I am a voice actor, not your emotional support

"Ha..." Nina felt more and more how terrifying the seemingly ordinary Uehara family was.

If Toru Uehara had grown up according to the normal life trajectory, it would have been difficult for me to meet him in this life, right?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help feeling a little happy.

-

After letting Xiaohua go upstairs to sleep in the same room with An, Subaru, and Uesaka Sumire, Uehara Toru rubbed his shoulders and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

It was finally his turn.

Based on his understanding of his father, he would never go to bed before late at night. Moreover, now that he was back, he would definitely want to argue with him.

I didn’t say anything when I just encountered it today, but I just wanted to hold it in now.

Arriving at the study, Toru Uehara knocked on the door. Soon, the door was opened and the middle-aged man inside had already lit a cigarette. He held it between his lips and looked at him with a sneer.

"You finally came back."

"Yes."

Uehara Toru glanced at them indifferently, and the two of them were ready to have a real manly battle.

"The chessboard is set, come in."

Playing shogi is a form of confrontation between father and son, but the focus is not on the shogi, but on the trash talk between the two during the game.

"I heard that you've been doing well out there lately, and even brought back three girls. Are you planning to show me how to start a harem?"

Uehara Toru smiled slightly when he heard these thorny words: "Yes, are you happy to give birth to dozens of grandchildren for you?"

"...Just keep talking nonsense."

"But I'm doing pretty well. I still remember someone once said, 'Get out of here! You're not going to achieve anything in your life.'"

"Is there something wrong with what I said?"

Toru Uehara took out a stack of work documents from his bag and threw them directly in front of Uehara Goki.

“?” Uehara Satoru frowned.

"My work history, take a look for yourself."

"I won't look at it," Uehara Goki sneered, "So what if you have a work history? Is that so great?"

"Didn't you say that I'll never make it in my life?" Uehara Toru narrowed his eyes and spoke in a cold tone.

"If you want to win, you have talent in this area. You should have soared to the sky a few years ago. What are you now?" Uehara Goki said with sarcasm in his tone.

Uehara Toru narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze became sharp: "You are really hard-mouthed."

"You're the one who's being stubborn, you little brat." Uehara Satoki showed no sign of weakness.

"Even if you really become the best in the industry, I won't feel happy about it. You were supposed to be the best in the world, but now you are the best in a small town. Do you think I will be proud of you?"

Uehara Toru was silent for a moment, then responded calmly: "But this is what I want to do."

"It doesn't matter what you want to do," Uehara Goki said with disdain, "You don't know what the world is like. What you see is too narrow."

Uehara Toru smiled slightly, picked up a chess piece on the chessboard, and played with it in his hands: "Really? Then tell me, Uncle Takeda, Aunt Horiuchi, and those neighbors are all from your company, right?"

Uehara Goki was stunned, his expression slightly stiff, and he was speechless for a moment.

Uehara Toru continued, "I don't understand why you were interested in monitoring your own son for eighteen years, but if I really want to judge..." He put the chess piece down heavily and sneered, "You are a disqualified father."

"From the beginning to the end, I am not your puppet, Uehara Goki. I am not a wish-making machine to fulfill your wishes."

He stood up, his expression calm: "Forget it, I should have expected this kind of conversation."

After a pause, he looked down at the chessboard and gently pressed down the last chess piece: "Checkmate."

Without even glancing at Uehara Goki who was standing there in a daze, he slowly stood up and left.

After the door of the study was closed again, Uehara Goki took a deep puff of his cigarette and then put out the burning cigarette butt. He picked up the file bag beside him and began to look through his son's work certificate under the dim light.

Those traces of scribbles on the script written in red and black pens, various interviews, reports, testimonials, and even... paintings?

"Painter?" He was slightly stunned, obviously unaware of this. Although Uehara Toru was not particularly well-known in the field of painting, this direction itself surprised him.

He opened the interview transcript. Although there was not a single word about himself in it, he seemed to have a real conversation with his son, whom he never fully understood, through the text.

Uehara Goki fell into memories, and scenes from his youth emerged in his mind. At that time, he made countless efforts to pursue Tsubaki-not relying on his father's family business, but using his own best efforts, and finally won her recognition.

But what happened after that?

He rubbed his brows and sighed heavily. Looking back, he seemed to have been relying on his father's resources and teachings for so many years, rather than his own real efforts. He suddenly realized that he might have become his father's "puppet", passing the shadow of the previous generation into his own life.

But my son...can it be different?

He lowered his head and continued to flip through magazines and scripts. Every page bore traces of Uehara Toru, and those marks of hard work seemed to convey a familiar yet unfamiliar power to him.

At the same time, Uehara Toru, who was standing outside the door, had mixed feelings. He didn't know what his father was thinking, but he knew that if his father continued this "three-dimensional defense" mode, no matter what he said, it seemed difficult to change the status quo.

He closed his eyes and sighed softly. A need that he had been avoiding in his heart emerged faintly - the recognition of his family. Even though his life was fulfilling enough now, he always felt that something important was missing without the support and understanding of his family.

"Xiao Che."

At this moment, the mother's gentle voice came from the front.

"come over."

"Ah."

Tsubaki knelt on the tatami, patted her thighs gently, and said softly, "Come here, lie down and have a good rest."

Uehara Toru was stunned for a moment, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly: "Mom, I'm not a child anymore."｜、°@

"To your mother, you will always be a child." Chunji smiled, her tone full of tenderness.

With no other options, Uehara Toru could only lie down obediently, resting his head on his mother's thighs. He closed his eyes and felt Tsubaki's warm fingers gently caressing his ears and cheeks. The power of motherhood gradually relaxed him.

"Did you quarrel with your dad again?" Chun Ji asked in a low voice.

"No, I just realized that I was talking to a deaf ear." Toru Uehara said with a hint of self-mockery in his tone.

Chun Ji smiled slightly and continued to stroke his hair: "Actually, your father cares about you more than you think, but he is too awkward. He is a little stingy and unwilling to give you what he didn't get from his father."

"Like a little kid?"

"Yeah," Tsubaki nodded slightly, "It's amazing, isn't it? He's already an old man, but he still has this kind of childish side. But, in my opinion, this kind of childishness is not entirely a bad thing."

She paused, looking at the ceiling with gentle eyes, as if recalling something: "There were many people pursuing me back then, and most of them only cared about my looks. Their efforts to please me were only superficial. But your father was not like that. He really did a lot of stupid things and completely abandoned his original advantages."

Chunji's tone was a little teasing, but more of it was warm memories: "That's why I chose him. Because I know that even if life gets tough in the future, he can endure the hardships with me, instead of only being able to share the good times but not the bad times."

At this point, she couldn't help but smile: "Although later on, he protected me so well that I didn't even know what 'bitter' was."

"But in the final analysis, the reason why your conflict has become so difficult to resolve is actually due to my fault." Tsubaki Ji said softly, with a hint of self-blame in her tone.

Uehara Toru did not respond, but just moved his head slightly.

"I chose to educate you this way back then. Without my support, those things would not have been possible." Tsubaki looked down at him, gently stroking his face, with a bitter smile on her lips, "It's just that you are so cute when you are well-behaved, Xiaoche."

She smiled and sighed, then continued, "This is my first time being a mother. I have no experience in many things and I don't know anything. In fact, I also have a lot of negative emotions, but I don't want you to see them. No matter what, I want to show my best side in front of you."

"So, I'm afraid. If I indulge you too much, you'll become naughty, even lawless, and become a dandy." Tsubaki added in a low voice, with a hint of trepidation in her tone, "I've seen too many people like this. To be honest, I instinctively hate that kind of personality. I don't want to be angry with you one day. So, maybe there's something wrong with my way of education in this regard. I only want the good, but I don't have the ability to accept the bad."

She paused and gently placed her palm on Uehara Toru's forehead: "I owe you an apology too, Toru."

"...Mom, this has nothing to do with you." Uehara Toru said in a low voice, trying to comfort.

"It has a lot to do with me," Chun Ji shook her head gently, "Your father can't actually make all the decisions about family affairs. Most of the time, he just follows my wishes."

Her voice became softer, like a spring breeze blowing through her heart: "So, Xiao Che, as my atonement, you can do whatever you want in the second half of your life. I will fully support you and will not use family matters to restrict you anymore."

"You were born a free person, and you have the right to pursue what you want and do what you want. For the remaining few days, just relax and go out and have fun with Xiaohua, Nina-chan and the others."

"Okay, I understand." Uehara Toru listened to his mother's gentle words and felt the waves in his heart gradually calm down.

Yes, that's enough. He closed his eyes slightly and let out a long breath.

As for his father's side - he decided not to worry about it for the time being.

-

Late night women's talk time.

An He Subaru and Uesaka Sumire held Xiaohua on both sides and began to ask Uehara Toru about various things in his past.

Xiaohua seems to be very good at dealing with girls who are interested in Uehara Toru, and has countless topics to talk to them.

"Sister Xiaohua, so was it true that when Tetsu was in high school, everyone in the school confessed their love to him?"

"Yeah... yes, because there was a very popular TV show at that time, in which students stood on the rooftop and confessed their love in front of the whole school at an assembly."

"Then everyone started to follow suit. In fact, many people didn't like Toru that much, they just followed the trend and confessed their love."

"I see."

"But Toru is indeed very popular, in every way."

"As expected of a teacher." Sumire Uesaka nodded with satisfaction. This was consistent with her imagination of Toru Uehara in high school.

Xiaohua looked at the two people in front of her with a smile, and suddenly asked: "So, you two like Toru, right?"

"Hey, I...I didn't!" An Hesuba waved his hands in panic, his cheeks quickly turned red, and he didn't dare to look Xiaohua in the eye.

Sumire Uesaka nodded without hesitation, saying simply, "I like it very much."

"..." An and Subaru were stunned. Looking at Sumire Uesaka's bright eyes and unwavering expression, they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts: Sister Sumire is too brave...

Xiaohua had an expression of "just as I expected" on her face and smiled: "In that case, I can share a little story with you about what kind of girls Toru likes."

“!∨≥4Ai『“Fifth transfer=∨Group≥:! ! ?” The two of them sat up straight in an instant, their eyes full of anticipation.

An Hesuba even took out his mobile phone, his finger hovering over the screen, ready to take notes.

Xiaohua looked at their focused expressions and couldn't help laughing. "It's actually very simple. When he and I went to school together, we would often see Mrs. Oshima walking her dog. At that time, Toru would always prepare some snacks in advance to feed the dog. Also, you know how much Toru hates others touching him, right? But when the dog licked his hand, he didn't show any displeasure at all. Instead, he was very happy."

"Uh...Sister Xiaohua, this person is not a human being." An Hesuba complained helplessly.

But Uesaka Sumire held her chin with both hands, thinking: "I understand."

"Ah? What do you understand?" An Hesuba was confused.

Sumire came to a conclusion in her heart: So the teacher likes dogs that lick his pants, or dog-like girls?

Xiaohua looked at their expressions and continued, "Actually, although Toru looks very cold, many people don't understand him. If you take the initiative to approach him a few more times, even if he is rejected at first, as long as you let him gradually get used to your presence and then continue to be enthusiastic, he will actually slowly accept you and even like you."

"When I first started playing with Che, he rejected me many times, probably more than a dozen times. But after that, every time I took him out to play, he would never reject me."

An Hemai held his forehead.

"So, it's just a competition of who has the thickest skin?"

"I'm sorry, Sister Xiaohua, I didn't mean what you said."

Xiaohua blinked: "That's true."

After listening to Xiaohua's advice, Sumire Uesaka seemed to be full of energy and became full of energy.

"Senior Xiaohua, didn't the teacher just send you back?" she asked seriously.

"Yeah." Xiaohua nodded.

"Okay, then I'll try it now!" Sumire Uesaka looked like she'd just do it, ready to take action immediately.

"Wait a minute, Sister Jin!" An Hesuba quickly grabbed her, extremely anxious.

"No, Sister Jin, are you going to confess directly when you go there now?"

"Yes." Sumire Uesaka said with certainty.

An He Subaru covered his forehead, feeling that his sanity was about to collapse: "Sister Jin, don't you realize that this is completely different? Being friends and being lovers are not even a little bit different!"

"But I think thick-skinnedness will win out in the end." Sumire Uesaka's tone was so certain that it was impossible to refute.

An He Subaru didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Even if you are shameless, you have to choose the right time, Sister Jin! Sister Xiaohua, please persuade her!"

Xiaohua, however, gave a thumbs up: "Go ahead, Jin, I believe in you."

"Thank you, Xiaohua-senpai!" Sumire Uesaka immediately responded with a thumbs-up, and was so moved that she almost shed tears.

Now An He Subaru finally realized that these two people were not normal. She immediately rushed over and hugged Uesaka Sumire's waist, holding her tightly: "Sister Sumire, please don't go and die!"

"Subaru-chan, I'm just practicing, and I'm not afraid of failure." Sumire Uesaka said sincerely.

"No, that's what you said, but you can't just..."