My daily life with the original diva

Seeing that the abbot remained silent, Kimura Hiroshi assumed that he disagreed and said, "Since Guanyin Bodhisattva is unwilling, then I will go find other Bodhisattvas."

After saying that, he turned and left without lingering at all.

"Young benefactor, please wait. I have agreed on behalf of Guanyin Bodhisattva." The remaining twelve million yen of Tenkai absolutely cannot be allowed to slip away; it must remain at Senso-ji Temple.

Seeing that Tenkai had agreed, Kimura Hiroshi smiled. His plan had succeeded. He had indeed asked at other temples, but the place he had promised Nakamori Akina was Senso-ji Temple. Other places wouldn't do. If Tenkai didn't agree, he really didn't know what to do.

Seeing Kimura Hiroki's smile, Tenkai slapped his forehead, realizing he had fallen into a trap. This young man was too cunning; he had been tricked. He couldn't even outsmart a young man.

Chapter 120 is very expensive.

After filming in Guam for three days, Akina Nakamori returned to Tokyo without even a moment's rest. She went straight to the TV station after getting off the plane to participate in the recording of tonight's music program, YAN YAN STUDIO.

Because I had to film a movie, record a new single and album, and participate in other programs recently, I had to temporarily give up this music show with decent ratings. I didn't appear for more than a month. Now I can't avoid it anymore, because if a program invites you and you don't go for a long time, they may never invite you again.

Although Akina Nakamori is one of the two most popular female idols right now, it's impossible for her to completely cut herself off from a high-rated music show. For idol singers, any television program that can be used for promotion is a must-see. Of course, Hiroshi Kimura is an exception.

Although she was exhausted from filming the show right after getting off the plane, Akina Nakamori was in a great mood. Her expression didn't show any signs of fatigue because her good friend was also going to participate in the show today.

The backstage rest and dressing room of YAN YAN STDUDIO is very small, which is a unique feature. Because of this, all the guests who come to participate in the show can gather together. There is no sense of alienation in the dressing room of other shows. Everyone gathers together and naturally chats and gets closer. Akina Nakamori also likes this kind of environment.

As soon as she entered the dressing room, she saw her good friend, Kyoko Koizumi. Both of them are popular female idols and are good friends, but they rarely have the opportunity to get together because they are too busy. It is a rare occasion for them to meet backstage at a program.

"Kyoko-chan!" Akina Nakamori exclaimed dramatically.

When Koizumi Kyoko, who was putting on makeup, heard Nakamori Akina's voice, she was overjoyed. She stopped applying makeup, jumped up from her chair, ran to Nakamori Akina's side, grabbed her hand, and called her name. The two of them laughed and jumped up. In fact, they were both very excited because they hadn't seen each other for so long.

"Akina-chan, I heard you went to Guam to film. I thought you wouldn't be able to make it to today's show. I didn't expect you to come back," Kyoko Koizumi said happily.

Tilting her head deliberately, Akina Nakamori said, "Ah, it's been so long since I've seen Kyoko-chan. I heard you were coming to participate in the program, how could I not come? I love Kyoko-chan so much."

Knowing that Akina Nakamori was up to her old tricks again, Kyoko Koizumi naturally chimed in, asking, "Oh, really? So, do you love me more, or do you love your Kimura-chan more?"

Unexpectedly outmaneuvered by the food, Nakamori Akina blinked quickly, put her arms around Koizumi Kyoko's neck, and said, "Who is Kimura-chan? I don't know her. I only love the beautiful and lovely Kyoko-chan."

"You said it yourself, huh? Sigh, if I ever participate in a program with Kimura-san in the future, should I tell him what you said?" Kyoko Koizumi pretended to be very embarrassed.

Unexpectedly, Kyoko Koizumi would resort to this tactic. Akina Nakamori knew she might be in trouble, so she tried to tickle her. "Ah, you're so mean, Kyoko. I'll teach you a lesson."

"No, no, I was wrong, Akina-chan." The two started playfully fighting, but before they could really get going, someone came in. It was a guest performer from another show. The two immediately returned to normal, greeted the person, and then Nakamori Akina sat down next to Koizumi Kyoko and started putting on makeup, preparing for the show later.

Sitting close together allows for quiet conversation, but Kyoko Koizumi couldn't resist being a little gossipy and asked, "How far have things progressed between you and Kimura-san? It's been three months since I last told you, and I'm too embarrassed to ask him about your relationship when I run into him."

Akina Nakamori, who was wearing makeup, didn't know how to answer for a moment. Her relationship with Hiro Kimura could be considered that of a couple, since they were very close. However, neither of them had made a formal confession, so it didn't seem like they were a couple yet. This left her at a loss for words.

"I haven't confessed yet, but I guess we're a couple," Akina Nakamori replied somewhat uncertainly.

But Kyoko Koizumi frowned as she listened. Although she and Hiroshi Kimura could be considered friends, after all, they had even teamed up to argue with each other last time, Akina Nakamori was the friend she valued more. This made her reply somewhat displeased, "Kimura-san looks so composed and gentle, how can he be so slow and indecisive about this kind of thing? It's really unbecoming. Next time I see him, I must urge him."

"Don't be like that, Kyoko-chan. Actually, I don't care about that at all. Besides, he's very good to me, very gentle and reliable. Oh, right, he also asked me to go to the fireworks festival at Senso-ji Temple next week." As if wanting to prove that Kimura Hiroshi was a good person, Nakamori Akina even mentioned the place she was going on a date with.

But Kyoko Koizumi got even angrier. "Akina-san, Senso-ji Temple has never had a fireworks festival. I've never heard of it. How can he lie to me?"

"No?" Nakamori Akina was surprised. If there was nothing, then what did Kimura-san invite her to see? Suddenly she remembered that Kimura-san had told her a couple of days ago that he had a surprise for her. Could it be that Kimura-san was going to hold a fireworks festival at Senso-ji Temple to pray for her?

Thinking of this, Nakamori Akina felt a sweet warmth in her heart. Few guys would do something like this for their girlfriends. So what if he didn't confess? Her Kimura-san was indeed the best boyfriend, without a doubt.

Seeing that Akina Nakamori, who had been deceived, not only wasn't angry but even laughed, Kyoko Koizumi was even more confused. She could only attribute it to Akina Nakamori being too kind and considerate of others.

"Akina-san, you've been fooled and you're still laughing. You're hopeless." Kyoko Koizumi could only sigh.

Knowing that her good friend was concerned about her and not wanting Kimura Hiro to leave a bad impression on her friend, Nakamori Akina grabbed her arm and explained with a smile, "Kimura-san didn't lie to me. He said on the phone that he wanted to give me a surprise and that he wanted to go to Senso-ji Temple to pray for good fortune. I think he definitely wants to hold a blessing fireworks festival for me, hehe."

This explanation stunned Kyoko Koizumi. "Is that so?" she thought. "But how much would it cost to hold a fireworks display at Senso-ji Temple?" she thought. "A simple large-scale Buddhist ceremony at Senso-ji Temple costs over a million yen, and a more elaborate one can cost three or four million yen. This fireworks display would probably cost around ten million yen."

It would probably be more than that, because it's in downtown Tokyo, and there would be costs for fire safety preparations and insurance. Ten million yen probably wouldn't be enough. Koizumi Kyoko suddenly felt envious and a little jealous.

A boyfriend who spends so much money and puts so much thought into organizing a firework display to pray for his girlfriend's bad luck during her year of misfortune is hard to find.

"How lucky Akina-san! If that's really the case, then Kimura-san can be considered the best boyfriend in Japan. However, if he does that, the expenses will be enormous, and he might not even have money for food anymore." Koizumi Kyoko didn't know about Kimura Hiroshi's contract with Ken-On, so she could only guess his income based on the salaries of other top idols in the entertainment industry.

Nakamori Akina, who had absolutely no idea about these things, paused for a moment and asked, "About how much will it cost, Kyoko-chan?"

"Tens of millions of yen, probably more than that. Kimura-san is really generous. Akina-san is indeed very charming. I'm so envious," Koizumi Kyoko said in a slightly joking manner.

Hearing this number, Akina Nakamori was somewhat surprised. Although she didn't care much about money, she was well aware of how huge the amount was. To think that it would cost so much money, she suddenly didn't want this surprise anymore and wanted to stop Hiroshi Kimura.

"No, it's too expensive. I don't want this kind of surprise," Akina Nakamori said firmly.

"How can you do that, Akina-san? Your boyfriend went to so much trouble to prepare a surprise, and if you just refuse it, it will make them feel disappointed and lost. In the future, he will become hesitant to prepare anything for you, which is not good for your relationship and will make it difficult for your relationship to move forward. If you think the surprise is too much, then prepare one for him too," Koizumi Kyoko advised.

After hearing her friend's words, Nakamori Akina thought for a while before nodding. Indeed, her relationship with Kimura-san was more important. She could earn the money herself, and she would find a way to make it up to Kimura-san later.

Having figured things out, Nakamori Akina discovered a major problem: Kyoko-chan didn't seem to be in a relationship either. How did she know so much? She approached Koizumi Kyoko and asked curiously, "Kyoko-chan, how do you know so much? I haven't heard anything about you being in a relationship. Tell me quickly, are you hiding something?"

After Nakamori Akina said that, Koizumi Kyoko blushed a little. These were all things she had read in romance books, but she had recently developed a strong liking for a certain boy.

"There's something going on here. Tell me quickly who it is, is he handsome, and what does he do?" Nakamori Akina began to interrogate her.

Chapter 121 The Lie Was Too Obvious

After several days of reviewing the footage, all the missed shots and flawed scenes that needed reshooting were finally found. Takeshi Kitano's idea was to finish filming everything in the next few days. Coincidentally, Akina Nakamori's new single had already finished filming and recording, leaving plenty of free time aside from some TV programs. They could hurry up and finish filming to leave more time for editing and promotion.

Ken-On agreed without any objections, as Akina Nakamori had indeed been relatively free recently, and this was a good opportunity to finish up the movie-related matters to avoid taking up too much time during the promotion of her new single.

"Hey, Kimura-san, the theme song for this movie hasn't been decided yet. Since everyone says you're a composing genius, then the theme song is in your hands. Write a good one." On set, Takeshi Kitano patted Hiroshi Kimura on the shoulder and handed over the task of composing the movie's theme song to him.

Hiroshi Kimura had anticipated this, since he wrote the script and invested in the film himself, and he could also compose songs, so this project was bound to fall to him.

Theme songs are very important for a movie, especially in Japan in this era. Movies and theme songs are practically tied together for promotion, and it's also a huge source of revenue. Many songs become popular because of hit TV dramas and movies, and they sell extremely well, such as Hiroko Yakushimaru's "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun".

Then, in 86, Akemi Ishii, a junior of Akina Nakamori, won the annual single sales champion title with her song CHA CHA thanks to the hit TV drama "Seven Men and Women's Summer Story". She surpassed Akina Nakamori's "Desire" which was considered a masterpiece that year, ranking second on the annual chart. Although the sales difference was not significant, it also shows the power of movies and TV dramas.

With such a strong earning power, Hiroshi Kimura can't just release a single casually, whether it's for his first movie with Akina Nakamori or for the substantial record revenue to come.

“Okay, Mr. Kitano, let me go back and think about it.” Kimura Hiroshi naturally accepted the task.

But then Takeshi Kitano started stirring things up, pretending to be very dissatisfied and saying, "Ah, Kimura-san was a genius who could write songs on the spot back then, and now he still needs to think about it. Hurry up and write it... Pfft."

Before he could finish speaking, Kimura Hiroshi elbowed him in the stomach. This guy was really outspoken, daring to make fun of anyone, completely disregarding him as the producer and investor. He had to be taught a lesson.

"Baka! Kimura brat, I challenge you to a duel! No one but my father and mother has ever dared to hit me like this!" Kitano Takeshi shouted, clutching his slightly aching stomach.

"Now I've got it. Okay, after filming wraps up, I'll treat you and your staff to a nice time in Ginza. Remember to keep the spending under one million yen." Kimura Hiroshi threw out a sugar-coated bullet.

Although Takeshi Kitano said he would never work with him again, how could he let go of such a good director? He himself couldn't direct, and he still needed this guy's help, so he gave him some more incentives.

Going to Ginza to spend money is actually about finding women you can pay for, which is Takeshi Kitano's favorite thing. Although he has a good relationship with his girlfriend, it can't stop him from indulging in this hobby. When he heard that there was money to spend, Kitano stopped dueling with him and instead shouted happily, "A million yen for one elbow strike? Then please, Kimura-san, beat me up badly. If you're still not satisfied, I'll call all my lads over and let you beat them up together so I can find hundreds of women."

"Can you handle hundreds of them? Be careful you don't exhaust yourself." Kimura Hiroshi rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay any more attention to him. After finishing his makeup, he waited there for filming to begin.

Not long after, Akina Nakamori arrived. She came directly from the Tokyo TV program set. She didn't even have time to greet anyone on set before Ms. Noriko shoved her into the dressing room and only let her out after her makeup was done.

"Kimura-san, I'm back." Nakamori Akina was delighted to see Kimura Hiroshi and walked over to him, greeting him loudly.

It's been a while since I last saw you. You seem to have lost some weight, but you're full of energy. Hmm, you should be healthy. You haven't gotten any darker either. You haven't forgotten his instructions.

"You're finally back, Akina-san. You look thinner. Have you been eating properly?" she asked, moving the chair next to her over.

Sitting in the chair, she nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, you can ask Ms. Noriko if you don't believe me. As for losing weight, it's because I miss Kimura-san's cooking. I haven't had it in a long time, and my body is protesting."

"Really? I don't believe it," Kimura Hiroshi said in Lu Yu's tone.

Beside them, Noriko and Mieko, the two assistants, watched the two of them whispering sweet nothings and could only smell the strong, cloying stench of romance.

Fortunately, they were surrounded by staff and other actors, so the two didn't dare to openly show affection or make any physical gestures. They only dared to talk in hushed tones, otherwise the atmosphere they felt would probably be even more intense.

However, the two couldn't talk for long before Takeshi Kitano came over and called for filming to begin. Naturally, they couldn't continue their conversation and got back to filming.

During a break in filming, Kimura Hiroshi noticed that Nakamori Akina was acting strangely again today. She seemed to want to say something to him, but then she would stop talking when she was next to him. Sometimes she would even laugh to herself, looking a little silly.

After several rounds of this, Kimura Hiroshi finally couldn't take it anymore and pulled her aside during a break in filming, asking, "Akina-san, is there something you want to tell me?"

"No, where would I find any? Oh, by the way, I brought some gifts for Kimura-san from Guam—a Panaba hat and some local tropical snacks. I'll have Ms. Noriko deliver them to you later." Nakamori Akina's words sounded rather unnatural as she quickly changed the subject, her eyes darting around.

She couldn't hide anything from the person she liked. She wanted to tell him that she knew about the surprise he had prepared, but she was afraid of hurting Kimura Hiroshi's feelings. On the other hand, she felt very happy and joyful when she thought about the surprise he had carefully prepared. So her emotions kept changing, leaving Kimura Hiroshi completely confused.

Given this series of classic moments when Nakamori Akina lies, it's impossible to convince Kimura Hiroshi. He said suspiciously, "Is that really all, Akina-san? Lying isn't good for a child."

"Ah, you found out, Kimura-san. Actually, I also prepared a surprise for you, but I'm not telling you." After saying that, Nakamori Akina turned and ran away. She was so afraid that she would blurt it out that she could not help but run away from the scene.

Chapter 122 Everyone has a right to a share, right?

It only involves shooting some missed or flawed shots, so it doesn't take much time. It will be almost finished in three or four days. In other words, the first movie that Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori collaborated on will be completed soon, and April is approaching.

As the date drew closer, Akina Nakamori became more and more excited, but also more and more worried, because the surprise day she was looking forward to was just around the corner, but she had no idea what kind of surprise she wanted to prepare for Kimura-san.

As far as she knew, Kimura Hiroshi liked mostly ordinary things and didn't care much for luxury or expensive items. He was quite interested in money, but she couldn't just give him money as a surprise; that would be too strange.

“Ah, most men like cars, right? Since Kimura-san just got his driver’s license, why not give him a car? Refusal doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it; he might just be worried about you spending too much money. If a sports car isn’t an option, we can give him another model.” Unable to make a decision, Nakamori Akina asked her friend Koizumi Kyoko for advice. The answer she received was still to give him a car—expensive and practical.

Kimura Hiroshi got his driver's license in March. In his previous life, he had more than ten years of driving experience. In this era, the driving test in Japan was relatively simple, and he got it in just a few days. Nakamori Akina also learned most of it herself. She was too busy and estimated that she would not be able to finish learning until early May.

Having made her decision, Akina Nakamori no longer hesitated and wanted to buy a car for Hiroshi Kimura and deliver it directly to his apartment building the morning after the fireworks festival, so that Hiroshi Kimura could wake up to this huge surprise.

Time was of the essence, so she had to act quickly. After finishing her morning work, she couldn't wait to go to the firm at noon, eager to collect her first quarter's royalty share before choosing a car.

When she received the royalty statement, she was incredulous because her account showed a paltry six million yen, which was her royalties for one quarter, no different from her income before she even received any royalties.

"Miss Mari, are you sure there's nothing wrong with this order? Why is it only six million yen?" Akina Nakamori asked Miss Mari, a middle-aged woman with over twenty years of experience in the finance department, with some confusion.

Facing the top female idol of this agency, Ms. Mari dared not be careless. She took the report and looked at it carefully, then pointed to a money destination on the report, "Ms. Nakamori, your royalties for this quarter should be 13 million yen. They were all deposited into your company, but more than 7 million yen were withheld, resulting in 6 million yen entering your personal account."

This is a common practice to evade taxes. The money is first transferred to the artist's company under the guise of a collaboration fee, thus avoiding the payment of high income taxes. Then, the company transfers the money out under other names. The problem is that Nakamori Akina's company has actually intercepted the money.

Akina Nakamori, who wasn't very knowledgeable about finances, was confused and said, "Ms. Mari, but I didn't ask the company to keep this money."

“Then it’s someone else, perhaps another director of your company, Ms. Nakamori. Maybe you can ask them.” Ms. Mari said cautiously, because she knew the structure of the companies under Nakamori Akina’s name, and the directors were all her family members. Her meaning was quite clear.

After a moment of surprise, Nakamori Akina immediately understood. She stood up and said, "I understand. Thank you, Ms. Mari."

As she turned and walked out of the finance office, something was churning inside her. She had already opened a bar for her family, and the business was doing very well. Logically, she shouldn't be short of money. Why would her family take more than half of her salary? She didn't understand and found it hard to comprehend.

Normally, she might not have asked so many questions, since they were her family. But now she needed the money herself. She had prepared a surprise for Kimura-san, only to find that more than half of the money was missing, and the rest was not enough. So she had to ask to see if she could get some back.

She found the firm's private phone number and called her family's bar directly, because at this time, her family should be preparing for the opening, and bars usually open in the afternoon.

The phone rang a few times before being answered; it was her mother, Chieko.

"It's Akina. Why are you calling at this hour?" Chieko knew that Akina Nakamori was very busy and usually only called in the evening, rarely at noon.

"Ah, I haven't been home for months. How is everyone at home? How's business at the bar?" Nakamori Akina didn't ask about money directly, but instead inquired about her family first.