Chapter 121: Fifty Million from Scratch

When it comes to Saitama Prefecture, Ye Zhao can think of three things in an instant.

First, Kasukabe is the hometown of Shin-chan; second, it is rumored that the women in Saitama have the lowest average bust size in the country; and as for the third... it is Yuko Takeuchi, whom he happened to meet on the streets of Tokyo more than a year ago.

Among Japanese actresses, the one Ye Zhao likes most is definitely not Yuko Takeuchi. If it were his past self, even if he suddenly saw a drama or commercial starring her, he would only have a dull reaction like, "Oh..." If the plot of the drama wasn't compelling enough, he would silently change the channel to a program he preferred.

But after that chance encounter, Yuko Takeuchi suddenly became a little different in his heart. It wasn't that seeing her in person had stirred up some inexplicable feelings—Ye Zhao was not the type to believe in "love at first sight." It was just that whenever he recalled her words, "Perhaps one day, both our names will appear on the streets of Tokyo," he couldn't help but wonder when Yuko Takeuchi would finally come to Tokyo to begin her acting career.

If history followed its set trajectory, she would be scouted by Stardust Promotion while visiting Tokyo during summer vacation this year and would officially debut in 1996.

Since he was in Saitama, Ye Zhao couldn't help but wonder if he should try to find Yuko Takeuchi and bring her into the cast to make his dream "all-star" project even more perfect.

Of course, he never even considered signing her.

After all, even without his interference, with the strong backing of Stardust, Yuko Takeuchi would undoubtedly have a smooth and successful career. His agency simply lacked the resources to mold her into a top-tier actress, and forcing a contract would only end up hindering her future.

That was what Ye Zhao thought, and that was indeed what he tried to do. It just didn't yield any results.

He only knew that Yuko Takeuchi attended Saitama Prefectural Niiza Kita High School; as for which middle school she attended, he truly had no idea. After returning to Tokyo, he asked Takeda Jun to help him compile a list of middle schools in Tokorozawa City. However, there are over a hundred middle schools in Saitama Prefecture alone, and Tokorozawa, as the third-largest city in the prefecture, has about thirty. With only the name "Yuko Takeuchi" to go on, finding this specific person was truly an impossible fantasy.

With only three days left until the summer break began on July 20th, once school was out, there would be no chance to check them one by one. Although he knew she would be scouted by Stardust in Harajuku during this summer, the break would last until August 31st, and who knew which day it would actually happen?

On the afternoon he went to Saitama City to discuss location scouting, Yukihiko Tsutsumi and the NTV acting coach selected three girls from the applicants, waiting for Ye Zhao to return to make the final decision.

Because the search for Yuko Takeuchi had hit a dead end, a somewhat disappointed Ye Zhao picked up the application forms listlessly.

The first girl was named Junko Uchida, seventeen years old, from an obscure little agency. She had a pure look and a face similar in style to the popular actresses of the era, though judging by the completely unfamiliar name, she did not possess that same good fortune.

Flipping to the second, it was a twenty-year-old girl named Mayu Kurahashi from Watanabe Entertainment, whose resume included a few bit parts in television anthology dramas.

"Twenty already..." Ye Zhao frowned.

"Although she's a bit old, she has the best acting skills among these candidates," Tsutsumi explained. "Anyway, it's not over by much; we can be a little flexible with the age. Her appearance is quite youthful anyway."

Ye Zhao nodded and flipped to the third form... "Eh?"

"What is it?"

"No, nothing. Just think this girl is very pretty."

"Right? She's even prettier in person than in her photos, like a porcelain doll. Even for the role of Risa Iida, her appearance is more than enough," Tsutsumi said proudly. "The reason I kept her is because she really is beautiful. Although, her acting is the worst of the three."

That was perfectly normal, because she didn't need to rely on acting to make a living, Ye Zhao thought silently.

This beautiful girl, whom Tsutsumi remarked looked like a doll, had a name on her form... Ayumi. Not Ayumi Yoshida, not Ayumi Ishi, not Ayumi Okuda, but the Ayumi of Hamasaki Ayumi.

Yes, that phenomenal super diva from Fukuoka—who would go on to sell fifty million records, have diamond-encrusted toilets at home, be known by that certain beef-loving songstress, and have her face printed on the fifth season's drink cans—Ayumi Hamasaki. ...Although right now, she was just a small-time entertainer, struggling in bit roles in dramas, so miserable that she was ready to be packed off back to her hometown in Fukuoka at any moment.

Although a flood of thoughts about Ayumi Hamasaki instantly popped into Ye Zhao's head—including how fashionable she was, how well she sang, her stage presence, and her songwriting talent—he still unhesitatingly moved her form to the pile of those to be eliminated. There was no helping it; he really couldn't trust Hamasaki's acting.

Even if he wanted to satisfy his hobby of collecting "famous generals," he first had to consider how to select an actor capable of handling the role.

After comparing the files of Junko Uchida and Mayu Kurahashi, Ye Zhao finally chose Mayu Kurahashi for the role of Aya Sawajima. Judging by Tsutsumi's reaction, this seemed expected. However, despite eliminating Ayumi Hamasaki, Ye Zhao kept her file, thinking he might find a use for it in the future.

...

On the evening of July 22nd at 9:00 PM, the second episode of "The Kindaichi Case Files" aired as scheduled in NTV's Saturday 9 PM slot.

As a somewhat narcissistic person, Ye Zhao never felt the shame of being embarrassed to watch shows he had appeared in. Instead, he tuned the TV to NTV early, waiting to see the final product of his first acting performance.

Just as the screen showed his character, Eiji Tono, pretending to row out to sea to seek help in order to escape, a phone call came through to the landline in Ye Zhao's apartment.

"Moshi moshi..."

"Big brother, I never expected you to be this kind of person!" Ye Qing's indignant voice erupted from the phone.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I didn't think you'd play a brother who develops strange feelings for his sister. How disgusting!"

"No, that... the episode hasn't reached the end yet, has it? How do you know what kind of character I'm playing?"

"As an older brother, you don't even know your own sister is a fan of the Kindaichi manga. You're truly incompetent," Ye Qing lectured him with a pained tone.

"Sorry for being so incompetent," Ye Zhao twitched his lips. "So, you only watched this drama because you wanted to see the live-action version of your favorite manga?"

"Of course, and I watched it with a critical eye." At this, Ye Qing sighed. Ye Zhao could almost imagine her shaking her head in disappointment. "As a result, I didn't expect to see my own useless brother in the drama. Not only that, he turned out to be playing a sis-con serial killer."

"...That's enough of that."