Chapter 31

Chapter 31: 031, Oh ho, Two Youthful Girls Came Visiting!

The loan process went very smoothly.

With prior experience handling a similar loan, Nakai Genta directly secured a loan limit of 100 million yen for Nagayama Naoki.

The house purchases also proceeded without issues.

In Bunkyo Ward, he bought a 25-tsubo apartment (a little over 80 square meters) for only 16 million yen.

Roppongi was still out of reach, but this time the commercial property was in Shibuya. It was only a 15-tsubo (around 50 square meters) ground-floor shop, yet it cost more than 106 million yen. Truly outrageous pricing.

When the bubble economy arrives, selling it for anything less than 600 million would feel like a loss.

Time quickly approached April.

Some early cherry blossoms in Tokyo had already bloomed, though most were still in bud. In about a week, they would reach their most beautiful moment.

On the streets, the song “Sakura Anata ni Deaete Yokatta” (“Sakura, I’m Glad I Met You”) could still be heard everywhere. It had already ranked number one on the Oricon chart for two consecutive weeks.

With the April cherry blossom season approaching, it was likely to stay popular for at least two more weeks. Taking first place on the monthly chart was no longer just a dream.

As both songwriter and producer, Nagayama Naoki had begun gaining recognition in certain music magazines, where he was called “the creator of cherry blossom songs.”

After all, two songs related to cherry blossoms had both become major hits.

A few days earlier, Nagayama Tsuruko had started insisting on visiting Tokyo. In the end, she decided to take the train on the last day of March.

Coming along was her close friend Tsubakiya Kana. The two had both just entered high school that year and planned to fully enjoy their spring vacation.

That day was a weekend. In the morning, Nagayama Naoki cleaned the apartment a little before heading to Waseda Station.

In an era without mobile phones, the only option was to calculate the timing carefully and arrive early to wait.

Waseda Station was crowded with people coming and going. They had agreed to meet beside the convenience store in the waiting hall.

While idly flipping through magazines on the shelves, Naoki waited for Tsuruko’s arrival.

Unexpectedly, he saw news about Higuchi Kanako in one of the magazines, mentioning her participation in a new drama.

As expected, once fame increased, production teams naturally came knocking.

After waiting about half an hour, he saw two girls in small skirts walking out of the exit.

“Tsuruko, Kana-chan, over here!” Nagayama Naoki waved.

“Onii-chan!”

“Naoki-nii-chan~”

Ah, those voices overflowing with youth.

Two energetic young girls had arrived.

“Tsuruko, Kana-chan, let’s head back first. Mother specifically told me to call home as soon as you arrived.”

“Sigh, I wanted to go shopping first~”

“We can shop after eating.”

Tsubakiya Kana asked, “Naoki-nii-chan, where do you live?”

“About a ten-minute walk from here.”

“Is your place big enough for both me and Kana-chan? We can stay at a hotel if needed,” Tsuruko said.

“There’s a spare room. It’s fine.”

“Have the cherry blossoms in Tokyo bloomed yet?”

“Early April. The cherry blossoms along Meguro River probably need another two days.”

“Then where are you taking us these next few days?”

“Huh? You didn’t make any plans?”

While chatting, the three walked back to Naoki’s apartment. After he opened the door with his key, the two girls immediately began looking around like curious little animals.

Naoki placed their small bags on the tatami in the guest room.

“You’ll sleep here tonight. The bedding is in the closet, all new. Toiletries are in the storage cabinet.”

“Onii-chan lives alone in such a big place? How big is it? How much is the rent?”

To Tsuruko, aside from lacking a second floor, the apartment seemed even larger than their family home in Shizuoka.

“About 20 tsubo. I didn’t rent it out, so I don’t know how much rent it would go for,” Naoki replied casually while calling home to report they had arrived safely.

“Didn’t rent it out? The landlord lets you live here for free?”

“What nonsense. This is my house.”

“What?!?!” x2

“Onii-chan bought this himself?!” Tsuruko exclaimed.

“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you before?” The call connected. “Mother, I’ve picked up Tsuruko.”

“Yes, Kana-chan is here too. Both arrived safely. Tsuruko is right beside me, you can talk to her.”

He handed the phone over.

“Mom! Onii-chan bought a house in Tokyo!!!”

On the other end, Nagayama Nanako: “?”

After a long explanation, everything was finally clarified. Then Kana-chan also called home to report her safe arrival, which naturally involved another round of parental lecturing.

The next time Nagayama Naoki returned home, he would probably hear comments like, “Other people’s children have already bought houses in Tokyo!”

If these two girls learned that he also had a disco currently under renovation and two additional properties undergoing ownership transfer, rumors about “the Nagayama family producing a tycoon” would likely spread through their hometown.

Afterward, Tsuruko and Kana-chan continued wandering around the apartment, even visiting the bathroom several times.

“That’s enough, you two!”

Seeing them open the bathroom door for the fourth time, Naoki finally stopped them.

“Come sit down already.”

The girls’ faces were flushed with excitement.

“Naoki-nii-chan, how are you so rich?”

“Do commercials really pay that much?”

Naoki sighed. “It’s not that profitable. Didn’t I explain before? I wrote a song for Matsuda Seiko-san, and it became a huge hit.”

“And then you bought this apartment?”

Tsubakiya Kana listened from the side. There was no need to explain in detail.

“More or less.”

Tsuruko said confidently, “So songwriting makes this much money? I’ll definitely become a songwriter in the future! Even songs written by Onii-chan can become hits, so a top student like me will definitely succeed!”

“Calm down first…” Naoki walked to the refrigerator. “Kana-chan, want something to drink?”

“Yes! Do you have the drink from the commercial you filmed?”

“Probably. I drank too many during filming and never restocked afterward.”

He found a few bottles left and handed them over.

At that moment, Tsubakiya Kana asked curiously, “Naoki-nii-chan, is what the magazine said true?”

“What did it say?”

“About Higuchi Kanako-san’s romance.”

“Kana, I told you already—it’s fake!” Tsuruko interrupted. “You don’t believe me!”

“It can’t be helped. You were photographed shopping together, and the couple acting in the MV looked so convincing. Falling in love through acting happens all the time,” Kana said, clearly invested in the pairing.

“Naoki-nii-chan is so handsome…” Kana blushed slightly. “He matches Kanako-san perfectly.”

“That’s just magazine nonsense. You know what entertainment magazines are like,” Naoki replied helplessly. “If we go by actual time spent together, I’ve only met Kanako-san three times.”

“Ehhh~~~” x2. Tsuruko, why are you disappointed?

“Alright, get ready. I’ll take you out to eat.”

To end the topic, Naoki changed the subject.

“After that, we’ll go walk around Pedestrian Paradise this afternoon.”

“Okay~” x2