Half an hour earlier.
As soon as the book signing ended, Shiori Kasuga hurried to the family restaurant near the subway station.
She was about to meet her first reader and junior, Kitahara Kaede. She had a lot to say about the book signing and wanted to hear his opinion on the seventh volume.
If she could get his approval...
Then she could probably continue writing the eighth volume with a cheerful mood for the next week.
But if she were to be rejected…
No!
Kitahara-kun wouldn't possibly reject her work.
But… what if he really did reject it?
As soon as Shiori thought of this, her steps slowed involuntarily, like a elementary school student who both wanted to know their test results and feared them, torn between hope and fear.
But upon further reflection, if it were rejected, she probably wouldn't even have the courage to write a single punctuation mark, let alone continue writing for the next week.
Was she exaggerating a bit?
Shihua couldn't help but ask herself, but she clearly knew it wasn't an exaggeration.
In her heart, Kitahara Kaede had become one of the pillars of this novel.
Starting from the fifth volume, without his encouragement, she had no motivation to pick up the pen and continue writing. Even a slight rejection would leave her in a state of extreme despair for an entire week. At every book signing event, she would eagerly await his arrival, and before the bookstore doors opened and she could see his figure, she would remain in a state of tension and anxiety.
She was almost confused.
Was the tension caused by fear of ruining the signing event, or by anxiety that Kitahara Kaede might no longer attend her events?
Perhaps before the fifth volume, it was fear of ruining the event, but after the fifth volume, things had changed somewhat.
Why had it become like this?
As a light novelist specializing in youth-themed works, she sensed that she had developed feelings for Kitahara Kaede, her first fan and junior.
At least after the signing event, her urgent desire to talk to him was genuine.
Unable to contain her feelings, she slipped the message card she had written into page 45 of the novel and reminded Kitahara Kaede to start reading from page 45. She prayed that he would open the book directly to page 45 after leaving the bookstore.
Otherwise…
She had come with high hopes, but it seemed she was about to be disappointed.
But when she entered the family restaurant at 12 o'clock, her fiery heart was doused with cold water—
Kitahara Kaede was chatting happily with a beautiful girl.
She never imagined that arriving half an hour early with such excitement would lead her to witness such a scene. Compared to seeing this, she would rather Kitahara Kaede hadn't opened page 45 and simply canceled the meeting.
So who was that girl?
An acquaintance?
A friend?
Or… a girlfriend?
Upon closer inspection, she realized that compared to that girl, she didn't have any advantages except for her chest, and besides, that girl had an advantage she didn't have—beautiful blonde hair.
Kasumi Shihua was in a state of turmoil.
Rather than confronting the two directly, she chose to sit in a secluded corner and observe them.
She observed them for half an hour.
Based on a woman's intuition, she could vaguely tell that Kitahara Fuyuki and the girl were not in a romantic relationship, but this did not mean she could let her guard down, as their relationship seemed quite close.
Unfortunately, she couldn't hear their conversation.
If she could obtain more information, she might be able to confirm their relationship.
It wasn't until the young woman left that Shiori Kasuga finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, once she calmed down, Shiori Kasuga's heart was once again in turmoil...
If she hadn't been completely sure before that she had fallen for Kitahara Kaede, this incident had made her absolutely certain of her feelings for him. She had indeed fallen for her number one fan and junior.
What should one do when they fall in love with someone?
Although she was a light novel author specializing in youthful romance, unfortunately she had no experience in this area. In fact, this was the first time in her life that she had fallen in love with someone.
This question did not linger in her mind for long.
She realized that there were only a few minutes left until the agreed-upon time, so she hurriedly stood up, composed her expression, walked toward Kitahara Kaede, and sat across from him, saying, Kitahara-kun, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."
"Actually, I didn't wait that long."
Kitahara Kaede hurriedly said, "But Ms. Kasumi…"
"Hmm!" Kasumi Shiharu's hum interrupted Kitahara Kaede's words.
Kitahara Kaede finally reacted and said, "Well… Senpai, thank you for the book signing."
"Rather than that, have you had lunch yet, Kitahara-kun?"
"Not yet."
"As compensation for waiting so long, let me treat you to lunch."
Upon hearing his response, Shiori realized that Kitahara hadn't eaten lunch with the previous girl, and her mood improved slightly. She quickly pushed the menu toward him: "Kitahara-kun, feel free to order whatever you like. Don't worry about saving money for me."
"Thank you, senior. I'll have the omelet rice."
Kitahara Kaede didn't hesitate or choose anything expensive; he simply ordered a regular dish.
Kasumioka Shiharu said to the waiter, "The same omelet rice, plus two fruit salads."
"Please wait a moment."
After the waiter left, Kasumioka Shiharu glanced at the novel on the corner of the table and continued, " Kitahara-kun, have you read the seventh volume of *Love Rhythm* yet?"
"Actually, I've already finished it."
"Really?"
Shizuka Shizukawa's lips curled up slightly, looking a bit happy, then she asked nervously, "How did you feel about the plot of the seventh volume? Did you think the quality had dropped?" To be honest, when I was writing the seventh volume, I wasn't in the best state of mind, and I only managed to submit it at the last minute..."
"The seventh volume is fantastic!"
Kitahara Kaede interrupted excitedly, "Compared to previous volumes, the quality hasn't dropped at all—it's actually improved significantly, especially in the portrayal of the female lead, Sayuka. It's so vivid it hit my sweet spot right away. From today onward, I'm the most unwavering Sayuka fan!"
"Do you like Sayuka more than Mami, Kitahara-kun?"
"Of course I do. I love her so much. Didn't you ask me this question last time?"
"Did I…?"
Kasumi Shiharu's face remained expressionless, but she knew she'd asked this question more than once.
But no matter how many times she asked, she still wanted to hear Kitahara Kaede repeat the answer.
Because Sayaka was based on herself, and now that this character was loved by Kitahara Kaede, it was like being loved by him herself.
In fact, after learning that Kitahara Kaede liked Sayuka, she devoted a significant portion of the new volume to describing Sayuka, the female lead, while the other female lead, Mami, was almost marginalized.
"However… may I offer a suggestion?"
Kitahara Kaede hesitated before voicing his concern: While I'm happy that Sayuka appears throughout the seventh volume, isn't Mami's screen time a bit too limited… Given that 70% of the fanbase are Mami supporters, might this approach from the senior cause some dissatisfaction among Mami's supporters? Perhaps we could increase Mami's screen time in the next volume?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Kitahara Kaede felt the temperature drop several degrees.