I'll post an extra chapter every 300 Power Stones. Good luck with that!
Goal for the next extra chapter: 36/300
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Hearing her question, the first thing I asked was, "Why do you ask?"
After looking at me for a few seconds and giving me a cute smile, Eiri replied, "It's nothing, I'm just curious."
"Hmm... I see. But no, I don't have a girlfriend. In fact, I've never dated before. I'm very young, you know?"
"You're thirteen years old, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Two years younger than me... We're pretty close in age." She gave me a very charming smile. The kind of smile your classmate gives you when she's completely in love with you.
I've seen it a few times before.
However, there hasn't been enough time for this girl to fall for me that deeply.
'An act?'
I can't be sure.
"Yes..." I replied, starting to feel uncomfortable.
"What's wrong? I'm not a monster, you don't have to be so nervous. I just want to know more about you. I want to know about the famous author Aoi Haruki and what his life is like. Can't I?" She pouted as if she were upset.
"Well, if you want to know about my life, it's very boring. I think your life must be more interesting than mine."
"I don't care if it's boring, I want to hear everything. I want to know what you do in your free time, what kinds of things you like to watch, read, and play. Of course, I'll share my interests too."
"What is this? It feels like we met on a dating app and we're getting to know each other for the first time." I joked with a laugh.
"We can pretend that's the case. I'm an open book." Eiri gave me a cute smile.
A smile that seemed to be hiding something.
'My intuition is very good... There's something wrong with this girl.'
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POV: Third Person
Before leaving the studio, Eiri was in her dressing room with her manager. While fixing her slightly smudged makeup, she said, "I arranged a dinner with Kyo today. You can go straight home after we leave here."
"Just the two of you?"
"Yes, let Maeda know about it."
"All right... But I didn't expect you to be this bold. You said you wanted to get closer to him, but isn't this moving too fast?"
"We've been filming together for a while now, and we've gotten a little closer. Since he accepted the invitation, I think he feels the same way—that we're already friends." Eiri smiled while checking her makeup.
Then she turned to her manager and asked, "How do I look? Am I pretty?"
"Yes, as pretty as always."
"Hehehe." Eiri giggled. She loved being complimented. "I hope Kyo compliments me the same way you do. But he seems so cold off-camera... I don't know if he'll do that." She puffed out her cheeks.
"Why do you want to get closer to him?" her manager asked.
"I already told you before, didn't I? I like getting close to talented people. He's even younger than me, and he has a huge future ahead of him. I have to take advantage of this opportunity."
"So you just want to take advantage of him." Her manager looked her straight in the eyes.
The two were very close, and her manager knew her well, so she didn't mind saying that in front of Eiri.
"Well, I think it would be nice to maintain a friendship with him. And maybe even become something more than a friend... That would definitely help my career."
Huff~~ The manager sighed and said, "Well, do whatever you want. I think it's a bad idea."
"Hmm? Why?"
"Because if Kyo finds out you're getting close to him because it could help your career, I'm sure he'll be very disappointed and never want to get close to you again. And if you disappoint someone as famous as him, it could end up affecting your career."
'And your career isn't doing that well already...' the manager thought, but didn't say it. That would have been going too far.
"You're overthinking it. I'm always friendly with everyone, and I'll be friendly with him too. Don't you think he might become interested in me? Am I not pretty enough?"
'You're very pretty, but not on the same level as Kyo.' she thought.
"You're pretty enough. I'm sure you can win him over," she said with a smile.
Eiri smiled, satisfied with the answer.
"Yes, that's right."
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POV: Kyo
After that, we kept talking. Eiri told me a lot about her hobbies, which include watching online streams and playing games. I was surprised when she said she was completely addicted to competitive online games.
She also said that she streams and has a decent audience. I told her I'd check out her stream in the future.
As for my hobbies... I simply told her that I like writing, reading, and watching movies and TV shows in my free time. She kept asking questions about my life and what I do in my spare time, but that's really all I do.
At first, she doubted me, but eventually she started to believe it.
"You really just do that all day... I thought you'd enjoy going out or something."
"I don't have many friends." I laughed.
Eiri looked shocked.
"That's impossible! How can someone like you not have many friends? You're handsome and famous."
"When you're famous, 99% of the people who approach you have ulterior motives."
"But your identity wasn't revealed that long ago. Before that, didn't you have many friends?"
"No. I've never been someone with a lot of friends or someone who likes talking much. The only person I talk to frequently is the girl who sits next to me in class and a single friend who also writes."
"A writer, huh? Then you share a hobby. That's the best way to get close to someone. You should start playing games; it's fun. I can add you on Discord so we can play together!"
Eiri suddenly became very excited.
Games, huh?
I've never tested my abilities in online games.
I should be good at them, right?
So, before leaving the restaurant, I gave Eiri my phone number. As soon as she got home, she sent me a message with her Discord username.
The moment I added her, she sent me another message inviting me to play something with her.
Having nothing else to do, I decided to accept.
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