My Name is Hiroshi Nohara, Star of Neon Film and Television!

Chapter 105: Misae meets the Nohara family! Nohara Hiroshi's head aches!

The low growl of the Toyota Crown Majesta's V8 engine sounded like a well-fed, satisfied beast letting out a lazy roar in the Tokyo night.

The car didn't head towards those bustling, neon-lit centers, but instead turned into a relatively quiet residential area.

It stopped in front of Sushi Ichiro chain restaurant.

The storefront wasn't large, but the decoration was extremely elegant.

A warm wooden structure, with a blue noren (short curtain) hanging at the entrance, displaying the shop's name written in vigorous calligraphy. Through the huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the interior was brightly lit, faintly revealing the lively scene of diners chatting and laughing happily.

Compared to those plain and unadorned small restaurants in Omagari City, Akita Prefecture, everything here exuded a scent of "high-class".

Haseji Kakeru parked the car nimbly, then respectfully opened the rear door.

"Section Chief, the private room has already been reserved, it's the best 'Tsukimi' (Moon-viewing) room in the restaurant."

Nohara Ginnosuke followed Nohara Hiroshi out of the car. He stuck out his small belly, clasped his hands behind his back, and like a leader inspecting his territory, walked a circle around that small shop, clicking his tongue in wonder: "Oh, not bad, this little shop. Looks even grander than the best house in our village!"

Nohara Tsuru somewhat constrainedly pulled at the corner of her clothes, her soft face carrying a few traces of unease: "Hiroshi ah, will here... be very expensive?"Only Nohara Semashi, the honest farmer, had his simple eyes glued deadly to the menu pricing board at the entrance from the moment he stepped out of the car. When he clearly saw that the smallest unit on it was calculated in "pieces" (kan), and the cheapest piece cost several hundred yen, his dark face instantly turned green.

That expression looked as if he wasn't looking at a menu, but his own death warrant.

Nohara Hiroshi looked at his family's classic appearance of "Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden," and the little bit of helplessness in his heart was diluted by that blood-connected warmth.

He turned around, pulled out a five-thousand-yen bill from his wallet, and handed it to Haseji Kakeru who was still standing aside.

"Haseji, you've worked hard today. It's getting late, take a taxi back, and be safe on the road."

Haseji Kakeru was slightly stunned, then took the money with both hands and bowed deeply to Nohara Hiroshi.

"Thank you very much, Section Chief! Then I'll take my leave first. Everyone, please take your time."

He knew that working under Section Chief Nohara, the last thing needed was empty pleasantries.

This overly young superior was a general whose word was law at work, but in daily life, he was a generous older brother who never mistreated his people. Although Nohara Hiroshi was younger in age, everyone respected him.

Therefore, this straightforward and clean interaction mode made him, someone who wasn't good with words, feel incredibly comfortable and at ease.

Watching Haseji Kakeru's silhouette disappear around the street corner, Nohara Hiroshi finally turned around, smiling at his still-dazed family: "Alright, don't stand outside, let's go in."

As he spoke, he walked towards a lone public telephone booth standing on the street corner next to them.

"You guys go in first, I'm going to make a phone call."

Nohara Ginnosuke's eyes instantly lit up. Those two thick eyebrows uncontrollably trembled, and he used a suggestively toned, lowered voice to speak to his wife and eldest son beside him: "Did you see? Did you see? This kid is definitely going to call that pretty girl from Kumamoto Prefecture! Hehehe, he has my demeanor from back in the day!"

Nohara Hiroshi stumbled, almost tripping over the telephone booth's threshold. He took a deep breath, pretended not to hear, and quickly dialed that familiar number.

On the other end of the line, Koyama Misae's energetic, warm-like-a-little-sun voice quickly came through.

"Hello? Hiroshi? What is it? Is work finished?"

"En, just finished." Nohara Hiroshi's voice unconsciously softened a lot. "Um... Misae, there's a sudden situation. My Mom and Dad, and my Brother, came from Akita, they just arrived right now."

The other end of the phone fell silent for two seconds, then erupted with a cute exclamation: "Eh?! Uncle and Auntie are all here?!"

"Yeah," Nohara Hiroshi laughed bitterly, "Surprise attack. We're at 'Sushi Ichiro' right now, do you want to... come over and eat together? And by the way, meet them?"

"Go! Of course I'm going!" Misae's voice was filled with undisguised excitement and a tinge of nervousness: "Wait for me! I'll be right there! I... I have to put on makeup first!"

"No need for that much trouble..." Nohara Hiroshi chuckled softly.

"No way! First time meeting Uncle and Auntie, I definitely must leave the best impression!" Misae was incredibly solemn.

With a 'smack', the phone was hung up neatly and straightforwardly.

Nohara Hiroshi held the receiver, shook his head helplessly, but the corners of his mouth hooked up into a doting smile.

He returned to the sushi restaurant. The waiter had respectfully led his family members to the innermost 'Tsukimi' private room.

This was a standard Japanese-style private room, spacious and elegantly decorated.

On the wall hung an ink-wash landscape painting with a profound artistic conception, and in the corner sat a meticulously pruned bonsai.

However, this Zen-like atmosphere was completely shattered by Nohara Ginnosuke's rustic exclamations of amazement.

"Wow wow wow! This place is cleaner than our house!" Sitting cross-legged on the soft cushion, he acted like a curious monkey, touching this and looking at that. Finally, his gaze landed on the conveyor belt slowly moving in the center of the table, loaded with all kinds of sushi.

"This is good! This is good!" His eyes shone. "Just like the irrigation canals in our countryside, it even moves by itself! Saves trouble!"

Nohara Tsuru was elegantly sipping the hot tea served by the shop, with a helpless look on her face.

Only Nohara Semashi was still sitting restlessly.

He hadn't touched a sip of the tea in front of him. Those large hands covered in thick calluses nervously rubbed back and forth on his knees.

"Dad... Mom..." He leaned close to his parents, speaking in a mosquito-like voice: "I... I just looked at the prices outside. Here... the cheapest plate here is enough to buy a big salted fish back home. That... that one that looks the most beautiful, the fatty tuna belly, one plate... one plate can equal our family's soy sauce money for over half a year!"

"So what?!"

Nohara Ginnosuke's eyes widened. He picked up his chopsticks, and with the speed of lightning, snatched a shiny, obviously expensive plate of fatty tuna belly sushi from the conveyor belt, then, without even looking, stuffed the whole thing into his mouth.

"Mmph! Mmph mmph mmph!"

He blissfully narrowed his eyes, his cheeks bulging like a hamster. That wonderful melt-in-the-mouth texture made his entire person feel as if he was ascending to heaven.

He struggled to swallow that expensive piece of fish meat, then glared at his eldest son with an 'expecting better but disappointed' look.

"Look at this little bit of ambition of yours! Your younger brother is now a big shot making a living in Tokyo! What's wrong with treating us to a good meal? As the big brother, don't act like you've never seen the world, embarrassing our Nohara family! Hurry up and eat! Eat to your heart's content! If we don't eat your brother poor today, his filial piety won't be considered adequate!"

After speaking, as if to set an example, he stretched out his chopsticks again, attacking left and right, sweeping plate after plate of sushi in front of himself. That posture looked as if he wasn't eating sushi, but fighting a battle involving family honor.

Nohara Semashi was choked by his own old man's "robber logic" to the point he couldn't speak for a long while, his dark face turning the color of pork liver.

"Alright, alright, father of the child, say a few fewer words." Nohara Tsuru shook her head helplessly, then picked up a piece of Tamagoyaki sushi with her chopsticks, placed it on her eldest son's plate, and gently urged: "Semashi ah, you try a bit too. This is all Hiroshi's kind intentions, don't disappoint him."

After all, Nohara Tsuru knew how much money Nohara Hiroshi remitted to her every month.

That was truly millions of yen!

Under his mother's gentle offensive, Nohara Semashi finally picked up his chopsticks hesitantly.

The rich and sweet taste of the sea urchin sushi, the melt-in-the-mouth fat aroma of the Wagyu sushi, and all kinds of creative sushi made with fresh seasonal fish, like a gorgeous feast of taste, continuously impacted the taste buds of the Nohara family.

"Mmph mmph mmph! Truly delicious!"

Even the most hesitant Nohara Semashi, after carefully tasting a piece of sweet shrimp sushi, had his simple eyes burst with heavenly radiance. Immediately, he put down all his worries and joined the "sweeping" army.

At this time, Nohara Hiroshi also pulled open the door, walked in, and naturally sat down at the table.

Watching his family's deeply satisfied eating appearance, a gratifying smile also appeared on Nohara Hiroshi's face.

He cleared his throat, feeling it was time to announce that major event.

"Um... Dad, Mom, Big Brother. Telling you guys something, my girlfriend Misae will be coming over in a bit."

'Clang!'

The chopsticks in Nohara Ginnosuke's hand dropped onto the table.

'Pfft!'

The mouthful of tea Nohara Semashi had just stuffed into his mouth was sprayed right out.

Only Nohara Tsuru was fairly calm, but those gentle eyes were also written full of of unguarded panic.

"Oh my! This... what do we do?!" She was the first to react, spinning around anxiously on the spot: "We... we came too hastily, we didn't prepare any meeting gifts for the girl! This... this is too impolite!"

"That's right!" Nohara Ginnosuke fiercely slapped his thigh, an annoyed expression also floating up on that old face.

But soon he seemed to have thought of something: "I remember! The local specialties from Akita Prefecture that I had your Mom bring, whatever rice wine, pickled vegetables, and our family's own homegrown rice, are... are all still in the trunk of the car!"

"Aiyo, why are you mentioning those?" Nohara Tsuru rolled her eyes helplessly at her husband: "Those are all worthless agricultural products, how can we present them? How could a girl from Tokyo look up to these things?"

For a moment, the atmosphere in the private room went from harmony to being instantly filled with at-a-loss awkwardness.

That face of Nohara Ginnosuke, which was always in high spirits, also rarely dropped.

Nohara Semashi even more so wished he could find a crack in the ground to dive into. He felt that their family simply came to make his younger brother lose face.

"It's okay."

Looking at his family like this, Nohara Hiroshi smiled instead.

He poured tea for everyone, and said unhurriedly: "Misae is not that kind of materialistic woman. Besides, you guys being able to come is the best gift for her."

He paused, shifting his gaze to his extremely cramped-looking Big Brother beside him, conveniently changing the subject:

"Big Brother, what about you? Is there any prospect of marriage?"

This topic, like an accurate embroidery needle, instantly burst Nohara Semashi's already fragile nerves.

His dark face visibly and rapidly reddened to the roots of his ears.

"I... where would I have any..." He stammered, his voice as low as a mosquito's buzz: "The... the girls in the village all look down on me. They... they think I'm rustic, think I'm... stingy."

"See! See!" Hearing this, Nohara Ginnosuke immediately got angry out of nowhere. The awkwardness from just now was instantly tossed to the clouds. Pointing at his eldest son's nose, he started his 'Tiger Father Proverb' routine again: "I told you long ago! Men! Especially the men of our Nohara family! Outside, we can be frugal, but on women, we absolutely cannot be stingy! The money that should be spent, not a single penny can be less! You can't even bear to treat the girl to a good meal, why should she follow you?!"

"Yes, Semashi." This time, even the always gentle Nohara Tsuru couldn't help but advise: "Although your father's words are unpleasant to hear, the reasoning is sound. Young people nowadays pay attention to romance. Appropriately, you should still be more generous."

Sandwiched by his parents left and right, Nohara Semashi's honest and simple heart was simply riddled with holes. He could only lower his head, silently picking at the ginger slices in front of him, unable to say a single word.

Nohara Hiroshi looking at his Big Brother's pitiful appearance, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

He remembered.

Deep in his memories, in that national-level anime from his previous life, this Big Brother of his, Nohara Semashi, seemed to have finally gotten married only at the age of forty.

And his marriage partner was a divorced woman with a son and a daughter, named 'Ikuna'.

He remembered that Big Brother seemed to have fallen in love at first sight with Miss Ikuna, loving her deeply. The process had some twists and turns, but eventually, they formed a happy family.

Thinking of this, a hard-to-detect sharp glint flashed in the depths of Nohara Hiroshi's eyes.

Ikuna...

He remembered that woman should not be married right now, and possibly hadn't even met the man who brought her a failed marriage yet.

Right now, she should just be an ordinary young girl from the countryside.

What if... what if he could find a way to let them meet earlier?

With Big Brother's honest and reliable, slightly clumsy and gentle personality, plus himself, this "Gold Medal Producer" younger brother helping out a bit from behind...

Could it change that destined-to-be tortuous fate, allowing Big Brother to find his own happiness much earlier?

Once this thought took root, it was like a seed cast into fertile soil, madly taking root and sprouting in his heart.

He was a transmigrator, possessing a 'prophet' advantage unmatched by anyone in this world.

This advantage wasn't just to make him successful and famous, but even more so to let the people around him, the family he cherished, live better lives.

This, perhaps, was the true meaning of his coming to this world.

Nohara Hiroshi touched his chin, a meaningful smile curling his lips.

It seemed that besides producing variety shows and TV dramas, his life resume would soon add a new, and also the most important project—

"Big Brother's Happiness Renovation Project"!

"Excuse me."

Right at this moment, the wooden door of the private room was gently slid open.

A crisp and pleasing voice, beautiful like a wind chime, accompanied by a faint fresh scent resembling grass after rain, wafted in.

The gazes of everyone in the private room were instantly attracted.

At the doorway, stood a pretty and delicate girl.

She wore a simple and elegant white dress, her smooth long black hair casually draped over her shoulders. On that small, melon-seed-shaped face, light makeup not only didn't conceal her pure true nature but added a few traces of exquisite brightness.

Those large, watery eyes, like two obsidian stones, sparkled with a trace of the nervousness and curiosity of a first meeting.

Her whole person looked like a high school girl who had just walked out of a campus, full of youth's vitality and beautiful aura.

It was exactly Koyama Misae who had rushed over.

"Aiya! It's Misae-chan, right? Come in! Come in quickly!"

Nohara Tsuru was the first to react. All constraint on her face was instantly replaced by enthusiasm. She hurriedly stood up, affectionately took Misae's hand, and led her to sit down beside her.

"What a beautiful child!" She looked Misae up and down, growing more satisfied the more she looked, her eyes smiling into crescent moons: "Auntie came in too much of a hurry, didn't prepare any gifts, it's truly too impolite. You rest assured, next time, Auntie will definitely make it up to you with a huge red envelope!"

On the other side, Nohara Ginnosuke's reaction was much more spectacular.

He first stared blankly at Misae, his tiny eyes filled with undisguised amazement.

Immediately, he sharply turned his head, staring deadly at his youngest son with an extremely suspicious gaze.

"Hey! Hiroshi!" He lowered his voice, his tone like interrogating a criminal who had committed a heinous crime: "You kid... not bad! Actually... actually dating a high school girl?! You... this is a crime! Too much!"

However, before the black lines all over Nohara Hiroshi's head had time to materialize, his tone shifted, and that old face instantly swapped to a wretched smile filled with pride and smugness.

He stealthily glanced at his eldest son beside him who was completely dumbstruck, and then continued speaking in a tone full of showing off:

"However... beautifully done! This is the man of our Nohara family! You definitely have to take the initiative! Otherwise where would any girls like you? You definitely have to be like your old dad when he was young, gotta learn how to pick up girls!"

He patted Nohara Hiroshi's shoulder heavily, those small eyes sparkling with a gratifying light, conveniently throwing in another complaint:

"Hmph, obviously way stronger than that blockhead brother of yours who only knows how to save money! You have my demeanor from back in the day!"

Nohara Hiroshi: "..."

He felt his temples throbbing, jumping madly.