I live my life in Tokyo

I have to say that the action directing is excellent. At least in the eyes of the middle-aged screenwriter, there is no sense of incongruity in the actions of drawing the sword and waving the sword. Even laymen who watch it exclaim that it is awesome, and even those who learn kendo nod in approval.

From time to time, he wrote a few words in the notebook in his hand.

As a screenwriter and director of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Koki Mitani takes his own works and the Taiga dramas he writes more seriously than anyone else.

However, the decline of Taiga dramas in recent years and the rise of youth TV dramas have caused his career to hit a bottleneck.

This has nothing to do with his screenwriting skills or how hard the actors work; it’s just the market’s choice.

More and more young actors are appearing in the market. In order to cater to the fans' slogans, the increase of youth campus TV dramas and movies has become inevitable.

This made Mitani Koki, who had been immersed in Taiga dramas all his life, helpless, but there was nothing he could do.

The crying sound came from far away and got closer. The middle-aged man pushed his glasses. He was attracted by a couple from the Edo period in the background.

The camera flashed by.

The middle-aged man pressed the pause button and replayed the video for a few seconds.

They were a young couple. The boy's face could not be seen, only that he was nailed to the ground with a sword and died. The girl was crying, biting her lower lip tightly, and holding the boy's body and refusing to let go.

Very young extras.

Others would ignore such details, but he would not.

"Director Mitani, what do you think needs to be changed in the shooting of the latest episode?"

Several supervisors sitting behind him couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Hmm?" Mitani Koki glanced back, nodded to a few people, and flipped through his notes. "The camera feels good. This episode shows the miserable Edo period and the samurai scum who killed people. It can be said that the shooting goal has been successfully achieved."

As soon as these words came out, smiles immediately appeared on the faces of the supervisors who were directing on the scene. One of the supervisors looked at the man and woman on the screen and said casually, "This is a good young extra couple. They are considered to be the outstanding type among the extras."

The other supervisors looked at the screen and had different opinions.

Mitani Koki frowned. The angle of the camera couldn't see the boy's face clearly, but his movements were clear. The bloody hand wiping the girl's tears only took up a very small frame on the screen. It was small but so eye-catching.

"This action acting... shows some talent. I can't help but be drawn to it," another supervisor said.

"Who are these two? Which actors are they from?" asked Koki Mitani.

A supervisor quickly left and found the list of extras from the last shoot for Director Mitani.

His finger moved down and finally stopped on the names of two people.

"STARS Agency... Sakakibara Kaede-kun, Higuchi Enka-kun." Mitani Koki read the two names, and after a moment, frowned slightly, "Why do I feel like I have heard of these two names before?"

The director who spoke earlier hesitated for a moment and said, "It's a youth campus TV series in the winter season. These two actors are the main actors in the show."

The other directors looked at him strangely. As a director of Taiga drama, how could you betray us and turn around to watch youth TV dramas that only high school students would watch?

The supervisor said calmly, "This is called observing the enemy's situation."

"We believe it." The other supervisors said in unison.

"I remember now." Mitani Koki ignored the director's annoyance and said after a moment's silence, "My daughter watched this TV series in the winter and really liked the lead actor, so I have heard a little about it."

"These two people have a good sense of scene portrayal, and we can continue to cooperate."

His words set the tone for the future group performances. "As for the arrangements for the next group performance, I have written it clearly in the manuscript. I will leave it to you when the time comes."

"Yes."

The supervisor in charge of the extras had a slightly distorted expression on his face, a smile of satisfaction visible to the naked eye.

Although Mitani Koki felt strange, he did think the girl's crying scene was good. After giving her some advice, he left the viewing room with his notebook.

The extras supervisor with a vulture-like grin was left sitting in the audio-visual room.

He didn't hesitate for long before making the call using his work phone.

"Moshimoshi, this is NHK, I'm Director Ohashi."

It was Kei Iida who answered the phone. When he heard the other party introduce himself, he straightened up quickly, glanced at the boy leaning on the sofa in the office and scrolling through pornographic pictures on Twitter, and coughed twice, "Hello, Director Ohashi, I am Kei Iida, the agent of Kaede Sakakibara."

"The Bridge Supervisor contacted me on this busy working day. Is there something urgent you want to discuss with me?"

The boy paused in putting the potato chips into his mouth. It was the first time he saw how Iida Kei worked, but that didn't stop him from continuing to move his gaze to Sese.

Director Ohashi raised his lips and said enthusiastically, "Oh, it's all because of the extras. Our screenwriter and director thought Sakakibara's performance was wonderful and hope he can attend the next Taiga drama shoot."

"Still an extra?" Iida Kei said as he typed out the plan on his computer. He ignored the boy's desperate look, sneered, and spoke in a particularly gentle voice, "Sakakibara-kun is now starring in a movie. The working hours from Monday to Friday are too long. I wonder if Saturday and Sunday are okay?"

"Good, good." Director Ohashi looked at the small note in his hand. In addition to Kei Iida's phone number, there was also the phone number of Higuchi Madoka's agent, Ms. Sato.

Hehehehe, God helps me!

Hearing Iida Kei's full promise, he quietly clenched his fists, and the corners of his mouth curled up wildly, "Our screenwriter is very optimistic about Sakakibara Kaede's acting skills. Next time I will arrange more difficult actions and scenes for him."

"Thank you Director Ohashi, and thank you screenwriter for your appreciation. Let's cooperate more in the future!" Iida Kei laughed loudly, his laughter was deafening.

The light in the boy's eyes had completely disappeared.

After hanging up the phone, Iida Kei breathed a sigh of relief, fanned his face, and looked at the boy lying flat on his back pretending to be dead, and sighed, "I never thought, I never thought that you, Sakakibara, would be unexpectedly popular in Taiga dramas. Look, here comes the job opportunity."

The boy showed half of his face and said in a low voice, "It's the weekend... I want to go to the cafe to masturbate..."

Iida Kei frowned, "Who is Vanilla? Your secret girlfriend?"

"It's a cat."

"..."

Iida Kei was silent for a moment, then coughed and brought the topic back on track, "Being an extra is a good opportunity to gain work experience. You said this yourself, Sakakibara."

"Why did the bridge supervisor look for you instead of someone else?"

The boy was speechless for a long while.

"This is also an opportunity." Iida Kei explained to the boy seriously, "The ratings of Taiga dramas have been declining. Most of the audiences now are young people, and they no longer like to watch middle-aged bushido. The essence of Taiga dramas is likely to change in the future. If you have a certain reputation in Taiga dramas in advance, then you will have a great advantage when you audition."

The boy rolled over and sat up straight. He held his chin in his hand and thought, "So, in the future, I really might get a role similar to Okita Souji?"

"Ha ha ha ha! If you have more experience in acting, then you'll be in for sure." Iida Kei was facing the sun. His mouth was outlined with a hint of ferocity, his hands were propped on his chin, and his lenses burst out with a strong white light. "People grow up with their own strength. Only children rely on their parents. Learn to be independent, Sakakibara brother."

"I say, Iida-san, at your age... don't you think you are a little bit of a middle school student?" The boy listened to Iida Gendou's teachings and complained seriously, waving his hand to dispel the strong second-dimensional flavor.

Iida Kei sneered, "Okay, okay, what do you call this? The governor is allowed to set fires but the people are not allowed to light lamps, right? Brother Sakakibara, don't forget that you and I are the same kind of people."

The boy looked at everyone with compassion and shook his head slowly, "I always feel that Iida-san's style of being a middle school student is quite clumsy, and it feels like he is trying to draw a tiger but ends up drawing a dog instead."

Iida Kei pursed his lips, put his hands behind his back, and walked slowly. After a long time, he finally smiled, "Fengxian, I treat you well, don't I?"

Feeling the vindictiveness of Iida Kei, the boy also put his hands behind his back and said, "Grandmaster, of course I will treat you well."

"Wait!" Iida Kei pressed the pause button with a look of surprise on his face, "I never thought, I never thought, you actually mistook me for Dong Zhuo, it really hurts my heart!"

There was a knock on the door, and the conversation between the two had to come to an end. Iida Kei nodded at Sakakibara Kaede, who looked reluctant and leaned over to open the door for the visitor.

The person who walked into the office was Ms. Sato, Higuchi Madoka's agent.

She was stunned when she saw the two men fighting fiercely. She nodded to the boy first, then looked at Iida Kei, "Iida-san, have you received an invitation from Director Ohashi?"

"We received it. Did Higuchi-kun receive it too?" With an outsider around, Iida Kei immediately switched back to work mode, sat back at his desk and nodded in confirmation.

"Yes." Ms. Sato nodded. She glanced at the boy and said, "If Sakakibara-kun is here, there shouldn't be any problem."

The boy bowed to Miss Sato with a polite smile.

You look a lot like Mizuno Hayabusa.

These words under the setting sun were their last communication. The boy was still confused by her words. It was only when he sent her home and was on his way home that he came to his senses.

This means that he usually looks like Mizuno Hayabusa, but it's all an act.

It's all fake.

He still does what he usually does and treats people the same as before. His mentality may be a little younger, but he is still the same, without any change.

The boy finished eating the pokey on the table, stood up, yawned and left the office.

If you wear a mask for too long, you won't be able to take it off.

It’s like when you photoshop a lot, you think the handsome guy or beautiful girl in the photo is yourself, and then when you look in the mirror you vomit, wondering who the hell is this person.

The boy thought that this was not a mask, but the appearance after the edges were smoothed out by society.

He was originally a newcomer with great ambition, but was hit a few times by society. When he entered this era, he also changed with the changes of the times.

This is a silent compromise.

The boy nodded and greeted several actors who passed by, took a bottle of drink from the lounge, and with nothing to do, he set out on a path he had never walked before.

Looking at the sign on the wall, the boy realized that he had arrived at the idol area.

There is more scent of girls' perfume and fashionable fragrance here, but the fragrance remains without any trace of people.

On the precious weekends, only the poor guys are working overtime. Thinking of this, the boy couldn't help but sigh, why is he no longer surprised by working overtime on weekends?

The boy heard the singing.

It was a song that he was familiar with, a song he heard off the stage, a song amid the cheers of the crowd.

Slowing down his pace, he stopped in front of the practice room and looked inside through the window.

In front of the floor-length mirror, a girl with short burgundy hair sang into the sound-testing equipment. Her hands were tightly grasping the loose practice sportswear in front of her chest, and she tried hard to sing a voice that belonged only to her.

She is a hard worker.

They say being an idol is a job that makes people laugh, but in fact they work harder than anyone else. Isn’t this the best contrast?

After the song was finished, Higuchi Madoka was breathing slightly, and there was a little sweat on her forehead - the high notes of this song required her to switch between her real voice and extra voice many times, which was a big challenge for her.

"Thank you for your hard work, Shui."

The voice coming from behind brought Higuchi Madoka back from her contemplation of the tone. She frowned and looked through the mirror at the boy sitting on the bench in the practice room, who was clapping softly at the moment.

She pursed her lips, looked away, and took the boiled water handed to her by the boy.

He always remembered Higuchi Enka's habit of only drinking water and not beverages.

"Thank you." The purple eyes lingered on the boy's face. Higuchi Yuanxiang took a sip of water, feeling the cool nectar flowing down his throat, and thanked him honestly.

In this respect, she treats the boys just as she does the rest of her fellow actors.

"that..."

"that..."

They both spoke at the same time and paused at the same time.

The boy took a bite of the biscuit and looked at himself in the floor-length mirror. "The director of the Taiga drama called our agents and specifically asked us to continue to act in their TV series."

"I've received the notice." Higuchi Yuanxiang received a text message from Ms. Sato earlier. She vaguely felt that the supervisor who asked her to appear had some bad intentions, but she couldn't refuse the promise. It was nothing more than work. "Please give me your advice on the work next Saturday."

"It's the same here, please give me some advice."

The air was quiet for a while, and there was no conversation between the two. This was not awkward, but casual. They each drank water, ate snacks, and thought about their own things.

The most comfortable relationship between people is not to talk all the time, but to be able to not talk at all times or to talk at any time.

Chapter 5: Roll a Charm + Economics (9/)

On summer weekends, most people will not choose to go out on the streets, but will stay in their bedrooms, covered with quilts and turning on the air conditioner.

Those who are less fortunate can go to the company to enjoy the air conditioning.

The boy had just been enjoying the 19-degree low temperature air conditioning in Iida-san's office, but now he was wiping his sweat in the practice room while listening to Higuchi Madoka's singing.

The practice room is equipped with air conditioning, but the temperature is not set very low. After the idols sweat during practice, they are likely to get sick and catch a cold if blown by cold wind, so the temperature is maintained at a slightly cooler 25 degrees.

There were a few unpacked boxes of snacks on the bench for rest. The boy ate some and the girl also ate some.

Higuchi Madoka is not the kind of person who would make mistakes if someone stops to watch her dancing or singing; she doesn't care about other people's eyes, whether she is practicing or being reviewed by the judges.

For her, all she has to do is be herself.

The boy closed his eyes and enjoyed it.

He stood by the beach. In the distance, on the shallow sea sand that was tanned orange and pink, a young girl was singing to the setting sun. Seagulls flew over the white waves, crying and flying towards the other side.

Her whole body was covered with the glow of the sunset, as transparent as water. She used to be inconspicuous and transparent, but with the company of her childhood sweetheart and colleagues, she gradually developed her own color.

A song not sung for anyone.