Chapter 398: Morikawa Riho's Distress
(The following stories all take place two months after the original timeline, which means it will be some time after Sawayama Haruno and his girlfriends complete their wedding photo shoot plan)
Inside Kodansha, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo.
Riho Morikawa sat in the office, staring at the tablet in her hands with an expressionless face, looking like she was working seriously.
However, when editorial assistant Mikoto Nagashima saw the mature female editor's look, she couldn't help but feel worried.
Yes, worry.
Because no normal person would stare at a tablet for a full half hour, not to mention that Ms. Morikawa was holding it upside down.
If I remember correctly, this tablet is an old model that the company equipped a long time ago. It does not support the upside-down function. I really don't know what Ms. Morikawa is looking at.
Nagashima Mikoto was very worried about her mental state because for several days, Ms. Morikawa looked uninterested but forced herself to pretend to be busy. As an assistant, it would be strange if she wasn't worried.
If another assistant, Mine Shiori, was still there, perhaps she could have "persuaded" Ms. Morikawa, but unfortunately, she had just gone to Nagoya to attend an internal training seminar in the company and could not come back for a while.
The few people who could comfort Morikawa Riho were gone, and the remaining Nagashima Mikoto naturally didn't think she had the ability to cheer up Ms. Morikawa, but working absent-mindedly was obviously not the same thing, so she had to think of a way.
With this thought in mind, Nagashima Mikoto spoke tentatively.
"Ms. Morikawa, there seems to be a new cake shop opened across from Seven Eleven. How about ordering afternoon tea from them?"
"Ok?"
Morikawa Riho finally took her eyes off the tablet, but after a brief thought, she said listlessly: "Such trivial matters can be handled by the department themselves, I can handle it."
"Both are fine, right?"
Nagashima Mikoto's smile suddenly became forced. She felt a little depressed. It seemed that she still failed to play her role successfully. Only another assistant could effectively "communicate" with Miss Morikawa at this time. After all, their relationship was better.
"Forget it, you don't have to be sad with me."
As if noticing that Nagashima Mikoto was in a low mood, Morikawa Riho sighed and said, "Mikoto has only been out of college for less than two years. You still don't understand the troubles of an old woman like me. Family factors, family factors..."
No, I still understand a little bit, Nagashima Mikoto couldn't help but complain a few words in her heart.
"Are your family members urging you to get married again? I heard from Ms. Morikawa before that your family members even came to Tokyo to catch you for a blind date, right?"
"It's true, but it only happened last month." Morikawa Riho said in a very depressed tone, "If I hadn't stayed at the company for two days, I might have been caught by them and had a blind date with some greasy middle-aged rich man."
"Greasy. Not that bad, right?"
"Who knows? After all, I personally am very resistant to this kind of behavior. No matter how outstanding the blind date person is, I will probably have a preconceived notion that he or she is not good." Morikawa Riho said casually.
With such a great example before her, it was hard for her to look up to anyone else.
Although she has been single since birth, Morikawa Riho has seen people like Sawayama Haruno and was deeply impressed by his talent, so she can't help but compare him with other blind date candidates. Morikawa Riho knows that this mentality is not good, but it is difficult to correct it.
At this point, she no longer has any expectations for love and marriage. She might as well just stay single for the rest of her life, but she will be annoyed by her family.
If only there was some way to shut up my family members.
"there is."
Nagashima Mikoto heard Morikawa Riho's unintentional complaint, and her eyes suddenly lit up and she offered advice to the other party, "Isn't it very popular to rent a girlfriend or a boyfriend recently?"
"Are you talking about the settings of online light novels?"
Morikawa Riho frowned, obviously not taking Nagashima Mikoto's words seriously.
Before being transferred to serve as his assistant, the other party was an intern in the online editorial department. Naturally, he would be more sensitive to this kind of thing. After all, the "rental" theme is also a long-lasting theme in online light novels.
But how can novels be compared with reality? She didn't even want to give too much favor to her blind date, let alone find someone to play her boyfriend.
What's more, her family members are not stupid. It is definitely not that easy to fool them. When she thought about being taken advantage of by people like "rent-a-boyfriend", Morikawa Riho felt indescribably disgusted.
No, even if I die.
"It's not necessary to find someone you don't know. What I mean is, does Miss Morikawa have any friends of the opposite sex who can help with this?" Nagashima Mikoto said seriously.
Yes, it really is.
Morikawa Riho quickly thought of someone. It might be said that it was because of this person that she had never been able to have a normal blind date.
Considering the relationship between you and the other person, it should be fine to ask him to pretend to be your "boyfriend". The only problem is that he might take advantage of you because of his family. But it's better than being taken advantage of by those people who specialize in being "boyfriends" on the Internet, right?
It is better to give that guy a break than to give others a break, and the person who gets the advantage might be you?
Thinking of this, Morikawa Riho couldn't help but reveal a strange smile, but then she frowned again. However, in less than five minutes, her frown relaxed again.
Nagashima Mikoto was already accustomed to her boss's ever-changing facial expression. When she saw that he looked thoughtful, she knew that her plan was already half successful.
Sure enough, after a long silence, Morikawa Riho pretended to casually pick up her mobile phone and sent a string of text messages. Then after waiting for a few minutes, after hearing the text message reply prompt, she soon smiled brightly again.
"Let's order afternoon tea from the restaurant you just mentioned. Go and tell Manager Arai that it's my idea."
Morikawa Riho suddenly stood up, pulled the coat beside her and put it on, and added with a smile: "Order some cakes and milk tea or coffee, and put it on my consumption limit later."
"I have something to go out for soon. If you have any problems, just solve them yourself. If you really can't, just leave it until I come back to deal with it." She added.
"I understand, Ms. Morikawa."
Nagashima Mikoto nodded obediently, but even though she was the one who came up with the idea, she still felt a little curious - which friend of the opposite sex did Ms. Morikawa plan to ask for help?
(End of this chapter)
