I live my life in Tokyo

After all, Iida Kei sees himself as a talented strategist, so the general under him must at least be able to defeat ten thousand enemies, right?

To put it bluntly, there are quite a lot of misfits in the actor training classes, and there are also many trainee actors with bad character. Actors like this are not only not valued by STARS agency, but also by other small agencies.

"Chizuru-chan wants to be an actor." There was no lack of praise in Sakakibara Kaede's words.

"It's a secret, I told you! I'm working towards this goal every day."

Chizuru Ichinose gave a wink. Well, she is really charming.

The two bowls of noodles brought by the waiter temporarily interrupted their conversation. The boy elegantly fixed the noodles together with a fork and then put them into his mouth. As the rich flavor of cream filled his mouth, Sakakibara Kaede nodded slightly.

He hasn't eaten Western food for a while.

Although, the STARS office's evening buffet includes Italian dishes, and of course there is no shortage of pasta, he has been having dinner at Higuchi Madoka's house every day for the past few months, and his mouth and taste have completely changed to Higuchi's.

Sometimes Asakura-san would also join the dinner party, and Sakakibara Kaede would chat with her more often. Higuchi Madoka would always stare at him coldly, leaving the boy at a loss as to what topic to talk about.

You can’t say dirty words, the person’s parents are here.

"Now ask a question! What do you like to do, Sakakibara-san? What are your hobbies?"

Halfway through the noodles, Chizuru Ichinose suddenly asked a question.

Sakakibara wiped his mouth and hummed, "What do I like to do usually? I think I like to watch TV series or movies. I think the characters and roles in them are worth my immersion and understanding."

"Speaking of hobbies, well, I've been practicing singing recently and planning to get involved in music."

"That's amazing, what musical instrument can Sakakibara-san play?" Chizuru Ichinose covered her mouth in surprise.

The boy thought about it and to be honest, he had some experience in all the instruments, but when it came to being truly proficient, Sakakibara Kaede practiced diligently in the past and he could play all four types of violins. In addition to these, he could also play the piano and guitar.

"Guitar, get ready to play and sing."

"Mr. Sakakibara, would you please play it for me if there is a chance?" Chizuru Ichinose smiled.

Sakakibara Kaede nodded, this was a piece of cake.

Ichinose Chizuru changed her stance and after a moment's thought, she asked, "Are you working part-time, Sakakibara-san?"

"I have to tutor... seven students now." The boy counted on his fingers, the five Nakano sisters plus his childhood sweethearts. "Besides this, I also work part-time in a cafe every afternoon. Well, this is what living alone is like. Independence is easy to say, but it's too hard to put into practice."

"Sakakibara-san works two jobs...it's so hard, so amazing."

Chizuru Ichinose was truly impressed, but also a little sad. After hearing the boy's last words, she felt the same way.

She is also living alone now, but this kind of life is not what she wants, or rather, she has to accept the fact that she lives alone.

"Do you believe now that I am studying at the University of Tokyo?" the boy said with a smile.

Ichinose Chizuru was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red and she lowered her head, her voice carrying a hint of annoyance, "How did Sakakibara-san know that?"

Sakakibara Kaede once studied micro-expressions with Toei's director Kiyoshi Takenaka. Just by moving a few tiny parts of the face, an affectionate gaze would immediately turn into hostility.

The boy naturally saw through Chizuru Ichinose's slight disbelief.

Sakakibara Kaede was chewing the mushroom in his mouth. His facial expression and micro-expressions naturally could not escape his sharp eyes.

However, he did not ask Chizuru Ichinose about the content of her part-time job. It was obvious that her part-time job was just renting a girlfriend.

Sakakibara Feng was slightly stunned. It seemed that the income from renting lovers was... a lot. The money was high and he could get respect. Every job was like a journey. With his eloquence, wouldn't he be able to maximize his performance?

Seeing the boy in a trance, Chizuru Ichinose lowered her head, wondering if she was really unattractive.

The seniors in the firm all said that they relied on their rhetoric and unintentional ambiguous means to keep the clients firmly on their side. Although she learned some of those tricks and used some of them, they did not cause any obvious impact on the boy.

Need to refuel in the afternoon.

Chizuru Ichinose clenched her fists lightly. She was determined to let Sakakibara-san meet her gentle, pretty and generous rental girlfriend at the aquarium in the afternoon.

Sakakibara Kaede took a sip of water and felt that Chizuru Ichinose had regained her spirits, as if she was on fire, and she couldn't help but tilt her head.

After he paid the bill out of his own pocket, the two of them left the port area on foot and headed towards Shinagawa area, feeling the sea breeze.

The summer sea breeze was not as hot and humid as imagined. On the contrary, it brought some coolness to the two people under the scorching sun.

The guide says that the aquarium is a dating destination for couples, where they hold hands and watch the fish swimming in the huge glass display cases. Under the azure color, two hearts slowly grow closer.

Ichinose Chizuru was sure of this.

Another reason for choosing the aquarium was... She had never been there before, so she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity at work to visit the aquarium and try something new.

There are thousands of places for a date, and the amusement park is also a good choice, Chizuru Ichinose thought silently. She went to the library and borrowed a lot of books on the subject of love. Among them, the school trip during high school was also a good opportunity to warm up feelings.

But she is not a high school student anymore.

Kaede Sakakibara didn't know what Chizuru Ichinose beside him was thinking, so he walked up and bought two adult tickets.

By showing your junior high school or high school ID, you can buy student tickets if you are under 17 years old, but you can only buy adult tickets if you are 18 years old. The boy felt it was a pity that he came too late and should enjoy himself as much as possible while he was still a high school student.

Although I think so, it doesn't mean that Sakakibara Kaede can't pay.

"Is this your first time here, Chizuru-chan?" the boy asked from the side.

As we entered the aquarium, the lights gradually dimmed, with only a few faint rays of light spilling along the built-in walls, and more coming from the artificial lights in the different glass display cases.

Chizuru Ichinose approached a display case and watched the fish swimming inside. Her perfect profile was illuminated by the flickering light. She whispered, "Well, this is my first time."

"Very beautiful." She smiled sideways.

Beautiful indeed.

Sakakibara Kaede moved closer to the glass wall and watched the little fish twisting its body under the light.

Soon, they walked to the next display case and continued looking.

Most of the people in the aquarium are couples and families. They hold hands and whisper silently under the blue world.

"Come on, let's go see the display cases in the deep sea area," Chizuru Ichinose invited.

She stretched out her hand, her face color couldn't be seen clearly in the dim light, but Chizuru Ichinose knew that her face was a little hot.

Sakakibara Kaede responded, stretched out his hand and shook hands with Chizuru Ichinose, then walked towards the next area.

It's not a handshake!

Chizuru Ichinose shouted in her heart, her face slightly red. Seeing that the couples around her were holding hands, she pretended to invite the boys to hold hands and go shopping together.

"Don't push yourself, Chizuru-chan."

The boy was walking in front, and now he turned around and waited for the girl behind him, "Every couple has a completely different way of getting along with each other, Chizuru-chan, don't force yourself too much."

“Ahahaha… yes.”

Chizuru Ichinose nodded in agreement, but sighed in frustration in her heart. Today's scoring was over.

The plan was completely disrupted, and the girl was a little confused. She didn't know how to continue to show her girlfriend power in front of Sakakibara-san.

Sakakibara Kaede looked at the troubled Chizuru Ichinose and observed her changing expressions from time to time. He actually found it interesting. He didn't see many people who could write their emotions on their faces like this.

If Chizuru Ichinose wants to change this habit, the boy will recommend that she get to know Madoka Higuchi.

The highlight of today was the dolphin show. The two entered the venue early and took their seats, and before they knew it, there were people sitting around them.

"Arnold... are you the actress Sakakibara Kaede?"

The two fashionably dressed girls sitting next to the boy turned their heads, with unsuppressible surprise in their voices.

Kaede Sakakibara did not wear sunglasses in the venue. He could not see anything clearly with sunglasses in such a dim aquarium.

Seeing the two high school-age girls, Sakakibara Kaede nodded slightly and put her index finger in front of her mouth, making a gesture to keep quiet.

However, this intimate action caused the two girls to burst into suppressed cries of surprise. Although the sound was not loud, Chizuru Ichinose heard it all.

"Actor... Sakakibara Kaede?"

Chizuru Ichinose was a little confused. She turned woodenly in the direction beside her. She had heard of this name.

To be precise, she heard from her classmates that when she was in her third year of high school, the real-life group in her class kept talking about the actress Sakakibara Kaede.

She had not watched the TV series that her classmates boasted about because she was preparing for the exam at the time - Chizuru Ichinose only watched the fan promotional short film on the N station.

The boy in the video was surrounded by starlight, and his graceful smile when he looked back is still vivid in my mind.

The boy took out a pen from his pocket, took the notebook from the two girls, and wrote his name skillfully.

"Um... Sakakibara-san, who is this big sister?" The girl put away the notebook like a treasure and looked at Ichinose Chizuru curiously.

The scrutinizing look made Chizuru Ichinose stiffen her body, and she reflexively shrank back into her seat.

"Ah... this is my colleague." Sakakibara Kaede smiled naturally, "This time I came to the aquarium to collect inspiration for future scripts, please keep it a secret~"

"Yes! We will definitely not say anything nonsense!"

The two girls clenched their fists and nodded excitedly. Although they would not talk nonsense online, it did not stop them from showing off in front of their classmates.

After calming down the fans who recognized him with a few words, Sakakibara Kaede turned his attention to the dolphins.

He naturally noticed Chizuru Ichinose's curled up body and frightened eyes.

Jie Jie Jie Jie.

Is this the fun of pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger?

Chapter 5: Senior, eloquent

"that..."

After the show ended, Chizuru Ichinose followed the boy slowly, and the two came to a quiet corner where no one stopped to admire the fish swimming in the fish tank.

"what happened?"

"You... you are an actor, Sakakibara Kaede, right?"

Ichinose Chizuru said in a low voice.

Sakakibara Kaede nodded, "Well, I am indeed an actor, and my name is indeed Sakakibara Kaede. Does that embarrass you?"

"How could it be! It's just..."

Chizuru Ichinose twisted her fingers in confusion, biting her lower lip and unable to speak.

Such a famous actor, why didn’t I recognize him at first?!

Why did such a famous actor choose me for a simulated date? No, no, why did he want to find a rental girlfriend? With actor Sakakibara's conditions, there are plenty of them, right?

The boy didn't know that in Chizuru Ichinose's mind, he had already been imagined by her to be the male protagonist of an asshole light novel who had a harem. If he knew, he would probably shed tears, nod in empathy, and accept such a fate.

In order to prevent Chizuru Ichinose from thinking the wrong thing, Sakakibara clarified, "Chizuru-chan, I am indeed an actor, but you should just treat me as an ordinary person and don't have too much psychological pressure."

"But...I won't cause you any trouble?"

Ichinose Chizuru said stammeringly.

Sakakibara Kaede was stunned. He didn't expect her to say such a thing. To be honest, the boy was a little surprised and amazed.

In this case, the question asked is not whether one has been deceived, but rather whether Sakakibara Kaede's reputation will be damaged.

The boy grinned, "How could that be?"

"Well... never mind. Seeing how disturbed you are, we can't go on with the date."

Sakakibara Kaede said with a smile, which made Chizuru Ichinose blush even more. He turned around and motioned the girl to follow him. "Although I want to make it short, I can't finish it in a short time. Let's go sit in the rest area and I'll tell you slowly."

"Ah."

Ichinose Chizuru agreed weakly and followed his shadow closely. Her thoughts went from being confused at the beginning to being even more confused now.

Food and drinks can be purchased in the rest area. The two of them had already had lunch and were not hungry, so they only ordered two drinks.

Sakakibara Kaede leaned back on the sofa and took a sip of the slightly sweet grapefruit lemon tea. Seeing the girl sitting upright with her hands placed straight and neatly on her knees, like an elementary school student who had done something wrong, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Chizuru-chan... No, I'd better call you Ichinose-san."

Hearing her real name being called, Chizuru Ichinose was startled. She must have done something wrong.

Could it be that the young man in front of me with a smile on his face, bright eyes and sparse brows is a policeman, and being an actor is just his undercover identity?

The boy didn't know that Chizuru Ichinose had wrong ideas again. He coughed lightly and said, "Ichinose-san wants to be an actor?"

This is a question, so it naturally needs an answer.

Chizuru Ichinose nodded obediently. She clenched her fists and said softly, "It is my dream to become an actor."

"Ichinose-san just passed the entrance exam for the Nerima District Rising Star Actor Training Class two days ago?"