Chapter 144: Such Remarkable Strength

Shortly after hanging up the phone, the boss came out and teased, “Seeing the relieved look on your face, I can’t help but be glad I wisely stayed out of sight.”

“You said earlier, ‘Artists have their own troubles,’ but in my opinion, this is the most troublesome one,” Ye Zhao said with a bitter smile. “No matter how trivial the matter is, it gets wildly overanalyzed.”

The final casting auditions for the voice actors of *Calling Love at the Center of the World* were scheduled for August 19th and 20th. On the 19th, they would select the boy to play the male lead, Sōtarō, in his youth, and on the 20th, they would select the female lead, Aki.

The final auditions were held in a recording studio borrowed from the voice acting troupe under Cultural Broadcasting. There were eight judges in total. Besides Ye Zhao and Takeda Shun, who had been instrumental in organizing the auditions, the other six came from Cultural Broadcasting and the troupe.

Once the auditions concluded on those two days, from the 21st onward, Ye Zhao’s new single would officially enter its promotional phase. He was scheduled to appear on two music shows, participate in an MS livestream the week following the single’s release, and guest on radio programs hosted by Takahiro Matsumoto and Masaharu Fukuyama. The rest of his time would be split between Tokyo and Saitama, as he embarked on his burgeoning film career.

In the face of this predictable busyness, the string in Ye Zhao’s heart, which had just begun to relax during a relatively calm period, tightened once again.

...

The general procedure of the final auditions involved each candidate entering the recording studio to perform a scene from the script alongside professional voice actors. The judges listened to the entire performance from the control room opposite the studio.

Thirty young men and thirty young women had made it to the finals. The auditions started promptly at 2 p.m. and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, finished by 6 p.m., with the winners announced before 7 p.m. That meant each candidate had a mere eight minutes to showcase their talent.

Voice acting might seem easy on the surface, but it was actually quite challenging. Unlike actors on camera who could convey emotions through body language, facial expressions, and eye contact, voice actors had only their voices. In this field, excellence was rewarded greatly, but any shortcomings left no room for redemption.

Therefore, the entire process went smoothly, no major discussions were needed, and the judges unanimously cast their votes on August 19th for a seventeen-year-old boy named Junnosuke Tajima. Junnosuke was short and shy, somewhat awkward in social interactions, but he quickly embodied his character during recording. Remarkably, his personality overlapped with that of the male lead, Sōtarō.

When Ye Zhao had won a commercial audition earlier, he had nursed some lingering resentment over the organizer’s neglect to provide meals. So after the final auditions ended, the first thing Ye Zhao did was treat everyone—the judges and the winner, Junnosuke Tajima—to a small celebratory barbecue nearby.

...

The sky on the second day was overcast from morning.

At noon, they had a simple meal at a ramen shop beneath the agency building. At one o’clock in the afternoon, the group set out on time toward the audition venue in Shinjuku Ward. It took about twenty minutes by car from the agency.

While driving, Takeda Shun glanced out the window and casually remarked, “Looks like it might rain later.”

“It’s summer, after all. Rain always comes when it pleases,” Ye Zhao replied without looking up, engrossed in playing Tetris on his Game Boy.

Yūki Kamimura, who was driving, couldn’t help but laugh. “This conversation sounds exactly like the dull small talk old guys at trading companies make when they have nothing else to say.”

“That’s rude to both old trading company men and people who like chatting about the weather,” Ye Zhao scolded with a tone lacking any real force.

Takeda Shun corrected, “Old trading company men don’t actually talk about the weather when they meet.”

“Then what do they talk about?”

“Mostly about the Satsuki Awards, golf, and the young ladies at the Azabu-Jūban lounges,” Ye Zhao interjected with a wry smile. Those who made it to senior positions in trading companies, often earning over ten million yen a year, certainly had no shortage of interesting topics to discuss.

...

Perhaps bad weather always brings a bit of trouble. They hit heavy traffic passing through Shibuya. Rushing against time, they arrived at the audition venue at 1:50 p.m., just ten minutes before the 2 p.m. start.

The moment Ye Zhao stepped out of the car, his phone rang. He gestured to Takeda Shun to go on ahead and answered. On the other end was Kazuyo Kawamoto.

Kazuyo’s call was nothing urgent, just a routine check-in. Ye Zhao casually asked about her recent recording schedule as he walked forward.

It was the troupe’s regular equipment inspection day. Staff pushed heavy carts in and out of the building. A cart neatly stacked with boxes was being escorted by three workers, approaching from the opposite direction. Absorbed in the call, Ye Zhao instinctively stepped aside but didn’t notice two boxes wobbling precariously.

“Hey, watch out!” A strong female voice suddenly rang in his ear.

Ye Zhao turned instinctively and saw a girl running fiercely toward him. Before he could understand what was happening, she swiftly steadied the nearly falling boxes.

Ye Zhao was impressed.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Thanks to you, that would have been a disaster if they fell.”

The workers gathered around the girl, chattering.

“It was nothing, just a small favor.”

“But, really, you’re quite strong…”

“Is that so? It’s nothing. I’ve lifted much heavier things at my part-time job… Oh no!” The girl glanced at her watch and exclaimed, “I’m going to be late!” She hurriedly said goodbye to the workers and dashed toward the elevator.

Watching her swift departure, Ye Zhao couldn’t help but think: Not only is she strong, but her speed is also remarkable.

...

Ye Zhao arrived at the recording studio just in time. Upon entering, he apologized in turn to the other judges. “Sorry for being late. There was a bit of trouble on the way.”

“Let’s get started quickly, Ye Zhao-san,” Tanaka, the troupe’s voice acting director, urged him to take his seat.

...

“That’s good enough. Thank you. Now, please wait in the lounge,” Tanaka called through the microphone connected to the recording room.

A girl named Chitose Matsubara bowed and exited the room.

“Next is number seven... What a coincidence,” Tanaka chuckled, “This kid’s name sounds like ‘seven.’”

“Nana?” Ye Zhao flipped through the dossier casually. Seeing the photo and name, he finally understood why the girl just now had such strength...

At that moment, the door gently opened, and number seven, the hopeful Nana Kondo, entered the room, looking somewhat nervous.