My daily life with the original diva

"However, after eating the meat, you must also eat the cauliflower. No waste allowed," Kimura Hiroshi said seriously, looking at the untouched cauliflower.

Upon seeing the cauliflower in the lunchbox, Akina Nakamori immediately looked away and suddenly said, "Ah, I have to go prepare my stage outfit for tonight. Kimura-san, thank you for your hospitality, I have to go now."

She tried to run away after saying that, but she couldn't escape. Kimura Hiroshi grabbed her and said, "If you don't want cauliflower, then next time I'll make cauliflower, lettuce, and celery."

In Japan, there's also a saying that eating more vegetables is healthy. Akina Nakamori, who was weak since childhood, was forced to eat lettuce and celery. She ate a lot of them to make her family happy. She had enough, and now they still want her to eat them. That would be terrible.

"Ah, no, I'll eat it! Noriko-san, Michiko-san, come help me!" Nakamori Akina was determined to eat something delicious next time, but she still managed to get two helpers.

Picking up a cauliflower stalk, Akina Nakamori, unlike her previous swift and decisive eating, now ate like a rabbit munching on grass, slowly stuffing it into her mouth while observing Noriko and Michiko's pace and signaling them to hurry up with her eyes.

Chapter 42 Excessive Praise

As a powerful agency in the media industry, Johnny & Associates announced in the morning that a press conference would be held in the evening. By evening, more than 20 media outlets had appeared in Johnny & Associates' reception room, and even a local TV station broadcast the event live.

At the briefing, Masahiko Kondo was still in a terrible state, recounting the events of that night in a somewhat illogical manner. He admitted that his meeting with Akina Nakamori was indeed for work-related matters; the agency wanted to arrange for them to co-star in a movie, and he wanted to give them a heads-up beforehand. After a few words, Akina Nakamori left, and the whole confession thing was completely fabricated.

As for going to bars later, that's nothing unusual in Japan. Many office workers often go to bars or other places for drinks and entertainment for work purposes, and it's common for them to seek out sex workers for company. Of course, female employees can't hire male escorts.

When asked by reporters what he and two waitresses were doing in the private room, Masahiko Kondo stammered for a long time before saying they went to play cards, which caused a burst of laughter. This explanation clearly made him think everyone was stupid.

However, most of the reporters present had close ties with Johnny & Associates, and they quickly moved on from the matter, while also promoting Kondo Masahiko's future work.

Of course, a briefing was clearly not enough. Privately, Johnny's legal staff warned the media that anyone who wrote anything wrong would definitely be suppressed by Johnny's in the future, and might even receive a lawyer's letter.

The next day, as expected, there were far fewer related reports. However, some major media outlets were not afraid of Johnny's and continued to capitalize on the incident for traffic. They even described the story of Masahiko Kondo playing cards with two waitresses in great detail, generating a huge amount of traffic.

His response has angered not only ordinary people but also Kondo Masahiko's fans, because it's as if he's trying to vent his frustration on sex workers after failing to woo a junior, causing his once handsome and sunny image to crumble.

However, this scandal is not the biggest news recently. The biggest news is that the first album of new idol singer Hiro Kimura has finally sold more than 1.3 million copies after a month and a half of sales. At this rate, it will definitely sell more than 1.5 million copies this year.

With his debut song selling over a million copies and his first album selling over a million copies, and both potentially exceeding 1.5 million copies, what kind of phenomenal idol is this?

The last idol to be this dominant was Pink Lady in the 1970s, whose five singles sold over a million copies and dominated the sales charts for 63 weeks, a truly terrifying feat.

Of course, this is still a girl group, and Kimura Hiroshi is the first, and possibly the only, solo male idol to become so popular right from his debut.

The renowned magazine "Shinmei" described Hiroshi Kimura as possessing unparalleled good looks, explosive stage presence, incomparable talent, and a heavenly voice, making him the perfect male idol and the pinnacle of male idols—a figure unprecedented and likely to remain so.

This effusive praise wasn't a paid press release from Ken-On; rather, it stemmed from the fact that the magazine's female editor is a fervent "mom fan" of Hiroshi Kimura. Given Kimura's current popularity, such an article could appear so openly in the magazine.

With Kimura Hiroshi's rising popularity and status, many media outlets have dubbed him and Matsuda Seiko the undisputed kings of male and female idols. This has attracted numerous invitations from television stations, especially idol programs. Some have even personally called Hanami Kagami, offering generous terms in exchange for Kimura Hiroshi appearing on their shows every month.

Of course, some of the media's praise is actually malicious and has the intention of killing him with praise. After all, Kimura Hiroshi has only been in the industry for a few months and has already climbed so high. This will make many seniors unhappy and who knows what kind of trouble it will cause. More importantly, the faster you climb, the harder you may fall. If your next album is not good, you will be immediately criticized.

However, Kimura Hiroshi wasn't paying much attention to these articles at the moment. He was busy with the final rehearsals for the fan meeting. Although it was a fan meeting, the number of attendees exceeded five thousand, making it comparable to a medium-sized concert. In order to avoid any mishaps, he had to take it seriously.

As for the tickets for the fan meeting, they sold out in just two days. Fans went even crazier when they heard that a limited edition magazine would also be sent out. Until now, Hiroshi Kimura has never released a solo magazine, so this is the first one, which is very memorable.

As the birthplace of fandom, Japanese fans are exceptionally fanatical. When they love you, they love you to death, but when they don't love you, they are world-class at putting you down, only slightly less so than those Koreans from the universe.

"Damn it! When I came in just now, I found someone selling tickets for the meet-and-greet at the entrance of the venue. A little girl actually spent 40,000 yen on one ticket! These damn guys have raised our ticket prices tenfold!" Yukio Tomioka said angrily as he rushed over.

There are a total of 5,000 tickets, and Ken-On set the price at 4,000 yen. This amount is almost only enough to cover the venue rental fee. After all, this is a fan meeting in the form of a thank-you event. If the ticket price is too high, it will not be a thank-you to the fans, but rather a way to fleece them.

This gave scalpers an opportunity to profit. After they managed to snag tickets, they sold them at exorbitant prices to fans who hadn't managed to get tickets. Ken-On didn't reap the benefits, but instead got fleeced by the scalpers. No wonder Yukio Tomioka was so angry.

"Ah, then next time we'll put a questionnaire in the record, have the fans who buy it fill it out and send it back, and we'll randomly select fans from them and send them tickets to a fan meeting." Kimura Hiroshi suggested, seeing Tomioka Yukio's indignant look.

In a country full of surveys, this isn't difficult. After all, many products use surveys; you just fill them out and send them back, and the manufacturer might send you a prize in return. Records are no exception.

Yukio Tomioka's eyes lit up. "Great idea! How come I didn't think of that? This is a brilliant idea! Not only can it stop others from speculating on tickets, it can even boost record sales. Kimura-san's intelligence is not what a seventeen-year-old should have."

Here we go again. Kimura Hiroshi has heard this kind of praise countless times. Japanese people treat praising someone and insulting someone alike; their vocabulary is extremely limited, and they can't come up with any fresh words.

"Thank you for the compliment. Is there something you need from the president to see Mr. Tomioka? It's not about the TV station, is it?" Recently, many programs have wanted Kimura Hiroshi to appear on them, but he has refused most of them. However, the invitations keep coming in, and Hanami Kagami is obviously not able to keep up. After all, Ken-On really wants to expand his network of connections, and the TV station is an extremely important point.

"Yes, Kimura-san, the president hopes you can appear on more TV programs regularly, even once every two weeks is fine," Yukio Tomioka stated Hanami Kagami's request.

Originally, whether or not someone appears on a show was decided by their agency, but that didn't work out with Hiroshi Kimura because he was too popular. Ken-On was afraid of losing him, or rather, Ken-On had nothing to keep Hiroshi Kimura from leaving. So their relationship was somewhat reversed, with Hiroshi Kimura having absolute autonomy, as you can tell from Yukio Tomioka's attitude towards him.

The scarcity marketing strategy was predetermined, but it seems that Hanami Kaku wants to change it now. There's no way around it; Kimura Hiroshi's popularity is too explosive, and he sees an opportunity to gain more benefits.

But Hiroshi Kimura doesn't like appearing on TV frequently. Japanese fans are incredibly fickle; if you appear in front of them too often, even if you're devastatingly handsome, they'll quickly get tired of you. On the contrary, the more unattainable you are, the more they'll like you. Appearing on a regular TV program once every two weeks is out of the question.

“Once a month, please. Show me the TV programs, three programs, once a month, is that alright, Mr. Tomioka?” Kimura Hiroshi made a concession, after all, he couldn’t keep putting Hanami Kagami in an awkward position forever.

Upon hearing Kimura Hiroshi's agreement, Tomioka Yukio smiled. "That's great, Kimura-san. I'll tell the president about this reply. He'll definitely be very happy. By the way, do you want to take on some of the recent advertisements? Some of them are offering over eight million yen in fees."

An eight million yen fee is already top-tier, considering the bubble economy hadn't yet arrived. Kimura Hiroshi wasn't opposed to shooting commercials, but he didn't accept just any advertisements; he had to choose high-end brands to fit his marketing strategy.

"I will choose, don't worry, Mr. Tomioka." Kimura Hiroshi did not refuse; after all, it would be a fool not to make money when it's available.

Chapter 43 Handsome men are indeed very fickle.

"Hurry, hurry, Sachiko-chan, we're going to be late! We're about to see Kimura-san, I'm so excited!" Yumi dragged her best friend, Sachiko Kamachi, along the road in front of the venue.

Pu Chi Xingzi, who was being dragged along, was speechless as she looked at her best friend's excited and anxious appearance. Lately, her best friend had really gone crazy for chasing stars. Not only was she frantically collecting Hiro Kimura's merchandise, but she had even bought two tickets to a 4,000 yen fan meeting.

All she wanted was for me to accompany her to the fan meeting. You see, 8,000 yen was Yumi's allowance for two months. She used to save up to buy some high-end cosmetics, but now she spends it all on chasing after celebrities.

Despite their hurried pace, the two arrived at the venue entrance five minutes ahead of schedule. Many fans were already queuing to enter, mostly young girls, with a smaller number of young men and older women, many of whom were carrying support items.

After checking their tickets, the two entered the venue, which was packed with people, all chattering away. Yumi was very lucky; she had bought front-row tickets, which were very close to the stage, allowing her to clearly see Kimura Hiroshi's performance.

In the middle, a huge banner read "The most handsome Kimura-chan!" Below were almost all girls, holding Kimura Hiroshi fan club logos, and some even had Kimura Hiroshi cartoon character headbands tied around their heads. They belonged to the largest Kimura Hiroshi fan club in Tokyo.

Upon seeing those people, Yumi's eyes lit up. These large fan clubs could communicate directly with Kimura Hiroshi's assistants. They would help Kimura Hiroshi promote his work and provide support during his performances.

Similarly, they also get many things that other fans don't, such as cartoon characters, large posters, and even the opportunity to watch Kimura Hiroshi's shows live.

"I want to join the fan club too, Sachiko-chan! Let's go ask her how to join after the performance," Yumi said excitedly to Sachiko Kamachi.

However, Sachiko Kamachi didn't like Hiroshi Kimura that much. She might buy his albums if they were good or catchy, but joining his fan club would be a waste of her time, because you need to attend events frequently for those fan clubs.

So Sachiko Kamachi firmly shook her head. "Yumi-chan, you go ahead. I don't usually have that much time."

Hearing her best friend say that, Yumi felt a little disappointed. "Sachiko-chan, don't you think Kimura-san is very handsome and talented? Why don't you have any feelings for him?"

"Sigh, maybe it's because he's too handsome. I can never be attracted to men who are too handsome," Sachiko Kamachi said thoughtfully. Handsome men are always fickle, especially talented ones. Who knows how many women are around them?

Yumi seemed to have misunderstood her best friend's explanation and said, "Ah, Sachiko-chan actually likes ugly men, no wonder you always talk to Sakamoto-kun."

These words made Sachiko Kamachi want to hit someone. What was that all about? "Yumi-chan, just because I don't like guys who are too handsome doesn't mean I like guys who are ugly. Sakamoto-kun and I were just discussing our studies. He has the best grades in the class. I like guys who are a little bit handsome."

"Ah, is that so? Then you... Ah, Kimura-chan!" Before Yumi could finish speaking, a deafening cheer erupted around her, immediately drawing her attention. She also joined in, shouting Kimura Hiroshi's name at the top of her lungs.

Since it was a fan meeting and not a concert, there was no fancy entrance. Kimura Hiroshi came out from behind the audience, walked along the central aisle, passed through the fans, reached out and gave each of them a high-five, and finally reached the stage.

With a smile on his face, Hiroshi Kimura looked at the excited young men and women below the stage and called out to them, "How are you, my dearest friends!"

"Okay, Kimura-chan!" came a jumble of responses.

At this moment, Hiroshi Kimura was not in a hurry to perform. Instead, he greeted them in a friendly manner, like an overly handsome boy next door. He was wearing a very ordinary plaid jacket today, only the color was more intense. This was one of the clothes that Akina Nakamori brought him from Europe.

Seeing the handsome Hiroshi Kimura speaking softly and gently to them, the girls went even crazier. Even Sachiko Kamachi felt her heart beating abnormally. No woman could resist Hiroshi Kimura's gentle advances. Even if she resisted in her mind, she couldn't control her emotions.

After chatting for a while, Hiroshi Kimura started singing. The first song was the currently popular "What You Name". The stage background was specially set up as a beach scene, and Hiroshi Kimura performed his dance moves to his heart's content.

Compared to what you see on TV, Hiroshi Kimura was much more energetic live. The fans in the front row could even feel the energy emanating from his vigorous dancing. They seemed even more captivated, chanting their support slogans in unison to the rhythm of the music.

The opening song ended quickly because there weren't many songs to sing yet, so it wouldn't be feasible to keep singing. In addition to communicating with fans, Hiroshi Kimura also specially requested that some small games be added, such as drawing numbers for fans to come up and play a musical chairs game with him. There were ten people and nine chairs, and those who couldn't get a chair were eliminated.

The final winner will also receive generous prizes, such as autographed posters and albums by Hiroshi Kimura. Of course, the prizes are not the most important thing; the main thing is to give fans a chance to get up close and personal with their idol.

Of course, this contact wasn't very friendly to Kimura Hiroshi, because when they played musical chairs, female fans would bump into him, and some would even take the opportunity to pinch him. Especially the older ones, the bolder ones would pinch his butt, which made Kimura Hiroshi very angry, but he still had to smile.

"I must be an idiot to think of playing this game. It's really terrible. I learned my lesson last time, but I didn't learn my lesson. These Japanese female fans really take advantage of me whenever they get the chance. They're so mean." Kimura Hiroshi thought regretfully.

The game, which was originally supposed to end in one round, ended up going into five rounds because so many fans wanted to participate. This left Kimura Hiroshi quite exhausted, and his fans only let him go after seeing him covered in sweat.

After singing a few more songs, he started inviting fans to come up and sing with Hiroshi Kimura. This immediately caused a stir, because they could sing with Hiroshi Kimura for everyone to hear, and almost everyone present wanted to go up.

However, the meet-and-greet lasted only two hours, and with limited time, it was impossible to select many people to come up. In the end, it was decided to select three people, and Kimura Hiroshi would randomly announce their names according to their ticket numbers. The three people were selected very quickly.

"Ah, Sachiko-chan, you're number 96! Oh my god, you actually got chosen! I'm going to faint! You're so lucky, Sachiko-chan!" Yumi was both envious and jealous when she discovered that Sachiko Kamachi had been chosen. She was number 95, just one number short.

Sachiko Kamachi hadn't expected to be chosen. She frowned slightly. Going on stage wasn't a problem, but she didn't really like the camera lenses around her.

The first two lucky fans went on stage. Kimura Hiroshi chose two songs from the album with relatively low pitches, but the two of them sang completely off-key. One of them wasn't even focused on singing. As she sang, she hugged Kimura Hiroshi's waist and practically pressed herself against him, causing the fans below to scream and curse.

When the fan went down, he was floating, his face flushed, as if he had done something strange, which drew another round of shouts and curses.

The last one to go on stage was Sachiko Kamachi. She wasn't shy at all, but as soon as she stepped on stage, she immediately caught Hiroshi Kimura's eye because she looked a lot like the female singer he used to watch in his previous life.

"Hello, may I ask your name?" Kimura Hiroshi couldn't contain his curiosity and put down the phone to ask.

Unexpectedly, Kimura Hiroshi asked her name. Sachiko Kamachi was a little nervous. Did he have any feelings for her? Surely not.

“Sachiko, my name is Kamachi Sachiko, Kimura-san.”

It really was her. Kimura Hiroshi never expected that he would have such a big fan. Sakai Izumi, whose real name is Kamachi Sachiko, is her stage name. She should still be a high school student.

"Sachiko-san, how about we sing 'The Most Important Thing' together?" Kimura Hiroshi said with a hint of mischief. Everyone says that Izumi Sakai's singing power is even stronger than that of male singers. He wondered if she could still reach that high note now.

Without refusing, Sachiko Kamachi nodded; in fact, she really liked the song "The Most Important Thing".

"So, this most important song is dedicated to everyone. I hope that you will never give up in your future lives," Hiroshi Kimura shouted to his fans.

Suddenly, rousing rock music began to play, and Hiroshi Kimura and Sachiko Kamachi started to sing "The Most Important Thing" for everyone.

The song's pitch isn't low, and Hiroshi Kimura sang it without any problems. Sachiko Kamachi, who was next to him, was also able to keep up, although she was a little off-key and lacked breath support. However, she did manage to keep up, though her eyes looked a little unnatural, as if she was trying to avoid the camera.

She is still too young and has not received professional training. Her ability to perform like this fully demonstrates her talent. Even Yukio Tomioka, who was watching the stage backstage, was impressed. She is a promising talent.

When the song ended, enthusiastic applause erupted from below. This was the first time they had seen their idol and fans sing together so well, giving them a very different feeling.

“Very good, Sachiko-san, your voice is very suitable for singing. If you ever have this idea in the future, you can come and find me.” Kimura Hiroshi said very seriously, looking at the slightly out of breath Sachiko Kamachi.

Sachiko Kamachi hadn't expected Hiroshi Kimura to say that. She paused for a moment, becoming even more certain that she might be being targeted. Sure enough, handsome and talented men are always fickle. She quickly bowed and said, "I still need to study now. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely look for Mr. Kimura."

“Okay, I’ll have my assistant give you the agency’s private phone number in a bit. Just call if you have any ideas, and someone will let me know,” Kimura Hiroshi said happily, unaware of Kamachi Sachiko’s thoughts.

How could she dare ask for a phone number? Sachiko quickly ran off the stage and returned to her excited best friend. She had made up her mind that even if she got the phone, she wouldn't make the call. She wasn't one of those young girls who would be easily swayed by handsome looks.

As the song ended, the fan meeting came to a close. The fans present were very reluctant to leave. Today, they not only saw Hiro Kimura's performance, but also experienced games they had never seen before. The atmosphere was wonderful. After Hiro Kimura waved goodbye to them, they left the venue with great reluctance.

Chapter Forty-Four: Absolutely Impossible

After dominating the Oricon and sales charts for six weeks, Hiroshi Kimura's "What You Name" finally fell from the top spot to third place, bringing a sigh of relief to all singers, whether they were idol singers, folk singers, or enka singers.

The top spot was taken by none other than Seiko Matsuda's single "Galas' Apple," released in August. After being suppressed by Hiroshi Kimura for several weeks, it finally reached the top.