Chapter 384: The Kasumi-Eriri Support Club!
Chapter 384: The Kasumi-Eriri Support Club!
“That’s it for today’s live stream, everyone. I’ll see you all next time~~”
Kasumigaoka smiled gently before the camera. Her beautiful face looked refined and elegant, truly perfect without a single flaw.
No wonder she had such a massive fanbase.
Besides her books being genuinely good, her pretty girl-next-door image must’ve earned her plenty of extra points.
Though come to think of it, probably nobody could imagine it. The beloved and respected young novelist, Kasumi Utako-sensei… was actually, in private, a wicked, sarcastic, knee-shaking dark character?
“Wait! Kasumi Utako-sensei, did you forget something?”
“Hm?”
“Your new book!”
“Ah.”
Kasumigaoka finally remembered after being too absorbed in the live stream Danmaku.
She had nearly forgotten.
When publishers arranged hosts for this review program, they usually picked authors who just had new releases. That way, they could promote the books at the same time — killing two birds with one stone.
That’s why Himekoji and Kasumigaoka were paired up for this episode.
The former had just released Ore no Imōto and was pushing sales, while the latter’s new book was coming out soon too.
Even if quality was the most important thing for authors, more exposure was still always better.
“Please do support my new book, everyone~~ I also hope to meet you again at the upcoming book signing event~~”
……
“Wow! Kasumi Utako-sensei’s new work is finally coming out? I’ve been waiting forever! Finally!”
“What’s the title? And what’s the genre this time?”
“When’s the signing event?”
The moment news of Kasumigaoka’s new book came out, the style of the Danmaku instantly changed.
It showed just how influential Kasumi Utako was among her readers.
Himekoji couldn’t help feeling a bit envious.
Besides envy, he also felt very curious.
Because Kasumigaoka’s new book — its title, genre, content — Himekoji knew none of it.
Even though he was technically the official editor in charge of her new work…
For some reason, Kasumigaoka had torn up the entire manuscript.
Her explanation was simple —
“Not satisfied.”
Himekoji couldn’t understand this at all. In his eyes, that manuscript was absolutely a rare masterpiece, even better than her earlier hit, Love Metronome.
But Kasumigaoka still tore it up. She was determined and didn’t look back, ignoring all his advice and pity.
In the end, Himekoji could only chalk it up to Kasumigaoka’s obsession with perfection.
So he still didn’t know the real reason she tore up the draft —
Because on that day, when the System told Kasumigaoka to seize him, she chose to let go.
At that moment, the only chance to make Himekoji-kun hers, she chose to let him go meet her rival, Eriri.
Sometimes, liking someone is just like writing a manuscript. Line by line, page by page, building up slowly.
But when you finally finish it, you suddenly can’t bear to trap him with a whole thick book of your feelings. Because if he doesn’t like you, then no matter how well you write, no matter how brilliant it is, it’s just a rejected manuscript.
So, tearing it up? Fine.
But you could tear up the draft — you couldn’t tear up the feeling. That stubborn, shameless affection could only be poured into the next book.
Write it until he likes you back.
You had to admit, the way these two interacted was really strange.
Himekoji had indeed told Kasumigaoka many lies.
But Kasumigaoka had never been truly honest with Himekoji either, right?
Whether it was earlier, because of the System, tearing up the manuscript, or the hot spring night that happened not long ago.
The more you care, the harder it is to be real. Maybe that was true for everyone.
They both lived depending on lies.
Affection without lies? Didn’t exist.
……
“Won’t you answer your fans’ questions, Kasumi Utako-sensei?”
He’d asked before and gotten no answers, but now he could finally try to sneak a peek with the help of the Danmaku. Himekoji was undeniably curious.
After all, deep down, he too was a fan of Kasumi Utako.
“What questions?”
Kasumigaoka blinked innocently.
“The ones about the new book! The title, the genre, the release date, things like that.”
“Whoa, that’s too many all at once… I have to answer them one by one, right?”
In front of the camera, Kasumigaoka dramatically wiped imaginary sweat. Privately, she never made such unnecessary gestures.
“Hm? Hey, you said ‘fans’ questions’… listening to that, so even Himekoji-sensei is my fan?”
“Huh?”
Himekoji meant the fans in the live stream, but Kasumigaoka immediately pushed him straight into the “fan” position.
Whether it was deliberate or she really thought that, he wasn’t sure.
But anyway, saying he was a fan wouldn’t be wrong either.
So Himekoji just went along with it and nodded.
“Of course I am. After all, I’ve secretly learned a lot from Kasumi Utako-sensei’s works.”
“You actually are?”
Evil God-sama really was a born actress. She faked surprise expertly, looking absolutely genuine.
“Well then, fan-kun, can I… cough! Cough, cough!”
On camera, as she spoke, Kasumigaoka slightly turned to look at Himekoji.
It was an ordinary movement, but what happened next made it not ordinary at all.
While turning, her gaze accidentally swept over the screen. Then, seeing something, it seemed, she choked suddenly mid-sentence. Her coughing fit made her whole face flush bright red.
……
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong with Kasumi-sensei?! Her face is so red!”
“Woah! Are you up to something again? That’s too much! So dirty!”
The viewers who saw this scene, guided by Kasumigaoka’s glance, naturally fixed their eyes onto the Danmaku.
Because, their Sensei Kasumi Utako had clearly become “weird” all of a sudden after seeing the Danmaku.
As expected, a particularly noticeable Danmaku was caught almost immediately, floating right across the middle of the screen!
“Fried rice noodles”…
That phrase by itself looked pretty baffling.
But what if it was connected with the first part of the sentence Kasumigaoka had just said?
“So, could I… uh… fry rice noodles?”
Oh god! It totally changed the meaning!
Was this a porn stream?! Call the police!
Now, about the phrase “fried rice noodles,” if said by a guy, it inevitably sounded very rude and dirty. But if you flipped it around, coming from a girl, it instead became suggestive and tempting.
And that’s exactly what happened.
The lurking seasoned drivers in the stream room wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity. They immediately jumped on it and started blasting the “fried rice noodles” Danmaku everywhere. Soon, the whole screen was filled with them.
…
Himekoji was speechless.
Not at the Danmaku barrage, but at Kasumigaoka…
Because that very first “fried rice noodles” Danmaku that started it all? It was sent by Kasumigaoka herself!
What a performance! A true self-directed, self-acted show!
If Himekoji hadn’t been able to see Kasumigaoka’s screen himself, he actually would have believed her acting skills!
On Kasumigaoka’s screen, that first “fried rice noodles” Danmaku was neatly wrapped in a massive, super noticeable bright blue box.
And that blue box? It existed specifically to help users tell their own Danmaku apart from everyone else’s.
Seriously, what even is this?
Starting your own stream inside your stream?
Himekoji helplessly rubbed his temples, at a complete loss for words.
Of course, even if he didn’t know what to say, he still had to speak. After all, they needed to bring today’s stream to a proper close.
“Sensei Kasumi Utako, why did you suddenly start coughing? Are you alright? Do you need some water?”
Himekoji waited until Kasumigaoka had finished clearing her throat before speaking again, trying to steer the topic back.
“Right… um… what were you about to say earlier?”
“Fry… uh, no, wait! That’s not it! Huh? What was I about to say just now? Oh dear! I accidentally glanced at the Danmaku and now I’ve forgotten what I originally wanted to say…”
I bet that was exactly what you wanted to say all along!
Fine. Act. Keep acting. See how far you’ll go!
Actually, if he could just sit back and watch Kasumigaoka put on this awkwardly amusing solo performance, Himekoji thought it might be rather entertaining.
Unfortunately, because it was a live stream, Himekoji couldn’t just stay uninvolved. He had no choice but to play along with Kasumigaoka.
He had to pretend to be embarrassed and flustered.
Well, the embarrassment wasn’t entirely faked; he genuinely was pretty embarrassed…
Watching Kasumigaoka go from casually mentioning a Danmaku to actually creating a burner account herself to fire it off and stir things up…
Maybe… this was her work ethic?
For the sake of the so-called “stream effect”…
In the end, long after the stream had ended, the audience was still buzzing, wondering about one thing… no, actually two things.
First: What had Sensei Kasumi Utako really meant to say?
Second: What exactly was Sensei Kasumi Utako’s new work going to be?
Though, of course, amidst the joyous celebration of the newly formed “ShiJi CP Support Association,” both questions suddenly seemed rather insignificant.
…
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