"I'm in Tokyo, and this is some kind of movie star comeback system?!"

Chapter 136 Sleep

Luxury apartments in Hiroo, Minato Ward.

Sakamoto Yu managed to tidy up the place all by himself.

Looking around, the tables, chairs, and sofas were all delivered directly by someone Watanabe had arranged.

He just cleaned and mopped the floor.

I took a can of Asahi beer from the refrigerator, and just as I sat down, I turned on the TV.

The pager went off.

Sakamoto Yu, holding a beer, turned around and looked around, finally finding it on the kitchen counter.

He picked it up and looked at it, his expression showing some surprise.

He glanced out the window and saw that it was already pitch black. It was late at night. Why was Nakamori Akina calling?

Without much thought, Sakamoto Yu picked up the landline, dragged the long cable, sat down on the sofa, and dialed back while watching TV.

It's raining outside the window.

Akina Nakamori sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees, staring at the winding watermarks on the windowpane.

The lights were off inside, except for the television, whose screen flickered and reflected a kaleidoscope of colors.

She had been sitting like that for a long time.

The pager lay quietly on the coffee table. She glanced at it, then looked away. A moment later, she glanced at it again.

Then she buried her face in her knees.

Suddenly, the phone rang. She looked up sharply, about to answer it, but her body suddenly stopped.

The phone kept ringing, and after a long while, she finally mustered the courage to pick up the microphone.

"Feed?"

The other person's voice sounded tired, coming through the microphone, and the sound of a television playing could be faintly heard.

Akina Nakamori held the microphone, opened her mouth, but said nothing.

"Feed?" the other end asked again.

She bit her lip, her heart pounding.

"Nakamori?"

When Sakamoto Yu read out her name, she almost hung up the phone.

"Hmm." After a long pause, she managed to squeeze out a single word.

Then came a long silence.

Sakamoto Yu didn't hang up; he waited patiently.

A few seconds later, Sakamoto Yu's voice rang out again, sounding more awake than before: "Can't sleep?"

After a while, she said softly, "It's nothing, I just wanted to try."

"Can you...can you come out?"

Sakamoto Yu paused for a moment, then said, "If I really come, I reckon we'll be overwhelmed by rumors before the next day is even over."

"I also hope I can come over."

Akina Nakamori pursed her lips, her eyes filled with a forlorn disappointment, as if to say, "Just as I expected."

Suddenly, Sakamoto Yu asked a strange question: "Can you move your landline to the bedside?"

Akina Nakamori paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know."

"I'll give it a try."

The phone hangs up.

Akina Nakamori sat on the edge of the bed, holding a receiver with a broken wire in her hand.

She paused for a few seconds, then got up, went to the living room, unplugged the landline, and dragged it to the bedside.

The line wasn't long enough, so she went to find an extension cord.

After fiddling around for a while, it was finally connected.

She sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the landline phone, waiting.

She didn't know what she was waiting for.

The phone didn't ring.

She began to feel like a fool.

Just then—the bell rang.

She answered almost immediately.

"Feed?"

"It's me." Sakamoto Yu's voice was calm, with a hint of weary laughter. "This time, I won't hang up. Go to sleep."

Akina Nakamori held the receiver but did not speak.

On the other end of the phone, all I could hear was his breathing.

Quiet and steady, like a thread, it passed through the night, from her ear to his side.

She lay down and put the receiver to her ear.

Close your eyes.

"Goodnight," she whispered.

"Good night."

The next morning.

There was a rustling sound coming from the other end of the phone.

The sound of fabric rubbing together, bare feet stepping on the floor, and the faucet being turned on and off.

Akina Nakamori didn't hang up. She didn't know when she fell asleep, only that she kept listening to his breathing all night, like a quiet river that slowly carried her into her dreams.

When I woke up, the phone was still connected.

She gently gave a "feeding" sound.

"Awake?" Sakamoto Yu's voice was hoarse with the characteristic huskiness of early morning, but it didn't sound like he had just woken up; he must have been up for a while.

"Hmm—you haven't hung up yet?"

"We agreed not to hang it up."

The sound of a spatula hitting a wok came from the other end of the phone. She paused, surprised. "Are you making breakfast?"

"Mmm, I'm hungry."

She couldn't imagine what Sakamoto Yu would look like making breakfast.

On set, he was always composed and always proper "Sakamoto-san," making it hard to associate him with the image of "standing in front of the stove wearing an apron."

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"The egg rolls are made with milk, which makes them more tender."

The sound of a spatula flipping a pot came from the other end of the phone.

"I also chopped some scallions, and took out some pickled dried radish, diced it, and mixed it with the egg mixture."

She closed her eyes, and all she could hear was his voice and the sounds coming from his kitchen.

The oil sizzled slightly in the pan, the egg mixture sizzled as it was poured in, followed by the rhythmic flipping of the egg rolls with a spatula, one flip, one flip, one flip.

Sakamoto Yu knew that what Nakamori Akina lacked was companionship.

He described the cooking process in great detail, accompanied by the sounds of pots and pans, making Nakamori feel as if he were in the kitchen making breakfast with him.

Akina Nakamori closed her eyes, a gentle smile playing on her lips, imagining herself and Yu Sakamoto bustling about in the kitchen.

I felt increasingly fulfilled, and there was also a hint of indescribable emotion in my heart.

"Miso soup with an omelet, plus a small dish of pickled cucumbers," he said. "Perfect."

She pulled the blanket up a little, resting her chin on the edge. Even though she couldn't see anything, she could almost smell the miso soup.

She couldn't help but laugh: "Are you giving me a recipe?"

"You asked me, of course I'll answer you properly."

The spatula paused for a moment, and then she heard him take a bite of something crunchy, probably a pickled cucumber.

66

She listened without saying a word.

I realized it had been a long time since I'd had a proper breakfast. My schedule was packed from 6 a.m. until the early hours of the morning, so I either ate a quick bite on the bus or skipped breakfast altogether.

Kondo never cares about trivial topics like "what I ate today".

"Do you do this every day?" she asked.

"Pretty much. Unless I'm too tired, I'll just fall asleep." The sound of dishes hitting the sink came from the other end of the phone.

"Sakamoto-kun."

"Um?"

"It's nothing." She wanted to say, "You seem to be very good at taking care of others too."

But saying that sounds too much like saying, "You've taken care of me."

She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Are you heading out?" Sakamoto asked.

She glanced at the clock; yes, her agent would be here soon. "Okay."

"Then let's hang up."

She didn't move.

He didn't hang up either.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Tonight—" she hesitated, her voice very soft, "is it still possible to do this?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Sure," he said, "but you'll have to pay next time."

She paused for a moment, then asked, "What kind of money?"

"Phone bill, huh?" A soft laugh came from the other end of the line.

She knew he was joking, but she still said seriously, "Then I'll pay."

"Just kidding." He paused. "What can I do? I'm a perfect friend, after all."

friend.

Akina Nakamori gripped the receiver, her heart skipping a beat.

It wasn't pain. It was an indescribable feeling—like something gently, very gently tugging at you, and then…

Loosen up.

She didn't know why she felt a little lost when she heard the word "friend".

"Then tonight it is," Sakamoto Yu said. "Go get busy."

"----Um."

"Wait a moment."

"Um?"

"Remember to eat breakfast. Don't eat on an empty stomach."

"----knew."

The phone hangs up.

Akina Nakamori sat on the edge of the bed, holding a receiver with a broken wire in her hand.

After a while, she got up, went to the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator.

It contains milk, eggs, and scallions.

She stood there, stunned, for a long time.

Then she took out eggs and milk, turned on the stove, and started cooking herself.

On the other side, inside the Hiroo apartment building.

After cleaning up the dishes, Sakamoto Yu stood by the window, gazing at the continuous rain.

He silently brought up the control panel.

Current progress: 50%

[Reward: Complete Samurai Demeanor (gait, posture, gestures, gaze, and aura)]

[Reward: Equestrian Proficiency]

The progress is already more than halfway complete.

"It's mostly due to the boost I got from meeting that idol on TBS last time."

He raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect that guy to make such a big progress."

He originally thought that with the filming of the series finished, it would be difficult to have any more opportunities to contact Akina Nakamori, and that this progress would have to be temporarily halted.

But seeing the progress on the panel that had broken through halfway, he couldn't help but feel a little itchy.

He has never stopped equestrian and physical training, and recently he has also watched a lot of samurai movies to practice his posture.

Although I have been working hard, no one would complain about having too many ready-made rewards from the system.

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, there's still a while before the audition, so let's just let things take their course.

Days passed by, and before we knew it, it was April, which brought the premiere of "Idol Mom".

On one hand, there's the popularity of Miho Nakayama and Akina Nakamori, and on the other hand, there's the continuation of past public opinion, plus Nissan's repeated promotional efforts.

Several confluences of popularity combined to propel him to new heights.