A Film Set, After All This Time

As he was leaving, Mai suddenly grabbed his clothes.

"What's wrong?"

When he turned around, he was gently kissed on the cheek.

"Good night."

Mai- chan, her face flushed, quickly disappeared behind the door without saying another word to him.

"They're quite good at having fun."

Shuya touched his cheek, a smile playing on his lips.

After he got home, he couldn't resist taking out his phone and posting a tweet:

"I have to say, Mai- chan is really cute."

A minute later, Mai quickly retweeted and replied with the word "Of course".

Many people who saw their tweets started peeking in, and some began to read and interpret various speculations, but Shuya didn't say anything more, and these speculations remained just that—speculations.

However, Haruno, who never misses an opportunity to stir up trouble, suddenly appeared.

She replied bluntly, "You two are finally dating? Congratulations!"

Seeing that she was there to cause trouble, Shuya could only reply, "We're not dating."

A few seconds later, Hanazawa Sakura replied, "Shu-chan, you're no good."

Shuya: "?"

Hanazawa Sakura: "(#￣~￣#)"

Inoue Hikoo: "That kid's such a loser. ┑(￣Д￣)┍"

Shuya: "?"

Wait, is this Twitter? Are you guys just chatting about everyday things?

The onlookers below launched into a frenzy of mockery.

Shuya closed Twitter with a blank expression, too lazy to reply to these boring people.

He opened the LINE group chat and glanced at it. Haruno and Hyakka were all making jokes, even Mai was laughing. So he quietly closed the group chat again.

He sighed heavily, "I'm supposed to be such a wise and mighty man, yet my image is ruined every day by those idiotic parents. Sigh, it's really..."

He cut off all social media and turned to pornography to soothe his wounded heart.

The night passed, and Thursday arrived in the blink of an eye.

Shuya arrived at Aoki Shin's company early; today was the first rehearsal for the idol! drama crew.

However, as mentioned earlier, he didn't have much screen time in the first episode, so it was destined to be another day of slacking off.

The actors arrived at the rehearsal room one after another, and they all looked at Shuya with smiles in their eyes, clearly having witnessed the scene of Shuya being scolded by his parents yesterday.

Mai arrived and walked over to Shuya, her smile never fading, "Haha, the president and the others are really interesting, aren't they?"

Upon hearing this, Ishiyama Kenichi joined them, standing with Shuya: "Shu-chan, your family is still so interesting. I really envy this kind of relationship."

He said this, but a gloating smile was on his face.

Shuya shook his head and didn't reply. He knew that whatever he said would be ridiculed, so he might as well say nothing.

He immediately changed the subject and started talking about other things. The three of them continued talking until the scholar-official arrived.

Aoki Shin was also here today, but he just watched from the sidelines, since acting instruction wasn't his forte.

After everyone greeted each other, the rehearsal officially began.

Shuya and Mai basically just watched the whole time, slacking off.

In the first episode, Sakurajima Shuya, played by Shuya, is basically just a background character. He is rather quiet and, although he is a friend of the protagonist Asakawa Jun, they don't interact much.

His role in the first episode mainly involved him sitting in the corner of the classroom reading a novel, appearing almost invisible.

Mai had even fewer scenes than him; she never made a formal appearance, only appearing in television commercials, magazines, and newspapers.

The reason she came today is that the director wanted to have the advertisements and magazine photos needed for the first episode taken in advance.

And so, the rehearsal went on and on for more than two hours, and Shuya and Mai were getting really bored.

In the rehearsal room, Horiuchi Susumu diligently instructing the lead actors on their acting skills.

In Shuya's opinion, Amami Seiji and Matsumoto Tomoka's acting skills are below average.

This is partly because he's too picky; if you just make do, their acting skills would be passable.

After all, he's a newcomer, so it's understandable.

He stood by and watched intently, occasionally commenting on the two main characters with Mai, putting them under immense pressure.

During the break, Horiuchi Susumu over and said to Shuya, "Shu-chan, there are some things I want to confirm about your role."

"What?"

"It's just a matter of hairstyle; I'd like you to try on a few wigs."

Shuya thought for a few seconds and realized why he said that.

The first time I watched it, I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't pay much attention to anything else, except that I found the ending disgusting.

Watching it a second time with a calmer perspective, I felt the whole series had significant problems. The Major's character logic became increasingly strange, and knowing the ending made the whole thing seem absurd. Vivi's character was constantly teetering on the edge of collapse, and the ending still left me feeling uneasy.

But to be honest, Vivi's bonus poster is really gorgeous. I hope there won't be any more limited editions; I really don't want to see it a third time. (clasps hands)

Now we just have to wait and see Demon Slayer.

Chapter 621, Page 579: The Long-Awaited Film Set

Shuya had read the script and knew about Sakurajima Shuya's character design.

Sakurajima Shuya didn't want his classmates to know about his past, so he kept his identity hidden at school.

His hair was very long, covering his eyes. He was low-key and gloomy, and rarely spoke to anyone except the main character.

Given the character's established personality, Shuya couldn't just act like that in the first episode; he had to change his hairstyle.

However, there's no need to wear a wig.

"I don't need a wig, I can change myself."

Shuya said that he controlled his hair to grow out so that it completely covered his eyes.

"This... is really convenient."

Horiuchi Susumu in admiration, then asked, "Could the hair around the edges also grow a little longer?"

"Certainly."

Shuya's hair continued to grow, and at the same time, his temperament changed, instantly transforming him into a gloomy character.

He successfully used his hair to conceal his face, so when he lowered his head and stood in the background of the camera, he could blend into the background.

Horiuchi Susumu was very satisfied with his look.

"What, let me see."

Aoki Shin walked over, rested his chin on his hand, Shuya thoughtfully. "Could you try letting the hair at the back grow a little longer?" he said.

"That's also possible...?"

Shuya wondered if this was really necessary. The character wasn't supposed to have long hair...

But he still let his hair grow.

"Longer... yes, longer, longer."

"No, this is way too long!"

Shuya shook his head; his hair was past his waist.

Horiuchi Susumu pondered for a moment and said, "That's about enough. Oh, and please take it back."

"?"

Shuya became increasingly puzzled.

Suddenly, Aoki Shin and Horiuchi Susumu happily high-fived each other:

"Yay! It's Shu-chan, who played Ikeda Ichinosuke back then!"

"Okay! Long-haired Shu-chan is so cute!"

"Hahahaha!" x2

The two of them laughed heartlessly.

Shuya spat out, "Damn it! You guys are just messing with me!"

He finally figured out their intentions.

The two middle-aged men initially checked that the character designs were correct, and then they just started playing around with the game.

"Shuya looks just like Shuko after he grew his hair long..."

Mai blurted out, then added quietly, "You'd be really cute in women's clothing."

"Crossing the women's clothing is impossible."

Shuya finished speaking, he pulled his hair back. Mai said disappointedly, "It's back to normal already?"

"Tsk."

"Hateful."

"Get out of here, go back to work."

Shuya dismissively told Aoki Shin and the others to leave.

They left helplessly and went to rest elsewhere.

However, Mai, still unwilling to give up, said to Shuya, "Why don't you change back again? I want to see..."

Time slipped away while I was slacking off.

This rehearsal wasn't as fast as yesterday's; the main actors and important supporting actors practiced from morning till night.

But Shuya and Mai could leave in the afternoon, since they really didn't have anything to do.

After Shuya and Mai finished filming what they needed, they left AOKI Company together.

After stepping outside the company, Mai stretched. "Hmm... phew! Today's rehearsal is done. Tomorrow's the outdoor dress rehearsal, I'm really looking forward to it."

"We haven't filmed a TV series in a long time."

Shuya nodded.

He was also somewhat looking forward to it; he quite liked acting, although he didn't have the same passion for it as Mai.

Mai said, "Alright, let's go check on Ayase and the others now."

Shuya nodded noncommittally and said:

"Then let's go."

The two reached a consensus and set off together towards the Unfinished Building.

Upon arriving at their destination, they still did not see Li Shuhong.

Ayase revealed the truth. "Teacher went to play in those weird places!"

Kirino nodded in agreement. "The teacher ran away a long time ago!"

Shuya asked in surprise, "You've called the teacher too?"

Good heavens, that bastard Li Shuhong is so gentle with pretty girls.

... What, he's like that too? Never mind then.