Chapter 53 Gaining a Devoted Little Fangirl

A good song sounds pleasant even when sung by an ordinary person, provided they do not go off-key. If a professional singer were to cover it, needless to say, it would be even better.

"99 points..."

Yuki Takanashi stared at the glowing numbers on the screen, completely dumbfounded.

Because Ryuuichi Sugawara had the tag "Can Sing" on his Twitter bio, she had known from the very beginning that this guy was capable of singing. Despite having anticipated it, actually hearing Ryuuichi Sugawara sing still left her deeply amazed.

"No way..."

Seeing the score, Yoshino Sakai felt it was simply unbelievable and cast a deeply shocked gaze at Ryuuichi Sugawara. Because they were avid fans of karaoke, they knew everything about how this place operated. Even if the original artist showed up, achieving a full score was virtually impossible—a well-known piece of karaoke trivia. While it was just a saying, it held a lot of truth. To everyone, 99 points represented a flawless performance and the ultimate pursuit for countless people. Yet, such an extraordinarily high score had just been achieved by someone they personally knew.

"Sugawara-san, you are way too amazing."

Accompanied by Kyoko Utada's exclamation of awe as she leaped from her seat, the private room erupted instantly like a dropped bomb.

"Sing another one! Sugawara-san, could you sing *A Little Love Song*? Please, I'm begging you!"

Because his singing was so mesmerizing, Aino Ishiguro had completely transformed into a devoted little fan girl.

---

Ryuuichi Sugawara put in a considerable amount of effort before he finally satisfied all their song requests.

"Gulp, gulp... Ah."

Having sung four songs back-to-back, even a professional singer would be utterly exhausted. The moment Ryuuichi Sugawara sat down, he began gulping down his cola aggressively.

"Thank you for your hard work, and thank you for granting everyone's requests."

Seeing him return to her side looking completely worn out, Yuki Takanashi felt profoundly grateful.

"It's nothing."

In response to her comforting words, Ryuuichi Sugawara smiled and shook his head. Even though singing four consecutive songs had left his throat feeling like it was smoking, he had thoroughly enjoyed himself this time. Whether it was the freedom of belting out tunes or the emotional value provided by Yoshino Sakai and the others turning into fan girls with endless cheers and screams, it all felt immensely gratifying.

On top of that, every time he agreed to sing a song, Yuki Takanashi's heart would race, earning him another increment of heart value. To some extent, singing those three songs had directly netted him 300,000 yen. While this level of appearance fee couldn't possibly compare to the celebrity singers of his past life, in Japan, it was already a very substantial sum.

After going wild for a while, the girls were actually quite tired themselves and returned to their seats to gulp down water.

"Sugawara-san, your cola is almost finished. Would you like me to order another glass for you?"

Aino Ishiguro, who usually took charge of placing the orders, noticed he had drunk a lot of liquid and asked.

"Let's order another glass of cola."

"OK."

"I want a glass of lemonade too."

"OK."

Seeing this, the other two girls also chimed in with their own requests. Once the ordering was done, and while waiting for the food, the group had no intention of continuing to sing because cheering had worn them out as well.

"Sugawara-san, your vocal skills are simply incredible... Could it be that you come to karaoke all the time?"

Because the overall experience of hanging out together this time was so wonderful, Kyoko Utada couldn't help but ask.

"I rarely come to karaoke. Usually, I'm too busy studying."

"You rarely come, so how on earth can you sing so well? Can you teach us?"

"Because I've loved singing since I was a child, and whenever I listen to music, I always sing along. Day by day, it just added up to this... Oh, and consulting a music teacher is also very helpful for improving your vocal skills."

"Consulting a teacher..."

At this mention, all three girls wore expressions of pure agony. Dealing with teachers was something they were absolute worst at and despised the most, because adults always put on a self-righteous attitude. Besides that, a couple of male teachers had left deeply repulsive impressions on them in the past, such as lingering, lecherous gazes.

As for Yuki Takanashi, she did not join in on this topic. After all, the sole reason she had paid for Ryuuichi Sugawara to come to karaoke was to make her three best friends happy—it was meant to be a gift for everyone.

"Sugawara-san, is there any way to get better without having to ask a teacher?"

Even though it sounded a bit like wishful thinking, Yoshino Sakai asked anyway, holding onto the attitude that there was no harm in trying.

"There is. Spend money to take vocal coaching classes."

Ryuuichi Sugawara nodded and offered a solution based on his own understanding. According to professional J-pop vocal technique cognitive theories, if ordinary people wanted to learn how to sing properly, finding a truly skilled professional for one-on-one instruction was the fastest route.

"Is there no way that doesn't cost money?"

"If you don't want to spend money, your only option is self-study—finding tutorial videos online regarding vocal techniques and practicing every day."

"I see. Thank you for the advice."

Realizing that he had shown no intention of teaching them from the very beginning, Yoshino Sakai tactfully refrained from probing further into the subject.

After chatting idly for a little while, the door to the private room was gently pushed open. A staff member walked in carrying a large tray and placed the five beverages onto the table one by one. Although the seating arrangement had already been settled earlier, Ryuuichi Sugawara still proactively handed each person their drink.

"Here you go."

Once he sat back down, Yuki Takanashi pushed the glass of lemonade closer to his side.

"Thank you."

Seeing this, Ryuuichi Sugawara accepted it with a smile. At the same time, he picked up the straw from his new glass of cola and transferred the lemon slice from her glass into his own.

"You're welcome."

Yuki Takanashi didn't mind at all; it was just a slice of lemon. Having completed this little unspoken agreement, she picked up her cup and took a few sips.

After quenching her thirst, as she put her cup down, she suddenly felt that something was amiss. That was because her three best friends were staring at her in absolute silence. Before she could even ask, as Ryuuichi Sugawara took a drink, their gazes were drawn away like iron filings to a magnet, following his movement. Clearly, they were deeply curious about her giving the lemon slice to Ryuuichi Sugawara.

"What is there even to look at..."

Looking at the lemon slice in Ryuuichi Sugawara's glass, Yuki Takanashi muttered speechlessly.

"Ah, cola really does go best with lemon after all."

After taking a few sips of cola, Ryuuichi Sugawara let out a sound of pure satisfaction. Hearing his contented remark, Yuki Takanashi couldn't help but glance sideways at him.

[Yuki Takanashi's heart races, Heart Value +1]

Seeing the system notification, Ryuuichi Sugawara wasn't surprised at all; he merely cast a sidelong glance at her. There were many ways to provide emotional value, and letting a girl share something she liked was one of the most common. This method applied to many different scenarios—whether a girl was eating cake, cookies, watching a movie, or reading a book, it didn't matter what it was, as long as it was something she enjoyed. As long as she shared it with you and you showed a positive reaction, it would make her happy, because she would harvest an overwhelming sense of validation.

Once the drinks were served and everyone's thirst was quenched, the group started their second round of fun. Because Ryuuichi Sugawara had sung four songs in a row, nobody bothered him anymore; instead, they all began taking turns requesting songs and singing their hearts out.

Singing and chatting along the way, happy times always felt short, and time flew by in a flash.

"Ah... how is it already 18:42? I have to go home."

Aino Ishiguro pulled out her phone to check the time, sprang up from her seat, and hurriedly began packing her schoolbag. Hearing this, Ryuuichi Sugawara looked somewhat surprised.

"Aino's family rules are quite strict; she has a curfew."

Seeing that he didn't understand the situation, Yuki Takanashi explained.

"Even with a curfew, isn't this a bit too early?"

However, upon hearing her explanation, Ryuuichi Sugawara became even more puzzled.

"My curfew is 20:00, but I have to factor in the travel time home. Sugawara-san, I'm heading out first! I had a wonderful time hanging out with you today, and I really look forward to doing it again next time. Bye-bye everyone."

Aino Ishiguro grabbed her schoolbag, explained herself while putting on her shoes, and dashed out the door waving goodbye once she was all dressed.