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

"You must be Sakamoto Yu?" Ishida looked him up and down, his smile becoming more pronounced.

He extended his hand, and Sakamoto Yu shook it: "Hello, Ishida-san."

"She looks even younger than on TV."

Ishida nodded. "I watched 'One-Eyed Dragon Masamune.' Producer Shiraishi has mentioned your role as Date Kojiro to me several times."

"He speaks very highly of you."

Sakamoto Yu smiled modestly.

"Give it your all." He patted Sakamoto Yu on the shoulder. "I have high hopes for you."

Watanabe stood to the side, his face expressionless, but his eyes held a hint of satisfaction.

The casting director then walked over and said, "Ishida-san, I'll take them inside."

Ishida nodded and turned to walk deeper into the corridor.

His figure disappeared through the door with the sign that read "No entry for anyone other than those with relevant connections".

The corridor was eerily quiet.

The casting director glanced at Sakamoto Yu: "Come with me."

Sakamoto and Watanabe followed.

Just as they passed by Baldy and Nakagawa, Sakamoto Yu heard a voice.

The other person lowered their voice, but the corridor was too quiet to hide their voice.

"Tanaka-san..." the bald man said with a hint of resentment, "Isn't this... a little...?"

He didn't say what "that" was.

But everyone can understand it.

The casting director stopped in his tracks.

He turned to look at the bald man, a hint of impatience flashing across his face.

"Mr. Fukuyama," he said, his tone a few degrees colder than before.

"First of all, we don't really know each other. The last time we were on the set of 'Northern Country Spring' was at a crew coordination meeting. I only said a few words to you in the corridor."

It's not the kind of relationship you're imagining.

The words were blunt, but the knife was sharp.

The bald man's expression changed repeatedly.

"Second." The casting director glanced at Nakagawa, who was standing behind the bald man.

Nakagawa's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

The casting director's tone was flat: "In our production, the character who will be acting alongside Nakamori is her boyfriend. Look at this guy—"

He pointed at Nakagawa.

"You must be in your late thirties, right?"

Nakagawa's face flushed red instantly.

"Do you think viewers will perceive him as Nakamori's boyfriend?"

Someone in the corridor couldn't help but let out a short, sharp sound, like a choked laugh.

The bald man opened his mouth, then closed it.

The casting director didn't look at them again.

"Let's go," he said to Sakamoto Yu.

Sakamoto walked past Baldy and Nakagawa.

The corridor was so quiet it felt like it had frozen in time.

Sakamoto Yu could feel the gazes fixed on his back, burning intensely.

But he didn't turn around.

The casting director pushed open the door to the audition room and stepped aside to let him and Watanabe in.

The door closed behind him, shutting out the sounds from the corridor.

Sakamoto Yu took a deep breath.

The room in front of him was larger than he had imagined.

Several long tables were pushed together, and five or six people were sitting behind them: the director, screenwriter, producer, and a few other unfamiliar faces.

The lights were very bright, and there was a table and two chairs in the center.

The casting director walked over and whispered a few words to the director.

The director looked up at Sakamoto Yu.

He was a man in his fifties with a short beard and small but bright eyes.

He looked Sakamoto Yu up and down.

"Sakamoto-san?" he asked.

"Yes." Sakamoto Yu stood up straight.

The director looked down and flipped through the resume.

Having appeared in "Dangerous Detective" and the Taiga drama "Dokuganryu Masamune," needless to say, his acting skills are definitely up to par.

As for popularity... the director closed the resume and didn't look at it anymore, his mind drifting to the rumors about him and Yasuko Sawaguchi.

The role is pretty much already decided; the audition is just a formality.

As long as Sakamoto's acting doesn't have any major problems, this role is his.

Yamada doesn't dislike going through the motions, but he doesn't look forward to it either; after all, he's just a supporting character.

"Takahashi-san, go and help him with the scene."

The director waved his hand, signaling a female staff member to come forward and assist Sakamoto Yu in his scene.

A young woman stood up from the chair next to her.

He was twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing a white shirt and dark trousers. He had an ordinary appearance, the kind of person you wouldn't notice in a crowd.

She is the casting assistant for the production team, responsible for arranging the audition process and occasionally helping out with acting.

Takahashi walked to the table, pulled up a chair and sat down, holding the script in his hand, his expression indifferent.

"Sakamoto-san, nice to meet you."

Sakamoto nodded and slowed his breathing.

He completely forgot about the gazes, sounds, and the scene from just now in the corridor.

Now there's only one thing he needs to do.

acting.

Takahashi was responsible for reading Nakamori's lines, who was a bank teller.

The scene is a bar counter.

Because she was being suppressed by her superiors, she met up with her boyfriend for drinks to vent her frustrations.

The boyfriend, played by Yu Sakamoto, also works at a bank and is known as an elite man.

Sakamoto mentally went over the line.

"I'm ready." Sakamoto Yu put away the script and walked to the table to sit down.

Takahashi nodded, opened the script, and began to read his lines:

"I've worked here for two years, and I've never had an accident like this before."

Takahashi spoke very quickly, giving him little time to react.

She's just an assistant, not an actress.

He recited the words without intonation or movement, as if he were talking to a wall.

Takahashi calmly turned a page and continued reading:

"Everyone was suspicious of me from the very beginning, wasn't they?"

"They definitely think I lied to the company."

After she finished reading, she was required to make a deflated gesture according to the performance requirements, so she casually took a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and threw it away.

[Increased number of on-screen couples]

[Affinity +20%]

Sakamoto Yu turned his head, his gaze following the spot where the crumpled paper had fallen.

He sighed softly, got up and walked over, squatted down to pick it up, carefully smoothed out the creases with his fingertips, gently flattened it with his palm, and casually folded it up and put it in his pocket.

He straightened up, returned to the table, and pulled out a chair to sit down.

He leaned against the table, turned his head, and quietly focused his gaze on Takahashi.

Takahashi subconsciously looked up and was caught off guard when she met his gaze. She froze.

Before you know it, you've stumbled into those incredibly gentle eyes.

Her gaze was somewhat evasive, and she held up the script to cover her face, revealing only her eyes.

one second.

two seconds.

Takahashi's heart began to race, and finally she couldn't resist. She looked up and quickly glanced at Sakamoto Yu.

He smiled slightly, a hint of doting and indulgence in his expression, as if he were listening attentively.

Sakamoto Yu suddenly shifted his body, moving a little closer.

The movement was very small; to others, it just looked like he adjusted his posture.

Takahashi subconsciously swallowed, his face beginning to flush.

It was Sakamoto Yu's turn to speak.

"Don't think like that," he said softly.

Takahashi's ears turned red, and he lowered his head, pretending to read his lines, avoiding eye contact.

"I... I'm not disappointed." Takahashi's voice was a little strained.

"It's probably for the best this way; this is just how I am."

Seemingly truly moved by Sakamoto Yu, Takahashi's tone gradually took on a slightly coquettish quality.

The director watched this scene in silence, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Originally, all he needed to do in this scene was listen patiently; there was no high requirement for his acting skills.

However, thanks to Yu Sakamoto's performance, this supporting character has become memorable.

Simply put, it means the characters are well-developed.

Yu Sakamoto's performance perfectly captured the essence of the character.

The same theme of love can be portrayed with different nuances by different actors.

At this moment, another female assistant sitting in the back row looked at Takahashi, who was acting with Sakamoto Yu, and unconsciously clenched the script in her hand, filled with envy, wishing that she was the one who could act with him.

The atmosphere, combined with Sakamoto Yu's face and that gentle, reassuring presence, made her incredibly infatuated.

"Not bad." The director nodded, tapping Sakamoto Yu's resume with his fingers. He hadn't had high expectations, but he hadn't expected Sakamoto Yu to play a supporting role so brilliantly.

"As expected of an actor who has appeared in Taiga dramas, this level of acting skills is more than enough for a supporting role."

The screenwriter nodded in agreement.

"A true actor puts effort into even a minor supporting role."

The producer adjusted his posture and nodded in approval:

"To be recommended by Ishida-san, he's certainly no ordinary person."

"Alright, no need to try anymore." Seeing that everyone agreed, the director raised his hand to signal.

The tenderness in Sakamoto Yu's eyes gradually faded, and he quickly returned to being the quiet actor he always was.

He stood up, bowed to Takahashi and the director, and said, "Thank you, you've worked hard."

Takahashi, still unable to shake off his role, stood up somewhat flusteredly, gave a mechanical bow, glanced at him quickly, and whispered, "Sakamoto-san, you've worked hard too."

The director gave an instruction to his assistant, who nodded and went out the door.

When the actors outside saw the door open, they all looked up, ready to be called by their names.

Unexpectedly, the assistant didn't call for the next person, but instead waved to the agent of the actor who had just gone in.

Watanabe smiled politely at his assistant and quickly went over.

Seeing this scene, the actors felt a sense of unease.

The door was closed.

The crowd began to whisper among themselves.

"They wouldn't have just made the decision already, would they?!"

"They definitely chose that pretty boy!"

"What's going on? I haven't even auditioned yet."

The sounds from the hallway were shut out through the door.

The bald man and the other man hadn't left yet when they saw the door open. They instinctively looked over and saw Watanabe go inside.

The two men's expressions changed.

A hint of regret flashed in the bald man's eyes; presumably, the role had already been cast.

The man's face was expressionless; he clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and his cheeks bulged out.

"Damn it! What makes that pretty boy so special?!"

The bald man sighed.

"That woman is no ordinary person."

.....

the other side.

Watanabe followed her assistant to the director's side. The director looked up at her, wrote a line on Sakamoto Yu's resume, and handed it to her.

"I'll have someone send the start date to your agency."

Watanabe took the resume, glanced at what was written on it, folded it, and put it in his bag.

"You've worked hard," she said.

Watanabe turned to look at Sakamoto. He had already stood up and was adjusting his cuffs.

"Let's go," she said.

Sakamoto Yu nodded.