I'll post an extra chapter every 300 Power Stones. Good luck with that!
Goal for the next extra chapter: 71/300
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After our food arrived, we ate while talking about random things. It had been a long time since I had talked about random things. I learned a lot about Rina's personal life and also about Daiki's.
Well, I already knew a lot about Daiki's life since we talk a lot.
He's been married to the same woman for years and has two children—a girl and a boy. They're both still young. They live in a residential area of Tokyo and seem to be doing very well since he earns a good salary.
But as for Rina... I was surprised to find out that she still lives with her parents, even though she earns enough to live on her own.
Well, I also earn enough to live by myself, but I'm still very young... Time passes far too slowly, doesn't it?
When I heard that, I said, "You still live with your parents? How embarrassing." I was only joking, but it made Rina extremely angry.
"What do you mean, 'embarrassing'??? I like living with them, okay? And they like having me around too—they don't want me to move out! Since they live close to my workplace, everything works out just fine!"
I told her I was joking, and Rina finally calmed down.
I also learned a few things about Rina's friendships and relationships.
Even though she never said it outright, it was obvious that she'd never dated anyone in her life. She mentioned several times that she'd always been a "nerd" in school and had never had many friends. She also said that she only keeps in touch with a few friends nowadays.
She's like me... I feel a sense of sympathy for her.
By the time dinner was over, it was almost 10:00 PM, almost time for the episode to air on TV.
I paid the bill and quickly left the restaurant.
As soon as we reached the car, someone suddenly approached us.
"Kyo Evans?" It was a middle-aged woman. I thought she was going to ask for an autograph, but instead she took out her phone and said, "Could you give me an interview? Just five minutes." She looked desperate to get that interview.
I rarely give interviews. Since Rina knows I don't like doing them, she stepped in front of the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but Kyo won't be giving any interviews today."
"And who are you?" the woman asked.
"His manager."
Then I placed a hand on Rina's shoulder and asked the woman, "What's the interview about?"
"It's about *Piece of My Heart*. You've never given an interview about the series, have you?"
Come to think of it, she was right.
I let out a sigh and said, "Miu, get in the car. We'll leave in a few minutes."
"Okay."
Miu got into the car, but Rina stayed by my side while I gave the interview.
The woman then started recording with her phone and began asking questions.
"First, I'd like to ask how you're feeling right now. The first episode of the first series you've ever appeared in is about to air in just a few minutes. Are you excited? Nervous?"
"I'll admit I'm a little nervous. I keep wondering things like, 'Will people like my acting?' I don't have that much confidence in my acting, even though everyone keeps praising me for it."
Rina looked at me as if I'd gone crazy.
She must have been thinking, 'You don't have confidence in your acting? What a lie!'
"I see. How would you react to criticism if you received any?"
"How would I react?" I smiled and said, "I'd read it over and over again and do everything I could to improve. If I receive a lot of criticism, that just means I didn't do a good enough job, doesn't it?"
"Hahaha. You're right." The reporter laughed. "Now, about the first episode. I know it hasn't been released to the public yet, but I'd like to know what you thought of it."
"As for the first episode, I honestly enjoyed what I saw. I'm someone who watches a lot of TV series, and I like analyzing them. I'll admit that most of the series I've watched so far have been extremely disappointing."
The reporter's eyes widened. "Disappointing?"
"Yes. Most series are written in a very childish way, and the plot twists are predictable. The overall quality is very low. The directing isn't much better. Even though I don't have much experience with that, I can still tell when the direction is below average."
Rina nudged me and looked at me in a panic.
Well, as long as I don't mention the name of any series or anyone involved, it should be fine, right?
"Could you give me a few examples?"
Of course this reporter was hoping for a little drama.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. It would be extremely disrespectful to my colleagues. What I can say is that the writer, Hiroshi Kanto, and the director, Takumi Hayashida, did a great job."
The reporter smiled and nodded.
I thought the short interview would end there, but then she suddenly asked a question that had nothing to do with the series.
"It was recently reported online that you're dating one of your classmates. Could you tell me what she's like? How did the two of you actually meet?" The woman glanced toward the car.
Looks like that fake news has spread quite a bit.
I let out a sigh and said, "She's not my girlfriend. Don't believe everything you see online. She's just a very special friend and coworker."
After saying that, I didn't even say goodbye. I just got into the car.
Once the car started moving, Miu asked, "How did it go?"
"It was just a normal interview."
"Normal..."
"Kyo is an idiot. He said a few things he didn't need to say. He said that most of the series he's watched are bad. What do you think directors and writers are going to think about that?"
"Kyo..." Miu looked at me judgmentally.
"If any director or writer feels attacked by what I said, then that just means they know they're not good enough and that the work they did isn't good."
Am I wrong?
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