My daily life with the original diva

Her strange behavior terrified her younger sister, Yotsuba Miyamizu, who felt that she had become increasingly abnormal lately, and she immediately ran away.

The manga immediately piqued Sachiko Kamachi's interest. What did it all mean? Why was this girl named Mitsuha Miyamizu so confused, as if she didn't even recognize herself? And why was she saying her name to someone else in her dream? Considering the manga's title, "Kimi no Na wa" (Your Name), it seemed like there was a big secret hidden inside.

I was immediately drawn in and couldn't help but keep reading. Then the story showed the girl named Mitsuha Miyamizu getting up and eating, and some background information about the girl was introduced. Sachiko Kamachi discovered a very important clue: a TV program said that a comet that only returns once every thousand years would be coming next month. This seemed to be the comet on the cover.

Next, the story introduces Mitsuha Miyamizu's classmates, family, living environment, and her classmates and teachers complaining that she didn't even know her own name yesterday. In short, she is a girl who lives in a small town in the countryside, dislikes her hometown environment, dislikes the elderly who keep falling down, and dislikes her father who is busy with his election campaign. She wants to go to the big city of Tokyo and experience big city life.

By the time they had a general understanding of the girl, the scene shifted to a boy who also suddenly woke up from a dream. However, his actions were not like a man's, but rather like a girl's. The first thing he did upon waking up was to clutch his chest. And the comic ends there.

"Ah, that's it, that's it! What happened next? Why doesn't she know her own name? What's with this boy who looks like a woman? And what about that comet?" Maeda Yumi cried out, countless questions swirling in her mind, leaving her completely baffled. What on earth was going on?

There were still people taking a lunch break in the classroom, so it was impolite to shout like that. Sachiko Puchi quickly pulled her best friend aside and said, "Keep your voice down. This is a bi-monthly publication. You'll understand when you see the later parts in two weeks."

"But I... but I can't wait any longer! Kimura-chan, really, writing such a mysterious story makes me want to know what happens next." This time, Maeda Yumi spoke much softer, but she was eager to know what happened next.

In fact, Sachiko Kamachi was also very curious about what was going on between this girl named Mitsuha Miyamizu and that boy. They seemed very strange, and what had happened between them was very odd.

“Let’s wait a little longer. Let’s look at the rest first. There are still two more comics left, right? Let’s continue reading them. Class starts soon, and then we won’t have time to read them all at once,” said Sachiko Kamachi.

This is important. There's no time to read comics during class. It wouldn't be good if I got itchy later. Maeda Yumi quickly sat down and started reading the next chapter of the comic. It's about a girl from a poor family who goes to a prestigious school and encounters several difficult but handsome rich boys.

She read it until class started, but she hadn't finished it. In the end, she had to stop. But when class started, Sachiko saw Yumi Maeda secretly reading the manga. She shook her head speechlessly. It seemed that the manga had really hooked Yumi Maeda.

When school was over, Maeda Yumi hurriedly packed her schoolbag, ran up to Kamachi Sachiko, and said, "It's so good, Sachiko-chan, right? Especially the manga made by Kimura-chan in the front and the manga made by Kamio Yoko in the back, it's really so good."

"Yes, it's really good, especially the first manga, 'Your Name.' I'm also very curious about the rest of the story," Sachiko Kamachi recalled. As for the second story, she didn't like it very much, feeling it was somewhat unrealistic, but it seems her best friend really liked it.

"Mmm, Kimura-chan is the most talented. Okay, enough of that. Hurry up, Sachiko-chan, we need to go buy Kimura-chan's new single. We have to hurry, I still have to do chores to earn pocket money when I get home today. I've been spending too much lately." Maeda Yumi said this with a little embarrassment.

Buying these things requires money, but her allowance is very limited, so she has to do housework to earn more allowance to support her spending on following celebrities.

The two rushed to the record store and found that there were quite a few people buying Hiroshi Kimura's records, both old and young, but mostly young people. Some people even bought the kind of super record that combines the record and the music video.

"It seems Kimura-chan is still very popular, hehe, as expected of the popular Kimura-chan." Maeda Yumi was very happy to see so many people buying Kimura Hiroshi's records, just as if her records were selling very well.

Chapter 264 The Heat Remains

The atmosphere at Ken-On Studio has been somewhat oppressive these past few days. Staff members are hesitant to speak loudly, as there hasn't been much good news for Ken-On lately.

First up is Akina Nakamori's new single "Tears Are Not Decorations," released last year. It's almost at the end of its best-selling period, having been a bestseller for over two months. It's quite remarkable that a single can remain a bestseller for so long.

Although it still ranks in the top three on the sales charts, its sales are much lower than those of the hit single "North Wing" from the beginning of last year. It has barely exceeded 700,000 copies so far, and based on the current sales situation, the final sales will at most exceed 800,000 copies.

Kita no Ike's sales had already exceeded 800,000 copies by the end of its peak sales period, and had exceeded 900,000 copies by the time it completely dropped off the sales charts. Now, its total sales may have exceeded one million, but unfortunately, because these are sales after it dropped off the charts, they will not be included in the statistics. In other words, Nakamori Akina cannot obtain certification for her single sales exceeding one million.

Compared to last year, Akina Nakamori is even more popular this year, and "Tears Are Not Decorations" has been on the sales charts for a long time, even longer than Kita Tsubasa's reign. However, the total sales are a staggering 100,000 fewer copies. Anyone can see that this is not a problem with the artist, but rather a problem with the market, because subsequent singers have even lower sales, and everyone's sales have decreased.

This is the first piece of not-so-good news for Ken-On.

The second is that Hiroshi Kimura himself revealed that he was in a relationship, which caused a huge uproar. No one knew what impact it would have on his record sales. Most people thought that sales would definitely be greatly affected. Not only were the media pessimistic, but many industry insiders were also not optimistic.

Given this situation, it would be strange if the atmosphere inside Yanyin was good. After all, Yanyin's performance exploded last year, with the two super idols boosting Yanyin's performance by almost double compared to the previous year. After two consecutive years of rapid growth, it's going to drop back now, which would be hard for anyone to accept.

"It seems the market is really shrinking further this year. Record sales are still declining, and Akina-san is being greatly affected." Hanami Kaku said with a worried look as he looked at the sales report for "Tears Are Not Decorations".

"Yes, it seems Kimura-san's prediction was correct. There are big problems in the record market. If it continues to decline in the next year or the year after, then I'm afraid our performance will decline further." Terabayashi Akira, who had been called over to discuss matters, said with great concern.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Kimura Hiroshi's accurate judgment of the market greatly shocked Hanami Kaku. This kid was not only talented, but also had such a strong business sense, which was truly admirable. This kid was only nineteen years old, and who knew what kind of person he would become in the future.

"Then we need to find a way to improve our performance. We can't just sit here and wait to die. By the way, have Kimura-san's record sales figures come out yet? How much of an impact has it had?" Hanami asked, slightly anxiously.

Shaking his head, Terahina Akira said, "The marketing department hasn't sent the sales report yet, but it should be here soon. I'll go take a look."

As he spoke, Terahina Akira got up and went to the marketing department to get the sales report, but it wasn't until the afternoon that the report came out, because it was taking a long time for many record stores to fax it over.

Looking at the sales report in his hand, Hanami was a little dumbfounded, because it showed that Kimura Hiroshi's new single "New Treasure Island" sold 53,400 copies on its first day, a result that completely exceeded his expectations.

"What's going on? Why are the sales so high? The relationship scandal caused such a big stir, but didn't it have any impact on Kimura-san?" Although the first-day sales can't compare to the first-day sales of Kimura Hiroshi's blockbuster singles, it's still very strong. It doesn't make sense; he just went through a big storm and still has such sales.

Terabayashi Akira didn't know the specifics either, and could only say, "It's possible that Kimura-san's loyal fans will choose to buy on the first day, and then sales will drop. However, there may be other reasons. I'll investigate and then report back to the president."

Over the next few days, sales figures began to come back steadily. The second day saw 52,000 copies sold, the third day 50,600, and the fourth day, sales finally dropped below 50,000, reaching only 49,000. Ultimately, the first week's sales exceeded 300,000, which surprised everyone, including the media and industry insiders.

In particular, the super record that came with the dance music video sold out all 100,000 copies. Many people initially bought it just to see Hiroshi Kimura's cool dance again, but after buying it and taking it home, they were amused by the dance itself.

It does feature Hiroshi Kimura's dashing dance moves, but it just looks weird. A group of big-name singers look serious and are dressed formally, but when they move to the music, it gives off a strange sense of amusement. Especially with the more upbeat music, Hiroshi Kimura, who is leading the dance, is staring at the screen with a straight face, which makes you want to laugh.

Many people had never seen such a magical dance music video before, so even those who weren't fans of Hiroshi Kimura bought a copy to watch as something funny. Many people called and wrote to TV stations asking if Hiroshi Kimura could perform this dance on TV, because the dance in the music video was even funnier than the one he had performed on TV shows before.

Moreover, it wasn't just record sales; even the manga series credited to Hiroshi Kimura performed exceptionally well this week. The dominant manga magazine, which went on sale on the same day as the record, sold over 200,000 copies on the first day, but plummeted to 50,000 copies on the second day and 30,000 copies on the third day.

This product is exactly what celebrities want to use to cash in on their fans, and some media outlets were already preparing to criticize it. However, on the fourth day, sales started to rise against the trend, returning to 50,000 copies. On the fifth day, sales exceeded 10,000 copies, and by the end of the week, sales had surpassed 100,000 copies. Many media people were glad that they hadn't started criticizing it beforehand, otherwise they would have been ridiculed.

The sales of the manga magazine defied the trend and increased. Some curious reporters went to interview manga buyers. Since the two works in the top manga magazine were positioned as girls' manga, most of the buyers were young women.

The feedback we received from them was that the first two manga were very good. The first one, "Kimi no Na wa," had a refreshing art style and a very good and engaging plot. Everyone was speculating about what the girl Mitsuha Miyamizu, who lived in the countryside, had gone through, what her relationship with the boy was, and what about the shooting star.

The second manga is also very popular among girls. A Cinderella enters a prestigious school and immediately clashes with the school bully. What will happen between them in the future? What kind of existence are the school's F4? These questions fill girls with fantasies.

In short, the comics are really good, and even without Hiroshi Kimura's endorsement, they would still buy them, and they will continue to buy them in the future.

All indications suggest that while the announcement of his relationship caused a great stir, it didn't actually have a significant impact on Hiroshi Kimura. Many industry insiders who listened to "New Treasure Island" commented that while the song was excellent, its quality couldn't compare to Kimura's previous singles. Nevertheless, it still managed to sell 300,000 copies in a week, and if it can maintain this sales volume, it could probably approach one million copies.

The fact that sales did not drop significantly for a week made Hanami Hyuk realize that the relationship scandal had no impact on Kimura Hiroshi. At the same time, he also witnessed Kimura Hiroshi's incredible popularity. Judging from the current sales, if he doesn't release any other albums, he will probably be number one again.

"Kimura-san is truly amazing. I have nothing to say. By the way, make sure to arrange his and Akina-san's vacation next week. The agency will cover all expenses for their trip to Hawaii, including Akina-san's. Have him come over on Sunday for a debriefing meeting, and then he can rest for seven days. After seven days, he must resume the promotional activities." Completely convinced, Hanami Kagami didn't want to say anything more.

Chapter 265 Rest and Recharge Before Going on Vacation

With record and comic book sales on track, and the novel "Love Letter" needing typesetting and not yet available until March, Kimura Hiroshi suddenly felt much more relaxed. Apart from participating in some television and radio programs to promote the record, he had free time to do as he pleased.

With more free time, Hiroshi Kimura began spending long hours on set, continuing to learn filmmaking from Takeshi Kitano. He hadn't spent enough time on set this year, and as he was about to direct his own film, he needed to learn as much as possible.

According to Hiroshi Kimura's schedule, he will begin personally directing his first film, the live-action version of "Your Name," in April or May, so he doesn't have much time left to study and needs to hurry up.

"Ha, the movie's almost finished filming and you're only now thinking of coming over to learn properly? You've only been learning for a short time on set. I'd like to see what kind of garbage your fantasy romance film will turn out to be." Facing Kimura Hiroshi, who hadn't been on set for a long time, Kitano Takeshi was extremely sarcastic and couldn't help but unleash another torrent of abuse on him.

Filming for "High School Memories," written by Hiroshi Kimura, is nearing its end. Takeshi Kitano promised Kimura that he would finish filming it by February, and he will definitely finish it. So there is indeed not much time left. Kimura did not go back on his word. He said he would study filming properly, but he has not come to the set for a long time, so his study time is very limited.

For the rest of the time, Hiroshi Kimura worked hard on set with Takeshi Kitano for a few days. Then, Shunji Iwai, who was working part-time to support himself, came to the set on his school day off. As soon as he saw Hiroshi Kimura, his eyes lit up. He ran to his side, took out a copy of a manga magazine from Wit's Publishing House, and asked, "Kimura-san, did you really come up with the composition of this manga?"

He pointed to the picture on the cover of the manga magazine, the one of the male and female protagonists under a shooting star sky. Kimura Hiroshi nodded and said, "It was my idea. What's wrong, Iwai-san?"

"It's so beautiful, Kimura-san. You really do have the same aesthetic as me. It's amazing that you could come up with such a great composition." Shunji Iwai said with a somewhat dreamy look in his eyes, as if he was picturing that kind of beauty.

Looking at the young Shunji Iwai, Hiroshi Kimura thought that this guy had a knack for shooting movie scenes. Although he was still young and a bit inexperienced, he already had some ability. It would definitely be good to bring him in to handle the scenery for the live-action version of "Your Name".

With three renowned directors—Shunji Iwai, Takeshi Kitano, and Katsumi Nishikawa—serving him, Hiroshi Kimura, the final product is bound to be excellent.

"Iwai-san, would you like to bring the beauty of the manga to life? I'm planning to make a live-action movie about this manga, and I'd like you to come and join us. Would you like to come?" Hiroshi Kimura extended a formal invitation.

Unexpectedly, Hiroshi Kimura was going to direct a live-action movie based on this manga and even invited him to participate in the filming. How could Shunji Iwai refuse? He excitedly said, "Yes, yes, thank you Kimura-san for giving me this opportunity. I am very grateful."

Hehe, young people are indeed naive. Even a future famous director is like that. He was made to do the hard work for me while I was paid temporary wages, and he was so grateful that he thanked me for giving him this opportunity. That's great, Kimura Hiroshi thought to himself, feeling very pleased.

After discussing with Shunji Iwai, Hiroshi Kimura continued filming with Takeshi Kitano. After three more days of filming, the movie's storyline was completed. The next step was to check the shots to see if any parts were missed. The filming was suspended, and Hiroshi Kimura no longer needed to go to the set.

Just then, the first week's album sales figures came out, and Kimura Hiroshi returned to Ken-On to hold a debriefing meeting. There wasn't much to say, just a brief overview of the promotion and sales. "New Treasure Island" sold over 300,000 copies in its first week, far exceeding Ken-On's expectations. With good sales, nothing else matters.

At the end of the meeting, Hanami gave him a special reward, saying, "Kimura-san, the agency will reimburse you and Akina-san for your airfare, hotel, and other entertainment expenses on your trip to Hawaii. Remember to submit the expense records to the finance department when you return."

"This can only cost a few tens of thousands of US dollars, which is more than two million yen. How stingy," Kimura Hiroshi rolled his eyes, but still said, "I understand. Thank you very much, President."

After the meeting ended, Kimura Hiroshi stretched and smiled. "A vacation, huh? Going on vacation abroad should be much more relaxing, there won't be so many reporters, hehe. And we'll definitely be staying together, so we're bound to have a few fierce battles at night. Looks like I need to go back and get some rest and recharge so I can perform well in those tough battles."

Thinking of this, Hiroshi Kimura suddenly didn't want to stay at the office any longer. He got up and left the meeting room, first telling Yukio Tomioka to buy him a plane ticket to Hawaii for tomorrow night, and then went straight back to his apartment to get a good rest tonight and prepare for his vacation.

When he got home, his sister hadn't come home from get off work yet. Kimura Hiroshi first made dinner, then called the company to tell his sister to come over to his apartment for dinner. Then he leisurely lay on the sofa and watched a movie.

It wasn't until his older sister, Kimura Ryo, got home from get off work that the two had dinner and chatted for a while before she went back to her apartment. Kimura Hiroshi exercised at home for about half an hour, took a shower, and then wanted to call Nakamori Akina to tell her about his vacation.

But just as he reached the telephone, it rang. Without even guessing, Kimura Hiroshi knew who it was and quickly answered it. Sure enough, Nakamori Akina's cheerful voice came from the other end.

"Hiro-kun, I have good news for you. Starting tomorrow, I will have six days off." Nakamori Akina was clearly very happy about the vacation, since she hadn't had a long break to rest properly from last year to this year.

"Really? That's wonderful! Akina can finally rest. It's a pity there are paparazzi outside, so I can't be with you." Kimura Hiroshi's acting was superb; his emotions shifted from joy to disappointment, as he deliberately pretended not to know and teased Nakamori Akina.

As expected, Nakamori Akina, who had been quite happy, suddenly became dejected and said in a low voice, "Yeah, we finally get a vacation, but we don't even have a chance to spend it together. Those paparazzi reporters are so annoying. I really want to send them all to Mars."

It has to be said, this idea is very creative. Kimura Hiroshi suppressed a laugh and said, "It's a good idea, but unfortunately it can't be done. Since we can't spend the holiday together, what are your plans, Akina?"

"My plans, um...?" Nakamori Akina pondered for a while before continuing, "I should sleep for two days first, rest well, then go home to see my mother, and then come back to watch TV. Ideally, Hiro-kun, could you give me the sequel to your company's manga, the one you produced called 'Kimi no Na wa'? What's going on between Miyamizu Mitsuha and that boy? What happened between them?"

Unexpectedly, Akina Nakamori also read the manga produced by her own company, and seemed quite engrossed in it. Well, it's not a big deal, after all, she's going to be the boss's wife in the future, so she should at least take a look at her own company's products.

After hearing her arrangements, Kimura Hiroshi deliberately sighed and said, "Sigh, it's really heartbreaking that Akina didn't even consider my existence during her day off."

It was Kimura Hiro who first said that they couldn't meet because of the paparazzi, and then asked Nakamori Akina about her holiday plans. Now he's turning around and saying that she doesn't consider him. If this were a normal girlfriend, she would probably have been annoyed by him long ago.

However, Nakamori Akina felt that she had done something wrong and said, "I'm sorry, Hiro-kun. It's all because of the paparazzi. If Hiro-kun really wants to meet, how about we sneak to Kiyose? We can take a ride there secretly, and then I'll have my brother pick you up."

She was seriously explaining her plan to avoid reporters. Kimura Hiroshi found it interesting, but still said, "Even if we go to Kiyose, we'll probably only be able to hide in Akina's house, which is too boring. Since it's to avoid reporters, why don't we go abroad?"

Having revealed his true purpose, Akina Nakamori, upon hearing his words, was momentarily taken aback and asked, "Hiro-kun, what do you mean by that?"

"Since Akina finally got a vacation, how could I not accompany her? Let's go abroad. I've already booked the tickets. Tomorrow night at 8 PM, Narita Airport, see you there! Take your things with you," Kimura Hiroshi said with a grin.

If Nakamori Akina still doesn't know, then she's really too stupid. This was clearly a vacation plan that Kimura Hiroshi knew in advance that she was going on vacation, so he prepared it and only told her now, just to give her a surprise.

"You were all prepared, weren't you, Hongjun? You're so mean, so annoying, saying those things on purpose. I hate you so much." She said those annoying things, but she was secretly overjoyed, and her tone was full of coquettishness.

"Hmm, I hate it the most. So, does Akina want to go tomorrow?" Kimura Hiroshi was still teasing her.

“I have to go, I absolutely have to go, Hiro-kun, you’re the best,” Nakamori Akina said softly.

The voice made Kimura Hiroshi feel a little uncomfortable. He wished he could go over and pin her down right now and teach her a good lesson. In order to prevent any changes from his plan to conserve his energy tonight, Kimura Hiroshi quickly said, "Then Akina should prepare her things. The destination is Hawaii. Don't forget, I also need to prepare. I have to hang up now. Good night, Akina."

The flight is tomorrow night, so we can prepare tomorrow. But before Nakamori Akina could react, Kimura Hiro hung up the phone, leaving Nakamori Akina a little confused. But the thought of going on vacation abroad with Kimura Hiro tomorrow made her incredibly happy. She hummed a song as she went to rummage through her clothes, wondering what she should wear to Hawaii.

Chapter 266 The Hawaii Trip Begins

On the direct flight to Honolulu, Hawaii, Akina Nakamori, dressed in first class and wearing sunglasses and a hat to disguise herself, went from being very happy to being a little unhappy. She had originally agreed on the phone that she and Hiroshi Kimura would be going on a vacation to Hawaii together, but when they met at the airport, she found that Hiroshi Kimura was not the only one there.

There were also several Warner Music staff members, many of whom she recognized. When they saw her, they all had knowing looks on their faces, which made Nakamori Akina blush slightly and feel a little angry. The originally planned romantic trip for two had turned into a gathering with several staff members. You can imagine how she felt. To be laughed at by these acquaintances made Nakamori Akina a little unhappy.

Hiroshi Kimura, who was sitting next to her, noticed that Akina Nakamori, who usually had endless conversations with him, was silent. He knew that she was probably angry because she saw that he had brought Warner Music staff with him instead of the agreed-upon trip for two.

Holding Akina Nakamori's small hand, Hiroshi Kimura whispered in her ear, "Akina, don't be angry. Mr. Tomioka only called to tell me right before I left that they were going too. They're mainly going to discuss the contract for the English song I wrote with Warner America. I'll just show up and talk to them casually. It won't affect our trip. I can assure you."

This wasn't a lie by Kimura Hiroshi. He only received a call from Tomioka Yukio this morning, who told him that they knew he was going to Hawaii for vacation, and that Warner America would be sending someone over to discuss the contract for the English single he wrote. Of course, it was also because Warner Japan had performed well last year, so letting these Warner employees go on vacation together was a kind of company benefit.

Back then, employee benefits in Japan were quite good.