The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 87-88

Chapter 87: The Diva Is as Usual

“…Who are you again?”

Rinmei tilted her head, taking off her earphones as she asked this. Hearing her question, Keisuke felt a deep anger welling up inside him.

“You…! How dare you act so casual…!”

But…in the next moment, his expression turned mocking. That’s right; he would make her experience the same thing as before. Someone as popular as her didn’t belong here.

“I’m surprised. Are you going to treat us to that ugly song of yours again? Go ahead! Give us another good laugh! Haha!”

If he said that, she’d surely cry. He had watched her long enough to know he wasn’t mistaken. Certain of this, he sneered as he spoke, but Rinmei merely stared back at him, showing no reaction.

For a moment, he felt a slight hesitation at the shift in her presence. But…after a pause, Rinmei just looked at him briefly, then moved to put her earphones back in, as if she was about to listen to her music again.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me, you!”

“…What?”

She cast a protesting look his way, as if to say he was giving her a headache, but he had no patience left for subtleties.

“Did you hear me, you brat? I said I’ll listen to your song, so sing already! Why are you ignoring me like this?!”

“…I have nothing to sing for you. I don’t owe you that, either…That’s it.”

She dismissed him bluntly, and seeing her act like that, not only Keisuke’s cronies but the entire class was left in shock. She was different from before…She had grown beyond him in ways they hadn’t expected, and they couldn’t hide their surprise.

“…She got a little popular, and now she’s all full of herself…”

His anger at being ignored had reached its limit. When was the last time he’d felt such humiliation? He felt as if he didn’t exist to her, and it unsettled him.

Taking a sidelong glance at the enraged Keisuke, Rinmei sighed deeply, exasperated. Then, as if finally deciding to engage, she took out her earphones and looked at him.

“Oh, you’re finally paying attention. Now sing! Let’s hear it, let us all listen to your song!”

“Sing! Sing!” Keisuke’s voice echoed through the classroom, forcing her to sing. Some people who never liked her smirked quietly, while those who were too scared to intervene averted their eyes.

In response, she…took a deep breath to calm herself, as she always did, and in the next moment, her voice filled the room.

“…!”

The sound wasn’t the distorted noise they’d heard in videos. It was captivating, able to grip anyone’s heart…It was the kind of voice one would expect from someone called a diva.

Even Keisuke and those mocking her fell silent, stunned, their mouths agape.

“…That’s it.”

“Ah…”

Everyone must have wanted to hear more, but Rinmei’s voice trailed off abruptly, leaving them wanting.

“…Satisfied? You got to hear the song you called ugly.”

Though her face was expressionless, a hint of mockery was palpable. Her gestures were strikingly beautiful, enchanting everyone in the room.

“…I don’t care about the past. I only came here because I didn’t want to worry someone…because I wanted to repay that person.”

And so, the diva’s voice resonated in everyone’s ears.

“…So don’t get it wrong. It’s not for you. And…don’t come near me again.”

With that final statement, Rinmei put her earphones back in. Looking a bit frustrated, she murmured, “This song that Eiji recommended is difficult…”

(…W-What the hell was that…?)

He had wanted to make fun of her. He had wanted to remind her of her place…But that desire had vanished the moment she started singing.

And he realized. Just how incredible her voice was…and how foolish he had been.

(Damn…damn it…!)

He cursed, but his voice didn’t carry through the classroom.

Keisuke found himself terribly afraid of Rinmei.

The quiet classroom stayed that way until the school bell rang and the homeroom teacher entered.

And Rinmei…happily listened to the songs Eiji had recommended.

As always, the diva remained the same, even when she was at school.

“…Hehe.”

—

**Chapter 88: Youth**

“…And that’s what happened.”

“I-I can’t believe it…”

Rinmei had slurped her udon, savoring it as if nothing had happened. Watching her, I found myself wondering if she had ever truly been scared enough to skip school.

“Yeah, there are always people like that who cling to you in annoying ways. I had someone like that, too, so I honestly wanted to stay out of it,” Sayaka said, frowning while she slurped her ramen.

“Well, wasn’t that fine? Do as you like—I won’t say a thing,” Kanna said as she dipped her soba in noodle broth, a rather unusual choice for that season.

“…Um, you three? Wasn’t it strange…to lack some kind of consistency?”

Even though I had made the meal, I couldn’t help but ask, seeing that each of them was eating a different type of noodles. They answered me casually, as if it was no big deal.

“I decided to only eat ramen.”

“As for me, if I ate noodles, it was soba…Honestly, I couldn’t eat much else.”

“…Udon was justice…it was important.”

“I-I see…”

It seemed everyone had their own noodle preferences. It was easy for me since I just had to prepare it ahead of time, so I couldn’t complain.

“Oh, that reminded me! Eiji-san, speaking of Rinmei, I remembered something! You have to hear this!”

“Wh-What was it this time?”

Looking annoyed, Sayaka repeatedly slammed her hands on the table. Had she gotten into some kind of trouble again?

“I got pestered by that guy again! And he acted all weird! Ugh, just remembering it made me mad!”

“…Who was it again?”

“You know, the soccer boy! The one who approached us when you walked me home!”

“S-Soccer boy?”

…Could she have meant Iida-kun? I knew he played soccer, but wasn’t there a better way to put it?

The image that came to mind was that handsome guy we had met when Sayaka was feeling unsettled, and I walked her home.

“Oh, right, him…So, what happened?”

“He kept asking me creepy questions! Even when I tried to leave, he’d make a pathetic face and beg me to stay! And then, everyone around was yelling and being noisy…it was so exhausting!”

“I-I see…That must’ve been rough.”

Maybe it was Iida-kun’s face? I bet the girls around him couldn’t help but scream at how handsome he was. I had seen scenes like that back in high school. It was probably nerve-wracking for Sayaka, though.

“On top of that, he kept asking about you, Eiji-san! After he was done, he even told me to stay away from you. Hah! Eiji-san is a much better person than you!”

With a loud bang, she slammed her hands on the table, the sound echoing across the room, leaving me with no choice but to smile wryly.

“…Actually, I…well…who was it again? Whoever it was, they kept taunting me too.”

“Were they…aggressive?”

“No, they just suddenly insulted me…and often talked to me for no reason.”

She tilted her head, looking puzzled, but after hearing both of their stories, a thought came to mind. Kanna must have thought the same thing, as we glanced at each other and shared a laugh.

“Wh-What was it? I was being serious! I wanted to ignore that guy!”

“Did something strange happen?”

“No, it’s just…It seemed like you two were going through your own little ‘youth’ experiences.”

“??”

The two of them looked at each other, genuinely confused…but it seemed like they had both caught the eye of some real characters.

“You two, maybe you should think more seriously about those people. Who knows? They might end up becoming important to you.”

You know, like a boyfriend or something. I didn’t know those guys well, but if they made these girls happy…Their faces immediately went serious.

“What? No way. That was impossible.”

“…Besides, I didn’t even know who they were…To me, they were just people who hurt me.”

Ah, haha…it seemed their opinions of them were pretty low.

“And…”

Rinmei turned towards me and clung to my arm.

“…To me, the most important person is Eiji…That’s an unchanging fact…it’ll never change.”

“O-Oh…”

Her intense presence had caught me off guard for a moment.

“Exactly. No matter what guys appeared, it didn’t matter. Eiji-san was always kind and there for me…He was the person who saved me, even someone like me.”

“Sa-Sayaka…”

“Oh, if anyone was aiming for Eiji-san, I wouldn’t stand idly by either.”

“E-Even you, Kanna…”

Kanna let out an unsettling chuckle, and Sayaka and Rinmei responded fiercely, not backing down.

Caught in the middle of their gaze, I could only give a dry laugh.

But more than anything…I was truly glad that Rinmei’s school life seemed to be going smoothly.