Chapter 4

Mr. Gui Wensheng rested backstage for a couple of minutes before going on stage again. However, Zhou Xiao had already lost the desire to continue watching. He returned to his dressing room and prepared for the afternoon performance.

Before long, the door to the room was opened again. The person who walked in was none other than Mr. Inoue, who had just called him.

"You're here quite early," Inoue greeted. This theater manager had the typical appearance of a middle-aged Japanese man, with slightly sagging cheeks, a half-bald head, and a somewhat loose suit. Such a person could be seen anywhere on the streets of Japan.

"Good morning to you too!" Although he looked ordinary, Zhou Xiao did not dare to be disrespectful and quickly stood up to greet him.

"What are you doing here so early? It's rather boring," Inoue said.

"There's nothing to do at home, so I thought I'd come and take a look..."

"Grumble..." Before Zhou Xiao could finish speaking, his stomach growled.

Inoue looked at Zhou Xiao, his gaze passing through the old, second-hand suit and landing on Zhou Xiao's stomach. Before leaving, Zhou Xiao had tightened his belt to avoid feeling too hungry, but how could Inoue not notice his extremely tight waist? He smiled understandingly, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? You're such a stubborn kid. Come with me."

"Ah? Where to?" Zhou Xiao asked.

"Where else? To eat, of course," Inoue said.

"Thank you!" If it were the old Zhou Xiao, he might have stubbornly refused at this point, but the current Zhou Xiao wouldn't do that. His stomach was the priority, so he quickly agreed.

"Don't thank me. How much can a meal cost? You're so stubborn, refusing to ask your family for money. If you ruin your health, you'll suffer in the future," Inoue said as he walked, muttering to himself.

Zhou Xiao followed closely behind, nodding humbly. Inheriting the memories of the Japanese Zhou Xiao, he also frowned at the behavior of the previous owner of this body. Fainting from hunger in a rental house just because he didn't want to ask his family for money? How stubborn could someone be?

After leaving the theater, Zhou Xiao and Inoue went straight into a ramen shop. Unless it was a large establishment, there weren't many places in Japan where you could sit at tables or in private rooms. This ramen shop was no exception. As soon as you entered, there was a row of counters, behind which was the kitchen. In front of the counters were about a dozen stools where customers could eat.

Since it was almost noon, there were quite a few customers in the ramen shop. However, the only sound in the entire shop was the clattering of the kitchen staff preparing the noodles. The few customers sitting at the counters made no extra noise, most of them burying their heads and slurping their noodles. One of the peculiar habits of the Japanese is that they always slurp loudly when eating noodles.

"Order whatever you like. I can afford a meal," Inoue said generously.

Zhou Xiao looked up at the counter. Above the counter hung a row of bamboo strips, on which various noodle dishes and their prices were written in calligraphy. On average, they ranged from 300 to 500 yen, which was one of the reasons Inoue could be so generous. Even if Zhou Xiao ate until he was sick, he wouldn't spend more than 2,000 yen.

He ordered a bowl of ramen and started eating.

Perhaps because he had been hungry for too long, Zhou Xiao found the ramen incredibly delicious. The meat on top of the ramen was also very tasty, and the broth was delicious.

As he ate, he began to sob.

Why was he crying? Coming from familiar China to unfamiliar Japan, with no family or friends around, and the era being the one from his memories, it was indeed a good direction. Zhou Xiao was very clear that in this era, as long as there were no major problems, he would definitely achieve success that he could never have in his previous life. But even so, he still felt very uneasy, which was very normal.

"Foolish child," Inoue, who was sitting next to him, didn't know the real reason for Zhou Xiao's tears. He thought Zhou Xiao was crying because he couldn't get food.

Zhou Xiao cried and ate, ate and cried. When his crying subsided, the bowl of ramen was almost finished.

"Blow your nose!" Inoue handed him a few tissues. "Foolish child, after crying, you should honestly talk to your family. What's so shameful about a child asking their parents for money?"

"No, I won't ask for it," Zhou Xiao wiped his eyes and said stubbornly. "If I ask for money, wouldn't all the hardships I've endured be in vain? I must do it on my own."

"Ah... You're such a stubborn child. If you can't handle it, remember to come to me. I can still afford a meal."

"Thank you, Uncle Inoue! I will definitely repay you!" Although it was just a meal and he had only given him a job when he was in dire straits, this act of kindness in his current state deeply moved Zhou Xiao, even though he was no longer the same person as before.

"I can't treat you badly since you call me Uncle. Finished eating? Let's go back. We still have a performance this afternoon," Inoue said.

Mentioning the performance made Zhou Xiao's head ache. The few skits in his memory from the previous owner seemed completely uninteresting to him. If he performed them on stage, the audience might be as cold as absolute zero. But if he didn't perform, given his current penniless state, he couldn't just freeload off Uncle Inoue.

"Unfortunately, I'm just a small manager and can't arrange too many jobs for you, so you have to work hard. Then I can give you more work..." Inoue said as he walked beside Zhou Xiao.

"Uncle Inoue, it's already very good. After today's performance, I'll try to find something else to do," Zhou Xiao said. As soon as these words left his mouth, he felt a deep resistance in his soul.

"It's best that you think this way. You're such a stubborn child. Why are you so fixated on this one path? It's really helpless," Inoue said, shaking his head in frustration. In Zhou Xiao's memory, Inoue had advised him many times when he couldn't get food, but the stubborn young man never listened. That's why Inoue now spoke with regret rather than further persuasion, knowing his advice was useless. Moreover, hearing Zhou Xiao say he would try something else, Inoue understood that he was becoming more flexible and reasonable, as long as he didn't harm his health, it was already very good.

After dinner, Zhou Xiao and Inoue finally returned to the theater. As soon as they entered through the back door, they heard a rather noisy voice from backstage: "You took that kid out for another meal? Zhou Xiao's face is so thick! How can he deceive Uncle Inoue so easily?"

Hearing this, Inoue's face turned awkward, while Zhou Xiao felt a bit subtle. He recognized this voice from his memory.

When they walked in, they saw a man in his thirties pointing at the theater staff and saying some very harsh words: "And you! How could you let Uncle Inoue go so easily? That kid clearly has ulterior motives. If Uncle Inoue is deceived, all of you will pay the price!"

"Sakaguchi! That's enough! Don't go too far!" Inoue said.

This man named Sakaguchi... looked like a comedian!

When someone is said to look like a comedian... it basically means... they are ugly.

And not just the ordinary kind of ugly that can blend into a crowd. A qualified ugly comedian must be ugly in a special way, ugly in a way that makes people remember them at first glance!

What made Sakaguchi unforgettable was his eye bags. Although his eyes looked relatively spirited, the area below them looked as if he had been up for seven or eight days straight, making him look very tired. Only those familiar with him knew that this was almost entirely natural for him.

Thanks to this appearance, he was somewhat famous. He was not only the top comedian in this Daikawa Theater but had even appeared on a morning talk show! Although it was just a few minutes, for such a small theater, this was already a significant achievement, making him a "star."

"Uncle Inoue, you're back?" Hearing Inoue's words, Sakaguchi turned around and said. His mood changed quickly; he had been shouting at the staff just a second ago, but now he was greeting Inoue. His voice wasn't overly flattering but was relatively friendly. In Zhou Xiao's memory, one of the main reasons Sakaguchi could perform regularly here was that the theater's true owner was his relative. However, it wasn't that Sakaguchi needed the theater; rather, the theater needed him. Although it was difficult for him to appear on television, he was a pillar of this small theater.