chsdbacks Page 127
Page 127
With a height of nearly 1.9 meters, the two people standing on it could almost reach the little boy with their hands raised.
Shirakawa Natsu shouted to the little boy, "Let go, we'll catch you down here."
The little boy glanced down, then immediately turned away in fright, his grip on the branch tightening even more; clearly, he was still afraid.
Suddenly, Yutaka Mukai shouted, "Is Ueda a coward? Where was your courage just now?!"
The little boy immediately became unhappy and cried, "I'm not a coward, I haven't taken my backpack off yet."
“You’ve done enough,” Yu Mukai called out again. “Get down here, and I promise I won’t tell your mother.”
The little boy trembled with fear. He glanced at the two young men below, gritted his teeth, and slowly let go.
With a "snap!" sound, Mukai Yu pulled him into his arms.
"You brat!" Mukai Yu raised his hand and slapped him hard on the head.
"Ah!" The little boy looked at Mukai Yu in disbelief, his eyes saying, "You liar."
"You wretched brat!" Yu Mukai smacked him on the head a few more times, making the little boy howl in pain.
He then called the three children together and gave them a lecture.
Ten minutes later, a young woman rushed over in a hurry. After seeing the two children, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed to Mukai Yu, saying, "I'm so sorry to have troubled you."
The little boy looked at Yutaka Mukai with a dejected expression, as if he were telling on him.
“It’s my duty.” Yu Mukai pointed to the police badge and then placed his hand on the little boy’s head: “I’ve already disciplined him. He’s very brave, but he needs to be taught some safer ways to be brave.”
"Thank you so much!" The woman bowed to him again, silently looking down at the child's head.
Although the unruly child still gets a beating when he gets home, at least he receives praise before the beating.
They saw the group off.
Shirakawa Natsumi stepped forward and smiled, "It seems you're good at getting along with children."
Yu Mukai shrugged: "That kid is the type who's all bravado, so using reverse psychology works very well."
He quickly bowed to Shirakawa Natsumi and said, "Thank you very much for your help."
“No need. Everyone will lend a helping hand to those in need and do what they can.” Shirakawa Natsumi smiled and handed him a business card: “This is my business card.”
Mukai Yu seemed to think he was an insurance salesman, and politely accepted the business card, but froze after one glance. He immediately looked up at Shirakawa Natsu in disbelief and exclaimed, "You're... Natsu-sensei?"
Shirakawa Natsu ignored the first half of his sentence; he also knew that his reputation in the manga world was terrible.
But he had no choice. His reputation was so great that it was impossible for him to befriend Yutaka Mukai if he only had the identity of a student at the University of Tokyo.
He had prepared the business cards beforehand, but he didn't expect to use them so soon.
Yu Mukai immediately became reserved, like an ordinary person meeting a celebrity: "Teacher, I've been following your manga."
He stopped mid-sentence, unable to continue. The teacher in front of him, Mr. Xia, was undoubtedly one of the most famous cartoonists.
Even people who don't read comics know his name.
But as good as the name suggests, it also has a bad reputation. The eunuch's comic was finally serialized, but it was suspended again not long after.
It's a real maverick in the industry.
It would have been better not to resume the serialization in the first place.
"Ahem." Shirakawa Natsu coughed lightly twice. This was why he usually didn't use this identity; his reputation was too bad.
As for why he stopped updating again, it's because Jingu Nao and Miyuki left one after another.
In addition, things at the beauty salon were delayed, but of course, the main reason was that I hadn't spent all the money.
Chapter 159 Ma Fei's Suspicion
Shirakawa Natsu also sensed the awkward atmosphere and coughed twice, saying, "I didn't just happen to be passing by."
"Hmm?" Yu Mukai cast a suspicious glance his way.
“I’ve been working on a manga about frontline patrol officers lately,” Shirakawa Natsu said with a smile. “So when I ran into Officer Mukai, I stopped the car and looked at you for a while.”
The excuse was one he had thought of long ago, but he didn't expect to use it so soon.
The original plan was to contact the police station through the editorial department first.
But now that I've encountered it, I'm too lazy to wait any longer, lest things get complicated.
"I see. Then I will definitely collect a copy to support you." Mukai Yu was surprised by Shirakawa Natsu's enthusiasm, but still replied politely. He raised his wrist, glanced at the time, and said, "Mr. Natsu, let's talk next time. I'm still on duty right now."
"Oh, sorry, I got too excited." Shirakawa Natsumi smiled, took his hand, and pulled him towards the car: "Come on, I'll take you there."
"No need, no need," Yu Mukai quickly waved his hand, "The bicycle will get you there in fifteen minutes."
"That won't do." Without saying a word, Shirakawa Natsu picked up the bicycle he had just left aside, opened the trunk, and put it on.
Before Yutaka Mukai could react, Shirakawa Natsu had already closed the rear compartment of the portable folding bicycle.
She turned to him and smiled, "Riding a bicycle on such a hot day is too tiring."
"..." Yu Mukai was speechless for a moment. It seemed that people from the East rarely saw the enthusiastic type like Shirakawa Natsu. He stood there stunned for a moment.
“When I was a child, I was once saved by a passing policeman.” Shirakawa Natsu said with a deep expression, “Back then, I was playing and almost drowned. I will never forget the despair of having my throat filled with water and not being able to breathe. It was a passing policeman who, disregarding his own safety, jumped into the water and reached out a hand of hope to me.”
Yu Mukai opened his mouth wide, seemingly moved by the situation, nodded, and said earnestly, "This is our duty."
“I think it’s because of your quiet dedication that we can live in peace,” Shirakawa Natsu said with a smile. “I just want to do what I can to show my respect. I hope Officer Mukai won’t refuse.”
Mukai Yu paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Xia."
"Please." Shirakawa Natsu smiled, opened the driver's door, and got in.
Yu Mukai opened the passenger door and paused for a moment. On the passenger seat, a Nikon SLR camera lay quietly.
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Shirakawa Natsu quickly reached for the camera, casually placed it on the back seat of the car, and laughed, "I've recently become obsessed with photography, but it's much more difficult than I imagined. I heard that mirrorless cameras are quite popular now. Mr. Mukai, do you know anything about them?"
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Jing Yu's reaction out of the corner of his eye. This camera was also something he had carefully prepared.
The model is the same camera that Yutaka Mukai used in college, the latest model in the same series.
Nothing makes it easier to become friends than sharing common interests.
Yu Mukai glanced at the camera, his expression unchanged, and smiled, "Sorry, Professor Xia, I don't really know much about it either."
After he finished speaking, he sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.
Shirakawa Natsu was momentarily speechless, unable to utter any of the topics she had prepared. She chuckled dryly and said, "I've started it."
After saying that, he stepped on the gas and started the car.
In this kind of weather, it's much cooler to ride in a jeep than outside. Yu Mukai's expression gradually relaxed, as if he was glad that he hadn't been stubborn.
“Officer Mukai.” Seeing that he had relaxed his guard, Shirakawa Natsu immediately smiled and said, “My new manga is going to tell the story of the lives of grassroots police officers. If it can help some people better understand the hardships of grassroots police officers, that would be even better.”
Shirakawa Natsu waited for Mukai Yu to ask if there was anything he could help with, and then she could use the excuse of gathering information to have more contact with him.
Yu Mukai paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "If you don't mind, Professor Xia, just call me Mukai. We are very grateful that you are able to speak up for us grassroots police officers."
After he finished speaking, he stopped talking, showed no intention of helping, and his emotions did not fluctuate much.
"Okay, then I'll call you Mukai, and you can call me Shirakawa." Shirakawa Natsumi was given another cold shoulder.
He also realized that, at least for now, Mukai Yu did not identify with his identity as a police officer.
Subconsciously, he didn't seem to see himself as a patrol officer.
Shirakawa Natsu knew that saying more would arouse suspicion, so she didn't delve any deeper and chatted about some random things.
The jeep was parked in front of the police station.
Yu Mukai took his folding bike from the back of the carriage and bowed deeply to Natsumi Shirakawa: "Thank you very much, Mr. Shirakawa."
"Mr. Mukai, you don't need to be so polite." Shirakawa Natsu closed the carriage and said half-jokingly, "When I create a new manga, I will need to consult you more. I hope you won't find it unpleasant then."
Yu Mukai paused for a moment, then nodded politely: "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Shirakawa."
Shirakawa Natsu waved goodbye to him, started the car, and drove away.
With his hands on the steering wheel, the car sped along the road.
He was seriously thinking about everything that happened after he met Yu Mukai.
He would not hesitate to rescue children in danger, even though he almost got stuck in a tree due to his lack of experience.
This all proves that he is not a bad person at heart.
He once won photography awards, but now he vehemently denies that he can take photos in front of outsiders.
They also lack a sense of identity with their police officer status.
The car stopped downstairs at the apartment building, and the coolness of the underground parking garage helped him concentrate.
He rubbed his temples, wondering why it was so hard to get close to someone.
Those time-traveling predecessors could simply lie down and have crucial clues fed to them.
Shirakawa Natsu took out the document and finally saw Arishima Ryoko's face, her first love.
Should I approach her first?
The idea had barely surfaced when Shirakawa Natsu rejected it.
She indirectly approaches Yutaka Mukai in order to get closer to Maki Hojo, and then approaches Ryoko Arishima in order to get closer to Yutaka Mukai.
They're like nesting dolls here.
After hesitating for a long time, Shirakawa Natsu dialed the editorial department's number and repeated the reasons she had just given to Mukai Yu.
As a result, he was complained about a few times, but the editor didn't dare to be too harsh.
The guy on the other end of the phone keeps taking breaks from publishing, but he's become famous for being criticized.
In the world of comics, aside from the older generation of masters, his name is second only to the masters in terms of popularity.
Of course, at least 90% of his readers are his haters.
He does have true fans, but none of them dare to admit it to his face. After all, in the industry, anyone who claims to be his fan will definitely be criticized.
He assured the editor that this was the last time and promised not to stop publishing "Bleach" until the series was finished.
The editor reluctantly agreed to try to find a solution for him.
Shirakawa Natsu seemed indifferent to this, since he had no intention of drawing all the "Bleach" stories he remembered.
He planned to only draw up to the final battle with Aizen, and then have Aizen defeat the protagonist as the grand finale.
That makes sense.
It's not that I think there's anything wrong with the plot from my past life; I just want to have the BOSS say on the last page, "Welcome to reality."
This satisfies their perverse tastes.
As for being criticized, it doesn't matter, since everyone's criticizing him anyway.
The editorial department was more efficient than he expected, and they called him the next day to tell him that everything had been arranged.
It's not that the publishing company has much influence, but mainly because he himself is very famous.
When the police learned that he wanted to draw a comic about the work of grassroots police officers, they quickly agreed.
The Metropolitan Police Department invites celebrities and allocates funds for publicity every year. Now that Shirakawa Natsumi is willing to help without any funding, of course they are overjoyed.
So, on the second day, Shirakawa Natsu finally met Hojo Maki, whom she had been longing to see.
Her long hair was still styled in a bun at the back of her head, making her look dashing and heroic.
"Interviewing police officers about their lives?" Hojo Maki's gaze swept over him, as the first victim of the Minobi incident.
She had an instinctive distrust of Shirakawa Natsu.
"If you don't mind, you can stay with me for these three days. Ask me any questions you have, and I will answer them."
Upon hearing this, Shirakawa Natsu was momentarily tempted, but quickly suppressed it with reason.
Hojo Maki's words were clearly a warning to him. If he stayed by her side, he wouldn't be able to do anything, and if he lost this opportunity, it wouldn't be so easy for him to find a suitable excuse to sneak into the police station next time.
“I’ve already chosen the main character for my manga,” Shirakawa Natsu said. “It’s Officer Mukai. I plan to work with him for a while.”
Hojo Maki cast a scrutinizing glance at her: "Why?"
“Because I feel that he is more like a representative of grassroots patrol officers,” Shirakawa Natsu explained earnestly: “He is passionate, kind, and full of enthusiasm for his work.”