Chapter 575

During the lunch break, Naoki Nagayama's pager suddenly started beeping.

"At this hour?"

Naoki Nagayama was a bit surprised; only Akina would call this pager, but a call during lunch was indeed very rare.

Looking at the unfamiliar overseas number on the small screen, Naoki Nagayama told Otomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Ido, who were eating with him, and went to a small conference room with a telephone:

"Moshi moshi, Akina?"

"Naoki-san!" The voice in the receiver was a bit noisy, clearly outdoors, and occasionally one could hear the laughter of some people, "Guess where I am?"

"The resort hotel?" Naoki Nagayama knew Akina had gone to Guandao to film a program. The time difference between Guandao and Japan wasn't large, so it was indeed noon there now. At this time, she should have just arrived not long ago...

"Yeah, just finished adjusting to the time difference..." Perhaps because she was away from home, thousands of miles away from her boyfriend, Akina's tone was filled with longing, "It feels about the same as Hawaii here... It's a pity Naoki-san isn't here~"

Could it be that she wants me to fly over there...

"Didn't we just see each other~ We'll be able to see each other again once Akina comes back..."

"But I really want to see Naoki-san right now..."

Naoki Nagayama had no choice but to comfort her gently. There was nothing unusual about the conversation between the two in the honeymoon phase, but if a third person were to hear it, it would simply give them goosebumps.

After finally soothing his little girlfriend's emotions, Naoki Nagayama asked, "How long will Akina be filming this time?"

"A little over a week... The work schedule is full every day... Besides the original program, there are various program connections, as well as photos and such..."

As a top-tier idol, having finally gone abroad once, she naturally wouldn't just film a single program. When recording albums before, she had also carried out two or three projects simultaneously, not to mention this was just recording a special program.

After talking intermittently for nearly half an hour, the two finally hung up the phone... The phone bill was estimated to be tens of thousands of yen.

When he returned to the office, his bento had already gone cold.

"Naoki-san, why so late?" Shuichi Ido asked, "You haven't had your fill of lunch, have you?"

Naoki Nagayama shook his head casually, "It's okay, I have to go back to Shanyingyuan in the afternoon anyway."

This afternoon, he had an appointment with Naotaro Zhongxi and the others to record the "New Words and Buzzwords Awards" in the study at Shanyingyuan.

"I see."

"Shuichi-san, it seems the first batch of MV copies will be arriving this afternoon," Naoki Nagayama said to Shuichi Ido, "Could you please help check them?"

"That's no problem at all."

Otomo Yoshimura heard this and was a bit curious: "Naoki-san, how is the effect of the MV?"

"Hmm... for now, we can only watch it through a television set..." Naoki Nagayama said, "Why don't I bring a karaoke machine to the company later? We can try it out, and it could also serve as a leisure area for employees..."

"This?" Setting up an employee leisure area in a company was completely unheard of in the eyes of Japanese enterprises, "The company is for working..."

"Haha, a person only has 24 hours a day: 8 hours for sleep, 10 hours for work, and the remaining 6 hours include 2 hours on the road and 1 hour for eating... In the end, only 3 hours are left for free activities... Isn't that too pitiful~"

"Eh?" The two, living in the Showa era, were very puzzled. Isn't this very normal? Besides the 10 hours, there's also socializing, going out to eat and drink with superiors!

Naoki Nagayama didn't intend to change their old-fashioned concepts, but instead said, "Our Tree Friend needs to align with companies in Europe and the United States and have an international flair... So, employee benefits must be done well! Let's start with the leisure area!"

In the future, small snacks, afternoon tea, mandatory clocking out, employee canteens, and such will all be gradually equipped.

One cannot forget the hardships of the working class just because one has become a capitalist!

If the overall environment cannot be changed, at least the group of people following him should live a better life...

And at this moment, Shuichi Ido and Otomo Yoshimura, listening to Naoki Nagayama's fantasies, believed that their president was having a delusion... However, since he is the president, let's just follow what he says; it won't cost much money anyway~

At the same time, in the resort hotel in Guandao, manager Fusunori Akiko found Akina Nakamori.

"Akina, the afternoon recording is about to start."

"Hai!"

Akina Nakamori, who had changed into a cool camisole dress, replied energetically. After pouring her heart out to her boyfriend, her mental state was much better, and even the fatigue from the flight seemed to have lessened a lot.

Arriving at the hotel pool, also accompanying them were Naoko Kawai, Yu Hayami, Naoko Ken, Goro Noguchi, as well as Johnny's Toshihiko Tahara and Masahiko Kondo.

Because it was a hot summer here, the girls were dressed a bit coolly, but the few male guests were very relaxed, wearing nothing but beach shorts.

In front of the camera lens, Naoko Kawai was in the middle of a group of local hula dancers, trying to learn the hula. After seeing Akina, she happily invited her:

"Akina-chan, come and dance together~ It doesn't feel very difficult..."

"Hai~"

Akina excitedly took the hula skirt and ran to her side, starting to try dancing the hula with the locals. Thanks to her basic training in ballet, she soon had no trouble connecting the steps.

"Akina-chan's dancing is super amazing!" Before she knew it, the guests participating in the program had gathered around, and her good friend Yu Hayami immediately offered praise, "Come and teach me!"

"Hahaha~ Not at all~" Akina, a bit shy, stopped and walked into the group of girls to start teaching them techniques.

Under the director's request, the male guests on the other side also joined in with laughter and jokes. Toshihiko Tahara originally had a good relationship with Akina, so he wanted to walk over to her side, but Masahiko Kondo inserted himself next to Toshihiko Tahara with a small movement.

"Akina-chan is really amazing!" Masahiko Kondo's tone was very ingratiating, "You can learn the hula all of a sudden..."

Since this year, Akina Nakamori's popularity had risen rapidly, and she had achieved huge success across music and film, which undoubtedly made Masahiko Kondo, who was seeking a transformation, very envious. His previous few youth films, besides being bought by fans, hadn't won a single serious award...

If he could cooperate with Akina Nakamori, it wouldn't just be his idol career; perhaps his crossover into film would also be much easier.

"Arigato..."

Akina Nakamori just expressed her thanks politely. Thanks to Naoki Nagayama's previous warnings, this person, who could be considered a senior idol, had long been labeled in her heart as frivolous, unreliable, bullying newcomers, and having ulterior motives.

And now... he actually came over wearing beach shorts, looking at his skinny upper body, he couldn't compare to her boyfriend at all! Akina Nakamori labeled him as a "skinny dog," disgusting, and thick-skinned.

She thought to herself: "Next time I'll tell Fusunori-san that there should be fewer programs with this person in the future..."

After all, the other party was also at the pinnacle of the male idol pyramid, and some large-scale programs like the Red and White Song Festival were unavoidable.

While Masahiko Kondo still wanted to continue getting close, Akina Nakamori hurriedly pulled Yu Hayami back to the hula dancing line and started teaching her good friend how to dance the hula.

And Toshihiko Tahara, watching coldly from the side, looked with disdain at Masahiko Kondo hitting a wall. This guy, relying on Mary Kitagawa's favor, always obtained piles of resources and acted like a fox borrowing a tiger's might in the agency, being extremely arrogant.

Look at this, pushing him aside just to borrow Akina Nakamori's popularity... Haha, the other person completely ignores you! And it's like avoiding a pile of poop...

In this sunny Guandao, Toshihiko Tahara's mood was as refreshing as drinking a glass of cold soda!

And seemingly noticing Akina Nakamori's alienation, his face sank, but he quickly realized this was in front of the camera and hurriedly restored his entertainer face, continuing to interact with other guests as if nothing had happened.

But he was cursing in his heart: "What's wrong with this woman... actually ignoring me? What's so great about her? Didn't she just win the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Newcomer? Isn't 'Snow Flower' just staying at the top of the charts..."

"If it weren't for fame..."

It must be said that Masahiko Kondo, who had reached the top of the idol world, had first-class skills in swallowing his pride. He didn't show any displeasure in the program at all, but instead was ingratiating everywhere, wanting to get closer.

However, what he got in return was only Akina Nakamori's distant and polite response...

When resting at night, Akina sighed in her heart: "Naoki-san... what should I do? There's a guy like a fly, always buzzing around..."

And at this time, Naoki Nagayama had already returned to Shanyingyuan and was welcoming Naotaro Zhongxi inside.

"Everyone, this is my humble abode." Naoki Nagayama looked at the production crew of the "New Words and Buzzwords Awards." Besides the host and the two cameramen Kongming Sakata and Guangming Xiaoyuan, there was also an acquaintance—the editorial assistant from Shogakukan, the baby-faced Yuya Furuya.

"Please come in, don't be formal."

"Furuya-kun, why did you come too?"

Yuya Furuya smiled: "I came as a guest from Shogakukan for this issue... to explain the meaning and origin of the buzzwords a bit..."

After the few entered the entrance, they were warmly welcomed by Eitaro. A large dog ran towards them, giving Naotaro Zhongxi a fright.

"This is Eitaro, don't worry, he absolutely doesn't bite..."

"Hai..."

The few admired the interior decoration of Shanyingyuan for a while. It looked like the style of a wealthy family at a glance. Just the LCD TV over 64 inches was not something an ordinary family would use.

I heard that Panasonic launched a "Universe TV" this year, over 200 inches, which can be mounted on a large truck to play... I don't know what the effect is.

In the living room, the production crew set up the cameras, and then Naotaro Zhongxi and Yuya Furuya started recording according to the script.

Naotaro Zhongxi: "Recently, two buzzwords have suddenly become very popular in Tokyo! One is 'No one can defeat me in my BGM!' and the other is 'Next, it's commercial time'... We invite Yuya Furuya from Shogakukan to explain the origin of the buzzwords for us!"

Yuya Furuya recited from the script: "These two buzzwords both became popular at the Blue Ribbon film awards ceremony..."

These descriptions and explanations were all written in advance, and he just needed to recite them, so there was no difficulty in recording.

Naotaro Zhongxi nodded while listening, echoing from time to time. He was indeed an experienced field reporter. After the explanation was finished:

"Today we have come to the home of the creator of the buzzwords—Naoki Nagayama, to interview the original intention of creating these two buzzwords. Please follow the camera footage to see Naoki Nagayama's residence!"

The footage showed the enviable living room and exquisite courtyard of Shanyingyuan, and even the two pets made an appearance... As the camera moved, the entire production crew started heading towards the second floor, naturally seeing that huge graffiti work at the corner of the stairs.

Naotaro Zhongxi leaned in a bit to look: "Haha, I didn't expect Naoki-san to like graffiti art. He really is a man full of surprises..."

He himself didn't know much about graffiti art, but Yuya Furuya was a "golden spoon" young master who had also studied abroad, and he knew a lot about American street graffiti art... He had been here once before but hadn't looked closely. This time, looking closely, he immediately gasped:

"This is a work by Jean-Michel Basquiat!"

Looking at the signature in the corner of the work with the inscription "Gift to my friend William," Yuya Furuya became a bit excited: "It's actually a privately gifted work! Basquiat rarely did graffiti for specific people, let alone with an inscription!"

Naotaro Zhongxi was a bit puzzled: "Is this Jean-Michel Basquiat very famous?"

"Very famous? He is the hottest graffiti artist in the United States right now!" Yuya Furuya saw that Naotaro Zhongxi still didn't understand, so he said, "He has held art exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and Japan! The Akira Ikeda Art Museum in Japan!"

"He can be said to be a pioneer at the forefront of art!!"

Although Naotaro Zhongxi didn't know who this person was, hearing Yuya Furuya value him so much, he knew he was an amazing figure: "I see, I didn't expect Naoki-san to have a friendship with such a person..."

In Yuya Furuya's excited mood, the camera slowly walked into the study on the second floor. In the picture, Naoki Nagayama was burying his head in writing something at the desk.

The gentle afternoon sunlight shone in from the open window. The white window curtains, trembling slightly with the wind, touched the corner of the table and then shyly retreated to the window, as if not wanting to disturb the male lead who carried a hint of scholarly aura.

The picture moved slowly, and the items on the desk were clearly revealed. They were a dozen novels, and the name was clearly written: "My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday."

"Minna-san, good afternoon!" Naoki Nagayama stopped his pen and greeted the few gently.

Naotaro Zhongxi fully exerted the skills of a host: "Naoki-san, what are you busy with?"

"I'm signing my new novel!"

"New novel? Is Naoki-san's new novel already written?" Naotaro Zhongxi praised him well.

"Hai, the name is 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday,' and it will be on sale starting in March." Naoki Nagayama held up a novel and showed it.

"Oh? May I ask what kind of novel it is?"

"Ah, it's about a pair of lovers on different timelines... They can only meet once every five years... They only have one month of love time in their whole lives..." Naoki Nagayama briefly explained the plot of the novel and then smiled, "Haha, next is commercial time... If you want to know the specific plot of the novel, please support my novel in bookstores in March!"

Naotaro Zhongxi was stunned for a moment and then sighed: "Now we know where the buzzword 'Next, it's commercial time' came from!"

For a moment, the two guests and the host all laughed, and the entire interview atmosphere became very relaxed.

During the subsequent interview, host Naotaro Zhongxi asked Naoki Nagayama again about the details and causes of the birth of the two buzzwords. Because Naoki Nagayama already had a lot of popularity, he wasn't worried about the program's ratings dropping at all, but instead focused more on the bits and pieces of Naoki Nagayama.

"Is this Naoki-san's sketch?" Naotaro Zhongxi saw the drawing board in the corner, which had some scenes from "The Garden of Words." The exquisite pictures and composition made everyone present marvel, "I didn't expect Naoki-san to be so outstanding in painting too!"

"Haha, it's just a first draft, not colored yet..."

Naoki Nagayama said with a smile. These were scenes remaining in his mind. Because there was no way to make them into a movie, he could only use this method to relieve the pressure of accumulated memories.

When the camera filmed the piano, the sheet music on it immediately caught Yuya Furuya's attention:

"'Time after time ~In the City Where Flowers Dance~'... This song, it seems I haven't heard it before..."

Naoki Nagayama then remembered that this song was something he had practiced on the piano when he recalled it before and forgot to put it away. He was used to it, and he didn't think about the sheet music being on the piano before the production crew...

But since it was discovered...

"Haha, this is a new song, not yet released to the public."

"Naoki-san's new song?!" Yuya Furuya was surprised, forgetting his status as a guest, and instead sighed like a curious baby, "I don't know what kind of..."

"..." Looking at the baby-faced person's expectant look, Naoki Nagayama was a bit helpless, "How about I play it?"

"That would be great!"

So under the camera, Naoki Nagayama played the song "Time after time ~In the City Where Flowers Dance~"...

Miaotaro in the courtyard heard the beautiful melody coming from the second-floor window again. He scratched his ears with his paws. He had heard it many times before, and he didn't know why he started playing it again.

"Naoki-san is really full of treasures!" Watching Naoki Nagayama playing the piano, Naotaro Zhongxi sighed in his heart, "This episode, why does it feel like it's going to become an exclusive interview program for Naoki Nagayama..."

After the song was played, it naturally received constant praise from the few people on the scene, and the compliments of a genius musician rolled in...

In the end, Naoki Nagayama didn't forget the original script for today and pointed to the novel on the table, saying:

"Naotaro Zhongxi-san, since you've come, it's fate. These few trial-printed novels will be given to the program as small gifts!"

"Hai!" Naotaro Zhongxi restored his capable look and said very skillfully, "Thank you for Naoki-san's generosity!"

He said to the camera again:

"Minna-san, Naoki Nagayama's latest trial-printed novel, with the author's signature, is a collection worth keeping for a lifetime!"

"Our program will draw 10 people from the audience of this issue to give it away for free! Besides that, there are many small prizes. I hope everyone will actively participate in the program's voting! The ways to participate in voting are: 1... 2... 3..."

Naoki Nagayama looked at this very familiar mode and inexplicably thought of the rampant celebrity fan circle voting in later generations...