"It's not that I want to say anything, but why are you guys causing a scene again? And Kohei... who is this?"
Just emerging from the locker room to see Iori being "circle-kicked," Yoshiwara Aina approached in confusion, then immediately noticed that there were women standing next to Yu and Kohei!
The "country dog" vigilance of a small-town girl flared up. She hurried over in three steps, clutching Kohei's arm and puffing out her chest as if declaring her territory!
However, when she looked at her head-on, she realized that the woman in front of her seemed to be far too outstanding in all aspects. Whether it was her looks or her long legs, she was firmly pressed against... Yu's aesthetic?
She suspiciously shifted her questioning gaze to Yu, the expression on her small face—unprotected by the "Corpse Beast" makeup—becoming quite intriguing!
"Don't overthink it!"
No words were needed. Even if the muscles on Aina's face shifted slightly, Miyazawa Yuu could instantly judge what kind of weird thoughts were popping up in her head.
He glanced at Kohei, but receiving no reaction from that airhead, he took matters into his own hands and struck a "hand-knife" sharply down the middle of Aina's deep blue hair as punishment!
"That hurts!"
"You can't use violence on Aina, Yuu!"
Running over to protect Aina's small head with a gentle stroke, Kotegawa Nanaka chided her boyfriend with a couple of critical words before turning her attention to the stranger beside them.
Unlike Aina's vigilance, in her heart, Yu was a battle-hardened warrior who would never hook up with someone randomly.
Therefore, compared to Aina, her tone was much friendlier but still full of confusion: "Hello, Miss. I feel like... I've seen you somewhere before?"
"Indeed!"
The last to walk over slowly, Kotegawa Chisa poked her small head out from the side to take a look. After finding it was a stunningly beautiful woman, her state of mind went from "relieved" to "super relieved."
As long as she wasn't here for Iori, it was fine. She hadn't had the chance to repay his kindness yet!
"Eh? Even Miss Nanaka and Miss Chisa are saying that!"
Her eyes went wide. Seeing that even the Dolphin staff said so, Takahashi Aina's heart instantly felt stifled. Without a word, she picked up a twig and began dejectedly drawing circles on the ground.
Seeing this, Miyazawa Yuu stood in front of the distraught Miss Aina with a troubled expression, offering a subtle hint.
"Ahem! I say, this is Miss Takahashi Aina, the model we invited for the store's promotion a few days ago! Do you remember?"
"Oh—of course I remember!"
In reality, she had no impression at all, but hearing Yu say that, Kotegawa Nanaka instantly realized the gravity of the situation and quickly agreed loudly with a smile.
The current situation was like a familiar person walking toward you from afar, only for you to ask who they are when they greet you.
Such an awkward situation happening to a celebrity—no wonder Miss Takahashi was this despondent. As diving shop staff who should remember every guest, this was a major professional failure!
Unfortunately, it had already happened, and the tactic of pretending to suddenly remember was yielding little result. She could only squat down next to Takahashi Aina and anxiously try to make amends.
"No, it's just, Chisa and I weren't really on the scene much, so we didn't recognize you for a moment. I'm truly very sorry!"
"It's fine... it's my problem. As expected, there's no longer any need for people to remember me..."
It's clearly not 'fine'! And it's so heavy!
Seeing that Takahashi Aina's tears had already dampened her eyeshadow, Kotegawa Nanaka felt firmly trapped by the "gravity field," so she could only try to force a change of subject.
"Um, Miss Aina, why did you come here? Do you need to relax after filming? Actually, I recommend diving—"
"Because Ikegoshi was too prominent in the last program, it made my performance very unremarkable."
Speaking of this, Takahashi Aina's eyes turned hollow as she suddenly glanced at Kohei, making the latter break out in goosebumps.
Fortunately, she still had some sanity left. Knowing the audience's reaction was poor, she only looked for problems within herself and never attributed the crux of the issue entirely to Ikegoshi Yuuichi.
"My manager felt that if I appeared without gaining popularity, it would give the investors the feeling that I'm outdated. So, he urgently arranged this water park promotion for me before public opinion could ferment."
"Mm-hmm! Some investors really do have that kind of mindset!"
"Aren't you one of the main culprits? Don't join in the fun!"
She had a general idea of what was going on. As an old staff member, Kotegawa Chisa had some basic PR ability.
With a shwish, she "teleported" behind Yu. Feeling guilty, she constantly pushed him out of Aina's field of vision to prevent this guy from saying something reckless and drawing a celebrity's grudge!
"Hmm~ it's okay. I've never blamed Mr. Yu. I actually watched your program too! The planning was truly fantastic!"
Shaking her head and revealing a smile again, seeing Chisa so nervous, Takahashi Aina quickly pulled herself together. Her long legs—over a meter long—sprang her body up like coils. "If anything, I should learn more from Teacher Yuu!"
"...So bright, I feel like I'm going to die!"
It was as if a flashbang had gone off. Because she had used indecent petty thoughts to speculate about Aina, Kotegawa Chisa squinted her eyes and used her hand to block her view.
Even so, she felt like she was being purified by the "Cheerful Beams"! Entertainers really were monsters!
"But in that case, why is Miss Aina so familiar with Iori?"
After listening for a few minutes, Yamamoto Shinichirou barely managed to grasp the situation and immediately raised his hand solemnly to ask a question!
For the scumbag group, there was only one answer they wanted to know from beginning to end: how exactly did Iori hook up with a beauty!
If they could use the same method Iori used to hook up with a celebrity to just get a regular girlfriend, there would be no problem, right?!
"That... actually, I came over because I heard two girls saying Mr. Ikegoshi was here!"
First pointing at Imamura Kohei, Takahashi Aina explained while shyly tapping her cheek: "Because I was afraid of having all the attention snatched away again. As for Iori, I met him when we were both sitting on the 'cold bench'!"
"I see, taking advantage of a weak moment!"
"Your timing was really precise, you bastard!"
"I already told you it wasn't taking advantage of a weak moment! Miss Aina is just an ordinary friend!"
His whole face looked no different from a pig's head. Kitahara Iori shed a line of tears, loudly wailing and accusing the scumbag group of murdering an innocent life. Why should he be killed just for saying a couple of words to a girl!
"You kid! Do you dare say you have absolutely no interest in Miss Aina?!"
"That's the only thing I can't guarantee..."
Facing the collective gaze of the scumbag group, the wailing stopped. The pig's head slowly twisted away to the side.
"Ahaha~ sorry, it seems my coming here has caused quite a bit of trouble for everyone..."
Smiling bitterly while facing the messy scene caused by her presence, Takahashi Aina's eyes darkened for an instant. She then maintained her smile and bowed deeply, preparing to take her leave.
She had just confirmed that the person here was a young man named Kohei, not Ikegoshi himself.
As long as she told the camera crew to be careful and try not to include the passing Kohei in the frame, it shouldn't have any copyright impact on the promotional video.
"I've disturbed you enough. Please, everyone, have fun!"
"...Wait! Did Miss Aina come here really just to confirm Kohei?"
Exchanging a glance with Nanaka, Miyazawa Yuu received a gentle but affirmative look from the latter. He sighed helplessly and spoke up to stop Takahashi Aina from leaving.
Although the IQ levels of the people present varied, none had low EQ. At this moment, they all stopped their respective conversations and looked toward Takahashi Aina.
They were just participants in today's activities and had no right to act on their own, but if it were Yu's arrangement, they weren't opposed to "being forced" to follow the group's plan!
"Eh? Why is everyone looking at me like that? I really just came to..."
Suddenly, she realized that even the scumbag boys who were "circle-kicking" Iori had a helpless expression of "This guy is totally just being a stubborn tsundere!"
Blushing, Takahashi Aina clutched her arm, hesitating for a long time before revealing her true thoughts.
"Alright, actually, I originally wanted to see if I could invite Teacher Yu or Mr. Iori to 'copy' the planning..."
Looking at the couple tickets held in Kohei's hand, she quickly added: "Of course, it looks like everyone has their own important business, so!"
"So we'll help. After all, this whole thing started because of us. To let Miss Aina be disappointed for the sake of play is far too inhumane..."
"Mm, exactly. Leave the weird antics to us; this group of scumbags is quite expert at it!"
"But Mr. Kohei..."
"It's fine~"
Shaking her head with a smile, Yoshiwara Aina was certain that Aina was not an enemy. Her sense of shame flared up, and she quickly released Kohei's arm, coughing twice before saying seriously: "If anything, if Kohei rejected you for the sake of a date, I'd be the one disappointed!"
"This... thank you, everyone! It's wonderful that you're willing to help!"