My daily life with the original diva

The selection of the second male lead was thus finalized, and the chosen one was Masaharu Fukuyama, who was originally thought to be eliminated. After participating in the audition, he returned to the lumber shop, where the owner immediately fired him.

Having lost his job, yet still given the opportunity to enter the entertainment industry, one can imagine how Masaharu Fukuyama must have felt. Just as he returned to his rented apartment, feeling utterly dejected, the phone rang. When he answered, he heard the voice of a staff member from Stardust Media on the other end.

"Mr. Masaharu Fukuyama, it is an honor to inform you that you have been selected by Stardust Communications. Please prepare to attend training at Stardust Communications in two days. If you wish to decline, please call us to let us know," the staff member said calmly.

Although it has been confirmed that the role of the second male lead will be given to Masaharu Fukuyama, he will not be told this directly. Instead, he will be asked to come for training first. If he is really suitable, then he will be told that the role of the second male lead belongs to him. If he is not suitable, then a replacement will need to be found. At that time, a suitable debuting male artist from another agency will be needed to take his place.

When Masaharu Fukuyama received the news, he was completely stunned. He couldn't believe it was true and quickly replied, "I do, I do. I'll definitely be there on time in two days."

"Okay, please be on time at eight o'clock in the morning two days from now," the staff member said in the same tone.

Having almost lost this opportunity because of being late, Masaharu Fukuyama dared not be late again. He immediately said, "I promise I won't be late. By the way, could you tell me why I was selected? I was late, and President Hosono seemed to have little faith in me. Why did you still decide to let me join Stardust Communications?"

"Ah, it must be Mr. Kimura Hiroshi's request, but I'm not entirely sure of the specifics," the staff member replied.

"So it was Kimura-san who chose me? Thank you so much! And thank you for telling me this good news too, thank you so much." Fukuyama Masaharu thanked him repeatedly, and decided that he would definitely express his gratitude to Kimura Hiroshi in person when he saw him in the future.

However, Hiroshi Kimura probably doesn't care about his so-called gratitude. He has been very busy lately. The arrangement of the new single has been completed, and he is going to record the new single. Fortunately, this song "Diamonds" is not a difficult single. The recording was quite easy for Hiroshi Kimura. He completed the recording in just two days and also took pictures of the album cover.

Next, he just had to wait for the album to be produced and then start promoting it. However, before that, he couldn't relax because the action blockbuster "Rapid Chase" starring him was scheduled to be officially released on August 3rd, and it would be a simultaneous global release.

This includes Japan, East Asia, Western Europe, and America. Toho achieved this through its own channels. Considering Kimura Hiroshi's popularity in East Asia, Toho also requested that Kimura Hiroshi travel to the regions where the film was being shown to promote it.

Hiroshi Kimura couldn't refuse, after all, Toho had put in so much effort for this movie and needed him to promote it. He really couldn't refuse, so he had to fly to Hong Kong and other places to promote the new movie.

However, he didn't realize how popular he was until he went out. Once he did, he discovered how popular he was, especially among young female fans. The Hong Kong organizers held the movie promotion press conference in a venue that could only accommodate a few thousand people. As a result, many of Kimura's female fans in Hong Kong went crazy buying tickets when they heard that he was coming, but many of them couldn't get tickets.

Since Kimura Hiroshi had finally come, they were not about to give up the opportunity. So many people who hadn't bought tickets sneaked in. The organizers were also quite lax in their organization and didn't take it seriously. This made the already small venue crowded with people. When Kimura Hiroshi arrived, he realized something was wrong. He didn't even go on stage and immediately asked the organizers to disperse the crowd.

If anything were to happen, he would truly be a sinner, and he certainly didn't want that to happen.

Due to the strong demands of Hiroshi Kimura and his staff, the organizers had to maintain order and ask those who had entered without tickets to leave. Only after the situation was relatively stable did Hiroshi Kimura make his appearance.

This ensured that the movie promotion event went smoothly. However, to express his apologies for the delayed appearance, Hiroshi Kimura gave each of the fans present a treasured compilation album and a signed poster, which caused the fans present to scream with excitement.

Afterwards, Kimura Hiroshi went to several other regions for promotional activities. Fortunately, there were no further problems. Several promotional events even reached a scale of 20,000 people. This scale surprised not only Kimura Hiroshi but also the staff of Toho and Ken-On who came with him.

"Kimura-san, even if you're no longer popular in Japan, you'll still be a hugely popular artist, even if you only focus on the East Asian market. Thanks to them, your records will sell like hotcakes." Yukio Tomioka, who was standing next to him, said in great shock.

To be honest, seeing Kimura Hiroshi's popularity overseas, he even had the idea of ​​having Kimura Hiroshi expand into overseas markets, especially in East Asia, which would definitely make Warner a lot of money.

Unfortunately, Kimura Hiroshi shook his head and said, "When that time comes, it will be time for me to retire and enjoy life. Mr. Tomioka, do you really want me to work for the rest of my life? I'm very sorry, but I'm not a workaholic."

When he's no longer popular in Japan, that's pretty much the time for him to retire. Kimura Hiroshi won't risk his life for money. Look at all those Japanese entertainers who either commit suicide or die young, many of them due to overwork. He won't gamble with his physical and mental health. Even now, he's already earned enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

The reason I'm still working is for financial freedom. What is financial freedom? It means that you don't feel bad about buying anything except for something that's too expensive. For example, if Akina Nakamori gets tired of living in Japan and wants to buy a villa somewhere else, Hiroshi Kimura can easily afford it. That's called financial freedom.

After traveling overseas for about seven or eight days, Hiroshi Kimura and his staff finally returned to Japan and began promoting the film there. It was a non-stop operation, and Kimura experienced the most arduous period of the year. He would collapse onto the sofa as soon as he got back to his apartment.

Fortunately, he still has a gentle and virtuous girlfriend, Akina Nakamori, at home who takes care of him. Some time ago, she was on tour, which is to hold concerts in various cities in Japan. Because she holds small and medium-sized concerts, she had to increase the number of shows in order to allow more fans to see her.

This was quite a tiring thing, but when she finished this tour, Kimura Hiroshi was promoting overseas, so she didn't have Kimura Hiroshi to take care of her when she was tired. Instead, she only rested for one day, and when the exhausted Kimura Hiroshi came back, she had to take care of him.

However, Akina Nakamori had no complaints about this at all; on the contrary, she was very happy. When Hiroshi Kimura came back, she would greet him at the door, pour him water after he sat on the sofa, massage his shoulders and back, serve him food, prepare his bath water, and even squeeze his toothpaste.

Kimura Hiroshi quite enjoyed the care that Nakamori Akina provided, but this level of care was a bit too much for him. After he finished eating, he went to take a shower and was shocked to find that a towel and slippers had been prepared and toothpaste had been squeezed out and placed there.

After enjoying this attentive care, Kimura Hiroshi, still in his pajamas, walked out of the bathroom and grabbed Nakamori Akina from behind the sofa, saying with dissatisfaction, "Akina's care is just too much. It's making me wonder if I'm a cripple. If I could still move, would you be helping me take a bath, Akina?"

While watching TV, Akina Nakamori smelled the scent of shower gel that Hiro Kimura had just taken a shower, and chuckled, "It's not impossible, I can manage taking a shower, but I wonder if Hiro-kun can enjoy it."

"I'm not seventy or eighty years old anymore. If I were really that limited in my mobility, having someone help me take a bath would feel really strange. Kimura Hiroshi couldn't accept that. He flipped over the sofa, sat down next to Nakamori Akina, and said, 'Let's forget about it, unless you bathe with me.'"

"Thinking about bad things again. You're so tired, how come you can't forget these kinds of things?" Nakamori Akina grabbed Kimura Hiroshi's head, wanting to see what was going on in his head, but unfortunately she really couldn't see it.

"How many more days of promotion are there? Are you this tired every day?" After the laughter subsided, Akina Nakamori asked with concern. Although she always complained that Hiroshi Kimura liked to slack off, she felt very sorry for him when she saw how tired he was.

After calculating the time, Hiroshi Kimura replied, "There are still three days left. The movie will be released in three days, and the promotion will be over then. By the way, Akina hasn't seen the movie I'm in yet, right? Do you have time that day? Let's go see it together. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time for dates. Going to see a movie is a good idea."

Now it was Nakamori Akina's turn to calculate the time. There was no way around it; both of them were extremely busy, especially during such a busy time. Even for a date, they had to calculate the time carefully. After calculating, three days later, on August 3rd, she had a program to record in the afternoon, but she should have time in the evening.

So she happily said, "Sure, Hongjun, we happen to have time that night. How about we go see your new movie and grab a bite to eat? Oh, it's the first batch of saury to hit the market this year, let's go eat saury!"

Starting in August each year, Pacific saury migrate to the waters near Japan, and at this time, Pacific saury from Japan will be available on a large scale, making it the best time to eat them. Kimura Hiroshi readily agreed to this suggestion, saying, "Great, let's eat Pacific saury! But I don't know which restaurant is the best. I'll have to ask around."

For Japanese people, saury is a very special fish, which is why there are so many restaurants serving saury in Japan. Most of them are decent, since this fish is easy to cook. However, making it truly delicious is not so easy. If you're going to go out of your way to eat it, then you should eat it well.

"Hmm, hmm, I can go ask around. Ah, it's just too far from Kiyose. If you're asking where to find good saury in Kiyose, I know exactly where," Akina Nakamori said with a hint of reminiscence.

Unexpectedly, Kimura Hiroshi immediately said, "Then let's go to Kiyose. You haven't been back to your hometown in a long time, have you? After we watch the movie, let's invite Aunt Chieko to go and try some saury. How about it? It only takes an hour to drive there. I'll wait for you at the TV station entrance."

"Oh, really? Hiro-kun, isn't that too tiring? You're so kind, Hiro-kun." With that, she went up and gave Kimura Hiro a big, sweet kiss.

Chapter 481 My Girlfriend is a Little Drunkard

Entering August, Akina Nakamori's single "Arashi no Sogami," released two months prior, sold over 600,000 copies, becoming her second single of the year to surpass 600,000 sales. This has kept Akina Nakamori's popularity high throughout the year, making her the only top female singer to achieve this feat.

Although many newcomers have recently become popular, such as Shizuka Kudo from Onyanko Club, Miho Nakayama who has been gaining popularity since last year, Yoko Minamino, and Seiko Matsuda who returned to the entertainment industry after giving birth, none of these newcomers can match Akina Nakamori's dominance, whether it was before or now. They still cannot be considered top-tier singers.

Today, Akina Nakamori holds a very high position in the entertainment industry, mainly due to her remarkable achievements over the years. In popular shows like Yoru HIT, she is now able to take the lead role in the medley, which requires a certain level of status and accomplishments.

However, Akina Nakamori doesn't particularly care about these things right now. The reason she stays in the entertainment industry, besides her love for singing, is basically to continue working so that she can help Hiroshi Kimura.

Despite not caring much about achievements or status, Akina Nakamori is still very serious about her work. She completes her programs diligently, even knowing that Hiroshi Kimura is already waiting for her outside, waiting for her to return to Kiyose, watch a movie, see her mother, and eat saury.

However, as soon as the show ended, Nakamori Akina couldn't wait any longer. She told Akiyuki Yoshizawa, changed her stage outfit, and without even removing her makeup, ran towards the TV station's underground parking lot.

Before she left for work today, Kimura Hiroshi had already told her what car she would be driving, so when she arrived at the parking lot, she quickly found the car, walked over, opened the door, and got in.

"Have you been waiting long, Hiro-kun? Are you getting impatient?" Nakamori Akina asked.

Waving his hand, Kimura Hiroshi said, "No, I just got here not long ago. But I see you're in a hurry, Akina. You haven't even taken off your makeup yet. If you go out like this, you'll definitely be recognized."

When Nakamori Akina is wearing makeup, that's how she usually appears on TV shows, which is also how most people see her. She's very likely to be recognized when she goes out like this. But when Nakamori Akina removes her makeup, she looks completely different, even younger. Especially when she wears those somewhat ugly black-rimmed glasses, she's even harder to recognize.

"Hehe, I'm prepared! I even brought my makeup remover kit. Hiro, hurry up and drive, or it'll get very late and we won't have time to remove my makeup in the car." Nakamori Akina was clearly prepared, as she took out her makeup remover kit and said to Kimura Hiro with a grin.

He was really thoughtful, so Kimura Hiroshi didn't say anything more. He turned and drove out of the parking space, out of the underground garage, and headed towards Kiyose. It was already past 5 p.m., and he would get back to Kiyose around 6 p.m., so there was still time.

Since it wasn't rush hour yet, the roads weren't too congested, and Kimura Hiroshi drove steadily and quickly. By six o'clock, they had arrived at Kiyose and went straight to Chieko's residence.

Having not returned to Kiyose for a long time, Akina Nakamori seemed quite excited. As soon as the car stopped in front of the house, she called out to the house, "Mom, Mom, I'm home."

Then he turned to Hiroshi Kimura and said, "I'll go in and open the door. Hiroshi, park the car in the yard, and then go eat saury with Mom."

Since Akina Nakamori had already planned everything, Hiroshi Kimura naturally didn't say anything more. He nodded and said, "No problem, we'll follow Akina's arrangements."

"You did a fantastic job, Hiro-kun! I'll give you a reward when we get back." With that, Akina Nakamori got out of the car happily. At that moment, Chieko, who had heard the call, came over and opened the door. Seeing Akina Nakamori and Hiro Kimura come to see her, she smiled as well.

"Akina and Kimura are here! Come in quickly, have you had dinner yet?" Compared to Chieko, who had just finished treatment, her complexion had improved a lot, her overall spirits were much better, and her voice was stronger.

As Nakamori Akina entered the yard and opened the gate, she replied, "I haven't eaten yet, Mom. We're planning to invite you to eat saury together. The first batch of saury should be on the market by now, right? Aunt Hanako's saury is the best."

The gate to the courtyard opened, and Kimura Hiroshi parked the car inside. However, Chieko smiled bitterly and said with a hint of reproach, "Why didn't you call before you came back? I was already having dinner, how could I possibly eat saury? You two go together. I'll call Hanako later and arrange a good spot for you so no one can disturb your date."

"Mom, what are you saying?" Although she had been dating Hiroshi Kimura for many years and her family had known about it for a long time, she still felt a little uncomfortable being teased by her mother like this.

At this moment, Hiroya Kimura got out of the car and came up to greet Chieko, "Aunt Chieko, how have you been lately?"

"It's not bad, the doctors are very responsible, and I can eat normally now. Thank you for your concern, Kimura," Chieko said politely to Kimura Hiroshi.

"Okay, that's good. If you need anything, just let us know. By the way, Akina, did you talk to Aunt Chieko about going to eat saury together?" Kimura Hiro asked Nakamori Akina, who was standing next to Chieko.

With a sigh, Akina Nakamori said, "I did say that, but Mom has already eaten dinner and can't come with us. She told us to go by ourselves."

"Yes, I've already had dinner. You know my current health condition, I can't eat too much, so you two go ahead. I'll talk to Hanako, who's really good at cooking saury, and reserve a good spot for you," Chieko said with a hint of regret.

Given Chieko's current health condition, she really can't eat too much, so Kimura Hiroshi didn't insist on inviting her. He could only say, "Alright then, in that case, Akina and I will have to go eat."

"Yes, go ahead, go ahead. Don't worry about me. What's the point of young people bringing an older person along on a date? Go ahead, I imagine you're both very busy and don't have much time. I'm already happy that you came back to see me." Chieko said as she pushed Kimura Hiroshi and Nakamori Akina out the door, telling them to hurry up and do what they needed to do.

Knowing that only the two of them could go, Akina Nakamori and Hiro Kimura didn't linger. After saying goodbye, they headed towards the small restaurant run by Aunt Hanako, which Akina Nakamori had mentioned.

It was already dark, and the streets were lit by dim streetlights. Occasionally, pedestrians on bicycles and on foot would hurry by. Kimura Hiroshi and Nakamori Akina walked hand in hand like an ordinary couple, enjoying their rare moment of leisure.

"Aunt Chieko looks great; the doctor's treatment seems to be working very well," Kimura Hiroshi remarked casually as they walked.

Shaking her tightly clenched hand vigorously, Nakamori Akina was clearly in a good mood and said, "Yes, she looks to be in good health. She should be able to recover. I hope she can live a long and peaceful life."

For Nakamori Akina, her mother Chieko held a very special place in her heart. Even if Chieko did something wrong to her, she wouldn't really blame her.

"Yes, definitely." Kimura Hiroshi said with great agreement, but he knew in his heart that this disease could be suppressed for the time being, but it was not so easy to live a long life, especially since Chieko's health was not very good and it was unknown when it would relapse. But he could not say that.

Aunt Hanako's little restaurant wasn't far, and the two of them strolled over quickly. The lights were already on inside, and it was bustling with people. Many office workers who weren't working overtime were drinking, eating, and chatting inside.

Japanese people usually control their voices when they speak, but once they've had a few drinks, they become incredibly loud, making the small restaurant a noisy mess.

As soon as the two entered the restaurant, a middle-aged woman with slightly graying hair came over. She looked at Akina Nakamori and then at Hiroshi Kimura, whose face was obscured by sunglasses. She said with a hint of excitement, "Akina and Kimura, right? Chieko just called me. Please come with me. There's a semi-secluded corner on the right, which is more private. Don't worry, no one will disturb you."

"Oh, thank you so much, Aunt Hanako." Nakamori Akina quickly thanked her. They used to be shopkeepers on the same street and were very familiar with each other.

"Thank you very much, Aunt Hanako." Kimura Hiroya also expressed his gratitude, following Nakamori Akina's form of address.

Hearing Kimura Hiroya call her "Auntie," Hanako became even more excited, waving her hands repeatedly and saying, "No trouble at all, no trouble at all. I'm already very happy that you came to my place. Please come with me."

Following behind Aunt Hanako, they walked to a corner where there was a screen standing at a right angle, with a small table inside, which separated the outside from the outside, making it very private and preventing people from seeing them at will.

The two sat down, and Kimura Hiro handed over the important task of ordering food to Nakamori Akina, since she was the one most familiar with the place and knew what was good and what wasn't, so it was fine to let her order.

As an acquaintance, Akina Nakamori ordered quite quickly, ordering two pan-fried saury, a plate of saury roe, a stir-fried vegetable dish, and a bottle of sake. This would be their dinner for the day.

They came here mainly to eat saury; nothing else matters, as long as they enjoy the fish.

This small restaurant is quite famous for its saury. When Kimura Hiroshi came in, he saw that there was saury on many tables, which means that the restaurant always has some saury on hand. As a result, the food was served very quickly, and in no time, everything they ordered arrived.

The items arrived, and Nakamori Akina poured herself and Kimura Hiroshi a glass of sake. Smelling the sake, the little drinker's face changed, and she said quite intoxicatedly, "It's time to have a couple of drinks after get off work, right? Come on, Hiroshi, let's drink."

Going for a couple of drinks after get off work is indeed a habit for Japanese people, and Kimura Hiroshi naturally wouldn't refuse. He raised his glass and said, "Cheers!"

The wine glasses touched lightly. Kimura Hiroshi only took a small sip because he had to drive back later and couldn't actually drink alcohol. He just took a sip as a gesture of keeping company. Nakamori Akina, on the other hand, downed the whole glass in one go and said with great relish, "It's really good. Aunt Hanako's sake still tastes the same."

With that blissful expression and those questionable words, Kimura Hiro, ever the astute observer, immediately spotted the crucial problem. He placed a piece of fish on Nakamori Akina's plate and said thoughtfully, "Oh, you still remember this taste? I remember Akina debuted at sixteen and rarely returned to Kiyose afterward. When did you drink Aunt Hanako's sake?"

Originally, Nakamori Akina was planning to try the fish that Kimura Hiro had prepared, but after hearing Kimura Hiro's words, she froze. She knew what she had revealed, so she quickly said, "I drank it when I came here to eat a meal a long time after my debut. Hiro-kun, please don't misunderstand. How could I have been drinking when I was so young?"

This explanation was just a cover-up. Kimura Hiroshi just smiled. Although Nakamori Akina was definitely not a delinquent girl when she was young, she wasn't exactly well-behaved either. Obviously, she must have been stealing alcohol when she was little.

"How does the fish taste?" Kimura Hiroshi didn't ask further about that question, but instead inquired about Nakamori Akina's taste.

Akina Nakamori, after taking a bite of the saury, looked completely satisfied and said, "It's delicious! Hiro-kun, you should try it too. It's really great, even better than the food in those high-end restaurants."

"Really? Then I'll have a good taste too." Kimura Hiroya picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks. The saury was thick and boneless, with only one main bone, so there was no need to worry about fish bones when eating it.

This saury was pan-fried until golden brown. It was cut during frying, and the sauce seeped into the fish. Kimura Hiroshi took a bite and found the surface crispy, and the white fish meat inside was also flavorful and fragrant. It was soft yet had a crispy skin, which was very good.

"It's really excellent, very delicious. Meiji Restaurant's selection process is truly full of surprises," Kimura Hiroshi exclaimed.