Chapter 482

The season for autumn leaf hunting had arrived.

The maple leaves in Kyoto were already a deep red; wherever there were maple trees, they looked like torches burning in the treetops, intense and surging.

Those places where maples gathered into forests looked from afar like layers of deep and light red clouds drifting in mid-air, brilliant as red mist under the bright sun, filling one's eyes with gorgeous colors.

The courtyard that Naoki Nagayama and his group rented also had a few red maples, though there were more evergreen trees.

Amidst the shade of green leaves, a touch of red appeared somewhat eerie.

Before they knew it, the *Ring* film crew had been shooting in Kyoto for nearly a week.

"Naoki-san, the scenes we are shooting today..." Shuichi Ido came over with the shooting schedule to discuss it with Naoki Nagayama.

"Are we shooting Reiko Asakawa first today?" They had already shot the scenes of researching the videotape, and the location shots were almost finished.

"Yes, she thought it was over, but then suddenly discovered her ex-husband had died too." Shuichi Ido explained while preparing to give instructions to Masataka Komori.

"Yeah, she finally remembered that the reason she didn't die was because she showed the tape to someone else!" Naoki Nagayama remarked casually. "Come to think of it, so many people pass away in hospitals every day in reality; if one went to volunteer at a hospital every week and then showed the tape to a dying patient, wouldn't that work?"

"... Naoki-san, you really are cold-blooded. People are about to die, and you still won't let them be?" Shuichi Ido retorted.

"Shuichi-san, don't talk nonsense." Naoki Nagayama said, "If a patient is down to their last breath and can't be saved, wouldn't it be nice to let them watch the tape and extend their life by seven days?"

"Are you trying to use the nature of the curse to forcibly extend the lives of the dying?" Shuichi Ido thought about it with a mock-serious expression, then delivered a hand-chop strike. "You guy, Naoki, don't go adding settings to the curse in the movie!"

Naoki Nagayama moved nimbly, dodging the strike. "Tch! It's our script anyway; what's wrong with adding 'you won't die within a week of watching the tape'?"

"You need to show some respect for the script!"

Seeing that Shuichi Ido was about to get annoyed, Naoki Nagayama dropped the idea. However, after a while, he said to Shuichi Ido, "Shuichi-san, it's autumn leaf hunting season; next week, I have to go shoot my own courtyard again~"

Shuichi Ido rolled his eyes again. "Naoki-san, we've finally had a stable week of shooting, and you're going to go do other things again?"

Of course, the *Love Letter* side was waiting!

But Naoki Nagayama couldn't state the reason openly, so he had to beat around the bush: "Didn't we already agree? I have to borrow Kijima-kun halfway through the shoot!"

"Besides, the current shooting progress is nearing the end, so it doesn't make much difference whether I'm there or not."

Shuichi Ido thought for a moment and sighed. "Sigh, go on, go on!"

"Hahaha~ Then I'll go make preparations! Good luck with the filming, Shuichi-san~"

"You could at least wait until today's shooting schedule is finished! You bastard!" Watching Naoki Nagayama disappear in an instant, Shuichi Ido couldn't help but roar.

Having finally made it to the end of the crew's workday, Naoki Nagayama hurried back to the inn they had been renting and paged Akina Nakamori.

By the time Akina returned the call, it was already night.

"Naoki-san!" The voice on the other end was as energetic as ever. "Why are you calling so early today?"

"Because I missed Akina~ Akina is also quite early today."

After Naoki Nagayama laughed and said some sweet things, he got to the point: "Akina, I'm going to Kobe tomorrow to prepare. The *Love Letter* shoot is the day after tomorrow; the confirmed schedule is fine, right?"

"Yes, we have no problems on our end. We'll leave tomorrow night and arrive in Kobe the morning after tomorrow." Akina Nakamori took out her itinerary book. "I still have to attend the rehearsal for the Red and White Song Festival tomorrow."

In reality, besides the Red and White Song Festival, Akina Nakamori had to participate in various year-end program recordings. With no free time all day long, going to shoot *Love Letter* could almost be considered a vacation.

"That's really hard work!" Naoki Nagayama exclaimed. "But this time, our shooting in Kobe is actually very simple; maybe we can get some good rest."

"Really?" Akina Nakamori's tone became happy. Being able to see her boyfriend and get some rest—what a wonderful thing!

"Yes~"

Naoki Nagayama remembered that there weren't many shots to film; they were mainly in a pottery workshop and a restaurant.

"This time we can also go eat fresh Kobe beef~"

"Eh? Ahahaha~" Akina Nakamori was amused. "Naoki-san always manages to bring up strange topics."

"Delicious food—how can you call that strange~"

The two bickered while thinking about what to do in Kobe; it didn't feel like they had work at all, but rather like they were going on a trip.

The next morning, Naoki Nagayama took the Kijima-Xu trio and set off for Kobe early.

It wasn't very far from Kyoto, so they arrived in the morning at the pottery workshop that Masami Inada had already helped rent.

"Masami-kun, I've troubled you again~" Naoki Nagayama met Masami Inada in a bungalow on the outskirts of the city, along with a temporary actor he had brought.

"It's all part of the job~" Masami Inada smiled modestly. "Naoki-san, this is the temporary actor who will be playing the supporting role..."

"I am Risa Tsutsumi. Nice to meet you, please treat me well~"

"Hi, I'm Naoki Nagayama."

After the introductions, Naoki Nagayama began to tour the workshop called Ochiai Pottery.

Because they were only borrowing it temporarily to shoot a few scenes, the pottery workshop was still in operation. The glowing furnace contained red-hot charcoal, and the heat made the whole room feel like summer.

Masami Inada pointed to an old man who looked like a veteran farmer and said, "Naoki-san, this is Master Kujin Ochiai, the owner of this pottery workshop."

"Hi, nice to meet you." x2

After the introductions, Naoki Nagayama didn't waste time. "Master Kujin, one of the characters we are shooting this time is a potter. So, besides borrowing the workshop, I hope to learn more about the pottery process to make it authentic during filming..."

"That's no problem at all. Letting more people know the charm of pottery is my hope!" Kujin Ochiai wasn't reserved; instead, he laughed and looked at Naoki Nagayama. "Young man Naoki, are you the one playing the potter?"

"Yes, I happen to be playing the role this time."

Kujin Ochiai said playfully, "Then you are too clean right now... Your skin is also a bit too fair; you don't look like someone who deals with furnace fires at all."

"Eh?"

Under Kujin Ochiai's guidance, Naoki Nagayama changed into simple coarse cloth clothes, put on a fireproof apron and a headscarf to protect his hair, and wrapped a sweat towel around his neck...

He then began to work in the workshop like a real potter.

"Young man Naoki, you've got strength! Very good!"

"Hahaha, this is very interesting~" Naoki Nagayama had never touched such technical work in his past or present life, and now he was very interested, treating this as an interest class.

Seeing that Naoki Nagayama, this sturdy young man, was so humble, Kujin Ochiai was very happy to explain various pottery knowledge to him, practically treating this as a teaching session. Naoki Nagayama also turned from a clean city boy into a country man with dust on his face.

Kijima-Xu and the others had already found the camera positions in the workshop and tidied up the clutter that would hinder filming.

When he returned to the hotel in the evening feeling somewhat exhausted, Naoki Nagayama was even a bit surprised that he had really spent the whole day immersed in the pottery workshop.

"I must tell Akina about today's events tomorrow~"

When the morning light in Kobe woke him from the tatami, Naoki Nagayama realized he had changed cities.

"Not used to sleeping on the floor." Whether it was yesterday's fatigue or not being used to the tatami, Naoki Nagayama felt a bit of soreness in his waist and back.

Stretching his body, he walked to the hotel restaurant and saw Kijima-Xu and the others already eating breakfast at the table, so he quickly joined them.

With a buffet of small French bread, grilled sausages, and a glass of orange juice, Naoki Nagayama talked about today's work with Kijima-Xu and the others while eating.

Suddenly, it went dark before his eyes, and his eyes were covered. "Guess who I am?"

Akina, with a disguised voice, said this from behind, making Naoki Nagayama laugh. "Could it be Lady Akina?"

"Ha~ It is I!" Akina Nakamori let go, sat down next to Naoki Nagayama with a full smile. "Good morning, Naoki-san!"

The morning sunlight filtered in from the glass window, scattering on the restaurant walls, spreading over the tabletops, draping over the flowers in the middle of the table, and reflecting on the beautiful face before him.

Her fair skin radiated vitality, her eyes were like autumn water, her nose was straight and delicate, and her features were exquisite—for a moment, it was hard to tell whether the flowers were more beautiful or the lady herself.

"Did Akina arrive last night?" Naoki Nagayama asked with a smile.

"Yes, because it was too late, I didn't want to disturb Naoki-san~" Akina Nakamori took the breakfast handed to her by Maki Ueda. "And Maki-chan and Mingxing Fangze-san came too."

Noriyuki Minami, sitting at the table nearby, greeted them with a straight face. He had witnessed the entire process of Akina Nakamori covering Naoki Nagayama's eyes, and his heart was already roaring:

"In public, are you really not hiding it anymore?! You're really not hiding it!"

Looking at Naoki Nagayama's side, Kijima-Xu and his two crew members buried their heads in their food after Akina Nakamori arrived, acting as if nothing was more delicious than the breakfast on their plates.

After Naoki Nagayama turned back, he looked at Akina with surprise. "Akina, I haven't seen you for a week; why do you seem thinner?"

The baby fat on her face had disappeared quite a bit!

Akina Nakamori laughed and looked at Maki Ueda. "See, I told you I lost weight!"

Maki Ueda explained, "Akina has been controlling her diet for the past two weeks..."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because Naoki-san said that the character I'm playing this time is Hiroko as an adult, more mature, and the facial lines need to be clearer..." Akina Nakamori touched her jawline and said, "So I've been eating a little, just a little less during this time!"

She really went on a diet just because of one sentence; Naoki Nagayama was somewhat moved.

Looking at the young girlfriend in front of him who was still proudly showing off her jawline, he unconsciously reached out to her face.

From slightly below the ear, to the cheek, and then sliding to the jaw... his fingers felt a delicate touch, like the smoothest porcelain.

Akina Nakamori didn't seem to expect Naoki Nagayama to touch her directly; she froze for a moment, and then her fair skin flushed red like a sunset cloud, and she was speechless.

Maki Ueda's mouth hung open, shocked by the scene before her.

Naoki Nagayama reacted at this moment, his old face turning red.

This hand must have had a mind of its own! It was very likely that some alien creature had crawled into it while he was sleeping last night, giving it self-awareness, which was why it moved uncontrollably!

Yes, that must be it; no wonder he didn't sleep well last night!

"Ahem, Akina's bone structure is excellent! Now that the baby fat on her face is gone, the whole face shape is even more exquisite!"

Naoki Nagayama calmly withdrew his hand, as if he had just been verifying some biological common sense, and explained calmly.

"Uh..."

Kijima-Xu didn't know if he should agree at this time, and finally made a non-committal sound.

And Noriyuki Minami nearby, his inner monologue was already ringing like a bell:

"This guy, is he really not hiding it at all?! Not hiding it at all!!"

Naoki Nagayama kept in mind the truth that "as long as you aren't embarrassed, others are the ones who are embarrassed," and continued chatting with Akina:

"However, Akina's hairstyle needs to change; a little shorter will look neater. Can you change your hairstyle yourself now, Akina?"

For teen idols, their hairstyles are usually arranged by the agency, as even a small change in image can lead to changes in popularity, so everyone is extremely cautious.

However, because Akina Nakamori's own aesthetic sense was ahead of the curve, her image could largely be decided by herself; after all, she was even designing her own stage costumes more and more.

"If it's just the length of the hairstyle, I can change it myself."

After her heartbeat calmed down, Akina gave Naoki Nagayama a shy and annoyed look. The light touch just now was too flirtatious, but her heart was inexplicably joyful.

"Does Naoki-san mean I should change my hairstyle?"

"Yes." Naoki Nagayama looked at Akina and said, "If possible, cut it a little shorter, and the makeup should also be more mature... No, make it look mature, but in a way that people can't tell you're wearing makeup!"

That's right, this is the legendary "no-makeup" makeup look~

Naoki Nagayama said matter-of-factly, "After all, there is still a little baby fat on your face..."

"... Oh."

Hearing this last sentence, Akina's mood suddenly soured. This blockhead, he actually said it again!

Looking at the innocent, handsome face in front of her, Akina's teeth felt itchy; she had an urge to bite something.

Resentfully, she speared a small sausage from Naoki Nagayama's plate and chewed it vigorously~

"Uh..."

Naoki Nagayama was speechless. Does this young girlfriend actually like grabbing things from other people's plates? There seemed to have been a trend of this before!

"Let's go to the styling shop together in the morning; I need to put on makeup too," Naoki Nagayama continued.

"Eh? Naoki-san too?" Akina asked. Maki Ueda finally recovered and looked over with curiosity.

"Yes, my character needs to be distinguished from before; through makeup, I can become like another person..." Naoki Nagayama instructed the Kijima-Xu film crew around him. "Kijima-kun, you guys go to the pottery workshop to prepare first; we should be there before noon~"

"Hi!" x3