Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?

Before the dry wood could turn into a raging fire and the gun was about to go off, Miss Eriri searched her little head and finally pushed the door open without any patience.

"Stop it! Stop it, both of you! What are you going to do in broad daylight...eh?"

However, the scene that came into view was not as terrible as she had imagined.

The young boy Xingjian, holding a pile of books in his hands and looking very tired, stood blankly in front of the computer desk. Shiyu, who was sitting next to him with a flushed face, just covered her face with her hands. After a while, she noticed Eriri who suddenly broke in.

“………Eh?”

Miss Eriri blinked with a blushing face. The distance between the two people seemed to be a little further than she had imagined.

"Oh, Eriri."

Xingjian greeted her nonchalantly, as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual about her.

"...You two, weren't you doing anything shameful?"

"what……?"

"Your cerebellum is truly unique, Sawamura-san."

Shiyu, whose face was still a little flushed, recovered and cast an undisguised sarcasm at Eriri, who still didn't realize the current situation.

"Do you think that all relationships between men and women in the world are limited to the level of being together to reproduce?"

"Who, who told you to say such strange things! It's hard not to let your imagination run wild, right?!"

"talk……?"

The confused boy Xingjian, standing between the two women, looked at Eriri, whose face was flushed and she wanted to say something but hesitated, and then looked at Shiyu, who looked helpless and too lazy to explain. Finally, he seemed to understand something.

"Ah—that's what we were talking about."

Hoshimi lowered her head and used her eyes to signal Eriri to the pile of novels in her arms.

"I came to Kasumigaoka-senpai's house today to borrow some of her old works to take a closer look at, that's all."

“…Huh? Is it that simple?”

Eriri's face was full of doubt, "Really? I don't believe it."

"Then why are you guys being so ambiguous, saying 'Don't bring it up here'... Don't you understand how terrible that line is?"

"That's because Hoshimi-kun wanted to show me my old work again... Works from a few years ago are a dark history that is difficult for creators to talk about. I think you should be well aware of this, Sawamura-kun."

Shiyu shook her head a little troubled, not knowing whether she was speechless because of the dark history or because of Eriri.

----

Isn't it a natural skill of the illustrator to be able to imagine scenes in his mind when hearing certain lines? (dog head)

Kasumigaoka Utaha is unlikely to be out of ideas: Chapter 9: The Last Resort (Part 2)

"Ugh……"

Xingjian watched the two people bickering with some helplessness. These days, he has become accustomed to living in the gap between the tit-for-tat Eriri and Shiyu.

Forget it, I can’t keep wasting time here.

He took advantage of Eriri's rebuttal to Shiwa's words and left the room silently. By the time Eriri realized what was happening, Hoshimi had already changed his shoes and left the Kasumigaoka house.

"Wait—when did that Qing guy run away?"

Eriri glanced back suddenly, and when she saw that the study door was wide open and Hoshimi was nowhere to be seen, she scratched her head impatiently.

This guy's light bulb attribute always comes in handy in certain situations.

"Really... I suddenly remembered that I wanted to ask him something..."

"Regarding whether Hoshimi-kun has hooked up a stepmother for you, Sawamura-kun?"

"certainly not!!"

Miss Eriri tried her best to refute, and then told the truth to Shiyu who looked like she was watching a show in a bad mood.

"There was a fireworks display a few days ago. I was leaning out the window and saw Qing riding a scooter with a blond guy passing by my house. I was wondering if that guy was so lonely that he asked a guy of the same sex to go watch the fireworks."

"Ah... that should be Shirogane-san, the student council president of Shuchiin Academy."

Shiyu curled her lips indifferently, with a meaningful smile on the corner of her mouth.

"But the innocent friendship between boys does easily lead to fantasies... Well, I completely agree with this." (Pretentious)

"Wow, I didn't realize you were a bit of a gay guy."

Eriri rolled her eyes in disdain at Shiyu, who seemed to have a wild imagination. Although she was curious why Shiyu knew about the existence of Shirogane Miyuki, she didn't ask any more questions.

"But later, when the electric car turned back, I only saw Shirogane and another black-haired girl in a kimono sitting on it—well, if I remember correctly, that person should be Shinomiya Kaguya."

Having said that, Miss Eriri frowned and curled her lips thoughtfully.

"I just can't understand why Haru would go to the Shinomiya household...are they that familiar with each other?"

"Perhaps the Shirogane-guild president is very familiar with Shinomiya-san, and Hoshimi-kun is just one of those who goes along with it."

Shiyu didn't seem to take Eriri's questioning seriously.

"I kind of understand what kind of person Hoshimi-kun is—he's willing to do anything for others, selfless, and probably doesn't pay much attention to things that only concern his own interests. Anyone who is treated kindly by him must be very happy. But..."

She hesitated to speak, but didn't continue. She just looked away silently.

He is kind to others, but generally speaking, few people can notice his existence.

Even I was the same at the beginning.

“…Okay, that’s all I said.”

Seeing this, Eriri also restrained her arrogant attitude a little and tried to soften her voice.

"You should focus on the upcoming Bunko Awards... I've already inquired, and the first writing competition will begin next week. I heard it'll be a real-time online voting system, and the industry is also taking this award very seriously—it's a great opportunity to make a name for yourself again."

Eriri sat next to Shiyu, and then awkwardly expressed sincere encouragement in a tone that didn't sound like encouragement at all.

"...Think about it yourself. No one wants to see you so depressed right now. Cheer up and that's the best way to repay me, Qing, and all the readers who support you."

"...Sawamura-kun has evolved to the point where he can say such reassuring words."

Shiyu lowered her head and said this teasingly after a moment.

"Hey, I'm trying my best to comfort you. Even if you don't accept it with gratitude, at least pretend to."

"Haha, sorry, sorry—I just felt a little sentimental at the moment. After all, my current situation reminds me of the past."

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her head again and smiled softly, trying to cover her slightly red eyes with her slender fingers.

"In terms of the difficult situation, it's exactly the same as that period."

"During that time...?"

"Oh, didn't Lunli-kun tell you? When I first debuted, I was just a nobody. Even 'Love Metronome' became a big hit thanks to his promotion. Then, I gradually made it to my current position step by step."

As for the current situation, it's really no different from what it was before.

"Now I have become an unknown guy again, just like before, helplessly waiting for help from others. But I don't know if there will be any changes this time."

When Shiyu shook her head with a wry smile, not sparing her criticism and sarcasm towards herself, Eriri, who was sitting next to her, paused, then carefully expressed her true thoughts.

"Actually, whether there are any variables or not—it all depends on you."

"...?"

"You should be very clear about this, Kasumigaoka Utaha, right?"

Eriri paused, her beautiful blue eyes dimmed slightly as she thought of something.

"Because the recognition you want has always come from Tomoya... That's why puberty syndrome occurs, isn't it?"

"------"

Kasumigaoka Utaha rarely refuted, but her eyes narrowed slightly and she sat there stiffly.

Shiyu's reaction made Eriri even more convinced of her guess, so much so that she gently grabbed the corner of her clothes.

"...It seems my intuition was super accurate this time."

Ying Lili slightly pulled the corners of her mouth, and a smile with some complicated meaning appeared on her pink cheeks.

"Come to think of it... As someone who's experienced the syndrome, I should have guessed it long ago. Kasumigaoka, your obsession has always been that your work isn't recognized by the people you want it to be recognized by, not the anxiety of running out of inspiration... That's right, isn't it?"

The young man might have noticed this before her—but he just didn't say anything.

"I……"

The black-haired girl, who always plays the role of enlightening others, protected her elbows with her hands a little at a loss, and hurriedly avoided Eriri's sight as if to escape.

Eriri's words inevitably plunged Shiyu into memories of the past——

It was a flashback to a certain winter.

----

As expected, this volume only has the last few chapters left and the climax of the fourth volume is coming soon (rubbing hands excitedly)

Is it okay to continue asking for votes here? The encouragement from you bosses is my biggest motivation for writing. (*?? ???)????

Kasumigaoka Utaha is unlikely to be out of ideas: Chapter 9: The Last Resort (Part 3)

——It was probably in November last year. Heavy snow covered the winter streets, and the light snowflakes like goose feathers also added a bit of simple beauty of silver to the vast and empty park.

The black-haired girl with a headband wearing a winter coat held the document paper on her mobile phone tightly in her arms as if it were a treasure, and at the same time, she tiptoed lightly in her boots with excitement but nervousness.

She looked at the black-haired boy with glasses standing in front of her with anticipation and a hint of uneasiness.

"……how?"

The black-haired girl handed the manuscript paper that she had been holding carefully in her arms to the boy in front of her, as humbly and sincerely as if she was offering her only treasure.

"After reading it, give me your evaluation."

But the black-haired boy standing in front of him remained silent, and didn't even show any intention of taking the manuscript paper.

"Why... Shiyu-senpai insisted on showing it to me?"

He even lowered his head and clenched his fists, raising this question in a somewhat intriguing tone.

"Because, I want to know if this is the ending you want, Tomoya-kun—"

"That's weird, isn't it?!"

The boy with glasses didn't notice the gleam of "hope" in the girl's eyes at all. He just pushed her away angrily and rudely when she came a little closer, and shouted out his true thoughts in a hoarse voice.

"This isn't the ending for Kasumi Shiko at all!!"

——Yes, it started from that day.

Every temptation since then, every time I refused to admit defeat, even every time I wavered.

It all started from that day, when Kasumigaoka Utaha's works and her feelings were no longer "affirmed".

Even after that, new girls joined the club, and another girl seemed to become the absolute heroine that made Aki Tomoya's heart beat fast - Kasumigaoka Utaha - he did not give up easily.

She wanted to confirm what kind of existence she had in Tomoya Aki's heart.

So she worked harder to devote her time and energy to the club's work projects. Even though it was obvious that Aki was fully focused on the game and another girl, she still worked tirelessly to do her assigned work to the best of her ability.

Because she felt that this man was worth all her effort.

But is this really the case?

With the joining of another boy, Hoshimi Haru, in the club and Guangsu's withdrawal, as well as the whole cause and effect of his withdrawal from the club, when she appeared before her, Kasumigaoka Utaha could no longer declare with a clear conscience that "Aki Tomoya is worth all my efforts and pursuits."

Because it's clearly not the case.

Therefore, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who always appeared mature, elegant and calm to others, chose the most childish way of escape at that time.

Refusing to acknowledge this "truth", I trapped myself in last year's winter and slowly pulled myself apart.

In her subconscious, it may not matter if she doesn't have the praise from others or the joy and satisfaction of fame and fortune.

All she wants is the affirmation, resonance and recognition of her soul from the people she cares about.

That may be the case.

"...If that's the case, then we must make things clear!"

After understanding the truth, Eriri looked into Shiyu's eyes, staring at her with an unprecedented solemn expression.

"You've always thought so, but Ren has never clearly expressed to you what he thinks of you - right?"