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

Sakamoto Yu was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses that "the other party did not intend to sexually harass him."

He glanced down at the photo frame on the table. The little girl in the photo had her hair in a ponytail and her eyes crinkled with laughter. She really looked like a high school student who was into following celebrities.

"You're too kind." Sakamoto Yu's tone relaxed a bit, but not completely. "It's my honor to be liked by fans."

Hideo Sasakawa noticed his nervousness and waved his hand with a smile: "Don't be nervous, this isn't an audition, it's just... a father's little selfish desire."

He took out a prepared autograph board from the drawer, pushed it over, and there were already sticky notes on it with his daughter's name and birthday written on them.

"If it's not too much trouble—"

"No trouble at all." Sakamoto Yu took the autograph board and pulled a pen from the pen holder.

When he was writing with his head down, his mind was racing.

The other party needs his help, and this is a bargaining chip.

However, the chips can only be cashed out in one appropriate way.

After writing his blessing, Sakamoto Yu signed his name and put the pen cap back on.

He looked up and handed the autograph board back with both hands.

Hideo Sasakawa took it, glanced at it, nodded in satisfaction, and was about to thank him...

"Sasakawa-san," Sakamoto Yu suddenly spoke, his tone calm.

"Actually, I also have a request that I'm making."

Hideo Sasakawa paused slightly, but quickly regained his smile: "Please speak."

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you." Sakamoto Yu paused, speaking slowly, "I also participated in your company's audition this time. To be honest, my schedule is a bit tight."

My company just happened to switch my audition order. I was wondering if it would be convenient for me to audition with candidate number 15?

Sakamoto Yu smiled faintly, as if he was too embarrassed to speak.

Hideo Sasagawa's smile remained unchanged, but his brow twitched slightly.

"You're saying someone changed your audition order?" His tone carried genuine doubt. "But I didn't have anyone change the audition order."

As he spoke, he called his assistant and asked him to bring the audition schedule.

The assistant handed over the sorting sheet, which Hideo Sasakawa glanced at before placing it in front of Yu Sakamoto.

"Number 15, that should be right."

Sakamoto Yu picked it up and looked at it, then showed a surprised expression.

"Oh?" Sakamoto Yu tilted his head slightly. "I saw a lady outside changing the order, and I thought she was someone from your company."

Hideo Sasakawa did not respond immediately.

He picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, glanced at the autograph board, and then looked away.

There was a two-second silence in the office.

Sakamoto Yu didn't urge him or add anything. He just sat there, relaxed.

Hideo Sasakawa put down his teacup. He had worked at Sony for fifteen years and had seen it all.

This wasn't the first time he'd encountered someone from the General Affairs Department interfering with the audition order.

"Let's audition together..." Hideo Sasakawa repeated, as if weighing the weight of this request.

"If it's convenient," Sakamoto Yu added, "it's okay if it's not convenient, I can wait."

"You're exaggerating. Since the order is correct, let's proceed in the original order."

Hideo Sasakawa's tone returned to its usual businesslike calm.

He looked at Sakamoto Yu with a polite smile: "Sakamoto-san, you should go back and prepare."

Sakamoto Yu stood up and bowed slightly: "Thank you for your help."

Just as he was about to leave, Hideo Sasakawa suddenly said something behind him:

"By the way, Sakamoto-san—do you know that lady you mentioned earlier?"

Sakamoto Yu stopped and turned around, his face showing just the right amount of bewilderment.

"I don't know her," he said. "I only saw her rearranging the order from a distance and assumed she was one of your company's employees."

Hideo Sasakawa nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Sakamoto Yu pushed open the door and went out.

The moment the door closed, Hideo Sasakawa's expression darkened.

"Rearrange the order..." he muttered to himself, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, making it impossible to tell whether it was a smile or some other expression.

When Sakamoto returned to the waiting area, Watanabe had not yet returned. He glanced in the direction of Ueno and Uchida.

The woman was standing in the corner, talking to the young man.

Sakamoto Yu withdrew his gaze and found a corner to sit down.

He had only been sitting down for less than two minutes when the elevator doors opened with a "ding".

Watanabe came out from inside, carrying a white paper bag, and his pace quickened considerably compared to when he left.

She walked straight to Sakamoto Yu, sat down, placed the paper bag on her lap, and breathed slightly out of breath.

"Where did you go?" Sakamoto asked.

Watanabe did not answer immediately, but opened the paper bag and took out an exquisite rectangular box.

Sakamoto Yu glanced at the logo on the box—Itoya, the long-established stationery store in Ginza.

As Watanabe unpacked the package, he muttered to himself, with a hint of smug satisfaction in his voice, "Luckily I acted quickly. I went and inquired about it."

"What do you want to know?"

"Hideo Sasakawa." Watanabe neatly folded the opened wrapping paper and stuffed it into the paper bag.

"Sony's brand manager made the final decision on this audition."

"I have a friend who worked on a project at Dentsu and had dealings with Sasakawa. He said that Sasakawa is very businesslike and difficult to talk to, but he has one fatal flaw: he is a doting father to his daughter."

Watanabe pulled a notebook out of the box and handed it to Sakamoto.

"His daughter is in high school this year, and she's a fan of celebrities, specifically you."

Sakamoto Yu paused for a moment as he took the notebook.

"So you went and bought this?"

"It's from Itoya, it cost me over three thousand yen." Watanabe pulled a pen out of his bag. "Write something quickly, just write down some blessings, sign it, and I'll try to pass it on to you later."

Sakamoto Yu did not take the pen.

He looked at Watanabe, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

"You're too late."

Watanabe was taken aback.

"I've already written it." Sakamoto Yu closed the notebook and pushed it back. "The person who called me over just now was Sasakawa Hideo. He asked me to write a birthday greeting."

Watanabe's eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly.

"You mean... he contacted you first?"

"Um."

"You—have you finished writing?"

"Um."

Watanabe stood there, stunned.

She took a deep breath, stuffed the pen back into her bag, and did so with a slightly heavier touch than before.

"Fine, I guess I made a wasted trip."

Sakamoto Yu smiled and said, "Keep the notebook; you might be able to use it next time."

Watanabe snorted and put the paper bag aside.

But she turned her head and asked in a low voice, "You—didn't mention anything else, did you?"

"What should I mention?"

"For example... the order?"

Sakamoto Yu did not answer, but just smiled.

At that moment, the door to the office next door opened, and Hideo Sasakawa walked out and went straight into the conference room.

A short while later, a staff member poked his head out: "Number 14, get ready."

A girl stood up from her seat, took a deep breath, and went inside.

Watanabe had no choice but to swallow back the words he was about to say and looked towards the conference room with Sakamoto Yu.