My daily life with the original diva

"I heard you're dating someone in Tokyo?" Nobushi Kimura, the father, asked very seriously.

Sure enough, he was betrayed by his older sister, Kimura Ryo. Seriously, his sister is so unreliable; she actually told everyone about this. At this point, denying it would be wishful thinking. Kimura Hiro could only reply, "Yes, Dad, I'm in love."

"Oh dear, I warned you last year not to lie to girls so easily, and you're already in a relationship. You really didn't take my words to heart, you brat," Akiko Kimura complained.

Who could have predicted this? Last year, he didn't plan to commit to a relationship so quickly. But Nakamori Akina was exceptionally persistent and clear about her feelings, taking the initiative and demanding a definite answer from him. He liked her very much too, so how could he refuse? Obviously, he couldn't.

"I heard that the other person is from the same agency as you, and is a very popular singer. Is her name, yes, Nakamori Akina?" Kimura Nobushi continued to ask.

She glanced at her older sister, Kimura Ryo, with obvious dissatisfaction. Seriously, she had revealed far too much; she had actually told him all about her girlfriend.

“Yes, Dad, we officially became a couple last April,” Kimura Hiroshi could only answer honestly.

"It really is her, Hiro! Wow, you're amazing! You actually managed to snag such a popular singer. But the media says she's a rebellious teenager. Can you handle her?" Akiko Kimura was clearly very interested in her son's girlfriend and asked with great curiosity.

“Mom, that’s just the media making things up. Akina isn’t some rebellious girl. She’s a very gentle girl and doesn’t have any bad habits,” Kimura Hiroshi explained. “Well, for now, she just likes to drink a little alcohol. She hasn’t developed any other bad habits yet. If she does, he’ll personally suppress them.”

"Is that so? It seems the media really can't be trusted." Akiko Kimura said, looking slightly disappointed, not expecting this outcome.

"Ah, you woman, what nonsense are you spouting? Hiro, what I'm saying is that I don't object to you finding a girlfriend in the entertainment industry, but if you two are going to get married in the future, she has to retire. The entertainment industry is too chaotic, and our Kimura family's daughter-in-law can't continue working in the entertainment industry," Kimura Nobushi said with a stern face.

The chaos in the entertainment industry is known to any Japanese person who watches TV and reads newspapers, and Shinji Kimura is no exception. Of course, this is also related to the media and newspapers' penchant for reporting sex scandals, which leads many conservative people to dislike the entertainment industry. Many families with some social standing do not like their younger generation to find partners in the entertainment industry.

On the contrary, her mother, Akiko Kimura, was much more open-minded. She said unhappily, "Old man, you're getting more and more old-fashioned. Hiroshi will be the president of a film production company in the future, and his wife is a popular star and singer. How can he not continue to work? Wouldn't that be a waste of resources?"

“Yes, Dad, Akina is a very traditional person. It’s not impossible for her to retire after marrying me, but she’s a popular star. It’s really not good for her not to continue working. Besides, it’s too early to talk about marriage now. I’m still nineteen,” Kimura Hiroshi said.

Unexpectedly, the mother and son joined forces to oppose him, and Nobushi Kimura's face darkened even more. Moreover, he realized that he had indeed spoken too soon. His son was only nineteen years old, and he didn't know what their future would be like. However, in order to maintain his fatherly authority, he still said, "No matter what, if you get married in the future, your wife is absolutely not allowed to have any work at your own company."

Huh, he gave in so easily. He's happy as long as she can work at his company. After all, if they really get married, he doesn't want his wife to work too hard. With her current workload, how can that be? They don't even have much time together. Long-term separation between husband and wife is not a good thing.

"Okay, Dad, I will definitely do what you ask." Regardless of what the future holds, Kimura Hiroshi agreed.

Seeing his son agree, Nobushi Kimura's expression softened considerably. He nodded and said, "That would be perfect. Since you're already in a relationship, bring him back to us as soon as possible. We'll only feel at ease if we see him."

This isn't right. Isn't it too early to bring it back now?

Chapter 246 Losing Money Making Films

Some people can go home and celebrate the New Year, but others can't. The year-end sales fraud incident and the bribery of judges were all blamed on Masahiko Kondo by Johnny & Associates, who kicked him out of the company. This made him a fearsome figure in the entertainment industry, and no one dared to have anything to do with him anymore.

Even Matsumoto Iyo, who usually showed great admiration for him, only dared to call him and send him some money. She didn't dare to meet him at all. This was a strict requirement from the agency. If they met and were photographed by reporters, it would be a huge scandal, and no one had the guts to do that.

Having been completely expelled from the entertainment industry, Masahiko Kondo fell into a kind of hysteria. He frantically called Johnny's and Mary, but no one answered. As soon as they heard his voice, they would hang up. He thought about going to Johnny's, but when he thought of the fierce-looking security personnel, he was afraid. He had always been a bully who preyed on the weak.

Not long after, Johnny's also canceled his luxury apartment. The apartment manager threw his things out without his permission while he was away, telling him to get out.

However, Kondo Masahiko, unwilling to give up, did not leave Tokyo. Instead, he used the money Matsumoto Iyo gave him to find another decent apartment, intending to stay in Tokyo and wait for an opportunity to make a comeback.

Unfortunately, this was clearly wishful thinking. No agency dared to hire him, and all his efforts were in vain. This dragged on until the end of the year, and with nowhere to go, Kondo Masahiko had no choice but to return to his hometown.

However, he couldn't live comfortably back in his hometown either, because his mother was a very strict person who always held him to high standards, which made him somewhat timid and rebellious.

Upon hearing what he had done, his mother naturally gave him a good scolding and a lecture, which infuriated Kondo Masahiko. He was already being mistreated outside, and now he was being mistreated at home. Kondo Masahiko couldn't take it anymore and gave his mother a good scolding before taking a ride back to his apartment.

After getting off the car, still angry, he planned to go back to his apartment to tidy himself up, then take some money to a bar to have some fun with a woman. However, as he hurriedly ran towards the apartment, he accidentally bumped into a woman as he entered the apartment.

"Ouch!" The woman fell to the ground immediately after being bumped by him, letting out a very delicate cry.

Unexpectedly, he bumped into someone. Kondo Masahiko turned around and tried to run away, not caring who he had hit. Before running away, he glanced down at the person.

Looking down, I realized I had bumped into a very charming woman with fair skin, cherry lips, and wearing a short skirt. She was sitting on the ground, touching her calf, as if she had twisted it somewhere.

His tearful appearance made Kondo Masahiko's eyes light up. His blood boiled, and he stopped running away. He asked with great concern, "Excuse me, miss, I accidentally bumped into you. Are you alright?"

The woman looked up and saw Masahiko Kondo. The pain on her face disappeared, replaced by a delighted smile. She asked, "Ah, you're Masahiko Kondo, right? The popular male idol who sang 'The Mourning Sneakers'?"

"The Sneaky Sneakers" is a single released by Masahiko Kondo in 1981, and it is also his best-selling single. When someone mentions this at this time, Masahiko Kondo is really full of satisfaction. While helping the woman up, he confidently smiles and says, "Yes, that's me."

"Ah, it really is Kondo-san! I'm your fan, my name is Sanae Yuko." The woman grabbed Kondo Masahiko, as if afraid he would run away, and excitedly introduced herself as his fan.

Kondo Masahiko never expected to bump into his fan at this time, especially such a beautiful woman. Seeing the woman's excited appearance, an evil thought formed in his mind: since he was going to look for a woman anyway, he might as well find this woman and get her into bed. It's better to get something for free than to pay for it.

The two then chatted happily, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for years. Kondo Masahiko then invited Sanae Yuko to have a couple of drinks, and she readily agreed.

At the bar, Kondo Masahiko was very generous, ordering some well-known foreign liquors. While drinking, he also tested the woman, occasionally placing his hand on her leg or touching her back. When he found that Sanae Yuko did not refuse, Kondo Masahiko was even happier. He knew that there would be a good show tonight.

They drank until around 10 p.m., when Kondo Masahiko took her directly to a hotel. As expected, Sanae Yuko didn't object at all. Once inside the hotel, she told Kondo Masahiko to take a shower.

Kondo Masahiko, who had been unable to contain himself for a long time, naturally had no reason to refuse the beautiful woman's request, and quickly went to the bathroom to take a shower.

But just as he entered the bathroom, Sanae Yuko gave a cold laugh, then picked up the hotel phone and made a call.

A short while later, Kondo Masahiko finished showering and came out eagerly to pounce on Sanae Yuko, but she nimbly dodged him and then hooked Kondo Masahiko's chin and said, "I'm going to take a shower, so wait outside like a good girl."

After saying that, she walked towards the bathroom and locked the door after entering. This left Kondo Masahiko, who was very anxious, with no choice but to wait outside.

Women always take a long time to shower. Sanae Yuko had been showering for a good twenty or thirty minutes, and Kondo Masahiko was getting really anxious. He was about to knock on the bathroom door.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Sanae Yuko, who was taking a shower inside, quickly opened the bathroom door and ran out, wrapped in a towel, to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Sanae Yuko turned around and pounced on Kondo Masahiko, tearing off the towel he was wrapped in. The two of them then embraced each other completely naked.

Before Kondo Masahiko could react, four tall, muscular men dressed in black rushed in, one of whom took a series of photos of them with a camera.

Having been in the entertainment industry for several years, Masahiko Kondo immediately understood what was going on. He had been set up; these people wanted to take nude photos of him.

"You, you're a liar! Stop taking pictures! Stop... Ah!" Kondo Masahiko shook off Sanae Yuko, who was clinging to him, and tried to stop the people from taking pictures, but before he could get forward, he was punched in the stomach.

He spat out a mouthful of sour water, and the other two immediately attacked him, punching and kicking him repeatedly.

The muscular Masahiko Kondo was no match for the three men and cried out, "Spare me, spare me! I understand, I understand! How much money do you want? I'll give you whatever you want!"

The man with the scar near his eye grabbed Kondo Masahiko's hair and said, "Looks like you really know your stuff. You've met quite a few before, haven't you? Since you're so sensible, then I'll take 100 million yen. A popular idol like you should have that, right?"

It was Yokota who said this. It was just a simple lure, and the idol he had been eyeing fell for it. No wonder he ended up in such a miserable state; he was just a complete idiot.

"One hundred million yen? I don't have that much money, I really don't have that much money." Kondo Masahiko was dumbfounded when he heard that the other party wanted one hundred million yen. He was paid a fixed salary by Johnny's, so where would he get that much money? Even if he could get a share of the record sales, he couldn't have that much in the past few years.

"No, that's great. Arrest him and throw him into Tokyo Bay. Then give these photos to the media. That way, the headline will be 'He was caught cheating and went into hiding.' When people see this kind of news, they'll probably just think that he was caught cheating and went into hiding out of fear. Nobody will think that he's in Tokyo Bay." Yokota said coldly, and then directed his men to actually start tying up Kondo Masahiko.

This terrified Masahiko Kondo so much he almost wet himself. He didn't want to be sunk in Tokyo Bay, so he could only beg for mercy, shouting, "No, don't kill me, but I really don't have that much money, I don't."

"You don't have any of that? Looks like you're not such a great idol after all." Yokota stroked his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "Since you don't have any money, but you're a popular idol, how about this: you go and make some short films. They should sell well, right? Consider it paying off your debt."

"Go make a short film?" Kondo Masahiko was far from agreeing, shaking his head repeatedly and saying, "No, no, I'll think of another way, is there any other way?"

"Where else could you get so much money?" Yokota pressed.

Now Kondo Masahiko really didn't know, and could only stammer there. Seeing him like this, Yokota snorted coldly, "Trying to stall me, huh? Since you don't want to pay, then sink it in Tokyo Bay and take it with you."

As he spoke, one of his men produced a burlap sack from somewhere, stepped forward, and prepared to put him inside, as if he were really going to put Kondo Masahiko into the sack and sink him into the sea.

The other party was going to get serious. Kondo turned pale with fright and uncontrollably started urinating. He screamed shrilly, "I'm willing, I'm willing to film, don't kill me, don't kill me."

Looking at the pool of yellow liquid beneath him, Yokota took two steps back in disgust and cursed, "What a useless piece of trash. Why didn't you agree earlier? Call Hidenori Ueyama over, have him sign a contract, and he'll obediently film for me from now on. This matter will be settled when the money is paid off."

The younger brother made a phone call, and soon after, Uesugi Hidenori arrived. Yokota spoke to him for a few minutes and pointed to the yellow liquid on the ground. This made Uesugi Hidenori frown and say, "Ha, such a useless thing. I don't even know if it will be able to get hard during filming. It's really a downer. I have no interest in it at all."

He then produced two contracts and asked Kondo Masahiko to sign them. Completely under his control, Kondo Masahiko had no chance to look at the contracts and could only sign them.

After the signing was completed, Uesugi Hidenori patted him on the shoulder and said, "Great, you're my employee now. I won't treat you badly. I'll find you a pretty girl for your first shoot. By the way, she's worked with people from America before, and they all said she's good. She'll let you use real weapons, no need to bring rubber products."

"I was filming with a black guy before, and lately this woman has been having a fever and cold, with red spots appearing on her body from time to time. I don't know what disease that black guy gave her, but it's okay, she's very pretty, very charming, this is a special treatment for you."

Chapter 247 Singing Shin Takarazuka

After a very relaxing seven-day holiday at home, Hiroshi Kimura and his sister Ryo Kimura returned to Tokyo. Upon their return, they didn't have much time to adjust to the leisurely holiday state and immediately threw themselves into their tense and busy work. The beginning of each year is always particularly busy because many tasks for the following year need to be finalized at the beginning of the year.

He has a lot to deal with this January, including finalizing the publication of his manga and novel, the new movie he's filming with Akina Nakamori, and the upcoming release of his new single.

Things are complicated, so there needs to be a sequence. If we follow Kimura Hiroshi's idea, this year's new single is the least important, because the record market will shrink further this year, and the record sales are not expected to be very good, even if he is at the height of his popularity.

However, Ken-On and Warner Music didn't see it that way. Last year, Hiroshi Kimura's last single, "Love Will Conquer All," sold nearly 1.2 million copies. There was no reason for it to be a failure the following year. So, as soon as he returned, he was taken to the agency, where Hanami Kagami and Yukio Tomioka personally discussed the new single with him.

"Kimura-san, Mr. Tomioka and I are not very satisfied with the new single you submitted last year. We think that although 'New Treasure Island' is excellent, it is still much inferior in quality to Kimura-san's previous singles." Hanami Kaku expressed his dissatisfaction at the first meeting this year.

“Yes, Kimura-san, this song is very good, but I feel it’s missing something from the previous ones,” Yukio Tomioka added.

At the end of last year, Yukio Tomioka asked him to finalize his new single, and Hiroshi Kimura submitted "New Treasure Island." Of course, he wasn't just giving up.

Many people in later generations only know about the bizarre video of a certain teacher, Huang, who was overweight and in his youth, made using this song as a dance track. Because it matched the dance rhythm well, many people assumed that this song must also be bizarre.

But actually, this is a very rhythmic and inspirational song. Yes, it is an inspirational song. The title, New Treasure Island, refers to the dreamland in the song and encourages people to keep working hard and move towards their dreamland.

This song is also the soundtrack for the anime Bakuman. The song quality is very good, and it is also an inspirational song with a very dynamic rhythm. As his first new single of the year, there is no problem with it. It's just that it doesn't reach the height of the two New Year's opening singles released by Hiroshi Kimura before.

Unexpectedly, the new single he chose was opposed by these two people. It was his fault. His previous two opening singles were of such high quality that they left people with the impression that he was incredibly talented. Now that he wanted to choose a slightly lower quality one, his agency and record company were not happy about it.

Leaning back in his chair, Hiroshi Kimura said with a wry smile, "President, Mr. Tomioka, I have a lot of things to deal with, and I don't have much energy left to write songs. So let's release this single first this year and see. I'm also planning to collaborate with Anzen Chitai and Checkers on this single, dance together, and shoot a music video."

That's right, Hiroshi Kimura is going to use this single to do something weird. First, he'll do an original Shin Takarazuka dance with a blank expression, and then he'll team up with two bands to make a MV that's the ancestor of all kinds of memes. He'll play a fat, youthful version of Teacher Huang.

This kind of quirky behavior will naturally subvert his original image, but that's nothing. Many idols take the quirky route when they appear on shows or film short dramas. Nakamori Akina and Matsuda Seiko are no exception. So if he does this and shows another side of himself, it will allow fans to see a different side of him than usual.

However, his words only made Hanami Kagami and Tomioka Yukio even more unhappy. Hanami Kagami said, "Kimura-san, what do you mean by having too many things to do and not having much time to write songs? Don't forget that you are still an artist of Ken-On. You have to write songs, and you have to write good songs. I don't object to you collaborating with those two popular bands, but I don't think it will help boost record sales much."

"Yes, Kimura-san, you promised me you'd put some effort into the release of the new single. Saying you don't have the energy to write songs is just too perfunctory," Yukio Tomioka continued to express his dissatisfaction.

At this point, Hiroshi Kimura was feeling a bit down. It seemed he might not be able to persuade the two to release the single today. But that wasn't surprising, since they were both very competent tools of capital. Even knowing that the market would definitely shrink, they still wanted to give it a try.

Kimura Hiroshi tapped the table, pondering. This year's record market was definitely not good. After all, the tide of history wouldn't be changed by his existence. The record sales of other singers besides him in the past two years had already proven this point.

With sales like this, it would be a waste to let him continue selling those famous songs. But these two guys don't seem to be giving up unless they bring out some famous songs. Is he going to keep arguing with them about this? Kimura Hiroshi felt he didn't have the time for that. After all, there were many other things to do, and he didn't have that much time to drag things out.

"Here's what we'll do, President, Mr. Tomioka. Let me release this single first. If the sales are too poor, below 700,000 copies, then for the next single, I'll definitely release a masterpiece. Consider this single as me testing the market to see if my fame is enough to achieve high sales even if the single's quality is a bit low."

In the end, Hiroshi Kimura insisted on releasing the single, but he made some compromises. If the single sold poorly, he would immediately return to his original schedule.

The two exchanged a glance. After talking for so long, Hiroshi Kimura still insisted on releasing this single. It seemed that he was very determined. However, he also made some compromises. It was not a problem to release a single to test the market.

Actually, releasing records to test the market is not uncommon. Popular singers or famous songwriters often do this, so it's not unreasonable for Hiroshi Kimura to do it now.

However, Hanami Kaku also made his request, saying, "Okay, Kimura-san, you can release this single, but even if the final sales of this album exceed 700,000 copies, you must release a hit single next. That's my request. If possible, release this 'New Treasure Island' first."

This meant both sides had compromised, and Kimura Hiroshi couldn't continue to be forceful, so he said, "Okay, let's decide on this. Thank you so much, President. Don't worry, I think this single should sell well. After all, it's a very good song, and I'll also make a very unique dance music video for it."

That was the settled matter. Kimura Hiroshi didn't return to Wit Studio, but went to Warner Pioneer instead. Although Tomioka Yukio didn't approve of the song's release, he still had Warner staff produce the arrangement first, and Kimura Hiroshi was going to listen to it and then offer his suggestions for improvement.

He was so busy that it was already evening, and Kimura Hiroshi didn't even have time to call Nakamori Akina. On his first day back, they didn't even have a chance to meet.

When he returned to his apartment that evening, he took off his coat and was about to call Akina Nakamori when the phone rang first. Kimura Hiroshi thought it was Akina Nakamori calling and answered the phone.

Unexpectedly, it was Hiroshi Itsuki's voice that came from the other end, "Happy New Year, Kimura-san! You're back in Tokyo now, right?"