How to raise a random guy's wife

Chapter 354 Never Forget Your Original Intention

"Wait a minute." Lan Qiansha didn't understand either. "Shouldn't things be going more and more smoothly be a good thing? Why use 'but'?"

“For an artist, if the drawing goes more and more smoothly, it means that the client’s requirements are not being met.” Mayu Sagara shrugged. “In other words, I’m drawing what I want to draw, not what you need.”

“I need…” Ping An Ming Jin began, “I need the better-looking version.”

Mayu countered, "Is it really true that this character has virtually no connection to you?"

"this......"

“I have a suggestion,” Tang Keke said with a smile, “if we add isopods…”

"Shut up!"

“That means,” Kato Megumi understood, “that beyond the initial sketches, the more you develop your own style, the less the character illustrations relate to them. The final result is that the illustrations become beautiful character designs, but they don’t have much connection to the members.”

Mayu Sagara confirmed Megumi Kato's idea: "If the character illustrations can't be connected to the real people, then this project is meaningless, right?"

"Yes, that's true." Shibuya Kanon pressed, "And what about the second version?"

"As for the second version...didn't Eri Kashiwagi-sensei ask me to keep drawing it?" This was relayed by Megumi Kato to Mayu Sagara, who looked on with a reminiscing expression. "And so I kept drawing, kept drawing...that..."

She paused, then looked at Hazuki Ren, "In the end, I got my inspiration from you."

"Huh?" Hazuki Ren looked back blankly. "Me?"

"Let me show you first. This is an expression I saw during the six-day event, and I just sketched it down." Mayu Sagara handed a piece of paper to Ren Hazuki separately. "Then you can decide whether to destroy it or not."

"Huh? This is..." The moment Hazuki Ren saw the picture, she realized, "So that was the expression I had before?"

Although it's a bit exaggerated, you can recognize it at a glance.

"Coco wants to see too!" Tang Coco raised her hand like a curious child.

"Here you go." Hazuki Ren didn't feel embarrassed at all.

"Pfft!" Tang Keke laughed out loud, which was quite unkind.

"Hey!" Ping An Ming Jin complained, "Don't laugh so rudely!"

As he spoke, he glanced at it as well.

"puff!"

Shibuya Kanon and Arashi Chisuna also peeked out to look.

However, they held back.

"Is it that funny?" Hazuki Ren asked, puzzled.

“That expression…” Tang Keke suppressed a laugh, “is exactly the same as when you confessed when the chairman called you over!”

"Don't say it!" Hazuki Ren was now embarrassed.

Sagara Mayu asked curiously, "What self-disclosure?"

"N-nothing!" Hazuki Ren shook her head vigorously, her long ponytail swaying back and forth.

Actually, it's not a big deal.

Because her family limited her exposure to modern things, Hazuki Ren was somewhat out of touch with the times in terms of her understanding of electronic products and trendy culture.

Her family's overprotective nature also prevented her from developing the ability to resist temptation and control her curiosity.

Then one day, Hazuki Ren saw a webpage called "Forbidden World" on Coco's computer in the activity room. Out of curiosity, she couldn't help but click on it.

When has this kind of information bombardment ever happened to a sheltered young lady?

I was completely stunned.

Afterwards, the chairman summoned the members of the star cluster to his office to explain some things. Hazuki Ren thought that she had visited a website she shouldn't have and was going to be called in for a lecture.

Then he revealed it himself.

The panicked expression on her face at that time was almost exactly the same as the one drawn by Mayu Sagara... Huh?

Almost simultaneously, everyone fell silent, looking at Hazuki Ren, at the illustrations, at the first version, and then at the second version.

They seemed to understand something of what Sagara Mayu meant.

“I thought about it carefully and realized that when I was drawing the first version, I was thinking about how to make the character more beautiful, but when I was drawing this picture, I was thinking about how to reproduce Koi’s expression.” Mayu Sagara continued, “You can see the final result. But it’s not easy to replicate this effect, so I consulted Megumi again.”

"So that's why you asked me about Kashiwagi-sensei's seclusion." Kato Megumi recalled her previous conversation with Sagara Mayu.

“Yes, Eri Kashiwagi’s transformation inspired me. When one drawing method is not enough, you can try other drawing methods to find that feeling.” Mayu Sagara took out her sketchbook. “So I compared photos and videos and used realistic sketching to draw.”

She flipped through the sketchbook, which contained sketches of the star cluster members.

Basically, it has nothing to do with anime anymore; it's almost entirely realistic in style.

“Realistic characters and anime characters are very different. Various proportions will be adjusted accordingly, and there are also great changes in the details.” Mayu Sagara flipped through the pages one by one. “I reviewed the process of going from a realistic style to an anime style little by little, and made modifications based on that. In the end, these are the finished products.”

As each sheet of paper is turned over, even those who don't know much about painting can vaguely guess the effort that went into it.

“That’s the whole process.” After finishing her explanation, Mayu Sagara turned her gaze to Kaon Shibuya.

“It feels… very similar.” Shibuya Kanon looked up. “Just like Star Cluster, they worked hard little by little, from being ordinary students to becoming school idols who sing on stage.”

She picked up the first and second versions and compared them side by side. "The first version is really beautiful, but to say that this is me... I really want to admit it, but I know that this isn't me, at least not the me I am now. If I didn't do anything and it turned out like this, to be honest, I feel a little guilty. From this perspective, I prefer the second version. It gives me the feeling that I can grow with this image—what do you all think?"

“I think Xiangyin is right,” Lan Qiansha was the first to express her agreement.

"Don't forget your original intention." Hazuki Ren whispered, agreeing with Shibuya Kanon's idea.

"Xiangyin's words are excellent!" Tang Keke nodded vigorously.

"Hmm..." Heian Mingjin sighed, somewhat conflicted, "I still prefer to achieve my goal myself rather than have someone else, who only has a few things in common with me, achieve it for me. I'll also choose the second version. Can I keep the first version?"

“Of course.” Mayu Sagara nodded vigorously.

It's wonderful that my ideas can be understood and accepted by others.

Kobayashi Sora breathed a sigh of relief.

Another stage victory.

But the real test has only just begun.

Chapter 355 Full of Worries

"The voting deadline is almost here." Kobayashi Sora received the progress of the votes mailed in by readers from Shinazugawa Bunko. "From what we can see so far, the level of attention is quite good."

"It feels different from when we were working on 'The Cherry Blossom Promise' before." Kato Megumi tidied up her finished work. "Last time, everyone worked hard silently, but now many people know from the beginning. Some are looking forward to it, and some are worried."

That's right, homework.

Although one of them is the president of RER and the other is the president's secretary, and they are already engaged, they are currently leading a large-scale project.

But they are still students.

Homework still needs to be done.

“After all, it’s a large-scale project that requires audience participation.” Kobayashi Sora took Kato Megumi’s hand. “Is there a lot of pressure? The audience’s attention is a form of support. As the project progresses, this support will become the lifeblood of the project’s continuation, but it can also become the most powerful force that destroys the project at any time.”

“I wasn’t under that much pressure before,” Kato Megumi wrinkled her nose. “Now that you mention it, I feel a lot more pressure.”

"My fault."

“Just admitting it won’t do any good…” Kato Megumi gently shook Kobayashi Sora’s hand. “You need to take real action.”

"Hmm?" Kobayashi Sora thought for a moment, "If you want to relieve stress, I do have a good method?"

"What method?"

"Let's go to the bedroom."

"Hmm..." Kato Megumi blushed, and her eyes became watery. "Was that to relieve my stress? It was to relieve your stress."

"No, what are you thinking?" Kobayashi Sora laughed. "I wanted to give you a massage so it would be more convenient in bed."

"Hmm... It's not my fault." Kato Megumi looked away.

There's nothing we can do about it.

Now, as soon as Kobayashi Sora's words or actions show even the slightest sign of going astray, her thinking will follow suit.

It's all because he was too reckless before.

Then Kato Megumi spoiled him.

“Yes~” Kobayashi Sora picked up Kato Megumi, “It’s my fault for leading you astray.”

"I've been corrupted by you."

"Then it's not my fault."

"It's not just your fault."

Kobayashi Sora sat up on the bed, placed a pillow on her lap for Kato Megumi to use as a pillow, and gently pressed her head with her hands through the girl's soft hair. "Was I too forceful?"

"Hmm~~" Kato Megumi was about to respond when she made a strange sound. She pursed her lips and adjusted her voice, "Perfect, you can make it a little harder."

"so?"

"Hmm~" Kato Megumi relaxed and closed her eyes. "Mmm..."

Her cherry lips parted slightly, and a sound like a comfortable sigh escaped her lips.

Kato Megumi bit her lower lip lightly. "Um..." To avoid making strange noises, she could only try to distract herself by talking about something else. "It seems like you're always worried that the project will fail?"

"I watched him build a magnificent mansion, I watched him host lavish banquets, and I watched his mansion collapse." Kobayashi Sora adjusted the position of her fingertips. "Many projects encounter difficulties at the beginning, but the biggest difficulty is not the beginning."

"Ok?"

"Because in the initial stage, the investment is not much, and the subsequent plans are only in their infancy." Kobayashi Sora explained further, "The most dangerous time is when the project overcomes difficulties one by one, from the initial investment, to gradually break even, and then starts to generate profits, with a bright future ahead."

"Hmm... because we invested a lot before, and seeing the project become profitable, we naturally wanted to invest even more, which means costs increased. At the same time, because we achieved some success, our thinking became more optimistic, making it easy to overlook some problems." Kato Megumi tried to analyze, "That's roughly how it feels?"

"That's exactly what I mean. A project is like a chain." Kobayashi Sora explained with an example, "Like our previous project, 'Sakura Promise,' the music, illustrations, story, and system are like the four links of the chain. If any link breaks, the game will fail. But once all four links are in order, the game is released, the project ends, and we make a little profit from each sale."

“In comparison, Superstar involves much more content, so the chain has more links, and each link carries risk, which means the risk is greater.” Kato Megumi followed Kobayashi Sora’s line of thought. “Moreover, unlike ‘Sakura Promise,’ which is a standalone product, Superstar requires long-term operation. The chain only has a beginning and no end, so the risk will only increase.”

"My wife is really smart."

No wonder you've been so worried.