My love index is at its maximum.

Tsukasa Tazaki ruffled her hair through the towel: "Of course it's you, my one and only little cutie."

With her back to the fiery sunset, Shiori Ninomiya's lively smile gradually transformed into a gentle one. Even the strands of hair clinging to her forehead and the sand she hadn't had time to wipe from her nose appeared sublime and beautiful.

Yui Kichikawa turned off the camera and asked Sakura Kuriyama, "Are they close?"

“It’s better than the two of us.” Kuriyama Sakura crossed her arms, her long ponytail swaying gently in the sea breeze, making her look particularly elegant.

"why?"

Yui Kichikawa didn't quite understand. "Apart from your breasts, you should have the advantage in every other aspect."

What do you mean by "other aspects"?

"A political family background."

"Just like your mother, superficial."

Kuriyama Sakura sneered, "You've grown up in an upper-class family, and the mindset you've developed is that of the upper class. You prioritize profit and use value to measure the meaning of everything, such as feelings, love, and ideals. If you continue like this, you'll only ever be an insignificant outsider to everyone else."

Kikawa Yui fell silent.

She remembered what Tsukasa Tazaki had said to her mother when he refused her at Toribaba.

The Kichikawa family has everything, except for the person I like.

Faced with readily available wealth and status, the boy's firm yet gentle voice of refusal echoed in my ears, lingering for a long time.

The waves gently lapped against the beach, cicadas chirped softly, and a cool sea breeze blew, causing golden hair to flutter. The setting sun bathed the girls' faces in a golden glow, and the vast sky and sea were also dyed the same color…

After filming the scene where the male and female leads meet, Shiori Ninomiya changed into clean clothes, and the four of them followed President Nakano to the pier.

Next, we'll be filming a scene of tuna fishing, which requires us to stay on the boat until noon the following day.

If you're lucky, you might be able to capture real footage of tuna being caught; if you're unlucky, you'll have to make do with farmed tuna.

"Kiki, look! So many boats!"

Following the little cutie's finger, you can see fishing boats lined up in a row on the dock.

"That's the fishing boat we're going out to sea tonight."

Tazaki looked over; the fishing boat wasn't large, consisting of only a deck, a cabin, and a wheelhouse. Above the anchor, the boat's name was printed in red paint.

【No. 58 Ocean Pill】

"There's nothing on the ship right now," President Nakano said with a smile. "If it were morning, you could see a lot of fish. But the smell would be awful, and the ship would be covered in blood and scales from the fish slaughtering. Even now, there's a fishy smell on board."

"Don't worry, boss, they've all been rinsed as you requested!"

The person who answered was a middle-aged man wearing a white hat.

When Tsukasa Tazaki boarded the ship, he was wearing black rubber shoes and carrying a hose to clean the deck.

"I was worried that you guests from Tokyo might not be used to it..." President Nakano explained from the side, "so I had my staff thoroughly clean it."

Despite the lingering fishy smell, Tsukasa Tazaki bowed slightly and sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your help."

"Small things."

President Nakano led several high school students into the cabin. "Take a rest, I'll go downstairs and prepare dinner for you."

Shiori Ninomiya followed him: "Uncle Nakano~ I'll go with you."

"Haha~"

After settling into his cabin, Tsukasa Tazaki glanced around.

The environment was just average, with only a sofa, a dining table, and a few chairs. It was rather old, but the only redeeming quality was that it was quite clean. Surprisingly, there was a guitar in the corner of the sofa; it seems the captain is a fisherman with musical dreams.

As dusk settled, the harbor lights came on, and the lighthouse at the end of the seawall shone with an orange-yellow glow.

The uncle who was cleaning the deck stepped down from the cockpit, the engine hummed, the small fishing boat shook, and slowly sailed away from the harbor.

Tsukasa Tazaki leaned back on the sofa, looking at a map on his phone.

Kuriyama Sakura was reading a book beside him, while Kichikawa Yui was flipping through videos she had filmed on the other side.

This trip won't take us very far; we'll just be traveling around the coastal area. There hasn't been any bad weather these past few days, so we shouldn't encounter any danger.

Putting his phone away, Tazaki Tsukasa glanced at Kuriyama Sakura; the book was titled "The Outsider."

"You really like this book?" he asked. "I've seen you reading it several times."

"I generally like to read any book when I'm bored."

“That’s pretty much like me.” Tsukasa Tazaki looked at him like he was a good friend. “I can even enjoy looking at recipes.”

Don't try to get close to me!

Kuriyama Sakura moved away to the other side in disgust. "I don't want to talk to you tonight."

"It's just a little display of affection, Minister, you can't be that petty, can you?"

"My heart is as broad as the Guandong Plain!"

Tsukasa Tazaki rested his chin on his hand and nodded thoughtfully: "It is indeed quite flat."

"Snap!"

Kuriyama Sakura tapped him on the head with a book, then smiled beautifully: "Tazaki-kun, the club president has decided to have you swim back to Tokyo from here as a test for you!"

"Could you give me a lifebuoy?"

"cannot!"

"I'm not going to say anything more, I'm going downstairs to help make dinner."

After he ran into the lower deck of the ship, Kuriyama Sakura closed her book, turned to look at Kichikawa Yui who had been staring at the two of them, and said with a slight smile: "Stop looking, this is something you can't have."

The blonde girl clenched her fists and gave an undeniable snort.

Chapter 167 The same night, different beautiful girls.

Dinner was quite plentiful.

Grilled beef, salmon sashimi, fried shrimp, takoyaki, a plate of raw cucumber, and a plate of pickled vegetables.

"I'm starting to eat."

With hands clasped together in a gesture of respect, a brief dining ritual that expresses gratitude for the food.

Kuriyama Sakura picked up a piece of cucumber, looked around, and asked, "Where's President Nakano?"

"I went to drink with the boatman." Tsukasa Tazaki picked up the ice bucket, added ice to each of their glasses, and then filled them with cola.

"cheers!"

Shiori Ninomiya excitedly raised her cup.

The cabin swayed slightly, and a transparent disposable cup contained a yellowish-brown liquid. Bubbles constantly rose from the gaps in the ice, forming a thin layer of foam on top.

Kikawa Yui raised her glass and took a sip with the three of them, then repeatedly swirled the ice cubes in her glass with the straw while staring absently at the white tablecloth.

"for you."

"Huh? Oh, it's an octopus."

"Ah."

"Wow, this is so delicious, thank you Kiki."

Shiori Ninomiya chewed a few mouthfuls of her cola with relish, then took a big gulp and let out a satisfied sigh.

Qichuan Wei picked one up and tried it herself. The baby octopus meat was chewy, and with just the right amount of seasoning, it was indeed very tender and delicious.

The little cutie couldn't wait to pick up a thinly sliced ​​piece of roast beef, roll it in the seasoning bowl, and stuff the whole piece into her mouth.

"Mmm~ Delicious."

Her small lips were covered in sauce, glistening with oil.

Kuriyama Sakura chewed gently and gracefully. "The sauce is unique; is it a local specialty?"

“It was specially made by Suga Shrine,” Shiori Ninomiya continued. “I begged Granny Hayashi for a whole week before she agreed to teach me.”

After saying that, she glared at Tsukasa Tazaki with a slightly sullen expression: "That guy wasted Shiori-chan's good intentions, he deserves to go to Uruguay to pick up cow dung."

Tsukasa Tazaki silently lowered his head and ate his rice.

"Is Ninomiya all alone in Tokyo?" Yui asked, crunching a raw cucumber.

“Hmm…” Shiori Ninomiya picked up a shrimp and said while peeling it, “It’s the first time I’ve been so far from home, living and eating alone. At first, I wasn’t used to it, and people kept making fun of my country accent.”

While eating, Tsukasa Tazaki suddenly took out his phone and sent a message to Hanami Hoshino, asking if she had been mocked for her Kansai accent when she first came to Tokyo.

"How is things at home?" Yui Kichikawa then asked.

“My family? My family is just a very ordinary farming family.” Shiori Ninomiya stopped peeling shrimp and said frankly, “We’re not rich, but we’re not poor either, just a very ordinary family. We live in a two-story detached house with a small yard. My dad has a ten-year-old Toyota that he often uses to haul fertilizer, so it smells a lot. Sending me to a prestigious high school in Tokyo was a bit of a struggle, but luckily I’m their only child, so money isn’t a problem. Besides, my grades are pretty good, I get a lot of scholarships, and I can work part-time to supplement our living expenses, so we don’t need our family to send money every month.”

Kikawa Yui rubbed the tip of her nose, perhaps thinking of the smell of the Toyota trucks used to haul fertilizer.

After a while, she asked, "Have you gotten used to it yet?"

"It's not bad," Shiori Ninomiya replied ambiguously. "It was really hard to adjust at first. Not many of my classmates were interesting. They could go out and buy pretty clothes and shoes anytime. I finally managed to save up some money before I could go to the convenience store to eat a bowl of oden without worry."

At this point, the little cutie's eyes lit up: "Then I ran into Kiki at the convenience store, what did I say again..."

With his head down, Tsukasa Tazaki added, "A fateful encounter."

“Oh right…” Shiori Ninomiya nodded gleefully, “It was a fateful encounter, Kiki remembers it so clearly.”

"I've always had a very good memory."

"Not only does he have a good memory, but he's also a total cool and handsome guy."

“He used to be a cool and handsome guy, but…” Kuriyama Sakura raised his head, a smile appearing in his clear, cold eyes: “Now he’s become a husky.”

What's wrong with the husky?

Tazaki Tsukasa protested, "You're a cat lover, you just like to look at dogs with prejudice!"

"Yeah, huskies are so cool!"

Shiori Ninomiya nodded firmly and placed the peeled shrimp in Tsukasa Tazaki's bowl: "Hasuki-kun, eat the shrimp."

"Wait, my name is pronounced Tasaki, don't call me Husky-kun!"