As he read line by line, he gradually immersed himself. After about ten minutes, he looked up thoughtfully, stroked his chin, then glanced down at the outline again and asked Alan.

"Is there more after this?"

Alan simply smiled.

"It’s still being polished, but the script for episode three will be ready next week."

In fact, the entire series scripts and the original novel were locked away in his drawer at home. He only brought this much to spark Nishimoto’s interest, part of the negotiation.

"Oh."

Nishimoto pondered a moment.

"I’ll need to discuss specifics further..."

Alan’s script was beyond his expectations.

The story was about a shocking infant kidnapping at a hospital. The kidnapper demanded a ransom of one hundred million yen. During the police chase, two main suspects died in a car accident, cutting off the trail, and the baby’s whereabouts became a mystery.

Twenty years later, the suspect Akio Tsukumo’s daughter, Asakura Hiroko, was hired by a well-known newspaper that had reported the case. However, a weekly magazine exposed her identity with the headline "Kidnapper’s Daughter Joins Newspaper," stirring public controversy...

To manage the PR crisis and clarify the truth, the newspaper decided to reopen the cold case. As the investigation deepened, hidden truths from the past gradually surfaced.

The plot was tight, suspenseful, and the narration was steady...

"What are your expected royalties?"

Nishimoto asked cautiously.

Alan waved his hand.

"Those things are negotiable."

"I have only one request."

"Go ahead."

"Give a friend of mine a chance to audition."

"..."

***

Six o’clock in the evening, the classroom bell rang. Nozomi Sakura relaxed against the chair back, her body sliding down slightly.

After a whole day of studying, her brain seemed to have reached its limit.

No exaggeration, she had never been this exhausted even during School exams.

Her eyes blankly stared at the clock on the blackboard, only snapping back when most of the class had already left.

She packed up her books, about to leave when Alan popped into her mind.

Pursing her red lips, Nozomi Sakura took out her phone and messaged him to ask if he had eaten yet, and if he wanted to join her for dinner, her treat today.

However, her message went unanswered.

She frowned unconsciously.

It had been like this for days. He seemed particularly busy, hardly seen at school, and even when she messaged, it took him at least half an hour to reply.

What was he busy with?

Writing scripts?

Thinking back to that night watching Alan take notes, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

But then the smile froze instantly.

Could he be with another girl?

In her mind, Akari Hojo and Nino Kitagawa flashed one after another.

Nino Kitagawa hadn’t said anything, and Akari Hojo had gone completely silent ever since she sent that message last time.

Nozomi wasn’t sure if Hojo had been shaken by what happened with Nino Kitagawa, or if she was just busy preparing for next month’s concert.

After mulling it over, she decided to test the waters and ask Hojo what was going on.

But just as she tapped open the chat window, a call suddenly popped up on her phone screen.

When she saw the word "Mom" flashing on the screen, she paused in surprise. Then she quickly came to her senses and picked up.

Normally, she called home about twice a week. But it had almost been a month now. So much had happened lately that she’d completely forgotten to check in.

"Hello? Mom?"

There was a long silence on the other end. Nozomi blinked and pulled the phone away from her ear to check if the call had dropped. Seeing it was still connected, she called out again.

"Mom?"

"I thought you’d gone missing."

Her mother’s voice came through, full of quiet reproach. Nozomi bit her lip and gave an awkward laugh.

"Ah, sorry, Mom. I’ve just been so busy lately, I totally forgot to call you back..."

"You were never this busy before, Sakura."

Mrs. Nozomi’s tone was calm and gentle, even as she scolded her.

"That’s exactly why, the busier you are, the more you should call home. You’re out there all alone, under all that pressure. If you don’t talk to your mom and just bottle everything up inside, that’s not good for you."

"Do you still have enough money? You barely did any part-time work in high school, and now you’re juggling school and a job. You must be exhausted, right?"

Nozomi’s heart clenched at her mother’s words, and tears welled up in her eyes. She bit her lip, took a deep breath, and forced a smile.

"I’m sorry, Mom. I’m doing okay."

"Sigh... You think I don’t know how you’re really doing? With no one to take care of you, I bet you’re barely feeding yourself properly. Your dad and I have been really worried. We even asked your cousin to go check on you..."

Nozomi was touched by her mother’s concern at first, her tears nearly spilling over. But the moment she heard that last part, her heart skipped a beat. She held back her tears and blurted out in shock:

"My cousin? She’s coming to see me?"

"That’s right. You hadn’t called in so long, we were really getting worried. Your dad and I got in touch with your uncle..."

Nozomi didn’t wait for her mother to finish. She threw her shoulder bag on and bolted out the door, asking in a panic:

"When is she coming?!"

Even though she couldn’t see her daughter, Mrs. Nozomi could hear the urgency in her voice through the phone.

"What’s wrong? She said she’d be there tonight. She should be arriving about now, I think?"

As soon as she heard that, Nozomi’s expression twisted in panic. She bit down on her tongue and said,

"Got it. I’ll call you back when I get home."

Without waiting for a response, she hung up and sprinted toward her place with the kind of energy she hadn’t used since her last fitness test.

Shit...

If she found out, she’d be screwed!