Chapter 428

As soon as yesterday's concert ended, the moisture in Tokyo seemed to have agreed on something, and it all came down at once.

The weather had been gloomy since the morning, with gusts of wind and rain coming from time to time.

The leaves of the cherry tree in the courtyard were still stubbornly attached to the branches, refusing to fall until September. And the green bamboo around the wall was already in such a sorry state from the ravages of the rain that it looked like clothes that hadn't been wrung out, one leaf piled on top of another.

Naoki Nagayama sat on the veranda watching the wind and rain outside, and while eating breakfast, he said to Eitaro beside him:

"Eitaro, actually I don't want to go out today. But there's no way around it, I was cornered by that guy Shuichi Ido earlier~"

"So I still have to go to work in such bad weather..."

Eitaro looked as if he hadn't understood a word, still lying on the veranda, chewing on a teething stick unhurriedly. On the other side, Miaotaro had already finished eating and was actively licking his paws, incidentally giving himself a grooming session to smooth his fur.

The jam bread on the plate was finished. Naoki Nagayama looked at the rainwater flowing down from the eaves and suddenly thought of something:

"I'm telling you, Eitaro, don't you dare go play in the mud in the courtyard today, you hear me?!"

"If I come back and you've made the house a mess! I'll take you to get neutered!"

Although Naoki Nagayama's words might not have been fully understood, Eitaro must have felt that overflowing malice.

The dog, with its hind legs tensed, looked up at his master, followed the direction of his arm to see the puddles in the courtyard, and nodded instinctively.

"Oh? You actually nodded, then I'll take that as you agreeing! Our agreement is now in effect!"

Naoki Nagayama maliciously put away the bowls and basins, his mind already anticipating the scene of coming home at night to see the living room in a mess, and the image of himself cornering Eitaro with scissors...

In such weather, it was natural to drive the Toyota Century to the studio.

Under the effort of the wipers, the raindrops hitting the windshield were pushed to both sides of the line of sight again and again, then slid down the edges. The road ahead would occasionally distort into strange shapes with the rain curtain, but would also return to normal in the next swaying moment.

Layers of dark clouds piled up over Tokyo, hiding the usual sunlight. Only at the skyline was there a faint white glow, as if declaring that beyond this rain cloud, the scorching sun was still high in the sky.

Raindrops fell on the umbrellas of pedestrians, stirring up a faint mist; raindrops hit the roof of the car, shattering into tiny splashes; raindrops hit the outer walls of buildings, but gathered into a layer of smooth water curtain.

The reinforced concrete buildings of Tokyo, which had been exposed to the sun for a long time, retreated from their yellowish irritability under the soothing wind and rain, turning into a deep, light gray.

The people living in it also seemed to have taken a breath from their busy daily lives, breathing in a fresh, crisp, and relaxed atmosphere carrying moisture.

Naoki Nagayama watched the rain scene outside with appreciative eyes, not feeling that driving was boring or tedious at all, and soon arrived at the studio.

Arriving late had always been the privilege of the big boss. Even though it was already 9:30 when Naoki Nagayama arrived, he was still greeted by a crowd of employees when he walked into the lobby.

"Naoki-san, morning~" "Naoki-san, good morning~" "Naoki-san, you're here!"

He could only nod with a smile while entering his office.

"Otomo-san, is Shuichi-san already in the editing room?"

Naoki Nagayama asked Tomo Arisue, who was looking at the report, and incidentally picked up some newspapers on his desk related to the music industry. Sure enough, he saw claims like "Every song is a hit," "Records not to be missed," and "A high-quality record rarely seen in a decade."

"Ha, these media reporters are still not good enough. How come they didn't come up with a headline like 'Shocking, something that has never happened in music history!'~"

Tomo Arisue's ears twitched, seemingly attracted by this headline: "Yesterday's concert was indeed very successful!"

"As for Shuichi-san, he has indeed gone over, and even specifically instructed me that if Naoki-san comes, I should go help as soon as possible~"

Naoki Nagayama put down the industry's praise for Yutaka Ozaki's second album and sighed:

"Sigh, Shuichi-san really knows how to order people around."

In the small editing room, Shuichi Ido and Masataka Komori were already sitting inside and starting to work. Piles of materials were placed on the shelves, waiting for the editor to take them.

"Naoki-san, you're here~" Masataka Komori greeted him first.

"Yeah, how far have you edited?" Naoki Nagayama picked up the shooting schedule and looked at it. The storyboard on it was very rough, but it showed the scenes that should be there.

"We just started~" Shuichi Ido raised his head, "It's just that crow that was hard for Naoki-san to handle. The artistic conception of the picture is very good. I'm thinking about whether to use it as the opening."

"Is that so?" Naoki Nagayama responded with a smile, "However, I think it's better to use the segment where the gas station is robbed as the opening. It attracts the audience right from the start."

"That makes a lot of sense~"

Shuichi Ido accepted Naoki Nagayama's opinion without any rebuttal. After spending so much time together, he had completely trusted Naoki Nagayama's talent in film.

But today, Naoki Nagayama didn't intend to start editing formally. He said to Shuichi Ido and Masataka Komori:

"Shuichi-san, Masataka-kun, let's find the most tense shots in the whole film today!"

"Is Naoki-san going to use them for the trailer?" Masataka Komori asked.

"Yeah, isn't the wrap-up party in two days?" Naoki Nagayama nodded, "I'm thinking that at that time, I'll let everyone in the crew feel in advance what kind of film we've shot!"

Shuichi Ido said from the side: "But the time seems a bit tight?"

"Haha, at worst we'll just stay up all night~" Naoki Nagayama didn't care at all. Akina had gone on a national tour, and she wouldn't be in Tokyo for these two days.

The other two had no objections and nodded in agreement.

The three of them started working hard in this small editing room~

At noon, Naoki Nagayama naturally sponged another work meal from the company.

However, in the company lobby, watching Masataka Komori eating his girlfriend's love bento, he felt a little envious.

"When will Akina make me a love bento?"

Thinking of this, the teriyaki chicken bento in his hand seemed to have lost its taste.

"However..." His train of thought went off track for some reason, "If Akina cooks, will it not be as good as mine? Then at that time, will I be making her a love bento, or will she be making me one?"

This is a question.

At this moment, Tomo Arisue suddenly walked out, holding a bento package. This married man naturally had a bento made by his wife~

"Naoki-san, in the afternoon, do you want to go meet Department Head Morikawa of Kadokawa with me?"

"Eh?" Naoki Nagayama was a bit curious, "Why go see him suddenly?"

Tomo Arisue rolled his eyes: "Of course it's about the distribution of 'Crows Zero'! Didn't we say there would be a trailer in these few days?"

The actual promotion plan had already been roughly made, but Tree Friends Film was a bit special in terms of film production.

Because of the lightweight film production, the shooting speed was fast, and the speed of the finished film was also fast, so there were no early promotions or production announcement press conferences, and even the production promotion on the shooting site was absent.

So now it had to start from media publicity and various preview screenings.

"If it's officially released, it's expected to be in early to mid-September~" Naoki Nagayama swallowed the food in his mouth and continued, "One month's time, is there a plan for publicity?"

"Of course!" Tomo Arisue was full of confidence, "A rough promotion plan was sorted out a week ago. Today is just to do the final communication."

Regarding film publicity, Naoki Nagayama and Shuichi Ido had always left it to Tomo Arisue, and he himself wouldn't pay too much attention: "Otomo-san is indeed reliable!"

He looked at Shuichi Ido and Masataka Komori not far away: "The materials selected in the morning are almost enough. Let's edit the trailer according to that~ Shuichi-san, Masataka-kun, I'll trouble you this afternoon~"

Shuichi Ido rolled his eyes: "Naoki-san, remember to come back after meeting him. We agreed to stay up all night!"

"Hahahahaha~" Naoki Nagayama laughed it off, indicating he hadn't heard anything.

After the noon bento was finished, Naoki Nagayama got directly into Tomo Arisue's car, but the person driving was a young man he didn't know.

"Ah, Naoki-san, you haven't met Takeharu-kun yet." Tomo Arisue introduced, "This is the newly recruited assistant. Takeharu Kawahara."

"Naoki-san, I am the newcomer Takeharu Kawahara. My current job is assistant and driver. Nice to meet you, please take care of me~" Takeharu Kawahara in the driver's seat could actually bow respectfully. Such waist strength, he has a bright future!

"Hi, Takeharu-kun, nice to meet you~"

Naoki Nagayama first got to know Takeharu Kawahara, and then glanced at Tomo Arisue beside him.

This guy, who was bald but had thick eyebrows and big eyes, actually secretly found a small assistant behind Masami Inada's back!

"Otomo-san, where is Masami-kun?"

"Masami-kun is currently in charge of the agency affairs of Junko Ito and Yuki Saito, and needs to travel for a long time, so I haven't seen him for a long time." Tomo Arisue said this, and then said to Takeharu Kawahara, "Takeharu-kun, go to the Lotus Club in Roppongi."

"Eh? Go to a nightclub in Roppongi? Isn't it going to Kadokawa Film's company?"

"Of course." Tomo Arisue looked at Naoki Nagayama with strange eyes, "What business can be negotiated at the company? Isn't Naoki-san very familiar with the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry?"

"Uh, didn't react for a moment~"

Naoki Nagayama recalled, it seemed to be true. Previous collaborations with outside companies were either in cafes, tea houses, or at dinner parties. By the time they went to the company, it was just a matter of final signing or acceptance.

"However, it looks like we're going to drink again~"

"That's for sure!" Tomo Arisue's eyes were even stranger, "Otherwise, why would I call Takeharu-kun to drive!"

The Lotus Club in Roppongi was where Naoki Nagayama first met Haruki Kadokawa. At that time, it was to celebrate the big hit of the movie 'The Gas Station Robbery'.

In the blink of an eye, it's been almost a year! It seemed to be raining at that time too...

Arriving at this familiar Western-style building, even in the afternoon, in the lobby on the first floor, there was still a kimono beauty welcoming guests at the front desk.

When she saw Tomo Arisue, she bloomed with a smile:

"Department Head Arisue, you're here~"

"Haha, I missed Naon-chan, so I came early~" I don't know when, Tomo Arisue's flirting had already developed the tone of a playboy.

"That's truly an honor!" Naon Fukushima had long been immune to such teasing, "Department Head Morikawa is already upstairs~"

After speaking, she looked at Naoki Nagayama who came in together, slightly thoughtful: "This is..."

Before Tomo Arisue could introduce him, Naon Fukushima had already exclaimed in surprise: "Naoki-sensei! It's been a long time since you've been here!"

"???"

Naoki Nagayama had long forgotten the front desk lady who had received them at the Lotus Club, but Naon Fukushima didn't mean to make the atmosphere awkward at all: "Naoki-sensei, I am Naon Fukushima. I was the one who received you before."

"Ah, Naon-chan~" Naoki Nagayama smiled, seemingly recalling this lady.

"Welcome both guests to the Lotus Club again, please follow me~" Naon Fukushima, wearing a kimono, handed the front desk to another waiter, and then walked in front with small steps to lead the way.

The mama-san in Roppongi is indeed amazing. A guest who has only been here once, she can actually remember after a year!

Akina Mori, far away in Hokkaido, had just finished a rehearsal for a concert tour, but she had to rush to the next venue immediately because she was scheduled for a local TV station program. The transition between venues was really very hard.

However, Akina at this time was still full of energy, even calculating the time to return to the hotel at night, thinking about whether she could make a phone call to Naoki Nagayama.

Just at this moment, Noriyuki Akisachi, who was driving in the front row, spoke in a somewhat heavy tone:

"Akina-chan!"

"Hmm?"

"At noon, I received a page from a colleague at Ken-On. Ms. Chieko, Akina-chan's mother, called the agency." Noriyuki Akisachi said slowly.

"Eh? Mom is looking for me, did something happen?"

"According to the relay, it's Akina's grandfather, whose condition has worsened and he has been hospitalized."

Actually, the colleague at Ken-On asked Noriyuki Akisachi to inform Akina after she finished the program, but since it involved relatives, Noriyuki Akisachi knew how much she valued her family, so he chose to say it at this time.

"Ojisan is hospitalized?!" Akina Mori, who had a good relationship with her grandfather, immediately became worried, "How is the situation now? Is he still in the hospital? Did Mom go to the hospital?"

After a series of questions, Akina, worried about her grandfather, immediately asked Noriyuki Akisachi to find a phone booth and called home.

Noriyuki Akisachi stood outside the phone booth, watching the 18-year-old girl's face change constantly. It took a long time before she got back into the car with a solemn face.

"Akina-chan, how is Grandpa's condition?" Noriyuki Akisachi asked.

"Father said Mom is accompanying him in the hospital, but this time, it's quite serious." Akina also knew in her heart that if it wasn't very serious, her mother Chieko wouldn't have called the agency.

"." Noriyuki Akisachi softened his voice, "Akina-chan, do you still want to go to the program? I can contact them to reschedule..."

". No need!" Akina Mori's voice was slightly choked, "Father said not to worry about family matters, to prioritize agency matters, and not to cause trouble for the agency..."

Noriyuki Akisachi saw the tears filling the girl's eyes in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but sigh.

As Akina Mori's fame grew, and coupled with the previous "transfer turmoil," Ken-On's control over Akina had clearly gone up a notch.

Not only did they raise her salary, but they also relaxed the restrictions on copyright sharing. Akina would be able to receive royalties next year.

In addition, they helped Akina open a personal agency in the name of tax avoidance, which was a shell company, and secretly sent a sum of money to Akina's family members.

Now it seems that the money given to Otoko Nakamori was well spent.

However, having such a father, the girl in the back seat is really very sad.