— — — — — —
The next morning arrived, marking the final day of autumn break.
After waking up, Oikawa sat on the toilet and opened LINE.
Inside the group chat, he opened the most— There were still countless notifications tagging him.
Most of them were dripping with sarcasm. Not because people had stopped insulting him, but because everyone who directly cursed him got muted by the group owner.
The price Oikawa paid for that privilege was simply a complete signed set of Your Lie in April.
No helping it. Connections really did let people do whatever they wanted.
Oikawa opened the group chat, curious whether the netizens had come up with any fresh nonsense today.
Day two of stabbing voodoo dolls, Oikawa-sensei. Hope you're having an amazing day~
Damn it, I can't take this anymore. What is this, censorship? Author, you damn mutt, go die! Trash group owner, may your future son be born without a dick, and may your girlfriend cheat on you tonight!!!
—Kentaro Takifuji has been muted for 30 days—
Sigh… we've lost another brother. He was brave, even though he knew he was only one step away from death.
Looking at the completely non-threatening insults flying around the group, Oikawa felt utterly unbothered.
After thinking for a moment, He decided to strike first.
"My dear readers, I've already started preparing my next novel. And this time it'll definitely be a healing story."
The instant that message appeared, the entire group exploded like a powder keg.
HOLY SHIT, you still dare show your face?!"
"Tsk, tsk, you really think we're idiots now, huh?! You think we'd actually believe you?!"
"Healing? My ass! The only healing happening is after you die!"
"You bastard—may you step on every LEGO piece, and may your pillow forever be hot on both sides."
Watching the group members bombard him with furious messages, Oikawa nodded in satisfaction.
That's more like it.
Get emotional, damn it. Mwahahaha~
...
Around noon—
Just as Oikawa was getting ready to head out and tutor Kawasaki, he suddenly received a call from Yui Yuigahama.
"Oikawa-kun, let's go eat together!"
"I already invited Yukino and Kawasaki too. We're all going to an all-you-can-eat restaurant together!"
Yui's excited voice came through the phone.
"Sure. Where are we going?" Oikawa agreed without much thought.
"Sushitaro Japanese Cuisine. I'll send you the location in a second."
"Alright."
Oikawa responded, but Yui didn't seem to have any intention of hanging up.
"Um... Oikawa-kun, did you read Your Lie in April?"
"Wasn't it super emotional? I cried nonstop when I read it the other day. Kaori's ending seriously feels so unfair and depressing!"
"I honestly don't understand what the author was thinking. Wouldn't a happy ending have been nice?"
Once Yui got going, she talked nonstop.
"Still, he really is amazing, Yui. To write something this good at seventeen… I think he'll definitely become one of Japan's great authors someday," Oikawa said, wholeheartedly praising himself.
"Oikawa-kun, you really think highly of him." Yui laughed. "I've never heard you praise someone this much before. Anyway, I'll send you the address. See you later."
"See you."
Yui hung up.
After the call ended, Oikawa sent Kawasaki a message too, asking if she really wanted to go.
Kawasaki quickly replied with a simple "Yeah."
After tidying himself up and throwing on a light jacket, Oikawa stepped out of his room.
The October sun was nowhere near as blinding as it had been in August.
It almost felt lazy now.
Feeling the cool breeze brushing against his face, Oikawa closed his eyes in quiet enjoyment.
Autumn really had arrived.
…
..
"Hey beautiful, mind giving me your number? Your looks caught my eye. Totally my type."
Spotting Kawasaki, Oikawa walked over with a shameless grin.
"'You're not my type,'" Kawasaki replied almost immediately.
Oikawa clicked his tongue dramatically, "Then your taste is terrible. I'm a certified heartbreaker, okay?"
Instead of replying again, Kawasaki suddenly handed him a face mask. It even had a Doraemon design on it.
"There's been a big flu outbreak lately since the weather got colder," Kawasaki said with genuine concern. "Be careful these next few days."
"Yeah, guess I should. Thanks, Kawasaki."
Season changes really did make it easy to catch the flu.
And with younger siblings at home, Kawasaki was obviously more attentive to this kind of thing.
"Let's go."
The two walked toward the nearby bus stop.
Oikawa asked curiously, "Do you know why everyone's gathering today? Yui only told me to come eat. She didn't explain anything else."
"I'm not really sure either." Kawasaki said, "But didn't you check the group chat? Seems like a lot of people from the group are going."
"The group chat of our school?"
Oikawa paused for a moment, then pulled out his phone and opened the group chat he'd muted ages ago.
Ever since this fan group started nonstop tagging him, he had muted all notifications from all groups.
The moment he opened the school group chat, hundreds of unread messages flooded the screen.
Most of them came from Zaimokuza and Yui.
One was a hardcore hater of Your Lie in April's Author.
The other defended him nonstop.
As Oikawa read through the chat logs, the corner of his lips curled upward slightly.
Pretending to be an innocent bystander while secretly watching everyone rage at him...
Honestly, it felt kind of amazing.
"The bus is here."
Kawasaki reminded him.
Oikawa put away his phone and boarded the bus with her.
After about five or six stops, the two got off and followed the location Yui had sent them.
Soon, a Japanese restaurant called Sushitaro came into view.
"Let's head in," Oikawa called out to Kawasaki before walking into the restaurant.
"Oikawa! Kawasaki! Over here! We're over here!"
The moment he stepped inside, Yui's energetic voice rang out.
Smiling, Oikawa turned toward the sound.
Then, the smile froze on his face.
Shizuka Hiratsuka was sitting there smoking, staring at him with a terrifyingly gentle expression.
The instant Oikawa tried to turn around and flee, Shizuka's voice floated over.
"Oikawa... what's this? You don't want to see me?"
Her gaze looked like that of a starving tigress that hadn't eaten in three days.
Her eyes were practically glowing red.
.
.
.