The crystal-clear azure pupils widened at this moment.
The bright colors flashing within them were as if someone had crushed stardust and sprinkled it in.
“That is the ‘real deal’, a true…
‘real deal’ just like Ai…”
Standing outside the scene, Hoshino Aqua, gazing afar at the filming location, thought this.
Near-perfect expression.
Body language that richly expressed emotions.
Emotional management without a shred of stage fright typical of child actors.
It was the real deal.
Undoubtedly the real deal.
But at the same time…
Hoshino Aqua didn’t speak, only lowered his head.
His nails sank deeply into his flesh, bringing a hint of pain.
A blazing, tearing pain that made his chest twitch surged in his heart.
Hoshino Aqua knew.
This emotion was called unwillingness.
Yes.
As a reincarnator with memories of two lives, he felt heartfelt happiness that his adoptive mother, Saitou Miyako, had found such a talent.
But at the same time, his heart also felt a strong emotion of unwillingness.
This was human nature.
After all, any actor seeing Yuji’s Acting would probably have such an emotion emerge in their heart—he acts really too well.
Let alone Hoshino Aqua, who had also been working hard all along but could only stop here.
Probably…
he was going to disappoint Ai…
On Hoshino Aqua’s handsome and cute face remained that indifferent, expressionless look, and he thought to himself.
[Berry Pro] was just a small agency.
The child actor job opportunities he could get were few and far between.
In the past, because the agency did not have any suitable child actors,
Saitou Miyako poured all her resources into him.
But now, a prodigious talent like Yuji had arrived.
Without even needing to think, from now on, Saitou Miyako would definitely tilt all of [Berry Pro]’s resources toward Yuji.
The resources that belonged to him would probably all be taken away by Yuji.
But that was only natural.
After all, this was the best outcome for the current [Berry Pro].
Hoshino Aqua shook his head.
Regarding this, he did not actually have any objections.
After all, his talent as an actor was not that outstanding, a fact he had gradually accepted over the past two years.
And the industry was just like this.
It was only natural for people without talent to make way for talented people.
It is just…
“I suppose I am still a bit unwilling, Ai.”
Pulling out his phone and tapping on the screen, he looked at the black-haired girl with the perfect smile on it.
Hoshino Aqua took a deep breath, whispered an apology to the person in the photo, put his phone away, and walked toward the direction of the lounge.
Let the matter of becoming an actor end here.
This was the rational and reasonable choice Hoshino Aqua had made.
But…
The moment he stepped into the staff lounge.
The originally bright blue eyes were instantly enveloped in pitch black.
Hoshino Aqua fished another pink phone out from inside his jacket.
Unlike the previous smartphone,
This phone of his was an older model flip phone, with a B-Komachi merchandise charm hanging from it.
And what came next had nothing to do with being an actor…
Hoshino Aqua placed his finger on the flip phone number 9 key and tried to unlock it in silence.
He had to…
he had to find that person who leaked Hoshino Ai’s address…
yet was still living comfortably in the industry today…
A child-unlike malicious and cruel feeling flashed across his face.
And then…
make that person die in endless torment!
Click.
Click.
Click.
Every single time he pressed a key,
Hoshino Aqua felt a sense of nausea rising from the pit of his stomach.
Because with every press of a button, his mind involuntarily brought him back to that day.
The day Ai died!
It hurts so much!
The more he pressed the buttons, the more his fingertips could feel the warm, sticky texture of Ai’s blood.
It is so agonizing!
It is so disgusting!
But this is enough!
His eyes were ferocious.
This was not only the process of finding the killer of Hoshino Ai,
But also his own self-torture!
He hated himself!
Why could he not save Ai!
Why could he only watch Ai die against his chest!
If he had done that back then, if he had done this back then…
would the result have been better?
He had fantasized like this more than once.
But after the fantasy came an even more intense pain.
His breathing became rapid, and sweat soaked his spine.
Even the fingers trying to input the password on the keypad gradually came to a halt.
Just as he gritted his teeth, suppressed the nausea in his stomach, and prepared to continue pressing the keys to try the password—
“You are still doing this kind of thing, Hoshino Aquamarine…
or rather…
Hoshino Aqua.”
A voice suddenly rang out in front of him.
Hoshino Aqua’s fingers stopped, and he instinctively raised his head.
Standing before him was the black-haired boy who had already removed his makeup.
Those pitch-black eyes were blinking unblinkingly, as if they could see right through his heart.
It was none other than Yuji.
“You…”
Hoshino Aqua opened his mouth, surprised as to why the other person would appear here.
But the other person spoke as if reading his thoughts, talking almost to himself: “Ah…
The scenes I am responsible for are not that difficult, and there are only two scenes to shoot today, which does not take much time at all…”
At this point, his voice paused.
“As for Aunt Kyoko, she should be discussing my remuneration with Director Gotanda right now, so I came over first.”
So that is how it was…
Hoshino Aqua managed to stand up from the floor.
“…” Yuji.
Looking at the pale-faced Hoshino Aqua, Yuji let out a ‘ha’ breath, looking somewhat speechless yet somewhat pitiful.
Seeing this expression, Hoshino Aqua instinctively felt that something was wrong.
Because just from the fleeting change in expression on Yuji’s face before him, he realized something—this child actor in front of him who gave him such an uncanny feeling…
did not seem like an 8-year-old child at all.
However, soon enough, the other person did something that left him even more unable to react.
Because Yuji actually reached out his hand expressionlessly right in front of him.
“Give me your phone.”
“Wh—?”
Hoshino Aqua was usually the type with an indifferent demeanor and emotions, but upon hearing Yuji’s sudden words, he could not help but frown.
After all, this was Hoshino Ai’s phone, and it very likely harbored information about the killer of Hoshino Ai.
He gripped Hoshino Ai’s phone tightly, preparing to ask what purpose the other person had.
But—
“Just give it to me.”
The moment those words fell,
The next second, Hoshino Aqua felt an indescribable, immense force coming from his palm.
Immediately following that, he felt something in his hand being taken away by the other person.
“What are you doing?!”
At this point, even the usually indifferent Hoshino Aqua was somewhat unable to control his emotions.
If the other person were to do something to Hoshino Ai’s phone…
At the thought of this possibility, Hoshino Aqua stepped forward almost without hesitation, wanting to make a move.
However, the next second.
“Alright, here is your phone back.”
There was no snatching, nor any violence; the moment he took a step forward, Hoshino Ai’s phone, which he regarded as his emotional sustenance, was shoved back into his hand by the other person.
But that was not all.
Looking at the already unlocked phone in front of him, Hoshino Aqua’s pupils constricted slightly from excessive shock.
Hoshino Ai’s phone password was 5 digits in total.
And for two years, even after brute-forcing to crack Hoshino Ai’s phone password, he had been unable to enter this standby screen.
Yet the child actor in front of him had entered the password in less than a second.
This…
was as if…
the other person knew the password from the very beginning.
Hoshino Aqua raised his head, his usually steady and indifferent gaze looking at Yuji in bewilderment.
Under his gaze,
The little child actor before him had already slowly sat down in front of him, and while sitting down, raised his gaze, also looking sideways at him.
“Stop playing with your phone for now.”
Left foot crossed over right foot, toes slightly raised.
“I have something to talk to you about.”
Raising a palm to support his fair cheek,
“Anyway, sit down first.”
Raising a finger, pointing to the empty seat beside him.
“Hoshino Aqua.”
Yuji said so.