All conversation in the meeting room fell silent at once. The editors moved on without wasting a second, picking up the second manuscript and continuing their review. Each novel only received a few minutes of discussion. With dozens of manuscripts to evaluate, the meeting was bound to last two to three hours at minimum.
The meaning of "pending" was clear.
Akira had acknowledged that the first chapter of that novel was strong enough to qualify for serialization in Crimson Maple.
However, if it was not the most outstanding submission in this entire meeting, it still had no chance. After all, there was only one open slot in that flagship magazine.
At the same time, over at Minamijo Third High School, the opening ceremony for the second semester of second year was underway.
Within the lineup of Class Two, Year Two, Haruto stood with dark circles under his eyes.
Over the past few days, he had been burning the midnight oil, adapting everything he had already seen of Blue Spring Ride into a total of seven chapters of novel text.
Unfortunately, over the last two nights, the memories from Shiori's soul had shifted again. Instead of continuing Blue Spring Ride, she had been watching other anime. There were romance titles like Suzuka, and then there were isekai and fantasy series such as Kyo Kara Maoh! and various "healing hero" shows.
Suzuka was fine. Watching it through the soul memories actually pulled Haruto in quite deeply. But Kyo Kara Maoh! was another matter entirely. Even though he had only seen a few episodes through fragmented memories, if he was not mistaken, that series leaned heavily into boys' love themes. Watching it left him feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.
These shows left him stunned. He could only admire how wildly diverse and intense the tastes of creators in that parallel world were.
What shocked him most was that Shiori, this cute, soft-looking girl, seemed to enjoy absolutely everything, watching all of it with great enthusiasm.
It became increasingly clear that not every work from that other world was suitable for adaptation here. None of the recent anime he had seen in his dreams would work in the domestic market at all.
This was bad.
'Shiori, pull yourself together. Hurry up and watch Blue Spring Ride.'
If the serialization meeting approved Blue Spring Ride today, Haruto really did not want Yukino showing up at his house with a metaphorical knife in hand, demanding chapters a few weeks later.
As he thought this, the dark circles under his eyes seemed even more pronounced.
The opening ceremony ended quickly. It was mostly just formalities. From the next day onward, the students' second-year, second-semester lives would officially begin.
Their homeroom teacher gave an impassioned speech about how there were only four hundred days left until university entrance exams.
He urged everyone to work hard, struggle forward, and abandon novels, anime, and games, claiming that studying was the only true path.
Naturally, almost no one listened.
What did catch Haruto's attention, however, was his girlfriend. No, his ex-girlfriend. Rin, sat in the same row as him, barely a meter away.
Dressed in a white school uniform, she looked youthful and eye-catching, drawing the attention of many boys in the class.
During winter break, after Haruto's family situation collapsed, Rin had immediately broken up with him upon learning the truth. Since they were classmates, there was no way to completely avoid each other. She chose to pretend he did not exist, avoiding any awkwardness.
Seeing her attitude, the last trace of lingering affection in Haruto's heart finally faded away.
"Hey, Rin, weren't you and Haruto pretty close before? Why are you not saying a word to him today?" a classmate asked.
"Close? We were just ordinary classmates. Don't overthink it," Rin replied, glancing briefly at Haruto.
His mother had passed away early. His father had taken his own life during winter break. The family had gone bankrupt. Yet Haruto had not dropped out. That surprised her.
He must have relatives supporting him, she assumed. Still, no matter how she looked at it, he was probably one of the most pitiful people in the entire school now.
Staying involved with him would only invite ridicule about her poor judgment, and there would be no benefits at all. Worse, he might even come asking her for money.
All sorts of imagined scenarios played out in Rin's mind. If she were not studying finance, she could have become a novelist with that imagination.
They had only confirmed their relationship near the end of the previous semester. It had lasted less than a month before collapsing during winter break. The time was too short, and no one in class had even known they were dating.
A gentle breeze drifted through the classroom, lifting the students' hair slightly.
Lost in thought about his novel's serialization prospects, Haruto gradually zoned out.
Rin frowned. The more she tried to ignore him, the harder it became. His calm, detached attitude toward her, toward school, toward everything made her uncomfortable. It felt as if the one who had been dumped was actually handling things better than she was.
Tomorrow, school would truly begin.
---
"Next, the twenty-second novel under review. Blue Spring Ride. Proposed serialization magazines: Fleeting Blossoms and Searching for Sound."
Yukino stood up and introduced Blue Spring Ride to the editors present.
Around the table, pages rustled as the editors flipped through the manuscript.
In this meeting, five novels were competing for the two open serialization slots in Fleeting Blossoms.
The competition was fierce.
Thirty seconds later, subtle changes appeared on the editors' faces.
They were all veterans with sharp eyes. Most novels did not differ dramatically in reading experience at the first chapter stage, since the plot had not fully unfolded yet.
But Blue Spring Ride's first chapter was genuinely engaging.
From the very beginning, it established that the male and female leads had once harbored mutual feelings.
Then came their reunion three years later. Just as everyone expected old emotions to resurface, the male lead delivered a decisive line.
"We can't go back to how things were."
That single sentence defined their relationship.
At the end, the heroine Futaba's unwilling inner monologue, her refusal to accept that her connection with Kou had ended just like that, sparked a strong sense of anticipation for the second chapter.
The depiction of Futaba's relationships, emotions, and inner turmoil left a faint ache and bittersweet pain in everyone's hearts after finishing the first chapter.
These editors had read countless novels.
Ordinary works could not stir their emotions at all.
"This is pretty good."
"The quality is solid."
"I don't think it works. The first chapter lays out the relationships too clearly. The male lead so calmly telling the heroine that their past is over… where does the story go from there? The heroine chasing after him? A lot of female readers hate that. No one likes stories where the heroine turns into a doormat."
"That's a fair point."
"Wait, this author is a newcomer? And if I'm reading this right, he's male? A student?"
"Seriously?"
"A male high school student writing shoujo romance?"
"That was written by a boy? Are you kidding me? Do high school boys understand girls' inner feelings this well now?"
"Honestly, a guy trying to serialize a shoujo romance feels off. Even if the first chapter is good, the later plot will probably collapse. I don't believe a group of high school boys who have barely dated anyone can write a romance novel with a female protagonist that female readers genuinely enjoy."
The editors talked over one another, the meeting room descending into chaos. Compared to earlier discussions, the debate surrounding Blue Spring Ride was far more intense.
Editors with competing interests showed no mercy during serialization meetings.
They clung to every possible weakness and attacked relentlessly to eliminate strong rivals.
"This submission includes the first three chapters," Yukino said calmly. "I have read them carefully. The situation is not as some of you suggest. In fact, from Chapter One to Chapter Three, Blue Spring Ride becomes more engaging."
"I personally believe that even if this novel were serialized in Crimson Maple, it would rank among the top three in popularity. The only reason I proposed placing it in Fleeting Blossoms is because the author, Haruto, is a newcomer."
"I hope that when we evaluate this novel, we focus on its plot and quality rather than fixating on the author's background."
"That's just your opinion," a female editor competing with Yukino countered immediately.
"Our company doesn't need to take that risk. Fleeting Blossoms is our third-best-selling magazine. I propose that Blue Spring Ride be serialized in Searching for Sound instead."
She knew perfectly well that the manuscript she had submitted could not compete with Blue Spring Ride in terms of emotional impact or quality. Since she could not win on merit, she naturally tried to steer the discussion to eliminate a powerful competitor.
This was where the editor-in-chief's role became crucial.
Akira considered for a moment, then instructed her assistant to bring over the next two chapters of Blue Spring Ride and distribute them to the editors.
Serialization meetings prioritized efficiency. No one had time to read three or four chapters of every novel.
However, when opinions were sharply divided and a manuscript had additional material available, it was acceptable to spend extra time on one or two high-quality contenders.
Five minutes passed.
The entire meeting room fell silent.
There was no denying it. The first three chapters of Blue Spring Ride grew more compelling with each one.
Futaba became increasingly lovable as a heroine. Her emotional development with Kou, her daily life with friends and classmates at school, all unfolded naturally.
It truly lived up to its title.
AThe atmosphere of adolescence rushed forward, stirring memories of youthful innocence and first love in the hearts of the female editors.
Could this really have been written by a sixteen-year-old boy?
It felt almost unbelievable.
"Approved," Akira said softly, placing the manuscript down with a smile.
Though she was in her forties, her voice and movements remained elegant.
This time, not a single editor objected.
After three consecutive chapters of such quality, continuing to attack based on earlier arguments would have been pointless.
And unlike "pending," this verdict was "approved," a clear acknowledgment of Blue Spring Ride's quality.
Hearing those words, Yukino finally let out a long breath.
_______________________
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