The next day, the weekend, Watanabe Yu got up early.
Thanks to getting home relatively early yesterday, arriving home around noon, his novel copying work in the afternoon was not affected.
Consequently, he didn't need to stay up late to catch up on his progress that night either.
Up to this point, 《Norwegian Wood》 is half complete. Judging by how smoothly and quickly he is writing now, perhaps he won't even need until Tuesday; he might finish 《Norwegian Wood》 completely by Monday.
Once it's done, he can submit the book via email to Akiba Publishing House that Monday night. Based on their advertised review speed, at the earliest, the Editor there should contact him by Tuesday afternoon.
After the actual meeting and the formal business procedures are done, it will be time for the bargaining session—the part he is most familiar with and the most classic part.
He hoped the Editor from Akiba Publishing House would be more agreeable, considering he was a student, and grant him a better royalty split, which would make his subsequent life easier.
Once the first batch of Royalty arrives and he has savings, he can consider moving to a better place.
However, it would still be renting; buying a house remains a long and arduous journey.
The housing prices in Bunkyo Ward are indeed prohibitively expensive.
The relatively cheaper options are only apartments.
Unfortunately, he wasn't interested in apartments at all, so that option was dismissed from the start. The remaining options were only Tower or Detached House.
Compared to the suffocating feeling of Skyscrapers, he personally preferred a Detached House.
But the problem is, if he chose a Detached House, given his aesthetic style, after looking around, he would definitely only look in the expensive direction.
After all, most of the time, the only flaw of an expensive item is its price.
And if his financial situation allowed, he would even want to demolish and redo the entire renovation after buying the house.
Of course, as mentioned before, for now, it is definitely a long and arduous journey.
But it's not entirely without hope.
Music listening in this world uses the classic model of single-track payment and subscription, with the former occupying the majority of the paid market.
If handled properly, this could be a considerable source of income.
In short, everything is developing in a positive direction.
Patting his face, Watanabe Yu focused his spirit and fully immersed himself in the morning's work.
Amidst the tapping sound of the laptop keyboard, passage after passage was Replicated.
The more he engaged in this work, the more he could feel the practical benefits brought by Well-informed and Retentive （Intermediate） and Strengthen the Body （Beginner）.
Clear memory, agile thinking, higher tolerance for physical fatigue—
—these were all subtly improving his efficiency.
According to System Bro's explanation, the specific effect shown by Strengthen the Body (Beginner) depends on his Physical fitness.
To put it plainly, his existing Physical fitness is the base, and Strengthen the Body （Beginner） is the magnification multiplier. The former multiplied by （1 + the latter） equals the Physical fitness he actually exhibits.
Similarly, this formula also applies to Well-informed and Retentive （Intermediate）.
This is equivalent to forming a complete Line.
As Physical fitness strengthens and base memory increases, the effect of Well-informed and Retentive （Intermediate） naturally becomes better.
Therefore, the Morning Exercise task must also be put on the agenda.
At 11:40 AM, his mobile phone, placed on the square table, suddenly vibrated.
As a Conditioned reflex, he stopped typing, picked up the mobile phone, and glanced at it.
The sender was none other than Hayakawa Yuki.
【Watanabe, don't be late!】
Watanabe Yu opened the map and checked the distance between his home and Hayakawa Yuki's home.
Then he typed two characters and replied.
【Won't be】
The message showed as read, and Hayakawa Yuki on the other end typed another reply.
【Need me to pick you up?】
【No need】
【Okay, don't be late~】
【Leaving now】
Exiting line, Watanabe Yu tapped into the map interface and selected walking navigation.
The distance from his home to Hayakawa Yuki's home was only about 1.5 km on foot, which he could cover quickly at his pace.
Glancing at the time on his laptop, Watanabe Yu saved his progress and closed the document.
To be safe, he also copied the document's contents onto a USB drive.
Then, he stretched and stood up.
The time they agreed upon was 12:30 PM; arriving now would be about the right time.
*
“Did you tell him?”
At the Hayakawa Residence, Hayakawa Naoko, wearing an Apron, opened the Refrigerator and glanced at Hayakawa Yuki, who was watching TV in the Living Room, and asked.
“I did.”
Hayakawa Yuki picked up the Remote control and turned the TV volume down slightly.
“What did Watanabe-san say?”
Hayakawa Naoko looked at the dazzling array of fruit displayed in the Refrigerator, momentarily suffering from Decision paralysis.
“He said he won't be late, doesn't need me to pick him up, and that he’s already leaving.” Hayakawa Yuki turned her head to look at her Mother, who was standing blankly in front of the Refrigerator. “He probably isn't picky about fruit.”
That was the feeling Watanabe Yu gave her; he wasn't that particular about many things.
“Oh.”
Hearing this, Hayakawa Naoko nodded thoughtfully, picked out two expensive boxes of fruit, and took them out.
Then, she turned her head, met her daughter's Line of sight, and asked with some curiosity, “By the way, what were you looking at so intently on your mobile phone yesterday? Just that morning?”
In her memory, her daughter rarely showed an expression that looked eager yet slightly embarrassed to look.
“I was looking at the Class Group.”
Hayakawa Yuki subtly averted her gaze.
That was the truth, but not the whole truth.
She was indeed looking at the Class Group, but her attention wasn't on the chat at all; it was on that captured photo.
“Is that the expression you make when looking at the Class Group?” Hayakawa Naoko placed the fruit on a nearby table, then covered her mouth and imitated the soft murmuring state her daughter had yesterday, “Ah, just one more look, just one more look, hiss, no, I need to look one more time.”
That demeanor made her feel Laughing and crying.
From her perspective, it looked like her daughter was holding a mobile phone, struggling internally for a long time by herself.
If she wanted to look, she should just look openly!
If she didn't want to look, she should just stop looking decisively.
But whenever she approached, before she could even speak, Yuki would become alert like a prey animal in the jungle, raising her eyebrows at the slightest disturbance, hiding her mobile phone, and feigning an innocent look in a way that was too obvious. Then, without giving her a chance to speak, she would pick up a textbook nearby and immediately adopt a posture of ‘I need to study, don't bother me.’
The problem was, this Idiot daughter of hers was holding the textbook upside down.
The clumsy girl didn't notice it at first, and when she finally realized it belatedly, her Little Face, which had managed to remain composed, instantly flushed bright pink.
It was certainly cute, as her daughter was the cutest in the world, but the issue was that it left her in an awkward position.
Since Yuki had already shown that expression, she definitely couldn't press the matter further.
She could only temporarily suppress her desire for Gossip and plan to find another opportunity!
Thus, it was delayed until now.
“Mother!”
Hearing this, Hayakawa Yuki responded with a Coyly complaint, pouting her Little Mouth in dissatisfaction.
“Alright, alright, I won't mention it, won't mention it,” Hayakawa Naoko immediately soothed her Precious daughter's emotions, then paused, “But, can you really not reveal what you were looking at? I mean, more specifically.”
“No!”
Hayakawa Yuki was Concise.
What a joke! If her Mother knew what she was looking at, she would be teased for a long time!
“Hmph, boring!”
Hayakawa Naoko rolled her eyes, picked up the fruit, and walked into the Kitchen.
If she won't say, she won't say! She couldn't be bothered to listen anyway!
She'll just try to subtly ask Watanabe Yu later!
Going directly to a Classmate for information—wouldn't that be much faster?
Mothers always possess an innate, unique, and sharp talent when it comes to finding opportunities for their Children's Gossip.
2/2
Okay, I managed to catch up today, they said.