Chapter 60: Mrs. Yuigahama Can't Read People
During the following dinner, both the hosts and the guest enjoyed themselves immensely.
Shunsuke finally settled on how to address Mrs. Yuigahama, Yui's mother. Calling her "Sister" was met with strong opposition from Yui, while addressing her as "Auntie" made Shunsuke worry that it sounded too old-fashioned.
In the end, he decided on the safe option: Mrs. Yuigahama.
As for Mr. Yuigahama?
Well, it seemed he didn't exist in this world.
Whether he had passed away or divorced due to infidelity was unclear, and Shunsuke thought it best not to ask.
Judging by Mrs. Yuigahama's reaction to being addressed this way, it was likely the former.
"Please look after Yui at school," Mrs. Yuigahama said warmly.
"I'll do my best to take care of her."
After bidding Shunsuke farewell, Mrs. Yuigahama turned to her daughter with a satisfied smile, taking Yui's hand in hers. "Yui, I'm very pleased."
"Mom, stop imagining things! Shun-kun and I aren't like that. You're the one who insisted on hosting a dinner to thank him!" Yui protested, her tone full of frustration.
"Oh my, oh my. I never said exactly what I was pleased about, yet here you are, getting all worked up. I say one thing, and you've already said two," Mrs. Yuigahama teased, knowing her daughter's personality well.
Yui's face turned bright red as she struggled to respond, resorting to weakly punching her mother's chest in embarrassment. However, her mother's "invincible armor" easily absorbed the harmless attack.
"But I'm serious, Yui," Mrs. Yuigahama said, her tone shifting to one of sincerity.
"Huh?" Yui blinked, confused.
Mrs. Yuigahama's expression turned thoughtful. "I may not be great at reading people, but I can make some basic judgments. A boy who meets me for the first time and doesn't even glance at my chest? That's a rare gem. Shun-kun is definitely a good kid."
Due to a small misunderstanding, Mrs. Yuigahama had clearly misread the situation. Just as she had admitted, she wasn't exactly skilled at reading people.
"Mom…" Yui was left speechless, utterly stunned by the bluntness of the comment. Was that why you wore that outfit today?!
"From what you've told me, Shun-kun doesn't have a girlfriend right now, right? Yui, you need to seize this opportunity. Handsome, talented, and down-to-earth boys like him are a rare find. Even I'm tempted!"
"Mom, don't get carried away just because he called you 'Sister.' Shun-kun was only being polite!" Yui snapped, exasperated.
"Yui, you're getting all worked up again," Mrs. Yuigahama said, clearly unimpressed by her daughter's outburst.
"Of course not!"
...
As Shunsuke passed by his home, he was surprised to see the lights on.
"Could it be that Father finally came back? Or maybe Eriri and the others dropped by?"
Curious, Shunsuke turned back and entered the house. To his surprise, the father who had been absent for over half a month had indeed returned.
Shunsuke's father was an unassuming middle-aged man, with thinning hair and an outdated pair of black-framed glasses.
He always seemed cautious and deferential when dealing with Shunsuke, perhaps feeling that he owed his exceptional son too much. As a result, he struggled to act like a proper father.
This suited Shunsuke just fine, so he never bothered to comment on it.
"Shunsuke, you're back. Were you at the Izumi household? Did you eat already?" his father asked tentatively.
"I ate, but not at the Izumi house. I was at a classmate's place."
"Oh, I see. Was it a male classmate or a female classmate?"
It seemed parents everywhere shared the same nosy tendencies. Much like his parents in his past life, the first question his father asked upon hearing he'd visited a classmate's home was about their gender.
"...It was a girl."
"Ah, I see. Heh heh heh. That's my boy," his father chuckled, clearly amused.
Shunsuke was speechless. Such outdated thinking. So what if it's the opposite sex? Can't boys and girls just have a pure friendship?
...Oh. Maybe not.
After some awkward small talk, his father finally got to the point. "Will you be home for dinner tomorrow evening?"
Shunsuke mentally reviewed his schedule.
Ever since awakening his Stand and system powers, his days had been packed to the brim.
According to his original plan, Saturday afternoon was reserved for his meetup with Utaha, while the evening was booked for a casino trip with Suzuna Hiiragi.
After all, the casino was busiest at that time, making it ideal for a quick cash grab.
Still, since his father rarely asked for his time, Shunsuke felt it was only right to rearrange his plans.
He could visit the casino in the afternoon instead. Earning less in one session was no big deal; he could always make it up later.
With that thought, Shunsuke nodded. "I'll make time."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it—we're father and son, after all," Shunsuke reassured him. Then he asked, "So what's the occasion? I remember you mentioning it was supposed to be a surprise."
His father scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh… Shunsuke, I can't guarantee you'll find it a delight, but a surprise? That much, I promise."
Shunsuke sighed in exasperation. "What's so secretive that you can't tell me?"
His father simply smiled, refusing to elaborate.
Left with no other choice, Shunsuke decided to wait until tomorrow to find out.
---
After exchanging a few more words with his father, Shunsuke made his way to Mrs. Izumi's house to discuss some details about the manga with Mashiro.
Mashiro was progressing quickly with her work.
She had already completed the first chapter of Nisekoi and was halfway through the second.
Shunsuke planned to bring the first three chapters of Nisekoi and the storyboards for the first ten chapters to his meeting with Editor Hattori on Sunday.
As for his own submission, Death Note, Shunsuke finally began drafting it.
Even though his memory of the story was crystal clear, Shunsuke had only ever watched the Death Note anime and hadn't read the original manga.
This meant that while he knew the plot inside out, he needed to carefully consider the panel layouts, dialogue, and structure of the story.
As a novice, he doubted he could match the skill of Takeshi Obata at the time.
However, Shunsuke had a unique advantage—Star Platinum. With its assistance, he could ensure his art style, character designs, and attention to detail far surpassed the original.
In the context of Bakuman, he would be like an enhanced Ko Aoki and a maxed-out version of Takuro Nakai combined.
For the Gold Future Cup, each participant was limited to around 40 pages. Shunsuke needed to create a concise yet explosive opening to grab the judges' and readers' attention.
But this didn't faze him—he understood the concept of the "Golden First Three Chapters" perfectly.
"Alright, the start needs to be captivating. I'll throw in the Shinigami world setting right from the beginning. Then, I need to keep exposition to a minimum—too much would be dull. The protagonist has to be handsome, cool, and a little edgy. Younger readers love that. There should be a small incident to set the stage for a bigger one, and the chapter must end with a cliffhanger to hook readers into wanting more."
Armed with the original story's blueprint, Shunsuke weaved his narrative seamlessly, avoiding the pitfalls of overestimating his own abilities.
After spending the entire evening working on it, he finally completed a first chapter he was satisfied with.
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