Chapter 857

Entering the second half of June, the employees of Tree Friend, except for those currently filming dramas or movies, were all excited about one thing.

That is, Tree Friend is about to move into its new headquarters in Ikebukuro!

Moving a company is naturally different from Naoki Nagayama's own move. According to the moving plan, the first step is to pack up all fixed assets, label them, and then transport them all together~

"Naoki-san! Otomo-san..." Riko Hayano walked into the office in a bit of a rush, "You need to pack up your office items too!"

"Ah, do I have to as well?"

Naoki Nagayama looked at his clean desk, feeling a bit surprised. Logically speaking, his workstation, which didn't even have a permanent water cup, belonged to a worker who hadn't been at the company long and was ready to run at any moment.

"Then Naoki-san, please help Shuichi-san pack up!"

Riko Hayano glanced over. Although Shuichi Ido's desk didn't have many things either, at least he had a teacup and some folders.

"... Alright then~"

Shuichi Ido was currently in Ota Ward filming "Squid Game" and didn't have time to come to the studio.

However, was Riko Hayano getting a bit carried away, actually ordering the boss around?!

"Chotto matte... Riko-chan, you..."

Just as he was about to reprimand her, Riko Hayano had already hurried away. As the general manager of the move, she had so much to deal with—supplies, transportation, moving, and even hygiene issues—that she wished she could learn the art of cloning...

Otomo Yoshimura was slowly organizing his office items and said with a smile:

"Naoki-san, don't provoke Riko-chan right now... she's as irritable as a balloon, ready to explode at the slightest touch!"

"Is she really that busy?"

"Yes... that's how the General Affairs Department is~"

After hearing Otomo Yoshimura's explanation, Naoki Nagayama no longer had the heart to pursue Riko Hayano's behavior and instead helped Otomo Yoshimura organize the thick pile of documents on his desk.

"Otomo-san... after Tree Friend moves, we should hold a celebration, right?"

Otomo Yoshimura nodded:

"That goes without saying... but this moving celebration will be held directly in the large conference room... there won't be any banquet or anything like that, mainly just a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then our leadership team will give some speeches..."

"And also welcoming congratulations from other companies..."

"Please, by all means, don't put funeral wreaths at the main entrance!" Naoki Nagayama said with a serious expression, "It feels like a funeral parlor!"

"... That's a Chinese custom..." Otomo Yoshimura glanced at him, confused, "Naoki-san, you're a genuine Japanese person, what's there to be superstitious about?"

Naoki Nagayama insisted:

"In any case... just change it to flower baskets!"

"... Alright then~"

It wasn't a big deal anyway. Otomo Yoshimura nodded; at worst, he'd just put the wreaths inside the office!

"By the way, Naoki-san, when is your housewarming party?"

"Didn't I say, this weekend!"

"How does the new home at Sanyingyuan feel?"

"It's a bit big, feels a little empty... but the bar counter and such are quite interesting!"

"With such a big house, have you considered hiring a servant?" Otomo Yoshimura continued.

"Housekeeper? We have one!"

"No, I mean a live-in servant."

Actually, Otomo Yoshimura meant a live-in nanny. In this era, some wealthy families still kept the custom of having servants, and those noble families even had servant families that had been passed down for generations...

"Hmm... Akina and I don't like having other people in the house~"

Naoki Nagayama politely declined. Home is a private place; hiring a housekeeper for regular cleaning is fine, but having someone suddenly living under the same roof was something neither of them could accept.

The two chatted while organizing things, while outside the office, other Tree Friend employees were also packing their personal items. It looked as if the whole company was about to go bankrupt~

Tree Friend Film is moving, but apart from related companies, this news didn't cause any ripples in the media.

It had been almost a month since Naoki Nagayama won the Palme d'Or. The Tokyo International Film Festival was only quietly preparing, and the outside world's attention on Naoki Nagayama was slowly fading.

The hottest topic in the entertainment industry right now is Seiko Matsuda's grand wedding.

As a pillar of the idol world, Seiko Matsuda's wedding is considered another major event in the idol world since Momoe Yamaguchi's grand wedding.

The wedding venue, wedding time, wedding style... including the type of wedding cars, were all being discussed at length in the newspapers.

Wedding invitations have even become the opening line for greetings among people in the entertainment industry:

"Have you received the invitation?"

"Of course!"

Akina Nakamori said as much. She was in the lounge trying to drape a veil over her face, then put it down. Sure enough, it looked better without it.

Kyoko Koizumi, who was nearby, didn't give up:

"Then will Akina-chan be going?"

"I will."

"With Naoki Nagayama?"

"Mm~"

Akina Nakamori casually echoed Kyoko Koizumi's question. As rare friends in the industry, Kyoko Koizumi and Akina Nakamori were going to participate in an idol variety show together today.

Of course, singing was an indispensable part. Akina Nakamori was going to promote her new album "SANDBEIGE - Desert".

"I'm really envious... Akina-chan and Naoki-san can date so openly!" Kyoko Koizumi sighed.

"Isn't Kyoko-chan getting very close to that guy from the Checkers band?" Akina Nakamori teased her friend, "How come... haven't you confessed yet?"

"Hmm..."

Kyoko Koizumi hesitated. Currently, she had some ambiguity with both Toshihiko Tahara and Fumiya Fujii, and she couldn't choose which one.

"Akina-chan, Toshi-chan and Fumiya... which one do you think is better?"

Akina Nakamori pushed Kyoko Koizumi's face, which had leaned in, to the side. Her friend was carefree and good in every way, but she was a bit promiscuous... and would vent her anger after a relationship ended.

"I won't say... otherwise you'll blame me if you break up later!"

"Eh? I promise I won't this time!" Kyoko Koizumi acted spoiled, "It was just too heartbreaking before~"

"I don't believe it!" Akina Nakamori pushed her friend's head away, looked at her stage outfit in the mirror, and nodded with satisfaction, "Let's go, the recording is about to start!"

"..."

After walking to the studio, one could see that most of the famous idols in the industry were basically here.

Even Toshihiko Tahara, whom Kyoko Koizumi had just mentioned, was chatting among a group of male idols. A group of Johnny's artists were gathered together, but on the periphery, there was also Masahiko Kondo with a gloomy expression.

This guy had already become a second-tier idol. Whether it was exposure or record sales, he was relying on his original batch of die-hard fans. If it weren't for the support of Mary Kitagawa... Toshihiko Tahara would have already surpassed him.

"Akina-chan!"

Toshihiko Tahara and Akina Nakamori had a decent relationship. His eyes lit up when he saw her Middle Eastern-style stage outfit.

"The outfit is very novel! Very eye-catching!"

"Mm, this time it has a bit of a desert style..."

"Exotic style, Akina-chan is really fashionable!"

"Haha~"

Akina Nakamori laughed and chatted with him for a few sentences, then walked to the female idol area, waiting for the recording to start.

"..."

Tsuki yori mabushii kore mo ai na no? (Dazzling more than the moon, is this also love?)

Hoshikuzu watashi o dakishimete ite ne (Stardust, please hold me~)

Ana-wi-zu-a-ro-ho SANDBEIGE (I'm going to that silver desert)

..."

Akina Nakamori, with her skin darkened and wearing an exotic outfit, sang this song full of emotion on a stage made to look like a desert~

Her swaying dance moves were like a passionate desert girl inviting her beloved to meet.

Everyone in the studio was immersed in this exotic style. Akina's mature vibrato and deep, powerful singing voice seemed to declare that she was undoubtedly at the pinnacle of female idols.

Watching Akina Nakamori conquer the audience with ease, everyone silently sighed in their hearts. Sure enough, after Seiko Matsuda got married and retired, the idol world had become Akina Nakamori's world alone!

The song ended, and applause erupted from the scene. Akina also bowed humbly in return... Now she had changed from a queen back into that slightly shy idol.

During the recording break, Masahiko Kondo watched the scene where Akina Nakamori was popular, his eyes flickering.

Currently, his fame had undoubtedly begun to decline rapidly. This is the fate of most idols, and besides, his professional ability wasn't good either... He was just barely maintaining his current level by fawning over Mary Kitagawa...

And the only way to perhaps reverse this trend... maybe stir up a scandal with the most popular female idol?

Now Akina Nakamori basically didn't appear on other variety shows, and Masahiko Kondo couldn't get on charts like "The Best Ten"...

Watching Akina Nakamori in the center of the crowd, Masahiko Kondo moved his steps slightly, wanting to go up and say a few words...

"Kondo!"

Just at this moment, Toshihiko Tahara called out to him, draping his arm around his neck in a somewhat sloppy manner:

"Are you going to find Akina Nakamori?"

"None of your business!" Masahiko Kondo growled, "Get lost!"

"That won't do~" Toshihiko Tahara shook his head and whispered with a low laugh, "Naoki-san is my good friend... he instructed me to keep you ten meters away from Akina-chan!"

"Naoki Nagayama..." Masahiko Kondo was stunned.

"Speaking of which, how exactly did you offend Naoki-san... he's always been very gentle with people~"

Toshihiko Tahara was curious. Naoki Nagayama had said at a private gathering before not to let scum like Kondo get too close to his girlfriend.

"... How would I know!" Masahiko Kondo wanted to shake off Toshihiko Tahara, but his shoulder was held down.

"Don't struggle! Naoki-san also instructed the three members of Shonentai..." Toshihiko Tahara pointed to the three people looking over not far away, "They are very grateful to Naoki-san because of 'Music Station'!"

"You guys... we're in the same agency!"

"Hehehe, just people in the same quagmire~" Toshihiko Tahara hooked Masahiko Kondo out of the studio, "Let's go have a smoke! Don't bother Akina-chan!"

Akina Nakamori, on the other side, was completely unaware of what had happened and was still chatting happily with Yukiko Okada.

"How is Yukiko-chan doing lately?" Akina Nakamori hadn't seen Yukiko Okada for a long time.

"Work... non-stop work..." Yukiko Okada looked a bit exhausted, "After Seiko-senpai gets married, I have even more work!"

Previously, the Sunny agency's main focus was still on Seiko Matsuda, but now that their cash cow had left, they were naturally eager to cultivate the next one.

"Mm, the first two years after debut are like that~"

Akina Nakamori felt the same way. In the first year after her debut, she was almost working around the clock every day. During that time, the pressure of work made her emotions very unstable... If it weren't for the support of Naoki-san, she might have done something outrageous!

"Yukiko-chan... the most important thing is to find a pillar in your heart!" Akina Nakamori instructed, "Whether it's a dream, support from family, hobbies... or, love..."

Yukiko Okada looked at this senior who stood at the pinnacle of the idol world with some surprise. Seeing Akina Nakamori's serious eyes, she subconsciously averted her gaze.

"Love?"

"Mm, in short, you must first find such a pillar!! With such a pillar, you can get through the time when you first start..."

"Will it be better after that?" Yukiko Okada whispered.

"After that..." Akina Nakamori sighed, "You just get used to it!"

"..."

I just feel like Akina-chan isn't very good at talking...

However, after listening to Akina Nakamori's words, Yukiko Okada began to recall the scenes after her debut...

Especially the promise from her own president...

Is that love?

Or is it just treating me as a cash cow?!

In the afternoon, Naoki Nagayama still came to Ota Ward.

After all, it was far ahead of the era, and he was worried about the filming of "Squid Game".

"One, two, three... Red Light, Green Light!!!"

The giant robot girl statue emitted a hair-raising sound, then its head suddenly rotated 180 degrees, and the eyes of the high-definition camera quickly locked onto the contestants who were still moving.

Then, the machine guns on both sides of the field began to strafe... Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat~

Naoki Nagayama watched the filming process in the scene and shook his head...

"Naoki-san? What's wrong?"

Shuichi Ido had naturally seen Naoki Nagayama long ago. Seeing him shake his head, he couldn't help but walk over to ask.

"These guys, they definitely haven't been strafed by machine guns!" Naoki Nagayama sighed at some of the extras, "How can anyone struggle after being strafed by machine guns?"

"?"

"That guy crawling while vomiting blood..." Naoki Nagayama pointed to someone in a pool of blood, "Is he still thinking about when to die?!"

"???"

"Shuichi-san..." Naoki Nagayama said, "Train the extras first... otherwise it's too distracting!"

This was the first time they were firing guns. Even if the leads performed well later, it wouldn't make up for the other actors being distracting!

Shuichi Ido nodded, gave instructions to the prop master, and then found the executive director, telling him to continue training the extras... If you're hit, just die properly!

"Isn't Naoki-san moving house today?" Shuichi Ido asked, "How do you have time to come over?"

"I've already packed all your things for you... there's really nothing to do at the studio." Naoki Nagayama said, "So I came over to take a look..."

In reality, ever since the Palme d'Or incident, Naoki Nagayama had fallen into a situation where it seemed like there were many things to do, but very few things he could intervene in.

The Tokyo International Film Festival was being prepared in an orderly manner; he didn't need to worry about moving and housewarming; even if he went abroad to participate in concerts, that would take a month...

Now there was a feeling of calm before the storm... so he might as well come over to harass Shuichi Ido!

"Speaking of which... 'Squid Game', I only realized it was difficult when I started filming!" Shuichi Ido pointed to the script in his hand, "Like this high-speed dynamic capture camera... I've never even heard of it, is it something you imagined?"

"Of course not, this is military technology..." Naoki Nagayama said confidently, "At least decades ahead of civilian use, that's why you don't know about it, Shuichi-san!"

"........ Then how do you know about it?"

Naoki Nagayama waved his hand: "That's not important! In any case, this technology definitely exists!"

"Then what about this kind of high-speed firing machine gun? And it's automatically tracking?" Shuichi Ido was puzzled.

"This kind is even more common, anti-missile close-in weapon systems on warships..."

"..." Shuichi Ido was silent for a moment, "Japan doesn't have an army now!"

"...... Isn't there the Self-Defense Forces?"

"That's a bunch of useless things..."

"Alright~"

Naoki Nagayama changed the subject and continued talking about the filming of the "Red Light, Green Light" game in "Squid Game":

"Shuichi-san... in the first game, you must show the cruelty of the game... when the time comes, let the extras who were shot dead pile up their bodies at the entrance..."

"....... Naoki-san, you're so perverted!"

"This is filming!"