Ke Xue Lu Ren Wang

Chapter 39 Conan's Dark History

"Huh? Is that really Yoko Okino's manager?"

Sonoko Suzuki leaned closer to the phone, her eyes lighting up.

Yoko Okino is a rising star who's currently incredibly popular, with both acting and singing skills that are top-notch.

The agent of a star of this caliber actually took the initiative to come to us?

"Yes, without a doubt." Yamagishi Ei answered quickly upon hearing Suzuki Sonoko's voice on the other end of the phone, his tone tinged with pride. "I've been in charge of Ms. Okino since her debut."

Yuzuru remained silent.

If Yoko Okino's manager wasn't lying, it means the manager really does have some influence in the entertainment industry.

But he wasn't interested in it.

"Mr. Yamagishi, I have already made it very clear that I have no plans to enter the entertainment industry at present."

"I understand your concerns, Mr. Yuzuru," Yamagishi's voice remained steady. "But some things can't be explained clearly over the phone. Let's meet, sit down, have a cup of coffee, and even just to become friends. Even if you ultimately don't want to, I won't force you, how about that?"

"no need."

"Let me put it this way, I've been in this industry for almost twenty years." Yamagishi Sakae smiled, his tone softening. "The number of people who have truly made me want to personally call and contact them is no more than three. The first was Okino Yoko, the second... I can't quite remember. The third was you."

That's a very eloquent statement; no wonder he's a seasoned veteran in the entertainment industry.

Yuzuru didn't respond.

Yoko Okino's manager was being a little too sincere.

"Okay," Yuzuru said.

"Huh?" Yamagishi Sakae was clearly taken aback, probably not expecting him to suddenly give in.

"Where?" Yuzuru asked.

"It's that coffee shop near the municipal district, called Morito Coffee Shop. You can find it by searching for it." Yamagishi Ei spoke much faster, as if afraid that he might change his mind, and quickly threw out the information.

Yuzuru opened his phone's map and searched. The location wasn't far, and it was also within Tokyo. Whether by taxi or subway, it would only be a half-hour journey.

"Okay, but I'll have to wait until after school, around six o'clock."

"Sure! I'll arrive early to save you a good spot."

After giving a brief explanation, Yuzuru hung up the phone.

"Hanyu-kun, didn't you say you didn't plan to become a star?"

Sonoko Suzuki stared at him with eyes full of doubt.

"Well, I never intended to become a star, but judging from his tone, he probably won't give up until he sees me in person." Yuzuru put his phone back in his pocket. "Instead of letting him find out about my school, I might as well go there myself and make things clear."

Sonoko Suzuki tilted her head and thought about it, and she also felt that what she said made sense.

"And this time, I will clearly refuse him."

"Can I come with you?" Sonoko Suzuki asked, holding Toru Hanyu's hand with an expectant look on her face.

"Okay, I don't have anything else planned for tonight."

Sonoko Suzuki couldn't help but curl her lips upwards, her excitement overflowing.

……

The afternoon classes were quite relaxed, consisting of an art class and a music class.

In art class, the teacher asked everyone to copy still life sketches. Yuzuru finished his in no time and spent the rest of the time looking up information about Hoshino's agency on his phone.

A mid-to-upper-tier talent agency in Japan, with a small number of artists under its wing, but all of them are of good quality.

Yoko Okino is their ace, and although the others are not as well-known, they each have their own representative works.

The fact that it wasn't a shell company reassured him somewhat.

The last music class.

The music teacher was a middle-aged woman in her forties named Ayano Nagai. She wore gold-rimmed glasses and spoke slowly and deliberately, appearing to be a very patient person.

"The key to the emotional expression of this piece lies in the key change in the chorus. Come on, who can demonstrate?" Ayano Nagai tapped her finger twice on the blackboard, her gaze sweeping across the classroom before finally settling on Tetsu Hanyu.

"Hanyu, why don't you give it a try?"

Several classmates turned their heads to look over, their expressions varying.

Yuzuru stood up, his expression unchanged.

He doesn't have much of a resistance to these kinds of occasions, but the problem is that he can't sing too well.

That KTV video has already gone viral online. If he demonstrates the same singing skills in class, and a classmate mistakes him for the person in the video, that would be troublesome.

Therefore, he chose a compromise.

The moment he opened his mouth, he deliberately shifted the pitch of several key notes to the side, and he also deliberately controlled his breath during the chorus, making his voice sound somewhat weak, like an ordinary student with a decent foundation but lacking training.

After finishing the song, he felt he had done a pretty good job of disguising himself.

The classroom was silent for two seconds.

Then, Ayano Nagai pushed up her glasses with her finger and gave him a completely unexpected evaluation.

"Your tone is good, and your foundation is very solid. Although you sang off-key in a few places, you have strong vocal control, but your technique still needs some polishing. If you practice more, your singing will sound much better."

A murmur of discussion immediately broke out in the class.

"Hey, Yuzuru Hanyu's singing is actually pretty good?"

"The teacher said you have a solid foundation..."

"Isn't he a science student? How come he has a talent for music too..."

Yuzuru sat back down, his face calm, but his heart was in turmoil.

He was clearly trying his best to make his singing sound mediocre, but Ms. Nagai Ayano could still tell that his singing skills had a lot of room for improvement.

……

"Hanyu-kun, I think you sing pretty well."

As soon as the school bell rang, Morishita Yuko, who sat in front of me, turned around to talk to me, her face showing surprise.

"It's so off-key, and you still think it sounds good?" Yuzuru Toru packed his things without even looking up.

"Yeah, even if you're off-key, you're still better than a lot of people, right?" Yuko Morishita rested her chin on her hand, as if recalling some unpleasant past event. "I remember when I was in my first year of high school, I heard that high school detective sing."

"Who?"

"High school detective, Shinichi Kudo, don't you know him?" Yuko Morishita asked, looking puzzled.

"know."

"Back in my first year of high school, there was a class party where we had to sing. When it was his turn..." Yuko Morishita paused, her expression becoming subtle, "...that Kudo-kun's singing was... utterly ear-piercing. I initially thought it was a problem with the sound system, but after the party, someone told me that I realized Kudo was actually tone-deaf!"

"..."

Yuzuru never expected that Conan's musical talent had reached the point where it was being used as a negative example throughout the entire grade.

Perhaps Conan's singing ability is the real "legend" compared to the so-called famous detective.