Chapter 995

The temperature gradually rose, and the flower beds in Shanying Yuan began to bloom with some flowers, attracting a few bees that had been wintering somewhere unknown. The buzzing sound attracted the dog and the cat to go and investigate.

"Woof woof woof!"

Eitaro was very cautious, barking a few times with a fierce exterior but a cowardly interior, then decided to ignore these little bugs. It was definitely not because he had been stung before.

Nyotaro was more relaxed, strolling along the edge of the flower bed, occasionally reaching out to pat the little guys collecting nectar, looking not at all worried about being stung.

"Eitaro, Nyotaro, don't tease the bees!"

Akina, who was talking to someone in the large living room, scolded the two furry children upon seeing them, just like a mother worrying about her own children.

"Haha, Akina's look just now really had the feel of a mother..."

Eldest sister Akie said while holding little Ai, while the older one, Shomei, was sitting in front of the TV with a Famicom, focused and intent.

Today was a rare family gathering; eldest sister Akie brought her little nephew and niece, along with mother Chieko, to Tokyo to visit Akina.

"Perhaps I'll worry even more after giving birth to the child~" Akina teased little Ai; because her belly was too big, she couldn't hold her little niece now, otherwise little Ai should be in her arms at this moment. "Sister, how did you feel after giving birth to your child?"

"When I first gave birth to Shomei, the first feeling was 'Ah, it's finally over!'" Eldest sister Akie said with a smile. "Then the doctor brought Shomei to show me. At the time, Shomei was all wrinkled and red, and I thought to myself, 'Oh my, how did I give birth to such an ugly thing....'"

"Hahaha~"

Akina laughed. She had gone to visit when eldest sister gave birth to Shomei; he really did look like a little monkey when he was just born.

Eldest sister Akie continued:

"I didn't even want him at first, I was very resistant when they brought him over, but when I was breastfeeding, I suddenly felt that this was my own child...."

"Hmm... and it's been like that until now...."

Eldest sister Akie turned her head to look at Shomei, who was focused on watching the TV screen and playing the Famicom game, and sighed.

"Seeing him like this now, I don't want him again...... How come your Naoki bought so many games?! It's like a store!"

"......"

Akina didn't know how to respond..... Should she say that Naoki-san still has a childlike heart?!

Just at this moment, Chieko walked over from the kitchen carrying heated snacks:

"The dango are ready! Come and try some....."

The traditional Japanese sweet, skewered dango, is actually just rice cakes stretched into strips, cut into pieces, skewered on small bamboo sticks, and brushed with a seasoning after being grilled.

The sauce made at home was just soy sauce mixed with brown sugar, a beautiful sauce-red color. If one wanted the red and green kind, that could certainly be done too, just by switching to matcha powder or strawberry powder.

Akina picked up a skewer of steaming dango and took a bite. The sweetness of the brown sugar and the salty umami of the soy sauce were well-balanced. The surface of the grilled rice cake had a faint charred aroma, while the inside had a chewy and soft texture. After chewing a few times, there was a faint sweetness and the fragrance of glutinous rice....

When the weather is cold, eating a skewer of hot dango is simply a pleasure~

"Oishii~~~" Akina praised happily. "Mother's craftsmanship is still the best~"

Even the playful Shomei ran over to take a skewer to eat..... Of course, he went back to playing games after a few bites.

"These are the new rice cakes from this year, it was hard to buy them."

Chieko watched her daughter eating the dessert with satisfaction, then asked:

"I put some in the refrigerator, wait for Naoki to come back and grill them before eating, there's a big difference between hot and cold...."

"Arigato~" Akina said happily. "I thank you on behalf of Naoki-san!"

"Husband sings, wife follows...."

While eating dessert and chatting, Chieko and Akie discussed some precautions for the late stages of pregnancy. Although there was a pregnancy nanny now, after all, it was her own daughter.

The topic between the women quickly became wild. As they talked, they got onto the subject of married life, and eldest sister Akie said:

"Men, they are all animals that think with their lower bodies..... If Akina cannot fulfill her duties as a wife, then Naoki is very likely to...."

Chieko also nodded in agreement, after all, she had seen her own husband:

"There are many temptations for men, especially for someone like Naoki...."

"Naoki-san wouldn't...." Akina said hesitantly. "He comes back to accompany me every day...."

"What is Naoki-san doing now?" Eldest sister Akie asked.

"As for Naoki-san, he is currently filming *Tokyo Love Story*...."

"I heard Naoki put a lot of thought into the casting~" Eldest sister Akie said. "Something about an unforgettable heroine, someone who walked out of a manga....."

"Has it already spread?" Akina looked at her sister in surprise.

"Rumors naturally spread quickly...."

"There's also a character named Satomi in it, who is a great beauty...."

Being women of the Nakamori family, there were naturally no scruples when talking about taking good care of their own men. Even little Ai, who was ignorant, stared with wide eyes at the three of them talking, as if she had already started laying the foundation in advance.

The only male on the scene, Shomei, was focused on playing on the screen, only feeling that it was too happy to come to his aunt's house to play!

After spending most of the day happily, Chieko and Akie took advantage of the early hour to return home.

And Akina, who was left behind, began to think:

"The heroine seems to be called Honami Suzuki..... she's a newcomer.... no competitiveness!"

"But that character Satomi is played by Kanako Higuchi..... seems she collaborated with Naoki-san on 'Beauty Can', and had some revealing scenes..... and even had rumors with Naoki-san!"

Thinking of the films Kanako Higuchi had acted in over the past few years, they were all bold and open types...... Alarm bells rang in Akina's heart!

"I must drain Naoki-san dry every day!"

At the filming base in Ota Ward, the *Tokyo Love Story* crew had already held the opening ceremony and were in the middle of filming.

The large set was built to look like a waiting room, with dozens of extras acting as passengers waiting for a flight.......

What was being filmed today was the scene where the male lead Kanji Nagao and Rika Akana first met, which was the segment that Honami Suzuki improvised during her audition.

"Honami-chan, stay relaxed, smile brightly!"

Naoki Nagayama looked at Honami Suzuki, who had changed into a more mature style, and nodded with satisfaction.

For women between 20 and 30, in fact, as long as the makeup and clothing are changed, the age is almost indistinguishable..... As for those who are 50 or 60 and still play 17 or 18-year-old girls, one can only say they have a very strong heart.

"Minna-san, let's film the first scene today!"

Seeing that the crew members were all in their places, Naoki Nagayama raised his megaphone:

"Ready.... Action!"

In the crowded airport lobby, a city girl wearing a small blue suit was holding a pickup sign, shouting at the exit:

"Kanji Nagao..... Kanji-kun...."

"......."

A meeting that seemed destined began just like that......

Today was just the start of filming, so all the crew members naturally came, including Kanako Higuchi.

She was watching the filming scene at this moment, complaining to her manager about something:

"Help me refuse that film *Sleepy Eyes* by director Tatsumi Kumashiro..... Ever since *Manji*, many of the films coming to me are these kinds of erotic films...... If I take on another film of the same type, I might end up filming AVs!"

"The agency has no choice either....... We can't get big-budget films..... Only films by small directors have fast pacing and low production costs......"

Manager Marin Koyanagi shirked the responsibility, implying that Kanako Higuchi's fame wasn't big enough and no big directors chose her.

"*Sleepy Eyes* is adapted from the original work by Eimei Yamada, it's very artistic and avant-garde...."

"No matter what, acting in this kind of film with a black person is really going too far...." Kanako Higuchi had completely lost trust in her agency. "If it weren't for the fact that Naoki-san happened to be short of people here and gave me a role....."

There is an unspoken chain of contempt in the Japanese entertainment industry. For art films, it is best for actresses to act with their own countrymen, followed by Europeans and Americans, and black people are at the very bottom.....

After acting with a black person, this actress basically belongs to the lowest tier in the eyes of directors, and there will be fewer roles in the future!

In actual history, if it weren't for the skyrocketing agency fees in Japan during the bubble era, the explosion of various types of films, and the fact that she filmed a photo book for Kishin Shinoyama, Kanako Higuchi might really have been unable to recover.

"Okay, okay, I will communicate with the agency and refuse the invitation for *Sleepy Eyes*." Manager Marin Koyanagi could only appease her like this.

Originally, Kanako Higuchi had no room to bargain with the agency; after all, the Burning system had always maintained a high-pressure attitude toward artists.

But after all, she participated in Naoki Nagayama's drama, and it is foreseeable that Kanako Higuchi will definitely become popular again.

So naturally, there was room for maneuver.....

At this moment, Kanako Higuchi looked at Naoki Nagayama, who was directing the filming, with an inexplicable color in her eyes.....

Otomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Ido, who came to participate in the opening blessing ceremony, stood by and watched this scene, unable to help but sigh:

"It feels like the new year is only just beginning......"

"Yeah, Naoki-san has started filming a new drama, and everyone is finally at ease..... Shuyue finally feels like it's on the right track!"

Otomo Yoshimura also sighed.

"Shuichi-san, when will your film be released?"

"The distribution department is already contacting, starting with midnight screenings...." Shuichi Ido said. "We still need to make new promotional materials......"

"Haha, an urban legend? A film with zero presence?" Otomo Yoshimura laughed. "It really feels like it will be unexpected!"

"It was meant to be....... Maybe it will even make the audience watch it again and again!" Shuichi Ido looked at his old friend. "Otomo-san, don't you want to watch it again?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, do you still remember the plot of the film?"

"......."

Otomo Yoshimura closed his mouth; he really couldn't remember the plot. After being told this, he really wanted to go watch it again.....

Come to think of it, won't this film by Shuichi-san really set off a trend of curiosity.....

What if it really attracts the attention of the higher-ups and they come to investigate Kyo Kijima's special ability?

But Otomo Yoshimura immediately thought of one thing: Ah..... they won't notice Kijima-kun, after all, he doesn't have much presence!

"By the way, how is the script for *Tiger of Ginza*?" Shuichi Ido asked. "I heard that the two intern directors participating in the scriptwriting had problems?"

"No..... they just saw the real society and grew up~"

Otomo Yoshimura explained slightly.

"The progress of the *Tiger of Ginza* script is still very smooth...."

"Then.... the film *Tiger of Ginza*...." Shuichi Ido's eyes were eager to try.....

"Shuichi-san, you should focus on the release of the new film!"

Otomo Yoshimura refused bluntly.

"*Tiger of Ginza*....... Masataka Komori and Kyo Kijima are both eyeing it covetously!"

"Them?" Shuichi Ido was unconvinced. "I am the one with the most qualifications!"

"Young people also need to be cultivated!" Otomo Yoshimura said. "Besides, the final decision-making power for this matter still lies with Naoki-san....."

As the person truly in charge of the creative center, who the script from the creative center is finally handed to for filming is naturally up to Naoki Nagayama!

"Naoki-san....."

Shuichi Ido also looked at Naoki Nagayama, who was directing.

"We are close friends, brothers in arms!!!"

I don't know when it started, but a melody began to play in the record stores by coincidence......

The highly impactful drum and electronic keyboard melody could grab people's ears all at once, and coupled with the clear vocals that followed, and the rhythmic lyrics, it was hard to forget after hearing it.

Hikaru Takemura, wearing glasses, a white shirt, suit pants, and carrying a shoulder bag, had his heart grabbed by this song when he passed by the record store, and he immediately walked in:

"Tencho-san..... what is the name of the song playing? Whose record is it? How come I haven't heard it before?!"

"This song is called *Sudden Love*..... The singer is Kazumasa Oda..... He counts as a newcomer...."

The store manager seemed to have answered this many times today, and his words were very fluent.

"Also, there are no records for sale, this song is just used for promotion...."

"Promotion?!" Hikaru Takemura was surprised. "Promoting what?"

The store manager pointed to the poster next to him, which showed the image of a book....... *Tokyo Love Story*......

"The drama adaptation of the same name is about to be broadcast, please look forward to it?"

Hikaru Takemura was very surprised reading the text on the poster.

"Promoting a novel in a record store? Ah.... promoting a drama that hasn't been released yet?!"

"Yeah......"

The store manager was also helpless, but Shuyue really gave too much.....

"It is estimated that it will be broadcast on Fuji TV in a week or two...... If you can't wait, you can buy a copy of the novel to read first...."

"A romance novel, what's good about it!"

Hikaru Takemura said, but was about to walk out of the record store.....

However, *Sudden Love* happened to loop again, and Kazumasa Oda's voice and the brisk melody seemed to stir in his heart~

Making him, who had always been somewhat hesitant, make up his mind.

"Tencho-san!" Hikaru Takemura still walked to the store manager. "Please give me a copy of *Tokyo Love Story*!"

"If you want to buy a novel, go to a bookstore!" The store manager pointed impatiently to the bookstore not far away. "I am a record store here!"

"......."

Promoting a novel in a record store!!!

Hikaru Takemura was speechless, walked into the bookstore, and immediately saw the novel placed on the display stand in the center of the bookstore.

Just as he was about to take it, he heard a pleasant and energetic voice coming from the side:

"Ah, is this the novel?"

Turning his head to look, a short-haired girl wearing a leather jacket was standing next to him looking at *Tokyo Love Story*, with headphones on her head, a helmet tucked under her arm, and a Walkman tucked into her waist, both trendy and dashing.....

With a tomboyish outfit, a curious look appeared on her unexpectedly beautiful face:

"Promoting a novel in a record store! Really interesting....."

She looked up at Hikaru Takemura standing by the display stand, opened her bright eyes, and said generously:

"Little brother, if you're not buying it, can you move aside a little?"

"Ah...... Sumimasen!"

Hikaru Takemura hurriedly moved aside, watching the girl decisively take a copy and go to pay.....

Although it looked a bit mismatched for a motorcycle girl in a leather jacket to buy a romance novel.

But at this moment, Hikaru Takemura seemed to hear the brisk melody again:

"

Love Story wa Totsuzen ni

Sudden Love

Nani kara tsutaereba ii no ka

Don't know where to start

"