Chapter 970: Otomo-san who is becoming more and more passionate about work~

It was the last ten days or so of Showa 60, and the large amount of funds in the US foreign exchange market had also reached an increasingly important moment!

So now, almost every morning and evening, Naoki Nagayama had to have a phone call with Genta Nakai who had returned to the United States...

It's just that sometimes, the content of these calls was a bit strange:

"Your Shotaro wants to marry my daughter?!"

"Hehehe, Genta-san, we are good brothers, of course I have to give you face..."

Naoki Nagayama's face was unhappy. He had shared with his friends before that Akina was pregnant with a girl, but his daughter hadn't been born yet, and someone was already having ideas!!!

"However, you have to meet some ba! sic! con! ditions! to do it!!!"

"First, he has to look decent, at least my daughter has to like him, and he must be over 1.8 meters tall after becoming an adult!!"

"Second, he must be a billionaire before the age of twenty... Otherwise, how can he afford to raise my daughter?!"

"Furthermore, he must have talent. The Akutagawa Prize is fine, but at least he must have won the Tanizaki Junichiro Prize... Almost every writer with a little fame in the past twenty years has won it~"

"The requirements are high? Are these high requirements?!"

Naoki Nagayama revealed a disgusted face,

"These are already cut in half according to my conditions!!!

If these conditions are not met... how can he attract my daughter who has such an excellent role model as me?!"

After finishing the convoluted excuse in one breath, Naoki Nagayama listened to the angry "beep-beep" sound of the call being hung up on the other end of the receiver. Feeling somewhat refreshed, he then put down the phone unhurriedly.

Akina, who had already prepared breakfast, put the food on the table at the right time and asked somewhat curiously:

"Was Genta-san broken by you?"

"Heh... this guy should also know that his Shotaro can't match my daughter!" Naoki Nagayama said coquettishly. "In the end, he was angry and told me to be careful of yellow-haired boys..."

"Ah?" Akina looked at him in surprise. "Yellow-haired boys? Delinquent teenagers? New humans? Yakuza?"

"Who cares what kind of yellow-haired boy!" Naoki Nagayama waved his hand. "Wait until my daughter is born, no yellow-haired boys are allowed within one kilometer of my house!!!"

"......"

Akina looked at her somewhat childish husband, shaking her head helplessly... She hadn't been born yet, but when it came to her daughter, she could already see the look of a future daughter-slave...

Sitting down and eating breakfast with Naoki Nagayama, Akina suddenly thought:

"Always calling her daughter, daughter... Should we name her a little earlier?!"

"Hmm... name... name is a big deal!"

Naoki Nagayama stopped eating, and countless names suddenly emerged in his brain...

Single-character ones: Rei, Sakura, Kanade, Ai...

Double-character ones: Mashiro, Mai, Mikoto, Mirai...

And three-character ones: Meiko, Erii...

It seemed that there were more and more images wanting to jump out of his brain, making Naoki Nagayama somewhat overwhelmed~

"Naoki-san, Naoki-san?" Akina called out softly. "We are talking about naming... why are you distracted..."

"Ah... name... name is a big deal!" Naoki Nagayama said seriously. "I don't think it can be decided simply!"

"......"

Naoki Nagayama looked at Akina who was somewhat confused and said his thoughts...

"So, let's write down the names we think of, make a table, and then score them one by one! Ah... ask Father, Mother, and Mother-in-law on their side too, to see if there are any good names..."

"We must use scientific and rigorous scoring rules, and the one with the highest final score will be my daughter's name!!!"

Looking at Naoki Nagayama who was about to burn up, Akina slowly swallowed the white porridge in her mouth... She originally wanted to say that like her sisters, just pick a cute name like Ai, Nana, or Aoi...

Is naming so troublesome...

There was no fresh news in the entertainment industry at the end of the year. Most of them were inventories of stars participating in certain program rehearsals, what the artists' New Year's schedules were, and what plans actors had for the coming year.

It was the end of the year, and even reporters and paparazzi wanted to have a good rest!

And there were year-end programs, such as the year-end special edition of *Night Hit*, the annual champion of *Super Transformation*, *8 o'clock! Everyone Gather* played a collection of memories... as well as the *Red and White Song Assembly* broadcast at the end of the year...

Of course, New Year's movies were indispensable!

Many family-friendly movies were released during the New Year, precisely because they wanted to let the audience happily take out their New Year's money in this festive atmosphere~

And among this series of movies, the trailer for one movie was played, which was out of tune with this festive atmosphere, but left a deep impression on many people!

"I've finished speaking, who agrees, who opposes?!"

Children who were already on winter vacation talked about the lines in the movie when they were playing games in the park, and a few people gathered together like a club gathering...

"Hmm, everyone agrees, so let's play hide-and-seek today!"

"Right in this park... Let's let someone be the ghost first?"

"......"

Just the broadcast of a trailer had already made everyone who had seen it deeply remember the domineering lines, and even the children were no exception.

Not to mention that there had been two waves of warm-up publicity before!

Now people were very much looking forward to the official release of *The Legend of Hayato: New World*. Everyone was looking forward to what kind of movie Naoki Nagayama, this big director, would bring to everyone!

At the same time, in the editing room of the Shu-Yu building, Masataka Komori and others looked at the film box in the center of the operating table, and their eyes were full of expectation!

"Naoki-san... can it be released already?"

"Yes, Naoki-san, it has been edited perfectly!"

Naoki Nagayama was supporting his chin, always feeling that something was missing inside... What was missing?

Ah! Missing Grandfather... the image of Grandfather after returning to Shizuoka!

"Not yet..." Naoki Nagayama said. "This movie... is missing a bit of commemoration..."

He looked at Masataka Komori and others who were editing together:

"Masataka-kun, go and prepare the camera and film, we are going to Shizuoka!"

"By the way, bring the projector and screen too..."

Naoki Nagayama quickly directed the people in the company. He was going back to Shizuoka to play this movie for his grandfather, and then shoot some images of his grandfather to put at the end... 【9

This way, since the movie and reality were linked together, it would also allow the grandfather's image to be preserved in the film... Only then could it be considered a movie adapted from a true story!

The flurry of activity in the editing room did not escape the notice of Masaru Otomo in his office. He walked over to Naoki Nagayama's side:

"Naoki-san, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to Shizuoka to shoot some additional footage~" Naoki Nagayama replied. "The current film is basically a semi-finished product; it's still missing a little something..."

"Oh?" Masaru Otomo immediately thought of what would follow. "Then after Naoki-san returns, will it be ready for a preview screening?!"

"Hmm... if we preview it in two or three days, it should be about right..." Naoki Nagayama thought for a moment and gave the final timeline. "If we work hard, there shouldn't be any problem with releasing it on New Year's Day!"

"Good!"

Masaru Otomo clapped his hands, his whole person becoming quite excited.

"While everyone else is drinking, holding annual meetings, or on vacation for the New Year... we at Tree Friends will be gifting Japan a blockbuster! Hahahaha~"

"... What's there to be proud of about that..."

"This shows that Tree Friends is thriving!"

"This shows that we are very hardworking!"

Naoki Nagayama retorted to Masaru Otomo. He realized that Otomo-san seemed to be developing more and more habits of a capitalist; this was not good...

Masaru Otomo didn't care what the nominal president thought; he was the CEO who managed the daily operations...

"Then, we can prepare for the preview screening now!" Masaru Otomo rubbed his hands together. "First, send notices to the film media so they don't go on holiday early... and then go to the TV stations to buy some advertisements..."

"The promotional materials for the theaters also need to be prepared urgently... we can start shouting the slogan for the New Year's Day release too!!!"

"Wait, let me call Yoshihiko Sugiyama. How come their distribution department hasn't prepared anything... what's the use of having him as a department head!"

Naoki Nagayama looked at his friend, who became somewhat neurotic once he entered work mode, and asked with concern:

"Otomo-san... shouldn't you find some time to take a long vacation... are you under a lot of mental pressure?"

"What mental pressure? I'm in high spirits, alright!"

Masaru Otomo swatted away Naoki Nagayama's hand, which was reaching for his forehead, and then stopped, explaining slightly:

"Naoki-san... at my age, food doesn't taste as good, drinking is just average... and even the young ladies... I have the heart but not the strength~"

"..."

Reaching middle age is unavoidable... Naoki Nagayama sighed and patted his shoulder in comfort...

Masaru Otomo continued:

"I've discovered now that only when I'm working does my whole person feel like they've come alive... the sense of achievement from completing a project is much happier than XX!!!"

"So... I feel like I'm falling more and more in love with work!!!"

"..." Naoki Nagayama looked at the somewhat fanatical Masaru Otomo and silently complained to himself, "And you're also becoming more and more perverted..."

"After the year-end bonuses were paid out this year, the whole company slowed down, and I felt like I had lost all my vitality... but now that there's work again, I've come back to life!!!"

Naoki Nagayama looked at Masaru Otomo, who had the appearance of a "chosen worker," feeling both surprised and happy... After all, what boss wouldn't want a workaholic to help manage the company?!

But the surprising part was... what virtue or ability did he, Naoki Nagayama, have to be able to befriend two of them at once...

The other one, Shuichi Yin Tang, was also in Ota Ward preparing for the filming of a new movie... Even though the New Year was only a few days away, he insisted on holding a blessing ceremony before the year ended...

Even "Shizhi Araki" was dragged along and couldn't rest...

What a sin!

At the Burning Agency headquarters, Akina Mori was picked up by Fusunori Akisayuki to discuss the arrangements for the New Year's "Red and White Song Battle" and the "Japan Record Awards."

Because these two events were on the same day—both held on the last day of the year—and both were broadcast live, but they were not in the same location~

In fact, many idols had to attend both programs. Depending on the performance time, they had to decide which one to go to first... The stage costumes, makeup, etc., all needed adjustments, so the schedule had to be arranged well...

"Akina-chan~"

Seeing that Akina was already showing signs of pregnancy, Hiroshi Hami's tone became gentle.

"According to this year's arrangements, Akina's performance time at the 'Red and White Song Battle' is before the 'Japan Record Awards'~"

"So after finishing the 'Red and White Song Battle,' you must immediately rush to the award ceremony of the 'Japan Record Awards'..."

"Mm-hmm... I understand~" Akina Mori nodded. "Won't there be a special passage?"

"Yes, the traffic authorities will arrange a green passage between the two locations, so there's no need to be too anxious... no need to run~" Hiroshi Hami reminded her.

"Haha, actually, I'm not that fragile~" Akina Mori subconsciously touched her stomach and said carelessly, "The doctor said it's a strong baby!"

"Regardless, Akina's health comes first!" Hiroshi Hami urged again. "It doesn't matter if you don't make it in time; we will arrange for someone to accept the award on your behalf!"

He didn't want to be sunk into Tokyo Bay by Naoki Nagayama!

"Then I'll be troubling Hami-san~" Akina did not fail to appreciate the kindness and thanked him earnestly.

"Mm..."

Hiroshi Hami nodded, feeling that the previous meeting had already clarified all other matters, so he let the people in the conference room disperse.

After Akina Mori came out, she happened to find that the staff at the Burning Agency were in a stir, and many employees had run out to watch the excitement...

"What's wrong?" Akina Mori pulled someone over to ask.

"It seems to be a new idol..." administrative assistant Rie Kinoshita said. "Coming to our agency for the first time..."

"A new idol?" Akina thought for a moment, her eyes lighting up. "Is it Yukiko-chan???"

So she hurried over as well~

She saw in the lobby that a young girl, accompanied by her manager, was meeting with the Burning Agency staff. Yukiko Okada was greeting everyone at the agency very politely, with a professional smile on her face.

"Yukiko-chan!" Akina Mori waved her hand immediately upon seeing Yukiko Okada, completely lacking the steadiness of a mother.

"Akina-chan!"

Yukiko Okada was very pleasantly surprised and walked over quickly.

"Isn't Akina-chan at home resting for the pregnancy..."

"I'm already rested!" Akina said with a giggle.

"... How are you rested..."

Yukiko Okada looked Akina up and down. Even though she was wearing loose clothing, her lower abdomen had a slight bulge, but her overall figure was still very slim~

Her cheeks had a little more flesh, giving her a more rounded and jade-like feeling... she had more womanly charm and was even more elegant...

"It's only been four months, right..."

"Not even that yet..." Akina said.

"Then how can you come out..."

"It's very boring to be at home all the time!"

"Why did Yukiko-chan come to Burning Agency?"

"The year-end work is basically arranged, so I came to Burning Agency to communicate about the New Year's arrangements... and new albums and such..."

"I see..."

The two of them chatted like this, and it wasn't until the other's manager reminded them that they started walking inside again.

"President Hami..." Seeing Hiroshi Hami, Yukiko Okada greeted him respectfully.

"Yukiko-chan!" Hiroshi Hami's face was full of kindness. "Please take care of us in the future~"

Yukiko Okada was here today to get familiar with Burning Agency. The transfer contract between the two parties had basically been negotiated. The next four months would be a transition period; she would come to the Burning Agency office more and more to work with the album production team and arrange New Year's activities...

And unlike her, Akina Mori, who was beside her, would come to the agency less and less after the New Year~

Everyone looked at Yukiko Okada and Akina Mori together, as if they were witnessing a historic moment of the passing of the torch between top idols...

It's just that this pair of new and old idols didn't seem to treat each other as rivals...