dmims Page 135
Page 135
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
He took it out and saw that it was a message from Kasumigaoka Utaha.
[Xia Shizi: I've noted down tonight's reward for you, junior. We'll have to have a serious talk sooner or later.]
Yuto shook his head with a wry smile.
Before he could reply, another message popped up, from Mai Sakurajima.
[Sakurajima Mai: I had a great time today. Thank you for your hospitality, Director. Goodnight.]
Yuto felt his head start to hurt again.
He stood up, went out onto the balcony, and wanted to get some fresh air to clear his head.
In the Tokyo night sky, the starlight was swallowed up by the city's neon lights, leaving only a few faint lights twinkling.
……
……
The cultural festival's popularity continued to grow in an unexpected way over the next week.
The incident began when someone edited out a short clip of Mai Sakurajima from the film "Echoes," which lasted only a dozen seconds, and uploaded it to a video website.
The title is quite sensational: "Explosive Acting Skills! National Idol Mai Sakurajima Shows You True Horror with Just One Glance!"
This video went viral overnight.
The number of clicks went from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, and then to over a million.
In the comments section, besides the fans' usual "Mai-chan is the best" comments, there were many passersby who were amazed by the scene.
"Holy crap! Is this really a student film? The nuances in those eyes are way better than any of today's so-called actresses!"
"I came to see the pretty girls, but I was so scared that I almost threw my phone away."
"I need the full version! Toyonosaki Academy, right? Is it too late for me to transfer schools now?"
The incident was quickly picked up by major entertainment gossip websites.
On Wednesday morning, a report titled "The Hibernation and Return of a Genius Actress! Mai Sakurajima Displays God-Level Acting Skills Again in a School Film!" made headlines in the entertainment sections of several mainstream online media outlets.
The entire report praised Mai Sakurajima's acting talent, describing her role in the student film as "a trial before the return of a queen" and "a gem whose brilliance cannot be hidden even in the sand."
The article was written with the utmost praise.
However, in this lengthy report, the film itself, as well as the director, screenwriter, and other actors, were only mentioned briefly as "a campus production led by students."
It's as if the success of the entire movie was solely to highlight Mai Sakurajima.
On Wednesday, during club activities, the atmosphere in the activity room was unusually tense.
"What does 'shining light cannot be hidden even in sand' mean? Does it mean we are sand?!"
Eriri slammed the tablet down on the table, her face flushed red with anger, and her golden twin tails trembled.
"The monster I painstakingly drew, the special effects I stayed up several nights working on, and all I got were 'gravel' to highlight her? Why?!"
She felt she had been greatly insulted.
Her hard work, her talent, and everything she was proud of were all lightly erased by this article.
"Calm down, Sawamura-kun." Kasumigaoka Utaha crossed her arms, her face also looking unwell, but her tone remained relatively calm.
"This was expected. The media always chases traffic and topics. A national idol is far more newsworthy than us nobody."
"Our story, in their eyes, is nothing more than an interesting footnote to her resume."
Her words, though harsh, were a sharp and incisive reflection of reality.
“But…” Eriri bit her lip, her eyes reddening, “But this isn’t fair!”
"There is no absolute fairness in this world," Shi Yu said coldly.
This time, even she herself couldn't maintain her elegance.
The script that she and Yuto had polished repeatedly and poured countless efforts into was not even mentioned by name in the report, which made her feel a sense of being ignored and angry.
Kato Megumi stood silently by, quietly pouring Eriri a glass of water and gently pushing it to her side.
Yuto didn't say a word from beginning to end; he just stared at the report with a furrowed brow.
He could understand how the media worked, but he couldn't accept that his friends and colleagues' hard work and talent were being so arrogantly trampled on.
Eriri's paintings form the skeleton of the film.
Shiyu's script is the soul of the film.
Without them, there would be no "Echo".
"Jingle Bell--"
Just then, Yuto's phone rang.
The caller ID showed "Sakurajima Mai".
He walked outside the event room and pressed the answer button.
"Yuto, I'm sorry!" Mai's apologetic voice came through the phone as soon as it connected. "You saw the reports online, right? That wasn't my intention. I suspect it was someone from my agency who did it..."
Her voice sounded frustrated and anxious.
“I know,” Yuto interrupted her. “I’m not blaming you.”
"But Eriri-san and Kasumigaoka-san..."
"They just need some time to process this." Yuto sighed, looking at the two sulking figures in the activity room.
“Mai-senpai, you don’t need to blame yourself. You are also a victim in this matter.”
This report, seemingly praising her, actually placed her in an unjust position, creating a rift between her and her entire team.
"I've already had my assistant contact those media outlets, hoping they can issue a clarification statement..."
“It’s useless.” Yuto knew very well that once the hype started, clarifying would be tantamount to covering up, and would only make things worse. “Besides, we don’t need their ‘clarification’.”
"That……"
“We have our own channels of communication.” Yuto’s tone became firm.
After hanging up the phone, he went back into the activity room.
"Eri, Utaha-senpai." He looked at the two of them. "Do you remember the school's news club that interviewed us after the cultural festival?"
The two of them looked up at the same time, staring at him in confusion.
“I’m going to write a ‘Director’s Notes’.” Yuto’s voice wasn’t loud, but every word was firm and resolute.
"I want to write down everything about 'Echo,' from the initial conception to the creation of the script, the design of each character, the filming of each scene, all the difficulties we encountered, and how we solved them."
"I want to tell everyone that this film is the culmination of everyone's hard work."
He walked up to Eriri and picked up her artbook.
“I want to tell them that this monster called ‘Fear’ was created by the genius artist ‘Eri Kashiwagi’—no, by our Eriri Sawamura from Toyonosaki. Every arm and every line of its body is a testament to her talent and hard work.”
He then turned to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"I also want to tell them that this story called 'Echo' was co-authored with the bestselling author 'Kasumigaoka Shiho,' a talented girl whom our school is proud of, and myself."
“Every plot twist and every line of dialogue in the story shines with the light of her wisdom.”
"And Kato, she is our strongest support. And Kohei, Yoshihiko, and all the classmates who participated in the film, without them, there would be no film."
His gaze swept over everyone present before finally settling back on the tablet computer on the table.
"If the media wants to see a hero's solo performance, then we will show them the whole stage."
The oppressive atmosphere in the activity room was instantly dispelled.
Eriri stared at him blankly, something glistening in her reddened eyes.
Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled gently. "Hmph, you're only praising me now? Too late."
She said this, but she had already walked to the desk, opened her laptop, and said, "Send me the first draft of your notes, and I'll help you polish it so that your elementary school-like writing won't embarrass our entire crew."
"Hey! My writing style doesn't sound like that of an elementary school student at all!"
"Then prove it to me, Director Itsuka?"
……
Volume 1: Chapter 134: Aoyama and Nanami in the Real World
The "Director's Notes," primarily written by Yuto Itsuka and polished by Utaha Kasumigaoka, was eventually published on the official forum of Toyonosaki Academy.
The article recounts in a simple and straightforward manner how "Echo" gradually transformed from a vague idea into reality.
The initial inspiration came from a 'Turtle Soup' game during a club activity. When those eerie and ingenious stories were pieced together from the mouths of Kasumigaoka-senpai, Sawamura-senpai, and Kato-kun, I realized that true terror doesn't come from external ghosts, but from the echoes within the human heart.
The creation of this script was a collaborative effort between me and my senior, Kasumigaoka. She used the most scathing language to dissect every flaw in my first draft, then stitched them together into a work of art. Half of the story's soul belongs to her.
When words needed to be transformed into images, Sawamura-senpai displayed her genius as the ace of the art club. That faceless monster was drawn by her after three sleepless nights, using up half a box of pencils.
We don't have professional actors, but we have the most dedicated classmates. We don't have a large budget, but we have Kato Megumi's excellent logistical support. She's always there to help everyone when they need it most; she's the cornerstone of everything.
Finally, I want to thank Mai Sakurajima; her participation brought this student work to a reasonably professional level. But she is not the only star; in the night sky of *Echoes*, each of us is a shining star.
This journal entry sparked drastically different reactions in the pool of public opinion.
Those netizens who were drawn in by the "national idol" aura saw the story behind the aura for the first time.
They saw a team full of talent and skill, saw Kasumigaoka Utaha's wisdom, saw Eriri's hard work, and saw the efforts of every participant.
"I take back what I said before. This movie is awesome, not because of Mai Sakurajima alone, but because of the awesomeness of this whole group of people!"
"Holy crap, that monster was drawn by that blonde with twin tails?! I'm in love!"
"Kasumi Shiko? Is that the Kasumi Shiko who wrote 'Love Metronome'? No wonder the script was so amazing!"
"This is what youth is all about! I want to make a movie like this too!"
The wind direction completely reversed overnight.
The previous report praising Mai Sakurajima now seems like a joke.
Eriri hugged her tablet, flipping through the comments section filled with praise for her. Her face was flushed, and the corners of her mouth were turned up in a crazy smile, but she still stubbornly snorted, "Hmph, these mortals are only now realizing how to appreciate my talent. They're so slow."
Kasumigaoka Utaha, with a victor's smile, said to Yuuto in a low voice, "Considering you have some writing skills, and you wrote me so brilliantly, I'll forgive you this time, junior."
The gloom brought about by that report was dispelled by their own hands.
Li Yilin??〒「h七污韭Q〇司&'8"……
Just as the hype surrounding "Echoes" was beginning to die down, a phone call disrupted Yuto's daily routine.
The caller ID reads "Machida Sonoko".
"Itsuka-sensei, I have some good news for you." Machida Sonoko's voice sounded as capable as ever. "The anime adaptation of 'Farming King' is going to be accelerated."
"Accelerate?" Yuto was somewhat surprised.
“That’s right. Because of the success of Echoes, the higher-ups at Shinazugawa and the animation production team have seen your enormous potential as a creator. They think we should strike while the iron is hot.” Machida Sonoko paused and dropped a bombshell.
"The animation production committee has decided to move the release date from next fall to spring, and the initial selection process for voice actors has already begun."
Yuto's heart skipped a beat.
Voice actors...
“As the original author, the production team highly respects your opinion,” Machida Sonoko implied in her words.
"In a few days, I will send you the information and audition clips of the first batch of candidate voice actors. You have the right to make your own suggestions, and these suggestions... will be quite important."
After hanging up the phone, Yuto sat at his desk, motionless for a long time.
He remembered the stubborn and hardworking girl in the simulated world.
Nanami Aoyama, the Kansai girl who worked tirelessly to pursue her dream of becoming a voice actress, even going hungry to attend training classes and practicing standard Mandarin in front of a tiger body pillow.
In the end, he didn't get to see her stand on the stage of her dreams.
This became a minor regret in his heart.
In the real world, is she also struggling along this path?