Chapter 266: Naoki Nagayama wouldn't be your illegitimate son, right?

Director Masaki Kobayashi of Shochiku Pictures and his old friend Masahiro Shinoda were walking out of a theater.

The usually serious Masahiro Shinoda had a rare look of tenderness and softness on his face at this time. "It's really a movie that makes people appreciate it quietly. This is the second time you've come to watch it, right, Masaki-san?"

"Yeah, I watched it once before at the Iwanami premiere. The camera work, editing, color scheme, and soundtrack are all just right..." Masaki Kobayashi was full of praise.

Masahiro Shinoda asked at this time: "Naoki Nagayama, sure enough, the previous movies were all his work, right? He's not hiding it at all starting from this movie?"

"Hai, didn't I say that young man is a very talented person~"

Under the fisherman's hat, Masaki Kobayashi's sparse eyebrows jumped, and the corners of his mouth lifted, actually having a trace of pride.

"How about it, it surprised you, Masahiro!"

"Tsk, saying it as if it were your own movie..." Masahiro Shinoda returned to a serious expression. "Suddenly being so sharp, is it because *Hachiko Monogatari* was suppressed?"

As one of the three flag-bearers of the Japanese New Wave film movement, Masahiro Shinoda was naturally familiar with the suppression in the film industry, especially since he even withdrew from Shochiku Pictures because of this when he was young.

"There is also this part of the reason... I heard it's a joint effort by several old-school companies..." As a big shot in the film industry, Masaki Kobayashi naturally heard this news.

Masahiro Shinoda was silent for a while, and after putting on his sunglasses, he lightly spat out a few words: "Too ugly!"

Such a movie as *Hachiko Monogatari*, which dominated the box office and was unique in creativity, was actually not recognized by those old antiques, and they even came up with an excuse like "the protagonist is an animal, so it cannot be nominated," which made people look down on it very much.

You know, starting from this movie, perhaps movies with animals as protagonists will appear one after another, and a small branch might even appear in movie genres!

"It might also be because Kadokawa tilted all resources toward the Oscars for evaluation."

Masaki Kobayashi was preparing to put on his sunglasses and return to the company to look at the script, but his steps slowed down.

The blue sky of Tokyo didn't know when it began to turn cloudy. The cloud-like state of the clouds covered part of the light, making the sky slowly dim, forming a depressed gray-blue color.

"Masahiro-san, it's going to rain!"

"There are not even clouds. This kind of cloudy day in autumn will last for a long time."

Masahiro Shinoda looked up at the sky, feeling that this color tone was very similar to the colors in the movie just now.

"Masahiro-san, what do you think if we recommend this movie?"

"Recommend this what..." Masahiro Shinoda, who was still looking up at the sky, answered subconsciously, and then reacted. "You mean recommend this movie *A Scene at the Sea*? Blue Ribbon?"

The old-school film bigwigs were all blocking *Hachiko Monogatari*. Taking advantage of their inattention, reporting a new niche movie, it really could be considered a surprise attack.

Masaki Kobayashi slowly put on his sunglasses, his tone light: "The Film Academy Awards or the Mainichi Film Awards are also fine~"

Masahiro Shinoda, who understood his friend, knew that Masaki Kobayashi was serious after listening: "But Shochiku should recommend its own movies, right?"

"Yeah, so, it has to be recommended by your company, Masahiro-san~ Anyway, you don't have any movies this year..."

Masahiro Shinoda looked at Masaki Kobayashi with strange eyes. Although the words were light, this request was actually very solemn.

It was already a personal favor from a big shot in the film industry, plus he had to use relationships to influence the selection afterward...

"Masaki-san, that Naoki Nagayama wouldn't be your illegitimate son, right?"

Naoki Nagayama, who didn't know at all that he had become an "illegitimate son," was shopping for ingredients in the supermarket.

According to the weather forecast, there might be heavy rain in the next few days, and the cherry blossoms in Mountain Cherry Garden would likely be devastated by the wind and rain~

So taking advantage of the time, he invited friends to be guests at home on the weekend, and by the way, to enjoy the cherry blossoms.

Currently, he had invited Genta Nakai and Suzumi Hoshino, Hiromi Otomo and his wife, and Xiu-san and his wife.

Basically, they were all familiar people from the company, and Genta Nakai had had quite a few business dealings with Tree Friend Pictures because of Naoki Nagayama's relationship, and he was relatively familiar with people in the company.

As for other friends in the entertainment industry, they were either filming, had too many announcements, or were not suitable for such private gatherings.

There were already many people, and they could hold a party, so Naoki Nagayama began to sweep ingredients in the big supermarket.

To tell the truth, the things Tokyo people eat when enjoying cherry blossoms are all similar, nothing more than sushi, dumplings, fried chicken, chicken skewers, salted edamame, taiyaki, etc.

Naoki Nagayama could cook many Chinese dishes, but the catering for nearly ten people was still too much. He decided to have a self-service barbecue. In this way, he only needed some processed meat and vegetables, and then use iron skewers to string them up. Naturally, some ready-to-eat snacks were also needed, and beer and drinks couldn't be less~

The oven had long been prepared in Mountain Cherry Garden, and charcoal was also available.

It's a pity it wasn't the long-strip oven; otherwise, he could let his friends see the Xinjiang roast lamb skewers!

When he returned to Mountain Cherry Garden, he found that Genta Nakai and Suzumi Hoshino were already waiting at the door. It was only 2 o'clock in the afternoon, still more than 5 hours away from the evening gathering!

"Nakai-san and Suzumi-san, why are you here so early?!"

Naoki Nagayama hurriedly used the remote control to open the door, let the two in first, and then drove the car into the garage himself. "Wait a moment, I'll park the car."

Suzumi Hoshino was very happy to see Eitaro running out wagging his tail and immediately played with him.

And Genta Nakai followed into the garage: "Suzumi was afraid you couldn't handle it alone, so she came over early to help."

Helping to move all the ingredients bought in the supermarket to the kitchen, he said in surprise: "Did Nagayama-san buy so many things? Suzumi was right; one person definitely couldn't handle it!"

"Hahaha, most of them are ready-to-eat food and snacks, but still want to thank Suzumi-san! She has already turned into a thoughtful wife!"

Naoki Nagayama saw Suzumi Hoshino getting along happily with Eitaro and showed a smile on his face. "From Nakai-san's face, one can tell that Suzumi-san is a very qualified wife!"

Not long after marriage, Genta Nakai's face shape had begun to lean toward a middle-aged uncle, and his figure was becoming more and more blessed.

"That's for sure!" This guy didn't care, smug, and laughed very wantonly. "This is the happiness of love!"

Actually being fed dog food before eating...

Suzumi Hoshino walked over and was also startled to see the kitchen full of ingredients: "Nagayama-san, are you making New Year's Eve dinner?"

"No, I plan to have a self-service barbecue today!"

Naoki Nagayama introduced the classification of ingredients: "Sushi and snacks and desserts just need to be plated, and the remaining meat and some vegetables need to be cut into small pieces, marinated, and then strung up with iron skewers."

"Just grill the meat on the spot. Mustard, cumin, barbecue sauce, etc., I have already prepared!"

"Eh... it looks like Nagayama-san has already considered it perfectly~" Suzumi Hoshino opened the bag of ingredients and looked. There was indeed a lot of cold food.

Although the steps were simple, if Naoki Nagayama did it alone, it was estimated that it would take until evening to complete. Now with two helpers, the preparation work was much easier.

The three of them cut the meat into small pieces together, marinated them, cut the vegetables, and placed other cold food on the plates. Naturally, the salted edamame had to be boiled by themselves.

Leaving Suzumi Hoshino in the kitchen to string the skewers, the two men went to the warehouse to get the oven and charcoal.

Taking out the barbecue oven from the warehouse, it was basically brand new. After all, Naoki Nagayama had only done it once for things like grilled meat chops.

"Naoki, should we grill and try it first?" Genta Nakai put some charcoal in the cleaned oven. "After all, freshly made skewers, don't know how the taste is..."

Naoki Nagayama looked at the sky. It was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and people were estimated to arrive slowly. "Also, then take one or two skewers to try~"

Don't know if boys all have a barbecue plot. Actually, it's not for eating, just a kind of impulse to light a fire and burn something.

Naoki Nagayama and Genta Nakai excitedly lit the charcoal, and then took two lamb skewers from the kitchen.

With the licking of the flames, a faint sizzling sound came from the lamb skewers. Before long, the fat lamb soon dripped oil, emitting the unique aroma of fat. The green peppers in between also softened, and the slight fruit fragrance and meat fragrance mixed together, concocting the most primitive aroma that stirred the appetite.

Smelling this aroma, Naoki Nagayama and Genta Nakai both felt greedy, and Eitaro to the side was even more anxious, turning around the barbecue oven, from time to time making "ying ying ying" sounds.

"Looks like it's about time~"

After brushing the last layer of seasoning, the chef Naoki Nagayama picked up two lamb skewers and handed them to the impatient Genta Nakai.

After getting it, he immediately bit off a piece from the top. Genta Nakai was scalded and sucked in air, but still chewed a few times and swallowed it:

"Nagayama-san, lamb skewers are saiko! Very, very delicious!"

Saying that, he walked toward the kitchen to bring the deliciousness to his wife.

"Take a tray to catch it, don't let the oil drip into the living room!" Naoki Nagayama shook his head helplessly. This guy couldn't escape Suzumi Hoshino's palm in this life~

He also took a bite of the lamb skewer. Sure enough, it was fat and juicy, with meat fragrance overflowing... Eat another bite of the grilled green pepper, fresh and refreshing, just right to relieve greasiness, it was indeed very good!

Eitaro was already drooling greedily, constantly putting his front paws on Naoki Nagayama's waist.

"Alright, alright, share it with you!"

Naoki Nagayama fanned it with a cattail fan to let the temperature drop, and then took the lamb off and put it in Eitaro's food box.

This big dog just rolled his tongue, and most of the lamb disappeared. Looking at his smacking appearance, he should be very satisfied.

As night fell, the landscape lights in the courtyard were already on, reflecting the cherry blossom trees as if they were in a dream.

The lights in the living room and the lights in the corridor were all turned on, and the whole courtyard became bright, no different from the daytime.

Slowly, guests came to the door one by one~

Hiromi Otomo arrived first with his wife Yuki Otomo. Their son was estimated to be embarrassed to come; the next to come were Xiu-san and his wife, and they even brought 7-year-old Regarding Jia Yi Xiu with them.

Seeing Naoki Nagayama, the little girl greeted excitedly from afar, and after getting out of the car, she ran over and gave Naoki Nagayama a big hug, making the Xiu-san behind jealous.

"How come Regarding Jia Yi-chan has such a good relationship with Nagayama-san..." His wife Jia Wei Xiu was also very surprised. Xiu-san often took his daughter to the studio, but she only saw Naoki Nagayama occasionally.

"Because someone has a face that everyone loves..." Sour~

Mountain Cherry Garden suddenly had 7 more people, and it was only so lively when it was just renovated.

After Naoki Nagayama welcomed the people in, he began to move all the prepared ingredients to the small table in the corridor.

"Minasan, let's have a self-service barbecue today~ If you want to eat, you can grill it yourself, or you can order, let me help you grill!"

They were all familiar people, and everyone relaxed quickly. Several married women soon gathered together to chat about family topics, while several men gathered near the oven. Regarding Jia Yi Xiu formed a team with Eitaro, running around in the living room and courtyard, very happy.

Xiu-san drank beer and looked at the cherry blossom tree in the yard.

"Nagayama-san, cherry blossoms blooming at the end of October are rare. Is it a special variety?"

"I don't know either, it was left by the original owner." Naoki Nagayama flipped the chicken skewers. "I asked the agency before, they said it wasn't a special variety, and it didn't bloom in autumn before."

Genta Nakai heard it: "Eh? Doesn't that mean it only became like this after Nagayama-san moved in?"

Hiromi Otomo said calmly: "In our hometown in Nagano, there is a legend that this kind of feng shui tree is closely related to the owner's luck. If the owner has good luck, it will be lush; if the owner has bad luck, it will wither."

"Doesn't that mean Nagayama-san's luck is very, very good?"

"Hahahaha, Nakai-san, don't tell the truth~"

Naoki Nagayama said very happily. Speaking of good luck, it was indeed consistent with the process after he moved in.

In the eyes of others, in a short time, he had achieved achievements that others might not reach in a lifetime, which could indeed be said to be very lucky.

Naoki Nagayama put the grilled chicken skewers on the tray and let the running Regarding Jia Yi Xiu send them to share with several wives. She could also go over to eat some snacks, and then put the harder-to-cook wings on the oven.

Drinking beer and joining the men's chat.

"Speaking of which, Otomo-san, how is the talk with Fuji TV going?"

"Ah, Minister Takano has already loosened his mouth. After the production committee is established, we can confirm the division."

"That's good~"

Xiu-san was a bit confused at this time: "What cooperation? Production committee?"

"Eh? Xiu-san doesn't know yet?" Naoki Nagayama looked at him in surprise. "It's a cooperation with Fuji TV to film a campus romance TV series."

"TV series? You are going to film a TV series?!

"

Looking at Xiu-san's surprised expression, Naoki Nagayama asked Hiromi Otomo with his eyes: "You didn't tell Xiu-san?"

Hiromi Otomo also responded with his eyes: "Drinking every day recently, and when I was at the studio, Xiu-san was on the set, I thought you would tell him!"

The two tacitly missed the opportunity to tell Xiu-san~

Hiromi Otomo finally said an excuse: "Ah, isn't Xiu-san filming a movie? The cooperation for this TV series hasn't been truly finalized yet, so it hasn't been officially announced."

"So that's how it is... the production committee for the TV series hasn't been established yet," Xiu-san seemed to accept this reason. "Wait, what does the division you just said mean?"

"Ah, it's the script division for the TV series." Hiromi Otomo explained.

"The script is already completed?" Xiu-san instantly looked at Naoki Nagayama. "Nagayama-san's script?!

"

Although it was a question, it was already 90% certain.

"Hmm, a script written casually a long time ago, campus romance, just the fantasies of young and frivolous times~" Naoki Nagayama smiled embarrassedly.

"...... Is the script there?" Xiu-san's eyes revealed longing. He really didn't want to miss Naoki Nagayama's script.

"It is there... but Xiu-san, isn't your movie still filming?"

Xiu-san was startled in his heart... Could it be that he was going to miss it again?

... ===== CHAPTER 267 =====