Reborn into this world through reincarnation and growing up smoothly to this day, he had truly received help from quite a few people.
From the relief agency that took him in during his early childhood to the orphanage afterward…
Nowadays, the orphanage over there was in disrepair and facing tight finances.
As a proper, pure-bred Chinese man who had received a formal education, weeping and throwing a tantrum here in front of two little girls whose ages did not even add up to 18, would that look far too ugly?
He definitely had to become famous!
And he definitely had to make a lot of money!
And right now, in front of him, lay the audition opportunity for the ‘Protagonist’.
Therefore, not giving it his all was absolutely out of the question!
Even if there was only a one percent chance.
Not giving his all was still out of the question!
Even if the outcome was already predetermined, he still had to exert his utmost effort!
Therefore—
“Next!
Northern Child Actor Agency, Yuji!
Get ready!”
A call came from above.
“Yes!”
Yuji acknowledged the call and stepped onto the audition stage without a trace of hesitation under the gaze of Sakurajima Mai and Kana.
Acting, LV8.
Trait: Born Star
Below that was a line of notes.
(This is the result of your hard work.
Day and night, you have polished your Acting, and without a doubt, you are a truly dazzling star.
The moment you step onto the Acting stage, your Acting will capture everyone’s attention.)
…
What on earth did he want to do when he first entered the industry?
Yamashita Keiji, who had been in the industry for over a decade, might have completely forgotten this point.
No…
perhaps it was simply that he did not want to recall it.
When he first entered the industry, he was full of passion and loved life.
Back then, he was so young.
He wanted to do what he wanted to do.
He wanted to write the stories he wanted to write.
But while ideals were so full, reality was so harsh.
After entering the industry, he finally understood.
This industry was far dirtier than he had imagined.
Off-market deals happened frequently.
Unspoken rules, pillow business…
Large companies funding their own cast forced him, the screenwriter, to change the script, and unreasonably crammed characters full of a sense of incongruity into his script.
This industry was like a monster with a gaping pitch-black mouth that ate people.
It opened its huge mouth, swallowed him whole, chewed him around clumsily, and spat him back out.
On the surface, he seemed completely unchanged.
But in reality, if one looked closely again…
He was actually long gone from being his former self.
He had lost his former self, and he had lost all his passion.
He was merely mechanically and haphazardly writing some scripts he did not want to write.
At the end of the day…
“Is there really any need to hold this audition?”
Looking at the innocent eyes of the child actors below, Yamashita Keiji tightened his grip on the ballpoint pen in his hand.
As for the result of the audition, the producer, director, and even him as the screenwriter already had the answer long ago.
The female lead would be chosen between Kana and Sakurajima Mai.
As for the male lead, it had long been predetermined for Kobayashi Ryuki.
Everything right now was merely to shut the outside world’s mouth and give the outside world the feeling of ‘Look, our casting was legitimately chosen through an audition.’
Hypocrisy.
The palm holding the ballpoint pen was still exerting force.
But it quickly relaxed.
Yamashita Keiji wore a self-deprecating smile, already feeling somewhat numb.
To put it bluntly.
What could he possibly do anyway?
Might as well straighten out his expression again and not let the media interviewing outside catch any flaws in his facial expression.
“Next!
Northern Child Actor Agency, Yuji!
Get ready!”
“Yes!”
The voice of the staff member calling out the number came from ahead.
Yuji…?
That name was quite rare.
Yamashita Keiji propped his face up out of boredom, watching the little boy named Yuji walking up from below.
Skin that revealed a healthy, faint pinkish white, an appearance far more handsome than child actors of the same age, jet-black short hair, and clean, clear eyes hidden beneath that forest of short hair…
To be honest, in terms of appearance, this child actor named Yuji completely passed the bar.
If his Acting was good, maybe he really would have a chance.
However—
“What use would that be?”
The expression of Yamashita Keiji was numb.
The predetermined role had already become a fact.
No matter how perfectly the child in front of him performed or how moving it was, it could not change the fact that capital was operating behind the scenes.
Therefore…
the performance and efforts of the other party were completely meaningless.
But this was, after all, an audition.
He still feigned a lift in spirit, putting on a serious expression as he watched the performance of Yuji before him.
As he watched and watched, he discovered something.
Something was wrong…
Something was very wrong.
The numbness on the face of Yamashita Keiji slowly dissipated.
Replaced by an expression of slight astonishment with his eyes widened.
Because it was only until this moment that he realized…
Not just him.
Even the director and producer on the other side…
Their eyes…
Could not look away anymore.