Early Monday morning, on the way from Toyosaki Station to school.

Kato Yusuke told Megumi, whom he met by chance, what happened yesterday, and she suddenly stopped.

"...Hey, Nasu Plateau?"

"Well, Yinglili's family has a villa there. We mentioned this topic when we were at Baihua Lake."

"Hmm~ Yusuke, you did mention it...but that's not what I want to ask."

Hui tilted her head slightly, "You mean, when did Yinglili say she was going to retreat there?"

"Yesterday afternoon. She set off this morning. According to the time, she should be almost at her destination now."

"...So, how long will Yinglili stay in seclusion?"

"Probably until next weekend."

"next weekend……"

The two continued to move forward.

After calculating the days for a while, Hui asked in surprise: "Isn't it time for spring break?"

Kato Yusuke nodded and said, "She said so herself."

"But, what about the school's courses? Also, I remember that Yinglili had taken leave several times before to participate in activities. Is her attendance really okay?"

"About these issues..."

Kato Yusuke showed a somewhat speechless expression, moved his lips and said, "Actually, her family seems to have donated money to our school just in case, just in case."

"...Uh~~ Well, I don't know how to evaluate it, but it is indeed the Eiriri family."

Hui spoke incomprehensibly, skipping this somewhat realistic topic, and asked instead:

"Speaking of which, why did Yinglili do that?

Even if you don’t want to draw in the studio, it’s still the same if you stay at home, right?

Her parents are so open-minded that they shouldn't stop her from working at home."

"Although this is just my personal thought——"

Kato Yusuke looked at the students walking around, nodded to those who greeted him, and gave answers at the same time.

"But in Yingli's eyes, the studio and home probably belong to the comfort zone. She made that choice because she wanted to make a breakthrough."

"That's it..."

Hui said softly, looking at him sideways, with a hint of concern on his face, "Then... why didn't Yusuke tell me about this as soon as possible yesterday?"

"Hmm...?" Kato Yusuke was stunned, "Sorry, I thought she had told you, didn't she?"

"No~ Yinglili didn't say anything to me, at least I don't have that kind of memory. But...she probably didn't want others to see her bad side, so it's okay."

Hui was actually a little concerned about a close friend making an important decision without telling her, but she quickly adjusted herself and showed a good-tempered side.

She thought for a moment and then asked: "Compared with this, is it really okay for Yinglili to live alone in the mountains far away from people?"

Kato Yusuke couldn't help but smile.

"Tochigi Prefecture is not that remote, and the Eiriri family's villa seems to be quite high-end, and there is a convenience store nearby, so I think there is no need to worry."

"But, it's quite far there, right? If something happens, we can't rush there right away, right?"

"She has promised me that she will keep in touch every day. If I feel anything is wrong, I will notify her family in time."

"Is...is that so?" Hui added, "To be honest, I still can't imagine Yinglili living alone."

"If you are worried, you can try sending her a LINE message. She will probably read it when she is not busy."

"Hmm~~That's not possible, right? After all, Yinglili is so determined to retreat. It would be too rude to disturb others under such circumstances. I won't do that kind of thing."

Kato Yusuke nodded slightly and agreed with this.

In fact, not only Hui, but also him.

In order not to be disturbed by the outside world, Yinglili made a one-way contact agreement with him before leaving. He could only wait for the other party to contact him unless necessary, and could not take the initiative to disturb him.

Although this request was somewhat unreasonable, he still accepted it because it was a serious decision made by the other party.

Kato Yusuke was thinking about this as he followed the crowd into the campus.

The morning classes passed quickly.

During lunch break, he went to the rooftop and told Shiyu about the incident.

Compared to Hui, Shiyu's performance is much more open-minded.

While the girl was eating the bread he bought, she expressed her views sarcastically.

"What a shame, Yuu-chan, how dare you let out an author who is so procrastinating? As a representative of the club, you have made a fatal mistake, haven't you?"

"Is it that serious……?"

"Of course, Sawamura will never come back, she will definitely run away."

"Yinglili won't do that kind of thing. She said that no matter what the outcome is, she will come back before the graduation ceremony."

"You are so naive, Yuu-chan. You must know that the most untrustworthy race of people in the world are creators, right?"

"...You seem to have attacked yourself, Xiaoshi."

"Otherwise, has Sawamura contacted you?"

Kato Yusuke answered truthfully: "Not yet, but she just arrived there today and there is probably a lot of things to clean up. She will probably call later."

"Listen, Yuu-chan, I heard something like this from an editor. She said that writers who procrastinate have their own routines, so you'd better pay attention."

Shiyu raised an index finger seriously.

"The first is Level 1. The other person's tone will gradually become rude."

"She's the same as usual."

"Then it's Level 2, and the other person starts to blame themselves."

"She had a bit of that before."

"The next step is Level 3. The other party's response to messages is getting slower and slower."

"It's not a bad thing to spend more time thinking."

"Further down is Level 4. The other person will ignore the gazes around them and mutter self-pitying words such as 'I really want to die' or 'I can't do it anymore.'"

"Oh, so to speak, this kind of thing happened a lot when I helped her publish books. I kind of miss it."

"...The last one is Level 5. The other party will lose contact completely from a certain day."

"If that were the case, Aunt Sayuri would probably pretend to accidentally reveal her whereabouts to me."

"...By the way, it is said that there is a Level 6 above.

Even if the missing female creator can be successfully found by then, she will find that she has already changed her pen name to a man and gone to other jobs. This is what Ms. Machida summed up."

"How is this possible? Yinglili is not even of legal age for marriage - hiss!"

Before Kato Yusuke finished speaking, the other party pinched the back of his hand with his nails, causing him to gasp.

"...What are you doing?"

Shiyu said in a deep voice without any emotion:

"I kindly remind you, what do you mean when you keep choking me with these words? Are you deliberately making me angry?"

"No such thing."

Kato Yusuke withdrew his right hand and shook his head in denial with a wry smile.

"I didn't mean to make you angry on purpose, I just thought Yinglili wouldn't do those things."

"It's obviously her first time as the main writer of a commercial work, so you trust her so much?"

"Well... I do trust her, just like I trust you, Xiaoshi."

"I am also a business author recognized by the market. Don't you think it is biased to compare Sawamura and me together?"

"Don't think too much. I trust you and Yinglili because I have seen all sides of you and made a judgment based on this. It has nothing to do with anything else."

"Every aspect...can you say...?"

"I'm talking about creative ability and moral character. Don't talk about porn here, okay?"

Kato Yusuke said and flicked Shiyu's forehead, and successfully received an annoyed eye roll.

He smiled disapprovingly and continued: "Besides, although Yinglili is a bit willful in character, she is not willing to do that kind of behavior of leaving without saying goodbye."

"Really? You know what happens in a blink of an eye when an author becomes unable to write? And there is no guarantee when he will be able to return to his original state, right?"

"Then, I will wait patiently until the last moment."

"..."

Shiyu was a little silent at first, then reached out and grabbed his ear, pulling it towards him hard.
To be continued...