"A gift?"
Hitori Gotou, filled with anticipation, quickly spotted a note Tanaka Masao had left on the table. It read:
[To Bocchi-chan, personally.]
Hitori Gotou reached out and took it, asking,
"Mom, do you know what the gift is?"
"Mommy doesn't know. Tanaka-kun prepared it especially for you, and he said only you should open it."
Goto Michiyo had a teasing look, clearly interested in such small surprises and romances between boys and girls.
"A gift, I want to see too."
Goto Nili also crowded over, wanting to see what the so-called gift was.
"You two are impossible. Let's just look at it together."
Hitori Gotou was also a little excited. This could be considered her first time.
Her first time receiving a gift from a friend.
Hitori Gotou picked up the item under the note. It was a piece of paper, and when she flipped it over, there was a person drawn on it.
Pink long hair, a cute face, and a pink tracksuit—it was immediately clear that this was a portrait of Hitori Gotou, but...
The person in the Painting was sitting on the floor in a duck-sitting pose, making a peace sign, with a somewhat evasive and shy look in her eyes.
The zipper of the tracksuit was pulled down slightly, revealing a bit of skin, and her feet, without shoes, showed lustrous jade feet.
The entire Painting blended Hitori Gotou's timidity, cuteness, and sexiness into one, perfectly natural.
Goto Nili looked at the Painting, her eyes shining.
"Wow! Big Sister is so pretty, and Masao Big Brother is so amazing!"
Goto Michiyo also chimed in.
"Indeed, Tanaka-kun's Painting skills are very strong."
She said this, but her eye twitched uncontrollably.
[This Painting is beautiful, yes, but why does it feel so wrong?]
Hitori Gotou looked at herself in the Painting, a little disbelieving.
"Is that me in the Painting? Am I really that pretty?
I look just like a heroine on TV."
She looked at the Painting, gradually breaking into a silly smile.
"Hehe, so this is what I look like, Mom, Mom, quickly help me save this Painting, I need to use that kind of frame, and I need a digital backup, oh, and maybe print two more copies…"
Seeing the excited Hitori Gotou, Goto Michiyo smiled helplessly.
"Okay, I understand."
…
Leaving aside the lively Gotō family, Tanaka Masao had already arrived at the Sawamura family's home.
That's right, after leaving Hitori Gotou's house, he did not return to Chiba.
As for why he came to the Sawamura family, it was naturally because of Eriri's enthusiastic invitation.
After only a week apart, she was already clamoring for him to come see her.
[Seriously, Eriri is completely inseparable from me now.]
Thinking this, Tanaka Masao rang the Sawamura family's doorbell.
"Xiao Baihe Big Sister, good evening."
"Good evening, Tanaka-kun, come in quickly."
"Tanaka, you're here, hurry, hurry, hurry, I can't wait."
Eriri sat in the living room. Seeing Tanaka Masao arrive, she walked up and urged him, trying to pull him into her room.
Looking at the impatient Eriri, Tanaka Masao spoke.
"Eriri, don't be so anxious. I haven't eaten yet.
Where will I get the energy without eating?"
Hearing Tanaka Masao's words, Eriri let go of him and said with some displeasure,
"Tch, how troublesome, but you're right, no food means no energy to do it, it's quite physically demanding after all.
You'd better eat a lot later, don't run out of energy halfway through."
Tanaka Masao nodded.
"Yes, I will definitely last until the end, but you, Eriri, can you handle it?"
"Huh? Are you looking down on me?"
Hearing that Tanaka Masao dared to look down on her, Eriri bared her fangs and clenched her fists.
"I'm telling you, I have a lot of experience, a whole night is no problem."
"Alright, aren't you two in a hurry? Come over and eat dinner."
Hearing Sawamura Sayuri's words, Tanaka Masao and Eriri walked over together.
"By the way, Xiao Baihe Big Sister, do you want to join us later?"
Hearing the invitation, Sawamura Sayuri thought for a moment.
"Hmm~, I don't have anything to do later, so I'll join you. Last time with the three of us together was great, very interesting, it was quite a novel experience."
…
After dinner, the three of them went together to Eriri's room.
Tanaka Masao looked at Eriri's green tracksuit and couldn't help but think of Hitori Gotou.
One was tsundere and overly dominant, the other was introverted and overly submissive.
One's mind was full of lewd thoughts, the other's was a pure, blank slate.
One was plain, the other was voluptuous.
He felt it would be very interesting to put the two of them together.
Seeing Tanaka Masao lost in thought and unresponsive, Eriri urged him.
"Hey, don't just stand there, let's start."
"Okay."
Saying this, Tanaka Masao picked up the Painting tools prepared for him.
According to Sawamura Sayuri, JUMP had given them a message that if they were willing, they could continue to submit to them.
On one hand, it was because the topic was hot enough, and their attention and pre-orders were significantly higher than before.
This made one unable to help but exclaim at the greatness of human nature.
Having tasted success, JUMP naturally wanted to continue.
As for whether this counted as deceiving consumers, weren't consumers meant to be…
Cough cough, no, the quality of the manga itself was good, it allowed people to experience an incredibly heartwarming story through contrast.
They had a premonition that this style of manga would definitely become popular and unforgettable.
Eriri was even happier than Tanaka Masao about being able to continue publishing manga in JUMP.
Because being able to publish manga in JUMP was like a Japanese actress successfully transitioning to become a Hollywood movie star for Eriri.
Although she wasn't the main creator of the manga, it was close enough.
Having successfully 'landed ashore,' Eriri talked about Tanaka Masao every day, wanting to continue drawing manga with him, even forgetting her main job.
If her fans knew about this, they would surely be very sad.
[Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, no! Without your doujinshi to read, how can we live?]
Faced with Eriri's demands, Tanaka Masao reluctantly came, bringing her a new story.
Watching Tanaka Masao pull out the pre-prepared story outline, Eriri's eyes lit up, and she excitedly asked,
"Quick, quick, what's the story this time?!"
Tanaka Masao smiled mysteriously.
"The obese noble uncle and the pitiful slave beast-eared girl."
"Oh, that sounds like a good story that will make people's blood boil and tears flow endlessly."