Chapter 273: Why do I have a feeling of being kept by a rich woman?

When everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, life showed a kind of eerie calm.

The cherry blossom tree in the courtyard had withered, leaving only bare gray-brown trunks, occasionally swaying in the cold wind; the few clumps of weeds in the corner of the courtyard wall had also turned withered and yellow, tangled together in a mess; the moss on the stone rockery was slightly yellow, but fortunately, under Naoki Nagayama's occasional care, it lived as tenaciously as the potted plants on the ground;

At this time, the white dry landscape scenery really had a bit of a desolate feeling, with a trace of Zen in the tranquility.

When Naoki Nagayama cooked at home for the third time, looking at the quiet Shanyingyuan in the cold wind, he said something on a whim:

"This is... the calm before the storm!"

After saying it, he came back to his senses and saw Eitaro, who was curiously looking up at him with a big smiling mouth. He gently slapped him several times: "Pah! What nonsense are you talking about!"

"Wang! (You are a dog!)"

At the end of the year, the three major awards in Japanese cinema (Blue Ribbon Awards, Japan Academy Film Prize, Mainichi Film Awards) were also successively entering the preparation stage.

Especially the Mainichi Film Awards (December 1st of the previous year to November 30th of this year), which had a relatively early deadline, had already listed the list of candidate films for evaluation, and the final nomination list for various awards was about to be announced.

Naoki Nagayama had long seen the list. *Gas Station Robbery Incident*, *Hachiko Monogatari*, and *That Summer, Quiet Sea* were all on the list. The only difference was that the first two were labeled as co-produced by Kadokawa Pictures and Tree Friend Films, while the last one was actually labeled as an independent film?

Naoki Nagayama didn't understand what was going on. Was it because this time it didn't go through Kadokawa's national theater chain but niche theaters, so it was directly labeled as an independent film?

These were handled by Shuichi Indo, and Naoki Nagayama didn't care too much. However, this wasn't a big deal. As long as the final box office share was fine, it was OK.

The industry in the film world had already spread the word that the annual box office champion, *Hachiko Monogatari*, could not compete for the Best Actor/Actress award because the protagonist wasn't human. As for other awards, of course, they could also be contested...

Although on the surface it only said that one award was restricted, it also indicated the invisible suppression attitude towards other awards. This was the small action under the table.

Naoki Nagayama seemed to have already heard some judges saying at the meeting, "If the protagonist isn't human, how can the awards set for people be evaluated?" "Even if the box office is high, it really can't be the Best Film, right?" "Lacks the emotion expressed by actors"... and other excuses.

And because Kadokawa's resources were basically invested in the Oscar evaluation, even if some judges in the Japanese film world could say a few fair words based on the quality of the movie, they couldn't overwhelm the connections of other old-fashioned film production studios in the end.

"In short, let's relax~" Naoki Nagayama said very relaxedly to Otomo Yoshimura and Masataka Komori in the office. "Whether we win an award or not doesn't actually have much use~"

Masataka Komori widened his eyes: "Naoki-san, that is the top honor in the film world!"

As a newcomer in the film world who planned to devote himself to film production in the future, Masataka Komori regarded these awards as important things in his career.

Otomo Yoshimura also sighed a little: "If only we hadn't let Haruki-san invest all the resources in the Oscars..."

"Haha, don't show such a sad look~" Naoki Nagayama was still comforting the two. "Major awards might be difficult, but at least there will be some small awards! Newcomer awards, film enthusiast awards, etc...."

"There are 3 major awards to be evaluated at the end of the year!"

Otomo Yoshimura was infected by Naoki Nagayama's optimistic attitude and also showed a smile: "That's true. There are also emerging evaluations like the Yokohama Film Festival!"

"Hahaha~"

Masataka Komori looked at the two who were laughing and really couldn't laugh along. As a professional in this field, he still had an obsession with awards.

"Ma, Komori-kun, don't be sad. Filming a movie still requires focusing on filming the story in your heart. Awards and such are all external things~" Naoki Nagayama poured chicken soup for this guy. "As a filmmaker, one should pursue the movie itself!"

Hearing this, Masataka Komori finally showed a smile: "Hai, I understand."

The chicken soup was drunk~

Seeing the little brother recover his mood, Naoki Nagayama didn't talk too much, but looked around the studio. "Speaking of which, how is Shuichi-san's movie? Is the yakuza problem handled?"

Otomo Yoshimura started packing things: "It has returned to normal. It is said that they still let the Matsuba-kai take a share, and they are rushing the progress. However, they also borrowed a lot of real yakuza from the Matsuba-kai, and the 'yakuza content' of the movie has greatly increased."

"Haha, it feels more real when filming like this!" Naoki Nagayama also laughed. Sure enough, this kind of thing is just a matter of interest involvement. Just talk about the distribution and it's fine.

"Otomo-san, are you going out?"

"Hai, Junko-san's new song momentum is insufficient, and further promotion is needed." He even looked at Naoki Nagayama, actually looking like a resentful wife. "Naoki-san's *SedLove* is full of momentum, and Akina Nakamori, who sings it, has been very popular recently, almost on par with Seiko Matsuda!"

"Ah! Is that so... Haha, I just said that song is very suitable for Akina-chan~"

The song of the agency's own president was taken by an idol from another agency, and then it suppressed the agency's own leading idol. This kind of thing is always a bit awkward.

However, Otomo Yoshimura didn't continue to say anything. He also knew that *SedLove* had been sent out a long time ago, and Naoki Nagayama had also written songs for other idols.

"However, Naoki-san, Yuki Saito's debut song is also at the time to prepare."

Naoki Nagayama suddenly remembered this girl who had just signed in: "Has Yuki-chan's training ended?"

As a newcomer, naturally, she also had to undergo professional guidance and training. The person invited was still the well-cooperating teacher Sachiko Tokunaga.

"Almost a month, it's about time."

"In that case, no problem. Let's use *Dream Drops* as Yuki-chan's debut song~"

Naoki Nagayama had a good impression of this idol. After all, without the emotional entanglements later, Yuki Saito was a very sweet girl.

Otomo Yoshimura responded and walked out, saying things like arranging a recording studio later.

Only Naoki Nagayama and Masataka Komori were left in the office, and then Masataka Komori also said goodbye immediately, as there were some filming businesses to complete.

Naoki Nagayama, who was alone, naturally didn't stay in the studio much and drove his convertible sports car to Sanmaiju in Ginza.

On a day when the cold wind was blowing, coming here to drink a cup of hot tea could be said to be a good enjoyment. If it's expensive... then it's expensive. Anyway, he didn't come every day. At worst, it's just the rent of a shop!

It's not like he can't afford it!

Katsuo Yasui at the front desk of Sanmaiju saw Naoki Nagayama's figure at a glance and greeted him enthusiastically: "Naoki-san, you're here!"

"Hai, Yasui-san, is the business going well today?"

"Hai, there have already been a few guests."

Katsuo Yasui indicated the few pairs of guests on the first floor. They were all tired from shopping and came to the shop to rest, and by the way, drink tea. Of course, they basically all used tea leaves specially supplied by the Shimizu Tea Garden. There were also two guests on the second floor, both of whom ordered relatively good tea leaves.

"Is Naoki-san the same as usual?"

"Hai, sorry to trouble you."

"Where, where, Naoki-san, please go upstairs and sit first."

After hearing this, Katsuo Yasui hurriedly greeted Chinatsu Kamigami to go brew tea for their shop manager.

Speaking of which, the regular customers of Sanmaiju currently only have Naoki Nagayama alone, who bears most of the shop's revenue, and then the revenue finally has to be given to Naoki Nagayama himself...

So what was the point of making a big circle?

Naoki Nagayama arrived at his old seat and sat down. The wind coming in from the window was slightly cool, but as Chinatsu Kamigami served the steaming tea and tea snacks,

Drinking a sip of top-grade Gyokuro, the warm feeling spread from his throat to his abdomen bit by bit, the rich aroma lingered in his nasal cavity, and his whole person became a bit more awake.

"Chinatsu-san, have there been more guests recently?"

"Hai, about 10 or so groups of guests every day. Yesterday, two guests even chose the private room on the third floor."

Naoki Nagayama was also a bit curious. The third floor only involved four private rooms, but they couldn't receive guests at the same time, one of which had to be reserved for Naoki Nagayama forever. The service fee was very expensive...

"This shows that Sanmaiju already has a bit of fame~"

"Yes, recently I can occasionally see middle-aged guests in suits and leather shoes coming over."

Originally, he thought that Sanmaiju would be in a state of loss for a long time, but he didn't expect that it already had a trend of breaking even.

"That's good, Chinatsu-san, you go get busy, I'll do it myself."

Naoki Nagayama likes to enjoy quietness alone when coming here to drink tea, and doesn't need constant service.

"Hai, Naoki-san, if you need anything, please pull the knot rope."

It was actually the bell next to the tea seat, made into the style of a knot rope. As soon as it was pulled, the front desk would discover it.

Slowly drinking a pot of Gyokuro in Sanmaiju, through the glass window, he could see that Ginza Street was still full of people coming and going,

Girls wearing fashionable clothes, and a group of boys surrounding them, full of youthful joy,

Occasionally, he could also see middle-aged uncles of age holding young and beautiful ladies, full of realistic sophistication,

Feeling his warm body, Naoki Nagayama decided to stroll around Ginza for a long time. After it gets colder, maybe he won't want to come out.

After saying goodbye to the manager and deputy manager, Naoki Nagayama walked on the street full of shops in a trench coat.

Because he hadn't been exposed for a long time, he didn't need to wear a mask now, and there were still very few people who could recognize him.

Just as he was walking leisurely on the street, occasionally looking at the latest products, a small figure wearing a coat and jeans suddenly walked to his side, a plaid scarf around her neck covering her chin, and her face was also wearing a mask and sunglasses.

After walking the same way for a while, suddenly a sound:

"Naoki-san!"

Naoki Nagayama was startled and hurriedly turned his head, but seeing the tightly armed appearance, he couldn't recognize her for a moment: "Scared me, who are you?"

"It's me!" The lady took off her sunglasses, and the impressive eyes were revealed. It was actually Yuko Tanaka!

"Yuko-san! Why are you here?!"

Naoki Nagayama was very surprised. Logically speaking, at this time, wasn't Yuko Tanaka filming *Amagi Goe* and *Oshin*?

"Came to relax..."

Yuko Tanaka's tone was a bit conflicted. Naoki Nagayama also suddenly remembered that there had been a period of time when entertainment newspapers were wildly exposing the rumors of Yuko Tanaka and Kenji Sawada's extramarital affair.

He thought it was one of the promotional methods for *Tora-san's Advice 30: Tora-san's Fall*, after all, Kenji Sawada could be said to be the top of the top flow now, both as an actor and a singer, and he had been married for a long time, so how could he suddenly have a scandal.

Feeling that Yuko Tanaka's mood was a bit low, Naoki Nagayama knew that there might really be some problems, so he didn't ask much:

"That's really a coincidence. I happen to be strolling around idly. If you don't mind, Yuko-san, can you stroll around with me?"

Yuko Tanaka smiled after hearing it:

"Then let's two idle people stroll around together!"

In the following time, Naoki Nagayama started to regret a bit, because following Yuko Tanaka, it wasn't like the previous horse-watching-flowers, but started walking into shops, and started trying on clothes.

After meeting an acquaintance, Yuko Tanaka's mood got much better. She looked at the new clothes excitedly, tried many, and bought quite a few... of course, Naoki Nagayama was the one carrying the bags.

This wasn't it, in a shop specializing in hats and clothes, Yuko Tanaka started picking again:

"Naoki-san, how is this hat?"

Yuko Tanaka, wearing a wide-brimmed lady's fisherman hat, had already taken off her glasses and mask, revealing her fair and delicate cheeks,

Under the cover of the wide fisherman hat, most of her face was hidden in the shadow.

"Yuko-san, for this kind of hat, it's better to wear sunglasses~" Naoki Nagayama gave a straight-man's opinion. "Feels like a hat worn in summer."

Yuko Tanaka put on sunglasses and looked in the mirror: "It is indeed. However, it can also be worn in winter, as long as it's matched with fur..."

In this way, the fisherman hat's most important sun protection function is wasted... Naoki Nagayama frantically complained on the side, completely unaware that for girls buying clothes, shoes, and hats, what they value more is actually whether it looks good.

After turning around a few times, Yuko Tanaka felt very satisfied, so she paid happily.

After seeing Naoki Nagayama wearing a trench coat, with quite a few shopping bags in his hands:

"Naoki-san, for the sake of you accompanying me for so long, I'll buy you one too!" Halfway through, feeling like buying a gift for a child, Yuko Tanaka smiled,

"Haha, just treat it as a Thanksgiving gift, thank you Naoki-kun for helping carry the bags!"

"Ah, this..." Naoki Nagayama was just about to say no need, but Yuko Tanaka started picking for Naoki Nagayama~

Why do I have a feeling of being kept by a rich woman...

But the feeling is not bad.... ===== CHAPTER 274 =====