CHAPTER 747: CHAPTER 450: BEGIN, WRITING THE NOVEL

Zzz~

Hearing the sizzle of shredded meat frying in the pan, Uesugi Sakura inhaled the aroma while helping Hanamaru Hanabi slice potatoes.

After switching to a square knife, it indeed became much easier to chop all kinds of vegetables and fruits.

Thud thud thud, thin strips of potato were neatly sliced and piled up, ready to be moved to another side.

Uesugi Sakura scooped the sliced potatoes into a bowl with both hands, rinsed them under the tap, and then set them aside. He then turned to the cabinet to fetch a small can containing Hanabi’s treasured secret pickled peppers.

Untying the string and twisting off the lid, Uesugi Sakura’s brows furrowed instantly — the pepper’s smell was overwhelmingly strong!

He took out two bright red pickled peppers, placed them on the cutting board, chopped them up with a couple of thuds, and added them to the freshly sliced peppers nearby.

Hanamaru Hanabi, wearing an apron, was standing before the iron wok, stir-frying green pepper and shredded meat, while glancing at an iPad resting on her right side, displaying a cooking tutorial video by a blogger.

Even though Hanamaru Hanabi hadn’t cooked this cuisine before, her culinary skills always made learning a breeze.

Green pepper shredded meat, twice-cooked pork, hot and sour shredded potatoes, meatball soup.

The kitchen was filled with the delightful aroma of these delectable dishes, so much so that Uesugi Sakura could already imagine the pleasure of savoring them with white rice just by inhaling the fragrances.

Following a healthy diet mindset, Uesugi Sakura didn’t plan to eat much, yet he found himself unconsciously finishing six bowls of rice in one go.

"Phew~"

Uesugi Sakura exhaled a breath laden with the aroma of food and wiped the flavorful oil from the corners of his mouth with a tissue.

That’s when he noticed Hanamaru Hanabi sitting across from him hadn’t eaten much, simply been watching him.

"Sakura-kun seems to be having such a happy meal, want some more?"

"Mmm."

With a smile, Hanamaru Hanabi stood up and headed to the rice cooker in the living room to serve him another bowl of rice.

Watching her walk back and forth, taking the warm bowl of rice from her hands and then seeing her smiling face, he felt a swell of uncontrollable gratitude toward her.

Feasting on her cooking, greeted by her smiles, and sinking deeper into her tender and considerate care.

Having a wife is wonderful!

As he soaked in this sentiment, the rain outside began to fall quietly from the sky.

"Hanabi, if I had something I was keeping from you, would you be angry?"

"No." Hanamaru Hanabi took a bit of the potato strips and ate it with her rice.

"I want to tell you, but I’m afraid saying it won’t mean anything."

"In that case, Sakura-kun doesn’t have to tell Hanabi."

"Really?" Uesugi Sakura was a bit unsure and looked up at the girl sitting across the table.

"Since Sakura-kun hesitated about telling Hanabi, it must mean these are trivial matters."

The raindrops grew larger, and a heavy haze enveloped the city blocks; even in November, the distant views slowly became obscured.

"It’s going to rain," Hanamaru Hanabi remarked, setting down her chopsticks to look out the window, "I’ll bring the clothes in."

Uesugi Sakura saw her walk in holding several pieces of clothing, closing the sliding balcony door as she did so. She went into the bedroom to hang the clothes and then returned to continue eating.

Seeing how happy she looked, Uesugi Sakura remembered that he hadn’t seen her draw any pictures lately.

"Not busy these days?"

"Busy, yes, but since I have to work with Sakura-kun at the café, I haven’t taken any commissions recently. The author I’m collaborating with is taking a break now that the third volume of their novel is finished, so Hanabi doesn’t have any immediate work assignments either."

Hanamaru Hanabi explained in detail while she neatly and slowly chewed her food.

Uesugi Sakura thought of Hanamaru Hanabi’s beautiful and delicate illustrations, and a sudden idea sprouted.

"Hanabi."

"Mmm."

"What do you think, if I wrote a light novel, could you help me with the illustrations?"

Hanamaru Hanabi lifted her head, her vivid purple eyes meeting his, and nodded as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"No salary, it’s possible the first volume could be cut short."

"Sakura-kun should have more confidence in himself."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, besides, the café is gradually getting on track now, so you don’t need to be too busy. You could spare some time to think about what you want to write."

Hanamaru Hanabi encouraged him to go for it, which had Uesugi Sakura pondering how to properly research light novel writing.

The raindrops scattered across the sky, forming a thin veil of overcast above; the sound of rain reached ears as it tapped on the window panes.

Uesugi Sakura brought his notebook to the balcony and sat down.

The balcony was adorned with some potted plants and flowers, a round table, and two very comfortable lounge chairs — so whenever he had nothing to do at home on weekends, Uesugi Sakura would make himself a coffee to sit here, enjoying the outside view and relaxing.

Now, since he was planning to write a light novel, he needed to first understand what themes have been trending lately in light novels.

He quickly typed on the keyboard, entering "Trending Light Novels" in the search bar on the page.

Soon a slew of keywords appeared.

Uesugi Sakura scanned through broadly and clicked on a thread listing this year’s popular light novels, "Mushoku Tensei," "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime," "Overlord," "Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World"...

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the summaries.

Basically, all Otherworld?

He remembered, weren’t they all once stories about campus youth romance?