Chapter 120: That Really Hurt

Although they were intimately familiar with each other in private, Ye Zhao and Yukie Nakama tacitly pretended to be strangers in such a setting.

After Yukie Nakama performed according to the prompt Yukihiko Tsutsumi had provided, she delivered a standard, professional audition. Once she had left the room, Tsutsumi commented with clear satisfaction, "That girl gave a very solid performance. She handles a role with a touch of adult maturity quite convincingly."

"Since you're so taken with her, don't forget to recommend her to the producers if any suitable roles come up in the future," Ye Zhao said with a playful tone.

"You’re certainly quite invested, aren't you?" Tsutsumi teased. "Come to think of it, you've seen quite a few cute and beautiful girls during the recent auditions. Has there been any moment where your heart skipped a beat, Ye-kun?"

"Regrettably, not at all," Ye Zhao said, spreading his hands.

"Really?" Tsutsumi seemed unsatisfied with this answer and pressed further, "Then who is your ideal type?"

"Tsutsumi-san, have you been drinking today?"

"What does it matter? The auditions have been dragging on for so long, we might as well relax a little."

*So your way of relaxing is to use me as a side dish for your drinking?* Ye Zhao thought to himself, but aloud he replied, "My ideal type? That goes without saying—number one is definitely Sayuri Yoshinaga-san. When I was a little kid, I thought people on television didn't age, so I dreamt of marrying Sayuri Yoshinaga-san when I grew up. After that dream was shattered, the next ones I fell for were Reiko Takashima-san and Akina Nakamori-san."

"Ye-kun, are you really only twenty?" Tsutsumi frowned, looking at him with suspicion.

"In that case, Ye-kun, are you on Team Akina?" the NTV acting coach chimed in at the perfect moment.

Ye Zhao nodded. "That's right. Akina-san is truly magnetic; she is a person born for the stage."

"Akina-san is cool, I'll give you that, but I was a die-hard Team Seiko back then because Seiko-san was just too adorable... And by the way, between Momoe Yamaguchi-san and Junko Sakurada-san, I was definitely Team Junko."

"If it’s those two, I’m absolutely Team Momoe." Momoe Yamaguchi had transcended the status of a mere idol; especially in the hearts of the public, she and Junko Igarashi were icons of an era.

Tsutsumi interrupted them with a wry smile. "If you two keep going, you're going to end up in a brawl."

The level of incompatibility in their tastes was comparable to 2010s Morning Musume fans debating sales with AKB48 fans, or fans of Lin Daiyu arguing with fans of Xue Baochai over *Dream of the Red Chamber*, or Barcelona fans bumping into Real Madrid supporters.

...

The auditions proceeded steadily. Beyond selecting the main cast, minor roles were also quickly decided during the process. By the morning of the third day, the only major role left on the list before the three judges was Sanae.

Sanae, who possessed both good looks and decent grades, had some reason for her arrogance. However, while she sat high in the hierarchy of the girls' group, she was always a step below Risa Iida, forcing her to act as a sycophant just like those who followed Kirishima. On one hand, she acted with pathetic submissiveness toward her boyfriend; on the other, she displayed an unpleasant haughtiness toward her suitors. It could be said that among the four main female characters, she was the least likable, yet she was also the most realistic.

"Alright, thank you. We will notify you if there is any news," Tsutsumi said politely, rubbing his temples.

Standing in the center of the room was a seventeen-year-old girl from a small, obscure agency who was currently working hard as an idol. Having just delivered a disastrous performance, she knew her audition had failed and walked out of the room looking somewhat dejected.

"I'll leave the afternoon interviews to you and Nakajima-san, Tsutsumi-san," Ye Zhao said.

"Why?" Tsutsumi looked at him.

"I’ve found a lead on a school for our location shoot. I need to go inspect it this afternoon."

...

The school that Toshun Takeda had finally secured was the Omiya Chuo Prefectural High School in Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture.

Located in the Omiya ward, it was quite accessible from Tokyo. Of course, if the crew wanted to borrow the school, they had to sign a very strict agreement: usage of club facilities required supervision by school staff, no entry into teaching areas without permission, all personnel had to be registered, and they had to leave the premises by 6:00 PM.

This was understandable; after all, it was a school, and it was only normal to be strict about outsiders filming there. After learning the general situation from Takeda’s verbal report, Ye Zhao took advantage of the weekend afternoon when the students were away to visit Omiya Chuo High with Takeda. The school had been built decades ago; the facilities and paths were aged, and the concrete leading to the school building even had cracks—it had the distinct feel of a rural high school.

"This is a great place," Ye Zhao remarked as they walked behind the lab building, looking at the mountain behind the school hidden by trees.

"Okada-sensei, the main cast will be undergoing a month-long training camp here. During this time, they will strictly follow the club divisions as shown in the movie. The production really needs a large number of students to help out. Could you please inform the students before the summer break starts? If any are interested, they are welcome to come and join the practice."

"I see. We will mention it to the students during homeroom, but I can't guarantee how many will actually show up."

...

After signing the agreement in the principal's office, Ye Zhao and Takeda walked out of the school.

"Deciding on the main location makes me feel a bit relieved," Ye Zhao exhaled, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Before he knew it, summer had arrived.

"We're far from done. The school's club activities aren't very diverse. We won't be able to carry some of the scenes with these students alone. We'll definitely need the cooperation of other schools later. And the locations—we still need to find suitable schools for the reshoots, not to mention the cram schools and movie theaters."

Takeda, as always, was a master at throwing cold water on things. "If this were a film focused on interior shots, we could handle most of it in a studio... You don't realize until you start, but you've taken on such a troublesome project, Ye Zhao-san. Just the expenses for these logistics are a huge amount of capital. I’m starting to worry if the one hundred million yen investment will even be enough."

"I'm sorry for the trouble, Takeda-san," Ye Zhao said humbly. "But the press conference has been held, the auditions are underway, and the locations are set; there’s no turning back now. As for the budget, we'll just have to be frugal. Fortunately, the cast is composed of newcomers, so the payroll expenses are manageable."

"If you mess this up, I'm quitting, you know."

"Takeda-san, at a time like this, even just for the sake of humanity, you should be encouraging me."

Takeda shook his head. "Ye Zhao-san is not the type of person who needs encouragement."

...That hurts, Takeda-san.