I Suspect You're Messing With Me, and I Have Proof

No, that's not it. I'm not interested in Shibasaki Kazuha --- Shuya subconsciously defended himself.

He soon wondered who he was explaining himself to.

Shuya looked back at Hyakka -chan with his head held high, but her gaze had already shifted to the other side, as she said to another girl, "Haha, the atmosphere in the recording studio is really great~"

Yes, that's right~

The others chimed in, speaking as if it were the truth.

However, as far as Shuya knew, none of the voice actors present were friends of Hyakka -chan.

So, everything is about business...

Shuya's eyes darted around, inevitably drawn to the pretty girl next door once again.

Ah, isn't that girl Gojo's sister?

So cute!

I only saw her back and profile before, but now that I look closely, she really is very cute.

If there's a meet-and-greet event for the new anime, please invite her too.

Her acting is terrible, but she's perfect as a pretty face.

Shuya revealed a mysterious smile, then felt a piercing gaze upon him.

Hyakka: "Staring..."

Shuya blinked his adorable big eyes innocently.

The audience's comments session on stage continued, and it was time for the male lead's voice actor to choose a clip.

He picked a scene where the male lead was being fought over by the female leads, and the otaku in the audience, knowing exactly what to do, started to cheer.

Hyakka complained, "Seriously, why choose this kind of clip? Men are just like that."

Her somewhat disdainful performance caused the audience to heckle again.

The male protagonist is a young voice actor whose surname is Komatsu.

He cleverly let out a knowing laugh, "You know, this kind of scenario is every man's dream, but it's impossible in reality. So I couldn't resist choosing it, haha."

The audience, mostly men, all laughed together.

Just then, Shuya felt Hyakka- chan glance at him with a sly smile in her eyes.

After she finished laughing, she pretended to be innocent and said, "But what Mr. Komatsu said isn't always true. I know of one guy who does this kind of thing all the time."

The male lead's voice actor, Komatsu, exclaimed dramatically, "No way, Hyakka- chan, is that someone only you can see or something?!"

"How could this be! It's disgusting!"

Hyakka Jiang's irritable tone seemed to completely reveal her true nature, but it was also a calculated portrayal.

She flashed a familiar Shuya, foxy smile, "Actually, that guy is actually here~ Why don't we all hear what he thinks?"

"On site?"

The host's brow twitched, slightly troubled by what she had said that went beyond the script, but she still followed Hyakka's gaze to look at the audience.

The stage lights and on-site photographers, with mischievous smiles, pointed their lenses at the audience members in the VIP section.

A bewildered Shuya appeared on the big screen on the stage.

"Oh oh!"

"Huh?"

Most of the male audience members gasped in surprise.

A few female spectators erupted in screams:

"Aaaaaah!"

"Liar! Liar! Why is Shu-chan here?!"

Shuya: "???"

Little sister, I suspect you're messing with me, and I have proof.

Shuya was utterly helpless, but he decided to stand up anyway.

A scholar-official ran over and, looking bewildered, handed him a piece of wheat.

"Um, that's not a good idea, I have nothing to do with this work."

Shuya was also confused.

Hyakka Jiang laughed and said, "It's alright, the afternoon performance wasn't recorded."

That definitely makes things much easier.

It would be much easier in all aspects if we didn't put it in the small disc; I guess Hyakka did it with that in mind.

But that's the logic, Shuya doesn't want to go on stage and be the center of attention, especially with this kind of topic.

"That's still not a good idea; the agent won't agree."

Before she could finish speaking, Maeda Saori popped up from the backend channel, giving an OK sign.

"See? Ms. Maeda has agreed too."

Hyakka said triumphantly.

How lenient are our firm's rules?

Shuya's sarcastic remark made everyone laugh.

"But the agent's agreement doesn't mean that the production company's bigwigs will agree."

Before he could finish speaking, several men emerged from the passageway, all giving him an OK sign.

"You..."

Shuya was speechless.

I hate people who try to ride on my coattails, hmph.

Shuya immediately saw through their scheme.

After the afternoon session ends, these unscrupulous people will definitely leak his presence at the event and create a buzz.

"All right."

Shuya pressed the stage floor and flipped himself onto the stage.

His nimble movements elicited a chorus of exclamations of "Ahhh!"

He held the microphone, his expression a mixture of bewilderment, innocence, and embarrassment, which the camera captured, eliciting bursts of laughter.

The scholar-official brought a chair and placed it next to Hyakka Jiang, Shuya reluctantly sat down.

"Hyakka, I'm up here. Just tell me what you want to do with me."

A knowing laugh came from below the stage.

"Ahem, well then, may I inquire about the secret to your popularity? I think everyone wants to know."

Hyakka Jiang laughed happily.

"I want to know! Tell me, Shu-chan- senpai!"

Komatsu looked excited.

"Komatsu, can you stop making a scene?"

Shuya clearly knew him.

"Okay, it's nothing shameful anyway... Could the photographer over there come over here?"

The photographer should approach upon request.

Shuya brought his face closer to the camera, flashing his standard idol smile, "This is the secret to popularity, everyone, have you learned it?"

Komatsu realized what was happening and burst out laughing. He said sadly, "Face? It really is about face! I don't want such a pragmatic reason!"

Hyakka Jiang said unhappily, "Wait, wait, wait! Doesn't this make it sound like all girls are obsessed with looks?"

"Huh? Isn't that right?"

Shuya feigned surprise.

Then came a burst of laughter and commotion, Shuya blended in seamlessly, instantly making the audience accept his presence as an outsider.

Apart from Gojo's sister, all the voice actors in the cast are experts, and I secretly admire his ability to control the stage.

Shibasaki Kazuha's gaze flashed with a peculiar light as he looked at Shuya, but Shuya didn't notice.

Shuya joked around with them for a while, then pleaded with Hyakka -chan with a pained expression, "Hyakka- chan, Hyakka, is that enough? To be honest, I'm super embarrassed, and it's really not appropriate to get involved in works that have nothing to do with me."

"It can't be unrelated, Shu-chan, didn't you listen to the radio? So you're kind of... a fan representative?"

"Eh---! Did Shu-chan- senpai listen to my and Hyakka -chan's broadcast?! I'm so happy!"

The female voice actress who voices Hyakka is one of the three main female characters.

What was it called again?

It seems the surname Haneda?

She's considered quite famous among the younger generation, though she's still far from being as well-known Shuya.

Although Shuya had only listened to a few radio broadcasts, he nodded and said, "I have been listening. I really like the relaxed atmosphere when you guys are chatting."

"Oh no! What should I do? I'm so happy! My face must be super red right now."

Haneda covered his face, which was indeed bright red.

Section 364, Chapter 346: The audience was packed, but the stage was empty... Sorry for the mix-up.

Shuya was completely taken aback by her exaggerated reaction. Seeing Hyakka- chan's smile become even more amiable, he really didn't want to stay here for another second.

He changed the subject, sighing softly, "Actually, being popular isn't always a good thing."

"For example?"

Komatsu, who had been trying to liven up the atmosphere, tactfully picked up on the joke.

"For example... even attending a colleague's get-together can result in being dragged onto the stage for public humiliation."

Shuya forced a polite but slightly awkward smile.

"... puff."

Shibasaki Kazuha couldn't help but laugh.

The crowd erupted in laughter.

The host tactfully remarked, "That's really tragic... Okay, that concludes this segment. Now, let's move on to the next segment. Thank you to our special guest, Inoue -kun, for joining us!"

"No, no."

Shuya breathed a sigh of relief and got up.

A round of enthusiastic applause broke out.

He bowed to the audience, then quickly picked up a chair and walked to the passageway connecting to the backstage area.

Behind them, Hyakka let out an innocent laugh, "Hahaha, Shu-chan is so much fun, don't you all agree?"

The other voice actors could only manage wry smiles, while the host wiped away a cold sweat.

Shuya went backstage and tossed a chair to the scholar-official.

The scholar-officials clapped, suppressing their laughter, Maeda Saori smiled and said, "Shu-chan did a great job, hahaha."

"Stop talking, it hurts."

Shuya complained, "You shouldn't actually agree to her nonsense."

Why does my childhood sweetheart always tease me?

Hyakka -chan does this, Yukino- chan does that, and even Mai- chan has to criticize him...