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

He was awakened by a knock on the door after an unknown amount of time.

I looked up at the window; it was already evening.

He tried to speak, but found his throat too hoarse to utter a sound.

The knocking stopped.

Then came the sound of the door being pushed open.

"Sakamoto-san, I heard you finished filming today..." Yasuko Sawaguchi's voice stopped abruptly when she saw his expression.

Sakamoto Yu struggled to open his eyes and saw her standing at the door, carrying a bag in her hand.

Immediately afterwards, she walked quickly to the bedside and reached out to feel his forehead.

"Why is it so hot!"

Sakamoto Yu wanted to say "It's okay," but only a hoarse whisper came out of his throat.

Without hesitation, Zekou turned around, poured a glass of warm water, wrung out a damp towel, and placed it on his forehead.

"You lie still, I'm going to find the doctor."

"...No need." Sakamoto Yu glanced at the table. "There are fever reducers over there."

Zeguchi glanced at the bedside table and saw the opened medicine box.

She walked over quickly, looked at the instructions, took out the pill, and handed it over along with warm water.

Sakamoto Yu frowned and struggled to sit up.

He took the pill from Zeguchi's hand, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against her slightly cool hand.

He had a fever and his palms were burning hot, and he found himself somewhat reluctant to accept the cool touch.

He swallowed the pills with water and lay back down.

"I can take care of myself. You should go back and not infect yourself."

This time, Sakamoto Yu was unsure whether he was infected with the virus.

He didn't want Zekou to be infected by him.

Upon hearing this, Yasuko Sawaguchi paused, then, as if remembering something, said, "You should get some rest," before hurriedly leaving the room.

Sakamoto Yu thought she had listened, but not long after, she returned with a mask on her face.

"That's all right now." Her eyes curved into crescents as she looked at him with a hint of smugness.

Sakamoto Yu's mind went blank for a while before he finally reacted, shaking his head helplessly and chuckling softly.

After that, she stayed in the room, checking his forehead every now and then, changing his water and towels. She even went to the cafeteria to buy food, soaked the rice in hot water until it was soft, and fed it to him spoonful by spoonful.

Sakamoto Yu saw everything but didn't say anything.

Occasionally, when their eyes meet, Sawaguchi will give him a gentle smile.

The air slowly became soft and ambiguous.

Just then, a clear and hurried sound of footsteps came from the doorway.

The sound grew closer, followed by a series of loud knocks on the door.

Before any response could be received, the other person eagerly opened the door and came in.

A strong smell of smoke hit my nose; I wonder how many cigarettes he must have smoked to get that strong.

The agent slammed a stack of newspapers onto the bedside table with a "thud," creating a light breeze.

He nervously rubbed his face and paced back and forth in the room.

"Something's happened outside!" he said in a low voice, his face flushed red.

Seeing this, Sakamoto Yu vaguely guessed what was going on, and his heart suddenly tightened.

He sat up and silently glanced at the magazine his agent had thrown at him.

The three most ruthless gossip magazines, Weekly Bunshun, Friday, and Josei Jishin, all filled their front pages with the story.

All three magazine covers featured the names of Yu Sakamoto and Yasuko Sawaguchi.

The large headline on the cover of Weekly Bunshun:

"The Mystery of the 'Backdoor' Scandal in NHK Taiga Drama: The Truth About Newcomer Actor Sakamoto Yu"

The cover of FRIDAY:

"Toho's Cinderella, Yasuko Sawaguchi: On-set Secrets with New Actor"

"Women's Self" has no title and gets straight to the point:

"Alone late at night... Yasuko Sawaguchi has a close relationship with a mysterious new male star."

Unlike the previous brief mention in Weekly Bunshun, this time it made the front page headline, with a striking and eye-catching layout.

Sakamoto Yu was stunned, his heart skipped a beat.

He thought it was dirt on him, but it turned out to be all rumors about him and Sawaguchi.

"How could this be...?"

He clearly didn't mention Sawaguchi. How did the magazine find that?

At this moment, the agent stared at Sawaguchi and spoke again:

"Do you know what Toho's attitude is right now? Their offices are getting bombarded with calls..."

His pager beeped urgently.

He was silenced, unable to say what he wanted to say.

He took it out and glanced at it, then held the pager up in front of Zekou.

"You saw it?"

"The president is already urging us."

Sawaguchi held the newspaper, his face gradually turning pale.

It was only then that the agent noticed the state of the room: a cold towel, softened rice, a medicine box…

His face instantly darkened, and a vein throbbed on his forehead.

If this scene were captured on camera, it would be impossible to clear one's name, no matter how hard one tries.

"You're still taking care of him?!"

The man was both anxious and angry, so nervous that he burst out laughing:

"Do you even realize your current situation? Isn't it chaotic enough already?"

Sakamoto Yu frowned slightly, turned to his manager, his eyes calm:

"This is all my fault." He paused, looked at Sawaguchi, and said, "Sawaguchi-san, don't worry, it will be resolved."

The agent stared at him for a few seconds, then snorted coldly.

"You should worry about yourself first."

He then turned to Sawaguchi and said coldly:

"Come back with me. During this time, don't have any contact with him."

Sawaguchi glanced at Sakamoto Yu and his lips moved.

Sakamoto Yu shook his head slightly, his eyes calm, as if to say, "It's alright, go ahead."

Sawaguchi eventually left with his manager.

The door clicked shut, and the room fell silent once more.

Sakamoto Yu leaned against the headboard, looking up at the ceiling.

"Who is it?"

He recalled the people in the rehearsal room that day: the staff who passed by, the extras waiting to go on stage... it seemed like anyone could have been there.

It couldn't possibly be an agent or assistant director, could it?

But what's done is done, and regret won't help.

The investigation into the cause has to be put on hold for now.

Sakamoto Yu suppressed his complicated thoughts and began to carefully consider the next steps.

NHK Taiga drama + Toho Cinderella + newcomer scandals.

Three top-tier magazines launching simultaneously—that's more than enough.

The more intense the public outcry and the greater the attention, the easier it will be to make subsequent moves.

Now, it remains to be seen how the production team and the TV station plan to handle this situation.

The following day, this public opinion had already swelled a second time after it had been fermenting.

When Sakamoto Yu left the film crew, he encountered several staff members who gave him somewhat subtle looks.

Clearly, they had also seen the report.

Sakamoto Yu didn't explain, but simply bowed and said goodbye as usual.

"Thank you for taking care of me during this time."

Once in the taxi, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

About an hour.

The taxi was parked downstairs at the apartment building.

After paying, I carried my luggage upstairs.

As soon as I opened the door, the pager in my pocket went off again, frantically urging me for what felt like the umpteenth time.

He didn't have time to do anything else; he went straight to the landline and dialed back.

As soon as the call connected, Watanabe's voice came straight at you:

"Oh, so you actually know how to call back? You know about what happened last night?"

Sakamoto Yu's breathing was still a bit disordered, and he replied simply:

"understood."

Where are you now?

"Just got home."

"Don't wander around! Wait for me."

"Mm," Sakamoto Yu responded.

The other party hung up the phone promptly.

After hanging up, Sakamoto Yu dialed another number.

The call was answered immediately after a few seconds of sound.

"Sakamoto-san? What's wrong with you? You're not answering my pager!"

"Are those reports true or false? How did you get involved with Yasuko Sawaguchi?"

Hearing Shizuka Kudo's voice, Yu Sakamoto felt a strange sense of peace.

He knew Kudo must have many questions right now, but he didn't rush to explain. He simply said:

"I have a fever."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

There was a two-second silence.

When he spoke again, his voice had noticeably softened:

"Go lie down on the bed, I'm coming over now."

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, Sakamoto Yu walked to the door and continued packing his luggage.

He was still feeling dizzy, but his mind was unusually clear.

The production team needs to keep a close eye on NHK's stance.

As for Sawaguchi...

He paused.

Let's put it aside for now.