I, Tomoya Aki, am not a bootlicker

As for herself, does she hope to work with Kasumigaoka Utaha?

There is no need to think too much about this kind of question. Simply as a creator, that is, as Kashiwagi Eri, Eriri's desire to create is driving her to accept this proposal.

After all, she really likes Kasumi Shiko's works. If there is a chance to cooperate, as a creator, she can't help but be tempted.

So, considering the current situation, is it reasonable to give an answer?

"That's all my friendly advice. It's up to you to decide. By the way, are you still struggling with things from elementary school?"

With a ding sound, the microwave finished heating. After sending the message, Akito Tomoya opened the microwave and took out the lunch box.

Eriri also received a reply from Tomoya Aki.

When she saw the last paragraph, she was stunned.

Mentioning the things that happened in elementary school at this time made Eriri's throat feel choked.

Now she didn't know what to say in response.

After that incident in elementary school, their relationship had actually become abnormal, and it took many years for them to restore normal communication.

Should we say who betrayed whom?

Eriri didn't know how to deal with it, but if possible, as they once shared the same ideals, she always wanted to restore the relationship between them to normal.

However, the abnormal friendship that was previously maintained only by childhood sweethearts has become precarious after being exposed by Tomoya Aki.

"..."

Not knowing how to respond, Eriri could only reply with a string of meaningless dots.

"As childhood sweethearts, communication between us is really troublesome. It is really tiring to communicate with you, whether in the past or now. When you talk about things from childhood, it seems to me now that you are right and I am not wrong. I feel relieved. What about you?"

Chapter 42: More than Ten Years of Friendship

Tomoya Aki slowly typed on his phone. He really felt it was troublesome to communicate with Eriri.

When it seemed that the relationship was completely severed, the other party suddenly came back to him, so why was he so excited at that time?

Is it just for such a troublesome way of communication? How long can this awkward relationship last?!

Until last year, they were only able to communicate normally for a few sentences.

After comprehensive consideration, Aki Tomoya felt that it was better to forget about who was right or wrong. This was how Japanese society was, and the prejudice against otakus was like that. On the one hand, they were making money from otakus, and on the other hand, they were discriminating against them.

He simply wanted to complain about the fact that as childhood sweethearts, the way they communicated was more difficult than that between ordinary friends.

After knowing Eriri for so many years, this childhood sweetheart is not as real as his friend Yoshihiko Kamigo. At least when communicating with him, Akitomo will not feel this powerless feeling.

"Since we met at school last month, you know how I evaluated our friendship of more than ten years every time I saw you secretly looking confused beside me?"

Before Ying Lili could react, the new reply made her even more panicked.

In fact, her little actions in school had been seen by Aki Tomoya several times before. When she thought that she had been discovered by Aki Tomoya, Eriri's expression was like the famous painting "The Scream".

"Let's not talk about childhood sweethearts. Just talking about normal friends, it's really troublesome to talk to you. How complicated do you think our relationship is?"

We have known each other for more than ten years, but we can't even communicate normally. How troublesome is this childhood sweetheart relationship?

Does Eriri have few real friends in the other world?

Ok……

Aki Tomoya thought about it, considering that Eriri has always been the daughter of a diplomat in school, and her parents helped sell doujinshi at the CM exhibition, plus the people she would come into contact with given her family background...

Looking at it this way, not many people know her true side.

Thinking of this, Akitomo sighed.

"To put it bluntly, we have known each other for more than ten years, and we are about to graduate from high school. I don't know if you will still be here in a few years, and whether we will have the chance to meet again in the future, so there is no need to care too much about that matter. Now is the time for everyone to cherish this friendship of more than ten years. If you have any questions, you don't want to find me at school, you can ask me privately. I will not refuse as long as I can help you."

Aki Tomoya is really helpless about some things. They have known each other for more than ten years, but they still have to make communication so complicated with so much effort. Wouldn't it be better if they just became strangers after that incident in elementary school?

We have known each other for more than ten years, and for a long period of time it was like we were filming Infernal Affairs. Isn't it troublesome?

Now, Tomoya Aki really doesn't have much feeling about the term "childhood sweetheart". In his heart, he regards Eriri as just an ordinary female friend who is a bit troublesome and whom he has known for more than ten years.

They had known each other since elementary school and continued until high school. To be honest, after that incident, they probably haven't had more than twenty sentences of normal communication until now.

"If you still consider me a friend, then as a friend, my only advice to you regarding the incident between you and that senior is that you'd better take advantage of the opportunity and do whatever you want to do quickly, so as not to leave any regrets."

Who knows if Kashiwagi Eri will have the chance to work with Kasumigaoka Utaha in the future? Based on his understanding of Eriri, she probably wants to work with Kasumigaoka Utaha in her heart.

The helpless thing is that she insisted on using this matter to test herself.

Does this matter have anything to do with him now?

He may have played a role, but realistically, after graduating from high school, no one knew if they would have the chance to meet in the future.

And who knows, one day Eriri might go to London to develop her career under the arrangement of her father?

Aki Tomoya thought that if Eriri didn't want to have any regrets, it would be better for her to do what she wanted.

As a friend, he could only offer such advice.

"Let's talk again when we have time. It's not bad to exchange pleasantries occasionally."

At least this makes the friendship of more than ten years not seem so failed.

After typing the last paragraph, Aki Tomoya put down his phone.

"Bah, this is a bullshit authentic Chinese-style fast food bento, it's a scam for consumers!"

After taking a bite of the bento, Akitomo couldn't help but complain.

The Japanese have a very bad conscience!

If this is authentic, then he can be a great chef in China.

It turns out that you still have to be careful about being cheated when living alone!

While chewing the food in his mouth, although Tomoya Aki said he was disgusted, it didn't stop him from filling his stomach. After all, it wasn't really that bad.

After finishing his fast food lunch, he packed up his things, took a good shower, and went upstairs to continue reviewing.

From his schoolbag, he took out two books, one is "The Tale of Ise" and the other is "The Tale of Genji".

Both are classical literature created during the Heian period.

The former was created during the early Heian period in Japan, while the latter was created during the heyday of the Heian period.

Let’s not talk about "The Tale of Ise" for now, let’s talk about "The Tale of Genji". When Mr. Tsubota first recommended it to me, his impression of "The Tale of Genji" was still about the Genji Development Plan. After learning more about it, he realized that he had more or less misunderstandings.

After learning about the background of the creation of "The Tale of Genji", taking a brief look at the life of Murasaki Shikibu, and learning from Mr. Tsubota about the influence of the "mono no aware" color of "The Tale of Genji" on later literary creation in Japan, Aki Tomoya had a preliminary and profound impression of Murasaki Shikibu, the ancient Japanese female literary writer.

One is "The Tale of Ise" and the other is "The Tale of Genji", which are from the same era but different periods. In order to enhance his understanding of ancient Japanese literature and the historical background of the Heian period, Tomoya Aki is currently working on these two books.

As for Mr. Tsubota's comment that the "mono no aware" color in the literature of modern Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata was inherited from "The Tale of Genji", Aki Tomoya was not too impressed.

Among Japanese writers, the one he knows best is Haruki Murakami, who is often singled out as a hot topic every year.

"Classical literature, Japanese history, mathematics..."

Looking up at the course schedule he had drawn on the wall, Tomoya Aki confirmed it again, then slowly sat down and opened the first book of "The Tale of Ise".

He found the bookmark at a glance, continued from where he last read, set the time on the alarm clock next to him, and decided to continue reading with a critical eye.

To put it simply, Japanese classical Chinese is of the same nature as classical Chinese. The difference is that one is the way ancient people in China spoke, and the other is the way ancient people in Japan spoke.

Similarly, Japan’s ancient culture was largely influenced by the Celestial Empire.

Chapter 43: Young people don’t know sorrow?

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is already late May.

The midterm exams at Toyonosaki Academy have ended, the results were released in the second week, and the rankings of each grade were also posted.

"Sawamura-san's English grades are still as good as ever, and he's keeping up his performance!"

Eriri was walking in the corridor, passing by the report card as if she didn't care, and she heard a few girls talking about her English grades.

Hearing this, Eriri's eyes twitched wildly. She felt really sorry for her poor English grades!

However, as a mixed-race girl and the daughter of a diplomat, Eriri, who usually maintains the demeanor of a young lady at school, has academic performance that is not that impressive compared to her painting skills.

Especially her English grades, which, on paper, are somewhat inconsistent with the impression given by her blonde mixed-race girl.

The midterm exam is over. Before the exam, Ying Lili didn't think about cramming or anything like that. Her mind had been on something else recently.

"However, Amaki from Class B is amazing. His grades last year were so unremarkable, but this time he jumped to the front line in just over a month!"

Compared to Eriri's results, as another famous person in the school, Tomoya Aki's midterm exam results are also being watched by others.

Eriri's shining point lies in her painting skills, and her grades are just mentioned as an occasional joke.

And Tomoya Aki, a boy who used to have mediocre grades and was famous for being an otaku, had to change his impression of him after the midterm exam after the school started.

"What, are you interested in that otaku?"

The girl's friend next to her joked.

"You're so annoying. I heard that guy is preparing for the entrance exam to the University of Tokyo. Just thinking about that kind of person is so boring. Not as interesting as before!"

For some adolescent girls, people whose minds are filled with studying are actually quite boring.

Especially for boys from prestigious schools, it is easy to leave a stereotyped impression.

While they were talking, Eriri had already left quickly.

During lunch break, she had to rush to the studio because of someone's request.

"She's bothering others even during her break time. That woman is really troublesome. She rejected my drafts several times!"

Eriri complained as she pushed open the door of her private studio.

"I'm so sorry to reject your first draft, Mr. Kashiwagi Eri, are you really serious about this?"

The moment she pushed open the door, a familiar voice rang out in the room.

"Xiaxiaxia Hill, how did you get in?!"

Because of the person who appeared in the studio, Eriri shouted out with a stutter.

This was clearly her exclusive studio, but now someone else had broken in.

"Of course he pushed the door open and walked in. What do you think, Sawamura-san?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her eyes, with a hint of helplessness in them.

After receiving a positive response from Eriri last week, Kasumigaoka Utaha was quite satisfied and was fully focused on planning her new work.

However, after experiencing Eriri's "perfunctory" response several times, she calmed down a little and had to start thinking about whether the girl in front of her with twin pigtails was playing a trick on her.

A great person like Kashiwagi Eri is able to produce such a work, isn't she afraid of tarnishing her own reputation?

"Sawamura-kun, if you haven't thought it through, please don't give me that kind of answer. It's really a headache!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha continued with a helpless tone.

She held an outline in her hand, her fingers exerting slight force.

She spent a lot of effort writing the preliminary outline and character design, but her collaborator's perfunctory attitude made her feel it was not worth it.

If the person she is trying to get across is Kashiwagi Eri, who wants to do things perfunctorily to divert attention, Kasumigaoka Utaha feels it is necessary to find someone else.

Although one of the bargaining chips to convince Uzui was to let the artist Kashiwagi Eri be her illustrator, Eriri is not interested in their work now.

This situation made Kasumigaoka Utaha a little disappointed.

"Sawamura-san, please stop for a moment. I don't think you have thought it through."

Kasumigaoka Utaha said this in a solemn tone, then walked out of Eriri's studio holding the outline and character design in her hands.

"By the way, the Summer Comic Market is coming soon. If Sawamura-san is worried about that, you don't need to worry about my situation. Please think carefully about whether you really want to cooperate with me. I am also under pressure from Fuzugawa."

As she walked out of the door, Kasumigaoka Utaha added another sentence, as if she wanted to use this to remind Eriri that she was already working on this project under great pressure, and if Eriri didn't have this in mind, then please don't make things difficult for her.

Eriri lowered her head slightly, and at this moment she was particularly curious about how Kasumigaoka Utaha could be so free and easy.

She spent the rest of the day thinking about it, but she couldn't figure out what the problem was. She had clearly been concerned about things that had been explained to her unilaterally, so why was she still involved in this kind of thing?