My daily life with the original diva

Continuing to press the issue yielded no results, so Kimura Hiroshi had no choice but to give up and asked, "Did you have lunch? What did you eat?"

"Not yet. Ms. Noriko will come over to bring me a bento around one o'clock. It's not convenient for me to go out to eat right now."

Eating bento boxes? That's hardly enough for the wounded. They need to get enough nutrition to recover faster. How can bento boxes possibly be enough?

Frowning, Kimura Hiroshi continued, "Didn't Miss Nakamori inform her family? Could they send someone over to take care of her?"

When you injure your leg, it's inconvenient to do anything. At this time, it's best to have someone take care of you so that you can move less and recover faster.

Nakamori Akina was silent for a while, and her mood seemed to worsen a bit. After a long while, she said, "It's the end of the year, and the family is very busy. Many relatives will be coming, and Mom needs to prepare a lot of things to receive the guests. She doesn't have time to come over."

Startled, Kimura Hiroshi suddenly felt uneasy. What kind of reason was this? Nakamori Akina's family was large, with six siblings. Even if her mother had to take care of the family, couldn't her older brother or sister come and check on things?

You know, Akina Nakamori is the breadwinner of the Nakamori family now, and most of the money goes home to her. Now they've taken all the money and they don't care about her at all, right? That's going too far. Even if an ATM breaks down, someone will fix it, right?

He really wanted to yell at her, but this was Nakamori Akina's family matter, and he couldn't say anything. Besides, Nakamori Akina didn't seem to be complaining about her family. If he said more, it would only make Nakamori Akina even more unhappy.

Letting out a long breath to calm himself down, Kimura Hiroshi said, "The wounded recover very slowly from eating bento boxes. They need enough nutrition. As a doctor, I can't watch patients recover too slowly. I'll go make lunch for Ms. Nakamori. I still have some ingredients from yesterday, so I'll let Ms. Noriko have a taste as well."

Over there, Nakamori Akina seemed very excited when she heard that Kimura Hiroshi was coming over to cook for her, and the phone line was being pulled so hard it was rattling. "Really? Kimura-san is coming over? Do you know where I live? Ah, Kimura-san passed by here last time."

"I know, but I don't know which floor it is. Can you tell me?" Kimura Hiro felt Nakamori Akina's excitement and found it a little funny. She really was afraid of being alone. She was so happy when someone came to keep her company.

"Third floor, apartment 302, don't go to the wrong one. I need to get ready, Kimura-san, hurry up and come over, I don't want to wait too long." Nakamori Akina started urging them on the phone, she really is an impatient person.

After promising that it would be over soon, Kimura Hiroshi hung up the phone. He needed to go back and pick up the groceries he had bought that day. He had to buy more vegetables because they were no longer very fresh after two days.

When Nakamori Akina heard that Kimura Hiroshi was coming, she was both happy and nervous. Last night, because her leg was not in a good position, she had only taken a quick shower and was wearing a sporty pajama. Her hair was messy and she had just tied it up casually. She was not wearing any makeup, as she did not want to leave a bad impression on Kimura-san.

Dragging her injured leg, she hopped to the dressing table on one leg and did a simple makeup. However, washing her hair would be difficult, as it was inconvenient for her to bend over and she could only wash it standing up. That would require her to take a shower, but doing so would render her makeup useless, and there didn't seem to be enough time.

"Ah, I'm so stupid, how could I be so stupid?" Nakamori Akina patted her head, feeling that she really wasn't very smart. In such a hurry, she did things without any plan.

Since she couldn't wash it, she could only tie her hair up, which made it look a bit messy. After fixing it, she looked at the apartment again. It was very clean and there was no clutter. She usually liked to clean and didn't like dust in her home.

"It should be fine. Oh, right, it seems there aren't any drinks at home. I'll have to call Ms. Noriko and ask her to bring some over." Thinking of this, she picked up the phone again. Ms. Noriko should be at the office right now.

But when she picked up the phone, she suddenly hesitated. Kimura-san was coming soon, and Noriko-san would also be coming. Wouldn't that be three people? She suddenly felt that Noriko-san's presence here was quite an eyesore.

"Excuse me, Ms. Noriko, I would like to be alone with Mr. Kimura for a while." Thinking this, he picked up the phone and dialed. Noriko, as his assistant, answered the phone quickly.

"Ms. Noriko, there's no need to send lunch today. Thank you for your help." Nakamori Akina, who was lying, felt her heart pounding and gripped the phone receiver tightly.

"Oh dear, Akina-san, if I don't bring it over, what will you eat? Are you going to go out by yourself? That will only worsen your injury." Ms. Noriko was very worried, afraid that Akina Nakamori's movements would aggravate her injury.

Hearing that Ms. Noriko was so worried about her, Akina Nakamori felt even more embarrassed. However, in order to have a chance to be alone with Mr. Kimura, she held back and did not tell the truth. "Ah, my family will bring me food, so Ms. Noriko doesn't need to worry."

"Ah, so your family has come. That's wonderful. It's great to have someone to take care of you. I won't see you off then. I hope you and your family have a good time," Noriko said with a blessing.

"Yes, yes, thank you, Ms. Noriko. I'll hang up now." After saying that, she hurriedly hung up the phone, seemingly afraid of being discovered.

Patting her chest, Akina Nakamori felt a sense of relief; lying was truly nerve-wracking.

Chapter 75 The distance is no more than ten centimeters

Carrying shopping bags, Kimura Hiroshi stood at the apartment door, hesitated for a couple of seconds, and then rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened, and standing in front of Kimura Hiroshi was Nakamori Akina, wearing black-rimmed glasses, light makeup, and with her hair tied up.

This was the first time he had seen Akina Nakamori dressed so simply. When he had seen her before, she always wore more formal makeup and dressed in an adult style. Now, she looked like a middle school student, very young, and a bit like Arale.

"Ah, Kimura-san, you came so quickly. Come in quickly, the slippers are ready for you." Nakamori Akina always had an irrepressible smile on her face when she saw Kimura Hiroshi, and she dragged her injured leg to get slippers for him.

How could he let an injured person run around? Kimura Hiroshi quickly went in and took her hand, saying, "Don't move around. The injured need to rest. I'll get my slippers myself."

After changing into slippers, Kimura Hiroshi, carrying shopping bags, helped Nakamori Akina to the living room. The layout of this apartment was similar to his, except that Nakamori Akina's apartment was obviously much cleaner, with very little dust. However, many of the furniture pieces were dark in color, some even black, which did not resemble the decor of a girl's home.

The TV was on, so she must have been watching it. There was a potted plant on the windowsill behind her. Kimura Hiroshi recognized it; it was the same one they had taken from the sushi restaurant last time. He hadn't expected it to actually survive, and she had even taken it back to her place.

Helping Akina Nakamori to sit on the sofa, Hiroshi Kimura took out a gift from his shopping bag for his first visit. Knowing that Akina Nakamori was on a diet, Hiroshi Kimura brought several kinds of fruit.

"Here's a gift for your first visit. Since you're injured, you can eat more every day. But if you're worried about gaining weight, don't eat at night," Kimura Hiroshi instructed.

Unexpectedly, Akina Nakamori was very unhappy to hear the word "fat," clearly still remembering the argument about one kilogram at the hospital yesterday.

"Forty-nine kilograms, not fat at all, I want to eat tonight." He started acting like a child.

Kimura Hiroki had no intention of arguing with her or responding. Instead, he said, "Ah, it's almost one o'clock. If we don't cook soon, it will be very late. Have an apple first, and I'll cook for you. For lunch, how about a pork rib and seaweed soup, pan-fried chicken cutlet, and stir-fried cauliflower?"

Hearing the names of the dishes, Nakamori Akina nodded repeatedly. Actually, she could eat anything. What she really wanted was Kimura Hiroshi's care and attention. That feeling of being remembered and cared for was really captivating to her, especially when the other person was gentle, which made her feel even more irresistible.

"I'll go prepare it then. Have an apple, watch some TV, and it should be ready in about forty minutes. Ah, the kitchen is quite well-equipped." Kimura Hiroshi instructed as he carried the groceries into the kitchen, acting as if he were in his own home.

Having all the necessary kitchen utensils saved Kimura Hiroshi a lot of trouble; otherwise, he would have had to go down and buy them, which would have taken up a lot of time.

Wash the ingredients, prepare the ribs first, stew them in broth, and then cook the other dishes. Kimura Hiroshi was busy in the kitchen. He glanced at the kitchen door and saw Nakamori Akina standing there with one leg sticking out, quietly watching him.

"Ah, is Akina-san here to supervise the construction?" Kimura Hiroshi said jokingly.

"No, no, I just wanted to see what Kimura-san would be like when he cooks. It's really intriguing," Nakamori Akina quickly explained.

As he fried the chicken cutlets in the oil, Kimura Hiroshi turned around and said, "If you're injured, you should stay put and not move around. If you weren't injured, you could help me out and even wash the dishes. I hate washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen after meals."

“I can do it, I can do it now. Back in my hometown, I was always in charge of buying groceries, cooking, and washing dishes. I’m very good at it,” Akina Nakamori said happily, not feeling anything was wrong.

"Cooking? Akina-san can cook?" Kimura Hiroshi was surprised. She really could cook? Kimura Hiroshi suspected that his memory was faulty.

"Yes, I can. I just don't do a lot of things very well, but I'm best at making cabbage. I can make all kinds of flavors. Right now, cabbage is the cheapest. Before, you could buy four heads for eighty yen. To prevent my family from complaining that we always eat cabbage, I can make all kinds of flavors. I'll let Kimura-san try them sometime."

Speaking of this, Akina Nakamori was quite proud, completely disregarding her current status as a top idol singer, talking about how to buy groceries cheaply and how to cook them, just like an ordinary, somewhat poor, homebody girl.

The two people, one standing at the kitchen doorway and the other inside, were cooking and chatting. Soon the dishes were ready, and the rice was cooked.

After serving all the dishes, Nakamori Akina looked satisfied with the aroma and said to Kimura Hiroshi, "It smells so good! It's even better than the ribs that Kimura-san brought last time. I really want to thank Kimura-san for letting me eat such delicious food."

Kimura Hiroshi placed a bowl of rice in front of Nakamori Akina and urged her, "Eat quickly, you haven't eaten all day, have you? You slept so late, you must not have gotten up to eat this morning."

Having been caught red-handed, Akina Nakamori stuck out her tongue guiltily, clasped her hands together, and whispered, "Then I'll start eating."

As he spoke, he picked up a piece of chicken cutlet and took a big bite. Kimura Hiroya also picked up his rice bowl and picked up a cauliflower. But at this moment, he realized something very important.

"Sigh, why hasn't Ms. Noriko brought the lunchbox yet? It's already 1:40, which is too late. Isn't she worried that Akina-san will starve?" Kimura Hiroshi asked.

After swallowing the chicken cutlet in her mouth, Akina Nakamori quickly explained, "Ah, she said she had something to take care of. She originally wanted another staff member to bring me a bento, but when I saw that Kimura-san was going to cook for me, I told him not to come."

Whenever Akina Nakamori lies, her face turns slightly red, but Hiroshi Kimura doesn't notice. He nods and says, "Oh, I see. Really, you don't care at all about injured celebrities."

She kept apologizing to Ms. Noriko in her heart, filled with guilt, but she also felt a faint joy. It was just her and Mr. Kimura sitting at the table eating, which Mr. Kimura had cooked himself. She liked the quiet time they spent alone together like this.

They ate slowly and it took them half an hour to finish. After cleaning up the dishes, Kimura Hiroshi helped Nakamori Akina walk around the house. It's important that they move around a bit after eating, as it's not good for the injured to sit or lie down immediately.

After finishing these tasks, Kimura Hiroshi didn't go back immediately. Instead, he sat on the sofa and watched TV with Nakamori Akina. The two of them sat on the sofa, no more than ten centimeters apart, but they both restrained themselves from crossing that line. They watched TV programs and chatted at the same time.

Unexpectedly, Akina Nakamori was so talkative that she talked until evening. Kimura Hiroshi didn't want to see Akina Nakamori eating a bento box that night, so he went downstairs to buy some things, including the leftover pork rib soup from lunch. He stayed until after dinner before getting up to leave.

"I'm going back now. Make sure you go to bed early tonight, understand?" Before leaving, Kimura Hiroshi gave a stern warning, saying that no matter how much you like watching TV, you need to rest properly if you're injured.

Nodding repeatedly, Nakamori Akina's mood became somewhat downcast when she saw Kimura Hiroshi about to leave. She really wanted to say something, but she held back. "I understand, Kimura-san, you should go home soon too. Remember to call me when you get home."

"Okay, I'm leaving now." Kimura Hiroshi closed the door and turned to leave.

Chapter Seventy-Six: The Chaotic Situation

Three days have passed since the press conference, but the topic remains hot. Hiroshi Kimura's popularity continues to rise because he composed a song on the spot to clarify the rumors and stood firm against the reporters, which is very different from how other idols deal with rumors and reporters.

Other idols, even the most popular ones, would at most try to clarify things when faced with such a situation, and some would even be cowardly. For example, at Masahiko Kondo's clarification press conference a while ago, he was timid and hesitant in front of reporters, and the more he explained, the more confusing it became. It was only thanks to Johnny's powerful public relations capabilities that the situation was calmed down.

In contrast, Hiroshi Kimura's toughness and confidence, as well as his unwavering stance in the face of media authority, have given him a more compelling image among young people, making him more popular, especially among young men.

Previously, most of his fans were young girls, but after the press conference, the number of male fans began to soar. This is because young people in Japan face a lot of pressure. Seniors, teachers, and even society at large all judge and criticize them, telling them what they can and cannot do.

This is also the reason why a large number of delinquent teenagers and biker gangs have emerged. They have a natural affinity and goodwill towards young people who dare to rebel, just like Nakamori Akina who dared to confront her seniors.

Not only have the number of male fans increased, but the number of female fans has also started to rise. The reason is very simple: it's because of the song that was composed on the spot.

Many older mothers were deeply moved when they heard the message "To the Future," and expressed their support for Hiroshi Kimura.

Evidence of the expanding fan base is the rising sales of Hiroshi Kimura's records. His new single, Gaining Through Losing, sold more than 50,000 copies every day for the next few days, and officially surpassed one million copies in mid-December. This means that both of Hiroshi Kimura's singles and one album released this year have sold over one million copies.

Since the 1980s, he was the first singer to achieve this, and the only male idol singer.

However, with his rise to prominence, he has taken over most of the already small male idol singer market, and many male idols have seen their record sales decline in the second half of this year.

The most direct example is Masahiko Kondo, who was originally a representative of male idols. Under the pressure of Hiroshi Kimura's sudden emergence and the scandal that broke out in September, his album released in August sold less than 400,000 copies, and his single released in November sold a mere 200,000 copies. Compared with his previous achievements, it can only be described as a disaster, and he is on the verge of falling out of the ranks of top male idols.

Other male idol singers are also having a tough time. Toshihiko Taehara's record sales have dropped by at least 10-20%, while others like Seshiko are considered a great success if their records sell over 150,000 copies.

In contrast, the market for female idol singers has not been greatly affected. Top female idols have achieved considerable record sales. For example, Seiko Matsuda's two singles sold over 800,000 copies, and the only one who can compete with her is Akina Nakamori, whose two singles sold over 700,000 copies.

The remaining artists, such as Yoshie Kashiwabara and Naoko Kawai, also have singles that have sold over 300,000 copies, and Kyoko Koizumi has singles that have sold over 250,000 copies. However, compared to the two mentioned above, the gap is huge, which also shows the popularity of female idols.

This is a highly competitive market, but one with huge business opportunities. It is estimated that more female idols will flock to it in the future, escalating the competition to even greater levels.

Currently, the only male idol who can rival female idols is Hiroshi Kimura, making him stand out from the crowd. Coupled with the buzz he generated before, the attention he received after the press conference incident actually increased. Many paparazzi were lying in wait outside the building where Ken-On was located, just waiting for Hiroshi Kimura to come down so they could follow him. However, Hiroshi Kimura managed to evade most of these attempts.

Some of these stalking attempts were simply for entertainment news, while others were extremely malicious. The day after Ken-On held a press conference to thank the media, many media outlets published the news, with very vicious topics, such as Kimura Hiroshi bowing down to the big media and being subservient.

However, the thank-you reception also played a significant role. After Kimura Hiroshi agreed to many of his requests, more than a dozen major media outlets reached cooperation and reconciliation agreements with him. The news they published differed from that of the other media outlets, and their statements were very positive.

That is, Kimura Hiroshi wanted to thank his fans for their support during the ghostwriting incident, and he was willing to publish more news to thank his fans in the future. The thank-you party was not only for the previous incident, but also to communicate about this matter.

The benefits of reconciling with the media became apparent. This round of attacks had little impact on Hiroshi Kimura. In fact, there was little word about Hiroshi Kimura carrying the injured Akina Nakamori, even though many people at the scene recognized him as Hiroshi Kimura.

"Being too outstanding isn't necessarily a good thing, Kimura-san. Now I finally understand why you dropped out of school. There were probably more people jealous of you there, weren't there?"

Seeing the continued malicious reporting, Yukio Tomioka suddenly understood why Hiroshi Kimura dropped out of school. In society, one can use benefits to offset some of the malice, but it's different at school. Sometimes, the malice of Japanese teenagers is direct and difficult to resolve, just like these media outlets and the agencies behind them.

Hiroshi Kimura didn't care much about these reports, because they were all small and medium-sized entertainment media outlets. The major media outlets he had previously communicated with had reduced their hostility towards him, mainly because these major media outlets are not easily bought off by their agencies.

He did not directly answer Yukio Tomioka's question, but instead said, "It seems that my concessions have worked well. These major media outlets are all speaking up for me, and I don't need to deal with them. It seems that sometimes you really can't be too tough. Taking a step back appropriately can bring more benefits."

"Kimura-san has learned another rule of conduct in the adult world. However, with your talent, if your record sales remain strong next year, you will face even more criticism and malice. You should be prepared," Yukio Tomioka said with some concern.

The entertainment industry is terrifying; it's a complete dog-eat-dog world. Kimura Hiroshi currently dominates most of the market, making it hard for other agencies to breathe. So, he will definitely face more attacks, and the longer it goes on, the more he will face them.

Because it's temporary, those agencies might think they can just endure it and wait for Kimura Hiroshi to lose his popularity. But if it takes too long and they suffer heavy losses, then for the sake of their own interests, they will use every means at their disposal to remove him.

Kimura Hiroshi naturally knew about this, but he wasn't too afraid. What he needed to do now was to make as much money as possible. As long as he could get through next year, the investment would be almost done. After that, he could do whatever he wanted. Anyway, the record market wouldn't make much money by then, so there was no need to go to great lengths to fight with these guys.

"Don't worry, Mr. Tomioka, I'm not that scared. By the way, I don't think I have any programs to attend tonight. I'll head back now and prepare dinner for Akina-san. She can't eat bento boxes every day."

I'm talking to you about something important, something that concerns your future. You're so careless, rushing back to cook for someone else. Does this look like a top male idol singer? It's more like a stay-at-home dad.

Yukio Tomioka was so angry that he didn't want to talk. He really wanted to ask what their relationship was. These days, he was either cooking dinner or delivering late-night snacks almost every day. They were more like a couple than lovers.