My daily life with the original diva

"No way, Akina, don't wrong me. I definitely didn't look around. Look at my eyes, how clear and firm they are. I definitely didn't see anything I shouldn't have seen." Kimura Hiroshi gestured for Nakamori Akina to look into his eyes, as if trying to confirm with his eyes that he hadn't been peeking. But just then, a beautiful Caucasian girl walked by, and his gaze shifted.

"Hmph, you lecherous bastard, you're really despicable." Nakamori Akina stepped on Kimura's foot again, but she wasn't really angry. She had known Kimura Hiroshi since he met him, and she could accept it. After all, she had bought him a lot of magazines and videos featuring beautiful women.

After walking for a while and enjoying the beautiful scenery and the beautiful women, they rented a parasol nearby because the Hawaiian sun was quite intense. Kimura Hiroshi lay on a deck chair, sipping the lemonade that the parasol owner had given him, and then looked at Nakamori Akina, who wanted to go play in the sea. She didn't want to lie on the deck chair; she wanted to experience the tide in front of the beach.

Under Kimura Hiroshi's gaze, Nakamori Akina stood on the beach, looking at the sea. For some reason, she didn't go down, but stood there looking into the distance. After a while, she hurriedly ran back and sat with Kimura Hiroshi under the parasol.

"What's wrong, Akina? Why did you stop playing? Is something wrong?" Kimura Hiroshi asked curiously, seeing her like this. He had no idea what had happened.

After hesitating for a while, Nakamori Akina finally spoke, "Hiro-kun, I'm a little scared. Do you think there are great white sharks in the water? The sea is very deep. I feel like there might be a great white shark lurking not far away."

Kimura Hiro, who was drinking lemonade, suddenly sprayed it all over the floor. It turned out that this was the reason. He thought Nakamori Akina was really not afraid. He didn't expect that when they came to the beach, scenes from movies would appear in his mind, and she finally knew how to be afraid.

There was no mockery of Akina Nakamori. Hiroshi Kimura coughed twice and said, "Akina, there are shark nets on this beach. Even if there are sharks, they can't get close to the beach. Hawaii is a place where sharks are very active. Without shark nets, they wouldn't dare to open the beach so easily."

"Wow, there are actually shark-proof devices like this?" Akina Nakamori exclaimed in shock.

Chapter 666 The Heart of Gossip

Despite her fear of great white sharks, Nakamori Akina immediately became excited when Kimura Hiroshi had booked a fishing trip. She followed Kimura Hiroshi to the fishing spot, where they first obtained temporary fishing permits for tourists, paid the fees, and then inquired about fishing spots along the beach.

First, they went fishing at the beach. Unexpectedly, the fish they caught were quite large, which made Nakamori Akina very happy. Then they arranged to go fishing at sea on a fishing boat. It was a large group of anglers fishing together, and the atmosphere was very special. Nakamori Akina was still having a great time fishing.

Fishing is quite tiring, so after two days, Kimura Hiroshi stopped. They came to Hawaii mainly for vacation, not to become fishing enthusiasts. So today, the two of them started to explore Hawaii, enjoying the scenery and some unique Hawaiian performances, having a great time.

After spending almost a month in Hawaii, Akina Nakamori realized it was time to go back. After all, Hiroshi Kimura was the company chairman, and although there were professionals to handle affairs, there were still some things that needed his attention. She had already had a good time for a month and it was time to return to Japan.

After enjoying the summer weather for more than a month, the two of them were a little unaccustomed to returning to Japan. The weather in Tokyo in February was not very good; it was still a bit cold and there was very little sunshine.

Back home, there was naturally a lot of cleaning to do. After being away for more than a month, the house would naturally be dusty, which was something that Akina Nakamori absolutely could not tolerate.

After spending two more days cleaning the house with Akina Nakamori, Hiroshi Kimura returned to work. Even though he, as the chairman, had been on vacation for over a month, the company was still running smoothly without any problems, which made Hiroshi Kimura very satisfied. It showed that the company could still operate smoothly even without him.

As soon as he returned to the company, he heard Sato Kayo gossiping with her colleagues. This was quite normal; colleagues at the company gossiped a great deal about everything, including company matters, personal matters, and even other aspects of life. They would talk about anything they knew.

As they passed by, Sato Kayo and the two company employees immediately asked Kimura Hiroshi questions, while looking at him with some fear, as if they were worried that Kimura Hiroshi would think they were too leisurely.

Hiroshi Kimura simply smiled and didn't ask any further questions. Since it wasn't officially work time yet, he wouldn't interfere with what the employees wanted to do, as long as it wasn't something too outrageous.

Back in his office, which was as tidy as ever, Kimura Hiroshi leaned back lazily in his chair. A moment later, Sato Kayo brought in a cup of green tea and placed it in front of him, handing over some documents that the company needed him to handle recently—all part of the routine procedure.

But Kimura Hiroshi wasn't in a hurry to deal with things. Instead, he leaned against the wall and asked, "What are Kayo-chan and Yoshiko talking about? They seem quite surprised. I overheard them talking about the record awards?"

As he passed by, Kimura Hiroya overheard something, something about the record awards, so he was curious and wanted to ask about it.

Sato Kayo was a little surprised that Kimura Hiroshi would ask this, but she still didn't hide anything and said, "Ah, yes, it's about the Recording Awards. The chairman is not in Japan recently and doesn't know about the big things that have happened in the entertainment industry. A few days ago, Weekly Bunshun broke a big news story, saying that Johnny & Associates bribed the judges of the Recording Awards and awarded the grand prize to a Johnny's idol group."

Kimura Hiroshi was taken aback by this gossip. Johnny's Entertainment was up to its old tricks again. It hadn't been long since the Kitagawa Hiroshi incident, yet they couldn't resist bribing the judges of the Recording Awards again.

"Um, is there any concrete news or evidence? I remember something similar happened at Johnny's a few years ago, and it seems that Mr. Hiroshi Itsuki ultimately won the grand prize." Hiroshi Kimura wanted to confirm whether this gossip was true.

After all, Weekly Bunshun isn't exactly a saint either. Although they're known for their bold exposés of numerous celebrities' scandals, they've also spread a lot of rumors. They themselves were victims in the past, not to mention that Weekly Bunshun and Johnny's Entertainment are enemies. It's quite possible that they deliberately fabricated some revelations.

When asked this question, Sato Kayo was taken aback. She didn't actually know either. "President, I don't know either. It's just that Weekly Bunshun released some evidence that some record award judges had financial problems due to investments, so someone approached Johnny's and they reached a cooperation agreement to give the record award to a Johnny's idol group. As for whether it's true or not, I'm not sure, because I only saw this in the news. By the way, Johnny's denied that this happened."

Indeed, how could Sato Kayo possibly know such things? The only information she could access was from media and magazines. Kimura Hiroshi felt a bit foolish for asking Sato Kayo; he should have asked his friends at the Composers' Association.

"Ah, it was my fault. I shouldn't have asked you that. Okay, let's deal with the documents first. After we're done, I'll ask my friends at the Composers' Association to see if it's true." Kimura Hiroshi decided to handle the work first and then inquire about it.

He didn't want to attack Johnny's Entertainment because he knew the truth. Johnny's was already much weaker than before due to his previous attacks and posed no threat to him. So he couldn't be bothered to attack Johnny's anymore. There was really no need. After all, he didn't have the ability to completely destroy the agency. As long as it behaved itself and didn't cause him any trouble, he wouldn't bother with it.

Next, the formal work began. The first thing to deal with was the document for distributing year-end bonuses. Now that all the bonuses had been distributed, the chairman needed to sign and confirm them. Kimura Hiroshi didn't rush to sign. Instead, he asked Sato Kayo whether she had received her year-end bonus. After receiving an affirmative answer that the amount was the same, Kimura Hiroshi finally signed and confirmed.

After that came all sorts of work for the new year, such as new filming plans reported by the supervisor, applying for funds to purchase equipment, etc., which Kimura Hiroshi reviewed very carefully.

After reviewing the document, Hiroshi Kimura said, "This year, I'm going to be filming a TV series and a movie. Kayo-chan, please let them know that there's a meeting next Monday afternoon, and they must all be there."

Last year I did absolutely nothing and took a full year off. This year I should do some work, otherwise, if I don't do anything for a long time, it's easy to become rusty with my skills, and it will be very difficult to pick them up again. So Hiroshi Kimura plans to film a TV series and a movie this year, and maybe sing some songs and release some albums as well.

After all the documents were signed, Sato Kayo started talking about things that Kimura Hiroshi needed to negotiate in person. Fuji Television asked Kimura Hiroshi to discuss the introduction of "Tokyo Love Story" to Huaxia Television for broadcast. A Hong Kong agency asked him if he was still writing singles and hoped to commission some songs, etc. There was quite a lot of work to be done.

After filtering through the invitations, Kimura Hiroshi asked Sato Kayo to write down the ones he wanted to attend, and then he could decline all the rest. This would be considered as handling part of his work. There were still some company matters to deal with. Some people wanted to meet with him, but they hadn't written anything down for him. Kimura Hiroshi asked Sato Kayo to arrange a time and hold a meeting to start this afternoon.

After Sato Kayo left, Kimura Hiroshi breathed a sigh of relief. He checked the time and it was almost noon, almost lunchtime. He quickly sat up straight and started making calls. He first called Inoue Yosui, but the guy was out on business and didn't have a cell phone. Kimura Hiroshi had no choice but to give up.

Then he called Ryuichi Sakamoto, who was at the company and busy writing music. Kimura Hiroshi first exchanged pleasantries with him, and then stated his purpose, asking him if any members of the Composers Association had been bribed to vote for Johnny's artists.

"At least twenty-six judges took money from Johnny's and voted for that boy idol group from Johnny's, allowing them to win the Record Award with a ranking of thirty-sixth in the year. This is a devastating blow to the authority of the Record Award. However, the production team of the award is powerless to deal with them because they don't have much evidence."

There was nothing to hide. Ryuichi Sakamoto told Hiroshi Kimura everything directly, because he knew that with Hiroshi Kimura's connections, it would be very easy for him to find out about this. There was nothing to hide, so he might as well tell him directly.

It really happened, and they even managed to bribe all twenty-six judges at once, which really opened Kimura Hiroto's eyes. He never expected that Johnny's would have such potential.

"Bribing so many judges at once, Sakamoto-san, are these judges so poor they've never seen money before? How could they sacrifice the authority of the Grand Prize to collect this money?" Kimura Hiroshi said, somewhat bewildered.

Over there, Ryuichi Sakamoto sighed and said, "Yes, these judges are probably so poor that all they care about now is money. Kimura-san, you should know that the investment trend was extremely strong the year before last, and many judges couldn't avoid getting involved. Last year, when the economy started to have problems, their investments also ran into big problems, and now they are trying to find ways to get money to solve this problem."

So that's how it is. Kimura Hiroshi finally understood. The bursting of the economic bubble affected a large number of people. It can be said that most Japanese people were not spared, and the judges on the record awards committee were no exception.

Most of these people are quite wealthy, and they are naturally drawn to any opportunity to make money, as they also want to significantly increase their wealth. After all, no one dislikes having too much money, and in a bubble economy, money can be incredibly alluring.

However, when the bubble burst, these people inevitably got caught up in it. Some of them were probably experiencing this for the first time. For the past ten years or so, Japan's economy had been doing quite well, and many people had never even experienced such a sudden financial crisis. So they tried to plug the hole in various ways. As a very important music award in Japan, the Japan Record Awards were naturally used for trading.

Some judges accept bribes to avoid going bankrupt, while others may accept them even without facing bankruptcy, as they need money to cover their losses. Their motivations differ, but the underlying issue of taking money is the same.

"I see. Well, I understand now. But this is a pity for the Recording Awards. This year's awards will probably be a disaster." Kimura Hiroshi sighed. He had saved the Recording Awards from scandal, but he couldn't turn the tide. The Recording Awards eventually fell into the trap. There was nothing he could do. In the world of fame and fortune, it's impossible to avoid problems forever.

Ryuichi Sakamoto also sighed and said, "That's not something we need to consider. It's something the Record Awards production team needs to consider. Kimura-san, how long has it been since you participated in the Composers' Association's work? You've really been living a carefree life since you got married. I heard you went on vacation to Hawaii for more than a month. Are you back now?"

After discussing the Record Awards scandal, Ryuichi Sakamoto chatted with Hiroshi Kimura, mainly about how Kimura had become too leisurely after getting married. Sakamoto expressed both envy and advice, feeling that Kimura's talent was being wasted by his idleness and that he should focus on writing music and singing instead of taking long vacations all the time.

Kimura Hiroka readily agreed, saying he would sing this year. He then quickly said goodbye and hung up the phone. He knew that Sakamoto Ryuichi was saying this for his own good, but he really didn't want to listen any longer, so he just wanted to hang up the phone as soon as possible.

After finishing the call, Kimura Hiroshi walked out of his office to go to lunch, only to find Sato Kayo still sitting at her desk, not having gone to eat. When she saw Kimura Hiroshi come out, she started fidgeting, as if she had something to say.

"Is there something you need, Kayo-chan?" Kimura Hiroshi asked curiously.

With a grin, Sato Kayo asked somewhat shyly, "Has the chairman called? Did he ask about any major news? If possible, could you tell me?"

Goodness, so she knew he made the call, so she was waiting for him here, wanting to ask him some inside information, right? Kimura Hiroshi really didn't expect that Sato Kayo was so gossipy. Does that mean all women have a gossipy heart?

Chapter 667 Work Arrangements for the New Year

In the following days, the matter of whether Johnny & Associates had bribed the judges became a hot topic. Led by Weekly Bunshun, many entertainment media followed up, causing the matter to become a huge scandal. This was a scandal for Johnny & Associates, but it was also a form of publicity, showing that despite everything Johnny & Associates had gone through, it was still a powerful agency, at least capable of bribing the judges of the record awards.

The Recording Awards were naturally the ones that suffered. Weekly Bunshun did manage to obtain some evidence, making it difficult for the Recording Awards production committee to completely deny the allegations. This severely damaged the authority of the Recording Awards, as everyone now knew that the grand prizes at the Recording Awards could be bought.

"The Collapse of a New Generation!" Asahi Shimbun published such a report. Since entering the new generation, everything in Japan seems to have gone wrong. First of all, the economy is declining. Last year, the Japanese stock market was halved. This year, the economy is still sluggish. Corporate bankruptcies are really unstoppable, and the unemployment rate is also rising rapidly.

Not only that, the entertainment industry has been quite chaotic lately. Before, it was just some scandals about celebrities being exposed, but now a scandal involving the record awards has been exposed. This has really blown things up, giving the impression that nothing good has happened in the past year.

The whole of Japan began to fall into a strange atmosphere. It wasn't very obvious yet, but the signs were already starting to appear. From the decadent bubble economy to social collapse, only about a year had passed.

However, none of this affected Kimura Hiroshi at all, because after a New Year's holiday that lasted for more than a month, he returned to Tokyo and began to work diligently. He first signed a TV drama import agreement with Fuji Television and a Shanghai-based television station from China.

Shanghai TV stations have imported the drama "Tokyo Love Story," produced by Baquan Studio and starring Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori. This is the first drama starring Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori to be broadcast in mainland China, which makes Hiroshi Kimura feel quite special. It is unknown whether he can gain popularity in mainland China.

This isn't just wishful thinking on Kimura Hiroshi's part. After all, there's the example of Yamaguchi Momoe. Her fame in China was unprecedented in Japanese history, and it's unlikely to ever be seen again. She became a memory for a generation, and for many Chinese people, Yamaguchi Momoe is the epitome of Japanese women.

After signing the import contract, Takeshi Miyauchi asked Hiroshi Kimura if he would be filming a TV series this year. Kimura gave him a positive answer, and then returned to Hegemony to start a meeting to plan the work for the new year.

"This year's filming plan is to produce at least five movies and three TV series. I will write the script, direct, and film one of the movies and one of the TV series. The remaining four movies and two TV series are up to you. I hope you won't let me down." At the meeting, Hiroshi Kimura presented his work plan for the new year.

January has already passed, and they're only now putting forward a year-end work plan. This would be unthinkable in other companies, but it seems perfectly normal at Hegemony. After all, they have a president who loves taking long vacations. Without the president, they can't come up with any annual plan; that's the president's prerogative.

When Takeshi Kitano heard that Hiroshi Kimura would be directing a movie and a TV series this year, he looked quite surprised. This guy, who doesn't have metal plates in his face, can still make a lot of expressions.

He said in disbelief, "Oh my god, did you all hear that? Our chairman is actually going to produce TV series and movies! It's unbelievable. I thought he was going to retire at such a young age and live a life of leisure. It's been so long, Mr. Chairman, you're finally going to get back to work."

These words were quite veiled, and no one else would dare to say such a thing. For example, Shunji Iwai said, "Kitano-san is in a meeting, so don't say anything strange, and don't attack the chairman."

With a slight smile, Kimura Hiroshi wasn't angry. Kitano Takeshi was just like that; no one could escape his mouth. Not to mention a mere chairman like himself, no matter what government officials or powerful figures were involved, they couldn't avoid him. It was a miracle that he was still alive.

"I'm sorry, I've been a bit lax these past two years because of my wedding. I'll work hard this year. Let me tell you about the TV series I'll be filming this year. It's still an urban romance drama about young men and women, but it will be a little different. I call it 'Rare Friends'."

This TV series was originally supposed to star Akina Nakamori, who created a classic female character, Kanna, who appears carefree and uninhibited, but is actually soft-hearted and values ​​friendship. She has a relationship with Yumiko, played by Narumi Yasuda, that goes beyond friendship.

Although it resembles the extraordinary feelings between two people of the same sex, it is actually a friendship of mutual support, which is exactly what is meant by a rare friendship.

If possible, Hiroshi Kimura would like Akina Nakamori to continue playing this role, but now Akina Nakamori is so engrossed in the role of a housewife that she can't extricate herself. Even after returning from Hawaii, she is still obsessed with being a housewife. As for her work as an entertainer, Akina Nakamori seems to have completely forgotten about it.

Faced with this situation, Kimura Hiroshi naturally wouldn't force her to perform. He wasn't the kind of guy with an overly macho attitude who would make his wife do whatever he wanted; it mainly depended on her wishes.

However, for such a classic TV series, Kimura Hiroshi naturally wanted Nakamori Akina to participate. She didn't like acting, but she loved singing. Kimura Hiroshi planned for her to sing the theme song of the TV series. The theme song of this TV series, "As You Are Here," is a super single that has sold more than 2.6 million copies.

However, this song is not easy to sing, and it will be a challenge for Akina Nakamori. But Hiroshi Kimura is not too worried. He will teach her the whole process. As long as the recording studio can handle it, that's fine. As for the live performance, it depends on whether Akina Nakamori is willing to go on stage. If she is not willing to go on stage, then there probably won't be a live performance.

Those present had no idea what kind of TV series "Rare Friends" was, but since it was written and directed by Hiroshi Kimura, they didn't ask any questions or have any worries. The reason was simple: the TV series directed and produced by Hiroshi Kimura had already proven its quality, with both of them achieving super high ratings.

They still vividly remember the ratings frenzy caused by "Tokyo Love Story" last year, and now it's another urban romance drama that Kimura Hiroshi excels at, so there certainly won't be any problems, and they won't ask any more questions.

After confirming the TV series to be filmed, Hiroshi Kimura then began to talk about movies: "The only movie I'm going to film this year is the sequel to 'John Wick.' I had planned to make a sequel to this movie from the beginning, so naturally I can't let my fans down. I want to finish filming it and continue to star in it. Kitano-san, you'll be my assistant director."

Kimura Hiroshi, having made a promise, would naturally keep it. He promised to make a sequel, and he would definitely do so. However, he would only make two movies in total, and he wouldn't make any more. Making too many would feel like exploiting his customers, so two movies would be enough. He wouldn't mind continuing to act in suitable movies in the future.

Kitano Takeshi was reluctant to be called up as assistant director, but what could he say when the chairman had spoken? If he wanted to make a movie, he still needed funding from Kimura Hiroshi. If he didn't do the assigned work, his funding would probably be in trouble. Kitano Takeshi also knew that Kimura Hiroshi was a very vengeful person, and if he had his funding cut off, it would cause him unbearable pain.

After discussing his own work arrangements, it was time for the others to speak. Kimura Hiroshi asked them to share their plans, and as soon as he finished speaking, Kitano Takeshi impatiently said, "Chairman, I'm also going to shoot a romance movie this year. I'll make a plan and submit it to you as soon as possible, but you'll have to approve the funding quickly."

“Sure, as long as your plan is sound, the funding will be plentiful.” Kimura Hiroshi immediately agreed, as he had great confidence in Kitano Takeshi’s filming ability during this period, believing that there would be virtually no bad films.

After Takeshi Kitano finished speaking, the others couldn't help but chime in and started talking about their own plans. After all, most of them were directors, and what do directors do? They make movies, so naturally they have to actively seek funding and make their own movies. If they're not enthusiastic about making movies, can they still be considered directors?

As a result, the meeting room became very noisy, mainly due to arguments about funding and the type of film to be shot. It's impossible to make two films of the same type in the same year, because that would dilute publicity and box office revenue, which would not benefit them. Therefore, films of the same type need to be postponed, which caused a lot of arguments, because no one wanted their planned film to be delayed.

Because at Wit Studio, seniority isn't the primary factor in promotions, even if you're a senior, no one will give way to you. Everyone fights for a spot in the film, and arguments are common.

Of course, if the argument doesn't reach a conclusion, then it will be up to Hiroshi Kimura to decide. In his hands, it's purely about whose script is better and can achieve high box office returns. Everything else is secondary; Hiroshi Kimura won't care about things like the art of filmmaking or the dream of filmmaking. He doesn't care about any of that; he only cares about box office success.

The meeting lasted for two whole days, and finally the plan for this year was finalized. However, everyone argued fiercely during the meeting, and they really couldn't stand each other. Faced with this situation, Chairman Kimura Hiroshi naturally had to play a role, which was to take these guys out for some fun.

However, going out for fun with Kimura Hiroshi was just a casual affair; he had no intention of taking these guys out for drinks and brothels, which made people like Kitano Takeshi very uncomfortable.

"Honestly, before the president got married, he was a top idol. We could understand that he didn't bring women to keep him company for the sake of his image. But now that the president is married, he takes us out to play, and it's just eating and drinking. How boring! A bunch of men drinking together is really depressing. He should bring women to make it more appropriate."

Despite the delicious food and fine drinks laid out before him, Takeshi Kitano continued to grumble. This guy was married, yet he treated finding other women like it was commonplace, showing absolutely no awareness of his responsibilities as a married man.

Of course, this is a common phenomenon. After Kitano Takeshi said this, many people present nodded unconsciously, but they didn't dare to say it because Kimura Hiroshi was there. Kimura Hiroshi naturally had to reprimand them first.

"You bastard, I'm treating you to such a fancy restaurant, and you still have so many demands. Kitano-san is so capable, go find a woman to bring over. Let's see if you can bring a woman into this restaurant." Kimura Hiroshi wasn't just going to tolerate Kitano Takeshi all the time; he still had to scold him when necessary, and also make him face reality.

For example, in this upscale restaurant, it's obviously impossible for him to bring women over to keep him company while he drinks. So, Kimura Hiroshi asked him to call them over and see if he could get them to come.

Naturally, Takeshi Kitano knew that it was impossible to bring hostesses into such a high-end restaurant. After all, high-end restaurants have a certain style and would not be like brothels. Most people who come here come with female companions. What would it look like if a group of hostesses came in?