Start with a core cabin

Chapter 1605 Photo Controversy (I bought a US card during the autumn promotion)

According to Mai Sakurajima, she found herself like this a few days ago. She went to the aquarium, but no one saw her. At that time, Mai Sakurajima thought she was just overthinking, or maybe those people were just too focused on the aquarium and didn't notice her.

But when she left the aquarium and went to a nearby cafe to take a break, the staff inside ignored her. Even when she spoke to them, there was no response. Other customers also didn't notice her at all.

In the next few days, Sakurajima Mai kept looking for where people could see her and where they couldn't, which was why she appeared here.

"So you just wander around in a bunny outfit?"

After listening to Sakurajima Mai's story, Duanmu Huai was confused, while Sakurajima Mai glared at Duanmu Huai.

"Of course not. I left my clothes in a locker at the station."

“It’s really a strange phenomenon.”

Duanmu Huai looked at Sakurajima Mai in front of him with a puzzled look on his face. The two were currently in a nearby coffee shop, but the clerk could not see Sakurajima Mai at all. When Duanmu Huai said he wanted to order two cups of coffee, the clerk was puzzled for a moment.

"To me, you're also quite strange. Even though you're like this, no one pays attention to you."

Mai Sakurajima was also surprised when she looked at Duanmu Huai. Although Duanmu Huai was not wearing a bunny girl outfit, her white hair and red eyes were very eye-catching. Moreover, Duanmu Huai did not dress like a thief like other artists. Logically speaking, even if Duanmu Huai sat in a coffee shop like this, some people would still look at her.

But both the customers and the store clerks turned a blind eye to this... To Mai Sakurajima, this was incomprehensible.

"Just reduce your presence, lower yourself to the level of a pebble on the side of the road, and people won't care about you anymore. I'm pretty good at this."

Duanmu Huai took a sip of coffee and spoke at the same time.

"But then again, wouldn't that give you a headache? It would be a problem if the staff couldn't see you during the shoot."

"You don't know yet?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's question, Sakurajima Mai showed a surprised expression.

"what do you know?"

“I’ve stopped being active.”

"why?"

I have to say, Duanmu Huai was quite surprised to hear Sakurajima Mai say this.

"You really don't know?"

“I don’t care much about showbiz.”

“……………………Are you still considered an artist?”

I have to say, after hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Sakurajima Mai was speechless.

"So, what happened? Didn't your fame increase a lot after "Today's Sweetness"? Why do you suddenly want to stop your activities?"

Although Sakurajima Mai played a supporting role in "Today's Sweetness", her popularity was quite good. Duanmu Huai couldn't understand how she had become like this in less than half a year.

“………………That’s why.”

Mai Sakurajima clenched her fists tightly and lowered her head.

"???"

"Like you said, after starring in "Today's Sweetness", my fame has also risen a lot. Then my agent, my mother, in order to make me a big seller, decided without informing me that I should take a photo album, and it was in a swimsuit!"

“………………Wow.”

After hearing this, Duanmu Huai had nothing else to say except sighing.

Swimsuit photo.

For Japanese artists, especially female artists, this is a killer move. The more famous the female artist is, the better they sell.

However, this does not mean that this move has no side effects.

Once a female artist takes a swimsuit photo shoot, the label of "selling flesh" will be attached to her forever.

Of course, if the actresses are famous for their large-scale, sexy and revealing photos, then shooting this kind of photos can complement each other and there is nothing wrong with it.

But Mai Sakurajima is just a high school student! And she previously filmed the innocent love drama "Today Sweet", and now she's shooting a swimsuit photo shoot?
To put it bluntly, this is no different from a pure female star going into the adult industry.

In fact, in Ichigo PRO, Kurokawa Akane and Arima Kana also shoot photo albums, but the photo albums they shoot are all very pure, wearing dresses, daily outfits, sailor suits, etc. As for swimsuits, they will never wear them, because they are not going for that image. To rashly shoot swimsuit photos is equivalent to completely overdrawing their reputation as artists.

To give an example, it is like the top prostitute in an ancient brothel who claims to sell her art but not her body. If she always refuses men's invitations, then everyone will be willing to support her.

But once she lets a man stay overnight, people will no longer treat her as a goddess.

Therefore, for female artists, whether or not to take swimsuit photos is a very important decision.

Of course, if it was an ordinary agent, it would be fine if everything was about money. But Mai Sakurajima's agent is her mother. How could a mother sell her daughter so well?
"I originally thought it was just an ordinary photo shoot, but after entering the studio, they suddenly handed me a swimsuit, and there were only adults around... They said they had signed a contract. Although I didn't want to, they said it was a job... I had no choice but to accept my fate!"

Having said that, Mai Sakurajima clenched her fists in anger.

"In the end, all that person thought about was using me to make money!"

For Mai Sakurajima, those staff members were not the objects of her anger. What she hated was her mother. After all, she was the person closest to her, but she stabbed her in the back. The feeling of betrayal must be unpleasant.

"And you decided to stop the activity?"

"Yes, this matter obviously spread very quickly on the Internet. Although it did not reveal the true situation, it was still a big rumor..."

"Oh, I only watch cat videos on the Internet."

Duanmu Huai said that he had no interest in these boring entertainment gossips, and watching cats being cute was more suitable for him.

"Anyway, that's it. It's because I stopped my activities that I had time to relax at the aquarium, and as a result... I found out that it turned out like this." Sakurajima Mai silently picked up the coffee and took a sip.

"Perhaps I have this thought deep in my heart. I don't want everyone to always look at me and pay attention to me. Instead, I want everyone to ignore me and treat me as if I don't exist..."

“But it’s also troublesome.”

Duanmu Huai stared at Sakurajima Mai.

"Indeed, other people can't see me. Even if I shout in front of them, they can't hear me. They can't buy anything they want."

"Have you tried to hit them?"

"……………Why?"

I have to say that the tricky question raised by Duanmu Huai really stunned Sakurajima Mai.

"beat?"

"Yeah, since words alone don't work, then what about physical contact? Just slap the other person or something?"

"this……………"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

It must be said that Duanmu Huai's jump was so fast that Mai Sakurajima's brain couldn't keep up for a while. However, Duanmu Huai didn't care. He glanced at the restaurant and pointed to the side.

"It just so happens that there's a guy over there who's on the phone. Go up and slap him."

Mai Sakurajima looked in the direction of Duanmu Huai's finger, and saw a guy with colorfully dyed hair, who looked like a bad boy, shouting loudly with his cell phone in the corner of the restaurant not far away. Although the clerk wanted to go up and dissuade him, he was so scared that he couldn't speak.

“………………Are you really going?”

"Just give it a try. There's no harm in it. If anything goes wrong, I'll take care of him."

Duanmu Huai clenched his fists as he spoke.

"…………………"

Sakurajima Mai hesitated for a moment, then she stood up, walked up to the bad boy who was talking nonsense, and stared at him. However, even though Sakurajima Mai had walked up to him, the young man still ignored her and chatted loudly on his phone.

Then, Sakurajima Mai raised her hand and slapped the bad boy hard!

"Snapped!"

In Duanmu Huai's eyes, the slap was well-placed, and the bad boy did stop. However...

"Wow, what's going on? My face suddenly hurts a little."

As he spoke, the bad boy touched his cheek.

"Could it be that I have muscle cramps from talking for too long?"

Then, the bad boy turned around and returned to his seat, while Mai Sakurajima watched this scene, speechless for a while, until Duanmu Huai came to her side and grabbed her hand.

"Okay, let's go."

Obviously, this dealt a great blow to Mai Sakurajima. After that, she just remained silent, walked straight to the station, changed back into her usual clothes, and then turned around and left.

“This is really…………”

Watching Sakurajima Mai get on the train, Duanmu Huai shook his head speechlessly. This was the first time he had seen such a strange phenomenon.

But as for the news about Sakurajima Mai’s photo shoot... I’ll go back and ask others first.

As for the person Duanmu Huai is looking for...

"Hey? You just found out about this?"

Magana's surprised voice came from the other end of the phone, and he almost jumped onto the roof.

"Is it weird?"

"If it were anyone else I would say it's weird, but to you and me it's not weird at all."

"Because I haven't heard you talk about it either."

Duanmu Huai was very sure that in the office, neither Magana nor Kurokawa Akane had ever mentioned this topic.

"After all, there's no point in gossiping about others behind their backs. Besides, Mai Sakurajima is very pitiful. Well, it's not like I don't understand how she feels... To be honest, if I were to film something like that, I would never want to show it to anyone! I might even wish I had never been born in this world!"

"Do you wish you had never been born...?"

"For example, for example."

Although Maganai was just using a metaphor, Duanmu Huai could more or less understand Maganai's meaning.

After all, that was a swimsuit, and she was forced to take these swimsuit photos without her knowledge. It is not impossible for her to want to die or escape from this world.

Is it because of this that Mai Sakurajima had such a problem?

“Is that photo album on sale?”

"I'm not sure, but it seems like not yet. After all, it takes time to shoot, publish and print the photo album... It should be soon."

"OK, thanks."

Duanmu Huai hung up the phone, thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and made another call.

"It's me... Well, you know about Mai Sakurajima's swimsuit photo shoot, right? Yes, in the name of the company, we sent a lawyer's letter to the other party, saying that this kind of photo will have a negative impact on the filming of the second season of "Today Sweet" and asked them to stop selling it. Otherwise, we will file a claim against the other party for breach of contract and negative impact on the crew. I want to see how much money they have to pay."

Holding the phone, Duanmu Huai gave the order in a calm voice.