Three People

"Both works were proposed by Sister Su for serialization. 'The Garden of Words' got a serialization opportunity on Ink Shadow and even ranked first in votes for several consecutive weeks."

"In comparison, if my work was truly excellent, would the objection of just one deputy editor-in-chief make it so difficult to get published?"

Su Ruo remained silent. Zhao Qinyin was right. Although Song Jiayu held considerable power, he was far from having the final say at Ink Fish Manga Company. He had a chief editor above him, as well as management and the board of directors...

If the quality far surpassed other works, even Song Jiayu couldn't suppress it without reason.

But the problem was, nowadays, any work that passed through Su Ruo's hands, even if its quality was no less than works handled by other editors, or even superior, would be ruined once Song Jiayu interfered.

Even if it wasn't completely scrapped, works that originally had a chance to be published in a first-tier periodical would only make it to a second-tier one, and those meant for a second-tier periodical would be relegated to a third-tier...

In Su Ruo's opinion, Zhao Qinyin's current work had a real chance...

Zhao Qinyin sighed deeply and said.

"Although I didn't get a serialization opportunity this time, I'll work harder next time."

"Uh!" Zhao Qinyin's few words made Su Ruo hesitate, unsure how to proceed with what she had intended to say.

But in the end, Su Ruo managed to utter the words.

"Actually, the reason I asked you out today, besides wanting to confess these things to you, is that I have another proposal..."

"You know my situation. I'm being targeted by that deputy editor-in-chief at the manga company, and the manga artists I'm responsible for are suffering along with me. I can introduce you to other editors who are absolutely reliable. You can transfer to..."

"No need to say more!" Zhao Qinyin looked at Su Ruo, basically understanding what she wanted to say, and shook her head.

"Sister Su, do you remember?"

"Three years ago, the first time I submitted my work to Ink Fish Manga Company, my first piece was drawn terribly..."

"After you read it, while criticizing me, you explained the shortcomings in my manga and helped me revise the manuscript."

"After repeatedly revising the manuscript seven times, that work finally got serialized..."

"Although it was canceled after only the seventh chapter, honestly, I was very happy..."

"And even though my nine subsequent works, from then until now, haven't secured serialization opportunities."

"But if that first serialized, canceled work hadn't happened, I might not have been able to persist in drawing manga until today."

"I think you're great... I don't want to switch to another editor..."

"If you ever stop working at Ink Fish Manga Company, then I probably won't submit to Ink Fish Manga Company anymore either."

Hearing this, Su Ruo felt an Indescribable Feeling.

That wasn't just Zhao Qinyin's first manga submission; it was also Su Ruo's first time receiving a submission when she first started working. She had naturally done her best, never expecting the other person to Take It So Seriously.

She felt a bit foolish, yet deeply moved.

At this moment, Su Ruo's mobile phone vibrated, a Weixin message arriving.

"Mhm, I understand the situation."

"I was wondering why you slept over at my place that night yelling about Song Jiayu being a big bad guy. Turns out Song Jiayu really is that kind of scoundrel!"

"Honestly, even though your situation at the manga company isn't great, you still managed to secure the serialization opportunity for The Garden of Words on Ink Shadow for me. That's much better than the no news I got from submitting to two other manga companies."

"As for the suggestion to switch editors, let's forget it. I feel you're quite responsible as my manga editor. If it were someone else, I might not get accustomed to them. Well, I won't say more. That's all for now!"

At home, Chu Yu thought for a moment before sending the text he had been typing for a while to Su Ruo.

If it weren't for Su Ruo's self-exposure this time, Chu Yu would never have imagined Su Ruo's situation at Ink Fish Manga Company was like this.

Regardless, after two months of interaction, Chu Yu and Su Ruo had become friends beyond their roles as manga artist and editor, through a few meals Su Ruo treated him to and their daily work chats.

If Chu Yu had known about Su Ruo's situation when he first submitted The Garden of Words, he would have definitely stayed far away from her. But now, he really couldn't bring himself to switch editors while Su Ruo was going through difficult times.

Unlike the manga artists under Chu Yu who relied on Ink Fish for their livelihood year-round, their relationships were entirely tied to Ink Fish, and their own strength hadn't reached a very high level. If their editor offended the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, they naturally had many thoughts and could only bow to Song Jiayu.

But Chu Yu possessed numerous excellent manga works from different dimensions, so he really didn't worry about his future development prospects. After understanding what kind of person Song Jiayu was, he naturally disdained acting according to Song Jiayu's face.

Anyway, the contract only limited him for one year, and two months had already passed. At most, if he was unhappy drawing manga here, he would leave Ink Fish next year.

Su Ruo felt a sourness in her nose. During this period, the manga artists under her had successively clarified their relationships with her and kept their distance, fearing being implicated and incurring Song Jiayu's jealousy and hatred.

Nowadays, not many authors were willing to continue cooperating with her. Her original intention was to be upfront and proactively give her manga artists a choice.

If, in the end, no one was willing to continue working with her, she would give up the environment she had worked in for three years and resign from Ink Fish.

But she hadn't expected that some authors who had cooperated with her for several years, while outwardly expressing regret, would act very neatly when it came to switching editors.

However, the two youngest manga artists under her were both high school students.

They were so loyal.

"Alright, let's eat!" Su Ruo wasn't one to be pretentious.

Since others were willing to support her, she couldn't possibly dampen Chu Yu and Zhao Qinyin's enthusiasm.

On the contrary, she was now high-spirited!

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. There's something I need to tell you!" Su Ruo said while eating, picking up her mobile phone at the same time.

"You guys?" Zhao Qinyin asked doubtfully.

"Who else?"

"Mhm, it's the author of The Garden of Words you mentioned before, Teacher Shui Xin!" Su Ruo said while typing a message on her Weixin.

"Ding dong!"

Her phone chimed.

Su Ruo sent a message.

Chu Yu opened his phone, and after seeing the message content, his eyes sharpened.

"In two weeks, the company will hold a Serialization Meeting to fill the vacancy left by a completed work on the manga periodical Man Ying. At that time, The Garden of Words will also be concluding."

"Young Man, if you have ideas for a new serialization and want to strive for this opportunity, you'll need to draw at least three chapters' worth of content in these two weeks!"

"A serialization on Man Ying starts at a minimum of half a year. If it's a short serialization, it's highly likely it won't be approved, just like The Garden of Words. Young Man, you need to pay attention! If you want to strive for this serialization opportunity, the new manga must be at least medium-length!"

Chu Yu thought for a moment and replied.

"Understood!"

While chatting with Chu Yu, Su Ruo simultaneously informed Zhao Qinyin of this news.

"So, do you want to strive for this opportunity?" Su Ruo asked.

"No!" Zhao Qinyin thought for a moment.

"This Period of Time, Black Magician has occupied all my thoughts. I don't have any new work concepts in my mind for now..."

"I see!" Su Ruo nodded.

This kind of thing wasn't something where participating guaranteed a result.

By the time two weeks passed, it was estimated that over twenty works would be competing for this vacancy. It was good that she gave up; otherwise, having two consecutive works rejected for serialization within two weeks would be too pitiful!

"Um!"

While Su Ruo was thinking, Zhao Qinyin hesitated and said.

"What is it?" Su Ruo looked up at Zhao Qinyin.

"Sister Su, you've been chatting with Teacher Shui Xin on your phone the whole time, right!" Zhao Qinyin hesitated and said.

"Mm, correct!" Su Ruo nodded.

"What kind of person is she?" Zhao Qinyin asked.

"You're interested in her?" Su Ruo smiled.

"Mm, her Garden of Words is excellent. Whether it's her art skill, story, paneling, or many other things, she's much stronger than me! It's hard to believe she's a newcomer."

"I really like The Garden of Words, and I'd love to meet her!"

"Meet that person? Why?" Su Ruo drank some tea and looked at Zhao Qinyin.

"Because I just feel she's so amazing. To achieve this much with her debut work, I kind of look up to her!" Zhao Qinyin said earnestly.

"Is that so? Then I think you'd better not meet her. It would ruin your fantasy about Teacher Shui Xin."

"I don't quite understand!" Zhao Qinyin was a little doubtful.

"Could it be that she's not like the rumored beautiful girl manga artist, but an auntie manga artist who's quite old?"

"Beautiful girl? Auntie?" Su Ruo was stunned at first, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"So that's what the rumors outside are saying about her?"

Zhao Qinyin didn't quite understand what Su Ruo was laughing about, so she didn't dwell on the question.

She asked the question she had been wanting to ask.

"Then will Teacher Shui Xin participate in the Serialization Meeting in two weeks?"

Just then, Su Ruo's mobile phone received a message. She checked it immediately.

"Oh, perfect... I've received a message from her!"

Su Ruo looked up at Zhao Qinyin.

"She replied to me, saying she will participate!"