I live my life in Tokyo

They turned their heads at the same time and saw Mai Sakurajima and... a girl dressed like a Middle Eastern bandit coming in.

"Sakakibara-senpai, your singing voice is really beautiful."

After greeting Yuuma Miura, Mai Sakurajima turned around and smiled at the boy.

"I thought my voice would be a little out of habit since I haven't sung for a long time." The boy rubbed his throat.

Mai Sakurajima took two bottles of water and handed one to Yuuma Miura and the other to Kaede Sakakibara.

Both thanked him and took the drink.

"I didn't expect that the trumpet I was following was my senior's trumpet."

"What are you talking about?" The boy heard Sakurajima Mai's resentful mumbling, tried hard to recall his identity as a little puppy during the previous audition, cleared his throat and asked doubtfully.

"Yesterday you forwarded a new game update from Galgame, forwarded twenty... pictures of an artist, and forwarded ten ASMR links." Mai Sakakijima put her hands on her hips and her voice suddenly became higher, "Sakakibara junior, if you confess, you will be treated leniently, but if you resist, you will be treated severely. Tell me the truth!"

"Um...this..."

Kaede Sakakibara took a deep breath, and a waterfall of cold sweat soaked his clothes on his back.

how come!

Seeing this, Yuuma Miura tried to smooth things over, "Um, Sakurajima-san, who is this girl dressed like a detective?"

Sakurajima Mai said an idiom to the boy, meaning that she would listen to your explanation later, and then let Nishikino Maki out.

"Well, Nishikino-san, this is my friend and colleague Sakakibara Kaede-san, and Miura-san who is in the music section."

Maki Nishikino slowly took off her equipment.

"Hey guys, this is Maki Nishikino, a member of Muse. She will join STARS as a musician in the future."

The boy's face flushed, and he quickly took out a marker and a notebook from his pocket and handed them to Nishikino Maki.

"Ximuye-san, I, I've been your fan for three years. Your voice is like an angel singing, your smile is like a hundred flowers blooming, and your face is so beautiful that it can make fish sink to the depths and geese fall to the ground. Can you give me an autograph?"

The boy's three consecutive straightforward compliments made Nishikino Maki's cheeks slightly pink.

"What? It doesn't make any sense!"

Chapter 36: Stag Beetle at Sunset

Although Nishikino Maki didn't seem to appreciate Sakakibara Kaede's straightforward praise, her attitude was not very good and her cheeks were flushed.

But she still gave an autograph to her three-year old fan, which made the boy deeply moved as he held the notebook.

Yuuma Miura nodded and bowed, asking for two autographs, one for himself and one for his sister Yumiko.

Mai Sakurajima saw the boy's unknown side and felt both angry and amused. When Kaede Sakakibara handed the notebook to her, she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What are you doing, Sakakibara-san?"

"Ah... I have worked with Sakurajima-senpai for so long, but I haven't collected his autographs. I really deserve to die." He smiled and handed over the notebook. Inside the notebook was only the lonely name of Nishikino Maki. "I plan to write down the names of all the actors who have acted with me in this book. What do you think of Sakurajima-senpai?"

Sakurajima Mai smiled slightly, and she picked up the pen, "Eh, although it's not Sakakibara-senpai's first time, it's a bit of a pity."

Sakakibara Kaede gently scratched the side of his face and said speechlessly, "What are you talking about? This was my first time acting opposite someone, my first time being beaten up in a scene, and my first time being hurt in a behind-the-scenes video. Aren't they all Sakurajima-senpai?"

"Hey, I said the wrong thing."

Sakurajima Mai signed her name with a smile at the top of the first page of the notebook, and then drew a small hook at the end of her name.

The hook and the gesture form a heart.

The corners of her mouth turned up, and she couldn't help pouting when she saw the boy looking at Nishikino Maki with admiration.

"Here, give it back to you."

The boy took the notebook and sat aside. Seeing this, Mai Sakurajima took a step forward and sat next to him.

The two watched for a while as Yuuma Miura was about to cry after getting the autograph. He even called his sister Yumiko Miura on the spot. The boy couldn't help but complain, "Hey, it's class time now."

"Has Sakakibara-san received any new auditions recently?"

"No, Iida-san is looking for good talents in training institutions every day." The boy automatically filtered out several extras of high school students in youth dramas that Iida Kei found for him. Youth dramas are like this, no matter how they change, they remain essentially the same, praising youth and enjoying youth.

To be honest, simple youth dramas can no longer attract Sakakibara Kaede.

It's the same for Mai Sakurajima.

"When will it be my turn to choose the script..." Sakakibara Kaede sighed. If he wanted to choose his own scripts and act in them, he would have to become a real big-name actor.

"Sakakibara-senpai, are you reading the script? I'm reading the role." said Sakakijima Mai.

After a brief exchange, the two men stood up and walked towards Nishikino Maki. They saw each other every day on the set, so they didn't miss the opportunity to talk.

"Can I call you Nishikino-san from now on?"

Sakakibara Kaede said in a businesslike manner, and he extended his hand, "I am very interested in Nishikino-san's piano attainments, and I hope we can have more exchanges in music in the future."

"Yes, Sakakibara-san."

Nishikino Maki held back the words "I don't want to communicate about music with strangers". She knew that the workplace was different from the academy, so she had to be polite in the end.

She shook hands with the boy coldly, then looked at Sakurajima Mai.

The latter waved to Sakakibara Kaede and Miura Yuma, and left the music room with Nishikino Maki.

The first interaction between people is usually fake, the boy himself said this, he looked at Mai Sakurajima who gave him a provocative look and then looked away.

"How does it feel to be real?"

"I have no regrets in my life. Even if I get hit by a truck tonight, I have no regrets." Miura Yuma said with emotion. He carefully put the signature into his backpack and shrugged at the boy. "Back to the topic just now, I think you are really suitable to be a singer."

"Who knows? My life is busy enough right now." Sakakibara Kaede said noncommittally, "I'll consult Iida-san when the fall season is free."

Yuuma Miura nodded, "Speaking of singing, I know a little bit about arranging music."

"Well... let's talk about it when the time comes." He swung the drumsticks.

He wanted to sing, sing out his feelings, sing out the meaning of the lyrics.

How wonderful it would be if everyone in the world could shine, this is what he once said and thought.

Until he left the music room, the boy's hands were still unconsciously plucking the strings of the guitar.

He hesitated whether to sing a song he had heard before and liked.

But Sakakibara Kaede soon felt relieved. It would be nice to have a chance to travel through this world and to infect more people with her singing before she disappears.

In the TV series, he used his acting skills to let the audience know that they should seize the time, enjoy their youth, study hard, and eventually they will shine one day.

In his songs, he wants to tell his listeners the same story.

"Ah~ Sakakibara-senpai, are you waiting for me?"

Mai Sakurajima patted the boy's shoulder from behind. The latter looked back and nodded, then faced the busy street, stretched and embraced the laziness of summer.

"Same old, I'll take you to the station."

"Hehe, please, Mr. Bodyguard."

Facing the gradually orange-red sky, a man and a woman walked side by side, strolling among the crowd, strolling in a corner of the busy city.

"The filming of the movie took too long. How's school lately?" Sakakibara Kaede looked for a topic to talk about as if she were an experienced person. Her tone sounded like that of an elder of Sakurajima Mai.

Sakurajima Mai nodded. "I attend Mr. Hiratsuka's advanced class every afternoon. I just need to memorize the questions in the liberal arts. Although I have some problems with the social studies subjects, they are not the worst."

"Send me the wrong questions from the social studies class tonight and I'll help you check them."

"Eh... But isn't Sakakibara-senpai going to help Madoka-chan with her lessons?"

"It's not like you have to make up for it all night. I can just correct your mistakes before you go to bed."

Mai Sakurajima took a few steps forward, turned around and faced the train station.

Her indigo eyes looked straight into the azure blue, and she said softly, "Sakakibara-senpai, regarding the private account..."

Sakakibara Kaede stood up straight, cleared his throat, and replied in the standard tone of a broadcaster: "I'm sorry, the number you dialed is turned off--"

"No, where does Sakakibara-senpai not belong?" Sakakijima Mai held the boy's gaze tightly, not ready to let him escape, "Not an actor? Or not belonging to the entertainment industry? Or not belonging to Tokyo?"

"Sakakibara-senpai's acting skills are obvious to me and other actors. No matter what role he plays, Sakakibara-senpai can always bring out his essence."

As if she wanted to say it all in one breath, Mai Sakakijima spoke quickly without pausing, "Sakakibara-senpai is very popular in the crew, has friends everywhere, has tens of thousands of followers, and is also doing very well on Twitter."

"If you are not familiar with life in a big city, then why not move back to Chiba? I'll ask your agent to take you to school every day."

As the train passed by, a gust of wind blew up Mai Sakurajima's beautiful black hair, which was like black crystal, and a strand of hair blew on the boy's face.

A little itchy.

She had long seen through the boy's loneliness, the silence beneath his gentle surface, and the essence of how he lived every day with a smile on his face and without sparing any effort.

He must be feeling uneasy without any family.

Sakakibara Kaede exhaled, "It doesn't belong, it doesn't belong... It's just a complaint from my middle school days. I didn't really care about the name of my private account, but after hearing what Sakurajima-san said, I'll change it from now on."

Sakurajima Mai looked unconvinced, "The problem is not the name, it's the sense of belonging I just mentioned."

"I feel fulfilled now. Living such a peaceful and stable daily life every day, I feel alive." The boy said, "Many people in the world want to leave their mark on this world, and I happen to be one of them."

"Senior Sakakibara, you have already left your own color." Sakurajima Mai said with a faint smile.

"Yeah——" There was satisfaction in the boy's words.

"But it's not enough!" Mai Sakakijima raised her voice with a confident smile on her face, "Sakakibara-senpai, are you satisfied with just a few roles? It's not enough. You haven't become the most famous actor in the entertainment industry yet."

"How about giving you a small goal, surpassing me in terms of the number of fans?"

Mai Sakurajima has six-digit fans. If she wants to surpass her as a child star, the boy thought, "Can I buy some zombie fans?"

"Cheating is prohibited." Mai Sakurajima made a big cross.

The train came again. The boy looked at the time and said, "If you are late, it will be dark when you arrive."

"Okay, I'm going home. See you tomorrow!"

"Well, have a nice trip."

Sakakibara Kaede's last silent words, "thank you" blew into Sakurajima Mai's ears with the wind. She looked back and saw the boy still standing there, and waved to him when she turned around.

"Really..." Sakurajima Mai whispered to herself. She put on a mask and glasses, waved her hand, and walked into the evening rush hour crowd.

When the boy saw Mai Sakurajima disappear, he yawned and walked in the opposite direction. His steps were big, steady, and fearless.

He had already been recognized, but he was still worried that all this would disappear one day like a mirage.

But now, he felt that he was alive, and the world was truly alive.

Perhaps the word "alive" is not appropriate.

Being alive is a sign of the objective existence of an organism, and staying alive is also the instinct of an organism.

Rather than living, Sakakibara Kaede feels that the word "existence" is more suitable for him.

Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said, "Existence precedes essence." There is no innate morality or soul other than human beings themselves. Morality and soul are created by human beings in the course of their existence.

When judging a person, we judge his behavior, not his identity, because the essence of a person is defined through his behavior.

“A man is the sum of his actions.”

He was walking alone, and when he looked back, his eyes caught the soothing orange-yellow colors of "Sunflowers" and "Landscape of Wheat Fields" painted by Vincent Van Gogh.

May is here.

The cherry blossoms in Tokyo have faded, but now is the season when the cherry blossoms in Hokkaido are in full bloom.

I was so busy with movies, stopping and going, and running around that I didn’t even have the chance to enjoy the cherry blossoms.

Looking at the electronics stores on both sides of the streets in Akihabara, the boy stopped and watched for a long time. Looking at the game consoles lined up on the counters, he became eager to buy one.

"Just relax."

A moment later, with the store's shopping bags in his hands, the boy walked out the door, thanking everyone for coming.

In his hands is Nintendo's latest game console and a Monster Hunter game card.

Considering this action as the first step to enjoying life, the boy took the bag and boarded the subway back to Bunkyo Ward.

Of course, he couldn't bring his game console with him to cram school, so after returning home and storing his treasure, the boy took out the lunch box he had for today from his backpack and washed it with hot water.

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