How to raise a random guy's wife

Warm sunlight streamed through the window, enveloping Kobayashi Megumi and creating a hazy glow.

She stood beside the crib, reaching out to smooth her daughter's soft hair. Strands of black hair fell down, which she casually tucked behind her ears, revealing earlobes that were almost transparent in the sunlight.

The couple enjoys a harmonious relationship, their daughter is healthy, and their work is going smoothly.

This yearning for life should be universal... no, that's not right.

Kasumigaoka Utaha subconsciously shook her head.

From high school to university, Kasumigaoka Utaha had only ever seen one couple this good.

Compared to such a perfect love story, the love stories of most people...

Kasumigaoka Utaha's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Eriri.

It should be... a pity.

Those emotions that couldn't be spoken, had nowhere to be confided, yet swirled endlessly in my mind; those that ended abruptly before they even began; all that was hinted at but never uttered...

Those unseen futures, and the past that can never be returned to...

So here comes the question.

how to write?

Write a funny story, a story about revenge, a story about hard work, friendship, and struggle... or something like what Kasumigaoka Utaha has decided to do now.

Write a story about regret.

The idea is very simple.

The challenge lies in conveying what you want to write to the reader in a smooth and coherent flow.

Hmm... now we're the audience.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the photo again.

Cherry blossoms, a young girl.

meet.

Isn't that Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi?

But they have no regrets; they already have a child.

Speaking of Kobayashi Sora, he's quite remarkable. Despite having just transferred to the school, he showed none of the awkwardness or unease typical of transfer students. Instead, he thrived at the school, and both students and teachers considered him very reliable.

Wait... a transfer student?

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes lit up.

What if it's not transferred here, but transferred away?

Then things took a completely different turn.

Kasumigaoka Utaha types on the keyboard: The male classmate who transferred schools

Staring at this line of text, Kasumigaoka Utaha's thoughts began to wander.

After the separation, it is natural to describe the emotional changes of the male and female protagonists.

The feelings of boys and girls, the longing between them, and so on.

Using the scenery drawn by Eriri, the story unfolds through the monologues of the male and female protagonists, revealing a variety of emotional changes. By the time the audience comes back to their senses from the scenery, they have already heard the whole story, becoming deeply immersed in it and empathizing with the regrets of the two characters.

Yes, that's the feeling.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the screen, which still displayed the same line of text as before.

Even though I have a general idea in my mind, it's hard to put it into words.

"Here, take this." Kobayashi Megumi handed over a stack of printed papers. "When I'm organizing my thoughts, I often use flowcharts and mind maps to help me think."

Compared to lines of text in a document, the combination of graphics and text can more intuitively present the thoughts in one's mind.

Kasumigaoka Utaha took the paper and pen without hesitation. "Thank you."

With her pen flying up and down, Kasumigaoka Utaha wrote down character by character, circled them, and then let them radiate outwards, connecting with each other.

"The story about transferring schools?" Kobayashi Megumi understood part of it.

“Hmm.” Kasumigaoka Utaha was a little surprised, but considering Kobayashi Megumi’s insightful abilities, it wasn’t surprising that she could understand it. “It was inspired by…” Her gaze lingered on Eriri for a moment, “by Sora Ao.”

"I see..." Kobayashi Megumi's gaze swept over Eriri, who was irritably throwing a crumpled piece of paper aside. "Tell us the story after we separated... Is it regrettable?"

“The general direction has been determined.” Kasumigaoka Utaha was adept at shifting emotions, but in order to depict those emotions, she naturally sacrificed some plot logic. “Are there any obvious problems?”

"Hmm... I see." Kobayashi Megumi traced the lines on the paper with her fair fingertips. "Since both of you miss each other, why not make a phone call? Even if you're just ordinary friends, a quick call would be nice. You used to be so close, a video call wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?"

“Good question.” Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded in agreement. “The good thing about this question is that I had never even thought about it before.”

Chapter 517 Uneasy and Unsettled

Human attention is limited; the more you focus on one aspect, the easier it is to neglect other aspects.

When Kasumigaoka Utaha was immersed in the construction of delicate emotions, she overlooked an obvious problem.

If you really miss them that much, why not just call them?

If you don't even make a phone call, do you really miss them that much?

Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her pen, trying hard to figure out the key point.

After Kobayashi Megumi pointed out the problem, Kasumigaoka Utaha, having gained a new perspective, discovered an even more fatal issue.

Superficial.

The emotional changes of the male and female protagonists after their separation are all one-sided and subjective.

However, the lack of interaction and contact between the two made this feeling seem somewhat superficial.

Or to put it more bluntly.

Hypocritical.

But if there's any contact, like making a phone call or sending a video, that subtle feeling of being close yet distant, wanting to touch but then pulling back, is completely destroyed.

This is really awkward...

“I don’t have enough material…” Eriri crumpled the drawing paper into a ball in frustration. “This tram has a nice texture, but the design is too old… This thing is probably older than me, and I know absolutely nothing about it.”

As the daughter of a diplomat, Eriri always uses very convenient modes of transportation when she goes out.

For objects like these old green trains, simple drawing is fine, but if you want a more realistic effect, you still need to find more material.

“Age…” Kasumigaoka Utaha stared blankly at Eriri, a thought suddenly popping into her mind, “Right… era.”

"Huh?" Eriri responded with a puzzled tone, "What?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha drew a long line on the paper with her pen, "We just need to turn back time to when mobile phones weren't so common."

Erika thought for a moment, "That's going too far back..."

“Don’t project your situation onto others.” Kasumigaoka Utaha waved her hand. “Then lower the protagonist’s age to limit their communication to letters.”

"You were studying the script..." Eriri finally realized, "And then?"

“What else could I be researching?” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s thoughts became clearer. “The two protagonists are in the same school, and then one of them has to transfer to another school, and their relationship changes. Then the other person also has to transfer schools. In the process, they understand how the other person felt at that time, so they decide to meet again.”

“That’s why we need to communicate through letters.” Kobayashi Megumi discovered this key point. “This way, what you think in your heart may not necessarily be written down, but what you write on paper will subtly reveal what you are thinking.”

“This is exactly what you’re good at.” Eriri stared at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who always managed to come up with something new for her.

Kasumigaoka Utaha drew arrows, "The male and female protagonists ride a train and get closer to each other, reminiscing about the past amidst the surrounding scenery, reading letters they wrote to each other, telling the whole story, and finally meeting again."

“This requires frequently shifting the storytelling perspective,” said Megumi Kobayashi, who has accumulated a lot of professional knowledge over the years. “It’s a big challenge to control the rhythm of the story and the depiction of emotions.”

“And length is also a problem,” Eriri added. “If we do it this way, it will take at least forty minutes to finish.”

I accidentally wrote it like a light novel again... Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned slightly, but if I don't write it this way, the emotions will be too superficial... superficial?

Isn't love inherently superficial?

Emotions like those between Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi, which have clear and explicit responses, are extremely rare.

Most love affairs disappear without a trace, like a stone thrown into the sea.

I miss you. Do you miss me as much as I miss you?

When I approach you, are you waiting, or are you moving away?

When I love you...

Do you love me?

This superficial yet intense emotion is the essence of the story.

Kasumigaoka Utaha waved her hand and crossed out half of the content on the paper. "Then I'll only tell you half."

Eriri asked, puzzled, "Half?"

"The opening describes the male protagonist's departure, as he reads the female protagonist's letter while reminiscing about the past, recounting their meeting, getting to know each other, and separation. The more letters he reads, the more thoughts he has to think about," Kasumigaoka Utaha succinctly summarizes. "It's a story that depicts this relationship solely from the male protagonist's perspective."

“In this way, as the story unfolds, the identification with the male protagonist's emotions will gradually give rise to concern for the female protagonist's emotions.” Kobayashi Megumi followed Kasumigaoka Utaha's train of thought, “He has this kind of feeling, but what are her feelings? — This feeling?”

Kasumigaoka Utaha's lips curled up. "That's exactly the kind of uncertainty I'm looking for."

"As expected of you... but this is going to be hard to wrap up." Eriri noticed the problem. "The build-up of emotions in the beginning is enough, but how do we wrap it up at the end? The female lead won't be able to handle it."

In terms of the story's progression, it's about a man and a woman going on a date and then meeting in person.

However, if a large portion of the text is used to describe the emotional changes of one person without depicting the other, it can easily create a sense of disparity for the reader.

“There’s a trick I’ve used many times,” Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled. “Unavoidable lateness and waiting without complaint.”

She wrote down words on the paper: "It rained in the morning and snowed at noon. The male protagonist took the tram to the agreed station as agreed. Due to the snow, the tram was delayed and stopped running. The male protagonist was late, so the already uncertain feelings became more and more shaky. He arrived at the agreed place much later and saw the person who was still waiting there."

it is more than words.

The long wait itself is proof of that.

Not everyone will wait that long...

"Rain and snow?" Eriri looked at the photo beside her. "Weren't we supposed to draw cherry blossoms?"

Did I waste my time drawing this?