Tokyo: Oreimo

"Your outing has caused quite a commotion."

Tian Zhongxue sighed, "It's true that good-looking people easily attract attention."

“Look at the comments under the post, ‘So pretty,’ ‘Which school are you from?’ ‘I’d love to meet you,’ and this one says, ‘I wonder if you’re a professional model.’”

Ayumi frowned. "You even printed out the replies? Wasting club funds?"

"Oh dear, this is news about club members, we definitely have to print it out and keep it!" Tian Zhongxue said matter-of-factly.

Asakura Misaki held the strawberry milk, her eyes full of longing. "Ryou is really beautiful. Although I only met her once, I still remember that scene."

"Besides, the photos are bad; Ling Nai is much prettier in person than in the photos."

Ryosuke added.

"You're quite generous with your praise for your own sister, Takashiro."

Shota Okubo sullenly sat back down in his chair and started pounding his thigh as if he was annoyed by something. "You're such an enviable guy."

Yosuke Kobayashi stood next to him, looking at the printed paper. "However, this photo wasn't taken at a good angle; it obscures Takashiro's face."

Tian Zhongxue also felt it was a bit of a pity, saying, "It would have been better if the footage had been clearer."

Ryosuke leaned back in his chair and didn't reply.

He understood what excited Tian Zhongxue. The daily activities of the manga research group were relatively mundane, but a photo that caused a small sensation on the campus forum was enough to be the topic of conversation for a whole week.

Anyway, since their faces weren't clearly photographed, let them chat.

"But Takashiro-kun," Asakura Misaki said, placing the strawberry milk on the table with a hint of seriousness in her voice, "you two are rumored to be a couple in the photos."

"Yes, yes! The poster said they thought it was a couple on a date on the street!"

Tian Zhongxue's eyes lit up. "Then someone commented that if they really are a couple, the guy is so lucky."

He paused, then said, "Wait a minute, now that you mention it, Gao Cheng, don't you have a girlfriend?"

"What do you mean?"

"So, as the older brother, don't you find these rumors bothersome? After all, it's really strange to think that your sister is being rumored to be your girlfriend, isn't it?"

Ryosuke picked up his oolong tea, took a sip, and said calmly, "It's just a photo that didn't capture my face clearly. Nobody will be talking about it in a couple of days."

“That’s true.” Tian Zhongxue scratched his head. “Anyway, there were quite a few people posting it when it was first published, but it doesn’t seem to be as active today.”

"Takashiro's reaction was too calm." Okubo shrugged. "I thought you would be a little nervous, like worrying about being recognized in the photo or something."

What are you worried about?

"Of course I'm worried about my girlfriend seeing this! What if she sees this photo and thinks you're dating another girl!"

Ryosuke remained silent for a moment.

"Don't worry, she won't misunderstand something like this."

Saori certainly wouldn't be jealous of such photos; she would only use them to tease him and then take the opportunity to ask for some interest.

"So confident?"

Okubo covered his face in despair. "Takashiro, how many years have you been in relationships to be this calm? I haven't even confessed to a girl yet, and you've already reached the point of 'no need to worry'."

"That's true."

It's not good to dwell on this topic for too long. Although the photo is blurry, it could still cause some trouble if someone investigates it further.

"In comparison, how's the progress of Winter COMI's doujinshi?"

"Gao Cheng arrived late today, so we've already discussed most of what we needed to discuss."

Ayumi closed her sketchbook. "Anyway, the most important thing right now is your manuscript. The chairman will be in charge of the layout, but the prerequisite is that there is something to layout."

"Chapter 4 is finished and will be brought to you next week."

.....

On the other side, at the Takashiro family's house.

When Ling Nai received Ayumi's message, she was hunched over her desk doing the practice questions Ryosuke had given her.

My phone vibrated on the corner of the table, and the screen lit up, displaying unread messages.

Because the school was close to home, Ryosuke was usually home before his club activities ended.

She picked up her phone with her left hand, still holding the pen in her right, and began to read the messages.

From: Ayumi-senpai

The message was quite long, sent in several parts.

"Ling Nai, you and Ryosuke were photographed on Sunday. Someone posted about it on the school forum."

"A blonde beauty appeared in Waseda or something."

"They mistook you for a couple. Although Ryosuke's face wasn't captured in the photo, yours was photographed very clearly."

"But it seems your face is more popular, so the response was quite big, and you gained nearly two thousand followers overnight (laughs)."

"So, are you coming again this week? Or would it be better to avoid it? (laughs)"

Ling Nai poked her chin with the pen cap, her gaze lingering on the last sentence for two seconds, then she put her phone on the table and lay back on the bed.

Although some time has passed since that day, my exposure has increased even further.

These were all decisions made on a whim at the time. Feeling that she couldn't let the female giant steal the spotlight, she took Ryosuke's arm in the schoolyard.

But as a result, all the exposure went to him; the guy's face was a blurry mess, and nobody noticed.

Oh well, it's lucky that the lazy guy got to enjoy the treatment of being the male lead in a scandal.

Most importantly, the limelight shouldn't be all taken by the Female Titan alone.

Thinking of this, Ling Nai buried her face in the pillow, her shoulders trembling slightly, and let out a muffled laugh with a hint of smugness.

Then she remembered what Ayumi-senpai had said about how she and that guy were mistaken for a couple.

"A couple...?"

She turned over, staring at the ceiling, her toes tapping lightly on the mattress under the covers, one tap after another, each tap filled with an irrepressible joy.

She was naturally happy to be mistaken for that guy's girlfriend.

Although it was just a misunderstanding, although the photos were taken by someone else without his consent, and although Ryosuke himself probably didn't take it to heart at all.

But the thought of someone seeing me strolling around campus, taking a picture, posting it on forums, discussing it with so many people, and having so many people think, "That guy is so lucky," is unbearable.

Ling Nai pulled the blanket over her face and let out a muffled groan.

Hmm, it feels good.

Chapter 247 Sample Book (Combined Chapters)

On the last Wednesday of November, the ginkgo trees at Waseda University were completely bare.

Outside the activity room window, the gray sky hung low, and the weather forecast said there would be sleet this evening.

When Ryosuke pushed open the door to the activity room, there were only three people inside.

Ayumi sat by the window, a thick stack of printed documents spread out in front of her, with something marked on them in red pen.

Misaki Asakura held a cup of hot strawberry milk, her scarf still wrapped around her neck, while Yosuke Kobayashi sat in the corner, drinking coffee and flipping through a thick book of setting materials.

"The president hasn't arrived yet?" Ryosuke put his backpack on his seat.

“He went to the print shop to confirm the binding details.” Ayumi said without looking up. “We agreed to start at two o’clock, but he ran out at one-thirty.”

"The president is really motivated lately."

“Of course.” Misaki Asakura took off her scarf and folded it neatly. “After all, it’s going to be sent to print tomorrow. He said he was so excited last night that he couldn’t sleep and was still revising the layout in the middle of the night.”

Yosuke Kobayashi looked up from the data collection, his tone as calm as ever: "He sent me four messages at three in the morning, all with exclamation marks. The first one said, 'Finally finalized,' the second one said, 'We're going to go into battle,' the third one had three exclamation marks, and the fourth one asked me, 'Which type of lamination do you think is better for the cover?'"

"and then?"

“Then I told him I was already asleep.” Kobayashi pushed up his glasses. “But he sent another message at seven this morning saying, ‘It’s okay, I’ve already made up my mind.’”

A muffled laugh rippled through the activity room.

Ryosuke pulled out a chair and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the stack of manuscripts in front of Ayumi. It was the final draft of "Kara no Kyoukai" (The Garden of Sinners), with him providing the complete text and Horiuchi Ayumi responsible for the illustrations.

Since joining the club in the summer, preparations for the winter COMI at the manga club have been going on for several months. Ayumi has turned down all her part-time jobs for this, and the character design alone has been revised nearly ten times.

"Speaking of which, Takashiro, your sister hasn't been to the club lately," Asakura Misaki suddenly remembered something. "The last time she came to give Horiuchi-senpai her drawing guidance was over a month ago, wasn't it?"

"Her studies are quite demanding."

To be precise, starting from mid-October, Ling Nai basically stopped coming to Waseda.

There is more than one reason.

First and foremost is academics.

In the first semester of her senior year, she achieved good results in the academic proficiency test, but her deviation score was still a little short of that required to get into Waseda University. Ryosuke devised a detailed preparation plan for her, and the evening tutoring sessions, which lasted three times a week, were never interrupted.

Secondly, there's "Death Note".

After this work topped the list in the JUMP reader survey, Shueisha began to promote the publication of the collected volumes.

Hideo Nomura calls every few days to urge him to finish the manuscript. In order to release it in the prime time slot next spring, Ryou needs to prepare additional content while ensuring the quality of the serialization.

"It's really tough being a senior in high school," Misaki Asakura remarked, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, when we went to Akihabara last week, the student council president finally got his hands on the official version of SAO."

"He played?"

“It’s more than just playing.” Yosuke Kobayashi put down his coffee cup. “He didn’t come to class on Monday.”

Ryosuke raised an eyebrow slightly; he didn't know that.

"I felt completely out of control after arriving on Tuesday," Misaki Asakura added. "As soon as I entered the activity room, I started talking non-stop about the SAO storyline to Horiuchi-senpai, talking about things like 'Full Dive,' 'Death Game,' and 'Solo Player,' and she couldn't get a word in edgewise."

Ryosuke leaned back in his chair and didn't reply.

Sword Art Online is a new title that Aniplex officially released at the end of October.

Unlike previous titles like Clannad and Steins;Gate, SAO adopted a completely different online game theme and narrative structure. Saori Hououin worked overtime for nearly two months straight for this game, even developing dark circles under her eyes from the stress.

The response after its release was quite positive, with discussions on forums going up and down, especially the interaction between Asuna and Kirito, which garnered a lot of praise from female players.