Chapter 832

When he returned to the 80 Building in Takanawa at night, the time was already approaching midnight.

When Akina Nakamori opened the door and walked in, the sensor light in the entryway lit up with a soft glow. Eitaro, inside the doghouse in the corner, raised his head. Seeing it was his mistress, he immediately wagged his tail. He wanted to bark, but was stopped by Akina with a "hush" gesture.

"Eitaro, has Naoki-san already fallen asleep?" Akina Nakamori stroked Eitaro's head and asked softly.

"Woof~ (Can't you see for yourself? I'm just a dog...)" the dog replied gently.

"Yoshi yoshi, then you continue to rest too, don't make any noise, okay~"

Continuing to stroke the dog's head, and incidentally petting Miaotaro who had poked his head out to watch the excitement, Akina Nakamori then walked toward the bedroom on tiptoe.

In this large flat she had bought, the master bedroom's bathroom and the bedroom were separated by a walk-in closet and thick walls, so the sound of Akina washing up wouldn't reach the bedroom.

After finishing her bath, Akina Nakamori changed into her pajamas, then gently climbed onto the bed in the bedroom, and skillfully burrowed into the arms of the man who was sleeping~

Naoki Nagayama actually hadn't been asleep for very long; even Akina's gentle movements woke him up.

Tightening his arms to pull Akina closer, Naoki Nagayama smelled the faint, moist fragrance in her hair and asked softly, a bit dazed:

"Are you just getting back now?"

"Ah~ did I wake Naoki-san up?" Akina Nakamori reached out and hooked her arms around Naoki Nagayama's neck, pressing half of her warm, soft body onto her boyfriend, then rubbed her smooth cheeks against his face, "Sumimasen~ please forgive me~"

"..."

Is this an apology? Who taught you to apologize like that...

Naoki Nagayama felt that his girlfriend, who had originally been very innocent, had started to become very good at teasing men after moving into the 80 Building for a while... Was it Momoe Yamaguchi who taught her bad habits, or had she watched some adult videos he didn't know about?

However, Naoki Nagayama, who had just fallen asleep, was very sleepy at this moment and couldn't muster any interest for the time being.

He could only turn on his side to hug Akina completely, using one leg to pin down his girlfriend's restless legs, and then freed his other hand to press down on her soft waist, forming a semi-finished lock:

"Since you're back, get some good sleep..."

"Mm..."

Akina still wanted to retort, but her forehead was pressed by Naoki Nagayama's chin, and she had no choice but to quiet down.

With couples hugging intimately like this, skin touching skin and breaths mingling, even being able to feel each other's heartbeats, sometimes it was more satisfying mentally than rolling in the sheets.

Sniffing her boyfriend's familiar scent, Akina's breathing gradually leveled out, and sleepiness slowly welled up... However, those questions from the evening suddenly surfaced in her mind again, and Akina felt she couldn't fall asleep.

"Naoki-san?" Akina Nakamori spoke softly, "Are you asleep?"

"Mm..."

"What do you think about Spain?"

"Hm?"

"It's very nice, right? The scenery is beautiful, and the culture is very passionate..."

"?"

"When we go on our honeymoon, let's go to Spain!"

"..."

Although Naoki Nagayama's muddled consciousness didn't understand why she suddenly brought up a honeymoon, this kind of trivial matter meant he had absolutely no intention of opposing it. He moved his head slightly,

"Mm!"

Hearing this affirmative answer, Akina Nakamori seemed to have fulfilled some wish, her heart completely relaxed, and she let sleepiness take over her consciousness, falling into a deep slumber.

After the first ray of sunlight passed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the entire large flat became bright.

Even though one couldn't hear much of the hustle and bustle from high up, the vibrant atmosphere had already reached the top floor, and even the consciousness of someone sleeping could roughly feel the arrival of the day.

Naoki Nagayama, who had just woken up, didn't remember at all what he had said while he was muddled yesterday; he only felt that Akina was very happy today, even humming a song while making breakfast.

He looked at today's morning paper at the dining table. The front page of the entertainment section was still the report about Seiko Matsuda getting married, which specifically pointed out that she would gradually reduce her television appearances, and the final concert was expected to be in Osaka.

Akina Nakamori walked to the dining table carrying toasted bread slices, fried sausages, eggs, bacon, and so on, along with milk and juice... A purely Western-style breakfast.

She incidentally glanced at the content in the newspaper:

"Seiko-san said yesterday that yesterday might have been her last time on 'THE BEST TEN,' and she might really retire in the future..."

"Didn't she say she wouldn't give up her career for marriage?" Naoki Nagayama asked curiously, "She even broke up with Hiromi Go because of that!"

"After getting married, one always has to pay more attention to the family, and there's having children and such... There's always a trade-off between family and career..."

Akina Nakamori still envied the way of retiring after marriage; getting married and building a family was more important to her than work.

"I don't think Seiko-san is the type of person who would value family more than her career..."

"It's very likely it will be different after marriage..."

Regarding this point, Naoki Nagayama didn't comment too much; after all, he hadn't been married in either of his two lifetimes...

While eating the charred, fragrant toasted bread, Naoki Nagayama suddenly thought:

"By the way, Akina, if Seiko Matsuda retires... wouldn't Akina become the undisputed No. 1 in the idol industry?!"

"Naoki-san, stop joking..." Akina Nakamori smiled and said modestly, "Kyoko-chan, Satomi-chan, Yu-chan, they are all very amazing idols, and there's also Yukiko-chan who is getting more and more popular..."

"For the time being, there's no one with more talent than Akina!"

"Everyone is about the same... and the idol industry is so small... the pop music industry is the big stage!"

It wasn't that Akina Nakamori wasn't aware that she was about to reach the top, but her goal now wasn't just to be an idol; her goal was to transform into a pop singer.

Then she would face even more and stronger opponents, such as seniors Kenji Sawada, Miyuki Nakajima, Mariya Takeuchi, Kazumasa Oda, the currently popular band The Checkers, Anzen Anzen Chitai, and the strong singer from a foreign land, Teresa Teng, and so on.

"... Akina's goal is too high!" Naoki Nagayama sighed, "Being able to reach No. 1 as an idol, your popularity has already completely surpassed other pop singers!"

"Without many classic songs that are sung by everyone... and no million-selling albums... platinum records..."

Akina Nakamori felt slightly regretful. Actually, up until now, besides "Snow Flower" which Naoki Nagayama gave her, the popularity of her other songs mostly relied on her popularity as an idol...

"It looks like Akina's future is a long and arduous road!" Naoki Nagayama nodded, picked up his juice, and clinked glasses with his girlfriend, "Ganbatte!"

"Hahaha, Naoki-san..."

Akina Nakamori was amused and childishly picked up her milk to clink glasses,

"Ganbatte!"

Akina Nakamori, who was only twenty years old now and had the support of her boyfriend, was very confident about the future!

After finishing breakfast, Akina Nakamori went to shoot the cover for her new song, while Naoki Nagayama continued to come to Ota Ward.

This time, Katsuyoshi Ishikawa took him directly to the prepared set:

"Naoki-san, according to your request from yesterday, the four sets have already been arranged..."

Naoki Nagayama followed him around the four sets and nodded:

"Mm, very good, very realistic..."

"Is Naoki-san going to film here today?" Katsuyoshi Ishikawa asked.

"Hai, there isn't much content left..." Naoki Nagayama estimated and felt that it could definitely be completed within two or three days, "Katsuyoshi-kun, where are the other crew members?"

"I took everyone to the large break room..."

After Naoki Nagayama gathered Matsuo Munao Matsuo and the others, he spoke about the following arrangements in front of them.

"Matsuo Munao-kun, the next few scenes are all reflected in the script... roughly the family discussion, the script reading session, and the supplement filming at the abandoned factory... leave these to you to direct!"

"Eh? Me?" Matsuo Munao Matsuo said in surprise.

"Hai, there's no difficulty in itself, the camera positions are mostly fixed..." Naoki Nagayama sketched on the storyboard, "Just follow the normal performance..."

"This..."

"Rest assured, I will oversee it!"

Only Naoki Nagayama would so confidently throw directing work to his subordinates, which was why he had cultivated two mainstays, Masataka Komori and Kyo Kijima; even Ito Shuichi Ido was like that in the early days.

After receiving the affirmation, Matsuo Munao Matsuo's confidence immediately increased greatly, and he began to arrange the crew's work.

And at this time, Naoki Nagayama pulled Ito Shuichi Ido and Kyo Kijima, who were watching the excitement, to the outside of the set.

"Ido-san, there's nothing much to see next, hurry up and get busy with your 'Squid Game'!" Naoki Nagayama said to Ito Shuichi Ido with slight disdain, "You said last time that TBS was willing to buy the broadcast rights, how is it now?"

"Ha, no problem at all!" Ito Shuichi Ido's expression relaxed, "I've already reached an agreement with the director of the production bureau, and it will be broadcast during the weekend prime time!"

Naoki Nagayama was somewhat surprised: "There isn't even a finished film yet? And they agreed? And it's in prime time?"

"Haha, this is all Kijima-kun's credit!" Ito Shuichi Ido laughed, "After 'Love Generation' became a huge hit, all the other TV stations saw Tree Friend's ability in TV drama production, and everyone couldn't wait to cooperate with Tree Friend!"

"It's all because Naoki-san's script is good!" Kyo Kijima waved his hands repeatedly, pushing the credit to Naoki Nagayama.

Naoki Nagayama looked at Kyo Kijima beside him and patted him on the shoulder:

"Kijima-kun, no need to be humble... your directing and editing skills are already good enough to graduate!"

"No, no, I still have a lot to learn from Naoki-san!"

Ito Shuichi Ido interjected:

"You two don't need to push the credit to each other, in short, it's the credit of all the crew members!"

"That's also true..."

The topic returned to "Squid Game," and Naoki Nagayama continued to ask:

"Ido-san, have you found the lead actor?"

"Not yet... I want to find an actor who is a bit of a rogue but pure-hearted to be the lead... I haven't found a suitable person for the time being. And the other characters all need to be found one by one!"

Ito Shuichi Ido was somewhat distressed; every time he wanted to find someone, it was very difficult... but Naoki Nagayama always found it very easy.

"Naoki-san finds it very easy to find famous actors..."

"That's because I'm not picky about actors..."

Naoki Nagayama's movies didn't have special requirements for the leads; except for Takeshi Kitano, the other actors were almost all found randomly. These actors would see their popularity soar after filming his movies.

This was also the reason why many actors wanted to appear in Naoki Nagayama's projects!

After thinking for a while, Naoki Nagayama suddenly said: "Actually... the character who selects the members... the guy who does the slapping, I think we can ask Tomokazu Miura to give it a try."

"Eh? Tomokazu Miura?"

Ito Shuichi Ido was even more surprised. This guy used to be a first-tier young actor, after all, he was the type who could cooperate with Momoe Yamaguchi. However, he succeeded because of Momoe Yamaguchi and failed because of Momoe Yamaguchi. After getting married, his status dropped by more than one level, and he could only play supporting roles.

"Mm... because the new house I moved into is very close to Tomokazu Miura and Momoe Yamaguchi, I've met them a few times... I think he is just right now."

The relationship between his girlfriend and Momoe Yamaguchi seemed to be getting closer and closer, and they often treated each other to meals. Naoki Nagayama had also eaten with Tomokazu Miura twice... and they naturally became familiar with each other.

Plus, Naoki Nagayama actually admired Tomokazu Miura quite a bit. After all, when he was at his most popular, knowing that marrying Momoe Yamaguchi would ruin his public image and greatly reduce his fame, he still married her without hesitation, and he hadn't cheated or divorced because of this for decades afterward...

From Naoki Nagayama's point of view, he was actually a very manly person with a sense of responsibility! From this point of view, the future traffic star Lu was also very responsible, having more courage than most guys in the entertainment industry.

"I see..." Ito Shuichi Ido didn't think too much and nodded directly, "Hai, I will invite him to audition!"

After all, it was just a supporting role. He had a strong presence at the beginning of the first season, but after that, he was almost invisible. It was just that he didn't know if Naoki-san would increase his scenes later.

After finishing with Ito Shuichi Ido, Naoki Nagayama turned to Kyo Kijima again:

"Kijima-kun, 'Love Generation' is over. As for what's next... although I haven't arranged a project for you, it doesn't mean your directing path should stop..."

"What does Naoki-san mean?"

"Currently, Masataka-kun is using 'Diary of the Sea' to cultivate newcomers..." Naoki Nagayama said, "Then Kijima-kun, you need to help Tree Friend expand its business..."

"Currently, Otomo-san's side has collected a lot of scripts... of varying quality."

"Kijima-kun, go and get in touch with those screenwriters, find excellent scripts... you can direct them yourself, or keep them for other newcomers..."

Tree Friend's movies almost all relied on Naoki Nagayama's scripts, and he had wanted to adjust this for a long time.

However, there weren't many junior directors before, and the only one who could direct alone was Ito Shuichi Ido, who couldn't digest it all, so they just barely muddled through.

But as a mature enterprise, one cannot rely too much on one person! So cultivating mainstay forces and expanding film projects is essential!

Kyo Kijima thought for a moment and nodded seriously:

"Naoki-san, I understand! I will find more scripts for Tree Friend!"

"Mm, I'll leave it to you!"

After arranging Ito Shuichi Ido and Kyo Kijima clearly, Naoki Nagayama returned to the set and watched Matsuo Munao Matsuo directing the crew members to film.

The movie "One Cut of the Dead" adopted the live-broadcast format of a long take, mainly because the person in charge of the TV station planned a zombie-themed series, which led to a series of hilarious accidents later on.

Now they were filming the cause and effect as well as the preparations beforehand...

Naoki Nagayama was very satisfied watching Matsuo Munao Matsuo's methodical appearance. In three more days, it could basically be finished... then use another week for editing...

In May, it would definitely be able to be released!

So, it was also time to increase the promotion!