After the afternoon training, Nanxiang called Wu Geng to Konno's office.

Following Nanxiang, he walked through the long corridor. Nanxiang stopped at the door of the room and motioned for Wu Gen to go in.

"Konano-san." Wu Geng stood in front of the desk, facing this big shot in the operation alone for the first time, as if he had done something wrong and was taught a lesson by the class teacher.

"How's it going? Are you still used to the four-party center?" Seeing Wu Geng standing there blankly, he rubbed his hands uneasily, finding it interesting. Konno motioned her to relax and just sit on the sofa.

"...Well." Wu Geng tilted his head and sat on the corner of the sofa.

In the empty room, the window behind Konno was wide open, with a slight backlight angle. She squinted her eyes.

"The results in the fourth single were good. I heard from Ueno that you worked hard."

"...No, this is the result of the whole group." Wu Geng adjusted his sitting posture.

"Don't be so restrained." Konno said with a smile, "To tell you the truth, the results of the four orders did exceed the operation's expectations. The original plan of 100,000 distribution was to achieve the goal of six or seven orders, but I didn't expect you to complete the four orders. So.

I plan to go on location after the new year and treat you well."

"The whole group participates?" Wu Geng asked.

"Don't worry, the under team will also participate." Hearing the implication of Wu Geng's words, Konno appreciated her more.

"...Ikoma, how have you been during this time?" he asked pretending to be casual.

"How...it's still the same as before."

Wu Geng thought of Ikoma's reaction at the Christmas party. Four singles in a row was indeed a relatively heavy pressure, and Ikoma did have the idea of ​​​​relieving this burden and choosing someone else. But it was not her place to say it.

"Fifth update, you have some experience in the center. Although you are a double C, don't you have any ideas about this position?"

"...What do you mean?" Wu Geng realized the meaning of Konno's words.

"Ueno told me that she saw high potential in you. You have the ability and can shoulder the responsibility of leading the team upward. I know a series of recent events. Your efforts in this order,

I, including the operation, all see it, so what do you think?"

"..."

I have no idea.

She couldn't say it so bluntly, so she simply expressed her attitude in silence.

Konno also predicted the girl's reaction.

The first-term members of Nogizaka are not weak in quality and have the energy to fight, but most of them are against the behemoth of the official opponent AKB. On the contrary, the competitive atmosphere among the members in the group is not very strong.

"Don't you want to test your limits?" He asked from a different angle.

"Konano-san, you think too highly of me," Wu Geng smiled. At this time, she was not so nervous. "I can barely dance this dance to be considered qualified."

"Your barely qualified dance has sold four orders worth nearly 500,000 yuan."

"...That's not my fault alone."

Konno saw the resistance revealed in Wu Geng's words and stopped continuing on this topic.

After some encouragement, Wu Geng was asked to go back.

Before going out, Wu Geng hesitated for a moment and asked

"Konano-san, have you talked to Ikoma about Wudan Center?"

"not yet."

Konno quietly watched the girl in front of the door slowly frown, and the atmosphere became solemn.

"Konano-san," she said thoughtfully, "I don't have the right to choose, right?"

Konno smiled instead and did not answer the question.

"Fifth watch," he said, "pay more attention to Ikoma's situation and don't make a decision in a hurry." There was a sense of victory in that smile.

Wu Geng hated self-righteous adults. She slowly tightened her hand on the doorknob, then calmed down the emotions on her face, lowered her head, bowed slightly, and closed the door to the room.

Nanxiang, who had been standing outside the door, opened the door and walked in.

"Is there really no problem? Hasn't the operation already planned that Rina Ikoma will lead Nogizaka through this development period in the first five sales? Teacher Akimoto also agrees?" Nango asked.

Konno had told him her thoughts, so she could roughly guess the topic of the conversation. Seeing Wu Geng leave with a calm expression, she probably didn't want to be the center of Wu Geng.

"Teacher Akimoto has already informed us that the operational plan is not an absolute plan for the future development of Nogizaka. Changes will always be made based on the situation," Konno said.

Then, he sighed.

"It's okay that Wakazuki Yumi's incident was just a false alarm, but the rumors on the Internet are not so easy to calm down. The original management chose Ikoma because he saw the hidden perseverance in her and her willingness to sacrifice herself for the team.

Determination, I admit that this is a despicable decision for adults. Things progressed as expected. As the center, Ikoma attracted most of the verbal attacks on Nogizaka. She was like a shield, blocking most of the harm.

"

"But," he continued, "if a 17-year-old girl is placed in this position for four times, you can imagine the pressure she is under. Because of the handshake incident, Nogizaka's attention has greatly increased on the Internet.

It has improved, and at the same time, the doubts have become more intense. Although I don’t want to use this metaphor, even a shield will inevitably wear out during use, and regular maintenance is very necessary.”

"Didn't the release of the fourth single change some of the negative comments about Nogizaka Mirai? And -" Nango paused for a moment, calmed down a little, and then continued to speak.

"And Ikoma has never complained to me. The child has always fulfilled his duties with all his heart."

"That's the problem." Konno tapped his fingers on the table three times.

"Ikoma is so strong," he said. "Even if she encounters difficulties, her first thought is to get through it by herself. Even if the water reaches her chin, she will not frown in front of others. That child doesn't know how to ask for help."

"..."

Nanxiang failed to refute.

In fact, none of the members who joined Nogizaka should be strong. Hashimoto, Shiraishi, Ikoma, and Akimoto. Under the heavy pressure of AKB, a giant in the industry, members who do not have firm beliefs are destined to not go far. In a few years, they are expected to remain

The ones that fell were even rarer.

"Ikoma cannot bear the pressure of public opinion on the Internet alone. She needs to put down the burden and rest. If one day her tight string suddenly breaks and she drowns in the sea, it will not be possible to pull her up at that time.

The situation when she was rescued ashore - there were 32 other members behind her."

"...Konano-san," Nanxiang said after being silent for a long time, "if the sales of the fourth order are mediocre, would you still consider letting Wu Geng be the center?"

This sentence seemed to be put aside by Konno. Konno bypassed it and asked Nanxiang a question instead.

"You know Ikoma doesn't want to be the center, right?"

Nanxiang remained silent by default.

"After the five single selection program has been taped the day after tomorrow, let's give the members a few days off." Konno leaned back on his seat and looked at the five single selection position list prepared by the management in front of him.

“I’ll still be busy next year.”
Chapter completed!