Chapter 023. Erina Aki's Advice

As class was about to begin, Jiang Yu and Megumi Kato entered the classroom one after the other, and, unsurprisingly, nothing happened. The students continued chatting with their usual friends, paying no attention to the fact that Jiang Yu and Megumi Kato had arrived together for several days now.

Come to think of it, Megumi, your Akarin aura seems unexpectedly useful in these situations.

This eased Jiang Yu's earlier concern that frequent interactions with Megumi Kato might spark rumors. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Hmm? Are you sure you’re not feeling a little disappointed, Jiang Yu?

Of course not, nonsense!

But, on reflection, it’s only the third day of the term. It’s perfectly normal that no one has noticed yet, isn’t it?

Unable to describe the feeling in his heart, Jiang Yu glanced at the time, hurried to his seat, and sat down. He handed a paper bag filled with light novels to Megumi Kato under the desk.

And so began the utterly ordinary class hours, which the author would certainly not describe. Jiang Yu, following his body’s instincts, slipped into a restless sleep.

After about two periods, Jiang Yu finally felt more awake. Propping his head up with his hand, he stared blankly for a while. With nothing to do and unwilling to write on his phone, he took out a pencil and scribbled on draft paper.

Occasionally, classmates passed by and saw Jiang Yu engrossed in his drawing. Curious as they were, Jiang Yu rarely interacted with anyone besides Akihito and Megumi Kato, so even the curious didn’t dare disturb him.

As for Akihito, who managed to “cultivate immortality” last night… ever since he entered the classroom early in the morning, he lay sprawled at his desk, his condition unknown. A faint aura of immortality emanated around him, warning off anyone who attempted to approach.

Luckily, the teacher, Mrs. Toyonoki, always turned a blind eye to such situations, never bothering to interfere. Perhaps Akihito had already become a celebrity of sorts among the faculty, for various reasons.

Regardless, Jiang Yu spent half the morning sleeping and half sketching, while Akihito peacefully caught up on his rest.

As for the only other acquaintance Jiang Yu had in class… at least during lessons, she seemed to be diligently studying.

When lunchtime arrived, Akihito sprang from his desk as if resurrected and blocked Jiang Yu, who was ready to head out for lunch.

Jiang Yu, a black line practically hanging over his head, looked at the ethereal Akihito and teased, “What’s up? Pulling all-nighters lately? What stage are you at in your cultivation, Akihito the Immortal? Are you refining your qi or transcending the spirit?”

Akihito ignored the banter—or perhaps didn’t know how to retort. He said seriously, “Yu, are you really confident in what you talked about yesterday? Maybe we should just do it together?”

“Hmm… I don’t think there’s any problem. If you’re worried, just come over to my place this weekend. By then, I should at least have a framework drafted.” Jiang Yu considered for a moment before replying.

“Uh… alright. By the way, last night—no, this morning—I asked if you were free Saturday, and you replied ‘depends.’ Don’t you usually stay home all day Saturday? And whenever I mention Akihabara, you always tag along!” Akihito asked loudly, baffled.

“…Don’t get worked up, Akihito. I already have something to do Saturday and I don’t know when I’ll finish… Tell you what, if I’m done by noon, I’ll go to Akihabara with you, okay?” Jiang Yu reached out, placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, and spoke earnestly.

Akihito didn’t press further. He was just venting, after all. Despite being a die-hard otaku, he was a surprisingly considerate friend.

“Hey~ Yu! Were you just thinking something rude about me?” Akihito, relying on his keen intuition, seemed to sense something in the air.

“…No, not at all… haha…” Jiang Yu forced a laugh, inwardly marveling at Akihito’s uncanny intuition in these odd moments.

Akihito eyed Jiang Yu suspiciously, his face full of disbelief.

Jiang Yu quickly changed the subject: “Hey, Akihito, you haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s grab something together!”

“Ah~ now that you mention it, I really am hungry. Let’s go, let’s go!” Akihito, hearing Jiang Yu’s suggestion, didn’t pursue the matter further. He rubbed his stomach impatiently.

Jiang Yu and Akihito bought a few buns and milk, returned to the classroom, and ate lunch while chatting.

Their conversation mostly revolved around new anime and galgame releases. Jiang Yu spent most of the time listening to Akihito’s lively monologue, feeling like a fake otaku, utterly unable to keep up with Akihito’s rapid shifts between titles.

Soon, Jiang Yu’s mind wandered, pondering which publishing house he should submit “Spring Thing” to.

“…Hey—hey! Yu?”

A voice snapped him back to reality. Jiang Yu looked up, startled and a bit confused, and stammered, “Ah! Wh-what is it?”

“…And you have the nerve to ask? You started the topic and then ignored me. That’s hardly acceptable as a friend!” Akihito adjusted his glasses, dissatisfied.

Jiang Yu, suddenly aware, pressed his palms together and apologized, “Ah~ sorry, Akihito, I was just thinking…”

Akihito sighed, half resigned and half accustomed. “Forget it… so, what’s troubling you? Is it about this Saturday?”

“Hmm… not really. I just wrote a light novel recently and I’m thinking about where to submit it.” Jiang Yu replied instinctively, voicing the dilemma that had been on his mind.

Immediately, Jiang Yu cursed himself inwardly: “Damn!”

Sure enough, Akihito stood up, eyes wide with disbelief, and exclaimed, “What happened to our grand dream of being lifelong consumers?!”

“…I never said that, Akihito. Maybe you’ve crammed too much bad data into your brain from staying up all night?” Jiang Yu sighed, half defending, half teasing.

Before Akihito could retort, Jiang Yu continued, “Besides, you’re the one who’s trying to shed the ‘consumer pig’ nickname, right? Who was the hot-blooded fool who suddenly decided to make a game, dragging a bunch of unrelated people into it?”

“Uh… well… about that…” A bead of cold sweat slid down Akihito’s forehead, his eloquence disappearing.

“So, how about helping me out? Any advice, famous blogger TAKI?” Jiang Yu smiled, gently rescuing his flustered friend.

TAKI was Akihito’s online handle, named simply by reversing the romanization of his real name.

His blog, known for impartial game reviews and detailed walkthroughs, was an essential reference for many otaku.

He never accepted commercial commissions, always posting his opinions on recent works solo, which gave his blog great credibility within the community.

Many obscure or debut works promoted on Akihito’s blog had managed spectacular turnarounds, avoiding losses or cancellation.

“Hmm… let me think… If your work is good enough, it’s best to enter a newcomer award. Readers have little patience nowadays—if a debut author hasn’t won a newcomer award, most people won’t bother buying their book…”

When it came to his area of expertise, Akihito regained his eloquence.

Jiang Yu, amused by the contrast, listened earnestly to his friend’s advice.

“…I haven’t read your work, so I can’t really judge. If you want advice, I’d better take a look first, right?”

Akihito concluded.

Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and said, “Alright, I’ll send you the first few chapters. I haven’t deleted them from my phone yet.”

With that, Jiang Yu took out his phone, preparing to send the opening chapters of “Spring Thing” to Akihito via LINE’s file sharing.