mijobooks Chapter 96 Chips
Chapter 96 Chips
Chapter 96 Chips
In an old coffee shop near Kichijoji, the air was filled with the bitter smell of over-baked food.
Mochizuki Tomomitsu sat by the window, staring blankly at a telephone pole outside.
He looked to be in his early thirties, wearing a faded plaid shirt, with somewhat long hair that casually draped over his ears.
At this moment, he was holding a pencil that still needed sharpening, scribbling aimlessly on a napkin, completely ignoring the cup of coffee in front of him that had gone completely cold.
"Um—excuse me, are you Director Mochizuki?"
Kitahara Shin walked to the table and politely tapped on it.
Mochizuki Tomomi seemed startled, and the pencil in his hand fell to the table with a "thud".
He looked up somewhat blankly, his gaze focusing for several seconds before finally landing on Kitahara Shin's face.
"Ah—yes. Um, and who are you?"
He scratched his head, seemingly trying to recall if he had made an appointment with someone, then suddenly realized, "Oh! I remember now, Itami-senpai said that a handsome young man who isn't very bright is coming to see me—oh no, he said he's very insightful. Sorry, I got it mixed up."
Kitahara Shin: "————"
What exactly is that old man Itami saying about me behind my back?
"It's alright, my name is Kitahara Shin, nice to meet you, Mochizuki-san."
Kitahara Shin pulled out a chair and sat down, showing no displeasure at the other party's rudeness.
On the contrary, he found it quite interesting.
People who are completely immersed in their own world and slow to react to human relationships usually have a certain obsessive sensitivity in art.
"Kitahara Shin————"
Mochizuki Tomomi muttered the name, then suddenly stared at his face for a while. "I've seen your work before, the mad dog in 'Yakuza Blood,' you acted quite well. That look in your eyes, like a wild cat that's been starving in a gutter for three days."
After saying that, he bent down to pick up the pencil again. "What do you want me to film? If it's a gangster movie, forget it. I can't stand blood, I'm squeamish about blood."
"It's not a gangster movie, it's this one."
Kitahara Shin passed on the proposal for "Hearing the Waves".
Mochizuki Tomomi did not open it immediately. Instead, he took the sugar jar next to him, added three sugar cubes to the cold coffee, and took a sip without even stirring it. He was obviously ingesting sugar rather than tasting the flavor.
Then, he opened the proposal.
One minute, two minutes.
He flipped through the pages so quickly that it made one wonder if he was just going through the motions.
But when he was halfway through the flip, his hand stopped.
He pointed to a line describing the summer scenery of Kochi Prefecture and frowned.
"The lighting is wrong."
"What?" Kitahara Shin asked.
"If it were the beach in Kochi Prefecture at four in the afternoon, the light wouldn't be golden." The sea breeze would increase the humidity in the air, and the light at that time would be a diffused reflection with a hint of blue and purple, like a thin veil draped over one's heart. Golden yellow is too cliché; that's Tokyo's sunset.
Mochizuki Tomomi raised his head, the blankness in his eyes disappearing, replaced by an almost neurotic seriousness. "If we're going to film this, the lighting has to be perfect. Nowadays, TV dramas are all too brightly lit, making people's faces look like light bulbs, so you can't hide your feelings at all. Youth films need shadows."
Kitahara Shin smiled.
We've found the right person.
This is the feeling he wanted—not the cloying sweetness of a sugary dessert, but a real, tangible sensation with a touch of dampness and a hint of regret.
"I completely agree."
Kitahara Shin looked at him. "That's why I came to you. This film doesn't need that kind of industrial assembly-line lighting, nor does it need that kind of exaggerated acting. We need to go to Kochi Prefecture to shoot on location, wait for natural light, and capture the feeling in the air. You decide the entire shooting schedule."
Mochizuki Tomomi was taken aback, seemingly not expecting this big star to be so easy to talk to.
He put down the proposal and looked at Kitahara Shin with some suspicion: "Those people at the TV station are very long-winded. They'll complain that I'm slow, that I'm wasting money on shooting establishing shots, and that they'll cram in a bunch of idols who can't act."
"I'll take over at the TV station."
Kitahara Shin said confidently, "As for the actors, I'm the male lead, and the female lead is a very talented girl who needs to be trained. I believe you can bring out her most authentic self."
Mochizuki Tomomi stared at Kitahara Shin for a long time.
Finally, he grinned, revealing a slightly crooked little canine tooth, looking like a child who had received a new toy.
"Okay."
He crumpled the napkin covered in lines into a ball. "Anyway, I've been so bored lately that I'm counting clouds. Since you're willing to keep someone like me company, I'll go to Kochi Prefecture."
As he spoke, he suddenly stood up and was about to leave.
"Director Mochizuki".
Kitahara Shin called out to him, "Your bill."
"Huh? Oh!" Mochizuki Tomomi slapped his forehead, frantically rummaging through his pockets, only to find a handful of pencil stubs and an eraser, but no wallet. "Um—could I borrow 500 yen? I was in a rush to leave and forgot to bring it."
Kitahara Shin shook his head helplessly and beckoned the waiter to pay the bill.
He's definitely a weirdo.
But these eccentric individuals often create miracles.
Having solved the most crucial creative core, the next step is the toughest nut to crack.
Two days later, at a high-class kaiseki restaurant in Akasaka.
The private room was extremely quiet, with only the crisp sound of bamboo tubes striking a stone bowl.
Kitahara Shin sat in the main seat, next to Tanaka, a producer from Nippon Television, and a famous entertainment lawyer.
Opposite them sat Mitsuko Miyazawa, dressed in formal attire.
Today, this "celebrity mom" wore a bright red suit, a huge pearl necklace around her neck, and her face was plastered with the fake smile typical of businesswomen. Although she is a monster to her daughter in private, she knows how to restrain herself when facing Kitahara Shin, a "cash cow" with enormous commercial value.
"Oh, Kitahara-san, you're too kind."
Mitsuko held her teacup, but her eyes kept glancing at the thick contract on the table. "It's a blessing for our Rie to have your support. That child is immature and caused you trouble before."
"Let's skip the formalities."
Kitahara Shin didn't touch the tea in front of him and went straight to the point, "Mrs. Mitsuko, regarding this collaboration, my sincerity is already laid out on the table. This is a key special project for NTV this year, I am the male lead, and I would like Rie to play the female lead."
"Oh my, this is really—" The greed in Photon's eyes was almost overflowing.
Acting opposite Kitahara Nobu!
What does this mean? It means overwhelming exposure, and it means Rie's market value will at least double! Those GG merchants who were still hesitant before will definitely swarm around her like flies.
"but."
Kitahara Shin's tone shifted, his voice turning colder, "I have a few conditions, which are written in the supplementary clauses of the contract. You'd better read them carefully."
The lawyer turned to a specific page of the contract and pushed it in front of Guangzi.
Photon picked it up, read only two lines, and his expression changed.
"Completely closed filming? Family visits prohibited? Even—even temporarily transferring management control of the artists?"
She looked up abruptly, her voice shrill, "Kitahara-san, what does this mean? I'm Rie's mother and her manager. It's only natural for me to take care of her! Are you trying to kidnap her?"
"take care of?"
Kitahara Shin leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping across Mitsuko's face like a knife. "Is it to take care of her, or to make it easier to take her to socialize with those shady company presidents?"
Photon's face turned pale: "You—"
"The filming location for this drama is in Kochi Prefecture, where conditions are very difficult. We need the actors to be completely immersed in their roles."
Kitahara Shin didn't give her a chance to throw a tantrum and directly revealed his trump card, "Mrs. Mitsuko, you're a smart woman, you should know very well how this is going to work out. By signing this document, Rie will get top-notch resources. Although you won't see her for the next three months, when she comes back, her value will increase several times over, and she won't have to worry about work anymore."
He leaned forward, lowered his voice, and spoke with a blatant threat and seduction: "But if you don't sign, or if you try anything funny during filming—I'll replace you for this project immediately. I think the line of people who want to play my lead role could stretch down a whole street."
"By then, all you'll have left is a washed-up idol with a ruined reputation and little commercial value."
.
Tanaka nervously wiped his sweat, fearing that this crazy woman would overturn the table.
I thought to myself, Kitahara, is it really okay for you to be so headstrong?
Photon stared intently at the contract, his chest heaving violently.
She hated Kitahara Shin's condescending attitude and his desire to take her cash cow away from her.
But—money.
That represents huge, readily available benefits.
She's a gambler, and gamblers value immediate gains. Handing over Rie for three months in exchange for even greater opportunities to exploit her later—a deal indeed.
"it is good."
Photon gritted his teeth and squeezed out the word.
She picked up the pen and fiercely signed her name on the supplementary agreement, which resembled a "contract of servitude."
"But let me make this clear: if this show doesn't become a hit, or if Rie loses even a single hair, I'll never forgive you!"
"rest assured."
Looking at the signature, Kitahara Shin finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.
He stood up and looked down at the woman, blinded by greed: "She would be a million times better off than she is in your hands."
Guangzi snorted coldly, grabbed his bag, and stormed off like a defeated rooster.
Tanaka let out a long sigh of relief: "This woman's aura is truly intimidating—Kitahara-kun, are you really confident?"
"Once she signs, the rest of the game is ours."
Kitahara Shin picked up the contract and handed it to the lawyer. "Lock the document away and notify the crew that we're leaving for Kochi Prefecture next week."