Chapter 25: 025, Breaking News! Konan Higuchi in a Passionate Romance with a Mysterious Person

Lunch was settled at a small shop on the street.

After a hearty meal,

"It's been so long since I've eaten at an authentic street stall like the ones on Student Street~ I miss this so much~" Higuchi Kanako had been discovered by a talent scout and debuted in '78, and she hadn't eaten at Student Street much since then.

"Right? Things that felt very ordinary before, once you haven't eaten them for a while, they feel nostalgic when you eat them again~" Nagayama Naoki said. "Back in my hometown, I ate my mother's bento every day. After moving to Tokyo, I didn't eat it for a year, and when I went back for New Year's, I almost ate until I burst~"

"It must have been very hard for you, Naoki-san, coming to Tokyo to work all by yourself," Higuchi Kanako asked. "You must have felt lonely being alone, right~"

"Not at all!"

"Eh?"

"I'll tell you, when I first arrived in Tokyo, I was a die-hard fan of Yamaguchi Momoe-san. With Her Majesty Momoe's songs accompanying me every day, I didn't feel lonely at all."

What could Nagayama Naoki say? The previous "young man" had already passed away; the current one had only been here for half a year.

"Aren't you a fan of Matsuda Seiko, Naoki-san?" Higuchi Kanako asked in surprise. "Didn't you even write a hit song for Seiko-san?"

"Ah, well, there was no helping that. Her Majesty Momoe retired, after all~"

"So, you switched allegiances that quickly?" Higuchi Kanako's tone was a bit teasing. "I didn't realize Naoki-san was such an unfaithful person~"

Eh? Was this the second time someone had called him unfaithful?

"No, it's not like that~ It was just that when my heart felt empty, Seiko-san happened to move in~" It looked like this image of a die-hard Matsuda Seiko fan was going to stick with him for life.

As they were talking, the two arrived near the warehouse Nagayama Naoki had purchased.

"Kanako-san, I bought a plot of land nearby and am currently renovating it. Would you like to come take a look with me?"

"Here?" Higuchi Kanako was surprised again; land here must be very expensive.

"Yes, it's a warehouse." As he spoke, he led her into a side street. After walking just a few dozen meters, a construction site surrounded by tarpaulin could be seen.

The warehouse doors had been removed, the original clutter had been cleared out, and the ground had been excavated several dozen centimeters to redo the foundation; they were currently laying pipes and cables.

The architect, Honma Takashi, was directing the workers.

"Honma-san, how is the progress?" After greeting Honma Takashi, Nagayama Naoki asked about the status.

"Currently laying the utility lines. Once this work is finished, we can begin the interior decoration. There have been no delays; the estimated completion is still April."

After looking around, Nagayama Naoki couldn't see any issues: "Then I'll have to trouble you again later, Honma-san."

If any problems arose, he would just go straight to the architect. In Japan, architects trade on their reputation; if they don't do a good job, their name suffers later.

"Yes, I will certainly complete it diligently."

He found Higuchi Kanako, who was peering curiously at the entrance. "Kanako-san, we're all set. Sorry to have kept you waiting so long, let's go~"

"It's no trouble at all. On the contrary, it's quite a surprise that Naoki-san actually bought land here~"

"Haha, it's all thanks to Matsuda Seiko-san; that song became a huge hit."

"What are you turning this place into?"

"I plan to turn it into a disco."

"A disco? A nightclub or a dance hall?"

"Something like that. It's a style brought over from America, leaning more towards singing and dancing."

"I'm a bit curious. Once it's built, I'll definitely have to come play~"

"Yes, thank you for the honor, Kanako-san~ I'll definitely give you free entry when the time comes, hahaha."

The two continued chatting as they walked back to Student Street.

Matsuzawa Shinnosuke was a junior field reporter for a small entertainment magazine, commonly known as a paparazzi.

Because he had only just entered the industry, he had no inside information or informants tipping him off. If he wanted to capture any explosive news, there was only one way: staking out locations.

This weekend, Matsuzawa Shinnosuke had come to the vicinity of Takadanobaba to see if he would get lucky with a scoop.

After waiting all morning, he saw plenty of students, but it was all just ordinary daily life. Was he going to go back and write a filler piece about a weekend in Takadanobaba?

"I should go stake out a TV station or an agency instead. Even though the competition is higher, there's more news~"

Just then, he saw a handsome man and a beautiful woman walking down the street, chatting and laughing. He instinctively pressed the shutter a few times.

But these two didn't look like celebrities or idols; what famous person goes out without a mask or sunglasses?

After mocking himself, Matsuzawa Shinnosuke prepared to move on to the TV stations and agencies.

Unexpectedly, near a TV station, he ran into a senior from his own company, who gave him a scolding: "We're already staking this place out. You guy, if you have nothing to do, you might as well go back to the office and organize the photos everyone took these past few days!"

Although the paparazzi group was frugal with film, there were still many useless photos, so someone needed to organize and process them.

Usually, that was what the rookies did.

After returning to the office, Matsuzawa Shinnosuke first developed the few photos he took today, then began organizing some photos left over from the darkroom.

By the time all the photos were organized, his own photos were mostly ready, and he still had to clean the darkroom.

After leaving the darkroom, Matsuzawa Shinnosuke began checking the photos one by one. Most were useless, but one couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be any "fish that escaped the net," right?

Otsuki Shinnosuke, a rookie from the same batch, also returned to the office: "Shinnosuke-san, you're back already? Did you catch anything?"

"Nothing at all. I ran into a senior staking out a spot and was sent back to organize photos. How about you, Shinnosuke-san?"

"Nothing either. Where would rookies get so many scoops from~"

As he spoke, he walked over to Matsuzawa Shinnosuke to look at the photos together.

"Eh? Isn't this Higuchi Kanako?" Otsuki Shinnosuke suddenly pointed at a photo, becoming excited.

"Who?" Shinnosuke really hadn't recognized her.

"That actress who won the Newcomer Award at the Golden Arrow Awards!"

"Wait, really? A star?!"

"Shinnosuke-san, you've really done it! You caught something good!" Otsuki Shinnosuke looked at the man and woman in the photo. "Higuchi Kanako is in a passionate romance with a mysterious man..."

"The male lead looks somewhat familiar; he doesn't look like an outsider. If you can dig up some deeper material, Shinnosuke, your report could make it into the main text of the magazine!"

Hearing this, Matsuzawa Shinnosuke also became excited: "Even if I don't sleep, I will find this man!"

On a weekday morning, the PR department of BURNING Agency received a call from a small magazine, notifying them that they intended to run a scandal involving one of their actors.

The PR Manager, Kikuchi Etsuro, knew of Higuchi Kanako, as she had just won the Newcomer Award. However, as an actress, such a scandal wasn't actually a big deal; she wasn't a top-tier idol.

Nevertheless, he summoned the assistant in charge of managing Higuchi Kanako, Koyanagi Marin, to inquire about the situation.

"So, you're saying it was just professional communication?"

"Yes. It was a collaborator I met for the first time the day before yesterday. Because both sides were unfamiliar with each other, the collaboration wasn't smooth, so we had dinner over the weekend to communicate better." Koyanagi Marin was not panicked at all; this was the truth.

"I see. Then there's no need for PR intervention. Appropriate scandals can help maintain Higuchi Kanako's popularity."

"Yes."

In fact, an actress of Higuchi Kanako's type didn't have anything particularly memorable about her. Without support, it would be easy for her to fade away after winning the Newcomer Award.

But if she could achieve a certain level of attention, it wouldn't be easy for her to suddenly collapse later; she was the type of artist who relied heavily on resources.

In his past life, Higuchi Kanako also went through a period of significant controversy before she truly became famous and remained active in the entertainment industry.

(End of Chapter)