After dinner, the three girls helped clean up the dishes.
As a gesture of thanks, Su Yu offered to walk them home—and stop by the supermarket for groceries along the way.
Since Miura Yumiko and Ebina Hina needed to head to the train station, Su Yu walked them there first.
"Su Yu-kun, Yui is pretty timid, so make sure you walk her home properly," Ebina Hina said teasingly.
"See you tomorrow, Su Yu-kun," Miura Yumiko said, glancing at the blushing Yuigahama Yui before waving goodbye to both of them.
Su Yu watched them enter the station before turning to Yui.
"Shall we?"
"Mm."
Yui glanced at Su Yu and began leading the way.
Her house wasn't actually very far from here.
But… walking home together like this felt strangely nice.
The two of them walked in silence.
Occasionally, cars passed by, their headlights illuminating the street.
Yuigahama Yui didn't know what to say, so she simply stole glances at Su Yu.
Su Yu, meanwhile, kept his gaze on the road—though it was clear his mind was elsewhere.
"Su Yu-kun," Yui suddenly spoke.
"Hm?" Su Yu turned to look at her.
"Do you… have any dreams?" she asked, trying to start a conversation.
"Dreams?" Su Yu was caught off guard.
To be honest, he had never really thought about that.
His "dream" had been to live a carefree otaku life—which he had already achieved.
"Sorry, that might've been too difficult to answer… Let's change the question—what do you want to do in the future? Do you have any goals?" Yui rephrased, realizing it was a tough question for a high schooler.
Even she couldn't immediately answer what her own dream was.
"I'm not sure about the distant future… but for now, I want to write a light novel and hopefully become a published author before graduation," Su Yu said after a moment of thought.
"Su Yu-kun, are you an otaku?" Yui joked.
"I do like anime and light novels a lot," Su Yu admitted without hesitation.
"Then, when you finish writing, can I read your light novel?" Yui smiled.
"Of course," Su Yu nodded.
"What kind of story are you going to write?" she asked curiously.
Su Yu hesitated briefly, then looked at Yui.
"Most likely… a romance story."
"A r-romance story?"
Yui's cheeks turned pink.
Was he… implying something?
The thought made her heartbeat quicken, and she lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze.
Before long, they arrived at her house.
Seeing her nameplate, Su Yu stopped.
"Yuigahama-san, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Su Yu-kun."
Yui waved her small hand, watching as Su Yu turned and walked away.
She stood there, watching him until he disappeared from sight.
Only then did she step toward her door.
"I'm home," she called out cheerfully, a bright smile on her face.
Late Night at Sakura Dorm
After buying groceries, Su Yu returned home.
He stored the ingredients in the fridge, grabbed a can of soda, and headed to his room.
His bedroom was simple.
A bookshelf, a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk.
On his desk sat a computer.
He turned it on and searched for how to submit light novels for publication.
There were two main paths:
Author Recommendation – If a well-known light novelist recommended him, he could directly meet with an editor.Newcomer Competitions – Participating in official light novel competitions, such as the one currently being held.
The Newcomer Light Novel Contest was an annual event.
Winners often became famous light novel authors.
The deadline was in a few months, lasting until winter, with sales and reader feedback determining the top ten finalists, which would be announced in spring next year.
After gathering this information, Su Yu didn't start writing immediately.
Instead, he began researching the most famous light novels from his original world.
As expected—none of them existed here.
Among romance light novels, the first title he wrote down was:
"My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU".
…But that one was off-limits.
Even if he changed the names, too many details would still overlap.
He scanned through a list of famous romance titles.
However, just because those stories didn't exist here didn't mean they were safe to use.
For all he knew, the characters might already exist in this world.
That was something he needed to be careful about.
So instead of copying an existing story, he started brainstorming original character settings.
Light novels were all about interesting characters—so designing the heroine first was the best approach.
He grabbed his notebook and started jotting down ideas.
Morning – On the Way to School
Su Yu yawned, clearly sleep-deprived.
After a few minutes, he arrived at the shoe lockers.
"Good morning, Su Yu-kun!"
A cheerful voice greeted him.
"Good morning," Su Yu glanced up—it was Yuigahama Yui.
"Su Yu-kun, did you stay up late?" she asked, noticing his tired expression.
"I was working on my light novel settings," he replied.
"You don't look too good. You should think about your novel during lunch breaks, not lose sleep over it," Yui advised with concern.
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," Su Yu said, finishing up with his shoes before looking at Yui.
Yui, caught in his gaze, felt a little flustered and smiled awkwardly.
Su Yu headed upstairs, Yui following behind him.
By the time they entered the classroom, Miura Yumiko and Ebina Hina were already there.
Ebina Hina grinned mischievously as she watched the two enter together.
Yui's face turned red.
"Good morning, Su Yu-kun," Ebina Hina greeted him, but her eyes were focused on Yui.
"Good morning," Su Yu nodded and walked toward his seat.
Ebina Hina simply smiled knowingly at Yui, saying nothing—yet her gaze made Yui so embarrassed she couldn't even look at her.
Once Hiratsuka-sensei walked in, the first period began.
Lunchtime
The morning classes passed quickly.
Even though Su Yu was exhausted, he managed to stay awake until lunch.
Just as he was about to get up and head to the Service Club, someone blocked his path.
Yuigahama Yui stood there, holding a bento box, her cheeks flushed pink.
"Su… Su Yu-kun, w-would you eat lunch with me?" she stammered.
Su Yu hesitated for a moment—then nodded.
"Sure."
Hearing his response, Yui's face lit up with a smile.
Carrying his own bento, Su Yu walked out of the classroom, with Yui quickly following behind him.
From their seats, Ebina Hina and Miura Yumiko watched them leave—both wearing amused smiles.
In the Hallway
"Su Yu-kun… thank you," Yui whispered.
"Yuigahama-san, to be honest… I actually wanted to refuse so I could take a nap," Su Yu said flatly.
"I-I'm sorry," Yui immediately felt guilty, remembering that he had stayed up late.
"But…" Su Yu paused, then looked at her seriously.
"You're too cute. You're just like the heroine I imagined for my novel. So… can I use your lap as a pillow?"
"…Eh?"
Yuigahama Yui froze.
Notes-Read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X