CHAPTER 423: SPIN-OFF: THE STORY OF SHIRAKAWA YUKINA’S ZHUAZHOU CEREMONY

"Ding dong~"

The doorbell rang. Standing at the door, Hinata Rion was patiently waiting with a pile of small toys, clothes, and other items in her arms.

"Hi hi~ Coming."

The familiar sweet voice from inside the house had matured quite a bit compared to many years ago. As she waited for the door to open, Hinata Rion checked her appearance in the LCD display outside the door.

Hmm, good, very spirited!

As the door opened, the cute little Ise Yu, sporting a simple ponytail, appeared before the Minotaur Artist.

"Sister Rion, you’re so slow... Come in, come in~"

"Hey, Jin, couldn’t you have little Koyukina greet me? I was just imagining it outside, waiting to see my beautiful goddaughter as soon as the door opened... And what do I see! You instead!"

Ise Yu Yuzhijin rolled her eyes and said, exasperated, "Come on, my daughter has no time to greet weird people. It’s an important day for Koyukina. Of course, she has to be well-rested."

Hinata Rion put down her bag and a bunch of small toys, glancing around the living room, curious, "Aren’t you going to tidy up the children’s toys and drawing boards in here? What if someone from a TV station comes for an interview and sees this?"

"Oh, what’s the big deal, I’m too lazy to bother. Anyway, Shirakawa will handle it..." said the laid-back girl casually. "Although I’m a comic artist now, it’s quite rare for people to care about a comic artist’s private life, right? I’m not an idol; I can’t even date."

"Even if you’re not an idol, you should pay attention to image management. You’re a beautiful manga artist in Neon. Ah~ It really brings back memories, the times we used to go to comic sales together, like flowers drifting in the wind..."

The laid-back girl turned around and glared at her, warning, "You were selling Minotaur doujins, I was selling Pure Love ones! Don’t drag me down to your level!"

"Besides, didn’t I accompany you to the comic convention the year before last!"

"So what? You didn’t go to the comic convention for a whole year last year! For a seasoned otaku, it’s simply incomprehensible."

"What can I do? I accidentally got the fruit of love with my husband last year~ Sigh, so annoying, Sister Rion, Shirakawa hungers for my body every day, that’s why I got caught~ can’t do anything about him..."

Hinata Rion: Heh heh.

"Is it appropriate to say this in front of a single dog like me!? I bet you secretly poked holes in the little umbrella?"

"..."

"Cough cough... Anyway, it’s undeniable that Shirakawa is greedy for my body..."

"So that means the previous one can’t be denied either!" Hinata Rion joked gloomily, "Jin, I never thought you were so sneaky... Mr. Shirakawa must be completely baffled!"

"Nonsense! He discovered it long ago!" Cute little Ise Yu stomped her feet in anger.

"You got found out and still pretend nothing happened while carrying on, Jin, you’ve got a thick skin!"

"This is romance between lovers, Sister Rion, you wouldn’t understand as a single dog."

"Hmph! Hypocritical! And you call it romance between lovers! How about showing me your online shopping records!"

"Look... look at what? What’s there to see."

"To see whether you crave Mr. Shirakawa’s body or Mr. Shirakawa craves yours! You definitely have cosplay costumes in your closet!"

"And probably even some six-flavored Rehmannia pills!"

"?? What on earth is that!"

"Oh~ my online serialized Minotaur column, some Huaxia fans leave comments saying I should take some of the six-flavored Rehmannia pills... I later Googled it, and it seems it’s for kidney health..."

"Tch~" The laid-back girl scoffed, "My Shirakawa doesn’t need that, and besides, I’m not a Juicer Maiden! Reality doesn’t have Enchanting Demons!"

"Just cosplay as one, and there you are?"

"..."

"Ah, Sister Rion, you’re so annoying, should I hit you?"

"Tch, who’s flaunting their love in front of a single dog like me... Quickly bring your daughter out, I need to hug her to recharge."

"Hey hey, my daughter’s not called Sasaki Sakura, why are you treating her like a power bank... For recharging, she’s still too young, she’ll get tired!"

"What power bank! Koyukina is clearly a hydroelectric power plant! Ah~ let me see her. Where is she?"

"Well~ after all, she’s the daughter of Shirakawa and me, naturally, her cuteness is top-notch." The laid-back girl pointed contentedly to a small room, "Over there, in her toy room. I was just playing with her."

"Ah~ so cute..."

Hinata Rion hurried over, leaning on the door, watching as Shirakawa Yukina patted a small board, her face undeniably showing a melted expression.

"I really want to snatch Koyukina away... Jin, can you talk to your husband, let me take Koyukina home for a while!"

"No way! No need to even ask about things like this!" Ise Yu Yuzhijin said firmly, "I will never let my daughter fall into the clutches of the Minotaur Sect. As the daughter of mine, it’s natural to take it upon herself to eradicate all Minotaurs from the world, dedicating her life to the cause of Pure Love!"

"Don’t talk nonsense, Jin, do you know how much the Minotaur Sect has grown since you left the doujin world and became a comic artist? Hmph, never underestimate this world."

"Besides, as parents, you can’t easily decide your child’s future! You should let Koyukina make her own choices."

"Choose what, she’s so young, how would she know how treacherous the world is~ If she finds out about the members of your Minotaur Sect like Sister Rion, she’d definitely be too scared to sleep at night."

"Right? My sweet daughter?"

Shirakawa Yukina beamed at her unreliable mom with a bright smile. At this age, a child’s expressions are quite random, so a smile doesn’t really mean much. However, even so, the angelic smile melted the hearts of the two extreme beauty-loving artists in an instant.

"No matter how many times I look... my daughter is still as cute as ever..."

"Same here, although I know I’ll be refused, I still have to ask... Can you lend me your daughter for a few days?"

"No."

"Got it."

The artist and the comic artist spent a while being lovestruck at the door before Hinata Rion suddenly asked, "Where’s Mr. Shirakawa gone?"

"He went to prepare our daughter’s first birthday cake and some photographers... Why?"

Hinata Rion said with a mischievous look, "First birthday... cough cough... Jin, have you ever heard of a custom called catching the first birthday?"

"Catching the first birthday?" The laid-back girl asked suspiciously, "What are you planning."

"Of course, it’s just for some fun. As the godmother, I’d also like to see what little Koyukina will do in the future, right?"

"Well... that makes sense... I’ve heard Shirakawa mention this custom before; it sounds quite interesting... Sister Rion??? What are you doing!"

"Placing items for the first birthday catch."

"Is it necessary to place a Minotaur doujin among the items for the first birthday catch!?? I think you just have designs on my daughter!"

Hinata Rion said confidently, "It’s just a custom, for some fun. Jin, are you that afraid Yurina will grab this? Is this really the extent of your Pure Love Sect..."

"Fine, if that’s the case! Then I will also place a Pure Love doujin down!"

"Heh heh~ Still not giving up? Koyukina will definitely learn from me in the future and become a Minotaur Sect artist!"

"Stop dreaming! Pure love is invincible! Pure love must win!"

"Come on, darling daughter, let mommy see, are you my good baby! Come here~ it’ll be over quickly..."

...

Shortly after, as Shirakawa Sawahei drove back with the cake, he received a tearful call from cute little Ise Yu, with the sound of Hinata Rion’s rampant laughter in the background.

"Ah ah ah... Hubby... Can you please hurry back? Can we open a new file in a hurry? Your daughter is driving me insane... Please, can I double up?"

Shirakawa Sawahei: "?"