My daily life with the original diva

"Their appearance is fine, but I'm not quite sure about their acting skills yet. Let's bring them over to see when we officially sign the contracts in a couple of days. If there are no problems then, they can get the roles of the second male lead and the second female lead respectively," Kimura Hiroshi said nonchalantly.

He was also worried about how to choose the second male and female leads for the new TV series. The second female lead in Tokyo Love Story, who ended up with the male lead Kanji Nagao, was not a popular character. It is said that after filming the TV series, the actress who played the second female lead would be insulted on the street. Ultimately, the overly popular TV series caused great interference to her acting career.

Unfortunately, the second female lead's image is simply not very popular. The impression she left on everyone is too deep. As a result, even if she plays other roles, people will only remember that one character and will unconsciously project their own image onto her. This is especially true for such an annoying character, which may only do harm to the actor.

He was originally worried about who to cast, not wanting to choose an actor and then let them down. He would have to put in a lot of effort to make amends later. Now that Fuji Television has delivered the role to him, it's Fuji Television's problem, not his. Fuji Television should feel guilty, but he probably won't feel that way.

As for the second male lead, well, it needs to be played by a handsome guy who's a bit of a jerk. This role is very popular, and Yosuke Eguchi's image is very suitable. It would be a great boost to his acting career.

“Okay, I’ll do as Kimura-san says. Next time I’ll bring them over to meet you so you can see if their acting skills meet the standards,” Miyauchi Takesetsu said with a smile.

That's how things are settled. In a few days, the contract will be officially signed, and then preparations will begin for the official filming. However, there are some things that need to be done in advance so as not to delay the subsequent events.

The business was over, but the Fuji TV staff didn't leave immediately. Instead, they wanted to visit the drama production department of Wit Studio. Kimura Hiroshi agreed, saying that the work was all pretty much the same and there were no secrets, so there wouldn't be any problem with taking a look.

While everyone else was visiting, Miyauchi Takesetsu and Kimura Hiroshi walked together, deliberately lagging far behind the main group, talking quietly as they walked.

"Well, your position as head of the Imperial Household Department should be quite secure now, right?" Kimura Hiroshi asked. He hadn't forgotten their deal: he would help Miyauchi Taketsuki stabilize his position, and in return, the latter would give him a substantial reward once his position was elevated.

Nodding slightly, Miyauchi Takesetsu said confidently, "Thanks to President Kimura's drama, the drama program has now been completely stabilized within the television industry and will be a long-term program. Therefore, my position is also stable. The higher-ups are very satisfied with the results. If President Kimura's drama continues to have explosive ratings, it will be a huge help to my future promotion."

Clearly, Taketsu Miyauchi has connections within Fuji Television. As long as he meets the performance targets, his promotion is a sure thing. Kimura Hiroshi is naturally very satisfied with this. With an ally in the upper echelons of the television station, he can easily do some things at least within Fuji Television in the future. Of course, it's something that benefits both sides.

Offering help now and expecting endless demands in the future will only cause this relationship, bound by self-interest, to break down quickly. No matter the circumstances, mutual benefit is always better, as it ensures a stable and lasting relationship.

"Don't worry, Miyauchi-san, do you not have confidence in me? I think the ratings for the new drama will be at least similar to 'Long Vacation,' and maybe even higher. Just keep an eye on it, Miyauchi-san," Kimura Hiroshi said with considerable confidence.

"Tokyo Love Story" was a phenomenal drama series, and it was already very popular. There's no reason why the ratings shouldn't be high now that he and Akina Nakamori are starring in it; they should be even higher.

"You really have confidence, but Kimura-san certainly has reason to be so confident. Whether it's a TV series or a movie, as long as Kimura-san is involved, there will be absolutely no problem. This time, I'm also looking forward to the good news that Kimura-san will bring me." Miyauchi Takesetsu also trusted Kimura Hiroshi a lot, because Kimura Hiroshi has never disappointed anyone so far.

After chatting with the staff of the drama department at Wit Studio and observing their work closely, the Fuji TV staff left satisfied. However, they clearly didn't find any secrets to success at Wit Studio, since there were no secrets there anyway.

The most important secrets of the entire Hegemony Company are now in Kimura Hiroshi's mind. Of course, Kimura Hiroshi is also gradually enabling Hegemony Company to operate independently. After all, he can't stay in Hegemony Company forever, nor can he have an inexhaustible supply of scripts in his mind. In the end, how Hegemony Company will fare depends on whether it can ultimately rely on itself.

After seeing off the Fuji TV staff, Kimura Hiroshi returned to his president's office and dealt with some company matters, mainly the separation of the manga, film, and television drama production departments at Wit's Entertainment. Although the three departments are still working together, they have actually begun to be managed in parallel. When the opportunity arises, they will be completely separated.

"That's great! The manga department has been steadily expanding lately and is almost a qualified manga company. Hmm, this latest 'Ranma 1/2' is very good. It's selling very well and has received good reviews. It's really grown. It's almost like it doesn't need my help as the president anymore."

Seeing the manga department getting stronger and stronger recently, Kimura Hiroshi was very happy. He actually knew nothing about manga and could only provide some manga ideas in his mind. How to draw and how to operate were all left to the manga department to do. Obviously, they did a very good job and are now almost an independent manga company.

"So next year, once real estate prices stabilize a bit, we'll let the manga department operate independently and rent them their own office space. After all, manga artists need a relatively quiet environment and a larger space; if it's too crowded, it won't be conducive to the expression of their imaginations." Kimura Hiroshi had a plan in mind.

Hiroshi Hirono, the head of the manga department, has complained more than once about how the space is too small and the number of employees is too large, causing a lot of inconvenience to their work. Since they are already a mature manga company, Hiroshi Kimura plans to let them go independent. He will rent an office building first, and when land prices collapse, he will buy them a building as their office space.

"Kayo-chan, go and talk to Director Hirono and tell them to look around the neighborhood for a suitable office space for the manga department. Once they find one, report back to me, and I'll rent it for them and prepare for the move next year." Kimura Hiroshi instructed Sato Kayo to communicate with Hirono Takashi over the phone.

As for him, he's now preparing for his concert.

Chapter 566 About Marriage

Compared to other singers, Hiroshi Kimura holds far fewer concerts, yet his popularity is almost unparalleled among Japanese singers. This results in his concerts, regardless of size, always being sold out, which in turn gives rise to many scalpers. These scalpers buy tickets in bulk, making it extremely difficult to obtain tickets for Hiroshi Kimura's concerts.

Having held numerous concerts, Hiroshi Kimura possesses exceptional skill in managing his concerts. Despite the presence of over 30,000 audience members, he appeared remarkably relaxed and at ease. Throughout the concert, he made virtually no mistakes and delivered an exceptional experience for the audience, which is one of the reasons for his concerts' popularity.

The concert started at 8 p.m. and lasted until 10 p.m. The entire concert was exhausted. Two consecutive hours of high-intensity performances are very difficult to do without physical strength.

After the concert ended and the celebration banquet was held, Kimura Hiroshi got into the car driven by Ms. Michiko and finally had some time to rest. He was practically slumped in the back seat of the car.

"Kimura-san's performance today was excellent. When I came out, the audience members were very satisfied. They even wanted to buy tickets for your concert in September." Yukio Tomioka, sitting in the front row, talked to Hiroshi Kimura about his performance at Hiroshi Kimura's concert today.

Kimura Hiroshi had no intention of answering, and simply replied, "Hmm, it looks pretty good."

Seeing that Kimura Hiroshi did look quite tired, Tomioka Yukio felt inexplicably refreshed. He thought to himself, which of the top Japanese celebrities wasn't exhausted like a dog every day? It was only because of Kimura Hiroshi that he occasionally had such a tiring time. At these times, Tomioka Yukio felt like he was the manager of a top celebrity. He just didn't know if he would have this experience again in the future.

"It looks like Kimura-san is very tired. But Kimura-san, I still hope you can take a look at what the entertainment media is talking about this morning. It seems to be about your marriage with Akina-san." Seeing that Kimura Hiroshi was exhausted, Tomioka Yukio had no intention of letting him rest. Instead, he took out a stack of entertainment newspapers and magazines for him to look at.

"Wedding?" Kimura Hiroshi instinctively thought that his marriage to Nakamori Akina had been exposed, so he quickly took the entertainment newspaper that Tomioka Yukio handed him. But when he looked at it, he found that it was about what happened on the night HIT program the day before yesterday, with reports about computer compatibility analysis and Nakamori Akina admitting that good things were coming soon.

Of course, this includes a lot of speculation and fabricated stories from the media. Based on just one program, they have already imagined when Hiroshi Kimura will marry Akina Nakamori, and even decided on the location for the wedding announcement: the Prince Hotel.

Kimura Hiroshi could only laugh and cry at this. Japanese entertainment media have always been shameless in their pursuit of sales, and this time was no exception. However, this time they almost hit the mark by accident. They may just be using the show's popularity for hype, and they may not really believe that he and Nakamori Akina will get married.

Based on past trends, Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori were both at the peak of their popularity, so there was no reason for them to get married at this time. The fact that they had been dating for so many years was already beyond their expectations. As for marriage, they believed that it was probably impossible in the next few years, since not everyone is Momoe Yamaguchi.

He thought someone had leaked the information to the media, but it turned out to be nothing. Kimura Hiroshi casually tossed the entertainment newspapers and magazines aside and said, "Mr. Tomioka, there's nothing wrong with this kind of media hype. They'll hype it up every day. Without substantial evidence, they'll probably stop this pointless hype in a couple of days."

Yukio Tomioka naturally knew this, but what he wanted to say was, "Kimura-san, should we take this opportunity to leak some information to the media?"

Shaking his head, Hiroshi Kimura said quite firmly, "Not for now. When it's time to make it public, I'll talk to Mr. Tomioka in advance. We'll give those media outlets that have been cooperating with us for many years a big surprise. We'll invite them to the press conference and let them release the first-hand information."

Knowing the consequences of even slightly revealing information—that a large number of media outlets would stake out him and Akina Nakamori every day, and that they would likely face endless interview harassment, which would be unbearable—Kimura Hiroshi, after issuing a public apology, still hoped to have a few months of peace.

When it's time to go public, that's when you'll be preparing for the wedding. You'll have more free time and energy to deal with the endless entertainment reporters. You can even find a way to leave Japan and come back after the wedding, leaving the wedding arrangements to others.

When it comes to announcing the marriage, it's naturally up to Kimura Hiroshi to decide what he wants to do. Tomioka Yukio naturally has to listen to his opinion, so he didn't object and replied, "Okay, then we'll listen to Kimura-san. We'll announce it whenever you think is appropriate."

The matter was thus settled. Ms. Michiko drove Kimura Hiroshi back to his apartment and then left. Kimura Hiroshi returned to his apartment, took a shower, and instead of resting immediately, he planned to watch a movie to relax before going to bed.

"Sigh, I'm used to having someone in the room, and suddenly living separately really doesn't feel so good. Akina is right, living separately before marriage is definitely good for the freshness of the honeymoon period." Watching the movie, Kimura Hiroshi thought to himself. He had only been living separately for two days, and he was still not used to it. After all, usually when he watched a movie at this time, he would have a warm and cozy person in his arms, and that feeling was exceptionally comfortable.

Just as he was thinking about this, the apartment phone rang. Kimura Hiroshi went over and answered it. "This is the Kimura family. Who are you looking for?"

"This is the Nakamori residence. I'm looking for Hiroshi Kimura. Is he here?" A very familiar voice came from the other end of the line. It was Akina Nakamori, but she was being silly on the phone, as if she couldn't recognize Hiroshi Kimura's voice at all.

Kimura Hiroshi was actually quite happy to hear that it was Nakamori Akina calling. He thought that perhaps this girl was having a hard time living apart from him, so she called him to express her longing for him. However, he didn't expect her to call back and pretend not to recognize his voice.

"Hmph, we've only been living apart for two days, and Akina can't even recognize my voice anymore? That's really heartbreaking," Kimura Hiroshi said, feigning anger.

On the phone, you can't see the other person's expression, so you can only judge their emotions by their tone of voice. Therefore, when Kimura Hiro pretended to be angry, Nakamori Akina was a little nervous and quickly said, "Don't be angry, Hiro-kun. I was just joking with you. How could Akina not recognize such a nice voice as yours? I was just teasing you."

"Hmm, that's more like it. If Akina can't recognize my voice, see how I deal with you," Kimura Hiroshi said with a hint of threat.

Then he asked, "What's wrong? Why are you calling me so late? Are you feeling down because we live separately and Hongjun isn't around? Is that why you're calling to talk to me?"

"A little, but not much," Akina Nakamori said with a grin.

Kimura Hiroshi was quite dissatisfied with the mere mention of "just a little," saying, "I was just thinking about someone, but you only thought about me a little."

"Okay, okay, I really miss Hiro-kun. Since I miss you so much, could you please come over tonight? I have a lot of things I want to ask Hiro-kun." Nakamori Akina was defeated by Kimura Hiro, admitting that she missed him a lot, and even beckoning him to come to her place.

The young girl was still a bit too inexperienced and no match for him. Kimura Hiroshi was quite satisfied with his victory and said, "Since Akina summoned me, how could I not come? Alright, wait for me, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Kimura Hiroshi didn't even bother to change his clothes. He just changed his shoes, went downstairs, drove to Nakamori Akina's apartment, and arrived at the building in a few minutes. He took the elevator, went to the door of Nakamori Akina's apartment, and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, and Nakamori Akina, who was also wearing pajamas, saw Kimura Hiroshi in pajamas at the door and immediately reached out to ask him to hug her, showing that she was quite good at being affectionate.

Although he was very tired, a man can't say he can't do it when it matters. He immediately stepped forward and hugged Nakamori Akina, not forgetting to close the apartment door behind him. He carried her all the way to the entrance, where Kimura Hiroshi finally put Nakamori Akina down and said, "I need to change my shoes, otherwise you'll have to clean up the dirty floor."

For someone with a slight obsession with cleanliness, Akina Nakamori would find it very difficult to tolerate any stains on the floor at home. She would immediately want to wipe them clean if there were any. Wiping the floor is no easy task, so Hiroshi Kimura is quite particular about hygiene.

Before Kimura Hiroshi could even go find his shoes, Nakamori Akina had already brought him slippers and placed them at his feet. After Kimura Hiroshi changed his shoes, she took his hand and led him into the apartment.

"Hmm, it still smells so good. As expected, the apartment of a beautiful woman smells different." Kimura Hiroshi could smell that faint fragrance every time he came. It was very different from his apartment. Even though Nakamori Akina lived there most of the time, she didn't have this magical smell. He wondered if his own scent was too strong and had been masked.

"Yeah, unlike Hiro-kun's apartment, which always has that stinky smell that I can't get rid of no matter how much I clean it." Nakamori Akina pretended to be disgusted and even fanned the air in front of her nose with her hand.

"Fine, you're already complaining about his smell after just two days?" Kimura Hiroshi couldn't stand it and said, "Since you complain about your Hiroshi-kun's smell, then today I'll make sure you're smelly too."

After saying that, he pounced on Nakamori Akina and rubbed himself all over her, trying to get his scent all over her to see if she really smelled bad.

"Haha, no, no, it stinks, haha." Nakamori Akina laughed heartily while refusing Kimura Hiro's rubbing against her, laughing exceptionally happily. She didn't notice at all that Kimura Hiro's hands were very unruly, really groping her body indiscriminately, which was quite disgusting. It was completely a case of an innocent female celebrity facing off against a seasoned pervert.

After laughing and joking for a while, the two of them collapsed on the sofa. Kimura Hiroshi had been holding a concert today and had exhausted a lot of energy, so he didn't have much energy left to joke around with Nakamori Akina. As for Nakamori Akina, she didn't want to sweat and needed to take a shower, so she stopped joking around after a while.

The two leaned against each other, and Kimura Hiroshi asked with considerable curiosity, "Akina said she has a lot of things to ask me. What are they? Has something happened?"

Thinking it might be related to media hype, Kimura Hiroshi asked with some concern. He knew that Nakamori Akina was quite concerned about her privacy and didn't want too much media coverage.

“Yes, it’s something very important. I was so happy the other day that I realized there are a lot of things I don’t understand. I need to ask Hiro-kun about them today,” Akina Nakamori said quite solemnly.

Seeing Akina Nakamori's expression, Hiroshi Kimura was somewhat surprised and asked, "Is it something like that? Akina, why are you taking it so seriously?"

"It's about our marriage. Hiro-kun, you still haven't told me when you plan to propose?" Nakamori Akina stared wide-eyed at Kimura Hiro, eagerly awaiting his answer.

Um, Kimura Hiroshi suddenly realized that he hadn't really thought about this question, so he could only say, "A proposal definitely requires a surprise, but I won't tell you the exact time. You'll find out when the time comes."

Akina Nakamori was clearly very satisfied with this answer, and happily took Hiro Kimura's arm, saying, "What a surprise! That's great! I'm really looking forward to it. So, the second question is, when are you planning to officially marry me, Hiro-kun?"

Similarly, Kimura Hiroshi hadn't thought of anything yet. This couldn't be treated as a surprise; it had to be something definite. There were many things to prepare for a formal wedding. Kimura Hiroshi scratched his head and replied, "Um, I haven't thought about it yet. It should be in the first half of next year, I guess."

But this answer already satisfied Nakamori Akina, and she was even happier, saying, "Hmm, that's already very soon. So when does Hiro-kun plan to announce the wedding?"

After announcing his engagement, Kimura Hiroshi had actually made up his mind. He whispered in Nakamori Akina's ear, "I want to..."

Upon hearing Kimura Hiroshi's answer, Nakamori Akina paused for a moment and asked, "Is this really okay? Won't there be any problems?"

"Of course, why not? It's decided then," Kimura Hiroshi said with great certainty.

Chapter 567 Tokyo Love Story Begins Filming

Not two days after their separation, Akina Nakamori broke her own rule and let Hiro Kimura stay overnight at her apartment. However, because he was tired after a long day, Hiro Kimura didn't do anything, he just took a nap there. Akina Nakamori's apartment had a faint fragrance, which helped Hiro Kimura sleep well all night.

The entertainment media hyped up the computer predictions that the two would get married, but that only lasted for two days before the media shifted their attention elsewhere. This time, however, someone actually broke the news of their marriage.

That is, Kenji Sawada, a superstar of the Japanese music scene in the 1970s, and Yuko Tanaka have officially announced their marriage. This can be described as earth-shattering news in the Japanese entertainment industry.

Several years ago, media outlets reported that Kenji Sawada had an extramarital affair with Yuko Tanaka. In order to be with Yuko Tanaka, Kenji Sawada reportedly paid his ex-wife a settlement of over 100 million yen. At the time, this news of a high-profile divorce dominated the headlines of all entertainment media.

To avoid the limelight, Yuko Tanaka did not immediately get together with Kenji Sawada. Instead, she became quiet and the media did not find any information about the two of them together. However, no one expected that after several years, the two of them would actually get married and announce their marriage. The media was not about to let this opportunity pass and naturally all rushed to this matter.

However, the media didn't have anything good to say when reporting on this matter. They brought up the incident from several years ago again and hyped it up. It's true that even if they got married, they wouldn't let the two of them have an easy time. As a result, their reputations haven't improved over the years; on the contrary, they've gotten worse.

Kimura Hiroshi naturally had little interest in such matters, since he had no connection with either Sawada Kenji or Tanaka Yuko. Their interactions on the show were merely nodding acquaintances, so he had no intention of paying attention to them.

While advancing the editing of "Triangle," Hiroshi Kimura was also keeping an eye on the formation of the "Tokyo Love Story" production team. Wit Studio was very fast, and by the end of August, they had almost completed the formation of the production team. Similarly, Fuji Television was also very fast, preparing the contracts and introducing Hiroshi Kimura to the actors they wanted to place in the production team.

This also allowed Kimura Hiroshi to meet Eguchi Yosuke for the first time. It must be said that this guy had a kind of roguish charm, which was very fitting for the image of the second male lead, a playboy, in the script. Kimura Hiroshi casually tested his acting skills and, after confirming that there were no problems, let him and another actress join the crew.

As for those who envy him for marrying Chisato Moritaka and want to do something to him, Kimura Hiroshi naturally only felt a pang of envy in his heart. But to actually do it would be too tasteless.

With the cast and crew all assembled, and to avoid wasting time, filming officially began in early September. With only three months left until the end of the year, Kimura Hiroshi didn't have much time to waste and had to hurry.

Filming modern urban dramas is a fairly mature genre in Japan, with readily available urban settings. So once the script and actors are finalized, finding filming locations becomes very easy, and the filming process can be very fast.

"Kimura-san, is this shot supposed to be like this?" On set, as a new director placed by Fuji Television, Kozo Nagayama didn't have any of the authority of a director. He was quite polite to Hiroshi Kimura and was also very eager to learn, taking every opportunity to ask Hiroshi Kimura for advice.

Although he doesn't often use the title of "director," Hiroshi Kimura is a genuine director who has directed films, making him a senior to Kozo Nagayama in that respect. Therefore, it's perfectly normal for him to seek his advice.

"Shoot the whole scene from top to bottom. This will effectively show the scene on site." Kimura Hiroshi was generous and taught Nagayama Kozo on the spot, sharing some of his experience with him. After all, they might continue to work together in the future, so it was good to build a good relationship now.

The two talked for a while and finally finished. Kozo Nagayama needed to digest and take notes before he could continue filming. At this point, the actors could relax a bit and even chat on set.

When we arrived at the place where Akina Nakamori was resting, we saw her chatting happily with her staff, and they even laughed out loud.