I live my life in Tokyo

Sakakibara Kaede quickly struck up a conversation with an older actor, a veteran actor who he had heard of in TV series he had starred in, in which he had always played the role of an elder.

"Yeah, I've played leading roles like the third male lead in the past, but I've never won the competition for the first male lead."

The middle-aged man whose stage name is Kitaro scratched his head and laughed. His voice was rough, making people feel close to him instantly. This might be his own charm.

As he said, when he was young, he had the opportunity to participate in and star in large-scale script performances.

But as he grew older, he no longer had the advantages he had when he was young, which made him go through a long period of adaptation until he finally determined his own path as an actor and appeared in front of the public as a family member beside the protagonist.

"Sakakibara-kun is young and energetic. This time you should be auditioning for the leading role, right?" Uncle Kitaro said with a smile. He stretched out his rough hand and shook hands with Sakakibara Kaede. "I am looking forward to your performance."

"No, no, you're too polite."

Sakakibara Kaede laughed a few times and after greeting a few mature elders, he unexpectedly saw a familiar actor.

"Senior Geshan?"

The trendy-dressed man tilted his head and said, "You are... ah, now I remember, we had a conversation when we were filming the Taiga drama."

Sakakibara Kaede walked forward politely to say hello. The man in front of him was much older than him, about the same age as Ken Sano, and debuted earlier. Different from the direction that Sakakibara Kaede had shot before, Nobuto Katsurayama shot movies and also participated in many variety shows. He could be said to have achieved success in both fields.

The two were not particularly familiar with each other. They met once during the filming of the Taiga drama and had a brief exchange of words when discussing the fighting plot.

Nobuto Katsurayama knows that Sakakibara Kaede is not a show-off like other actors. He will really fight if given a weapon, not to mention that he has been recognized by Mr. Miyamoto. Such an actor deserves his respect.

"Senior Geshan is auditioning for the lead role?"

"Do you want me to audition for a starring role?"

Katsurayama Nobuto asked back. He looked at Sakakibara Kaede's smile and couldn't help but shook his head and smiled first. "Sorry, sorry, it was just a joke. I didn't audition for the leading actor. I heard that Toei's standard for selecting roles this time is a new generation actor, so I didn't participate in the audition for the leading role."

"I actually feel like if Geshan-senpai had come to audition for the male lead, my name would have been called just now."

"You are too modest."

Nobuto Katsuyama's attitude is very casual. You can understand that he doesn't care much about the social etiquette between seniors and juniors, or you can understand that he doesn't treat you as an outsider.

Sakakibara Kaede noticed the personality and speaking style of Senior Katsuyama. He spoke in a way that suited the person he was talking to. Just now he was very respectful to Senior Kitaro, who was an uncle, but now he was relatively casual in his words to Senior Katsuyama.

"Hmm...you two are on good terms, have you known each other before?"

Hearing this voice, the two people who were chatting turned their heads at the same time, and after seeing the newcomer, they bowed at the same time, "Mason."

Katsurayama Nobuto coughed and said, "I have collaborated with Sakakibara-san on a fight scene in a Taiga drama before. Sakakibara-san's swordsmanship was smooth and sharp, and I will never forget it."

"Senior Geshan is exaggerating."

The stonemason nodded. He had already pulled out all the information about Sakakibara Kaede, and naturally also found out about his minor roles in the Taiga drama.

He felt lucky when he thought of this. Fortunately, Toei was quick this time and grabbed an actor with outstanding athletic talents first.

"Well, you will be partners in the future, so it's a good thing for you to get to know each other." The stonemason grinned, nodded to Sakakibara Kaede, then came to the center of the lounge and clapped, attracting the attention of all the actors.

"Well, the cast list will be handed over to you by the staff, and everyone should have gotten the role they wanted. In addition to the first time, the first week's script will also be handed over to everyone, and the actors participating in the performance need to understand the plot as soon as possible. The official shooting time is Monday of the following week, and we will take a large bus to Nagano Prefecture on that day to shoot the first scene."

"Oh!"

Everyone responded loudly.

Sakakibara Kaede took two manuscripts from the staff. He saw the position of the male lead on the first manuscript, smiled, moved his eyes down, and read the character introduction.

Just enjoy it first. As for understanding the characters and analyzing the plot, you need to complete them patiently after you get home.

But it's Monday a week later, so I guess I have to ask Dean Kimura for a long vacation.

Sakakibara Kaede's calves twitched at the thought. In the past, he had to ask for leave for a few days at a time, but now he asked for half a year directly. The wrath of the Emperor of Han was not so easy to bear. He was afraid that his golden medal of immunity from death would be confiscated in the next moment, and he would have to watch himself being dragged out by the guards and torn into pieces by five horses with the tacit consent of the Emperor of Han.

Just as he was lost in thought, Mai Sakurajima patted his shoulder.

"ん?"

"Sakakibara-senpai, are you free tonight?"

"Well... I do have some free time after tutoring Higuchi-san. What's up?"

"I want to discuss the first week's script with you." Sakurajima Mai laughed and showed the first draft to Sakakibara Kaede, "Jiang Jiang!"

"Sawatari... Sakurako, who is it?"

"Stupid, the leading actress."

Sakurajima Mai lifted up her long black hair that was hanging by her ears and narrowed her eyes with a smile, "Sakakibara-senpai, we are going to have a scene together again after a long time."

"Ah."

Higuchi Madoka stood aside, looking at the manuscript in her hand. It was about a girl named Nana Asahina who fell in love with the protagonist at first sight.

Maybe, this kind of role is not bad.

Sometimes, the characters can say words for the actors that they cannot say in the real world. Higuchi Madoka covered her chest, feeling this strange emotion.

"——Yuan Xiang-chan, Yuan Xiang-chan?"

"..Sorry, what's wrong?"

"Want to chat about the plot tonight?"

Sakurajima Mai watched the fleeting complexity on Higuchi Yuanxiang's face, and stretched out her hand to her with a smile.

She now feels that Yuanxiang-chan is becoming more and more interesting, in a good way of course.

After distributing the scripts and deciding on the schedules, everyone went back to their homes. Sakakibara Kaede shook hands and said goodbye to several familiar actors. It must be said that adult actors have their advantages. When it is time to get off work, they can just pat their butts and leave. No one can stop them from getting off work.

Just so capricious.

In contrast, today's young actors do not leave after work, and still stay in the work lounge to eat and drink, or pester the director to ask questions. Such a fast-paced life is really uncomfortable for the body and mind.

Sakakibara Kaede thought with gritted teeth, praising the working methods of adult actors while sighing at the inward-looking behavior of young people in the industry today.

He was stunned, and the cool breeze blowing in his face chilled his heart... Wasn't this the way he rolled it up?

This... is living the life I hate the most.

Mai Sakurajima watched Sakakibara Kaede's expression change from a close distance and guessed that he was probably thinking about the plot. She was so bored that she leaned on the subway seat, not knowing what to do for a while.

Higuchi Yuanxiang sat beside her and sighed silently. She had never felt this way before. She felt that Sakurajima Mai's attitude towards her recently was a little strange.

No matter what happens, she is dragged into it, but everything is related to Sakakibara Kaede. What does this mean?

Higuchi Madoka crossed her legs nervously. She had never experienced this before. In Childhood Friends, Asakura Toru was the riddle man who could only say um and aha, Hina could only say aha and aha, and Koito was the group's favorite. . . It was useless to ask them.

It's useless to ask Sakakibara Kaede.

Blinking her purple eyes, Higuchi Madoka still didn't know the answer.

After getting off the train, Sakurajima Mai and Higuchi Madoka walked towards the supermarket to buy ingredients for today's dinner.

Because Mrs. Higuchi went out to play with Mrs. Asakura again, and Asakura Toru was too busy with work tonight to come, which meant that if Sakurajima Mai didn't come today, Higuchi Madoka would be alone with Sakakibara Kaede tonight.

All I can say is, what a coincidence.

Mai Sakurajima looked at the packaging bags on the shelf and skillfully selected different flavors. Higuchi Madoka's cooking experience was indeed improving rapidly, but she was not as mature as Mai Sakurajima when it came to shopping in the supermarket.

Kaede Sakakibara was pushing the shopping cart in the back, humming a little tune while looking at his phone. This way of shopping reminded him of the time when he went shopping with his family in the past.

When the women are shopping for clothes, the men take out their phones and start browsing. Hmm... that makes sense.

Although the occasion now is not to buy clothes, it’s almost the same.

The new album will be released this Saturday, and the band’s official account has entered a real countdown. Sakakibara Kaede has been scrolling through it and found that every day the official will release a photo of them in the recording studio - after appropriate corrections and photoshop.

The top photo is the makeup photo of the three of them facing the camera.

In this photo, the three of them are dressed very casually. Most of their clothes are loose, but they are printed with black and white patterns. They have bracelets and chains on their arms. Sakakibara Kaede, who is standing in the center, has her black hair lifted up spiritedly, and her blue eyes look at the camera provocatively.

I have to say that the person in charge of the makeup photos is really talented.

With the help of the makeup team, Yuma Miura's originally handsome face now looks a bit unruly and free. Maki Nishikino, who originally followed the idol route, took off her outer coat and wore a simple and capable outfit with a rock and roll passion style.

I changed my official account, added all the likes under the band’s official account, and left a message.

He wanted to go to the CD store on Saturday.

"What would you like to eat tonight, Sakakibara-senpai?"

"Even if you suddenly ask me this..." Sakakibara Kaede couldn't think of anything for a while. After all, he had long passed the time period for ordering food. The most difficult time in his senior year of high school when he had not yet started working part-time was just choosing which flavor of rice balls to eat at FamilyMart.

But later he found a Chinese restaurant and ate their bento. After going to Tokyo, he went to the Starlight Cafe, ate a sandwich, met Mrs. Higuchi, and ate Higuchi's family meals.

All along, he had no choice!

"I want to eat something Chinese."

"Well... then I'll go buy some chicken." Sakurajima Mai nodded her chin and walked towards the meat area, while Higuchi Madoka put a packaged cabbage into the boy's cart.

"I have to trouble you again today, Sakakibara-san."

Sakakibara Kaede realized what she was talking about and shook his head with a smile, "I feel like I'm bothering you."

"why?"

"Because you're going to continue cooking tonight, aren't you?" Sakakibara Kaede pushed the cart, and the girl followed him closely. "Actually, I think it's a bit inconvenient to let Higuchi-san come to my house..."

Halfway through her words, Higuchi Madoka pursed her lower lip.

"Higuchi-san will definitely not be able to adapt. After all, the living and learning environment has changed, and the efficiency will be reduced to a certain extent."

It takes some talent to be able to quickly get into a learning state in an unfamiliar environment. What's more, Higuchi Madoka was already being taken care of by her mother at home, so she didn't have to worry about anything.

But now she is at Sakakibara Kaede's house, sitting face to face with Sakakibara Kaede. A single man and a single woman are in the same room, and in someone else's home. The unfamiliar environment will cause considerable pressure to Higuchi Madoka.

Higuchi Madoka breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at the boy beside her. She knew that Sakakibara Kaede was not a person who liked to praise himself with words. The purpose of his words was not to show off his integrity and gentlemanliness, but he really felt that Higuchi Madoka's presence in his home would affect the girl's studies. At the same time...if it were to get out, it would cause a certain blow to Higuchi Madoka's reputation.

She was already able to think of what Sakakibara Kaede was thinking, because he was the kind of person who would consider others first and himself last when faced with a problem.

"..."

"I don't mind." Higuchi Yuanxiang said, quickening her pace. "I don't find it inconvenient. I like that kind of learning environment very much."

"That's good."

The girl did not hear Sakakibara Kaede's answer. She had already quickly caught up with Higuchi Yuanka and whispered to her about the dishes that they were both responsible for tonight.

Seeing this, Sakakibara Kaede smiled and then looked at his cell phone.

"Sakakibara-senpai, congratulations on passing the audition and getting the leading male role!"

The lively tone and heartfelt blessings came from Chizuru Ichinose.

Sakakibara Kaede couldn't help but sigh a few times. For a moment, he found it difficult to accept the blessings from the juniors who were not selected.

Through the screen, he could see the smile of the girl who was pretending to be strong.

He hesitated for a moment, then typed, "Ichinose-san, please continue to follow Toei's Kamen Rider. Although you failed the audition for the lead role this time, your information is stored in Toei's archives, and your performance and smile are recorded in the production team's notes. You can try to participate in the audition for non-important actors, even if it's just an extra."

"The auditions for the leading roles are over today, and auditions for other roles should start tomorrow. I'm going to contact Iida-san and see if he can get you a role."

On the other side of the screen, the girl who had buried her head in the quilt raised her head at the urging of her grandmother to eat.

She held the phone, the screen was a little hot, the model was quite old, and it became hot just from chatting on Line.

Chizuru Ichinose held the phone tightly in her hand.

My hands are warm, as if I were holding Sakakibara-senpai’s hands.

Chapter 10: The Son-in-Law

Autumn has come.

The wind became a little colder.

Listening to music on the train, no one will disturb you at this time, the scenery outside the window and the music in the headphones become the best match. You can lazily enjoy the music and scenery, even if it is only for a few minutes, stopping at one station after another, people coming and going, the songs playing in the headphones, the high-rise buildings passing by quickly and the long and short life, forming a perfect concerto.

Sakakibara Kaede was wearing a long-sleeved coat and a scarf around her neck. She bought a cup of coffee at a coffee shop near the office, and after drinking it, she walked into the office.

He had a collection of essays in his pocket, which he used to kill time after watching the drama.

As the countdown to the autumn season is approaching, most actors are using the limited time to audition, and Chizuru Ichinose under Kei Iida is one of them.

Chizuru Ichinose followed Sakakibara's advice and went to audition for other roles in Toei. In addition to Toei roles, she imitated Sakakibara's steps and began to try auditioning for extras.

All the boy could do was to encourage her with the power of words. He believed that Kei Iida could help Chizuru Ichinose quickly get through her novice period.