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

"I understand. Is there anything else?"

The other person's voice was very low, and there was a lot of noise in the background, making it sound like they were in the scriptwriting department.

Sakamoto Yu's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the microphone, and he said calmly, "That's all. That's all."

"The money will arrive this afternoon."

As soon as he finished speaking, he hung up the phone decisively and turned to walk out of the phone booth.

He then went to the bank, withdrew 300,000 yen, and transferred it to the recipient's account.

As he walked out of the bank, he inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

He just hired a writer from the editorial department to release another round of negative information about him, hoping to push the public's attention to this topic even higher.

He had originally considered revealing his rumored affair with Sawaguchi, but in the end, he didn't say a word.

He can get away with splashing dirty water on himself without feeling guilty.

But he simply couldn't bring himself to drag an innocent person into this mess.

"But even then, the buzz probably won't be enough..."

Sakamoto Yu muttered something to himself, then shook his head.

"Forget it, let's just do what we can."

After finishing everything, he turned around and returned to the film crew.

Today marks the filming of his final battle scene.

The studio was brightly lit, and the winter chill, along with the moisture, seeped into clothing, making people feel stiff all over.

A water tanker was parked against the wall in the distance, with a thick black water pipe extending all the way to the top of the shooting area. After carefully inspecting the nozzles, the staff made a gesture towards the scene.

The next second, artificial rain cascaded down, weaving a misty curtain of water that enveloped the entire filming area in a wetness.

Several extras were simulating a fight on the side.

Sakamoto Yu, dressed in heavy armor, is confronting an actor playing a samurai.

The armor was covered with water droplets, which soaked the fabric through the seams.

The wet liquid clung to my skin, the heat from my body mingling with the coolness of the rain, making it extremely uncomfortable.

This is already the sixth scene where we're in the rain.

"Cough cough!" Sakamoto Yu couldn't help but cough twice.

"Action!" came the assistant director's command.

His opponent charged at him with a prop knife, but Sakamoto Yu dodged it with a quick footwork, then skillfully wielded the knife and plunged it in.

"Okay, card!"

Assistant Director Ishihara's voice rang out just in time, and everyone in the room instantly stopped what they were doing, their tense bodies relaxing.

Everyone jogged away from the filming area, grabbed towels outside, and hurriedly wiped the rain off their bodies.

Sakamoto Yu also wanted to leave quickly, but his armor was heavy and cumbersome, making it very inconvenient for him to move. He could only slow down and move slowly.

The staff immediately stepped forward and skillfully helped him remove his armor.

As soon as he took it off, his completely soaked clothes underneath were exposed, clinging tightly to his body. A gust of wind blew, and Sakamoto Yu couldn't help but shiver, his teeth chattering slightly.

"Sakamoto-san, the scenes here are all finished."

Assistant Director Ishihara strode towards him, clutching an envelope in his hand, and handed it to him:

"Here, this is your allowance. Thank you for your hard work."

Sakamoto Yu accepted the envelope with both hands, bowed slightly, and thanked him.

He was only wearing a towel and was still shivering.

Seeing this, Ishihara urged him to go back and rest, and Sakamoto Yu nodded in agreement.

There was a bowl of hot soup in a corner of the set. He poured himself a bowl and drank it. The warmth spread from his throat to his whole body, slightly dispelling the chill.

Afterwards, he changed into some dry clothes, picked up a lunchbox from the film crew, and hurriedly returned to his dormitory.

Tomorrow will be his last scene on set, after which filming will wrap up.

Sakamoto Yu sat weakly on the bed and opened the bento box.

Hunger and fatigue welled up inside me.

After wolfing down my food and hastily packing up my lunchbox, I quickly covered myself with the blanket and lay down to rest, wanting to regain my strength as soon as possible.

The next morning, as soon as Sakamoto Yu woke up, he felt cold all over, his forehead was throbbing, he was slightly weak, and his temples were throbbing.

He quickly did a simple self-check.

There was no body aches or pains, and after swallowing lightly, there was no stinging sensation in the throat; it seemed to be just a low-grade fever caused by a cold.

He lay on the bed for a while, and once he had regained some strength, he struggled to get up and get dressed.

With some time still left before filming, he quickly went to the crew's temporary medical station.

After a basic examination, the doctor confirmed that he only had a low-grade fever caused by catching a cold and that it was not a viral infection, which put the doctor at ease.

He can film while he's sick, but he must never infect others.

If the production were to be shut down due to an infection, he couldn't bear the responsibility, and all his previous efforts would be wasted.

After receiving the fever reducer, Sakamoto Yu took it with warm water.

Back in my room, I kept drinking hot water and lay quietly wrapped in a thick blanket, hoping to sweat it out as soon as possible to relieve the symptoms of my low-grade fever.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Sakamoto Yu frowned and spoke, his voice slightly hoarse:

"Who?"

"Sakamoto-san, it's me, Yasuko Sawaguchi." Sawaguchi's gentle voice came from outside the door.

"Is something the matter?" Sakamoto asked.

"I want to thank you for rehearsing with me before; I benefited greatly from it."

"Um, thank you, I appreciate the thought... cough cough cough!"

Sakamoto Yu was about to send her away when he unexpectedly started coughing as they were talking.

He felt a chill run down his spine and thought to himself, "This is bad."

As expected, Yasuko Sawaguchi, who was outside the door, exclaimed in surprise upon hearing Yu Sakamoto's cough and immediately raised her hand to knock on the door:

"Sakamoto-san, are you sick?"

"I didn't..."

Before the word "no" even landed, the door had already been pushed open.

Yasuko Sawaguchi, dressed in a light-colored theatrical costume, walked in with a worried expression.

As soon as the door opened, I saw Sakamoto Yu sitting on the edge of the bed, half-wrapped in a blanket, his face flushed an unnatural red.

Several crumpled tissues were thrown into the trash can next to the bed.

Upon seeing Yasuko Sawaguchi enter, Yu Sakamoto subconsciously frowned and spoke urgently.

"Sawaguchi-san, you..."

"Sakamoto-san, did you ask the director for leave?"

"We can't try to tough it out in this situation!"

Yasuko Sawaguchi maintained her gentle demeanor, yet for some reason, Yu Sakamoto sensed an undeniable forcefulness.

"It's okay, I just caught a chill, and I've already taken fever reducer."

As he spoke, Sakamoto Yu reached into his clothes and pulled out a thermometer.

The thermometer clearly showed 36.8 degrees Celsius.

Seeing this, Sakamoto Yu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally put at ease.

The next second, a slender, fair hand suddenly reached out.

Sakamoto Yu felt a chill on his fingertips as the thermometer was quickly snatched away.

Yasuko Sawaguchi showed no disgust, leaning slightly closer to check the thermometer's readings. Once she confirmed the temperature had gone down, she gave Yu Sakamoto a disapproving look.

Sakamoto Yu was taken aback by his reproachful expression.

No wonder even the royal family wanted to take her as their daughter-in-law.

Every smile and frown is captivating.

"I still have films to shoot."

As he spoke, Sakamoto Yu threw back the covers, preparing to get out of bed.

It was only then that he noticed the lacquer box that Yasuko Sawaguchi was carrying beside her.

With a black lacquer base and gold patterns all over, its appearance is dignified and elegant, exuding a low-key sense of sophistication.

The lacquered box has a glossy surface and four layers. The brand name, Jiubingwei, is clearly printed in gold lettering.

Sakamoto Yu immediately recognized that this ryotei was a high-end sushi restaurant located in Ginza.

Not only do reservations need to be made in advance, but they are also limited to regular customers or those who have been referred by others.

The lacquer box has four layers, and the price varies depending on the ingredients, ranging from approximately 50,000 to 120,000 yuan.

His fee for filming one episode is 200,000 yen.

This shows the sincerity behind the "thank you" gesture.

Yasuko Sawaguchi followed the gaze, her expression changing slightly, a fleeting hint of embarrassment crossing her eyes.

Instead of avoiding his gaze, she met Sakamoto Yu's eyes openly and said softly:

"This is my return gift, please accept it, Sakamoto-san."

Upon hearing this, Sakamoto Yu paused in his actions.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

He felt uneasy accepting the gift.

After all, from the very beginning, when he approached Yasuko Sawaguchi, he had the intention of using her.

Sakamoto Yu's gaze unconsciously shifted away from the lacquer box.

This feeling of guilt lingered in his heart for less than half a second before he suppressed it.

He doesn't consider himself a pushover; if he were just an ordinary actor, he would never have received Yasuko Sawaguchi's attention and courtesy.

Composing himself, Sakamoto Yu presented a polite smile:

Thank you.

After the thanks were expressed, a brief silence fell over the room, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

"I need to change my clothes."

"Then I'll head back first..."

The two said in unison.

The words fell to the ground, then stopped abruptly.

"Excuse me, I'll be right out." A faint blush instantly rose to Yasuko Sawaguchi's ears. She quickly turned around and strode toward the door.

But just as she grasped the doorknob, she stopped, turned to look at Sakamoto Yu, her voice full of concern:

"Sakamoto-san, even if your temperature goes down, don't push yourself. You must get some rest."

Sakamoto Yu gave a polite smile.

He nodded again, indicating that he had made a mental note of it.

"Well... I'm leaving." A complex emotion flashed in Yasuko Sawaguchi's eyes, as if she was disappointed and also felt that she had let herself down.

After saying that, she gently closed the door, and her footsteps faded into the distance.