Chapter 303: Turned into a blondie

"I say, Yin Tang-san, do we really have to do this?"

Naoki Nagayama sat helplessly in the chair, surrounded by a crowd of people, feeling small and helpless.

"Of course!" Yin Tang-san said with absolute certainty, pressing down on Naoki Nagayama's shoulders to prevent him from escaping. "For the needs of the drama, this is definitely unavoidable!"

"Besides, isn't this what you wrote in the script yourself, Naoki-san!"

Near Seikei University in Japan, there was a barbershop called Soul of Ginza.

Who would have thought that the owner of a tiny barbershop near a university would have such grand ambitions~

When he first saw the barber, who looked like a punk, Naoki Nagayama had even quipped that it would be better named Soul of Chuunibyou.

But at this moment, Naoki Nagayama, who was being held down in the barbershop chair by Yin Tang-san, was struggling in vain to escape, with several members of Shonentai and Mieko Harada watching from the sidelines.

Yin Tang-san increased his grip: "Naoki-san, just make a small sacrifice, it's fine! You can change it back after filming!"

Naoki Nagayama was on the verge of tears, feeling immense regret. Why did he have to be so rigorous about the restoration when writing the script!

"Yin Tang-san, I don't want to dye my hair blond! ORZ!"

In the original character settings for the four male leads of *Hana Yori Dango*, only Hanazawa Rui had a different hair color—a brownish tint. In the script, to emphasize this, the hair color was specifically written as light gold.

So now, Naoki Nagayama, who was playing Hanazawa Rui, was dragged to the barbershop by Yin Tang-san to be dyed yellow~

In reality, apart from Mieko Harada's long, straight black hair which fit the image well, the three members of Shonentai also had to do something with their hair to show personality and trendiness...

In this era, perhaps perms, medium-length hair, and flying, peculiar hairstyles represented the trendiness of youth...

"Tony-sensei, please go easy on me! Don't dye it all yellow!" Naoki Nagayama pleaded, pulling at the young barber.

"Let go, quick~ This customer, I will definitely dye it to look great..." The young barber pulled his hand, which was holding the scissors, away from Naoki Nagayama with effort. "Also, my name isn't Tony!"

Resistance was futile...

Under the "semi-coercion" of the crew, Naoki Nagayama still reluctantly dyed his original black hair a light golden yellow. Fortunately, it still revealed some orange-red tones inside, so it didn't turn into a pure blondie~

After walking out of the barbershop, Naoki Nagayama discovered the power of this hair color.

On this university town street, the people coming and going were basically all university students. Whether they were male or female students, 100% of them would turn their heads to take a look when passing Naoki Nagayama!

To put it bluntly, Naoki Nagayama was the brightest guy on this street!

"Yin Tang-san, look at the good deed you've done!"

Yin Tang-san was very happy: "Look, Naoki-san, now you are the focus of everyone's attention the moment you appear! It's exactly the same as when F4 appears in the script and is the center of attention!"

The Shonentai members next to him were instantly overshadowed...

Although the looks of the Shonentai members actually fit the current aesthetic, Hanazawa Rui in the script was famous for his handsome looks. At this moment, wearing a white Burberry trench coat, paired with Naoki Nagayama's handsome face, the overall image indeed surpassed the others by a large margin.

"Yin Tang-san, stop talking... Let's go back quickly, it seems a bit ominous!"

Right now, Naoki Nagayama just wanted to return to the set quickly, because the female university students nearby seemed to be slowly gathering around, restless and wanting to get to know him or something~

The afternoon filming process went smoothly, though most of the plot involved scenes between Domyoji Tsukasa, played by Noriyuki Higashiyama, and Makino Tsukushi, played by Mieko Harada. It was only at the very end that Hanazawa Rui, played by Naoki Nagayama, appeared to save Tsukushi~

"Naoki-san, you really felt like a Prince Charming just now!"

During the break, Mieko Harada ran over to chat with Naoki Nagayama. There was no helping it; the Shonentai members were indeed a bit young, and even with makeup to make them look mature, there was still a sense of childishness when chatting.

"Haha, the image of Hanazawa Rui is actually a role that plays at being cool~"

Naoki Nagayama looked at Mieko Harada, who was dressed as a university student. It had been 4 years since her breakout film *Hell*, but time hadn't left too many marks on the beauty, not to mention that she was already in the best prime of her life.

Exquisite features were softly arranged, combining into an innocent face; under willow-leaf eyebrows were eyes as clear as black and white, shining with every glance; a beautiful, delicate nose was embedded in the center, stubborn and straight like her own personality; thin lips were clearly defined, looking even more rosy against her fair skin.

In *Hana Yori Dango*, was Domyoji Tsukasa blind? Seeing such a beauty for the first time, his first reaction was actually disgust?

Mieko Harada seemed to have never considered her appearance important. As an actress who had already won major awards like the Blue Ribbon Award, she always prioritized improving her acting skills. High-level screenwriters and directors like Naoki Nagayama were rare.

So she leaned over and asked:

"Naoki-san, you've already won the Mainichi Film Award. The Japan Academy Film Prize and the Blue Ribbon Award shouldn't be far off, right?"

"Probably~" Naoki Nagayama unobtrusively moved his upper body away. If she got any closer, he might not be able to hold back. "The inside information I've heard is that the situation is quite good."

"A young director winning so many major awards, everyone in the industry is curious about what kind of person Naoki-san is!"

"Hahaha, I'm just a person with two eyes and a mouth~" Naoki Nagayama said playfully. "Didn't Mieko-san also win a series of major awards at a very young age?"

"That was just good luck..."

In fact, for the past two years, Mieko Harada had only been taking time to participate in some TV movie shoots. Apart from *Kita no Kuni kara*, none of the others had much popularity.

She had been busy with the film *Mr. Mrs. Miss. Lonely*, which she directed and starred in herself, but it didn't make much of a splash. The novel she published, *Lovely Half Moon*, had gained a little bit of fame.

Appearing in *Hana Yori Dango* this time could be said to be the beginning of refocusing on the role of an actress.

"Come to think of it, Naoki-san is truly amazing. The movies you shoot win major awards, the songs you write are all bestsellers, and even the novel *Love Letter* you published became a bestseller..." Mieko Harada looked at Naoki Nagayama, who had an even more fairy-tale temperament after dyeing his hair, and silently added in her heart, "And you're so handsome too..."

Hearing these praises, Naoki Nagayama felt a bit floaty. How should he put it, the feeling of being praised by a beauty was actually quite good:

"Hahaha, Mieko-san, please stop praising me, I'll be embarrassed..."

The beauty next to him wanted to say something else, but fortunately, Yin Tang-san's voice came over at this time: "Mieko-san, Naoki-san, and members of Shonentai, the next scene is about to start!"

"Hai~"

After a busy day, Naoki Nagayama, after finishing the crew's dinner, still drove back to Shanyingyuan.

As soon as he entered the door, Eitaro still ran over to greet him, wagging his tail.

But this time, he stopped at the door, stood there, and looked at Naoki Nagayama who had gotten out of the car. The frequency of his tail wagging had also decreased a lot.

His small eyes were full of confusion, and he barked a few times:

"Who are you? Where did my master go?"

When Naoki Nagayama walked over, Eitaro was still hesitant and refused to get close.

"What's wrong? You don't recognize me just because I dyed my hair?"

It wasn't until Naoki Nagayama spoke that Eitaro confirmed his master's identity and immediately licked Naoki Nagayama's hand enthusiastically again.

Dogs can generally only see three colors: yellow, blue, and purple. This time, Naoki Nagayama dyed his hair, and in Eitaro's eyes, a bright yellow suddenly appeared in the originally cold, dim world...

"It seems I have to take you to the set tomorrow, otherwise you won't recognize me in the future~" Naoki Nagayama stroked the huge dog head. This guy has grown so big already...

It would be quite lonely for a dog to be at home all day!

The night passed without incident~

The weather the next day was a bit overcast, but it looked like it wouldn't rain.

Winter in Tokyo actually has more sunny days.

Naoki Nagayama got up early. Because he had work, he skipped his morning run. After a simple breakfast, he took Eitaro and embarked on the journey to Seikei University.

Looking at the students going to school appearing on the road from time to time, Naoki Nagayama felt as if he had returned to the time when he went to school in the morning in the past.

This feeling was even more obvious when he arrived near Seikei University, because this was also near Tokyo Woman's Christian University, and there were various local elementary and middle schools around... It could be said to be the educational center of Musashino City.

When the Toyota Century parked in the parking space at the gate of Seikei University, Naoki Nagayama, wearing a custom white Burberry trench coat, got out of the car and then led Eitaro down.

In the morning light, his originally yellowish hair became like bright gold, his handsome face became even fairer, and the high-end white trench coat plus a white dog truly made Naoki Nagayama the focus of the school gate.

"Has a Prince Charming really appeared?" A girl grabbed her companion's arm, extremely excited. "He must be a star! He must be a star! I want to be his fan!"

On the other side, the male students heard this and said sourly: "What Prince Charming, he's clearly the White Dog Prince, okay..."

All they got in return was a disdainful "Hmph, sour grapes!" from the female student.

After arriving at the student apartment, the crew was already preparing.

Yin Tang-san, who was biting into a piece of bread, saw Naoki Nagayama and raised his hand to greet him: "Naoki-san, you're quite early, and you even brought Eitaro along~"

"It's quite lonely to always leave him at home alone~"

"Then find him a companion... By the way, is Eitaro in heat? Let me tell you, the Hachiko I keep at home provokes the cats and dogs in the neighborhood every day. Everyone says the mating season has arrived. I'm still thinking about whether to give him a Christmas set meal."

Yin Tang-san's eyes aimed at Eitaro's lower body, making the dog tremble slightly, silently shrinking his hind limbs and tail.

"As for Eitaro... he's not even two years old yet..." Naoki Nagayama looked at the unreliable Yin Tang-san helplessly.

Just as Naoki Nagayama and Yin Tang-san were chatting, Mieko Harada and the Shonentai members all came out.

"Naoki-san, good morning~" The beauty without makeup was still very good-looking, and had an even more youthful atmosphere. "Eh? And a doggy..."

"This is Eitaro." Naoki Nagayama introduced.

The Shonentai members had all seen Eitaro before, and at this moment they also exclaimed: "Has Eitaro already grown this big?"

When filming *The Gas Station Robbery*, Eitaro was still a puppy~

"Haha, dogs grow very fast."

No wonder people say dogs are artifacts for flirting with girls. Sure enough, after a while, Mieko Harada, who was familiar with Eitaro, started stroking the dog.

The content filmed during the day today was still in the university town, but this time it was in the teaching building.

Relying on the authority of Vice Principal Seiji Endo, Yin Tang-san got the school security to help isolate a fairly large space, and also borrowed an empty classroom. The conflict scenes were filmed amidst the curious university students nearby.

For professional actress Mieko Harada, all this didn't matter. For Shonentai, they were always performing under the eyes of many people. However, for Naoki Nagayama, he was a little reserved, but after trying a few more times, his skin became thicker.

When Domyoji Tsukasa stuck the red paper on Tsukushi's back, Naoki Nagayama, who was on the side, almost laughed. What a chuunibyou plot, being kicked out of school for sticking a paper...

Naoki Nagayama, who was not in the scene, was watching with great interest when he heard the voice of Otomo Yoshimura coming from behind.

"Naoki-san!"

"Eh, Otomo-san, why did you come today?"

After yesterday, Otomo Yoshimura had nothing to do on the set. Even if the Wild Cat Trio or Yuki Saito came to guest star, it should have been Masami Inada who sent them.

"Hmm, I came specifically to find you."

"Did something happen?"

"The Japan Academy Film Prize Association called and wanted to ask if Naoki-san would like to attend the award ceremony of the Japan Academy Film Prize." Otomo Yoshimura stated this news.

"Didn't we say before that we would all attend?" Naoki Nagayama replied. "Wait, the Japan Academy Film Prize? Didn't they just not announce the nomination list yet?"

"Hai."

Naoki Nagayama wondered: "So it's not as an award winner? But as..."

"Yes, they invited you to be an award presenter."

"Eh?! An award presenter?" Naoki Nagayama was even more surprised. "Aren't award presenters all high-prestige seniors?"

"There are also young ones..." Otomo Yoshimura said. "And there are also special figures this year.

Naoki-san, the Japan Academy Film Prize is broadcast live, so the ratings are particularly important... After the Mainichi Film Award, the name Naoki Nagayama has already set off a huge wave in the film industry. I wouldn't dare say Naoki-san is high-prestige, but you are certainly worthy of the fame."

"I see..." Naoki Nagayama confirmed. "So it's just presenting an award to someone, right."

"Yes, it's very simple~"

He was going to go anyway, now it was just an extra step of presenting an award. Naoki Nagayama couldn't find a reason to refuse.

"In that case, let's agree to it!"

"Hai, then I will go and reply."

Otomo Yoshimura breathed a sigh of relief. Serving as an award presenter was the traditional film industry's recognition of Naoki Nagayama and Shu-Yu Film. If he refused, it would leave an impression of arrogance in the industry...

Although Naoki-san didn't care much, as a film production company, Shu-Yu Film still valued it very much.

Naoki Nagayama thought that maybe after he went up to present an award, he would go up to receive an award again, up and down:

"Hahaha, maybe I'll present an award to myself~"

... ===== CHAPTER 304 =====