How to raise a random guy's wife

"Gurgle..." Eriri twisted and turned, breaking free from Kasumigaoka Utaha's grasp like a mermaid, "Who's expecting this!"

"It's good that you didn't have any expectations, so you won't be disappointed." Kasumigaoka Utaha gathered her short hair behind her ear. "I've changed my mind. I'll keep it this way for the last time."

"what?"

"That way, I can choose freely whether to kiss you while you're sleeping at night or while you're awake."

"Wishful thinking!" Eriri solemnly declared, "No waiting after the deadline, love me or not!"

"You're... so impatient?"

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

-

Akane Akasaka rolled around on the bed, completely unaffected. "Doraemon, you have to help me think of something!"

“What a strange name,” Machida Sonoko rolled up her pajamas. “Don’t move around, put your pajamas on.”

“You’re as amazing to me as Doraemon.” Akane Kousaka raised her hand so Sonoko Machida could put the dry pajamas on her.

"When did this happen?" Machida Sonoko asked helplessly. "I have absolutely no recollection of it."

"These are the words I've never said aloud."

"I feel like it's more like an excuse you use to pass on your problems to me."

"So do you have any way to get Kong Qing to recognize me as her mother?"

"So you don't have any intention of refuting this at all?" Machida Sonoko angrily slapped Akane Akasaka.

"If you can't see through it, what's the point of arguing..." Akane Akasaka shook her leg in protest. "So, is there a way?"

"Have you ever thought about how the father and daughter would address each other if you were Lanlan's godmother and Kong Qing were to recognize you as her mother as well?"

"Each side has its own perspective?"

"Do you think that's possible?"

"Then I'll break off my relationship with Lanlan first... I can't bear to think about it!"

"That's exactly what I mean." Machida Sonoko didn't understand. "Why are you so fixated on this?"

"Hmm...never forget your original intention?"

"Is this the right phrase? Do you think it's appropriate?" Machida Sonoko suddenly became a little curious. "Speaking of which, if it were Chuxin, you should have made your move earlier, while he was still a child and didn't understand anything."

Do you feel like he's a child who didn't know any better when he was little?

“That’s true.” Machida Sonoko pressed, “So when did your original aspiration begin?”

"Hmm...when I fell ill?"

“That was eight years…almost nine years,” Machida Sonoko recalled, “ah, shortly after Sora and Megumi got married.”

"correct."

"So you only remembered to be a mother now that Kong Qing is married?"

"No, that was when Hui consulted me about raising children."

"Huh?" Machida Sonoko was taken aback. "She really dares to ask that."

Akane Akasaka said proudly, "I have a lot of experience with this."

Machida Sonoko: "You really dare to answer that."

“I treat my works like children. Look at all my outstanding children.”

"They're not quite the same..."

"Anyway, I told her exactly what I wrote, and she even thanked me."

"It's just politeness no matter how you look at it..." Machida Sonoko expressed her doubts.

"It was around that time that I began to realize that I was fully capable of being Kong Qing's mother, or rather, I had already raised him to some extent."

“That’s what you think,” Machida Sonoko sighed. “Korao might not think that way.”

“This is what Hui told me.”

"That's possible."

"Hey!" Akane Kousaka protested, "How can you trust others more than you trust me?!"

“Of course, Megumi has more to say about understanding Sora.” Machida Sonoko pressed down on Akane Kousaka’s hand. “But just because you treat Sora like a child doesn’t mean you have to make him recognize you as his mother. Just like Sora takes care of you in your old age doesn’t mean he has to be your son, right?”

"Hmm... but I feel like it would be really funny to force him to call me 'Mom' and see his awkward expression."

“This is your true feeling, isn’t it?” Machida Sonoko saw through Akane Akasaka’s true colors. “Now I’m starting to genuinely feel that you raised him.”

These two terrible personalities are exactly the same.

Akane Akasaka lunges at Sonoko Machida, "So you weren't being sincere just now!"

-

“My brother isn’t home either,” Mayu Sagara said while watching the live stream and talking on the phone with Izumi Hashima. “I heard he’s having some work-related troubles.”

"That's what my brother told me too."

"Huh? Could those two be together?"

A jumble of sounds came from the direction of the sea off Po Island: "So fast?"

“I mean…working together,” Mayu Sagara added. “It seems you’re thinking too fast.”

"Uh... it's not my fault. It's just that he was so close to Kong Qing back in junior high."

“This is still a legacy issue,” Mayu Sagara suddenly thought of a good idea. “How about we recreate this content in Cells at Work!”

"Didn't Sister Zhu Yin say today that we should try to keep the theme consistent? If it helps the theme, we can add it in."

“Then let’s forget about it.” Mayu Sagara shook her head. “The theme should be as simple and clear as possible.”

“Oh, right,” Izumi Hashima suddenly exclaimed excitedly, “Speaking of manga, I suddenly have an idea.”

"Really?!" Mayu Sagara was quite surprised. She really liked the previous "Mononoke" series, and she had thought it would be a long time before she had new inspiration for the story after the voyage to Hashima. She didn't expect it to be so soon. "What is it?"

"When we celebrated Lanlan's birthday today, did you notice the interactions between Zhu Yin and Yuanzi, and between Shi Yu and Eriri?"

"Hmm..." Sagara Mayu was momentarily speechless. She had not only noticed, but had also learned something from it. "What's wrong?"

"I just think it's so nice to see girls together," said Hashima Izumi with great enthusiasm. "So I was thinking, should I draw a manga about the wonderful daily lives of girls? Or maybe make an anime? I haven't decided yet—what do you think?"

"What do I think?" Mayu Sagara glanced at her phone.

She felt that going out to sea from Po Island was hinting at something.

Chapter 914 Naturally

After calming down for a moment, Sagara Mayu remembered to answer the question about going to sea from Hashima. "Well... this kind of subject matter has a wide audience. Right now, it's just an idea, so I can't say whether it's good or bad."

“That makes sense,” said Boshima Izumi, snapping out of his excitement at having a new idea. “We still need to have a general idea first.”

“Yes, like Cells at Work!, you only need to choose a disease, like hay fever or a cold, and then organize the plot as Akane-nee mentioned, and you can complete a story.” Mayu Sagara helped Hashima with his consideration. “A relatively vague story like yours is difficult to handle. If there is no clear main plot, you will not know what you are drawing as you draw.”

"But once you have a clear main storyline, you feel constrained," sighed Izumi Hashima. "It feels a bit disjointed to have the protagonist living an ordinary daily life, enjoying every day, against a backdrop of hidden conspiracies, terrifying plans, and global crises."

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly the feeling. It’s not that you can’t write about everyday life. For example, adding a warm everyday scene to a heavy story can feel great. With the addition of echoes and contrasts, the emotions are immediately heightened.” Mayu Sagara pointed out the key point. “However, if a story created with the purpose of depicting ordinary everyday life is forced to have a heavy main plot added in order to make the everyday story continue, it will feel very strange.”

"Hearing you say that, I'm already starting to feel tired." Hashima Izumi recalled Akane Akasaka's guidance before, "This is what Akane-nee was talking about, the kind of deviation from the theme. If you're tired, you can overcome it, but if what you draw isn't what you want to draw, it's unbearable torture."

“Speaking of Zhu Yin, aren’t Zhu Yin and Yuan Zi one of your sources of inspiration?” Sagara Mayu had a good idea. “How about we use them as models for our creations?”

"A cartoonist and an editor?" Hashima Izumi murmured, "That sounds pretty good."

"I can consult with them later and try to make some changes."

"Classmates from university, helping each other after entering the workforce..." Hashima Izumi recalled Machida Sonoko and Akasaka Akane's experiences, "It seems..."

“It doesn’t seem like a good idea.” Mayu Sagara realized, “After Akane dropped out of school, they didn’t keep in touch for a long time. If we use a point in time after that as the starting point for the plot, the protagonist will be too old.”

Bo Island gently hummed in agreement, "I feel like I don't quite grasp the mindset of that age group."

“Most people can’t write about the mental state of someone older than themselves, since they don’t have that experience.” Mayu Sagara discovered more problems. “And if we’re focusing on Akane-nee as the protagonist, there are too many industries and people involved.”

The door opened with a bang, and Fumio Sagara pushed it open, saying, "I'm back."

“Welcome back.” Mayu Sagara glanced at him. “I’m on the phone.”

Fumio Sagara walked in. "Huh? Boyfriend?"

"It's a woman."

"girlfriend?"

“It’s a sea voyage.” Mayu Sagara rolled her eyes at him. “Go away, you smell like perfume.”

"How could that be? I'm not going on a date today." Fumio Sagara opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of Coke. "I'm going to wash up first."

Mayu Sagara waved her hand and said to Izumi Hashima on the phone, "My brother is back."

“My brother just texted me too, saying he’ll be home soon and asking if I need anything.” Bo Island paused, then added, “Did he go to see your brother off?”

"Maybe." Mayu Sagara glanced in the direction of the bathroom. "By the way, speaking of consultations, how about we ask Megumi and Sora Ao about it in a couple of days?"

"what?"

"The idea for Cells at Work! came from them. If you tell them your creative intentions, they might be able to help."

"Yeah, it seems like there's no problem that can stump them."

-

"So we've come to visit!" Mayu Sagara greeted everyone with great enthusiasm.

I felt a little embarrassed about the boat trip to Po Island, since it was a day off. "Sorry to bother you."

"Welcome, welcome," Kobayashi Sora asked. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"I want it!" Sagara Mayu looked around. "Isn't Ranran home?"

“Lanlan is at her maternal grandparents’ house,” Xiaolin Hui said, placing the washed fruit on the coffee table. “Every year around this time, Lanlan goes to her paternal grandparents’ house for a few days, and Nian Gao goes with her.”

Bo Island was taken aback when he went out to sea. "Um...did we disturb you?"