My love index is at its maximum.

"In addition to ground-based filming, we would also like your store to provide a drone for aerial filming."

"I'm sorry, regarding this matter..."

"I know what the store manager is worried about. Please rest assured, this filming plan has also received strong support from the Fisheries Agency, so there will be no shortage of viewership. And look at our male lead... Tazaki, come here."

Tazaki Tsukasa had no choice but to put down his A7R4 mirrorless camera, walk over to her, and smile at the shop manager.

At that moment, he felt like a gigolo selling his body.

The saleswoman felt a sudden flush on her face as she looked at his clean smile and quickly looked away.

"The male lead is indeed very photogenic..." The shop manager glanced at Tsukasa Tazaki, then shook his head and politely said, "But my biggest concern is how you can guarantee that my shop name will get enough exposure. In other words, can your work attract enough people to watch it?"

“You can rest assured about that.” Yui Kichikawa took out her laptop, opened the two case studies she had prepared, and faced the store manager with the screen: “In the 90s, a similar problem of a sharp decline in demand for seafood occurred. At that time, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also formulated a corresponding promotion plan, one of which was to cast a wide net to find excellent promotional advertisements. At that time, an advertisement called ‘Super Energetic Tuna Girl’ became an instant hit. It generated considerable buzz solely through television advertising and successfully won a 600 million yen prize from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.”

Tazaki Tsukasa peeked at the screen. The main character in the photo was a very energetic girl who was holding a trembling bluefin tuna with all her might, her face beaming with a healthy and lively smile.

The store manager examined the photos on the screen with the same scrutinizing gaze a surgeon would use when inspecting a patient's wound.

After he finished reading it, Yui Kichikawa opened the second case, which featured a similarly lively girl soaking in the water with a white dolphin beside her.

"This advertisement is called 'Girl Riding a Beluga Whale,' and it's an advertisement for Venus jewelry. As soon as the advertisement was released, it won the French Cross Award that year, and it made the then-new director famous overnight."

The store manager nodded several times.

Yui Kichikawa continued, "The reason why the two advertisements are compared in parallel is that they both used 'energetic young girls' as their selling point and both achieved great success in an era when information dissemination was not well-developed. Now we live in the Internet age, where information is transmitted rapidly, and the exposure that the same content can get is certainly incomparable to that of thirty years ago."

The store manager thought for a moment, then gave a business-like smile: "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you."

After signing the sponsorship contract, Tsukasa Tazaki, carrying a box of equipment, followed Yui Kikawa out of the store.

The afternoon sun weakened slightly, and the sea breeze from Tokyo Bay swayed the branches of the roadside trees, bringing a cool atmosphere to the surroundings.

The two took a tram to Yotsuya and walked on their way to Suga Shrine.

They walked one after the other, at a distance that was neither too far nor too close, appearing neither intimate nor like complete strangers.

Yui Kikawa fiddled with her Sony FX6 camcorder, occasionally pointing it at the roadside scenery to record a short clip. After checking the results, she would delete it if she wasn't satisfied.

Passing by an aquarium, she stopped and took pictures of the goldfish in the glass tank for a long time.

Tazaki Tsukasa looked at everything—passing cars, shops along the street, even roadside cats and wildflowers. Occasionally, he would glance at the blonde girl intently watching the camera screen.

To be honest, he really admired people like Yui Kichikawa. To achieve perfection in anything requires a tremendous amount of effort. To strive for perfection in everything demands an unimaginable amount of energy.

As for him personally, this workplace event was just something he planned to do by filling out a questionnaire and taking a few photos. He never expected it to be such a big project as shooting a promotional video.

In an effort to secure sponsorship, they even dug up two outdated case studies... Tazaki Tsukasa didn't even know such things existed; if he were in charge of negotiating the sponsorship, he definitely wouldn't have been able to reach an agreement.

Passing by the convenience store where he worked, he suggested going in to rest for a while.

Qichuan Wei nodded silently. The temperature in the afternoon of June was still hot, and a thin layer of sweat had unknowingly covered her snow-white skin.

Stepping inside, the proprietress was reading a magazine behind the counter. Her cream-colored chiffon blouse was perfectly wrinkle-free, and a few strands of hair fell naturally across her forehead. On the wall behind her, the digital clock's second hand moved forward quietly and smoothly.

"Hello, Sachiko-nee." Tsukasa Tazaki greeted her with a smile.

Sachiko Tono suddenly looked up at him, staring at him with delight, and said, "It's the weekend today, what brings you here?"

"Just passing by, thought I'd stop in to escape the heat."

"Heartless..." Sachiko Tono pouted, looking at Tsukasa Tazaki, who was covered in sweat from exhaustion, and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

"Pocari Sweat is ready."

"Give."

"Thank you." Tsukasa Tazaki took the beverage bottle that was tossed to him, took a big gulp, and then let out a comfortable sigh.

Seeing the satisfied look on Tazaki Tsukasa's face, Tono Sachiko couldn't help but smile: "Is there anything else you need, sir?"

"Oh, right, this is my classmate." Tsukasa Tazaki pointed to the blonde girl who hadn't said anything beside him. "Do you have any fruit smoothies or anything? Get her one."

"You really think of yourself as the boss?"

"Sachiko-nee is the gentlest."

Sachiko Tono gave him a resentful look, then turned and walked towards the fruit section: "Tell your classmate to wait a moment, I'll make one now."

Tsukasa Tazaki pointed to the dining area: "Let's go over there and rest for a while."

Kikawa Yui nodded, sat down on a high stool with the camera in her arms, and opened the video she had just recorded at the aquarium shop.

The red goldfish swam happily in the glass tank, the summer sunlight shimmering in the water, their light, floating fins fluttering gracefully like lace.

The blonde girl kept her lips tightly pressed together, staring intently at the screen.

Confined to a small glass tank, unable to go anywhere. The goldfish, however, seems indifferent to this situation; perhaps it truly doesn't care, and genuinely doesn't want to go anywhere.

Then she looked at Tsukasa Tazaki, who was fiddling with a drone. The afternoon sun shone through the glass window onto his handsome profile, and his skin, glistening with fine beads of sweat, looked smooth, full, and dazzling.

Yui Kichikawa had to admit one fact: this guy really did become more and more handsome after he moved out, both in appearance and in spirit.

As she looked, she moved a little closer to observe the fine downy hairs on Tsukasa Tazaki's cheeks and the stubble that had just sprouted at the corner of his lips.

She's really grown up... The blonde girl came to this conclusion in her heart.

"By the way, when do we start... uh..."

Suddenly turning his head, Tsukasa Tazaki blinked. Their faces were very close, and he could clearly see the beautiful lines on her lips. Her small, beautifully shaped pink lips had a faint, moist sheen, and looked incredibly delicious.

"When do we start... filming?"

Tazaki Tsukasa swallowed hard, and the bold idea of ​​kissing him inexplicably popped into his head.

Qichuan Wei froze for two seconds. During that time, the corners of her mouth neither turned up nor down, and her delicate and beautiful face showed no emotion whatsoever. Two seconds later, the girl's heart suddenly raced, and she heard a ringing sound in her ears. She couldn't speak, but subconsciously tilted her head slightly and her lips parted slightly.

The cold air from the air conditioner vent hissed past their lips, ruffling the girl's golden hair.

Tazaki Tsukasa opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word; his thoughts began to flow more slowly.

Kikawa Yui clenched her fists tightly on her knees. Her fingernails even pressed against her palms, leaving indelible marks.

She listened to her increasingly rapid breathing, her body seemingly splitting in two. One half tried to accept the fact that Tsukasa Tazaki was becoming increasingly outstanding. The other half vehemently refused to accept it, trying to banish this emotion to some unseen corner, to convince herself that it had never happened.

These two diametrically opposed forces were fiercely battling within her. Both were pulling her toward their respective goals, as if she were about to be torn in two, her joints about to fall apart, and even her bones about to shatter into powder.

No... we can't do that.

She must return to being the calm and strong Yui Kawakawa.

Who would have wanted this?

It's what I myself hoped for.

But... how should I face the person in front of me?

She was unable to make a judgment.

My breathing became increasingly rapid, and a jumble of thoughts rushed in, one after another, impossible to make sense of. Which direction was right, and which was wrong?

She just wanted to confirm one thing: whether she still had any feelings for him.

As for what will happen after confirmation, who cares?

Angels or devils, let fate decide.

I'm ready.

As Yui Kikawa thought this, she slowly closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling gently. Her soft, cherry-blossom-pink lips were becoming increasingly alluring. A beautiful blush quickly spread across her delicate, fair face.

The girl, who was usually expressionless, suddenly showed an unusually cute side, which made Tsukasa Tazaki's heart beat faster.

The blonde girl, with her eyes tightly closed, was as noble, pure, and flawless as a sleeping princess. He wanted to hold her, kiss every inch of her skin, to brand her with his own mark, to make her his exclusive luxury.

For a moment, his thoughts were in disarray. Tazaki Tsukasa looked at her beautiful face, trying to decipher what she was expressing. But as always, apart from a hint of waiting, no expression appeared there.

The silence was like fine powder, floating quietly in the air, like a swarm of moths from another world flying by, scattering a layer of delicate light powder between the two.

After receiving no response for a long time, Yui Kichikawa opened her eyes, raised her face and looked into Tsukasa Tazaki's eyes.

Perhaps it was just psychological, but Tsukasa Tazaki felt that he could vaguely see a gentle light in her pupils, a light he hadn't seen in a long time, carrying a kind of affectionate and tender feeling, as if it had been pulled out from the depths of a dusty drawer after a long time.

The blonde girl's lips parted slightly, and she leaned forward, her warm breath reaching out to me.

The soft touch was just felt.

As if electrocuted, Yui Kikawa shoved Tsukasa Tazaki away, turned around, and faced away from him. Her straight back exuded a cold aura that said, "Don't pay attention to me, leave me alone, it's okay for me to be alone."

Behind the two, Sachiko Tono held a fruit smoothie, her jaw agape in surprise, unable to close for a long time.

Tazaki Tsukasa rubbed his cheeks violently.

What is she doing?

Why didn't I dodge...?

What does this move really mean?

I still can't come up with a reasonable answer in my heart.

If something is incomprehensible without explanation, it means it will remain incomprehensible even with explanation.

Chapter 136 Everything Looks Like Fried Potatoes

"what"

He yawned silently.

Tsukasa Tazaki leaned his back against the wall, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the street outside the glass window.

"Here, your smoothies."

Sachiko Tono placed two servings of mixed fruit smoothies on the table and gave Tsukasa Tazaki a rather inelegant smirk.

Tazaki Tsukasa smiled nonchalantly: "Thank you, Sachiko-nee."

The proprietress waved her hand dismissively and walked back towards the counter.

Qichuan Wei didn't eat or speak; she simply kept her lips pressed together and stared silently out the window. She barely blinked, her expression devoid of any warmth, as if she weren't even breathing.

Outside the window, a small black object flew by quickly; it might have been a bird.

Perhaps someone's soul was blown to the ends of the earth.

The blonde girl took a slow breath, as if she had made a decision, and looked directly into Tsukasa Tazaki's eyes. Her sapphire-blue eyes revealed no emotion, as if she were simply observing her own face in a mirror.