I live my life in Tokyo

"Ah... Higuchi discussed this with me before."

Asakura Toru said softly, what she meant was that Miss Nanakusa did not remind them in a tactful way, but it was Higuchi Madoka who brought up the topic.

"What do you think Asakura-san?"

"...Call me Tou."

Asakura Toru repeated again.

"——What do you think, Tou-san?"

"Now that my idol life is over, I'll have more time." The girl winked at Sakakibara Kaede.

The young man nodded when he heard this, "Indeed, college life is busy, Asakura...Tou-san can also give yourself a long vacation to see what you are interested in and what you like."

"you."

Asakura Toru turned her eyes away, as if she was a little distressed that Sakakibara Kaede could not understand the meaning of her words.

When Sakakibara Kaede stared at Asakura Toru's face curiously, causing a slight blush to appear on the latter's face, a very energetic voice suddenly interrupted.

"Sakakibara-senpai, Asakura-san, good morning!"

"Hello."

"Good morning, Ichinose-san, you look very energetic today."

"Really?"

Chizuru Ichinose was wearing thick study glasses - it seemed that after the long sigh between her and Kaede Sakakibara that night, Chizuru Ichinose habitually exposed her true self to everyone.

Chizuru Ichinose, who seemed a little shy after being praised, had curly brown hair. Although she was wearing a fashionable coat, her glasses gave her a quiet and serious temperament.

"Senior, you're so awesome! I'll take this as a compliment!"

Chizuru Ichinose put her hands on her hips. She was now able to reveal her original personality and speak in front of Kaede Sakakibara.

"I was actually complimenting you."

"Yes...is that so?" The girl felt a little embarrassed again.

Asakura revealed a look of realization, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, as if she was smiling, "...Feng-san, I'm going to the bathroom."

"Ah, okay."

coax!

Mars hit the earth in an instant, and Chizuru Ichinose was shocked. She looked at Toru Asakura who gave her a free and easy smile, and then floated away.

"You, you, you, you, Asakura-san, actually called Sakakibara-senpai by his name?"

Sakakibara Kaede suddenly felt a toothache, and recalled the look in Asakura Toru's eyes just now. Could this be intentional? No, considering that she usually forgets to bring her wallet when she goes out to eat, could it be that she simply forgot?

"Ah...we've known each other for quite a while, so we decided to call each other by our first names," the young man explained.

Chizuru Ichinose took a step forward, almost getting in front of Kaede Sakakibara. A blush appeared on her face. The close distance reminded her of the sweet time when she and Sakakibara-senpai first met, when they pretended to be a couple.

"Sakakibara-senpai and I have known each other for a long time. Sakakibara-senpai can also call me Chizuru-san..."

"Forehead..."

The young man had a sense of déjà vu for no apparent reason; it seemed as if he had seen this perspective somewhere before.

Oh, he remembered, there was indeed such a plot of calling names in the recently promoted galgame, but it was only in the heroine's personal line. In the common line, people still called each other by their surnames in a polite manner.

Sakakibara Kaede thought he would never stop running on the common road, but this... Three friends in a row asked him to call their names, which made him a little suspicious.

The second dimension is indeed different from reality, and reality is even more outrageous.

Just when Kaede Sakakibara's soul left her body and was watching in her memory palace how the galgame male protagonist would respond, it seemed that the head of the studio came out, he clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention.

"Hey, everyone. We are from Toho Co., Ltd. Welcome to the audition. Male actors please follow me, and female actors please follow my colleagues. We will soon conduct auditions in batches."

"It's settled, Senior Feng, you must, must, must call me Chizuru."

Chizuru Ichinose firmly grasped Kaede Sakakibara's hand and squeezed it hard, then fled after a moment.

"...What's going on?"

Sakakibara Kaede sighed deeply. He felt the warmth of his palm. This speed didn't seem to be slow even in the galgame.

In galgame, after the hero and heroine have known each other for two or three months - that is the length of the common line. According to the progress of Yuzusha, that is, after 5 chapters, the heroine's personal line will begin.

He has known Asakura Toru for two years, and Ichinose Chizuru for more than a year. According to the timeline of galgame... there seems to be nothing wrong?

In today's society, can classmates and friends call each other by their first names after knowing each other for more than a year? However, he remembered that none of his old classmates at Sobu High School had ever done so.

What's going on?

Kaede Sakakibara stood in line in confusion. Now men and women were separated, and there were about thirty or forty male actors selected in the first batch, not too many or too few.

Although he was at the end of the line, he was the second one to be called. Sakakibara Kaede was originally in the lounge, calmly sipping tea and reflecting on life, but he did not expect to be called directly by the staff.

As we approached the audition room, the general configuration was similar to that of the actor auditions, except this time there were seats and a microphone in front of them.

Sakakibara had recorded songs in the recording studio before, so he naturally recognized that this microphone could make the sound sound clearer and more textured.

There were two "examiners" sitting in this room. Sakakibara looked up and the configuration of glass similar to that of an interrogation room made Sakakibara know that there must be a lot of people behind the glass watching his every move, and he believed that teacher Makoto Shinkai was no exception.

"Sakakibara-kun, please read the note on the table in the most natural tone."

"sure no problem."

Kaede Sakakibara heard from Nanami Aoyama how voice actors audition. Before the audition, they more or less know from their agents what type of anime dubbing they are going to be involved in. During the audition, they will try out different voices in front of the microphone.

The decision on which voice actor will be chosen ultimately depends on his or her voice.

Of course there are also those with good voices, but they are not suitable for this type of anime, or there is no possibility that they are suitable for the role, so it still depends on the face.

Sakakibara moved closer to the microphone. If there was one thing that was most natural, it would be the tone of voice he uses in daily life.

Thinking about the freehand and relaxed tone of daily life, Sakakibara Kaede smiled. For some reason, he thought of Asakura Toru at this moment.

It was so transparent and as gentle as clear running water. Such an audition should be easy for her.

He smiled, pulled the microphone to his mouth, and read aloud in harmony.

Chapter 18 The flowers that young people play with nowadays

The young man finished reading the manuscript in his hand in what he considered to be the most everyday, or normal, voice.

The content of the manuscript was not meaningless characters, but some cold jokes and hell jokes interspersed in the news. For example, when looking at President Kennedy's face, Sakakibara Kaede's mind naturally emerged with the spoof picture made by netizens of Kennedy shaking his head left and right to dodge bullets.

He really couldn't hold back his laughter this time. Although he didn't laugh out loud, he still tried to hold back his laughter... Based on this reaction, he probably won't pass.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Sakakibara-kun." One of them nodded and said, holding the manuscript in his hand, he turned a page and asked, "Did Sakakibara-kun try to speak in a female voice?"

"what?"

"Well... put it another way. Can you speak from a female perspective, including the tone and attitude?"

Sakakibara Kaede scratched the side of his face. What a strange request! The profession of voice actor is really scary, with endless requests.

It's like when he auditions for the male lead, but the director plans for him to act feminine. . . This situation does exist, but he usually doesn't get such roles, which are usually given to Takarazuka actors like Yuu Kashima.

Men who become voice actors in Tokyo are both respectable and formidable.

Sakakibara Kaede paused and imagined how he would speak if there was a girl in his body.

After thinking for a moment, he gave up. He had never had such a strange idea before. Before this, he always identified himself as a man, and it was a little strange for him to suddenly change into a woman.

Then just imitate whoever speaks.

Sakakibara Kaede nodded secretly. He had many female friends, and each of them had a decent tone of voice and her own characteristics.

After much hesitation, he decided to choose Nanami Aoyama's way of speaking.

After living with Nanami Aoyama for two or three months while filming the show, he was very familiar with each other's tone of voice. Moreover, Nanami Aoyama was also a voice actor. He also had to complete the task for his master, so he and Nanami filmed many scenes together where they practiced their lines.

Thinking of this, Sakakibara Kaede thought for a while, moved the microphone closer, and then began to imitate Aoyama Nanami's tone.

With a smile on his face in the same place, Sakakibara Kaede was asked to leave the audition room after reading the script. He passed by the next actor whose name was called and entered another lounge to take a short rest.

All the actors here have already finished their audition. When the young man walked in, there was no one here. It seemed that the previous actors did not want to wait for the results here, or they had new jobs.

Waiting in person is a personal choice, but Sakakibara Kaede feels that waiting here can show how serious he is about this job. . . Besides, Asakura Toru and Ichinose Chizuru are still auditioning, and he has nothing to do in the afternoon, so he might as well wait here.

He has been rather sleep deprived these past few days.

The reason is simple. He and Asuna play dungeon together every night, and they have become an ironclad CP combination in the eyes of guild members. Not only the people in the guild, but also Asuna Yuuki's level has increased rapidly, and there is a tendency to surpass the average level of the current strategy group.

Asuna often steals equipment from the Minotaur Harukaze jungle boss, and as a result, everyone in the strategy group thinks that the two of them are a perfect couple, and they might even send out wedding invitations in a couple of days.

Asuna's level was raised so quickly, in addition to her conscientiousness in playing games after finishing her homework every day, she also had a reliable teammate. Although the two-person team was not as well-equipped as a four-person team, the progress was not slow at all.

Therefore, Sakakibara Kaede has been staying up late these days, especially after Koichiro Yuuki left.

Before, he would knock on the door to remind them that it was almost time to go to bed. . . . After he left, the two seemed to be students who had finally seen their parents leave, and they were excited to arrange their time freely.

Sakakibara Kaede forced out a yawn, leaned back on the sofa, supported his body with his arms on his knees, and slowly closed his eyes.

When Chizuru Ichinose finished the audition, she followed the instructions and stepped forward. It was also her first time to participate in this type of audition, but she and Nanami Aoyama were good friends who could talk about anything. Before the audition, she talked with Nanami Aoyama for a long time and got some help.

However, this, asking her to imitate a boy's voice in a girl's voice, was difficult for her, as she had never had such an experience before.

Entering the lounge, it was a mixed crowd. Chizuru Ichinose first leaned aside, took out her cell phone, and sent text messages to Kaede Sakakibara and Toru Asakura.

After a while, she received a reply. Following the direction described by Toru Asakura, she looked up and found that Toru Asakura was waving at her across the crowd.

"what..."

The girl noticed that Kaede Sakakibara was dozing off with her knees resting next to Toru Asakura, and she immediately took two steps forward.

Since Sakakibara Kaede was sitting next to the sofa, only one person could sit next to him, and this position was already occupied by Asakura Toru.

After sitting next to Asakura Toru, Ichinose Chizuru breathed a sigh of relief, took out the water bottle and took a few sips.

"Senior Feng, you look very tired." Chizuru Ichinose cleared her throat, lowered her head and said in a low voice.

Asakura Toru was slightly stunned, then laughed. She gently pulled the young man's body and leaned his center of gravity on herself.

“…I don’t know.”

"How did the audition go for Asakura-san?"

"Hmm... half and half, it feels a bit challenging."

Asakura Toru smiled at Chizuru Ichinose as usual, "But I think this kind of audition is quite interesting."

“It’s a new challenge for me.”

Ichinose Chizuru clenched her fists, full of the energy that a girl of her age should have.

"Do you like Feng-san too?"

Asakura Toru's gentle words beside her were like a piece of cold ice, waking Chizuru Ichinose from her previous spring breeze. A slight blush appeared on her face without her noticing, "Ah...ah, this, I...I don't know."

"I like Feng, what about you?"

Asakura Toru's tone was still as light as the breeze, but the meaning revealed in it made Chizuru Ichinose blush again, and her heart moved at the same time.

The girl raised her head and looked into Asakura Toru's blue eyes. She did not see the mockery and negative emotions in his eyes as she had imagined. Chizuru Ichinose was stunned for a moment.

Those were a pair of pure and clear eyes, like a mirror. Chizuru Ichinose could see her own reflection and the blush on her face.

"...I like you too." Ichinose Chizuru said in a low voice as if she had given up on herself, "Senior Feng has many people around him, I...I just want to keep this love to myself and don't want to tell anyone else."

"He, he has popular stars like Sakurajima-san, popular idols like Higuchi-san, and... beautiful girls like Asakura-san. I, I can't compare to them..."

"Shh-"

Asakura smiled slightly and put her finger in front of Chizuru Ichinose's lips. Her feminine gesture carried a sense of Takarazuka-style carefreeness. "Kaede-san is very gentle."

"Ah... He's not one to turn down a request."

Asakura Toru felt the warmth of the young man beside her. She had never experienced love at first sight as described in TV dramas. She didn't understand it.

But when Sakakibara Kaede smiled at her, when he encouraged her when she finished her homework, when he told her she got full marks after grading her papers... She wanted to keep feeling this feeling throbbing in her chest.

She just wanted to live like this with the young man.

If among the women, the one who got along best with Asakura Toru was Higuchi Madoka and his childhood sweethearts, among the men, there was only, and only, Sakakibara Kaede.

She will never forget that a year ago, on the climbing frame, the young man curiously asked her what she was looking at.