That's right, Tanaka Masao's solution was simple: self-destruct.
By revealing his identity as a bestselling novelist, his previous actions could be justified.
After all, anyone would be angry if they saw someone trying to take advantage of them.
As for his comments about 'H-books,' he naturally chose to ignore them.
He was a famous author of pure love novels; how could he possibly utter such filthy words that only doujin artists would say?
Of course, besides dealing with the recent incident, Tanaka Masao looked at the girl in front of him and found her somewhat familiar.
While her black pantyhose and ample figure were striking, even more noticeable was the white hairband she wore.
Moreover, Tanaka Masao was currently holding "love metronome," which made it hard for him not to associate her with Senior Kasumigaoka Utaha.
At the same time, he couldn't help but think:
[If she really is Kasumigaoka Utaha, then she must be the one who left the book here.
And I seem to have inadvertently insulted her quite badly.
She won't be angry, will she? She won't hit me, will she? Senior Kasumigaoka is so scary, unlike me, who only thinks about black stockings.]
Tanaka Masao's self-destruction indeed worked, successfully diverting Kasumigaoka Utaha's attention.
"You mean you're Teacher Xu, the one who said, 'Later, someone was three parts like you, and I lost my composure'?"
"That's right, it's me."
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Tanaka Masao and couldn't help but frown.
As a fellow new light novel author, Kasumigaoka Utaha naturally regarded 'Lao Xu,' the author who had surpassed her, as a rival.
However, despite being a rival, and despite being a little annoyed that his sudden appearance had affected her novel's sales, she didn't disrespect him.
On the contrary, she really liked his promotional slogan; she found it very romantic.
At the same time, Kasumigaoka Utaha had also imagined what kind of person could come up with such romantic words.
Was she a girl like herself, who loved literature?
Or was he a tall, slender, bespectacled, somewhat reserved and introverted literary youth?
Or perhaps a seasoned uncle with a stubbled face and melancholic eyes, who had experienced the ups and downs of life?
Or was it a mature, gentle, charming, and highly tolerant older sister?
No matter the type, in Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes, the person should exude a strong literary aura.
In contrast, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt absolutely no literary aura from Tanaka Masao.
She even suspected he was the type who never read proper literary works, spending every day immersed in vulgar harem novels, fantasizing about being an omnipotent, handsome male protagonist.
And the thought that "Later, someone was three parts like you, and I lost my composure" came from such a person made her feel that it had lost its original flavor.
It was as if the unforgettable person wasn't a first love or a pure ideal, but rather the various teachers who dedicated themselves to art.
For instance, whenever she saw a beautiful woman in black stockings and red-soled high heels wearing a black mask, she would think of that versatile woman far away in Taipei, who loved to cross her legs.
After two and a half seconds of silence, Kasumigaoka Utaha said with a hint of disdain:
"Sir, do I look like the easily fooled type?
If you think that simply claiming the identity of a random author will win you the favor of a beautiful girl, then you are greatly mistaken.
I'm not some scatterbrained girl with no social experience, who believes anything anyone says and is easily deceived."
[Hey, hey, hey, this isn't fun anymore. I'm telling the truth, how did it become a lie?]
Tanaka Masao felt a bit helpless about this. Did he really not look like someone who could write pure love novels?
Well, he really couldn't write them; the novels were given by the system.
As for other things given by the system, he was confident that with his genuine feelings, he could naturally conceive captivating plots.
But pure love novels? Sorry, not his area of expertise. Without the system, he was useless at that.
"I don't look like it?"
Facing Tanaka Masao's rhetorical question, Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded very definitively.
"No, you don't."
Tanaka Masao didn't rush to refute Kasumigaoka Utaha's distrust. Instead, he held up "love metronome" and asked:
"By the way, do you know where this novel is placed?"
"Right there."
Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't think much and pointed to a secluded corner.
Looking at that spot, Tanaka Masao nodded and said with some emotion:
"What a secluded spot. No one goes there. It's amazing you know about it."
Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha's body stiffened slightly, feeling like she had been tricked.
"I just happened to pass by and saw it."
"Happened to pass by..."
Tanaka Masao's eyes were full of suspicion as he scrutinized Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a shiver from his gaze, instinctively crossed her arms, feigned composure, and said with displeasure:
"What do you want to say? And could you please retract your lewd gaze? It's very impolite to look at a lady like that in public."
"Hey, my gaze wasn't like that at all."
Tanaka Masao retorted. His gaze at that moment truly had no other intentions.
"I was just guessing some things. Are you perhaps feeling guilty because you think I've guessed the truth?"
"Guilty?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha said with disdain:
"What do I have to be guilty about?"
Although she pretended not to care on the surface, she was indeed a bit flustered inside.
"Go ahead and say it; I'd like to see what kind of nonsense you can make up."
"If I'm not mistaken, you deliberately put this book here, didn't you?
Student, although I don't know your name, you wouldn't want others to know about this, would you?"
Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha's body became very stiff, and her face also turned very ugly.
Deliberately misplacing a book might not seem like a big deal.
But it's like people who like to squeeze instant noodles in the supermarket; it's also a trivial matter, but to others, it's a somewhat perverted little habit.
Especially in this social environment, such small habits would be magnified and seen as abnormal.
If Tanaka Masao really went around publicizing that Kasumigaoka Utaha liked to deliberately misplace books, it would inevitably affect her reputation.
She usually maintained the image of a cool goddess and literary girl at school, but privately, she liked to do such uncouth things.
Indeed, you can't judge a book by its cover.
The thought of her cool persona being shattered, with everyone pointing and whispering behind her back, made Kasumigaoka Utaha uncomfortable.
If it were false rumors, she wouldn't care, but if it was the truth, she couldn't deceive herself.
She had no friends at school, but that was because she believed her peers had nothing in common with her, she wasn't interested in them, and chose to isolate everyone.
Her inherent pride and self-esteem made her unable to tolerate such humiliation.
Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her lip, as if having made some kind of decision, and spoke to Tanaka Masao, who wore a mysterious smile.