Chapter 281: Hitchhiking

“Ikeda, is the car still not fixed?”

“Miss Kayama, it might not be repaired in a short time. How about we call a taxi to take you to the airport?”

“Why didn’t you say this earlier? You’ve really caused us trouble. If I had known this, I would have called the company to send someone to pick us up.”

“Sorry, sorry. I thought it was just a minor issue and could be fixed quickly, but I didn’t expect…”

“What good does it do to say that now? Hurry up and go to the roadside to hail a taxi!”

“Alright, I’m going right now.” With that, Ikeda immediately ran to the side of the road to hail a car.

At this moment, a girl standing next to them, wearing a round-brimmed hat, weakly complained, “Miss Kayama, when can we leave? It’s so hot here, I can hardly breathe.”

Kayama Masako walked over to comfort her, saying, “Angel, just hang on a little longer. It’ll be over soon. It’s all Ikeda’s fault. When we get back, I’ll definitely give him a good talking-to.” [Angel is written in English in the raw.]

The girl named Angel waved her hand and said, “Whatever, just hurry up. If this goes on any longer, I’ll be dried up by the sun.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be quick.”

Five minutes later, looking up at Ikeda who was frantically trying to hail passing vehicles, Kayama Masako felt a surge of anger in her heart. She walked over and said, “Ikeda, what are you doing?”

“Miss Kayama, I’m trying to hail a taxi.” Seeing her displeased expression, the young subordinate immediately started sweating nervously.

“And where’s the car?”

“I—I’m trying to hail one.”

Kayama Masako glared at him and said, “How much more time do you intend to waste? Angel is already getting impatient.”

“Miss Kayama, this is a highway, so it’s hard to find a taxi. I’ve already tried to get other passing cars to stop, but they won’t. There’s nothing I can do.”

“That’s just an excuse. I’ll definitely report you to the company for your incompetence when we get back.”

Ikeda’s face immediately fell as he begged, “Please don’t do that, Miss Kayama. I’ve really tried my best.”

“How dare you say that? If it weren’t for you, we would have already been at the airport. How did we end up in this situation?”

“Miss Kayama…”

In this sweltering heat, Angel was already feeling irritable. Seeing the two of them argue, she couldn’t contain her anger anymore.

She stood up and, without looking at them again, walked straight into the middle of the road.

Seeing Angel suddenly walk into the middle of the road, Kayama Masako was startled and immediately ran over, saying, “Angel, what are you doing? It’s dangerous to stand here.”

Seeing her reaction, Kayama Masako realized that the young lady was really angry. She quickly put on a smile and said, “Angel, it was my fault earlier. Can you come back now? It’s really dangerous.”

“Didn’t you see I’m trying to hail a car? If we go by your method, we might not get a ride until tonight.”

“But…”

Before Kayama Masako could finish speaking, she suddenly heard the sound of an engine coming from behind. Turning around, she saw a black BMW driving straight toward them.

Kayama Masako was shocked and quickly took a step back.

When the BMW was about seven or eight meters away, it finally came to a stop.

Angel’s eyes showed a victorious gleam as she slowly walked toward the car. Kayama Masako hurriedly followed her.

When they reached the driver’s side of the BMW, Angel gently knocked on the light brown window.

Finally, the driver rolled down the window.

To their surprise, the driver was a very young man.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

Angel flashed a sweet smile and then put on a troubled expression, saying, “Sir, our car broke down. Would you be able to give us a lift? I would be very grateful.”

The young man glanced at the beautiful girl for a moment, then shook his head. “Sorry, I’m in a hurry. You should ask someone else for help.” With that, he pressed the button to roll up the window.

Angel froze for a moment. She didn’t expect that not only did this man seem to have no idea who she was, but he also rejected her so bluntly.

Seeing him about to roll up the window, she instinctively reached out and pressed her hand against the window, which was slowly starting to rise.

“Please wait a moment.”

The man frowned when he saw her press the window and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to help, but I’m on a tight schedule to pick someone up at the airport. You should find someone else to help you.”

Seeing his impatient demeanor, Angel’s anger grew stronger. It was the first time she had ever been so thoroughly rejected.

Even before she became famous, no man had ever treated her like this, despite her looks and figure. And now, as a household name in the entertainment industry, countless men would wait overnight outside her agency just to see her once. Every day, she received an endless stream of gifts and love letters from her fans. After every concert, she had to escape from her enthusiastic fans who surrounded her like a swarm.

But this man didn’t even spare her a glance?

In that moment, Angel was speechless with anger. She could only press down on the car window, which was about to close.

Standing beside her, her manager, Kayama Masako, didn’t understand her employer’s complicated feelings. When she heard that the man was heading to the airport, she eagerly spoke up, “Excuse me, sir, we’re also heading to the airport. Could you give us a ride?”

The man thought for a moment, then nodded, “Alright, get in quickly, I’m in a hurry.”

“Thank you so much! Angel, let’s get in the car. Ikeda, what are you still doing there? Hurry up and get in!” Though Masako didn’t want to call the man an idiot, she was aware that Ikeda, while not useful, was still a man. Having him around made her feel a little more secure.

Ikeda immediately ran over when he heard the command.

Angel gave the man a cold look, then silently got into the car, making sure to sit next to the driver.

After they fastened their seatbelts, the man immediately started the car and continued driving. To avoid revealing Angel’s identity, Kayama Masako didn’t introduce their names but instead expressed her gratitude politely.

The man responded briefly and then remained silent, continuing to drive.

Seeing that he didn’t seem to want to engage in conversation, Masako wisely stopped talking.

Angel, sitting next to the man, kept watching him with cold eyes. After a while, she casually removed her hat and, as if nothing had happened, said to Masako, “Ms. Kayama, how are preparations going for the Osaka concert?”

Masako, caught off guard by the question, hesitated for a moment before answering briefly, “Everything is almost ready.”

Angel smiled and said, “I hope the security measures there are better than here. Last time in Tokyo, I almost got crushed by the fans. By the way, will the Hell group be there? If they’re coming, I won’t have to sing so hard.”

Masako glanced at the man and vaguely replied, “Don’t worry, everything has been arranged.”

Angel continued smiling, “Really? That’s great. Sometimes, the enthusiasm of the fans is really scary. It’s always like trying to escape. Looking back, though, it was actually kind of fun.”

Masako could only smile awkwardly behind her.

Angel went on to talk about some upcoming advertisements she would be involved in. Seeing that she could no longer hide, Masako reluctantly began discussing them seriously.

Meanwhile, Ikeda, worried that Masako might really complain about him when they return to the company, sat in silence, anxiously fidgeting.

As they discussed these matters, Angel looked at the man with a hint of vengeful amusement in her eyes. She believed he must have recognized her by now. She was waiting to see how things would unfold.

But to her great disappointment, the man never looked her way, as if he hadn’t heard a thing. He continued to drive quietly.

Hmph, pretending to be aloof to get my attention? She suddenly recalled a boy from high school who had done the same thing to attract her attention. Later, she learned from his friends that he had been deliberately waiting in the same place every day, pretending to accidentally run into her, yet deliberately ignoring her. With this memory, a smug smile curled on her lips.

She continued to smile sweetly, her expression full of interest as she said to the man, “Excuse me, do you like listening to music?”

“Isn’t it playing right now?” he pointed to the soft music that was playing in the background.

Angel smiled and said, “What’s so great about this kind of music? Have you ever heard my songs?”

“Maybe I have, but I don’t listen to pop music much.”

“You have quite the unique taste. You should know that I’m also a singer, right? Now the question is, do you know who I am?” Angel looked at him with a smile that seemed both amused and mocking.

The man, focused on driving fast, didn’t think much of it. When she suddenly asked him, he turned his head to glance at her. After a moment, he awkwardly cleared his throat and said, “Sorry, I usually just watch the news and rarely watch other programs.”

Seeing the awkward expression on his face, the new generation idol still maintained her sweet smile, though it had become a little stiff.

After a brief silence, a ringtone suddenly rang out. The man took out his phone and answered the call.

“You’ve arrived? How come so fast? I’m on the way. Don’t leave, I’ll be there soon. You’re trying to surprise me again, but you didn’t notify me earlier.”

“I know, what? The kid wants to talk to me? Fine, have her come over.”

“What is it?”

“Okay, I got it. Stay put and wait for me. I’ll be there soon.”

“Ha, you really get on my nerves. I’m putting the pedal to the metal, you better stay put and not run off, got it?”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”

The three people in the car were stunned by how well the man spoke English. They hadn’t expected it to be so fluent. Especially Kayama Masako, who had a degree in foreign languages, she could tell the man’s English was very natural and fluent. After hanging up, the man suddenly turned to them and said, “Sorry, I need to speed up a bit.”

Masako quickly replied, “It’s fine.”

However, it wasn’t long before she started regretting getting in this car.

She realized that the man’s idea of “speeding up” was entirely different from her own. Watching the man maneuver like a reckless driver, weaving in and out of traffic, Masako’s face turned pale with fear as she desperately grabbed the armrest by the window.

Ikeda, no longer worried about whether Masako would complain to the company, just wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible.

While the two in the back were already terrified, Angel in the front couldn’t even speak, clutching the seatbelt for dear life. Had she known it would be like this, she would have preferred to bake under the sun rather than get in this car.

This guy’s a maniac. That was the only thought in the mind of the new generation idol.

After an excruciating twenty minutes, the black BMW finally stopped in front of Narita Airport.

When the three passengers finally stumbled out of the car, weak and trembling, Masako suddenly screamed, “Oh my God, we were supposed to go to Haneda Airport, not Narita!”

The man looked at her in confusion and said, “Really?”

The new generation idol, worn out from the scare, could no longer keep up her weak composure. She gasped for breath and shouted, “Anyone with half a brain knows that for domestic flights, you go to Haneda, not Narita! Don’t you even know that?”

The man shrugged. “You didn’t specify. How would I know? There are plenty of cars going to central Tokyo. You should still make it if you take one now.”

“You…” Angel was too angry to speak.

Masako, knowing it was their fault for not being clear, went over to calm Angel down and then bid farewell to the man.

The man casually acknowledged them and walked away quickly, not looking back.

Watching his retreating figure, Angel wanted nothing more than to throw her high heels at him.