I Thought This Was a Slice of Life

"Well, at the end of the day, that's just how the entertainment industry is," Hanazawa Sakura sighed. "She isn't really anything special, just hypocritical. She speaks sweetly and has said plenty of good things about you, but... how much of it is actually true?"

As a voice actress, it was easy for her to tell what was being performed.

"They're all like that, those kinds of people," Shuya stretched his back and said lazily, "You just get used to it."

"I just hope Mai-chan doesn't turn into that kind of person in the future."

Shuya rested his chin on his hand, watching the scenery flash by outside the window.

He had just told Mai-chan that adults don't usually lower their guard around children, but in reality, he was largely talking about himself.

As an adult in spirit, he was very fond of a cute, motivated, and generous little girl like Mai-chan.

Facing a little girl like this, it was only natural to want to provide help within his capabilities, right?

When he returned home after seven, Inoue Hikoo hadn't come back yet, which was normal; animation work always required grinding.

Shuya abandoned his own mother and decisively went to play next door. Rena knew it was Shuya, so she opened the door for him.

Rena was dressed in light clothing, and the pair of fair, long legs beneath her shorts captured all of Shuya's attention.

"Shu-chan, you're back?"

"Yeah, I'm back."

Shuya was suddenly moved by this daily scene, and a hallucination even appeared in his mind.

"Shu-kun, you worked hard today too. Would you like to eat first? Take a bath first? Or..."

Rena smiled charmingly, biting her pink lip lightly: "Would you like to... eat... me?"

"I won't hold back!"

"Ah! (Heart)"

Holy crap, that would be amazing!

...If only it were real.

However...

Rena hadn't said any of the dialogue above.

From the fact that she didn't care about opening the door for him at night and was indifferent about showing off her fair legs, it was clear she didn't view Shuya as a male.

This was also normal; Shuya's age made it difficult for women to be on guard against him or realize anything.

Shuya didn't stay discouraged for long before he was entangled by the daughters... no, by the Quintuplets.

Shuya quickly cheered himself up.

Rome wasn't built in a day!

Successfully infiltrating the enemy's interior was already a huge step forward.

After two or three years of getting along, there was no longer any sense of awkwardness in him blending into Rena's home.

Shuya running over here every day was a strategy of boiling a frog in warm water.

He smiled while playing with the Quintuplets, talking about what happened today as he did so.

When he mentioned the name Children's Dream, the Quintuplets didn't react, but Rena was clearly stunned, then looked at her daughters with an apologetic gaze.

Shuya didn't speak, but he had an idea.

After spending over an hour grinding for favorability, Shuya returned home to sleep.

The night passed, and the next day was still dedicated to animation recording.

Considering that filming the commercial would take time, Hanazawa Sakura and Shuya recorded their parts first, then quickly finished lunch before heading to the filming location.

Shuya had already heard how this commercial was going to be shot.

It wasn't difficult, just rather troublesome.

They had to run to multiple scenic locations, have Shuya and Mai change into various beautiful outfits for filming, and finally select the best clips to piece together.

This commercial didn't require much technical skill; it won purely by being pretty and good-looking.

Children's clothing commercials didn't need any deep meaning; as long as it was exquisite and nice to look at, that was all that mattered.

When they arrived at the designated park, the photography team had already arrived, and Mai-chan and her mother had just gotten there as well.

"Sorry, we're late."

Hanazawa Sakura apologized first, and Shuya followed by bowing his head.

"It's fine, we just arrived early; it's not time yet."

A middle-aged man wearing sunglasses walked up to greet them, and Shuya recognized him.

Horiuchi Susumu.

A quite famous MHK drama director.

When Shuya first met him, he was only one year old. Back then, he wasn't famous yet, but the drama he filmed two years ago was an instant hit, and now he was a big-name director in his own right.

Of course, television directors don't have the same status as film directors; their presence is often even less significant than that of the screenwriters or producers, and Horiuchi Susumu wasn't exactly a household name either.

But he shouldn't have fallen so far as to be shooting a tiny commercial.

Shuya joked, "What's wrong, Uncle Horiuchi? Are you washed up? Forced to come back to shoot commercials?"

"Haha! You brat, I've already heard about this from Hirai; that trick won't work on me."

Horiuchi Susumu said dismissively, "I'm not picky. As long as the pay is right, that's all that matters."

He made a gesture indicating money.

But a Staff Member undercut him, "Is that so? Then why did I hear that the director only took the job because he saw that Shu-chan was also cast?"

"You bastard, don't talk nonsense! I don't want to be laughed at like that lolicon!"

Horiuchi Susumu joked without any sense of shame; it was clear that the joke Shuya made about Hirai Ryuji yesterday had already spread.

Shuya exchanged a look with Horiuchi Susumu, both of them smiling, until everyone finally couldn't hold it in anymore:

"Hahahaha!"

A group of men (plus one child on the surface) laughed like idiots.

After the laughter died down, Shuya waved his hand and called Mai over.

"Um...?"

Mai walked over cautiously, feeling uneasy under the gaze of the crowd.

Shuya boldly pulled her small hand and said to Horiuchi Susumu and the other Staff Members, "This is Mai-chan, a good friend of mine. Please take care of her in the future; I have high hopes for her!"

"Oh ho, is that so? Shu-chan's little girlfriend?"

Horiuchi Susumu casually blurted out.

"It's not like that, we're just good friends."

Shuya didn't take it seriously, and Mai knew they were just joking, so she just smiled cutely and said, "Please look after me!"

Smart as she was, she understood that Shuya was introducing her to the right people, helping her integrate into the circle.

In other words, he was bringing her along to play.

"Oh, what a cute girl. No wonder that guy turned into a lolicon."

Horiuchi Susumu took another jab at Hirai Ryuji.

He then patted his chest and said to Mai, "Since she's someone Shu-chan introduced, of course I trust her. I look forward to working with you."

Shuya also said to Mai, "Don't worry, Mai-chan. Uncle Horiuchi might not look like much, but he's actually a very excellent director. You'll definitely learn a lot if you talk to him more."

"Oh my, I'm surprised that Shu-chan senpai thinks so highly of me. This uncle is truly touched."

Horiuchi Susumu put on a very fake expression of excitement.

"You're too kind, you're too kind."

Shuya also nodded hypocritically, pretending to be mature.

"..."

"..."

The two looked at each other, both feeling the awkwardness.

Horiuchi Susumu pushed up his sunglasses unnaturally, "L-let's begin."

"Right."

Shuya also touched his hair.

Today's shoot went very smoothly. Mai's minor mistakes were corrected quickly, earning her endless praise from Horiuchi Susumu.

As for Shuya's performance, there was nothing to say; for everyone present, it would have been strange if he had made a mistake.

The filming process wasn't worth mentioning. After two hours, considering the child's stamina, they took a short break.

Shuya originally wanted to chat with Mai, but she was pulled aside by her mother. He turned his head to look at Hanazawa Sakura, who was currently on a phone call.

Seeing her smile so sweetly, he didn't need to guess to know she was talking to Inoue Hikoo.

Shuya didn't want to be a third wheel, so seeing Horiuchi Susumu smoking gloomily on the side, he walked over.

"Uncle, is there something bothering you? Tell me so I can be happy about it."

"You brat."

Horiuchi Susumu glared at him and flicked his cigarette out.

He hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "It's nothing, really. Just annoyed about work. You know him too, right? The producer at the station, Aoki Shin."

Shuya nodded, "Uncle Aoki? Of course I know him."

Aoki Shin, whom Horiuchi Susumu mentioned, was a famous television producer. Shuya had appeared in dramas he was in charge of; although they were only supporting roles, they were important parts with lines.

"So?"

Shuya was curious why his name had come up.

Horiuchi Susumu looked left and right before saying cautiously, "...Don't go spreading this around, but the station has recently been planning the next Morning Drama, and they're currently agonizing over the casting."

"Oh, I get it! I won't say a word."

Shuya nodded vigorously.

...Morning Drama.

It really was a big deal!

Perhaps it would make history.

The so-called Morning Drama refers to the fifteen-minute series aired every Monday through Saturday at eight in the morning on the Japan Administrative District MHK General Channel.

Morning Dramas mostly feature female protagonists, telling inspirational stories of their struggles.

By telling Shuya that the Morning Drama was currently casting, Horiuchi Susumu had placed a great deal of trust in him.

To explain the previous sentence, one must understand what a Morning Drama lead actress represents in the Japan Administrative District.

It is synonymous with being hot, becoming famous, and an overnight rise to stardom!

It is an opportunity to be recognized by the people of the entire administrative district and even those in the surrounding administrative districts!