Su Yu immediately knew Yukino was lying from her reaction.
In truth, he could already guess what she had said to Komachi—
And even what Komachi was thinking.
Yukino wasn't good at deception. Her intentions were too obvious.
And Komachi, though not on the same level as Haruno, was more than capable of reading Yukino's thoughts.
If she could see through Yukino's intentions, she could easily give her a satisfying answer.
"Komachi is very smart. Whatever you ask her, she can always give an answer that you want to hear."
Su Yu whispered in Yukino's ear.
"Are you saying… she lied to me?"
Yukino was stunned.
"Not a lie," Su Yu clarified.
"Komachi doesn't like me that way—she has her own ambitions."
"Her intelligence level is about the same as Ebina Hina, maybe even higher, especially when it comes to emotional intelligence."
"She's… really that smart?"
Yukino seemed doubtful.
"If she had been born into the Yukinoshita family, she could have even replaced your sister."
Su Yu held Komachi in high regard.
"…"
Yukino fell silent.
"Your grades are excellent, but when it comes to social intelligence and conversational skills, you're far behind Komachi—even Yumiko surpasses you in that aspect."
"Komachi is fundamentally kind, so she's not a threat."
"But if she had malicious intent, her cuteness alone could easily deceive people."
"You'll understand how high her emotional intelligence is once you spend more time with her."
Su Yu explained while watching Yukino fall into deep thought.
She absorbed his words carefully.
Since Komachi wasn't an opponent, then it was worth getting closer to her.
She could also see for herself if Komachi was truly that impressive.
As she thought about this, Yukino turned to Su Yu.
He had praised Komachi's intelligence, yet even without hearing their conversation, he had still managed to deduce everything correctly.
…Didn't that mean he was even smarter?
Remembering what Haruno had said, Yukino leaned against Su Yu's shoulder and decided not to overthink it.
No matter what he was planning, she was certain of one thing—
Su Yu truly loved her.
And that was enough.
—
The auditions progressed quickly.
Each voice actor only had a few minutes to perform.
A character's personality was deeply connected to dialogue delivery.
Some skilled voice actors could convey a character's entire essence just through their tone of voice.
Though new voice actors had flaws, they also had unique qualities that made them stand out.
Su Yu spotted several promising talents among them and made a mental note.
When Komachi's turn came—
Su Yu originally thought she would play a little sister role.
But instead—
"Someone once asked me… Do you believe in gods?"
"I answered, 'No.' Because all miracles are nothing more than clever misunderstandings."
"But today… I finally met a god."
"And yet, this so-called god… wants to kill me?"
"How laughable. Truly laughable."
"A god that fears my clan?"
"Come. Kill me. You ridiculous god!"
Komachi's laugh carried an unsettling, deranged tone.
She perfectly embodied a tragic, vengeful villain.
Tamura Wakana was stunned.
Lin Yuèyin's eyes widened—Komachi's performance was on par with seasoned professionals.
Her acting was so immersive, it was almost frightening.
When she finished, she immediately reverted to her usual, polite self.
She bowed and left the recording booth as if nothing had happened.
"This girl is impressive."
"If she's properly trained, she could rival top-tier voice actresses."
Tamura praised Komachi's performance.
"Actually…"
"Su Yu-kun brought her here."
"She's only been training under Shimizu-san for less than a week."
"Before that, she was a complete novice with zero experience in voice acting."
Lin Yuèyin spoke softly.
"…What?"
Tamura froze—she hadn't expected Komachi to be that new.
"She's talented, isn't she?"
Su Yu suddenly appeared behind Tamura, speaking in a low voice.
"Su Yu-kun, where did you even find her?"
"If we had a few more like her, Star悠 could become one of the biggest talent agencies in the industry!"
Tamura sighed.
"She's my friend's little sister."
"Finding one person like her is already rare enough."
Su Yu shook his head.
Tamura felt a wave of regret.
She knew this was natural talent.
Just like Shimizu Saori—her voice acting ability was one of the best in the industry.
She could bring out a character's entire personality no matter what role she played.
"She still has room to grow."
"Don't give Komachi too many opportunities just because of me."
Su Yu told Lin Yuèyin.
"Understood."
Lin Yuèyin nodded.
—
After watching Komachi's audition, Su Yu was done for the day.
He and Yukino left the studio.
As soon as they stepped outside, Su Yu saw Komachi talking to Shimizu Saori.
Yukino noticed Shimizu Saori at the same time.
And Shimizu Saori noticed Yukino.
For a brief moment—
Their eyes met.
They analyzed each other in silence.
There's a certain type of coincidence in this world—
Two people wearing the exact same outfit.
But what made this even more interesting—
Both of them had long, jet-black hair.
Both were breathtakingly beautiful.
The only real difference?
Shimizu Saori was colder.
Her eyes carried a sharp, icy edge—so much so that even Yukino could feel it.
Shimizu Saori walked over.
Yukino glanced at Su Yu beside her.
"Shimizu-san, you're not auditioning today, right?"
Su Yu asked.
"I want to challenge you."
Shimizu Saori looked directly at him.
"Challenge me?"
"I'm not a professional voice actor—just an amateur."
Su Yu shook his head.
"You're not an amateur."
Shimizu Saori said firmly.
"Thanks for the compliment."
"But I don't have time for a challenge."
"I have a date with my girlfriend."
Su Yu smiled.
Shimizu Saori's gaze shifted—
She looked at Yukino.
"Hello."
"I'm Yukinoshita Yukino, Su Yu-kun's girlfriend."
Yukino extended her hand.
"Shimizu Saori."
Shimizu shook her hand briefly—
Then immediately turned and walked away, not bothering to say anything else.
"Su Yu-nii! Yukino-neesan!"
"Have a great date!"
Komachi called out playfully before running after Shimizu Saori.
Yukino glanced at Su Yu.
Su Yu, on the other hand, watched Komachi's retreating figure.
"That Shimizu-san is really beautiful."
Yukino finally spoke.
"Yeah, she's about half as pretty as my Yukino."
Su Yu sighed.
"You always know what to say."
Yukino rolled her eyes.
"If you don't like it, I'll just say it to someone else next time."
Su Yu smirked.
"Who?"
Yukino's voice turned cold.
"Obviously… Yui."
Su Yu winked.
Yukino glared at him and walked ahead.
Su Yu laughed and followed after her.