Chapter 1107: Naoki Nagayama is my lifelong enemy!!!

"Sorry, excuse me..."

The host whispered as they pushed open the door to the lounge, and the camera crew followed them into the room.

"Ya... Akina-chan, long time no see..."

With a familiar opening greeting, a small film crew began filming the interior of the lounge. Akina Mori was applying makeup, having already put on a bob-cut wig; all that remained was to change into her stage outfit.

"Good evening~"

Akina Mori gave the behind-the-scenes film crew a professional smile, as her agent had already reminded her.

"How prepared is Akina-chan now?"

"I've already finished the makeup..." Akina stood up and walked to the clothes rack hanging with several stage outfits. "Next is to change into the stage outfit, and then I can go on stage."

"Oh? What kind of stage outfit are you wearing today?"

"It's this one!"

Akina introduced the new-style kimono full of luxury to the program team; this was a specially made stage outfit, designed to match her bob cut.

"Wow, it's truly special..." The host echoed Akina's words with emotion. "I'm really looking forward to Akina's performance on stage..."

"I will do my best too!"

After a bit of small talk, the behind-the-scenes film crew finished recording and left the lounge.

Akina Mori let out a sigh of relief and sat back at the vanity to check her makeup...

This was the pre-selection site for the FNS Music Festival. After returning from vacation, Akina had appropriately increased the frequency of her appearances, making her song *Passion* even hotter at the end of the year.

However, at the crowded recording site, she couldn't bring the baby along, which made her miss her a little~

"Akina-san..." Her agent, Maki Ueda, walked in. "Has the behind-the-scenes footage been recorded?"

"Hai, it's already been recorded."

"Did the host ask any inappropriate questions?" Maki Ueda's small face was tense; as Akina's exclusive agent, she was very strict. "I specifically went to negotiate with them, forbidding them from asking any personal questions!"

"Nothing, they were all ordinary questions."

Akina nodded, then asked Maki Ueda:

"Maki-chan, are there any changes to my schedule for tomorrow or the day after?"

Maki Ueda flipped through the schedule record: "Not for now. Tomorrow is the completion disclosure event for *Ghost*, and the next appearance after that is next week."

"That's good..."

Her current workload was already one-tenth of what it used to be, and Akina had adapted to this very well.

"Alright, I'm going to change into my stage outfit and get ready to go on stage!"

"Hai~"

On stage, Akina Mori regained the aura of a top idol. Her face was tense, and amidst the intense melody of *Passion*, she danced her body like a new-era woman dancing wildly on a nightclub dance floor.

The "get up, get up, get up, burning love" full of power and rhythm seemed to be declaring the rise of women~

It was the weekend~

At the entrance of the Bungeiza cinema in Ikebukuro, fans had been gathering since the morning, making people who came to watch movies feel a bit strange.

"Is there a new movie being released?" "I haven't heard..." "Anyway, something important must be happening~" "..."

When the fans of Toshihiko Tahara and Akina Mori began to gather at the entrance, everyone knew that a star must be coming today...

However, most of them just took a look and continued to watch the movie or left, but there were also many people with nothing to do who chose to stay and watch the fun.

"Toshihiko Tahara and Akina Mori, huh~"

In this day and age, the relationship between fan clubs and stars was very close. Loyal fans would support all of their idol's activities, so even just for a press conference, fans would come to support~

"So it's the press conference for *Ghost*..."

After the media reporters also arrived, the onlookers already knew the reason for this media gathering: it was the completion disclosure event for *Ghost*.

"But wasn't it said that the leads were Naoki Nagayama and Akina Mori? Why are all the fans here for Toshihiko Tahara and Akina Mori? Ah... there are even fans of Nana Okada!"

Nana Okada was once a top-tier idol, so she naturally had her own fan base. Even though her popularity had declined now, she still had many loyal fans!

"I heard that guy, Naoki Nagayama, doesn't have a fan club!"

"Huh? He's a celebrity, at least, and he's so handsome, how could he not have a fan club?"

"It's true, it's true, I've never heard of a Naoki Nagayama fan club!"

"Is that guy that weird? Unpopular?!"

"Then how does he have such great fame?! And why would anyone invite him to play the lead?"

"Ah... he's a director, that makes sense..."

However, just at this moment, they suddenly saw a few people holding support banners saying "Naoki Nagayama is the best!" walk over and stand behind the gathered fans.

With only five or six people, compared to the fan clubs of Toshihiko Tahara, Akina Mori, and Nana Okada, which had dozens of people, it was truly a bit pitiful!

"Leader Kono..." The boy holding the banner pole, Hiuto Horiguchi, quietly asked the leader of the Naoki Nagayama support group, Yona Kono, "It seems we are outnumbered... Are we really a fan club certified by Naoki Nagayama?"

"Of course! We are the fan club that Naoki Nagayama has treated to dinner!" Yona Kono immediately said, "And this news was told to us by people from Tree Friends!"

"Yeah, yeah..." The vice president, Shoko Fukumoto, also chimed in, "Have you already forgotten the 'Naoki Nagayama Quotes' circulating in the support group?!"

Akiko Tsukada also spoke up:

"And, could the benefits of so many years be fake?!"

"..."

The two boys were a bit trembling. They had been in the group for a long time, but when they joined, it was just to pursue the three cool girls: Yona Kono, Shoko Fukumoto, and Akiko Tsukada...

In their eyes, the Naoki Nagayama support group was actually just like a university club~

In reality, Naoki Nagayama himself had almost forgotten he had a fan club. After all, he had only managed an idol persona when filming *Boys Over Flowers*, and there had been almost no activities since then...

However, he had once instructed Masami Inada of the Tree Friends agency, saying that he seemed to have a fan club, so they should maintain it according to the standard measures for artists~

And then he hadn't bothered with it again.

But the people below didn't dare to be negligent. This was the group boss's fan club, and the boss had specifically instructed it... so all maintenance was done to the highest standard!

Thus, after that, every year, the fan club management staff of Tree Friends agency would contact and maintain this small fan club!

The annual fan benefits included, but were not limited to, holiday gift vouchers, new fashion items, travel vouchers, various merchandise, lucky draws, and random New Year gifts at the end of every year... all designer brands!

All the budgets were directly approved by the agency's president. After all, the now wealthy Tree Friends agency didn't lack this bit of maintenance cost.

Naoki Nagayama hadn't said to stop, so who would dare to stop?!

So, the benefits for this fan club, which didn't have many people, were simply ridiculously good!

Seeing Yona Kono, Shoko Fukumoto, and Akiko Tsukada living very freely in university, and occasionally carrying designer bags and traveling everywhere... some people even thought these three girls were being kept!

And because Naoki Nagayama didn't have many activities, there was no need for support!

It wasn't until this time, starring in *Ghost*, that the newcomer responsible for contacting the fan clubs, after notifying the agencies of Toshihiko Tahara and Akina Mori, had a flash of inspiration and remembered that Naoki Nagayama was also a lead, so he notified Naoki Nagayama's support group of the event.

"It's not easy for Nagayama-san to have an event today!" Akiko Tsukada said, "We must support him well!"

"Right!" Yona Kono nodded, "We must show our momentum! Squeeze to the very front!"

"..." "Uh... Hai!" Hiuto Horiguchi and Juto Kawara, holding the banners, nodded.

However... looking at the professional support staff of Toshihiko Tahara and Akina Mori's fan clubs beside them, they swallowed their saliva... This seemed to be too much of a difference...

The entrance was already occupied by them, and they couldn't even squeeze in!

"Eh? Aren't Naoki Nagayama and Akina Mori a married couple?"

When the three girls were squeezing forward, Juto Kawara had a brainwave and looked at the fans of Akina Mori beside them.

"How about we talk to them? Let us go to the front?"

"Good idea, we're all one family..."

Hiuto Horiguchi nodded and said to the burly support person holding a flag for Akina Mori's fan club:

"Big brother fan of Akina Mori... can you let us go to the front?"

Originally, the burly man's face looked quite good when he heard the question, and his attitude was also very good. He thought they were his own fans... but when he saw "Naoki Nagayama is the best!" on the banner, his face turned black instantly...

"You... are Naoki Nagayama's fan club?"

"Hai!" Hiuto Horiguchi said happily, "Yes, we are one family!"

"Get lost!!!" The burly man shouted loudly, "Who is one family with you!!! That guy Naoki Nagayama, he tricked my idol into having his baby! He is my lifelong enemy!"

Then he turned his head and didn't even talk to the two of them!

"???!!!"

Hiuto Horiguchi and Juto Kawara were full of confusion...

Who would treat their idol's husband as one family?! That's a mortal love rival, okay! Go ask the guys on Hupu, who likes Zhao Youting?!

At the same time, Naoki Nagayama, with Akina Mori, had already arrived inside the Bungeiza cinema from the back door.

Two offices had been specially cleared out here to serve as the backstage hub for the *Ghost* press conference.

"Tahara-kun, Nana-chan, you've already arrived!" Naoki Nagayama greeted the two actors.

"Nagayama-san!" "Nagayama-san, Akina-chan..."

And after Akina greeted them, she walked directly to Nana Okada's side and started talking with a smile~

"Nagayama-san... also just arrived not long ago..."

Toshihiko Tahara also walked to Naoki Nagayama's side to exchange pleasantries.

"Since the main cast has all arrived..." After saying a few words, Naoki Nagayama said to Ishikawa Jin of the publicity department, "Ishikawa-kun, you can notify them to start in the front..."

The main cast of *Ghost* consisted of only four people. In addition to all being actors, Naoki Nagayama also served as director, screenwriter, producer, etc. It could be said that he shouldered everything alone~

"Hai~" Ishikawa Jin nodded and then walked to the front to coordinate.

"Nagayama-san... about the future roadshows..." Toshihiko Tahara's tone was a bit uneasy, "At the end of the year, there are many activities... sometimes I might not be able to make it..."

As an idol in a declining period, Toshihiko Tahara could only participate in more appearances, desperately trying to keep himself in the audience's eyes.

"Hahaha, daijobu." Naoki Nagayama laughed, "This time *Ghost* doesn't have many roadshow activities anyway, at most the premiere..."

"Hai, I definitely won't miss the premiere."

"That's fine!"

In fact, in Naoki Nagayama's view, using roadshows to promote a movie was a very low-cost-effective method. After all, it was a lot of trouble to invite several stars to the cinema to promote it, and a cinema could only hold a few hundred people at most, just for a few photos and a few press releases?

It would be better to directly organize fan club interactions, or run more advertisements on TV and newspapers~

What do audiences rely on to watch movies? Quality is the most important thing!

For a high-quality movie, people will spontaneously walk into the cinema for a second or third viewing!

"Sure enough, Nagayama-san is different~" Toshihiko Tahara let out a sigh of relief, and his tone became relaxed, "How is the editing going now? Is it going smoothly?"

"It's okay... it's just that the special effects are very troublesome..."

Even with the most advanced graphics workstations at the moment, the editing speed couldn't keep up... Naoki Nagayama had already let Kijima Shizhi and the others edit other scenes separately.

Just as he was talking about the hardship of editing, Ishikawa Jin walked back in;

"Nagayama-san, we can start!"

"Ah... okay~"

When the group walked from backstage to the main hall, the reporters gathered in front of the main background poster for *Ghost* could no longer hold back their hands, and the sound of shutters and flashes surged forward together.

Toshihiko Tahara, Akina Mori, and Nana Okada had all experienced this situation countless times and had been specially trained, appearing at ease.

While Naoki Nagayama was blinded by the light, he was dazed for a moment before continuing to walk forward...

"Akina Mori, look here quickly!" "Nana-chan, towards me..." "Jun-jun... here, here..."

When the reporters called the others, they were all very enthusiastic, but when it came to Naoki Nagayama,

"Director Nagayama, look directly at my lens!"

"..."

Why does it feel like I'm being treated differently?!

When all four were sitting on the high stools arranged by the publicity department, Ishikawa Jin took the microphone and walked out:

"Dear reporter friends, please be quiet for a moment..."

After the scene slowly returned to calm, Ishikawa Jin said:

"Minna-san, let us welcome the main cast of *Ghost*... they are the very familiar Director Naoki Nagayama... Toshihiko Tahara... Akina Mori... Nana Okada..."

The applause at the scene sounded again, but under Ishikawa Jin's appeasement, it stopped quickly:

"Next, the completion disclosure event for *Ghost* officially begins..."

"Below, we invite the film's director and screenwriter, Naoki Nagayama, to say a few words to everyone!"

Amidst the applause, Naoki Nagayama raised the microphone:

"Minna-san... regarding this movie *Ghost*, actually, what should be said has already been said in previous reports and interviews... what shouldn't be said... uh... involves spoilers, so it's temporarily confidential..."

Hearing this, Akina beside him couldn't help but laugh, her curved eyes looking at her husband with infinite tenderness and doting...

And the other reporters at the scene started to clamor:

"Ugh~~~" "How can this be..." "Is it true or false?" "Nagayama-san, say something at least!" "..."

"Alright, alright... no need to follow the procedure..." Naoki Nagayama directly snatched the job from the host, Ishikawa Jin, "If you have anything you want to know, just ask directly, and I'll see if I can answer!"

Ishikawa Jin could only hand the microphone to the eager reporters. Originally, this was a step that only happened after all the main cast members had been introduced.

"Director Nagayama... why did it take so long to hold the completion disclosure event? Wasn't the wrap party a long time ago?!"

"Because I want to take a vacation! Filming a movie is very tiring... The filming stage is over, so naturally, I have to rest well before proceeding to the next step..."

Naoki Nagayama said righteously, and also asked the reporter back,

"Don't you work all year round without taking a vacation?"

"Ah... this, we reporters don't have vacations..."

"Oh? What media are you from?"

"Ah... I am... woo woo woo..." The reporter was just about to say it when his companion covered his mouth.

Publicly saying in front of so many reporters that their own media doesn't have vacations, is this treating the *Labor Standards Act* as a decoration?! Do they still want to keep their jobs?!

Ishikawa Jin broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly handed the microphone to the next reporter...

"Director Nagayama, it is said that in this movie, you are playing a ghost. Do you believe in ghosts yourself?"

"Me?" Naoki Nagayama glanced at Akina beside him, nodded, and said with absolute certainty, "Of course I believe!"

"Nagayama-san, are you religious?"

"No... I only believe that it's better to rely on oneself than on others..."

"..."

This completion disclosure event, from the very beginning, seemed to have become a bit strange...

Naoki Nagayama was not an artist or actor who had to abide by various restrictions in contracts. What could be said and what couldn't be said were all up to his whim.

No official jargon, no evasion. What should be said is said, and what shouldn't be said is directly told to you that it can't be said...

The whole completion disclosure event was like a casual chat~

The subsequent Toshihiko Tahara, Akina Mori, and Nana Okada seemed to have followed Naoki Nagayama's attitude, becoming much more relaxed when accepting interviews and not maintaining the so-called "professional state."

"This isn't the first time Director Nagayama and Nana Okada have collaborated, right? Why did you find Nana Okada again this time?"

"Of course, it's because her acting is good!" Naoki Nagayama laughed, "In the previous *Legend of the Eight Samurai*, she performed with great spirit... so I found her for this psychic witch role!"

"Akina-chan... it seems you have only appeared in two movies so far... and both were with Naoki Nagayama..." A reporter aimed at Akina Mori, "Does this mean that if you film movies in the future, you will only film with Nagayama-san?"

"This... if there is an opportunity, of course I want to try different roles..." Akina Mori laughed, "But if I play lovers or a couple with someone else, Nagayama-san will be jealous..."

"Oh oh oh?" "Eh?" "..."

What's with this sudden dog food?!

"..."

Amidst the reporters' questions, time slowly passed.

The hour-long completion disclosure event ended amidst the reporters' reluctance to leave...

At this disclosure event, the media reporters got a lot of news from the main cast, as well as very novel news materials, and couldn't wait to go back and write their articles.

And the few who were idols still had to show their faces to the fan clubs at the entrance to appease the fans...

Naoki Nagayama originally thought there was nothing for him to do and was preparing to wait backstage, but he was very surprised to hear Ishikawa Jin's words:

"I have fans coming to support me too?!"

"Yes, I got the contact information for Nagayama-san's only official fan club from a senior... I notified them, and they promised to come..."

"Hahaha, when did I have a fan club..."

Halfway through his sentence, Naoki Nagayama suddenly remembered a small group at Meiji University,

"It wouldn't be... them, would it..."

Outside the Bungeiza cinema, Yona Kono, Shoko Fukumoto, Akiko Tsukada, and others were squeezed to the very back...

Seeing the crowded fan group in front suddenly become excited, they also knew that the idols had started to come out to interact with the fans.

"Leader Kono..." Hiuto Horiguchi and Juto Kawara, holding the banners, sighed, "It looks like we won't be able to see Naoki Nagayama... he hasn't even come out..."

"Eh..." Yona Kono sighed. It looked like they wouldn't be able to see Nagayama-san this time either!

Shoko Fukumoto and Akiko Tsukada also hung their heads. After such a hard-won support event, they hadn't even seen the person...

"Alright, let's go back... it looks like we can only see Nagayama-san on the screen..."

And just at this moment, a voice suddenly came from behind:

"It really is you guys?!"

When the group turned their heads, they saw Naoki Nagayama actually standing behind them, looking at them with a full face of smiles!!!

Naoki Nagayama under the sun was wearing casual clothes, but his energetic and handsome appearance made it impossible for anyone to mistake him.

"Yona Kono... Shoko Fukumoto... and Akiko Tsukada!!! I didn't get the names wrong, did I?!"

They saw him smiling as he looked at the few people, slowly calling the names of the three girls, and then looked at the two boys holding the banners,

"But you two, I don't have an impression of..."

"Na... Nagayama-san!!!" Yona Kono was so excited~

"Shh~~"

Naoki Nagayama hurriedly blocked his mouth with his finger, signaling them not to disturb others... He looked up at the shops on the surrounding street:

"Hurry up and put the banners away... let's go... let's go to the cafe next door and talk... I'll treat you to coffee!"

"..."

Yona Kono, Shoko Fukumoto, and Akiko Tsukada were all excited. Covering their mouths to hide their laughter, they hurriedly signaled their companions to put away the banners~

Then the five people quietly followed behind Naoki Nagayama and walked towards a cafe nearby that looked very high-end...

Hiuto Horiguchi, who was at the end, looked back at the burly man from Akina Mori's support group who was squeezing to the front of Bungeiza... He probably couldn't even talk to Akina Mori!!

And the idol they supported was actually going to treat them to coffee!!!

This is the person worth guarding loyally!

?? Hahaha, when looking at the settings, I suddenly saw the setting of the initial fan club... I miss it so much, that plot was written two years ago...

? (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1108 =====