Tokyo Sound

"It's commonplace, like which variety show is good, which restaurant has good food, complaining about how it rained when they were riding in the car today, or how the price of a new model of a certain brand has increased, etc."

"It sounds very ordinary."

"There are some slightly unusual ones, too. For example, she shouted her second-rate moves to crows, only to be chased and pecked by the flock of birds. She waved excitedly at a dog running towards her, but the dog ignored her and hissed into the arms of its real owner. She squatted down to tie her shoelaces, trying to pretend nothing happened. There was also someone who confidently said she was good at video games, but ended up getting beaten by me in an arcade battle."

"Ah! Didn't you promise not to tell anyone else?" Sakura Ayane, who had been watching patiently, finally spoke.

"How can Ms. Edamori be 'someone else'? And the thing that was not disclosed is another matter. What happened is that you sneezed while eating in front of everyone, and turned around and sprayed rice and soup all over my leg..."

"Ahhh! Aren't you the same? You look serious, but you actually have a few swimsuit magazines in your backpack!" The girl fought back and revealed the truth.

"I'm not like you. I'm honest." Yin Ze proudly straightened his chest.

Sakura Ayane was already showing signs of wanting to go up and use violence.

"It sounds like the relationship is much better than I thought." Sakura Edamori was a little surprised to see his daughter's angry look.

"Speaking of which, Miss Zhisen, do you have any older sister or younger sister?" Yin Ze asked this, feeling a little shy.

"Like Ayane, I am also an only child."

"Is that so..." Yin Ze was very disappointed.

"Why are you curious about this?" Sakura Ayane frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

"Because I think the current situation of low birth rate in society is a bit serious." Yin Ze said seriously, "The overall atmosphere has entered a low desire atmosphere. If this continues, the economy will decline, the happiness index will drop, and people will no longer be able to laugh and talk happily. I am very worried."

"What a mature idea! You are at the age of dreaming." Sakura Edamori praised, "By the way, what goals do you want to achieve in the future?"

"I'm not thinking that far ahead for now. Let's settle down our lives first."

"Oh, you don't have those grandiose ideas, you're more pragmatic, right? Ayane is different, she wanted to be an illustrator before."

"She still has a dream?" Yin Ze was surprised.

"Hmm——?!" The girl exuded murderous intent.

"Ahem, what I mean is that she still has such an artistic dream. But how come it was in the past? Has it changed now?"

"Because she said that this industry gathered many people with unimaginable talents, and in the end they gave in and ran away." Sakura Edamori joked.

"No way... I only examined the essence, that's why I didn't run away." The girl muttered softly.

"With your personality, escape is indeed a rare choice. However, it is normal to feel fear. After all, this is an industry full of geniuses." Yin Ze sighed.

"Tsk, you're being so serious, as if you're so great."

"I am not talented. I have won the championship of crayon painting in the elementary school group for two consecutive years, won the encouragement award in the You Draw, I Guess Competition, and won the Medal of Participation in the OOCA Art Competition. People in the art world call me the Leonardo of semi-realistic thick painting." Yin Ze shook his bangs lightly.

"Ugh." The girl acted nauseous.

"You're unexpectedly funny and humorous. I thought you'd be a more enthusiastic and well-behaved kid." Sakura Edamori smiled happily, "Be sure to perform well when you go on stage. I'll be cheering for you from below!"

"Then we can't let Ms. Edamori down." Yin Ze mobilized the hundreds of hours of crosstalk and skit videos in his mind, "By the way, Sakura-san just said that you are nervous?"

"Who said that? I'm super relaxed and confident." Sakura Ayane said with a laugh.

Ten minutes later.

Yin Ze took his position and prepared to go on stage. He looked at the girl beside him who was trembling slightly and had a stiff expression.

Decided not to stimulate her too much.

Chapter 30: Uncovering Hong Tong Tong's Truth

Even standing backstage, one could hear the applause from the audience not far away. As the top leader, the supervisor went up early to greet the media and guests who had come.

The light here was dim, as if covered by a layer of mist, with only the green indicator light flickering. Even so, he could vaguely see the blush on the girl's face.

She really dressed up carefully, as if she was attending a royal party.

Dressing up can completely change a person's appearance.

The black dress perfectly modifies the figure, which is different from the elegance of the short denim jacket and sportswear. The lively short hair that used to be casually scattered has been curled into delicate layers by the electric curling iron. The light makeup covers the childishness brought by the baby fat, and the lips with high-end lip gloss are like elastic and soft jelly. With a light pursed, even the lip lines become charming.

Sakura has transformed from a clumsy high school girl who only knows how to play tricks into a rich and noble lady with a black rose court style.

This Cinderella fairy tale-like transformation is a bit eye-catching, even though Sakura is already cute and beautiful.

With the contrast of an ordinary person like him, she seems even more noble.

"What for?" The girl realized that he was looking at her and asked with a glance.

"You look beautiful today." Yin Ze spoke the truth, and this time he meant it.

"Oh." The girl responded indifferently, but she still didn't know what to do with her hands, so she simply turned her head away.

"I heard from the supervisor that you seem to be looking forward to this meeting promotion?"

"Tsk, no way."

"Oh, are you so nervous that your face is blushing?" Yin Ze joked.

“This is foundation!”

"Of course not. It wasn't this red before. What kind of cosmetics can change color according to the temperature of your face?"

"You're so annoying!"

The girl kicked the boy's calf again and again.

"Just treat everyone in the audience as winter melons." Yin Ze began to impart his experience.

"Do you think you can fool a five-year-old with this method?" Sakura Ayane said disdainfully.

"You are just being biased. Matsuoka is an adult and a lively young man. He also said that this method is very effective."

"But my mother is down there too."

"Ms. Zhisen is the only beautiful rose among the winter melon group—"

While they were talking about all sorts of things, the host on the stage finally called their name.

"Here, I would like to introduce two special guests..."

The girl's expression suddenly became restrained, and she put on airs, putting on the false shell of a high-class flower.

"The mysterious boy who lives in the countryside forest and wears a fox mask, the voice actor of Gin, Mr. Takizawa Satoru, please come on stage."

Amid the applause of the audience, the simple young man took the stage with a microphone in his hand, and walked briskly. Although he was wearing a no-name, washed-out, street-sold shirt and trousers, his refreshing profile and generous smile were eye-catching. Looking at him was like a cool breeze blowing in your face. Beside the lake in spring, he stood under the frost-covered, newly grown poplar trees, his eyes reflecting the boundlessness, pure whiteness, and the sky.

The boy nodded to the host and supervisor, bowed to the audience, and then stood still.

"Ms. Sakura Ayane, the voice actress of Takeuchi Hotaru, the innocent and romantic girl who was saved by Gin when she was lost, please come on stage."

Sakura, who had been ready for a long time, came up with a tense face. The lights from the stage streamed down from her petite shoulders and waist. Even her shadow was so dignified. The microphone in her hands was held with a sense of ceremony like the queen's scepter.

…But this gorgeous appearance maintained with great perseverance and tenacity was soon shattered. Sakura broke down after only a few steps. She half-suppressed her laughter, covered her face with her hands, and ran to the boy's side in a few quick steps like a duck.

The two of them successfully won a lot of enthusiastic applause with this contrasting and clumsy action.

"Could you two please say hello first?" The female host gestured with her hand.

"I'm the voice actor of Yokai Boy Gin, Takizawa Satoru. Thank you for your guidance today." The boy was very well-behaved.

"Yes... uh, I'm Sakura Ayane, the voice actor of Takeuchi Hotaru. I'm really grateful that you all came from afar today. I hope to live up to your expectations. This is our first meeting, so thank you for your guidance." Sakura was half a body length behind the boy, and her words were filled with a lot of honorifics. After she finished speaking, the two of them looked at each other.

Yin Ze winked to show encouragement, and the girl bit her lip and smiled embarrassedly.

"Has the release date of 'The Secret World of Fireflies' been set?" the host asked again.

"Yes, in September." Supervisor Keihiro Komori said happily.

“How is the production going now?”

"The recording part has been completed, and now we mainly do some post-production adjustments and re-confirm the pictures based on the sound. The two voice actors performed very well, so there is no reason not to keep up." Keihiro Komori also praised them.

“Have you encountered any issues in your work that you need to pay attention to?”

"Well, the light and wind, as well as the sounds in the distance, are the core of the atmosphere. I really want to present a light and illusory flavor, because this is where the beauty of the original work lies. Oh, and the characters' movements, especially Hotaru, who is very petite but very active. The animation staff really worked hard here."

"This play generally only has a male and female protagonist, right?"

"Correct."

"Mr. Takizawa and Ms. Sakura have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the content performance, and the characters they play are very distinctive. I'm curious to ask, what considerations go into Gin's performance?" the host brought up the topic.

"This is a monster, but it's also a human. It's vaguely in between the two, so it has a sense of alienation from the world." The boy scratched his head and said, "I was instructed not to be too deliberate and to speak in a lazy, everyday tone."

"This role actually requires certain natural qualities of the actor." Komori Keihiro pushed up his glasses and added, "When Takizawa-kun read the lines for the first time, it suddenly dawned on me and I was extremely surprised. Because this is exactly the tone I long for, it is really beautiful, full of pure loneliness, and hiding the sadness of a young boy."

"In terms of character setting, Gin is wearing a mask so you can't see his face clearly, right? I've discussed this with Sakura-san a lot, about how we should coordinate the scenes together."

"Because they are the only ones in the recording studio and there are no seniors around, they can relax and seem very happy every time they work. Being able to immerse themselves in it like this, I feel so fulfilled just watching from the sidelines, haha." Keihiro Komori interjected.

"Thank you for your supervision." Yin Ze said quickly.

"No, no, I see you guys are having a lot of fun interacting with each other." Keihiro Komori said happily.

"Ms. Sakura, the director just said that Hotaru is a more lively type. You must have made a lot of efforts to fit in with this aspect, right?" the host continued to ask with a smile.

Sakura Ayane picked up the microphone obediently.

"Because the age span is so large, from the childhood age of 6 to the mature age of 18... I have experienced the age of 6, but I have not experienced the age of 18, which is a bit troubling. This part can only be imagined, while reading the original work, I tried hard to figure out my future self."

"Actually, I'm only 17 years old this year." Keihiro Komori said with a bit of boasting.

"Ah? 17? Wasn't it 16?" Yin Ze said in surprise.

"That was last year. After my birthday this year, I'm 17, right?" Sakura Ayane spoke to him with a sidelong glance, and suddenly she didn't need to use honorifics anymore, and her wording became rigorous, gentle and delicate.

"Oh, happy birthday."

"I don't want your perfunctory attitude!" The girl pretended to slap him again.

The audience burst into friendly laughter when they saw this.

"We used the pre-recording method this time. After all, the deadline is not tight." Komori Keihiro smiled kindly and said leisurely, "Don't be fooled by the fact that they seem to be very close now. Although they are indeed very close, they didn't communicate with each other at the beginning. The seats were very far apart, and there was obviously no one in the middle."

"I think this is great. The work itself is about two people cultivating precious memories on a small stage. The way the distance between them gradually shortened is really in line with this. As the coordinator, I am extremely happy."

The supervisor said with a grin.

"And it's worth mentioning that Ying is always the active one both on and off the stage."

Sakura Ayane felt embarrassed and angry when such a behind-the-scenes thing was revealed in public. She held her head high and spoke in a firm voice.

"It's because this guy is so rude. He doesn't take others into consideration at all and has no respect for others at all. I went to remind him to be polite."

"As the saying goes, there is no friendship without fighting." Yin Ze waved his hand, "Now we have a very good relationship. She often supervises me to give up my seat to the elderly on the bus, return lost property, protect the environment, and respect teachers."

What? This is called disrespect? This is clearly reading "Emotional Intelligence"!

Mature and stable adults naturally would not argue with her. A simple child like Sakura has definitely not experienced the eighteenth level of psychological games, so we can't ask too much of her.

"This event should be recorded and used as a special prize for the sale later. Be reserved." Yin Ze had sharp eyes and had already found the locations of the cameras. He gently leaned towards the girl and reminded her in a low voice.

Snapped!

The girl blushed and patted the boy's shoulder. This should be the greatest force ever... It was so sudden and urgent that Yin Ze retreated with a bitter face.

Of course, it is impossible to cut and re-record all of this.

Chapter 31 Who will treat us to dinner?

"By the way, Takizawa-kun, are you free later?"

After finishing the promotion peacefully, Keihiro Komori seemed to be in a good mood and took time out to ask.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"My wife has gone back to her parents' home, and my children are renting a house outside to study. It was okay before when I had a job, but now it's boring to go home alone, and I have to cook and wash dishes by myself, which is too troublesome. You are an adult, right? If possible, how about accompanying me for a few drinks?" Keihiro Komori invited.

"Then I must go." The man immediately agreed happily, "I will definitely accompany the supervisor to have fun!"

"You look so confident, could it be that you have extraordinary fighting ability?" Keihiro Komori was suspicious.

"No one but a reckless man."

"Haha, young people only know how to compete in drinking, but they don't know that the situation on this small table is unpredictable and murderous. As an older person and elder, I have to teach you a lesson." Keihiro Komori snorted and laughed.

"Fruit wine is an appetite whet, wine-filled candy is used to cook dishes, sake quenches thirst, beer is used to rinse the mouth and tongue, white wine hot pot is used to boil tripe, and tequila is used in mutton soup?" Yin Ze clasped his fists.

"...Do you usually do this kind of thing?" The supervisor felt a stomachache upon hearing this and was somewhat confused.