Uneasy daily life

A corner of the film set.

"Ah sneeze——!"

The white figure let out a loud sneeze, forcing Sakurajima Mai, who was about to approach, back.

Mai Sakurajima crossed her arms and laughed, "Black Fan, you think you can get away with this..."

"No, no, no, a sneeze has no deterrent effect at all. You have to hold it in, that's what it means to intimidate a thousand troops. This sneeze must mean someone is talking bad about me behind my back."

The white figure stroked his chin and pondered, "It must have been done by the hero!"

"I call you Hater-kun because you are a hater, but why do you call me Hero Plus?" Sakurajima Mai asked curiously. "Does 'Hero' refer to Yukinoshita?"

"Because you are a little bit braver than the bravest."

Bai Ying held up her thumb and forefinger, making a small gap between them, and explained, "The hero felt that her mother didn't love her, but still wanted to obey her mother's decisions. You know that your mother loves you, but you still dare to defy your mother's decisions, so I decided to call you Hero Plus. It's easy to understand, right?"

"So that puppet show was you implying something about me..." Sakurajima Mai's face darkened as she said, "I hope you won't interfere in these matters."

"The 'Brave Plus' characters have already made their decisions and started taking action, which is completely pointless. The puppet show is just your own imagination."

Bai Ying said earnestly, "The moment you see an educational issue, you immediately think of family conflicts, mother-daughter disagreements, arguments, love and hate, family division, and your own decisions. Your imagination only leaps so far in this area... Is it possible that you're too attached to appearances, that you have an excessive sense of self?"

"You start with a string of excuses, but I don't think it's true," Mai Sakurajima sneered. "Your disguise has been exposed, but you're not flustered at all. On the contrary, you're even more excited."

"I've done nothing wrong, so what if I'm criticized?"

Bai Ying said matter-of-factly, "Stop talking nonsense, keep studying your acting skills, and listen to my explanation of the character. You're just a pretty face."

Mai Sakurajima: #!

To deal with haters, ordinary attacks are simply meaningless; only by truly outmaneuvering them will the effect be outstanding!

I'll put up with you this time! After filming is over, I'll expose your identity in the group chat, describe your behavior in the group chat in a tone of utter disdain, and then remove you from the group chat on the spot. I don't believe you'll still be happy to come out then!

Not far away, Okita was waving and shouting, "Hey bro! Come here for a second!"

Bai Ying strolled over: "Director, what's wrong?"

“You should give him some acting advice… oh no, I should say demonstrate it.” Okita gestured to Muraki Nao, who was playing the male lead, and said, “Explain to him how to act out mental illness, chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), or epilepsy.”

The young man bowed his head energetically and said, "Please give me your guidance!"

"The fighting spirit is palpable. It's clear that the director of 'The Untamed' used money to create this spark. Not bad, not bad—much better than the 'Hero Plus' who can't even act like a pretty face."

Bai Ying nodded in satisfaction and said, "Keep it up! Perform well, prove your worth, and win the lead role as soon as possible!"

"The screenwriter is joking. Sakurajima-san's acting skills are better than mine, and I can't play the female lead..." The simple young man smiled awkwardly, looking at the expressionless Sakurajima Mai behind the white figure, and tried to hint, "Isn't Sakurajima-san's performance wonderful? The last few scenes have been filmed very smoothly."

"No need to be polite with her, it's all thanks to me," Bai Ying pondered. "We need to portray the feeling of a mental patient..."

"Doesn't Mr. Bai look like a mental patient right now?" Mai Sakurajima's voice came from behind.

"Go study your character, I don't have time to criticize you right now." Bai Ying adjusted his collar with a boss-like air, glanced at Sakurajima Mai, and then looked at the director, "Director, I'm doing screenwriting, acting coaching, and directing—don't you have to give me a raise?"

“No problem!” Okita Masahiro said confidently, “I’ve done a good job reporting my dad’s secret stash of money, and my mother has rewarded me handsomely.”

Mai Sakurajima paused, then said strangely, "Director, I overheard you talking to your father about investing..."

"How stupid," Bai Ying said bluntly. "Of course, you should take the money first, then report it and claim the reward to maximize your gains."

"Brother, you're brilliant!" Okita Masashi laughed heartily. "This is a win-win situation!"

Muraki looked thoughtfully at the director and screenwriter, feeling like he was getting the hang of a mental patient's performance... No, no, no, thinking like that would be too disrespectful to the director and screenwriter.

“Now that the money is settled, let me give you some pointers—brother, let’s put on a show first. I’ll play the doctor, and you play the patient.”

The white figure sat down in a chair, gesturing for Muraki Nao to sit opposite.

Muraki sat down, puzzled, and asked, "Screenwriter, what is the content of the script?"

Mai Sakurajima looked at Naoki Muraki with pity... This young man, who had only recently entered the entertainment industry, was still too young.

"There's no script. Just say whatever comes to mind, as long as you don't break character."

The white-clad figure straightened up and asked with a compassionate expression, "Young man, what illness do you have?"

……

“Father, you should explain this.”

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at her somewhat stiff father and gestured to the game screen.

Yukinoshita's father explained, "I don't know why this game appeared on the computer..."

“I also don’t think Father would be that absurd. He probably downloaded too many games and forgot that this one even exists.” Yukino Yukinoshita commented seriously. “I can completely understand Father raising his daughter in the game to get a sense of accomplishment, as long as he doesn’t take the game seriously.”

"N-Of course not, this is just something I use to train my mind and relieve stress..." Yukinoshita's father explained weakly, trying to find a topic to talk about. "Hmm—on your first time playing, Yukino achieved the highest achievement in the game? How did you do that?"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "I searched online, looked for walkthroughs, learned about the game's mechanics, and made simple plans. I don't see any deeper meaning in my father making me play games."

“I thought you would try to delve into it and find the right direction, but it seems Yukino’s thinking is more flexible than I expected.” Yukino’s father coughed a few times and said seriously, “What do you think would happen if all the attributes and mechanics in the game were hidden?”

Yukino Yukinoshita remained noncommittal: "As long as you try many times, find the pattern and summarize it, it's not that difficult."

Yukinoshita's father then asked, "What if these mechanisms and attributes keep changing?"

Yukino Yukinoshita was taken aback: "This is the job at home?"

"Whether you want to go into politics or business, you will eventually become a leader. I think that for a leader, personal ability, interpersonal skills, communication skills and strategic vision are all icing on the cake, and you can do better."

Yukinoshita's father said, "Understanding the big picture and making decisions is the most basic thing—the game will show you the rules and data, there is no falsehood. Reality is that you can't know without looking, and what you see may contain falsehoods if you don't verify it."

"I don't doubt your learning and action abilities, and even if you're not good at socializing, it's not that important. For most employees, when their immediate supervisor suddenly smiles and expresses goodwill, it usually means that something bad is about to happen."

"I want you to see—to see clearly how a task is completed, what steps are involved, what obstacles are overcome, and what actions the people performing the task take..."

Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to be deep in thought, thinking that she had to follow in the footsteps of her older sister and be a shrewd and sophisticated person.

"That kind of sister..."

"Yukino, don't treat the people you meet at work as friends—those are your private social interactions. Haruno's social skills are never about becoming friends with everyone, but about creating a gentle atmosphere and network of relationships to facilitate solving practical problems."

Yukinoshita's father said slowly, "Friendship in society is based on mutual benefit; you must distinguish it from personal relationships."

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded slightly, perhaps she should pick up the book of military strategy again and read it.

"Father, no matter how much we talk, we still need to put it into practice, right?"

“Of course, it has to be put into practice.” Yukinoshita’s father smiled. “You are still young, and your main task is to study and go to school. Focus on observing and learning about company matters. As for family matters… well, this summer during summer vacation, you can represent the family with me to organize the fireworks festival.”

“I have selected a matter. There is a place that is about to be demolished. You can go and observe and learn about the various procedures.”

Yukino Yukinoshita asked subtly, "Are there a lot of demolition projects happening in Chiba lately?"

"After all, times are changing, and many old and dilapidated buildings need to be cleaned up—you mean Yang Nai signing on behalf of the company before? You're too young, at least wait until you're an adult."

No, I was thinking about how my sister demolished the white fungus culture dish.

Yukino Yukinoshita held back any words that might cause her father to suddenly have a fit of madness.

Hmph, the little goddess throws herself into work, studies hard, and constantly improves herself. Over time, she forgets about her biggest worry... That's right! A person's life is about studying hard and making a mark on themselves. Let's just call her the ultimate worry!

The father was pleased with himself.

My plan has succeeded!

Chapter Seven: Are you kidding me?

"Young man, what's wrong with you?"

The kind doctor asked this question with such deep and straight eyes that one might think the one with the question was the one with the problem.

The patient was a little confused and hesitated before saying, "It should be a cold."

What are the symptoms of a cold?

"Sneezing, coughing, runny nose, nasal congestion, and fever, etc..."

What medicine should we use?

"Of course it's cold medicine." The patient realized what he meant, coughed, and said weakly, "Aren't you a doctor?"

"Upper respiratory tract infection, body, nasal mucosa, mycoplasma, chlamydia, rickettsia, inflammatory exudate." The doctor asked, holding up his phone, "How many of these do you understand?"

The patient shook his head: "I can understand everything, but I don't understand anything."

"That's why I'm a doctor."

The doctor put the phone aside, and the patient glanced at it, vaguely seeing the encyclopedia interface on the screen. He felt that something was wrong with the doctor.

“You’re sick.” The doctor’s tone suddenly turned serious. “It’s a cold, but more than that.”

"Ah, oh..." The patient paused for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "What other illness do I have?!"

"Your cough and sneezing indicate a problem with your lungs."

"Is that so?"

"Of course." The doctor nodded in confirmation and continued, "This shows that there are problems with a series of parts of your body, including your nose, nasal cavity, mouth, and throat."

The patient became anxious: "Then what exactly is wrong with me?"

The doctor stood up, carefully examining the patient, and said gravely, "Besides what I've mentioned, you have other problems. Your immune system is arbitrarily raising your body temperature and attacking indiscriminately. Your kidneys and liver's detoxification functions haven't responded in time. And at this critical moment, your stomach is sluggish, leading to reduced digestive capacity..."

The patient looked bewildered and tentatively asked, "Surely I don't have a heart problem too?"

"Yes!" the doctor said firmly. "Your heart may be diseased, and if it is, the situation will be even more critical. Such a vital organ has such a hidden danger, which cannot be ignored. We should take precautions to prevent it!"

The patient stood up in shock: "Doctor! Is there any part of a person that can't get sick?!"

"Calm down!" The doctor pressed the patient back into the chair and said seriously, "The fact that you caught a cold is your body's responsibility. Every organ in your body bears some responsibility; in other words, something is wrong!"

The patient struggled to say, "This is the first time I've ever heard of joint liability for organs!"

"Don't struggle!" The doctor said sternly, picking up the scalpel. "All your cells, tissues, organs, and systems are at fault! They are all the direct culprits and potential accomplices in giving you this cold! Don't be afraid! I'll treat you right away!"

You want to kill me!

The patient quickly asked, "Doctor! So, you're sick too?!"

"Yes, the doctor said I have some kind of mental illness."

"?" The patient was taken aback. "You're mentally ill? Then who's the doctor?"

"It's you."

"……I am a doctor?"

"Are you a doctor? (Raises a knife)"

"I'm!"

"Doctor! I've finally cured you!"

……

Bai Ying's expression hardened, and she sat back in her chair, saying, "From an acting perspective, you're not playing a mentally ill person. Mentally ill people live in both the conscious and real worlds simultaneously, which is why they appear contradictory and insane. You need to portray these two different yet somewhat related aspects—in short, to embody the aura of letting common sense run wild! For example, tearing up homework, throwing books, or beating up teachers. When you do these things, you need to break free from the constraints and repression of common sense and demonstrate the freedom of the conscious world!"

"How do you embody freedom? Freedom isn't about being unrestrained and doing whatever you want. True freedom is transcending constraints and repression—don't tear up homework violently, fold it into paper airplanes! Don't throw books by smashing them, pretend you're throwing a boomerang! Don't hit the teacher with a gleeful expression, just make a face at the teacher or draw a turtle!"

Muraki Naoki snapped out of his reverie after the brief performance and slowly nodded, saying, "I've learned a lot."

In short, observe the screenwriter more often and try to imitate him. He truly lives up to his reputation as someone who can boss around Ms. Sakurajima on set; his performance in that short skit didn't seem like acting at all.

"Should we adjust our mindset?" Okita hinted, indicating that they should get to work.

Muraki nodded: "I'm getting it—Director, let's go!"

The filming process went exceptionally smoothly. Masami Okita, the male lead, was in high spirits, and the crew quickly filmed his inner monologues.

"When a hater gives advice, it's advice, not criticism."

"Of course, I'm a hater of yours, be proud of it."

Bai Ying fiddled with her phone and said, "I'll post your dirt online right now!"

"Dirty stuff?" Mai Sakurajima recalled the photo and said calmly, "It was just one foot stepping on your foot, at most the photo only showed your thigh. How could something like that be dirt on me? Besides, as for the hater, he just deserves to be stepped on."

"I don't care, I'm right, so I'll be black."

Bai Ying tapped her phone and casually posted a status update with a simple and direct message: "Sakurajima Mai stepping on someone, idol misbehaving."

Sakurajima Mai slightly distanced herself, pulled out her phone, and quickly found the post someone had made. The photo was indeed of herself stepping on the other person's foot. No one responded; after all, it wasn't a celebrity's post—she suddenly felt that she had lost because she cared.

Those fans who can confirm their own identity from this photo are definitely the worst kind of fans.