Dating sim loading: My girlfriend is a cunning young lady
Chapter 193 - 116. Meiji Shrine Outer Garden Photography Matters (2)_2

Chapter 193: 116. Meiji Shrine Outer Garden Photography Matters (2)_2

Kiyono Lin frowned as she pulled out a script wrapped in a transparent cover from her tote-like bag and handed it to Jiutiao Meijie.

Jiutiao Meijie looked at it nonchalantly and chuckled, "Plagiarism?"

She had never seen "Love Letter," but while they were lying on a bed taking a nap, Dubian Che, who couldn’t keep his hands still, had roughly told her about the origin of the script.

"This is a high school Cultural Festival," Kiyono Lin said in a series of parallel phrases with a piercing look in her eyes. "The Wind Instrument Club charges for music, the Drama Department rehearses popular plays, the Human Observation Department adapts popular movies. Do you have a problem with that, Jiutiao?"

"No problem," Jiutiao Meijie returned the script to Kiyono Lin. "It’s just a very ordinary adaptation."

"If you don’t want to perform, you can leave now. I’ll find someone else for the female lead," Kiyono Lin said, putting the script back into her bag.

Dubian Che silently withdrew his hand that was reaching out for the script.

He hadn’t seen it yet.

Never mind, resolving the conflict right now was much more important than any script.

Dubian Che moved behind Jiutiao Meijie, placed his hands on her shoulders, and half-pushed, half-forced her to sit down on the chair.

"Meiji, no matter what the script is like, you must play the female lead!"

"Are you ordering me?" Jiutiao Meijie sat down, crossed her slender legs, folded her arms, and assumed a queenly posture.

"How could I?" Dubian Che rubbed her delicate shoulders. "I don’t want to play the lead couple with any other girls. Consider it fulfilling a wish of mine. Will you play the female lead, please?"

Jiutiao Meijie, with her eyes closed, felt Dubian Che’s clumsy massage.

Kiyono Lin frowned beside them, her expression sour.

Dubian Che gave her a look.

’This is for the sake of the crew, don’t mess this up.’

’Such a liar, it’s disgusting.’

Dubian Che didn’t know if that’s exactly what he conveyed, but Kiyono Lin’s look of disdain and anger was probably close enough.

Kiyono Lin had no clue how dreadful it would be if the female lead were someone else and the male lead’s fate—afraid even of the police—turned out to be quite dire. Drained? He wasn’t sure himself.

Dubian Che gently shook Jiutiao Meijie’s graceful body. "Just agree this one time, please?"

Jiutiao Meijie let out a resigned sigh through her delicate nose. "I must really owe you from a past life."

"Great!" Dubian Che shot a triumphant ’mission accomplished’ look at Kiyono Lin.

It only elicited an even more disdainful look.

Being the male lead is really tough.

Suddenly, Dubian Che envied Xu, who was stuck doing menial tasks, aiming the camera at upperclassmen dressed as maids or bunny girls. That’s what a real male lead should be doing.

But that’s because Sakurai Haruhi was the director, who wouldn’t let her beloved Xu act with other girls. If Jiutiao Meijie were the director, he’d still be stuck doing menial tasks...

Wait a minute.

Dubian Che looked at the tripod set up beside his chair, the boom mic, and the drink he just bought.

Besides being the male lead, wasn’t he already doing menial work?

Considering the funds to buy equipment, writing the script, choosing the female lead, he realized that the investor, scriptwriter, and assistant director were all him.

’Ah, I wish I could go back to August 26th—yesterday—and stab that guy who looked down on surveying and suggested making this film, with a clean fruit knife.’ Dubian Che held Jiutiao Meijie’s shoulders, his gaze fixed emptily on the contrail.

After convincing Jiutiao Meijie, before it got dark, Kiyono Lin rushed to discuss the role with her.

"The female lead and the male lead have arranged to meet at the Shengong Stadium ticket gate. Initially excited, then she starts waiting but no one shows up..."

Dubian Che noticed that when Director Kiyono and Jiutiao Meijie discussed the script, she could clearly differentiate between the female lead and Jiutiao Meijie.

That is, Kiyono Lin deliberately confused him with the soon-to-perish ’male lead Dubian Che.’

Once they finished discussing the script, Dubian Che asked, "When do we shoot the scene of the male lead dying? Will you make a cameo as the thief?"

"How does the male lead die in ’Love Letter’?"

Dubian Che found it strange that Kiyono Lin asked this, but he replied, "He dies in an avalanche while mountain climbing in the snow."

"Did the director manage to shoot that?"

"No... you mean I’m already dead?"

"You’re not beyond help yet," Kiyono Lin said, nodding her head in relief.

"Not at all, not at all, the male lead is already dead!" The thought that Kiyono Lin might possess the same mind-over-matter ability as Sakurai Haruhi made Dubian Che particularly insistent on this point.

He was still young, and even if his luck would never improve, as long as he remained focused, the worst outcome was becoming ’Jiutiao Che’ and spending his life with the beautiful and wealthy Miss Jiutiao. He certainly didn’t want to die so young.

Kiyono Lin had no intention of arguing this point with him; she checked the time, "It’s about time, let’s go."

She took her SLR camera and placed the Oolong tea into a knitting bag over her shoulder, walking towards the entrance of the Shengong Stadium.

Jiutiao Meijie went light-handed, her steps light.

Dubian Che downed his soda in one gulp, then followed with the tripod and the boom microphone.

Initially, he had thought that filming would be challenging, for instance with Jiutiao Meijie filming a movie for the first time, considering the gazes of those around, but the progress exceeded expectations unexpectedly.

She stood there naturally, occasionally looking at Kiyono Lin’s camera, without any superfluous movements, just occasionally adjusting her outfit.

Merely that presented an aura like a girl anticipating a date.

If she could act this way when going out with him, becoming ’Jiutiao Che’ might not be so bad—Dubian Che was already enchanted by her beauty.

Most of the onlookers around them had stares that said, ’this girl is super cute,’ ’Is she a celebrity? Are they filming a movie?’

Dubian Che truly admired the two misses. He couldn’t manage to ignore the surrounding people at all.

Holding the boom microphone, he was more embarrassed than Jiutiao Mei being surrounded by gawkers and Kiyono Lin, who was vigorously shooting from every angle with the SLR.

’This is also training, training to disregard the gaze of the public.’ Dubian Che, wanting to become someone admirable, hypnotized himself continuously.

An hour before the fireworks began, Shengong Square would host a series of performances, with all invited performers being current famous artists.

"Mr. Dubian, the announcement must be recorded. It’s the best proof of the passage of time in the film, you know?" said Kiyono Lin.

"Understood."

By now, both misses had taken a rest, leaving Dubian Che alone holding the boom microphone, waiting for the announcement that could start at any moment.

Once the announcement was recorded, he had to capture the lively noise of the artists’ performances.

After what seemed like a long time, the music gradually quietened down, and the fireworks event began its announcement.

From a distance came a few dull thuds, akin to meteors, a dozen sparks shot up into the night sky, followed by a brief dimming, then ’bang—’ bursting forth in a glimmer of red and silver fireworks, lighting up the Shengong Outer Garden in shades of red.

The fireworks event officially began.

Amidst the crowd’s exclamations at the fireworks, Jiutiao Meijie anxiously called the male lead, but no matter how many times she called, it showed no one answered.

"Cut," Kiyono Lin yelled, stopping the shot. After checking the video, she said, "That’s fine."

"I’ll be back before the last group of scenes." Jiutiao Meijie was prepared to go inside to sit and watch the fireworks to pass the time.

"Alright. I’ll stay here and take a few shots of the fireworks from the female lead’s perspective." Under the brilliant fireworks, Kiyono Lin’s face glowed red as she filmed seriously.

Jiutiao Meijie turned and walked toward the organizers who had been waiting in the distance midway through the shoot.

Just as Dubian Che was wondering if he could stay behind without following...

Jiutiao Meijie suddenly turned back, giving him a glance devoid of any discernible emotion.

...

Dubian Che obediently walked over.

The organizer, bending over, reached out to help take the tripod and boom microphone from his hand but was refused.

The two of them, having not purchased tickets, went directly to the VIP seats of Shengong Stadium.

Luxurious equipment provided an angle that overlooked the entire stadium.

Feeling almost as if the fireworks were bursting right above their heads, there also was a sense of nobility standing above the heads of other spectators.

The best SS stand seats available to the public couldn’t compare to this spot.

Accompanied by ’boom’ ’boom’ sounds like cannon fire, clusters of flaming arrows shot towards the sky, exploding abruptly at a high altitude, turning into wreaths of purple and red.

Subsequently, multicolored fireworks cascaded down like waterfalls from the night sky.

Before the audience’s exclamations ended, more, even more spectacular fireworks burst forth.

Ten thousand fireworks endlessly lit up, turning the entire Shinjuku District into a city that never sleeps, the sky awash with a ghastly pale light.