At a family restaurant near Shibuya Station.
Kitahara Kaede ordered a cup of soda and sat by the window, reading a novel.
As a qualified "lapdog," he knew that the upcoming meeting was an opportunity. To avoid making basic mistakes, he needed to do his homework thoroughly beforehand—memorizing the contents of Volume 7.
Otherwise,
his image as a die-hard fan of Shiori Kasumi would be ruined.
Thanks to his previous life as a bookworm, Kitahara Kaede read quickly. A novel with 100,000 words per volume took him less than three hours to finish, and there was still an hour left before the meeting, so he had plenty of time.
Closing the novel,
he couldn't help but think back on the hard work he had put in over the past six months.
Since Shiori Shizukiyama embarked on her light novelist career, he had chosen to approach her as a "die-hard fan," successfully leaving a faint impression on her at the first signing event.
The second, third, fourth...
By the fifth time, he had worked hard to secure the first spot each time. Adhering to the principle that familiarity breeds comfort, he was confident he had left a deep impression on Shiori Kasumi. It was then that he strategically "accidentally" caught her attention at school, and sure enough, Shiori Kasumi approached him.
He could still recall it clearly.
At the time, he adopted the strategy of "retreating to advance," portraying himself as a "mature fan" who didn't want to bother his idol, and successfully obtained Shiori Kasumi's contact information, thereby establishing a certain level of connection.
For him, it was a milestone step.
And today is the second step!
A private meeting at a family restaurant—Shiori Kasumi probably wouldn't think much of it, but it was almost equivalent to a date.
Getting to know each other, going on dates, holding hands, confessing feelings, confirming the relationship…
He had indeed taken the second step.
All he needed to do now was increase the number of dates, and after five or six dates, he could try holding her hand. If she didn't resist, maybe soon he could successfully kiss his goddess, Shiori Kasuga.
"No, it's too early to get excited."
Kitahara Kaede frowned: "I must first come up with an excuse to ask Shiori Kasuga out again. If the gap between dates is too long, this hard-won step might end up back at square one."
"But what excuse should I use…"
As Kitahara Kaede pondered, his phone suddenly chimed.
Looking at the lit screen, Kitahara Kaede noticed that the account labeled "Eriri" had sent him a LINE message.
"Kitahara, are you free now?"
Seeing Eriri's message, Kitahara Kaede didn't answer directly but asked, "Eriri, is there something you need?"
It was the same situation as half a year ago, using the same tactic.
By pretending to be a die-hard fan, he had struck up a conversation with Eiriri, a doujin manga artist, and learned that her dream was to break out of the doujin circle and become a top-tier manga artist for Jump. He then used manga ideas he was familiar with from his previous life to attract Eiriri, successfully establishing a good relationship with her as an assistant.
Now, his relationship with Yuriri was even closer than that with Shiharu Kasumi.
The number of times they met privately was so numerous it was impossible to count.
However!
What was causing Kitahara Kaede headaches was that their meetings were mostly about reviewing Yuriri's manga and discussing work, with no hint of romance. Holding hands was out of the question, and he began to doubt if he was just a tool.
Sure enough.
Eriri's reply message said, "I've revised the manga. Could you take another look at it?"
Kitahara Kaede rubbed his forehead in frustration and muttered, "It's manga again! During my upcoming date with the senior, I mustn't bring up work, or else I'll end up repeating Eriri's mistake and get stuck here for months without any progress."
As he spoke, Kitahara Kaede began editing the message.
He had to suck up to her, after all. No progress was better than a deteriorating relationship. He had worked so hard to get to this point; he couldn't stop now: "I have something to do at noon. Can we schedule the manga review for the evening?"
"Can't we do it now?"
"I'm on my way from Shibuya Station to your place."
Eriri sent two messages in a row, but before he could reply, she impatiently called him directly. As soon as the call connected, she bluntly said, "Kitahara, no matter what happens, don't go out. I'll be at the usual spot in about an hour. Just wait there for me. Don't be late."
"You shouldn't come over. I'm already at Shibuya Station..."
Kitahara Kaede said softly. This Eiriri had become so familiar with him that she didn't treat him like an outsider at all.
What was most frustrating was that he could sense that after all this time of flirting, instead of developing romantic feelings, they had developed a friendship. Eiriri clearly saw him as a close friend or confidant, not as someone with whom she might develop a romantic relationship.
"You're at Shibuya Station!?"
Eriri asked in surprise, "Where exactly at Shibuya Station?"
"Do you know the family restaurant at Shibuya Station? I'm inside." As soon as Kitahara Kaede finished speaking, Eriri hung up the phone. Within minutes, a pair of dazzling golden twin ponytails appeared at the entrance.
Tap tap tap—
Eriri also saw Kitahara Kaede, hurriedly sat down across from him, and immediately grabbed Kitahara Kaede's soda, drinking it in big gulps. After finishing it all, she slammed the cup on the table: "Phew, what are you doing here?"
"Let's not get into that for now."
Kitahara Maple pointed at the empty cup, trying to create a suggestive atmosphere: "The cola... I drank it."
"What does it matter?"
"I mean, do you mind an indirect, indirect kiss?"
"It's just Kitahara. Why should I mind?"
Eriri proudly thrust out her 'firm' chest: "Or does Kitahara mind? I didn't realize you were so pure-hearted."
"..."
Kitahara Kaede was speechless. This Eiriri truly regarded him as a close friend. If this were in the original story, this indirect kiss might have made Eiriri blush for half a day, and perhaps even reveal her tsundere side.
Now she was blushing, but...
Unfortunately, it didn't seem like a blush of shyness, but rather one caused by rushing too quickly.
"Take a look at my new manga first. I'm going to the restroom."
After handing the manuscript to Kitahara Feng, Ying Lili didn't even give him a chance to speak before heading straight to the restroom.
Bang!
After slamming the restroom door shut, Ying Lili stood in front of the mirror at the sink, covering her flushed cheeks with both hands: "Hehe… Indirect kiss operation—mission accomplished!"