Chapter 941: I

When I opened my eyes again, it was already November.

Naoki Nagayama only felt that this October had passed very quickly, yet many things had happened:

For example, the Tokyo International Film Festival was held in the first half of the month, then suddenly learning that his girlfriend was pregnant in the second half, followed by notifying the family to prepare for the wedding...

During this period, the production and filming of a new movie also began...

The Tree Friends' "101st Proposal" was also officially released during this time...

Oh, right, and the investments made in the U. S. foreign exchange market after the signing of the "Plaza Accord"...

One thing after another seemed to converge in October, making one feel a bit overwhelmed, even having the sensation of just skimming the surface.

"The cherry blossoms in the courtyard have all fallen~"

Naoki Nagayama stood on the veranda stretching, looking at the cherry tree in the courtyard that would bloom in autumn, feeling inexplicably sentimental.

"This year... it seems I haven't properly appreciated your October cherry blossoms!"

Eitaro in the courtyard also looked up at the cherry tree with his master, mouth agape, tail occasionally wagging; he also seemed to be recalling the sight of the tree in full bloom.

Under the warm morning sun, a cool autumn breeze blew by, causing the branches and leaves of the cherry tree to sway slightly and rustle gently, as if expressing that it didn't matter~

"Naoki-san, what are you doing?" Akina Nakamori called out from the kitchen, "Come and eat breakfast!"

"Hai~"

After walking into the dining room, Akina had already laid out breakfast on the table: purple-white coarse grain rice, paired with freshly grilled saury, rolled omelet, accompanied by pickled vegetables and fresh fruit, plus milk... a simple, rich, and traditional Japanese breakfast.

"You're still going to Ota Ward today, right?" Akina Nakamori asked while eating.

"Mm, the filming of 'The Legend of Hayato' is at a busy time." Naoki Nagayama swallowed the food in his mouth, took a sip of milk, and then said, "Besides, I still need to prepare for the early promotion... so I have to go to the headquarters this afternoon... I'll be back very late tonight..."

"Hai~ I understand~" Akina also knew the nature of her boyfriend's work and was very understanding.

"What about you today, Akina?"

"I still have to attend the recording of year-end programs..."

Akina Nakamori said. Although it was very busy at the end of the year, most of it was in studios within Tokyo. Apart from the troublesome makeup, the recording process wasn't too strenuous.

"There really are a lot of things at the end of the year..."

"It can't be helped, but it's already much less than before."

Akina Nakamori's tone was quite relaxed. Now, apart from the promotional activities for the Record Awards, almost all other engagements had been pushed aside, and her entire workload had decreased significantly.

"By the way..." Naoki Nagayama finished his meager breakfast in a few bites, hurriedly flipped through the newspaper, and suddenly remembered something, "Akina, when were we going to pick out the wedding attire?"

"The day after tomorrow..." Akina Nakamori smiled, "We have an appointment for the evening."

Both of them were actually quite busy, so they had made an appointment through someone else for the evening to look at kimono styles and patterns.

For the groom, Naoki Nagayama, it was relatively simple; as long as it was a dark-colored kimono, and the material was good, it would be about right...

But for the bride, it was much more important. Just like the wedding dress in China and the Western wedding gown, once chosen, it was very likely a once-in-a-lifetime matter. Plus, there were many styles and patterns of women's kimonos. Auspicious and festive ones included peonies, herbaceous peonies, irises, cherry blossoms, cranes, swallows, butterflies, etc... so it definitely had to be refined, and the time spent picking would certainly not be short.

"Who will come to help choose then?"

At this time, there would definitely be a female advisor. Although Akina had a good aesthetic sense, someone always needed to give an opinion.

Naoki Nagayama could at most provide a judgment on whether it looked good; in fact, it was mainly because the person looked good, so anything looked good... Of course, there was also the final payment.

"I've asked Ochi Hirose-san, who has always been in charge of styling... and my mother and older sister..."

"Mm, then I'll leave it to them~"

Naoki Nagayama nodded. The bride's wedding attire should naturally be chosen by Akina, and who to ask for advice should naturally be according to her wishes.

After chatting for a while, Naoki Nagayama helped clean up the kitchen, then changed his clothes and drove his convertible out~

As for Akina, she waited at Shanyingyuan for a while, waiting for Mingxing Fangze to come and pick her up.

At the Ota Ward filming base, after the crew of "The Legend of Hayato" arrived at the set, they quickly adjusted to their working state.

After Naoki Nagayama arrived, he found that everyone was full of energy and ready to start filming.

"Minna-san, I'm counting on you today too!"

After greeting everyone, he began to quickly arrange the filming tasks for the day. He had long since memorized the filming schedule in his heart and looked at Feng Yongshan,

"Feng-dage, we're reaching the summit today!"

"Hahaha~"

It was impossible to film every single day in a movie; sometimes a camera cut meant a year had passed.

The young version of Hayato Nagayama, played by Feng Yongshan, had been in Tokyo for almost a year. From an unknown country bumpkin to someone about to become the gang boss of Sumida's downtown, even with the connections of the National Police Agency, he had only used a short year!

After a long period of suppression and exclusion, the only remaining Polar Star House in Sumida Ward was on the verge of dissolution, and could only huddle in the remaining headquarters sumo hall, thinking about how to proceed in the future...

"Boss, I don't think we can beat that Sumida Hawk!"

The few remaining underlings surrounded the boss, Fukuoka Kaito, who was over fifty and had graying hair, and said with worry,

"He has many people, lots of money... and very strong connections... he has almost unified the gray area of Sumida Ward."

"Are you saying you want me to bow down to that brat?!!"

Slapping the tea table hard, the exquisite tea set on it also jumped up, and the boss of Polar Star House, Fukuoka Kaito, roared with a fierce look but a cowardly heart,

"Back in the day, when I was out hustling, he was still nursing!!"

"But..."

The underling wanted to say something else, but was hit on the forehead by a thrown teacup. Fukuoka Kaito maintained the posture of throwing the cup and roared angrily:

"If you say such things that shake the morale of the army again, watch out for your fingers!"

Cutting off the fingers of members who made mistakes was a cruel tradition that was very common in previous gangs, and Polar Star House also retained such behavior.

But in such a precarious situation, Fukuoka Kaito's words undoubtedly made the remaining members lose even more confidence.

Even the boss knew that when a company was about to go bankrupt, one needed to play the emotional card with employees and promise future benefits to unite everyone. If one continued to squeeze them, there would be no employees willing to work for you!

Fukuoka Kaito was so flustered that he couldn't even care about this~

And just as Fukuoka Kaito was reprimanding his subordinates in the Japanese-style room, a sneering sound came from outside the door:

"No wonder your subordinates would betray you! Fukuoka Kaito... you no longer have the spirit of a boss!"

"Who?!"

Fukuoka Kaito stood up in panic and astonishment.

Seeing the sliding doors of the Japanese-style room move to both sides, Hayato Nagayama (played by Feng Yongshan) walked in slowly. After seeing Fukuoka Kaito wearing a kimono, he gently patted the brand-new suit on his body:

"See, bosses these days have to wear suits!

How is it? My suit fits well, right? I just bought it from a Western clothing store!"

"..." Fukuoka Kaito was stunned for a moment, his thinking messed up by Hayato Nagayama's words, and it took him a while to react, "How did you get here? What about my subordinates outside?!"

Hayato Nagayama walked into the Japanese-style room unceremoniously as if it were his own home. A bunch of underlings poured in from behind and drove out all the Yakuza in the room except for Fukuoka Kaito.

Afterward, a few guys who looked like they had been forced to come walked in, looking very unhappy. They were the bosses of other gangs in Sumida Ward...

The Japanese-style room, which was originally quite spacious, suddenly became a bit crowded~

"Get out of the way! I said it, your subordinates have already betrayed you!... Oh? Nice tea set..."

Hayato Nagayama pushed Fukuoka Kaito to the side and occupied the main seat unceremoniously. After seeing the exquisite tea set on the tea table, he began to wash the cups and re-brew tea in a proper manner,

"You haven't given them pocket money for months, and they can barely put food on the table at home... so I gave them a severance package and let them quit the underworld to become normal people..."

"You!!!" Fukuoka Kaito climbed up in a sorry state, "You actually..."

"What you you you!"

Hayato Nagayama had no trace of his previous playful smile. Although his tone was a bit frivolous, the expression on his face was very cold and stern,

"Don't you know the idiom that the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit? Be decent, transfer this sumo hall to me, and I'll let you leave safely... You're so old, don't go around killing and fighting in the underworld anymore!"

"You..." Fukuoka Kaito was so angry he couldn't speak.

"I'll give you a cup of tea's time to consider! Now, keep quiet!"

Hayato Nagayama turned his head, signaled the several leaders to sit down, and then continued to brew tea.

After the other leaders sat down, they didn't dare to speak. For a time, only the sound of hot water flowing remained in the room.

After about a few minutes...

"There can't be only one gang in Sumida Ward... This is the meaning of the National Police Agency. The higher-ups also don't want to see one gang become too big... That's why I didn't wipe you all out..."

Hayato Nagayama, who had finished brewing tea, looked around at these bosses of other gangs. His fierce eyes forced them to look away:

"However, you can exist, but you must hand over 50% of your future income to me...

From now on, I call the shots in Sumida Ward at night!

Those in favor, drink this cup of tea!"

Placing the teacup with hot tea in the middle of the tea table, Hayato Nagayama's tone was very tough, and it was obvious that if they didn't agree, something unspeakable would happen:

"I've finished speaking. Who is in favor? Who is opposed?"

"..."

The several bosses looked at each other. Even the original boss of Polar Star House, Fukuoka Kaito, didn't have the courage to stand up and refute... Didn't they see the underlings standing on the side? The short swords in their hands didn't look like decorations!

After a moment of silence, one boss took the lead and picked up a cup of tea to drink...

Like dominoes, the other bosses also picked up their teacups and acknowledged this agreement.

In the end, everyone's eyes focused on Fukuoka Kaito. Although this boss of Polar Star House still wanted to be stubborn, the silence when brewing tea showed that his courage no longer existed... At this time, it was even more impossible to refute!

He trembled and picked up the small teacup...

"Good... then it's settled!" At this moment, a smile finally appeared on Hayato Nagayama's face, "Come, everyone drink this cup of tea together! I tell you, this tea is very good..."

"..."

The corners of Fukuoka Kaito's mouth twitched slightly. This was the Jade Dew tea he had spent a lot of money to buy!

Just like that, Hayato Nagayama set the underground order of Sumida Ward with a cup of tea...

The order agreement between underworld gangs was certainly not written down, but Hayato Nagayama wasn't worried. As long as he remained strong, this agreement could be maintained.

In the final analysis, this order was established under the coercion of strength.

"Cut!!! Very good..."

Naoki Nagayama raised the megaphone and shouted "Cut" loudly.

Finally, this shot was filmed. Naoki Nagayama was actually very excited at this moment... Although the scene in his memory was a bit different, the general atmosphere had already been achieved.

Feng Yongshan walked over immediately after filming:

"Naoki, how was the effect?"

"Very good... very domineering!"

"Hahaha, I think so too..." Feng Yongshan looked at the playback on the director's monitor and then said with some emotion, "Although it's a bit different from the 'drinking' used to confirm the superior-subordinate relationship in Japanese underworld tradition, but..."

"It just has an inexplicable domineering feeling, right?!"

Naoki Nagayama smiled. When watching this scene at the time, Yin Tangxiuyi had also suggested using the traditional Japanese underworld "drinking" to express the ritualistic scene.

But he was rejected by Naoki Nagayama on the grounds that they were not a group in the true sense, and he made up a bunch of reasons, saying that the Japanese management definitely wouldn't let the underground underworld of Sumida Ward unify, and "drinking" would make it a real organization, etc...

Then he said that brewing tea and pouring tea took more time than pouring wine, which could lengthen the shot and give other bosses time to think... making the atmosphere more oppressive...

In fact, there was only one real reason: he, Naoki Nagayama, just wanted to present this classic scene again!

It's my own movie, I can film it however I want!

And now that it's filmed, the feeling of the picture is indeed very good!

"Haha, just occupied the headquarters of the hostile gang and determined the underground order of Sumida Ward on the spot..." Feng Yongshan was still praising, "Such behavior is really too arrogant!"

"It's also very cool... ah, very handsome!"

Naoki Nagayama patted his cousin's shoulder and continued,

"However, for safety's sake, let's do one more take... Hayato Nagayama, when you just said 'Who is in favor? Who is opposed?', it's best to look around at both sides... especially at Fukuoka Kaito..."

"Hai~"

Feng Yongshan nodded, indicating he understood. On this set, Naoki Nagayama was the biggest one, so he just had to listen to him!

"Makeup artist, touch up... Prop master, reset the plates..."

Assistant director Nishimoto Tomoyuki hurriedly coordinated with others in the crew to prepare the scene again... Every re-filming of a shot required starting from scratch...

After the scene was restored to its original state, Naoki Nagayama raised the megaphone:

"Everyone in position, ready... Action!"

After the director's start call, the boss of Polar Star House, Fukuoka Kaito, started throwing the cup again with a fierce look but a cowardly heart!

The subsequent Hayato Nagayama entered the room, brewed tea, and shouted again... determining the underground order of Sumida Ward... ===== CHAPTER 942 =====