blogombal Page 95
Page 95
The pressure was immense, but Yuto Itsuka remained unusually calm.
He believes he made the right decision.
Just then, my phone vibrated on the table; it was a message from Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Kasumi Shiko: I heard from editor Machida, junior. He caused a huge scene at the meeting and even drove away the legendary Akane Akasaka. He's really something."
"Who's more handsome than me: This is just stating the position that the original author should have."
"Kasumi Shiko: That sounds nice, but you just can't bear to see your personal illustrator suffer, right? This kind of 'fighting for a woman' trope may be cliché, but some blond losers will probably enjoy it, right? Maybe they'll be so moved they'll cry and throw themselves into your arms, saying things like, 'Yuto, you're my hero,' right?"
Xiao Chunu has quite a vivid imagination, and Itsuka Yuto smiled.
"Who's more handsome than me: Senior, it's a waste of your talent not to write this plot into your novel."
"Kasumi Shiko: I couldn't write such a harmonious plot. However, I still have to remind you, junior, Akane Akasaka is not the simple enemy you think she is. She is a woman who can burn everything to achieve her goals."
"Kasumi: You offended her, she won't let it go so easily. Be careful, lest you and your 'ultimate partner' die without even knowing how."
The message ended with a demon emoji.
Yuto put away his phone. He understood Kasumigaoka Utaha's reminder, but he didn't have time to think about that now. The most important thing right now was to keep Eriri calm.
He dialed Eriri's number.
The phone rang for a long time before being answered. In the background, there was a rapid "click-click-click" sound, like a digital pen rapidly tapping on a drawing board.
"W-What are you doing! I'm busy, I don't have time for you!" Eriri's voice came through the receiver.
"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask our genius illustrator how the character design work is going?" Yuto leaned back in his chair and asked with a smile.
"Hmph! Who do you think I am!" Eriri on the other end of the phone immediately puffed out her non-existent chest with pride. "This kind of small matter can be handled in a minute! Didn't the animation company say they highly praised my drawings? Of course, I'm going to give it my all and show them what a real genius is!"
"Yes, yes, you're the best." Yuto agreed with her.
"Of course! But you, don't mess up the novel. If the plot drags down my drawing, I won't let you off the hook!" Eriri said fiercely.
"Don't worry, partner."
After hanging up the phone, Yuto's smile slowly faded.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
He didn't want Eriri to know about the confrontation at that meeting.
Given her personality, if she knew that her painting had been belittled as worthless by Akane Akasaka, and that he had risked the entire project's future to protect her, she would surely fall into deep self-blame and self-doubt.
She would feel that she was dragging Yuto down, and that her "immaturity" was what brought all this to the scene.
That pride and passion are the source of her creativity, and Yuto Itsuka wants to protect it.
……
For the next two days, Yuto Itsuka devoted himself entirely to writing the novel.
His confrontation with Akane Akasaka only fueled his creative drive.
He wants to respond to all the doubts with an even more compelling story.
He wanted to prove that the "soul" he and Eriri upheld possessed the power to shake the market.
The manuscript is progressing rapidly at Zero Saki Shiki House.
However, the calm he had been trying to maintain was completely shattered on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday evening.
Yuto Itsuka was preparing dinner in the kitchen when his phone suddenly started vibrating incessantly.
He picked it up and saw that it was an unfamiliar number.
He hesitated for a moment, but then answered the call.
"Is this Itsuka-sensei? This is Ando from A-1!" Ando Masato's voice sounded extremely anxious on the other end of the phone.
"Mr. Ando? What happened?" Yuto's heart skipped a beat.
"Something terrible has happened!" Masato Ando practically roared. "You need to go online right now! Something about what happened between us and Professor Akasaka in the meeting has been leaked online!"
Yuto's pupils suddenly contracted, and he immediately hung up the phone, rushed to the computer, and opened the browser.
No special search is needed; the headline on Japan's largest ACG information website, bolded and highlighted in red, immediately catches the eye—
[Shocking! Exclusive scoop! The atmosphere at the "Farming King" anime adaptation meeting was tense! New author "Beautiful Girl Knight" publicly confronted industry legend Akane Kousaka, all to defend the original illustrator?]
The article used highly inflammatory language to describe the meeting that day in detail.
Although specific names are omitted, the highly suggestive code names such as "Super Popular New Work from Shinazugawa Bunko," "Newcomer King of Beautiful Girls Knights," "Master of Doujinshi Eri Kashiwagi," and "Legendary Animator Ms. R" are no different from being named by name to those in the industry.
The story portrays Itsuka Yuto as an arrogant newcomer who disregards the bigger picture for the sake of a "beauty," depicts Akane Kousaka as an industry senior who prioritizes the big picture but is rudely offended, and Eriri as a "nepotism hire" whose drawing skills are not good enough and who needs the author to step in to keep her position.
The text is filled with criticism of Yuto and contempt for Eriri.
Most fatally, the article ended with a blurry, secretly taken photo.
The photo was clearly taken outside the conference room through glass. In the picture, Yuto Itsuka is standing, looking down at Akane Akasaka across from him with a tough posture.
Akane Akasaka, on the other hand, leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest.
The angle and timing of this photo are extremely clever, perfectly creating an atmosphere of "the newcomer bullying others while the senior remains calm and composed".
The comment section has exploded.
"Who is this beautiful female knight? She's so arrogant! How dare she talk to the Great God of the Akasaka like that?"
"Eri Kashiwagi? You mean that doujinshi artist whose art style is cute but whose anatomy is always a bit off? Her skill level is definitely not good enough for commercial animation."
"Hilarious! He dared to offend A-1 and Akasaka-sama for his girlfriend, an illustrator. That's true love."
"What true love? He's just a clueless idiot who doesn't know the rules. Animation is a commercial endeavor, not child's play. Who's going to guarantee the quality of the work if you do it like this?"
"I was really looking forward to the anime adaptation of 'Farming King,' but it looks like it's going to be canceled now. It's a shame for A-1 Pictures."
"I feel sorry for Ms. Kurosaka, her good intentions were taken for granted."
"Eri Kashiwagi, get out of the 'Farming King' project! Don't drag our Leafa and Mia down!"
Vicious comments flooded in, almost unanimously supporting Akane Kousaka and criticizing Yuto and Eriri.
Yuto Itsuka's expression instantly darkened.
Who did it? !
Ando? Kinoshita?
No, they are a community of shared interests, and there's no reason for them to do something so self-destructive.
It's even less likely that Machida Sonoko would be involved.
A staff member at the document library?
That doesn't make sense.
Is that a competitor's attempt to sabotage us?
Yuto Itsuka thought about it carefully and realized that it wasn't the case. The focus of this wave of public opinion was not the anime adaptation of "Farming King" itself, but rather on him as the original author and Eriri.
Therefore, the answer is only one person—Akane Kousaka.
No, it might not be her personally, but it must be someone from her camp.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's warning still echoed in my ears: "She won't let this go so easily."
Yuto never expected that her revenge would come so quickly and so insidiously.
Instead of sabotaging the production process, she chose the most vicious method—public opinion.
She intends to use public pressure to force the production committee, Shinazugawa Bunko, and ultimately force Itsuka Yuto to bow down.
She wanted everyone to believe that choosing Kashiwagi Eri was a mistake.
Yuto Itsuka was somewhat worried, but not about himself; he could bear the insults and accusations.
He was worried about Eriri.
What would happen to that proud yet fragile blonde girl when she sees her cherished painting being belittled to nothing, and when she is slandered as a "burden" who relies on connections?
He picked up his phone, wanting to call Eriri and calm her down before she saw all this.
But the phone screen flashed first, displaying Eriri's profile picture.
She sent him a link to the article he had just read on Toutiao.
Eriri: What... is going on?
Yuto Itsuka took a deep breath and replied:
"Who's more handsome than me? Eriri, hold on, listen to me, this matter..."
However, before he could even send his message in the chat box, the other party called him directly.
Yuto's heart sank, and he pressed the answer button.
There was silence on the other end of the phone; there was no crying or questioning as expected, which was rather ominous.
"Eriri?" Yuto asked tentatively.
"...Why?" Finally, Eriri's trembling voice came through the receiver, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I..." Yuto was speechless for a moment, unable to find an excuse.
"Why didn't you tell me that this happened at the meeting? Why didn't you tell me that my painting was said so badly? Why didn't you tell me that you argued with such an important person for my sake?"
Her voice grew louder and louder, and her emotions became increasingly agitated.
Do you think I'm just a clueless idiot? Do you think I only cause you trouble? Do you think I'm so fragile that I can't even handle something like this?!
"Eri, don't rush, listen to me!" Yuto hurriedly interrupted her, "I just don't want you to be distracted, and I don't want these messy things to affect your creation."
"It affects my creative process?" Eriri laughed shortly, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Yuto Itsuka, don't you understand yet?!"
"We're partners!" she practically shouted. "Partners! Do you even understand what that means? It means facing everything together, good or bad!"
"Why do you think you can shoulder everything all by yourself? What do you take me for? A pretty face who needs your protection, hiding behind you?!"
"I do not have……"
"You are!" Eriri didn't give him a chance to explain. "That's what you think! You think my drawing is bad, that my level is not good enough, so when others criticize me, you feel it's your responsibility and you have to stand up for me!"
"You're not defending me at all, you're defending your own pride!" Eriri's last words completely killed the match.
Upon hearing this, Itsuka Yuto's breath hitched.
He knew Eriri was speaking recklessly in anger, but some words, once spoken, cannot be taken back.
Good words are warm in the winter, and bad words hurt the cold in June.
After a moment of silence, his voice turned cold: "...Eri, in your heart, is that the kind of person I am?"
On the other end of the phone, Eriri seemed to realize that she had gone too far. She was panting heavily, but did not apologize.
"Beep...beep...beep..."
The call was hung up.
Yuto Itsuki stood there, holding his phone, stunned.
He sat down in the chair, rubbing his aching temples.
What he perceived as protection, Eriri saw as the greatest distrust...
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang without warning.
Yuto was startled and almost immediately guessed who it was. He walked over and looked out through the peephole.
Standing outside the door was Eriri Sawamura Spencer.
She was wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts, her golden pigtails were a little messy, and her usually clear and bright blue eyes were now bloodshot and red-rimmed, clearly from crying.
Yuto opened the door.
Eriri rushed in without saying a word, then suddenly turned around to confront him.
“Yuto Itsuka.” Eriri stared intently at him, her chest heaving violently. “Now, in front of me, tell me everything that happened at the meeting that day, in detail.”
Seeing her like this, Yuto decided not to explain any further. He remained silent for a moment and then nodded.
"it is good."