Chapter 1210

The next day, a fine rain began to fall again; this rainy season had started to become a bit annoying.

Naoki Nagayama placed the lively little Xia Hua in a specific child seat and also wrapped a small scarf around her.

This little one, who was becoming more and more lively, now even if she had already finished her milk powder in the morning, still wanted to "eat" breakfast at the dining table with her mom and dad... although it was more about "playing" with food.

"Hua-chan~" Naoki Nagayama pinched little Xia Hua's chubby little face. "If you're eating, eat properly, you can't throw things around, you know?"

"Rice... eat rice..."

The little one mumbled, imitating her father's words. Now she could say more and more words, and she could even go back and forth with adults, and sometimes she would even talk back. At first glance, she would be sharp-tongued in the future~

"Alright, then just wait a moment."

Looking up at the kitchen, he saw Akina was busy wearing an apron.

As long as she had time, she would still do simple breakfasts herself. In her words, always letting the nanny cook "lacked a bit of the feeling of home."

Taking advantage of this free time, Naoki Nagayama opened the newspaper on the dining table~

"'Departures' completion press... Director Nagayama aims for the Oscars... tsk tsk tsk..."

Flipping through this newspaper, Naoki Nagayama switched to another one and saw that the cover was a picture of the three of them being interviewed.

"New movie wrapped, Naoki Nagayama drops a bombshell, Momoe Yamaguchi's new direction..."

"..."

Tsk tsk tsk... For Naoki Nagayama, who had already become immune to hitting the headlines again, he made a tsking sound in his mouth. Sure enough, these media outlets were all the same as before~

Yesterday's completion press conference had unsurprisingly become today's hot topic. The interviews in front of the microphones were written into reports by the media with their own choices, forming comprehensive and multi-angle coverage.

Among them, the details of the new movie, Naoki Nagayama's arrogance, Momoe Yamaguchi's longing, and Tomokazu Miura's sincerity were all talked about extensively by the media, as if the entire entertainment industry was discussing yesterday's events.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

"?" Naoki Nagayama subconsciously thought it was himself making the tsking sound, but his mouth was closed?!

Looking up, he saw little Xia Hua opposite him looking at him very happily, her little mouth slightly exerting force, making the same tsking sound... only there was no expression of disgust on her face, it was missing something...

"Naoki-san..."

Akina came over with breakfast. Seeing her own daughter actually following her father and learning bad habits, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"You've taught Xia Hua bad habits!"

"..." "I didn't teach her..."

Naoki Nagayama felt a bit guilty.

"She learned it herself!"

"Don't you know that Hua-chan has a very strong ability to imitate now?"

After putting down the tray, Akina reached out and covered little Xia Hua's mouth, not letting her continue tsking, and urged.

"Hua-chan, children shouldn't learn dad's bad habits..."

"Ah... ah haha~"

Xia Hua thought her mother was playing with her, her big eyes squinted and she laughed, her smile so sweet that it seemed to make people feel the happiness in their hearts.

"At such a young age, she's already so cute when she laughs!"

Akina also couldn't resist the little one's charm and kissed her on the forehead.

"It must be inherited from me!"

On this point, Naoki Nagayama couldn't agree.

"..." "Akina-chan, the daughter resembles the father, it must be my contribution that is greater!"

"Mine! I gave birth to her!"

"..."

Shaking his head, no longer arguing with the narcissistic mother, Naoki Nagayama began to eat his breakfast in big mouthfuls.

And Akina over there was feeding little Xia Hua egg custard while saying:

"Naoki-san, I have to participate in the live broadcast of 'The Best Ten' today, so I will be back a bit late in the evening... In the evening, I'll have to trouble Naoki-san to accompany Hua-chan~"

"Ah... okay, I'll be back early~"

Naoki Nagayama nodded. Now he didn't need to go filming anymore, and afterwards he would go to the Shuyou building for editing every day, so his time was easy to control.

"If you're on 'The Best Ten' again, is it still 'BLONDE'?"

"Hmm..."

Akina nodded. The song "BLONDE" had been dominating the charts for a long time, and there were no new songs that could defeat her for the time being, so she had to wear her Hermes silk scarf battle robe to the live broadcast again tonight.

"In a few days, it should be changed to the theme song of 'Long Vacation'."

With the hit of "Long Vacation", the theme song of this TV series had also started to become known to everyone, and Akina's special record was also selling very well.

"It looks like Akina is competing with herself for first place now~"

"I see..."

If that was the case, Shizhi Araki worried that everyone wouldn't be able to enjoy themselves at the wrap party.

"It doesn't matter... the ones remaining are all friends; just treat them as if they are our companions... they won't report anything negative!"

"Mm."

Following the arrival of the organizers, soon, the reporters gathered outside were also invited into the banquet hall.

On the main seat of the large banquet hall, the stage for holding the press conference had already been set up; the background, fresh flowers, posters, and banners were all there, and the venue was decorated very luxuriously.

And the reporters who came in also began to arrange themselves in a semi-elliptical shape in front of the main stage.

Long boom microphones, jib cameras, and tripod cameras were also installed one after another under the direction of the staff.

By the time it reached 9:30, the banquet hall became noisy, and more than half of the banquet hall was filled with people...

"Bang bang..."

The host tapped the microphone twice with his hand, partly to test the sound and partly to attract everyone's attention.

"Minna-san, quiet... please quiet down..."

Consequently, the reporters from all walks of life gradually quieted down and focused their attention on the host.

"Next, Shu-Yu Films, the completion disclosure for 'Departures' is about to begin... Before that, I will repeat the interview rules to everyone once more..."

The host reiterated rules such as "interview in order," "one question at a time," "no shouting," and "those who disrupt the order of the scene will be asked to leave," etc.

Then, after asking the staff, it officially began.

"Minna-san... the time is almost up."

The host had a smile on his face.

"Our completion disclosure today officially begins... Next, let's welcome the creative team of 'Departures'!"

Following his words, Naoki Nagayama walked out first from a small door on the side of the main stage, followed by the lead actors Tomokazu Miura, Momoe Yamaguchi, and others.

The sound of clicking shutters and camera flashes immediately enveloped them, and the reporters at the scene applauded enthusiastically, each of them seeming like star-struck fans...

"Naoki-san~" Seeing that everyone was seated, the host didn't delay and started the process directly, "Having seen the media friends after a long time, do you have any thoughts?"

"Ah..."

Naoki Nagayama picked up the microphone and looked around at the reporters.

"It feels... the production disclosure for 'Departures' doesn't seem to have been that long ago... and here we are meeting everyone again!"

"Hahaha~" "It really hasn't been long, less than three months?" "Can only say Director Nagayama films too fast..." "..."

As soon as Naoki Nagayama's words came out, the reporters at the scene burst into laughter. Come to think of it, it felt like the news of Momoe Yamaguchi's comeback was just yesterday!

"However, after experiencing such a long period of filming, the filming work for 'Departures' has come to an end, and next is the important editing work!"

"That means there is still a lot of work to do!"

The host echoed, and then looked at the Miura couple next to him.

"Miura-san... Yamaguchi-san, participating in Naoki Nagayama's movie this time, what are your thoughts?"

Tomokazu Miura spoke first:

"Naoki-san's movie filming work is very efficient... faster than any movie I've filmed before... this is my biggest impression!"

When Momoe Yamaguchi took the microphone, the sound of shutters clearly sped up:

"Everyone knows... I haven't filmed a movie for a long time... so I was a bit apprehensive before filming."

"However, during filming, the guidance Naoki-san gave was very precise, and the filming efficiency was very high... Naoki-san is truly a very amazing director! This is my biggest impression..."

After hearing what the two said, Naoki Nagayama picked up the microphone:

"Yuwa-san, Momoe-san, if you continue to praise me like this, the reporters will think I hired you as shills!"

These words made the reporters laugh again:

"Haha~" "Pfft..." "Yeah, yeah..." "..."

Next, the host also let other supporting actors speak, including the actor playing the veteran mortician, as well as the third-billed actor in the same group, etc.

However, the reporters' main focus was still on the director and the two lead actors, and gradually, the topic returned to them.

"Next, let's enter the Q&A session..."

The host held a wireless microphone and began to go down to pick reporters. The first one was naturally a reporter arranged in advance to ask some normal questions:

"Director Nagayama, may I ask, when will the movie 'Departures' be released?!"

"Ah... about that... with my editing skills, I estimate it will take more than a month to edit well."

Naoki Nagayama replied directly.

"So it should be released at the end of July. The specific time can only be determined after the preview screening is held."

"End of July? I see... Arigato!"

The microphone was transferred to the next reporter:

"Director Nagayama... we heard that you want to use this 'Departures' to impact the Oscar awards. Is it true?"

Hearing this, Naoki Nagayama was stunned for a moment, then nodded:

"Haha... a director who doesn't want to win an Oscar isn't a good director! I have a lot of confidence in this 'Departures'. If it can win an Oscar award, that would naturally be the best!"

Many reporters had smiles on their faces, and the headlines in their hearts had already been decided, either "Naoki Nagayama aims for the Oscars, frankly says he is full of confidence!" or "Naoki Nagayama declares, if 'Departures' doesn't win an Oscar, he isn't a good director!"

The following reporters asked questions to the entire creative team, and people like Tomokazu Miura and Momoe Yamaguchi were all asked questions... Until after the first ten or so questions, the rest were no longer shills...

A reporter had been holding back for a long time; after getting the microphone, he pointed directly at Momoe Yamaguchi:

"Momoe-san... may I ask, do you think life at home as a wife and mother is interesting, or is the life of filming movies after your comeback better?"

This reporter had malicious intentions; no matter which one Momoe Yamaguchi answered, it would be damaging to her persona.

"Both of these are very interesting~"

The reporter was not satisfied:

"If you can only choose one?"

Perhaps because she had been with Naoki Nagayama for a long time, Momoe Yamaguchi's answer was a bit more domineering than before:

"How can I choose only one... family and work, I don't want to let go of either..."

"But this is like having your cake and eating it too, you can't have both!"

Momoe Yamaguchi smiled and glanced at Naoki Nagayama:

"For such a long time, I have learned one thing from Director Naoki Nagayama... actually, you can have your cake and eat it too... as long as you have enough... confidence!"

Actually, it's enough to have enough money! With money, you can hire a nanny for your children, and you can go home to see your children at any time... With money, you can save meaningless effort and focus on important things...

Just like the Nagayama couple, Akina Nakamori and Naoki Nagayama's careers are flourishing, but their family is also very harmonious...

That reporter was still not satisfied, but the microphone had already been taken away and given to the next questioner.

"Tomokazu Miura-san..." the new reporter asked, "Playing a married couple in the movie, is it any different from being at home?"

"... Of course it's different..."

Tomokazu Miura also added some humor.

"There aren't so many cameras at home! And there aren't so many eyes watching..."

"Hahaha~" the reporter laughed, "Are there any other aspects?"

Hearing this question, Tomokazu Miura thought seriously for a moment:

"The family life in 'Departures', or rather the husband-and-wife relationship, is very real and grounded... but within this ordinary daily life, it contains everything that moves people... Naoki-san unearthed this kind of moving quality!"

"I am very much looking forward to the day this movie is released. I think everyone will definitely be moved!"

The sound of clapping rang out; Naoki Nagayama, this guy, actually took the lead in applauding, and the reporters at the scene had no choice but to applaud together.

In the subsequent interviews, some reporters also asked some tricky questions, such as "How is the relationship between the Nagayama couple and the Miura couple?", "Did Akina Nakamori come to visit the set?", "What is Naoki Nagayama's image in Momoe Yamaguchi's heart?", etc.

However, the few people on stage were all experienced, and they pushed the boat with the current, and no one dug deeper into the old stories of Naoki Nagayama and Momoe Yamaguchi~

Until the end, a reporter asked:

"Momoe Yamaguchi-san... after 'Departures', will you release a retirement declaration? Will you return to the singing stage?"

"..."

Momoe Yamaguchi paused, thinking of the busyness and satisfaction of this period, thinking of the paparazzi and fans who had disappeared near her home, and then thinking of her husband's future career, she slowly opened her mouth.

"No... I look forward to being able to continue filming the next movie!"

"Then will you return to the singing stage?!"

"This probably won't happen... In the future, I will develop more in the direction of an actor... As for singing, I might occasionally release a record to thank those fans who have always supported me..."

"Arigato..."

The interview for the disclosure event ended. Most of the reporters at the scene had obtained the material they wanted, and some impatient ones had already hurried back to write their articles.

And in the banquet hall of the Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo, the wrap party was being held in a lively manner.

The entire crew of "Departures" had come, and the tables in the banquet hall were almost full... There were also several media outlets that had a good relationship with Shu-Yu taking photos.

Otomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Ido, the two executives of Shu-Yu, were also at the scene, talking kindly with the employees.

When the dishes were all served and the tempting aroma of food made people distracted, Naoki Nagayama tapped his glass and stood up... The entire banquet hall began to quiet down.

Everyone was waiting for Naoki Nagayama to speak~

"Minna-san..." Naoki Nagayama walked to the middle of the banquet hall with a wine glass, "Thank you for your hard work during such a long filming period!"

"Today is the wrap party for 'Departures'... I ask everyone to raise your glasses together!"

"Count to three... let's toast together!"

"1~2~3..." Naoki Nagayama took the lead in raising his glass and shouted, "Kanpai!"

"Kanpai!!" XN

The crew members shouted in unison, and then drank the wine in their hands...

After this cup was finished, what followed was naturally a more lively banquet. At this time, there was no distinction between big and small.

The crew members toasted each other, laughed and talked happily, and laughter continued... When the wine had been served three times and the atmosphere was at its peak, someone brought a microphone, invited a performing band, and began to sing on stage~

Momoe Yamaguchi, under the encouragement of everyone, also sang her signature song "The Dancing Girl of Izu".

"

Cute dancing girl shuttling through this banquet

The figure of playing the shamisen and small drum reflected on the paper window