami Ojou-sama lazily leaned against the sofa cushion, and hearing this lightly added: "So she wants to jump, but hasn't accumulated enough capital to jump. She despises the stairs as dirty, but still stands on the stairs. Isn't that a contradiction?"

Uesugi Muneyuki turned his head to look at her, smiled: "Mm."

This is the "Idol Paradox": the more popular an idol, the less she wants to be an idol; the less popular an idol, the less she wants to be an idol.

Akimoto Yasushi's idol groups early on relied on all kinds of otaku idol fans playing handshake events face-to-face, and in dim little theaters in Akihabara releasing hormones and slapping butts to the fullest to attract everyone into the pit.

But after idols get popular — take Sakura — she might not appear at the theater once a month now; and when those old fans — those wearing plain activewear, obese, sweaty, wearing hats and glasses, carrying backpacks — show up, they're often wildly despised by Sakura's female fans.

Same logic: the more popular a lewd content creator, the more she wants to go ashore and whitewash; the less popular, the more she'll switch careers.

Many lewd content creators start by riding esports and cosplay and gacha game hype, but once they get famous, the first thing they often do is cut ties with the broke guys (lol).

So half-dead, half-popular lewd content creators are the good lewd content creators! (Convinced)

Famous manga artist Akai Saka Akira said in his peerless masterpiece "Oshi no Ko" that idols have a "Three-Year Law" — generally by the third year, idols start having other thoughts.

So Akimoto Yasushi's invention of the "Graduation Theory" is simply genius.

But this also can't completely solve the problem.

So why did Zhu Yuanzhang cover up his early history of selling ditches in a temple?! Why did Tokugawa Ieyasu cover up his early history of selling ditches in Sunpu?! Why did Nurhaci cover up his early history of selling ditches under Li Chengliang?! But Uesugi Muneyuki is different.

Uesugi Muneyuki truly likes being a forensic pathologist!

These dead people — each one speaks so pleasantly, their stories so interesting, and they even give all kinds of spirits.

"I super love it here! I super love autopsies!"

Asuka lowered her head and shoveled a mouthful of rice, as if pondering something.

Eirina picked up a piece of pan-fried fish, took a bite, and said muffledly: "Then doing it like that, aren't her teammates really miserable?"

Uesugi Muneyuki did not answer again.

He looked at the wet Tokyo night view outside the window, yeah, those teammates really were miserable.

But this is the idol path, if one truly has talent, who would come be an idol?

He withdrew his gaze, picked up his chopsticks, clipped a piece of saury, put it in his mouth, chewed, and nodded slightly: "This fish is pan-fried well." Asuka's ear tips quietly reddened a bit, then she lowered her head and continued shoveling rice: "Anyway, I really like things as they are now, other matters, don't want to think about them!" "Right." Uesugi Muneyuki ate a few mouthfuls of rice, put down his chopsticks, and looked at Minami: "Minami, I want to change houses."

Minami raised an eyelid slightly, somewhat unwilling: "Change? Isn't this one pretty good."

"Here is only 120 square meters, housing four adults. The one in your belly is about to come out soon, then there will be six. Do you think that's enough space?" Minami Ojou-sama fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "... Also true. Then what are your plans?"

Uesugi Muneyuki picked up his mobile phone, flipped through it, and turned the screen toward her: "Over in Chiyoda Ward, there's a second-hand ultra-high-rise penthouse, 380 square meters, seven rooms two halls three bathrooms, good location, open view. Because the previous homeowner died inside, unnatural death, involving a murder case, the price is quite a bit lower than market price. Discounted about forty percent, plus I know the developer's legal department over there, can knock off a bit more, probably can negotiate to between 350 million and 400 million." "With our budget on hand, a house at this price range can be paid off in one go and still leave quite a bit remaining. I'll find time to go take a look, do you want to go together?"

Minami Ojou-sama heard him report that area and price, paused a moment, then slowly sat up straight from the cushion heap, the layer of lazy sleepiness in her gaze dissipated by more than half: "Haunted house?? Muneyuki, are you serious?"

"Yeah, haunted house, I'm serious, location is in Kudan South, Chiyoda Ward, not far from the Imperial Palace and Sakuradamon, also counts as one of Tokyo's most core locations, convenient for the kid's schooling later too."

Minami's expression changed subtly: "Muneyuki... you want us to live in a haunted house?"

Uesugi Muneyuki continued nodding: "Right? It's only this cheap because it's a haunted house, as for our problem, Minami, look, am I someone who fears haunted houses? What evil ghosts and demons... they aren't more fierce than me, you believe me?"

"It really is..." Eirina covered her mouth and secretly smiled.

"Alright." Minami closed her eyes and took a deep breath:... Okay. You set up a time. I'll go take a look with you.

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, picked up his chopsticks again, and started eating.

Gotta prepare to move to a new home~

As for Hirate?

Wish her longevity!