Chapter 302

"Akina-chan, wait a moment. I don't know if I can run into it today~"

"Eh?"

"Treat you to a midnight snack!"

Under an impulse, Naoki Nagayama promised to treat Akina to a midnight snack on the phone, and he immediately drove to the Yaki-imo person's stall in Chiyoda.

Fortunately, he was lucky as usual. He found the stall with the small red lantern hanging on a street corner not far from the last time:

"Uncle, give me two roasted sweet potatoes!"

The Yaki-imo uncle saw the generous main customer from yesterday and thought he was going to buy the whole stall again. Didn't expect he only bought two today:

"Only two this time?"

"Haha, uncle, the people in the company have all gotten off work~ This is my midnight snack~"

"So that's how it is~" Although he didn't buy the whole stall, the Yaki-imo uncle wasn't disappointed, and still carefully selected two sweet potatoes wrapped in tin foil. "Eat them while they're hot~"

"Hai! I will try my best!"

After saying that, he took the two roasted sweet potatoes and walked back to the car, and even wrapped them with a cotton towel to keep them warm.

In the whistling cold wind, a black sedan was speeding on the road in Tokyo at night. If there were no traces of paint or modification on the car body, this situation would easily be considered a kind of street racing behavior.

Under Naoki Nagayama's efforts, it took less than twenty minutes to reach the apartment in Nakano Ward. Counting the time to buy roasted sweet potatoes, it didn't exceed half an hour.

He made a phone call in a nearby phone booth again,

"Akina-chan, I brought the midnight snack over!"

"Honto? Not joking, right~"

Then, after a while, Akina Nakamori, wearing casual clothes, walked out of the apartment's main gate. Seeing the Toyota Century parked on the side of the road, she opened the car door and sat in.

"Naoki-san, you really came over!" Akina Nakamori looked at Naoki Nagayama in the driver's seat, both surprised and happy.

Looking at Akina sitting in the passenger seat, Naoki Nagayama opened the cotton towel and took out the roasted sweet potato.

"Of course, I promised to treat Akina to a midnight snack. This roasted sweet potato is very delicious!"

Because it was wrapped in a cotton towel and tin foil, the roasted sweet potato was still a bit hot at this time. After Akina took it, she carefully peeled off the tin foil, and a rich aroma drifted out. Then she peeled off the slightly protruding sweet potato skin. Inside, it was like a lump of solidified beeswax, emitting sweet white hot air.

Taking a bite, it was really as sweet as honey.

Akina's eyes curved like crescents: "So sweet~"

"Right~ This is the most delicious roasted sweet potato I've eaten this year!" Naoki Nagayama also took a bite of the one in his hand and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ah... I won't get tired of eating it a few times~"

The two people who had grown up and become independent from home were now like two children stealing snacks, sharing delicious food in a place where adults couldn't see them.

"Where did Naoki-san find it?"

"On a street in Chiyoda..." Naoki Nagayama realized Akina's idea. "Does Akina want to buy it yourself? However, that Yaki-imo uncle's location is not fixed every day. Today was lucky enough to find it."

Akina wrinkled her nose: "Eh... how come Naoki-san makes it sound like some urban legend~ Hahaha, the Yaki-imo person who sells happy sweet potatoes~"

Saying that, she took another bite of the sweet potato... Hmm... sweet is indeed the taste of happiness...

While eating roasted sweet potatoes, the two chatted:

"Akina-chan, has the turmoil of the team been resolved?"

"Akina-chan is great in every way, but it would be better if she were a little thinner~"

"But she's clearly chubby and cute too!"

Naoki Nagayama couldn't help but laugh out loud. Even though he was wearing a mask, the two girls noticed him. The one sitting closer wasn't shy at all; instead, she asked generously: "You're also an Akina fan, right? From a guy's perspective, wouldn't Akina look better if she were thinner?"

"Ah... regarding that..." Speaking with a mask on felt stuffy. Anyway, his cold symptoms were almost gone, so Naoki Nagayama took it off directly. "From my aesthetic point of view, it's still better to have a little bit of meat on the face~"

Consequently, the girl who had just asked said to the other girl: "See, handsome men all like plump girls!"

The round-faced girl nodded in total agreement: "So, dieting or whatever, let's just forget about it for now!"

Under the dim lights, the two girls didn't recognize who Naoki Nagayama was, but they were sure he was a very handsome guy.

Naoki Nagayama, suddenly labeled, was left between laughter and tears...

Uniform slogans suddenly erupted from the audience; Akina's fan guard team began to exert their power. The rhythmic slogans, paired with physical movements, immediately stirred the fans at the scene.

Soon, the sound in the hall became as loud as thunder, calling for today's protagonist to appear.

Before long, the band's short welcome song played, the spotlight lit up, and Akina Nakamori, wearing a beautiful dress, was already standing in the center of the stage.

The first song was naturally her debut song, "Slow Motion".

Under the colorful neon lights, Akina's singing voice seemed to come from far away, slowly appearing on the stage in front of them. The idol in the beautiful dress was dreamlike, like a character from a fairy tale, using her singing to tell the feeling of first love.

The fans offstage swayed their arms to the rhythm of the music, and the small flags in their hands also swayed with the melody, like waves.

After finishing the song, Akina stopped on stage to greet the Osaka fans.

"Thank you all for coming to see my concert..."

Her eyes swept over and she discovered Naoki Nagayama in the front row. She smiled and waved at him, then naturally turned to other directions, not neglecting any fan.

Naoki Nagayama also waved back, and the two girls next to him shouted excitedly: "Akina saw me! Akina smiled at me! Akina waved at me!"

The two girls began to wave their arms frantically, hoping their idol would look over again.

After the opening debut song came "Conditional Reflex" and "Legend of the Galaxy". After three songs in a row, Akina took a break to talk to the fans about her feelings on coming to Osaka.

Afterward, she took the opportunity to change into a stage costume. Next up was the intense-rhythm "Girl A".

Just as she returned backstage, the assistant brought the prepared outfit for the next set. The specially made stage costume was very easy to put on and take off, but her makeup still needed a slight adjustment.

"Akina-chan, do you want some water?" the assistant handed over the prepared water bottle.

Akina took the bottle, took a shallow sip, and then asked: "Were there any mistakes on stage just now? How was my performance?"

Manager Koji Okawa answered from the side: "None at all. Akina-chan was very outstanding, and the reaction from the audience was also very good."

Knowing that his idol had always been very strict about concerts and was especially nervous when there were many audience members, Koji Okawa gave firm affirmation at this time.

After hurriedly finishing her makeup, the slogans from outside could already be heard backstage. Akina ran over quickly, but after stepping onto the stage, she slowed her pace, turning into the flamboyant and rebellious Girl A.

Unlike the ever-changing diva who combined singing and dancing later on, Akina Nakamori, who had only held a few concerts, although she had a good dance foundation, did not incorporate it into her performance, or rather, the dance moves for several songs were very small.

Perhaps after her fame grew, it would be even more spectacular when Akina started choreographing her own dances.

Naoki Nagayama followed the fans offstage to keep the rhythm, clap, and shout slogans, acting like a pure Akina fan.

After "Girl A" was finished, it was another light-rhythm song, "A-Type Melancholy"~

The music paused, Akina Nakamori stopped, revealed a shy smile, waved at the fans offstage again, and interacted with them:

"Thank you again, everyone in Osaka, for coming to listen to my concert. How were the previous songs?"

"You've listened to two fast-paced songs. Next, I will present to you my latest single, 'Second Love'. This was a debut gift given to me by a friend~ Arigato~"

Akina Nakamori looked at Naoki Nagayama, her eyes full of smiles. "I originally thought about using it as my debut song, but I didn't expect it to take so long to record~"

Naoki Nagayama shook his head with a smile. Akina suddenly doing this left him not knowing how to respond.

"Next, this song 'Second Love' is dedicated to all of you here!"

A soft and sweet voice came from the speakers, and the entire hall was filled with the gentle singing. It made people sigh at Akina Nakamori's singing ability; clearly a mid-to-low voice, yet the transition in the high-pitched range was so smooth, which was amazing.

If it were a second love

It would improve a little bit

I really want to convey the message of love to you~

But I just hang my head

But I just hang my head

Akina on stage was covered in a layer of soft light, slowly yet affectionately telling the girl's inner thoughts. The audience offstage also thought of someone left in their memories, or perhaps the person right next to them, following the singing.

Immediately, fans rich in emotion quietly grabbed the sleeves of the people beside them.

Naoki Nagayama was listening to the singing intently, but suddenly saw the girl next to him, whose hand had originally been on the railing, quietly moving toward his side. Soon, it was about to touch the clothes he had placed on the railing!

Eh? Are young girls these days this bold? Wanting to pull my sleeve after listening to one song?

Naoki Nagayama hurriedly pretended to clap and pulled his hand back from the railing. Through his peripheral vision, he also saw the unwillingness on the girl's round face...

Immersed in Akina Nakamori's performance, the hour-long concert seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.

By the time the last song came, she had already said goodbye to everyone in advance. The final parting process was reluctant, but she still reminded everyone to pay attention to safety when going back~

Naoki Nagayama followed the flow of people slowly walking toward the hall's entrance. Along the way, he heard the two girls from earlier chatting:

"If you ask me, Akina-chan must have someone she has a crush on, otherwise 'Second Love' wouldn't be sung so affectionately and devotedly!"

"Akina-chan is devoted to every song, okay? That's the skill of singing!"

"Who do you think that friend Akina-chan mentioned is?" "What friend?" "The friend who gave her the debut song!"

"It's a music producer named Naoki Nagayama. Isn't it written on the single record?"

"Could it be that the person Akina has a crush on is that guy? He must be a handsome guy!"

"Yai... composers are usually older, okay!"

It seemed that Naoki Nagayama's scandal hadn't caused much of a stir in Osaka, otherwise these two girls wouldn't have failed to recognize that the protagonist of their topic was right next to them.

Actually, that was right; the divide between Kansai and Kanto was quite serious~

After leaving the hall, Naoki Nagayama walked directly toward the parking spot. It was impossible to talk to Akina today; not to mention the many fan guards guarding the entrance, the fans outside were all waiting to see Akina one more time.

So, Akina must have left by car as soon as she went out.

However, Naoki Nagayama was hungry at this time and prepared to go to Shinsaibashi. As the birthplace of teppanyaki, Osaka's teppanyaki is a must-try, with unique insights into both ingredients and heat control.

On the other side, Akina, who had changed into casual clothes, secretly got into an inconspicuous van with her assistant from the side door. The sedan that Koji Okawa had driven to the front door had already been surrounded by fans and couldn't be driven out for the time being.

"Akina-chan, are we going straight back to the hotel?" asked the assistant, Ueda Maki. "Or should we find a place to eat first?"

Akina Nakamori touched her stomach. To maintain the best body lines on stage, she had only eaten a small bread to pad her stomach all day besides breakfast. She didn't feel it when she didn't mention it, but once she did, she felt a bit weak. However, the tension hadn't dissipated yet, and her stomach didn't feel hungry...

"Although I know I need to eat something... I don't have much appetite..." Akina Nakamori was a bit helpless, but just then the car passed a roadside teppanyaki stall, and a pungent aroma drifted in.

Akina felt refreshed after smelling it. Her mouth had been dry just a moment ago, but now she immediately felt moist. Her eyes immediately turned to the assistant. "Maki-chan, it would be great if I could eat some teppanyaki with a rich aroma~"

Looking at her idol's greedy and expectant look, Ueda Maki couldn't help but laugh. "That's perfect! Osaka is the birthplace of teppanyaki! Let's go to the gourmet district, Shinsaibashi!"

The assistant immediately communicated with the driver and turned in a different direction...

Naoki Nagayama shook his head: "Unless it's a night scene... but I should go back at that time too."

If you drive fast at night, you can get home in half an hour. No matter how good it is here, how can it be as comfortable as your own Sanyoin...

Katsuhide Uekusa said disappointedly: "Eh... thought I could have fun with Naoki-big brother at night~"

You know what the entertainment of adults is at such a young age!

The three people of Shonentai are all 17 or 18 years old, younger than Naoki Nagayama, and haven't reached adulthood yet~

"Hahaha, you guys should enjoy your college life~" Mieko Harada said with a smile on the side. "The nightlife of college students is very rich~"

Forgot, this big sister is the oldest among the few.

They were still chatting here, and Shuichi Itou over there had already started shouting: "Next scene, Miss Harada, Sugina is on stage!"

"Hai~~"

Sugiura Tai walked over and pulled Naoki Nagayama to the side: "Naoki-san, I'll leave it to you here. Nishi Rumi and I are going back."

"Eh? Why, don't you want to watch the progress and quality? Rumi, stay, right? At least one person?"

"No need, I trust Naoki-san very much. With two famous directors like Naoki-san and Shuichi-san on the scene, what else do we have to worry about?"

Since the announcement of the Mainichi Film Awards, Fuji TV's production bureau seemed to have completely let go.

Nishi Rumi also added fuel to the fire on the side: "Yes, yes, we just need to wait for the final result!"

"This..." The excessive confidence of others made Naoki Nagayama a bit flattered. "In short... still need to come over and take a look."

Otherwise, if problems are picked out during the final acceptance, it is not a good thing for both sides.

Sugiura Tai said a few words but couldn't help it: "Know

it, we will come over to take a look after a while! We will go back first today! There are still a lot of publicity matters~"

After that, this guy walked away decisively, and Nishi Rumi, who was together, also waved and said bye-bye...

"It's really... reassuring~"

Daikichi Yoshimura, who saw everything, said so.

"Sigh... because of this, we have to work harder, otherwise how can we be worthy of others' trust..."

"Oh? Then Naoki-san, are you going to direct the filming yourself?"

"How is that possible, but I will urge Shuichi-san more diligently!"

Big Belly Cup