21st Century Necromancer

The Spring Festival Gala in China, though having become somewhat tiresome for the Chinese, was still a novelty to Hiromi Jounouchi, who had never seen such a Chinese-style gala. Although she could only grasp a general understanding of many language-based programs with her rudimentary Chinese, and many punchlines went over her head, the festive and joyful atmosphere was nonetheless infectious.

As she played mahjong with Chen Yu's parents while watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV, which she only half understood, Hiromi Jounouchi also felt the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year.

"Seventy thousand," Chen Yu's mother discarded a tile and suddenly asked Yu Chen in the Anhui dialect, "Yu, when have you and Hiromi decided to marry? Your father and I are still waiting to hold a grandchild." Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire

"Mom! There's no rush. We haven't discussed it yet!" Chen Yu said quickly glancing at Hiromi Jounouchi, who was still fixated on the television, seemingly captivated by the acrobatics show and had not heard what his mother just said. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that otherwise, he might have had to suffer another talking-to.

Chen Yu's mother seemed to notice his look and tapped him, "No rush? You're already thirty. If not now, then when? The girl is not getting any younger. How much longer do you plan to wait? Your father and I are nearly sixty; we just want to have a grandchild to hold! We won't be able to help with the kids if we get any older!"

All Chen Yu's mother's words did was elicit a wry smile from him. The Chinese-style marriage pressure had become a big problem for contemporary young Chinese. Those without partners were pressed to find one, those with partners were pushed to marry, and those married were urged to have children... Beneath the series of pursuits was the simple and robust desire to hold a grandchild.

"Mom! Even if we do decide to marry, we have to consider all the issues! You want to hold a grandchild; we would definitely have to return to China for that to happen. But I'm currently working in Japan, and Hiromi is thoroughly Japanese. Even if she's willing to come back with me, I have to arrange my work affairs first," Chen Yu played for time, hoping to gloss over the topic.

Every New Year, this topic had become a constant theme at Chen Yu's home, only now it had shifted from urging him to find a partner to urging him to marry quickly.

However, the things Chen Yu needed to consider were not as simple as his mother thought.

For his mother, Chen Yu's job was done as soon as he found someone to marry and had a child to make her a grandmother.

But for Chen Yu, he had to consider his and Hiromi Jounouchi's current jobs, whether to move back to China after marriage, and, most importantly, how a Necromancer and a Dragon Blood Knight were going to have a child.

Hiromi Jounouchi had indeed said before that she was willing to accompany Chen Yu back to China, but at that time, they were both just ordinary surgeons. Resigning and returning home, though somewhat troublesome, was not a very difficult decision to make—the only trouble was making that decision.

But now, Chen Yu was an associate professor at Tokyo University Medical School Hospital with a Nobel Prize-level research project in his hands. In such a scenario, Chen Yu's resignation, should he desire it, would be strongly opposed by both the hospital and The University of Tokyo.

After all, Chen Yu's research project was of great importance to any country in the world. Even putting aside the Nobel Prize aspect, the economic benefits alone from the drug were not something any country could ignore.

For some small countries, such an industry could even become the backbone of the national economy!

It goes without saying that even if The University of Tokyo and the hospital approved his resignation, the Japanese Government would not easily allow such an important research project to leave with Chen Yu.

So far, Chen Yu had not yet encountered anyone from the government side, probably because his research was conducted at the affiliated hospital of The University of Tokyo, and the hospital and university had borne all aspects of the issue.

On the other hand, it was somewhat easier for Hiromi Jounouchi to resign; although she was currently a lecturer at the hospital, Japanese women traditionally had the custom of quitting their jobs upon marriage. Plus, Hiromi Jounouchi didn't have any significant research projects in her hands at the moment, so resigning was comparatively easier for her.

However, thinking of the artificial womb research that Hiromi Jounouchi was currently conducting, Chen Yu became somewhat uncertain again. Of course, this project couldn't be compared with broad-spectrum anti-cancer agents, but it was still one of the very cutting-edge medical research topics and held significant importance.

To put it bluntly, even if it wasn't Nobel Prize material, second-tier medical research awards were still within reach. If Hiromi Jounouchi made progress and succeeded in her research, a professorship would likely be inevitable for her.

So, while the marriage of Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi was their own affair, if the two of them wanted to return to China, it could potentially involve a negotiation between two countries.

Nevertheless, Chen Yu's mother clearly didn't consider all these factors and simply slapped another white tile on the table, then said to Chen Yu, "Whether you two come back or not doesn't matter; your father and I don't expect you to, as long as you can come back to mourn us when we're gone. So, next year... no, I mean this year, you two better hurry up and get married. It doesn't matter if it's in Japan, just make sure to give me a grandson soon!"

"Yes, yes, I understand. I will put in the effort!" Chen Yu looked at his mother helplessly and could only agree with her.

While he was talking to his mother, Chen Yu picked up another tile from the table. After a glance, he slammed it down on the table and pushed his tiles forward, "Win, all simples, pure suit, straight, seven pairs!"

The tiles in Chen Yu's hands were indeed two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, a set of four bamboo tiles.

"You lucky kid! I was just missing an eight of bamboos!" Chen Yu's mother glanced at his tiles, pushed her own forward, and indeed, she was only one eight of bamboos short of winning.

It seemed that the win by Chen Yu, which interrupted his mother's train of thought, precluded further discussion on the subject. But under the table, Hiromi Jounouchi's hand had already landed on Chen Yu's thigh, giving him a gentle pinch.

Clearly, Hiromi Jounouchi had understood the conversation between Chen Yu and his mother earlier, but as Chen Yu's girlfriend, she obviously didn't feel it was her place to voice an opinion on such a topic, whether positive or negative, so she too had to pretend she hadn't heard.