My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

"You scoundrel! If it weren't for Nanzi helping you, you wouldn't be in much better shape!"

"Yeah, yeah, you've really gone too far! Watch out or we'll rip that thing off your neck!"

"Dream on! I'll see who dares to do that today!"

Watching the boys fooling around, the girls felt both annoyed and amused.

These guys really are like children; I wonder when they'll ever truly grow up. Perhaps, a man remains a boy until the very end?

"Hey Sakuta, stop messing around with Naoto and come here, let me help you tie it up."

When Mai saw that Sakuta was still thinking of tearing Naoto's ribbon off with Hachiman, she had no choice but to stop him.

If this guy keeps causing trouble, who knows when we'll be able to set off.

Mai then took Sakuta's tie and, like a virtuous wife, skillfully helped him tie it.

The whole process was smooth and efficient, without any ambiguity.

"Hehe, looks like I'm pretty fast after all."

After Mai helped Sakuta tie his tie, Sakuta immediately looked at Naoto and Hachiman with a smug expression.

Naoto is alright, but Hachiman is so angry he's practically grinding his teeth at the sight of this guy.

We clearly agreed to go together, so how could you betray our revolutionary friendship like this?

Just as Hachiman was about to make a certain traitor pay the price, Yukino stepped in front of him.

"Yukino, what are you doing..."

"Don't move... it'll be fine in a minute."

Yukino's actions stunned Hachiman, who froze on the spot. In fact, even Yukino herself didn't know why she had come over to help Hachiman tie his tie.

After Yukino quickly tied it up, the two of them came to their senses and blushed with embarrassment.

"Jianji, are you ready yet? Everyone's waiting for us."

Compared to the swift actions of the others, Akito and Mikichi's situation was rather dire.

"Akito! Don't move! It'll be over soon!"

"I haven't moved! I'm telling you, it's been half an hour already! When are you going to finish?!"

Akito couldn't fathom how Mikichi could turn a perfectly good bow into a ball of yarn that a cat could play with.

Meanwhile, the highest-ranking member, upon witnessing the miserable state of his old friend, decisively chose to save himself.

After quickly getting himself ready, he stood aside and watched the show.

Although he really wanted to save Akito, the thought that he was the only one in the entire club without a female companion made him think that he was better off without this brother.

After about ten minutes, when Akito was exhausted, Mikichi finally stopped tormenting him.

If Jianji continues like this, I reckon none of us will be able to leave today.

"Phew, finally done. I thought we were going to die here today."

"Watch your words. You will die here, not us."

"Hey! Are you all just going to stand by and watch someone die?!"

Everyone actually found it quite amusing to see this unlucky kid, Akito.

It's not anything else, it's just that happiness is built on the foundation of others.

It's nothing, it's just that I'm happier when I see others suffer.

"Akito! What exactly do you mean?! What do you mean we're going to die here?! Explain yourself!"

Seeing Akito's attitude, Mikichi looked like he wanted to kill Akito.

Fortunately, everyone quickly stopped them; otherwise, a full-blown brawl would have likely broken out within the small club.

"Alright everyone, there are still two hours until the premiere, let's hurry over there."

Seeing the commotion, Naoto quickly stopped the rest of the fighting.

This event is so special even before it has started. I really want to know what the next comic convention will be like.

After hearing what Naoto said, everyone hurriedly straightened their clothes, completely abandoning their previous commotion and becoming impeccably dressed.

In fact, everyone acted this way before simply to mask their inner nervousness.

Keep in mind, this is the premiere of a movie, and it's an internal premiere for the entire production crew. Basically, only media outlets and crew members have a chance to get in.

It's a place where big names gather and stars shine; ordinary people can't get in.

While Naoto and Mai might not feel this way, most people are actually quite nervous.

Soon, led by Naoto, the group began to walk towards the reserved movie venue.

Chapter 163: A Subversive Film

"ONE-sensei! Mai-san! You're here too!"

Outside the movie theater, Kashima coincidentally spotted Naoto and the others.

Not only them, but the rest of the crew were also waiting outside for their arrival.

With Kashima's shout, reporters swarmed towards Naoto like a hornet's nest.

"ONE, what are your thoughts on the movie that's going to be released today?"

"ONE-sensei, no manga-adapted film has ever grossed over 50 million at the box office. Rumors are circulating that you might lose everything this time. What are your thoughts on this?"

"ONE-sensei, Mai-san, who are these people around you? Why are they with you?"

Faced with the reporters' relentless questioning, Naoto and Mai could only manage to give them barely any answers. It has to be said, these reporters in their work mode were more terrifying than zombies.

Being blocked by this group of people makes it difficult to leave.

"Please calm down, everyone. I can assure you that this film will absolutely not disappoint you. I have strictly overseen the script, and Director Hongmu and Assistant Director Quanmu have also employed some bold filming techniques. This time, it will definitely exceed your expectations."

After Naoto answered the question, the reporters immediately started snapping photos of him relentlessly, almost as if they wanted to slap his face a dozen times over.

After much difficulty, Naoto and his team finally emerged from the crowd of reporters and came to the film crew.

"ONE-sensei, Mai-san, thank you for your hard work. Let's hurry inside, or these reporters might never stop."

After hearing what Director Hongmu said, everyone behind Naoto looked at the group of people behind them with lingering fear.

The reporters didn't let the straight men off the hook either.

They originally thought being interviewed by reporters would be a great thing.

But when the questions asked by this group of people became more and more outrageous, they began to struggle to cope.

Questions like their relationship with Naoto and Mai, why they're here, and even their private lives are really hard to answer.

"ONE-sensei, Mai-san, I'm so sorry, I didn't expect those reporters to..."

Seeing how hard Naoto and the others were working, Kashima never expected that his simple shout would cause such a sensation.

"It's okay, even if you don't shout, the reporters will see us soon enough. Let's go inside first."

Inside the screening room, apart from their seats, almost everyone else was already seated.

Besides professional film critics, there are also colleagues from the film industry.

Even Genichiro, who once gave Naoto the Nebula Award nomination, was among them.

Many of them had high expectations for this live-action movie after watching Parasyte.

Despite the fact that none of the current comic book movie adaptations have any truly formidable opponents.

However, they still have high expectations for the parasites.

After director Hongmu gave a speech, the film soon began to be shown.

As soon as the movie began, everyone watched intently, captivated by what could be called the biggest budget film of the year.

"What amazing visuals! They look so cool!"

In the opening scene where the parasites begin to fall to Earth, many people felt that the special effects for this parasite were completely different from the special effects they had seen before.

That special effect, in other movies, would at least appear during the climax.

Parasyte actually put it at the very beginning? Was it really worth spending so much money? Or is it just that the director is a complete novice and doesn't know how to use resources wisely?

But is that really the case? Of course not.

The truth is that because the male lead, Kashima, was a newcomer, his originally planned salary was halved. The female lead, Ichika, also reduced her salary to thank Naoto for his help.

Not to mention Mai, as a senior student, she naturally couldn't ask Naoto University for a fee, so she simply gave them a friendly price.

The three most expensive roles were surprisingly saved a significant portion of the budget. Not to mention those who were drawn in by the actor's fame, some even agreeing to act for free.

With already substantial funds, coupled with various bizarre reasons, the film was eventually completed, only to find that a significant amount of money remained unspent.

If it were any other director, they probably would have embezzled that portion of the money.

But alas, neither of them dared to.

Just imagine what would happen if this movie wasn't made well? It would be a complete disaster.

While money is a good thing, it doesn't mean they want to end their directing and screenwriting careers just like that.

So, what's the best way to use extra money?

That would naturally be best used for special effects.

In order to elevate the entire film, the two directors went to great lengths, even seeking help from the renowned Ancient Company.

It must be said that one thing that directors from academia have a great background is that they have a really wide network of connections.

Even two down-on-their-luck guys can find a large group of people to help them. In the end, they managed to hire the best special effects team in the country to give this movie top-notch special effects.

Keep in mind that Avatar has only been released for about a year, and these special effects are enough to shock everyone.

But if it were just special effects, that would be one thing. What happened next surprised them even more.

When Shinichi Izumi, the protagonist played by Kashima, appeared, not a single person recognized that he was actually a girl.

His demeanor and appearance were exactly like those of an ordinary man.