Chapter 68

Seeing that a few of them had already admitted their mistakes and no longer looked like mischievous children,

Nagayama Naoki no longer kept his stern face, and asked in a calm tone,

"Have you understood your mistakes? Where did you go wrong? You were the leader, so you tell me!"

He directly pointed at Akita Shizuo.

"This... we shouldn't play pranks... we shouldn't spy on people's doorsteps..."

It seemed he still didn't understand the real reason,

Nagayama Naoki then pointed at the seemingly most vulnerable one, Kita Haru,

"What do you think? Where did you go wrong?"

"Um, we shouldn't use water balloons... they can wet people's doors..."

Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, Nagayama Naoki shook his head,

"You guys... the elderly person in that house looks to be around 80 or 90 years old,

At that age, they can't handle surprises. If your pranks scared them or caused them to fall,

It could lead to serious consequences, and in the worst case, it could be fatal!"

"Death?" The three elementary school students clearly weren't moved; to them, the word seemed too distant.

Nagayami Naoki didn't say much more, knowing they would understand in time.

But seeing these few, he thought of the novel "Summer Garden" from yesterday. Wasn't this a predestined connection?

He decided to try it out as described in the book; after all, the outcome wouldn't be too serious.

"You guys, if you don't want me to inform your parents, that's fine."

"Really?" "You're not lying?" "That's great~"

"But, you must sincerely apologize and gain the elderly person's forgiveness! Otherwise, I will still tell your parents!"

"Uh..."

"What are you waiting for? Go knock on the door and apologize!"

Watching the few of them hesitantly press the doorbell, Nagayama Naoki, standing not far away, wondered if he was influencing the course of events.

The door opened, and the elderly man, who had a bad temper, said,

"Again, it's you guys! Are you here to disturb my nap again? Do you want me to teach you a lesson?" He was about to grab a broom...

"We came to apologize!"

"Huh? Apologize?"

The three then explained the whole situation, and it took the elderly man a while to understand:

"You guys actually planned to put water balloons on my door?"

"Sorry, it was our mistake, please forgive us!" x3, surprisingly, these kids had already learned the traditional art of bowing to apologize!

But the elderly man didn't seem to appreciate it: "Just saying sorry for your pranks? No way!"

The three seemed to be at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Akita Shizuo spoke up first: "We'll do anything, please forgive us!"

The elderly man seemed to be considering. He looked around and said, "If that's the case, pull the weeds in my yard!"

"Uh... okay..."

Watching the three children start pulling weeds, the elderly man glanced back at Nagayama Naoki, who was not far away, and muttered,

"Meddling busybody..."

...

After throwing away the trash, Nagayama Naoki didn't go home. Seeing the children already pulling weeds,

He went to a nearby convenience store to restock his fridge.

He was a regular customer, and the store owner was already familiar with him.

While paying, he asked,

"Boss, do you know the elderly person in that old house?"

"Yamai Masahiro, he often comes to buy alcohol. What's up?"

In such a long-running convenience store, the owner was familiar with the residents in the area, as they were all regular customers.

"The yard looks very messy, and the house is quite old. Don't his children help him maintain it?"

"I heard his daughter married far away, and this old man has a bad temper, so he lives alone."

"At his age, living alone is dangerous, isn't it?"

"What can be done? Live one day at a time. If he can't take care of himself, he'll have to go to a nursing home."

After chatting with the owner for a while, Nagayama Naoki returned home.

From the balcony, he could see the three children diligently pulling weeds, with the elderly man watching and occasionally saying a few words.

The yard wasn't large, and the three finished the job in less than an hour.

Nagayama Naoki actually sat on the balcony and watched them for an hour...

How boring...

Seeing the children about to leave after finishing their work, Nagayama Naoki thought it wouldn't be right to be too harsh on them.

He took three bottles of cola from the fridge, put them in a bag, and went downstairs.

Seeing the children come out of the door, he waved them over.

"Did the elderly person forgive you?"

"Yes, we've been forgiven!"

Looking at their sunburned faces and sweat-soaked appearances, Nagayama Naoki felt they had learned their lesson.

"Good, remember this lesson! I won't inform your parents, but don't play such pranks again."

Then he handed the bag to them,

"Pulling weeds was the condition for forgiveness, so consider this as a reward for your hard work!"

Seeing the cold cola in the bag, their eyes lit up instantly,

"Thank you!" x3

Nagayama Naoki returned upstairs and watched from the balcony as the children happily walked away, drinking their cola.

Children really can't resist cola, especially in the 1980s...

...

Since recalling "Summer Garden" yesterday, Nagayama Naoki felt a sense of predestination, which led him to make these three children meet the elderly man.

However, whether things would unfold as in the novel, he didn't know. Let it be.

At least this way, the shame of being a copycat was greatly reduced,

He felt a sudden sense of relief.

Next, should he start looking for a publisher?

Shueisha? Kodansha? Shinchosha? Or ask an acquaintance?

The toolman, Yoshimura Daisuke, was about to come online!

Nagayama Naoki directly called the studio,

"Hello, this is Juu Yū Eiga."

Due to the popularity of "World's Most Mysterious Stories," Ido Shuichi often received calls from the production team and other inquiries, so he used the studio's phone as the contact number for Juu Yū Eiga.

Yoshimura Daisuke had been staying at the studio recently, or going to the TV station.

"Shuichi, it's me, Nagayama Naoki. Is Daisuke there?"

"What, it's you, Naoki. Daisuke, Naoki is looking for you~" Ido Shuichi called out and then asked, "Naoki, how long do you plan to slack off? Are you giving up on editing?"

"Haha, with Shuichi overseeing it, I have absolute confidence in you!" He laughed and flattered him.

Nagayama Naoki hadn't dared to call Ido Shuichi recently, fearing he would be pressured to work,

"Naoki, I'm here." Fortunately, Yoshimura Daisuke took the call in time, "What do you need?"

"Hi, Daisuke, you used to work in magazines, so I'm calling to ask if you have any connections in publishing."

"Of course, I know people in publishing. Are you planning to start a magazine?" Yoshimura Daisuke thought Nagayama Naoki had a new promotional idea, like publishing a standalone magazine.

"No, actually, I've been writing a novel recently and want to try to get it published, so I'm asking for advice."

Without hiding anything, Nagayama Naoki explained, knowing everyone would find out eventually.

"Writing a novel? And trying to publish it?"

Yoshimura Daisuke was once again surprised by Nagayama Naoki.

...