Chapter 61

The chirping of cicadas in the trees announced the arrival of the hottest season of the year.

Shuichi Ido's filming was in full swing,

sometimes even filming segments for several stories in a single day,

and it was unclear how he managed to arrange it all.

Otomo Yoshimura was also actively expanding relationships. Besides Fuji TV, he had intersections with Nippon TV, TBS, TV Asahi, and TV Tokyo. Because the first two episodes of *Tales of the Bizarre* under his management had such an overwhelming response, these high-and-mighty television stations at least gave him some face.

Yes, the divine plot twist in the second episode, *Grandma*, gave countless young people goosebumps and even caused controversy among parents, with some conservative people even believing that this kind of plot destroyed the affection between grandparents and grandchildren.

Yet, such debates, in turn, once again promoted audience attention toward the program.

Naoki Nagayama also offered his own opinions during filming and final editing, combining them with his impressions of the future.

And on this day, not long after Naoki Nagayama finished work and returned to his apartment, the phone rang.

"Moshi moshi, this is the Nagayama residence."

"Good evening, Naoki-san!" Akina Nakamori's vibrant voice came through the receiver.

"Ah, isn't this Akina-san~" Naoki Nagayama was quite happy, "It's been a while, how have you been lately?"

"Yes, thanks to the previous payment, things at home have been much more comfortable lately... Ah!"

Akina suddenly remembered that she shouldn't be telling Naoki Nagayama about such things, "Sumimasen! I accidentally said something I shouldn't have..."

"Hahaha, it's fine, I'm very happy to be able to help Akina's family~"

He comforted her slightly and then asked, "Is there something Akina wanted to tell me by calling? You didn't just call to say thank you, did you?"

"Ah, yes~" Akina hesitated for a moment,

"Ano, August 1st is the televised preliminary final for my third attempt at *Star Birth! *... I wanted to invite Naoki-san to come to the scene to cheer me on, no... to watch! To watch!"

"Aha, it's already the third time, you've passed the auditions so quickly~"

Sensing the trepidation in her voice, Naoki Nagayama answered firmly, "Of course I'll go! Don't worry, Akina-san, I will definitely cheer for you!"

This was already Akina Nakamori's third time participating in the auditions; she had been rejected the first two times, so naturally, she would feel uneasy or even afraid this time.

And as the first real fan in Akina Nakamori's impression, Naoki Nagayama's support at the scene would undoubtedly bring her greater confidence.

Realizing this, Naoki Nagayama agreed without hesitation.

"Yes, arigato~" Akina was also very happy to hear this, "Then, at 9:00 AM that morning at the entrance of Nippon TV, please come in with my family, Naoki-san!"

She had considered it very carefully, even worrying that Naoki Nagayama wouldn't be able to get in...

But with Otomo Yoshimura's social connections, getting into Nippon TV would be a breeze.

"Yes, I'll definitely be there on time~"

With two days left, what preparations should he make for cheering?

Glow sticks? Merchandise? Fan T-shirts? A large banner?

For an idol who hadn't debuted yet, it seemed none of these existed.

After thinking for a long time, Naoki Nagayama decided to make a hand banner for support; it just so happened that he still had the negatives of the photos he had taken before.

He found colorful materials for the banner at a department store, asked the shopkeeper to write "Akina Nakamori," "Go for it," and other words in calligraphy, and after pasting on the enlarged headshot, a support banner was finished.

The overall size was just a bit larger than a spring festival couplet; it was just right for Naoki Nagayama to hold above his head.

August 1st happened to be a Saturday,

and Naoki Nagayama arrived at Nippon TV 20 minutes early,

carrying the bag with the support banner, watching batches of different people entering and leaving the television station.

Before long, he saw the whole Nakamori family walking over from a distance.

Although Akina Nakamori had already entered to prepare, the remaining seven people were still very conspicuous.

"Naoki-san!" Akie Nakamori saw Naoki Nagayama at the entrance, "Did you come so early?"

"Yes, I promised you the day before yesterday, so of course I had to be on time."

Since it was their third time coming, the family entered the station with familiarity, and Naoki Nagayama followed silently.

The layout of the studio was quite familiar, like a tiered classroom in a university, except the podium had become a larger stage, the blackboard had become a scoring table, the front row had become the judges, and it was decorated a bit more flashily.

The audience sat in the back, with invited actors and relevant personnel sitting in one block, and relatives and related groups sitting in another.

After all, having passed the auditions to the final televised preliminary, there was no fear of having too many people to seat.

With a mature program flow, there was no need for the director to explain much. Under the host's introduction, one contestant after another went on stage, sang, and received scores...

Sitting in the audience, Naoki Nagayama inexplicably felt like he was in an assembly line factory; the staff below were like assembly line workers, and the products in the factory were these idol contestants who all looked alike.

However, when it was Akina Nakamori's turn to perform, that chubby little face seemed to make the studio suddenly come alive.

This time, she sang Momoe Yamaguchi's *Dream Guide*,

and her low voice matched the original version perfectly. Coupled with her long hair and white dress, it neutralized the immature temperament on her face, making people feel as if they were seeing that first idol of the Showa era back on stage.

As the song ended, it was a perfect performance, and the whole audience applauded.

Below the stage, Naoki Nagayama held up the support banner, and with the massive cheering squad of seven people adding their support, the momentum of this cheering simply crushed the other contestants. Akina on stage was smiling so hard her eyes were hidden~

Even the host was surprised: "Just looking at it from the studio, Akina-san already has the aura of an idol~"

During the subsequent scoring segment, the judges gave a high score directly!

"There's really nothing more to say! Perfect!"

They announced Akina Nakamori's victory immediately!

The Nakamori family below the stage was almost overjoyed!

After the program ended, Akina ran toward her family, first hugging her mother and spinning around happily.

"Akina-chan, you finally won!"

Her family watched all this with great relief, and her older sister, second sister, and younger sister all gave Akina a hug.

It took a good while for the joy to calm down.

Seeing Naoki Nagayama on the side, Akina felt a bit embarrassed: "Arigato, Naoki-san, thank you for coming to cheer for me!"

"Hahaha, congratulations Akina-san, you've made it to the finals!"

Naoki Nagayama took the opportunity to hand the banner to Akina,

"I didn't have time to prepare any gifts, but this banner witnessed Akina's success, so please accept it!"

Seeing such a commemorative gift, little Akina also solemnly put it away: "Yes, I will definitely keep it safe!"

Then she said expectantly: "The finals seem to be in December. Can I invite Naoki-san to the scene then too?"

After saying that, she became shy again: "Because I found that when Naoki-san is in the audience, I have a lot of confidence, and I feel like good luck comes along!"

Heh, is she treating him as a lucky charm? But he would definitely come.

"Of course I'll come. I'm looking forward to the moment Akina-san officially becomes an idol!"

Although it would still be a while before her debut, being selected by an agency in *Star Birth! * was almost equivalent to officially stepping into the idol industry.

"Yes, responding to fans' expectations, guiding fans to be better, just like a life compass!

Akina will definitely become the idol Naoki-san expects!!"

"Uh, did I set the goal too high before? What should I do now that this little girl is taking it seriously..."