"Oh, oh! Yu, look quickly, the sea!"
"Really, Ichika, don't move!"
Above Okinawa, Nakano Yu was holding Ichika, flying at great speed with the help of Gusting Wind and Raging Waves.
At this moment, Ichika was incredibly excited about flying high in the sky. She wrapped her arms around the young man's neck and excitedly looked at the dazzling blue sea.
"Yu, why didn't you ever tell me before that you can fly?"
Coming back to her senses, Ichika looked at the young man, her expression somewhat full of complaint.
If she had known earlier that her Yu could fly, Ichika definitely wouldn't have allowed Uncle Jiang Duan to drive them to school every day. She would have just let Yu carry them flying. Flying was much faster than driving. Yu had only carried her for a short time, and they had already arrived from Tokyo to Okinawa.
And on top of that, they saved more than ten minutes, which allowed her to sleep a little longer.
Ichika happily thought to herself, truly worthy of her, Ichika. She always knew how to come up with all the good things.
"I only just learned recently."
As Ichika looked at him with that complaining gaze, Nakano Yu hid nothing. After all, he had only obtained the Gale Fury ability yesterday, so technically it was true that he had just learned it.
"Yu, that's Okinawa ahead, right?"
Ichika didn't dwell on when the young man holding her had learned to fly. At this moment, her gaze had already been drawn to the distant small town and the beach.
"We've arrived in Okinawa. The filming location for the 'current love' program should be ahead. Ichika, hold on tight, I'm going to speed up."
Nakano Yu nodded slightly. As he spoke, when the girl in his arms hugged him tightly, a strong wind burst out beneath his feet. The figures of the young man and woman instantly disappeared high in the sky, carried by a hurricane toward the distant town.
Soon they found an uninhabited place and landed. The first thing Ichika did after landing was roll up the legs of her white jeans and run toward the sea.
"Yu, look, there's a seashell!"
After looking around the beach, Ichika immediately noticed a seashell half-buried in the sand. She stretched out her hand, grabbed the shell, and shouted to Nakano Yu, who wasn't far away.
"If you like it, let's take it. We'll stay here for two days. Ichika, you can play in the water again later. We need to hurry to the filming location."
Seeing how happy Ichika was, Nakano Yu immediately told her to take the seashell. After all, it was just an empty shell. But no matter how much they had fun, they still had to check in with the production team first.
"Okay!"
Ichika replied, put away the shell, and quickly ran to the young man, intimately hooking her arm with Nakano Yu's.
Nakano Yu glanced at Ichika beside him and said nothing.
Noticing his gaze, Ichika straightened up and said seriously:
"You're my boyfriend now, so it's best not to reject any intimate gestures from your girlfriend, otherwise the production team will notice."
"Yes, yes, I'll listen to Ichika."
Nodding helplessly, Nakano Yu responded as if comforting a child.
"That's more like it. Anyway, with a beautiful girl like me as your girlfriend, Yu won't end up at a loss."
Ichika said this with a smile, pressing herself even closer to the young man. Her intimate behavior clearly showed everyone that they were a young couple in love.
Following the address given by the production team, Nakano Yu led Ichika to a large Japanese villa located some distance from the town.
"This is where the show is being filmed? It looks so simple."
Looking at the villa, Ichika pursed her lips. It suddenly seemed a bit unreliable to her.
Ichika didn't mean that the villa was small—on the contrary, it looked very large and was by no means simple in size. What she meant by "simple" referred to the filming equipment set up at the entrance of the villa, only two cameras, with no other equipment in sight.
Ichika had heard that three couples were participating in this warm-up program. After all, love is best highlighted through comparison.
But now there were only two cameras, which meant that one of the three couples wouldn't get any screen time at all.
"Well, after all, this is just a warm-up recording for the show. Even the filming location requires the participants to pay the costs themselves, so, Ichika, don't have overly high expectations."
Nakano Yu, on the other hand, was very relaxed. Such dating programs usually don't have a large budget for warm-ups, because the main part is always what comes afterward.
"Alright."
After hearing Nakano Yu's words, Ichika thought about it for a moment and realized he was right, so she didn't dwell on it anymore. Just as she was about to lead the young man into the villa, a sudden shout stopped them:
"Are you… Miss Ichika and Mr. Yu?"
Hearing the voice, Nakano Yu and Ichika turned at the same time and saw a middle-aged woman in a suit and sunglasses approaching them with a smile.
"Director Kudo, we're not late, are we?"
Seeing the woman, Ichika first noticed the work badge on her suit and responded to the program director's greeting.
"It really is you two! The investor specifically emphasized to us that Miss Ichika and Mr. Yu are currently a very popular couple. Seeing you today, it truly is so!"
Seeing that Ichika and Nakano Yu didn't deny it, Director Kudo immediately lowered her stance, and there was even a hint of flattery in her tone.
Confused by Director Kudo's attitude, Ichika glanced at Nakano Yu beside her. Seeing the young man shrug, obviously just as unaware, the somewhat puzzled Ichika didn't ask anything.
After all, what Director Kudo had said clearly referred to her and Nakano Yu, and she didn't want to act like a beginner asking about everything.
"Director Kudo, you flatter us too much. Nakano Yu and I are just an ordinary couple."
Ichika said with a gentle smile, looking like an innocent girl. As she spoke, she tightened her grip on the young man's arm, as if signaling Nakano Yu to say something too.
"Where are the other two groups? Haven't they arrived yet?"
Nakano Yu naturally understood Ichika's intention and immediately stepped in, redirecting the conversation to the program itself.
"Ah, the participants from the other groups haven't arrived yet, but you two, please follow me. You can choose a room for shared living first."
Hearing this, Director Kudo said and then enthusiastically led Nakano Yu and Ichika into the villa.
"Hey, Yu, do you know her? She seems overly polite."
Walking behind Director Kudo, Ichika glanced at the busy camera crew in the villa's courtyard, then leaned close to Yu's ear and whispered softly.
"Who knows?"
Nakano Yu still shrugged, appearing uninterested.
In reality, Director Kudo's behavior wasn't due to her innate warmth. On the contrary, she had never been this polite and enthusiastic toward performers, except, of course, those with power and influence.
And Nakano Yu and Ichika were obviously such extremely powerful performers. Otherwise, how could the future head of the Sanchianyuan family personally call and request special treatment?
Such performers were definitely the most influential Director Kudo had ever seen during her career in the entertainment industry!
After all, it was the Sanchianyuan family, one of the four major zaibatsu families in Neon! Even the currently most popular actress in the entertainment industry had been easily promoted by the Sanchianyuan family.
However, there was one thing Director Kudo couldn't understand: why would Ichika and Nakano Yu, with such a terrifying background, even participate in a warm-up program for a dating show?
But Director Kudo was too lazy to think about it, and even less dared to ask. Who knows what such big figures think about all day?
"Ladies and gentlemen, for this event there are a total of three rooms: the guest room all the way on the left, all the way on the right, and the one in the middle. I personally recommend that you choose the guest room all the way on the left. The production team will later set up cameras in the front yard, so the middle room won't have much privacy."
"In contrast, the one all the way on the left not only faces the sea, offering a sea view through the window, but also provides excellent privacy. Moreover… the guest room all the way on the left has its own bathroom, which the other two do not have, so it's convenient for you two… ahem ahem, what do you think?"
Leading Nakano Yu and Ichika through the villa, Director Kudo explained the rooms. As she spoke, she mysteriously leaned close to Nakano Yu's ear, emphasizing the words "its own bathroom"…
Director Kudo's meaning was already completely clear: the room all the way on the left was obviously the best in every aspect among the three guest rooms for this program.
"Then we'll take the one on the left."
Exchanging a glance with Ichika and seeing that she had no objections, Nakano Yu nodded and immediately chose the room.
"Alright, the production team will provide you with the best daily necessities. I see you don't have luggage, which is convenient."
Director Kudo replied with a smile, sizing up Nakano Yu and Ichika, and speaking respectfully.
At this moment, Director Kudo looked more like… a waitress? In any case, her service attitude was extremely good.
"Mhm, I'll leave it to you."
Nakano Yu had no objections. He and Ichika hadn't brought daily necessities in their luggage, only a few sets of clothes, which he had placed in his system space together with the suitcase.
"Don't worry, I'll arrange everything for you. Just… regarding Miss Sanchianyuan, I hope you could say a good word for me. My career has been a bit stuck recently."
Director Kudo said, realizing who was actually the main person between the two of them. After making all the promises, she approached Nakano Yu flatteringly and spoke.
"Sanzenin Nagi? Ah, that's her. I understand. You may return to your work."
Hearing Director Kudo's words, Nakano Yu finally understood why she had been so polite to them, even to the point of fawning, it was all because Sanzenin Nagi had given instructions in advance.
Thinking about it now, it made sense. That little girl seemed quite interested in the entertainment industry. He just wasn't sure how she knew that he and Ichika would participate in this program. He would ask her when the opportunity arose.
"Yes, Mr. Yu, thank you, thank you!"
Seeing that Nakano Yu addressed Sanzenin Nagi by name, Director Kudo became even more certain that she had judged correctly this time. She kept thanking and bowing before leaving.
After seeing Director Kudo off, Nakano Yu wanted to take Ichika to look at the room, but instead Ichika intertwined her fingers with the young man's and stared into his eyes without blinking.
"What is it, Ichika?"
Seeing Ichika like that, Nakano Yu scratched his head, somewhat confused about what she was looking at.
"I didn't know Yu had so much influence in the entertainment industry. I should have told you earlier about my dream of becoming a big star. Then I could have asked you to push things along a bit for me."
Ichika pursed her lips, saying it half-jokingly.
"It's not too late even now."
Hearing this, Nakano Yu responded with a smile. If he wanted to, a huge amount of resources could be directed toward Ichika. He could even make her a star simply by stacking popularity. However… Nakano Yu felt that Ichika wouldn't like her dream of becoming a big star to be realized in that way.
"Hmph~ I don't want that! I want to rely on my own talent and, step by step, get closer to my dream!"
She snorted. Just as Nakano Yu had expected, Ichika had her own pride. She wasn't a woman who would use connections to stand in the spotlight. Ichika firmly believed that she had her own talent and that her dream should be achieved by herself!
Nakano Yu, of course, wasn't surprised by Ichika's reaction. After comforting her with a few sentences, he led her into the room.
Soon after, the program staff delivered the daily necessities.
But just as Nakano Yu and Ichika were about to rest for a while, a discordant shout suddenly sounded from outside the room:
"Come out, whoever is in this room! This young lady wants to live here!"