I'll give my daughter one more second.

(○｀ 3′○)

Chapter 138 Who can escape the wrath of Heaven?

After discussing the deadline, everything that needed to be explained at today's meeting was finished. Looking outside, the sky was gradually darkening, and everyone felt it was time to part ways.

"It's getting late, and I've said everything that needed to be said. I still have work to finish, so I won't bother you any longer. Wu Shen, remember to submit your manuscript in a week." After waving goodbye to Wu Shen and the others, editor Yuan Zi slung her bag over her shoulder and left the coffee shop first.

Seeing the editor's amused smile as she left, Wu Shen felt that she was doing it on purpose. Although she had slipped away early, she was probably hiding in some corner, eager to see a good show.

At this moment, only Kasumigaoka Uta Shiina Mashiro and Wu Shen remained at the table. Without the editor as a "third wheel," the three remained silent, and the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward. Only Mashiro continued to eat small bites of chikuwa cake, completely oblivious to the tense silence.

It has to be said that although Mashiro lacks common sense, there are advantages to not having common sense, namely that she doesn't have to care about other people's opinions and can do whatever she wants and be free.

"I need to take Shiina back in a bit, and then I need to go home to cook for Mai. I'll go first?" Wu Shen tried to break the silence and was the first to speak.

"Mm." Shi Yu nodded slightly, agreeing to Wu Shen's request.

Wu Shen felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders and immediately stood up, intending to leave quickly with Mashiro. However, Shi Yu also stood up at that moment.

"Is Shiyu also planning to go home?" Wu Shen glanced at the unfinished coffee on Shiyu's table and assumed that she was also planning to leave.

“Well, but I plan to go with you to take Shiina back.” Shiyu said, turning to Mashiro. “Shiina, is that alright? As an illustrator and author, this is a good opportunity for us to get to know each other better.”

“Okay.” Mashiro nodded innocently, agreeing to Shiho’s request.

"Shiyu? Are you sure you want to come with us? Don't you think it's a waste of time?"

"If I don't keep an eye on you, what if you manage to lure Shiina to a hotel?" Shiyu chuckled, giving Wu Shen a meaningful look.

"Am I that kind of person?" Wu Shen looked at Shi Yu helplessly.

He was puzzled as to what kind of image he had in Shiyu's mind. Did he look like the kind of old gentleman (pervert) who could easily lure girls into love hotels?

"Boys, they all seem so innocent, but who knows what they're thinking? I only realized this after spending time with Wu Shenjun." Shi Yu stared at Wu Shen with a strange look in her eyes.

That really hurts, Lao Yu!

Wu Shen didn't refute anything. Instead, he avoided Shi Yu's gaze and pretended to be nonchalant, looking up at the ceiling. After all, because of his daughter, he was indeed plotting against Shi Yu and Zhen Bai. He wouldn't evade this fact, nor would he make up any plausible excuses for himself.

However, he certainly wouldn't be so foolish as to reveal the truth at this moment. He wanted to live a little longer; a happy ending for the ship wasn't what he expected.

Even if he were told now that the dance costume wouldn't disappear for any reason, he wouldn't stop pursuing Shiyu. Because he was already stuck in a quagmire, and pulling himself out would be difficult. Unbeknownst to him, he had developed feelings for Shiyu that were hard to sever.

Of course, the main reason is that he doesn't want to be single anymore!

"Let's get ready to go. Since you're coming along, Shiyu, you'll need to come with us to Sakura-sou first." Wu Shen said to Shiyu as they walked out of the coffee shop and onto the street.

"Sakura-sou?" Utaha frowned slightly. "I remember that place being a gathering place for weirdos at school."

Shiha glanced at Mashiro and, recalling her series of strange actions, immediately understood why Mashiro had been sent to Sakura Dormitory.

"Yeah, the infamous Sakura Manor that the students talk about. Shiyu, do you dare to go and try it?" Wu Shen casually teased Shiyu, trying to scare her.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Shiyu said. "But with her personality, will she have any problems staying at Sakura Dormitory? Won't she pick up some bad habits from the other residents?"

Right now, Shiro is like a blank sheet of paper. Shiyu is worried that she might pick up some weird habits from other problem children.

"Sengoku-sensei is the manager of Sakura-sou, so he should keep an eye on his cousin." Wu Shen touched his nose, his voice not very confident.

Thinking about how casual Sengoku-sensei was when he met her, Wu Shen felt that she was a bit unreliable.

However, according to what Professor Sengoku said on the phone, Sakura Dormitory seems to be predominantly inhabited by women now. Apparently, a rather dangerous guy recently encountered a yandere and moved out temporarily to avoid being attacked. The only remaining male is staying indoors and doesn't go out much. So there's no need to worry too much.

That fellow was supposedly nicknamed "Human Self-Propelled Cannon," but alas, in the world of martial arts, one is bound to get hurt. Good and evil will eventually be rewarded; the cycle of karma is real. Look up and see, who has ever escaped the judgment of Heaven?

Wu Shen is now very fortunate that the girls he has met who are suspected mothers or expectant mothers of his daughters are relatively rational, and he has not encountered any perverted characters with yandere traits.

Wu Shen subconsciously wanted to grab Mashiro's hand and leave, but after grasping it and squeezing it, he felt that the size and softness were a bit off. Looking down, he realized that Shiyu was blocking him and Mashiro.

He thought he was holding Mashiro's small hand, but he was actually holding Shiyu's right hand. Wu Shen quickly tried to let go and explain to her, but Shiyu's right hand held him tightly.

"Shiyu, what are you doing?" Wu Shen asked in surprise.

When did Shiyu become so proactive?

"I also want to ask you what you're doing. What was that hand trying to do just now? Why did you reach for Shiina? The movement was quite practiced." Shiyu grabbed Wu Shen's hand and lifted it up.

The movement was as if he had caught a thief red-handed. His gaze was like that of a wife who had found evidence of her husband's infidelity.

"I'm innocent! I'm really innocent!" Seeing that Shi Yu had misunderstood his actions again, Wu Shen quickly explained the whole story.

Yesterday, Shiina missed her appointment because she wandered off and got lost. Today, while Wu Shen was at the supermarket, Mashiro almost got lost as well. So, in case Mashiro gets lost again, Wu Shen resorted to this drastic measure: holding Mashiro's hand to prevent her from running around.

"I see." Shi Yu nodded in sudden understanding, then abruptly changed the subject, "Then I'll hold your hand. Wu Shenjun, stop trying to take advantage of me."

"But I wasn't thinking of taking advantage of you."

"I already have a daughter, what advantage can I possibly gain?" Wu Shen thought helplessly.

"In short, I don't trust someone like you with my life." Shiyu said, letting go of Wu Shen's left hand and instead grabbing Zhenbai's right hand to prevent her from getting separated again.

"Why not Wu Shen?" Mashiro blinked and asked in confusion after Shiyu grabbed her hand. She seemed to have gotten used to being led by Wu Shen.

"Because men and women shouldn't touch each other. Girls shouldn't let boys touch their bodies casually. That's wrong," Shiho began to lecture Mashiro.

"But I've seen many men and women holding hands on the street. Are they doing something wrong too?" Mashiro tilted her head, continuing to ask questions like a curious child.

“They’re a couple, that’s why they can do that,” Shiyu added.

"So, if Wu Shen and I become a couple, we can shake hands freely?" Zhenbai, true to her straightforward nature, didn't mince words.

Shiyu was taken aback for a moment. Seeing that she couldn't reach a consensus with Mashiro and communicate smoothly, she turned to Wu Shen with a smile and asked, "Wu Shen-kun, what kind of nonsense have you been feeding Mashiro?"

"I'm innocent. This is how Zhenbai is. It has nothing to do with me." Wu Shen quickly shook his head in denial.

"In short, remember not to let boys touch you, understand?"

"Yes, I know that." Mashiro nodded obediently. "Wu Shen told me not to let any boy touch me without his permission."

"Besides him?" Shiyu glanced at Wu Shen again. "You're quick on the uptake, Wu Shen-kun. Are you already declaring ownership of Shiina?"

"No, if I don't say that, I won't be able to bring her to the coffee shop hand in hand. If we don't hold hands, what if Mashiro gets lost again and we miss our meeting? This is a last resort!" Wu Shen said righteously.

"Sigh... You have a whole bunch of fallacies. But I'll believe you this once." Shi Yu shook her head helplessly.

She was just joking; she didn't actually think Wu Shen had any designs on Shiina Mashiro.

So the three of them set off for Sakura-sou. The café wasn't far from Sakura-sou, and about ten minutes later, Wu Shen and the others arrived at their destination.

Sakura-sou's location isn't very conspicuous. It's surrounded by a stone brick courtyard wall, and inside is a large wooden dormitory-style apartment building. A large cherry blossom tree grows in the courtyard. The words "Sakura-sou" are engraved on a worn wooden board embedded at the entrance of the stone wall.

Without a doubt, this should be Mashiro's current residence.

Wu Shen glanced at the doorbell, swallowed hard, and stepped forward, though his movements were slightly tense and stiff. After all, this was the legendary Sakura Dormitory, a den of iniquity where problem children and eccentrics gathered, a place everyone feared.

Having witnessed Mashiro's strangeness, it would be a lie to say he wasn't wary of the people here. Although the humanoid self-propelled cannon was no longer there, the "alien" that Sengoku-sensei casually mentioned, as well as that guy who rarely left the house, made Wu Shen wary.

Just bringing Mashiro back shouldn't lead to anything too strange, right? With this reassuring thought, Wu Shen rang the doorbell at the entrance of Sakura Dormitory.

Author's Note:

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JOJO, I'm quitting being a voter!

(╯‵ ′)╯︵┻━┻

Chapter 139 The Demon Cave: Sakura Manor

After they rang the doorbell, the "ring-a-ling" sound echoed throughout Sakura Dormitory, but all they received in response was silence.

Wu Shen tried pressing it again, but there was still no response.

"Is anyone home?" Wu Shen opened the unlocked iron gate on the outside, walked to the dormitory entrance, hooked his fingers up, and gently knocked on the wooden door with his knuckles, making a "thump-thump" sound.

Unfortunately, he was met with silence in response.

"Strange. There should be people in the dorms at this time, right? And there are also rooms with lights on in Sakura Dormitory." Wu Shen took a few steps back, looked up at the windows, and sure enough, there were two or three rooms with lights on. Since there were lights in the rooms and hallways, there should be people in Sakura Dormitory.

"What's wrong?" Shiyu noticed Wu Shen's strange behavior and pulled Zhenbai forward. Shiyu clearly also sensed that something was amiss.

"The room was brightly lit. But no one answered the door when I knocked." Wu Shen went up again and subconsciously turned the lock. Surprisingly, the wooden door was not locked and he opened it directly.

Through the crack in the door, Wu Shen could see the bright light emanating from the chandelier on the corridor ceiling.

"Shall we just go in like this?" Wu Shen opened the door wide and turned to ask Shi Yu for her opinion.

Wu Shen hesitated because he was unsure whether this would constitute trespassing, so he did not go in immediately.

“Let’s just go in. Take Mashiro back to her room, and then we’ll leave immediately,” Shiyu suggested.

Wu Shen nodded in agreement. Since Mashiro could be considered a resident of Sakura-sou, it shouldn't be a problem for the two of them to go in with her.

So he stepped across the threshold and entered the foyer of Sakura-sou. The formwork beneath his feet creaked slightly under his weight, clearly indicating that the apartment building had been built quite some time ago.

Just then, a series of thumping footsteps came from the stairwell leading to the second floor. Wu Shen instinctively looked up in the direction of the sound.

Immediately afterwards, a voluptuous figure rushed down from the second floor with the speed of a cat spotting its prey. No, to be precise, it jumped down and used its knees to cushion the impact of its landing, just like an untamed wild animal.

"Welcome to Sakura-sou! Are you willing to live here together, whether in poverty or wealth, in health or sickness, until the end of time?"

The girl with short, brownish-yellow hair said this without any politeness and pulled down the firework launcher in her hand. With a "bang," the firework was launched, and confetti and ribbons immediately covered Wu Shen, Zhenbai, and Shiyu's heads.

"I do!...No! That's not right! I almost fell for their trick! Don't talk like it's a wedding vow, okay?" Wu Shen covered his forehead with one hand, while using the other to help the motionless Zhenbai comb the scraps of paper off her long hair.

"Huh? Wasn't it said that the new guy was a girl?" The girl circled around Wu Shen in confusion after seeing him.

Finally, the girl pointed thoughtfully at Wu Shen and asked, "Are you a girl?"

"I seriously doubt how you can mistake me for a girl. I'm clearly a man, okay?" Wu Shen put his hands to his forehead. He had already witnessed the horror of the problem children here as soon as he arrived at Sakura Dormitory.

"Sorry, sorry, because these days there are boys who are even cuter than girls, so I'm thinking about whether there are cases where the opposite is true."

"This girl's thought process and imagination are just too fresh and unconventional," Wu Shen couldn't help but think to himself.

"So you're the newcomer who's coming today?" The girl then turned her gaze to Shiyu.

Shi Yu was about to speak when the girl interrupted her: "Wait, don't tell me you're a real man or a cute boy too, right?"

"Pfft..." Upon hearing this, Wu Shen immediately covered his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter, but he clearly couldn't control the twitching of the muscles at the corners of his mouth.