Nana took the subway toward the outskirts of the city.
As her family did not have much money, the only place they could afford to live was in one of the poor neighborhoods.
But even if the poor neighborhoods of Sakura City were more developed than most cities around the world.
These neighborhoods had public transportation, water, gas, heating, and electricity reaching every building.
The starkest difference between the richer and poorer neighborhoods was the distance to the center of the city and important places in the city. The buildings were also old, but they were still functional enough to house people.
The police were also present in there to hold any crimes, so these neighborhoods were as safe as the other parts of the city.
Actually, the Sakura Abode Country was one of the safest countries in the world. With an extreme gun control policy, no one was allowed to own guns. So, it was extremely rare to see bandits carrying guns, which contributed to the low number of crimes.
Nana took the subway, so it did not take long for her to arrive at her neighborhood. If she had taken the bus, she would have taken at least two hours to arrive with the distance and traffic between the studio and her house.
Shortly later, Nana arrived in front of an old building. She entered and climbed the stairs to the third floor, where she stopped in front of a door. She took a set of keys from her purse and opened the door with it.
Nana entered the cheap apartment that her parents and she lived in for her whole life.
Even though it was a cheap apartment, it was still home for her.
She felt so cozy in this apartment as she turned on the heater and took off her coat.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"I should cook dinner for mom and dad." Nana commented before entering the bathroom.
She had spent the whole day outside and she felt dirty. So, she decided to take a shower before cooking dinner.
And that's what she did.
After a hot shower, she put on some comfy clothes and started cooking in a happy mood.
It was already 7 pm in the evening, and Nana was about to finish cooking dinner when she heard the front door opening.
As it was a small apartment, there were only bedrooms and the kitchen and living room were annexed to each other, which meant that Nana could see from the kitchen who was entering the apartment.
And without any surprise, Nana saw a middle-aged couple entering the apartment wearing cheap winter clothes.
"Mom! Dad! You guys are early." Nana said in surprise.
Her parents worked in a factory, and they usually arrived home around 9 pm. That's why she was surprised to see them arrive two hours early.
"Hey, honey! The factory will have a shorter schedule this last week of the year. Which means we will get out earlier this week." Her mother, Ozawa Fuyu, replied with a motherly smile.
"Hmm, the same thing happened last year, right?" Nana asked with a thoughtful voice.
"Yes, they did." Her mother replied as she took off her coat.
"Humph, it is the least they can do for us after such a heavy workload." Her dad, Ozawa Aritomo, snorted.
Nana winced a little bit when she heard that, it has always been a sore spot for her the amount of work her parents did every day in their old age.
She worried every day about their health, and that's why she did not hesitate in getting part-time jobs to help in paying the bills.
And her dream of becoming a voice actress did not help the situation.
But not even once her parents told her to give up her dreams. They wanted their daughter to be happy, they did not care where she worked as long she was happy.
Their attitude toward the issue only made Nana love and value her parents even more. She knew that 99% of the parents in this situation would try to talk down and convince her to give up and pursue a realistic career.
Ozawa Fuyu elbowed her husband to stop talking when she noticed her daughter's sour mood upon hearing about their heavy workloads. They knew that their daughter felt bad about their situation, so they tried to minimize talking about it.
"Honey, we will take a shower as you finish cooking dinner." Nana's mother said with a smile as she dragged her husband toward their bedroom. She would scold him severely for talking about their workload in front of their daughter.
Ozawa Aritomo could feel that his wife was mad at him as he was being dragged and he felt a little afraid of what she was going to do with him.
Nana had a sour mood as she watched her parents leave, but suddenly she remembered something that made her eyes shine.
"How could I forget? With the money I will receive from the studio, I can retire my parents for the rest of their lives! They won't need to work so much for us, I will provide for the family and we will be rich." She mumbled in happiness.
She was so happy that she started singing a song she heard yesterday as she finished cooking dinner.
"Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmI had to find you..."
One of her dreams was to retire her parents with money she made from working as a voice actress, and now this dream became true all of sudden!
Soon enough she finished cooking and placed the dishes on the dining table, it was then that her parents came out of their bedroom wearing comfy clothes.
Her dad seemed a little down after receiving a scolding, and her mother was as lively as ever.
They expected to see Nana in a sour mood, but to their surprise, she was extremely lively.
"Mom, Dad, there is something I want to tell you guys before we eat." Nana said with a smile as she took hold of two piles of papers.
The two of them were curious as they waited for her to continue talking.
"I had an audition last Saturday for upcoming anime production. And today they called saying I passed the audition. I went there and they proposed to me an even better deal. I will be the voice actress of their next anime production! They offered so much money and a long-term contract! I already signed, and I have the copy of the contracts here." Nana said everything in one breath.
Her parents froze for a second as they processed the information.
Suddenly, they smiled as they said, "We knew you could do it, honey. We have always believed someday someone would see how talented you are!" Her mother said with a voice filled with pride.
Nana could not hold her tears when she heard those words filled with pride.
"Mom! Dad!" She cried as she hugged them.
Just like that, the family of three had the time of their lives that night as they discussed Nana's future.
The future was bright.