By the time Utaha Kasumigaoka finished listening to Sonoko Machida's analysis on the spot, ten minutes had passed.
Utaha's state of mind was one of inattention—she listened with one ear and let it out the other, not really absorbing what was being said.
Her thoughts were instead occupied by the young man, Yuki, she had just seen.
After all, her impression of Yuki was rather profound. Even though it was only that brief glance on the school staircase before.
That fleeting glimpse had left Utaha Kasumigaoka unable to forget him.
He possessed an extraordinarily handsome face, a rarity of beauty that seemed unparalleled in the world. She couldn't think of a second person in this world with such stunning looks.
Especially when looking at him or recalling him, an inexplicable restlessness always arose in her heart.
This made Utaha Kasumigaoka pay even more attention to this boy who evoked such different feelings in her.
She knew the boy from earlier attended her school, but she didn't know which class or grade he was in.
Should I follow the direction he went and take a look?
Just as Utaha Kasumigaoka was lost in her thoughts, Sonoko Machida, who had been talking to herself, finally noticed her distraction.
This annoyed her considerably.
"Hey! Utaha!"
"I'm working hard here explaining the direction for your next work, and you're spacing out!"
"You're making me so mad!"
Sonoko Machida pouted, shooting a sulky glare at Utaha Kasumigaoka.
Facing Sonoko Machida's glare, Utaha Kasumigaoka remained impassive.
"Getting angry causes wrinkles, you know, Sonoko-san."
With just that one simple sentence, Utaha Kasumigaoka instantly dismantled Sonoko Machida's expression-based attack.
"Huh?"
Sonoko Machida immediately wiped the look off her face, quickly grabbing a makeup mirror from the desk. She opened it and examined her face closely for any signs of wrinkles.
Seeing this, Utaha Kasumigaoka shook her head slightly.
Her editor was so easy to handle, crumbling with just a few words.
"Honestly! You always scare me like that, Utaha is just the worst!"
Sonoko Machida pouted and grumbled at Utaha Kasumigaoka.
Utaha Kasumigaoka ignored her, instead giving a cursory glance at the documents in her hand.
She noticed they were all materials—books and such—that could be very helpful for sparking inspiration.
These documents were actually carefully selected by Sonoko Machida herself from various long and short works, all to help Utaha Kasumigaoka find inspiration for her new book.
The pile was substantial, forming a small hill, which showed just how much effort Sonoko Machida had put in for her.
And for this dedicated help, Utaha Kasumigaoka naturally remembered it in her heart.
"It's because Sonoko-san nags like an old lady. Be careful, or you'll never get married!"
A light smile appeared on Utaha Kasumigaoka's serene, beautiful face before she changed her tone with a nod.
"Alright, I'll take these documents back with me later."
"I'll look through them properly to find inspiration for my new book."
"At least I won't have to make you stay up late getting wrinkles to sort out so much material for me."
Hearing this, a look of gratification appeared on Sonoko Machida's face.
But it didn't last long. Upon hearing the latter part that made fun of her, she lost her composure again.
"Thank you so much! I didn't have wrinkles before, but you're practically cursing them into existence!"
Sonoko Machida rolled her eyes, saying this with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
Utaha Kasumigaoka offered a faint smile and then changed the subject.
She pointed in the direction Yuki had gone earlier and asked Sonoko Machida, "Sonoko-san, what's down that hallway?"
"That way?"
"That's the conference room, isn't it? Haven't you been there before?!"
"Did you forget?"
Sonoko Machida followed Utaha Kasumigaoka's pointing finger and answered.
"I'm young. How could I possibly have early-onset dementia or memory loss?"
"I was just curious if there's anything besides the conference room."
"What else could there be? Just the general manager's office, and the offices for the boss and other company bigwigs," Sonoko Machida replied simply to Utaha Kasumigaoka's question.
Then, as if remembering something, Sonoko Machida leaned in with a mischievous grin.
"What's the matter? Interested in our company's mysterious boss?"
"If it weren't for him back then, your novel might have been close to getting axed, you know!"
Sonoko Machida's face instantly lit up with a gossipy expression, as if testing Utaha Kasumigaoka's reaction.
Originally, Utaha Kasumigaoka's Love Metronome was on the verge of being axed.
Then, one day, the company was acquired by a mysterious owner who immediately issued a personal order to heavily promote Love Metronome with substantial resources.
Suddenly, the work that was about to be axed was revived.
So, after learning about this, Sonoko Machida was also very curious about the relationship between this mysterious, parachuted-in boss and Utaha Kasumigaoka.
Did he know her?
When Utaha Kasumigaoka found out about this, she shook her head, indicating she didn't know this mysterious boss.
However, what Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't mention was that she had always had a suspicion.
The online friend with the ID 'Yue', who had communicated with her on social media, occasionally offering guidance, and who felt somewhat like a mentor and friend... was very likely the mysterious boss of the publishing company.
Because when this person learned her work was about to be axed, he had told her to keep writing, saying that if she continued, things might turn around. He also said he would help promote her book.
Not long after sending this message, she did see him promoting her book online.
Of course, that wasn't the key point. The key point was that a few days later, her editor, Sonoko Machida, called to tell her that her work was being heavily promoted by the company.
And they were allocating significant resources to it.
Facing this sudden turnaround, Utaha Kasumigaoka was naturally delighted.
But after the initial joy subsided and she calmed down, she connected all these dots and quietly formed a suspicion.
She suspected that the person called 'Yue' on social media was the mysterious boss who had acquired the publishing company.
Once this conjecture formed, she naturally tried asking him about it.
However, he just joked and told Utaha Kasumigaoka to guess for herself.
Faced with such an evasive attitude, Utaha Kasumigaoka became more and more convinced they were the same person.
Utaha Kasumigaoka now fell into deep thought. As she pondered this, something suddenly occurred to her.
"Sonoko-san, do you know the name of that mysterious boss?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked Sonoko Machida.
Sonoko Machida shook her head and said, "I don't know!"
"Aside from the general manager, basically no one has seen him. Not even his name is known."
"But there is one thing I do know: that mysterious boss seems to be very young, probably a high school student like you, Utaha."
Sonoko Machida's words caused Utaha Kasumigaoka's pupils to contract slightly.
In her mind, she instantly connected the figure she had just seen with these pieces of information.
Quickly, a bold idea formed in her mind.
"Perhaps... I've already seen your company's mysterious big boss!!!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka said this slowly, out of the blue, causing Sonoko Machida beside her to look surprised.