Shuya's Worries

When the opening theme started, someone said, "Hey, that sounds pretty good."

"Isn't that obvious? You can't do this job if you don't have a good voice."

"Fair enough, hahaha."

What kind of dumb conversation was that?

"Ahem."

The editor-in-chief cleared his throat, and the meeting room fell silent.

Good-boy.jpg.

And so, a bunch of grown men huddled in the meeting room to watch Alien Baby Hikari-chan.

The scene was downright Anomalous.

But the editor-in-chief and Wu Ping watched intently.

The others, meanwhile, were mostly distracted.

It wasn't until the topic of running away from home came up that they finally perked up, curious to see what the script had to say about it.

And then—

Their eyes got sand blown into them.

These older gentlemen all had families. This line of work required them to work themselves to the bone, and it was hard to build a successful career while also making time for family.

They weren't very close to their children.

Now, after hearing the cartoon talk about it, they found themselves relating to it and getting swept up in the emotion.

It seemed Wu Ping had been telling the truth.

When the latest episode of Alien Baby Hikari-chan ended, the meeting room fell silent.

Thinking of his daughter's behavior, Wu Ping couldn't help rubbing his eyes.

But in public, he had to keep his feelings in check.

He glanced at the editor-in-chief. Li Xue didn't seem particularly moved; he was just smiling more kindly than before.

The editor-in-chief spoke slowly. "This is a good cartoon. Do you have the earlier episodes?"

"Yes, yes!"

Old Zhao said eagerly. He rushed out of the meeting room and quickly brought everything back, eager to curry favor.

"Editor-in-chief, would you like to watch them now?"

"Hehe, sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble at all!"

Old Zhao started playing the episodes from the beginning.

The others who hadn't gotten a chance to show off could only look at him scornfully, as if they despised his bootlicking. In truth, they all regretted not moving faster.

The editor-in-chief repeatedly said there was no need for anyone to keep him company, but everyone insisted they were also interested in Alien Baby Hikari-chan and shamelessly stayed.

As for work, they could just work overtime and grind away. It was the usual routine, anyway.

After several hours, they finally finished watching the first ten episodes of Alien Baby Hikari-chan.

These older men hadn't watched cartoons in a long time, but they found themselves thoroughly entertained.

Alien Baby Hikari-chan was a romantic comedy aimed at families and general audiences. Even someone who wasn't a geek could enjoy it.

After watching, the editor-in-chief rubbed his eyes and said with a smile, "What a good cartoon. Don't you agree?"

"Absolutely!"

"Of course!"

"Without a doubt!"

Everyone showered it with praise.

Wu Ping chimed in with a couple of compliments, too.

The editor-in-chief said unhurriedly, "This is a very good cartoon. Unlike other cartoons, it isn't violent or lewd. It's a cartoon that's truly suitable for everyone."

"What's especially rare is that it has something to say. Whether it's the issue of abandoned children in society, the relationship between teachers and students, students' interests and talents, or family matters, it has its own perspective."

"It brings positive energy to society. The latest episode in particular elevates the meaning of the whole series. That's excellent—truly excellent. This is the kind of cartoon television stations should air."

The editor-in-chief had a very favorable impression of Alien Baby Hikari-chan, so it was only natural for his words to lean in its favor.

As for how he'd imagined all sorts of deeper meaning where there was none, that was just standard practice for literary types. Nothing surprising about it.

"Editor-in-chief, I'd like to write an article about it for our paper. Do you think that would be all right? More people should get to see it."

Wu Ping spoke up suddenly.

"Hehe, why not?"

The editor-in-chief patted Wu Ping on the shoulder, his eyes full of appreciation.

He said nothing more and drifted away with the air of an enlightened recluse.

It seemed Li Xue had really come to the newspaper just to watch a cartoon.

Perhaps his reason for coming really was that simple, but the people beneath him weren't going to resist reading into it.

The editors seemed to have gleaned something from the approving look he'd given Wu Ping before leaving.

"Ahaha, I just remembered I have something to do."

"What a coincidence. I have to get back to work, too."

"Let's go together."

"I'm busy. I'm off."

The group scattered like startled birds and beasts, hurrying off to write.

Even though their own paper had been specifically approved by the editor-in-chief to publish Wu Ping's article,

Great Hua was a big place, and there was more than one newspaper.

These editors, convinced they knew what their superior wanted, all wanted to go write an article and submit it to the newspapers they knew.

If the editor-in-chief happened to see it, wouldn't that earn them some favor?

And even if he didn't see it, what was wrong with casually leaving a newspaper in the editor-in-chief's office?

So they had to write these articles!

And they had to praise the cartoon to the skies!

Quite a few of them regretted that their own kids didn't watch this cartoon. They'd have to go home and give them a good talking-to.

That Wu fellow had gotten lucky!

Only Wu Ping and Old Zhao remained in the meeting room.

Old Zhao smiled. "Old Wu, when you make it big, don't forget your buddy."

"Quit teasing me. Aren't you going to write?"

"I'm on my way. You keep at it, too."

"Sure."

Wu Ping nodded, then left and returned to his desk to start writing.

The next day, articles praising Alien Baby Hikari-chan appeared all across Great Hua.

The most prestigious one, of course, was Wu Ping's article in the Global Daily.

As for Alien Baby Hikari-chan entering the mainstream in Great Hua and becoming a sensation across the country—

Inoue Shuya still didn't know any of that.

There's a poll in the work-related section. I hope you'll all vote; otherwise, I'll just do whatever I want.

Section 47: Shuya's Worries

When Shuya finished watching this episode at Rena's house, the Quintuplets didn't react much because they were still young.

But he noticed Rena's eyes were moist, and couldn't help pulling out a tissue to wipe away her tears.

Rena noticed Shuya looking at her and said, "This episode was good. Really good."

Her voice was hoarse and incredibly sexy.

Shuya didn't say anything. He knew there was nothing he could say at a time like this.

She was feeling sad; why go and bother her with pointless concern?

Shuya was trying to think of something to lighten the mood when his phone rang.

He looked at it and saw that it was Horiuchi Susumu.

"Sorry, I'll take this call."

Shuya left the living room and answered.

As soon as the call connected, he heard a ghostly sob from the other end. "Shu-chan~~~"

Holy crap! Was this a ghost or something?

Shuya promptly hung up, but the phone rang again right away.

This time it wasn't Horiuchi Susumu, but Aoki Shin.

He breathed a sigh of relief and answered.

The ghostly sob came again. "Shu-chan~"

I'm hanging up!

Shuya was shocked. "Good grief! What's going on?!"

Then the phone rang again!

This time it was Hirai Ryuji.

Shuya couldn't resist answering.

"Shu-chan~"

The ghostly sob came for a third time.

I'm hanging up!

Shuya was rattled. Had all these guys died or something?!

No, if you all died together, fine—but why come looking for me?

That's too much, man!

The phone kept ringing like crazy.

Shuya struggled with himself, but eventually gritted his teeth and answered.

"Wah, Shu-chan, why'd you hang up on me?"

It was Horiuchi Susumu. This time, at least, he was talking like a normal person.

"Huh? You're not dead?"

Shuya asked, baffled.

"When did I die? Never mind. Listen, I just watched your cartoon, and it was really good!"

Horiuchi Susumu launched into a string of compliments, praising Alien Baby Hikari-chan to the skies.

Only then did Shuya realize that Horiuchi had been crying because he was moved.

The other two had probably reacted the same way.