Chapter 653: Restrain yourself, don't stir up any news!

The weather is getting hotter and hotter~

A few days into July, the summer heat has officially descended upon Tokyo, and even the occasional rain showers only offer a brief moment of relief.

"When will the cicadas start chirping?"

Naoki Nagayama muttered to himself, looking at the lush cherry tree in the courtyard.

Having just returned from his morning exercise, Eitaro beside him was already panting with his tongue lolling out.

Recently, there shouldn't have been much going on; the second episode of *Music Station* was being prepared in an orderly fashion, and he only needed to check on the progress from time to time. As for other matters, there was nothing urgent... Originally, he had wanted to continue being a homebody~

However...

"The preview screening for *After the Rain* is at 10:00 AM..." Naoki Nagayama glanced at the wall clock, "I might as well go to the studio now... and go with Yin Tang and the others."

The film's preview screening was still set at the "Bungeiza" in Ikebukuro. It was said that because there were many young people there, they could listen to the opinions of young people who loved movies.

When he arrived at the studio by car, it was quite noisy inside, and Naoki Nagayama even saw staff members loading promotional materials onto a truck.

"Xia Hua, what is this for?" Naoki Nagayama asked Xing Jiahua with some curiosity.

"These are the posters and event gifts for today's preview screening," Xing Jiahua said. "Besides the press conference, Yin Tang specially planned some small games to liven up the atmosphere... The gifts are the very unique charms from the movie..."

"Oh? Yin Tang is really thoughtful~"

This movie was a film fully directed and produced by Yin Tang, who bore direct responsibility for the box office, so he couldn't help but care a bit more, even taking care of the small details of promotion.

After walking into the office, he saw Yin Tang nervously rubbing the cigarette case in his hand, looking as if he really wanted to smoke one.

"Yin Tang!"

Naoki Nagayama maliciously patted his shoulder from behind, making this guy almost drop the cigarette case.

"Naoki! What are you doing?! Don't you know that scaring people can kill them?!"

After Yin Tang realized what happened, he was furious and wanted to teach this guy who didn't respect his elders a good lesson.

However, Naoki Nagayama dodged nimbly and then said:

"Yin Tang, look, aren't you not nervous anymore?"

"Eh?" Yin Tang also suddenly realized that in his surprise, he had forgotten about the preview screening. "It seems so..."

Naoki Nagayama patted Yin Tang's shoulder righteously:

"I had good intentions, wanting Yin Tang to relax and go into battle lightly..."

This twisted logic actually left Yin Tang speechless for a moment, so he decided:

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening! I only know you just teased me! Now I'm going to take revenge!!! Naoki, die!!!"

And then, a full-blown brawl broke out in the small office...

Seeing the two giants of the Shuyou Group acting like children, Fangcun Dayou couldn't help but sigh:

"You two, you're both so old, how can you not pay attention to your image..."

Just at this moment, an eraser flew toward Fangcun Dayou during the struggle and happened to hit him on the forehead...

Fangcun Dayou frowned: "Watch it, you're involving me!"

The next second, a pencil flew over, and Fangcun Dayou hurriedly dodged in a panic...

"I told you to be careful! Don't throw things around..."

Before he finished speaking, a plastic ruler flew over... and hit Fangcun Dayou right on the mouth... Veins instantly popped out on this Mediterranean forehead:

"You two!! You did that on purpose, didn't you? You definitely did it on purpose!!!"

And then... the two-person brawl turned into three...

Luohe Jizhi pushed open the office door and saw three grown men pulling each other's clothes, hooking necks, and red-faced... For a moment, she didn't know how many movie plots popped into her little head, and she stood frozen at the door...

"Cough, cough..." Fangcun Dayou was the first to notice the female assistant, coughed awkwardly, then relaxed his arms and scolded, "How old are you two, still rehearsing martial arts scenes in the office... Hurry up and get back to normal!"

Naoki Nagayama could only release the naked choke and let go of Yin Tang's neck... while Yin Tang was still being stubborn:

"Naoki, it's not that I'm saying, but I could break this move with one hand!"

"Oh?" Naoki Nagayama smiled disdainfully. "Breaking a naked choke with one hand... who do you think you are?!"

"Do you want to try?!"

"Let's try then..."

"You two shut up!" Fangcun Dayou hurriedly interrupted the escalating situation, then turned to look at Luohe Jizhi and said gently, "Jizhi, is something the matter?"

"Ah! I came to inform Yin Tang that the materials are ready, and we can go to Ikebukuro!" Luohe Jizhi said immediately.

Yin Tang couldn't continue bickering with Naoki Nagayama at this time: "Cough, cough, so that's it... Jizhi, I understand... I'll be out immediately!"

"Hai!"

After hearing this, Luohe Jizhi wanted to turn and leave, but she heard Naoki Nagayama's voice again:

"Wait a minute, Jizhi..."

"Hai?" Luohe Jizhi looked at Naoki Nagayama...

Naoki Nagayama straightened his wrinkled T-shirt and asked with a smile: "When Jizhi came in just now, nothing happened in the office, right?"

"???"

Luohe Jizhi's eyes were slightly confused. She was just about to say, weren't the three of you pulling and tugging at each other? But then she saw three pairs of eyes looking over from the office.

Those were the warnings from the three giants of the Shuyou Group!!!

"Hai! Nothing happened!!!" Luohe Jizhi said decisively!

"That's good... You go get busy, we'll go over together in a while!"

"Hai..."

After Luohe Jizhi went out, the atmosphere in the office relaxed again. Yin Tang let out a sigh of relief, then turned to look at the slightly wrinkled T-shirt Naoki Nagayama was wearing...

"Naoki... are you planning to go to the preview screening in a T-shirt?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

A solid-colored T-shirt, a pair of jeans... the big shots in Silicon Valley all dress like this, is there a problem with me wearing this?

But to be honest, Naoki Nagayama had a handsome face and a slender figure, and wearing this outfit was no different from the summer models in magazines...

What's important has always been the person themselves...

"Tch~"

Yin Tang turned his head away unwillingly; he had nothing to say.

Fangcun Dayou said:

"Yin Tang, Naoki, for today's preview screening, I have already arranged to invite almost all the media reporters related to the film... so when it comes to the press conference, perform well..."

"Especially you, Naoki... restrain yourself, try your best not to stir up any news!"

Naoki Nagayama pointed at himself: "Me? What kind of news would I stir up?"

He was just a screenwriter for *After the Rain*, he didn't participate in the filming, and he didn't have any scandals with the actress... what could be the problem!

"Anyway, just pay attention yourself~" Fangcun Dayou waved his hand and chased the two out of the office.

Yin Tang and Naoki Nagayama looked at each other and could only walk toward the company car...

Ikebukuro's "Bungeiza".

The scorching sun did not stop the enthusiasm of young people for shopping at all. The nearby streets were full of young people wearing sunglasses or sun hats, as well as girls carrying parasols.

Today, in the lobby of "Bungeiza", a large poster for *After the Rain* was specially hung up, attracting many people entering the cinema... as well as the reporters and movie lovers who had been invited in advance; they were the most important audience today.

"*After the Rain*?"

Manabe Anna and her boyfriend Takade Hiroshi had originally come to watch another movie, but after seeing the youthful and compelling Xiaobiruijuan Xun and the increasingly charming Takeshi Waki on the poster, the two of them suddenly became interested.

"Looks like a romance movie..." Takade Hiroshi said.

"An illicit affair between an older man and a young girl?!"

Manabe Anna was slightly excited. Japan in this era was just when ideas were gradually opening up, and people were curious about many fresh things...

Especially in the trendiest movies, illicit affairs, extramarital affairs, older men and younger women... the directors were almost playing with flowers! Even for slightly erotic movies, they could be publicly screened in Japan under the name of art films!

"Let's go watch it!" Manabe Anna said to her boyfriend.

"..." From the bottom of his heart, Takade Hiroshi would rather watch a Yakuza movie or a martial arts movie... but since his girlfriend asked, there was no help for it. "Let's go..."

After asking at the front desk, they found out that today's preview screening was actually free!

This couple was even happier!

Not long after Naoki Nagayama and Yin Tang arrived, the movie officially started playing.

The heroine, Tachibana, who woke up from a dream, appeared in the classroom amid the teacher's jokes... No one knew that this girl, who was originally a track and field expert, had almost given up running after being injured...

The middle-aged owner of a family restaurant gave her encouragement when she was most desperate, making a ray of sunshine appear in the originally gloomy sky in her heart.

From then on, a restrained and warm romance between a middle-aged man and a high school girl sprouted in the rain...

"..."

"Manager! I like you!"

"I could be your father..."

"..."

"I'm just an ordinary middle-aged man... what's so good about me?"

"Does liking someone need a reason?"

"If it were someone of the same age, it wouldn't need a reason!"

"..."

"If you call this feeling love, it's too frivolous."

"I cannot respond to Miss Tachibana's feelings..."

"..."

As the plot slowly developed, lines full of meaning were spoken by the manager and the high school girl. The girl's impulsiveness and the man's restraint were like magnets pushing each other away and attracting each other...

The plot, the visuals, the music... and the actors all seemed just right. *After the Rain*, which had already added the opening and ending songs, completely interpreted a romance nurtured between greenness and maturity.

When the movie's theme song, *After the Rain (Ref: rain)*, played at the end, the heroine's final smile in the morning light seemed to say everything...

With the end of the movie, pattering applause erupted from the screening hall, and everyone was applauding for this movie.

Yin Tang, who saw this movie in its entirety on the big screen for the first time, seemed to be moved by his own film, his eyes filled with tears... Perhaps he remembered the romance of his youth that ended without a result...

"Next, let's welcome the creative team of our movie!"

After the movie ended, the media interview segment of the preview screening began in an orderly manner under the host's direction. Xiaobiruijuan Xun, Takeshi Waki, Yin Tang, and Naoki Nagayama all stood in front of the stage.

"Today, our director, screenwriter, and the male and female leads are all here..." The host introduced the members to the reporters and then began the interview.

"Takeshi Waki, Xiaobiruijuan Xun, have you seen the final version of the movie before?"

Xiaobiruijuan Xun got the microphone after Takeshi Waki deferred to her: "No, I haven't... This is also the first time I've seen the movie in its entirety!"

The host was surprised: "Is that so? Then, what are your feelings after seeing the movie for the first time?"

"This..." Xiaobiruijuan Xun laughed, "It feels like I wasn't the one acting in it..."

"What kind of feeling is that!!!" The host laughed and turned the microphone to Takeshi Waki. "Does Takeshi Waki feel the same way?"

"Well... the movie is completely different after editing than before... Xun is acting in a movie for the first time, so she would have such a feeling. I have had many experiences, so I had a rough estimate..." Takeshi Waki answered with rich experience and also praised the director, "However, I didn't expect Director Yin Tang to edit it so brilliantly, which also surprised me!"

Yin Tang hurriedly put his hands together to show humility.

The host didn't dwell too much on the leads but turned to Naoki Nagayama:

"Naoki Nagayama, you are the screenwriter of this movie. How much do you feel the movie restores the script?"

Naoki Nagayama laughed and backstabbed Yin Tang:

"Of course, it's 100%! Have you forgotten? The script for this movie is based on Yin Tang's story, and it's directed by Yin Tang, so naturally, it's 100%!"

The reporters off-stage burst into laughter...

Seeing the slightly embarrassed smile on Yin Tang's face, even the host couldn't help but laugh: "So ga so ga, so that's how it is..."

"Then I won't ask Director Yin Tang anymore, let the reporters ask!"

Saying this, he handed the microphone to a group of reporters... One of the reporters immediately asked:

"Director Yin Tang, may I ask if you finally chased after the prototype of the story?"

"..." Yin Tang smiled awkwardly, "If I had chased her, I wouldn't be filming this..."

"Hahaha~"

The reporters didn't give up: "Director Yin Tang, may I ask if this movie is dedicated to your finally lost youthful romance?"

"..." Yin Tang sighed, "You guys, my wife will see the report!!!"

Hahaha~~~

The scene was suddenly filled with a joyful atmosphere.

The questions asked by the reporters afterward were much more professional: the difficulties in filming, what happened during editing, when the expected release time was... Even the male and female leads were asked many questions again.

However, at this time, the reporters noticed that Naoki Nagayama was a bit low-key... Throughout the interaction, he basically just smiled on the side, and his occasional answers were concise and clear.

So a reporter asked:

"Naoki, why do you feel like you have nothing to say in this preview screening interview? Are you afraid of stealing the spotlight from Director Yin Tang?"

"..." Don't sow discord between me and Yin Tang!" Naoki Nagayama took the microphone, "It's just that for this movie, I'm only the screenwriter, Yin Tang, Takeshi, and Xun are the protagonists..."

"Why didn't Naoki participate in the filming of the movie?"

"Because I was busy with other things..." Was he supposed to say he wanted to let Yin Tang independently film his first love story?

"Is it *Music Station*?"

"? Eh? How did you know?" Naoki Nagayama was curious. As the producer behind the scenes, his name was mostly known only within the TV station.

"I have connections!" The reporter said proudly.

"..." Alright, you're really good..." Naoki Nagayama teased lightly.

"What did you say, Naoki?"

"I said you are very excellent..."

That reporter didn't seem to want to give up and then suddenly asked:

"Naoki, I discovered in the warm-up short film for Akina Mori at the beginning of *Music Station* that there seemed to be another person on the scene who didn't appear on the screen, but interacted frequently with Miss Akina Mori... Miss Akina's eyes seemed to be looking at this person... May I ask if it was you, Naoki?"

"..."

What was going on with this reporter? Weren't those clips edited out by Kijima? How did they seem so sure? Could it be that they had obtained solid evidence?

Thinking of this, Naoki Nagayama had no intention of hiding it:

"Uh... because I am the producer of the program, so when recording for the first time, I have to follow behind, this is normal, right?!

And I am the director, so I stand behind the camera to guide... this is also normal, right?!"

"This..."

That reporter was instantly speechless. He had personally gone to Kiyose and even spent money to ask some neighbors. More importantly, he had obtained photos taken with a Polaroid from Akina Mori's younger sister and her best friend...

It was for the best friend to commemorate her first time on TV...

Then Naoki Nagayama said again:

"This reporter, today is the preview screening of *After the Rain*, let's keep our eyes on this movie, okay?"

"..." Hai!"

Under the host's guidance, the media meeting continued, and afterward, they even played interactive games prepared in advance with the guests on the scene, giving away popular dolls from the movie...

Only Naoki Nagayama was silently thinking in the corner... The relationship with Akina was becoming clearer and clearer...

Now all that was missing was a photo of the two of them alone together... whether it was eating or shopping...

But Akina's birthday was in two days, and Akina Mori's schedule that day would definitely attract the attention of the paparazzi...

But the surprise he prepared... was not that low-key...

"Should I just make it public?"

Such a thought suddenly emerged in his mind. At this time, it seemed it wouldn't cause any major losses... But thinking about it for a second, Akina was going on a national tour at this time, which could be said to be Akina's most important money-making project this year.

The second national tour was something that could take Akina's fame to another level!

And it was also a critical moment to compete with Seiko Matsuda for the title of the top idol...

Let's ask Akina's thoughts...

Naoki Nagayama felt that there were more and more thoughts in his head, and his decision to make the relationship public was wavering. He shook his head and decided to let nature take its course!!! ===== CHAPTER 654 =====