Chapter 2: The Adorably Cute Mew
"Hima-chan, look! Isn't it cute? Its name is Mew!"
Shin-chan rushed to Himawari's side, showing off the Mew he was holding.
"Nohara-san, excuse the intrusion."
Kawakami Yuichi, following closely behind Shin-chan, spoke to Nohara Misae, who had just finished changing Himawari's diaper.
Nohara Misae glanced at Shin-chan, then turned around and replied,
"Not at all—it's our Shin-chan who's causing you trouble."
"No, no, please don't say that. I think Shin-chan and I get along great."
Kawakami Yuichi quickly waved his hand in denial.
"Is that so? That's wonderful to hear."
"Kawakami-san, please have a seat. I'll make you some tea." Nohara Misae placed Himawari back on the futon and stood up to head toward the kitchen.
"Oh, you really don't have to trouble yourself, Nohara-san." Kawakami Yuichi replied.
"It's no trouble at all, no trouble at all." Nohara Misae replied without stopping.
"Then I'll gratefully accept." Kawakami Yuichi said with a polite bow.
"Adults sure love their formalities," Shin-chan muttered to himself.
"Shin-chan, being polite is an important part of adult etiquette," Kawakami Yuichi said to him.
"Mmkay," Shin-chan replied dismissively.
Seeing Shin-chan's lackluster response, Kawakami Yuichi shook his head and said nothing more.
He then walked over to Himawari's side, patted her little head, and cooed,
"Aww, Hima-chan is so cute!"
"Ah~, buu~" But Himawari didn't seem interested in Kawakami Yuichi, swatting away his hand from her head and pouting.
Seeing Himawari's expression, Kawakami Yuichi couldn't help but think to himself, "I'm a handsome guy (self-proclaimed)—isn't that what Himawari likes the most? Why is she acting like this?"
Himawari was completely unaware that her actions had caused Kawakami Yuichi to overthink things. Instead, she turned and crawled over to Shin-chan, snatching Mew from his arms.
"Ehehe, ai~ai~" Himawari hugged Mew, poking it with her little hands from time to time, then just giggling foolishly, repeating the same actions over and over.
"Myu~" Mew also made a happy sound, seemingly enjoying playing with Himawari.
Seeing this, Kawakami Yuichi immediately realized that the reason Himawari had ignored him earlier wasn't because he wasn't handsome enough, but because Mew was just too cute and irresistible.
"Hima-chan, I was playing with that!" Shin-chan shouted angrily at Himawari after realizing his prize had been taken.
Kawakami Yuichi smiled wryly at this.
Seriously, you were the one who kept showing off Mew to Himawari, and now that she's taken it, you're upset.
"Alright, alright. Shin-chan, let your sister play with Mew for a bit. How about Onii-chan plays with you instead?" Kawakami Yuichi tried to smooth things over.
"No way." After saying that, Shin-chan turned away, sulking.
Seeing this, Yuichi could only think, Typical Shin-chan.
Not long after, Nohara Misae prepared the tea and placed it on the chabudai in the living room. She then took out a bag of quality senbei and arranged them on a plate.
"The tea is ready, Kawakami-san, please come over. I've also prepared some snacks," Nohara Misae called out.
Hearing the word "snacks," Shin-chan, who had been sulking, immediately dashed to the table and reached out to grab some.
Suddenly, Nohara Misae's chilling voice reached Shin-chan's ears.
"Shin-chan, I should have taught you that when we have guests, you have to wait until they're seated before you can eat."
She then shot Shin-chan a fierce glare.
"Y-yes, ma'am," Shin-chan replied, somewhat frightened.
Kawakami Yuichi, who was still in the bedroom area, picked up Himawari and carried her to the chabudai, handing her to Nohara Misae.
This time, Himawari didn't resist, which further convinced Kawakami Yuichi that it wasn't that he wasn't handsome enough, but rather that Mew was just too cute and adorable—that's why she'd swatted his hand away earlier.
"Thank you, Kawakami-san." Nohara Misae said politely after taking Himawari.
"You're welcome! I actually enjoy playing with Hima-chan. I really like children." After saying that, he walked to a cushion at the chabudai and sat down.
"Is that so? Then please feel free to visit often." Seemingly sensing Kawakami Yuichi's sincerity, Nohara Misae's attitude toward him became even more friendly.
"Then I'll gladly take you up on that offer, Nohara-san. I'll come play with Hima-chan often. I hope I won't be too much trouble." Kawakami Yuichi responded happily.
"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. You're welcome anytime. Now come on, enough talking. Have some tea before it gets cold."
Nohara Misae said, picking up her teacup to drink, her eyes involuntarily drifting to Mew in Himawari's arms.
"So this little one is called Mew? It's really adorable. I didn't even notice it at first!" Nohara Misae exclaimed.
Sure enough, no one can resist the adorable Mew, regardless of age or gender, Kawakami Yuichi thought to himself.
"Myu~myu~"
Hearing Nohara Misae's praise, Mew blinked its beautiful, captivating eyes shyly, covering its face with its tiny paws and wiggling its body.
These movements were incredibly precious—absolutely irresistibly adorable.
"Kawaii~!" Sure enough, seeing Mew's actions, Nohara Misae was completely charmed, unconsciously clasping her hands together.
"Whoa, the three-chinned Obaba actually made that expression—it's so scary." At this moment, Shin-chan, standing nearby, started saying something reckless.
WHACK!
The next moment, a large bump appeared on Shin-chan's head, practically smoking.
Then he slumped weakly onto the table, his limbs twitching intermittently.
"You little brat, I think you're asking for trouble again!" Nohara Misae yelled at Shin-chan.
The movements were so fast that Kawakami Yuichi hadn't even reacted before the entire sequence was over. It was incredibly practiced—she must have done this to Shin-chan countless times.
Kawakami Yuichi glanced pityingly at Shin-chan lying on the table and couldn't help but think, Shin-chan is just like in the anime, always courting disaster at the first opportunity, constantly pushing boundaries.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Nohara Misae said somewhat awkwardly to Kawakami Yuichi.
"No, no, it's fine," Kawakami Yuichi replied, equally awkward.
To ease the tension, he picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.
"By the way, I'm curious—what do you do for work, Kawakami-san?" Nohara Misae deliberately changed the subject to dispel the awkwardness.
"I just graduated and haven't found a job yet! However, I've decided to enter the manga industry and become a mangaka," Kawakami Yuichi replied.
[End of Chapter 2]