Chapter 581: No, absolutely not causing trouble!!!

Amidst the noisy and chaotic atmosphere, a friend finally remembered the inhaler Takamatsu Ren carried with him, which rescued the young man who was on the verge of fainting.

A few people helped him to a shaded spot to sit and rest, while the gazes of the remaining crowd turned toward the man standing in the center of the group—that man~

"Naoki Nagayama!" "It really is him!" "And Yutaka Ozaki!" "For real!" "Who is that woman? Why does she get to sit between two handsome guys!"

Ah... Momoko Kikuchi didn't have much fame yet...

The bookstore owner finally let out a sigh of relief, and in an instant, he became smug again:

"I told you I wasn't lying!"

And so... the atmosphere in the small bookstore began to get noisy again...

By the end, a small autograph session had started in front of the bookstore. Naoki Nagayama signed books for every friend who had purchased the new novel, and those people also gained the chance to shake hands with Yutaka Ozaki...

This young man, who had been suddenly pulled in to make a cameo, was forced to contribute to a handshake event...

Once all the new books in the store were sold out, this farce finally came to a halt. The *April Story* film crew was finally able to start filming!

However, the crowd gathered around the bookstore only grew larger and larger, though they were all just friendly onlookers.

"Alright, Ozaki-san, remember, you are just an ordinary part-time clerk right now!" Naoki Nagayama said to Yutaka Ozaki, who had changed into an apron. "Just focus on organizing the old books; no need to act out anything else. Just treat the heroine like an ordinary passerby when you walk past her."

"... Uh... Right~" So, just a pure NPC background board, huh!

Then Naoki Nagayama began to instruct Momoko Kikuchi.

"Momoko-chan, the excitement of seeing Yutaka Ozaki for the first time should have faded by now, right?" Naoki Nagayama asked, looking at the young girl whose expression had calmed down. "Is your heart still thumping?"

"No way!" Momoko Kikuchi's face turned red...

"Good! That's the state! Keep it!" Naoki Nagayama was very pleased looking at her flushed cheeks. "Remember, you didn't come to the store to buy books, you came to sneak a peek at Ozaki-kun!"

"..." The two actors were a bit bewildered at this moment.

"Shuichi-san, Masataka-kun, the camera angles are set, right?!" Naoki Nagayama asked the two.

"Right! They are already fixed, and we've even used books to hide them! They won't appear in the other shots!" Shuichi Ido replied very confidently.

"Good, then everyone listen to my command: Action!"

The heroine, Uzuki Nireno, was still wearing that blue floral dress. After walking into the bookstore, she pretended to look for books in the slightly dim shop, but in reality, she was searching for Yamazaki, the boy she had secretly loved for years...

In one shot, sunlight filtered through the display window, landing on Momoko Kikuchi's clear, beautiful face. Surrounded by the scent of books, the youthful girl looked shy and reserved... as if a character from a book had stepped into reality...

Seeing this scene, Shuichi Ido muttered to himself, "The girl in the throes of first love from *The Sorrows of Young Werther* now has a real-life form!"

It sounds short, but when it came to actual filming, it took a very long time.

The few interactions of the heroine, Uzuki Nireno, the adjustments of the angles, including the changes before and after Ozaki-kun arrived—as the director, Naoki Nagayama had to consider everything clearly.

There were many scenes taking place in this small bookstore, and naturally, they couldn't all be finished in a single afternoon.

By the time the light began to fade, Naoki Nagayama had to announce that filming for the day was coming to an end.

"Ozaki-san, do you have time tomorrow?" Naoki Nagayama asked.

"Of course!" Even if he didn't, he would definitely squeeze it in!

"That's good. We'll come back to film once more tomorrow, and then your scenes will be mostly finished." Naoki Nagayama smiled. "Thank you very much for coming to help out so suddenly."

"Not at all! I should be the one thanking Naoki-san for giving me the chance to participate in a movie!"

Who says rebellious teenagers don't understand social graces? After a year in the entertainment industry, polite phrases came easily, but the opportunity to participate in a Naoki Nagayama movie was indeed rare.

When the crew finished for the day, they discovered that outside the bookstore, the crowd was three layers deep, all of whom had rushed over after hearing the news.

And so, Naoki Nagayama and Yutaka Ozaki, who were present, could only move away quickly under the cover of the crowd...

"Sigh... we have to come back to film tomorrow!" Naoki Nagayama sighed while sitting in the car. "I wonder if there will still be so many people."

Shuichi Ido laughed, "Naoki-san, you should be thankful this is in Musashino... If it were in places like Shibuya or Shinjuku, it would definitely have caused a crowd crush accident!"

"But... I'm not someone who appears on TV often, I just filmed a movie where I showed my face, so why are there so many people wanting to see me?" Naoki Nagayama was puzzled, as he didn't really pay much attention to his fans.

"Yeah... you don't appear on TV often, but every time you do, you cause a major event!"

Shuichi Ido teased. Hit movies, headline scandals, award ceremonies—which one wasn't deeply memorable? Other artists have to worry about exposure, but for you, Naoki Nagayama, your mere appearance is a spotlight...

"In this way, Naoki-san's image in people's hearts will become clearer and clearer!"

Naoki Nagayama was silent for a moment, then stubbornly said, "No, I absolutely did not cause trouble!!!"

The person who said those words above was slapped in the face that very night!

Having finished processing the day's footage at the studio, Naoki Nagayama, who had returned to the Yamasakura-in, had just finished a steak dinner and was lounging on the sofa, petting Meitaro while watching TV.

And then he discovered that Fuji TV had started causing trouble!

During the prime-time slot, the first episode of *New Words and Buzzwords Awards* officially went live!!

Because they had been "promoted" a few times on other programs and had even held buzzword collection activities, the audience already had a preliminary understanding of this program.

However, the premiere of the program still gave them quite a surprise!

What is "Justice from the Sky"! A tip-off letter that arrived from the sky directly saved the kidnapped Jonmaru-kun, but the letter was actually mailed from Chiyoda, Tokyo!

What is "In my BGM, no one can defeat me"! Watching the delinquents wearing uniforms, walking to the beat of *Into the Battlefield*, the audience just wanted to beat them up, okay!

What is "Next is the commercial break"! Why did a shampoo commercial really start playing! A laundry detergent commercial won't do either! I'm calling the police! This program is playing with language gags!

A program with legendary status, entertainment value, and hot topics instantly grabbed the attention of television viewers.

Buzzwords are born from events that people care about. The more widely a buzzword spreads, the greater the influence and heat of the event.

In addition to buzzwords born from hot events known throughout Japan, there were naturally different hot events in various cities.

This program, which reviewed the buzzwords of the previous month, was equivalent to reviewing the most famous hot topics of the previous month. It also connected different hot topics from various places, making people in this still-closed era intuitively feel the people and events happening in other parts of Japan.

Therefore, as soon as it aired, it instantly grabbed the eyeballs of TV viewers.

"Naoki-san! According to preliminary statistics, the viewership rating should be between 25-30%!" Haruta Kamiya called Naoki Nagayama an hour after the program ended. "But unlike other programs, it's been almost an hour, and the station is still receiving many calls, and there's a continuing trend."

"This shows that the influence of this program will be quite long-lasting!"

Naoki Nagayama nodded absent-mindedly, "Yeah, when the program was first planned, it was said that this would be a long-running program."

"Naoki-san, afterward we will publish these buzzwords in the newspapers and then collect buzzwords for the next episode long-term!" Haruta Kamiya definitely wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, his tone so excited it was about to break through the phone line. "Also, we have to draw the lucky viewers who won Naoki-san's new book!"

"Right, right, don't forget to mail the signed books to them..."

Haruta Kamiya talked for a long time by himself before realizing that Naoki Nagayama seemed to have very little reaction:

"... How come the program effect is so good, but Naoki-san doesn't seem excited at all?"

"..."

Naoki Nagayama was helpless. As soon as this program aired, he showed his face in front of all of Japan again... He had clearly promised not to cause trouble, but his performance on the program was completely that of a show-off!

Everyone's impression of him was going to deepen again!

In a detached house in Nerima Ward, the Matsuda family was gathered in front of the TV watching the small screen.

This was a large family. The oldest was Grandma Zhuya Matsuda, whose hometown was Sapporo, Hokkaido. When she saw that the tip-off information for the Jonmaru-kun kidnapping case had actually been mailed from Tokyo, she and her daughter-in-law both clasped their hands and sighed that there really were gods in the world, and this was truly justice from the sky!

Taro Matsuda, the pillar of the family, was the chief planner at an advertising company. When he heard the "Next is the commercial break" on the program, he felt as if his Ren and Du meridians had been opened up. It turned out that commercials could be so naked, yet not make people feel repulsed!

Originally, when they made commercials, they all wanted to hide the commercial in some story or gimmick, putting on an outer garment that wouldn't make people feel repulsed, just like how KFC marketing would hide the "Crazy Thursday" promotion in "V me 50, take you to eat KFC."

Telling people so openly that it was time for a commercial seemed to be a way to move the audience with sincerity!

And Yosuke Matsuda, a rebellious teenager in middle school, was excited by the music of *Into the Battlefield*, thinking that tomorrow he must play his Walkman out loud, walk through the crowd with a swagger, and become the coolest kid!

Only elementary school student Saya Matsuda watched the buzzwords on the program, which were either middle-school-syndrome or bizarre, feeling very embarrassed, with goosebumps rising... How could that Naoki Nagayama say such bizarre lines? If she kept listening, she would really "dig a hole with her toes to hide in"!

She didn't know how others could watch it with such relish!

In thousands of households in Tokyo, many people saw this episode of the program. Although most people watched the program as an entertainment show, some people with foresight and sensitivity instantly saw the potential of this language-based entertainment program.

As one of the big shots in the entertainment industry, Yosuke Nakano, the director of the planning department at TV Asahi, had heard from others about such a variety show endorsed by the National Liberal Society and Shogakukan, so he paid special attention to the debut of this program.

"Buzzword selection..." he muttered to himself after watching the program. "The program is quite interesting, the influence is there, and the right to select can be used as a bargaining chip! A monthly selection doesn't show much, but when the final selection comes at the end of the year, there's actually a selection for the Kanji of the Year? That leaves a lot of room for maneuvering~"

The selection of the Kanji of the Year sets the tone for the whole year and will definitely attract the attention of the upper echelons.

And some political animals also keenly felt the potential of this program, "If my campaign slogan also becomes a buzzword... then the influence will definitely be greatly enhanced."

These influences were slowly fermenting after the program aired.

Near midnight, Akina Nakamori called:

"Naoki-san... I'm coming back tomorrow morning!"

Naoki Nagayama breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Akina hadn't seen that program, otherwise, what would have come out of the phone would be "Naoki-san, I want to dig a hole to hide in"...

"Is it the early morning flight tomorrow?" Naoki Nagayama asked. "When will you arrive in Tokyo?"

"It should be in the afternoon..." Akina Nakamori didn't confirm the specific time, as flight delays were very common in this era.

"Then should I pick you up?"

Naoki Nagayama calculated the filming schedule. The light available in the morning and afternoon was only about two hours each, so he could definitely pick her up at noon or in the afternoon.

"No need..." Akina Nakamori was very happy, but still refused. "After arriving in Tokyo tomorrow, I have to go directly to the TV station to record a program..."

"So urgent? What program is it?"

"Night Golden Song Stage..." Akina Nakamori said. "So after I go back in the afternoon, I might have to record until the evening... although it's a rehearsal..."

TV programs, even rehearsals, would be recorded for use as behind-the-scenes footage or material for other programs later. The artist's agency would also need this material, either for promotion or other purposes...

"That's too busy." Naoki Nagayama sighed. "The agency shouldn't treat Akina like a robot."

"Haha, this is work~"

I don't know if it's a feature of the Showa era, but even idols in the entertainment industry could accept such busy work.

Akina Nakamori in the hotel rolled over and didn't continue talking about herself, but instead asked about her boyfriend:

"How is Naoki-san's *April Story* filming going?"

"Today... I was almost surrounded..."

Naoki Nagayama vividly described the scene of filming today, including suddenly calling Yutaka Ozaki to help out, and being "exposed" at the bookstore entrance, which made Akina Nakamori on the other end of the phone laugh non-stop.

"Did Naoki-san really sign autographs for hundreds of people? Hahaha~"

"Yeah, my hand is sore from signing." Naoki Nagayama laughed. "But Yutaka Ozaki on the side was the miserable one, his hand was squeezed red!"

"Pfft hahaha~"

"Didn't Akina have handshake events before? Do you encounter situations like this?" Naoki Nagayama asked curiously.

"Not really... many of the fans are girls, and those boys are also very shy... they won't use much force~"

Akina still remembered that when she had just debuted, at an offline meeting, the boy who shook her hand was more nervous than she was... his hand wouldn't stop shaking, and she was the one who had to hold it!

Naoki Nagayama paused: "Sure enough, university students are thicker-skinned! Whether they are men or women, they all look very bold..."

"Hahaha~"

"..."

The night grew deeper. The bamboo shadows around the walls of the Yamasakura-in swayed, and the dry landscape in the courtyard looked even more ghostly under the moonlight. That cherry blossom tree had also bloomed with more flowers, a pinkish-white layer covering the branches, occasionally dropping a few petals, making the atmosphere in the courtyard even colder and more desolate...

Two green lights suddenly lit up in the shadows of the corridor. It was Meitaro's pair of eyes, which looked up at the second floor with a strange feeling before walking toward the stairs.

At the bedroom door, warm yellow light leaked from the crack in the door, and one could hear laughter coming from inside the room, mixed with a few barks.

It seemed that with the door as the boundary, inside the bedroom was a warm little world, while outside was the cold night...

Meitaro stopped at the door, rubbed his paws on the doormat, licked his paw pads, and then walked in with his head held high...

"Meow~~~"

"Meitaro? Where have you been wandering today? Why are you back so late?" Naoki Nagayama said to the receiver. "Yes, Meitaro is in... Akina, wait a moment, I need to interrogate him first~"

"Wait, Meitaro, don't get on the bed yet. Are your paws dirty?"

"Meow~"