Chapter 337: Exploded
What Kaede predicted eventually happened.
In less than two days, information about Kaede and Eriri appeared online. A 17-year-old bestselling light novel author and a 17-year-old popular manga artist, who were also fiancés, predictably shot to the top of the trending topics.
At school, it naturally exploded. Kaede and Eriri, who learned about this information in the morning, directly skipped school and requested leave from their teachers.
Incidentally, Utaha had also taken leave early these past two days, studying and working at home.
After taking leave, Kaede and Eriri did not stay home but took their equipment and went out, arriving at the cafe they had arranged with Utaha.
When they arrived, Utaha was already there, leisurely drinking coffee and typing on her keyboard.
Seeing the two approach, Utaha smiled and said, "Oh dear, it's your turn now."
"Hmph, you're actually gloating. I knew I shouldn't have helped you before."
Sitting down angrily, Eriri immediately slumped onto the table and sighed, "It's so annoying, I can't go to school anymore."
"I actually think it's quite good."
Signaling for the waiter to come over, Utaha said, "You can study at home, and Asakura-kun will keep an eye on you. It's good to let the hype die down a bit; there will definitely be media people at school these days. Oh, your apartment address shouldn't be exposed, right?"
"That shouldn't... be?"
Eriri was a bit unsure and looked at Kaede beside her.
To this, Kaede smiled. After letting the waiter take their order, he said, "Don't worry, the address shouldn't be exposed. I've already contacted Sayuri and your editor, Eriri, about this matter in advance."
Eriri was surprised, "Huh? When?"
"That was the night you went to take a bath after Utaha's identity was exposed."
Kaede took out his laptop and said, "The moment Utaha's identity was exposed, I immediately thought that given our relationship, we might very likely be implicated, so I quickly contacted people. Don't worry, Sayuri had already prepared for this a long time ago. It might be lively online for a while, but offline, we can ensure that no reporters will show up at our door."
"Oh, that's good then."
Relieved, Eriri leaned on Kaede's shoulder, finally showing a smile, "As long as people don't show up at our door, that's fine. I don't want my usual living place to be messed up by people."
Utaha also didn't expect Kaede to be so well-prepared and said with emotion, "But what about school? I might be fine in a couple of days, but your popularity is higher than mine, so school will definitely be unstable for a long time."
"Let's ask the school for help."
Kaede spread his hands and said, "This kind of thing can only be handled by the school. We can't let our studies be disturbed, right? I can understand if someone comes occasionally, but not non-stop. But I've been thinking about whether to sneak out with Eriri for a few days and find a place to play."
"Eh? Really?"
As soon as she heard this, Eriri stopped being annoyed and excitedly said, "Where are we going? Where are we going?"
"We haven't decided yet, it depends on the situation." Kaede pinched Eriri's cheek and said helplessly, "But even if we really sneak out, Eriri, you can't neglect your studies. You still have to study when we're out."
"Ah, still have to study..."
"I think Asakura-kun has a point," Utaha said. "Studying is still necessary, even if you plan to major in art in college."
"I know!" Eriri pouted, adding sugar to her coffee cup and stirring it. "But when we're out having fun, I really don't want to touch my studies."
Regarding this, Kaede patted Eriri's head, still unwilling to let her off easy. What needed to be taken seriously, still had to be taken seriously.
At noon, the three found a place to eat together. During the meal, Kaede's phone rang. It was Kitamura Yusaku.
"Hello, Kitamura, what's up?"
Kitamura Yusaku, on the other end of the phone, stood by the classroom window looking outside and said, "Asakura, where are you guys now?"
"Eriri, the Senpai, and I are out eating. What's wrong? Is there something going on at school?"
Kaede had contacted Kitamura when he left in the morning, asking him to keep an eye on things at school. It seemed something had come up?
Kaede's words also drew the attention of the two who were eating sushi.
Kitamura Yusaku pushed up his glasses and nodded, "Ah, something came up. A few unidentified people are outside the school gate, observing. I guess they're reporters or something."
"Uh... they still came?"
Kaede scratched his head and gestured to Eriri.
Eriri instantly understood and picked up her phone to contact her mother.
Kaede continued, "What about inside the school? Is it alright?"
"Hahaha... It's more than alright..."
Kitamura Yusaku's tone immediately turned to one of despair. He scratched his head and said, "Let's not even talk about other classes. When people in our class arrived this morning, they surrounded us asking where you guys were. Of course, I just said you took leave, and the duration of the leave is indefinite. That's what calmed them down a bit. By the way, have your phones been harassed?"
"They're set up, so no problems for now."
"You were well-prepared," Kitamura Yusaku exclaimed, then continued, "Anyway, I confirmed with the homeroom teacher earlier. He also thinks it's better for you to take a few days off. But the internet has already exploded, have you thought about how to deal with it?"
"That's just how it is. We can't suppress it online. Let time slowly do its work, as long as our daily lives aren't disturbed."
At this moment, Eriri received a message.
"Kaede-kun, I asked Mom. The official news agencies have all been notified and won't bother us. She thinks it's just reporters from those small outfits. She'll find someone to confirm."
"I see, that's good then."
Kaede nodded, thanked Kitamura, and hung up the phone.
Looking at the two, Kaede spread his hands and said, "Inside the school, it'll still take a few days. Eriri, let's just go on a trip, how about it? A spring trip."
It was spring now, so a spring trip made perfect sense.
"Yay! A trip!"
Although she would still have to study, this was a rare opportunity. Eriri felt that if she acted a little spoiled, reducing her workload wouldn't be a problem.
It was just Utaha opposite her who looked a little pitiful.
After thinking for a moment, Eriri suggested, "How about you come too, Utaha?"
"I'll pass."
Utaha refused without hesitation, "I don't want to be a third wheel."