Full-time comic artist

"Would you like to try my tools?" Higashino Ichiro looked at the bamboo pole in Yoshino's hand and thought it looked rather shabby.

“No need,” Yoshino replied, “I find it too much trouble.”

He's always like that; he's an energy-saving person and doesn't do any extra exercise.

"Then forget it." Higashino Ichiro shook his head.

After a while, Yoshino suddenly asked, "What was your original intention for fishing?"

Higashino Ichiro was stunned.

Yoshino continued, "Is this the set of tools?"

Before he could answer, Yoshino denied it, saying, "That's definitely not the case."

"Perhaps it's the innocent memories of your childhood; have you forgotten your original intentions?"

Higashino Ichiro suddenly realized, "That's true."

Although he enjoyed fishing during this period, it wasn't as wonderful as he remembered.

I never experienced the excitement of a fish taking the bait when I was a child.

"Please switch places with me," he said earnestly, nodding.

"This is really troublesome."

"please."

Squatting down with a bamboo pole in hand, Higashino Ichiro glanced at the scorching sun in the sky and licked his lips.

He thought about it for a long time before finally realizing, "Did you trick me?"

He realized that suggesting changing the fishing rod had hurt Yoshino's feelings, so Yoshino was playing a little trick on him.

"Hahaha," Yoshino laughed, "Brother Higashino, you're really funny."

He and Higashino Ichiro switched places, and the two of them patiently watched over Piaozi.

As the sun set and dusk approached, Higashino Ichiro hadn't caught a single fish. He picked a cucumber from the side to avoid wasting his time.

"There's always something to gain," he comforted himself.

Yoshino looked at him with disdain.

Higashino Ichiro put the cucumber away and had just sat down when his phone rang. It was his son, Higashino Hibiki, calling.

He answered the phone casually, "Hello, I'm here."

……

Hibiki Higashino will graduate in six months and get married at the same time, so there is one thing that urgently needs to be resolved.

That is……

Buy a house for your wedding.

At this point, he was actually too late. Buying a house, renovating it, and then there was the formaldehyde emission; it would take at least two years.

I should have bought a house sooner.

“You can stay at my house.” Akemi Akimiya blinked and did some calculations. “Because of the collapse of the economic bubble, my family owns many properties.”

If someone had said that to Hibiki Higashino before, it would have been incredibly touching for him.

“No way,” Higashino Hibiki shook his head. “How can I live under someone else’s roof? Wouldn’t that be like being kept by you? I’m not a gigolo.”

Akemi Akemi sized up Higashino Hibiki with an expression that said, "Are you even worthy of me?"

Higashino Hibiki was furious. He immediately picked up his phone and contacted Higashino Ichiro, wanting to buy a villa, a big one.

……

“I’m just too busy,” Hibiki Higashino said. “The location will definitely be in Meguro Ward, near my home.”

Meguro Ward is a residential area in Tokyo with many upscale communities. The Higashino family lives in Meguro Ward, and since Ichiro Higashino is a taxi driver, he naturally knows this area very well.

"Okay, I understand. I'll help you look at apartments soon."

Higashino Ichiro readily agreed, saying he would contact him.

After he hung up the phone, Yoshino asked with a stern face, "Is that your son? Does he want to buy a house?"

Higashino Ichiro nodded.

Doesn't he live with you?

"Of course not, he has a job, and our family can't accommodate him."

With several assistants added, the Higashino family would be too cramped. And it would also be a disturbance to them.

"So you're going to buy him a house?" Yoshino asked angrily.

"Why would you think that?" Higashino Ichiro asked in surprise. "I can't afford the villa he wants."

It turned out to be a misunderstanding, Yoshino apologized.

After learning more, he realized that the friend in front of him was actually Tori Akino Mirai's father.

"So the author of Slam Dunk is your son," he exclaimed. "I've read this manga, and even I still get excited while reading it. Your son is truly amazing."

“Well, as an apology,” Yoshino said after a moment of contemplation, “I have a few villas in Meguro Ward, I’ll sell them to him at a low price.”

"Huh?" Higashino Ichiro was stunned. "How many villas?"

It turns out the person in front of me wasn't a homeless person after all.

“Sigh,” Yoshino began to tell his story, “I used to be a real estate developer, but after a scandal, half a lifetime of hard work went down the drain. Look at me, I’m middle-aged and already have a full head of white hair, and my body is very weak.”

"These yellow and white things, you can't take them with you when you're born, and you can't take them with you when you die, so I might as well live in seclusion here."

……

When Hibiki Higashino returned home, he found that his parents were not there. He also didn't have his keys, so he could only stand awkwardly at the door and wait.

After a while, Higashino Shiori and a group of neighbor ladies walked over with smiles. Higashino Hibiki watched and noticed that his mother was in the center of the crowd, smiling happily.

After Higashino Shiori opened the door and returned home, she complained that Higashino Ichiro had gone fishing again, that he was never home, and that he was getting restless as he got older.

Actually, she was also attending a gathering of wives.

Both parents had their own ways of entertaining themselves, which is where Higashino found joy.

Not long after, Mei Higashino also returned home.

Hibiki Higashino asked her about her work.

Mei Higashino stood there, reporting like a junior assistant: "The first two episodes of 'Anohana' are finished, and the subsequent episodes are progressing smoothly. The animation for the ninth episode has been outsourced to Musashino Animation..."

"Stop, stop," Higashino waved his hand, rubbing his forehead. "What's with that bullied look on your face? We're just having a chat, brother and sister..."

“I thought I would need to help you keep track of the situation at ‘Future Company’,” Mei Higashino said with a sigh of relief.

She's just a minor voice actress, yet she has so much on her plate.

“Brother, you’ve never been to the company either. I thought we were telepathically connected,” Higashino Mei complained.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Hibiki Higashino said. “Just tell me about your situation.”

"Let me think," Mei Higashino said, her fingertips touching her lips and her eyes darting around. After a while, she said, "The role of Honma Meiko is very difficult for a voice actress to portray, but I'm working hard. My seniors all say my voice is very suitable."

She smiled broadly.

"Hmm." Higashino Hibiki nodded, indicating that he was listening.

Mei became even more relaxed, and she counted on her fingers as she said:

“There is an animator named Kitamura Tatsu who is about to become a key animator. A senior animator said he is very talented.”

"And then there's the theme song for 'Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.' The lyrics you wrote, and the melody composed by a famous composer, are very suitable."

She began to hum, a melody tinged with summer nostalgia and a touch of melancholy.

Higashino Hibiki paused, feeling the same way he did when watching the anime.

Does this mean all art forms are interconnected? Did the composer create the most suitable melody from the lyrics and the story?

"That's great, thank you, Mei."

Higashino Hibiki ruffled Higashino Mei's hair.

Higashino smiled as he watched her happily swaying back and forth on the sofa.

This afternoon, after Higashino Ichiro returned home empty-handed, Higashino Hibiki heard Higashino Shio scolding him.

He and Mei stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it.

For so long, Higashino Shio has always been portrayed as a gentle mother.

But today, it looks different.

Not long after, the Higashino family began to eat dinner.

While watching "Slam Dunk" on TV and drinking miso soup, Higashino Hibiki suddenly asked, "When are you bringing your girlfriend home? I haven't met her yet."

Hibiki Higashino almost spat out his miso soup. "Almost there, almost there."

“I’ve seen that older sister before. She’s very beautiful, and she’s a perfect match for my brother,” Mei Higashino said loudly, raising her hand.

Higashino Ichiro glanced at her, and Higashino Mei shrank back.

“I heard he’s seven years older than you,” Higashino Shio continued to Higashino Hibiki. “Seven years older is good, he’ll be more caring.”

“A writer like you probably doesn’t have the energy to take care of yourself, so having a caring wife is just right.”

Hibiki Higashino kept picking at his chopsticks and said, "I'm finished eating."

He spoke in a muffled voice, then took the bowls and chopsticks and headed towards the kitchen.

“This child…” Higashino Shio was speechless.

After finishing his meal, Higashino Ichiro said to Higashino Shio, "Ever since you joined the residents' self-government committee, you've been asking all sorts of questions. Can't you wait until the child is ready?"

Higashino pointed to herself, "I..."

Watching Higashino Ichiro's departing figure, she asked Mei with a wronged expression, "Is that so?"

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Mei Higashino said. “It’s good that Mom is free from family pressure.”