I live my life in Tokyo

"Good morning, Higuchi-san."

"It's already afternoon, Sakakibara-san."

In front of the guesthouse, Sakakibara Kaede turned her gaze away from the bus parked beside the path and noticed the basket in Higuchi Madoka's hand. She understood, "Is Higuchi-san also going to the hot springs?"

"It's obvious."

Sakakibara Kaede took out the map, identified the direction, and then started walking.

Higuchi Madoka walked silently beside him.

"Thanks for your hard work."

After Higuchi Madoka finished speaking, she heard no more sound. She looked sideways and found Sakakibara Kaede staring at her in surprise, and she couldn't help feeling displeased.

Is it so surprising that I say a caring word?

Feeling the dangerous gaze of Higuchi Madoka, Sakakibara Kaede coughed lightly, then looked back forward.

"Thank you. I was really tired yesterday. How did you understand the role, Higuchi-san?"

"...There is a problem."

"Oh?"

"I don't understand the idea of ​​the role I got," said Higuchi Madoka. The smile she showed to the camera during the audition was very intoxicating. It was not the polite smile she showed to fans, but a warm smile to the audience.

Smiles also have differences and meanings.

When she was watching the reality show filmed by Sakakibara Kaede, she paid special attention to Chizuru Ichinose and Utaha Kasumigaoka, who were close to Sakakibara Kaede.

Chizuru Ichinose sometimes shows a silly smile, but she is definitely not stupid. She just uses this smile to ease the situation or make the transition of the conversation more natural.

Kasumigaoka Utaha is different. She seems to know all the secrets to bring men and women closer together. Her every move, every smile and frown in front of the camera drives the audience crazy with admiration, including many high school boys of her age.

She became famous in Toyosaki Academy... although she was famous before.

Although Chizuru Ichinose specially learned some skills when she was preparing to rent a girlfriend, it was still not enough in front of Utaha Kasumigaoka.

Is this because she is the author of the novel?

Higuchi Madoka doesn't know that a novel author needs to have a big imagination and rich experience to be able to write texts that readers can remember easily. Kasumigaoka Utaha knows so much about this, maybe she writes romance novels.

With a learning attitude, Higuchi Madoka imitated the smile of Kasumigaoka Utaha on TV.

Then, I got a role like Nana Asahina.

"Asahina Nana?"

"Ah."

"Nana Asahina is a lively character. Hmm... She is also the protagonist's strongest supporter and a character who secretly likes the protagonist."

Sakakibara Kaede moved his lips and glanced secretly at Higuchi Madoka. He found that the latter was staring at him, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his back.

"The look in your eyes is very disrespectful."

"Ahem... I mean, this kind of role is quite a challenge for Higuchi-san."

"..."

"How about this, after we finish soaking in the hot spring, let's discuss with each other and talk about our understanding of the role." Sakakibara Feng said, "When I was playing a minor role before, I encountered several similar roles. We can discuss the role issues."

"Discuss...like the private discussion you and Kasumigaoka-san had in the living room after taking a bath?"

"Uh? Hmm."

The conversation ended halfway through. The two stood in front of the hot spring. There were only men's and women's baths, and no mixed bathing as was popular in the anime world.

Of course, mixed bathing does not mean one man and one woman, but one man and multiple women.

"See you later."

"Ah."

He walked into the locker room. There were more people in the afternoon on a rest day, especially children. He changed his clothes, put them in the basket, and walked into the bathing area with a towel and toiletries.

Wash away the tiredness and dirt on your body here, and then enter the hot spring to cleanse your soul.

Putting the towel on his head, Sakakibara Kaede pushed open the door, found a corner with few people, sank his body into the water, and let out a sigh like an old man.

The fast-paced shooting did make him feel a little tired, and he had to take time to adjust today, as a new day was waiting for him tomorrow.

You should ask Ken Sano how he rests. He works and auditions every day. He's really an iron man.

He sat cross-legged at the bottom of the water with half his head submerged, like an old monk in meditation.

After soaking for about thirty minutes, Sakakibara Kaede felt a little dizzy, so he got up and left the hot spring. The wind blowing in his face was a little cool, which was very refreshing on his hot body.

After washing up, the boy came to the lounge. His legs were a little soft from soaking in the water, but he felt more relieved. The fatigue from climbing the wall yesterday was now accumulated in his legs. He believed that as long as he had a good sleep, it would not be a problem for him to climb the wall ten more times.

He noticed Higuchi Madoka. She was leaning on the sofa in the corner, wiping her still wet hair with a towel. Her face was flushed, and her whole body exuded a faint scent of water mist, which was visible but not touchable.

Sakakibara Kaede paused for a moment in front of the vending machine, then came to Higuchi Madoka with two cans of drinks.

"Here."

He handed over the fruit milk in his hand and said, "This tastes sweeter. You should like it."

Higuchi Yuanxiang took the glass bottle, opened the lid and took a sip. It was indeed very sweet, tasted as sweet as a banana and was delicious.

"What are you drinking?"

"Coffee milk, the sweetness is okay."

"Sakakibara-san likes sweet food, right?"

Sakakibara swallowed the drink in his mouth and nodded, "In the debate between sweet and salty, I will definitely choose sweet."

For some reason, Higuchi Madoka felt a lot more relaxed. She drank the fruit milk in small sips while looking out the window, where she saw green mountains.

The two of them were in a daze for a while, digesting the heat in their bodies. Their bodies were soft and they couldn't walk.

"Let's go back."

"Ah."

Picking up the basket, the journey back was extremely long. The two walked along the road on the sidewalk, and the farm vehicles passing by were filled with laughter and rural accents.

The breeze blows on my face, bringing with it a hint of autumn.

“Is it like this in Kamakura in the summer too?”

"... almost. If you go by feeling, it does have the same lazy vibe. It's just that I went to Kamakura for vacation, but this time I came to Nagano for work."

Sakakibara Kaede was walking on the side of the road, and she sighed towards Higuchi Madoka who was walking on the inside.

"But Higuchi-san is about to graduate, do you have any travel plans? For example, traveling with Asakura-san or something."

“I’m considering it.”

"I really want to go on a self-driving tour. I plan to buy a car in the future so I can go on a spontaneous trip." The boy put his arms behind his head and stretched lazily. "I want to go to Kamakura again."

Higuchi Madoka didn't continue the conversation. She seemed to have heard from Miss Nanakusa that the MV for Noctchill's next album would be filmed at the seaside.

Next time I'll give you a secret hint to go to Kamakura, to see the scenery that Sakakibara once saw, to follow in the footsteps he left behind, and wherever you look, you'll see the same sea.

Back at the B&B, rough laughter was heard from the lounge. Sakakibara Kaede looked inside and couldn't help but be shocked.

Some were playing mahjong, some were playing cards, and some were watching TV and chatting. A dozen burly men were laughing with beers in their hands.

"What about the actresses?"

"Let's all rest in our rooms." Higuchi Madoka rolled her eyes at him, seeming to think the question was strange.

Sakakibara Kaede nodded. What men call rest is bragging, playing cards and drinking, which is indeed reasonable.

"Whose room are we going to later?"

Higuchi Madoka bit her lower lip and looked at Sakakibara Kaede with a look of rubbish, "Are you finally going to extend your evil claws to your peers, Mr. Pervert?"

"Aren't we supposed to analyze the characters? We don't necessarily have to analyze them in the lounge." Sakakibara Kaede scratched his cheek. Who could understand the grievance of being misunderstood?

Higuchi Madoka took a deep breath and said something when Sakakibara Kaede thought she was going to turn around and leave.

"Your room."

Chapter 15 Do you understand that a teacher is like a father?

"What kind of person is Nana Asahina?"

"No one like mine, no one I can imagine."

"..."

Sakakibara Kaede was speechless for a long time. Higuchi-san, you are too straightforward. It is difficult for me to respond.

The window was opened a crack, and a cool breeze blew into the room. Sakakibara Kaede and Higuchi Enka sat cross-legged on the tatami, with a thick manuscript on the low table.

The boy leaned back in his chair and looked at the manuscript in his hand. "A role like this should be easy to imagine..."

Of course, this sentence was just thought in my mind and not said directly.

Higuchi Madoka is Higuchi Madoka, not anyone else, and it’s acceptable whether you’ve never met someone like her before or never experienced similar feelings.

"Higuchi-san, do you remember the first time we acted opposite each other?"

Sakakibara Kaede recalled the experience when they first filmed the graduation advertisement. It was also a secret crush, but that time it was a two-way love, while this time it was just one-sided love for Higuchi Madoka.

"remember."

Higuchi Madoka knew what Sakakibara Kaede wanted to say. It was the same as that time when she had a secret crush on him. All she had to do was fall in love with him again.

She looked into Sakakibara Kaede's blue eyes, trying to regain the feeling she had at that time.

That feeling that makes people feel warm and itchy in their hearts, and want to feel the other person's body temperature.

"More than a crush." ​​Sakakibara Feng said softly while looking at the manuscript, "It was a feeling of love at first sight. If the crush in the graduation advertisement was three years of companionship, then this time..."

"I just saw you in the crowd and I can never forget your face. It's a feeling like this." The boy used a line from a song to describe this feeling. He put his chin on his hand and added, "To be honest, I don't have much experience in falling in love at first sight."

Higuchi Madoka stared into Sakakibara Kaede's eyes for a moment, then looked away, half mockingly, "Sakakibara-san told me that love is something you fall into, you haven't forgotten it, have you?"

The boy was speechless, he really had forgotten that at that time his mind was full of love plots, so it was not surprising that he spoke from his heart. Now that he had devoted himself to the script, he had partially put aside the love part.

There is more to life than just feelings.

Just like there is more than just love in the daily life of youth, there are also campus, friendship, career, and the purest connection between men and women.

Sakakibara Kaede never really thought about love, and he would watch crime dramas when he was bored. Although he participated in many youth campus dramas, he actually only watched the one called "The Daily Life of Us High School Students".

"I think in this regard, Higuchi-san might as well imitate the new actors who just graduated from STARS agency."

Sakakibara Kaede made a suggestion, "Asahina Nana came to Tokyo with the goal of becoming an actress. To put it in a metaphor, she is like a green flower bud, with a girl's romance and innocence in her mind. Higuchi-san, don't you think this is very similar to the graduates of every agency, who look forward to the future with aspirations?"

Higuchi Madoka pursed her lips, and a junior suddenly popped up in her mind. Although it was a bit rude to think so, she believed that she could see some of Nana Asahina in Chizuru Ichinose.

Seeing that Higuchi Yuanxiang seemed to have gotten the answer and was determined to leave, Sakakibara Kaede stood up and walked her to the door. "If you have any more questions, feel free to knock on the door. You live next door to me, right?"

"No need to trouble you."

"Friends don't have to be too polite." Sakakibara Kaede said helplessly. Higuchi Madoka maintained a sense of distance more carefully than him. If anyone crossed the line, she would automatically step back a little. "Auntie asked me to take care of you, Higuchi-san. In addition to being friends, we are also teacher and student. There was a saying in the past that a teacher is like a father--"

"Snapped."

Higuchi Enka closed the door.

Sakakibara Kaede sighed. Higuchi Madoka still didn't understand the ancient sentiment that a teacher is like a father for life.

After a moment he sneered. When Asakura Toru came to visit the university before, he seemed to be very interested in their bowing and concessions. After they enrolled in the university, with the teachings of the Han Emperor, it would not be difficult to let Asakura Toru bring Higuchi Madoka into the water.

Jie Jie Jie Jie.

After closing the door, Sakakibara Kaede returned to the table and continued to flip through the manuscript he had not yet finished reading.

He decided that after reading these two pages he would go downstairs to play cards and watch TV with the actors.

After a day's rest, the actors who had gotten enough rest were ready to go again. There were no problems with the plot shot on the first day, so they can continue today.

However, the filming task was indeed very tight. Kaede Sakakibara learned about their progress from Kiyoshi Takenaka, drank the miso soup in one gulp, and followed the actors onto the bus.

The shooting location today was very familiar to him, it was in Nagano Yamanouchi which he had seen on the video call. After the actors arrived, they entered the open-air dressing room to make final preparations. For the actors, they did not need to put on any elaborate makeup, they just needed to tidy up their hairstyle.

Everything highlights a truth.