Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 8

Telepathic Connection

“Can you handle it?” Kurosawa asked.

He suppressed the fluttering feelings and was surprised at the magnitude of this game punishment.

If they were a regular couple, as long as they were a bit open-minded, doing such things would be natural.

However, he and Ichinose were just a “one-day” couple. They only met last night, and it had been less than half an hour since they met in person today.

“Karaoke is my strength. As long as it’s a song I’m good at, I usually score around 90 points. Just don’t deliberately hold us back, okay?” Ichinose said, without answering the question directly.

“Score?”

Kurosawa found the competition format intriguing.

He had heard about the scoring system of Japanese karaoke but never had the chance to experience it.

It was said that the scoring system was strict, evaluating the entire song based on precision, pitch, expressiveness, sense of rhythm, stability, vibrato, and endurance. The final report was a result of these aspects.

Such a mode added challenge and entertainment to singing.

“Why are you laughing? You’re not planning to lose on purpose, are you?” Ichinose felt a bit embarrassed when she saw his smile.

“Didn’t I say it? I sell my skills, not myself. You’re the one who shouldn’t think about losing intentionally.” Kurosawa tilted his head slightly, looking at her with a sidelong glance. 

This slight turn of the head created a moment of eye contact between the two.

Though the lighting was a bit dim, the proximity of the two made everything crystal clear, to the extent that their breaths could reach each other’s faces.

“…”

Ichinose looked at the man in front of her, feeling that his face was much more handsome up close than through the phone screen.

In this intense gaze, Ichinose felt a bit flustered, retracting her head and saying, “Choose a song, choose a song.”

“Yuki, what are you whispering to your boyfriend?” Akiyuki already selected a song and, seeing their hushed conversation, asked loudly.

“It’s a secret~” Ichinose also raised her voice, smiling.

Hinata had already started singing a rock song. Although there was only an instrumental, his singing skills and voice are quite impressive.

Hiis singing, accompanied by background music, made it difficult to communicate without speaking loudly.

During the singing, everyone enthusiastically participated, picking up various props such as maracas, tambourines, glow sticks, and colored torches.

For a moment, the atmosphere was extremely lively and cheerful.

Seeing this scene, Kurosawa also tactfully picked up a prop to join in the support.

Thank goodness we’re not all 20 and old enough to drink yet, or it would feel even crazier. Kurosawa thought to himself, participating in such an event for the first time.

In his past life, he had been to a KTV, back during a class reunion. Although it was lively, it couldn’t compare to the atmosphere now.

In no time, Hinata finished singing and stood in place, waiting.

“85!”

As the number appeared on the screen, Hinata immediately clenched his fist and cheered.

“Hinata, exceptional performance!” 

Seeing this, Sato commented.

Singing a song and scoring above 85 was already a very good level.

“It’s Kozuki’s turn.” Shiina announced.

“Let’s kick it off!” Akiyuki stood up, took the microphone handed over by her boyfriend, and smiled.

The next song was Utada Hikaru’s “First Love.”

For Kurosawa, this song didn’t leave a deep impression, but he vaguely remembered Utada Hikaru’s name from his past life.

In fact, the Japan he transmigrated to was quite peculiar. In various fields such as TV dramas, anime, games, music, there were many similarities to his past life, but there were also some differences. For example, there were some unheard-of major celebrities, and even the Prime Minister was different.

Since Kurosawa had limited knowledge of Japanese entertainment culture, he only knew widely known things and household names. So, after transmigrating, without any hacks or systems for 20 years, he could only focus on studying, putting aside all distractions.

While Akiyuki was singing, Matsushita’s boyfriend pushed the song selection machine onto the table.

Ichinose brought it over and leaned in next to Kurosawa, saying, “We’ll choose a duet song so that we can score higher.”

“No need. You choose one you’re good at, and I’ll pick one I’m good at.” Kurosawa shook his head.

Ichinose insisted when she saw his disagreement.

“This is a strategic plan.”

“I know very few songs, and instead of tactics, what you need to consider more is whether I can sing it or not,” Kurosawa explained when she didn’t seem to understand.

He knew very little about Japanese songs, and he rarely listened to them. If the song had to be a duet, the options he had would become even more limited. 

Ichinose paused for a moment and then quickly caught on.

“You’re right.”

Yes, even if she wanted to find a song sung by both men and women to force a higher score, if Kurosawa couldn’t sing it, wouldn’t it be over?

“You go ahead and choose.”

Kurosawa, seeing her a bit clueless and a bit slow, smiled.

“I’ll choose my best one first, let’s start with a high score,” Ichinose nodded, then began to select a song.

Soon, she had picked a song.

Taking the song selection machine, Kurosawa started browsing through the song library.

In fact, Kurosawa was eager to try the singing session today. He couldn’t wait to see how good the entry-level vocal skills provided by the system were.

Before coming here, he had already selected a few songs to try singing.

Although I haven’t let others hear it and don’t know my level, as long as I select a song, I’ll be able to sing it.

After carefully searching, he selected a song.

“What did you pick?” Ichinose couldn’t wait and took a look when he put down the song selection machine.

The last song was “Chiisana Koi no Uta (Little Love Song).”

“You picked the same song as me.” Seeing this song, Ichinose shook Kurosawa’s arm and pointed to the song list.

This song was too popular, consistently ranking high on the annual karaoke charts, and almost everyone knew how to sing it.

“What a coincidence?” Kurosawa glanced at it and found that it was indeed two versions of the same song, and couldn’t help but be surprised.

“It’s actually okay to have the same song. It’s more like a coincidence. Just so you know, the version you chose is the female version.” Ichinose couldn’t help but smile when she saw his reaction.

“Is there a male version?” Kurosawa didn’t want to switch to another song. Since they had the same song, it was even better. He could listen to Ichinose sing first, and familiarize himself with the lyrics and rhythm.

In his impression, there weren’t many Japanese songs to choose from. Although there were some anime songs, they weren’t suitable for singing, especially since idol groups represented the pinnacle of mainstream culture. For mainstream people, singing anime songs would associate them with otaku culture, and even if they scored high, it would diminish their status. Moreover, “Chiisana Koi no Uta” was a love song.

“Yes, this song is so popular, and there are many versions. I’ll switch it to the male version for you.”

Ichinose nodded as she operated the machine. She felt a bit happy because it seemed that Kurosawa chose the song unintentionally, not after looking at her selection. This kind of mutual understanding made her inexplicably happy. 

Seeing her sweet smile, Kurosawa was also infected by her mood. Instead of a polite smile, he responded with a bright and cheerful one.

“Sure.”