Chapter 4: Feels Just Like An Affair
“Is this the place…”
Natsume Mio arrived in front of an old apartment building.
She was certain she had never been to this area before, but everything she saw in front of her felt so familiar.
After getting off the bus, she didn’t even look at the navigation and found this place relying purely on memory.
This was a two-story apartment building with its exterior wall covered in brown corrugated iron, already rust-stained on the surface, and the entrance was a simple glass sliding door.
Judging from the number of windows, the building could house eight households in total, each room very small, with no balcony, and clothes could only be hung on racks outside the windows.
Turning a street corner, Natsume Mio even saw a cemetery directly facing this apartment.
It was actually a cemetery-view apartment…
Did A Jian really live in a place like this?
Natsume Mio took a photo of the apartment, though she didn’t pay too much attention to it, since she had only seen it in a dream and wanted to check it out in reality.
The area was eerily quiet, and just as Natsume Mio was about to leave, she heard thumping footsteps from inside the apartment.
In that dream, she remembered that this old apartment had no soundproofing at all; they didn’t even dare to make love in the room for fear of the neighbors hearing, so they always went to small hotels outside.
Of course, there were also people who didn’t care at all.
After all, the entire apartment had eight households, and living here meant almost constant sounds of passion night after night from the surroundings.
Memories from the dream were mostly blurry, but anything related to him was exceptionally clear, even every sensation in her body…
As she was thinking, a figure appeared behind the frosted glass door.
Natsume Mio’s eyes widened instantly; although the other person hadn’t opened the door yet, just seeing this silhouette allowed her to confirm that it was definitely A Jian standing behind the door!
A Jian really lived here?!
Natsume Mio looked around and quickly hid behind a large tree next to the cemetery, cautiously peeking out and watching the situation at the apartment.
The glass door was pulled open, and Sakamoto Ken walked out from inside.
He was carrying a shoulder bag and headed directly toward the intersection.
Only after Sakamoto Ken passed the next intersection did Natsume Mio hurriedly follow.
After turning two more street corners, Natsume Mio stuck close to the walls the whole way, carefully keeping an eye on Sakamoto Ken, who was only about ten meters ahead, ready to duck behind the wall at any moment.
Natsume Mio had thought that normal people wouldn’t suddenly turn around while walking, but as they went along, she saw Sakamoto Ken suddenly stop and start turning back.
Natsume Mio reflexively darted behind the exterior wall of a nearby detached house.
She felt her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
Why, why did it suddenly feel like she was having an affair!
After several seconds, Natsume Mio cautiously peeked out.
After seeing Sakamoto Ken continue walking forward, she let out a slight sigh of relief, keeping a greater distance this time while tailing him.
Continuing on like this, Sakamoto Ken arrived in front of the bus stop where she had gotten off earlier.
Natsume Mio didn’t dare to get on the same bus as him and just watched from afar.
Sakamoto Ken boarded bus Take 15-2, presumably heading to Takezuka Station.
Where was he going?
Natsume Mio felt she shouldn’t be tailing A Jian, as it made her seem like a pervert.
But once the thought arose, she couldn’t shake it off.
Sakamoto Ken had already left by bus, and catching the next one would definitely be too late.
Natsume Mio stood at the intersection looking around when a black taxi happened to drive by.
She quickly waved it down.
“To Takezuka Station, please hurry!” Natsume Mio’s emotions were tense.
Less than ten minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of the station.
Paying the 1200 yen fare made Natsume Mio feel a bit heartbroken.
This was the income from more than an hour of her part-time job, gone in less than ten minutes in the taxi.
Takezuka was a large station with a commercial center outside.
However, only one train line passed through here, making it convenient for staking out.
First, judging that A Jian couldn’t be heading north to a more suburban area, there was only one direction southbound.
She swiped her card to enter the station, hurried to the far end of the platform, hid behind a vending machine, and closely watched the staircase entrance to the platform.
After waiting about ten minutes, sure enough, that familiar boy appeared in her view.
Natsume Mio suddenly felt like she had hunted for a long time and the prey had finally appeared.
Although she still felt a bit guilty inside for doing this, it was mostly overtaken by excitement.
So stimulating! So stimulating! So stimulating!
That dream was real!
At least some of it was real!
Never mind whether A Jian was a scumbag or not later; at least it meant they would definitely be together!
After Sakamoto Ken boarded from the other side’s car interior, Natsume Mio immediately followed.
After boarding, Sakamoto Ken took out a manga from his bag to read, unaware that in the car interior on the other side, a certain girl was secretly watching him.
Tobu Skytree Line, from Takezuka to Nishi-Arai Station, transferring at the same station here, over forty minutes total, finally arriving at Jimbocho.
After following Sakamoto Ken off the train, Natsume Mio muttered, “What, back to the Chiyoda area again.”
With the dense crowd on the city center streets, she had to follow closer, managing the whole way without incident, ultimately watching Sakamoto Ken enter a building covered in glass curtain walls.
At the very top were three large characters:
Shueisha.
……
Shueisha.
Sakamoto Ken entered through the main entrance with his backpack.
The modernized company lobby had posters of famous manga on the surrounding walls.
This was the place all manga writers dreamed of; if a work could get a serialization opportunity in Shueisha’s flagship magazine, it meant standing at a very high starting point in one’s career.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes, I have an appointment to meet Editor Kaji.” Sakamoto Ken showed his email reply to the receptionist.
“Please fill out this information form here.” The receptionist handed an information sheet to Sakamoto Ken.
Sakamoto Ken filled it out according to the information he had submitted on the web before.
The receptionist picked up the phone, dialed a number, and announced Sakamoto Ken’s name.
Soon, he pointed to the other side: “Then, please wait a moment in Meeting Room 7; Editor Kaji said he’ll be right there.”
The Shueisha Headquarters building had a dedicated area divided into small meeting rooms by partitions about the height of a person, probably over a dozen, most of them in use.
Moreover, Sakamoto Ken could hear everyone’s conversations.
“Sorry, the drawing in this manuscript doesn’t meet our requirements; please go back and refine it some more.”
“The conception for the story’s continuation doesn’t impress me; please go back.”
“The characters are all outdated designs; please take a look at the latest works.”
“……”
In short, these editors were all delivering heartbreaking words to the new writers.
Sakamoto Ken sat in Partition 7 waiting a few minutes when he heard a series of hurried footsteps.
To Sakamoto Ken’s surprise, Editor Kaji was actually a female editor.
Honestly, he had preferred working with a male editor.
It wasn’t doubting her professional skills, but after experiencing the previous life, he had an instinctive aversion to attractive women.
People who hadn’t been stabbed by a woman with a knife wouldn’t understand.
