I'll give my daughter one more second.

"Never mind all that, I'd better call back right away." Wu Shen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and dialed Shi Yu's number with trembling hands.

With a few piercing beeps, the call was quickly connected.

"Hello? Is this Shiyu? This is Wu Shen. I'm so sorry I didn't answer the phone. I was outside and didn't hear it ring. Let me explain..."

However, before Wu Shen could finish speaking, he was silenced by Shi Yu's incredibly calm yet eerie voice on the other end of the phone: "It's okay, you don't need to rush to explain. I believe there must be some compelling reason or accident that you didn't answer the phone, Wu Shen."

"Really? I'm glad you understand." Wu Shen breathed a sigh of relief. However, he still had a very bad feeling about Shi Yu's unusually gentle and harmonious voice.

"Compared to these trivial matters, I just used those 3 hours, 18 minutes, and 29 seconds to conceive a completely new novel plot. A masterpiece born from a burst of inspiration, what do you think, my go-to commentator?"

3 hours, 18 minutes, and 29 seconds? Is this a record of the time I didn't answer the phone? This is too detailed.

“Okay, Shiyu, you go ahead and say it,” Wu Shen replied.

It must be said that Shi Yu's novel is indeed captivating, and Wu Shen has been eagerly anticipating the development of the story. He wants to see what choices and reactions the indecisive male protagonist will make under the advances of two women.

"The plot unfolds like this: the male lead abandons the first female lead and goes on a date with the second female lead, completely ignoring her existence. Then, more than three hours later, the protagonist finally realizes he has forgotten something and calls the female lead to try and brush it off, when suddenly a cell phone rings and a sinister laugh sounds behind him."

"Just as the male protagonist was about to turn around, he was struck on the back of the head by a blunt object and lost consciousness..."

Upon hearing this, Wu Shen subconsciously glanced back, only to find a wall and a cute dance costume rolling around on the bed.

"Shiyu, isn't this supposed to be a romance novel? How did it suddenly turn into a horror story?" Wu Shen complained.

"Don't worry, the story isn't over yet... When the male protagonist wakes up again, he finds himself unable to move. He then notices that all four of his limbs are bound to an execution rack. When he cries for help, the female lead appears before him, covered in blood, holding chains, a spiked club, a machete, a stun gun, and a chainsaw, with a sinister smile on her face..."

"Haha...Is this protagonist's surname Ito?"

How on earth did the female lead manage to produce so many weapons in both hands?!

"How could that be? Wouldn't that be plagiarizing a famous animation? I would never do such a thing. I prefer to draw inspiration from the people around me, for example..."

"Stop! Stop! Shiyu, don't continue." Wu Shen felt a chill run down his spine and quickly interrupted Shiyu.

"Wu Shen, you're such a coward! It's just a plot in a novel, how could you take it seriously? Cowardly guys aren't popular with women, you know?"

"Is this really not a horror novel? Shiyu, stop messing around."

Suddenly the other person fell completely silent; the most frightening thing is when the air suddenly becomes quiet.

"Alright. That's enough of the jokes. Consider it my punishment. Going any further would have been too much. Now, can you tell me why you didn't answer my calls for so long?"

Shiyu's tone suddenly changed, and she returned to her usual style. It seems that her darker act just now was a way for Shiyu to vent her frustrations.

"Please, don't scare me like that, it's bad for your heart." Seeing Shi Yu return to normal, Wu Shen's tense nerves finally relaxed.

"Is it that scary? That story is just fiction. It's impossible for Wu Shenjun to actually end up like the character at the beginning of the story, right? After all, you're not exactly popular with women," Shi Yu said half-jokingly, with a cheerful mood.

Author's Note:

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I heard some people think I'm short and weak! The third update is here!! Starting to catch up on missed updates...

By the way, here's the new bonus chapter rule: one bonus chapter for every 150 monthly tickets, and one bonus chapter for every 1 Happy Coins donated. Let the storm rage on! ヽ(???*)?━━━?

By the way, I'd like to recommend the book "I, the Heroic Spirit Emiya, am going to beat you to death today"~~

Chapter 48 Aoyama and Seven Seas

"..."

"Why are you suddenly silent?" Shiyu asked.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about something. I'm not popular with women, does Shiyu not consider herself a girl?"

A clear conscience fears no accusation. If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear! Wu Shen only met Yukino Yukinoshita by chance while shopping for clothes with Mai. If this counts as "cheating" or "affair," then Wu Shen is truly desperate.

Besides, there's no real connection between him and Kasumigaoka Utaha yet. Right now, they can only be considered to have a good relationship.

“You’re right, then I guess you’re very compatible with Shiyu.” Shiyu paused for a moment before replying.

"What the hell is Shi Yuyuan..." Wu Shen complained. "By the way, you asked me why I didn't answer the phone earlier. Actually, I took Wu Yi to buy clothes this morning. It was too noisy in the mall, so I didn't hear the phone ring."

"I see. So the girl in the dance costume is the little girl who came to your class looking for you that day, the one whose relative was staying at your house?"

"Yes, we just got back."

"Can I hear her voice?" Shi Yu asked, whether she wanted to prove whether Wu Shen was lying or simply wanted to hear Wu Yi's voice.

"Wuyi, come and say a few words to Shiyu." Wu Shen felt embarrassed to refuse, so he placed his phone in front of Wuyi.

To prevent Wuyi from leaking any information, he kept giving her meaningful glances. As for his plan to cover the phone receiver and verbally remind Wuyi not to give herself away, it was simply impossible to carry out.

Even if you cover the microphone with your hand, the other side can still hear Wu Shen's voice.

Upon hearing the name "Shiyu," Wuyi, who was lying bored on the bed after rolling around, suddenly perked up, jumped high off the bed, and pounced on Wu Shen like a whirlwind.

"Mom!" Wu Yi was so happy that she didn't notice Wu Shen's signal and blurted out the word without thinking.

I knew something bad was going to happen! Wu Shen covered his face and rubbed his forehead.

"...Mom, Mom?" Shi Yu paused for a moment, then stammered out a question.

"Ah!" Upon hearing the voice on the phone, Wu Yi immediately realized that she had let something slip. She quickly covered her mouth and looked at Wu Shen pitifully.

Why am I always the one who gets hurt? Why am I always the one who has to clean up the mess? Sorrow, oh sorrow, like a river of spring water flowing eastward! The mournful lyrics and melody began to echo in Wu Shen's mind.

"Wuyi is just playing house, Shiyu, don't take it too seriously. I'll make her apologize right away," Wu Shen quickly offered a cover.

"It's alright, kids are naturally mischievous. I would never take a dance seriously."

"It's best if you can understand, Shiyu. By the way, what exactly did you call me about today?" Wu Shen immediately changed the subject to prevent Shiyu from pursuing the matter further.

"I just finished the outline and two or three chapters of the novel this morning. If you have time, I'd like you to take a look this afternoon and see if there are any flaws, and share your thoughts as a reader." Shi Yu's tone seemed hesitant, as if she was wondering about something.

"No problem, but I have something to do this afternoon, I need to go to work. How about 9 a.m. tomorrow?" Wu Shen originally wanted to agree immediately, but then remembered that he had to go for a job interview later, so he changed his answer.

"Okay, shall we meet at that coffee shop again?"

"Okay, that's fine. I know the way after going there once." Wu Shen nodded.

"By the way, it's kind of lonely for Wuyi to stay home alone. Bring her along too, I'd like to meet her." Wu Shen was about to say goodbye and hang up when Shi Yu suddenly said this, catching him off guard.

Isn't this a bit too hasty? Wu Shen wasn't mentally prepared at all, so why does Shi Yu already want to see Wu Yi?

However, in order not to give anything away, Wu Shen could only agree: "Okay, it's settled then, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Shi Yu said goodbye and hung up the phone.

"Yay! As expected, Mom loves me the most!" The dance costume bounced high up when it hit the bed's elasticity.

"Be careful not to break the bed. This cheap thing isn't very sturdy, and if it breaks, it'll be a huge expense." Wu Shen felt a bit of a headache.

After pacing around the room for a while, Wu Shen began to repeatedly instruct Wu Yi: "When you go to see Shi Yu tomorrow, remember, whatever you do, don't let anything slip!"

"Understood!" Mai, having learned from her previous experience, immediately agreed.

Having agreed on a time and place to meet tomorrow to settle Shi Yu's matter, and seeing that it was almost time, Wu Shen got ready and headed out to the supermarket.

The supermarket was located between Wu Shen's apartment and the school, so it wasn't far. It took Wu Shen about ten minutes to walk there before he arrived at his job interview location.

"Welcome... Oh, you're here for a job interview, right?" The receptionist and cashier at the supermarket was the same girl with the brown-red ponytail I'd seen before.

Wu Shen greeted her and was then led to an office inside the supermarket. The supermarket manager was a shrewd and capable-looking middle-aged woman. She managed the vast majority of the supermarket's affairs, including hiring and interviewing new employees.

The interview went very smoothly, just as the girl had described. After reviewing Wu Shen's documents and work permit and learning that he was an international student, the interviewer exchanged a few casual words with him. Wu Shen, fluent in spoken English, passed the interview without difficulty. The next steps involved discussing hourly wages, working hours, and signing a contract.

After all this was done, Wu Shen was given a set of supermarket cashier uniforms to change into, and Wu Shen successfully obtained this cashier job as a part-time worker.

After glancing at the work schedule, Wu Shen realized that he and the girl seemed to have been assigned to the same group during the same time slot, working on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons, and taking turns during that time.

"What a coincidence! We're even assigned to the same work area." There weren't many customers at this time, and the girl seemed to also be part-time arranging items on the shelves.

“Yes.” Wu Shen had a good first impression of the girl and nodded in response.

"My name is Aoyama Nanami. The person in charge just said that I'll teach you how to operate the cash register, ATM, barcode scanner, and so on."

"My name is Wu Shen. Please guide me. Also, please teach me the basic operations. Thank you for your help." Wu Shen replied with the same courtesy.

"It's alright. I'll be paid extra per hour for the time I spend teaching new employees. Don't worry about it." Aoyama Nanami smiled, exuding a simple and unpretentious charm.

What an honest girl. Wu Shen thought to himself. No wonder Aoyama Nanami gives off such a peaceful and approachable feeling.

Author's Note:

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o(≧口≦)o Happy Lantern Festival everyone!!!

Chapter 49 déjà vu

The supermarket's procedures were actually quite simple, and with Qi Hai's clear and concise explanations, Wu Shen became familiar with the entire process in about half an hour.

After successfully serving a few customers without any problems, Wu Shen officially started working.

The supermarket isn't large; it's just a typical convenience store, so only one cashier is needed. Another person will check the shelves, tidy up misplaced goods, and retrieve stock from the warehouse to restock sold-out items, doing these odd jobs.

If there happens to be no such thing to do, you can take a short break during this shift.

It was Wu Shen's work time, so Qi Hai stepped down.

On the other side of the checkout counter was a small, transparent microwave-like device for grilling sausages, and behind it was a beverage cabinet where cold drinks and grilled sausages were sold. Wu Shen occasionally saw these sausage-selling machines in some small supermarkets in China.

When Nanami takes a break, she moves a small chair to sit at the sausage grill counter and helps to rotate the sausages to prevent them from burning.

Around three or four in the afternoon, there weren't many people at the supermarket, so Wu Shen was happy to have some free time. Since he wasn't allowed to use his phone while working, he looked around to pass the time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Nanami sitting at the counter, resting. She was holding a small green booklet and looking down at it intently, seemingly muttering something to herself.

This wouldn't normally be a problem; people are free to do what they want during their breaks. However, Wu Shen noticed that Qi Hai seemed to be so focused that he forgot about operating the sausage grilling machine and didn't pay any attention to it. Looking through the glass counter, he could see that many sausages were starting to turn black and were emitting a faint, charred aroma.

"Qingshan, the sausage looks like it's going to burn!" Wu Shen reminded him.

However, Nanami seemed not to hear, and continued to flip through the booklet.