Chapter 859: Why use US dollars to light a cigarette?? Because I'm rich!

After the weather got hotter and hotter, the cherry trees in Yamasakura-in became more lush, and the dense shade covered half of the courtyard. One could actually hear the sound of cicadas chirping endlessly on the treetops.

After noon, Naoki Nagayama, wearing a loose kimono, sat on the wooden floor of the eaves corridor again. A trace of coolness came from the floor, and it wasn't too cold, making one feel very comfortable.

Ying Taro and Miao Taro lying beside him must have thought so too!

Beside him was a bamboo tray soaked in water, filled with grapes and watermelon. It looked very mouth-watering, and the sound of ice cubes melting in the water came, making one feel a burst of coolness~

Leaning on the bamboo chair while reading a leisure book, Naoki Nagayama would occasionally pick up a grape and put it in his mouth, experiencing the sour, sweet, and icy taste, while sighing... this is what it means to enjoy life!

Not far away, an old-fashioned electric fan was placed, shaking its head with the sound of cicadas, and incidentally exhaling bursts of sighs, as if it couldn't bear to look at this house full of lazy guys...

Until the sound of the large iron gate opening automatically came...

"I'm home~"

Not long after, the sound of Akina Nakamori's footsteps was heard. She arrived in the living room and then rushed towards the eaves corridor.

"Naoki-san... you're actually here!"

Akina Nakamori put her hands on her hips, her face still carrying the heat from the outside, appearing flushed. After returning home, she saw her boyfriend actually sitting so leisurely on the eaves corridor to avoid the heat... This lazy look, and there were even iced fruits!

It was enough to make people jealous!

"Welcome home~" Naoki Nagayama greeted with a smile, still not standing up, but he held up the bamboo tray. "It's very hot outside, Akina, come and eat a slice of iced watermelon quickly!"

"......."

Looking at the bright red watermelon, Akina swallowed her saliva uncontrollably... The attitude of wanting to hold him accountable suddenly disappeared~

In the end, Akina Nakamori sat down beside him and ate happily... One bite, the icy and glutinous texture, sweet and refreshing to the heart...

"Why did Akina come back so early today?" Naoki Nagayama asked somewhat surprised.

"Because I'm going to record *Yoru no Hit Parade* tonight, so after the morning shooting task was completed, I can have a good rest in the afternoon."

Akina Nakamori finished eating a slice of watermelon with satisfaction and started tasting the grapes,

"Who knew I'd see Naoki-san slacking off here... Ugh... so sour!"

"After eating something sweet, eating something sour will make it even sourer!" Naoki Nagayama looked at his girlfriend who was squinting her eyes with amusement. "Besides, I'm not slacking off at home..."

As he spoke, he took out a sheet of music from beside the cushion:

"I've written the song!"

"Oh?"

Akina Nakamori took it curiously. Naoki Nagayama had started writing this song after moving into Yamasakura-in, and only finished it at this time...

She looked at the title of the song and read it silently: "*Uchiage Hanabi*... A summer song?"

Then she hummed along with the music score:

"......

Ano hi miwatashita nagisa wo (The shore I looked out at that day)

Ima mo omoidasunda (I still remember it even now)

Patto hikatte saita (The light burst into bloom)

Hanabi wo miteta (I was watching the fireworks)

"

Naoki Nagayama didn't know why he thought of this song when moving back to Yamasakura-in. He guessed it might be because he had been to the beach many times a while ago, and it was summer...

And Akina Nakamori beside him was looking at her boyfriend's song very seriously. She clearly felt a feeling very different from the current musical style, but without a doubt, it was a very excellent song.

"Naoki-san's songs always feel like they are ahead of this era!"

"Yeah, I'm always troubled by such things~" Naoki Nagayama laughed, stretched, and leaned back on the chair again. "So I can hide it in the drawer and take it out ten years later!"

"Isn't that too much of a pity!" Akina Nakamori disagreed somewhat. "It's clearly not a problem with the song! It's that the listeners aren't worthy of Naoki-san's music..."

"......." Naoki Nagayama patted his girlfriend's shoulder. "Akina-chan, never say that... the listeners are our bread and butter... if they find out, this year's record sales will be discounted!"

"We're at home anyway! No one will hear it!"

Akina Nakamori felt guilty after being told, but immediately recovered, looking righteous, and then picked up another slice of watermelon~

The electric fan beside them was still shaking its head, still looking like it couldn't bear to watch.

"Forget it~ let's eat grapes!"

Naoki Nagayama picked up another grape and put it in his mouth, then leaned back on the chair relaxedly, wanting to enjoy this leisurely afternoon with his girlfriend.

However, after a while, he only felt an itch on his face and felt a hot breath.

Opening his eyes, Akina was very close, using her hair to tickle his face... her eyes were shining~

"What are you doing?"

Naoki Nagayama subconsciously covered the collar of his loose kimono...

"Naoki-san..." Akina Nakamori moved closer, allowing Naoki Nagayama to see the fine sweat on her fair cheeks. "Let's go upstairs..."

"? This..."

Naoki Nagayama felt slightly surprised. They were already fed full last night, and now it was broad daylight... it was so hot, and they had just finished eating not long ago...

"Let's go to the recording studio and try recording it!" Akina Nakamori said. "Isn't this song a duet for two people?! And the recording studio hasn't been used yet!"

"....... Ah..... you mean this!" Naoki Nagayama breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a sense of loss...

"Otherwise?"

Akina Nakamori looked over in confusion, her eyes full of innocence... but after a second thought, she understood, and her face turned slightly red.

"Yie~~~ Naoki-san, why are you always thinking about H things!"

"......."

Naoki Nagayama couldn't save face, stood up, and kissed his girlfriend's fair cheek with lightning speed,

"Who told Akina to be so beautiful!!!"

"......."

In Tree Friend's shooting base in Ota Ward, the shooting of *Squid Game* was in full swing.

Shooting while editing, after the first three episodes were completed, they would be broadcast on TBS, which made Shuichi Yin Tang feel a bit more nervous.

"Please, let me go back!" "I don't want to participate anymore!" "This is murder!" "......"

In the large room where everyone lived, the remaining contestants gathered together, requesting the organizers not to continue playing this kind of game.

And the game's organizers demonstrated to the contestants the prize money that the final winner would receive, and then returned the decision-making power of whether to participate in the game to the contestants...

In the end, because of a one-vote difference, this "Squid Game" was temporarily closed.

"......." Xu Mudao looked at the set in the scene and sighed. "So much money placed in such a large glass ball... this kind of scene, sure enough, is only something Naoki-san could think of!"

Shuichi Yin Tang also looked up and laughed:

"Indeed, so much money is really too tempting!"

"Shuichi-san, do you think Naoki-san has ever taken out so much cash?" Xu Mudao asked curiously. "The kind that's piled up on the table... making people feel too rich just looking at it..."

"Of course he has!" Shuichi Yin Tang said with a smile. "When we were issuing year-end bonuses the year before last, we took the money and put it on the office desk. The three of us were filling envelopes little by little in the office..."

"Eh???"

"However, since last year, it hasn't happened anymore. There was too much cash, and we were afraid it wouldn't be safe... Now, the finance department takes it out in batches little by little, and then distributes it to the employees separately..." Shuichi Yin Tang sighed with some loss. "That feeling of having the desk piled up with Prince Shotoku bills... it really makes one miss it!"

Xu Mudao and the crew members who heard it on the side silently swallowed their saliva... This kind of scene, perhaps they wouldn't encounter it in their lifetime!

Perhaps intrigued by the banknotes overhead, Shuichi Yin Tang continued with great interest:

"Speaking of which, when Naoki-san was chatting with us, he talked about many ways to show off wealth with banknotes in movies..."

"Like using US dollars to light a cigarette... lifting banknotes with a forklift and scattering them on people's heads... taking a bath with banknotes in a bathtub... piling them into a mountain of banknotes and then burning them with a fire..."

"Why use US dollars to light a cigarette?"

"Because I'm rich!"

Xu Mudao and the others were stunned. Sure enough, the games of the rich were something they couldn't understand!

Looking up at the banknotes in the large glass ball overhead, Xu Mudao really wanted to smash it and experience the scene of banknotes falling like rain...

"Kijima-kun, and Kongming Sakata, Guangming Xiaoyuan... don't look anymore!" Shuichi Yin Tang shook his head. "Those are fake banknotes inside!

You can't experience that feeling without real banknotes!!!"

"......."

At this time, the somewhat dazed Xu Mudao asked an unexpected question:

"Shuichi-san... wouldn't it be against the law to light a cigarette with banknotes? Can the footage be shown?"

"That's why he burned US dollars! Not yen!" Shuichi Yin Tang actually answered. "Naoki-san even specifically told me about this point... Kijima-kun, you really have the potential of a famous director... not breaking the law, and being able to be shown... this is a place that only a senior director would notice!"

The other two heard this, and their eyes looking at Xu Mudao were full of admiration!

After the intermission ended, the shooting work of *Squid Game* had to continue, but this time it was to be shot outside, because the shots were a bit scattered, but they all had to be in the city of Tokyo.

The contestants returned to the city, returned to their original lives...

However, the contestants selected by *Squid Game* were all losers, marginalized people, and people with nowhere to go in reality... After returning to their respective lives, their predicament was not solved, but instead became more and more intense.

As the protagonist, Yutaka Nanjo was the same. Owing money, he was threatened by a debt collection company to have his kidneys cut out and organs sold... he had to flee everywhere, and even his only daughter couldn't meet him.

With nowhere to go, the banknotes filling the large glass ball overhead in that room appeared in his mind again.

"As long as I win the game..." "As long as I achieve victory..." "As long as I get that money..."

"Then my life would definitely be different, right!"

His trembling hand reached into his pocket and took out the invitation card for *Squid Game* again... the phone number on it was still clearly visible...

Otomo Yoshimura, who was in the studio, took one last look at the empty office.

In these few days, all his things had been packed up and sent to the new headquarters in Ikebukuro.

"Ah... I can't forget this chair!"

Otomo Yoshimura saw the ergonomic chair that Naoki Nagayama had given him. This was a token of his good friend's heart!

Although the new office at the headquarters had already been equipped with an expensive boss chair for his office, and although that leather chair looked very atmospheric and high-end, and felt very soft to sit on...

But there was no support for the waist, and it felt empty... the back of the chair couldn't be reclined to lie down... couldn't relax...

So although this chair looked strange, it was really good for the waist!

He was at this age, so he naturally had to take good care of his waist...

"Riko-chan!" Otomo Yoshimura, who walked out of the office, found Riko Hayano and instructed her, "The chair in my office must be taken to the new headquarters!"

"Uh..."

Riko Hayano still wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Otomo Yoshimura.

"Riko-chan, that's a gift Naoki-san gave me... it has great commemorative significance!"

"......"

Alright~ what else could Riko Hayano say~

She let her assistant, Kie Ochiai, handle the matter of this chair, and then followed Otomo Yoshimura into the car to Ikebukuro.

"Otomo-san, currently most of the assets have been moved to the new headquarters, and the moving workers have placed them according to the marked positions. In the next two days, employees will go to the new headquarters to organize their personal belongings.

Work will be suspended for the whole day on June 20th to let everyone organize and adapt to the new company, and then the relocation ceremony will be officially held on June 22nd..."

Otomo Yoshimura nodded. When he walked through the studio just now, he only saw the empty large open space; the desks and even the office chairs had been moved over.

In the studio, almost only the two little sisters at the front desk were busy... packing up the final facade.

"Have other companies been notified? How is the receipt situation?"

"Hai, all companies we have cooperated with have been notified, and most of them will send flower baskets..." Riko Hayano paused. "There are a few with good relationships that sent wreaths... according to Otomo-san's wishes, the wreaths will be placed inside the company..."

"Hmm... Naoki-san's quirks... just listen to him. It's for the company's good luck anyway~"

"Hai!"

Since the big boss agreed, Riko Hayano naturally wouldn't object.

"For the ceremony on that day, the invited guests have also replied that they will come... including Department Manager Morikawa from Kadokawa, Yoshimoto Kogyo's..."

Riko Hayano mentioned the industry guests invited to witness, including film companies with competitive relationships and representatives from other agencies, etc... Otomo Yoshimura just listened and didn't say much.

This was standard operation in Nihon culture; it's all about face, everyone is happy, everyone is good~

"Then... let's look forward to the relocation ceremony that day!"

Otomo Yoshimura said,

"By that day, the Tree Friend Group will have entered a new stage!"

"Hai!"

Riko Hayano's face was full of pride. Under the lifetime employment system, the company was another home for employees. The continuous growth of Tree Friend naturally made her, as a member, very happy.

What's more, as a veteran employee, she was already the section chief of the General Affairs Section, and maybe she could even be a department manager of the General Affairs Department in the future! ===== CHAPTER 860 =====