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

Pushing open the conference room door, Sakamoto Yu immediately saw Watanabe waiting there.

"How is it?" Watanabe asked, a hint of doubt in his eyes, as he pulled Sakamoto aside.

"It's alright, I did my best." Sakamoto Yu told Watanabe about the situation inside in detail.

Watanabe's expression became somewhat subtle after hearing this, and she raised an eyebrow:

"Is the person recommended by the General Counselor really that bad?"

"They dare to push this forward like this? Aren't they afraid of being blamed if something bad happens? What good will it do her?"

Sakamoto Yu shrugged. "At least that's how it is from what I've seen."

Watanabe sighed. So his opponent was only this skilled. He should have known better than to ask around for information.

She shook her head, no longer thinking about it. "Then I'll take you back to the film set first. The audition results will probably take about a week."

The two left the Sony building.

After dropping Sakamoto off at the film set, Watanabe went on to do other things.

.....

A week later, Watanabe and Sakamoto Yu were at the agency discussing their audition preparations for "Takeda Shingen".

Watanabe found him many history books and biographies to help Sakamoto Yu understand the character.

Just as the audition results came out today, Sakamoto Yu decided to come to the agency to wait after finishing filming.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, the phone on the table rang.

Watanabe put down his pen, got up, and picked up the microphone.

Sakamoto glanced up and saw it was a regular call, so he didn't pay much attention to it and lowered his head to continue reading the professional book in his hands.

But after a good ten seconds, Sakamoto Yu didn't hear Watanabe speak. He wondered to himself, and then looked up and glanced at him.

Watanabe listened with a frown for a few seconds, then quickly pressed the green "Receive" button on the beige fax machine next to the landline.

The fax machine emitted a short, sharp "beep," like some kind of whistle.

The next second, the printing unit started humming, accompanied by a slight heating noise. The beige paper gradually lengthened until the last page was ejected, and the fax machine beeped again before finally quieting down.

Sakamoto Yu's heart skipped a beat, as if he had a premonition of something, and he got up and walked over quickly.

"Are the results out?"

Watanabe quickly scanned the paper, his tense brows slowly relaxing, and handed over the fax.

Sakamoto Yu tilted his head and leaned closer, glancing at the text quickly.

In stark contrast to Watanabe's relaxed demeanor, his brows furrowed slightly, and his expression paled.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit our office this month... Your performance was truly impressive... We had to make a difficult decision.

We have added your information to Sony Entertainment's talent pool...

The entire piece was filled with polite and tactful words, but in essence, it was a rejection.

The heavy breathing had barely begun when he abruptly cut it off.

Sakamoto Yu rubbed his face and slowly put the paper down.

"Don't worry about joining the team." Watanabe offered no words of comfort, calmly walking back to his desk and continuing to bury himself in his work.

She paused, looked up at Sakamoto Yu who was still standing there, and asked softly, "You're not discouraged, are you?"

"To be honest, there is some truth to that."

He forcibly suppressed the helplessness and anger rising in his heart, realizing that his journey had been too smooth.

Think back to the previous auditions, every time I got the role on my first try.

He felt that everything revolved around him, which caused him to become somewhat psychologically unbalanced.

This kind of mentality is unacceptable.

Sakamoto Yu relaxed his shoulders and sat down in the swivel chair.

He glanced down at the biography in his hand. The cover featured a portrait of Takeda Shingen, his eyes gazing straight ahead, revealing no emotion.

He turned two pages, then closed the book.

"It's not entirely unexpected," he said. "After all, you mentioned it to me beforehand."

"I was mentally prepared."

Watanabe stared at him for a while, his eyes were a little vacant, but he couldn't tell any emotion from his gaze.

She didn't ask any further questions, and gently tapped the open history book with the tip of her pen.

"Shall we continue?" she asked.

Sakamoto Yu nodded. "Continue."

He picked up the book, forcing himself to calm down, his gaze wandering between the lines, deliberately letting the weighty historical materials in the book wash away the disappointment, resentment, and restlessness in his heart.

But at that moment, a clear sound rang in his mind.

【Ding】

[You're currently experiencing a low point in your career. Although your acting skills have improved, you still can't avoid failures, but you've learned how to cope with these emotions.]

[Task: Vent your inner frustration]

[Reward: Vehicle Driving Proficiency]

Sakamoto Yu paused in his page-turning motion.

I never expected the system to issue the task at this time.

Looking at the mission description, he couldn't help but think of himself in another timeline.

He shook his head and chuckled, thinking that such a small setback was beneath him.

How about we go grab a drink and have a nice meal? Once we're in a better mood, maybe we'll finish the task.

Just as he was about to get up, a pager came from his bag.

Sakamoto Yu was slightly taken aback, walked over, opened his bag, took out his pager and glanced at it.

It's Miho Nakayama.

He glanced at Watanabe, who was engrossed in his work, put the pager in his pocket, and walked out.

Hearing the door close, Watanabe glanced at the doorway, paused for a few seconds, then shook his head and continued working.

She believed that Sakamoto Yu could handle these emotions.

...

After leaving the office, he found a phone booth on the street and called back.

"Moxi Moshi~Sakamoto-kun."

As soon as the call connected, Sakamoto Yu heard Zhongshan humming his name in that soft, nasal voice.

His tense face softened slightly.

"Weren't you going to record a song? What brings you to me?"

"I miss you, is that not allowed?" she said in a soft, gentle tone, with a distinct hint of coquetry at the end.

"If we go to the film set tomorrow, we can see each other, right?"

She gave a disgruntled hum on the other end of the line, her tone tinged with a hint of resentment as she recalled the schedule.

"We only have one scene tomorrow, and after filming I have to rush to the next appointment, so there's no time to have a proper chat."

As she spoke, Miho Nakayama suddenly lowered her voice, her breath becoming soft, concealing a hint of secret, delighted excitement.

"Perfect timing! The guest the production team arranged can't make it, so I have half an hour free!"

Sakamoto Yu understood the unspoken meaning in Nakayama Miho's words.

"I've booked a whole coffee shop, are you coming?"

Sakamoto Yu's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and the anger from his failed audition quietly transformed into a burning desire to vent.

"Thirty minutes?"

He took a deep breath. "Send me your address, I'll come find you."

Sakamoto Yu's tone became slightly hoarse and urgent.

Miho Nakayama held the receiver and instantly sensed the restlessness and hoarseness in his voice.

Her ears instantly burned as she recalled the scent of Sakamoto Yu and the oppressive feeling she had when they were together. Her breath became warm, and her heart pounded wildly.

Her long, slender legs involuntarily tightened.

His tone also carried a hint of anticipation and tender affection:

"1-2-4 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Tajima-ya Cafe".