130 – Bring your wife to work day

"...Thank you for coming everyone. It was a long time and a selfish request, but I appreciate all of you in spreading the word and my message." 'John' smiled and then stood up from the piano. Adjusting his white suit, he gently placed his fingers on the piano keys and looked up into the light, striking a dramatic pose. As he did, he muttered, "I wonder. Did it reach her?"

A soft whisper, his voice lingering in the air. And then silence, the livestream cutting off. As soon as it did...

"You goddamn bastard!" John rushed forward in his own suit, a black one that was the flip of Titor's, and threw a punch at his copy.

Titor laughed and dodged it. "What? I did what you asked me to do."

"Stay still and let me hit you, dammit!" John grit his teeth and dashed around, trying to grab Titor. "Golden Wind? Megalovania? Despacito? And Coffin Dance?!"

Titor laughed and said, "Hey, I remixed them well enough, didn't I? It's fine, fine!"

"That's not the point! It's supposed to be For Yue! Romance! Love songs! Ballads! Why the hell did you play those songs?!"

"It's fine! And you enjoyed it, right Yue?" Titor glanced to the side.

John stilled and then followed his gaze.

Yue stood off to the side, wearing a comfy white maternity dress that covered her body and showed her slight baby bump. She watched John and Titor's exchange with a smile and then said, "It *was* a fairly impressive display of musical skills. And I had never heard such music before as well."

Titor looked back and smirked. "See?"

John was quiet. And then he blurred forward at light speed and smacked Titor.

But before he could, John's copy became transparent, like nothing more than a hologram, and shifted back to the form of a scientist with slicked back hair.

And as a result, John's fist struck empty air.

Light laughter echoed in the room, and then Titor said, "I'll get back to my secret project then now that you've got Wifey back with you. Have fun, try to keep it down, and remember to freshen up afterwards."

Yue blushed.

"O-Oi!"

Titor chuckled, and then his presence vanished.

John clicked his tongue, staring at where the guy had just been standing.

A few stray particles were still floating around, digital sparks of 1s and 0s.

It was impossible for that to happen normally, so Titor definitely did that just for the special effects.

"That guy... No, he's me so I can't even complain properly. But dammit. Was I always that annoying?"

Yue walked over to John and frowned. "For a clone of yours, that man has quite some nerve. Talking about how we-" Yue flushed and then muttered, "A-About our intimate affairs like that in the open..."

John glanced over at Yue and said, "Wanna smack him around a bit?"

Titor ran away, but he would never be able to completely hide from John. If Yue wanted to do something about it, all he had to do was yank him back.

Yue frowned. "...No. I'm fine. Even if he isn't completely you, it still feels wrong. Besides, why waste our precious time together on someone like him?"

"True." John smiled and pulled Yue into a hug. "I *do* have someone more important here with me."

Yue smiled and leaned into John for a bit before looking around. "So... Is this your workshop now?" She glanced around the room and said, "A dark underground cavern... I don't see any of the usual tools or materials though." She shifted her gaze back to John and said, "Is there a reason you brought me down here? Did you have another project you wanted to show me? Or..." She blushed.

John coughed. "Not that. Well, I did have something to show you, but 'that' can wait until later when we have a more private location."

"A-Ah. Yes. Of course." Yue nodded. "I-I wasn't expecting anything."

John smiled and pulled Yue in for a hug again. "Hah... Why are you so cute?"

Yue shifted her gaze and the muttered, "...Only for you."

John's smile widened and then he looked around. "Anyway... I wanted to show you the sort of services we do around here and maybe have you stream with me... But come to think of it, I've... Or rather, 'Titor' has been hogging the spotlight for the past day." He stepped back from Yue and then put his hand on his chin to think. "Maybe it'll be better to just watch Alphy stream."

"Stream?" Yue blinked, momentarily confused. Then she nodded in realization. "Ah. You mean like that show that other woman put on. The complicated illusion transmission."

"It's not really an illusion... Well, I guess it kind of is. But actually..." John scratched the back of his head and said, "...It's complicated. But you'll definitely get a better sense of it seeing it firsthand."

He looked around the room.

It was still setup for the concert and super romantic with the dim lighting and floating particles.

Getting rid of it would be a waste since he never got to actually perform for Yue, but it wasn't really set up properly for him to stream a game later either...

Or was it?

A bit of adjustments, changing the spotlight and dimming the background, keeping the floating camera rig, adding back the giant monitor, a comfy couch for the two of them, snacks, controllers, the desktop...

"There." John checked the modified setup and nodded.

Yue blinked, scanning the changed room. "...What are all of those for?"

"It's for a little later. For now..." He pulled out his phone to check the time.

John and Yue has spent the morning cuddling together, so it was already around noon. Rin was scheduled to stream in an hour, and then Alphy would be streaming in the evening around 6 PM... Ah, a karaoke stream too. It seemed like she finally got over her hesitation about singing.

Though in that case, it might not be a good idea to have Yue along to watch...

"Husband?" Yue looked at John. "I don't mind just staying here with you, but you have affairs to settle as well, do you not?" She paused. "...Professional affairs, I hope?"

John nodded. "Mm. There is some business I have to take care of today too... Ah. Come to think of it... You haven't been properly introduced to everyone yet, have you?"

He had kinda just showed up the other day with Yue and Meg... Rin and Asako didn't question it too much, but it would probably be good to straighten that out.

...Actually, he still needed to schedule that big get together to introduce everyone. Bai and Qing still hadn't met Asako and Rin yet... or his other daughters. And then there was Meg too...

Yue shook her head. "I spoke a little with that Rin and Asako, but nothing beyond exchanging pleasantries."

"Alright. Then it's time to introduce my beloved wife to my cute employees."

"...Cute?"

"You'll see when we get there, especially if Rin is practicing with Hana."

Yue blinked. "Hana? Another woman?"

"...I'll explain on the elevator ride up."

-----AI|IA-----

The usual chime of the elevator echoed as John and Yue arrived on the top floor of the building.

As John walked out, he responded to a text Qing sent him about screening idol applicants for the next generation of Project MirAIs. Mostly that John was planning to spend time with his family for the next couple of days and for Qing to pre-screen the ones who were just in it for fame and... well, him.

Apparently there were a lot of those...

Yue peered over John's shoulder at his phone. "Is that your subordinate?"

"Mmhm. Just some talk about screening out the people applying for jobs here."

"Ah, like the qualification exams for new sect disciples." Yue nodded.

"Yep. And speaking of sect disciples..." John glanced back at Yue and said, "Whatever happened with my sect? Now that you're here with me, along with all my daughters, who's there watching it?"

"...Don't worry about it." Yue smiled, her beautiful face suddenly turning frosty. "Those girls wouldn't dare to step out of line even when I'm gone. I'm sure they'll run things properly until we return."

"...Yeah, I'm definitely taking you out on a honeymoon to unwind."

Yue blinked. "Honeymoon?"

John tapped Yue's nose and said, "Secret." After that, he walked forward, holding her left hand with his right. "Now come on. Let's check up on everyone."

Yue huffed and followed after John, her white dress trailing after her. "Stop treating me like a child, Husband. Teasing me like that... People will misunderstand."

"What's there to misunderstand about me enjoying the cute reactions my wife makes?"

Yue's ears turned red and then she poked John in the ribs. "Idiot."

"But *your* idiot."

Yue rolled her eyes and then placed her right hand over her belly. "Don't be like your father now, alright? I don't think I can handle two of you..."

John glanced back and nodded. "Yeah. Please, be more like your mother." He frowned. "...I don't think I could handle a kid like me either. Heck, if we have a son who inherited even half as much trouble with women as I had..."

A kid who inherited both his and Yue's looks. A son born to a family where his older sisters were all top-class beauties... and would definitely smother him with joy and affection. Not only that, but a kid who'd grow up in riches at the top of the world, naturally be good at everything because of Yue's natural talents and then John's own intuition with those sorts of things...

"...Dangerous. He'd be really dangerous."

Yue paused, as if suddenly realizing the ramifications of that as well. But then she sighed and gently patted her belly. "Well, whatever the case, Mommy will still love you. Even if you become a hopeless idiot like your father and ensnare millions of women's hearts."

"Oi!"

Yue laughed and then leaned her head against John's shoulder.

He sighed and then rounded the corner to the streaming studio. When he did...

"...Wow." Asako blinked and said, "It's sweet enough to make me sick."

"Mmhm..." Rin nodded, her light brown eyes flitting from Yue to John. "Mister John and his wife are... unexpectedly super lovey-dovey."

Alpha smiled. "It's great that Mama and Papa are getting along."

Beta nodded. "Indeed. Father's adeptness at handling women has not diminished in the slightest, it appears."

...He came across the four girls staring at him and Yue with judging eyes.

John coughed. "Good afternoon?"

Yue flushed at seeing the group of young women and subconsciously stepped closer to John.

Since Yue had spoken up, John continued and said, "I didn't get the chance to the other day, so I thought I'd do a proper introduction. Rin, Asako. Meet my lovely wife, Yue."

Yue gave a shy wave. "H-Hello again. I'm Yue Smith. John's wife." When she said those last words, Yue smiled, puffing out her chest a bit.

Of course, when she did that, her baby bump became more noticeable.

"Eh?" Beta noticed first. "Mistress Yue, that..."

Alpha's eyes widened. "M-Mama's going to be a real Mama?!"

Rin gasped. "Mister John and Miss Yue are having a baby?!" She beamed and ran forward, stopping in front of Yue. "Can I feel the baby? Is it kicking yet? How long have you been pregnant? Have you two decided on a name yet?"

Yue's eyes spun at the barrage of questions and she quickly ducked behind John.

Asako laughed. "Calm down, Rin. You're scaring her."

"O-Oh! Sorry! It's just..." She stepped back and smiled. "A baby! A cute baby! I've never seen one, but Mom says they're super cute. Ooh! Can I hold the baby when they're born?"

Yue peeked out from behind John and then turned to look at him. "H-Husband? What do you think?"

"Mm. As long as you don't try to steal the baby from us, Rin."

Rin gasped. "I would never do that!"

...John said that as a joke. But why did he suddenly feel like he dodged a bullet?

Beta cleared her throat and then said, "Is there a particular reason why you have come with Mistress Yue at this time, Father?"

John nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to show Yue what we do around here, actually. You guys don't mind, right?"

Rin shook her head. "Of course not! I'm happy to show Miss Yue what we do!"

Asako rubbed the back of her neck. "I-It'll be a bit embarrassing... but can't be any more cringe than John's intro video."

"Oi!"

Yue looked at John and said, "What is she referring to, Husband?"

Asako laughed.

John sighed. "I'll... show you some other time. But anyway... Should I take over and run you through the paces then?" He looked at the three MirAIs idols and said, "I don't think I've taught you all at the same time, so this is as good a time as any. Come on, let's run through the paces to get ready for the group concert at the end of the month."