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

Sakamoto Yu leaned against the wall in the stairwell, a cigarette that hadn't been lit yet held between his fingers.

Akina Nakamori barged in like that.

The first thing that caught Sakamoto Yu's attention was:

She looked even smaller than she did on TV, with a fuller, rounder face, unlike the gaunt figure she appeared in later photos.

In 1987, she was still the undisputed queen of the Japanese music scene. She was a record seller, her concerts were sold out, and she was inundated with endorsement deals with GG. Everyone thought she would stay this popular forever.

But Sakamoto Yu could see that she was already standing on the edge of the cliff, with one foot already in the abyss.

She was cheated on by her boyfriend, who dated and cheated on her with his rival.

Her family treated her as a money-making machine, and even after she committed suicide, they were only worried that they would run out of money.

Thinking of this, a hint of pity flashed in Sakamoto Yu's eyes as he looked at her.

At that moment, while her manager wasn't looking, Akina Nakamori sneaked into the stairwell to catch her breath.

She leaned against the wall, her shoulders slumped.

The next second, she noticed someone standing in the corner and was stunned.

She instinctively wanted to back away, but saw that the other person only glanced at her before calmly looking away and not paying attention to her anymore.

She was somewhat surprised by the man's composure, but only for a moment. This rare chance to catch her breath was too precious for her; she didn't want to leave just like that.

As she reached the corner of the stairs, she reached into her pocket, only to find it empty.

She hurriedly searched the other pocket, but still found nothing.

The thought of relaxing was extinguished.

He sighed, leaned against the wall helplessly, and thought he would leave after a while.

Just then, she heard the crisp sound of a lighter.

"despair"

Akina Nakamori stared blankly at the strange man in front of her.

His gaze was fixed on the cigarette butt between his fingers.

The man took a deep breath, his cheeks slightly sunken.

She also took a soft breath, as if sharing a cigarette with that person.

But the expected long column of smoke did not appear; instead, a violent coughing fit occurred.

"Cough cough cough—"

The man was in a rush.

He choked and felt nauseous; the veins on his neck bulged, and his face turned red.

Akina Nakamori was stunned.

The man's expression was terrible; his eyes were filled with tears, and his brows were furrowed at a comical angle.

The weariness that had been weighing on my heart seemed to be lessened by this scene, my tense emotions relaxed slightly, and the corners of my mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

Just then, their eyes met unexpectedly.

Akina Nakamori finally couldn't resist.

He burst out laughing.

She was startled to realize she had made a sound, so she quickly covered her mouth and opened her eyes wide.

The gloom vanished, and a rare glimmer of life appeared on his face.

The man raised his hand to fan away the smoke in front of him, picked up the pack of cigarettes with only a few cigarettes left, and handed it to her.

Akina Nakamori was slightly taken aback.

He shook the cigarette pack, gesturing for her to take one.

She hesitated for a moment, thinking of this hard-won free time, and finally slowly reached out her hand, her slender fingers pinching a cigarette.

The man lit a lighter and handed it to her, and Akina Nakamori leaned slightly closer.

The orange flames lit up, illuminating her soft facial features, and her eyes, like those of a startled fawn, possessed an ethereal quality that seemed to come naturally.

Hiss—

The cigarette butt glowed with a faint red light.

She skillfully took a drag, turned her head, and slowly exhaled a straight column of smoke.

The man was slightly taken aback.

Akina Nakamori's lips curled up slightly, a hint of smugness flashing across her face.

"Akina-san!"

"Akina-san, where are you? We're running out of time!"

Urgent shouts pierced through the iron gate and echoed in the stairwell.

Akina Nakamori trembled, a look of panic appearing in her eyes.

The sound grew closer, and the footsteps were as rapid as drumbeats.

Just as Nakamori was momentarily at a loss, the man walked straight to the door, his tall figure completely blocking the way.

He placed his hand behind his waist and gestured to her.

After a brief moment of surprise, Nakamori realized what was happening.

However, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

After a while, she mustered her courage, took small steps and walked into the shadows behind the door, her back to the man.

My heart started racing uncontrollably.

She held her breath, watching the man's retreating figure. In her panic, she inexplicably felt a sense of dependence.

The footsteps grew closer, my heart was still in suspense, but my body moved faster than I could.

Her agent was right outside the door, and she didn't want to go out of that door.

She subconsciously moved closer to his back without even realizing it.

In the dim light, I could hear someone's heartbeat.

A subtle warmth rose to the tips of her ears.

"Akina-san?"

Sakamoto Yu leaned against the door, and when his manager pushed the door open, he instantly suppressed all his emotions.

His eyes held a terrifying look.

The dimly lit stairwell, combined with the surrounding environment, inspired a sense of dread.

"Is there something you need?" he asked calmly.

"Have you seen a woman?" The agent stood on tiptoe, still unwilling to give up, and looked behind the man.

"They went to the restroom over there."

The man raised his chin.

The agent dared not meet his gaze; the man's aura of oppression was simply too strong.

He's just looking for someone; there's no need to get into a conflict with him.

Upon hearing this, the agent's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes darting away, avoiding eye contact, and he mumbled a reply:

"...Thank you."

He took two steps back, his steps unsteady, then turned and hurried away, forcing himself to remain calm.

He continued calling out as he walked, "Akina-san!"

His trembling voice betrayed his haste.

As Sakamoto Yu watched the man leave, his arrogant gaze gradually faded.

【Ding--】

[Task: Leave a lasting impression on her (Completed)]

[Reward: Talent - Deep, resonant voice]

With the reward in hand, Sakamoto Yu was overjoyed. Suppressing the discomfort in his throat, he turned to look at Nakamori Akina.

Perhaps the action was too rushed.

My hand accidentally brushed against a patch of delicate skin.

A faint scent of white flowers wafts into the nostrils, mingled with a subtle burnt nicotine aroma.

Nakamori's height only reached his chest.

It's tiny and frail.

Only then did he realize how close the two of them were.

"It's alright now."

Sakamoto Yu was rushing back for his audition.

He mustered his courage, took Nakamori's hand, and stuffed the lighter and the remaining cigarette into her palm.

He subconsciously moved his feet toward the door, afraid of missing roll call.

"Take it; you seem to need it more than I do."

After saying that, he didn't have time to look at her expression before striding towards the iron gate and leaving in a hurry.

Nakamori Akina was left standing alone, gazing at this complete stranger who had given her a moment of unprecedented peace.

...

Sakamoto Yu returned from the stairwell, glanced around, and saw that the number of people waiting had not decreased, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The corridor remained oppressive, with the actors silently reciting their lines.

He noticed that Johnny's idols were also waiting.

They sat together, their expressions unusually calm, showing no sign of tension.

To everyone else, he appeared confident and composed.

The previous rumors seem to have become more true.

Sakamoto Yu withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at it, and returned to his seat.

Not long after, the audition room door opened again, and an actor walked out with his head down, his face full of hostility, and his brows furrowed.

As he passed by those idols, he gave them a disgusted look.

Sakamoto Yu was sitting quite far away, so I couldn't hear what he was saying clearly; I could only vaguely make out his lip movements.

"A pretty face that makes a living off its looks."

Clearly, he was venting his anger at being rejected on them.

"What did you say? Say it again if you dare!"

Some of the idols immediately got angry.

Even though there is a clear hierarchy in the industry today, there are still plenty of hot-tempered troublemakers.

And coincidentally, one of those idols was this one.

The verbal conflict escalated instantly, and the idol pushed the other person.

The actor crashed into the metal chair, making a jarring thud.

However, no one at the scene spoke up to stop it, and no one stepped forward.

Everyone just watched coldly.

Just as the atmosphere was getting heated, the audition room door was suddenly pushed open.

Nakamura Katsushi.

The lead director of "One-Eyed Dragon Masamune" walked out with a livid face.

"What are you doing!"

A furious shout froze the two wrestling men in their tracks, causing them to hastily stop fighting.

"Get them out!"

Katsushi Nakamura waved his hand sternly, and the staff members quickly stepped forward to negotiate in hushed tones.

Ultimately, the troublemaking actor and the idol were asked to leave.

The audition room door closed again.

This was just a minor incident, and apart from those few idols, no one cared.

The atmosphere returned to solemnity.

Shortly after, the staff began calling out numbers as usual:

"Next up, Sakamoto Yu."

Sakamoto Yu calmly raised his head, stood up steadily, suppressed the barely perceptible tension in his heart, and walked calmly towards the audition room.