That night, Haruto once again found himself binge-watching anime in a fully immersive haze.
Just like last time, Shiori was never very focused when she did things. The series was barely a dozen episodes long, yet she watched only two or three before declaring it boring. Not long after, she went back to endlessly scrolling short videos and chatting with the friend who had recommended the show.
"This anime you recommended is so boring. The female lead is a ghost and the male lead is human. What's even interesting about that? A human-ghost romance is way too cliché."
Her friend replied patiently, "The early part is mostly setup. It introduces the relationships and background. This show is a slow-burn type. Later on it becomes really warm and emotional. You have to endure the calm beginning to get the payoff when the feelings finally explode."
"Is it really that good?" Shiori typed back. "Maybe I should ask a few other people I know. If they all say it's warm and healing, I'll keep watching."
"Don't," her friend immediately warned. "You know how spoiler-heavy people are these days. I'm the only one who sincerely recommends good stuff without spoiling it. If you ask others, someone might just tell you the ending outright. Can you handle that?"
"True," Shiori admitted. "Alright then. I'll keep going. With such a high rating, there's probably a turning point later."
After chatting for a while longer, Shiori shut down her computer and went to sleep.
Haruto understood her perfectly. This was just a temporary pause. As long as she started the series, she would definitely finish it someday. The only uncertainty was when she would get around to it.
Pulling himself out of the dreamlike memories, Haruto slowly opened his eyes.
He fell into deep thought.
In the dream, Shiori's memories only covered up to the third episode. From Haruto's perspective, those three episodes were not bad at all. The story began by introducing a withdrawn, listless high school boy living a stagnant daily life.
Almost immediately after, something strange was inserted into that routine.
A girl in a white dress suddenly appeared.
At first, the story did not clearly state that the girl was a ghost. Instead, it used subtle details. The male lead, Jinta, could see her, while everyone else ignored her existence completely.
Gradually, Haruto understood.
Not only that, she was Jinta's childhood friend, a girl who had drowned and died several years ago.
For some unknown reason, she suddenly reappeared by his side in the form of a spirit that only he could see.
In the parallel world, this kind of setup might be fairly common.
After all, that world had no shortage of stories involving human-ghost romance, relationships with supernatural beings, and even works where people married spirits or had children with them.
But here, this kind of premise still felt relatively fresh. That said, the early part of AnoHana did feel a little plain.
The first episode showed Jinta's reunion with Menma, the gradual reappearance of their childhood group of friends, and how those once inseparable companions had drifted apart after Menma's drowning.
It focused heavily on family, friendship, and fractured bonds, layered with the supernatural element of a ghost heroine.
Haruto did not find it boring, but when he thought about it carefully, there was a clear difference compared to Blue Spring Ride.
Blue Spring Ride was gripping almost every episode. If it stopped suddenly at any point, it left you restless and desperate for more. The first three episodes of AnoHana did not give him that feeling.
Looking back, Haruto could not really find any flaws. If someone asked whether it was good, he would still say yes. But the hook, the immediate pull, was weaker.
"Slow-burn, huh," Haruto murmured, glancing at the morning sunlight creeping in through the window.
Everything he knew about AnoHana came solely from Shiori's fragmented memories.
He was certain of one thing.
In the parallel world, an anime that so many people watched and rated so highly could not possibly be mediocre.
Which meant that what made it truly special had not appeared yet.
Just like Shiori's friend had said, its brilliance likely lay in the later episodes. Perhaps around Episode Seven or Eight, all the foreshadowing would detonate, and the emotional weight would come crashing down.
"Warm and healing in the later part," Haruto repeated quietly, recalling those words.
He thought for a moment, then smiled wryly.
"So what if it's a gamble? People have to take risks. I don't know exactly how the later plot unfolds, but that world's content review standards are far stricter than ours, so there shouldn't be anything problematic. Worst case, it'll be like the Blue Spring Ride. When the timing is right, Shiori's memories will probably get triggered by my mental state or pressure, and the rest will surface naturally."
Haruto made his decision quickly.
Shiori's soul memories were a priceless treasure, but they were not something he could control at will.
It was like drawing from a gacha.
Last time, he pulled Blue Spring Ride.
This time, he pulled AnoHana.
In between, he had also drawn countless worthless fragments that held no usable value at all. That was just how randomness worked. You could not expect every draw to perfectly match your desires in every aspect.
Now it was already April.
In just over a month, he would have to compete for the two open serialization slots in Crimson Maple magazine. There was no time left to hesitate.
If no other extraordinary masterpiece emerged from Shiori's memories in the meantime, then his next work would be AnoHana.
A new week began.
That Wednesday, the final chapter of Yesterday's Starlight was successfully published. Reina's writing talent was fully demonstrated in this novel.
In general, writing an interesting beginning was not particularly difficult. Engaging characters, appealing setups, and intriguing worlds were abundant in existing works for authors to learn from.
But writing a good ending was exponentially harder.
It required the entire narrative to remain stable, character development to stay consistent, and the conclusion to deliver something both satisfying and unexpected.
Reina achieved all of that.
In Chapter Thirteen, she even elevated the antagonist's characterization with a few concise strokes. Many readers felt their eyes sting and their noses ache when they reached the final scenes.
That was rare.
Not only did the novel avoid a weak ending, but in its final chapter, it continued to refine its themes and push its message to the highest possible point within a limited word count.
The result was strong reader feedback and solid market performance.
Readers could always tell how much care an author put into their work.
That day, on Crimson Maple Literature's official forum, many fans of Yesterday's Starlight finally emerged from lurking and began to speak up in support of the novel.
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