Chapter 128: The Two Wives' Conversation
The four gathered around. Compared to Kaede and Oosaka Taiga's complaints about the parrot's appearance, Takasu Ryuji and Takasu Yasuko were smiling excitedly.
Takasu Ryuji, in particular, cheered excitedly, "Oh! Ko-Omu, are you finally going to say your name? Go for it!"
Takasu Yasuko introduced, "This is the third member of our family, named Ko-Omu. It just hasn't been able to say its own name, but it looks like it's going to succeed this time!"
Hearing this, Kaede and Oosaka Taiga looked at the parrot again.
Oosaka Taiga observed it for a while, but finally said, "I still think it's really ugly..."
Kaede stroked his chin and said, "Hmm... Takasu, this parrot isn't going to suddenly die, is it?"
"Of course not! And Ko-Omu is an important member of my family, watch what you say!"
But it really looked exactly like it was about to drop dead.
After glaring at Kaede, Takasu Ryuji continued to look at the parrot in the cage, watching with expectant eyes: "You're doing great! Keep going, Ko-Omu, you can definitely do it this time!"
Spreading its wings, Ko-Omu's tongue flicked in and out.
"Parrot... parrot... BO~~"
"Uh..."
In the end, it still didn't say its name. Takasu Ryuji lowered his head in disappointment: "It failed..."
Takasu Yasuko wasn't too disappointed. Looking at the parrot that had already gone back to eating, she said with a smile, "It's okay, Ryuji. Maybe it will say it next time?"
"I guess so."
Nodding, Takasu Ryuji let out a breath and looked at Kaede: "Asakura, since you rarely visit, why don't you stay and have dinner with us tonight? I'll let you try my cooking!"
"Sorry, I really can't today."
Kaede smiled and said, "I have a dinner party today. I just slipped out temporarily, and I need to rush back soon."
"I see. In that case, it can't be helped."
With the matter concluded, Kaede didn't linger and immediately took his leave.
Right behind him, Oosaka Taiga also followed out.
"Ugh... it's so hot outside..."
Oosaka Taiga couldn't stand it, so she quickly said goodbye to Kaede and ran toward the luxury apartment building nearby.
Looking at the building, Kaede pondered, "Have these two already discovered they are neighbors so soon?"
... They had secured the qualification for serialization. Although they had already provided the editor with three chapters of content, enough to support three weeks of serialization, Kaede and Eriri still felt a sense of urgency, given that the serialization would start in half a month.
The day after the two families had a dinner gathering, Kaede came to Eriri's house to continue working on the manga.
Opening the computer, Eriri got up to draw the curtains, complaining, "It's not even August yet, why is the weather getting so hot?"
"It's summer, I guess."
Taking a sip of the cola Sawamura Sayuri brought him, Kaede smiled and said, "But luckily I came relatively early. If it were an hour or two later, the sun would be truly scorching."
"Exactly, the midday sun is truly unbearable."
After complaining, Eriri sat down next to Kaede, looked at the storyboards on his computer screen, and asked, "Kaede-kun, can we start drawing Chapter Four now?"
"The storyboards still need a few modifications."
After replying, Kaede began making the revisions.
Eriri had drawn the storyboard draft for Chapter Four, but looking at it now, there were still some areas that needed improvement.
Seeing this, Eriri didn't get angry. She sat obediently next to Kaede, watching him revise the storyboards while listening to him point out the flaws.
Kaede truly had more talent than Eriri when it came to storyboarding, a fact confirmed by the editor himself. Therefore, until her own storyboarding skills improved, Eriri was content to delegate some of the work to Kaede.
Days like this gradually passed for a week.
One morning, after Eriri was dropped off at the Asakura Family residence by Sawamura Sayuri, she and Asakura Reiko went together to get a spa treatment.
Since last time, the two of them had regularly gone together for treatments, while also chatting and shopping.
Sitting in the car and looking at the bright, sunny day outside, Asakura Reiko smiled and said, "The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Today, Sayuri, you even personally drove Eriri over."
"It can't be helped; that's summer for you. Speaking of which, your husband is working today, and it's just the two kids at home. What about mealtime? Have you prepared for that?"
"Don't worry, Kaede can handle simple cooking, and we have ingredients at home. If all else fails, we can just order takeout; we're not short on money."
After replying, Asakura Reiko looked at Sawamura Sayuri, thought for a moment, and said, "But Sayuri, you really aren't worried, are you? Leaving the two kids alone at home, yet you only asked about food?"
"Worried?"
Hearing this, Sawamura Sayuri smiled and said, "While I was a bit worried at first, after these two months, I've come to realize that Eriri is completely infatuated with Kaede now, and she probably wouldn't listen to anything I say. I can only say that if Kaede wasn't relatively mature, I might be preparing to become a grandmother right now."
Hearing Sawamura Sayuri say this, Asakura Reiko felt much relieved. After thinking for a moment, she smiled and said, "If that's the case, then I have a suggestion. Sayuri, would you like to hear it?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Sawamura Sayuri suddenly had a strange premonition, so she immediately slowed down the car.
Then, she heard Asakura Reiko next to her say, "Well, your children keep running back and forth between houses to draw manga, right? If it were just two days a week like before, it would be fine, but with summer vacation coming up and the official serialization starting, they need to dedicate much more time to the manga. Especially since Jump is a weekly publication, updating every week, there can be no delays. They might be able to manage during summer vacation, but once school starts in September, they will have even less time."
"Uh..."
Sawamura Sayuri truly hadn't considered this much. Now that it was brought up, the time efficiency really seemed insufficient.
"So Reiko, what are you suggesting?"
"My idea is, why don't the two children just move in together? Find a good environment so they can focus on their creation. You don't need to worry about their grades; Kaede never neglects that aspect."
Hearing this, Sawamura Sayuri immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked at Asakura Reiko in shock: "Are you suggesting that the two children move out and live together?"
Asakura Reiko smiled brightly: "What do you think?"
"... Let me take a moment."
Sawamura Sayuri was somewhat bewildered.