I'll give my daughter one more second.

Because of his interest in anime, comics, and games (ACG), he has some understanding of the light novel industry. Generally, light novels are canceled for only one reason: poor sales lead to the publisher and the paperback publisher forcing them to end.

It seems that the sales performance of Kasumigaoka Utaha's debut light novel volume is not satisfactory.

"But does the book 'Love Metronome' really exist? Why haven't I found it in bookstores?" This was Wu Shen's biggest concern.

No matter how much intelligence he has, Wu Shen cannot offer any opinions without personally reading the novel.

"Mom's new book probably hasn't been released yet, right? Maybe she hasn't even entered the competition yet," Mai said, offering her guess.

"Does that mean I made a wasted trip to the bookstore?"

Wu Shen was simply venting. Actually, he gained a lot from his trip to the bookstore. He learned that Shi Yu also had a deep love for anime, discovered a secret they shared, and established a connection—the relationship developed remarkably quickly.

"Oh, right, Daddy! Since Mommy's new book hasn't been released yet, this is your chance!" Mai suddenly thought of something and clapped her hands.

"If Dad can help Mom improve the novel and change the abruptly ended future, maybe Mom's affection for him will skyrocket! Then they can date, get married, and I can be born smoothly!"

"Hmm, that's a good idea. I can give it a try. But finding out about Shiyu writing a novel is a bit troublesome."

He needed a reason to find out that Shiyu was writing a novel, otherwise Wu Shen couldn't just say that it was his daughter from the future who told him when Shiyu asked, could he?

He himself didn't believe it when he said that.

But now is not the time to think about these things, because it's almost time to take it off the heat. He stirred the sauce and diced meat in the pan again, and when it was almost cooked, he sprinkled in chopped green onions and began a final, even stir-fry.

When the aroma was irresistible and the chopped scallions had fully infused the sauce, Wu Shen turned off the gas stove and scooped out all the fried sauce with an iron ladle.

Even before the noodles were cooked, Wu Yi picked up a small piece of meat with her chopsticks and chewed on it, then gave a thumbs up.

"Same recipe, same taste!"

Author's Note:

o(*≧▽≦)ツ┏━┓

Chapter 9 The New Daughter's Power

"It's so salty..." The greedy Mai couldn't resist and scooped up another big spoonful of fried sauce and put it in her mouth. This time, it really made her feel sick of the saltiness, and she hurriedly looked around for water.

"So why are you in such a hurry? You're not going to eat the fried sauce directly." Wu Shen quickly opened the cucumber packaging, washed it with water, and then snapped it in half with both hands.

"Here you go." Wu Shen held one half in his left hand and handed the other half to Mai. Mai took the cucumber and immediately took a big bite before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Pulled noodles really do go well with cucumber." Mai chewed, the refreshing sweetness of the cucumber easily neutralizing the greasy and salty flavor of the fried sauce, creating a unique taste.

This is their family's traditional way of eating; cucumbers are never cut into thin strips as a side dish, but are simply held in their hands and eaten with noodles.

The noodles were now cooked. Wu Shen skillfully scooped them out with a slotted spoon and placed them on a plate. Then, he used a small spoon to add a few spoonfuls of fried sauce and stirred it in.

"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!" Mai, sitting at the table, couldn't wait any longer. As soon as the steaming noodles were served, she immediately began to gulp them down.

"Eat slowly, be careful not to choke. And the sauce on your lips too, can't you eat a little more gracefully?" Wu Shen smiled wryly, took out a tissue and gently wiped her lips.

Although he would have to cook for two starting today, it wouldn't be bad to have company during his lonely study abroad experience. Wu Shen looked out the window at the gradually darkening sky and thought to himself.

Meanwhile, in a row of well-furnished apartment buildings, Kasumigaoka Utaha, wearing small glasses and casual clothes, sat at her desk in her room, typing the last few characters on her laptop.

"The first volume is finished. I rushed around like crazy. Now I can finally participate in the Fantastic Bunko Newcomer Grand Prize Contest held by Shinazugawa Shoten, right?" Shiyu stretched a little, revealing her perfect body curves.

Scrolling the mouse wheel and looking at the dazzling array of electronic documents, Shi Yu felt a sense of accomplishment as an author.

She had been thinking about writing a light novel for a long time, but for various reasons she hadn't started writing it yet. A little over a month ago, she accidentally saw the new generation of the Fantastic Bunko Newcomer Award held by Shinazugawa Shoten on the official website.

Finally, she could no longer suppress the excitement and thoughts in her heart. As it was her first time creating a novel, she was still a bit inexperienced. In order to conceive the plot and write the novel, she sacrificed her sleep time and even used class time to catch up on sleep. It took her more than a month to finally complete the first volume of the light novel.

When Shiyu clicked save, she entered the title she had been thinking about for a long time in the document name settings field—Love Metronome.

When Shiyu opened the Fantastic Library website, clicked on the competition page, filled in her personal information, and prepared to upload her document, she hesitated. Her finger hovered over the left mouse button, and she didn't press it for a long time.

She straightened her crossed black stockings and began to slightly tiptoe and shake her legs.

This is a unique little gesture of Kasumigaoka Utaha's; she only taps her toes like this when she feels anxious.

Is what she wrote really good enough? Can she really win the award? She didn't know the answer.

Before completing this work, Shiyu's only writing experience was the play script for the cultural festival in her first year of high school. The final performance was a great success, and the script received great praise, but Shiyu believes that the story's brilliance lies in the actors' diligent and amazing performances.

Although Kasumigaoka Utaha appears cold and aloof to others, she actually has a delicate and soft side. At least in terms of writing, as a beginner, she is still very insecure.

She wanted advice and recognition from others.

No matter how hard you try, you can never achieve complete objectivity when reviewing your own novel. However, she doesn't have any friends with similar interests in real life, so she can't ask others to read it and offer suggestions.

"However, it's inevitable to feel lonely sometimes. If you have any topics you'd like to discuss with someone, feel free to reach out to me anytime. I've read a lot of novels, read a lot of comics, and watched a lot of anime."

While struggling with her feelings, Kasumigaoka Utaha inexplicably recalled the male classmate she had met that afternoon. Utaha usually didn't pay much attention to what her classmates were doing, but because he had accidentally discovered her hidden hobby today, she had a particularly deep impression of him.

"Maybe I could ask him to give it a try?" Shi Yu glanced at the manuscript on her laptop and suddenly seemed to think of something interesting, revealing a faint smile.

The night passed in the blink of an eye, and the sun had not yet risen; it was early morning, and the sky was just beginning to lighten. Wu Shen was holding the dance costume, and the two were still immersed in their dreams. Kasumigaoka Utaha, having finished the first volume of her novel, also managed to avoid staying up all night and had a good sleep in bed, relieving the fatigue of the past month.

Outside a villa in the suburbs, a little girl with a detached expression and delicate features, her long black hair flowing, peeked out and secretly observed the building in front of her.

"The newspaper I found in the trash can just now said it's only 2017, which means that orb of light wasn't a joke. Did I really go back in time?" The little girl thought clearly and calmly, muttering something to herself.

"In order to avoid disappearing and to return to a normal family life, my mother and father must get back together. If I remember correctly, this should be the place where my mother lived before my parents eloped."

Loli stared at the Lin Yuan villa not far away, watching the patrolling security guards. She didn't envy the magnificent environment at all; instead, she bit her little finger and couldn't help but show a hint of indignation.

"Is this the place where the family left my mother with countless sad memories?"

"As the saying goes, 'It's like climbing a mountain for a man to pursue a woman, but piercing a thin veil for a woman to pursue a man.' Based on my analysis, if we want to successfully complete the mission and restore the normal course of history, we really need to start with the mother. Hmph! With the mother's charm, winning over the father will be a piece of cake, won't it?"

The little girl had made up her mind. She tiptoed like a kitten, taking advantage of the gaps in the security guards' patrols, and nimbly sneaked into the large garden, heading towards the inner courtyard villa.

Beside the iron gate at the entrance she passed by in a hurry, on an old wooden board, were engraved several powerful and simple characters, which seemed to be the surname of the family that owned the entire garden.

Author's Note:

o(*￣3￣)o Please vote for me!

Chapter 10 Shiyu's Invitation

"Dad, wake up!"

In the darkness, the crisp sound of a dance costume rang out, and at the same time, Wu Shen felt a slightly heavy object appear above his waist and abdomen.

"Hmm... Hmm? It's morning?" Wu Shen propped himself up and realized that Kasumigaoka Mai was sitting directly on his stomach.

"Luckily you're not too heavy." Wu Shen chuckled, reached out and took the dance costume off his body, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm very slim and light, okay?" Mai protested vehemently, swaying her limbs.

With the sleep paralysis gone and Wu Shen regaining his ability to move freely, he rubbed his sleepy eyes, glanced at the still-dark sky outside, and checked the time on his phone.

"It's only a little past 6 o'clock. My alarm usually hasn't even gone off yet. Why are you waking me up so early?" Wu Shen yawned, put his phone back on the bedside table, and then turned to look at Wu Yi.

School starts at 8 o'clock sharp, but because his apartment is very close to the school, Wu Shen usually sets his alarm for 7 o'clock.

Today, I was woken up by a dance costume, so I woke up more than an hour earlier than usual.

A daughter-made alarm clock (physical), you deserve to have one.

"Dad, have you forgotten again that you're supposed to prepare breakfast and lunch for me?" Wu Yi gave Wu Shen a resentful look.

"Oh yeah, haha." Wu Shen scratched his head and quickly stood up, feeling guilty.

He usually grabs something from a convenience store or supermarket for breakfast and eats lunch at the school cafeteria.

However, now that there's a growing daughter in the family, Wu Shen can no longer afford to be complacent. He can ignore his own health, but he must consider his daughter's nutrition and health.

Preparing breakfast wasn't too much of a problem; there was leftover bread at home, and we had a toaster that came with the appliances we bought. While the bread was toasting, I took out a bag of frozen sausages and eggs.

Pour hot oil into the wok, gently crack the egg with the side of the wok with one hand, then pinch it with two fingers to separate the egg white and yolk into a circle in the wok. Skillfully fry the eggs and sausage.

In just a few minutes, the bread was baked, the eggs and sausages were fried and placed on a plate. Then, jam and bottled milk from yesterday were poured into two glasses, and a simple, quick breakfast was ready.

While the oil was still hot, Wu Shen made a stir-fried chicken with green peppers and diced chicken, then put it on a plate, covered it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator.

You can just heat it up in the microwave and eat it.

"Mai, you said you often help out in the kitchen. Do you know how to cook rice in a rice cooker?"

"Will do!"

"That's good." Wu Shen breathed a sigh of relief, tidied up the kitchen, washed his hands, and came out to eat. He had thought that after all this time, Wu Yi must have finished eating by now.

However, when he stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the dining table, he found that Wuyi was sitting there, and the breakfast on the table was completely untouched.

"What's wrong? No appetite? Or not satisfied with this breakfast?" Wu Shen asked, sitting down in surprise.

He knew from last night that Wu Yi was a little glutton, so how could she resist the temptation of the food and not touch it? Could it be that she didn't like what he made? Wu Shen thought with some worry.

"Hehe, because I want to eat with Dad!" Seeing Wu Shen sit down across the table, Wu Yi picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

My daughter couldn't possibly be this well-behaved and sensible!

"Mai's 'daughter index' is pretty high right now, isn't it?" Mai Kasumigaoka blinked and said confidently.

What the heck is this "daughter index"?

“But it seems we’ll have to eat breakfast together first from now on, and then prepare lunch ourselves. After all, it’s better to eat while it’s hot.” ​​Wu Shen smiled knowingly as he watched Wu Yi enjoy her meal.

"Mai, I'm going out. Stay home and don't wander off."

After finishing breakfast and putting on his school uniform, Wu Shen opened the door to his home. Before he could finish, he turned back and gave Wu Shen a final word of advice.

"Have a safe trip, Dad! I hope you succeed in seducing Mom today!"

"I'm going to school, not to pick up girls. And kids shouldn't use words like 'seduction'!" Wu Shen was speechless for a moment, then casually remarked before stepping onto the street leading to the school.

Today, because of his dance costume, Wu Shen arrived at school unusually early. When he opened the classroom door, he could see that the number of students was still rather scattered and sparse.

As he entered, he deliberately turned his head to observe Shi Yu, who was in the first row in front of the door, and found that Shi Yu was also looking up at him.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. Come to the rooftop in a bit, I need to talk to you about something." Shi Yu lowered her voice, and only Wu Shen, who was passing by her, heard her.

"???" Wu Shen was completely dumbfounded.

He instinctively wanted to stop and ask what was going on, but after thinking about it, he realized that if he talked to Shi Yu directly and his classmates saw him, there might be rumors that were bad for Shi Yu. So Wu Shen finally suppressed his doubts and went to sit down in front of his seat.

He should have been the one to find a way to contact Shi Yu, but unexpectedly, she took the initiative to come to Wu Shen.

Why would Kasumigaoka Utaha want to see me? Could it be about what happened at the bookstore yesterday? After thinking it over, Wu Shen felt that this was the most likely possibility.