My daily life with the original diva

Chapter Ninety-Four: Don't Smile So Sweetly

"Next up is this week's number one. Last week's number one was the one who had been in the top spot for two consecutive weeks, the one performed by the Kids Group. So this week's number one is... Kita Tsubasa, from Nakamori Akina. Let's welcome her."

The host of The Top Ten, Masaaki Kai, shouted in an exaggerated tone, and then the elevator at the back of the stage slowly descended, with Akina Nakamori, wearing a modified white flight attendant uniform, slowly descending from it.

Her appearance immediately drew cheers from many fans in the audience, and Akina Nakamori greeted the host and the audience with a smile.

Upon reaching the center of the stage, Masaaki Kai, who is a singer, actor, and host, did not rush to congratulate Akina Nakamori on winning first place this week. Instead, he inquired about her leg injury.

Akina Nakamori said that her leg injury was completely healed. Another female host, Ms. Kanbara, began reading fan letters. The fan said that this year was an unlucky year for Akina Nakamori, as she would be turning 19 this year. In Japan, there is a legend that women are in unlucky years at the ages of 19, 33, and 49, so she specially asked for a talisman for Akina Nakamori.

When asked if it was really true, Akina Nakamori smiled sweetly and replied, "I've had a lot of bad luck from last year to this year. First, I injured my leg, and then I caught a cold and had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius. But it wasn't all bad. Someone took good care of me and made a lot of delicious food, so I recovered quickly."

Her answer was fine, but the host seized on the key gossip point and asked with feigned curiosity, "Ah, is Akina-san a man or a woman?"

Oh no, realizing she'd said something she shouldn't have, Nakamori Akina quickly changed her tune, "They're family, they're family. I'm sick, and my family is taking care of me."

Yes, they are family, even if they aren't now, they will be in the future.

The gossip had suddenly turned into family care, so there was no point in asking any further questions. Jie Zhengzhang changed the subject, "Ah, is that so? So, Akina-san, you've been second for two weeks straight, and finally you've reached number one. How does it feel?"

Released on the first day of the new year, the North Wing became an instant hit, selling 90,000 copies in its first week. Although it wasn't a full week, this still placed it second on the sales chart. In the second week, sales rose to 137,000 copies, which would normally put it in first place, but it still managed to stay in second.

The reason is simple: the North Wing is competing against a song similar to a nursery rhyme, "If Tomorrow," sung by the children's group. According to past history, this song would be number one on the annual chart this year, and competing against the number one on the annual chart is not so easy.

This children's group can also be called national idols. They were the three main actresses from the hit variety show "What Kind of Going to Qin Jiang?" Later, one of the members left the group due to a sex scandal, leaving two members. As a variety show with a peak viewership rating of over 40%, they were extremely popular.

They released a single back in 83. Due to the appearance of Hiroshi Kimura, they went from third to fifth on the annual chart. Their new single at the beginning of this year, "If Tomorrow," also had a very strong momentum, ranking first for two weeks and firmly suppressing the North Wing.

However, in the third week, sales of the North Wing increased again, reaching 164,000 copies, finally surpassing the children's group's "If Tomorrow" to become the number one seller this week. This is also largely due to Nakamori Akina's full recovery and increased promotional efforts.

Having finally won first place, Akina Nakamori was naturally very happy and said many words of thanks to her fans. However, she smiled a lot and was exceptionally sweet today, which made people wonder why she was so happy. She had won first place before, but she had never been this happy, let alone smiled so sweetly.

Many people have seen this kind of smile before—the smile of a girl in the throes of love. As a result, some people began to wonder if Nakamori Akina was in love, because her smile was just too sweet.

After the on-site interview, it was time for her to sing. Since she was first this week, she was also the last to sing. By the time she finished singing, the show would be almost over.

At 10 p.m., the show finally ended. Nakamori Akina changed her clothes and came out from backstage. She got into the car with her assistant and manager to go to her next work location. She was still very happy because she would soon see the people she wanted to see.

This prompted Akiyuki Yoshizawa, who was sitting in the front seat, to say, "Hey, Akina-san, tone down your smile. You laughed too much on the show just now. Are you planning to reveal your relationship?"

After being told that by Akiyuki Yoshizawa, Nakamori Akina calmed down a bit and became more serious, asking, "Really? Mr. Akiyuki, is it that obvious?"

"Ah, if this isn't obvious, does Akina-san think everyone is blind? No, you're really in love, with Kimura-san?" Akina suddenly realized that Nakamori Akina hadn't denied being in love, so could she really be in love?

Shaking her head, Nakamori Akina smiled again, "No, no, Mr. Akiyuki, don't worry. If we confirm our relationship, I will definitely inform you as soon as possible. However, it's been more than ten days since we last met, and it's really nice to see Kimura-san all of a sudden."

Inside the car, Akiyuki Yoshizawa and Noriko were utterly dumbfounded. Although Ken-On's idols weren't forbidden from dating, who would be so open and straightforward about it in front of their manager? It was incredibly audacious.

"Drive, Ms. Noriko, she's beyond saving." Akiyuki Yoshizawa said this and told Noriko to drive. He already knew he couldn't stop the two of them, and at this point, he could only sulk and there was nothing he could do. No manager would be happy to see their idol singer in a relationship, because it would seriously affect their popularity.

Although it was already 10 p.m., Akina Nakamori couldn't rest yet. She had to go to the set to film a night scene. This was her first time back on set since leaving last year, and after being busy for more than ten days, she finally had the opportunity to see Hiroshi Kimura, which is why she was so happy.

She was already imagining how happy she would be to see Hiroshi Kimura, what words of longing they would say, and whether they should find a secluded place to pour out their hearts to each other.

Tokyo wasn't very congested after 10 PM, so they drove for about half an hour to reach the film set. Filming was still going on at that time, with Hiroshi Kimura shooting a gunfight scene. Gunshots could be heard from time to time, though of course they were fake.

After getting off the car, without even going to the dressing room to put on makeup and prepare for filming, Nakamori Akina rushed to the set to see Kimura Hiroshi. She saw him dressed as a middle-aged assassin, engrossed in filming, and unaware of her arrival.

"Cut! Very good. Kimura-san's acting is getting better and better. That take is good." With Takeshi Kitano yelling "Cut!", this take was finished, and everyone could take a short break before starting the next one.

Once filming was confirmed to be paused, Akina Nakamori quickly greeted, "Kimura-san, I'm here."

"Akina-san." Kimura Hiroshi was also very happy to see Nakamori Akina and quickly ran over. It had been more than ten days since they last met, and as their relationship progressed, this separation felt unpleasant.

The two faced each other, only smiling, yet unsure of what to say. There were too many people around, making it difficult to express their thoughts. Nakamori Akina noticed that Kimura Hiroshi kept scrutinizing her face, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her after being apart for so long.

"Is it really that good-looking, Kimura-san? It's not like we haven't seen it before." Feeling a little embarrassed by being stared at like that, Nakamori Akina wondered if she should find a secluded spot for Kimura Hiroshi to take a good look.

But what Kimura Hiroshi said was, "Ah, no, Akina-san, you have a pimple on your face. Wow, it looks a bit red. It's so obvious. You need to be careful with your makeup later. Apply more concealer, otherwise it will be noticeable during the shoot."

In an instant, Nakamori Akina froze, her smile vanished, and she tilted her head, glancing sideways at Kimura Hiroshi, refusing to even look him in the eye. She was furious, really furious, the kind of furious that made her want to bite someone.

Chapter Ninety-Five: This is the Gift in Return

At 2 a.m., the night scene was finally filmed. Kimura Hiroshi finally took off his middle-aged assassin costume in the dressing room and returned to being that young man. Sitting in the chair, he found it a little funny when he thought about what had happened a few hours earlier.

During filming just now, Akina Nakamori was completely focused. Even after being away for two months, she still performed very well and did not act unreasonably because she was angry with him, demonstrating a very high level of professionalism.

During breaks in filming, she would turn into a little dumpling, her cheeks puffed up in anger. She wouldn't even look at him directly, just glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. She wouldn't talk to him, and it got worse as the shoot progressed, as if she was accusing him of not coaxing her.

When they met again after more than ten days apart, all he noticed was the pimples on her face. It would be strange if she wasn't angry. It was also his fault. As their relationship grew closer, the long separation made it inevitable to be excited when they met again. At that moment, he seemed to have lost his mind and only noticed what attracted his attention.

Akina Nakamori has a rare, fair complexion, which is uncommon in Japan. If she doesn't deliberately tan, her skin looks very fair, making the pimple on her face particularly noticeable. That's why he blurted out that comment, and now he finds it a bit funny when he thinks about it.

"I've bought what you wanted, Kimura-san." Assistant Michiko placed the items in front of Kimura Hiroshi. Buying things in the middle of the night is really not easy. Fortunately, the film set isn't too remote and is still within Tokyo. Otherwise, it would be impossible to buy anything.

What to give as an apology gift to his future girlfriend? It's hard to find a special gift at this late hour, so the only option is red roses, nine of them, to represent his apology. This is also the first time that Kimura Hiroshi has given Nakamori Akina something that couples usually give each other.

"Thank you, Ms. Michiko. I'll be going out for a bit now." With that, he picked up the bouquet and left the lounge, leaving Ms. Michiko with a doting smile on her face. She knew who Kimura Hiroshi had gone to see; the two of them seemed to be really getting along.

As the lead actors in the film, Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori each had their own dressing room and makeup room, but it was just a small cubicle. Hiroshi Kimura knocked on the door of the makeup room, hiding the flowers behind his back.

"Who is it? You can open the door yourself." It was Ms. Noriko's voice. Kimura Hiro opened the door after hearing it. Only Nakamori Akina and Ms. Noriko were inside. The two looked at him at the same time. Ms. Noriko was surprised, not expecting Kimura Hiro to come. Nakamori Akina's eyes lit up, but she pretended not to see him and tidied up her vanity.

She had transformed into Arale Akina, removing her makeup, wearing thick black-rimmed glasses, and even tying her hair up, clearly preparing to go back to rest.

"Miss Noriko, could I have some time alone with Akina-san? Just ten minutes, only ten minutes," Kimura Hiroshi pleaded.

Noriko didn't speak, but looked at Nakamori Akina. Seeing that she didn't refuse, she stood up and said, "Then hurry up, it's late. Akina-san needs to go back and rest. There are activities tomorrow morning."

She went outside and, as she passed by Kimura Hiroshi, she saw the roses he had hidden behind his back. She immediately realized what was going on and thought that the two of them were indeed dating. Kimura-san was just as bold as Akina-san, actually giving her flowers in front of her.

The dressing room door closed, and Kimura Hiroshi strode over to Nakamori Akina, sat down on the stool next to her, and looking at the expressionless Nakamori Akina, tentatively asked, "Are you still angry, Akina-san?"

Unexpectedly, Nakamori Akina moved her stool closer to him and then leaned against him, saying, "I'm sorry, Kimura-san, I shouldn't have gotten angry with you over such a small thing. Don't you think I'm being childish?"

He was originally thinking about how to appease her anger, but unexpectedly, Akina Nakamori apologized first. Hiroshi Kimura was stunned for a moment and suddenly felt a little sorry for her. Even though he was not wrong, she would always comfort others and find fault with himself.

She makes even more concessions, especially to people she cares about or who make her feel cared for. She doesn't want the people around her to be unhappy because of her. However, this concession doesn't bring her more love; instead, it makes those people take it for granted and take advantage of her.

Reaching out to put his arm around Akina Nakamori's shoulder, Hiroshi Kimura presented her with a red rose he had hidden behind his back. "This is for you, Akina-san."

Upon seeing the red roses that suddenly appeared before her, Akina Nakamori was stunned for a moment, then abruptly stood up, snatched the flowers from Hiroshi Kimura's hand, and asked incredulously, "For me?"

"Well, who else would I give it to? This is the first time I've given flowers to a girl. I didn't know what you liked, so I could only give you red roses." Kimura Hiroshi said a little embarrassedly. He really didn't know what kind of flowers Nakamori Akina liked, so he could only give her the usual ones.

Unable to sit still, Nakamori Akina, clutching the flowers, jumped up and down with joy, her happiness evident. After a while, she pulled Kimura Hiroshi up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and bounced around again.

“I like anything that Kimura-san gives me. This is the first time I’ve received flowers from Kimura-san. Ah, I didn’t prepare a gift. It would be so impolite not to give a return gift.”

Kimura Hiroshi touched her fluffy hair and shook his head. "What are you thinking about? This is just sending flowers once, it doesn't need to be so formal. Akina-san, just consider it a gift from a suitor."

"How can you do this? This is the first time Kimura-san has given me roses. It's so meaningful. How can I not give her a return gift? What should I give her?" Nakamori Akina was now in a dilemma. She hadn't prepared anything, and it would be too perfunctory to go and buy something now.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she looked up at Kimura Hiroshi's face, her pretty face slightly flushed, and then took a deep breath, as if to encourage herself. She suddenly looked up and, with lightning speed, gently kissed Kimura Hiroshi on the cheek.

This seemed to have exhausted her courage. She released her arms from Kimura Hiroshi's neck, grabbed her bag from the dressing table, protected the roses in her hand, turned around and hurriedly opened the dressing room door, ran out, and said playfully outside the door, "This is a gift I gave back to Kimura-san. I hope you like it."

After saying that, he immediately disappeared through the doorway; he was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone to find Miss Noriko.

Kimura Hiroshi was left standing blankly in the dressing room, touching his face, which still seemed a little warm. The whole thing had happened in less than thirty seconds. Nakamori Akina really did kiss him and run away, truly showing the qualities of a scumbag.

"Was I teased? No, I was taken advantage of. Akina-san, you're really too bold. You kissed me and then ran away. Isn't that incredibly irresponsible?" Kimura Hiroshi could only lament at this point, because Nakamori Akina had vanished without a trace, and it was impossible for him to find someone to take responsibility.

Chapter Ninety-Six: An Extremely Busy February

With the official return of the film's female lead, Akina Nakamori, the filming schedule has accelerated considerably, as the film primarily features scenes between the male and female leads.

However, this made her workload even heavier. Her new single, North Wing, remained at number one on the sales charts in the new week, though it dropped slightly to 162,000 copies. But it was still considered to be selling very well. Naturally, Yan-On and Warner Music would not reduce the intensity of their promotion. She needed to appear on various music shows, and only the remaining time could be used for filming.

She couldn't even attend the show "The Top Ten" this week, but the production team came to the set and arranged for her to perform there, which was quite a novel experience.

However, this also revealed more details of the film, such as the explosion scenes and the costumes of the people on the scene. Even Hiroshi Kimura appeared in the film costume among the people who appeared on screen. He deliberately acted strangely when Akina Nakamori was promoting her song, which attracted a lot of attention and even caused a lot of discussion.

Although the workload has increased significantly, Akina Nakamori is in a very good mood. She can often be seen joking around on set, either fiddling with prop guns and making strange shooting gestures, which makes the staff laugh. She laughs along with them, bringing a lot of joy to the set. Everyone likes her personality.

But what people on set liked most was watching her act with Hiroshi Kimura. There were a few scenes that required deep emotional engagement, and Akina Nakamori seemed to get too immersed in the role, often going off-script and saying things that were actually from real life, which gave Takeshi Kitano a headache, while the people around her laughed until they couldn't breathe.

"You have no sense of propriety whatsoever, Ms. Akina. You'll never be able to keep a man's heart like this. You should make him feel threatened and find several other men instead of talking nonsense to him. You're such a stupid woman." Takeshi Kitano couldn't shake his sharp tongue.

Faced with this situation, Hiroshi Kimura could only keep a straight face and say to Akina Nakamori, "Ahem, this is acting, Akina-san, please control yourself."

Then he whispered in her ear, "Actually, I quite like hearing it. Remember to say it more often in private in the future."

This is also why Akina Nakamori was so happy on set. She had Hiroshi Kimura with her, who often made her happy. She wasn't afraid of hard work, but rather of being alone. As long as she had someone she liked with her, she didn't seem to care about how hard or tiring it was.

Fortunately, this situation didn't occur very often and didn't affect the filming. After all, Akina Nakamori's professionalism is beyond question; she was very serious and her work was of a very high standard.

By early February, the film had completed 80% of its shooting, much faster than they had anticipated. This was naturally a good thing, as it allowed them to have more time for editing and promotion.

At the same time, Hiroshi Kimura's work became increasingly busy. In addition to making movies, he also had to shoot magazines, as well as arrange and prepare to record new singles.

The magazine shoot went smoothly. In addition to the professional stylists at the magazine, Akina Nakamori also helped. During the shoot, the two of them spent a lot of time together on set, and she would often bring him things, such as the clothes needed for the magazine shoot.

Knowing that Kimura Hiroshi was shooting for a magazine, she started helping him choose clothes. Within a few days, she sent him many European and American suits and children's clothing that she had had modified by a designer. The magazine's stylists were amazed and marveled at the fashion sense of these modified clothes.

Besides work-related gifts, Akina Nakamori would also send him everyday items, mainly useful household goods or delicious treats she had tried, so that Hiroshi Kimura would have a copy and ask him to try them.

These are all normal items. There are also some abnormal ones, such as certain limited edition swimsuit beauty magazines and videotapes, which Kimura Hiroshi had mentioned to Nakamori Akina that he liked to watch. Unexpectedly, she actually bought them. He was just too embarrassed to deliver them to her, so he asked Ms. Noriko to put them in a dark bag and deliver them to him.

Compared to the smooth progress of the magazine project, the arrangement of the new song was not so smooth. The song "Until the End of the World" was fine, and after a few adjustments, Kimura Hiroshi was roughly satisfied. However, the song "aLIEz" had bigger and bigger problems the more it was adjusted, and it deviated far from Kimura Hiroshi's requirements.

With no other option, Hiroshi Kimura had to personally go to Warner Music and the band to communicate. If he were to ruin this nuclear-explosive masterpiece, it would be a truly heinous crime, and people in future generations would probably give him a big middle finger and utter a curse.

In Warner's conference room, Hiroshi Kimura exchanged ideas with Warner's record production staff. He tried to be calm and offered his opinions before heading to the recording studio to participate in the recording of the song.

"The beginning should be a bit low, but the drumbeats must be precise and clear. This is telling the story of war. The high notes later on must rise. It's the protagonist denouncing the war. There should be that feeling of fighting with all their might. Even in the most desperate and lonely environment, they must find that glimmer of light." Hiroshi Kimura explained the meaning the song wanted to convey.

Those present were all veterans who had been immersed in music for over a decade. When Kimura Hiroshi said this, they naturally understood. It took another six days to finally complete the soundtrack that satisfied Kimura Hiroshi, but by then, several days of February had already passed.

The single's release date is set for February 24th, which means they only have a little over ten days left. The staff at Ken-On and Warner Music are always in such a rush to record and promote singles, which makes them feel very uncomfortable.

"Kimura-san, we can't keep dragging our feet like this. We need to finish the single production two weeks before its release so that the promotion won't be so rushed and make everyone handle so many things in such a short time." Tomioka Yukio, the manager, conveyed the staff's thoughts to Kimura Hiroshi.

Kimura Hiroshi felt embarrassed after this happened twice in a row, and said, "It will definitely not happen again next time, Mr. Tomioka. Please convey my apologies to them. Next time, we will definitely prepare everything half a month in advance for the release of the single. However, we still need everyone's help this time."

Having said all that, what else could Yukio Tomioka say but choose to believe Hiroshi Kimura and hope that he wouldn't put such a tight schedule next time?

In order not to affect the release date of the single, Hiroshi Kimura had to reduce the filming time. He would only go to the movies when Akina Nakamori had free time to film, because most of the scenes were between the two of them. If he wasn't there, it would be a waste of Akina Nakamori's time.

After rushing around, the single was finally recorded on February 12th. The cover had been chosen long ago and matched the magazine's theme: an adult man and a teenager, one in a suit and the other in sportswear, standing back to back. The background, which Kimura Hiroshi himself decided was a city that was exploding.