"What is this? Young people these days are really good at showing their affection."
Hiratsuka Shizuka pouted, looking at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was wearing a vibrant dress, holding Nakano Yu's hand and smiling widely. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
She hadn't known Kasumigaoka Utaha for very long. The reason they met was Machida Sonoko. At the beginning, when she learned from Machida Sonoko that a student from Toyonosaki Girls' Private Academy wanted to transfer to Sobu High School, she was quite surprised.
In all of Tokyo, aside from a giant like Shuchi'in Academy, there were not many high schools that could compare to Sobu High School, and Toyonosaki Girls' Private Academy was one of them.
Moreover, within the circle of high schools, Toyonosaki Girls' Private Academy was a very special school. From its name, it could be seen that it was an all-girls academy, but that was not unusual. What was truly special about Toyonosaki Girls' Private Academy was that the entire academy rarely communicated with other academies.
Of course, rarely did not mean never. If she remembered correctly, Toyonosaki Girls' Private Academy had a friendly exchange with Shuchi'in Academy some time ago, but she heard that the outcome of that exchange was not very good. It seemed that many students experienced a certain degree of memory loss after the exchange.
Returning to the topic, when she learned that the top student of Toyonosaki Girls' Private Academy was coming to Sobu High School as an exchange student, she was completely confused and couldn't believe it.
Although it was normal for students to transfer between schools, it usually happened when weaker students moved from worse schools to schools with better educational resources. However, the educational resources of Toyonosaki and Sobu High School were comparable, and as the top student, Kasumigaoka Utaha had no need to transfer.
At that time, she wondered why Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly wanted to transfer. Now it seemed that she had been dazzled and drawn in by the scoundrel of Sobu High School.
"Who says that's not true."
Machida Sonoko also clicked her tongue, looking at Nakano Yu and Kasumigaoka Utaha, and said.
"Sister Sonoko and sister Shizuka should probably think about their own life issues."
Hearing the two women teasing her, Kasumigaoka Utaha said with a smile, her words carrying a slight hint of aggression. Although they might not cause much damage to others, these words dealt a critical blow to the two older single women present.
"Seriously, this girl has a poisonous tongue! She always hits where it hurts."
Holding her chest, Hiratsuka Shizuka only regretted coming here today. She had already suffered a critical hit from Nakano Yu, and then from his girlfriend. What a sin!
"Well, you just get used to this kind of thing."
Compared to Hiratsuka Shizuka, Machida Sonoko seemed very calm, but her trembling hand already revealed the damage caused by Kasumigaoka Utaha's words.
Seeing the two women like this, Nakano Yu smiled slightly. He knew that Hiratsuka Shizuka and Machida Sonoko didn't actually care about these things. After all, unlike those self-proclaimed independent people on the internet, they were truly capable and could completely support themselves.
As for finding a partner, simply put, Hiratsuka Shizuka and Machida Sonoko could satisfy themselves on a material level, but it was very difficult for them to satisfy their needs and spirit.
After all, a woman in her thirties is like a wolf, and a woman in her forties like a tiger. Hiratsuka Shizuka and Machida Sonoko were currently stuck in the awkward phase of approaching thirty.
You see, they had grown up, and not only had they never had a boyfriend, but they had always kept their distance from the opposite sex, let alone held hands.
"But I don't need to worry. If I really can't find a man I like in the future, I'll just let Yu support me. After all, Yu has already agreed…"
Looking at Machida Sonoko, Hiratsuka Shizuka said with a forced smile, although what she said to Nakano Yu earlier was a joke, it wasn't bad to use it to annoy her best friend.
"Ha?! Traitor! I'll burn you in the name of the saint!!"
Hearing this, Machida Sonoko immediately felt betrayed. As she spoke, she reached out to grab Hiratsuka Shizuka. Unfortunately, she hadn't trained in martial arts and was far inferior to Hiratsuka Shizuka in physical ability. In an instant, she was pinned in Hiratsuka Shizuka's arms.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!! Shizuka, I know I was wrong!"
Without hesitation, Machida Sonoko immediately chose to beg for mercy, and Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't continue the joke and let her go.
"Seriously, Shizuka's strength is as huge as ever. If this continues, she really won't find a boyfriend!"
Rubbing her sore arm, Machida Sonoko said dissatisfied. As soon as her voice fell, the lights in the banquet hall suddenly dimmed, and then a spotlight abruptly illuminated the stage not far from them.
"Distinguished guests, colleagues in publishing who love novels, good evening. Welcome to the annual review and award ceremony of Undying River Publishing…"
Under the spotlight, a middle-aged wealthy woman holding a microphone walked out and immediately gave the traditional opening speech.
Nakano Yu knew that wealthy woman; she was the chief boss of Undying River Publishing. It could be said that the entire publishing house was built by her hands, and she was a true rich woman.
The next procedure was a completely normal award ceremony. First was the annual diligence award.
As the name suggests, this award was given to the light novel author who released new volumes the fastest and had the highest word count during the year. However, traditional publishing houses actually do not have this award. The reason why Undying River Publishing has it is most likely to attract more authors to sign contracts with them.
After all, if the benefits are good, no author would want to stay in a publishing house with poor conditions.
After that were the top thirty rankings for the year, which were based on the sales of individual volumes throughout the year. Without surprise, Kasumigaoga Utaha, with the boost of "love metronome" Volume 3, undoubtedly took first place.
Second place was taken by the fantasy adventure light novel "Blazing Dark Elf," with sales of 200,000 copies per volume, making the revenue unimaginable. Moreover, this "Blazing Dark Elf" was the author's debut!
Achieving such astonishing results with the first volume of the first book, there is no need to further explain what will happen next. In any case, tonight "Blazing Dark Elf" definitely won the Best Newcomer of the Year award.
With huge checks, various awards, and luxurious gifts, the climax of the evening soon arrived—the newcomer award and the Bestselling Author of the Year award!
"Now, please welcome the brightest new star of Undying River Publishing this year, the Best Newcomer of the Year, the author of 'Blazing Dark Elf'—Yamada Elf-sensei!!!"
At this moment, the host had already replaced the wealthy woman on stage, holding the microphone and announcing the winners. After all, the wealthy woman was older and would get tired quickly, so after the opening speech, she went backstage to rest.
As the host's words fell, the spotlight suddenly moved, illuminating the stairs leading to the stage.
And on the stairs at that moment appeared a girl in a luxurious red dress, with long golden hair flowing down her back, and two strands in front curled. The girl looked quite gentle, giving the impression of a well-bred young lady. Combined with the beautiful and very girlish dress, it made her look like a princess.
"Is that the author of 'Blazing Dark Elf'? She doesn't look… like someone who could write such a book. Is that girl really Yamada Elf?"
"I thought it would be some fat, greasy young man. I didn't expect such a cute girl. Really surprising."
"Why isn't she moving? Does she have stage fright?"
"She doesn't look like a teenager yet. She's probably scared."
As Yamada Elf appeared before everyone in the hall, the entire hall immediately began to question her identity.
And all the questions were the same, they were just wondering whether the girl was really Yamada Elf, or were curious why she wasn't moving.
"…Yamada Elf?"
Seeing Yamada Elf, Nakano Yu raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that the first time he would see Yamada Elf would be when she won the newcomer award, but… looking at her like this, could she really be scared?
At that moment, Yamada Elf stood motionless on the stairs, her white, delicate hands tightly holding the microphone, her eyes slightly closed. Even Nakano Yu couldn't guess what she was about to do.
"Hmph!"
At that moment, Yamada Elf suddenly took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and quickly stepped onto the stage.
Standing at the center of the stage, the host still wanted to say something to raise the atmosphere, but Yamada Elf glanced at him, and he awkwardly shut his mouth.
"Ahem, hello everyone, I am Yamada Elf, the Best Newcomer of the Year of Undying River Publishing."
Clearing her throat, Yamada Elf's gaze swept across the audience below, and soon stopped, looking toward the place where Nakano Yu was sitting, and said.
Noticing her gaze, Nakano Yu returned the look with a bit of confusion.
He could feel that Yamada Elf was not looking at him, but at Kasumigaoga Utaha beside him, and in that gaze, Nakano Yu felt a very strong… hostility?
That strong feeling, more than hostility, was like the desire to win that children have when competing for first place.
Kasumigaoga Utaha also clearly noticed that this new queen of the publishing house was not very friendly toward her. Raising her eyebrows, she thought, but couldn't find any memories related to Yamada Elf.
She had no prior contact with Yamada Elf, let alone having offended this girl in any way.
Because of that, Kasumigaoga Utaha was quite confused now. After all, Yamada Elf was showing hostility toward her, but she didn't know where it came from. Could it be… related to the young man beside her again?
That was impossible. Kasumigaoga Utaha knew that Nakano Yu was actually quite promiscuous and somewhat perverted in some aspects, but he wouldn't go that far. Nakano Yu wouldn't touch such a young girl, right?
Frowning, Kasumigaoga Utaha looked at Nakano Yu. Seeing that the young man's eyes were full of questions and that he was also looking at her, she could only shake her head, indicating that she didn't know what was going on either.
And Yamada Elf on the stage, seeing that Kasumigaoga Utaha only glanced at her before looking away, was extremely dissatisfied.
Clenching the microphone, Yamada Elf continued:
"Here I can choose not to accept the Best Newcomer award of Undying River Publishing, but there are some words I must say here."
"I, Yamada Elf, declare war on Kasumigaoga Utaha, the author of 'love metronome'!"
"My work will one day in the future surpass one million copies sold, ten million, and even hundreds of millions. What I want to declare is a future sales competition between me, Yamada Elf, and Kasumigaoga Utaha!"
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