Crossover: I Took In a Runaway High School Girl

"By the way, Sawamura-san..." Renji's voice broke the awkward silence between them. "Do you know Tomoya Aki?"

Eriri was surprised, her sea-blue eyes staring at Renji in confusion. "There's a person like that... why?"

"I'm just curious about your relationship with him," Renji replied, his expression calm, as if he were only asking a trivial question.

Eriri's body tensed, as if she had been electrocuted. She hugged her arms, a look of fear flashing across her face. "I... I don't want to have anything to do with him."

"Why?" Renji asked, his tone gentle, but his gaze was piercing.

"He... he was my next-door neighbor when I was little," Eriri whispered, her voice trembling. "But one day he had an accident and... passed away." Her eyes welled up with tears, as if the memory were still fresh. "If you ask about my relationship with him, it's just between the living and the dead. How could I dare to have a relationship with him?"

Renji blinked. There was a moment of silence. "He... passed away?" Renji was a little surprised, but a faint smile played on his lips. So, Tomoya Aki, Eriri's childhood sweetheart in her original world, was really gone here? A strange sense of relief appeared in his mind. That's good. So Eriri didn't have a bad experience with her childhood sweetheart.

"So... why did you suddenly ask that?" Eriri looked at him suspiciously.

Renji raised his hand, as if to shield his eyes. "My eyes... can see things that ordinary people can't. I once saw the ghost of a man named Tomoya Aki, he said he was going to buy the latest game..."

"Wh-what?!" Eriri exclaimed, her body getting goosebumps. "You're scaring me!" She quickly crossed her arms, looking at Renji with disgust. "So you have chuunibyou syndrome! No wonder your writing is sometimes weird!"

Renji just laughed. "If you don't believe me, just forget it. But how do you explain that I know Tomoya Aki's name?"

Eriri frowned, thinking hard. "You must... you must know me. Or you lived near my house when I was little!"

"In that case, are we childhood sweethearts?" Renji asked, his smile widening. He just went along with it, because he couldn't explain that he could see ghosts.

"Of course not!" Eriri turned her face away, her cheeks flushed. "All I remember is that today is the first time we've met. But I am popular, with countless suitors. It's only natural that you know my name."

She leaned closer, whispering. "I'll tell you, never tell anyone that I'm Eri Kashiwagi. No one at school knows my identity~"

"You're overthinking it," Renji shook his head. "I don't go to that school, so how can I spread your secret?" Renji shifted his gaze, as if thinking. "Besides, now we're studio mates, how could I betray a friend as beautiful as you?"

Hearing that, Eriri smiled with satisfaction. She felt a little proud.

However, Renji continued, his voice becoming serious again. "But, in your doujin... are the plots about beautiful girls being beaten up by miserable uncles... really your own ideas?"

Eriri's smile instantly froze. She clenched her fists, her face pale.

"Of course! It's just the idea!" She roared, her voice cracking. "I also borrowed a lot of comic plots, right? You otaku guys like plots like that!" Eriri turned her body away, as if she couldn't bear to look at Renji. "Many people can't get beautiful girls because they feel inferior, so including that miserable uncle can make them empathize. In the end, it's all because of you guys, so I drew it like this!"

Renji nodded in understanding. "That's true. The miserable uncle in erotic comics does what the protagonist can't. It's only natural that you chose that subject."

"But... have you ever thought, what if that plot happened to you?"

"Nonsense! I don't like miserable uncles! It's just a comic plot, don't let it become a reality! I'm a girl, you know!" Eriri was almost in tears. She felt that the more she talked, the more others misunderstood her. She really didn't like weird things!

Renji looked at her frenzy calmly, then smiled. "Calm down, I was just curious how you got the idea. If you need it, I can help. By the way, I have a suggestion."

"What suggestion?" Eriri asked unconsciously.

"When you draw doujin in the future, could you please not draw the heroine's breasts too big?" Renji looked at the ceiling, as if describing something there. "It's too exaggerated and out of proportion. I can only think of the word 'cow,' and her body proportions are unbalanced. I can see her future which will sag."

Eriri's face immediately flushed. Her mind was filled with steam. Did he see it?! The first few books... Those were drawings she made based on her own body, she just modified it a little. The reason she drew bigger breasts later was because many fans cursed her, saying her breasts were too small. Because she couldn't stand it, she started drawing them bigger and bigger, and it turned out to be more popular.

Renji continued to speak casually. "Look, you draw heroines like that. Even though you're popular, no serious light novel author invites you to do illustrations, right? If you keep going like this, Eri Kashiwagi, you'll never be able to grow."

Hearing that, Eriri nodded sadly. "That's true. After I drew like that, even though my books sold well, others rejected me as soon as they found out I was Eri Kashiwagi."

Renji patted her shoulder affectionately. "Come on, Sawamura-san. With 'Meow Star Studio,' you'll be able to succeed, so listen to me."

"Um... ah, that's not right! Why should I listen to you?! What... what are you going to do to me?" She nodded unconsciously, then immediately snapped out of it and jumped up, crossing her arms. Eriri's cheeks were flushed, and her small tiger fangs seemed ready to attack.

Renji rolled his eyes. "I mean we should work together well. You have to draw according to my story's needs, not draw weird cow aliens." He added casually, "Besides, I already have a girlfriend, okay!"

Eriri sighed in relief, realizing she was overreacting. She felt a little embarrassed. But then she felt a little angry. What did this guy mean? 'I have a girlfriend so I don't like you'? What the hell was that!

"Sawamura-san," Renji continued, "to make future consultations easier, let's exchange phone numbers, okay?"

"Okay," Eriri nodded, giving him her number. She felt a little unhappy, but since this guy already had a girlfriend, she could feel a little relieved.

"Don't send strange messages," she emphasized.

Renji glanced at her. "You should be the one not to bother me. I think I'm quite popular with girls."

"Sawamura-san, please don't fall in love with me, or I will definitely do something to you."

"Pfft, so narcissistic! You should be the one not to fall in love with me because I'm beautiful and leave your girlfriend! Because I will definitely reject you!" As soon as she finished speaking, her cheeks were red up to her ears. Shameless! Why did such narcissistic words come out of her mouth?

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