Chapter 594: A generation of newcomers replaces the old

After the trial screening, the online release of "April Story" at Iwanami Theater was decided. With the efforts of Masataka Komori and Zhiyan Shanshan, this movie began to be released in theaters in major cities.

At the same time, comments about this movie in the media also came out one after another.

"A beautiful movie!" "The crush hidden in Naoki Nagayama's heart~" "A sincere memory of youth..." There are indeed many praises for the movie, and most film critics have given positive evaluations of this movie.

Naturally, there are some guys who don't like Naoki Nagayama, secretly saying things like "ordinary narrative structure" and "calm movie", revealing that this is a movie that is not so outstanding, and compared with Naoki Nagayama's previous movies, it is not prominent.

However, even they cannot say with a clear conscience that this is a movie not worth watching.

At the same time, some people noticed that in the bookstore in the movie, a latest novel appeared—"Tomorrow I and Yesterday's You Date".

Songye Jingxi, a tomboy who walked out of the movie theater, said to her best friend Sanhao Bozi:

"Bozi-chan, you have already bought that 'Tomorrow I and Yesterday's You Date', right?"

"Hai, I bought it when the novel came out."

Songye Jingxi didn't like reading very much, but she also saw it in the movie, so she kept it in her heart:

"How does this novel feel?"

Sanhao Bozi's eyes showed longing: "It's really moving! Because they are on different timelines, a pair of lovers can only meet once every five years! And they can only be lovers for a month when they are twenty..."

"So short? Can they still fall in love like this?" Songye Jingxi was a bit puzzled.

"Baka Jingxi, don't interrupt!" Sanhao Bozi immediately retorted, "Love is not about the length of time, it's about the depth!"

"Besides, because of the different timelines, the hero keeps growing up, but the heroine keeps getting younger... and the memories are completely different..."

Songye Jingxi listened to her best friend talking about the plot of "Tomorrow I and Yesterday's You Date", and she, who was usually a bit careless, was a bit dizzy, but she thought of "April Story" she had just watched, and that delicate emotion deeply touched her who had also had a crush on others.

Suddenly, she became interested in what kind of love Naoki Nagayama, the director and author, could write:

"Bozi-chan, can you lend me that book 'Tomorrow I and Yesterday's You Date' when we go back?"

"Eh? Does Jingxi-chan actually want to read a book?"

"Suddenly interested~" Songye Jingxi was rarely a bit shy.

"..."

After walking a few steps in the slightly silent atmosphere, Sanhao Bozi suddenly seemed to think of something and said with some emotion:

"Jingxi-chan~"

"Nani?"

"Have you noticed that if Naoki Nagayama is the director, it must be a very literary but very beautiful movie, and they are all about love~ How is he so good at love?"

"..." "Paranormal Activity" is not..."

"..." Jingxi-chan, don't talk to me!"

Naoki Nagayama was discussing the situation of the movie's release with Dayou Fangcun and Shuichi Ito in the studio. Dayou Fangcun said with some worry:

"Naoki-san, the premiere effect of 'April Story' is not very excellent..."

"Ha, wasn't this expected when filming?" Such a youth movie with light narrative, no conflict and no suspense, naturally will not arouse too much interest from the audience, "The audience group faced by this movie is relatively small, just young people, and more are girls..."

Obviously, such an explanation could not reassure Dayou Fangcun. Naoki Nagayama could only comfort: "Don't worry, this is also a long-lived movie... The filming technique of 'April Story' and the sense of youth pictures created will attract batches of young audiences."

Shuichi Ito laughed from the side: "If you ask me, it's better to let Naoki-san go to promote it more, maybe it can attract more people!"

In the interview at the trial screening, the news that "Naoki Nagayama is no longer single" was broken, which made the headline of the entertainment section find Naoki Nagayama again.

Many newspapers even excitedly made a ranking for "Who is likely to be Naoki Nagayama's dating partner"...

The first place on the list is naturally the new heroine of "April Story", Momoko Kikuchi. After all, she is the heroine of the new movie, and this news was also broken at the movie trial screening.

And Akina Mori ranked second... In fact, if "Love Letter" was hot, she would undoubtedly rank first, but now a generation of newcomers replaces the old~

There are also many idol artists, such as Yuko Tanaka, Chikako Aoyama, Mieko Harada, etc... Even the earliest Junko Ito is on the list, because she is the female idol who has received the most songs from Naoki Nagayama.

Such a large traffic event naturally represents huge exposure... With the acquiescence of the agency, these female artists have more or less tied up with Naoki Nagayama for publicity, and the entertainment news is like a festival...

Naoki Nagayama rolled his eyes at Shuichi Ito: "Shuichi-san, didn't you see that I haven't dared to go out at home for the past few days?"

"Naoki-san, you can't hide... It's better to transform this heat!" Shuichi Ito said from the side.

"Yes, so I came here today~ There is an interview~"

Naoki Nagayama shrugged. He came to the company today because he received an invitation from a movie magazine called "Junpo" to record an interview specifically.

"Hello, I am Kanji Ueda, the editor-in-chief of 'Junpo'!"

The gentle middle-aged man who reached out his hand in front of him is the person who came to interview "Junpo", and he also brought two assistants responsible for filming and taking pictures.

Since he had already agreed to the interview, Naoki Nagayama naturally wouldn't put on a cold face, and reached out to shake:

"Hello, I am Naoki Nagayama!"

Then Kanji Ueda greeted Momoko Kikuchi beside him. This interview was brought by the director and the lead actor!

"Naoki-san, Momoko-san, have you seen the interview outline for today?" Kanji Ueda had a gentle smile on his face.

"Hai, I have seen it~"

Generally speaking, such interviews are first reviewed by the company or the agency's public relations department, and then the answers are drafted before the interviewee is allowed to appear, but in the process of the interview, it is naturally not so stiff.

Kanji Ueda first started to exchange greetings: "I heard that Naoki-san and Momoko-san are cooperating for the first time, right?"

Momoko Kikuchi replied: "Hai, this is the first time I filmed Naoki-san's play, and it is also the first time I officially filmed!"

"Oh? This is Momoko-san's debut film!" Kanji Ueda was slightly surprised, "So to speak, that 'Sakura' is also Momoko-san's debut song?"

"Hai!"

"It's really unexpected, Momoko-san performed very naturally in the movie, not like a newcomer at all!"

"Hahaha, that's because Naoki-san has special filming techniques!"

"Special filming techniques?" Kanji Ueda turned to Naoki Nagayama, "Naoki-san, can you reveal what kind of filming technique it is?"

Naoki Nagayama was speechless. How to say... filming in a hurry? Temporary actors were found on the spot? Letting the girlfriend of the crew's executive director come on stage to help?

If these were written out, he would be a third-rate director!

"Actually, it's just recording Momoko-chan's most natural side!" Naoki Nagayama said firmly, "Momoko-chan just graduated at that time, just in such a confused age group... and girls of this age must have someone they like!"

"Eh?" X2, Momoko Kikuchi and Kanji Ueda both looked over.

Momoko Kikuchi immediately said shyly: "Where is there!"

Kanji Ueda asked curiously: "Really not?"

"No!" Momoko Kikuchi's tone and shy expression didn't mean that at all!

There is no way to continue asking... Kanji Ueda hurriedly changed a topic: "Why did Naoki-san want to film 'April Story'?"

"It should just be a whim, seeing the beautiful scene of cherry blossoms falling..."

"Suddenly remembered watching the person you had a crush on walk past under the cherry blossoms in your youth?" Kanji Ueda followed up very smoothly.

"..." Kanji-san, your imagination is too rich!"

"Then... Naoki-san, the industry is rumored that you filmed 'April Story' because you once had a crush on Momoe Yamaguchi. Is the actual situation like this?"

"..." There is no such thing!" Naoki Nagayama still gave the answer sincerely.

However, he saw Kanji Ueda write in the notebook for recording the interview:

"Naoki-san seems to want to hide his heart, so he said 'no such thing' with a firm face! Maybe he doesn't want to continue to disturb the person he had a crush on who has already retired~"

Finally understood how these reporters and editors write a huge pile of strange articles every day!

"Yes, let's continue the interview..." Kanji Ueda continued, "Naoki-san, Momoko-san, what was the biggest difficulty during filming?"

"......."

The subsequent interview was standard. Editor-in-chief Kanji Ueda chatted with the director and the lead actress about interesting stories during the filming process and also explored slightly more deeply what impact such an introverted youth film would have on the film industry.

As a specialized film magazine, 'Kinema Junpo' would also specifically use the poster of 'April Story' as the cover. The poster photo taken by Momoko Kikuchi was quite good.

(A week later, Tomokazu Miura in his high-end apartment had not been awake long. After marrying the goddess, his career had been somewhat affected, and his work had decreased, but it also gave him more time to accompany his family.

Tomokazu Miura looked at the 'Kinema Junpo' magazine, which happened to feature the latest 'April Story' exclusive interview on the cover...

The beautiful composition moved his heart, and he said to his wife who was tidying up the house: "Momoe, let's go watch a movie together. It seems many people have been going to see 'April Story' recently!"

Momoe Yamaguchi walked over and also saw the film magazine: "Naoki Nagayama?"

Seeing that her die-hard fan was now so famous, Momoe Yamaguchi also had a strange feeling.

However, after Tomokazu Miura saw the interview content inside, his expression became a bit jealous: "What is this, 'hidden inner feelings'... Momoe, this Naoki Nagayama seems to have filmed this movie because of you..."

"Eh?" Momoe Yamaguchi took the magazine and started reading... the feeling became even more wonderful~

Unwilling to disturb the person she secretly loved who had retired... what to do if she felt a little secretly happy...

She turned her head to look at her jealous husband and revealed a mischievous smile: "Then does my husband want to go watch it together?")

After the interview ended, Naoki Nagayama took care of some accumulated business and drove away from the studio in the afternoon.

When he arrived in Harajuku, the street where the KTV was located was at its least crowded time. However, even so, at the KTV entrance on the street corner, one could see curious young people from time to time.

After Naoki Nagayama walked through the door, the lobby had already taken on a new look, filled with festive decorations for the opening, as well as some notices about opening discounts, etc.

When the lobby manager saw Naoki Nagayama, he immediately said something into the walkie-talkie, and then Kaede Nagayama was seen walking out from the back kitchen:

"Naoki, you're here!"

"Yes, it officially opens tonight, so I came to see how the preparations are going." As he spoke, he pointed to the walkie-talkie in Kaede Nagayama's hand and laughed, "You actually equipped walkie-talkies?"

"Yes, after seeing the walkie-talkies on the shoulders of the patrol officers these past few days, I felt they were very convenient, so I equipped the staff with some." Kaede Nagayama pointed to the police officer who had just passed by outside and said, "Ever since the trial opening day, patrols on this street have become much more frequent."

"Uh..."

No matter where the police are, if they see a location where underworld members gather in their jurisdiction, they will strengthen surveillance, right?

"Will it have an impact on business?"

Kaede Nagayama smiled: "No! Thanks to these police officers, the Yakuza in our neighborhood have decreased a lot! The flow of people these past two days seems to have increased~"

"Haha, this can be considered a blessing in disguise!"

Naoki Nagayama laughed. The more prosperous an area is, the more people there should be to maintain order. Only then can it give people a sense of security and attract more people.

After chatting for a while, Naoki Nagayama and Big Brother Kaede inspected the situation in each private room again to ensure that the official opening tonight would go smoothly.

In the evening, Araki Shizhi also arrived. He brought a few more people from the disco... they were all members of the organization left behind by his grandfather, who had been studying at the disco for a few days.

The group of former underlings, upon seeing Kaede Nagayama and Naoki Nagayama, hurriedly greeted them together:

"Big Brother Kaede, Big Brother Naoki! Good afternoon!"

"......" Naoki Nagayama was stunned and hurriedly said to the leader, Shogo Hamasaki, "Hamasaki-san, please stop calling us that... we are a legitimate business now, you will scare the customers away!"

Shogo Hamasaki was considered young among the older generation, and his thinking wasn't that stubborn. He pointed to the group of organization underlings and said, "Naoki-san, but these people are already used to greeting the boss... what should we do?"

Naoki Nagayama and Kaede Nagayama exchanged opinions and then said: "How about this... from now on, address us uniformly as 'Boss'!"

"I see, that works too!" Shogo Hamasaki said to the guys behind him, "Say hello to the Boss!"

"Yes! Hello, Boss!"

The group of fierce-looking organization members bowed and bent over again...

Naoki Nagayama patted his forehead. The road to change is long and arduous! However, today, they absolutely cannot entertain customers in the lobby!

He let Araki Shizhi take the people to the back to work as waiters for the private rooms and other areas.

By the time the lights came on, Harajuku became increasingly lively.

Young men and women walked together on the streets of Harajuku, laughing and talking as they passed by brightly lit shops and noisy izakayas, looking for a place to enjoy themselves tonight between clubs and bars.

And at a street corner in Harajuku, a nightclub called KTV also officially opened. The not-too-bright light sign lit up with alluring colors at the entrance, and through the glass door of the lobby, people could see the retro bar decor and the karaoke equipment placed in the lobby.

Some people were here for the first time. After pushing open the door, they curiously asked about the services. Upon learning that they could sing, dance, drink, and eat in private rooms, they were very curious and wanted to experience it.

And some people had seen the flyers distributed by the KTV and heard news from various acquaintances, so they came with a clear goal, calling friends to come and experience it.

Naoki Nagayama didn't show his face but instead guest-starred as a bartender behind the bar, watching groups of customers arrive at this KTV and then walk into the private rooms with curious expressions.

"Naoki, more than forty groups of customers have already arrived!" Kaede Nagayama ran over excitedly and said, "There are still ten private rooms empty... I don't know if we can fill them up today."

"Probably not..." Naoki Nagayama looked at the purchase time for each private room. "Most consumers will sing for about 1-2 hours. It's already been almost an hour and a half, so customers will be checking out of the rooms soon."

"We can't be fully booked?" Kaede Nagayama was slightly disappointed.

"Big Brother Kaede, we aren't relying on room fees to make money..." Naoki Nagayama comforted him, "The alcohol and drinks consumed by the customers are quite good. Also, this is the first day of opening... so there are fewer people ordering hostess companions. Later, when customers get used to it, this will also be a large source of income..."

"You have to know, KTVs have a lot of repeat customers!"

Kaede Nagayama nodded. He also knew that once the reputation was built, that would be the time when they would truly make money.

"Naoki, did you invite any friends to come over today?"

"Me?" Naoki Nagayama shook his head, "Not today, why?"

"It's just that I saw a few faces that I always see on TV..." Kaede Nagayama said.

"Hahaha, it seems it's because of the day we invited friends from the entertainment industry..." Naoki Nagayama laughed, "From now on, just treat them like ordinary customers~"

"Hmm!"

A thought suddenly arose in Naoki Nagayama's mind. If he owns more and more KTVs in the future, will many people from the entertainment industry come to play?

Then wouldn't he be able to grasp the movement trajectories of many artists...

If he were a paparazzi, he would definitely be able to become a gold-medal whistleblower!!!