"That's wonderful," Ms. Ando said happily. "Then it's settled, Miss Mashiro. I'll have someone draft the contract after I get back. Within the next three days, please see what time is convenient for you, and we can schedule another meeting to discuss your royalties and the promotion plan, and then sign the contract."
But Shiina Mashiro shook her head. "That's not important. You can just decide, and I'll sign it."
"Hm?" Ms. Ando was taken aback for a moment. "Miss Shiina, these matters concern your own rights. You can't be careless about them."
Shiina Mashiro remained completely unconcerned. "It doesn't matter even if there are no royalties. I only have one request... I want to read the rest of the book."
The editor froze for a second.
Then she burst out laughing.
So, it turned out this girl went to all this trouble to discuss a collaboration mainly to push for the next installment, to get a sneak peek!
But she could understand, to a degree. After all, the cliffhangers Fumiya Jin left were truly killer.
Ms. Ando smiled and said, "As the illustrator, that's not much of a request; we're supposed to show it to you anyway. However, the complete digital manuscript is saved at the editorial department, and I didn't bring it with me. Besides, the publisher values this book highly, so strictly speaking, it's not convenient to show it to you before the contract is signed. So, it's a little bit tricky... But, there's actually a simpler option—just have Mr. Fumiya send you a copy privately. As long as you don't share it, the publisher won't mind such a small detail."
Shiina Mashiro immediately looked at Fumiya Jin.
"I have it on my computer at home. Leave me your Line ID or email, and I'll send you a copy when I get back," Fumiya Jin said, being quite direct.
Fumiya Jin thought for a moment and said, "It's content in the range of a hundred thousand words, so sending it by text message is definitely not an option... How about this: let's exchange phone numbers. After you get back, register for an email account first, then text me the address. That should work."
Shiina Mashiro thought for a moment, but then asked, "Can I go directly to your house to read it?"
Ms. Ando, sitting across from them, was stunned.
Was this young girl really that bold? Going to a guy's house after meeting him for the first time?
Although Mr. Fumiya was so handsome and didn't seem like a bad person, Miss Shiina, you're a fresh and beautiful young lady yourself. Don't you have any guard up at all?
"No, you can't," Fumiya Jin shook his head. "I have something to do later and really don't have time to host you. Some other day."
Although he wasn't that suspicious of Shiina Mashiro, she was, after all, a player of unknown origin. Before figuring out her background, he definitely couldn't just bring her home.
"Um... Miss Shiina, why don't we do as Mr. Fumiya suggested?" Ms. Ando, fearing Shiina Mashiro would be embarrassed, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Slightly disappointed, Shiina Mashiro lowered her head and said nothing.
...
...
Ten minutes later, Fumiya Jin was on the train heading home.
He had no choice. Originally, he had planned to go home and change before meeting the editor at the cafe, but dealing with Ayano Kimishima had delayed him, so he had to come directly to the cafe to avoid being late.
Now that he was going to Shimokitazawa to see Nijika, it was better to go home and change first. In any case, there was still enough time.
As for Shiina Mashiro, Fumiya Jin had already exchanged phone numbers with her. He had nothing planned for tomorrow, so he thought maybe he could ask her out to talk about the "Reincarnation Game."
"Hm?"
Fumiya Jin suddenly had the feeling of being watched again.
"Again? Is this ever going to end?"
He was a bit speechless, rubbing his forehead. Then...
He started walking, moving quickly to the side through a gap in the crowd.
A few seconds later...
A slender, beautiful figure walked past the spot where he had just been standing. Her delicate face and snow-white skin drew the attention of many passengers.
But she had no time to notice. She looked in the direction Fumiya Jin had gone, but couldn't see him anymore. She could only head that way, carefully avoiding other passengers as she hurried forward through the gaps in the crowd...
Fortunately, the train wasn't very crowded at the moment. It was sparse, so as long as she was careful, she wouldn't bump into other passengers.
As she walked on... while carefully avoiding the passengers around her... suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her.
She bumped right into the figure's chest.
And then... he used the momentum to press her into the corner of the train car.
"What's the meaning of this?" Fumiya Jin said irritably, gently pinning the soft girl in the corner and looking at her silky blonde hair and her delicate, fair face.
The girl had been nervous at first, but when she looked up and saw it was Fumiya Jin, her body relaxed, becoming even softer...
Facing his question, the girl pursed her lips and said in a small voice, "I want to read the book."
"Didn't I already tell you to set up an email when you get back and send me the address?" Fumiya Jin said with a straight face.
"I'm not very good with... those things. It would be very slow," the girl said. "I want... to read it sooner."
"Are you trying to tell me that you can create such outstanding work with a drawing tablet, which clearly shows you've mastered professional art software, but you don't know how to use something as basic as email or Line?" Fumiya Jin said. "Do you think I'd believe that?"
Shiina Mashiro fell silent for a moment, seemingly unsure how to explain.
And just then... a shout suddenly came from the side.
"Hey! You over there! What are you doing to that girl? You're not groping her, are you?!" The speaker was an energetic young man in a basketball uniform.
As soon as he said this, all the nearby passengers turned to look in unison.
Everyone then noticed that a handsome young man was pressing a slender, cute girl into a corner, with what seemed to be a certain degree of force.
A small uproar went through the crowd, and their expressions changed.
But for the moment, no one else stood up with the energetic young man; most people were content to just watch the drama unfold.
Fumiya Jin felt everyone's gazes but wasn't too worried.
After all, he and Mashiro had just met through their editor, so they were acquaintances. It would be hard to classify him as a train groper.
But with everyone staring, it wasn't right for him to keep pinning Mashiro, so he let her go.
Shiina Mashiro let out a sigh of relief and stood up straight again.
The energetic young man looked at Shiina Mashiro and said, "Miss, was he harassing you? It's okay, just speak up. There are a lot of us here who will help you. We'll make sure this creep gets sent to the police station!"
Hearing this, Shiina Mashiro was silent for a few seconds.
Then...
She suddenly moved closer to Fumiya Jin.
She wrapped both hands around his right arm.
She gently rested her head on his shoulder.
"We know each other," she said flatly.
For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded.
The energetic young man was stunned.
And Fumiya Jin was also slightly startled—he felt an astonishing, heavenly softness...
She...
Wasn't wearing one?
______
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