Chapter 95: Two old men don't talk about martial arts, actually getting a minor drunk!

I can't stay in this house anymore...

In order not to be pitied by the radio at home,

Naoki Nagayama decided to drive out in the afternoon to practice the piano.

Also, he didn't know how the renovation of the small western-style house in Chiyoda was going; it was the perfect time to go check on Takashi Honma's progress.

The gentle afternoon sun shone on him, warm and very comfortable. The car drove on the road, and the wind blowing in his face was also very gentle, making one mistakenly think it was spring.

The environmental protection in Chiyoda Ward is very good, and there are many parks of all sizes.

It was autumn, and on the side of the road, one could see golden ginkgo, fiery red maple trees, yellow-green sycamores and zelkova trees, as well as evergreen green.

Slightly shorter, dotted autumn cherry blossoms, and occasionally one could see orange-red or pale yellow chrysanthemums, and purple rosemary, with flowers hidden among the green leaves.

Naoki Nagayama's small western-style house was in Jimbocho, near Meiji University, and right next to it was a park.

Under the cover of the surrounding trees, the small building, which wasn't tall, had a unique tranquility.

The renovation of the surrounding wall was basically completed. Wood, tiles, and steel formed a faux-antique wooden fence, and a circle of dwarf bamboo was planted outside. By the time they grew to about 2 meters, they would be able to completely block the view from the outside.

He parked the car and pushed open the door. The light gray exterior stone wall, dark brown log doors and windows, paired with black window sills and corridor corners, gave the overall style a simple and low-key feel.

Upon entering, the marble entrance, living room, and other public spaces all had brown log floors. As for the corridor, the glass sliding doors remained. Furniture and such hadn't been moved in yet, but the basic hard decoration was almost done.

Takashi Honma was in the kitchen directing workers to install kitchen items. Seeing Naoki come over, he hurried over to greet him:

"Naoki-san, why did you come over today?"

"I don't have anything to do for the moment, so I wanted to come and see. Honma-san, how is the project progress?"

"The first floor and the exterior wall are basically completed, and the basic renovation of the second floor is also done. However, the soundproofing project for the piano room is more complex and is still under intensive construction."

"If you say so, then by the end of October..."

"Yes, basically no problem. The remaining work is all indoors."

"Then thank you very much, Honma-san. You go ahead and get busy; I'll look around~"

"Yes, if you have any questions, please feel free to find me!"

After saying this, the architect went back to the workers to direct them. He was indeed a reliable architectural designer!

He opened the glass sliding door. The yard outside was about half the size of a basketball court.

A cherry blossom tree planted in the corner had actually bloomed with some pinkish-white cherry blossoms?

This cherry blossom tree was also very abnormal. It wouldn't have become sentient too, would it? Should he ask Takashi Honma to see if there was anything strange like a little finger buried under the tree.

After wandering under the tree for a long while,

Takashi Honma was about to go upstairs to continue supervising the work. After seeing him, he said to Naoki Nagayama:

"Naoki-san, when planting the dwarf bamboo for the exterior wall, I had the landscaping company employees fertilize the cherry blossoms, which is why they bloomed~"

"Is that so~ I thought this cherry blossom was welcoming its new owner, hahahaha~"

"Hahaha, you can say that too."

Professional fertilization involves digging some deep pits at the roots of the tree and then burying the fertilizer well.

It seemed there shouldn't be any problems at the tree roots.

He went to the rooftop to take a look again.

The geographical location was indeed good.

He could indeed see the scenery of the park not far away.

Finally, he said goodbye to Takashi Honma and then drove to the piano room in Bunkyo Ward.

He wouldn't continue to disturb the architect's work.

Tokyo's movie theaters had recently been receiving some inquiry calls frequently.

They were all asking if a movie called "Paranormal Activity" was showing in their theater.

People who called to inquire, after receiving a negative answer, would often add: "Does this one not have it either..."

What is this movie?

Soon, the theater managers all knew the news. They naturally inquired with the big production companies.

They thought some new movie had come out again.

Uploading step by step, even big production companies like Shochiku Films knew about such a low-budget movie.

When Shochiku Films' directors gathered to chat, they would also mention this movie.

Masahiro Shinoda asked Masaki Kobayashi next to him:

"Masaki-san, have you heard of that 'Paranormal Activity'? It's said to be in the form of a mockumentary, very novel."

"What, when was the movie, and whose new work is it?" Masaki Kobayashi was a bit strange. Films that could appear in the mouths of these directors basically had a certain degree of popularity.

Generally speaking, if a director in the industry was going to film a new movie, the news would have spread long ago; it was impossible for him not to know.

"It's not a well-known director or production company. I asked around a few days ago; it's a small company called Tree Friend Films. The directors are two people, one named Shuichi Itou and one named Naoki Nagayama. Both are names I've never heard of."

"Naoki Nagayama?"

"Oh? Masaki-san knows him? Is he someone you know?"

"I do know him, if this director is the same person..."

Masaki Kobayashi recalled the handsome young man he had seen at the movie theater some time ago, and what he said about having no interest in entering the entertainment industry.

"Doesn't this make it very interesting~ hahahaha~"

While this group of directors was chatting about this low-budget movie, Otomo Yoshimura was talking to another middle-aged man at a high-end izakaya.

"Otomo-san, it's really been a long time since we last met!"

"Yes, Haruki-san, it's been almost 10 years, right?"

The middle-aged man opposite him, nearing forty, still had an enthusiastic and cheerful appearance. It seemed that time had left no other traces on him except for the wrinkles on his face.

This person was Haruki Kadokawa, a person born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In his thirties, he inherited the huge Kadokawa Shoten, becoming the youngest publisher president, a famous director, and besides that, a haiku poet.

Uh, the last haiku poet might have some water in it, but the others could be said to be solid fame.

How could such a person know Otomo Yoshimura?

The young nobleman who had just graduated went to a small publishing house to experience basic publishing work and even worked part-time at a bar at night. And Otomo Yoshimura, who had just started working, happened to be running errands between the publishing house and the agency because of magazine publishing matters. Back and forth, the two became familiar with each other.

Plus, the young Haruki Kadokawa had a wandering nature, and Otomo Yoshimura, who did photo magazines, also liked to play when he was young, so the two became good friends.

If both were ordinary people, perhaps such a friendship could have continued forever.

It's a pity that the nobleman who experienced life eventually had to return to the upper class.

And the real ordinary person, Otomo Yoshimura, was still struggling at the bottom.

Even without any misunderstandings or discord, the huge gap in their social classes was enough to let this friendship slowly fade away.

Neither of them expected,

that because of a movie, they would have a reason to drink together again.

The fate between people is truly incredible!