Chapter 43

As the sunlight of May began to shine brightly,

the temperature also rose significantly;

the capricious spring, like a young girl, was gradually fading away,

and the passionate summer was already waving to Tokyo.

More and more girls on the streets were sporting the "Seiko head" hairstyle, and the new song "Summer's Door" perfectly matched Tokyo's current mood, topping the Oricon charts and showcasing Seiko Matsuda's popularity in the RB idol world.

On various music programs like "BEST TEN" and "Night HIT,"

her presence was everywhere, and as the most popular idol after Yamaguchi Momoe's retirement, she truly deserved her fame.

And one of the few idols who could rival her in the future—Akina Nakamori—was now sitting across from Naoki Nagayama at a coffee table, using the drawing tools she had just bought to try and sketch a design for a cat ear headband.

...

"Akina-san, Akane-san, here are your coffees." Akina wasn't alone; her younger sister Akane had come with her. After all, coming out alone might seem like a date, and bringing her sister meant they could go shopping together afterward.

Now, both were trying to draw a rough sketch of the cat ear headband based on Naoki Nagayama's description. The sisters had a decent foundation in drawing.

"Take your time, ladies, have some drinks first~" Naoki Nagayama placed the coffees in front of them.

"I'm really sorry to ask for your help, but I don't know anyone else who can draw~"

"Haha~ No problem, Naoki-san. Drawing a picture and getting a big meal, it's a good deal~" Akane was quite cheerful.

Akina was still working on the sketch, "A cat ear headband, that's quite interesting~ What color do you want, Naoki-san?"

"Black and white to start with, and if it becomes popular, we can have gray, red, yellow... any color really~"

"It's so cute, I think it will definitely become popular~" Akane really liked it.

Before long, the simple color sketches were done, one black and one white. Although not as precise as a designer's work, they still captured the essence.

"Akina-san, Akane-san, would you like to go to the factory?

Let's see if they can make them~" Naoki Nagayama invited the two to visit the factory, and they were very interested.

However, they couldn't drive their own car, as the convertible only had two seats.

There were still many small workshops in Tokyo during the Showa era, especially for simpler hair accessories and jewelry, which didn't require the technology of large factories.

Naoki Nagayama found a small factory that made hair accessories and also did clothing, called Masago Processing.

The factory manager, Toda Masago, was a smiling uncle in his thirties, responsible for external negotiations, purchasing, and sales. The factory was basically run by a family of three, with his mother and wife doing the main production, and the total staff was only seven people.

After Naoki Nagayama showed the sketches to Toda Masago, he immediately patted his chest and assured them it was no problem, that they could definitely make them.

In fact, most hair accessories could be bought as semi-finished products, and the cat ears just needed to be shaped.

He gave the sketches to his wife, Toda Kyoka, and after a discussion, they said they could make two samples right there.

"No problem at all!" Toda Masago guaranteed, "Although we haven't made them before, we have the fluffy materials, and it's just a simple shaping. We can have the samples ready in half an hour."

"That's great." Naoki Nagayama was also very happy, "Please make sure they have that fluffy feel."

Akina and Akane were very excited, as seeing their own sketches turn into real objects was a very fulfilling experience.

Half an hour later, looking at the black and white cat ear headbands in his hands, Naoki Nagayama was very satisfied.

"Akina-san, Akane-san, please try them on~" Naoki Nagayama smiled and handed the two cat ears to the girls.

After putting them on, Akina and Akane indeed looked like two little cats, and they were indeed very cute.

"Toda-san, could you embroider 001 and 002 on the inside of these headbands~" Naoki Nagayama, after testing the effect, returned the headbands to Toda Kyoka.

"Toda-san, I need 1000 of these headbands initially, half black and half white, all with serial numbers. The demand might increase in the future."

Toda Masago was very pleased: "Sure, when do you need them?"

"Can it be within a week?"

"Absolutely no problem!"

So, Naoki Nagayama placed the order, signed the contract, and agreed to pick up the goods the following week.

...

...

By the time they had finished, it was already noon, "Akina-san, Akane-san, let's go for a big meal!"

"Thank you, Naoki-san~"

Of course, the treat was at a high-end restaurant, with authentic French cuisine.

However, the service was a bit slow, and while waiting, the three chatted in the private room:

"Akina-san, are you going to participate in this year's 'STAR! Birth'?"

"Of course, I still want to participate, but I was eliminated the last two times, and I don't have much confidence this time..."

"They said my age and the age of the songs didn't match..."

"Hahaha, you were indeed young a few years ago, and it was too early to debut~" Naoki Nagayama laughed, "But making it to the finals was already impressive, and your singing ability has been recognized."

"But they mentioned my age both times... but Yamaguchi Momoe-san also debuted at 14~" Akina was still not relieved.

"Then choose Yamaguchi Momoe-san's songs. Your voice is a bit like hers." Naoki Nagayama recalled Akina's audition process, "If you're worried about the age issue, leave your hair a bit longer to look more mature."

"Eh, isn't that cheating~" She looked at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"How can you call it cheating in the entertainment industry?" Naoki Nagayama found it a bit amusing, "It's called packaging! Akina-san, you don't understand the entertainment industry well enough. The truth in the entertainment industry is very rare~"

"I don't understand what you're talking about..." Akane was clearly more interested in the French cuisine, focusing on the food on her plate.

Naoki Nagayama didn't continue, seeing the next dish arrive, he said to Akane, "Akane, the next dish is snails. Do you want to try?"

"Eh? You can eat snails?" Seeing the French baked snails, Akane was a bit hesitant, "They look a bit disgusting..."

...

...

After a big meal, the two girls wanted to go shopping in Shinjuku,

since it wasn't a dedicated outing, Naoki Nagayama didn't accompany them.

In the afternoon, he still needed to handle the patent application for the cat ear headband design, which required a specialized intermediary, as the process would be too long otherwise.

Although it was impossible to charge a patent fee for all cat ear headbands in the future, he definitely needed the patent rights for this black and white cat ear headband. The first batch of cat ear headbands would be limited, and they would become collectibles in the future!

If they made a lot of money, he would also need to give a reward to Akina and Akane, the two artists.

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