I live my life in Tokyo

The man smiled. "Of course I came to comfort you. You and I are the only ones in STARS, and you don't have anyone to accompany you when you're filming here alone—"

"——for dinner?"

Higuchi Madoka looked at her coldly, she opened the package and took a bite of the crepe.

"Is this how you see me?" Sakakibara Feng said heartbrokenly, "I came here today for no other reason than to discuss the confession plot with Director Oshima. Aren't you moved by my hard-working spirit?"

"Tonight's lunch box seems to be a vegan and healthy lunch box."

"What? The eel rice I've been craving for—"

"Ah"

Higuchi Madoka chuckled, her purple eyes looking down from above, and she took in the moment when the man failed. She raised the corner of her mouth and walked away while biting the crepe.

The man stayed where he was, clenched his fists, looked up at the sky, and the cry in his heart that belonged to the senior with eyesight resounded through the sky.

What's wrong with just eating for free?

"Eh? Sakakibara-kun, why are you here?" Oshima Hide pushed open the door of the lounge, a lollipop in his mouth and a thick manuscript under his shoulder. He stepped forward and patted the absent-minded boy on the shoulder, "Are you here to see the acting of other actors?"

Seeing the boy's difficulty in speaking, he continued to nod with deep feeling, "I understand, I understand. Well, after all, you are not acting opposite Sakurajima-kun, right? I think so too. It would be much more convenient if Sakurajima-kun was here to partner with you."

"what?"

The man typed a question mark in confusion. What does this have to do with senior Sakurajima Mai?

"By the way, there's a bonfire party tonight. Why don't you join in and relax?" Oshima Hide pouted towards the playground. Sakakibara Kaede followed his gaze and found that a wooden frame had been set up on the playground. It would be time to light the bonfire when the last ray of sunset fell.

"Unfortunately the lighting was so bad and there were so many people, so it was difficult to shoot the bonfire scene. I wanted to shoot it, but in the end I gave up."

"Yes." The boy nodded in agreement, turned around and looked at Oshima Hide with a serious look in his eyes. At this moment, he became serious, "Director, I still have some difficulty in grasping the confession scene, please teach me!"

Oshima Hide, who was delighted to see the prey, smiled slightly and pointed his finger forward, "Actors like you who ask a lot of questions are my type. At this moment, I just want to sigh... Why is Aoyama so lucky? He has a humble, cautious, hardworking and diligent new generation actor like you under his command?"

The boy cupped his fists and bowed, "I am a commoner from Huaiyou. It is my honor to have Director Oshima's guidance on my way forward."

Chapter 47: In front of the bonfire, under the stars

"Generally, students who attend bonfire parties will invite dance partners? Who made this rule?"

The boy's voice trembled and he looked at Oshima Hide with moist eyes. At this moment, he was betrayed!

Oshima Hide was stunned by his actors, and a sigh welled up in his heart. He quickly comforted, "It's okay, Sakakibara-kun, you can still attend the bonfire party even if you are alone~"

Ignoring his thumbs up and wink, the words that came out of his mouth were full of sympathy or pity. This kind of comfort without any self-awareness was like a Greek warrior hidden in a Trojan horse, easily breaking through the fig leaf in the man's heart.

"hiss..."

Seeing the boy's tangled look, Oshima Hide rubbed his chin, "Now the most popular guy among the girls in the academy is you, Sakakibara-kun, besides Sano-kun who debuted early and filmed many TV dramas."

"I think if you just walk up to any girl with a smile and ask her to dance with you, I believe no girl can refuse such a request."

"Director Oshima, you are so skilled." The boy praised sincerely.

Oshima Hide curled his lips and turned his gaze towards the playground which was gradually becoming lively. A trace of memories flashed through his eyes. "After all, I have been in the entertainment industry for a long time. I have heard of all kinds of weird gossips. Inviting fans to dance is a small matter that is not even worthy of being published in the newspaper."

Most of the family members who were originally in the school have left. Tonight belongs only to the students of the private Shuchiin Academy.

"Well, that's it. Our crew got some help from the Nanjinwai Group 51/*-/*-7880761 of the Council. The actors of our crew were able to participate in this school festival thanks to them. The boss is very generous." He bowed to the distance, showing his respect for the father of the party. "I'll go to the playground to buy something to eat. Sakakibara-kun, you just enjoy this long night."

Snapped.

The door to the lounge slowly closed.

The air in the room suddenly became quiet. The boy put down the manuscript in his hand and turned his head to look at the deep blue night sky outside the window. The orange bonfire swayed gently in the evening breeze. Most of the students of Shuchiin Academy gathered around the playground. Many of them sat around the bonfire early, eating snacks while waiting for the event to begin.

There was noise and laughter in the distance.

The room was completely silent.

"It's just what you deserve."

The boy stood up and put his palms against the glass. His originally warm palms quickly turned cold.

At this moment, staying here, the long-lost, familiar, and accustomed feeling of loneliness in the boy's heart once again enveloped him.

This feeling of loneliness is not so hard to swallow. It is cold and hard, like a stubborn stone stuck in the throat, difficult to swallow.

In the past, I was the last one to be chosen in group assignments in school.

In the past, people would enjoy the New Year’s fireworks in the city alone.

In the past, when I ate hotpot at Haidilao, I would have my dolls to accompany me.

When a person stands in silence and looks out at a busy place, he will indeed feel lonely.

"——Live passionately." The young man came back to his senses, and he had been muttering these words silently.

If an accident happens tomorrow, the only thing I might regret is not attending the bonfire party and going home directly.

"I will take action, so just move forward without hesitation." As he said the lyrics that touched his heart, the boy patted his cheeks to dispel the emotions that were humming without reason.

I want to be someone like Kitahara Hiroshi, I want to be the young man who expresses his dreams under the starlight.

With such emotion, the boy opened the door.

Standing outside the door was Higuchi Madoka, who was halfway through knocking on the door. When she saw the boy tilt his head, she frowned and said, "Does it take so much time to discuss the plot? If you go too late, your dinner will be eaten by others."

"Higuchi-san, have you eaten?"

"I kind of regret reminding you now."

Higuchi Yuanxiang snorted lightly and turned to leave. The boy immediately followed her footsteps. He blew into his palms and put them in his pockets, then turned his head to look at her and said, "Thank you for reminding me."

The girl felt the gentle calmness in the boy's eyes and she snorted softly as a response.

Sakakibara Feng smiled and shook his head. He thought he had already figured out the tone and meaning of his colleague's speech.

Walking down the stairs, the boy took his hands out of his pockets because of the heat wave. He opened his school uniform a little, revealing his white collarbone.

This feeling is indeed very warm.

"Sakakibara-san, Higuchi-san, here, here." The actors from the crew who were working together stretched out their hands and greeted the boy warmly. The boy found that the actors from the crew occupied a corner of the playground. The table was filled with lunch boxes, and several actors had already started eating.

As soon as he sat down, the boy immediately felt the gazes being stared at. Different kinds of gazes seemed to contain the same meaning.

"Get used to it soon, Sakakibara-san."

Higuchi Madoka, who is still an idol now, is used to all kinds of attention. She sat down opposite Sakakibara Kaede calmly, broke open the wooden chopsticks and said softly, "I'm eating."

The boy who had misjudged his popularity hummed. It seemed that now it was not a question of him inviting girls to dance, but that many girls wanted to invite him to dance.

Out of consideration for face, or perhaps because of the rather professional atmosphere of the crew, no girl took the initiative to invite him.

"Well, it looks like it's about to start."

The boy who was struggling with the eel looked up when he heard this, and saw whistles and cheers coming from the bonfire in the distance. Several men and women stood up from the crowd holding hands, and danced slowly to the music in front of the bonfire with a hint of self-abandonment.

The music playing on the speakers was Antonio Vivaldi's Spring concerto from The Four Seasons.

Following the rhythm of the violin, the still young high school students imitated adults, holding their partners' hands, and dancing the most traditional ballroom dance, one forward and one backward.

The boy's fingers beat the rhythm, his heart rising and falling with the music. Seeing more and more students joining in the dance, he couldn't help but sigh, "Ah, what youth is all about."

"You..." Oshima Hide nodded the boy's head in dissatisfaction, "Don't put on the laziness of winter and the spiciness of adults in your heart. How old are you now? It's the season when butterflies are flying like spring."

"I'm just expressing my feelings. After all, school festivals in college are not as innocent as they were in high school." The boy smiled and fooled away.

"That's right, Sakakibara-kun is already a senior in high school." Oshima Hide said seriously, "Then you should take this opportunity to experience the things you didn't have time to experience, so that your life in this world will not be a waste."

The boy nodded slowly. "I didn't expect that the director could communicate with me. I am quite touched."

"So you're not going to dance?"

"Inviting anyone will make me a target of public criticism. Sometimes, being an actor will bring many negative effects, and this might be one of them." The boy sighed speechlessly. He was quite popular in school. Wherever he went, students would stare at him. This was both a good thing and a bad thing.

Sakakibara asked back, "Isn't Director Oshima going?"

Oshima Hide shook his head and said, "Why would a middle-aged uncle like me join in the fun during the springtime of young people? Look, Sawada is there."

A male actor from muse gladly accepted the invitation of a girl from Shuchiin Academy, waved and smiled at everyone, and stepped onto the green grass of the playground.

"Yes, yes, I'm so envious."

Saying the slightly sour words of blessing, the boy quickened his eating pace on the lunch box in his hand and watched from afar with a polite smile.

Sometimes, politeness means rejection.

He can't dance, let alone this kind of social dance that requires time to practice, as if people can become more advanced by learning this dance step. Inviting your dance partner to dance with elegant music, the satisfaction in your heart can make you sublime.

More than half of the actors were invited to leave, but the boy did not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. He did not care about the face issue. Instead of the clumsy dance steps, he just wanted to stop and watch the high school years that could never be repeated.

"Sakakibara-san, aren't you going to dance?"

Higuchi Madoka returned to her seat with a can of freshly squeezed juice. She held a cell phone in her hand, with an icy face and an aura of "keep away from strangers". It seemed that no boy was willing to break the ice and invite her to dance.

"No, I'm too full after dinner. Dancing now will only make my stomach worse." The boy chuckled and shook his head. The reason he gave was impeccable.

"Ballroom dancing is only good for digestion." Higuchi Madoka showed no mercy to the boy who was trying to find excuses to cover up. "Sakakibara-san, can't you find a dance partner?"

"It's good to be alone." The boy smiled. The starry sky above his head was the same as the starry sky of Chiba Prefecture. The stars twinkled around the waning moon. The moonlight was gentle and the stars were dazzling. "Standing alone on the edge of the bustle, you don't need to get too close, because you will get burned. You don't need to be too far away, because you will get frostbitten. This sense of distance is hard to grasp."

Higuchi Yuanxiang blinked her purple eyes and said, "The sense of distance you mentioned here refers to your principle of dealing with people?"

"Ah."

For the first time ever, Higuchi Madoka did not hear the boy's usual long speech. She looked at the boy's profile with some surprise.

The boy's face was illuminated by a bonfire in the distance, and was coated with an orange glow. His blue eyes looked straight ahead, with a smile on his lips, and his fingers waved left and right to the rhythm of the music, like a conductor conducting an orchestra.

For no reason, she felt that the boy's figure was shrouded in a layer of gray. Although he smiled, his smile was lonely. Although he spoke at length, his words were sharp. Although he worked passionately, he seemed to be burning the limited time he had.

The strange feeling passed in a flash, and when I looked again, the boy turned his head and took a sip of his drink. "I'm going home soon. It's getting late now. When are you leaving, Higuchi-san? Do you need me to take you to the subway station?"

Higuchi Madoka paused again at the sunshine that the boy inadvertently revealed, and said, "...No need, my agent will come to pick me up."

"Oh, I really envy you actors who have agents to pick you up."

Sakakibara Kaede feels very frustrated about his underappreciated talent. After all, he is considered to be invincible among new actors and has been praised many times by Aoyama Yo and Oshima Hide. But his own military advisor is now enjoying the winter night comfortably with his wife and children, right?

"Well, I'm leaving now. Take your time, Sakakibara-san."

"Well, see you next week."

The two said goodbye to each other under the street light next to the playground. The boy watched the girl put on her headphones and walked towards the school gate step by step. After she left the school gate and got into a black private car, the boy withdrew his gaze.

"Next, it's time for me to leave."

The boy stood up and stretched lazily with satisfaction, with an arc of force so large that it seemed as if he wanted to embrace the burning orange light. He smiled and nodded at several familiar male and female actors, then stood up and left.

He regretted not bringing a bag with him into school. The food sold in the school festival was cheaper than outside. Not only was it cheaper, but it was also filling. If he had brought a bag with him, wouldn't he have to buy dozens of hot dogs to take home for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

The school festival was over, at least for the boys.

"that..."

Finally, someone who is willing to fly into the flame has appeared. Hearing the voice behind him, the boy was quite helpless. What should he say when he refuses? As expected, he still refuses by saying that he has work tomorrow.

Turning around, there were butterflies of joy in my eyes.

"Are you leaving now, Sakakibara-senpai?" The clear and gentle female voice and the long, smooth chestnut hair forced the boy to swallow the words he had prepared.

"Is it because of your busy work?"

Yuuki Asuna carefully observed the boy's expression, and seeing that he was still smiling, she continued, "Sakakibara-senpai, rest is also very important. Won't you stay for a while?"

The boy suddenly realized. He glanced at the somewhat embarrassed Yuuki Asuna and the girls who were quietly watching here in the crowd. Although their gazes that seemed to be watching and instigating the show were not malicious, they made people feel like they were abandoned.

"Truth or Dare?" the boy asked tentatively. Could it be that Yuki-senpai's silly sister lost the bet and was sent by her classmates to test him?

"Eh?" Yuuki Asuna was stunned, and the topic suddenly shifted from caring about the seniors she knew and asking them to take a rest to truth or dare.

Seeing her in a daze, Sakakibara Kaede sighed. Truth or Dare can, at best, enhance the friendship between classmates, but at worst, it can directly destroy a classmate's sincerity - making a girl confess her love to a boy who has a crush on her, and then telling him that everything is fake and a lie, is a big dare.

It’s good that your mentality hasn’t collapsed.

The boy foresaw the tragedy and had a chance to salvage something before it happened.

This girl is the senior's sister, and logically speaking, she is also his junior, so he has the obligation to take care of her.

However, this did break his previous promises, such as not wanting to dance or find a dance partner.

Perhaps the boy just didn't want to see something like this happen to him again.