Tokyo Sound

"Ok?"

"Voice actor agency!!" Kashiwai Ippei finally shouted.

"ah???!!!"

Chapter 3: The Social Animal Collection Train

Yin Ze pondered over the open wardrobe.

On the one hand, I am worried about what to wear, and on the other hand, I am dealing with emergencies.

what happened?

Don’t you want to be an animator or a cartoonist?

How did he become a registered voice actor?!

Are all those painting exercises of yours just a prelude to a backup plan? Damn it, you are betraying me!

Having said that, this determination to enter the industry is really as solid as a rock...

Yin Ze had a headache, but since the call came, he still had to go. To be honest, he was willing to respect Takizawa's efforts.

So what kind of clothes should I wear?

It is said that the Japanese workplace is very harsh. Kneeling and licking the boss's shoes may be an exaggeration, but having your head pressed into a hot pot is a real thing. The younger generation cannot talk back to the older generation. If you are given 10,000 yen and asked to buy a bottle of Romanee-Conti [Note: a kind of expensive French wine that cannot be bought with 10,000 yen], if you can't buy it, you have to pay more until you buy it.

Ah this.

As a kid from the Fog City [Note: Chongqing is often foggy, so it is called the Fog City], Yin Ze has quite a personality.

At work, I work hard and my boss pays me, which is fair and reasonable. To be more respectful, it is to give my job to my parents who provide me with food and clothing. But if you want to be an emperor or a prince, I will not accompany you.

...Unless the money is really transferred to me and I can't refuse it.

They also seem to think that job-hopping is shameful and a sign of incompetence and lack of loyalty. Yin Ze, who often changes jobs after working for a year or two, feels very guilty about this.

I won’t be crowned as a “slave of three surnames”, right?

After all, you are still a high school student who has not graduated. It’s okay to wear casual clothes, but the workplace is serious. Shouldn’t you be more serious and not so relaxed?

Straight men who like to go out in shorts and slippers are troubled by this.

In the end, he still felt that being more mature was more reliable. However, after searching through his wardrobe and only finding a set of classic light-colored plaid shirts and sweatpants from the IT circle, Yin Ze realized how unnecessary his worries were.

I haven't had time to cut my hair short, so in order to look more energetic, I'll just tie it into a trendy little braid as usual.

After putting on his battle-worn army green sneakers, Yin Ze went out with a worried look on his face. He wondered if this foreign office worker would be able to survive against the more professional Japanese office workers.

Japanese taxis are not affordable for normal people [Note: the average starting price is 25,000 yen, which is indeed not affordable for normal people], but the maze-like subway map is also very confusing. The Tokyo subway is one of the busiest urban rail transit systems in the world. Yin Ze stared at the display board for a long time before finding the station name that was smaller than a fingernail.

It was rush hour after get off work, and before Yin Ze could even shout for help, he was surrounded by a group of tired-looking office workers and washed away like sand in the sea.

A bald middle-aged man with a big belly, a man with glasses wearing a mask, and an intern with dull eyes and a loose tie. He was irresistibly drawn into the scroll of the corporate slave Sanzu River Hell.

Although the carriage was air-conditioned, the air was extremely turbid. The office workers remained surprisingly silent, as if mourning their youth, sighing and coughing from time to time.

Yin Ze was squeezed into a corner and didn't dare to say a word.

The train crept through the underground tunnel like a ghost, and the tunnel lights flickered at intervals, illuminating the people in the carriage for a moment. The shadows were uneven, like puppets locked in a glass cabinet, and the faces of the people were like frozen sculptures without any expression, like wax figures and corpses that had lost their vitality.

This is like a real feeling of tiredness!

In front of these top workers, urban cogs, and capital tools, Yin Ze didn't even dare to call himself a worker.

After finally arriving at the station, he struggled to free himself from the mud and ran out of the train.

Do you want to become a general member of society in a place like this?

The man who prides himself on being cool and handsome has begun to feel fear.

I walked dejectedly on an unfamiliar street, looking for the high school girl who was going home with me to ask for directions. After going around in circles, I finally arrived at a food street that smelled of fireworks.

At first glance, it was still the group of company employees who were off work. They were drinking in groups of three or four, their faces flushed, and their arms and legs linked. The sound of their hip-hop banter floated from the store to the street.

Comparing the unique artistic signboards, I walked for a few more minutes before I found the place mentioned in the email.

From the outside, it looks like a normal place to drink and chat. As soon as you walk in, you can hear the sound of clinking glasses and the aroma of barbecue.

"Welcome, how many people are there?" The waiter carrying a tray greeted from several meters away.

"I'm here to participate in the company's activities, the IM and stuff."

"I'm Enterprise, then please go into the third private room."

"Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome... The peanut butter beer for table 18 is here!" The waiter hurriedly went back to work.

What kind of weird wine is this? It's so wild.

Yin Ze found the private room and heard laughter through the door, so he knocked on it.

The person who opened the door was a tall man wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, with meticulously groomed hair and beard, exuding the temperament of a high-level intellectual. Although he was wearing a white shirt, a watch, and trousers, he was obviously not a depressed office worker.

Yin Ze and the other party looked at each other for a few times, and the other party immediately recognized him and stretched out his hand to greet him with a smile.

"It's Takizawa-kun, right? I'm Kashiwai who notified you earlier. You're more than ten minutes late. Come in!"

Yin Ze also shook hands with a smile and exchanged pleasantries.

There were about ten people sitting at two tables, all of them young people, and the atmosphere was very lively. Seeing the latecomers finally arriving, the more outgoing ones started to make a noise.

Yin Ze is familiar with this.

"I'm so sorry for being delayed on the way. I'll drink a glass of wine first!"

Normally it should be three cups, but he was afraid of the peanut butter evil, so to be safe he only had one cup.

Kashiwa Ippei suddenly appeared over with a burning gaze.

"Takizawa-kun, aren't you a high school student? Minors are not allowed to drink."

“…It seems so.”

"The seat is reserved for you, right there, have some orange juice." Kashiwa Ippei clapped his hands and smiled.

Two or three young men were also amused and spoke to him.

"You can't think of becoming an adult now. If mom smells it when you get home, you'll get spanked."

"But I can already feel the momentum, open a bottle of pineapple beer, boy!"

"Why don't you drink my water?"

"What kind of water is that? It's obviously sake. It's very troublesome if the student drinks it and it falls down. "

"That's true, hahahaha."

Ah this.

How dare you look down on me and think I was just trying to act like a big brother.

Yin Ze was a little angry.

That’s great! Socializing is so troublesome.

He sat down with satisfaction in the empty seat indicated by Kashiwa Ippei, then slowly looked around.

It seemed that the ones taking the lead were Kashiwai Ippei and a middle-aged man, who were now giving passionate speeches, congratulating everyone on their successful selection and hoping that they would continue to work hard and realize their dreams in the future.

After that, they started to introduce themselves. It seemed that this part was delayed until now because he was late. So many people got to know each other. At least the people at the next table were very natural.

…His table seemed unexpectedly cold.

"Would you like a drink?" Yin Ze took the initiative to unscrew the bottle cap and asked around.

The few people who didn't drink beer smiled and said thank you and handed over the cups. After Yin Ze poured them all, he asked the two closest to him.

The boy on his left saw him looking at him, and quickly raised his cup to the bottle with both hands, saying thank you many times. After pouring the drink, he took a sip and put it on the table, secretly looking at the introduction of the next table, and seemed a little restless.

Yin Ze headed to the last right side again.

A girl with short hair didn't even look over, she just buried her head in her phone and whispered something.

"I won't drink, thank you."

"..."

He drank some water depressedly.

After slowly introducing themselves, it was finally his table's turn.

"Takizawa-kun, you go first." Kashiwa Ippei, who seemed to think highly of him for some reason, said with a smile.

Yin Ze also took the initiative to stand up and speak loudly.

"Hello everyone, I'm Takizawa Satoru, a student who is late for work for 10 minutes and a half. My hobbies are sleeping, drawing and playing games. It's a great fate to meet you all today. I hope we can make progress together and encourage each other. Of course, the most important thing is that we should work together to build a bright new future for the company! Realize personal value! Remember that overtime pay is high salary!"

"Party A's demands are not a problem, and the boss's accusations are not scary. Fishing in troubled waters is the most shameful. Everyone should work hard and give back to the company and the enterprise, so that we can reap more brilliant benefits and treatment. Ride the wind and waves and cut through the thorns! The world and the future once belonged to our ancestors and parents, but in the end, it is ours!"

Yin Ze's tone was passionate, and the orange juice was compared to Erguotou.

Kashiwa Ippei was okay, but the middle-aged man next to him who seemed to be from the company really admired him.

"Well said, what upright values ​​and ideas. Young people are full of energy."

After sitting down amid warm applause, according to the rhythm, either the boy on the left or the girl on the right takes over.

Yin Ze subconsciously looked to the left first.

Feeling everyone's gazes, the boy suddenly felt more embarrassed. He stood up, made small movements with his hands, bowed slightly, and his voice was nervous.

"Good evening everyone, I'm Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, born in Hokkaido... Oh, well, I hope we can improve together and continue to improve our acting skills."

He was not as dignified as the previous speaker, and his speech was very short, earning only intermittent polite applause.

carry on.

"My name is Iwasawa Toshiki, and I'm honored to be in the same class with you all. Let's get along well and work towards the same goal!"

"Haruka Yoshimura has loved animation since childhood. I feel like my dream has come true to be able to enter the industry like this. But there is still a long way to go. It would be great if we could make it to the end without any regrets."

"Chihiro Suzuki likes playing games and is good at competitive games. If you have similar interests, we can exchange experiences privately." said the man with unshaved stubble.

"Fujimionaka Makoto, I like to draw something when I have nothing to do. I really like the works of Rembrandt and Menzel." The handsome young man stroked his hair.

"Zhangshan Xiaohe was born on the seaside. His hobby is sailing on a sailboat. He likes ships very much and collects ship illustrations." The young man spoke in a mellow voice with a smile on his face.

……

Soon it was the last person's turn.

The short-haired girl who was still in school uniform put away her cell phone early, stood up and bowed, and quietly glanced at everyone. Her voice sounded crisp and innocent.

"Sakura Ayane, a freshman in high school, likes painting and reading. Please give me your guidance."

Chapter 4 What is life?

After some acquaintance and a few inspiring speeches, the welcome party entered the stage of free conversation.

Yin Ze ate to his heart's content. It would be a shame not to eat enough after having a free meal.

The people at the table were toasting each other and laughing happily.

"The youngest ones today are Takizawa and Sakura, right?" Haruka Kasumura is a beautiful woman with a mature and domineering temperament. She is also good at livening up the atmosphere. She intends to bring the two of them into the conversation.

"That's true, but I'm already in my third year of high school, and it's the end of the year, so I'll be 20 next year." Yin Ze continued with a smile.

"Why do you want to be a voice actor?" Haruka Kamura asked curiously.

"…It was just a coincidence."

"What a modest fellow you are." Iwasawa Toshiki looked like a typical energetic college student, with a powerful smile. "I heard that your test score was the best this term, and it's not something that can be achieved by chance alone. The Japanese Broadcasting Institute [Note: the Japanese Broadcasting Institute is a voice actor training school in Japan with a two-year program] requires you to start from the basic subjects, and we have all worked our way up through the exams. Even so, there is a high probability that we will fail in the selection. Matsuoka failed once last year. Don't look at him like that, his performance in the training institute is very good, and he was even interviewed by a magazine for this."

"Well, let's not talk about failure." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, who was mentioned, tilted his head and showed a rather embarrassed smile.

"To be honest, luck does play a role." Yin Ze answered ambiguously.

"You can pass the difficult newcomer training exam, become a special student with tuition exemption, and get admission with excellence in the initial examination." Iwasawa Toshiki took a sip of orange juice, "Don't be so modest, we will be depressed."

"It's amazing that we have achieved this in just one year." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu said softly, feeling very emotional.

“Some people are born to be suitable for certain industries.”