Chapter 47: A Turning Point Appears

For the next two days, Kitahara stayed at home and wrote.

His daily routine had become surprisingly simple.

During the day, he sat in front of his computer and wrote whenever inspiration came to him. When he got tired, he would rest for a while, eat something, and then continue writing.

In his spare time, he got along harmoniously with Hayami Rina and her daughter.

The atmosphere between the three of them had become increasingly natural.

There were no awkward moments anymore. Even Aya-chan had gradually become accustomed to having Kitahara around, occasionally running over to show him something or asking him to accompany her for a while.

Unfortunately, there was no movement in affection during these two days.

Still 94 points.

Just one point away.

One more point, and he could get another reward.

Kitahara couldn’t help feeling somewhat anxious.

Why was this thing rising so slowly?

At first, affection had increased relatively easily. But after reaching the nineties, every additional point seemed to require an enormous amount of effort.

Could it be that the higher the affection, the harder it was to increase?

Kitahara sat in front of his computer, staring blankly at the system panel.

One point.

He only needed one more point!

He had already done so much.

He had helped Rina solve her financial problems, stayed by her side, cared about her and Aya-chan, and even brought her good food.

What else could he do?

He had to think of something.

Give gifts?

Buy her something expensive?

Take her somewhere to travel?

But Kitahara always felt that those methods were somewhat forced.

If he suddenly gave Rina an expensive gift for no reason, she might even feel uncomfortable.

As for traveling, that was even more troublesome.

There was no reason to suddenly say, "Rina-nee, let’s go on a trip together."

It didn’t quite fit their current relationship.

Could it really only be a matter of slowly waiting?

Kitahara frowned.

That was too frustrating.

He had always thought that the system would be straightforward.

Spend money, gain affection, receive rewards...

But now he discovered that human feelings were far more complicated than money.

Money could solve many problems, but it couldn’t directly buy someone’s heart.

In Kitahara’s slight anxiety, Thursday finally brought a turning point.

On Thursday morning, Kitahara received a call from his editor, Suzuki Misaki.

She asked him to come to the publisher to sign the authorization agreement for publishing his novel and also give his input on the cover.

Kitahara naturally agreed. After getting ready, he set off, things went smoothly.

The original owner had cooperated with Shueisha for years, so the contract basically followed the previous arrangements.

There weren’t many things that needed to be negotiated.

Kitahara read through the agreement carefully, signed his name, and handed it back.

As the author, he actually didn’t have much say in this kind of matter.

For now, he could only go along with what the publisher decided.

Unless he truly became famous and established himself as a great author.

Only then would he have enough bargaining power to negotiate better royalty splits and other conditions with the publisher.

For the current Kitahara, this was still far away.

The cover matter was even simpler.

The artist Suzuki Misaki had found had already prepared three sample drafts.

Kitahara looked through them carefully.

In the end, he picked the most revealing and stimulating one.

Once the choice was made, everything was settled.

It was surprisingly efficient.

After finishing his business at Shueisha, Kitahara left the building and returned home.

He was already thinking about getting back to writing.

The publishing matter had been dealt with, so he could finally focus on his own work again.

However, just as he stepped out of the elevator on his floor, Kitahara suddenly stopped.

Several strangers in formal suits were standing in front of Hayami Rina’s door.

They looked like professionals, but their attitudes were strange.

One moment they were bowing.

The next moment they were apologizing.

They kept speaking politely to Hayami Rina, almost as if they were begging her for something.

Hayami Rina, meanwhile, had an unusually cold expression.

She stood at the doorway and blocked them from entering.

Kitahara was puzzled.

What was going on?

What were these people doing here?

Insurance salesmen?

Perhaps they were trying to sell some kind of financial product?

But judging from their expressions, it didn’t seem like ordinary salespeople.

"Sumimasen, please let me through."

Kitahara parted the people standing around the doorway and squeezed into Hayami Rina’s home.

The moment he entered, he immediately noticed that something was wrong.

Hayami Rina’s expression was very ugly.

Her usual gentle smile was nowhere to be seen.

She looked tired, irritated, and even somewhat helpless.

Kitahara glanced at the strangers outside before looking back at her.

"What happened?"

Hayami Rina didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she gently shook her head and looked toward the leading man.

"Mr. Nakamura, there’s no room for discussion on this matter. Please don’t come bother me again." Her tone wasn’t loud, but it was unusually firm.

After saying that, she mercilessly closed the door.

Bang.

She really shut them out.

The people outside didn’t dare force their way in.

Kitahara stood there for a moment, completely bewildered.

This situation was too abnormal.

You had to understand that the usual Hayami Rina was famously gentle and graceful, tender as water.

Even when she encountered difficult customers at work, she usually endured patiently and handled things with a smile.

So what exactly had happened to make her act like this?

Just what kind of unreasonable demand had those people made?

Kitahara turned around and saw Hayami Rina walking slowly toward the sofa.

She sat down heavily.

Then, as if all the strength had suddenly been drained from her body, she slowly leaned back against the sofa.

She didn’t say anything, and for a while, there was only silence.

Then Kitahara noticed tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.

At first, she merely shed them silently, but after a short while, quiet sobbing escaped from her lips.

Her shoulders trembled slightly.

Seeing this, Kitahara’s heart tightened. He had never seen Rina-nee like this before!

A strange thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Could it be...

Rina-nee had some shady dealings with the yakuza or the sex industry?

Had she borrowed money from loan sharks?

Had she somehow become involved in some troublesome business?

Or had she encountered some other secret problem that she had never told him about?

Japan’s underworld and gray industries were rumored to be quite organized.

But weren’t these people being a little too polite?

If they were really here to cause trouble, why were they bowing and apologizing instead of threatening her?

Kitahara couldn’t make sense of it.

With immense doubt in his heart, he quietly walked over to Hayami Rina and sat down beside her.

He took out some tissues and handed them to her.

He didn’t ask questions. At this moment, pressing her for answers would definitely be inappropriate.

Whatever had happened, Rina was clearly under enormous pressure.

But he could wait, so let her calm down first.

If she wanted to tell him, she would naturally speak. Sure enough, after some time, Hayami Rina finally wiped away her tears.

Her voice was slightly hoarse. "Those people just now..."

She paused for a moment. "They were from the bank."

Whew! Hearing that they were from the bank, Kitahara finally relaxed.