Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 37

Itsuragi Runa?!

Having eaten and drunk their fill, they officially set out.

Before departure, Itsuragi fiddled with her phone for a while, connected to Bluetooth, and played a song.

In the car’s audio system, a deep and magnetic voice echoed, “How wonderful it would be if all of this were a dream. To continue meeting you in dreams.”

“This song is ‘Lemon’?”

In an instant, Ninomiya recognized the song.

This song had become popular in recent years.

While it might not be heard on every street corner, it was a well-known and widely listened-to hit song.

“Oh, right. Can you guess who’s singing?”

Driving the car, Itsuragi, seeing that he instantly recognized the song, asked with great joy.

“It doesn’t sound like the original singer, but it’s very similar, yet with a slight difference.”

Ninomiya had an impression of the original and could discern the differences.

“Listen again.”

Itsuragi nodded, signaling to continue listening.

If the original rendition of the song evoked a feeling of painful memories, containing lingering sadness, as if remembering the passing of a loved one, then this version added a heart-wrenching sorrow amid the pain and sadness. It conveyed a sense of inconsolable longing, lonely reminiscence.

The emotions conveyed by the singing voice were not reminiscing about a departed family member, as in the original, but rather reminiscing about a lover. It felt like the singer’s lover was no longer present, perhaps in a dream or reality, evoking a powerful and contagious sentiment.

“What has this person been through? Did his wife pass away?”

As the song ended, Ninomiya’s expression became somewhat solemn, and she couldn’t help but ask.

“No need for a music video, no need for a stage performance, just with the voice alone, it made her feel that the performer’s wife had passed away, only then could he sing with such a heart-wrenching feeling.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s shocking or not. This cover is simply amazing, the singing skills are superb!”

Itsuragi shook her head and couldn’t help but turn around to see the expressions and reactions of the two.

When she first heard this song recommended by her colleague, she was immediately impressed.

Covering a popular song is a thankless task. A popular song implies that the original singer’s level has already been widely recognized by the public. Covering a song tends to receive criticism for not matching the original.

However, this cover artist’s skill level was so high that the same song could convey a different feeling, like a completely different version between male and female voices.

“Miss Runa, what’s your last name?” At this moment, Kurosawa spoke up.

“My last name is Itsuragi. Why are you asking this question?” After answering instinctively, Itsuragi suddenly came to her senses, recalling the encounter this morning, “Oh, right, Chizuru didn’t mention my last name when introducing me.”

“How was it? How did you feel about this song?” After speaking, she couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s quite nice. Miss Runa, please drive seriously and don’t turn around,” Kurosawa noticed her constant gaze and quickly responded.

They were in the back seat without seat belts, and if there was an accident, it would be a disaster.

“Yes, yes. Give me more comments. Don’t you think his singing is very infectious?” Itsuragi thought the song was a masterpiece and inquired.

“Encore! Encore!” Just at that moment, after the song ended, there was a lively cheer.

Upon hearing this, Kurosawa instantly recognized the energetic voice as Shiina Ai, and the collective shout for an encore.

“So, Miss Runa’s full name is Itsuragi Runa?” Kurosawa lowered his head, exclaiming in his heart, how could things be so coincidental?

If he had only been suspicious of that song just now, with the addition of the voice of Shiina and the situation, he was now completely certain.

Miss Runa was the one, whom Ichinose had mentioned, who wanted to meet for 50,000 yen.

And the Bluetooth playback wasn’t an audio track or song at all; it was the video he had recorded with Shiina and uploaded to YouTube.

Fortunately, the video had been edited.

If the video had been uploaded directly, his activities with the hot JK, as well as the delinquent youth in the karaoke, would have been exposed.

“Who’s this singer? It sounds like a live performance,” Ninomiya expressed her curiosity upon hearing the encore.

“He’s not a professional singer. Although it sounds like an encore and live performance, it’s actually from karaoke. A few friends gathered to sing together… The most amazing part is yet to come!” While driving, Itsuragi’s mood was overwhelming, and she spoke mysteriously.

Soon, another song started playing.

However, unlike the previous bowing at the start, this time, the voice was captivating from the beginning, and it was very soft.

“Isn’t this the original singer? Or did he sing it just like the original singer?” Ninomiya seriously listened for a while and felt puzzled.

“No, the original singer is playing on the phone. Usually, karaoke only has accompaniment, and most songs don’t have the original singer… In short, from here on, he listens to one song and sings one. He sang continuously for over two hours.” Itsuragi explained her judgement when she saw that Ninomiya didn’t understand.

“He listens to one and then sings one?” Ninomiya found this statement quite extraordinary.

If that was true, then it was really impressive.

“Judging by my intuition, he probably hasn’t practiced these songs before. In other words, he can sing very few songs, but no matter what song it is, he can sing it after hearing it once, and it sounds amazing.”

“So, he must have great potential?”

“Exactly. The videos of him singing have been uploaded to the internet. In just two days, it has already reached six hundred thousand views. Even now, it is still rising with extremely high popularity. It can be said to be spreading like wildfire. Currently, my agency and over a dozen other agencies are trying to find him. I was the fastest to reach out to him.”

“What’s the result?”

“I haven’t met him yet. It seems like this person doesn’t want to be a singer and isn’t interested in money. Even offering fifty thousand yuan just to meet him, he didn’t agree.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but anyway, I’ll take action in a couple of days. Even if it means stalking him, I will dig out his true identity, and then figure out a way. I absolutely want to sign him. I believe he can become a big hit!”

“Stalking? Isn’t that a crime?” Ninomiya, upon hearing this, reminded her.

“Stalking is not okay.” Kurosawa also chimed in.

“Don’t worry, I won’t violate anyone’s safety and privacy. I just found out that this singer has a good relationship with a certain hot JK. I plan to start investigating from her side. As long as I confirm who the singer is, that’s enough… This is not a crime, you know, a good horse is hard to come by, and a good judge of horses is even rarer!”

Itsuragi saw no issue with this and reassured them.

Upon hearing this, Kurosawa felt as if a bloody warning sign had appeared over his head.

“Danger!”