Chapter 1073

"This summer, where is it hottest in Tokyo?"

"Of course, *Voice of Neon* is the hottest!!!"

This Q&A was plucked from a variety show... but it also represented a portion of the truth.

As the selection phase of *Voice of Neon* ended and it entered a more tense and exciting confrontation stage, this variety show began to captivate more people, and even the ratings started to climb from the original 30% toward 35% or even 40%. As a serialized variety show, it could even compare to the year-end programs of television stations.

Though it hadn't reached the level of the Red and White Song Battle yet~

In the NTV studio, the latest episode of the program was being recorded.

"Prepare the confetti!"

Field director Sora Kamimura said to the executive assistant,

"Watch my signal; after the mentors decide and the contestants take two steps forward, spray it from both sides!"

"Hai..."

After giving instructions for the recording, the director signaled for the host to continue cueing the flow.

One must know that variety shows are not broadcast live; the recording process and the broadcast are two completely different things, and this *Voice of Neon* was no exception.

Except for the singing performances, which basically didn't need readjustment, other actions, interactions, exchanges, and even the mentors' words were scripted. Of course, space was left for the mentors to improvise, making the program appear more authentic.

Currently performing on stage was Miyuki Nakajima's team, with 14 people divided into 7 pairs, battling it out... er, competing against each other.

Sachiko Kamachi on stage still didn't have much makeup on, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her hair combed casually. This carefree look complemented the song she was singing, "This Girl's Summer Vacation," perfectly.

The audience below the stage also swayed along with the relaxed music, having a feeling of everyone spending summer vacation together.

Producer Kazuhisa Fujiwara was on the side, watching Miyuki Nakajima choose Sachiko Kamachi without hesitation after the contestants finished performing, feeling somewhat helpless:

"So decisive; no matter how you look at it, it seems like it was decided in advance!"

"Haha~" Production Bureau Chief Yukinori Kasahara also came over to watch the program. "It doesn't matter; at worst, we'll just give that contestant a 'beloved top disciple' persona... maybe it will even increase her popularity."

During editing, they would put Sachiko Kamachi's look during the performance together with Miyuki Nakajima's smiling expression, paired with the introduction of the beloved top disciple, and something about mutual appreciation between outstanding women...

In a Neon where the feminist trend was becoming increasingly obvious, this would undoubtedly please a group of female viewers.

Don't think that the Neon entertainment industry of the 80s was very backward; moreover, because there were not many constraints, the Neon entertainment industry was even bolder than imagined. They were actually the originators of some concepts, such as creating personas and shipping couples...

And as for things like LEGB culture and *fujoshi* culture, Neon also belonged to those who had researched it very early on~

Yukinori Kasahara and Kazuhisa Fujiwara chatted for a while about the recording of the program, then asked:

"Naoki-san doesn't seem to have come to Nippon TV to watch the program filming recently; what is he busy with?"

"Naoki-san..." Naoki Nagayama was naturally drowning in child-rearing and couldn't extricate himself. Kazuhisa Fujiwara wanted to cover for his new boss and said, "Isn't the Tokyo International Film Festival currently in preparation..."

"Ah~~" Yukinori Kasahara nodded understandingly. "So he's busy with that; the Tokyo International Film Festival is indeed important..."

"But he hasn't completely let go of *Voice of Neon*."

"Naoki-san certainly hasn't let go." Kazuhisa Fujiwara could vouch for this. "He was just discussing with us before whether to strengthen the promotional strategy..."

"Oh?" Yukinori Kasahara looked at him unexpectedly. "It's already at the highest level of promotional resources~"

Kazuhisa Fujiwara then brought up the topic Naoki Nagayama had called to chat about the day before yesterday:

"Naoki-san feels that perhaps before the *Voice of Neon* finals, we could combine the promotion with Akina Mori's comeback; it would be beneficial for both parties..."

It was no longer a secret that Akina Mori was preparing for a comeback, and Yukinori Kasahara at the TV station had naturally heard of it, but hearing Kazuhisa Fujiwara's words, he was still somewhat pleasantly surprised:

"That's certainly possible... As long as Akina Mori appears on the program, the gimmick will definitely be maxed out!"

"Yes, so we are already considering the details."

"Hahaha, Fujiwara-san is indeed very reliable!"

"......"

Kazuhisa Fujiwara didn't dare to look into Yukinori Kasahara's eyes, and could only pretend to be focused on observing the program recording~

Outside, the Naoki Nagayama the two had just been discussing had just driven his new Rolls-Royce Silver Spur to the Naoki Building.

"Naoki-san, you've come~"

Xingxia Suzuki, who was on duty at the front desk, greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hmm, Xingxia-chan... has the review meeting started yet?"

"Not yet." Xingxia Suzuki shook her head. "Naoki-san hasn't arrived yet, so how could it have started!"

"Ha, tell them not to wait for me~"

Hearing this, Naoki Nagayama felt somewhat helpless and hurried toward the conference room on the second floor.

Today was the script review meeting to decide next year's filming plan, so Otomo Yoshimura and Xiu Yi Yin had notified him long ago that he must be there; this was a matter related to next year's work.

When he arrived at the scheduled conference room and pushed open the door, he found that Otomo Yoshimura, Xiu Yi Yin, Masataka Komori, Xu Mudao, Munao Matsuo, Tomoyuki Nishimoto, and other people from the Film Division had already arrived, along with several employees from the Script Creation Center.

As soon as Naoki Nagayama entered, he was stared at by several pairs of eyes; for a moment, even with his thick skin, he couldn't quite handle it:

"Sumimasen, traffic jam... I haven't gone out during the morning rush hour for a long time; I didn't expect it to be this jammed..."

Hearing this, Xiu Yi Yin suddenly seemed possessed by some memory and said with a wicked smile:

"Eh? Traffic jam? Naoki-san, so even driving a Rolls-Royce gets stuck in traffic!"

"......"

"Hahaha~"

Otomo Yoshimura couldn't help laughing out loud after hearing it. Although that joke about getting stuck in traffic while driving a Mazda wasn't used in *The Legend of Hayato*, Naoki Nagayama had naturally told it to the two of them.

Now it was like his dark history from his youth was being brought out by his best friend to make fun of him!

"Xiu Yi-san, I'll give you a Mazda as your year-end bonus this year!"

Naoki Nagayama, who had sat down, had black lines appearing on his forehead.

"Hahaha~"

Otomo Yoshimura was even more amused~

And the other employees, such as Xu Mudao and Masataka Komori, were very puzzled looking at the three of them.

Of course, in a Neon where people are very good at reading the air, they obviously saw that this was an interesting story between the three big bosses, but no one dared to ask.

And Kota Ueda from the Script Creation Center, who was the least familiar, felt somewhat envious in his heart...

"Is the year-end bonus a Mazda? Naoki-san and Xiu Yi-san's relationship is really good~"

After the laughter and noise ended, today's script review meeting officially began.

Kota Ueda took out the scripts that Xiu Yi Yin had seen before: *The Black House*, *Ring 3*, *The Unrighteous*, *Violent Neighborhood*, *Snowy Night*, as well as the newly added *Ghost Bride* and *The Unconnected*...

"Minna-san, these are the scripts completed by the Script Center." As the meeting host, Kota Ueda said, "This review meeting is to evaluate whether these scripts can be included in next year's filming plan."

Xiu Yi Yin said to Naoki Nagayama on the side:

"The previously mentioned *The Black House* has already been handed over to Munao Matsuo; it will start filming after the film festival ends."

Munao Matsuo next to him nodded at Naoki Nagayama with a shy smile.

"Mm-hmm~"

Naoki Nagayama didn't pay much attention to this kind of low-budget film and took the script in front of him to read.

However, Xiu Yi Yin hadn't finished speaking yet and continued:

"There's something I originally wanted to discuss with you at the full moon banquet, but the atmosphere that day wasn't for talking about work... so it's been dragged out until now."

"?" Naoki Nagayama asked suspiciously, "What is it?"

"It's the script for your *Once a Thief*; do you think it should also start filming? As the opening film for the beginning of the year? And who should it be handed over to for filming?"

Hearing this, the eyes of Xu Mudao and Masataka Komori lit up instantly, and they looked at Naoki Nagayama with burning gazes.

Both of them knew that Xiu Yi Yin's current focus was on the development of the anime business and he probably wouldn't direct a film himself, and Naoki-san himself was obviously drowning in child-rearing, so it was even more impossible for him to direct!

Then looking around, Munao Matsuo already had *The Black House*, and Tomoyuki Nishimoto had shallow experience... Who else in Naoki had the strength and qualifications to take on this project besides the two of them?!

Among them, Masataka Komori was even more expectant because Xu Mudao had just finished filming *Tiger of Ginza*!

So his eyes were now loudly conveying information like "Look at me!", "I'm here!", "Look at this baby!"

But Xu Mudao was not to be outdone, his eyes indicating:

"I've finished filming, I'm free now", "Professional workhorse, no need for rest", "I will definitely not let down the company's cultivation"...

Naoki Nagayama raised his head, saw the gazes of the two, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly:

"This..."

"For the script of *Once a Thief*, I'd better do it myself after all!"

"???" X4

The other employees present all looked over, and the gazes of Masataka Komori and Xu Mudao were even more incredulous.

"Eh? Naoki-san, didn't you say before that you'd let someone else film it?"

"Ha, can't I regret it?!"

Naoki Nagayama's nonchalant tone made people want to hit him, but there was no way around it; after all, it was his script, and Naoki Nagayama was the boss...

"Naoki-san..." Masataka Komori pleaded in a low voice...

"Masataka-kun, don't be so gloomy; aren't there so many other scripts..."

"......"

But those scripts were not the same as the scripts Naoki-san wrote!

Otomo Yoshimura interrupted:

"Naoki-san, don't tease them... Isn't your next film *Jurassic Park*?"

"Haha~"

Amidst Naoki Nagayama's laughter, Masataka Komori and Xu Mudao realized they had just been played...

"The film *Once a Thief* is very difficult to film." Naoki Nagayama said seriously. This film was adapted from a Hong Kong film. He looked at Masataka Komori, "Masataka-kun, you have to work hard!"

"!"

It was decided; this meant handing the film over to Masataka Komori! Masataka Komori laughed out loud instantly, while Xu Mudao next to him sighed; he also knew his chances were slim.

"Arigato, Naoki-san, I will do my best to film it!"

Masataka Komori patted his chest to express his stance.

"Mm-hmm, work hard~"

After saying this, Naoki Nagayama lowered his head again to read the script, while Xiu Yi Yin signaled for the somewhat stunned Kota Ueda to continue explaining the scripts.

Kota Ueda was a senior editor who hadn't been there long and didn't have much contact with Naoki Nagayama, and the strength of deciding the ownership of a film in just a few words without needing any discussion still surprised him endlessly.

"Ah... *Ring 3* is a sequel; *The Unrighteous* and *Violent Neighborhood* are both scripts extended from the concept of *Crows Zero*, both are films about delinquent culture..."

"Then *Snowy Night* is a love story..." "*Ghost Bride* is not a pure horror story like the name suggests... but a romance film... telling the story of a love between a human and a ghost..."

Naoki Nagayama was somewhat surprised to hear this: "A love between a human and a ghost?"

"Hai." Kota Ueda continued to explain, "It's about a newlywed couple who encounter an accident when they get married; the groom survives and the bride dies, but the bride becomes a ghost... continuing to write their love..."

"Hmm..."

*Ghost*?

It had a bit of that meaning!

Naoki Nagayama took the script for *Ghost Bride* and read it seriously. The film *Ghost* was very famous and had been remade in various regions.

In the Neon version, there was a bit more thriller and eeriness, but from the story structure, it was indeed a love between a human and a ghost.

"This script is quite interesting." Naoki Nagayama said, "But since it's talking about love, then weaken the thriller parts in it..."

"Also, change the name; don't make it so scary... I thought she was going to wear a red bridal gown to claim a life..."

"..... *cough cough*" Xiu Yi Yin reminded him from the side, "Naoki-san, bridal gowns are white..."

"That's even scarier! Red and white are very scary elements if used well; have you heard of the Red and White Spirits..."

"I haven't heard of that..."

After all, weddings and celebrations in Neon all use white~

"In short, this script needs to be changed... once it's changed, it can be filmed..." Naoki Nagayama said, then turned around and saw Tomoyuki Nishimoto, who seemed to have had no works for a long time. "The filming cost of the film is not large; when the time comes, let Nishimoto-kun film it, and try to catch up for Christmas."

Romance films, no matter how the filming effect turns out, as long as the "simp economy" hasn't collapsed, they can always harvest some applause and box office revenue upon release; they are a good choice for up-and-coming directors.

What's more, Neon is currently at the time when women's status is highest~

People will definitely go to the movies for Christmas and Valentine's Day~

"Arigato!"

Tomoyuki Nishimoto immediately became excited. He didn't expect that it would actually be his turn this time; it looked like the good days for him, Tomoyuki Nishimoto, were also coming!

In the next hour, in this small conference room, the filming plan for Naoki Film from the end of the year to next year was roughly arranged!

At the end of the year, it would first be the low-budget horror film *The Black House* and *Ghost*, at the beginning of next year it would be *Once a Thief*, by summer it would be *Violent Neighborhood*, and in the second half of the year, Naoki Nagayama's *Jurassic Park* would start filming.

The sequel *Ring 3*, the gangster film *The Unrighteous*, the pure romance film *Snowy Night*, and the realistic film *The Unconnected* were all rejected; Naoki Nagayama felt they had no new ideas.

Other new scripts could wait to be added temporarily next year.

After the meeting ended, Naoki Nagayama called out to Xiu Yi Yin:

"Xiu Yi-san, the progress of the anime adaptation..."

"Drawing has already started." Xiu Yi Yin said, "Naoki-san, you know, anime requires a huge amount of drawing... the progress can't be fast!"

"Indeed..."

Naoki Nagayama nodded; he couldn't help it either. Anime in this era was almost purely manual and couldn't be fast.

It would only be possible to be slightly faster once computers evolved into the 21st century.

"The department is right upstairs; would Naoki-san like to go take a look?"

"Since I'm already here, naturally I have to take a look!"

Just like that, Naoki Nagayama followed Xiu Yi Yin to the floor of the Naoki Anime Division.

It had been a while, and the place was already filled with the scent of ink, as well as various machines he didn't recognize...

Although Naoki Nagayama had seen many animated films in the future, he actually didn't know much about anime production.

If the production of film movies was relatively transparent, animated films really only allowed one to see the final finished product, because the intermediate process was all sheets of draft paper...

"Goshō-kun!" Xiu Yi Yin called out the person in charge, Goshō Aoyama. "Report to Naoki-san the current progress of the *Slam Dunk* adaptation!"

"Hai!"

Goshō Aoyama immediately led Naoki Nagayama seriously to a group of artists who were drawing. Naoki Nagayama leaned over to take a look; the artists were drawing a shot of someone playing basketball on a basketball court.

"Naoki-san, because there is the manga as a reference, the anime has already determined the style, and has started the action design for each character..."

In the manga, you only need to draw a few trajectory lines for the trajectory of playing basketball, whereas in the anime, you have to draw the moving picture of the basketball frame by frame, as well as the characters' actions, and the background and characters have to be drawn separately... the workload is really too huge!

"Goshō-kun, do you think the anime adaptation can be completed this year?"

"....."

Goshō Aoyama was somewhat embarrassed; there were less than three months left until the end of the year!

"Naoki-san, the anime division has just started, everyone is still in the running-in period, and the artists' drawing styles also need time to adjust... so if we have to produce results this year, it's a bit difficult..."

"Hmm..." Naoki Nagayama nodded and didn't blame him. "Then at least, like a trailer, producing a few minutes of footage is always possible, right?"

"This... of course, no problem." Goshō Aoyama was somewhat surprised. "But since there is no anime, what is a trailer for?"

"To make an MV!"

Naoki Nagayama smiled. Who would have thought that an MV could also be made with animation?

"I still have a promise to fulfill!"

After *Voice of Neon* ended this year, he had promised to give a song to the winner... the current song is the theme song for *Slam Dunk*!

Speaking of which, it seems like he hasn't recalled anything for a long time? Could it be that he's getting old?

Summer thunderstorms always come swiftly and violently. The large raindrops pouring down with the claps of thunder hit the soil and the ground at an angle, shattering into misty water vapor, and then rushed toward him in the wind, carrying a rough and fresh breath.

Naoki Nagayama opened the glass sliding door and breathed in the fresh air happily, feeling the hot summer heat being brought out of his body along with his breath~

Suddenly, a bolt of thunder cracked in the sky. The lightning entered Naoki Nagayama's eyes first, followed by the thunder, which gave him a start!

Then, unsurprisingly...

"Wah~~ wah~~~ wah~~"

The crying of the little princess of the Naoki family began to resound through Shanyingyuan...

"Eh eh eh?!"

Naoki Nagayama immediately closed the glass sliding door in a flurry and hurried toward the crib, only to see little Xia Hua on the crib moving her hands and feet wildly, mouth wide open and crying loudly, so he hurriedly picked her up to comfort her.

At the same time, Akina also walked down from the second floor, still asking:

"Was she scared?"

"She should be... there was a loud thunder just now..." At this time, he didn't dare to say that he had opened the sliding door!

Akina hurriedly took little Xia Hua from Naoki Nagayama's arms and then coaxed her softly...

"It's okay, it's okay, it's just thunder... Mommy is here... Mommy is here..."

After coaxing for several minutes, the little one slowly stopped crying and closed her eyes to sleep as if she were tired from crying.

"Thunder... I was also very afraid when I was a child... but I'm not afraid anymore now that I've grown up."

Akina, who was sitting on the sofa, finally had time to say to Naoki Nagayama,

"Was Naoki-san afraid of thunder when you were a child?"

"Er... I shouldn't have been..."

When it thundered in the sky when he was a child, he would point at the sky and shout, "Which fellow Daoist is undergoing tribulation here!"

"Were you that bold since you were a child?" Akina kissed the little baby in her arms. "It would be great if Hua-chan could inherit that."

"Then she would become a tomboy."

Naoki Nagayama smiled,

"It's better to be a little timid."

"Being too weak isn't good either..."

Inadvertently, the two began to talk about their daughter's future.

This situation seems very common among couples who have had children; it feels like since having children, their focus has all been on their offspring.