(TL/N: I really don't know how I'm posting the wrong chapters.)
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Night, Aoyama Apartments.
Third floor, Room 2, bedroom.
After returning from Kanna's sports festival, Sato finished his bath and had just ended a phone call with his editor, Machida Sonoko, when another call came in.
Seeing the name displayed on the phone screen, Sato raised an eyebrow and answered the call.
"Congratulations, Miyabi-sensei. I heard your work has already been scheduled for a January release?"
Before Sato could speak, a slightly seductive voice came from the other end.
Oh?
A trace of surprise appeared on his face. He had only just learned the news himself, yet Kosaka Akane already knew about it?
But once he remembered the relationship between Machida Sonoko and Kosaka Akane, he understood.
A smile appeared on his face as he looked up at the drifting clouds in the night sky, faintly illuminated by the city lights.
"Compared to Kosaka-sensei, I'm still far behind. If I remember correctly, Kosaka-sensei already has three works adapted into anime, right?"
"Having more works doesn't necessarily mean having better quality."
"Kosaka-sensei jokes too much. A work being adapted into anime already proves its quality... forget it, let's not talk about that. Kosaka-sensei, is there something you needed from me calling this late?"
...
In a distant apartment, Kosaka Akane sat on a balcony chair wearing a pure white bathrobe. Beneath the robe were her pale, slender legs. From her ankles all the way up to the hem of the bathrobe, the graceful curves and delicate skin of her legs formed a breathtaking scene beneath the moonlight.
Unfortunately, there was no one there to appreciate it.
A laptop sat on the table before her. As her slender fingers moved lightly, her cherry-colored nails clicked softly against the mouse.
Holding her phone in the other hand, Kosaka Akane curled her lips into a faint smile.
"What? Miyabi-sensei is already preparing to sleep? I thought high school students stayed up pretty late these days."
"I'm not sleeping yet. I'm just curious about Kosaka-sensei's reason for calling."
"After all, Kosaka-sensei is famous throughout the industry for being a workaholic, handling countless matters every day. Calling this late at night couldn't possibly be just to congratulate me, right?"
"What if I said it was?"
"Then I could only gladly accept it."
"Miyabi-sensei really is interesting."
Kosaka Akane clicked into a webpage, a slight fluctuation entering her voice.
"Miyabi-sensei, once it hits midnight tonight, the manga section will officially go live. The app will launch alongside it."
"Oh?"
Sato's tone sounded somewhat puzzled.
"It's launching tonight already? Then why haven't I seen any site update announcements?"
Kosaka Akane's alluring red lips parted slightly. Reflected within her eyes, illuminated by countless city lights like stars, was a captivating glimmer.
"We have to give them a little surprise."
Kosaka Akane smiled softly.
...
"A surprise, huh?"
After hanging up the phone, Sato could not help laughing as he scrolled through the website interface with his mouse.
Once today passed, a brand new section would appear here. Perhaps when people saw it, it really would count as a surprise.
After sitting there in thought for a while, Sato suddenly sent a message to Sawamura Eriri.
[Sato: You asleep yet?]
A reply quickly came from the other side.
[Otaku Eriri: Not yet!]
Seeing the message appear on screen so quickly, Sato was not surprised at all. His fingers rapidly began typing on the keyboard.
[Sato: Nervous?]
[Otaku Eriri: Yeah!]
...
Detective Hill, mansion.
At the top of Detective Hill stood a famous castle-style mansion nearby, full of British charm.
At this moment, inside one of the rooms.
Sawamura Eriri sat curled up in front of her computer desk, hugging her knees. Her already petite body looked even smaller curled into a ball like that, while her brilliant golden hair, beautiful like a work of art, flowed loosely around her.
She buried her cute little face between her soft, smooth legs while staring fixedly at the time continuously ticking in the corner of her screen.
There was less than an hour left before the next day arrived.
And after one more hour, [Gensokyo] would undergo its redesign and add a manga section. Her first official manga work would begin serialization as one of Gensokyo's featured titles.
For someone who dreamed day and night of finally making it ashore, this was practically a judgment from fate itself!
At this moment, every second felt unbearably slow to her. Both mentally and physically, she was exhausted from the tension, to the point that fatigue was written all over her face.
Then suddenly, the chat software in the lower corner of the screen began flashing.
After freezing briefly, as though realizing something, Sawamura Eriri hurriedly grabbed the mouse and opened the chat window.
Then she saw a familiar name.
[Sato: You asleep yet?]
For some reason, seeing this sudden greeting instantly eased much of the tension in her heart.
Silently, she stretched out her hand and typed a reply with her slender fingers that looked soft enough to lack bones.
[Otaku Eriri: Not yet!]
[Sato: Nervous?]
[Otaku Eriri: Yeah!]
[Sato: Don't worry. Believe in yourself, you're Kashiwagi Eri-sensei after all（笑）]
[Otaku Eriri: But I'm still nervous!]
[Sato: Then go sleep. Once you wake up, it'll all be over. In the morning of a new day, whether what awaits you is praise or something else, everything will be revealed.]
[Otaku Eriri: I can't sleep...]
[Sato: I see...]
The other side suddenly fell silent.
Sawamura Eriri simply stared at the computer screen and waited...
Then suddenly, a video call request appeared on the screen.
Sawamura Eriri's eyes lit up.
After accepting the call, Sato's figure appeared on the screen.
He was adjusting the camera at first. Soon after finishing and sitting down, that familiar face entered her view.
"Can you see me?"
"Yeah!"
"I'll wait with you."
"Yeah!"
A smile bloomed across Sawamura Eriri's face, like a lily flower in full bloom.
The scene before her gradually overlapped with the memory of the first time she waited for the results of an illustration submission.
Just like back then, unchanged.