69novels Page 148
Page 148
Her fingertips were icy cold, yet the sensation was exceptionally clear through the thin school uniform shirt.
Yuto felt as if a mark had been branded onto his shoulder.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew in from the window, stirring a strand of Shiyu's long hair, which brushed against Yuto's cheek.
It's itchy, with a cool sensation on my hair.
Yuto instinctively tried to dodge, but his body was unable to move.
He could only remain stiff in that position, letting the strand of hair gently scratch his face.
Shiyu seemed to sense it too; her eyelashes trembled slightly, but she maintained her haughty demeanor. However, the hand on Yuuto's shoulder unconsciously tightened a little.
This scene was so ambiguous that it made the air thick and sticky.
In the corner, Kato Megumi was silently writing something in her notebook, her pen nib making a soft rustling sound as it glided across the paper.
Mai Sakurajima, meanwhile, rested her chin on her hand, watching all of this with great interest, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
Eriri clutched her easel tightly, her fingernails almost digging into the wood. She stared intently at the two people on the sofa, her blue eyes burning with intense jealousy.
"Great! Fantastic!" The photographer's voice shattered the eerie balance. "This tension! This sense of taboo! The attraction and repulsion between geniuses! This is the feeling I wanted!"
Yuto felt like he was suffocating.
He had to admit that the photographer was indeed a professional.
He accurately grasped the core contradiction within the team and amplified it to an extreme degree.
This isn't just taking PR photos; it's practically a public execution.
Yuto wailed inwardly.
He began to wonder whether Kato Megumi's proposal was actually saving the team or pushing him deeper into a fire.
He can only rely on the acting skills he honed through simulations to force himself into director mode.
He began discussing a detail in the script with Shiyu, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for those around them to hear.
His expression became focused and serious, as if he were truly immersed in the world of creation, ignoring the almost inappropriate distance between the two of them.
Shiyu immediately realized what was happening. She composed herself and began to cooperate with Yuto's performance. The two of them talked back and forth, debating the psychological motivations of their characters.
Their competition, under Yuto's skillful guidance, transformed once again into a highly focused interaction.
The photographer's shutter clicked even faster as he excitedly moved around the scene, capturing every angle and every moment.
He knew that today, he had captured one of the most satisfying shots of his career.
The filming ended in a state of extreme mental and physical exhaustion.
When the photographer shouted "That's a wrap!" with satisfaction, Yuuto, Utaha, and Eriri all breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had just finished a tough battle.
"Fantastic, everyone!" The mustachioed photographer excitedly flipped through the original photos on his camera, praising them endlessly. "I guarantee that once these photos are released, they will definitely cause a sensation! I have perfectly captured the charm of these geniuses!"
He turned the camera screen towards the crowd, showing them one of his favorite photos.
It was a photo of three people.
The composition of the image is extremely impactful.
Yuto sat in the middle, his brows furrowed, his eyes revealing a torn pain and helplessness.
To his left was Kasumigaoka Utaha, leaning closer, one hand on Yuto's shoulder, her eyes haughty and sharp, as if declaring ownership.
To his right was Eriri, who was also standing close by. She held her easel in both hands, stubbornly tilted her head back, and glared at Shiho with eyes full of vigilance and resentment.
Light shone from one side, creating a distinct boundary between light and shadow between the three, which heightened the tense atmosphere of impending conflict.
However, strangely, despite the conflicting scenes, there is a peculiar harmony and beauty.
Although their eyes were both on each other, their bodies were all tilted towards Yuto in the center, forming a stable triangle.
This is indeed a photo full of "storytelling".
"How about it?" the photographer asked smugly. "Isn't this exactly the 'collision of geniuses working towards a common goal' you wanted? Perfect!"
Utaha and Eriri looked at the photo with somewhat complicated expressions.
They saw themselves in the photo, full of possessiveness and competitiveness, and they also saw Yuto, who was caught in the middle and looked somewhat helpless.
Embarrassment, shame, and a hint of... secret delight.
At least, in the photo, I am one of the people closest to him.
"Well... it's alright, I guess." Eriri turned her head and said softly.
"The composition is acceptable, and the emotional expression is also quite good." Shi Yu gave a relatively professional evaluation, but her slightly red ears betrayed her true feelings.
Kato Megumi stepped forward, calmly looked at the photo, and then nodded: "Yes, this photo conveys the core concept of the project very well. Thank you for your hard work, photographer."
Her tone remained as calm as ever, as if the dramatic emotional storm depicted in the photo had nothing to do with her.
Looking at the photo, Yuto felt a wave of nausea wash over him.
He smiled wryly and said to the photographer, "It was really great, thank you for your hard work."
That damn PR effect was definitely achieved.
……
The photo received an even stronger response than expected after it was released.
That intense three-person group photo was widely reposted by major anime news websites, with all sorts of titles—"The Triangle of Geniuses: The Sparks Behind Creation!" and "A Battleground of Love and Talent! Exclusive Reveal of Production Secrets."
The comments section exploded.
"Holy crap! This photo is amazing! Kasumi Shiko's gaze is so powerful, she exudes queen-like aura!"
"Eri Kashiwagi is just as good! That stubbornness and never-give-up attitude is textbook tsundere!"
"Am I the only one who feels sorry for the beautiful girl knight teacher in the middle? She looks like she's been drained dry (doge)."
"This isn't creation, this is war! It's a fight for the one and only director (the man)!"
"I hereby declare that from today onwards, I am an 'ALL party'! Children make choices, adults want it all!"
Public opinion was completely swayed in another direction.
The original "love quadrangle" gossip was successfully whitewashed by this photo, and sublimated into a creative holy war surrounding a genius director.
The names of Yuto, Utaha, and Eriri are closely linked, becoming a golden triangle that fans love to talk about.
The crisis seemed to have been resolved, and it even brought unprecedented popularity to the work.
Everyone on the team breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Yuto himself was not happy at all.
That evening, he received a private email from the photographer.
[Theme: A Small Gift]
Yuto opened the email with a puzzled look; it contained only a meticulously edited photo as an attachment.
He downloaded it and opened it.
The composition of the photo is the same as the one that was released before, but the details and lighting are handled more delicately, and the emotions are more... straightforward.
In the photo, he is still sandwiched between Shiha and Eriri.
This time, however, the photographer cleverly used post-processing to soften their hostility towards each other and instead amplify their gazes towards him.
Shi Yu's eyes held a newfound tenderness and aggression, a look of unwavering determination.
Eriri's eyes were no longer simply stubborn, but filled with dependence, grievance, and an unwavering determination to let go.
Their gazes were fixed firmly on him in the center.
He saved the photo and then quietly set it as his phone wallpaper.
Perhaps, he can no longer escape.
Since this chaotic scene was destined to be witnessed by everyone, he, being at the center of it, could only... play along to the end.
……
Volume 1: Chapter 141: Premiere
The second hand of the clock ticked almost imperceptibly against the wall, striking the hearts of everyone in Itsuka Yuto's living room.
There are only three hours left until the premiere of the anime "I Am the Strongest Farmer in Another World".
Yuto Itsuka unlocked his phone for the seventeenth time and refreshed his social media.
Aside from a few daily comments from fans urging for more updates and the countdown posters released by the official account, there's nothing new.
He irritably threw his phone to the other side of the sofa, but couldn't resist peeking at it the next second.
“I’m telling you, if you keep fidgeting like this, you’ll wear a hole through the sofa.”
The one speaking was Eriri, who was curled up in a single sofa.
She was holding a body pillow with a chibi-style character drawn on it, her legs crossed in front of her, her golden twin ponytails slightly disheveled, clearly indicating that she was in a state of extreme anxiety.
Her gaze was fixed on the television screen, where the final version of the animation's promotional video was playing on a loop.
"Aren't the lines here too thick? It doesn't seem to fully capture Anna's fragility... And the lighting in the background, isn't it a bit overexposed? What if the audience thinks my art style ruins the original work?" She muttered to herself, as if asking someone else, or perhaps torturing herself.
"Don't worry, Eriri's painting is perfect." A calm yet reassuring voice came from the kitchen.
Kato Megumi came out carrying a plate of sliced apples and placed it on the coffee table.
She was wearing simple loungewear, her hair casually tied back, and her face remained calm and composed, as if tonight was just an ordinary Friday.
She walked to the TV, picked up the remote, and paused the PV on the frame that Eriri was most conflicted about. "See, isn't it fine?"
Eriri stared blankly at the screen for a long time before finally letting out a reluctant hum: "Hmph, well, you do have some good taste... but I still can't rest easy."
"Ding dong."
My phone beeped; it was the club's chat group.
"Xia Shizi: @All members, there are two hours and fifty-eight minutes left. The moment that will decide whether we are remembered in history or infamous for eternity is approaching. Is that original author, whose talent has been completely drained, hiding in a corner trembling with fear right now?"
Eriri immediately grabbed her phone and quickly typed a retort:
"Eriri: What do you know, you scheming woman who only knows how to talk big! Yuto isn't trembling! He's perfectly fine! But you, don't cry if the audience criticizes the pacing of the script!"
"Xia Shizi: Hehe, my script is the skeleton of the work, while someone's painting is just some flashy but empty flesh. If the skeleton is gone, where will the flesh attach? I'm sure the blond loser can't understand this principle."
Eriri: You—!
Eriri was so angry that her face turned red, and she was about to start a new round of keyboard war.
"Alright, alright." Itsuka Yuto helplessly took her phone. "What time is it? You still have the energy to argue."
As he watched the heated exchanges in the group chat, the tension in his heart strangely eased a little.
These arguments, these anxieties, these expectations all stem from the same person and the same work.
The more they care, the more it proves how much effort everyone has put into this work.
Just then, his phone rang.
The words "Aoyama and Seven Seas" were displayed on the screen.
Yuto walked to the balcony, closed the glass door, and shut out the noise from the living room.
"Hey, Aoyama-kun?"
"Itsuka-sensei!" The voice on the other end of the phone trembled noticeably, with faint gasps in the background, clearly an attempt to compose herself. "I'm so sorry to bother you so late..."
"It's nothing, you're still awake?"
"I can't sleep..." Nanami's voice was trembling with sobs. "I... I've been practicing Anna's lines, but the more I practice, the more scared I get."
"What if... what if I mess it up? What if my voice makes the audience hate Anna? I'll have let you down, and I'll have let everyone down..."
The girl's fear was clearly transmitted through the radio waves; that pure awe and fear of her dream made Yuto's heart clench.
He seemed to see the girl in the simulated world, who fell down again and again but got up again and again, stubbornly pursuing the light.
"Aoyama-kun," Yuto's voice was very soft, "Do you remember why I ultimately chose you during the audition?"
"...Because, because you said there was a 'vulnerability beneath the surface' in my voice."