In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Mr. Spencer's slowly departing figure appeared all the more desolate amidst the teasing sounds of the mother and daughter.

All the excitement belongs to them; I have nothing.

Hearing the spirited voice of the young man on TV, he slowly raised his head, not wanting his manly dignity to show in his eyes, and slowly clenched his hands that were hanging down by his side.

I'm unwilling to accept it, but there's nothing I can do; I have to face reality.

Whether it's their daughters or wives, in their hearts, their place has long been taken over by that boy named "Yuan Qianye".

What a tragedy this is for a middle-aged man!

Then at this moment—

The reporter asked, "What has supported you all the way to where you are today and enabled you to achieve such outstanding results?"

Yuan Qianye replied: "Besides my family and friends, the people who have had the greatest influence on me are the elders around me, the leaders and teachers of Chuanlan Middle School, and the parents of my friends."

Some of them were wise and taught me the meaning of humility and courtesy; some were highly skilled and taught me perseverance and hard work; some held important positions in politics and gave me a lot of valuable advice on the path of life, which broadened my horizons and expanded my knowledge.

I am truly grateful to them. Without them, I would not have achieved what I have today.

After saying these words, Yuan Qianye on TV solemnly bowed ninety degrees to the camera and held the pose for a while.

"Eh~——"

Seeing this, Mrs. Sawamura, drawing out her words with amusement, turned to look at her husband.

"Speaking of holding an important position in politics, Qianye isn't referring to you, is he?"

It was just a joke.

But Mr. Spencer clearly didn't think so at the moment.

Like a drowning person grasping at a straw, he regained hope, all his lethargy vanished, and he stared at the television screen with boundless energy and shining eyes.

"That must be referring to me!"

Eriri thought about it and realized that it might not be that simple.

"Yukino's father seems to be a member of the council..."

"It's me!"

Mr. Spencer resolutely interrupted his daughter, his earlier dissatisfaction with the young man taking his place now turning into admiration.

He then began to try to recall the few times he had interacted with the boy.

"I have a great relationship with Qianye. I've even treated his whole family to a meal. Whenever he comes to visit, I like to talk to him about politics, as well as world affairs and stock market analysis. We hit it off immediately, and our relationship is really good. It's only natural that he would be influenced by me."

Eriri clearly felt that reality wasn't like that, and wanted to say something more.

But Mrs. Sawamura quickly patted her head and secretly winked at her with her back to her husband.

Eriri glanced at her mother, then at Baba.

They understood immediately, as if they had realized something.

She was speechless at her father's behavior, but also felt like laughing.

But after all, he was her biological father, so after thinking about it, she finally went against her conscience and nodded in agreement.

"Now that Dad says it, it seems to be true. I think I've heard Qianye mention before that the person he respects most is you, Dad, who is a diplomat."

Mr. Spencer rested his head on one hand and laughed heartily.

"Oh, respect and all that... it's nothing much. I'm just an elite who's a little better than the average person, haha, hahaha! Eriri, why hasn't Chiya come to our house lately? You should take the initiative and invite him over."

“He just won an award and is so busy that he doesn’t even have time to go to school. How could he possibly have time to come to our house?”

"It's good for young people to be busy and fulfilled. They can't just bury themselves in studying all the time, or they'll become bookworms sooner or later. Eriri, you should learn from him."

"..."

Eriri rolled her eyes at her father's reaction, thinking that this middle-aged man was really troublesome.

Mrs. Sawamura looked at her husband's behavior and then at her beloved daughter, and sighed helplessly.

Now she finally understands where her daughter inherited those embarrassing, troublesome, and lagging personality traits in relationships.

…………

Volume 1: Chapter 155: The Opportunity Has Arrived

"Mr. Yuan Qianye, congratulations on your novel 'The Astrological Murder Magic' surpassing 500,000 copies sold! In this era of increasingly widespread portable devices, this is truly a remarkable achievement."

"I am truly grateful for the support of my readers and fans. I never expected that everyone would like this novel so much. I will continue to work hard to improve myself and hope that you will continue to support my future works."

"Okay, now let's move on to the reader's letter section. First up is a reader from Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, who says his strawberry vanilla cake is delicious. In his letter, he mentions that he is also a junior high school student, just like you, Gen-sensei. He is very curious about how you came up with such an ingenious trick in the original novel."

"They got straight to the point right away."

"After all, it's just too wonderful. I've also read your novel, Mr. Yuan. The design and arrangement of the murder plot is truly amazing. On the book's page on the book recommendation website, the most liked comment also says that this kind of terrifying and perverted design is definitely not something that humans can access. It must be that the author accidentally brushed past the devil and got evil inspiration from it."

"Haha, talking about the devil is too much of an exaggeration. Actually, the inspiration for the trick was already hinted at in the original text through the detective's words. It was about a little trick of paper money crime from many years ago."

"Paper money crime?"

"Yes, at the end of the last century, a kind of paper money crime emerged on a small scale in Japan. I saw such news on the Internet by chance, and then used it as inspiration to create this novel."

"We're very curious. Could you tell us more about it, Teacher Yuan?"

"Of course, I'm here today to answer all your questions. It's very simple. Let's say I have 20 ten-thousand-yuan bills in my hand. I divide each bill horizontally into 20 sections. For the first bill, I cut it once at the first section. For the second bill, I cut it once at the second section. And so on. After dividing all the bills into two parts, we'll get to the main event."

将第一张1/20的左侧跟第二张18/20右侧的用不透明胶带粘在一起。第二张左侧的2/20又跟第三张右侧的17/20粘在一起，以此类推，20张钞票这样经过拼接处理后，最终会多出来一张左侧有19/20钞票。

These pieced-together banknotes, because only one-twentieth is missing, won't affect normal use offline unless carefully examined. Ultimately, using this method will generate an additional 10,000 yuan in profit on top of the original 200,000 yuan.

"I see……!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"So that's how it is! It's actually a real crime method that was transferred to a detective novel and transformed into a crime method!"

Touma Yoko, who was watching a TV program where Minamoto Chiya was being interviewed, had the same look of sudden realization as the young and beautiful interviewer on TV.

Miyoko Kudo, standing next to him, put down her juice and smiled, "I was quite surprised when I heard Chiya's explanation at the recording. It's really amazing that he can turn the information he has learned into inspiration for his own novel."

"Speaking of which, he's already sold 500,000 copies, and it's only been less than a month since the release, right? Compared to the prize money he won in various competitions before, and that so-called endorsement advertisement, he can be said to have truly made money this time." Yaozi exclaimed sincerely.

Miyoko Kudo mentally calculated based on the contract she had signed: "If we look at the current sales of 500,000 copies, and the novel 'Chiya' is priced at 998 yen, the confirmed revenue is already around 70 million yen. Of course, this is before taxes are paid."

"How many printings have been done so far?"

This is the fifth time.

"At this rate, we'll probably have to print it a sixth time soon. If this continues, it'll only be a matter of time before we break one million copies."

"Based on current sales figures and reader satisfaction ratings, that is indeed the case."

"Wow, he's only a middle school student and he's already worth over 100 million... Qianye really knows how to surprise people."

"Who can argue with that? During this time, I've rediscovered that exhilarating feeling I had when I first started this business with you, President. Qianye's social engagements are endless, far more than I expected."

Feeling tired?

"No, quite the opposite. As Qianye's assistant, I'm actually respected by quite a few people, and I'm quite happy about that~"

Unlike Yoko and Miyoko, who were chatting casually here.

Touma Kazusa was still intently watching the interview program on TV.

She felt inexplicably annoyed.

It wasn't because of the two people next to me; my displeasure stemmed from the female host on TV.

Asking a question is fine, but instead of deliberately using a high-pitched, cutesy voice, it's infuriating!

Yaozi noticed his daughter's condition and chuckled, seemingly unintentionally saying, "To be so promising at such a young age and to achieve fame and success so early, I wonder if this is a good thing for Qianye. After all, many people, once they have money, will become aware of the extravagant side of society, and thus lose their true selves and gradually lose their original intentions, which is quite a common occurrence."

"Miyako, you've been spending every day with Chiya lately. Has he been acting strangely?"

Kazusa was still watching TV, looking very focused, but her ears twitched.

"No, he's more low-key and reserved than I imagined. After he was invited to banquets, gave interviews, and attended book signings, I always took him straight home. I've never seen him make any extra plans. Although he's praised as a child prodigy, he seems like a homebody to me."

"You like staying at home, which is quite similar to my partner's preferences and habits."

Yoko chuckled as she looked at her daughter.

Kazusa remained silent, only glancing back with her eyes lowered.

Miyoko then touched her chin with her finger and said in recollection, "However, Chiya himself is the kind of person who doesn't show off, but as you know, he's very handsome, so when he's out working, all sorts of girls will come up to him and chat him up enthusiastically."

Kazusa's ears perked up even more.

Yaozi asked, "So how did he deal with it?"

Miyoko shrugged: "How can we deal with it? As we agreed before, if you encounter a situation that's difficult for you and you don't know what to do, just push it all to me to handle."

"It seems he's becoming more and more skilled at using Miyoko."

"Um, president, could you put it another way? It just feels a bit off..."

"I'm going to practice the piano."

Although Kazusa was quite annoyed by the TV presenter, she at least heard some good news from Ms. Kudo that put her in a much better mood.

As she left the living room for the practice room with light steps, Yoko's relaxed and indifferent demeanor vanished.

"Alright, let's talk about the actual situation now."

Miyoko naturally understood what the president was referring to, since that was the main reason she was initially sent there.

"It's not very optimistic. I can only say that your concerns, President, are indeed justified. Although Chiya ignores the advances of unfamiliar girls, his friends... how should I put it, they have a strong presence, especially the girls named Saeko Busujima and Utaha Kasumigaoka. The two of them come to find Chiya quite frequently."

After listening, Yoko sighed softly.

There's still more than a year before they can attend the same high school, and given the current situation, it's quite bad.

She suddenly had a great idea.

"Miyoko, tell me, what if I casually find an opportunity to invite Chiya out for dinner, then take the chance to get him and Kazusa drunk together, and throw them into a room together? Do you think that would be a good opportunity?"

"President, what are you doing to a minor?! And is Kazusa really your biological daughter?!"

"It's precisely because he's my own daughter that I'm worried about him, so that she won't end up all alone like me. Miyoko, think about it yourself, if you had a daughter, wouldn't you be attracted to Chiya? Wouldn't you want to bring him and your daughter together?"