Chapter 78

Where did he see it?

In reality, he had never watched it at all. How was he supposed to answer this?

If he said he had never watched it now, would it be extremely awkward?

But if he said he had, it seemed he would have to start spinning another lie~

Not wanting the atmosphere to be awkward, and not wanting to continue making up lies, Naoki Nagayama could only think of a way to muddle through:

"Which film was it? Sumimasen, it's been too long and my memory is already blurry.

But at that time, it must have been Miss Yuko Tanaka's performance that left a deeper impression.

That's why when we first met, I felt like I had seen you before, and I ended up staring for a long time, which was a bit rude..."

Perfect!

He had even smoothed over the reason why he had been staring at her earlier!

Since she had already forgotten, she couldn't keep asking, right? Now he didn't have to keep making up the lie about being a fan!

Yuko Tanaka seemed to accept this explanation as well.

"Is that so? Then it must have been *Ama-san* or *Eijanaika*! These two films I appeared in might be a bit more well-known. Nagayama-san, which one was it exactly? You should remember the plot, right~"

"Which one should it be?!! I've never watched a single one, damn it!"

Naoki roared in his heart, but on the surface, he acted as if nothing was wrong, even pretending to scratch his head, and finally gave an ambiguous answer.

"Ah, it was the earlier one, that's why I can't remember the name, I only remember the character."

Upon hearing this, Yuko Tanaka clapped her hands: "That one! *Ama-san* was my debut film!"

Thinking about it, her first morning drama, *Ama-san*, wasn't bad at all; the character left quite a deep impression!

But not being able to remember the title of the work wasn't right~

"Nagayama-san, thank you for your support~ It would be even better if you could remember the name~

By the way, have you seen the movie *Eijanaika* from that year? How did you feel about the character?"

It seemed this actress wanted to get some feedback from the audience, or a positive response,

or perhaps she had run into a casual fan and wanted to pull him into her true fan circle.

But Naoki Nagayama really didn't want to keep making things up, so he decided to tell the truth:

"Ano, sumimasen, I haven't watched the later movies, but Miss Tanaka's performance must be flawless."

"Eh, is that so... Why haven't you watched them..."

This young lady seemed to be getting a bit too familiar; she was actually asking non-stop.

"Ah... about that, maybe it's because I'm usually too busy, and whenever I have free time, I always run into this or that, and I haven't met the right person to go watch them with,

so I ended up missing them. It's truly a great pity~"

Too busy, busy when free, no one to go with... The triple-threat of excuses!

Once these three universal reasons were out, no one could find an opportunity to ask him to go watch them.

"I see, that is indeed a pity. That film was my first time acting on the big screen, and it was a breakthrough for my acting skills~"

Usually, it could end here; he had expressed his regret, and they could change the subject. But was this young lady actually a chatterbox?

"And let me tell you, the plot of *Eijanaika* is very attractive. It tells the story of a ukiyo-e of the late Edo period. The various characters in it are either busy or idle; everyone lacks a sense of security. The protagonist is... the supporting character...

I played a... in it."

Because of that one word of "pity," this young lady had actually started telling Naoki Nagayama the plot directly!!!

It looked like she was truly invested in this film. It had been released for over half a year, and she knew the plot like the back of her hand.

She seemed very engaged while telling it, and she had even moved over a lounge chair and was now sitting right next to Naoki Nagayama.

Naoki Nagayama wasn't actually interested in these plots or anything.

But he didn't know why Yuko Tanaka had started talking like this, and she looked like she was really enjoying herself.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep listening.

Anyone who often listens to companions venting or sharing gossip knows that

when they are very engaged in telling their story, they often don't need very serious feedback; they are just venting some emotion or simply enjoying the pleasure of sharing secrets.

At this time, one often only needs to reply: "Hmm? Oh? Is that so?..."

This can make both parties feel satisfied until the end.

Naoki Nagayama was currently practicing this approach. He appeared to be listening to Yuko Tanaka's speech, but his mind had long since wandered elsewhere.

However, his eyes were still looking at the young lady to show he was listening carefully, and occasionally he could reply with one or two filler words.

Even Yuko Tanaka, who was pouring her heart out, didn't notice he was distracted, and she thought this handsome guy was very much in agreement with her analysis of the movie~

However, what he didn't expect was that because they had been swimming earlier,

Yuko Tanaka was wearing a backless black one-piece swimsuit, and when she sat over, she seemed to have forgotten to bring her bath towel.

Now that the two were very close, Naoki Nagayama's gaze couldn't help but fall upon her.

Under the cold light of the swimming pool,

the black swimsuit made the young lady's skin look even fairer and more tender, as if it were glowing.

Her two bare, fair, lotus-root-like arms gestured occasionally with the plot of the story.

Below her slender waist, her long legs were folded to one side, perfectly supporting her graceful figure.

Naoki Nagayama felt like he could even smell the faint fragrance coming from the young lady.

A woman's sixth sense is very keen; she seemed to feel Naoki Nagayama's gaze.

Yuko Tanaka also seemed to realize it was inappropriate, but it was awkward to go get the bath towel now.

She could only pretend to continue talking as if nothing had happened,

while her ears gradually turned red.

This cannot continue!

Naoki Nagayama used great willpower to try to pull his gaze back, but this young body was resisting his will!

Apart from his eyes, without him realizing it, his entire body had silently moved quite a bit toward the young lady.

The two of them were now about to break the social distance.

The atmosphere was clearly changing in an increasingly ambiguous direction!

If this continued, he might fall into a One Night emotional entanglement!

What to do!!!

"Yuko-chan, where are you?"

Just at this moment, a young female voice came from the pool entrance!

Upon hearing this, Yuko Tanaka immediately replied: "I'm here!"

Then she walked over unobtrusively to pick up her bath towel.

While Yuko Tanaka was replying, Naoki Nagayama finally regained control of his body and relaxed back into his lounge chair.

But at the same time, he seemed to hear the young lady let out a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat liberated, yet seemingly somewhat reluctant...

Following a series of light footsteps,

that young female voice came over again: "Yuko-chan, what are you doing here? Are you done swimming?"

Eh? This voice sounds familiar?!

Yuko Tanaka stood up and was talking to her,

saying things like she had run into an acquaintance, who was also a fan of hers.

Feeling the voice was familiar, Naoki Nagayama turned his head, his gaze passing through the lounge chairs,

and he saw a beautiful woman wearing a red one-piece swimsuit—Kanako Higuchi!

At this moment, Kanako Higuchi also looked over upon hearing this, and her eyes met Naoki Nagayama's.

"Nagayama-san?!" A voice filled with surprise and joy, "Why are you here?!"