Chapter 749: A strange development for a birthday~

Naoki Nagayama, who returned to Sanyingyuan, didn't know that there was so much discussion about him in the outside world.

He was just petting the dog that kept wagging its tail, and occasionally teasing the aloof orange cat...

"Miaotaro, why aren't you as enthusiastic as Eitaro?" Naoki Nagayama lifted the orange cat up and looked at its chubby square face, "I'm the one feeding you and giving you water... even if you bring the canned food to the little demon cat spirits outside, I haven't said anything!"

Miaotaro seemed a bit ashamed, its eyes avoided Naoki Nagayama's unconsciously, and it looked toward the outside of the glass sliding door...

The sunset only had a little bit of dark red left on the horizon, and the silhouettes of the buildings only had faint outlines left; the branches of the cherry tree in the courtyard looked like they were dancing wildly...

Naoki Nagayama looked at the sky outside and realized belatedly:

"It's time for dinner!"

The ingredients in the kitchen were just replenished today and were very rich; the live shrimp were specifically requested, and Naoki Nagayama picked them out.

Generally speaking, fresh shrimp just need to be blanched. After cooking the rice, Naoki Nagayama patiently cleaned the fresh shrimp, which were the size of a finger...

First, give the fresh shrimp a bath with beer, then trim the shrimp heads and feet, remove the shrimp lines, cut the onion, ginger slices, and green onion sections, arrange the large shrimp, and start steaming... Garlic, millet chili, sesame, green onion, a little light soy sauce, oyster sauce, a little salt, and a little sugar; Naoki Nagayama also finished preparing the secret dipping sauce.

Finally, stir-fry a seasonal vegetable, paired with fresh fruit, and the simple dinner for a bachelor was almost finished.

Eh? It seems I'm not a bachelor...

Naoki Nagayama shook his head and threw Akina Nakamori's shadow out of his head. At this time, Akina should be recording some program, right? He couldn't quite remember which program it was~

"Shoo, shoo, shoo~" After placing the dishes on the dining table, Naoki Nagayama shooed away Eitaro, who had come sniffing around for the scent. "When I called you earlier, you ignored me; now that I'm busy, you can't afford to be with me! Go eat your dog food!"

Just as Naoki Nagayama opened the white wine and was about to have dinner, Eitaro, who had been drooling, pricked up its ears and immediately ran toward the door.

"?"

This behavior of the dog usually only appeared when Akina Nakamori returned, right?

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the door of the entryway opened, and Akina Nakamori, wearing a light trench coat, appeared. Looking up, she saw Naoki Nagayama, who was a bit surprised, and revealed a happy smile:

"Naoki-san~~~ Surprise~~"

"..." His own mischievous girlfriend!

Naoki Nagayama shook his head and stepped forward to help hang up her coat: "How did Akina return so early? What is this?"

"It's a prop~" Akina Nakamori put down her coat and a not-so-small packaging box, then looked at Naoki Nagayama, "I came back early today specifically; I didn't even attend the dinner party after recording the program!"

She even pouted coquettishly, clearly implying something...

Naoki Nagayama had no choice but to lower his head and offer a kiss to appease his girlfriend~

Akina Nakamori, who had kissed him lightly and whose breathing was slightly rapid, pulled her boyfriend into the house, her delicate nose sniffing like a puppy:

"What delicious food is Naoki-san making?!"

"See for yourself~" Naoki Nagayama pulled her to sit beside the dining table, "Akina said you haven't eaten dinner?"

"Hmm!" Akina Nakamori looked over pitifully, "I'm very hungry now!"

For his girlfriend's ever-changing appearance, Naoki Nagayama, although he had seen it many times, still loved it very much~

"Then maybe there's a bit too little food..." Naoki Nagayama looked at the two dishes and one glass of wine on the table and muttered.

"Daijobu, I'm very easy to feed!"

Akina had already rushed into the kitchen, took her bowl and chopsticks, and was about to start gorging herself...

Dipping in the special sauce, happily eating the fresh blanched large shrimp, Akina Nakamori usually ate shrimp as tempura, sweet shrimp sashimi, shrimp balls, or shrimp rolls; she rarely ate blanched shrimp, and Naoki Nagayama's special dipping sauce was even rarer.

"Naoki-san, why haven't you made this special sauce before?"

Akina Nakamori felt the stimulating spicy taste in her mouth and enjoyed the fresh, firm shrimp meat; she liked it very much.

"Just learned it~" Naoki Nagayama could only tell a lie, then drank a mouthful of sour white wine, "If you don't think it's enough, there are other ingredients in the refrigerator~"

Akina Nakamori's eyes glanced at the packaging box in the entryway, and a smile appeared on her face:

"It's definitely enough!"

Naoki Nagayama didn't say much more. He looked at the dog beside the dining table and Miaotaro, who was still looking over from not far away, and could only sigh silently; he originally made a little more shrimp, intending to let you two have a taste, but now it's gone~

After finishing dinner, Naoki Nagayama and Akina Nakamori sat on the sofa watching TV and chatting as usual.

"The rehearsals for this year's Red and White Song Battle have already started, right?" Naoki Nagayama said, looking at his girlfriend.

"Hmm, the program has been arranged... Recently, there have been choreography teachers giving us rehearsals."

Akina Nakamori nodded. In this era, the Red and White Song Battle is the biggest evening event at the end of the year; it is notified very early, and now all the artists who are going to perform have started preparing intensively.

"What is the program?"

"A medley of songs..." Akina answered comfortably, lying in Naoki Nagayama's arms, "They are all popular songs from this year..."

"Are there no songs by Akina-chan?" Naoki Nagayama asked curiously.

"No..."

Akina Nakamori looked a bit discouraged. She did have a place among the popular songs this year, but the Red and White Song Battle considers many things, and her songs weren't selected.

"Then wait until next year to participate!" Naoki Nagayama comforted, "Next year, definitely no one will be able to compete with Akina!"

In Naoki Nagayama's memory, next year Seiko Matsuda will marry and retire suddenly, and the idol industry will be dominated by Akina... Under her powerful fame, the biggest awards in the music industry will also be won by Akina.

"Haha, Naoki-san only knows how to comfort people~"

The two talked slowly, but Akina tonight seemed a bit distracted, occasionally looking at the clock on the wall.

Time passed minute by minute, and soon it was 10:30 at night. Naoki Nagayama wanted to go take a bath and sleep, but Akina stopped him.

"I want to stay with Naoki-san for a while longer~" Akina Nakamori hugged Naoki Nagayama's arm and wouldn't let him get up, "It's still so early!"

"..."

Aren't we staying together in bed too? And even closer... Naoki Nagayama felt increasingly strange, but he didn't ask too much; he wanted to see what his girlfriend was actually going to do!

"Alright... as long as Akina isn't worried about being late tomorrow..."

"I won't!"

The program on TV was a late-night slot that wasn't very attractive, so Naoki Nagayama could only make small talk:

"Speaking of which, Akina will have a holiday after the Red and White Song Battle, right?"

"Yes, after the holiday, I have to prepare new songs." Akina Nakamori raised her head, "But this year's holiday, I might not be able to spend it with Naoki-san."

"Eh? It seems you also said before that you were going to have a family trip?"

"Hmm, I'm going to Hawaii for a vacation with my family!" Akina Nakamori nodded, "I also have to bring my grandmother... This was promised a long time ago, that after becoming a big star, I would take everyone abroad for a trip..."

Because this time it was with her family, it would be a bit abrupt for Naoki Nagayama to come... He hadn't met her parents yet!

"Now Akina can be considered to have fulfilled her wish~" Naoki Nagayama said.

"What about Naoki-san for the New Year?" Akina asked.

"Returning to my hometown for the New Year..." Naoki Nagayama said, "I should also go to the United States, New York... I bought an apartment there and have never seen it~"

"Naoki-san really has houses everywhere..." Akina Nakamori muttered, "Are you the Earth God?"

"..." Naoki Nagayama laughed, "In China, it's called the Earth God! The Earth God also has a wife, called the Earth Goddess! That's Akina!"

"I'm not an old lady!" Akina Nakamori started playing around with Naoki Nagayama.

Soon, half an hour flashed by. When it was midnight, Akina Nakamori jumped up from the sofa and hurriedly ran toward the packaging box she brought back.

"???" So it wasn't a prop~

Akina tore off the outer packaging in a few moves, took out a small cream cake, and even lit a small candle...

"This is... a birthday cake?" Naoki Nagayama was a bit dazed as he was pulled to the side of the cake.

"Yes, it's already November 8th, Showa 59!" Akina Nakamori looked at the wall clock again to confirm, "Naoki-san, happy birthday!!!"

"Haha~~ Is it actually my birthday?" Naoki Nagayama said with some surprise; he didn't care much about his own birthday anyway~

In fact, after coming to the Showa era, he was more inclined to treat the day he crossed over as his birthday... the day of his rebirth.

However, now that he had a girlfriend...

"Last time Naoki-san had a birthday, I missed it because I was too busy!" Akina Nakamori stood beside him and said; she estimated she would be busy until midnight tomorrow, so, "This time I absolutely couldn't miss it! Just past midnight, I am the first person to wish Naoki-san a happy birthday!"

"Haha, Arigato!" Naoki Nagayama kissed his girlfriend on the cheek, "So you were always watching the time just for this!"

"Yes! Naoki-san, hurry up and blow out the candles and make a wish!"

Akina Nakamori sat to the side, urging Naoki Nagayama to blow out the candles a bit anxiously.

"Alright~ Let me think, what wish should I make?"

Looking at the faint candlelight, Naoki Nagayama thought for a moment and hoped that everything would go smoothly next year and good things would keep happening~

He took a breath and gently blew out the candles; a wisp of fine smoke drifted upward and disappeared above his head... It should have been conveyed to the existence in the dark, right!

"Alright, Akina, let's eat the cake!"

"Yes!"

The atmosphere in Sanyingyuan became cheerful, and Eitaro and Miaotaro also got a little cake~

The next day was another ordinary morning.

Akina got up very early; it seemed she was going to record an outdoor scene in a very far place today, and she was picked up by Fusunori Akiko early in the morning.

And Naoki Nagayama didn't get up until after 8 o'clock.

"I've really fallen into depravity!"

In the washroom, Naoki Nagayama looked at his muscle lines, which weren't as obvious as before, and decided to exercise his body well.

Just as he was thinking about taking Eitaro out for a run, he heard the phone ringing in the living room.

"Ding-a-ling~"

"Moshi moshi, this is Sanyingyuan."

Naoki Nagayama picked up the receiver and heard a full-of-energy voice coming from inside,

"Nii-chan, happy birthday!"

It was Tsuruko; she would call during birthdays in the past... but such enthusiasm this time... there was definitely a problem!!!

"Arigato..." Naoki Nagayama thanked his sister, "Why did you call so early?"

"Haha, sure enough, I am the first to bless Nii-chan!" The voice in the receiver was very proud.

"..." Naoki Nagayama said, "This, you can only rank second. The first is Akina, who blessed me at midnight~"

"Eh?!!" Tsuruko seemed not to have expected this, "Was it actually at midnight... sure enough, she is a strong rival!"

So, why did Tsuruko treat Akina as an enemy? Has the family affection deteriorated?!

"Tsuruko... tell me, why are you so enthusiastic suddenly? What are you going to do..." Naoki Nagayama asked directly.

"What do you mean? It's just a younger sister wanting to say happy birthday to her older brother~" Tsuruko said very "green tea"-like.

"..." Naoki Nagayama said in a calm tone, "Then I thank you very much. If there's nothing else, I'm going to walk the dog, so I'm hanging up..."

"Wait a minute!" Tsuruko shouted immediately, "There is indeed a matter..."

"What?"

"Nii-chan... that..." Tsuruko stammered, "Isn't it time for leaf-hunting now? A few of us classmates want to go to Kyoto to play together... We saw that Red Fish Courtyard on *Love Journey*; that's Nii-chan's house in Kyoto, right..."

"So, you want to stay at Red Fish Courtyard for a few days?" Naoki Nagayama understood; she had her eye on the courtyard in Kyoto~

"Yes... that courtyard is very beautiful~ I want to go see what it looks like when the maple leaves are red~" Tsuruko requested humbly on the phone, "Just going with classmates~"

"Oh?... Is your boyfriend not going?"

Tsuruko paused before saying weakly: "... Kinda-kun is also a classmate... Nii-chan, is it okay?"

"Alright~" Considering she called so early in the morning, Naoki Nagayama didn't say much more and gave her the butler's phone number, "I will explain it to the butler; call the butler in advance before going~"

"Yes! Nii-chan is the best in the world!" The voice in the receiver was sweet and sticky~

"..." Naoki Nagayama shuddered, "Don't be so mushy~ I still like Tsuruko's previous unruly appearance~"

"Che!" Tsuruko quickly returned to her original tone, "Nii-chan, Arigato na~"

"Hmm, have fun~"

After hanging up the phone, Naoki Nagayama let out a long breath:

"Such a strange development early in the morning... I feel like something is going to happen today..."

He turned his head and glanced at the dog that had already put on the leash and was waiting to go out:

"Eitaro, don't you think so?"

"Woof woof!" Eitaro barked twice in agreement, anxious to go out and breathe fresh air, "Woof woof woof! (What else could it be? Could it be that you know I can talk?!)"

"Yoshi, Eitaro is indeed a good dog!" ===== CHAPTER 750 =====