Chapter 139: Having Money Really Makes You Do Whatever You Want

After bidding farewell to Aozhao back then, Watanabe Riku returned to his hometown in Kyoto from Tokyo, just as he had said he would. He rented the ground floor of the Morinaga Building on Sanjo-dori in the Nakagyo Ward and opened a club named Flash.

The club was named after the Blue Hearts' song of the same title, "Flash." Watanabe Riku was a superfan of the Blue Hearts. It was during the final summer break of high school, upon hearing the band's famous song "Linda Linda," that he had been so deeply moved he resolved to pursue a career related to music.

As for the music video for "A Singer's Love Song," Aozhao had made it clear beforehand that they only needed to borrow a studio or a club stage to simply shoot a promotional live performance video. Therefore, he had contacted Watanabe Riku, and with his consent, chosen the club as the shooting location for this music video.

Of course, coming all the way from Tokyo just to borrow a club stage would not only be a major fuss, but it would also contradict Aozhao's original intention of keeping things simple and avoiding unnecessary complications. In reality, the most important purpose of this trip to the Kansai region was to visit the Osaka Festival Hall to conduct a field survey of the concert venue.

Combining the venue inspection with the music video shoot made this Kyoto-Osaka trip immediately much more substantial. Of course, for Aozhao, beyond these two reasons, there was another personal significance: meeting Watanabe Riku once again. In his heart, the weight of his friendship with Watanabe Riku was undoubtedly immense.

Getting out of the car, Aozhao handed over the paper bag he had been resting on his knees. "Brother Watanabe, this is a gift for you and Miss Naoko."

Watanabe Riku took the paper bag, opened a corner slightly to look inside, and saw exquisitely packaged boxes of Western-style pastries.

"I figured Brother Watanabe must already have everything, so I didn't bring anything else, just bought some pastries from that bakery near Tokyo Station. If I recall correctly, both you and Miss Naoko are loyal fans of that place, right?"

Watanabe Riku beamed with joy. "It's a wonder you still remember that. This is a truly wonderful gift, because it's something you can only get in Tokyo. Even though transportation is very convenient nowadays, I could never bring myself to make a special trip to Tokyo just for a box of pastries."

The Being staff members who accompanied him were there to go with him to Osaka to check out the concert venue, while the people actually in charge of the music video shoot were an Osaka-based team that had collaborated with Being many times before, though they would not arrive for a little while.

Before they arrived, Watanabe Riku led everyone on a tour first.

The club could hold about two hundred people and had no seating installed. During the day when there were no performances, it looked somewhat empty, and a handwritten sign was posted at the entrance: "No Jumping."

"Huh? No jumping allowed inside the club? Wouldn't that make things a bit boring?"

Watanabe Riku smiled and explained, "This was a requirement put forward by the real estate agency. They were worried about disturbing the neighbors."

"Did Miss Naoko go to work today as well?" Aozhao paused by the wall, looking at the posters of bands and singers densely plastered across it; these were all Watanabe Riku's private collection.

"Yeah. By tonight, if you're not in a hurry to leave, you'll be able to meet her." Not long after Watanabe Riku returned to Kyoto, Asakura Naoko had also submitted a request for a transfer to the Osaka branch office. As it happened, her publishing house always viewed transfers to branch offices as a form of exile to the cold palace, and since she was not an indispensable core member, the request was easily approved.

"From Osaka to Kyoto, it takes about forty minutes by train, right? Miss Naoko must have it tough," Aozhao calculated silently in his mind. "By the way, when do the two of you plan to hold the wedding?"

Watanabe Riku and Asakura Naoko had officially registered their marriage on June 28th of this year, which was Asakura Naoko's birthday. Although the wedding ceremony had not yet been held, legally, Asakura Naoko had already become Naoko Watanabe.

Watanabe Riku wore a blissful smile. "We've decided to hold it on December 19th, the anniversary of when we first met. Besides holding a ceremony at a hotel for our relatives from both sides, some friends from the underground music scene around here have already agreed to host a celebration live for us right here in this club. Aozhao, if you're free then, come over and join the fun."

"Needless to say. No matter what, I'll clear my schedule for the two of you on the day of the wedding and the celebration live," Aozhao agreed readily. "Speaking of which, Brother Watanabe's life is truly full of zest no matter when."

"That's because very few people are as self-indulgent as I am," Watanabe Riku said.

"That's true too," Aozhao nodded. As a genuine wealthy heir in Kyoto who owned an entire block of rental apartments and multiple plots of land, as well as being an only child, his abundant family background gave him the capital to be willful. Having money, leisure, and support—no matter which of these three things was missing, it would be difficult to live life so casually.

"By the way, didn't you say you were going to learn to play the bass after I gave it to you last time? How is your progress coming along?" Watanabe Riku asked. "You have so many top-tier musicians around you now; learning a musical instrument should be much easier for you than for ordinary people."

Aozhao held out his left hand. "This is proof that I've been practicing hard. As for the progress, the teacher who teaches me arrangement used to be a bassist. According to him, I'm just about ready to fish in troubled waters during a performance."

Masao Akashi, that big shot, was a bassist by trade. Upon learning that Aozhao had recently been asking the company's bass players for guidance from time to time, he had dragged him straight into the practice room under the guise of testing his bass skills, and then delivered the aforementioned evaluation.

Considering that Aozhao had only been exposed to the bass for a few short months and could only study when he managed to squeeze out some free time, receiving that kind of evaluation was already quite good. Although the bass is relatively easy to pick up as a beginner, the various hurdles one must overcome to truly play decently are by no means fewer than for any other musical instrument. For a professional bassist to say he could "scrape by during a performance" was already a quite polite appraisal.

That being said, if one wants to become a heavyweight arranger, mastering four or five musical instruments is an absolute must.

About fifteen minutes later, inside the club's lounge room, just as Watanabe Riku had finished pouring freshly brewed coffee, the accompanying staff member received a phone call—the music video production team was about to arrive immediately.

"I'll go out to welcome them." Hanging up the phone, the staff member, whose surname was Ueda, gave a slight bow and hurried out.

"Though I feel a bit bad about wasting Brother Watanabe's hospitality, we shouldn't just sit here waiting either." Aozhao set down his cup.

"Business comes first, let's head out." Watanabe Riku took the lead and stood up.