Uneasy daily life

Mai Sakurajima walked gracefully down the red carpet with a smile, ascended the awards stage, and looked down at the dazzling lights and brilliance that filled her eyes.

The host handed over the trophy and asked, "Ms. Sakurajima, are you ready with your acceptance speech? If not, you can improvise. I'll handle things, don't worry."

“I had been preparing my acceptance speech for years before I even received the award,” Mai Sakurajima replied. “At that time, I thought I should thank the organizers, the audience who supported me, the staff both on and off screen, and the director and screenwriter. But now that I’m standing here, I want to thank myself the most.”

"Thank you for not giving up, for not being distracted by family matters, and for achieving success."

The host joked, "If Ms. Sakurajima talks like that, the screenwriter in the audience, Mr. Shiro, won't be happy."

Sakurajima Mai glanced over and saw a white figure in the front row, looking as if he was about to have a talk about life.

"I pretend to be unhappy when I'm happy, just so I can be even happier." Mai Sakurajima smiled. "All things considered, he won Best Actor and Best Screenplay, but he didn't mention me in his acceptance speech. I should be the one who's unhappy."

"Alright, alright, this is a grand awards ceremony, a joyous occasion, and you've turned it into something saccharine. You two should save your romance for yourselves."

The host asked, "Besides that, Ms. Sakurajima, is there anything else you'd like to say? Your past has been quite eventful. As a child star who was famous throughout the country, you gradually fell into a slump, then successfully transformed yourself and became a star who was famous throughout the country, then gradually fell into a slump again, and even considered leaving the entertainment industry at one point. You had a boyfriend, and then successfully transformed yourself again, winning the Best Actress award—you must have a lot to say about it."

Mai Sakurajima blinked: "Am I going to fall into another slump next?"

The host laughed and said, "Ups and downs are nothing new."

"I feel that I have always been moving forward and have never fallen into a trough. It's just that I inevitably encounter various difficulties and obstacles along the way, which gives rise to a lot of worries and anxieties."

Sakurajima Mai lowered her eyes and saw many familiar faces in the audience: her mother, who had guided her; Hakukage, her boyfriend; Toyohama Kazuka, her younger sister; and Kokonoe, the director with whom she had once achieved fame...

"When I was a child star, I was ignorant and naive. I only felt pressure and distress when I saw my mother and others feeling happy or sad about my successes and failures. Although I didn't know what it meant to be past my prime, I was influenced by the emotions of the people around me. It was also my sister's simple and honest love and praise that helped me withstand the pressure."

"When I was a star, I gradually became more aware of things. With one eye, I could see that my mother, who depended on me for survival, loved me. With the other eye, I could see the rights and wrongs of my mother's obsessions, always believing in making myself more successful. If you can see the contradictions, entanglements, turbidity, and chaos of people and things, what's the difference between that and not seeing them at all? Since everything is so complicated and confusing, it's better to give up and not do anything. In the end, he was the one who pointed out the entanglement. I realized that I still like acting... What can my mother gain from my success or failure in acting? How do others evaluate my success or failure in acting? In the end, I still like acting."

"Later, after experiencing the joy of true love, I poured out my heart and unknowingly became somewhat infatuated with the relationship. Fortunately, my boyfriend isn't a romantic person, so I don't always need to think about making up for him. I can concentrate on my acting work. Although I sometimes wonder if what I consider to be rationality and calmness is truly wise judgment and my boyfriend's understanding, or if it's just that I'm too focused on my career achievements, in reality, I don't love him as much as I think. I'm just repeating my mother's mistakes, the only difference being that one is less involved and the other is more involved..."

"Fortunately, my boyfriend is also in this industry. If I were with him, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Mai Sakurajima's eyes sparkled as she smiled gently, "I don't know how to express my feelings, nor do I know what words I use to embellish my own thoughts. Sometimes I don't understand how to describe love in words and actions, and I don't understand whether it's you or myself who's more important between us. Since I can't figure it out, the most suitable romance I can think of is wanting you to be in my dreams too."

In her hotel room, Mai Sakurajima placed several trophies together, filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment.

"Still looking?" A voice from the white figure drifted from behind. "Having a few trophies makes you feel like you've achieved great things, and having few trophies makes you think you've accomplished nothing. Your attachment to external things is letting them define your inner self, isn't it? Then who are you really? Are you these trophies, or Mai Sakurajima?"

I love to talk nonsense.

Sakurajima Mai was in a good mood. She lazily leaned back, half-resting against the other person. With a slight glance back, she exuded a charming aura and teased, "Master, what do you think of me?"

Master Bai said, "Having achieved fame and success, I am overjoyed."

"Name? How long have I had this name?"

With a slender hand outstretched, the girl half-draped her arm around Master Bai's neck. She chuckled, her voice a mix of resentment and wistfulness, and said, "The task is not yet complete. Although we are enacting a dream together, we are still missing the final step. Shouldn't you make it up to me now? Master, take a closer look at what I look like."

Master Bai calmly said: "Eyebrows are painted with the color of spring breeze and peach blossoms, eyelashes are combed with the ripples of autumn water. Time flies and the present changes in an instant, flowers fall and water dries up and dust settles."

"I've figured it out. You're two-faced," the girl said with a playful complaint. "If we're not close, you're very bold. You say whatever comes to mind and can even cause a scene when you're in the mood, revealing people's thoughts, making them feel awkward, and forcing them to act. But if we're close, even though you can see right through people, you become timid—why aren't you being bold and outspoken now? You're making it so I can't get out of bed?"

Master Bai stammered and only uttered the phrase "Amitabha."

"Hmph~ I'm not some pushover like Yukino who's always being bullied by you. I have plenty of guts and plans... Now that my dream has come true, and with you in it too, those rational and calm words should have been thrown aside long ago. I don't need to suddenly think of them and weigh on my mind every time there's a mood—"

The girl leaned in, and Master Bai stumbled backward and fell onto the bed.

Master Bai paled and exclaimed, "Wait—"

"Hehe, almost there!"

"I'm going to sue you for sleeping with fans!"

"Then I'll have to taste what it's like to be a hater, hehehehe—!"

The girl laughed and pounced on him, shoving Master Bai, who was trying to get up, into the pot.

what?

……

Ok?

Sakurajima Mai was a little dazed, feeling like there were flies buzzing around her ear. She subconsciously resisted the urge to open her eyes directly. She felt that she was lying on a bed. The room was dark and gloomy with the lights off. She opened her eyes slightly and saw someone squatting by the bed, whispering in her ear, shaking their head.

"Love ignites fire, desire fuels water, boiling and simmering on the bed. Strip away the clothes, pry open the mouth, and glimpse the true heart, washing away all impurities. Place peach blossoms, add peonies, and let the red beans of longing meet. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, the timing of the passion must be just right. You are in me, I am in you, add salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and tears. The heart pounds honey, the body refines oil, and they entwine passionately in the pot, turning the red blankets. After only two hours, when the pot is lifted, a strange aroma will waft out, a delicacy that makes one's mouth water. Even the monks can only pretend to be deaf and dumb, afraid to smell it, lest they be tempted to break their vows and return to the mortal world..."

The white figure muttered the pattern she had just made, when suddenly she realized something was wrong and looked at Sakurajima Mai, who was sleeping with her eyes closed.

Why do I feel like someone just watched me? Has the Hero Plus woken up?

The white figure looked suspicious, staring at Sakurajima Mai's long, neat eyelashes, but didn't notice any unnatural trembling.

After a moment's thought, an idea came to me.

"I'm not some pushover like Yukino who's always being bullied by you. I've got guts and plans!"

White Shadow Sakurajima Mai sneered.

Mai Sakurajima slept peacefully.

Bai Ying: "Wake up, that's just you talking in your sleep. I didn't realize you were such a mediocre actor, but you have so many inner monologues."

Sakurajima Mai slowly opened her bewildered eyes, shifted her body on the bed a couple of times, blinked twice, and finally focused on the white figure: "...Was I asleep?"

Bai Ying tilted her head and looked at her, reaching out to pinch the other's cheek, as if to check its thickness and feel.

Mai Sakurajima: "Have you finished writing your script?"

This is a tactic to urge for more updates by changing the subject.

Bai Ying: "Ahem, I haven't even finished writing the script yet, and you've already started giving your acceptance speech."

This is a technique to destroy someone's heart.

Mai Sakurajima: "Ahem..."

"As expected, creative material still has to be dug from people's hearts," Bai Ying said enthusiastically. "Although the 'Brave Plus' journey isn't over yet, and the scenery is pretty much all imagined, there's still something wrong with the acceptance speech. Who stands on stage and suddenly pours their heart out about their feelings? It's almost like they're writing a book called 'My Love Story' on the spot. That's not rational or calm at all—"

"#!"

Mai Sakurajima narrowed her eyes, her cheeks twitching slightly, but ultimately lacking the thickness to say anything substantial: "It's clearly something that haters made up, isn't it?!"

Bai Ying retorted confidently, "What do you mean by fabricating nonsense? I'm just adapting facts! Do you understand adaptation? It's just artistic rhetoric!"

Sakurajima Mai rolled her eyes: "I think you're making this up!"

Bai Ying immediately hit the nail on the head: "What did I make up?"

Sakurajima Mai: "..."

*Ahem*, thinking back on the vague content of her dream, that host or something—was that what my hater was whispering in my ear? It was something I'd been thinking about during the day and dreaming about at night… Looking at her unfortunate boyfriend's smug smile, Sakurajima Mai rolled her eyes slightly. This hater of yours, ever since the day we met, has always loved to veil sarcasm in his words, making people feel annoyed and frustrated. He always loves to steal the initiative in conversation, a character that's both endearing and frustrating…

His eyes suddenly flickered a few times.

Speaking of which, it's already night outside, a dark and windy time. Now, it's just the two of them, alone, with everyone else on the other side of the mountain or the sea. There's no need to worry about anyone else in the house. Besides, if Yang Nai did it, why couldn't I do it too? And we've already met each other's parents. As for the conflict between pursuing someone and having feelings, it's really not a conflict...

The white figure suddenly stood up and took a step back.

Mai Sakurajima immediately collected her thoughts and spoke first: "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

"I smell crime..." the white figure said alertly, "Hero Plus! You're making excuses to prepare yourself mentally, aren't you?!"

Mai Sakurajima took a deep breath: "..."

Tsk, this boyfriend is really good at reading people's minds and ruining the mood...

Bai Ying suddenly stepped back onto the bed and sat down, saying understandingly, "It's so intimate, so intimate. You were just having a half-hearted dream, and you even dreamt of something wonderful. You were feeling lazy and your mind was wandering, your body still soft with spring in your heart. The time and place were perfect, and no one was bothering you. The atmosphere and opportunity were just right. It was a godsend. But I habitually poke at people's feelings and accidentally ruined the atmosphere and feeling. I'm so ashamed." That's why Sakurajima Mai was both annoyed and amused, vividly illustrating how people who are used to being calm and rational find it difficult to unleash their passion. This also expressed Bai Ying's sincere desire not to go with the flow and take advantage of the situation, but to make a direct attack...

"You hater—come on up here!"

Mai Sakurajima suddenly reached out, grabbed the white figure by the collar, and dragged him onto the bed.

……

"Ah—I'm back, I'm back. Although the scenery looks the same, I feel inexplicably more at ease."

As Toyohama Kazuka stepped out of the airport and gazed at the night sky over Chiba Prefecture, she couldn't help but sigh, "It's definitely more reassuring to stay in familiar places..."

"Humans are animals after all. Familiar environments mean safety, and the instinctive desire for security naturally makes people feel more at ease when they return to familiar places."

Yukino Yukinoshita, dragging her luggage, replied casually.

Toyohama Kazuka remarked, "I was just wondering why Koyuki's writing went on and on?"

Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, "I'm helping you broaden the boundaries of your knowledge. You're welcome."

Toyohama and Hana hurriedly dragged their luggage after her, giving Yukino Yukinoshita a strange look, and muttered, "Are you in a bad mood? If you didn't want to come back, I could have just come back alone, right? You were the one who insisted on saying it wasn't safe for you to come back alone, and you insisted on coming back with me..."

"Ahem..." Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, "I've already met Haku-kun's parents and discussed matters related to our relationship. Now that things are done, why wouldn't I come back?"

Is he saying he's not in a bad mood?

Feng Bin and Hua scratched their heads, and while waiting for a car by the roadside, they took out their phones and made some calls.

[Toyohama Kazuka: You jerk, Koyuki seems to be in a bad mood. Did you make her angry?]

...The reply was a bit slow.

[BaiBaiBai: She's probably angry that I eloped with Sakurajima Mai without her joining us, and she knows her anger is unreasonable, so she's been in a bad mood... and then you guys came back?]

[Toyohama Kazuka: Koyuki and I came back first and are still waiting for the bus.]

[Bai Bai Bai: Stickman, I have a task for you—hold her off! Hold her off for a little... half an hour!]

[Toyohama Kazuka: Huh? What are you dragging? What are you doing?]

Feng Bin and Hua stared at the phone screen in confusion, then tilted their heads, looking even more puzzled. Suddenly, their eyes widened, and their hands trembled so much that they almost dropped the phone.

What the hell? !

"what happened to you?"

Chapter 129 Breaking Down the Door

"N-nothing, I just asked where that jerk was, and he sent me some random stuff!"

Kazuha Toyohama barely managed to resist the urge to throw her phone away and gave a vague and incoherent reply to Yukino Yukinoshita.

Yukino Yukinoshita didn't care at all. She didn't offer to let me know, nor did she try to get to the bottom of the topic. Instead, she looked away and continued to wait quietly for the bus.

Phew... I barely managed to fool them, but what exactly is this?!

Feng Bin and Hua glanced at their phones again, their eyes twitching slightly. The photo was blurry, seemingly taken during a car chase. It was a complete mess. Apart from barely making out a bent elbow and the scene appearing to be on a bed, they had no idea what they were seeing... The camera angle, lighting, and shooting technique were all incredibly awful.

Having said that…

Feng Bin and Hua simply raised their arms slightly, thinking about the pose in the photo—it should be someone lying in bed, raising their arm to try to cover their face, with a few strands of messy, black hair hastily stuck to their arm, so much so that just imagining it gave off a criminal vibe.

The older sister, lying on the bed, suddenly raised her hand to cover her face in a hurried and flustered movement. Judging from her exposed arm, she appeared to be shirtless. And from this slightly downward-facing camera angle, it was clear that some bastard was above her...

Although she is usually too lazy to think much, Toyohama Kazuka found herself thinking about many things involuntarily, like a detective whose brain is electrified, and she deduced the whole story in an instant.

It's likely that my sister and that jerk slipped back first, got all lovey-dovey, and when the atmosphere was just right, my sister half-heartedly, or perhaps like she did under the snow, took the initiative? Or maybe that jerk's lust got the better of him, and anyway, while the two were entangled, he sent her a message...

The bastard promptly took out his phone, pretending to take a picture as a souvenir. His sister immediately and instinctively tried to cover herself from the camera... She probably didn't know that the bastard had taken a blurry, indistinct picture.

But! What are you doing to your sister, you bastard?!

If you're going to take a picture, then take a clear one—oops, I mean, what kind of picture are you taking? Is typing so hard?!

How despicable! Their methods of bullying and teasing people are endless!

Feng Bin and Hua were momentarily bewildered, their minds racing. There was a high chance that her sister and that bastard had... well, you know, and it might even be happening right now. After thinking it over, no matter what, it was definitely not the right time for her and Xiao Xue to come back!

Xiaoxue looked a little resentful. Usually, the rascal would either coax or tease her, but now the rascal was still on her older sister—wait a minute!

Feng Bin and Hua scanned the information records again.

Huh? You want me to keep Xiaoxue occupied so she can't get home anytime soon?

You guys aren't in a house under the light snow, are you?!

Oh wait, Xiaoxue is actually her older sister's landlady, so given her current confrontational attitude, it's not surprising that she opened her sister's door...

Then I stumbled upon the present continuous tense.

Feng Bin and Hua were having a bit of a headache. They heard that at least the person caught in the snow was seen afterward, but what if their sister was caught in the act? Should they stop for a moment?

My toes have already started scratching the soles of my shoes.

Ugh! This is so annoying! If it weren't for my sister, I would have immediately tattled on that jerk and we would have rushed back together!

In short, let's try to stall Yukinoshita for now. Fortunately, the apartment is quite a distance from the airport, and at this hour, getting a taxi won't be easy...

A taxi stopped in front of them. Yukino Yukinoshita reached out and opened the car door, got in, and turned to tell the driver their destination.