My dear wife, I still love you more.

"W-Welcome back." Mrs. Yuihama's voice came from the kitchen. Just like yesterday, Mrs. Yuihama didn't come to the door to greet Hasegawa. Hasegawa didn't mind, smiled, put the things he was carrying in the living room, and then turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"Is Mrs. Yuihama cooking? I'll help out." Hasegawa said, rolling up his sleeves and walking into the kitchen.

"No, no need, I can do it myself. Hasegawa-kun, you should wait outside." Mrs. Yuihama quickly stopped Hasegawa, and even subconsciously tried to push him out.

"Be careful, madam, watch out for that knife." Hasegawa quickly took a step back and said as he saw Mrs. Yuihama holding a knife and trying to push him.

Mrs. Yuihama blushed a little when she saw the knife in her hand. She wanted to put it down, but she was worried that Hasegawa would come into the kitchen. Hasegawa thought she looked really cute.

Hasegawa didn't get too close, so he didn't go into the kitchen, but he didn't leave either. He just leaned against the door frame, smiling at Mrs. Yuihama.

Mrs. Yuihama saw Hasegawa like this and wanted to hurry up, but she couldn't say anything and could only turn around and continue cooking.

As Hasegawa watched Mrs. Yuihama busy in the kitchen, he felt an urge to walk up behind her and embrace her. However, he suppressed this impulse. After all, everything needs to be done step by step. He was thinking about love and marriage, not just a momentary sexual impulse.

That's often how things are. If it's just for fun, everything can go very fast. Two complete strangers can sleep together because of a glance or a drink. But the more serious the relationship, the deeper the feelings, the slower the sex will go.

Watching Mrs. Yuihama's busy figure, Hasegawa felt a faint sense of happiness. It seemed that as long as he could watch her busy in the kitchen like this every day, Hasegawa would feel a special kind of happiness. He hoped that every day in the future could be spent like this.

Mrs. Yuihama felt a bit awkward. She always felt that Hasegawa's eyes were like a laser beam, falling on her, which made her feel very uncomfortable and uneasy. Whenever she thought about Hasegawa looking at her from behind, Mrs. Yuihama felt uncomfortable.

Unable to resist turning around, she saw Hasegawa's eyes filled with laughter and happiness. Mrs. Yuihama felt a shiver run through her heart and almost lost all her strength. Fortunately, her hands were still supporting her on the cutting board.

After a brief pause, Mrs. Yuihama couldn't help but glare fiercely at Hasegawa.

Hasegawa, however, just smiled and didn't pay any attention to Mrs. Yuihama's gaze. Instead, he found Mrs. Yuihama very cute.

"Hasegawa-kun, could you, could you go to the living room to watch TV?" Mrs. Yuihama asked Hasegawa.

"No, after all, Mrs. Yuihama isn't on TV."

"You, Hasegawa-kun, you, you, how could you, how could you do this?"

"Like this? What do you mean by 'like this'?"

"You, humph, Hasegawa-kun is so annoying." Mrs. Yuihama glared at Hasegawa angrily, her cheeks puffed up.

Mrs. Yuihama's appearance caught Hasegawa's eye. He immediately took out his phone and snapped a picture of Mrs. Yuihama, who looked like a hamster, capturing her expression on his phone.

"Huh? Hasegawa-kun, you, you, you delete it right now!" Mrs. Yuihama exclaimed in a panic.

"No, these are photos I finally managed to collect, why would I delete them?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Mrs. Yuihama's Imaginary Thoughts (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

"Hasegawa-kun, you, you delete it!" Mrs. Yuihama said, reaching for the phone.

"No, this is a treasure! How can we delete it?" Hasegawa laughed and dodged.

Mrs. Yuihama blushed even more upon hearing Hasegawa's words and continued to chase after him.

Hasegawa and Mrs. Yui chased each other, even forgetting about cooking. The chase took place from the kitchen all the way to the living room, where Mrs. Yui finally cornered Hasegawa because of the many things there.

Seeing that Hasegawa was cornered by her, Mrs. Yuihama couldn't help but smile happily. To prevent Hasegawa from escaping again, Mrs. Yuihama pounced on him, knocking him down onto the sofa.

With her body pressed against Hasegawa, Mrs. Yuihama reached out to grab the phone in Hasegawa's hand. Hasegawa held the phone above his head, and Mrs. Yuihama, still on top of Hasegawa, reached out to grab it. Hasegawa shook his arms to dodge, while Mrs. Yuihama stretched out both hands to catch it.

Hasegawa lay on the sofa, watching Mrs. Yui, who was lying on top of him, her cheeks flushed and her face filled with excitement, earnestly grabbing Hasegawa's arm, trying to snatch his phone. Looking at Mrs. Yui like this, Hasegawa truly thought she was incredibly cute.

Mrs. Yuihama finally snatched the phone from Hasegawa's hand, a happy expression on her face. At that moment, Hasegawa couldn't resist and suddenly looked up and kissed Mrs. Yuihama on the lips.

In that instant, Mrs. Yuihama's expression froze, and her body stiffened. She lay there dumbfounded on Hasegawa's chest, their hearts pounding, each able to feel the other's heartbeat.

Suddenly, Mrs. Yuihama noticed the change in Hasegawa's body. Her face turned red instantly. Forgetting about deleting the photos in Hasegawa's hand, she quickly got off Hasegawa, unable to speak, and ran to the kitchen. She even closed the study door and locked it from the inside.

After locking the door, Mrs. Yuihama leaned against it, clutching her chest tightly with both hands. Her heart was pounding wildly. Thinking about what she had just done, Mrs. Yuihama couldn't help but cover her face with her hands. She couldn't help but blame herself for doing such a thing.

Thinking about how she had just been lying on top of Hasegawa and the changes she felt in his body, Mrs. Yuihama felt her body burning and weak, as if she had no strength left, and could only half-paralyze on the ground.

On the other hand, Hasegawa was somewhat savoring the feeling of Mrs. Yuihama lying on top of him. Her soft body against him, her sweet fragrance filling his nostrils, made Hasegawa restless. No wonder his body was reacting uncontrollably.

However, Hasegawa was in a very good mood. His relationship with Mrs. Yuigahama was progressing quite quickly. Everything was going smoothly and naturally. He had only expressed his feelings for two days, and they had already reached this point. Hasegawa felt that if Yuigahama Yui hadn't been involved with Mrs. Yuigahama, things would probably have progressed even faster.

After dawdling for most of the day, Mrs. Yuihama finally finished preparing dinner and came out of the kitchen. But when she looked up and saw Hasegawa, she immediately lowered her head, her cheeks flushed, and even her ears peeking out from her hair turned a bright red.

Seeing Mrs. Yuihama like this, Hasegawa couldn't help but stare at her.

"Mr. Hasegawa, we...we can't, it's impossible between us. So, please, Mr. Hasegawa, please let me go," Mrs. Yuihama said softly, her head bowed.

"Impossible? Why does Mrs. Yuihama think it's impossible between us? I think it's entirely possible between us," Hasegawa said, smiling at Mrs. Yuihama.

“The age gap between us is too big. I could be your mother.”

“Madam, as I’ve said before, age is not a problem,” Hasegawa said earnestly to Mrs. Yuihama. “Love knows no race, no age.”

"But, but, but, what about Yui? She, she likes you very much, and she even joined the entertainment industry for you. Are you just going to ignore Yui?" Mrs. Yuihama couldn't help but look up when she got to the point, but when she saw Hasegawa's eyes, she couldn't help but lower her head again.

"Yui, she's still young, she'll always find a great guy she likes."

"No, that's impossible, Yui, Yui really likes you."

"But I really do like you, my wife."

"Hasegawa-kun, please, please don't say that. Even Hasegawa-kun's family, Hasegawa-kun's parents, would absolutely not agree to this kind of thing."

"Marriage is a matter between the two of us. As for my parents' opinions, although I will listen to them, I will definitely not follow their lead. Besides, even they would want me to be happier, and being able to marry you is the greatest happiness for me. So, they will definitely understand us," Hasegawa said.

Mrs. Yuihama blushed even more after hearing Hasegawa say that: "Marriage, marriage? How, how is that possible? We, we, we're not, there's nothing between us yet, how could Hasegawa-kun bring up marriage?" Mrs. Yuihama lowered her head more and more, almost burying herself in her chest.

"Why can't we talk about marriage? Because I really love you, my wife, and I really want to marry you."

"Hasegawa-kun, you, you, you—um, I, I'm full, I'm going to rest." Mrs. Yuihama chose to escape; she chose to run away.

Hasegawa stood up abruptly and grabbed Mrs. Yuihama's wrist: "Madam, we haven't had dinner yet. If we leave now, we'll definitely go hungry. I'll feel bad if you go hungry."

"You, you, you let go." Mrs. Yuihama listened to Hasegawa's words, but felt her heart pounding faster and faster, completely out of control. It was as if all the strength in her body had been drained away. She was completely unable to shake off Hasegawa's hand. In the end, she could only obediently sit on the chair, lower her head, and dare not look at Hasegawa.

“Madam, no matter what happens, no matter how panicked you are, you absolutely cannot skip three meals a day. I don’t want you to go hungry because of this, it would break my heart. So, promise me, no matter what, you must at least eat properly.” Hasegawa said earnestly to Mrs. Yuihama, his tone even carrying a hint of coaxing.

"I, I know. Hasegawa-kun is so domineering." After Mrs. Yuihama finished speaking, she subconsciously covered her mouth. She realized that her tone of voice was so soft, it even sounded like she was being coquettish.

Hasegawa looked at Mrs. Yuihama with amusement, making her blush.

After dinner, Mrs. Yuihama almost ran to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and then seemed to sneak upstairs to her bedroom, only to be caught red-handed by Hasegawa.

To be honest, Hasegawa was very happy to see Mrs. Yuihama like this, and even wanted to laugh a little. He thought Mrs. Yuihama was really funny like this, and Hasegawa even liked seeing Mrs. Yuihama like this.

“Brave Ai-chan has already started! Madam, come on, let’s watch TV together.” Hasegawa said to Mrs. Yuihama, who was trying to hide upstairs.

"Oh." Mrs. Yuihama lowered her head and responded softly, then sat down in the seat furthest away from Hasegawa, curling up in a ball, as if that was the only way to keep the greatest distance between them.

Seeing Mrs. Yuihama like this, Hasegawa couldn't help but laugh.

However, having amused Mrs. Yuigahama enough today, Hasegawa didn't intend to go too far. He simply took out the things he had bought at the anime convention and began opening the packages one by one.

However, today's anime convention is, after all, a day for doujinshi (Japanese doujinshi), so the most common items here are doujinshi and other things that are a bit... well, you know.

Although Mrs. Yuihama appeared to be watching TV, her eyes were constantly on Hasegawa's side. She noticed Hasegawa unpacking the items and notebooks, and quickly looked away, but her cheeks turned red again.

However, sometimes one's eyes can't help but wander, so Mrs. Yuihama's eyes would occasionally dart towards Hasegawa, trying to see what Hasegawa had bought.

Suddenly, Mrs. Yuigahama froze, her expression shifting rapidly, because she seemed to have noticed a notebook about mothers and daughters. Mother and daughter? Mrs. Yuigahama immediately thought of herself and Yui Yuigahama.

"Could it be, could it be that Hasegawa-kun... he wants... wants a mother and daughter—no, no way? Hasegawa-kun... he seems... seems very proper, how could he possibly have such a perverted thought? But, if Hasegawa-kun doesn't have this thought, why would he buy this kind of book? Hasegawa wants—" Mrs. Yuihama kept imagining things, various scenarios constantly unfolding in her mind. Mrs. Yuihama's face not only started to turn red, but even her body became a little hot. At the same time, she hesitated to speak, but whenever Hasegawa looked at her, Mrs. Yuihama immediately turned her head away, pretending that nothing had happened and she hadn't seen anything.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Novel Is Finally Finished

clap clap clap-

Hasegawa typed one last keystroke, then lifted his hands, leaned back in his chair, raised his arms above his head, and stretched his back sharply: "Finally, it's done!"

After conducting extensive research and expending considerable time and energy, I have finally finished writing this book, "A Long Yet Short Life."

Looking at the files on the computer, Hasegawa felt as if he had completely exhausted his energy. It was strange; a book that had consumed so much energy was finally finished, and he felt as if his own child had finally been brought out of the delivery room.

Besides feeling a great sense of accomplishment, I also felt a bit of anticipation and nervousness. Would my novel be popular in Japan?

After a short rest, Hasegawa connected the printer he had recently bought to his computer and printed out the novel, which was about 150,000 words long.

Well, in Japan, manuscripts are usually submitted to editors or publishers in printed form, not electronically. So, for a writer, a printer is an essential item in Japan.

Looking at the pages of manuscript, Hasegawa's face showed a happy and expectant expression.

To be honest, after finishing this novel, Hasegawa's first thought was to show it to Mrs. Yui, but unfortunately, she was at work. He would have to wait until she got home from work to see it.

After pacing around the room with the manuscript for a couple of minutes, Hasegawa couldn't contain himself any longer and pulled out his phone to call his editor, Machida Sonoko.

This novel is a traditional novel, quite different from light novels. However, a publishing house might primarily focus on light novels, but it's not immune to publishing traditional novels. So, contacting Machida Sonoko isn't entirely wrong.

After telling Machida Sonoko that he had finished writing his novel and even arranging a time to meet her, Hasegawa went straight out the door.

Meanwhile, at the publishing house, after hanging up the phone, Machida Sonoko looked up at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was looking at her with curiosity: "Kasumigaoka Utaha-sensei, to be honest, the content of this third volume is a bit different from the previous two volumes, so I think you should take it back and revise it properly."

"Does it need any more revisions?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked.

“That’s right. The relationship between the male and female protagonists in the first two volumes went very smoothly and had progressed to a certain point. But now, the relationship between the male and female protagonists seems to have become a bit... well, strange. It will be very strange to read like this. So I think the plot needs to be revised properly. After all, Kasumi Shiko, your book, Love Metronome, has already set a tone from the beginning. If the changes are too big, the readers will not be able to accept it.” Machida Sonoko said seriously.

"Hmm, that does seem to be the case. After I finished writing it, I always felt like there was something wrong with it. Now that you've said it, Editor Machida, I understand."

"Now that you understand, then revise it properly. You know, the publication date for your book is approaching, so you must revise it as soon as you get back and try to finish it before the deadline."

"Okay. By the way, Machida, who just called you?"

“Oh, it’s Hasegawa-sensei. His new work is finished, and he’s just coming over to show it to me.” Machida Sonoko suddenly smiled and winked at Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"A new work? Is it that traditional novel?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked suddenly, seemingly oblivious to Machida Sonoko's expression.

"That's right, it's that traditional novel. Honestly, Hasegawa-sensei can be a real headache sometimes. Tokyo Ghoul is so well-written and has such high sales, yet he insists on writing traditional novels. Although Hasegawa-sensei's writing skills are indeed excellent, without the necessary experience, how can he possibly write well? I hope that after hitting a wall, Hasegawa-sensei will come back to writing light novels properly," Machida Sonoko complained.

"Editor Machida hasn't read Hasegawa Manabu's novels yet, right? How do you know his writing is bad?" Kasumigaoka Utaha said, slightly defending Hasegawa.

"Shiha, are you standing up for Hasegawa-sensei?" Machida Sonoko looked at Kasumigaoka Shiha with a smile: "You, you wouldn't actually have fallen for Hasegawa-sensei, would you?"

"I do have a lot of feelings for Hasegawa-senpai, but unfortunately, he doesn't seem to like me at all, and even rejected my confession." Kasumigaoka Utaha shrugged and sat down directly opposite Machida Sonoko. She was supposed to leave, but Hasegawa would be back soon, so she didn't want to leave so quickly.

After hearing Kasumigaoka Utaha's words, Machida Sonoko looked on with curiosity: "No way, Hasegawa-sensei actually rejected you, Utaha? You're not kidding, are you? After all, Utaha, you're such a beautiful woman."

“I also hoped it was a joke, but unfortunately it isn’t. Sonoko-nee, do you think Hasegawa-senpai really has a girl he likes? Or is it that he doesn’t actually like girls?” Kasumigaoka Utaha sat up straight and asked Machida Sonoko for help.

"Hmm, well—"

"Forget it, I won't ask anymore. You don't even have a boyfriend yourself, you've always been single, how would you understand what guys are thinking? I won't ask anymore." Kasumigaoka Utaha waved her hand.

Machida Sonoko had originally wanted to have a proper discussion with Kasumigaoka Utaha, but upon hearing what Machida Sonoko said, her expression instantly froze and then became somewhat frightening.