Tokyo: Oreimo

Ruri Aragaki stuffed it back at the time, but then Ayano bought it back and put it in a paper bag.

They said something like, "Since you've read the beginning, you must be interested. Here, I'll give it to you as a gift, Ruri."

"Liuli, your face is so red, are you really okay?"

Ling Nai stood up and reached out to touch her forehead.

"N-nothing! It's just a little hot!"

Ruri Aragaki shrank back a little.

Just then, she saw Ryosuke walking towards her from the direction of the exit.

"So slow!"

Ling Nai stood up from the ground, put her hands on her hips, and pointed her index finger at Ryosuke.

"Well, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Ryosuke shrugged. Section C was quite a distance from the East Building exit, which meant it took them at least twenty minutes to walk out.

“Brother, Miss Luna.”

Ruri Aragaki hugged the paper bag tightly in her hands and greeted the two of them.

Gokou Mao walked out from behind Ryosuke, glanced at the paper bag in her arms, and looked at the blush on her face that had not completely faded. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"You bought so many in Zone B? It seems you really enjoy reading novels."

Ruri Aragaki's body visibly stiffened, and a look of utter despair crossed her face.

She didn't want to buy any of them; Ling Nai forced them into her possession. She didn't even know where to hide them at home.

Ling Nai patted the paper bag in Aragaki Ruri's hand with a grin and winked.

"Of course, you'd be missing out if you didn't go to Area B. There are a lot of exciting fanfictions there. But Ruri seems to have a particular fondness for Homura Akemi and Madoka Kaname themes."

"Ling Nai... stop talking."

Ruri Aragaki felt like she was about to die, and saying that to Ryosuke's face made her feel like she was stripping naked in front of him, which was incredibly embarrassing.

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this! It's rare for everyone to get together, let's take some pictures to remember this moment!"

Ling Nai turned her head and took something out of her bag.

It's a digital camera covered with exquisite full-coverage stickers featuring a 'family portrait' from a Madoka Magica fan art piece.

"You actually bought this? A Sony DVR-TRV20, the regular price in stores is 200,000 yen, but at the CM exhibition... because of this sticker, it was sold at least a third more."

Gokou Mao's lips twitched as she commented.

She simply couldn't understand Ling Nai's spending habits. As the original creator, wouldn't it have been better to just buy a prototype and process it herself?

What a waste of money!

"If you like it, just buy it. What's the big deal?"

Ling Nai retorted confidently, then handed the camera to a passerby and asked them to take a picture for her.

"Come on, everyone, stand in line! Ruri, you stand next to me, the black cat on the other side, and Ryosuke, you stand behind me!"

"Why am I being assigned this task?" Mao Gokou said, but her feet still moved.

The four people stood in front of the fountain.

Ling Nai made a peace sign, her smile as bright as the sun.

Gokou Mao stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her expression indifferent.

Ruri Aragaki stood beside Ling Nai, her baseball cap pulled low, but the moment the shutter clicked, she secretly glanced in Ryosuke's direction.

Ryosuke stood at the very back, his posture upright, a faint smile on his lips.

The shutter clicked.

"Alright, the first offline gathering of Rumiko Takashiro's fan club has officially come to an end!"

Chapter 158 is also good (bonus chapter for monthly votes)

Under the afterglow of the setting sun.

Ryosuke and Mao agreed on a time to come to the company to sign the contract, after which the other party took his leave first.

As for Ruri Aragaki, she didn't plan to go back to Chiba with them.

"Isn't Liuli coming with us?"

"Since there are still some work matters to attend to, Ling Nai and her elder brother should leave first."

As she said this, the girl deliberately glanced at Ryosuke, her mind still tense.

After that incident, her opinion of Ryosuke changed somewhat. Most importantly, what happened was so embarrassing that it was impossible to remain calm.

Just being in the same space as Ryosuke makes me quite nervous.

"Alright then." Ling Nai was a little disappointed, but she knew that her friend valued her work, so she didn't force her.

The three parted ways at the entrance of the exhibition hall, and Ryosuke and Ayano boarded the train back to Chiba.

Throughout the journey, Takashiro Ryouno kept fiddling with her newly bought digital camera, flipping through the photos inside, a smile always on her face.

Ryosuke would pay attention to her from time to time, but it was quite rare for her to be this happy.

Are you that happy?

He couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, this is the first time I've ever been to a CM exhibition like this, especially with Ruri. She used to be very averse to these kinds of things."

Ling was unusually speaking properly.

The girl stared at the last group photo taken on the digital camera, adjusting and zooming in on the image.

"Tsk, I should have taken more pictures. That black cat wasn't smiling, and Liuli was wearing a hat, but you did look pretty handsome in the photos."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Ryosuke chuckled softly.

"Don't be so smug. You're just average. There are guys in school who are much better looking than you. Besides, your personality is too awful, which is why you haven't gotten a girlfriend."

Seeing his smug look, Takashiro Ryouko snorted and turned off the digital camera.

"How could it be for such a reason? It's just that I haven't met someone I like yet."

Ryosuke chuckled.

Recently, two beautiful girls have said they want to date me.

"An arrogant fellow."

Ling Nai pursed her lips.

"On another note, it feels like a lot of good things have happened this year."

"is it?"

"Yeah, so many people like my comics, my studies have improved, I can talk to Ruri about topics I'm interested in, and that black cat, even though it's a bit sarcastic, I guess I've made a new friend, right?"

Ryoko Takashiro couldn't help but smile, feeling that more and more interesting things were happening in her life.

Thinking of this, the girl turned her head and glanced at Ryosuke. The setting sun was shining brightly outside the train, and he was admiring the scenery outside the window.

It seems like everything is somehow connected to this guy...

The script for the manga was provided by Ryosuke, who also tutored him in his studies. After he and Ruri had a falling out, it was Ryosuke who helped persuade them to reconcile.

As for Gokou Mao, she would never have met him without Ryosuke.

Since her secret was discovered last winter, she has slowly begun to take her brother seriously, and now he is someone she can no longer ignore.

Ling Nai felt that she had gotten used to Ryosuke's presence.

"what happened?"

Ryosuke felt the girl's gaze and turned to look at her, but Ryouno immediately turned her head away.

"nothing."

Outside the window, trams converged, their roar filling my ears.

Just then, the girl muttered something.

"I just suddenly felt that having an older brother wouldn't be bad."

"Huh? What did you say?"

Ryosuke couldn't hear anything at all, so he had to move closer.

Ling Nai blushed instantly and pushed him away, saying, "You're too close. If you didn't hear me, forget it!"

"Humph!"

......

After the first day of the CM exhibition ended, Ling Nai did not miss the next two days.

Ryosuke did not choose to accompany them, but stayed at home to continue writing his manuscript.

On the 14th, the last day of the CM exhibition, he received a call from Hideo Nomura.

"The results of the Tezuka Award are out. Congratulations to CLAMP and Rumiko Takagi for winning the Grand Prize at the level of nomination."

As expected, the story itself was so compelling that it was a work that would never fail if it were released.

Combined with Ling Nai's drawing skills, it would rank among the top works in Shueisha's current portfolio.

Of course, in terms of popularity, it is still quite far from being able to beat a long-running series like Dragon Ball, but it was ultimately chosen by an overwhelming number of votes among the new works released at the same time.

"Wow, you two teachers are really amazing. The editors-in-chief of the company are overjoyed. The top prize at the selection level has been vacant for two years, and it has finally been awarded this year."

When it comes to the fact that "Death Note" won a major award, he, as the editor, seemed even happier than Ryosuke himself.

Being able to take on this kind of project in such a short time since joining the company is incredibly fortunate.

Even if they aren't promoted immediately due to seniority, the performance of recruiting such a pair of writers from Kadokawa will definitely earn them a substantial quarterly bonus.