Chapter 131: A Jian Has Me In His Heart!
Sakamoto Ken nodded and said, “Actually… it’s basically confirmed for animation adaptation now, but the plan has only just started.”
“Really?!” Natsume Mio stopped in surprise, “Animation adaptation, so soon?!”
“We don’t know exactly when production will start yet, so don’t tell anyone outside,” Sakamoto Ken reminded.
“I’ll definitely keep it secret!” Natsume Mio immediately said, “But she’s A Jian, your contemporary competitor, is it okay to say it in front of her?”
“Haruna will keep it secret too, right?” Sakamoto Ken looked at Mikazuki Haruna.
“Of course~” Mikazuki Haruna said with a hey-hey smile.
Then she pretended to agree and said, “That’s really impressive, getting confirmed for animation adaptation in less than two months of serialization.”
Natsume Mio completely ignored Haruna. She excitedly grabbed Sakamoto Ken’s arm and asked rapidly, “So, so, have they started recruiting voice actors yet? Can I go for an interview?! A Jian, you have to recommend me!”
Sakamoto Ken looked at Natsume Mio’s excited state and could only comfort her first, “The animation plan has only just launched, voice actor selection is still far off, and casting is mainly handled by the production company and director. All I can do is suggest it to the editor.”
Natsume Mio said, “A Jian, you’ve heard it, the promotional video where I voiced Miss Makima~ It turned out really well, right!”
Sakamoto Ken nodded, “Yeah, I’ll recommend you to Editor Kaji, and you’re pretty familiar with Editor Kaji now, right?”
“Yeah! Editor Kaji and I have chatted some, we’re fairly familiar!” Natsume Mio nodded vigorously, already thinking in her mind about how to get on better terms with Editor Kaji.
Mikazuki Haruna listened from the side and interjected, “Voice actor casting for an animation adaptation isn’t that simple. For the lead role in such a hot work, there will definitely be many veteran voice actors competing. It’s not easy for a newbie who hasn’t officially debuted yet to land the character.”
Natsume Mio immediately straightened her back and shot back without backing down, “Then let’s compete with them! I believe in my own skills, I absolutely won’t be inferior to those seniors!”
Mikazuki Haruna clicked her tongue and said again, “Even if the editor recommends you, it actually doesn’t decide the voice actor selection in the end.”
Natsume Mio frowned, “Then who can decide?”
Mikazuki Haruna said, “Of course it’s the director, sound director, and most importantly… the investor.”
“Oh…” Natsume Mio nodded thoughtfully, “Anyway, as long as I get the interview opportunity, I’ll definitely nail the Makima role!”
She was very confident about this.
Her understanding of《Chainsaw Man》 this work and the Makima character far surpassed others, and she had practiced every line of Makima’s countless times.
This absolutely couldn’t be matched by those voice actors who just treated voice acting as a job!
The three of them kept walking and chatting like this.
Sakamoto Ken was still being led by the hand, one on each side by the two girls.
But after that conversation, the two small hands that had been secretly gripping hard now relaxed, just holding naturally.
The two of them seemed to have completely ignored each other’s presence.
After all, each was walking on one side of Sakamoto Ken, their views blocked by him, unable to see the other side.
Until then, a couple holding hands approached from the front.
That couple saw Sakamoto Ken and the other two holding hands in a chain and widened their eyes, their gazes following the three of them.
Feeling the odd stares from the couple, Natsume Mio and Mikazuki Haruna subconsciously glanced toward each other.
The two almost flung off Sakamoto Ken’s hands.
Sakamoto Ken: “…”
He casually put his hands in his pockets as if nothing had happened, keeping his original pace and continuing forward.
Natsume Mio and Mikazuki Haruna exchanged a glance, then hurried to catch up, walking one on each side of Sakamoto Ken, but neither reached out to hold his hand again.
Natsume Mio looked around at the scenery in the woods, feeling that the scene before her eyes was somewhat familiar.
It was an impression from that dream memory.
Although she didn’t remember the specific details of this grove, certain fragments, certain memories related to Sakamoto Ken, seemed to have happened in such an environment.
She remembered it seemed to be a moonless night, pitch black all around, they strolled here, and under the dense tree shadows, they hugged and kissed…
The atmosphere was perfect then, in the heat of the moment, she even took the initiative to wrap around him, wanting to do it right there with him…
But Sakamoto Ken refused.
He pulled her away from school and found a nearby couple’s hotel before finally satisfying her.
Thinking about it now, it was good that A Jian refused back then.
This path was quiet most of the time, but occasionally people would pass by. If someone saw them… that would be too embarrassing.
Natsume Mio secretly glanced at Sakamoto Ken and saw him calmly looking at the road ahead, seemingly not recalling those things at all.
Of course, he probably didn’t remember those dreams, right?
What a shame…
It would be nice if A Jian remembered too…
No no! It’s better if A Jian doesn’t remember!
Natsume Mio immediately negated her own thought.
After all, in that memory, there were two other women!
One of them was this Mikazuki Haruna right next to her!
Back then, A Jian was a detestable scumbag stepping on three boats!
Dating me on one side, while hooking up with them on the other!
She really didn’t know if A Jian and this girl had done anything in a grove like this…
Of course, this time, that worry was probably unnecessary.
A Jian had just proactively come to the vocal music department to find her, which showed he definitely had her in his heart!
He definitely wouldn’t be like in the dream anymore!
Thinking of this, Natsume Mio’s mood relaxed a bit more.
She asked, “A Jian, now that you’re serializing manga, what are your plans for school classes? Can you still manage them?”
Sakamoto Ken said, “I definitely have to go to classes. I still want to keep improving my drawing skills. Art has no end; learning more is always good.”
Natsume Mio nodded, “Yeah, actually I thought before that since A Jian has debuted as a manga artist, maybe you’d consider taking a leave or just not going to university.”
Sakamoto Ken smiled, “If having a job means no need for university, then rich people wouldn’t need to go even more.”
Mikazuki Haruna chimed in from the side, “Exactly, going to university is just…”
She originally wanted to say “just experiencing life,” but swallowed it and changed to, “Going to university lets you meet lots of people; expanding your network is very important.”
Natsume Mio immediately said, “A Jian must have lots of other plans for his career!”
Sakamoto Ken actually hadn’t fully figured out his specific future plans. Besides drawing manga, he really wanted to experience university life without a love triangle.
Well… love triangle was fine actually, mainly as long as there was no life-threatening danger.
Or… also to better “manage” the current situation.
The three passed through the small grove and arrived at the artificial lake.
Going around the artificial lake, they could see the art department building not far away.
Mikazuki Haruna’s car was parked in a spot next to the building.
The group finally reached the car. Mikazuki Haruna looked at the art department building, then at Sakamoto Ken and Natsume Mio, and said, “How about… you two wait here for me?”
Sakamoto Ken asked, “You have something to do?”
Natsume Mio answered quickly, “She’s going to the toilet.”
Mikazuki Haruna pursed her lips but didn’t refute.
Sakamoto Ken nodded, “Alright, we’ll wait.”
But Natsume Mio tugged Sakamoto Ken’s sleeve, “How about we take the train back instead? Waiting for her is too much trouble; who knows how long it’ll take.”
Hearing Natsume Mio say that, Mikazuki Haruna directly opened the driver’s seat car door.
She got in and said, “Who said I’m going to the toilet? I just wanted to say hi to a classmate… forget it, I’m not going!”
She glared at the two and said, “Get in the car already, what are you standing there for?”
As usual, Sakamoto Ken sat in the back seat, and Natsume Mio reluctantly sat in the front passenger seat.
Mikazuki Haruna started the vehicle and drove out of campus.
The car merged into the traffic flow on the main road, heading toward Sakamoto Ken’s studio.
The car had just entered the Akihabara area when the speed clearly slowed down.
Vehicles ahead lined up in a long dragon, red taillights forming a continuous stretch.
The car crawled forward at a snail’s pace, starting and stopping.
Time passed minute by minute, and the atmosphere in the car became somewhat subtle.
Sakamoto Ken in the back seat could clearly hear the increasingly rapid breathing from the driver’s seat up front.
He saw Mikazuki Haruna’s finger joints turning white from gripping the steering wheel hard, her body fidgeting restlessly on the seat, legs pressed together tightly but forced apart to control the accelerator and brake.
She pursed her lips tightly, brows furrowed, looking extremely uncomfortable all over.
Natsume Mio in the front passenger seat naturally noticed Mikazuki Haruna’s odd state next to her.
She turned her head and closely examined Haruna’s tense profile and slightly reddened ears, a mischievous smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Then she asked with feigned concern, “What’s wrong? Haruna senior, you look like you’re not feeling well~”
Burned out!! Wrote all day, now my brain is completely drained…
Everyone, it’s the end of the month, any monthly tickets left? Begging for monthly tickets!!!
