158. The Upcoming Golden Week

At 10:00 PM, on the balcony of Jiang Yu's apartment.

"Ah... Is that so? Thank you very much, Kotobuki-san. But... is there really no room for negotiation?"

Leaning against the railing, Jiang Yu was talking via LINE voice chat with Tsumugi Kotobuki about the favor he had asked of her earlier. However, things did not seem to be going as smoothly as he had anticipated.

"Actually, it was mostly fine at first, but Mio-chan seems a bit terrible at dealing with boys. As soon as she heard the request came from a boy, she flatly refused... So, I'm sorry. To be honest, I was actually quite interested myself."

On the other end of the call, Tsumugi Kotobuki explained with a somewhat apologetic tone.

Jiang Yu sighed and said with helpless resignation, "This isn't Kotobuki-san's fault; I was just being too presumptuous. It's only natural, though... After all, it's a sudden request from a complete stranger, so refusal is to be expected."

As his voice trailed off, silence descended on both ends. After a long moment of contemplation, Tsumugi Kotobuki spoke up, "How about this? Do you have the sheet music, Jiang-kun? If you have the scores, perhaps I can persuade them."

Hearing this, Jiang Yu was momentarily stunned before asking in surprise, "I do have them... Would piano scores suffice?"

"That's more than enough! Please let me have a look at Jiang-kun's masterpiece, won't you?" Tsumugi Kotobuki said with a smile. As for why she was being so proactive in helping Jiang Yu... Of course, it wasn't due to any melodramatic reason, but simply out of curiosity to see what kind of original work this boy, whom Chihatsu Kotobuki had praised so highly, could actually produce.

After listening to him play that tune the other day, she had been overflowing with interest in him.

"Well... 'Masterpiece' is a bit much... Just wait a moment, let me check my computer and send it to you once I find it."

"OK."

With that, Jiang Yu hung up the voice call, hurried into his bedroom, turned on his computer, and began searching for the directory where he remembered storing the musical scores.

During those nights when he was busy working on the 3D modeling for *The Witch's House*, he had taken some time during his breaks to transcribe the sheet music for a few of his favorite rock songs. These included pieces like "Butter-Fly," "Zen Zen Zense," and "Answer"—the last of which was the opening theme to *March Comes In Like a Lion*, an anime series so gentle it brings a touch of melancholy, yet so poignant it keeps you deep in thought.

After finding them and giving it some thought, Jiang Yu ultimately decided to send only the sheet music for "Butter-Fly" to Tsumugi Kotobuki. Professional merits aside, at least from a mainstream perspective, these were all exceptionally catchy tunes, so he didn't plan to reveal everything all at once.

Furthermore, Jiang Yu had absolute confidence in "Butter-Fly." Even stripped of its nostalgic childhood halo, it was an outstanding piece of original music.

Seeing the "Received" message sent by Tsumugi Kotobuki, Jiang Yu smiled, tossed his phone onto the bed, stretched lazily, and returned to the rather monotonous task of modeling.

Ever since he helped Utaha Kasumigaoka resolve the issues with her new novel today, it seemed he didn't have much left on his plate to worry about, right?

Manipulating the mouse, Jiang Yu thought to himself.

And indeed, the facts aligned with his thoughts. Over the coming week, every single day felt like a repetition of the previous one on a loop: going to school in the morning, coming home after class to cook, heading off to part-time work, returning for a shower, and then sitting down to rush through the production of *The Witch's House*. Along the way, Megumi Kato would occasionally bring up some programming questions to consult him about. Eriri and Utaha Kasumigaoka both seemed busy with their respective work—the former handling character designs for *Steins;Gate*, and the latter writing her new book. As for Tomoya Aki, he had been unusually quiet lately, no longer dragging Jiang Yu to show his face at the clubroom every day. He too went straight home early after classes, though it remained a mystery what he was actually busy with.

Just like that, a peaceful week slipped by, evoking in Jiang Yu that classic student-era sentiment of, "Ah—! Just like that, another week is already over."

The only thing worth mentioning was probably the cafe, where Ayano Mizuno had returned to her regular work shift. What's more, she wore a beaming smile around everyone, as if something wonderful had happened during her week off—a sight that put Jiang Yu's previously anxious mind at ease. Naturally, this concern stemmed purely from a sense of moral obligation.

Equally gratifying was the fact that, perhaps due to her cheerful mood lately, Ayano Mizuno refrained from teasing him as she usually did. This led Jiang Yu, who had been on edge at first, to mentally scold himself for being overly suspicious. While feeling relieved, there was also a trace of disapp—cough, cough. How could that possibly be? Naturally, he was overjoyed; he would never admit to harboring any latent masochistic tendencies.

(Well, he probably didn't have any. —Notes from the author who flipped through the character profiles.)

However, even though he was a bit curious about what had actually happened to her, Jiang Yu didn't pry. Some matters were simply not meant to be probed casually. Besides, regardless of his underlying psychology, Jiang Yu hoped she would maintain that happy expression for as long as possible.

And then, on the Friday afternoon of that week, Jiang Yu—who had stayed up late the previous night working on *The Witch's House* and had been drowsy the entire day—was jolted awake by a wave of commotion. Looking at the surrounding classmates chatting and laughing happily, he suddenly realized that school must have already ended, and hurriedly began packing his belongings.

Suddenly, an arm hooked around his neck. Jiang Yu paused his packing for a fraction of a second, then calmly resumed.

Tomoya Aki said with helpless exasperation, "Hey—! You actually..."

"Actually what?" Jiang Yu asked, the corners of his mouth curving upward as he immediately retorted.

"Well... never mind. Say, A-Yu, do you have any plans for Golden Week?"

"Golden Week?"

Jiang Yu's movements froze instantly. He turned his head and stared blankly at Tomoya Aki, his eyes filled with utter confusion.

"...Well, though I think it's unlikely, did you seriously not even know that tomorrow marks the beginning of the Golden Week holidays? And earlier, when little Kayano was making her announcements, you were definitely fast asleep, weren't you?"

With that, Tomoya Aki nodded toward the blackboard. Jiang Yu followed his gaze and saw the prominent characters "Homeroom" written on it, along with a few reminders regarding holiday safety and precautions.

No wonder the teacher didn't wake me up even when I was sleeping so openly! So it was Kayano-chan's homeroom session...

A sudden wave of understanding washed over Jiang Yu. Toyogasaki Academy was an elite school with high academic standards. Although the teachers were generally quite approachable, there was no way they would just let you sleep while they went on lecturing. That rule held true across any country and any school.

Well... unless, of course, you were consistently ranked first in the entire grade year. Take that certain black-haired senior girl Jiang Yu knew, for instance: on the surface, she was a top-tier honor student, while simultaneously active in the industry as a best-selling author.

"Hey, hey—! A-Yu!" Seeing Jiang Yu drift off into thought, Tomoya Aki waved a hand in front of his face and reminded him with a helpless expression.

"Ah... My apologies. I really didn't know Golden Week starts tomorrow. By the way, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier, Aki?" Regaining his focus thanks to Tomoya Aki's gesture, Jiang Yu asked quizzically.