"Oh? Is it really okay to trouble Sakurajima Mai..."
Ruby seed a bit surprised and looked to Duanmu Huai for help, but Duanmu Huai nodded.
"It’s fine, since Mai said she wants to do it, let’s just leave it to her. Besides, we haven’t decided what to eat anyway."
"Well... okay."
Ruby took it well. She furrowed her brows, thought for a mont, then decided to stop worrying and continued watching TV. anwhile, Duanmu Huai took the opportunity to head to the kitchen, where he saw Mai skillfully chopping vegetables.
"There’s not much in the fridge, so I can only make curry. Is that okay? I’ll buy groceries when I co back starting tomorrow. If there’s anything you can’t eat, let know in advance."
"Ah, okay..."
By the way, this isn’t your ho, are you really planning on having dinner at my place every day? Why are you living next door then?
Duanmu Huai just grumbled inwardly and then returned to the topic.
"By the way, I encountered sothing that might be Adolescent Syndro today."
"Oh?"
Hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, Sakurajima Mai paused and handed over a potato.
"Peel this for ."
"Okay."
Duanmu Huai took the potato and peeled it while recounting today’s incident at the club to Sakurajima Mai, who also furrowed her brows as she listened.
"You an the script wasn’t even finished yet, but there was a DVD fild according to it? And no one knows who the actors are?"
"Exactly, after that I went to check the F Class roster, and I couldn’t find those people. But..."
"But?"
"There are a few blank spots on the roster."
"..."
Hearing this, Sakurajima Mai turned her head.
"You an, you suspect those people might be like , unable to be recognized by others?"
"It’s unclear at the mont, but this matter indeed seems strange, so I’m planning to investigate to see if I can find any clues."
As Duanmu Huai spoke, he let out a cold hum.
"Can you believe it? That group filming, actually decided everything by vote."
"Vote?"
"Exactly, the class president showed their eting records. For the cultural festival, most people voted for a movie. Then, the genre, the majority chose a mystery film... just like this, one decision after another by vote. Even the filming location, number of deaths in the script, the thod of death, all decided by vote."
At this point, Duanmu Huai shook his head speechlessly.
"To shirk responsibility to this extent, I am speechless too. If they really don’t want to do it, they might as well not do it."
What Duanmu Huai dislikes most about Japanese culture is this kind of ambiguity. As ntioned before, in Japanese culture, once soone takes responsibility, it ans they are subject to the whole society’s moral judgnt. Because of this, Japanese people are extrely reluctant to take responsibility, so they’ve co up with this thod to disperse responsibility.
In the end, even if the movie turns out bad, it’s the whole class’s responsibility, not one person’s.
Seeing the eting records at the ti, Duanmu Huai was very puzzled, with everyone like this, they might as well not do it, what kind of nonsense is this? If it were Duanmu Huai encountering such a situation, he would have just quit.
"If that’s the case..."
Upon hearing this, Sakurajima Mai pondered for a mont.
"Maybe the problem isn’t with those few people, but with the others."
"Hmm? In what way?"
"Xiao Ai, you ntioned before that the film was really bad."
"Beginner’s level, more or less."
"But really bad, right?"
"That’s true, the cara work and acting, none of it was up to standard."
"I guess... they might not be able to accept this situation."
"???"
Facing Sakurajima Mai’s response, Duanmu Huai was a bit surprised.
"In what way?"
"Anyone who puts effort into creating sothing hopes it will turn out well, or at least be of average quality. If the quality is terribly bad, isn’t it a waste of effort for the other students?"
"Ordinary students, none of them in performing arts, such results are not surprising, right?"
"Indeed, Xiao Ai, as an artist, you may think that, but you know, the audience doesn’t care about that."
"Oh... that’s true."
Upon hearing this, Duanmu Huai imdiately understood Sakurajima Mai’s point. He recalled a previous experience before traveling, where a director invested millions into a film that flopped at the box office. The director got defensive, angrily lashing out at the audience online, accusing them of not understanding art, while the audience criticized his film as a waste of money.
Exactly, it’s that simple.
Ultimately, what’s being created for people to view shouldn’t be about technique or artistry, but whether the audience finds it interesting or not.
The audience doesn’t care how much money was invested in a film, which stars were involved, or what new technologies were used—they only care whether the film is entertaining.
Likewise, for outsiders, how much F Class put into this movie doesn’t matter; what’s important is whether or not it’s good.
From this perspective, that movie is completely out.
"So you an the students of F Class thought the movie was too bad, subconsciously wanting to forget it like one would forget a shaful history? But why did the actors disappear?"
"Because they’re amateurs—lighting, music, cara work, script—they can’t articulate what’s good or bad. But acting, that’s straightforward; one can tell if it’s good or not at a glance. Maybe they believe their parts of responsibility are fine, and it’s simply the actors’ poor performances—haven’t we encountered occurrences like this often?"
"That is..."
Duanmu Huai silently sighed. When making films and TV shows, discussions like this often arise. While audiences may not understand the technicality, they can see who is performing well or not. Therefore, in such instances, it’s the actors who take the bla.
While insiders might provide fair evaluations, outsiders...
"So you an, they think those few actors ruined their work, and if they weren’t there, the movie wouldn’t be bad?"
"It’s convenient to bla others, especially when it’s decided by vote."
When the majority believes you’re guilty, you’re truly guilty.
The famous saying ’the majority rules’ applies here.
However, for Duanmu Huai, he’s better at turning the majority into the minority.
"Honestly, if such a syndro can cause people to disappear due to this, Adolescent Syndro would be terrifying."
Duanmu Huai rubbed his chin and picked up another potato.
"What’s your plan then?"
"I’ll chat with them again, um... thanks for the advice, I’ve co up with a good idea."
As Duanmu Huai spoke, he revealed a sly grin. Sakurajima Mai’s suggestion reminded him of when he served as the Wind Ensemble Club advisor, when Nakaseko Kaori and Kousaka Rina fiercely competed for a solo spot. Many in the Wind Ensemble Club sided with Nakaseko Kaori, believing Kousaka Rina should respect seniors.
Japanese people are like that, often hiding behind others; their language too, regarding ambiguous expressions, no language compares to Japanese. Ultimately, such ambiguous expressions are to avoid taking responsibility.
Back then, those people in the Wind Instrunt Club pushed Nakaseko Kaori as a front to avoid being seen as hating Kousaka Rina, trying to make it sound reasonable.
But ultimately, they just don’t want to take responsibility.
This can be noticed in dramas and such; when Japanese get angry, they almost always shout to the other person, "Take responsibility, be responsible!" or "Bring the person responsible out!"
In other countries, this seems mild, asking soone to be responsible doesn’t pack a punch. Why not curse more harshly? Just spitting WTF three tis sounds tougher.
But in the context of Japanese culture, this is pretty much equivalent to saying "go die".
So you see, Japanese are such bickers, procrastinating.
It’s the sa for F Class students. If, as Sakurajima Mai suggests, they subconsciously hope those few actors will bear the bla to avoid criticism, and thus the actors disappear... then Duanmu Huai wouldn’t mind helping these idiots truly realize who’s the real disgrace in this makeshift troupe.
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