Chapter 1054: The man who once dominated the headlines of the entertainment industry~

Near noon, Nagayama Naoki drove his convertible to the Tree Friend building.

As Akina's due date got closer and closer, the time he spent at home got longer and longer, and every day he would take time to deal with work matters.

At present, the editing and release of "Tiger of Ginza" were proceeding step by step, and the Tokyo International Film Festival was also led by Aritomo Yoshimura and the preparatory committee, with preparations proceeding calmly.

Even the latest manga business, under the leadership of Yin Tangxiu, the latest chapter of "Slam Dunk" was also successfully serialized...

Now only "Voice of Neon" needed him to keep an eye on it from time to time.

"Naoki-san~"

Xing Jiahua at the front desk was very surprised to see Nagayama Naoki; it was already noon,

"Why did you come over at noon today?"

"Have an appointment with Aritomo-san, he's here, right?"

"Hai!" Xing Jiahua suddenly realized, "So he was waiting for Naoki-san... no wonder Aritomo-san has been in the office all morning... and turned down many social engagements..."

"Er..."

Could it be he was waiting for me the whole time?!

He had only said to chat for a while in the morning!

Nagayama Naoki didn't say much and immediately got on the elevator... If he kept waiting, maybe Aritomo-san would explode!

Knocking open the office door, Nagayama Naoki found that Aritomo Yoshimura wasn't sitting behind the desk reviewing documents as usual, but was sitting on the sofa brewing tea with a tea table...

Seeing Nagayama Naoki come in, Aritomo Yoshimura opened his mouth calmly:

"You're here~"

"I'm here~"

"You're late!"

"But I'm still here!"

"We agreed on the morning..."

"It hasn't passed yet, has it~"

"....."

After a long while, Aritomo Yoshimura could no longer maintain a calm state of mind, rolled his eyes, and said angrily:

"Naoki-san, do you know that I turned down many social engagements just to wait for you?! The preparation for the Tokyo International Film Festival, the dinner parties with partner companies..."

"Hai hai hai~ Sumimasen~"

Nagayama Naoki could only apologize,

"Aritomo-san, please be magnanimous..."

Although it was like a quarrel in the office, Aritomo Yoshimura wasn't actually angry, just complaining normally.

Speaking of which, Aritomo Yoshimura was even a bit grateful for the excuse Nagayama Naoki gave, which allowed him to turn down those social engagements.

Those preparatory meetings, dinner parties, and the like—the members participating were all scheming against each other, and saying one sentence required going through hundreds of thoughts. It was better to leisurely taste tea in the office and enjoy life~

After a while, Nagayama Naoki also drank tea:

"Aritomo-san... the 'Voice of Neon' program group has started contacting contestants, right?"

"Mm, after you gave the selected contestants to Fujiwara Kazuhisa, they started contacting them... but the contestants are distributed in various places, and it will take some time to come to Tokyo..."

Aritomo Yoshimura said casually,

"It should start recording next Saturday..."

"Naoki-san, will you be going when recording starts?"

"Mm, the recording of the first season naturally needs to be watched..." Nagayama Naoki said, "After all, I still have the title of producer hanging on it..."

Other detailed work such as the program host, venue renovation, sound tuning, and recording, Nagayama Naoki had also reviewed.

The producer of "Voice of Neon" was Fujiwara Kazuhisa, Tree Friend and NTV were joint producers, and the director, screenwriter, and planner were all people from the working group. Nagayama Naoki just had the title of producer hanging on it.

But everyone knew who the real boss of this program was.

"Naoki-san..." Aritomo Yoshimura suddenly brought up a topic, "I heard you picked some very good contestants yesterday? And went to praise them to the 'Voice of Neon' working group below?"

"Ah... indeed, the vocal conditions were very good..." Nagayama Naoki said with a smile, "Plus the few contestants before that weren't very good, so by comparison, they were even more excellent!"

Nagayama Naoki continued:

"I even went to the working group and lectured them; the standard for the first screening must be guaranteed!"

"Cough cough~ Yes, yes, the first impression must be guaranteed."

Otomo Yoshimura coughed; those few tapes he had shoved in really didn't meet the requirements, after all.

"However, my meaning is... when you planned 'Voice of Neon' initially, the original intention was to find singers for those few songs... now listening to them, are there any you are satisfied with?"

"This~"

Although Nagayama Naoki was very satisfied with Izumi-nee-san's voice, it wasn't the time to decide directly. After all, the characteristics needed for each song were different. Maybe he could find a singer with explosive power like Ohguro Maki in "Voice of Neon"~

"Let's talk about it when the final showdown comes~"

Leaning on the sofa, Nagayama Naoki looked at the contestant data of "Voice of Neon," as if he wanted to find more stars of tomorrow from it.

"Alright~" Aritomo Yoshimura tasted the tea, "Then... the mentors of the program, does Naoki-san want to make contact? Kenji Sawada, Takuro Yoshida, Miyuki Nakajima, and Hideki Saijo... give them some instructions on the direction and standards of the program..."

"Haha, Hideki-san is already an acquaintance~" Nagayama Naoki laughed, "As for the others..."

Kenji Sawada seemed to be having an underground affair with Yuko Tanaka right now, and Nagayama Naoki had a good relationship with Yuko Tanaka, so he felt very awkward seeing him.

Takuro Yoshida and Miyuki Nakajima were both singer-songwriters, and Nagayama Naoki didn't have any insights into music creation; he was simply standing on the shoulders of giants.

Music, after all, wasn't like movies, where one could pull out a bunch of things casually~

"I'm not familiar with the music industry anyway, so let's keep it like this for now."

"But you will have to meet them when recording..."

In Aritomo Yoshimura's heart, Nagayama Naoki was actually arrogant and didn't take other musicians to heart, so he disdained making friends with them.

"When the time comes, it's best if Naoki-san gives some face... make the scene look better."

"Haha, someone as easy to get along with as me, how could I not give people face?!"

Then why don't you attend so many competitions, awards, and even program invitations in the music industry?!

You have to know that there were already voices in the music industry saying "the Neon music industry is not worthy of Nagayama Naoki"!

While Nagayama Naoki and Aritomo Yoshimura were chatting in the office, the "Bungeiza" cinema in Ikebukuro gathered many reporters once again.

This cinema had already become a dedicated movie press conference venue for Tree Friend... even the lobby had been expanded once to facilitate media press conferences.

Kijima Shizhi, Komori Masataka, Nao Saejima, and the main creative team of "Tiger of Ginza"... even Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung, who had returned to Hong Kong last month, had come to the scene again.

"Director Kijima, is Naoki-san not coming today?"

In the backstage room, Leslie Cheung asked Director Kijima Shizhi.

"Naoki-san..." Kijima Shizhi sighed, "He said that if he came to attend the media meeting, everyone's attention would fall on him... and it would steal the limelight of the movie 'Tiger of Ginza' itself..."

Leslie Cheung didn't have enough understanding of Nagayama Naoki's fame in the Neon entertainment industry and asked unexpectedly:

"How could such a thing happen? Naoki-san is not a star! Nor is he the lead actor..."

Nagayama Naoki was not the director, not the lead actor, and didn't even have his name listed as a screenwriter this time. At most, he was a member of the investor Tree Friend Films, but he said he was afraid that he alone would steal the limelight of the entire movie...

What was even more outrageous was that Kijima Shizhi thought what he said made sense~

"Because he is Nagayama Naoki..." Kijima Shizhi sighed again, "The man who once dominated the headlines of the entertainment industry!"

Actually, he had been low-key since the beginning of this year. In the previous two years, Nagayama Naoki really made headlines casually...

Things like "Playboy Naoki has a new prey," "Director Nagayama's scandal reappears," "In love with a big star," "Famous writer wins a big award!", "Publicly admits to a relationship..."

Even his family background was discussed repeatedly, but they didn't dare to put it on the headlines due to the pressure of the Yamaguchi-gumi~

It could be said that in the previous few years, Nagayama Naoki was the guarantee of traffic and exposure, even higher than the exposure rate of stars!

"Naoki-san..."

Leslie Cheung felt he had underestimated Nagayama Naoki again,

"What a man like a mystery..."

Not long after chatting, the completion disclosure meeting for "Tiger of Ginza" began... The host took the microphone and walked to the front of the reporters, saying to everyone:

"Minna-san... the completion disclosure meeting for 'Tiger of Ginza' officially begins..."

The host said to all the media reporters,

"But before that, let me enjoy the latest trailer for 'Tiger of Ginza'... it is also the last trailer before the release..."

"Tiger of Ginza" had already released one trailer; this was another promotion before the release.

Only the lights in the screening hall dimmed, and the big screen lit up accordingly.

High-end luxury cars, Prince Shotoku, beauties, alcohol, tobacco... segments of scenes that made ordinary people widen their eyes flashed before their eyes. The life of debauchery in the upper class opened a corner here, making people both amazed and envious.

However, in the second half, the male lead's alcoholism, promiscuity, being wiretapped, and being arrested made the audience gasp, and a sense of disillusionment arose spontaneously.

After the short two-minute trailer, the reporters present all fell into a short silence.

And during this time, the main creative team of "Tiger of Ginza" all came to the stage.

"Minna-san, let us welcome the director of 'Tiger of Ginza', Director Kijima Shizhi, co-screenwriters Nishimoto Tomoyuki, Matsuo Munao... lead actors, Leslie Cheung... Tony Leung... Nao Saejima..."

Under the guidance of the host, the reporters applauded and welcomed them, and the flashes and shutter sounds continued to ring... Soon, the interview for this completion disclosure meeting officially began.

"What an amazing trailer!" A reporter exclaimed, and then found the director through the flashing gold Rolex, "Director Kijima, may I ask when this movie will be released?"

"On the second weekend of August, August 10th," Kijima Shizhi gave a definite time, "In two days, at the beginning of August, there will be a preview. I hope all media friends can come to support!"

"A preview! " "Looking forward to it! " "..... Really want to see the specific movie content! " "...."

The reporters made messy cheers, all very much looking forward to the preview of this movie... Of course, on one hand, they wanted to watch the movie for free, and on the other hand, they were also very much looking forward to the red envelope from Tree Friend Films...

Giving red envelopes to reporters... ah no, it was travel expenses... hoping they could say a few good words, this was already an unspoken rule of the entertainment industry, and Tree Friend had always been very generous.

The microphone was passed to another reporter:

"Mr. Leslie Cheung, may I ask if there were any difficulties in playing such a young and promising character?"

"...... There weren't any difficulties..."

Leslie Cheung responded with a smile,

"I myself can be considered young and promising... just without the kind of publicity of the character in the movie..."

"How do you feel about working with Neon actors?"

"Everyone is very professional... very humble on the set..."

"......."

One actor after another was asked, and it returned to Kijima Shizhi's side:

"Director Kijima, I heard that this movie is going to be the opening movie of the Tokyo International Film Festival, is that so?"

"It hasn't been confirmed yet... just have this opportunity..."

"Do you have any thoughts on this year's Blue Ribbon Award?"

"Hahaha, all directors hope to win awards... but in the end, it depends on the audience's acceptance of the movie... whether everyone likes the style of 'Tiger of Ginza'..."

Kijima Shizhi saw that the interaction of the reporters on the scene was very enthusiastic and was originally very happy. This indicated that he was the center of attention and his work was being paid attention to, but the next words of the reporter made his smile stiffen.

"Director Kijima... why didn't Mr. Nagayama Naoki come this time? Was he delayed by something?"

"......."

Even when he wasn't there, he could attract attention. If Naoki-san were here, there would be no room for him and the movie...

"Naoki-san's schedule is always very tight... he should be busy with official business at the company right now, discussing projects with subordinates..."

(Nagayama Naoki, who drank a sip of tea, sighed with satisfaction, leaned against the soft sofa, and looked at the sky outside the window. The white clouds were leisurely and the blue sky remained... it was another sunny and beautiful day~)

Nagayama Naoki, who returned to Mountain Cherry Court, was chatting and laughing with Akina about what had happened before.

Suddenly Akina's brow furrowed, and then immediately recovered, feeling a bit dazed...

"What's wrong?"

Nagayama Naoki asked.

"Suddenly my belly twitched..."

"?" Because it was close to the due date, Nagayama Naoki immediately became alert and kept asking, "What's wrong? Is it time to give birth? Did your water break?"

Saying this, he even lowered his head and reached out to lift Akina's skirt to take a look...

And then he was slapped repeatedly by the blushing Akina~

"It's not that..." Akina said angrily, but she also didn't understand, "It's fine right away, maybe the baby just moved a bit too much..."

Fetal movement... it was becoming more and more frequent now, and sometimes it would suddenly kick a footprint on Akina's belly like a convulsion, as if it were practicing martial arts...

Looking left and right, his wife seemed to be fine, so Nagayama Naoki felt relieved:

"Alright... but tell me immediately if there's anything..."

"Mm mm~"

Nagayama Naoki, who was still a bit nervous, got up and found Mrs. Nono Mari to consult well...

He also went to notify Butler Alfred to prepare the car and go to the hospital at any time...

Although he had learned about the situation of giving birth to a baby more than once on TV, news, and from the mouths of friends and relatives, Nagayama Naoki was still facing it for the first time, and the nervousness in his heart was still inevitable.

He was nervous until late at night, and until Akina fell asleep, no more conditions appeared, so Nagayama Naoki finally felt relieved.

At night, looking at Akina lying on her side beside him, Nagayama Naoki reached out and gently stroked her belly and exclaimed:

"When exactly are you coming out..."

"Making Mom and Dad so worried..."

"I'm going to spank you when you come out!" ===== CHAPTER 1055 =====