I Thought This Was a Slice of Life

...Hmm?

Sakurajima Mai only just realized that, without even noticing, she had completely accepted the existence of Inoue Shuya, even regarding him as a friend to the point of exchanging phone numbers.

What a terrifying level of affinity.

Mai then watched as Inoue Shuya got along exceptionally well with the person in charge of the children's clothing company, even chatting with Blaise in English.

The more she learned about Inoue Shuya, the more shocked Mai became; could there really be such a genius in this world?

He was truly worthy of being called a genius prodigy.

Mai shook her head vigorously.

Her gaze turned resolute.

...Just admiring others won't lead to success!

Sakurajima Mai, you must work hard!

Work hard, work hard, work hard... and then, surpass him!

I am the best!

Sakurajima Mai had been ignited by the competitive fire stoked by Inoue Shuya.

"Um, Mai-chan? Having fighting spirit is a good thing, but I'd be even happier if you could soften your expression a little later, okay?"

Hirai Yuyu tossed that line over his shoulder as he walked by.

"I, I'm sorry!"

Sakurajima Mai's small face turned bright red.

Section 15: Riding the Coattails

Since both company representatives, Blaise and Lin, had arrived, Shuya and Mai went off to change their clothes.

The children's clothing styles from Children's Dream were diverse. The outfits selected for Shuya and Mai had been carefully picked out; while the styles varied, they were primarily divided into formal wear and casual wear, with no intention of using any of the bizarre or eccentric costumes.

The first outfits Shuya and Mai changed into were a proper little suit and a gorgeous evening gown.

Shuya came out first; the men present glanced at him a few times before losing interest, but the women were already screaming.

"So cute!"

"So cute!"

"So cute!"

Shuya: "..."

That's enough, don't keep making me retort...

Shuya thought this to himself, but he didn't forget to strike a few poses to give the fans some service:

"How is it? Cute and handsome enough, right?"

Providing fan service was also part of the job.

Inoue Shuya was still working hard at his business today.

Hirai Ryuji laughed: "Shu-chan, don't put too much effort in now, or you won't have any energy left for the photoshoot, will you?"

"Ah? Alright then. I'll stop acting."

Shuya shrugged, ceased his movements, and returned to being a quiet, beautiful child.

Consequently, Hirai Ryuji felt the piercing gazes of the women and felt completely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before everyone's attention was diverted.

Sakurajima Mai came out wearing the beautiful evening gown.

The luxurious clothing paired with her perfect features, and as her black hair cascaded down, the faint, shy expression on Mai's face was even more captivating.

"So cute!"

"Too adorable."

"From today on, I'm a solo stan of Mai-chan!"

This time, both men and women cried out, startling Mai enough that she took two steps back.

She nervously pinched the fabric of her dress, at a loss for what to do.

Seeing this, Shuya stepped forward, gave Mai a thumbs up, and smiled: "That is a truly beautiful..."

Mai-chan blushed: "Thank you."

"...dress!"

"Eh?"

Mai couldn't react in time.

"Hahahaha."

"Shu-chan, you're too mean."

"Mai-chan is completely stunned."

It wasn't until the laughter erupted all around that Mai realized she had been played.

"Shuya!"

Mai couldn't help but grit her teeth, clutching the hem of her skirt and glaring at him with puffed-up cheeks.

She looked super fierce!

"Ahem, just kidding. Let's get to work, Uncle Hirai!"

"Alright, let's start! I can't wait to start taking pictures!"

Hirai Ryuji was in high spirits. He had always loved photographing people, and now with two perfect little models, he felt this trip was well worth it.

Mai had no choice but to give up on pursuing the matter with Shuya.

She knew Shuya was trying to help her, but she just couldn't swallow the frustration of being teased.

However, she didn't take her temper out on the work.

Shuya was quite surprised that this six-year-old child could act so maturely. As expected of an anime character, she simply defied logic.

The photoshoot proceeded quite smoothly. Mai made mistakes occasionally, but she learned quickly, making Hirai Ryuji want to call her a genius. However, after glancing at Shuya, he wisely swallowed his words.

This kid really didn't leave any room for other child stars to survive.

It was fine for the girls, but the boy child stars were destined to live in the shadow of this Great Demon King.

Little did he know, the Great Demon King for the future female stars was actually right in front of him.

Once in work mode, Hirai Ryuji didn't waste any breath, focusing on directing Shuya and Mai's poses. Everyone stayed busy until seven in the evening before the shoot finally wrapped up.

"Thank you all for your hard work today."

Shuya bowed, and the exhausted Mai-chan quickly followed his lead.

"You two worked hard as well."

Hirai Ryuji returned the bow:

"Thanks to you, I managed to get some very satisfying shots today."

"Haha, it's all thanks to your skill, Uncle."

"No, no, it's only possible because I have such good models."

"Hahaha!"

"Hehehe!"

Shuya and Hirai Ryuji began to trade professional compliments, while Mai-chan watched the two of them, feeling at a loss.

She was more mature than her peers, but it was still too early for her to be that shameless.

After the exchange of pleasantries, Hirai Ryuji signaled everyone to pack up.

Hanazawa Sakura and Mai's mother were busy exchanging polite words with Blaise and Ms. Lin.

With nothing to do, Shuya continued chatting with Mai-chan, but Mai hadn't forgiven his teasing yet and deliberately turned her little head away from him.

It wasn't until Shuya slipped a few candies over that her anger dissipated.

Shuya couldn't help but sigh that young girls were so easy to coax.

The two little ones sat to one side and started chatting.

Mai asked curiously, "Shuya, you took a few months off before. Did something happen?"

Shuya was puzzled: "Not at all. I just had too much work and took a break because I was tired."

"You can do that...? Won't you get scolded?"

Mai was actually startled. The entertainment industry wasn't a place where you could just take a break whenever you wanted, or your popularity would plummet.

"People, you know, the most important thing is to be happy."

Shuya began preaching his twisted logic: "If you feel unhappy, just take a break. Someone with my level of talent never has to worry about losing popularity."

"Is that so..."

Mai muttered to herself.

"Of course! Have you ever seen my popularity drop? And let me tell you, for a newcomer like you, the most important thing is to build good relationships with the big shots in the industry so you can latch onto them later!"

"Latch... onto them...?"

Mai tilted her little head, looking at Shuya with a cute expression.

"Yeah, for example, you only got chosen for this endorsement because of me, right? That's latching onto someone."

Shuya coaxed her patiently: "I'm only sharing this with you because I like you, Mai-chan. Our age is the best time to latch onto people. Once we grow up, it won't be as effective. Adult relationships are very complicated; they don't open their hearts easily."

"But children are different, especially good-looking children. Adults generally don't have their guard up around kids, so it's very easy to get close to the big shots."

Mai-chan was stunned into silence.

It was rare to have a cute girl listening to his nonsense, so Shuya spoke with great enthusiasm: "Once you're close, you'll have all the opportunities you could ever want. Even if I take a few months off, so what? Work still lines up at my door for me to pick and choose."

He wasn't lying; aside from the endorsements, there were actually a pile of other jobs looking for him, he just hadn't agreed to them.

"Shuya is so amazing."

Mai didn't quite understand, but she felt that everything he said made perfect sense.

"Well, of course."

Shuya smiled complacently, then immediately noticed some movement from his mother's side.

"Oh, it looks like they're about finished talking, let's head over."

"Mm."

Shuya and Mai returned to their respective mothers, said goodbye to everyone, and then each set off on their journey home.

After finishing the photoshoot today, he had to film a commercial tomorrow, and this time, the commercial wouldn't be shot indoors, but on location.

However, that was a matter for tomorrow.

Sitting in the car, Hanazawa Sakura let out a soft sigh.

"What's wrong, Mom?"

Shuya asked curiously.

Hanazawa Sakura poked her son and said crossly, "You were having such a good time chatting with Mai-chan, but I had a really hard time over here."

"Hm? Oh, you mean Mai-chan's mother?"

"Exactly."

Shuya smiled, "I could see that too. Even though Mai-chan's mom is a beauty, she looks like the type of person who is very calculating."