Chapter Eighty-One Refusal and Recommendation

  In Japan, there are two century-old institutions, one is Yoshimoto Kogyo and the other is Toho, of course, this was 14 years after Zhou Xiao crossed over, and in the year 2000 now, the two major groups still differ by eleven or twelve years. The founding time of Yoshimoto Kogyo is 1912, while the founding time of Toho is 1914.

  Yoshimoto Kogyo has forged a legendary Kansai, occupying more than half of Japan's comedy world. On the other hand, Yoshimoto Kogyo's 100-year history has forged a dense and ruthless giant women's group.

  Compared to AKB's over 200 members, Takarazuka's 400-strong membership is an even more massive and somewhat intimidating group. And women, no matter where they are, will inevitably have their own rivalries when there are too many of them, especially since these women are all skilled performers with extraordinary palace politics at play. As a result, in Takarazuka, it's common for senior members to use age and experience to bully junior members. However, the upper echelons of Takarazuka have no intention of stopping this, and may even encourage competition among members to some extent.

  The top graduates from AKB are generally very feminine, but someone like Sayaka Akimoto who looks like a queen at first glance, actually has a standard S&M personality once you get to know her a bit. But Takarazuka is different, anyone who can fight their way to the top and graduate with glory in that big melting pot, whether it's male or female, all have an incredibly strong personal aura, from head to toe, exuding an air of strength and confidence like a queen. Among them, three people stand out as representatives of modern times: Yuki Amuro, Chiaki Ito and Tsubasa Hoshino!

  Zhou Xiao's target was Hei Mu Tong among these three people.

  Tennouji Yuhki and Daichi Mao played male roles during their Takarazuka days, only Kuroki Hitomi was a female role, but wanting her to appear wasn't enough, as a very famous actress she might not agree to such a supporting role.

  But how could they know if they didn't try? After contacting each other in many ways, Zhou Xiao and Nagata Koto finally met Kuroki Hitomi herself.

  Hei Mu Tong is exactly forty years old now, if one were to say when a woman's queenly aura is the heaviest, it would probably be now. When she was younger, she was too naive and ignorant, and when she gets older, she will become much more gentle, only at this time, she is the most queen-like.

  Zhou Xiao's previous life was a dead otaku, and this life had just come over without any experience. When he saw Kuroki Hitomi, the 40-year-old woman's every smile made his little heart tremble beyond measure.

  But no matter how hard he tried, there was one crucial question that Kuroki Hitomi still refused to answer...

  "The script is good, the story is also good, and I'm very interested, but... my temperament isn't quite suitable for this role." Kuroki Hitomi said, putting down the script.

  In 1997, she starred in the controversial film Lost Paradise and received good reviews, but this film was an adult movie.

  "That's exactly why it's more challenging." Zhou Xiao said persistently.

  "If this were a movie I invested in or one that my acquaintances invested in, maybe I would take it on. But for you, I won't." Kuroki Hitomi said: "It's not that I'm underestimating the two of your screenwriting and directing abilities, but audiences are strange. If I acted in a familiar person's work, no matter how challenging it was, even if there were huge differences between the two films, people might not say anything. But if I still act in a newcomer's work with such huge differences between the two films, the audience will think it's inappropriate."

  "That...alright." Zhou Xiao didn't know what else to say, whether Hei Mu Cang was thinking that way or not, but she had already refused him. There was no point in persisting anymore.

  "But..."

  "But?"

  "Why didn't you invite her......" Kuroki Hitomi said, not returning the script but tapping on it instead.

  "Who?"

  "If it's this script, you should be able to think of her..."

  "Who comes to mind?"

  Hiroko Yakushi

  "Oh... So you're referring to that senior... " Zhou Xiao and Nagata Koto exchanged a glance, saying somewhat helplessly: "We've already racked our brains trying to find you, but Takane Maru Hiroko-senpai is really hard to get in touch with..."

  "Well...alright then. I'll help you get in touch with them, it's the least I can do to make up for rejecting your script!" said Kuroki Hitomi.

  "Really? That's great! If it's her, she'll definitely act well!" Zhou Xiao excitedly replied.

  Who is Yakushimaru Hiroko? She was once called the second Yamaguchi Momoe, and her tragic W, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, etc. are all famous films that have left a mark on Japan's entertainment industry. Even in 2013, she played an important role in NHK's morning drama "Ama-chan"! Moreover, Zhou Xiao thinks she can play the role of Aya's mother because the original mother in the TV series "One Liter of Tears" was also played by her!

  In fact, after contacting director Nagata Kotaro, Zhou Xiao mentioned that the first choice for Ya's mother was Yakushimaru Hiroko, but neither he nor Nagata Kotaro and Inoue Oyaji were able to contact her.

  As for the reason? In '91, she married Tamaki Hiroshi, also a big star and a member of the popular group Safety Zone, and gradually faded out of the entertainment circle. By '98, after her divorce from Tamaki, she made a comeback, but the former super idol had already become a woman in her thirties approaching middle age, and her popularity from years ago had long been exhausted. For a very long time after her comeback, she could only play some not-so-important supporting roles.

  Two thousand years later, Yakushi Maru Hiroko had no work after playing a minor role on TV Asahi, and to kill time and try to appear on the screen as much as possible, she even took an NHK program about Africa, going all the way to a remote black tribe, but apart from that, she couldn't find any other programs willing to invite her.

  In the history experienced by Zhou Xiao, Yakushi Maru Hiroko, who had been dormant again after starring in a play after paying out, would not receive acting work until 2002.

  When Zhou Xiao looked for Yakushi Maru Hiroko, she was filming a documentary in Africa with an NHK crew. If it were a big director or a big show, perhaps the agency's agent would have contacted her in Africa, but since both the director and producer of this film are newcomers, the agency's interest is not so great.

  Kuroki Hitomi, since she said to contact nature, didn't hesitate. She took out her phone in front of Shuuzou and Nagata Koto, and made a long-distance call to Yakushi Mariko. The two of them are four years apart in age, although they don't have a very deep relationship, but they also get along well as friends.

  The pharmacist's phone signal was intermittent in Africa, but since both parties had decided to contact each other, this would only add some trouble for everyone. Finally, when Kuroki Hitomi told Yakushimaru Hiroko about the current situation and said that the script of this film was very good, Yakushimaru Hiroko was moved: "I still have a week's work here, you can fax me the script first, if it's really good then I'll take it. When I get back, we can start filming directly!"

  "Really? Thank you so much, I and the director are both newcomers, the crew's future matters will depend on your care!" Zhou Xiao excitedly said while holding Hei Mu Dan's phone.

  He wasn't worried at all that Mariko Kusakabe would turn him down, because his script had been praised by both Kotoba Nagata and Tsubaki Kuroki - one a talented actress and the other a professional director. With their endorsement, Zhou Xiao's confidence in his script was still quite sufficient.

  "So in the end, it's just about the other actors." Zhou Xiao said to Nagata Kotona after parting ways with Kuroki Hitomi.

  "Alright, then let's start with the sea election tomorrow."

  It's more like a selection than an audition, because the remaining roles don't have many scenes, so Zhou Xiao and Nagata Kotono basically only need to take out one day to roughly determine the candidates. On the side of the crew, Uncle Inoue's setup is also basically complete.