The next day, Weekly Shōnen in Saitama Prefecture was on sale.
"Oops!"
At the bookstore entrance, Takumi bumped into the girl in the hat again.
"Yes, I'm sorry..."
The girl quickly moved away.
"Damn it, this is the fourth time!" Takumi was stunned. He had bumped into that girl several times in the past few weeks, and bumping into her was never a good sign!
"Manager, do you still have Weekly Shōnen?"
"No, the girl just bought the last copy."
Indeed, except for one rainy day when Takumi managed to buy Weekly Shōnen, the other four times the girl got the last copy.
Takumi sighed. He didn't want to go in vain, so he picked up a copy of "Brain Development" and took it home. During that period, Takumi, in addition to drawing manga, was researching "inspiration." He believed that this ability was crucial for his future development.
However, on his way home, Takumi met his deskmate, Kenta-kun, from third grade of junior high.
"Hey, idiot!" he waved, and Kenta-kun looked up, saw him, and recoiled.
"Takumi, Takumi... what are you doing here?"
Kenta-kun's gaze shifted, his face was tense, and he seemed very nervous.
"I came to buy a book." Takumi rushed towards him, held up the book, and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Kenta-kun swallowed, full of nervousness, he didn't want to meet Takumi. The news that Takumi had placed second in the junior high entrance exam spread throughout the prefecture. Kenta-kun, with a withdrawn personality, felt a great emptiness. He didn't know how to face this sudden change in his friend, and he was even more afraid that the current Takumi would look down on him.
Takumi thought about it and immediately understood his idea.
"I went to buy Weekly Shōnen today, but I didn't expect someone else to get there first." Takumi asked indifferently, "Idiot, did you buy Weekly Shōnen today?"
Kenta-kun was a little stunned: "You still read manga?"
He was a little surprised that Takumi, who came in second on the high school entrance exam, actually read manga.
Takumi nodded: "Yes, as an otaku, how can I not read manga? I've been looking forward to Detective Conan today for a long time."
"Detective Conan!" Kenta-kun's eyes lit up: "So Takumi, you're reading it too. That manga is great. I follow it too. I bought Weekly Shōnen today."
Suddenly, his mind cleared. 'What is this?! What was he worried about? Takumi hasn't changed at all? He's still the good friend who chats with him about manga and novels.'
"How did you get it?" Takumi was surprised: "I couldn't get it these past few weeks!"
"Haha, there's a bookstore below my house, and I'm the first to buy it every week." Kenta-kun laughed, looking excited: "Takumi, you should have asked me to buy it for you earlier. You don't know how popular this manga is. It'll be even harder to buy after this week!"
"Last night there was news that caused a sensation. I think more people will be eager to get it next week." At that moment, Kenta-kun couldn't help but feel proud: "I've been following this manga since the first issue. The author is truly incredible! I didn't expect it to become so popular so quickly!"
"I really like the heroine Ran from Detective Conan. She's beautiful and powerful, and very kind and infatuated with the protagonist. This kind of woman is much better than those idiots in post-X manga, but her father is really bad...".
Takumi noticed Kenta-kun chattering, and a cold sweat covered his forehead.
"Is it really that popular?" He wiped away his sweat. 'He hadn't expected his deskmate to become a fan of Detective Conan. Luckily, Hinotori Publishing had hidden the information from him; otherwise, Takumi didn't know what expression to make.'
"It's so hot, so hot! I woke up this morning and saw that all the major websites had published news about Detective Conan, and the original author is ranked tenth in Yahoo! Japan's search index!" Kenta-kun said excitedly: "Now the internet is crazy about this, and I've joined the reader group, where there are many celebrities...".
Suddenly, Takumi felt it was a good idea for Aika to ask him to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Kenta-kun was so excited he couldn't stop talking. He praised Detective Conan for ten minutes. He praised Detective Conan to the extreme, which left Takumi a little overwhelmed.
"By the way, Takumi." Realizing he was too excited, Kenta-kun stopped, his face flushed. He touched his head: "Aren't classes starting? Our class is going to karaoke tonight. Do you want to go? Then I'll bring you Weekly Shōnen."
Takumi was stunned. 'Karaoke? Why would Kenta-kun be interested in such a party?'
He suddenly remembered something and smiled: "Is Yuna here too?"
Kenta-kun blushed. He was in love with the class beauty, Yuna, and only Takumi knew it: "Well, I feel more comfortable with you."
He couldn't integrate into the others' atmosphere by himself. Takumi thought about it and nodded: "Okay."
In two weeks, Takumi would be leaving. He was busy drawing manga during that time and also wanted to relax. Children in the prefectural capital are relatively simple. There will be no adult intrigues at the party. Just consider it a memory of youth.
So that night, Takumi and Kenta-kun, in white shirts, entered the karaoke bar. Their appearance shocked the boys and girls in the box. From being an unknown classmate to getting second place in the high school entrance exam, many were bewildered.
But it's easy to deal with children.
"Good evening, may I join?"
Takumi asked with a kind smile.
"Of course..."
"We're all classmates, you're welcome!"
As expected, although the introverted students didn't react much, those who were usually active welcomed him.
Takumi and Kenta-kun had just sat down when a pretty girl in a short skirt approached and placed two drinks on the table.
"What song are you going to sing? Choose quickly to avoid the queue."
"Don't rush, let me take a look first." Takumi looked at Kenta-kun, who was blushing: "Idiot, Yuna's asking, what song are you going to sing?"
"I'll take a look..." Kenta-kun lowered his head and replied softly.
He was shy at first, and he became even shyer when he met this class beauty.
"Did you hear that? He said he just needed to see you..." Takumi told Yuna. The girl was stunned and couldn't help but laugh: "Takumi, when did you learn to joke?"
Takumi frowned. He wasn't joking. Kenta-kun really meant "I just need to take a look at Yuna." Unfortunately, his classmates next to him were already trembling with fear, and Takumi didn't dare to continue.
These two classmates are quite interesting. They clearly don't have the same personality, but they could still get married when they're older.
Takumi thought it was okay to let it go, so he smiled and said, "I learned it a few days ago, and it worked!"
"Takumi, you're really amazing!" Yuna looked at Takumi in surprise, feeling that he was completely different from her impression. Before, Takumi didn't dare to talk to girls, but now he was full of confidence in his romantic behavior.
She rolled her eyes, covered her mouth, and laughed.
"Takumi, there's one of the top scorers from the high school entrance exam in the next room, aren't you going to say hello to her?"
"The top scorer from the high school entrance exam? Jie Shiori?" Takumi remembered the girl Ishida-sensei mentioned, and then he saw Yuna nod: "Yes, that's her."
"Forget it."
Takumi shook his head: "I don't know her."