Chapter 34

Before they knew it, they had wandered until evening.

The 3.8-kilometer cherry blossom path had been walked through by the six of them.

In the end, they found an outdoor seat at a nearby café to take a break.

"Mr. Naoki, are you going to continue participating in the carnival activities?" Nakamori Akemi asked.

"We are, I heard this carnival is quite lively," Nagayama Naoki replied, then added, "Tsuruko and Nana came to Tokyo this time to join in the fun."

"It sounds like you don't want to participate, Nana..." Tsuruko shook her head and started chatting with Akemi, seeming to get along particularly well with her.

"Come to think of it, I've never participated before," Nagayama Naoki recalled, "When I first came to Tokyo, I couldn't even afford to eat. I was working every day to pay off debts and had no time to participate."

This was the first time Nagayama Tsuruko had heard about Naoki's past: "You couldn't even afford to eat? Didn't you make a lot of money after coming to Tokyo?"

"Who said that? When I first came, I had to rely on the pocket money I saved from childhood to rent a place."

"Hey~" The Nakamori family members also looked over, "Was Mr. Naoki poor?"

The first time they met Nagayama Naoki was at a nightclub, and he didn't seem like someone who was short of money when he paid.

"Later, I wrote a song by chance and made some money."

Nakamori Akina immediately said, "Was it Seiko Matsuda's 'Cherry Blossom'?"

This was the first time Akina had spoken to Nagayama Naoki today.

"Yep, that one~"

"Did you write it specifically for Seiko Matsuda?" Akina asked seriously, her round face a bit awkward.

Nagayama Naoki thought for a moment and decided to ease her discomfort a bit.

"Only telling you, don't spread it around~" He said to the six people leaning in, and they all nodded.

"Akina, you've been on TV shows, right~"

"Yep, I've been on 'STAR! Birth' twice. Didn't Mr. Naoki know that?" Akina was a bit resentful.

"Then you should know that the performances on the show are directed, and they have scripts, right?"

"I know, so what?"

"Me too!"

"Eh?"

"To make the song a hit, the agency planned this gimmick~"

The idea of a fan writing a song for their idol that becomes a hit would definitely attract a lot of attention~"

"Eh!!" x6, "It was all a lie?"

"Get used to the harsh world of adults quickly!

The entertainment industry is full of lies!!

People may seem to respect each other on the surface, but in reality, it's all about mutual benefit;

Someone may appear to be a gentleman on stage, but in private, they might be a womanizer;

A sweet and cute idol might actually be abusive to the staff...

Of course, there are also those who seem to be free-spirited on the surface but are actually doting fathers~"

The people around were amazed, after all, only Nakamori Akina had a bit of involvement in the entertainment industry, but she hadn't really entered it yet.

Nakamori Akina was a bit troubled: "So, Seiko Matsuda isn't Mr. Naoki's idol, and no one is Mr. Naoki's idol?"

"Even idols are just packaged images~" He said without thinking.

Seeing Akina's face turn even worse, Nagayama Naoki quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Actually, I do have an idol."

"Who is it?" Her eyes lit up, a bit excited.

"Before, it was Ms. Yamaguchi Momoe." Nagayama Naoki finally didn't have the nerve to say it was Nakamori Akina, after all, saying she was his idol in front of a middle schooler would be too embarrassing.

Nana added, "I remember Mr. Naoki's room used to be full of Yamaguchi Momoe's records and posters!"

"Eh~~~? Before, but not now?" Akemi asked.

Nagayama Naoki was a bit cornered by his own words. If he had an idol before, did that mean he didn't have one now?

"Yes, before, but not now~"

"Why? There are so many new idols, isn't there someone you like?"

"Of course not, do you think idols are like household appliances that can be changed at will?" Nagayama Naoki's mind raced, finally finding a way to justify himself.

"To me, an idol should be someone who starts with their looks, captivates with their talent, and wins you over with their character.

If she is my idol, she should be able to meet the expectations of her fans and make them better, a guiding light in life."

"Before, Ms. Yamaguchi Momoe was such an image, inspiring me to come to Tokyo from Shizuoka..." Nagayama Naoki smiled, "Back then, I always thought Momoe was my first love~"

They were just discussing the definition of an idol seriously, but suddenly mentioning first love made the girls a bit embarrassed.

"So, Mr. Naoki's first love retired, and now there's no new love?" Nakamori Akemi, being the oldest, wasn't too shy about such things.

"Of course, it's like a first love, too hard to forget~" Nagayama Naoki was being a bit childish, "When I was young, I didn't know anything, but if I were to find a second love, I should at least improve a bit~"

"Right now, ordinary idols are just a faint impression to me, I haven't become a hardcore fan of anyone~" Then he turned to Akina, "Though it's a bit embarrassing, to me, you are just an ordinary idol~"

But hearing this, Nakamori Akina seemed to relax and became more determined: "Hey, silly, I'll work hard!

I'll work hard to become an idol who can meet the expectations of her fans and make them better, a guiding light in life!"

...

...

It felt like he had raised Akina's ideals a lot...

"Good job, Akina!"

Time flew by in conversation, and spring nights always came early. It felt like they had just taken a short break, but it was already dark.

The lights in the distant park were already on, and people were starting to gather there.

"Everyone, the carnival should have started, let's go check it out!" "Yep" x6

With lights, banners, and various snacks, there was even a band performing. Everyone gathered around the stage to enjoy the band's performance, and the carnival by the Meguro River was very lively.

As they moved with the crowd, Nagayama Naoki and his group bought a lot of snacks. After wandering for the whole afternoon, they hadn't noticed it, but the smell of food made their stomachs growl.

Nagayama Naoki held a skewer in his left hand, passing it to others, and had a skewer of grilled beef in his right hand. Everyone else also had snacks in their hands, looking like country bumpkins who had never seen good food before.

Akina's little face was puffed up... The image of "little fatty" was indeed well-deserved.

...

...

Suddenly, a familiar melody came from the stage, and the band started playing the recently popular "Sakura ~I'm Glad I Met You~"...

The song had been topping the charts for three weeks, and with the cherry blossom season, its popularity seemed to be continuing.

"Brother, the background music for your GG!" Tsuruko was very happy, "Even the band is performing it~"

"Is this another song by Mr. Naoki?" Nakamori Akiko didn't hear clearly and thought it was a song written by Nagayama Naoki, so she asked directly.

Nagayama Naoki thought she already knew it was his, after all, the song's lyrics and music were credited to him.

So he replied, "Yes, I got inspired while shooting the GG and wrote it down, and it was chosen as the background music."

"Eh? ? ?!!!" x6

"Mr. Naoki wrote another song?" "Another hit?" "Mr. Naoki is so amazing!" "Why didn't you tell me, brother!"

...

"Huh? Didn't you know?" Nagayama Naoki realized he had misunderstood something.