Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1612 - 1610: Genius and Willfulness

In 765 Production, there are two people whose thought process Fang Zheng can’t quite understand.

One is Kiyone Shijou, and the other is Hoshii Miki.

Takane is more like a mystic + radio wave, when she talks, it feels mysterious and hard to grasp, but at least she is normal on a common sense level and gets along with people fine.

But Miki is different; she is a complete egoist, and more annoyingly, her thought process is quite different from normal people’s.

Take the current situation for example, if a regular person accidentally steps on someone else’s foot, they just apologize and it’s over, as long as the other party isn’t petty, it’s nothing more than a nodding matter.

But as for Miki? She not only stepped on someone’s foot but also apologized with a cheeky smile.

And Miki does this because she doesn’t think it’s intentional, so as long as she shows goodwill, it’s over.

But a person steps on someone else’s foot and then hurriedly apologizes.

And a person steps on someone else’s foot and then apologizes with a cheeky smile... not to mention that the other party is a leading actor while Miki is just a high-level extra...

Fang Zheng thinks that if he encountered such a thing, he wouldn’t just laugh it off.

This is not just about being petty but rather a matter of etiquette.

However, looking at Miki’s pouty appearance, she clearly hasn’t realized this point.

To be honest, with her personality, it’s rare for her to live so carefreely in Japan, where courtesy and rules are important. Of course, her looks and talent are probably key factors. If she looked average and had such a wilful personality, she would have been taught a lesson by society long ago.

"What’s wrong? Did Miki do something wrong?"

"Technically, you didn’t do anything wrong, but you didn’t do it right either."

Looking at Miki in front of him, Fang Zheng explained the situation. Today’s shooting is only halfway through, and if Miki continues to sulk with that big-name star, it will undoubtedly be her who gets kicked out in the end. After all, they can’t replace a main actor for a high-level extra, right?

If it were the star’s fault, then Fang Zheng would have a way to deal with them. But now the rationale is not on his side, so besides "persuading and educating" Miki, Fang Zheng had no other options.

"What a bother."

After hearing Fang Zheng’s explanation, Miki pouted, displeased.

"But Miki already apologized to her."

"But you shouldn’t have smiled."

Fang Zheng pointed out the key issue.

"It’s a matter of etiquette."

"Ugh..."

Although Miki was still somewhat reluctant, she nodded.

"Alright, go apologize to Ms. Kimura again, and this time you know what to say."

In the end, Fang Zheng accompanied Miki to find Ms. Kimura, and then Miki obediently apologized to her. This time, the veteran actor didn’t give Miki any more trouble. As Fang Zheng said, it was just a matter of etiquette, and once resolved, it’s no longer an issue.

After that, Miki performed excellently and successfully completed the remaining filming.

Standing outside the set, watching Miki’s performance, Fang Zheng nodded silently. In Fang Zheng’s view, Miki has strong acting talent, and if she can seize the opportunity, she should become very popular.

In Fang Zheng’s view, Miki is essentially an all-around talent, with outstanding acting skills, a strong sense of variety, good singing, and excellent dancing.

She is a perfect five-sided warrior.

The only flaw is her personality.

But thinking about it, if it weren’t for Miki’s personality, she might not have been picked up by 765 Production; she might have been snatched up by those big agencies long ago.

Especially after observing Miki, Fang Zheng discovered a big problem with her.

That is, she never cares about her fans.

Haruka and the others cherish their fans very much, which is normal. Idols need fans. Without an audience, without fans, they have no value of existence.

But Miki is different; her egoism is almost absolute. Everything is determined first by her own mood, whether it’s good or bad. Simply put, Miki belongs to the kind of person who, if happy, could pluck the moon from the sky for you, but if not, wouldn’t bow to even the king.

Her capriciousness index and talent are off the charts, which is also the most headache-inducing aspect for Fang Zheng.

To put it bluntly, if one day Miki finds being an idol uninteresting, she would outright say she’s quitting the next day.

Fang Zheng believes Miki would definitely do something like this.

She wouldn’t care how many fans or idols she has. From the beginning, Miki has been absolutely self-centered; she wants to easily become an idol, doesn’t want to suffer, and doesn’t want to be unhappy. Since being an idol, bouncing around on stage is fun, that’s why she wants to become one.

It’s that simple; as for bringing happiness to others or hoping everyone can shine together, she doesn’t have any of those "official motivations" at all.

This is also why Fang Zheng is hesitant about whether or not to promote her, because Miki has enough talent, and if well-coordinated, Fang Zheng is confident enough to help her win the Platinum Idol Grand Prize.

But Fang Zheng is very doubtful what choice Miki will make by then.

Like today, if he hadn’t come, Miki might have had a falling out with that veteran star, getting labeled as "disrespectful to seniors" or "disregarding seniority." This is one of the most troublesome perceptions in Japan, and with such a label, Fang Zheng would find it much more difficult to find work for Miki in the future.

It might even implicate the entire 765 Production.

Honestly, having traveled through so many worlds, this is the first time Fang Zheng has met someone as "free-spirited" as Miki, to the point where he is also somewhat cautious because this concerns the completion of his mission. If Fang Zheng promotes Miki, the benefits and the potential risks that come with it are equally significant.

What comes next depends on his decision.

After this, the filming ended smoothly, and Miki returned to a good mood, joking and laughing with Fang Zheng as they walked out of the TV station — she belongs to the faction within 765 that really enjoys taking rides in the car Fang Zheng drives.

However, what Fang Zheng didn’t expect was that as he and Miki reached the entrance, several cars arrived and stopped in front of the TV station. Then the car doors opened, and a group of people got out and entered the TV station. Leading the group were several bodyguards in black suits, and in the middle were Morikawa Yuki, whom Fang Zheng had briefly encountered in this world, and next to her was none other than Komizo Yukina.

"Is she Komizo Yukina?"

At this moment, Miki, out of curiosity, leaned close to Fang Zheng and asked in a low voice, while Fang Zheng nodded. He observed carefully and found that Yukina’s expression wasn’t great. Though she appeared to be smiling with a calm demeanor, Fang Zheng could tell that Yukina seemed somewhat nervous and uneasy.

Could it be something like an unspoken rule?

Upon thinking this, Fang Zheng focused his gaze on Yukina and activated Future Sight. He then saw Yukina entering the TV station, arriving at Studio 3, preparing for a program... changing clothes... well, you don’t say, Yukina’s figure is quite good. Hmm, white, it does suit her.

To be honest, with Future Sight, Fang Zheng doesn’t even need to peep anymore.

Peeping is so low-level now, and it’s a crime! But what I’m seeing is the future on a timeline, strictly speaking, it’s not even reality — since it’s not reality, how could it be a crime?

However, until Fang Zheng used Future Sight to see Yukina go home and sleep, he didn’t see anything like the "New Idol’s Pillow Business.AVI" that he anticipated; everything seemed normal.

So why does she look so unhappy?

Although Fang Zheng could find out by using Ratziel, he wouldn’t do it, after all, seeing through people’s hearts is a very dangerous thing. Fang Zheng never uses Ratziel to investigate the inner thoughts of anyone around him, doing so would only isolate him completely.

At this moment, the TV station staff came out to greet them. Someone who looked like a supervisor was talking to Morikawa Yuki, and at this time, Yukina seemed to notice Fang Zheng’s gaze and looked in his direction. At this point, Fang Zheng had already withdrawn his gaze and turned toward the main entrance with Meixi.

"Let’s go, back to the office."

"Okay!"

Hearing Fang Zheng speak, Meixi nodded vigorously, then cheerfully hugged Fang Zheng’s arm.

"By the way, producer, Meixi wants to eat cake!"

"Buy one and take it back to the office for everyone to share."

"Then Meixi wants fruit cake!"

Watching their backs as they left, Yukina was taken aback, and the hand she was about to raise slowly lowered — especially after seeing Meixi intimately holding Fang Zheng’s arm (although Fang Zheng quickly pushed her away), Yukina’s eyes became considerably dimmer.

At that moment, Yuki’s voice rang out.

"What’s the matter, Yukina?"

"Sister Yuki?"

Hearing Morikawa Yuki’s call, Yukina turned her head to look at the woman beside her again.

"Nothing, just thought I saw someone familiar..."

As she spoke, Yukina glanced back at the entrance, but Fang Zheng and Meixi had already disappeared without a trace.

"...Maybe I was mistaken."

"I see."

Morikawa Yuki didn’t think much of it, she just followed Yukina’s gaze for a moment before quickly looking away.

"Alright, today’s program is very important to you, you understand that... Are you ready?"

Hearing Yuki’s words, Yukina was silent for a moment, then looked at the entrance again before looking away.

"I’m ready, Sister Yuki."

While Yukina was working hard for her future, Fang Zheng had already brought Meixi back to the office—at this time, most of the others had also returned.

"I’m back."

Fang Zheng pushed the door open and greeted the girls sitting on the sofa, and Haruka hurriedly returned the greeting.

"You’re back, producer, and Meixi... how was today’s work?"

"Haruka, listen to me. Today at the filming site..."

Upon returning, Meixi enthusiastically shared her experiences from the filming site with Haruka, while Fang Zheng went over to Sora and spoke in a low voice.

"Let me see the current progress."

"Alright, brother, here it is."

Hearing Fang Zheng, Sora immediately took out a sheet and handed it to him. While Fang Zheng was busy running around outside, she hadn’t been idle either. This sheet recorded the current work status of each artist and the degree of their Popularity Points increase, somewhat akin to viewing growth metrics in a management simulation game.

At Amagi Brilliant Park, Sora did similar work, so she was long accustomed to it.

"Hmm..."

Fang Zheng looked over the sheet, only to find, helplessly, that among everyone, Meixi’s popularity was rising the fastest. Although others had improvements in their Popularity Points, they still couldn’t compare with Meixi.

"Is Meixi really that popular?"

"Well, aren’t all men like that?"

Sora quietly retorted.

"According to my online research, that’s indeed the case."

"Actually, it’s not surprising..."

Fang Zheng grasped the sheet, his expression turning a bit strange. As for Haruka, her presence is somewhat faint. Chihaya sings well, but she’s a bit of a recluse, just like Touma, so it’s understandable that her popularity isn’t high. Touma is also like that; before the school festival, the boys in Fang Zheng’s class kept their distance from her, even though Touma is indeed beautiful. Her demeanor of keeping strangers at bay really doesn’t make her likable.

Until her performance at the school festival, some boys started confessing to her—of course, nothing came of it.

As for Meixi, although her personality is baffling, if you didn’t know her personality, Meixi really only has likeable qualities left—good figure, high appearance, lively, cute, and funny. It’s only natural she’d have many male fans.

Kisaragi Chihaya’s conditions are actually a bit worse than Touma’s.

Her singing skill is much higher than Touma’s, but unfortunately, Touma has a much better figure than her.

But Yayoi Takatsuki is only thirteen years old!

From the current perspective, promoting Meixi seems to be the only option left. After all, the mission only lasts for a year, and more than a month has already passed. From the perspective of growth and Popularity Points, nurturing Meixi seems the most likely way to complete the mission.

"So, brother, how is it?"

"Looking at it for now..."

Fang Zheng reached out and tapped the table.

"It seems to be the only choice."

Although it’s a bit risky, it’s still worth trying.