Chapter 1313: Can such a thing be photographed by paparazzi?!

On the stage of the Atsugi Gymnasium, the preliminary selection for the Record Awards was being held.

"..."

"Sabishisugite kowaresou nano (I'm so lonely I'm about to break)"

"Watashi wa ai no nanpasen (I am a shipwreck of love)"

"Oreta tsubasa hirogeta mama (With my broken wings spread)"

"Anata no ue ni ochite ikitai (I want to fall onto you)"

"..."

Amidst the moving melody, a low voice sang out the sad lyrics~

Akina, wearing an off-the-shoulder wool skirt, was beautiful in appearance, with skin whiter than snow, singing 'Shipwreck' on the mist-filled stage, just like a fairy in fairyland!

Everyone who saw this scene couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of their hearts that Nakamori Akina was indeed the most perfect idol of this era~

If only one could fall in love, date, marry, and have children with her!

After the song was finished, the audience and judges below the stage immediately applauded, all feeling that this performance couldn't be better.

"Amazing!" "It's like something out of a manga!"

Such singing, such performance power—compared to other contestants, whether it was stage presence or interpretation, she was far ahead, and it was only natural that she could pass the preliminary selection and enter the year-end finals!

After Nakamori Akina's performance ended, it was the turn of the recently exploded male group—Hikaru Genji—to take the stage.

Johnny's male groups have always had the nickname of "acrobatic troupes," and Hikaru Genji can be said to be the culmination... This group went on stage wearing roller skates!

They sang their debut song 'STARLIGHT' while roller skating, which really attracted a lot of attention!

Performing backflips while wearing roller skates, such a novel and bold performance method, plus Johnny's sparing no cost in publicity, was perhaps the reason for the male idol group's explosion in popularity.

As for the images of the few people in the male group... mm... boys in the awkward period of youth, dark-skinned and lean, there was really nothing to mention, at most a bit of youthful vitality worth mentioning.

The song itself was just a very ordinary youth song; heard it was written by the composer without knowing who the other party was at all.

Who would have thought that after Hikaru Genji debuted, sales would rise straight up, finally becoming a hot song! One can imagine the immeasurable moisture in that!

Why could such a group be hyped up? One can only say that every era has its own preferences!

However, with the comparison of Nakamori Akina in front, it made people feel the gap was a bit large...

The judges below the stage also had changing expressions. Recently, rumors of "black curtain" in the Record Awards had been rampant, which made the organizers and the jury members have a headache...

Now, if Hikaru Genji were allowed to enter the finals, the public opinion pressure they would face would be even greater!!

But what could they do? The money had already been collected!

In the end, Hikaru Genji was still voted into the finals by the judges and would compete in the final competition at the end of December~

And at this moment, in the backstage lounge of the Atsugi Gymnasium...

"Akina-chan..."

Ueda Maki helped Akina change out of her slightly heavy performance coat. Looking at Akina, who was wearing thermal underwear inside, she couldn't help but sigh,

"How come it feels like your figure is getting better and better!"

Akina looked at herself in the mirror unexpectedly. With the development of the pregnancy period, under the stimulation of hormones, her body had already shown some changes.

For example, certain areas had become larger, her abdomen was slightly protruding, there was more fat on her body, and even her face had become much rounder... Originally leaning toward being slender due to figure management, she had now become plump... an S-shape with a protruding front and back!

"Tsk tsk... gained weight again..." Akina touched her belly and sighed while wearing her coat. "Have to lose weight again after the baby is born!"

"No way~ not fat at all!"

Ueda Maki joked with a smile,

"Heard that men like this kind the most!"

Akina blushed when she heard this; it was true, her husband liked it very much...

"... Then shouldn't Maki-chan eat a bit more?"

"I don't want to!"

As a working woman in Neon, figure management is very important! Even if Ueda Maki is a manager behind the scenes, it's the same.

In the future, Neon girls' pursuit of thinness will be even more stringent~

The two of them chatted and laughed while changing their clothes, and then rested in the lounge.

"Knock knock~"

The door of the lounge was knocked, and Tanaka Yoshiaki's inquiry came out,

"Akina-chan, Maki-chan, can I come in?"

"Hai~"

As the door opened, Tanaka Yoshiaki walked in with two assistants and began to organize the clothing and cosmetics in the lounge...

There were also two cars in the garage outside, one driver... In order to ensure Akina's safety and convenience, now when Akina goes out, the auxiliary team needed is at least 5 people.

"Akina-chan, the Record Awards have come to a temporary end." Tanaka Yoshiaki communicated with Akina, "Next, we are going to shoot the New Year's photo album!"

"Hai!"

For the schedule that had already been set, Akina naturally wouldn't have any opinions.

"That's good..."

Tanaka Yoshiaki sized up the speed of the two assistants and then said to Akina,

"However, you need to pay attention when you go out later."

"Mm? What's wrong?"

"There is a group of... relatively excited people outside..."

"Oh?!"

When Akina came out of the underground garage in the car, she saw the crowd of excited people Tanaka Yoshiaki mentioned.

At the entrance of the Atsugi Gymnasium, a group of people were holding signs saying "Justice," "Fairness," "Reject Black Curtain!", etc., and were shouting slogans together; the momentum was close to a hundred people!

And there were reporters interviewing and taking pictures on the side, and even police not far away preventing any danger.

"This is..."

Taking a look from the gap in the car curtain, Akina was shocked.

"This is a demonstration!"

Tanaka Yoshiaki in the passenger seat said,

"Johnny's has really angered the public this time; many artists' fans have come to protest!"

After the news of Johnny's bribing the Record Awards jury was secretly leaked, especially since some anonymous person actually took photos of Mary Kitagawa communicating with the judges, the entertainment industry set off a new round of public opinion storms!

Due to the Recruit case, the public is very sensitive to the word "bribery."

And now, a bribery incident actually appeared in the so-called most authoritative music awards, which was simply stabbing at everyone's sensitive points!

So the newspapers began to denounce the Record Awards committee, and with the secret support of other agencies and artists, die-hard fans began to speak up for their idols... It actually developed to the point of coming to the scene to demonstrate!

There was no help for it; Hikaru Genji only debuted in August. Although they were very popular, the loyalty of the fans hadn't been cultivated yet~

Looking at the figures gradually moving away outside, Akina asked with some worry:

"Among these demonstrators... are there any of my fans?"

She knew that this public opinion storm definitely had Burning Productions' pushing, and even Tree Friend's pushing... But now she was worried that her own fans would be implicated.

"Probably not!"

Tanaka Yoshiaki shook his head.

"Akina-chan's fan club is too big; if they cause trouble, it's too obvious, so we didn't hint at demonstrating or anything."

"Those people are definitely from other agencies!"

Buying news and publishing reports counts as a publicity method, but organizing demonstrations and parades is a political method.

On the contrary, the more formal the agency, the less they want to be involved in this kind of thing...

Nowadays, the composition of agencies in the entertainment industry is very complex; pushing idol artists out is to make money, and it's possible that some agency with underworld background is dissatisfied and lets their little brothers demonstrate.

"That's good..."

Akina nodded. She knew nothing about how Naoki-san arranged things... But she figured it shouldn't be too out of line.

"Akina-chan don't worry... as long as the rules are fair, then the chance of your 'Shipwreck' winning the Grand Prize is definitely very high!"

"Mm~"

Tree Friend building.

Otomo Fangcun, holding a newspaper, asked Masami Inada:

"Inada-kun, did you ask Kijima-kun for help? Actually able to take such a photo?"

On the front page of the newspaper was exactly the image of Mary Kitagawa letting Kondo take out a gift box and hand it to a certain judge... It is said that because of this photo, Masahiko Kondo's image further collapsed, and some of the original die-hard fans actually began to leave the group!

"No!"

Masami Inada shook his head immediately. Where could he move Kijima Shizuru! He found it difficult even to find Kijima Shizuru!

That guy is really like a ninja; his presence is too low!

"This photo is said to have been secretly taken by paparazzi who bought off a waiter!"

Masami Inada explained to Otomo Fangcun,

"Heard the paparazzi recognized Masahiko Kondo and Mary Kitagawa, saw them enter a compartment together, and thought something intimate would happen... so they directly bought off a waiter to film with a hidden camera!"

The news that the Kitagawa siblings of Johnny's like to sexually harass the artists under them has long been circulating in the industry; it is said that Masahiko Kondo and Mary Kitagawa have an unclear relationship!

Seeing the two together, the paparazzi naturally wanted to take an exposé~

"Didn't expect to actually film the bribery scene!"

"Such a thing can actually be filmed by paparazzi; this world is really just a makeshift stage!!"

Hearing this, Otomo Fangcun lowered his head and looked at the secretly filmed scene again, sighing,

"Ever since the Recruit case, this kind of hidden video camera has become popular!"

"Yes, everyone is in danger..."

Narazaki Yanosuke directly filmed the scene of the Recruit company bribing him through a hidden video camera, which really allowed this bribery case to get ironclad evidence!

Especially the practice of live-streaming the bribery scene on television stations simply made the public discover a new continent!

"Alright, alright~"

Otomo Fangcun shook his head.

"Now that public opinion has been stirred up, the next step is naturally to increase the stakes!"

"Hai, I have already contacted some senior critics to comment on this matter..." Masami Inada said, "However, it seems that some senior big shots in the music scene have also begun to speak out."

"Heard that the winners of previous Record Awards plan to collectively pressure the organizers of the awards... If the result is unfair, they will return the trophies they won!"

"Like Kenji Sawada from the rock circle, he seems to be the main force!"

Listening to this series of news, Otomo Fangcun was satisfied in his heart and nodded:

"Good... continue to increase the stakes! Until the jury is directly replaced! Let Johnny's money be spent in vain!"

"Hai!"

Just as the two wanted to discuss how to strengthen public opinion next, they saw Yin Tangxiu knock on the door and walk in.

Yin Tangxiu's face was tired, but his eyes were firm, as if he had made some determination.

"Xiu-san!"

Masami Inada greeted Yin Tangxiu first, and then feeling that the two big shots wanted to discuss things, he stood up and prepared to say goodbye,

"Otomo-san, I'll go do things first..."

"Inada-kun, don't go yet!"

Yin Tangxiu stopped him and then said to Otomo Fangcun,

"Otomo-san! I have decided... to join the Social Democratic Party!"

"Oh?" Otomo Fangcun was surprised. "Is it confirmed?"

"Hai, after communicating with Chairperson Doi, I decided to accept her invitation to serve as a policy committee member under the Social Democratic Party's election strategy committee..."

Yin Tangxiu nodded,

"At the same time, I won't give up my position in the Film Association... I will continue to serve as a managing director after my term expires next year..."

"So, you will become the liaison between the Social Democratic Party and the Film Association, right?"

"Hai!"

Yin Tangxiu nodded.

"Relying on my influence in the Film Association, I will help Chairperson Doi in the Prime Minister's election!"

He turned his head to look at Masami Inada:

"Inada-kun... calling you to stay is because I want to chat about how artists can help promote a certain political party or candidate in the entertainment industry..."

"..."

A sharp light flashed in Yin Tangxiu's eyes; he had made up his mind in the past few days to make a foray into the political arena!

At the same time, in Mary Kitagawa's villa, Mary was reprimanding Masahiko Kondo:

"Kondo! How could you not even discover this camera!!! As an artist, you should be very sensitive to the lens!!"

In fact, Mary Kitagawa hadn't discovered the hidden video camera either, but she couldn't blame herself, so she could only vent her anger on Kondo!

"Useless! Useless! Useless!!!"

"Waste! Waste!!"

This secret filming exposed the private bribery behavior to the sun, putting immense pressure on Johnny's!

Mary, who was about to go through menopause, felt anger rise in her heart and randomly picked up things at hand and smashed them at Masahiko Kondo!

Throw pillows, empty beer cans, magazines, ashtrays...

"Bang!"

Kondo failed to dodge, and the ashtray smashed directly onto him; cigarette butts and ash mixed with some unknown liquid splashed onto his clothes... looking embarrassed and pathetic!

"Mary-san... Mary-san..."

Kondo didn't dare to run and could only beg,

"This has nothing to do with me! I didn't know either!!!"

"Hmph!"

The things at hand were smashed, and Mary Kitagawa stopped, looking at Masahiko Kondo with cold eyes,

"Waste!"

She had less and less good feelings for this guy... once thought of him as a "pet," but now it seems he is useless for anything!

However, after the emotions were vented, the shrewdness of a businesswoman returned to her brain:

"This time it looks like other agencies have united to give Johnny's a demonstration!"

"We monopolized male idols, and sure enough, we offended too many people... so this time when we wanted to buy the Record Awards, it caused public anger!"

"Looks like we need to slow down the pace!"

Saying this, she was about to get up to find her brother to discuss countermeasures.

At this moment, she happened to see Masahiko Kondo looking embarrassed and like a punching bag, her brows furrowed with disgust... and then suddenly thought of a way to get rid of this guy!

Her tone softened:

"Kondo, I was angry just now... go take a bath and change your clothes!"

"... Mary-san..."

Masahiko Kondo was a bit surprised,

"At your place?"

"Mm... go directly; I'll have someone send clothes!"

"Hai..."

After Kondo went upstairs, Mary Kitagawa had thoughts in her heart... Kondo, this guy, because of her protection before, hadn't been succeeded by her brother...

Now that she had made a mistake, it was exactly the time to admit it... might as well send him over as a gift of apology! ===== CHAPTER 1314 =====