CHAPTER 750: CHAPTER 451 BUYING A KITTY

Hanamaru Hanabi heard his words and was stunned for a long time before speaking:

"Sakura... so cruel..."

"What’s the big deal."

"How could Harumi just disappear in the next Chapter...?," Hanamaru Hanabi still couldn’t understand. Whether it was Yasukawa Harumi’s concern when Akizuki Katsuyama was down or her friendship of giving up her entire eight-year savings for him, Hanabi had developed a fondness for this character.

Such an important person suddenly dying in the next Chapter was bewildering.

Uesugi Sakura answered, "It’s the plot requirement. Yasukawa Harumi is Akisuki’s close friend and childhood companion. Their over ten years of acquaintance make their entirely incompatible personalities able to frequently have heart-to-heart talks together.

"They are both friends and comrades who worked hard in Tokyo after coming from Hokkaido. She is the only person Akisuki can trust in this city. Suddenly losing such a familiar person makes Akisuki lose all hope in Tokyo, completely disheartened."

"Does Hanabi know what this means?"

"I don’t know..."

"This means Akisuki urgently needs a rebirth, urgently needs a turning point to save him from his current predicament, and that’s when the heroine enters the scene."

"Sakura, you’re still so wicked... Can’t the story be a little happier?"

"Well," Uesugi Sakura was momentarily speechless, unsure where to start, so he tried to organize his words and explained, "Let me give an example."

Hanamaru Hanabi: "Go ahead, Sakura."

"It’s like when we watch movies; we watch them to gain deep feelings because we want to experience an array of emotional baptisms, to immerse ourselves, empathize, and fall in love with who the protagonist loves. Novels are the same; our primary task is to guide the audience into a deep emotional experience.

"Without deep emotion, it’s hard to make people feel tension, and they can’t get into it, just like God, indifferent."

"Don’t get it?"

Uesugi Sakura noticed Hanamaru Hanabi batting her eyes at him.

"In simple terms, it’s about conflict. The plot needs conflict, and the story needs conflict!"

"Due to losing his job, a breakup, and even being evicted by the landlord for lack of money, Akisuki struggled in Tokyo for eight years, and it seemed like he was treading water, making no progress, instead sinking deeper into the abyss. This is why Akisuki was so despondent. His family’s illness makes money his most urgent need, but unemployment deprives him of obtaining what he wants."

"Money represents the conflict between Akisuki and reality. It’s also what disappoints him most about Tokyo, where it’s cold, ruthless, and lonely - everything points to money. He spent a night drunk on the street, and no one cared to ask."

"At that moment, who helped him?"

Uesugi Sakura looked at Hanamaru Hanabi.

"Yasukawa Harumi," the girl said.

"Yes," Uesugi Sakura nodded, "It was precisely Yasukawa Harumi’s selfless help and a friend’s concern that rekindled Akisuki’s hope for life, making him believe in humanity’s warmth, everything was about to get on track."

"That’s... quite nice..."

"Not good," Uesugi Sakura shook his head, "For the novel, it’s not good. The story’s upward movement means it’s coming to an end. We still need Akisuki to meet the heroine, we need readers to see the heroine’s goodness through Akisuki’s perspective."

"This means we need a major turning point, to make readers harbor intense emotions for the sudden departure of this character, to let them glimpse a ray of light in the deep abyss of despair and feel that there is still beauty in the world... all for the heroine’s entrance. So... Yasukawa Harumi’s death is inevitable."

Hanamaru Hanabi’s weak voice faltered, "But... Hanabi still feels that such a good person leaving so simply is too—"

"That’s exactly the emotion we want," Uesugi Sakura repeated, "How do you think I wrote this part? There are actually many details I haven’t perfected."

"Mm..."

Hanamaru Hanabi silently nodded while looking at the computer screen before her, "Hanabi will definitely continue reading."

Uesugi Sakura: "I just needed to hear you say that, I’ll refine it a bit and show you later."

Hanamaru Hanabi quietly watched him scurry off to the balcony with his computer to continue working, thinking to herself, Sakura... hasn’t been this passionate for a long time.

But will such a story... perhaps be a little too cruel?

...

November 3rd, Friday, a clear morning after the rain.

"Are we biking out?" Uesugi Sakura asked as he looked at Hanamaru Hanabi, who was dressed in a little skirt, holding a handbag, ready to head out.

"Hmm... no need, biking with a passenger is illegal, we’ve always been sneaking past the police," Hanamaru Hanabi checked her skirt that barely fell past her knees to ensure her white stockings weren’t mismatched or anything.

"Then how about we take the train?"

"Alright."

Uesugi Sakura grabbed Hanamaru Hanabi’s hand, but then paused: "Why is it a bit cold?"

"It’s Sakura’s hand that’s a bit warm," Hanamaru Hanabi looked at her own small hand held by him, her voice turning soft and tender as she replied.

"It’s a bit cold..."

Uesugi Sakura held her little hand, soft sensations passed through his palm to his heart, her slender and evenly-shaped jade fingers making one want to put them into his palm one by one, to gently knead them, and finally place them to his mouth for a gentle bite, just to see how soft they really were.