How to raise a random guy's wife

The more she painted on the island of Po, the more dissatisfied she became. The more she wanted to paint, the more she painted, and the more pressure she accumulated, eventually suffocating her with each painting.

So...

It's just that I'm not good enough.

It's not that Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha are strong because they cooperate; rather, it's because Eriri is strong that she cooperates with the equally strong Kasumigaoka Utaha.

No matter how many reasons you find to explain Eriri's strength, the fact that you yourself are not strong enough remains unchanged.

What am I even doing...?

After returning to normalcy, the boat trip to Po Island resumed, and the tasks assigned by the older brother were completed.

It seems... things aren't so bad if things just stay like this.

It's much easier to be content with your current position than to chase after an unattainable peak.

That was the original plan for the trip to Po Island.

However, after learning the general direction of "White Album" at the meeting that day, Izumi Hashima immediately judged that it was in the early style of Utaha Kasumigaoka.

The success of "Bunny Girl Senpai" and "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" almost made Izumi Hashima forget that Kasumigaoka Utaha was known for her heart-wrenching and delicate emotions in her early works.

I thought that "5 Centimeters Per Second" was the last echo of the movie, but Kasumigaoka Utaha started a new journey.

I never imagined that after so much time, Kasumigaoka Utaha could still create the kind of stories she wanted to create, just like she did at the beginning.

And... what about myself?

Going out to sea from Po Island felt like being hit hard.

What kind of story did I initially want to create?

Suddenly, images flashed before my eyes of the happy readers who had stopped at my pitifully small table at the fan convention.

Yes... what I want to draw is a story that I can discuss with everyone.

It's the kind of story where two people know nothing about each other, yet they understand each other perfectly.

Suddenly, Hashima realized that his pursuit of Eriri had become a hideous Hannya mask, firmly fastened to her face, obscuring her original appearance and blurring her direction.

It was an invisible monster, unseen and intangible.

It was a tangible curse, genuinely affecting her life.

Then take off your mask.

Let this invisible monster become a tangible image, and let this tangible curse become an illusory emotion.

Go back to the very beginning and draw stories that you can talk about with people for a long time.

Thus, Bo Island's departure from the sea became the exorcist in his own writing, peeling back the masks of monsters layer by layer, finding the monster hidden beneath the mask, and then killing it with a single blow.

That's why she can look at Eriri with expectant eyes now.

Because of the masks that obscured her vision, she banished herself.

As if nothing had happened, she still wanted to compete with Eriri.

But it seems that something happened, and she just wanted to compete with Eriri.

“The art style and theme are both great,” Eriri said, her brow furrowing slightly, “but…”

Bo Island, eager to get out to sea, pressed on, "But what?"

Eriri looked at the sea heading towards Hashima Island with some surprise.

Seeing what Hashima Izumi looks like now instantly brought Eriri back to her high school days, to the first time she saw a doujinshi about Hashima Izumi.

That pure passion made her clearly feel a sense of threat.

This person possesses power beyond his own...

No, it's that I've already developed a passion that surpasses my own.

"But..." Eriri opened her mouth, "I..."

Chapter 590 Ended Hastily

Eriri had previously considered helping Hashima set sail, but after seeing the current state of Hashima's sailing, she suddenly hesitated.

Do I really have the ability to help her?

Or rather, will the advice I offer as someone who has been through it truly help her, or will it harm her?

Eriri wasn't sure if her advice was just wishful thinking, like an elder urging a child to get married early.

"I'm not good at screenwriting or anything like that, so I can't really say for sure." Eriri carefully considered her words while flipping through the manuscript. "How should I put it... this story is a bit..."

“That’s too childish.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s voice suddenly rang out.

At some point, Kasumigaoka Utaha had stopped creating and was standing behind Eriri.

She finished browsing the entire story while flipping through the original manuscript.

Eriri turned her head. "Are you finished writing?"

"It's not that fast," Kasumigaoka Utaha said, moving her fingers to ease the discomfort from typing quickly. "I've completed a basic outline and designed a few dialogues, so it's a rough draft."

"I thought you were going to finish writing it all in one go."

"I'll starve to death before I even finish writing," Kasumigaoka Utaha replied. "Don't treat me like an idiot who only knows how to draw and doesn't care about his health."

"If you really care about your health, you should stay up less late!"

"I take care of my health to prevent sudden death from staying up late."

"Then don't stay up late!"

"When inspiration strikes, how can I possibly sleep?"

"You're the same way. When inspiration strikes, I don't even have time to eat."

"That's why there's such a big gap between you and going to sea."

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

How did it suddenly turn to me...? Bo Island looked down as he went out to sea.

The difference is indeed significant.

When she looked up at Eriri, she was met with Eriri's resentful gaze. "Don't look!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled, "Even if you go out to sea, you probably won't see much."

Eriri snapped, "Show me what you've got!"

It's started again...

While watching Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri interact, Hashima realized that their cooperation wasn't just because the other person was very strong; there were other factors involved as well.

That's wonderful... a relationship where both work and life can support each other.

Kobayashi Sora looked out the window, pretending not to hear.

Kobayashi Megumi pinched him under the table, reminding Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri, who were in the middle of a lively discussion, "Let's talk about the plot, let's talk about the plot."

“My senior just said my story was naive,” Bodao Chuhai seized the opportunity to ask, “What exactly happened?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Eriri said, dissatisfied. “It’s too childish and such.”

“Let me put it another way,” Kasumigaoka Utaha thought for a moment, “It’s like a little girl’s diary that she wants others to see. It’s full of thoughts she wants to express and an escape from her true emotions. On one hand, she wants people to understand her, and on the other hand, she desperately tries to beautify her true self. In the end, all that’s left is awkward emotions and a bland story. A diary can still have a little bit of girlish charm, but this kind of story is just boring and superficial.”

Eriri retorted, "Isn't this still childish?"

"So didn't I just say that? Why do you insist on making me explain it again?"

"I meant for you to be more tactful!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha bluntly reveals the truth: "Readers won't mince words; they'll just abandon the boring story and never read it again."

"Senior is right." Hashima Izumi felt a sharp sting from Kasumigaoka Utaha's evaluation, as if something had been punctured. "What should I do?"

“You’re too deeply involved,” Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed. “Art comes from life but transcends it; a work comes from the author but also transcends them. Immersing yourself in it is a good thing, but being too immersed can lead to a problem.”

Bo Island vaguely understood something as he sailed out to sea. "The problem?"

“Not ruthless enough.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s lips curled up. “You put yourself in the story, you become the character in the story. The character’s pain is your pain. If you can’t bear that kind of pain, the character isn’t miserable enough, and the story isn’t interesting enough.”

Eriri retorted, "Isn't this just your personal interest?"

"Creation is always a matter of hurting others eight hundred times and hurting yourself a thousand times," Kasumigaoka Utaha sneered. "A plot that can torture readers has already tortured the author a thousand times during the conception process. If you think ten points in your mind and eight points come out on the pen, you are a top-notch creator. If readers can understand six points, they are already very good readers. If you can convey four points of the emotions to them, you should be thankful."

Pointing to the original manuscript, Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed out, "You've thought of ten parts in your mind, but only four parts on paper, yet you expect the reader to understand six parts and feel eight parts of the emotions. Isn't that just wishful thinking?"

Kobayashi Megumi recognized the sound. "Sister Zhu Yin said something similar."

"Oh?" Kobayashi Sora had heard Akane Kousaka say something similar, but that was before she met Kobayashi Megumi. "When did she tell you that?"

“Hmm…” Kobayashi Megumi recalled, “When I asked her for parenting advice.”

Kobayashi Sora: "Hmm?"

Eriri gave a strange look. "Then you've really come to the right person."

“One dared to ask,” Kasumigaoka Utaha remarked, “and one dared to answer.”

"Sister Zhu Yin explained it very well." Kobayashi Megumi chuckled, bringing the topic she had veered off course back on track. "Now that the general issues are clear, what about the specifics?"

“Here,” Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed to the manuscript, “you wanted to reveal the dark side of a woman’s heart here, to let the reader feel the pain and unease when her facade is torn apart, right?”

"Yes." Bo Island nodded honestly.

"That's not enough!" Kasumigaoka Utaha said earnestly. "Can this even be considered dark? Is tormenting yourself out of jealousy considered dark? Torturing others is barely considered dark. Thinking about killing the object of your jealousy... not by a thousand cuts! But by inflicting torture on that person! Only by using every existing and non-existent punishment on them can you be considered dark! After all the buildup, readers have all sorts of guesses about her dark thoughts, but when it's revealed, this is it? Are you kidding me?"

Hashima looked silently at Eriri as she sailed out to sea.

"Why are you looking at me like that!" Eriri instinctively shrank behind Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"What else?" Bo Island's eyes lit up more and more.

"And this part isn't angsty enough! What is this? The emotions were built up to this point, and then it just abruptly ends." Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a sense of disappointment. "The feeling before was so good, but it ended so hastily. It's obvious you couldn't bear to continue writing, right? An even more cruel truth is about to be revealed, and you've already softened your heart?!"

Chapter 591 I'm so happy