vncnus Page 43
Page 43
He didn't have the strength to speak, so he could only express his dignity as a man through his actions.
The distance of two or three meters is like an insurmountable chasm.
When he finally reached the bedside in the bedroom, he weighed the drum in hemp clothing in his hand, signaling her to let go.
After Mai let go, Yuto flung her hands away and threw her onto the bed.
Then, panting heavily, he reached down to unbutton his shirt and approached, grinning maliciously, saying, "Hehehe, now you have nowhere to run, don't you?"
Mai also cooperated by putting on a terrified expression, "M-Master, please don't do this~"
"Hehehe, go ahead and scream! No one will come to save you even if you scream your lungs out!"
"Ah—Master, no!"
……
Twenty minutes later.
Yuto Itsuki lay on the bed, his lips pale and his eyes lifeless, staring at the ceiling.
Mai lay obediently on his arm, circling her fingers around Yuto's chest.
"Yuuto~"
Yuto Itsuka did not react at all.
"Yuuto~"
This time there was a reaction. He looked at Mai with pleading eyes, "N-no, please?"
"Hmm~" means "no".
"I...I have no strength left."
Yuto Itsuka felt as if he had been struck by the Grim Reaper of the Desert, leaving him weak and powerless.
He looked down and saw that his brother was also hanging his head, looking dejected.
Mai Sakurajima smiled dreamily, ignoring whether Yuto Itsuka was refusing or agreeing, and slowly lowered her head.
"Hiss—" Yuto felt a strange sensation and couldn't help but gasp.
"Mai, where did you learn all this?"
“%￥＃@￥%…” Mai mumbled something indistinctly.
Yuto felt both pain and pleasure.
Five minutes later, Mai straddled Yuto again.
……
……
[P.S.: Uncle Li, you didn't allow me to use any adjectives or descriptions. I even only briefly mentioned the drums...]
Volume 1: Chapter 55: For men to have healthy kidneys, they need to drink Kidney Tonic (Fourth Update)
"For men to have healthy kidneys, they should drink Shenbao (a traditional Chinese medicine). After drinking it, they'll be faster than Liu Xiang and taller than Yao Ming..."
"One bottle to refresh the mind, two bottles to never tire, three bottles to grant immortality, oh yeah..."
Men usually start paying attention to various advertisements around a certain age or at a certain point in their lives.
Yuto Itsuki was no exception; he held a thermos filled with goji berries in both hands, his eyes glued to the television.
"Buzzing—"
The phone rang, and Yuto Itsuka glanced at it instinctively; it wasn't his.
He then looked at Mai, who was petting the cat in the living room.
Mai took out her phone, glanced at the caller ID, and frowned.
The call was from Kazuko Sakurajima's assistant.
She hesitated for a moment, then pressed the answer button and turned on speakerphone.
"Hey, Ms. Yamamoto."
"Good afternoon, Miss Mai."
"I apologize for bothering you, but the company asked me to contact you. The female lead for Director Fujiwara's new film, 'The Sound of the Tide,' has been undecided for a long time. The director contacted the president yesterday and said he really hopes you can consider the role. I have already sent the script to your email."
Director Fujiwara?
Yuto Itsuka, sitting on the sofa, heard the name and, even though he wasn't familiar with the entertainment industry, he knew what it meant.
Fujiwara is a renowned director in the industry, known for his ability to unearth the inner potential of actors; his films are almost guaranteed to win awards.
“I…” Mai Sakurajima’s breathing became rapid. “I am currently… still on vacation, and I am not ready to return to work.”
“We know,” Yamamoto’s assistant said calmly. “So the president and director don’t mean for you to come back to work immediately. They just hope you can take a look at the script first. This role… we all think it’s perfect for you. Director Fujiwara said he can wait.”
"...I understand, I will watch it."
"Okay, then I won't disturb your rest any longer. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything."
After the phone call ended, Yukino, the kitten, looked at Mai and meowed twice, seemingly confused.
Mai Sakurajima squatted on the ground, hugging her knees with both hands, without saying a word.
Seeing this, Itsuka Yuto got up, squatted down next to her, and placed his hand on the back of her hand.
"Are you scared?" he asked softly.
She nodded, then shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I just… the thought of facing the camera again, facing those people, makes me feel…”
"Then let's not face it for now." Yuto gently ruffled her hair with his other hand. "It's just a script, like reading a novel. If you don't like it, we'll delete it. Nobody can force you."
He paused, then adopted a more relaxed tone: "Besides, you have a boyfriend now. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up."
“Aunt Sakurajima… if the company dares to pressure you, I will… I will hold a sit-in protest in front of your company, put up banners, and say that they are exploiting underage girls, and make them the headlines of the social news!”
“I’m an adult now.” Mai Sakurajima was amused by his statement and wanted to laugh, but couldn’t quite manage it.
Japan lowered the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18 many years ago.
"It's all pretty much the same anyway." Itsuka Yuto shrugged indifferently. "Anyway, with me here, you don't have to be afraid of anything. You can do whatever you want, and no one can force you to do whatever you don't want to do."
She looked up at him, the unease and fear in her eyes gradually fading.
"Yuuto."
"Ah."
"The script...I'd like to see it."
“Okay.” Yuto smiled. “I’ll watch it with you.”
……
The next day, Mai Sakurajima overslept.
When Yuto Itsuka prepared breakfast and entered the bedroom, he saw Mai Sakurajima sitting on the bed with light dark circles under her eyes, but her eyes were unusually bright, and she was holding a printed copy of the script.
"What's wrong? Were you moved to tears by the heroine's tragic backstory and didn't sleep all night?" Yuto placed the breakfast plate on the bedside table and teased her with a smile.
"..." Sakurajima Mai looked up at him. "Yuto, I want to give it a try."
Yuto Itsuka's smile paused for a moment, then became even brighter.
"Have you thought about it?"
“Yes.” She nodded emphatically. “This character… is a lot like me.”
"The Sound of the Tide" tells the story of "Tide," a girl who grew up in a seaside town. She is born with the ability to hear the various emotions contained in the waves, but she cannot understand human emotions.
She was lonely and lost until she met a lighthouse keeper who could teach her how to "love".
This is a story about searching and redemption.
“It’s not just like you, it’s practically tailor-made for you.” Yuto picked up a sandwich and handed it to her. “It seems that director Fujiwara has an exceptionally sharp eye.”
"But... I'm afraid I won't act well," Mai Sakurajima said, taking a bite of her sandwich, sounding somewhat insecure.
This is the first time she has wanted to interpret a character rather than "perform" a character.
"What are you afraid of?" Itsuka Yuto sat down next to her and took a tissue to wipe the mayonnaise from the corner of her mouth.
"Have you forgotten how you cried in Kamakura? Just bring out that feeling. Besides, don't you still have me, your 'lighthouse keeper'?"
Lighthouse keeper...
Mai glanced at Yuto, then at the script in her hand.
She tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Then...can you come with me?"
“Of course,” Yuto readily agreed. “I’ll be your bodyguard and off-field coach. If anyone dares to give you a hard time, I’ll…”
"So you're going to unfurl the banner?" she said for him.
“No,” Yuto shook his head, “I’ll just tell them that I was actually sent by your mother to spy on you. If anyone dares to give you a hard time, I’ll report them. Let’s see if they’re scared.”
“…You’re so boring.”
Although she said that, Mai Sakurajima's heart was completely at ease.
……
The audition was scheduled for three days later, not at the talent agency, but at a private studio owned by Director Fujiwara in the suburbs.
Yuto Itsuka accompanied Mai and arrived at the elegant Japanese garden half an hour early.
They were greeted by Yamamoto's assistant, a woman with wire-rimmed glasses. She was somewhat surprised to see Itsuka Yuto had come along, but still politely led them inside.
Director Fujiwara was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat unkempt, wearing loose cotton and linen clothes and with messy hair.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the audition officially began.
Yuto Itsuka was asked to wait in the outer lounge, but he could see what was happening inside through the glass wall.
Director Fujiwara did not have Mai perform the most dramatic scene in the script, but instead chose a very mundane scene—after the female lead "Ushio" first met the male lead, she returned to the beach alone and stared blankly at the sea.
There are no lines; it all relies on micro-expressions and eye contact.
This should have been a piece of cake for Mai Sakurajima, who used to excel at "standardized performances".
However, when she stood in front of the camera, everyone sensed that something was wrong.
She appeared somewhat stiff, trying hard to make the expression the director wanted, but even the layman Itsuka Yuto could clearly see the deliberate and unnaturalness in her expression.
The director didn't call "cut," but just frowned.
Inside the studio, Yamamoto's assistant's face clearly showed disappointment.
Mai Sakurajima also realized her problem; beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her fingers nervously gripped the hem of her clothes.
She messed up.
Just as she was about to give up, her gaze inadvertently drifted to Yuto Itsuka outside the glass wall.
Yuto didn't show any anxious or encouraging expression; he simply mouthed three words to her.
—Look at me.
Mai Sakurajima's heart skipped a beat.
She slowly closed her eyes.
She remembered the embrace in the old house in Kamakura, where he held her and let her cry her heart out; she remembered that morning at the hotel, and the gentle good morning kiss; she remembered the resolute look in his eyes when he said, "With me here, you don't have to be afraid of anything."
She remembered how he had gradually rescued her from a desolate emotional wasteland.
That feeling of being found, understood, and cherished...
When she opened her eyes again, her entire aura had changed.
Her eyes were still unfocused, but deep within that unfocused gaze, there was a cautious, fluttering emotion.
She looked at the camera as if she were looking through the lens at the person who had pulled her out of the deep sea of loneliness.
Her lips unconsciously turned up, but a tear slid down her cheek without warning.