Before getting out of the car, Sakuragi put on his sunglasses and hat, then pulled down the visor mirror to check his reflection. Although he was wearing a hat, his hair couldn't be completely covered, and some red was still showing. Still, he figured he wouldn't be recognized that easily, so he pushed open the door and stepped out.
Since he had a work appointment, he wanted to settle things quickly.
However, the moment he got out and saw the person standing by the other car door, he really wished he could crawl right back in.
Then he had a second thought: he was the one who got rear-ended, and the other party was entirely at fault. Why should he be the one to run away? There was no way he was going to let that happen. That damned Fox better be ready to pay through the nose!
Frowning, Sakuragi walked around to the back of the car to see the damage caused by Rukawa's rear-ending. One look made his blood boil.
"Rukawa Kaede! What the hell are you doing?! You smash my car up like this—the road is this wide, and you had nowhere else to drive?!"
The moment Rukawa saw the opposing driver step out, he was momentarily stunned.
They said there was an old Chinese saying: speak of the devil. And another: speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives.
He and Sakuragi hadn't seen each other in over a year, and just after he mentioned Sakuragi in response to a reporter's microphone, how much time had passed before he ran into him again right here?
If it weren't for the fact that every time Sakuragi saw him, he looked like he wanted to rip a chunk of flesh right off him, Rukawa would have actually considered whether he should make a habit of dropping the guy's name every now and then.
"Just took over the car, not quite used to driving it yet." More than a decade had passed. From the sixteen-year-old high schooler he once was, Rukawa had now grown into a mature man. Much had changed, but his tone of voice hadn't altered in the slightest.
It was precisely this unchanging demeanor that irritated Sakuragi to no end.
"Rukawa Kaede, why do you always act like whatever you do is completely justified and you're never in the wrong? Do you have any idea how completely obnoxious you are when you do that?!"
Sakuragi was about to use the opening to throw another tantrum when his phone rang.
"Hello? Yes, that's me. I'm on my way. What? It's a livestream? I know, I'll be there on time. Yeah, see ya." Sakuragi hung up, his expression looking rather grim.
Rukawa had been watching him the whole time, waiting patiently for him to finish the call. Then, in a tone that sounded anything but concerned, he said something concerned: "What's wrong? Something came up?"
"None of your business!"
Sakuragi was already pressed for time, and his car's exhaust pipe had been shoved completely out of commission by Rukawa's vehicle. It couldn't be driven anymore and had to be towed, leaving him to scramble for another ride to the meeting place.
Holding his phone, Sakuragi wasn't quite sure who to call. Normally, his manager and assistant handled these kinds of matters for him, but today Ms. Fujii's mother wasn't feeling well, leaving her unable to look after him. Suddenly, Sakuragi felt completely at a loss.
"I've already called the insurance company. They should be here shortly. We can just leave the rest to them," Rukawa suddenly spoke up.
Anger flared up in Sakuragi: "Don't think I'm going to appreciate this!"
Rukawa shook his head. "I'm entirely at fault here. Appreciation doesn't come into it."
The insurance company representative actually arrived right at that moment: "Mr. Rukawa, leave the rest to me."
Rukawa nodded, pulled open his own car door, and said to Sakuragi, "Where are you headed? I'll give you a lift."
As if terrified of getting entangled with him in any way, Sakuragi stepped back two paces. "I—I don't need your help."
Rukawa looked at him for a moment. "You're in a hurry, aren't you? Your car's out of commission—how do you plan on getting there?"
"I—I can hail a cab!" Sakuragi insisted stubbornly.
Rukawa glanced around the four-lane street. There wasn't much traffic passing by, and though they had been parked here for a while, they hadn't caused any congestion.
"You want to flag down a taxi? Setting aside whether you can even catch one, even if you managed it, do you really think you can just hop into a regular cab right now? Or do you want to make tomorrow's headlines because of this?"
Looking as though he were doing it purely out of spite, Sakuragi climbed into the back seat, fixing his eyes steadfastly out the window and treating Rukawa entirely like a hired taxi driver.
Just a moment ago he had been stamping his feet with rage, but the damn Fox had to be right about this. He wanted to retort, but found that his surroundings were like cotton—he couldn't muster any leverage at all.
It was infuriating!
He was the one who got rear-ended; he was the one whose schedule was disrupted. Why was it that, in the end, this Fox was still the one acting so righteous? After all these years, he still hadn't made any progress. It was utterly exasperating!
Following the navigation system, Rukawa focused on driving, only checking the rear-view mirror during red lights to look at the fuming Sakuragi in the back.
Even though Sakuragi insisted on sitting in the back and even kept his sunglasses and hat on, through it all Rukawa could still vaguely glimpse the image of that boy from ten years ago.
The moment Rukawa brought the car to a stop, Sakuragi shoved the door open and bolted for the elevators. Time was tight; there were only fifteen minutes left before the livestream began.
By the time Rukawa tracked Sakuragi down to the floor indicated by the elevator, he had already entered the studio and was in the middle of an interview.
Normally, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to catch Sakuragi in the middle of a live interview.
But he was Rukawa Kaede. Although this city wasn't the home turf of his own team, thanks to that face of his, the name RUKAWA carried quite a high level of recognition among female fans as a professional basketball player.
Even the basketball association had realized this and intentionally or unintentionally created opportunities for Rukawa to show his face wherever national female audiences were paying attention, incidentally expanding their viewer demographic.
Because of Rukawa, female viewership had increased exponentially, driving up ticket sales and related revenues across the entire industry.
Therefore, when Rukawa appeared at the entrance of the media company, the staff—who had just been slightly thrilled by Sakuragi's arrival—became beside themselves with excitement. Anyone who could step away from their work rushed out to gawk at this rare, in-the-flesh Rukawa Kaede. Heaven knew why this big star had crossed half the country to come to their city, but one thing was certain: the next time they wanted to see him in person, they'd probably have to buy tickets to a game.
So, when Rukawa politely asked where Sakuragi was, the staff practically scrambled over one another to lead the way.
Actually, it wasn't as if Sakuragi's popularity was lower than Rukawa's.
Within the industry, Sakuragi's current ranking and popularity were remarkably high.
His defiant, untamed red hair, fierce and uninhibited playing style, combined with a wild yet innocent appearance and an exceptionally good personality, all made Sakuragi a darling of the basketball media world.
Today's gig was something this media outlet had managed to book with Sakuragi after a great deal of effort.
As a local player, Sakuragi enjoyed immense popularity among the locals—otherwise, he wouldn't have been in full disguise when he stepped out of his car earlier.
Not wanting to interfere with Sakuragi's work, Rukawa hung back in a shadowed corner to watch quietly.
Inside the studio, even though the staff were thrilled by the celebrity sighting, they didn't dare crowd around, which provided Rukawa with a peaceful environment.
Under the spotlight, Sakuragi was in the middle of his interview. He had changed his clothes, and both his hair and face had been neatly styled, making him look exceptionally sharp in the glare of the lights.
Sakuragi was no longer the hotheaded youth he used to be. Having weathered the storms in America for so many years, while his English wasn't necessarily flawless, he relied on his sheer audacity to speak up, and after all this time, he had gotten quite good at it. He could handle interviews effortlessly and even throw in a bit of humor.
This version of Sakuragi felt unfamiliar to Rukawa.
While chatting and laughing with the host, the host touched his earpiece, as if someone was feeding him information in real time. Lowering his hand, he suddenly asked a question that almost derailed the atmosphere of the interview: "SAKURA, a few days ago your old friend RUKAWA extended an olive branch to you. Do you think there'll be any events you two will be attending together soon? The audience at home is really looking forward to seeing you guys play a one-on-one exhibition match."
Hearing this question, Rukawa frowned slightly.
Sakuragi's expression shifted. Even from across the studio, Rukawa could tell he was suppressing something.
According to his old habits, he probably would have jumped up and headbutted the guy, Rukawa thought.
Yet the Big Idiot was a grown man now, and all these years dealing with all sorts of people had smoothed away a lot of his wind-like, untamed temperament.
Watching Sakuragi desperately struggle to steady his expression in front of the camera, Rukawa felt a twinge of sympathy.
Sakuragi successfully reined in his expression, managing a smile. "James, you've really got to be joking. Are you trying to test our friendship by asking a question like that? Anyone who knows me knows that Rukawa and I are hardly friends. Still, I'm definitely looking forward to settling the score on the court. If we get the chance, it'll certainly be a fantastic game." He winked at the camera and said half-jokingly, "When the time comes, everyone better remember to buy a ticket."
When the show wrapped up, James shook hands with Sakuragi. "You really are watertight—didn't give me a single chance to fish for any gossip."
Sakuragi applied pressure with his grip, prompting James to let out an "Ouch!"
"I'm telling you, Lao James, it's only because it's you. Anyone else and I would've really given them the cold shoulder. Don't think you can just push me around because you're holding a camera."
James rubbed his hand. "Alright, alright. If they hadn't told me that Rukawa followed you here, I wouldn't have pulled such a stunt either. Who doesn't know you? You're as stubborn and impervious as a brick wall, you brat!"
"What did you say? Rukawa came here?" Sakuragi looked around, but with staff members crowding everywhere, he couldn't see a thing. "No way. How would he know this place? You guys must have mistaken him for someone else."
"My dear brother Sakuragi, that's not just some random passerby on the street; that's the red-hot NBA star Rukawa Kaede. Under what circumstances do you think our company's people would mistake someone else for him?"
There was indeed no possibility of mistaking him. Stepping out of the studio, Sakuragi saw a massive crowd swarming around Rukawa to get his autograph, and a muscle in his face twitched.
He grabbed James, who was just about to squeeze his way forward to get an autograph too, and said with a less-than-pleased expression, "Lao James, why is it that you guys never ask me for autographs like that?"
James answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Well, obviously. It's not your first time here, so it's relatively easy for us to see you. But getting a chance to see Rukawa Kaede? That's way too hard. It's not like he flies out this way often."
Grinding his back teeth, Sakuragi resolved to tell Ms. Fujii when he got back that he would never participate in this media outlet's events again.