My daily life with the original diva

After talking for a while, Misora ​​Hibari realized she had said a bit too much and suddenly asked, "Kimura-san is already twenty-three years old this year, right?"

"Yes, I am already twenty-three years old. Why is Hibari-san asking about this all of a sudden?" Kimura Hiroshi asked, puzzled.

"Twenty-three years old, the prime of youth! Don't you feel like you have so much time to enjoy? But cherish it! Youth is actually very short; it passes by in the blink of an eye. Try to live each day to the fullest and cherish everyone around you," Hibari Misora ​​said almost incessantly, but Hiroshi Kimura didn't find it annoying.

Looking at Hibari Misora, who was ravaged by illness and looked like a withered corpse, Hiroshi Kimura felt a strange sense of unease. He thought that Akina Nakamori was also not in good health. She was still young and it was not obvious yet, but he remembered that Akina Nakamori had also taken a long period of rest due to health reasons. Now, because of his presence, Akina Nakamori's workload had actually increased a lot compared to before he appeared, and the time had also been extended, especially this year, it seemed that she would be busy for the whole year.

He didn't know what the consequences of this change would be, which made him inexplicably nervous. Would Nakamori Akina's health deteriorate further? If such a thing really happened, Kimura Hiroshi might not be able to forgive himself.

"I have to make some changes; some things can't be put off any longer." To avoid this happening, Hiroshi Kimura decided to do what he had been hesitating about.

Chapter 544 A Phenomenal TV Series

As "Long Vacation" continued to air, its popularity rose at a visible speed. When the fourth episode aired, the viewership rating naturally broke through 30%. But this was not the highest point. The viewership rating continued to rise in the fifth and sixth episodes, with the sixth episode reaching an astonishing 33.2%.

Such high viewership ratings officially propelled "Long Vacation" to the status of a phenomenal TV series. The male and female leads, as well as the second male and female leads, all received a great deal of attention, especially former Onyanko Club member Sonoko Kawai and newcomer Masaharu Fukuyama, who garnered a lot of attention.

First of all, Kawai Sonoko is quite a hot topic. As one of the most popular members of Onyanko Club, she began to lose popularity at a visible speed after the club disbanded, and recently she has almost disappeared from the public eye. Unexpectedly, she starred in Hiroshi Kimura's new drama "Long Vacation", which successfully brought back some of her popularity. Incidentally, the sales of her singles released in the last two years have also increased to a certain extent.

Another one is Masaharu Fukuyama. He was a complete newcomer. There was no information about him at all before, but he was chosen by Hiroshi Kimura to be the second male lead in his TV series. The media were speculating about what qualities he had that made Hiroshi Kimura give him the role. Was it just because he was handsome? But no matter how handsome he was, he wasn't as handsome as Hiroshi Kimura.

Both the TV station and Hiroshi Kimura himself are happy to see this kind of discussion, because it can continuously boost the popularity of the TV series and increase its viewership.

However, the high ratings of this somewhat bland TV series surprised many industry insiders, who began to pay close attention to this record-breaking series that took the late 1980s.

Professionals can always see the essence of what makes a TV series attractive. First of all, the main characters in this series are mostly handsome men and beautiful women. Not to mention Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori, the rest, such as Sonoko Kawai and Masaharu Fukuyama, are all outstanding in appearance. Good looks are bound to attract a lot of attention.

Next up is the soundtrack for the TV series, which is very catchy and rhythmic. Needless to say, they guessed that it was the work of Hiroshi Kimura, after all, Hiroshi Kimura is a recognized genius in music composition.

Then there's the plot. Although the drama explores the love of young people, it's not just about love; it also explores the current lifestyle of young people. There's Seimei Hidetoshi's winding piano dream, Hayama Minami's confusion about life when she can no longer be a model, and the second male lead, Hayama Minami's younger brother, who is cynical and unrestrained.

Of course, as an urban romance drama, its main focus is still on love. The love it depicts seems quite different from the fast-paced love of today's young people. The concept of love it portrays is that two people can stay together for a long time, complement each other in personality, share common interests, and so on.

The entire series, from the inside out, is designed to capture the hearts of today's young people. It can be said that the seemingly mundane plot is anything but calm, which has also provided a lot of inspiration to many industry professionals.

Japanese dramas are developing rapidly and there is no fixed pattern yet. Everyone is learning from and imitating each other, so they will naturally not let go of good things.

However, Kimura Hiroshi himself paid very little attention to his phenomenal TV series. He was very busy these days, not only keeping an eye on real estate sales but also filming movies. In addition, he would take an afternoon every week to visit Misora ​​Hibari. She didn't have much time left, and every time Kimura Hiroshi visited her, he could see her weakening at a visible rate.

However, little is known about her condition to the outside world. Although the media knows that Hibari Misora ​​is seriously ill, her agency keeps the specifics of her illness strictly confidential. They know that Hibari Misora ​​is not going to make it, so they want to keep her condition a secret and let her pass away peacefully.

"I heard that Ms. Hibari is very ill and has been hospitalized for a long time?" That day, when Akina Nakamori finally had a day off from work and was having dinner with Hiroshi Kimura, she suddenly asked.

Although Hibari Misora's illness was kept secret from the public, people in the entertainment industry could still hear some news about it, such as Akina Nakamori, who heard about it.

After taking a bite of the steak in front of him, Kimura Hiroshi made no attempt to hide anything, nodding and saying, "Yes, I'm afraid she won't make it through the year. I've visited her several times, and there's absolutely no sign of her condition improving."

Knowing that Hibari Misora ​​was seriously ill, Akina Nakamori had no idea how serious it was. She had been enjoying her food, but immediately stopped what she was doing and asked in disbelief, "Is she that sick? Why didn't Hiro-kun tell me?"

He stopped what he was doing and didn't know how to answer. He really didn't want Nakamori Akina to know about this, because her mother Chieko's illness was no different from Misora ​​Hibari's, just discovered earlier or later. He was afraid that if Nakamori Akina saw Misora ​​Hibari's condition, she would have unnecessary worries.

"I'd like to see Ms. Hibari too, is that alright, Hiro-kun?" Nakamori Akina asked with a hopeful expression when Kimura Hiro didn't answer.

Kimura Hiroshi didn't refuse, because if he did, Nakamori Akina would probably be very disappointed. So he said, "Sure, but Akina, you have so much work to do. If you want to see Hibari-san, you'll have to make time for it."

Shaking her head, Akina Nakamori said, "No need for special arrangements, tomorrow afternoon is fine. I can cancel my album recording tomorrow afternoon. However, if I want to see her, I need Hibari-san's permission first. Kimura-san, I'll call her later to ask."

"Okay, eat first. I'll make a call after you finish. You seem to have lost some weight recently." Kimura Hiroshi urged Nakamori Akina to eat quickly. He was paying close attention to Nakamori Akina's health and was also planning to talk to Kenon after this work cycle ended to further reduce Nakamori Akina's workload.

Touching her face, Akina Nakamori rolled her eyes at Hiro Kimura and said, "No way, my weight has been maintained very well recently. I haven't gained or lost weight. Hiro-kun, is there something wrong with your eyes? I told you to stop looking at those lewd magazines. Your eyesight is getting worse and worse."

The two continued eating until they finished everything they had ordered, then returned to their apartment. Kimura Hiroshi made a phone call to Misora ​​Hibari's office to ask if it would be okay to take Nakamori Akina to see Misora ​​Hibari the next day, and the answer was yes.

The next day, Hiroshi Kimura went to the film set in the morning to supervise the filming, and then handed over the afternoon filming to the assistant director sent by Toho. He then drove to Warner's recording studio to pick up Akina Nakamori, and the two of them went to the hospital to see Hibari Misora.

However, when the two arrived at the hospital, they received very bad news: Hibari Misora ​​had fallen into a coma that day, and the doctors had tried to resuscitate her, but she had not yet woken up. As a result, the two could only watch Hibari Misora ​​lying in bed from their hospital room.

Seeing Hibari Misora's appearance, Akina Nakamori was completely shocked. She clearly couldn't believe that the enka master she had met just a few months ago, who was singing on stage, was now suffering from this disease.

Kimura Hiroshi and Nakamori Akina left after a short while, because they couldn't see anything there and might even delay the doctors' treatment.

After leaving the ward and returning to the car, Nakamori Akina remained silent throughout the journey, though her eyes became somewhat red. Kimura Hiroshi knew that she couldn't bear to see such scenes; as a sensitive person, she often couldn't accept the pain of separation and death.

Instead of driving away, Kimura Hiroshi held Nakamori Akina's hand and said as casually as possible, "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are unavoidable, even for us. But no matter what, Akina, I will always be by your side."

Hearing Kimura Hiro say this, Nakamori Akina's expression softened a bit, and she said, "Yes, I know, Hiro-kun. But seeing Hibari-san like that makes me feel terrible. It's only been a few months. Back then, she was radiant and a great enka performer on stage, but now she can't even open her eyes."

Holding Akina Nakamori's hand, Hiroshi Kimura said, "Life is always unpredictable. Hibari-san is sick, and we can't change that. All we can do is visit her more often. Don't worry too much, okay?"

Instead, Nakamori Akina grabbed Kimura Hiroshi's hand tightly, trying to regain her composure. She forced a smile and said, "I know. Hiroshi didn't tell me before because he was afraid I would worry too much, right? So, to keep Hiroshi from worrying, I won't worry either."

Akina Nakamori's words were quite convoluted, but Hiroshi Kimura still managed to understand them. He reached out his other hand and patted Akina Nakamori's head, then said, "Alright, we've seen it all. Let's go back now. Akina took the afternoon off, so how about we go out and have some fun?"

Since he had taken leave, Kimura Hiroshi decided to go out and have some fun; he couldn't possibly waste this hard-earned free time.

Unexpectedly, Akina Nakamori shook her head and said, "I'm not going out to play. It's not good to take leave at the last minute. Fortunately, I won't waste too much time. Mr. Akio and Ms. Noriko are still at Warner, and the other staff should still be here. So I'll go back and continue recording. I can't delay everyone's work too much."

Kimura Hiroshi really didn't want to take up any of everyone's time. He hadn't expected Nakamori Akina to have to go back to work, but since she had made that choice, he wouldn't force her. However, he didn't intend to part ways with Nakamori Akina, so he said, "Alright, since Akina is going to record, then let's go back. But I don't have anything to do this afternoon, and Akina isn't going to hang out with me, so I'll just have to go watch Akina record. What do you think?"

"Hiro-kun will record with me?" Nakamori Akina was immediately delighted that Kimura Hiro would actually record with her. She clapped her hands and said, "Great, great! It's rare to be able to work with Hiro-kun by my side. Now, I can finally experience it. Let's go!"

Seeing how happy Nakamori Akina was, Kimura Hiroshi was naturally in a good mood as well. He drove Nakamori Akina back to Warner, and Akiyuki Yoshizawa was quite surprised to see that Kimura Hiroshi had actually brought Nakamori Akina back.

"Sigh, didn't Kimura-san take Akina-san to visit Ms. Misora? Why are they back so soon? Are they not allowed to visit?" Akiyuki Yoshizawa asked curiously.

Hiroki Kimura could tell Akina Nakamori about Hibari Misora's condition, but he needed to keep it a secret from others to prevent the news from spreading. So Hiroki Kimura explained, "Ah, I visited her, but Hibari-san isn't feeling well and needs to rest, so we only talked for a few minutes before leaving. I originally wanted to go out with Akina, but she said it wouldn't be good to take leave at the last minute, so she wanted to come back to continue recording and finish her work."

Akina Nakamori, standing beside her, was quite cooperative, nodding repeatedly and saying, "That's right, what do you think, Mr. Akiyuki? Aren't I very dedicated?"

At this moment, Akiyuki Yoshizawa was actually cursing. He had thought that he would finish work early in the afternoon and go home to rest after seeing Nakamori Akina leave. But Nakamori Akina actually came back. She really cared about them. But Akiyuki Yoshizawa felt that it was really unnecessary.

But now that she's back, how could he possibly send her away? So he could only say with a wry smile, "Very dedicated, Akina-san. Well then, let's continue recording. The studio staff were also preparing for sound mixing this afternoon, and now that you're back, we can continue working."

So the group went to the recording studio again, but Kimura Hiroshi seemed to notice the helplessness in Akiyuki Yoshizawa's eyes and couldn't help but whisper to him, "What's wrong? Did Akiyuki-san's return ruin Akiyuki-san's plan to rest early?"

Although she didn't want to admit it, Akiyuki Yoshizawa couldn't help but nod and asked, "You both took the afternoon off, so why didn't Kimura-san take Akina-san out to play? Do young couples like you only know how to work?"

Shrugging, Hiroshi Kimura said helplessly, "Mr. Akiyuki knows how serious Akina is about her work. Okay, Mr. Akiyuki, don't be angry. After work, I'll treat you to a big meal. How about the hair accessory restaurant? I haven't had foie gras in a long time, and there's also blue lobster from Brittany, France."

Upon hearing Kimura Hiroshi's words, Akiyuki Yoshizawa's resentment vanished. High-end French cuisine is indeed very expensive, and even he wouldn't eat there easily. Only Kimura Hiroshi would be so generous. Working for a while in exchange for such a high-end French meal is truly a worthwhile deal.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony, Kimura-san,” Akiyuki Yoshizawa said happily.

Chapter 545 Another Million-Dollar Single Record

"Setting a new record, the eighth episode of 'Long Vacation' achieved a viewership rating of over 33%, setting a new record for the highest viewership rating since Fuji Television's return to television dramas."

"Where are the limits? 'Long Vacation' reaches new ratings heights!"

"Unveiling the key to the explosive ratings of 'Long Vacation': Young people love to watch it."

"The theme song for 'Long Vacation,' 'LA LA LA LOVE SONG,' sold over a million copies within two months, becoming Hiroshi Kimura's second single to surpass one million sales this year!"

Entertainment newspapers and magazines are full of related reports. Recently, "Long Vacation" has been breaking viewership records one after another, which has shocked both ordinary viewers and industry insiders. The viewership is just too high. It has been soaring all the way and seems to have no intention of stopping. The viewership has soared to 133%.

Such terrifying viewership ratings made other TV stations quite envious and jealous, especially TV Asahi. After all, they were the first TV stations to collaborate with Hiroshi Kimura on a drama series. However, they never expected that the first drama Kimura starred in would be taken by Fuji TV, let alone that it could create such terrifying viewership ratings.

Meanwhile, TBS, which has always been a competitor of Fuji Television, felt panicked. For years, TBS's drama programs have been their flagship programs, and in recent years, other programs have found it difficult to compete with Fuji Television. If their drama programs are also taken away, then they will really lose the ability to compete with Fuji Television.

As a result, the TV stations that were originally aloof and disdainful of cooperating with Kimura Hiroshi personally contacted them and began to actively seek cooperation with him. Moreover, the cooperation was not limited to TV dramas; some even wanted to invite Kimura Hiroshi to produce other programs for them.

After all, in their view, if Hiroshi Kimura could achieve such success in film, television, and music, wouldn't producing other programs be just as effective? Some clever TV stations wanted to be the first to try something new.

Unfortunately, they were clearly overthinking things. When the cooperation invitation was sent to Hegemony, Kimura Hiroshi only glanced at it before telling Sato Kayo, "Go tell Matsumoto-san to reject all these collaborations. I have limited energy, and I'm already quite busy with what I have on hand. I can't afford to add anything else."

Everyone's energy is limited. If you expand your business in a disorderly manner, you may end up overwhelmed. Kimura Hiroshi doesn't want to ruin his health for work. He has enough money now to achieve financial freedom in the future, so he just wants to maintain what he has now and won't add any other businesses.

He is also the largest shareholder of this company, so he doesn't need to consider the dividend demands of other investors. Therefore, he doesn't need to consider unlimited appreciation to satisfy the appetites of other investors. He can just maintain the current business and have something to do in the future.

"I need to control myself. I can't be like before, getting involved in so much business when I shouldn't, but still losing control in the end. From now on, I have to try harder to control myself," Kimura Hiroshi muttered to himself, as if reflecting on his actions.

After handling these collaborations, Hiroshi Kimura went to the manga department to check on their work, especially the game development in collaboration with Nintendo. Obviously, he couldn't see much; game development was just that slow in those days, and there was no way to urge them on.

Once he confirmed that there was nothing else to do at the company, Hiroshi Kimura immediately drove to the film set to continue filming "Triangle". Filming has been going on for about a month and a half now, and the filming is almost halfway done.

When he arrived at the set, Toho's assistant director was already preparing the set. By the time Kimura Hiroshi arrived, the set was ready and filming could begin at any time.

Kimura Hiroshi was naturally very satisfied with the assistant director's excellent arrangements. This saved him a lot of time. Kimura Hiroshi had already decided that after filming was over, he would definitely put in a good word for the assistant director with Toho so that he could be able to direct a film on his own as soon as possible.

"Kimura-san, congratulations! I heard your new single has sold over a million copies again. Wow, that's really amazing. It's incredibly difficult for other singers to break a million sales, but it seems so easy for Kimura-san. It's hard not to feel envious and a little jealous." Yasuko Sawaguchi greeted Hiroshi Kimura as he approached and offered her congratulations.

After more than a month of filming, the two have become quite familiar with each other and speak more casually. Kimura Hiroshi also has a very good impression of Sawaguchi Yasuko. This young woman is very serious about her work and tries her best to meet his requirements. She is nothing like the kind of people in later years who are forced into film crews by their connections, who are obviously pretentious and whose acting skills are so bad that they make people despair.

"That's probably just because I was lucky. Yasuko-san, you don't need to be envious. If you want to sing, you can give it a try," Kimura Hiroshi said quite calmly.

Luck? Yasuko Sawaguchi wouldn't believe it. Why should you be the lucky one? Since last year, your record sales have been breaking one million copies one after another. It's all because of your talent. Of course, your handsome face, which even she finds somewhat enviable, also deserves credit.

"Alright, alright, everything's ready. We'll start filming right away. Lights, set setup, Jingzi-san, you get ready too. Let's continue with yesterday's scene." The chat time was almost over, and it was time to begin today's filming.

Today's scene is a classic moment from "Triangle," where the female protagonist, after killing the hooded assassin who keeps killing people on the ship, discovers that another version of herself has boarded the ship with her friend. The shock and disbelief are palpable.

Such changes in expression are a considerable challenge for actors, so Hiroshi Kimura knew that today's filming progress would likely be much slower than before. However, he was not in a hurry. If he wanted the shots to be perfect, then some time would inevitably be needed for polishing.

Just as he had expected, although Yasuko Sawaguchi had filmed many movies and TV dramas before, she was still relatively young and her acting skills were not yet mature enough, making it difficult for her to portray that feeling. As a last resort, Hiroshi Kimura personally stepped in to demonstrate and explain to her, and it took more than an hour to finish filming the scene before they could continue filming.

Although there were occasional difficulties, the filming was progressing relatively smoothly. Based on the current situation, Hiroshi Kimura estimated that all the shots would be completed by July. Then, post-production processing and the addition of some necessary special effects would be required, since shooting real scenes could not fully meet the needs of a movie.

Filming continued into the evening, and after almost all the scenes scheduled for the day were filmed, Kimura Hiroshi announced that work was done and everyone on set, including the crew and actors, cheered. They could finally go home and rest.

Just as Kimura Hiroshi was packing up to go back, Sawaguchi Yasuko walked over. She hadn't even removed her makeup yet, and with a professional smile on her face, she asked, "Kimura-san, want to go get some late-night snacks together?"

Unexpectedly, Yasuko Sawaguchi invited him, and Hiroshi Kimura quickly declined, saying, "Thank you for the invitation, Yasuko-san, but I'm really tired from filming today, so I want to go back and rest. There's no need for a late-night snack."

Although he knew that Yasuko Sawaguchi might just be a friend who wanted to have a late-night snack with him, Hiroshi Kimura still decided to stay away from her. This woman's identity was not so simple. Even if it was just a matter of having a late-night snack with her, it might cause trouble. Besides, even if she was just a pretty female celebrity, Hiroshi Kimura would not go out for a late-night snack with her.

So readily rejected, Yasuko Sawaguchi paused for a moment, a hint of distress on her face, and said, "Kimura-san is really a good boyfriend. To avoid Akina-san misunderstanding, he keeps his distance from all other women. Actually, I asked Kimura-san to write a single for me, since the singles I released before weren't very popular."

So that's the purpose. Kimura Hiroshi hadn't expected it. Sawaguchi Yasuko had released some singles before, but to be honest, the sales were all very average. Although Sawaguchi Yasuko was popular and well-known, the market response to her singles and albums was generally mediocre.

In Japan, singers are considered more prestigious than actors. Many singers turn to acting when they can no longer make it in the music industry, while talented actors naturally aspire to be singers. Yasuko Sawaguchi is clearly one of these examples. Her previous attempts all failed, so she wanted to see if she could find a breakthrough by learning from Hiroshi Kimura, whose singles have made many newcomers famous. Recently, two of his singles have sold over a million copies, and Yasuko Sawaguchi couldn't resist joining in.

“Writing a single, huh? That’s not impossible. I’ll think about it when I get back and give Yasuko-san an answer in a few days. As for the late-night snack, I don’t need it. It’s too late. I want to go back and get some rest. I have to continue filming tomorrow.” The other party’s intentions were rather simple, but Kimura Hiroshi still wouldn’t go. This year is special, and he needs to be extra careful not to have any scandals with any other female celebrities.

Hearing Kimura Hiroshi say he could consider it, Sawaguchi Yasuko's smile finally returned, and she said happily, "Okay, Kimura-san, you should think about it carefully. I really want to sing the songs written by Kimura-san. Also, Kimura-san is such a perfect boyfriend, how come Akina-san beat me to it?"

The conversation was getting increasingly awkward, so Kimura Hiroshi quickly stopped, saying, "Alright, that's enough. I have to go back now. Yasuko-san, you should also remove your makeup and go home early. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, Kimura Hiroshi quickly made his escape. People on set were already leaving one after another. He didn't want to stay and continue chatting with Sawaguchi Yasuko. If there were many people, he wouldn't care, but if there was no one left, he had to leave.

On the way back, Kimura Hiroshi was actually a little hungry, so he got out of the car and bought something to eat. When he got back to his apartment, Nakamori Akina wasn't there; she was filming a program out of town. Kimura Hiroshi could only eat by himself, then take a shower and prepare to rest and go to sleep.

But when he came back from his shower, the phone rang. He quickly answered it and heard Akina Nakamori's voice on the other end, saying happily, "Congratulations, Hiro-kun! The drama's ratings have hit a new high, and the single's sales have exceeded one million! What kind of celebratory gift do you want? I'll bring it to you when I get back."

It turned out to be a congratulatory call from Akina Nakamori. Whenever Hiroshi Kimura achieves something, if she's not around, she'll call to congratulate him and prepare some small gifts, making it quite a special occasion.