Can I Take It Off?

This is also related to the Strange Arts that Shuya has always possessed.

A while later, the three of them took the elevator to their target floor. As soon as they got off the elevator, they saw the receptionist and the large logo printed on the wall behind her.

The company's name is AOKI, which is the pronunciation of Aoki.

Aoki Shin his own surname as the company name.

As soon as Shuya stepped out of the elevator, he put on a professional smile. He glanced at Mai, but she didn't smile; instead, she maintained a proper and polite expression.

The two followed behind Maeda Saori, watching her walk towards the receptionist.

Before she could speak, the young woman had already seen the three of them.

The girl couldn't contain herself and screamed, "Ah--- Shu-chan! It's Shu-chan! I'm going to die!"

Shuya: "Hmm?"

No, are you exaggerating? Are you really that sure you can do this job?

Mai remained unmoved and calm; she was used to this kind of situation.

"That."

Maeda Saori smiled wryly and said, "I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry!"

The young woman snapped out of her daze and apologized repeatedly, "I'll inform Uncle right away that Shu-chan and the others have arrived!"

Shuya understood.

... I see, he's a relative of Aoki Shin.

Soon, Aoki Shin came out to greet him.

He was followed by Horiuchi Susumu and some familiar-looking scholars, who were probably the people he had poached from the TV station.

"Shu-chan, Mai -chan, Maeda- san, welcome!"

Aoki Shin looked a bit heavier than before, greeted him with a smile.

"Haven't seen you for a long time."

Hello.

"Good morning."

Shuya and the others returned the greeting.

Shuya grasped Aoki Shin's outstretched hand and lied through his teeth. "I've heard that Uncle Aoki started a company, but I haven't had time to visit him. I'm so sorry."

Mai smiled and nodded.

"It's alright, it's alright, I understand."

Aoki Shin said politely, then congratulated Shuya, "Congratulations on your album's great sales! I bought a copy too, remember to sign it for me later!"

"Absolutely."

Shuya and he exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then Horiuchi Susumu and the others.

It had been a long time since we'd seen each other, but we still had a deep friendship, and the atmosphere became quite lively after we chatted for a while.

During their conversation, Shuya overheard Aoki Shin mention that the receptionist was his relative, and that she had only been working there for a short time, asking him to give her some guidance.

After Shuya signed his autograph, he followed the others into the conference room.

After everyone took their seats, Shuya noticed that there were no other actors present and asked in surprise, "Uncle Aoki, wasn't today supposed to be a meeting? Is it just the group of us?"

Aoki Shin, "No, I arranged to meet them a little later."

Horiuchi Susumu, "There's a reason I asked you to arrive early today."

"Reason?"

Mai looked puzzled.

Maeda Saori also spoke up, "Excuse me, what exactly is going on...?"

Aoki Shin, "We'd like to confirm the script with you carefully. Please feel free to point out any bloopers or anything that's not good, and we can discuss it together."

Is that so?

Shuya knew that he was being very sincere.

Generally speaking, actors don't have the right to demand changes.

Section 584, Question 544: Can I take it off?

Aoki Shin's attitude is actually quite unbelievable in the Japan entertainment industry.

Japan entertainers don't have a very high social standing. For a big shot like Aoki Shin to lower himself and politely negotiate with the actors to change the script according to their wishes is something that even relatively famous entertainers would find amazing.

But Shuya and Mai are really different.

First of all, their fame is terrifying. This man and woman have dominated various most popular lists for years, from childhood to adulthood, they have simply been insane.

As Aoki Shin and Maeda Saori said, things have been quite difficult lately. Shuya and the other guy are his guarantee of viewership ratings, so naturally he has to be very polite to them.

Moreover, he and Shuya had a very good relationship.

However, there is one more crucial point.

Compared to the reasons below, the reasons above are minor.

The Shuya family is incredibly wealthy.

Niconico, Line, Twitter, Facebook... all these things used by people all over the world belong to him. Just hearing this name is enough to leave people dumbfounded.

Nine out of ten people in the entertainment industry have to be polite to Shuya's family... well, except for Inoue Hikoo, who's just too despicable.

Ordinary people like Aoki Shin might not know Shuya's true status, but once they know about his financial power, most people become exceptionally friendly.

Taking all these factors into account, it's quite normal that he didn't treat Shuya as a normal actor.

"You can take a look at the entire script first; the roles have already been marked out."

"Thanks."

Shuya thanked them and accepted the gift; Maeda Saori and Mai also looked down at it.

He quickly skimmed through the script.

He knew the beginning of the story; he was mainly interested in what came later.

After reading it, his opinion of Aoki Shin improved somewhat. This guy still had principles; he didn't rewrite the script to give them more screen time just to fully exploit their Mai.

The focus of this drama is still on the male and female leads.

This principle is truly rare.

That makes sense; otherwise, he wouldn't have started his own production company.

Although television producers have to follow orders from above, their salaries are not on the same level as those of producers at production companies.

The latter's salary will be reduced by at least half.

Moreover, being a boss requires handling many things, making it even busier than being a producer.

He's probably a person with ideals and aspirations, Shuya doesn't dislike that kind of person.

After reading the script, Mai said, "I don't have any bloopers on my end. Shuya?"

Shuya nodded. "Same."

Maeda Saori did not express her opinion, firstly because the script looked normal, and secondly because she respected Shuya and the others' opinions.

Aoki Shin had anticipated this outcome; he knew that Shuya and the others weren't the type to make strange requests frequently.

What he was about to say was the real purpose.

He rubbed his hands together and said, "Well then, I'd like to ask a few questions... I'll get straight to the point, can I take my clothes off?"

Shuya thought to himself, "Good heavens, I was wondering why the script seemed so normal... turns out this was what was waiting for me."

Mai frowned instinctively when she heard the word "take off," and she thought of her mother again.

Maeda Saori glanced at Shuya, wondering if he would speak. If he didn't, she would object. Mai was going for a pure and innocent image, so there was no way she would be allowed to take her clothes off.

Shuya didn't think much of it and waved his hand in refusal, "Our Mai will never take her clothes off, give up... Hmm? Wait, you... could it be?"

He suddenly realized something was wrong; Aoki Shin's eyes had been fixed on him the whole time, without even glancing at Mai.

He glanced around and saw that the few female scholars present were all looking at him with shining eyes.

A thought flashed through his mind: could it be that he should take his clothes off...?

Just as he guessed, Aoki Shin placed his hand on Shuya's and smiled kindly, "Don't get me wrong, the person I asked if I could take my clothes off was... you, Shu-chan."

Shuya got goosebumps from his scorn.

He quickly withdrew his small hand, exclaiming in surprise:

"Are you gay?!"

"No way! I may not be married, but I do have a few girlfriends!"

Aoki Shin was furious.

Maeda Saori silently shut her mouth. Since the other party wasn't asking about Mai, she didn't need to object.

She couldn't control Shuya's affairs; he could take his clothes off or not, it was up to him.

... But personally, she still hopes he takes his clothes off, hehe.

Mai also showed interest, constantly stealing glances at him from the side.

"They actually asked me... about you..."

Shuya was speechless.

"Haha, why would we ask Mai -chan? Ms. Sakurajima's record is legendary in the industry."

Aoki Shin sarcastically remarked on Mai's former manager, who was not present at the scene.

Back then, she forced Mai to shoot swimsuit photos, which directly and indirectly led to the retirement of two of the most popular young entertainers in the industry.

This double victory was truly astonishing, and her legend still circulates in the industry today.

Aoki Shin knew about this; he had even advised Shuya not to retire back then, saying he wouldn't be so tactless as to let Mai take her clothes off.

His target from the beginning was Shuya, and in his opinion, Shuya's transformation was even more effective.

"To what extent are you referring to 'taking off' your clothes?"

Shuya had taken photoshoots before, and as a man, he didn't feel ashamed—as long as he wasn't completely naked.

Aoki Shin quickly replied, "We're planning to film a scene with swimsuits, just regular swimsuits."

"Well... that's fine too."

Shuya nodded indifferently.

"Yeah!"

"Hiss... hiss... I... my breathing...!"

The female doctors reacted somewhat emotionally.

"Cough cough cough."

Aoki Shin glared at them, and they quieted down, but their gazes toward Shuya remained sultry and lewd.

Maeda Saori said, "I won't object Shu-chan agrees, the only condition is that the swimsuit design needs to be approved by our agency."

"That's fine."

Aoki Shin readily agreed.

Then he asked another question, "I also want to ask, can you and Mai- chan film bed scenes and kissing scenes? Or to what extent?"