I Thought This Was a Slice of Life

Ichika and Nino locked onto Shuya's arms from the left and right.

"So cunning!"

"Interesting!"

Miku and Yotsuba locked onto Shuya's back from behind, their little heads popping out from over his left and right shoulders.

"Eh---!"

The honest Itsuki was dumbfounded; just as her little mouth puckered and she was about to cry, Rena promptly picked her up and stuffed her into Shuya's arms.

Shuya couldn't move a muscle.

Do you recognize this formation!

Shuya wanted to cry but had no tears; he had wanted to take the opportunity to hug Rena for a photo, not be taken advantage of by the Quintuplets!

This bunch of huskies who have been coveting my beauty! Shuya cursed internally, yet he had to maintain a smile on his face.

The path of a simp is truly arduous!

"Hehe..."

Rena covered her mouth and laughed. Watching her, Shuya was momentarily dazed.

So sweet.

Shuya remained in that dazed state, and together with the Quintuplets and Rena, they captured this precious group photo.

Whether for Shuya or the Quintuplets, this was an irreplaceable and precious memory.

After the commotion, the Quintuplets were so tired they were drowsy.

Shuya then said his goodbyes to Rena.

He had successfully farmed more favorability today and was very happy.

When he returned home, Inoue Hikoo had the wisdom of a sage on his face, while Hanazawa Sakura was lazily leaning on the sofa.

It seemed they were finished.

Shuya had originally wanted to ask about the Dahua Special Forces, but seeing the situation, he gave up.

He chose to go take a shower and sleep; he didn't want to be fed any dog food.

The next day.

Shuya still went to the company with the family.

Today was the recording for the fifth episode.

After recording this episode, Shuya could rest for a few days; Inoue Hikoo hadn't finished the storyboards for the upcoming episodes yet, so there was nothing to record.

Everyone at the company was busy.

As everyone knows, animation production doesn't just rely on voice actors; it is a team effort with numerous processes.

Currently, only the first episode was finished, and the second was only half done.

The people at the company were all grinding away.

Once it actually started airing, Inoue Hikoo might not even be able to go home every day.

Shuya didn't care if the progress was smooth or not; he believed that Inoue Hikoo's ability before bankruptcy was buffed.

Without further ado, after the three arrived at the company, they started dubbing at ten o'clock sharp.

In the fifth episode of Alien Baby Hikari-chan, following her secret observations in the third and fourth episodes, Yuzuki Sasaki basically determined that Hikari-chan was not Uesugi Yuichi's child, nor was he his relative.

She made up her mind to find out the origin of the baby, Hikari-chan.

Seeing that Uesugi Yuichi was inept from the fact that he bought parenting books, Yuzuki Sasaki asked her mother about various parenting techniques.

Then, she was mistaken for being pregnant, and after a chaotic chase, Yuzuki Sasaki was finally let off by her parents.

Having learned a thing or two from her mother's lecture, she began to consciously display this knowledge in front of Uesugi Yuichi while practicing drawing.

The hook was straight and the bait was salty.

But Uesugi Yuichi took the bait as expected.

Using Hikari-chan as a tool, Yuzuki Sasaki successfully farmed a good amount of favorability from Uesugi Yuichi.

As the days passed, the relationship between Uesugi Yuichi and Yuzuki Sasaki grew closer, and finally, one day, Uesugi Yuichi took the initiative to ask Yuzuki Sasaki out to consult her on raising Hikari-chan.

Uesugi Yuichi was actually under a lot of pressure; Hikari-chan was not an ordinary baby, and his superpowers often made a mess of everything around him.

The fifth episode of Alien Baby Hikari-chan ended with the friendly meeting (date) between Yuzuki Sasaki and Uesugi Yuichi.

According to the script, the next episode would be the critical one where Hikari-chan's superpowers are exposed and Uesugi Yuichi confesses to Yuzuki Sasaki.

However, the storyboards weren't out yet, so there would be no recording tomorrow, and perhaps not the day after either.

Under these circumstances, Shuya had nothing to do.

It was still early when the recording for the fifth episode finished, only a little past one in the afternoon.

The young ladies from the recording studio all went off to their part-time jobs.

Hanazawa Sakura and Shuya were also preparing to leave.

Hanazawa Sakura would be returning to the agency shortly. As for Shuya, if it were the old him, he would have gone back to grind favorability with the Quintuplets.

But he had taken on the Morning Drama job and promised Aoki Shin he would build up his stamina, so naturally, he wouldn't go back on his word.

Shuya also planned to find a teacher to learn acting, and incidentally, start learning music as well.

It was about time.

He brought his thoughts up to his mom and dad.

Inoue Hikoo smiled and said, "That's great, learning new things. We will support you."

"That's right, if Shu-chan wants to learn, we won't object."

Hanazawa Sakura gently stroked Shuya's head.

Shuya hesitated for a moment: "Can our family's financial situation support this?"

"Hahaha, Shu-chan, you underestimate our family." Inoue Hikoo laughed heartily: "Our family knows people, so we don't need to spend much money! At most, we'll just need to send some gifts for the masters."

"Exactly."

Hanazawa Sakura nodded confidently.

Shuya was puzzled: "Our family is that badass?"

Inoue Hikoo nodded: "We haven't told you before, have we? Well, let's take this opportunity to tell you about it."

Following that, Shuya finally understood that his family actually had deep roots in the entertainment industry.

Inoue Hikoo's parents were animation producers who had once worked under the great manga artist Tezuka Mushi, later striking out on their own before going bust.

Compared to Inoue Hikoo's lineage, Hanazawa Sakura's family was even more impressive.

Hanazawa Sakura's parents were both voice actors, but her grandfather was an actor. Her grandfather and Inoue Hikoo's grandfather were close friends, and the two families had been on good terms ever since.

Hanazawa Sakura's grandfather could barely be considered one of the first actors to appear in Japanese dramas; although he wasn't very famous, the people he knew who were still alive today were all big shots in their own right.

His status in the industry was that of a bona fide titan.

The families of Inoue Hikoo and Hanazawa Sakura could be described as hidden acting dynasties with deep backgrounds in the entertainment world.

The only problem was... their ancestors were never particularly famous.

Not to mention being unknown to the general public, the new generation of industry professionals had absolutely no idea these two families had such a history.

Inoue Hikoo sighed: "Our family has declined, but the connections have never been broken. As long as Sakura-chan and I step in, we can definitely help you find the best teachers, Shu-chan."

"I never thought you two were good for anything other than wasting money!"

Inoue Shuya blurted out.

"Hmm? How strange? My ears suddenly stopped working, ying ying ying!"

"Ah haha, did you say something just now?"

Inoue Hikoo and Hanazawa Sakura pretended they couldn't hear a thing.

Hanazawa Sakura changed the subject: "Anyway, your father and I will help you contact some teachers. For these next two days, you should just go work out. I know a gym in the industry that is highly regarded, so let's take you there right now!"

"...That works too."

Shuya shot the two of them a sidelong glance and didn't press the attack further.

Inoue Hikoo and Hanazawa Sakura let out a synchronized sigh of relief.

"Then Shu-chan and I will head out first."

Hanazawa Sakura took Shuya out of the company, and Maeda Saori drove them toward the gym Hanazawa Sakura had mentioned.

This gym had excellent privacy and was quite high-end; ordinary people wouldn't have the money to get in.

But Hanazawa Sakura knew the owner, so getting Shuya in wasn't a problem, and the cost was only half-price.

The trainers here were said to be disciples from some famous martial arts school, so they should have some level of competence.

However, since Shuya was only a five-year-old child, it was impossible to train him too intensely; running and swimming would be more than enough.

They wouldn't dare let a child touch gym equipment like weights.

At most, he would be using a stationary bike.

Chapter 23: Shocking! Genius Child Star Actually Does This at the Gym with Mai-chan!

After getting Shu-chan settled, Hanazawa Sakura and Maeda Saori left. Saori would come back to pick him up in two hours; they had too much to do to stay and watch Shuya exercise.

Hanazawa Sakura felt at ease with this gym run by an old acquaintance, and the owner, who was a "mom-fan" of his, also liked Shuya very much.

At this time of day, there weren't many people in the gym, as it was the afternoon and still working hours.

The gym was quite large, and with few people around, it felt very empty.

Shuya followed the trainer's advice and prepared to use a treadmill to exercise.

It should be noted that treadmills aren't really suitable for children, but the gym owner had custom-ordered a dozen treadmills specifically for kids, so it wasn't an issue.

Wearing his children's sportswear and carrying a towel and a water bottle, Shuya wandered slowly toward the treadmills when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Huh? Shuya?"

Turning around, he saw a black-haired, long-straight-haired loli.

Sakurajima Mai was wearing a tracksuit just like Shuya, and she was looking at him in surprise.

"Yo, we really have a connection, Mai-chan."

Shuya smiled.

Mai revealed a relieved smile and trotted over: "It's so great that you come to this gym too, Shuya. I was just feeling a bit lonely by myself."

It was loneliness, definitely not fear, Mai-chan solemnly declared.

"Is that so? Don't worry. With me here, let's exercise together from now on!"

Shuya patted his chest and said.

Having a cute little loli to accompany him while exercising was definitely better than running miserably all by himself.

"Mm!"

Mai-chan nodded happily.

Her mother, just like Shuya's mother, had gone to work and was not left here to watch over them.

Shuya and Mai-chan happily got onto the treadmills.

Neither of them spoke while running.

After running for a while, panting sounds were already coming from Mai-chan's side; her stamina was indeed not very good.

If she had to film a Morning Drama right now, it would be a rhythm that would lead to her immediate demise on the spot.