My daily life with the original diva

"Ah, let's go together then, excuse me." Yukio Tomioka understood perfectly, got up and left, while the two assistants didn't even bother to find an excuse and immediately ran out with the two managers.

Only Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori remained in the private room. At this point, Akina Nakamori was in no mood to eat. She knew that she hadn't listened to Hiroshi Kimura and had bought the car anyway, so he must be angry and might even scold her. Therefore, she wanted to leave her manager behind to shield her, but her manager just ran away. He was really disloyal.

"Kimura-san, is there anything you want to say to me?" Akina Nakamori asked cautiously, unable to eat anything else.

Seeing Akina Nakamori's cautious demeanor, Hiroshi Kimura suddenly felt less angry. Instead, he realized that he shouldn't act so assertively, as this would put the person in a weaker position in the relationship in an abnormal state of interaction.

It's abnormal for someone to spend their own money to buy you a gift and then worry that you won't like it. Although he didn't have much experience in relationships, Hiroshi Kimura knew that this couldn't go on.

Grabbing Akina Nakamori's hand, Hiroshi Kimura said, "Yes, thank you for the gift, Akina-san. I really like it. I drove it over today, and I even put Akina-san's favorite ice cream in the car refrigerator. Would you like to go over and try some later?"

Not angry, Nakamori Akina was stunned for a few seconds. She never expected it to be like this. She thought Kimura Hiroshi was going to send everyone away to scold her.

"Ah, Kimura-san likes it? That's wonderful! I even asked the dealership staff before buying this car. I'm so glad you like it." Nakamori Akina leaned closer happily and put her arms around Kimura Hiroshi's neck.

Seriously, a smile and they'll immediately take advantage. Kimura Hiroshi, smelling the fragrance emanating from Nakamori Akina, felt a little uneasy. His dream from this morning was still vivid in his mind. He quickly composed himself and said, "I really like the gift, but you can't take out a loan just to buy me one. Give me your bank account number later so I can pay off the loan early."

“No, this is a gift I bought for Kimura-san. Why should Kimura-san pay for it himself? The loan is very small, I can afford to pay it back.” Nakamori Akina immediately refused.

It was impossible to force her to pay off the loan. He knew Nakamori Akina's personality. At this time, he could only use other strategies. Kimura Hiroshi pretended to be very aggrieved and said, "Ah, Akina-san, you still have to distinguish between you and me at this time? It's really heartbreaking. I just wanted to help you pay off the loan."

Sure enough, seeing Kimura Hiroshi's downcast and somewhat sad appearance, Nakamori Akina felt a little uncomfortable. Indeed, he and Kimura-san were already a couple, yet they still kept such a clear distinction, which was truly heartbreaking.

"Okay, okay then. I'll give you my bank account details in a bit, and we'll pay off the loan first." Nakamori Akina agreed, but her mood was a bit strange at this moment. Her closest family members only wanted to take money from her, while Kimura-san, who was just her boyfriend, was trying to avoid taking money from her.

Who is she really closest to?

Chapter 131 There's nothing we can do right now

After filming was completed, the film officially entered the post-production editing, music composition, shot correction, and special effects rendering stage. At this time, Hiroshi Kimura did not relax; instead, he devoted even more energy to it. Although filming was completed, poor post-production editing could lead to major problems.

Editing is a crucial part of filmmaking. He was afraid that if the filming went well, the edited version would completely lose the original flavor. That would not only ruin the classic film, but also affect his ability to earn more money.

Although the box office of this movie is bound to be high given the popularity of him and Akina Nakamori, two top idols, he also wants to earn money from ordinary viewers' pockets. Moreover, if the movie is well-made, it might attract another wave of fans, which would allow them to sell more records and make some more money before the record market completely collapses.

Not to mention the time when the record market is in decline, he plans to rely on movies to get through it. He can't afford to ruin too much of his public image and the goodwill of his fans. After all, the general public and fans in Japan won't tolerate their favorite idols and might abandon them at any time.

He focused his energy on movies, and wanted to take a break from television programs as much as possible. After all, he wasn't a workaholic, nor was he as passionate about singing as Akina Nakamori is now.

However, his actions were immediately criticized by Ken-On and Warner. Tomioka Yukio said to him, "Kimura-san, what kind of market is it now? It's severely sluggish. The market is shrinking, and everyone is trying to expand their publicity to avoid being eliminated. But you, on the contrary, are trying to reduce the already limited publicity."

"And now there are so many idols, not to mention female idols, the number of male idols debuting every year exceeds a hundred because of your appearance, making the competition increasingly fierce. You already don't participate in many TV programs, and you want to reduce it even more? How can that be allowed? Are you not planning to ask for royalties? That's hundreds of millions of yen every year! How are you going to invest in real estate without money?"

There was no other way; in order to ensure that his money and future plans for financial freedom were not greatly affected, Hiroshi Kimura had to keep busy. Being a lazy bum was out of the question. However, to avoid running around to both ends, he required the film editors to have Takeshi Kitano review the completed parts every day before sending them to Ken-On for his final review. If there were any problems, they would go back and make the changes.

However, Hiroshi Kimura wouldn't let them work for nothing. He gave them a subsidy of 150,000 yen per month. As a result, the people in charge of film editing all expressed their willingness to work. This is equivalent to increasing their monthly salary by nearly a third, which is quite generous. After all, compared to the generous income, all they have to do is work overtime and spend some money on public transportation.

On April 11th, Akina Nakamori's first true summer-style single, "South Wind," was officially released. It debuted at number one on the Oricon chart and the sales chart in its first week, selling 86,000 copies.

After accumulating popularity over this period, her popularity has begun to show signs of surpassing that of top female idol Seiko Matsuda. Now, many media outlets are hyping up a popularity battle between the two and are beginning to predict when Akina Nakamori will be able to surpass Seiko Matsuda.

The media seems to love hyping up this kind of atmosphere. After all, this kind of showdown between top celebrities generates the most traffic. Fans of both sides will be swept up in this atmosphere and will buy newspapers and magazines to see who will win. Even ordinary people who like gossip can't resist buying them to see, which greatly increases their sales.

However, none of this had anything to do with Hiroshi Kimura, and he didn't pay much attention to it because he was very busy. Besides the movie, he was practicing dance, preparing for his next single, and also cooperating with Momoko Kikuchi's promotion.

Because at the end of April, Momoko Kikuchi had already confirmed that she would debut with Yukiko Okada of Sun Music. As a junior colleague of Seiko Matsuda, Yukiko Okada was given the title of "Seiko Matsuda's successor," which was a big title and had a strong promotional momentum.

Naturally, VAP also needed to find a catchy promotional name for Momoko Kikuchi, and that was Hiroshi Kimura. The first female idol newcomer singer to sing a song composed by Hiroshi Kimura, this title is not much different from that of Seiko Matsuda's successor.

You have the top female idols, and I have the top male idols. We can't let our momentum be suppressed. Neither of us can be inferior to the other, right? Although we're debuting together to generate buzz, if one of us is outshone, it won't be good for our future prospects.

The cooperation in promotion was written into the contract for the single's sale. After all, earning 20 million yen from two songs is no easy feat. However, the cooperation wasn't without limits. The contract stipulated that Hiroshi Kimura would cooperate with Momoko Kikuchi to appear on television programs a maximum of three times.

This first time was at Young Studio. Since his debut promotion, Hiroshi Kimura has rarely appeared on this program because it is not one of the top-rated music shows. It's just that the program team invites him so many times that it would be unreasonable not to come, so he will participate once.

Arriving backstage on time, Kimura Hiroshi was surprised to see so many familiar faces, including the Shibukashi Band, Naoko Kawai, and several newcomers, including Momoko Kikuchi. Thankfully, that dreadful woman Seiko Matsuda wasn't there, and Kimura Hiroshi breathed a sigh of relief.

He's a man with a girlfriend now. If he continues to let this woman take advantage of him, wouldn't he be at a huge disadvantage? If he doesn't resist, wouldn't he be letting Nakamori Akina down?

He greeted each acquaintance, but they were just acquaintances; they could exchange a few words when they met, but they weren't really friends. After all, he didn't have that much time to make these so-called friends.

Seeing Kimura Hiroshi approach, Kikuchi Momoko quickly stood up and gestured to him, "Kimura-san, you've come over. Thank you so much."

When she greeted him, a girl sitting next to her, who looked just as sweet as her, also stood up and gestured to him, but didn't say anything.

"It's nothing. I hope to have a pleasant collaboration with Momoko-chan today." After speaking with Momoko Kikuchi, he glanced at the girl beside her.

The girl had short hair, wore a light blue dress, and had a sweet appearance, no less beautiful than Momoko Kikuchi. She didn't dare to look at Hiroshi Kimura and just kept her head down, giving the impression of being somewhat shy and very well-behaved.

Her identity was not hard to guess, and more importantly, Kimura Hiroya recognized her. She was Okada Yukiko, who debuted at the same time as Kikuchi Momoko. This sweet and well-behaved girl resolutely ended her life more than two years later, when her popularity was rapidly rising.

To say that he could watch a young life disappear before his eyes was something Kimura Hiroshi couldn't do, especially since she was Nakamori Akina's friend. He had no idea how to save her, and Okada Yukiko was still dreaming of the wonderful world of entertainment and had no intention of committing suicide. So, all he could do now was watch.

"This must be Yukiko-chan, who's going to debut with Momo-chan. Hello, I'm Kimura Hiro." Since there's nothing we can do right now, let's get to know each other first. Maybe there will be some unexpected results.

Unexpectedly, this senior figure in bright red actually spoke to her. Yukiko Okada was somewhat incredulous. She looked up at Hiroshi Kimura with her bright eyes and then greeted him politely, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kimura. Please take care of me in the future."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you too. Well, let's chat again next time. Peach, we need to practice our song coordination so that the rehearsal won't take too long later." Kimura Hiroshi didn't say much more. After all, it would seem ungrateful for him to keep talking after taking the initiative to meet her. So it was best to say hello and leave.

More importantly, he was here today to help Momoko Kikuchi promote her performance, and he couldn't forget his main task.

Chapter 132 Is He Not Interested in Women?

After more than half a month of practice, Momoko Kikuchi was able to sing her debut song "Graduation" with a relatively high degree of completion. However, there were still many problems, such as inaccurate pitch and intonation. This was unavoidable, as her vocal condition was limited and it was difficult to achieve perfection. Hiroshi Kimura could only correct her little by little.

Fortunately, Momoko Kikuchi was very obedient and did not resist his corrections. She was soon able to satisfy Hiroshi Kimura. However, even though the technique was there, there were other problems. Momoko Kikuchi's singing often seemed like she was just completing a task, and she didn't put enough emotion into it.

"Very good, you've mastered the techniques pretty well, but Peach, you need to put some emotion into your singing. If you want a song to move others, you first need to immerse yourself in it; only then will you achieve unexpected results." Kimura Hiroshi gave his final instructions before going on stage.

When facing Hiroshi Kimura, Momoko Kikuchi always felt uneasy because she knew that this senior artist was not very satisfied with her singing. She originally thought she might be scolded today because she had not done well in her vocal training, and the teachers would always berate her harshly, some of them saying very nasty things.

However, Kimura Hiroshi did not scold her once. Even if she made a mistake in a tone three times in a row, he would remind her to pay attention and then practice a few more times. This made Kikuchi Momoko certain that Kimura Hiroshi was still the gentle boy on the beach. Even though he was now a senior, he was still the same and had not changed.

"Thank you for your guidance, Kimura-san. I'm really sorry to have troubled you. Would you like me to adjust it a few more times and sing it for you again?" Kikuchi Momoko asked.

Shaking his head, Hiroshi Kimura said, "You can't sing anymore. You have to perform on stage later. If your voice gets too tired, it might cause problems with the performance. Now, you should rest."

The final training session was over, and the two found a place to sit down. Kimura Hiroshi had talked a lot and his mouth was a little dry, so he asked Michiko, who was waiting nearby, to get him some water.

Before he could even speak, he saw Yukiko Okada walk over, carrying several bottles of mineral water. She first handed one to Momoko Kikuchi, then gave him another. With a sweet smile, she placed the water next to him and left immediately, her steps quick.

"Thank you, Yukiko-chan," Hiroshi Kimura called out to her with a smile. She really was a cute little girl.

After drinking some water, the production crew came to ask them to go to the studio for a rehearsal. Young Studio isn't a live show; they record and edit the episodes before airing them on TV. This gives the show more leeway, and the rehearsal time is very short—just a simple formality.

During the show's performances, established idols had more time. Shibushikata and Kashiwabara Keiho each sang three songs, while newcomers like Okada Yukiko and Kikuchi Momoko only had one song. However, Kikuchi Momoko had more time for interviews because Kimura Hiroshi was performing with her.

If Yukiko Okada had been accompanied by Seiko Matsuda, she would have received similar screen time as Momoko Kikuchi. Unfortunately, Seiko Matsuda is also very busy and doesn't have much time to accompany her agency's newcomers to shows.

As for Kimura Hiroshi and Kikuchi Momoko's performance, it was very simple: Kikuchi Momoko sang in front while he accompanied her on the piano in the back. It was an impromptu performance. Kikuchi Momoko did a good job, remembering Kimura Hiroshi's instructions well. She also put some emotion into her singing, expressing the sadness and entanglement of parting.

The recording didn't end until 8 PM. Just as Kimura Hiro was about to get into his car to return to his agency, Kikuchi Momoko's manager appeared next to their vehicle with Kikuchi Momoko and two staff members.

"Mr. Kimura, Mr. Tomioka, thank you so much for your help today," the female agent said very politely as she approached.

Waving his hand, Hiroshi Kimura said, "It's nothing, just a performance." He then prepared to get back into his car and leave.

But the female manager spoke up again, "It's like this, to thank Mr. Kimura, we'd like to invite you to dinner. Look, it's already this late, and no one has eaten yet."

This is a very common practice in Japan. After finishing work, everyone goes out for a meal or a drink. Since Kimura Hiroshi is not yet an adult, drinking alcohol is definitely not allowed, so they only treat him to a meal.

Thinking that there might be future collaborations, and that refusing even the usual invitation might strain the relationship, Kimura Hiroshi nodded in agreement. After all, it was just a meal, and the other party was paying.

The restaurant they booked wasn't far from the TV station. Although the traffic was heavy, they arrived quickly. Kimura Hiroshi initially thought it was just an ordinary dinner party, but once everyone sat down at the table, he realized something was amiss.

Because that female manager actually pushed Kikuchi Momoko next to him, making the two of them sit together, and kept praising how good Kikuchi Momoko was, even talking about things related to women's bodies.

This made Kikuchi Momoko blush and feel extremely embarrassed. Kimura Hiroshi understood what this meant all too well. This female manager had taken it upon herself to make him develop some kind of interest in Kikuchi Momoko so that she could extract the benefits she wanted from him.

Of course, it's not certain that he'll actually have anything going on with Momoko Kikuchi. After all, Momoko Kikuchi is an idol that their agency is focusing on developing, and they won't let her date anyone right after her debut. This is a tactic to keep you hanging on, to keep you aloof. If you take the bait, then they'll have ways to squeeze some benefits out of you.

This tactic might work on other hot-blooded teenagers who are most interested in women, but it wouldn't be very effective on Kimura Hiroshi, not to mention that Kikuchi Momoko wasn't his type, because she had all the common flaws of ordinary Japanese girls, namely, being flat-chested.

Her face was pretty, but looking down, she was quite ordinary, which greatly diminished Kimura Hiroshi's interest. He still preferred women with good figures, like Nakamori Akina. She didn't have any of the common flaws of Japanese girls, and she even had some, but she hid them well so that outsiders couldn't tell. However, he was so close to Nakamori Akina that he naturally knew these things that outsiders didn't.

So, despite the female agent's enthusiastic and suggestive remarks, Kimura Hiroshi remained unmoved. He didn't say a word to Kikuchi Momoko or make any unnecessary movements. He sat there calmly, eating, seemingly focused on the food and completely uninterested in the beautiful girl beside him.

This really stumped the manager. With a beautiful girl like Kikuchi Momoko and her subtle hints, why wasn't this kid reacting at all? This wasn't right. She knew how strong Kikuchi Momoko's charm was. During offline promotions, those boys were crazy about her. Why was this kid making no move?

"Could it be that this kid doesn't like women? That makes sense, I've heard that the more handsome a man is, the more likely he is to be gay." Thinking of this, the female manager felt it was such a pity, how could such a handsome young man be like that?

The meal was finished amidst everyone's own thoughts. After saying goodbye, everyone went home, but the matter did not end there.

Chapter 133 The most feared thing about scandals is that the girlfriend finds out.

The next morning, Hiroshi Kimura was at his office reviewing the movie clips that had been edited the day before. He had returned home very late after dinner the day before and hadn't had time to finish them at the office. In order not to affect the progress of today's movie editing, he had to finish them by the morning.

Before he could finish reading, Yukio Tomioka hurriedly brought him several entertainment newspapers published that day, and these newspapers were all quite prestigious.

Not understanding what Yukio Tomioka meant, Hiroshi Kimura looked at him and asked, "Is there any important news in these newspapers? Could it be that these newspapers found some dirt on me again?"

"No, it's just some rumors about Kimura-san. I brought them over for you to see, so you're prepared and won't say the wrong thing if you encounter a reporter," Yukio Tomioka said, seemingly unconcerned.

Kimura Hiroshi was curious about the rumors. Could it be that his trip to Senso-ji Temple with Nakamori Akina had been exposed? This was no small matter and could potentially affect Nakamori Akina's popularity. He quickly picked it up to take a look, but the result was completely different from what he thought. It wasn't about him and Nakamori Akina at all, but rather that his dinner with Kikuchi Momoko the night before had been exposed.

"A romance between a top male idol and a rookie female idol?" The entertainment newspaper used this as a prominent headline, followed by a photo of Hiroshi Kimura and Momoko Kikuchi sitting together at a meal. However, it was a candid shot of their backs. These entertainment newspapers were also very cunning, cropping out all the staff next to them, leaving only the photo of Hiroshi Kimura and Momoko Kikuchi sitting together.

The staff member disappeared from the photo, but in the text, they said that the two of them were having a so-called secret relationship with the help of the staff member.

They also presented their so-called evidence: since Kimura Hiroshi's debut, he has always sung the songs he writes, but this time he was willing to write a song for a new female idol, so their relationship must be special. Even if they are not dating, Kimura Hiroshi is pursuing this new female idol. The report was written in a very convincing manner.

However, anyone who takes a closer look at the photos will know that there is no intimacy between Hiroshi Kimura and Momoko Kikuchi sitting together; on the contrary, it is quite awkward. Hiroshi Kimura is focused on eating and doesn't even glance at Momoko Kikuchi next to him.

Kikuchi Momoko, on the other hand, rested her hands on her thighs, head down, not daring to eat or even look up. It was clear that she wanted to escape the atmosphere at the dinner table. How could there be any romance between two people sitting together like this? If there was, it was probably an awkward blind date with relatives of both sides around.

Seeing this scandal, Kimura Hiroshi frowned slightly and asked, "Mr. Tomioka, have you inquired with VAP? Is this a publicity stunt they're creating?"

He dislikes this kind of gossip and hype. First of all, he doesn't need it at his current level of popularity. More importantly, he, Kimura Hiroshi, has a girlfriend now. Isn't this kind of gossip and hype just damaging his relationship? If it's Kikuchi Momoko's agency deliberately creating this hype, then there's no need for the two sides to continue working together.

He won't even participate in the upcoming promotional activities. As for the breach of contract and the resulting compensation, that's because VAP breached the contract first and engaged in hype that violated the contract terms; it has nothing to do with him.

"Well, that's really not the case. I just called VAP, and the president of VAP personally explained to me that it has nothing to do with them. If Kimura-san needs it, he can explain it to you again," Yukio Tomioka replied earnestly.

Nodding, Hiroshi Kimura accepted the explanation. After all, the other party was a comprehensive record and agency company under a Japanese television station, and the president's position was not ordinary. There was no need for him to lie to them about such a small scandal. This kind of thing could be easily investigated, and if it was discovered, the relationship between the two parties would probably be broken.

“We were eating at a restaurant near the TV station, where there are a lot of paparazzi. It’s very likely that we were photographed by chance,” Yukio Tomioka offered the most probable explanation.

The professionalism of Japanese paparazzi is terrifying. Although Japan has the strictest anti-voyeurism laws, it also has the strongest voyeurism techniques and capabilities. Of course, it was later inevitably surpassed by neighboring South Korea, which even came up with some terrible online activities such as children secretly filming their mothers' underwear at home.

It's unavoidable for celebrities to be photographed by paparazzi, and there's nothing Kimura Hiroshi can do about it. If he reacts in any way, it will only play into the hands of these entertainment media outlets, who will continue to hype up the topic and even interpret his reaction as an admission of his relationship.

Seeing that Kimura Hiroshi hadn't said anything, Tomioka Yukio thought he was planning some kind of media war again, so he quickly advised him, "Kimura-san, this kind of thing is very common, there's no need to worry too much about it. I sent you these entertainment newspapers so that you'd be prepared, so that you won't be caught off guard when you encounter the media at the TV station. If you really mind, we can issue a joint statement with VAP."