hotmtlnovel Page 122
Page 122
His "surveillance" was more like meticulous protection, without any malice.
He knew everything about her, yet he never interfered in her life, only giving her a gentle push when she was about to stray from her course.
This kind of protection is gentle, yet carries a heartbreaking sense of distance.
Who is he?
Was it a stern-faced teacher at the voice acting school? A senior colleague in the industry who admired her? Or...?
Countless faces flashed through her mind, only to be rejected one by one.
The trail seemed to have gone cold once again, but this time, Nanami was not discouraged.
Instead, she gained a clearer sense of direction.
Mr. X is in Tokyo, right next to me, maybe even... someone I know.
This realization gave her a strange feeling, a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
She put everything back into the wooden box and placed it deep inside the drawer.
She knew that she wouldn't find the answer this way.
Perhaps she should try a different approach.
From now on, she will use her own eyes to observe everyone around her.
Perhaps in some unexpected moment, Yinqiyi San'er will discover those gentle eyes that have been secretly watching her.
……
VIP ward at the University of Tokyo Hospital.
The ticking of the monitoring instruments was the only constant rhythm in this pure white space.
"Itsuka-kun, the situation is a little... trickier than we expected." Professor Igarashi, the attending physician, took off his glasses, rubbed his tired brow, and spoke in a heavy tone.
"The rate of cell decay in your body is accelerating abnormally. At the current rate, our original estimate of three months may need to be... reassessed."
Yuto Itsuki listened quietly, his face expressionless, as if the doctor were talking about someone else's body.
He glanced out the window; the weather was lovely today, sunlight streaming through the glass and casting warm patches of light on the sheets.
"How much time is left?" His voice was calm.
Professor Igarashi was silent for a moment before speaking with difficulty: "...One month at most."
“Is that so?” Yuto nodded, as if confirming something trivial. “I understand. Thank you, Professor Igarashi.”
After the doctor left, the ward returned to silence.
One month.
More than three million seconds.
For a sixteen-year-old boy, this is almost equivalent to a death sentence.
But for Yuto, it was just a simulation.
He felt neither sadness nor fear.
From the moment he accepted this cheat code and chose to enter this simulated world, he became aware of the corresponding implications.
He just felt that some things had to be done within this month.
He picked up the laptop from the bedside table and turned it on.
The screen lit up, revealing his thin and slightly pale face.
He logged into an encrypted email account under the pseudonym "Mr. X".
After being publicly mentioned by Nanami at the Seiyuu Taisho Awards, the name "Mr. X" has become a well-intentioned legend in the industry.
Many people wanted to know who this mysterious talent scout was, but with the help of the system, Youdou's anonymity measures were flawless, and no one could find out.
This gave him the final, and greatest, advantage.
He pulled up a draft email that he had prepared beforehand.
The recipient is Makoto Shinkai, a legendary figure in the Japanese animation industry, the last disciple of Hayao Miyazaki, the soul of Studio Ghibli, and an animation director known for his healing style and magnificent imagination.
Yuto's fingers tapped lightly on the keyboard, making final adjustments.
[To Director Shinkai, This letter is addressed to you.]
[I am writing to you with the sole purpose of recommending the most talented and gifted young voice actress I have ever met—Nanami Aoyama.]
Her voice held both the cool clarity of the stars and the warmth of the earth.
Her understanding of the character transcends technique and reaches the very soul.
[It is understood that the voice actress for the female lead, 'Chiyo,' in your next project, the theatrical anime film titled 'The Last Starry Night,' which has been in development for five years, remains undecided.]
I dare to assert that the seven seas of Qingshan are the voice you are searching for.
She can give life to 'Chiyo', and she can also make your starry sky truly shine.
This is not a demand, but merely a recommendation; I trust your judgment.
【——X】
The letter was written with extreme restraint, yet it was filled with undeniable confidence.
Yuto knows that directors like Makoto Shinkai value "spirit" most.
He used his reputation to give Nanami his final endorsement.
"The Last Starry Sky for You" is a ten-year project that is expected to be produced as a trilogy.
If Nanami can secure the lead role, it means she will have a stable and high-quality top-tier resource for the next ten years.
This is enough to allow her to smoothly navigate the transition pains after her rookie period and truly grow into a pillar of the industry.
After doing all this, he gently pressed the "send" button.
The email sent successfully popped up, and Yuto let out a long sigh of relief, a huge feeling of exhaustion instantly washing over him.
He leaned against the headboard and slowly closed his eyes.
He paved the final leg of her journey. The rest, she had to walk on her own.
He believed her.
……
Lately, Aoyama Nanami has been feeling somewhat uneasy.
Despite her work going smoothly and her life getting back on track, her heart would occasionally, for no apparent reason, clench and ache.
It was a very slight, yet undeniable feeling, like an invisible hand gently grasping her heart.
Especially in the quiet of the night, that inexplicable premonition, as if something important is about to be lost, becomes exceptionally clear, making her toss and turn, unable to fall asleep.
"Am I too tired? Am I under too much pressure?" she said to herself in the mirror, trying to dispel this unease with rational analysis.
That afternoon, she was invited back to her alma mater, Seminyak University of the Arts, to give an experience-sharing session for the younger generation of the drama department.
After the sharing session, she was surrounded by several enthusiastic junior students who chattered about all sorts of questions.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd, a familiar name drifted into her ears.
"Speaking of which, didn't we have a senior named Itsuka Yuto in our high school's general studies department? I heard he was the one with the best grades," a girl said.
“Ah, I know him! He was quite handsome, but he wasn’t very talkative. I think he took a long-term leave of absence from school and I’ve never seen him since,” another girl chimed in.
“I went to the hospital to see my grandma a couple of days ago, and I think I saw his name on the list of patients in the inpatient department... I don’t know if it’s the same person.”
"Huh? Really? Is it a serious illness?"
Itsuka Yuuto...
The name, like a rusty key, was suddenly thrust into the lock of Nanami's memories.
She had an impression.
He was her classmate in her first year of high school.
A boy who always sits quietly by the window, has excellent grades, and is handsome.
They hardly interacted; the only impression he left was that he always seemed to be engrossed in writing something.
He never came to school again after that.
All people know is that he dropped out of school due to illness, but no one knows the specific illness.
So, he had been hospitalized the whole time?
A strange emotion suddenly welled up in Nanami's heart.
Was it out of sympathy for an old classmate? Or something else? She herself couldn't say for sure.
But that name, and that quiet profile, lingered in her mind, refusing to fade away.
She did not associate the name with the mysterious Mr. X.
This is ridiculous.
How could a high school student who is bedridden for years possibly have the power to influence the direction of the industry?
This was just a minor incident, which she quickly forgot about.
I returned to my apartment at night.
Nanami stood on the balcony, looking down at the brightly lit Tokyo below.
That familiar feeling of palpitation washed over me once again.
She instinctively covered her chest, her brows furrowed.
In the distance, the city skyline was clearly outlined by neon lights.
And somewhere within that sea of light, in a quiet hospital room, a young boy was also gazing at the same night sky.
His breathing gradually weakened, but his eyes remained unusually calm and gentle.
He knew that his countdown was about to reach zero.
And that star in the night sky has found its own orbit, and from now on, it will shine forever.
that's enough.
……
Volume 1: Chapter 127: I'm sorry, and then, goodbye.
Yuto Itsuka's body was like a withered branch being roasted over a fire, the high fever evaporating the last bit of moisture from his body.
Consciousness teetered on the edge of lucidity and drowsiness, each breath accompanied by excruciating pain from deep within the lungs.
In his field of vision, the white ceiling and the blurry figures of doctors and nurses alternated, forming the monotonous backdrop of the last days of his life.
"Yuto-kun, the situation is not optimistic." The attending physician removed his stethoscope, his tone grave.
"Your physical functions are declining rapidly, so be prepared."
Yuto Itsuka smiled inwardly, but he didn't even have the strength to twitch his lips.
He was already ready.
From the moment he decided to play "Mr. X," from the moment he tied the meaning of his existence to the dream of that girl in another parallel universe, he had already stood on the finish line.
He just felt that time was even more scarce than he had anticipated.
Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the sheets.
He struggled to turn his eyes, as if he could see through the wall to the girl shining brightly in the center of the stage on the other side of Tokyo.
"Help me..." he whispered to the nurse standing by, "bring me my laptop."
The nurse hesitated for a moment, but eventually complied and placed the computer on the bedside stand.
My fingertips moved across the keyboard with unusually slow speed, each keystroke requiring tremendous effort.
However, his thoughts were clearer than ever before.
He wasn't making arrangements for his own funeral, but rather laying the final foundation for a future called "Aoyama Nanami".