Chapter 858: What does it mean to feel right at home!!

The area of the new Yamasakura-in had expanded to three times its previous size, so the scale of the housewarming party naturally had to be expanded accordingly.

Naoki Nagayama and Akina Nakamori invited friends from their respective social circles, colleagues from their companies, and so on, and the format was changed to a Western-style party~

With so many people this time, they naturally couldn't prepare everything themselves, so they directly hired people from an event support company.

Now, the entire Yamasakura-in was filled with flowers, the indoor walls were adorned with various ribbons, balloons, and festive decorations, and the scent of baking and grilling wafted from the kitchen...

"Nii-chan, Yamasakura-in really looks like those Western-style mansions in Taito Ward!"

Nagayama Hezi had naturally been invited, and she and Miho Nakamori had arrived relatively early... Akina's younger sister had graduated from high school this year and was preparing to come to Tokyo to find work...

At this moment, Nagayama Hezi was touring the new Yamasakura-in with Miho Nakamori.

"It was renovated with reference to the style of the Old Furukawa Gardens," Naoki Nagayama said. "Although it's slightly smaller than that, it's not far off."

"How extravagant~"

Nagayama Hezi clicked her tongue in wonder. One had to know that in the past, those who lived in Western-style mansions in Nihon were either financial magnates or powerful dignitaries; now, her older brother was actually living in one too.

Hearing Nagayama Hezi's words, Naoki Nagayama only felt she was making a fuss over nothing... Hadn't Nagayama Hezi been to his Red Fish Garden in Kyoto? That was what one called extravagant!

"Naoki-san, President Hanami is here..." Akina Nakamori called out to her boyfriend in the living room.

"Hai~" Naoki Nagayama prepared to go over to greet him, saying to his younger sister, "There's karaoke and a pool table in the entertainment room on the right... However, no drinking!"

"What's that about? I'm already an adult!" Nagayama Hezi said dismissively. She was born in the same year as Akina Nakamori and was only two months away from her birthday, but she could already be considered 20 years old!

"I'm not yet..." Miho Nakamori said with a mournful face on the side~

"Daijoubu, we're drinking at home anyway!"

The two girls whispered to each other and then went to the bar in the entertainment room to tinker around.

Naoki Nagayama and Akina Nakamori had no time to pay attention to their younger sisters. As time drew near, guests arrived one after another, and the two of them welcomed them in the living room at the main entrance.

"Naoki-san, Akina-chan!"

The guests arriving in this wave were all from Akina's side. Akira Hanami had come with Akira Terabayashi, along with Yoshiaki Tanaka and the familiar manager Fusano Akisaka and the young assistant Maki Ueda.

There were friends from the entertainment industry like Kyoko Koizumi, but it wasn't convenient to invite them over today~

"Yamasakura-in has really changed a lot!" Akira Hanami couldn't help but exclaim. "This space..."

"It has a very Meiji Restoration-era architectural style~" Akira Terabayashi observed the style of the building and sighed. "The fusion of Eastern and Western culture... it has a certain impact!"

"Hahaha, this is a new era, after all~"

Naoki Nagayama didn't mind this eclectic style; perhaps in a few decades, this would be the style of the Bubble Era!

After welcoming everyone in, Akina led them on a tour of the entire new Yamasakura-in. When passing by the display area, the various awards the two had won were displayed in two cabinets, leaving people in awe.

"Akina-chan... in a few more years, the awards you and Naoki-san have won could fill an exhibition hall!" Akira Hanami said with a smile.

Akina Nakamori and Naoki Nagayama were both darlings of the entertainment industry, figures under the spotlight, and in the past two years, they had been moving awards into their home one after another.

"It's Naoki-san's awards that could fill an exhibition hall..."

Akina Nakamori felt a bit embarrassed. Although there were many awards in her own display cabinet, it was Naoki Nagayama's display cabinet that held all the heavy-hitting trophies.

The Naoki Prize, Blue Ribbon Best Film, Best Director, Japan Academy Film Prize Best Film, Best Director... and the Palme d'Or...

Each and every one of them is an honor that ordinary people can only view from afar, but never touch!

Looking at these, even Akira Hanami and Akira Terabayashi had to admit that their own Akina Nakamori was indeed lacking in comparison.

Akira Terabayashi looked at the various trophies and suddenly turned to Akina Nakamori and said:

"Akina-chan, if you can win the Japan Record Awards this year, it would count as a heavyweight honor!"

"The Japan Record Awards?" Akira Hanami pushed up his glasses and nodded. "Indeed..."

Akina Nakamori was somewhat tempted. She had confidence in her ability to win, but she was also a bit worried:

"But... aren't the Japan Record Awards always awarded to Enka? If it's pop songs..."

The Japan Record Awards were hailed as the most authoritative awards in the Nihon music industry, and they had indeed always favored Enka; no pop singer had ever won the grand prize.

"Daijoubu!" Akira Terabayashi said confidently. "Even the old fogies need to see the trend of the times clearly! The current music industry is already the world of pop music!"

Pop, rock, R&B, dance music, rap... all kinds of music were blooming, and although Enka had the blessing of traditional culture, it had already begun to decline in this rapidly developing era!

Akira Hanami also agreed:

"Plus Akina-chan's popularity... if the Japan Record Awards don't accept change, then we will change the Japan Record Awards!"

By then, if the most popular and best-selling song records didn't participate in the Japan Record Awards selection, then the authority of this selection would be greatly discounted, and in the end, it would just be self-entertainment!

While Akina Nakamori and the people from Burning Productions were discussing the destination of this year's Japan Record Awards, Naoki Nagayama also welcomed his first wave of guests...

"Naoki-san! I'm here!" Genta Nakai arrived at Yamasakura-in with Suzumi Hoshino and his son Shota.

"Nakai-san, Suzumi-chan!" Naoki Nagayama happily welcomed them in and then greeted the energetic Shota Nakai. "Shota~ do you still recognize me?"

The little guy gave him no face and turned his head in the other direction... "I don't recognize you!"

"Haha, how... cute!" Naoki Nagayama could only save face for himself.

"Hahaha~" Genta Nakai and Suzumi Hoshino both laughed.

Neither of them was visiting Yamasakura-in for the first time, and they weren't too restrained, so they went straight to wander around the courtyard...

Just at this moment, Naoki Nagayama saw the cars of Otomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Yin Tang... The two of them had also come!

"Otomo-san, Shuichi-san... why did you come together?"

Otomo Yoshimura said: "I was tidying up at the studio and ran into Shuichi-san."

Shuichi Yin Tang interjected: "I was assigned a task in Ota Ward and then rushed back... I also picked up Regarding Jia Yi-chan and her mother..."

As he spoke, the bouncing Regarding Jia Yi Yin Tang got out of the car:

"Naoki Nii-chan! I'm here! Congratulations on moving to your new home!"

"Many thanks, Regarding Jia Yi-chan!" Naoki Nagayama greeted her with a smile. "However, I don't think this counts as moving; at most, it's a redecoration!"

"It's about the same, it all feels new..." Regarding Jia Yi Yin Tang turned her head to look, and then asked, "Naoki Nii-chan, where are Ying Taro and Miao Taro?"

"Uh..."

Being asked like that, Naoki Nagayama realized he really hadn't seen this cat and dog for quite a while.

"They should be over by the cherry blossom tree..."

"Then I'll go play with them!" Regarding Jia Yi Yin Tang bounced away.

The remaining adults started chatting. Naoki Nagayama saw Otomo Yoshimura arrive alone and was somewhat surprised:

"Otomo-san, didn't Yuxue-san and Jingxin-kun come?"

"Sigh~~~" Otomo Yoshimura sighed. "This guy Jingxin is becoming more and more reclusive... He doesn't want to come out, saying he doesn't know anyone and it's meaningless..."

"......"

When Jingxin Yoshimura was in junior high, his family underwent a massive change; his father suddenly became a billionaire, which could be said to be a massive leap in social class...

To a child like Regarding Jia Yi Yin Tang whose worldview hadn't been established, this meant nothing, at most just more pocket money. To an adult, it was a completely happy event, just more money and a better life.

However, for a teenager like Jingxin Yoshimura whose worldview had been initially established but not yet mature, suddenly living the life of a rich person, far away from the simple life of the countryside, and seeing the prosperity of Tokyo... it was normal to be unable to accept it for a while.

Especially after coming to Tokyo to study, his classmates were far superior to Jingxin Yoshimura from the countryside in terms of dress, conversation, and knowledge, making him feel out of place... he might even feel inferior...

In a school environment like Nihon, being bullied was also possible~

"Otomo-san..." Naoki Nagayama didn't know how to advise him. "Care more about Jingxin-kun... find a hobby he likes, support him in delving into it, and build confidence in the field he likes... that is the best way."

"Hmm..."

Otomo Yoshimura sighed. In terms of father-son relationships, Nihon was much the same as other Eastern cultures...

But this was someone else's family business after all, and it wasn't convenient for Naoki Nagayama to say too much, so he used the excuse of taking everyone on a tour to change the subject.

"My new renovation mainly lies in the entertainment room... besides a private bar, there's also karaoke and other entertainment facilities!"

He led the group to the entertainment room...

And then he found his younger sister's face flushed red, already belting out songs with Miho Nakamori at the karaoke, singing at the top of their lungs, very uninhibited... seeing the two colorful drinks on their seats...

"You two... actually mixed cocktails yourselves to drink?!"

Naoki Nagayama picked up a glass and smelled it; it was clearly randomly mixed spirits. One glass of this, and even with his alcohol tolerance, his face would turn red!

"Yeah! I peeked at the bartender's mixing technique!" Nagayama Hezi said brazenly. "It's very simple!"

"....... How did you mix it?" Naoki Nagayama was helpless.

"Just put all kinds of colored liquor together, like a palette, and mix out the colors you like!" Nagayama Hezi said with conviction. "So if there's a little less blue, add more blue; if there's less brown, add more brown. If the color is too dark, add a little colorless!"

So... tequila, brandy, whiskey, vodka... you didn't miss a single one!

What kind of concoction did you mix up...

Naoki Nagayama looked at the already somewhat excited Nagayama Hezi and Miho, then looked at the few people beside him trying to hold back their laughter, and shook his head:

"You two... really are reckless!"

"Not at all..."

In this situation, Naoki Nagayama didn't stop the two from drinking directly; after all, they had already drunk what they were going to drink... He stood behind the bar and said to the others:

"Forget it, if you want to drink, you should drink something good... I'll mix a few good cocktails for you... Otomo-san, Shuichi-san, Nakai-san, do you want some? Regarding Jia Yi-san and Suzumi-chan can also order!"

"Then we won't be polite!" "Hahaha, I want a Mojito!" "Bloody Mary!" "......"

Alcohol was a catalyst for atmosphere. Once a few drinks were down, the conversation became heated, and even people started singing karaoke...

Attracting Akina Nakamori and the few from Burning Productions over~

After the later arrivals Naoya Sakata, Kokai Ishida, and Kaede Nagayama joined, the atmosphere in the entertainment room on the right was just like in a bar. Later, Masataka Komori and Xu Mudao also came, as well as Masaki Kobayashi from the industry and other friends...

For this gathering, Naoki Nagayama no longer had the burden of being a chef, but instead took on the role of bartender, responsible for mixing drinks for the guests, sometimes moonlighting as a pianist, and the children also had mixed fruit sodas to drink~

With a dedicated place for entertainment, the housewarming party could finally be considered a banquet.

Lunch was prepared by a chef specifically invited to the house, and the spacious kitchen could accommodate three chefs to show off their skills.

The huge dining table in the dining room was enough to seat over a dozen people to eat at the same time, and the dishes were as if they were being eaten in a high-end restaurant.

"Minasan... thank you all for coming to our housewarming banquet..."

Naoki Nagayama raised his glass to toast everyone. Those who came to participate in this gathering could be said to be Naoki Nagayama's closest friends and family. If there were to be an interest group in the future, these people would definitely be the core backbone.

"Thanks for the hospitality~" "Many thanks, Naoki-san..." "When is Naoki-san getting married~" "......"

Everyone was also talking in a relaxed manner, and the entire dining room was filled with joy.

After lunch, everyone gathered in twos and threes according to their usual social habits, either smoking or drinking tea. The somewhat sleepy Shota Nakai, Regarding Jia Yi Yin Tang, and Akina Nakamori found two guest rooms for them to rest for a while.

The current Yamasakura-in had three or four guest rooms, which was definitely enough for people to rest!

And Naoki Nagayama was wandering among the various groups, trying hard to ensure that no one felt left out...

"Naoki-san... how is the preparation for the Tokyo International Film Festival going?" Masaki Kobayashi and Masahiro Shinoda asked about this matter that the film industry cared about most.

Otomo Yoshimura helped respond:

"The list for the film festival's organizing committee is basically about to come out... besides Tree Friend and Kadokawa, Toho, Toei, Shochiku, and Nikkatsu have all participated... there are also people from government departments, the Film Journalists Association, the Film Enthusiasts Association, people from film theater chains, and well-known film critics..."

"We plan to hold a collective meeting in July to discuss the specific preparation matters..."

Masaki Kobayashi frowned, somewhat worried: "Then you Tree Friend should have heard, right? Toei is connecting with others, including people from government departments... wanting to seize power in the organizing committee!"

Naoki Nagayama nodded:

"Ah, you mean the matter of the organizer, right..."

"Hmm, 'Only vessels and names should not be lent to others; they are what the ruler manages'..." Masaki Kobayashi had done a lot of research on Eastern culture and blurted out a quote from the *Zuo Zhuan*. "Naoki-san, if the organizer is given to Toei, then everything about the Tokyo International Film Festival will be Toei's credit!"

"We naturally know this."

Naoki Nagayama smiled.

"Leaving Toei's people to act is, on one hand, to borrow the resources of the old-fashioned film studios, invite people from all sides, and leverage resources... on the other hand, it is also convenient for Toei to dismiss everyone else who has ideas~"

"Then Naoki-san, aren't you worried?" Masahiro Shinoda was somewhat surprised. "Could it be that Tree Friend has a trump card?!"

"Hahaha, of course I do..." Naoki Nagayama said. "But it wouldn't be interesting if I said it out loud. Masaki-san, Masahiro-san... when the first meeting is held, you must be there together!"

"You guy, you want to announce it at that time!" Masaki Kobayashi laughed. "To surprise everyone?"

"That's exactly it!"

"Hahahaha~" Masaki Kobayashi laughed. "Then I can't miss it!"

After chatting with the people in the film circle, Naoki Nagayama ran to Genta Nakai's investment circle. Kaede Nagayama was actually here too, listening to Genta Nakai talk about the recent international financial situation.

"Kaede Nii-san, why are you interested in this too?"

"Nothing... I've met many rich people at KTV recently... they always talk about these things when they chat..." Kaede Nagayama took a sip of wine. "Sure enough, people who really make money are making money all over the world!"

"Hmm, don't put all your funds in one basket..."

Naoki Nagayama inserted himself into the topic without any restraint, talking about the huge changes in the financial market that were about to happen recently.

"In short... the United States wants funds to stimulate its domestic economy, and Nihon is now, it can be said, a lamb that has already grown fat... so... the G7 will definitely find ways to harvest Nihon's capital!"

"We'll see the real results in the next few months!"

"For a period of time recently, maintaining cash flow is the best way for us... the yen will definitely appreciate..."

"It's certain that Nihon's product competitiveness overseas will weaken... the United States won't allow Nihon's goods to be dumped!"

"If you want to buy land now, it should count as the last opportunity; the potential for appreciation in the next few years is very large..."

"......."

Sure enough, when men chat, it's either about making money or doing business...

And as the hostess, Akina Nakamori was drinking tea with the female guests who came over, chatting about music, family, and gossip... The tradition for women in this era was still to manage the household, and chatting about business was a bit out of place.

However, Akina Nakamori was a top idol after all, and the various information she could see was more than that of ordinary people, so she was mostly the one leading the chat.

"Seiko-san's flash marriage must have some thoughts of revenge against Hiromi Go!" Akina Nakamori said. "But Masaki Kanda is also a very handsome husband..."

"Then was Seiko-san cheating on two boats first?"

"Probably not..." Akina Nakamori recalled her past memories. "At the Kohaku Uta Gassen, Seiko-san and Hiromi Go-san were getting along very well! They were a joint performance..."

"Is that so..." Several female guests let out surprised exclamations.

Talking about recent music, Akina Nakamori also led people to the recording studio and dance studio on the second floor... Besides touring, they also tried recording simple tapes themselves, etc.

The host couple Naoki Nagayama and Akina Nakamori entertained the visiting guests like this, letting everyone experience what it meant to feel right at home, and everyone was very happy!

Until the sunset began to set, cars drove out of the main gate of Yamasakura-in one after another~

As for the cleaning and the organization of the decorations, these were naturally handled quickly by the people from the event support company... ===== CHAPTER 859 =====