Night had fallen, and the lanterns were just beginning to shine.
Bright moonlight poured down upon Narukami Island. The wind tonight was slightly clamorous.
Kamisato Estate.
"Miss Kamisato is reading again."
"Miss Kamisato has really taken to reading after her flower arranging these past two days."
"As expected of Miss Kamisato, a true lady of a noble house."
"I wonder what book Miss Kamisato is reading. Yesterday, I saw her eyes were red after she finished reading; she must have been crying."
Several maids stood outside the pavilion, discussing in hushed tones while casting their gazes toward Kamisato Ayaka, who was sitting properly inside.
At this moment, Kamisato Ayaka was kneeling quietly on the tatami, dignified and elegant.
On the low table, a vase filled with flowers had been placed.
Fresh and refined.
She was holding a book, reading quietly.
Just then, a maid walked over.
"Miss Kamisato, dinner is ready. Master Thoma is waiting for you in the dining room."
"Mhm, I understand. Thank you for your hard work. You may go first; I will be there shortly."
After responding, Kamisato Ayaka gently let out a breath, closed the copy of The Eternal in her hands, and placed it softly to the side.
Then, she cast her gaze toward the distance.
Fang Qiu's literary talent was truly striking.
The powerful and exquisite writing style displayed the visualization of scenes and the heightening of emotional atmosphere to the fullest detail.
The story structure also echoed from beginning to end, seamless and tightly interlinked.
Therefore, under Fang Qiu's powerful literary command, the story of Your Lie in April seemed to have unfolded perfectly before her eyes.
April was Miyazono Kaori's lie.
Miyazono Kaori loved Arima Kousei for ten years, yet she used the entire month of April to weave a lie that she did not love him.
So poignant, so heartbreaking.
And now, she had already read a portion of this book, The Eternal.
Compared to the reserved, introverted, and shy youthful love story of Miyazono Kaori and Arima Kousei, the story of Rose and Jack was more like the meeting of dry wood and raging fire.
The flames of love were burning violently.
Jack was an artist who advocated freedom and took things as they came.
Rose, on the other hand, was a noble young lady without freedom, like a bird in a cage.
Come to think of it, Rose shared some similarities with her.
She had always harbored the thought of living as an ordinary girl.
However, unlike Rose, she did not want to abandon the responsibilities of the Kamisato Clan. Furthermore, her brother, Kamisato Ayato, would not be so selfish as to marry her off to someone she did not like.
And so, such a noble young lady who yearned for freedom and loved art met a free and impoverished artist.
They were so well-matched, yet so ill-suited.
The two were both divided and harmonious.
It was a work completely different from Your Lie in April, yet equally excellent.
She just wondered what the ending of The Eternal would be...
It shouldn't be two tragedies in a row, right?
Gently letting out a breath, Kamisato Ayaka stood up slowly with a complicated expression and walked toward the dining room.
Thoma had already been waiting in the dining room for a long time.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Kamisato Ayaka said.
"Miss Kamisato, let's eat quickly. It won't taste good if it gets cold," Thoma said.
Yesterday, after drinking with Captain Beidou...
Well...
Rather than saying he drank with Captain Beidou, it was more like he had been substituting tea for wine while keeping Captain Beidou company.
However, speaking of which, Captain Beidou was truly impressive at drinking. His stomach was bloated from all the liquid, yet he didn't see Captain Beidou showing any signs of sleepiness...
After returning to the Kamisato Estate following the drinking session, he had felt uneasy the whole time.
After all, there were quite a few novel enthusiasts drinking at the izakaya that day. This resulted in a group of salarymen, who were exhausted from a day's work and looking for a place to relax and vent their gloom, being unable to find seats.
Many novel enthusiasts seemed to have had sad memories triggered. As soon as they entered the izakaya, they didn't even order appetizers; they just ordered two bottles of wine and started drinking directly. Halfway through, they were weeping bitterly, choking with sobs.
This was enough to prove just how heart-wrenching Fang Qiu's two books were.
And he had actually recommended such heart-wrenching books to Miss Kamisato...
According to the maids today, Miss Kamisato's eyes were red after finishing the book last night.
Most importantly, after arranging the flowers, Miss Kamisato had already started reading The Eternal...
And according to Captain Beidou, The Eternal was also a tragedy...
Just as he was pondering how to tell Miss Kamisato about this, Kamisato Ayaka spoke.
"Thoma, I have finished reading Your Lie in April. We can start discussing the matter of the concert. Do you have any suggestions?"
Kamisato Ayaka gently picked up a piece of grilled fish, put it in her mouth, chewed it carefully, and spoke.
"Uh?"
Thoma was stunned for a moment, then pondered briefly and said, "The way I see it, it would be best to announce the event one or two days after the popularity of Your Lie in April peaks, and then start the competition within a week. Since it's a concert from a novel, we can contact Yae Publishing House and let them participate in the preparation activities for this music competition. Not only can we save manpower and resources, but we can also save costs. Most importantly, we can keep track of the sales situation at all times."
"That is similar to what I was thinking."
Kamisato Ayaka nodded and said, "If there are no issues on the Yae Publishing House side, then contact the Commerce Guild. However, all of this depends on the sales volume and critical reception of Miss Fang Qiu's Your Lie in April in Inazuma."
"Regarding sales volume, there should be no need to worry. I specially went to the Yae Publishing House main store today to check. The number of people buying Miss Fang Qiu's books was unexpectedly high. I heard her books have sold out in many bookstores. As expected of the Young Miss," Thoma smiled and said.
"I only played a part in fueling the flames. With the quality of Miss Fang Qiu's books, they would have quickly spread through word of mouth among readers regardless," Kamisato Ayaka shook her head and said.
"By the way, Thoma, do you know when Captain Beidou and the others will leave Inazuma to return to Liyue?"
"I didn't ask about that. do you have some business with them, Young Miss?" Thoma asked in confusion.
"I want to write a letter and ask Captain Beidou to deliver it to Miss Fang Qiu. But if there is time, I want to finish reading The Eternal before I start writing," Kamisato Ayaka thought for a moment and said.
"I... I see. Then I will go to The Crux Fleet tomorrow to ask." Thoma nodded.
"Many thanks."
Kamisato Ayaka smiled faintly, picked up her bowl, and began to eat her rice in small bites.
Seeing Kamisato Ayaka's appearance at this moment, and combining it with her earlier statement about organizing the concert as planned and writing a letter to Fang Qiu, he wouldn't be tactless enough to tell Miss Kamisato about the nature of The Eternal now.
However, at the same time, he felt somewhat curious.
Were the books written by that woman named Fang Qiu really that good?
To make Miss Kamisato like them so much?
This gave rise to a bit of curiosity in him.
He would wait until he returned to his room later to take a look.
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