109: In the World That Belongs to Her and Him

All he knew was that the cover of the inaugural issue would feature a photo of him and Hanazawa Sakura.

Shuya saw that photo and was amazed by it.

Hirai Ryuji hired a makeup artist who went all out, and the outfits were also beautiful.

Shuya and Hanazawa Sakura's already top-tier looks have taken another step forward, evolving directly into god-like beauty.

This really leaves fans with no choice but to buy.

Hirai Ryuji's plan is complete.

However... fans are always easy to fool, so attracting casual viewers to join the fandom is the key.

This is why Hirai Ryuji sought out Shuya.

His fan base has always been very broad, spanning all age groups, with a large number of casual fans.

To put it simply, the magazine has all the conditions for becoming a bestseller; all that's left is to see how it's marketed.

It also depends on his ability and whether he can retain as many casual viewers as possible.

After taking the photos, Hirai Ryuji treated Shuya Hanazawa Sakura, and others to a meal. Everyone went, except for Mai- chan, who had other commitments and couldn't join them.

Her mother took her away.

That's understandable, since plans can't be changed arbitrarily, and there's nothing that can be done if other filming locations just happen to clash.

Shuya, along with his mother and Little Senior Sister, went to the restaurant that Hirai Ryuji had booked, had a simple celebratory dinner, and then quickly dispersed.

Hanazawa Sakura was about to go do voice acting, while Shuya took his Little Senior Sister home.

The date was August 26th.

Monday of the last week of summer vacation.

It was also the day that episode 22 of the Alien Baby Hikari-chan aired.

This episode is quite unusual; fans all over Asia are eagerly awaiting its premiere, and no matter how busy they are, no one wants to watch the recording tomorrow.

Starting this afternoon, many people waited absentmindedly for it to air.

Let's briefly review what happened before.

Episode 19 tells the story of Yuzuki being taken back to the past by Hikari-chan, where she witnesses Nakamura Cho confessing her love to Uesugi Yuichi.

In the 20th episode, the two were admitted to universities in Tokyo and began their sweet cohabitation life.

Last week's episode 21 told the story of Nakamura Cho and Uesugi Yuichi's struggles in Tokyo.

Uesugi Yuichi earned the recognition of the entire school through his abilities, and his teachers and classmates had high expectations for him.

In his final year of college, he made up his mind to challenge a famous college competition.

Nakamura Cho's career is also progressing well.

Her street performances were a huge success, and many companies contacted her wanting to sign her and launch her career.

Just when their efforts were about to bear fruit...

Episode 21, Part B.

Uesugi Yuichi's decision to participate in the competition received the full support of Nakamura Cho.

The artwork he submitted for the competition was a portrait by Nakamura Cho.

He planned to use his beloved as a model, pour his deepest emotions into the performance, and give his all to the competition.

Once the painting is finished, he plans to propose to her regardless of whether he wins or loses the competition.

Unaware of his private plans, Nakamura Cho readily agreed to become his model.

Then, during the initial painting, the painting showed several shots of Nakamura Cho's body, indicating that he was frequently showing signs of fainting.

In the final part of Part B, Uesugi Yuichi was halfway through completing his painting, he received a phone call informing him that Nakamura Cho had fainted on the street.

He accompanied Ed to the hospital, where a series of examinations and consultations were conducted.

The image freezes on Uesugi Yuichi's incredulous face.

He was told a fact.

--- Nakamura Cho has contracted an incurable disease and has less than a year to live.

This episode sparked a lot of discussion, but viewers seemed to accept it and their mood remained relatively good.

After all, it was already known that Nakamura Cho would die, so it was understandable that she fell ill.

Everyone knew it was going to be angsty.

This week has been an agonizing time for viewers, who can only listen to the newly released single and wonder how heart-wrenching the usually sweet Alien Baby Hikari-chan, will be.

When the new episode aired, everyone had their tissues ready.

The 22nd episode achieved record-breaking viewership ratings as soon as it premiered.

After the opening sequence, the room rented by Uesugi Yuichi and Nakamura Cho is shown.

The room had changed drastically; its previous tidy appearance was completely gone.

Art supplies, lunchboxes, and trash were scattered everywhere.

The curtains in the room were all drawn, and not a single ray of light could get in.

In the dimly lit room, a person could be vaguely seen lying motionless on the bed.

A soft buzzing sound, and the phone screen on the ground lit up, displaying lines of messages:

"Uesugi, are you not coming to class today either?"

"Exist?"

"The professor asked me to ask you how your entry is progressing?"

"Hello? Are you dead?"

"?"

The phone kept vibrating, finally waking the person in bed.

"It's so noisy..."

The figure fumbled around for a while, then turned off the phone and tossed it aside.

He got up.

When Uesugi Yuichi appeared on screen, it immediately took everyone by surprise.

Because he looked like he was about to die suddenly.

P. S. 1: This is probably the final big plot point for the Alien Baby Hikari-chan.

P. S. 2: By the way, I've come up with a new name.

Having won at the starting line, I will eventually become a legend.

How about this one?

Section 122, page 109: In that world that belonged to her and him

He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair had grown a lot, and he even had a beard on his chin.

But a handsome guy is still handsome; no matter how unkempt he is, he's still just uniquely handsome.

On the contrary, it has a special attraction that evokes a woman's maternal instincts.

Uesugi Yuichi hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

He got up wearily to wash up, his movements were unusually sluggish, and he was clearly not in the right state of mind.

He quickly grabbed something to eat, tidied up a bit, and went out.

He changed into clean clothes and maintained the bare minimum of etiquette when he went out.

Once outside, the scorching sun filled the entire scene.

Uesugi Yuichi raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight and muttered to himself:

"Has it really been that long...?"

It was still winter at the end of the last episode.

It was the height of summer.

It was the same season when Yuzuki first entered the city.

Speaking of Yuzuki, she's there too, of course.

She followed Uesugi Yuichi, her eyes fixed on him, never leaving him for a moment.

Hikari-chan stayed obediently in her arms.

Uesugi Yuichi first went to a nearby flower shop and bought a bouquet of flowers. The florist smiled and joked, "Sir, you're buying flowers again? Your girlfriend is so lucky."

"..."

Uesugi Yuichi nodded silently, then turned and left.

The florist was used to it, simply assuming he was quiet, and went on to greet the next customer.

Uesugi Yuichi arrived at the hospital carrying flowers.

Hospitals in Japan don't really welcome flower gifts. There are many rules and customs associated with this, and hay fever is a serious problem in Japan, so vases can be quite cumbersome.

But Nakamura Cho... is an exception.

Even serious hospitals will make an exception for a patient who doesn't have much time left to live.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Uesugi Yuichi skillfully went to register with a nurse.

When the nurse was registering him, she even smiled and said to him, "Ms. Nakamura seems to be feeling a little better today."

"Really? Thank you."

Uesugi Yuichi wry smile, took the visitor's pass, and left.

"Mr. Uesugi is such a good boyfriend; he comes to visit me every day."

Another nurse said after Uesugi Yuichi left.

"Yes, it's rare to find a man like that these days, especially one who's also handsome."

"Ms. Nakamura is actually quite beautiful; the two of them are such a good match, it's just a pity..."

"Well."

The two nurses sighed.

Even though they do this job and are used to seeing this kind of thing, it takes time to become completely numb...

It's too early for them.

"Alright, you two, stop talking."

Another nurse, her face expressionless, said in a low voice, "I received word that the doctor is asking Ms. Nakamura and Mr. Uesugi whether they want to be discharged and go home."

"Discharged from the hospital? Ms. Nakamura's illness... Oh, is that so?"

"... Ms. Nakamura is still so young."

The nurses fell silent.

Uesugi Yuichi had no idea what they were talking about.

He didn't turn back, and kept walking towards Nakamura Cho's hospital room.

But Yuzuki heard it, and a sad expression appeared on her face as she looked at Uesugi Yuichi's lonely figure.

Viewers at home understood what was going on, and some girls had already started wiping away tears.

For those already eating, the food tasted utterly bland.

Uesugi Yuichi pushed open the door.