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

Chapter 114: Skipping Grades in Promotion! Level 3 Director! Independent Production Department!

Akita Prefecture, Omagari City.

When Nohara Semashi drove that brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser—which his younger brother had specially sent someone to drive back from Tokyo—slowly into the parking lot of that coffee shop he was both familiar with and estranged from, the entire coffee shop seemed to have the pause button pressed.

Everyone's gazes were like iron filings attracted by a magnet, uniformly focusing on that highly oppressive steel behemoth, which seemed entirely out of place among the ordinary, unadorned cars around it.

The car door opened, and a burly, resolutely-featured man wearing a sharp Armani suit stepped out from the driver's seat.

He was none other than Nohara Semashi, who had long since been Reborn under his younger brother's "devilish reformation."

He looked at the girl named Sakurada Ikuna in the coffee shop, who was staring at him with a look of astonishment, and his honest, naive heart couldn't help but uncontrollably begin to beat violently.

He took a deep breath, remembering the words his younger brother had spoken to him over the phone.

"Aniki, be confident. You are not an ordinary farmer right now. You are a President of a Kabushiki Gaisha who is about to manage hundreds of hectares of land and have an annual income in the tens of millions. A guy driving a broken-down car giving away a few rotting roses is not qualified to compete with you."

Nohara Semashi's back unconsciously straightened perfectly.

He took an unprecedentedly steady and firm step, walking into that small coffee shop that might decide the fate of the rest of his life."Miss Ikuna."

His voice no longer stuttered and was no longer filled with an inferiority complex, but instead brimmed with the magnetic richness belonging to a mature man. "Thank you for your care the other day. I would like to invite you... out for dinner to show my gratitude!"

"Nohara... Semashi-kun!?"

Sakurada Ikuna stared blankly at the man before her, who seemed to have walked out of a fashion magazine, exuding a masculine scent of testosterone.

She originally had a favorable impression of Nohara Semashi anyway, and at this moment, a moving blush that she herself hadn't even noticed suddenly surfaced on her pretty face, which always bore a gentle smile.

"I... I..." She subconsciously wanted to nod.

However, right at this moment, a voice filled with discordant notes violently inserted itself from the side.

"Hey! Who is this guy? Didn't you see I was talking to Miss Ikuna?!"

A young man wearing a floral shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, looking like a slick dandy, blocked the path between the two of them with an unfriendly expression while holding a bouquet of bright roses.

He looked Nohara Semashi up and down with a gaze full of superiority, but his eyes faltered slightly.

It seemed this guy was very wealthy.

Moreover, he had also seen that brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser outside, and the corner of his eye twitched slightly.

That off-road vehicle was not cheap.

But he didn't want to show weakness.

"A country bumpkin from the boonies wearing a dragon robe won't turn into a crown prince. Someone like you isn't worthy of aiming so high for Miss Ikuna."

As he spoke, he handed the roses in his hand to Sakurada Ikuna, his face plastered with a self-righteous smile. "Miss Ikuna, this is the newest variety of blue roses I specially had air-freighted from the Netherlands just for you. For tonight, I have already reserved a table at the best French restaurant in the city. I wonder... if you would do me the honor?"

These words were filled with undisguised showing off and a Look Down From Above charity.

A look of awkwardness surfaced on Sakurada Ikuna's face.

She instinctively cast her gaze toward the silent man who had just calmly watched all of this from beginning to end.

Nohara Semashi didn't speak.

He simply looked calmly at the slick dandy. A flash of icy apathy, infected by his younger brother's "aura of a tyrant," flashed through his honest eyes.

"Put on an act;

put on an act like those big shots in the movies."

Nohara Semashi thought of his younger brother's teachings.

Thus, he slowly took out that futuristic Panasonic P100 his younger brother had given him from the inner pocket of his expensive suit.

Then, under the astonished and bewildered gazes of everyone, he pressed the call button.

Of course, he didn't actually dial.

After all, acting... everyone had at least some foundational grasp of it.

The key was, among Japanese people these days, how many actually understood mobile phones?

"Hello, Hiroshi? It's me."

His voice was calm yet full of power.

"I have already thought over the matter regarding the agricultural Kabushiki Gaisha. We will do as you said. Transfer the money to me as soon as possible. I have already picked out the land, and I've also found the people."

"Yeah, that's it. Hanging up."

He cleanly and decisively hung up the phone.

Then, he casually placed that mobile phone—a symbol of wealth and status that was scarce in the entire Akita Prefecture—onto the table, letting it emit a crisp, textured clack.

He looked at the slick dandy, who had long been shocked speechless by this series of actions, and his lips curled into a naive yet absolutely confident smile.

"Sorry, I was just... discussing a business deal worth tens of millions."

His voice at this moment wasn't very loud, but it slammed into the hearts of everyone present like a heavy bomb!

That slick dandy stared blankly at the futuristic mobile phone on the table, then looked at Nohara Semashi's extremely expensive suit, and finally cast his gaze onto the highly oppressive steel behemoth outside the window.

His face, which had been full of superiority, instantly turned from red to white, then from white to green, ultimately transforming into a terrified shade of purplish-liver.

He finally understood that he seemed to have... provoked a big shot he simply couldn't afford to provoke.

"Is Nohara Semashi... this incredible?!"

And as Sakurada Ikuna looked at the man before her—who had finalized a multi-million dollar business deal amidst casual conversation yet still maintained that rustic simplicity and honesty—her clear eyes were completely filled with a dazzling starlight known as "worship."

Without almost any hesitation, she directed a polite yet thoroughly distant smile at the slick dandy, who had already lost his soul.

"Sorry, Mr. Fujiwara. For tonight, I already... have an appointment."

As she spoke, she cast her gaze toward the man who made her heartbeat accelerate. A moving blush surfaced on her pretty face, which always bore a gentle smile.

"Mr. Nohara, you... you just said you wanted to invite me out for dinner, right?"

Looking at her expectant eyes, Nohara Semashi's honest heart was utterly filled in this moment by an unprecedented, scalding torrent known as happiness.

He grinned, revealing a naive smile brighter than the sunlight outside the window.

"Yeah!"

This simple "yeah" that came from Nohara Semashi's rustic throat carried a heaviness and sincerity capable of shaking mountains.

The honest smile on his dark, tanned face was like the plumpest rice ear in Akita Prefecture in August, golden and brimming with the joy of harvest.

Looking at him like this, Sakurada Ikuna's maiden heart was like a small pebble had been tossed into it, rippling into circles of shyness and joy. She lowered her head, two moving rosy clouds flying onto her fair cheeks, her voice as quiet as a mosquito: "Then... then let's..."

"Let's go!"

Before she could even finish speaking, Nohara Semashi was already like a highly proactive bull. With one hand, he snatched the Panasonic P100 symbolizing wealth and status from the table, while his other hand very naturally grasped her delicate, boneless little hand, striding out the door.

That posture was completely filled with a masculine domineering air that left No Room for Interference.

He only left that slick dandy named Fujiwara standing blankly in place like a weathered stone statue, his face full of superiority now reduced to nothing but undisguised, bottomless shock and humiliation.

Watching the two departing figures away, and seeing that highly oppressive steel behemoth let out a low roar and speed away, leaving a cloud of dust behind.

He felt his worldview shatter.

...

Tokyo, TV Tokyo Production Bureau Headquarters Building.

A high-level Meeting Room concerning the future of the factions was quietly taking place inside Bureau Chief Sakata Nobuhiko's office.

A complex atmosphere permeated the air, but it was ultimately something worth celebrating.

This was a massive victory for TV Tokyo.

How could they not be happy?

"27.5%..."

Sakata Nobuhiko, the patriarch of the Production Bureau, gently tapped the Viewership Ratings report—a report capable of driving any television station crazy—with his finger. However, his normally smiling face was currently a mask of bottomless calm.

His gaze slowly swept across the two people sitting opposite him.

On the left was the leader of the Kanto Faction, Asumi, whose face bore a smile that couldn't be hidden.

On the right was the number two figure of the Tokyo Faction, Takada Toshihide.

His normally somewhat gloomy face wore a forced smile, but the depths of his eyes were so sullen they felt as if water could drip from them. His icy eyes stared fixedly at the report on the table, like a venomous snake that had all of its prey snatched away.

"The premiere of a brand-new variety show in the afternoon slot... its Viewership Ratings are actually higher than our station's most ace Prime Time TV drama." Sakata Nobuhiko's voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer: "Gentlemen, regarding this matter... what are your thoughts?"

"I believe this is a victory for our entire TV Tokyo!"

Asumi was the first to speak, his voice loud and full of Politically Correct high spirits. "This proves that our television station's innovative capabilities are still number one in all of Japan! It also proves that under the wise leadership of Bureau Chief Sakata, our Production Bureau has truly managed to attract talent without being constrained by formalities!"

He spoke completely Watertight, not only elevating the Bureau Chief but also cleverly attributing this credit to the entire television station.

Furthermore.

Wasn't this exactly the excuse Takada Toshihide had used to suppress him back then?

They had to consider the big picture!

They had to look at it from the perspective of TV Tokyo's overall interests!

Saying it out loud himself right now.

Nothing could feel more satisfying!

"..." The corners of Takada Toshihide's eyes twitched.

"Deputy Director Asumi is correct." He forced these words through his teeth, his voice as dry as if it had been polished with sandpaper. "This young man, Nohara Hiroshi, is indeed... very talented. It was our Tokyo Faction who misjudged him back then and didn't give him greater authority."

He actually took the initiative to admit his mistake.

"Hm!?" This caused Asumi's brow to subconsciously twitch, and he instinctively raised his guard.

"However..." Takada Toshihide subtly shifted the topic. In his icy eyes flashed an imperceptible cold glint, like a venomous snake. "Talent is a double-edged sword. Used well, it can expand territory;

used poorly, it could also... injure oneself."

He looked at Sakata Nobuhiko, his tone full of earnestness "for the sake of the big picture":

"Bureau Chief, although Nohara-kun's achievements are currently outstanding, he is ultimately too young, and his operating style is too... radical. Having one person simultaneously responsible for three ace programs, any of which has Viewership Ratings enough to be recorded in the annals of history, is something completely unheard of in the entire history of Japanese television. I am genuinely worried... I'm worried that due to excessive pressure and lack of energy, it will eventually cause irreversible problems in all three projects. That would be a devastating blow to our entire television station."

These words seemed to express concern for Nohara Hiroshi on the surface, but in reality, they used the most vicious of overt schemes to lay a fatal trap for him.

—A subordinate's merits threatening his superior;

a tall tree catching the wind.

He intended to use this method to pluck the most sensitive string of suspicion belonging to someone in power within Sakata Nobuhiko's heart.

However, Sakata Nobuhiko merely listened cheerfully. In his constantly squinted eyes flashed the shrewd light of an old fox.

He picked up his teacup, blew on the hot steam, and slowly said, "Takada-kun's concerns are very reasonable. Asumi-kun, what do you think?"

"I believe Deputy Director Takada's concerns are superfluous."

Asumi's face still wore that unruffled, genial smile. "Hiroshi-kun's capabilities are obvious to us all. Furthermore, he has already completely delegated the production of the second season of Tales of the Unusual and Yamishibai to Sato Kenji, Yamamoto Takeshi, and Tanaka Kei. Right now, he is only acting as a macroscopic controller. I am confident that, given his energy, he is completely capable of handling it."

"Is that so?" Takada Toshihide sneered, his voice filled with disdain. "Handing such important projects over to a group of... defeated losers? Asumi-kun, you are truly quite bold."

"Defeated losers?" Asumi's smile remained unchanged, but a flash of icy sharpness flickered in his refined eyes. "Deputy Director Takada, please don't forget who it was that forced Tanaka Kei and the others to become defeated losers in the first place. And who it was that, after acquiring the ace IP of Yamishibai, couldn't even make a decent splash with it."

These words were like an invisible slap viciously striking Takada Toshihide across the face, causing a burning pain.

"You—!" Takada Toshihide hadn't expected the other party to directly flip the table.

This was in the presence of Bureau Chief Sakata!

This was Japan!

Everyone was supposed to struggle without breaking, they weren't supposed to tear away all pretenses!

"Enough!"

Just amidst this highly tense atmosphere, Sakata Nobuhiko finally put down the teacup in his hand, his voice instantly stunning the entire room.

All the smiling intent on his normally cheerful face had vanished, replaced by an unquestionable dignity belonging to an absolute power holder.

"What time is it, and you're still engaged in these unpresentable internal struggles!"

He looked back and forth between the two of them, two icy, piercing glares shooting from his squinted eyes. "Those guys from Osaka TV and Kansai TV are about to wear down the threshold of our Production Bureau! They have even offered triple the salary to poach our people! As my right and left hands, instead of thinking about how to present a united front against outsiders and failing to solidify morale, you're here scheming against each other over these petty, trivial benefits! Do you... do you want to turn me, the Bureau Chief, into a laughingstock for the entire Japanese television industry?!"

These words rang loud and clear, pouring down over their heads like a basin of icy water, completely extinguishing the tiny flame of factional disputes in their hearts.

"Bureau Chief, I..." Takada Toshihide still wanted to explain something.

"Hm!?"

But as Bureau Chief Sakata cast a glance his way, his heart instantly turned cold.

Right now... he had become the one on the receiving end of the biased favoritism!

"I..."

Thus, out of terror, Takada lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong.

Able to bow and able to stand tall!

"Hmph." Sakata Nobuhiko gave a cold snort, and his chubby face recovered its cheerful appearance, as if the thunderous fury from just moments ago was nothing more than everyone's hallucination.

He looked at the two of them and unhurriedly tossed out a massive bombshell capable of shaking the entire office.

"Regarding the issue of Nohara Hiroshi-kun's position, I have already discussed it with the Board of Directors."

He paused, enjoying the shocked and bewildered gazes cast by the two men.

"The Board unanimously decided that, given the outstanding, irreplaceable contributions Nohara Hiroshi-kun has made in the three projects—Tales of the Unusual, Yamishibai, and Kasou Taishou..."

"Starting from next month, he will formally be exceptionally promoted from a Level 4 Director to—"

Sakata Nobuhiko's voice clearly transmitted into everyone's ears like a bell striking the final verdict.

"Level 3 Director. And assume the position of Department Manager of the newly established [Nohara Hiroshi Independent Production Department]!"

"Boom—!"

This decision exploded violently in the minds of Asumi and Takada Toshihide like a true atomic bomb!

Level 3 Director!

Department Manager of an Independent Production Department!

This was no longer a simple exceptional promotion!

This was... ascending to the heavens in a single step!

One must know that in the strict hierarchical system of TV Tokyo, going from a Level 4 Director to a Level 3 Director was an insurmountable chasm that could easily exhaust countless people sweating profusely with gritted teeth over a timeframe measured in years!

An ordinary person wouldn't even dare to dream of it without eight to ten years of seniority and several respectable works to their name!

Yet that young man, he... he had been at the television station for less than a year!

And what was an Independent Production Department?

It was a privilege enjoyed only by Level 2 Directors, allowing them to take full charge of various project programs they produced, establishing sections within their own production department, arranging personnel, and even possessing partial financial and personnel rights!

"Bureau Chief! This... this does not follow the rules!" Takada Toshihide was the first to react. He abruptly stood up, his gloomy face displaying almost pure disbelief.

He knew very well that currently, even some Level 2 Directors under his command didn't have the privilege of an Independent Production Department!

Yet now it was given directly to Nohara Hiroshi.

A young man who had only been with the company for not even half a year!?

Even if he had now been promoted to a Director level, he was actually still just a Level 3 Director—a young director!