Chapter 713: Is this a normal person? This is simply not a normal person!

After walking out of General Air Conditioning, Naoki Nagayama and Genta Nakai had originally intended to return directly to Shu-Yu Capital, but while passing by Sanmaiju, Naoki Nagayama signaled the driver to stop.

"Genta-san, it's been a long time since I came here for tea. Let's go have some tea together~"

"Here, huh~" Genta Nakai looked at this very distinctive teahouse and revealed a smile, "... I actually come to your Sanmaiju quite often... It has already become a place where some big shots in Ginza often come when they simply want to relax and chat~"

"Haha~"

Naoki Nagayama walked inside, and the busy clerk, Akiki Matsumura, subconsciously shouted first:

"Welcome~"

Only then did she recognize her own boss and asked somewhat nervously: "Naoki-san, why are you here?! Ah... no, welcome, Naoki-san!"

Looking at the somewhat panicked clerk, Naoki Nagayama smiled:

"Just passing by, came to take a look~ Take me to the private room on the third floor~"

"Ah! Hai!"

Akiki Matsumura was about to lead the way when she bumped into Chinatsu Sakakibara and Katsuo Yasui coming down from the second floor; both of them had just been helping out on the second floor.

"Naoki-san, you're here~"

The faces of the store manager and assistant manager first showed expressions of surprise, then immediately welcomed the boss's arrival.

Naoki Nagayama looked at how busy the shop was, with even Katsuo Yasui doing the work of a waiter, and said:

"Katsuo-san, if business is too busy to handle, just hire another person~"

"Hai, I was just about to suggest that to Naoki-san~" Katsuo Yasui wore a smile as he led Naoki Nagayama toward the third floor, "As there are more and more regular customers, even the first floor is often full of people!"

"If there are too many customers, the style of Sanmaiju will decline! Katsuo-san, don't sell that cheapest kind of tea leaves anymore." Perhaps because he had just come out of a business war, Naoki Nagayama spoke somewhat coldly, "Just say that kind of tea leaves are unavailable this year; that way, the customers on the first floor will decrease~"

The first-floor lobby mostly hosted tourists just stopping by to rest and people shopping in Ginza; they generally ordered the cheapest tea, which was not the target clientele Sanmaiju was aiming for anyway.

He didn't open Sanmaiju to make money in the first place, but to create a quiet place in Ginza where one could drink tea.

If the first floor were bustling and noisy, it would lack class.

Although Katsuo Yasui felt it was a pity, because the cheapest tea at Sanmaiju had the highest total sales and his commission would also be higher, this was Naoki Nagayama's Sanmaiju, so everything naturally had to follow the boss's wishes.

"Hai, I understand. I will stop selling it after this..."

Amidst the chatter, the group arrived at the private room on the third floor, where one could see that the other private rooms were already occupied, with red signs at their entrances.

Once they walked inside, Genta Nakai sat in the antique-style tea room and looked around:

"I had asked before why this private room was always occupied, and Manager Yasui only said there was a long-term guest... I didn't expect it was specifically reserved for Naoki-san."

"Haha, it's my own shop, so naturally, I have some privileges."

Naoki Nagayama laughed a few times and began introducing the furniture and structure he had personally selected to Genta Nakai...

After Chinatsu Sakakibara served the top-grade Gyokuro tea and tea snacks, the two of them quietly enjoyed them.

"Naoki-san~" Genta Nakai sat with his legs crossed in a very unrefined manner, eating the tea snacks in large bites, and said with some lingering fear, "When we were at General Air Conditioning, when you brought up the news of the merger between Fujitsu and General Air Conditioning, my back was instantly soaked."

"Haha, Genta-san's courage still needs some training!" Naoki Nagayama laughed.

"Naoki-san, aren't you worried?" Genta Nakai asked, "What if that chairman who looked so scary decides to have you arrested?"

"He's so old, I could knock him to the ground with one punch!!" Naoki Nagayama rolled his eyes, "However, insider trading really will get you arrested!"

Genta Nakai had always believed that Naoki Nagayama had received the news from some internal source, which was why he was so confident; he himself even thought Shu-Yu Capital was involved in insider trading!

"It's not insider trading!" Naoki Nagayama said, "If I had kept it quiet and made money secretly, I might have been framed for insider trading, but since I stated it openly today before they made it public... that is information a major shareholder should already be aware of."

"This..." Genta Nakai still didn't believe it, "But if the person who provided the news informs on you, you will still be interrogated!"

"I already said, there is no inside information..."

Genta Nakai's expression of "Do you think I believe that?" left Naoki Nagayama unsure of how to explain; he couldn't just say he knew it from the future, could he?

But if he didn't give an explanation today, Genta Nakai probably wouldn't be able to rest well for a long time!

Naoki Nagayama recalled a bit and suddenly thought of a very bizarre business war plot in the American TV series "Billions" he had seen before, where they learned about a hundred-billion-dollar beer merger opportunity in advance through taxi driver data; perhaps he could borrow that here.

"Genta-san... come here, come here~ I'll tell you the real source of the news!" Naoki Nagayama beckoned, signaling he was going to tell him a secret.

"? What? Are you going to tell me who the insider is?" Genta Nakai was skeptical and immediately refused, "No, the more people who know, the more risk there is. I'm not good at keeping my mouth shut after drinking, so it's better not to know!"

"... That's not it!"

Naoki Nagayama promised, then whispered, "Do you know the distance between Fujitsu headquarters and General Air Conditioning headquarters?"

"Eh?" Genta Nakai was stunned, "Not more than 10 kilometers, right~"

"That's right, 7.83 kilometers~ The taxi fare is around 1500 yen." Naoki Nagayama fabricated a rough number, precise to two decimal places to show authenticity, "That is the distance and cost from Fujitsu headquarters to General Air Conditioning headquarters."

"???" Genta Nakai looked confused; why are you telling me this?

"Taxis are so expensive that people generally don't take them unless there's something important, but real executives have company cars... so these are all high-level white-collar workers who are neither here nor there..." Naoki Nagayama spoke eloquently, "In my chats with that driver, I discovered that since the beginning of the year, the taxis taking that route had passengers traveling back and forth between the two locations for almost half of every month... and this continued for several months..."

"???"

"What kind of business negotiation requires high-level white-collar workers to travel back and forth for several months?" Looking at Genta Nakai's still-confused expression, Naoki Nagayama prompted, "Only the due diligence before a merger... So, after I found a few more taxi drivers to chat with, I deduced that Fujitsu would be merging with General Air Conditioning..."

"???!!!"

Genta Nakai felt as if Alice had discovered a new world through the rabbit hole; he looked at Naoki Nagayama as if he were looking at a madman or a god.

"Naoki-san, you discovered a merger between two large enterprises just through such clues?"

"A lot of it was luck~ After I became suspicious, I also looked into the annual corporate reports of Fujitsu and General Air Conditioning for recent years, and also learned through connections that there were some rumors..."

Naoki Nagayama knew that the reason he gave was actually very flimsy, but in this era, no one knew what "big data" was, nor had anyone tried to link traffic data with commercial behavior~

In this era without even the internet, where news mainly relied on word-of-mouth, the angle Naoki Nagayama presented was simply a dimensional strike!

Genta Nakai stared blankly at the teacup in his hand, feeling his worldview undergoing a huge shock... He didn't doubt that Naoki Nagayama was lying to him, because if he were lying, it wouldn't be this outrageous!

What kind of guy could actually deduce important commercial behavior between large companies just from the words of a taxi driver?!! And the kind strictly kept confidential by executives and directors at that?!

Is this a normal person? This is simply not a normal person!

"Genta-san? Genta-san?"

Naoki Nagayama gently called out to his friend in front of him; he had clearly wanted to reduce Genta Nakai's mental stress, which was why he told such a lie, but now it felt like he was about to break Genta Nakai!

"Ah!" Genta Nakai was startled awake, looking at Naoki Nagayama as if he were meeting him for the first time.

"Genta-san, are you alright?" Naoki Nagayama asked with some concern.

"Hmm..."

Genta Nakai drank down the tea that was still hot enough to burn his mouth, then grimaced in pain...

"This... Genta-san, how is it? Are you okay?" Naoki Nagayama asked hurriedly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Genta Nakai waved his hand, placed the teacup on the low table, and finally managed to adjust his demeanor.

"Genta-san..."

"Naoki-san!" Genta Nakai raised his volume and stood up, "Let me digest this first..."

"?"

"I'm going home to digest this!" Genta Nakai left behind that sentence and opened the door to the private room, "Too much has happened today! I can't take it..."

"..."

Watching Genta Nakai's departing back, Naoki Nagayama fell into silence,

"I think the car the driver was driving was mine..."

That afternoon, Naoki Nagayama drank by himself in the private room and realized a truth:

"Sure enough, you can't just show off casually... If you're not careful, you might scare people~"

After spending an afternoon at Sanmaiju, he took a taxi to a high-end Japanese restaurant near Fuji TV, which was the place he had agreed upon with Koki Akimoto and the others.

After giving his name, he was indeed led into an exquisite room; in the simple tatami compartment, two delicate low tables had been joined into one, and exquisite side dishes were already laid out on top~

Tai Sugiura, Rumi Nishi, and Koki Akimoto were already inside, chatting about something.

"Naoki-san!" Tai Sugiura immediately welcomed him warmly, "You're here! Was the trip smooth?"

"Hai, just a little traffic, I'm not late, am I?"

"Of course not, we just arrived ourselves." Tai Sugiura invited Naoki Nagayama to sit down very attentively and asked, "Naoki-san, can you drink? If not, we can switch to soft drinks."

"Haha, daijoubu~" Naoki Nagayama naturally knew his coma had nothing to do with his injuries, "I recovered a long time ago~"

Koki Akimoto laughed from the side: "That's good, then we won't stop until we're drunk today!"

"Hahaha, good~"

The atmosphere in the compartment instantly became harmonious, and Naoki Nagayama even wore a smile; you guys probably couldn't outdrink me even if you added yourselves together!

As the food and drinks arrived, the atmosphere in the compartment became increasingly happy; they chatted about recent interesting events, teased Naoki Nagayama about his romance, and mentioned new stars emerging in the entertainment industry... Amidst the clinking of glasses, everyone's faces slowly began to flush with a hint of red.

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Tai Sugiura and Koki Akimoto signaled Rumi Nishi, and then they saw Rumi Nishi say with a smile:

"Naoki-san, so many people are concerned about your romance with Akina Nakamori, it's about to catch up to Tomokazu Miura and Momoe Yamaguchi!"

"Is it that hot?" Naoki Nagayama knew the main event was coming.

"Of course, it's just a pity that Momoe Yamaguchi and Tomokazu Miura retired directly after getting married, and Tomokazu Miura hasn't accepted interviews since..." Rumi Nishi continued, "What about Naoki-san? Have you considered marriage?"

"This... it hasn't reached that point yet."

"Hahaha~" Koki Akimoto laughed, "How could Naoki-san enter the grave of marriage so early!"

Rumi Nishi rolled her eyes at him: "Marriage is such a beautiful thing! How can you call it a grave!"

Koki Akimoto just kept laughing, with no intention of refuting; there was nothing to argue about on this point, people just had different viewpoints.

With the interruption gone, Rumi Nishi continued: "Naoki-san, do you have any plans to accept interviews?"

"About my romance with Akina?" Naoki Nagayama asked, "I don't intend to accept any special interviews, if reporters ask, I'll just say a little..."

"Then does Naoki-san have any thoughts about going on a program with Akina?" Tai Sugiura interjected.

"Going on a program together?" So this is the purpose of your treat today!!

"Hai!" Tai Sugiura nodded, then said, "Akimoto-san thought of a very good variety show format..."

"It's called a dating variety show..."

The microphone was handed to Koki Akimoto, and he began to talk about his "dating variety show"... in the form of a reality show, filming the dating behavior between stars... through sweet romance, letting the audience see how the romance between stars is actually different from that of normal people...

Naoki Nagayama listened to Koki Akimoto's description, and his eyes looked a bit strange... This guy really isn't a time traveler from the future, is he?

How could a dating variety show that didn't flourish until the 21st century be brought out by this guy so early? And it looked quite professional!

Wait, could it be because I revealed the concept of a reality show to Tai Sugiura, and then tested this program effect on "Evening Meow Meow," which opened up Koki Akimoto's meridians?

Koki Akimoto's mouth kept blabbering on and on, making Naoki Nagayama feel a bit dazed.

Until...

"Naoki-san, Naoki-san?"

"Ah?"

"What do you think?" Koki Akimoto asked while drinking his beverage in large gulps.

"Ah, a dating variety show... this format is very good, and also very attractive..." Naoki Nagayama keenly grasped the point, "However, this new program format must have a very gimmicky opening... That's why you want Akina and me to participate, right!"

"Nothing can be hidden from Naoki-san~" Tai Sugiura nodded, "The romance between Naoki-san and Akina-chan is the hottest thing this year! If you go on the program, it will definitely attract widespread attention!"

"Hmm..." Naoki Nagayama began to think.

Come to think of it, Akina is so busy with work, and the opportunities for me to see her are very rare; if we film a dating variety show together, we would definitely have a lot of time to spend together~

However... come to think of it, filming a "Tokyo Love Story" myself could achieve the same effect!

So, there's no need to rely on Fuji TV at all; instead, they are the ones who need Akina and me!

"On this point, it still depends on whether Akina agrees... and also depends on whether I have the schedule." Naoki Nagayama didn't give a definite answer, "Hahaha, my 'Kikujiro's Summer' is about to be released, and there are new movies to be filmed after that..."

Listening to Naoki Nagayama's polite refusal, Tai Sugiura wasn't surprised; he had been mentally prepared for this. He and Koki Akimoto had already gone to Department Head Takano to explain the situation and had already knelt down to beg... and had obtained more resource permissions...

"By the way, Naoki-san... didn't you say before that you had a TV drama to film?" Tai Sugiura suddenly mentioned the past.

"Eh, yes... what's wrong?"

"Love Generation," he wanted to produce it together with Fuji TV, but Fuji TV's senior management wanted to lead the production rights, and he didn't agree, which led to TV Asahi's "Music Station."

"Are you still planning to produce it?" Tai Sugiura said, "Department Head Takano suddenly asked about it a few days ago... Our TV station's dramas seem a bit old-fashioned, presumably Naoki-san's drama could make people's eyes light up... Actually, giving all the production rights to Naoki-san wouldn't be a problem; don't we trust Naoki-san?!"

So this is your exchange?

But right now, I don't really care that much anymore~

"I had that idea before, but recently the movie production schedule for Shu-Yu Films is already full..." Naoki Nagayama pushed back, "I won't have time until the beginning of next year~"

"Then producing it at the beginning of next year is fine too; if we film and broadcast simultaneously, the spring season would be just right..." Tai Sugiura said immediately.

"Hahaha, we'll see, we need to discuss it internally~"

Who doesn't know how to play tai chi!

Koki Akimoto was getting a bit anxious: "Naoki-san... I recently discovered a good seedling!"

"? A good seedling?"

"She's an absolutely high-quality potential stock for being an idol!"

"??"

"It's a little girl named Rie Miyazawa, naturally beautiful, she's a small model for a magazine, only 11 years old! But I think she has the potential to become a top-tier idol!"

Koki Akimoto's face turned red, looking exactly like a lecherous middle-aged man...

"..."

Although he had heard the familiar name, Naoki Nagayama was a bit surprised, but in his memory, she did indeed debut very young.

But Koki Akimoto, why are you suddenly saying this? We were just discussing dating variety shows and TV dramas!

"I've already signed her to the Cat Club!" Koki Akimoto played his trump card, "As long as Naoki-san wants, she can be transferred to Naoki-san's hands at any time! (Take this hit from me—the beauty trap!)"

"???!!!"

Koki Akimoto, the way you said that, it seems like you have some misunderstanding about me, Naoki Nagayama!!! ===== CHAPTER 714 =====