Chapter 1: The protagonist has already passed away, so how can they talk about love?

On this morning, the final period was finally placed; the entire novel "Love Letter" was completely finished.

Looking at the stack of manuscript paper on the desk, Naoki Nagayama felt as if a lifetime had passed, his spirit seemingly unburdened by a great weight.

Naoki Nagayama chose to go to the bathroom for a shower, and after that, his whole person felt a bit refreshed.

"Finally finished writing!"

Naoki Nagayama looked at Eitaro, who was lying on the floor of the music room, and said with a smile: "Eitaro must feel relieved too, right?"

Because he couldn't relax his body and mind, he hadn't even taken Eitaro out for walks or morning jogs recently, let alone accompanied him to play.

"Eitaro, wait a little longer, I'll take you out for a drive in a while!"

After saying this, Naoki Nagayama saw the manuscript paper on the desk again, and a wave of weariness washed over him.

He didn't feel it when he had a mouse and keyboard before, but now he had actually handwritten over 200,000 characters of the manuscript, his hand had cramped many times, and now his right hand would twitch subconsciously when he saw the manuscript paper.

"Forget it, let's give it to the publisher early; out of sight, out of mind."

Naoki Nagayama separated the movie script, prepared to photocopy the original manuscript of the novel, and then give it to the Shogakukan editor Kuniharu Morikawa for review.

It would definitely be published; it just depended on the price.

He found Kuniharu Morikawa's number in the phone book and called him.

"Hello, this is Kuniharu Morikawa from Shogakukan." The tone was very flat; work calls were naturally very official.

"Morikawa-san, this is Naoki Nagayama."

"Ah, it's Nagayama-san, it's been a long time since we last spoke. Have you finished with the recent movie matters?" Hearing it was the author he had signed, Kuniharu Morikawa's voice suddenly became enthusiastic.

"Hai, the previous movie is basically finished, and I am currently preparing for the filming of the next one."

Naoki Nagayama also shared the progress of his work, but this was not the purpose of his call. After a few pleasantries, the two got to the point:

"Morikawa-san, I'm calling you today because I've finished a new novel and would like to consult you on whether it meets the standards for publication."

"Nani, you've finished another novel?"

Authors of this era were not like the new media editors of later generations, prolific as cows. The importance placed on words and the pursuit of excellence meant that for most authors, publishing one true work a year was already considered very prolific.

Of course, there was also the reason that the cost of publishing paper books was too high, and the editors at the publishing house were very strict.

"Hai, I had a bit of inspiration a while ago, so I wrote it down."

"So that's how it is." Regarding such explosive inspiration, Kuniharu Morikawa didn't ask much; authors, after all, often relied on inspiration to create.

"Then Nagayama-san, bring the novel over today. I'll be here all day."

"Hai, then I'll trouble you, Morikawa-san."

"Hahaha, not at all, this is what I should do."

After agreeing verbally, Naoki Nagayama went out with Eitaro, eating and finding a shop to photocopy the manuscript along the way.

Having not paid attention for a while, the May sun in Tokyo had become intense, as if the passionate summer was waving at you. It was already a season where one could wear short sleeves, and even weak girls could just drape a thin long shirt over themselves.

The dark green leaves on the street had shed their tender colors, facing the increasingly intense sunlight like adults, leaving behind small shadows that formed a cool path on the sidewalk, allowing Naoki Nagayama to stroll through it while pulling Eitaro.

Occasionally seeing one or two wisteria vines climbing on the frame next to the pavilion, dangling clusters of purple flowers hanging high and low from the branches, the faint scent of wisteria flowers lingered on the tip of the nose, attracting pedestrians to stop and watch.

Naoki Nagayama, who had photocopied the manuscript, stayed in the pavilion for a long while before reluctantly returning home with Eitaro.

However, he made up his mind that after the filming of the movie "Hachiko Monogatari" was finished, he must go on vacation and properly enjoy this summer scenery.

But currently, with so many things weighing on his shoulders, he could only take advantage of the gaps to play in the parks of Tokyo first.

Shogakukan was very close to Shanyingyuan, but this time Naoki Nagayama didn't walk over directly; instead, he drove his convertible and brought Eitaro along.

Walking into the square building, the receptionist was still the bespectacled Reiki Nozawa, who didn't know what book she was holding and reading. Working at a publishing house like Shogakukan had one benefit: reading novels would definitely not be considered neglecting one's proper work.

"Nagayama-sensei, you're here!" Following the opening of the door, Reiki Nozawa naturally saw Naoki Nagayama and Eitaro on the side.

"Nozawa-san, long time no see, how have you been lately?"

"Hai, thanks to you, everything is fine." A plain and simple opening to the chat. "Is there something Nagayama-sensei is here at Shogakukan for today?"

"Yes, I have an appointment with Mr. Kuniharu Morikawa to bring a new novel for him to look over."

Naoki Nagayama calmly stated the purpose of coming here, but Reiki Nozawa was very surprised: "Does Nagayama-sensei have a new work again? That's truly amazing, it will definitely be a bestseller again."

"Hahaha, I'll take your kind words, Nozawa-san."

Naoki Nagayama followed Reiki Nozawa to the meeting room he had been to many times, and then waited for Kuniharu Morikawa's arrival.

Reiki Nozawa called Mitsuko Nishihara, who was organizing assets, to help call Kuniharu Morikawa, while she herself went to prepare tea.

"Nagayama-sensei has a new work? That's truly amazing." Mitsuko Nishihara remembered Naoki Nagayama's appearance and said somewhat coyly: "Nozawa-san, let me go prepare the tea~"

Reiki Nozawa rolled her eyes: "You guy, you scramble to see handsome guys whenever you encounter one."

"Hahaha, who told handsome brothers to be a scarce resource."

Naoki Nagayama waited in the meeting room for a while, and Eitaro also cooperated by sitting on the side with his tongue out to rest; the previous walk had already consumed quite a bit of physical strength.

"Nagayama-sensei, please have some tea." The door to the meeting room was pushed open, and Mitsuko Nishihara walked in with a pot of tea on a tray, pouring a cup of tea for Naoki Nagayama. "Editor Morikawa will be here soon."

Although he felt that this young girl's gaze was a bit off, Naoki Nagayama still politely said thank you.

Eh? Why did she stand up on the side? Shouldn't she go out now?

After an awkward minute, Kuniharu Morikawa pushed the door open and entered. After Mitsuko Nishihara poured him tea, she went out.

Seeing Naoki Nagayama, Kuniharu Morikawa was very pleasantly surprised: "Nagayama-san, although we just talked on the phone, I didn't expect you to come so quickly!"

"Haha, I live nearby, so if there's nothing else, naturally I should come early."

Kuniharu Morikawa saw the manuscript on the table and couldn't help but be curious: "Nagayama-san, is this the new novel? Is it children's literature again?"

"No, Morikawa-san, this time I wrote a youth novel."

"Youth novel? Why would Nagayama-san suddenly choose such a field?"

"It's nothing, I just saw some things and suddenly had inspiration."

Kuniharu Morikawa took the manuscript and saw the title "Love Letter" on the cover. His heart tightened; it was indeed youth romance.

Kuniharu Morikawa was a bit worried about the author suddenly changing styles, not to mention that youth romance novels had always been fiercely competitive. Of course, this was also one of the fields where phenomenal novels were most likely to appear.

But out of trust in Naoki Nagayama, Kuniharu Morikawa still started reading. However, he was shocked immediately.

Eh? Is the first chapter written about the male protagonist already having passed away? How can they talk about love like this?

With a complex mood, he continued reading.

The content of one chapter naturally didn't have much, but if read carefully, it would take a few minutes.

"How are you? I am fine."

When seeing this sentence in Bozi's letter, Kuniharu Morikawa suddenly felt that the plain and even slightly relaxed atmosphere paved before the first chapter suddenly became sad.

The longing for a deceased lover was like a thin thread wrapped around the heart; with every heartbeat, one could feel that light touch.

"Is this letter the love letter?"

Kuniharu Morikawa raised his head to look at Naoki Nagayama, feeling a bit emotional and a bit of faint sadness.

Naoki Nagayama didn't answer directly but said to him:

"Morikawa-san, please continue reading."

"Nagayama-san, this novel naturally needs to be read carefully."

Unlike "Summer Garden", Kuniharu Morikawa knew from the thickness of the manuscript that the length of "Love Letter" was much larger, and it was impossible to finish reading it in an hour or two.

Not to mention that after just reading the first chapter, Kuniharu Morikawa had already been attracted.

"But if you want to carefully savor this novel, the waiting time might be quite long. If I leave Nagayama-san here alone, that's not the way to treat a guest."

"Ah, is that so." Naoki Nagayama smiled. "Morikawa-san, anyway, the manuscript has already been given to you, and I don't really have anything to do here, so I'll take my leave for now."

"How can that be? I still wanted to have a good chat with Nagayama-san." Maybe he would even have to treat him to a meal, just like when Naoki Nagayama came the previous few times.

"Hahaha, no need, Morikawa-san, we are already so familiar." Naoki Nagayama said, "It just so happens I have something else to do, and besides, you must really want to continue reading now."

Kuniharu Morikawa was hit by this sentence; he indeed really wanted to continue reading now, wanting to know what happened to that letter in the end, and how Bozi, whose lover had already passed away in the first chapter, would send this letter?

Could it be sent to the underworld?

"Haha, Nagayama-san saw through me." Kuniharu Morikawa didn't argue. "I really want to continue reading."

"Since that's the case, let's meet again after Morikawa-san finishes reading."

"Yes, this time it's really rude of me." Kuniharu Morikawa bowed to apologize.

"Not at all~"

Naoki Nagayama, who had left Shogakukan, took Eitaro straight to the studio, wanting to understand the progress of the movie preparations for the past two days.

"Shuichi-san, is Otomo-san not here?"

Naoki Nagayama saw only Shuichi Yin Tang in the office, plus the three "Hachikos", and was a bit curious.

"That guy Otomo went to contact an actor, and I am taking care of these three protagonists."

Ever since the few "Hachikos" arrived at the studio, he and Tomo Yoshimura had taken turns bringing two small ones home to take care of, while the largest one had a nest built directly in the studio, taken care of by the entire production team together.

Shuichi Yin Tang was immersed in petting the dogs; triple the happiness, who could resist?

Perhaps it was because Eitaro had come again, the small office seemed to have become like a pet shop.

"Go to contact an actor? Which role hasn't been decided yet?" Wasn't it that except for Hachiko's owner, the professor and the professor's wife were played by outside actors, and all other roles were digested internally?

"It's the professor's daughter." Shuichi Yin Tang let go of the few dogs. "The three from the Wild Cat Group are all a bit too old."

"Then Junko Yin Teng can also do it?"

"Junko-san is busy with the promotion of her second single, so she might not have time for now."

Oh, a few days ago, he had already signed the members of the ST band to his studio, and the current record recording had been completed; it was just the time to release the songs.

Naoki Nagayama had been burying his head in writing a book for the past two days and had almost forgotten about this.

"So that's how it is, then who are you looking for?"

"It's an idol turned actor named Nana Okada."

Shuichi Yin Tang thought for a moment. "She is that baby-faced idol who was quite popular a few years ago, but because of that confinement incident, her popularity plummeted, and she transformed from an idol to an actor."

Naoki Nagayama was very confused. For idol artists before 1980, he basically had no impression. The original body was indeed a die-hard fan of Momoe Yamaguchi, and he didn't even look at other idols.

Fortunately, Shuichi Yin Tang took out the information: "It's this one."

Naoki Nagayama flipped through the information; the baby face in the photo was indeed very tender, and the eyes were also very clear, even though she was over 20 years old, it couldn't be seen at all.

"It's this one..."

"Hai, Masataka-kun used to like her very much."

"Eh? Is Masataka-kun's idol coming?" Naoki Nagayama smiled. "Then wouldn't Masataka-kun be overjoyed!"

"It's just a pity that ever since that confinement incident, Masataka-kun hasn't liked her anymore."

"Uh... why?" No matter how he thought about it, Nana Okada was the victim in that incident.

"This kind of thing is hard to say." Shuichi Yin Tang was also a bit strange, but the attitude of fans towards idols was a very subtle thing.

"Some people say it was self-directed and self-acted, some say something else must have happened, and others simply think that the idol's halo no longer exists... In short, after the incident, Nana Okada's popularity dropped very seriously, and she couldn't continue her idol career."

"Alright, anyway, we don't care about these. If it's suitable, let's use her."

Naoki Nagayama still had a bit of sympathy for such idols and was willing to give a chance.

Even from a utilitarian perspective, Nana Okada, who had just fallen from being a top-tier idol, still had a very high level of attention among fans, which was a good gimmick for a movie.

"Shuichi-san, if there's nothing else, I'll go back first. Notify me when filming officially starts~"

Seeing that there was nothing he needed to solve, Naoki Nagayama decided to go back; he could properly relax.

"Hai, the opening ceremony is in a week, Nagayama-san, remember to come~" Shuichi Yin Tang already knew Naoki Nagayama's personality well, and after giving a reminder, he didn't say much more.

Indeed, Nagayama-san staying here had nothing to do and would only cause trouble.

He casually found a ramen shop outside and packed a portion of ramen. Indeed, when hungry, a bowl of hot ramen was the best.

Returning to Shanyingyuan, one person and one dog could finally watch TV while eating in the living room.

All kinds of variety shows were very rich even in the afternoon. Naoki Nagayama slurped the ramen and looked at the screen, suddenly stunned.

In a variety show, a figure with an elongated Seiko hairstyle suddenly appeared, with a baby-fat round face and a brilliant smile.

Eh? Isn't that Akina?

... ===== CHAPTER 2 =====