Assistant

After hearing Chu Yu out, Su Ruo thought for a few seconds, then nodded.

To be honest, he'd intended to draw the first three chapters of the manga from the start. Su Ruo had simply interrupted his train of thought.

But when all was said and done, Chu Yu had already finished more than a third of the work. Why not just go ahead and finish it?

After all, other manga artists submitted only storyboards at serialization meetings for two reasons. First, that was all the manga company required. Second, drawing the full manuscript took too much time. If the series didn't get approved, all that work would go to waste.

But Chu Yu didn't have that worry. Unlike Su Ruo, who had read only one chapter and couldn't make heads or tails of the plot of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, he'd read the entire story from beginning to end.

Chu Yu didn't think there was any chance the work wouldn't even get an opportunity to serialize. Even if Man Ying rejected the proposal, surely some other magazine would give it a chance!

Either way, he'd have to draw it sooner or later. If he put in a little more effort now, things would be easier later.

Besides, Su Ruo had said that submitting the full manuscript at the serialization meeting would give the reviewing editors a much clearer impression of the work and help it stand out.

Su Ruo looked at Chu Yu and let out a soft sigh.

"I've been an editor for a long time. If nothing else, when it comes to how seriously you take your own work, you're definitely one of the best."

"Other manga artists even have assistants, and I visit them three to five times a week. Sometimes I practically camp out at their homes and watch them draw, and even then, they can barely manage one chapter a week."

"And you're facing three chapters in two weeks all by yourself, yet you don't even bat an eye..."

"Okay, okay, enough with the pleasantries!"

"Now that I've made up my mind, I don't have time to sit around chatting with you, Su Laoda. If there's nothing else, I'm going back to work. There's tea, fruit, and internet at home, so make yourself comfortable. I can't entertain you—I've got to draw. I can't waste another second!" Chu Yu grabbed a can of coffee, gulped it down, and headed for his drawing desk.

Su Ruo raised an eyebrow. She was about to complain about Chu Yu calling her Su Laoda again, but when she saw how pale he looked and the dark circles around his eyes, she decided not to bother him over it.

Watching Chu Yu's tired expression turn focused the moment he picked up his pen, Su Ruo found herself feeling much more confident about the serialization meeting two weeks away.

He was talented, and he worked hard. How could someone like that not succeed?

"Hey... Chu Yu!" Su Ruo watched him draw in silence for a few minutes, then interrupted him.

"I have a suggestion..."

"A suggestion? What is it?" Chu Yu looked up.

"Of course, I have complete faith in how fast you draw, and I believe in your ability."

"But no matter how you look at it, three chapters in two weeks, all by yourself, is too much work..."

"You have school during the day and can only draw at night. Staying up late every day like this—even if your work gets approved at the serialization meeting, you'll have wrecked your health for nothing..."

"After it gets approved, you'll have to start serializing it for real. You can't keep working yourself this hard and staying up all night indefinitely, can you?"

At her words, Chu Yu fell silent for a moment. He knew this wasn't sustainable.

"So what's your suggestion...?"

"Have you thought about hiring an assistant?" Su Ruo looked at Chu Yu.

"An assistant?" Chu Yu furrowed his brow.

To be honest, he'd considered it before. But first, he didn't think he had much money, and second, he didn't know any other manga artists. So the idea had never gone beyond idle speculation.

But Su Ruo's suggestion made him take another look at his situation.

He could push himself like this for a while, but what about in the long run? The first three chapters of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal had already left him scrambling. What would happen once the series actually started? And what if he went on to draw a long-running series that took years to finish? Would he keep working himself to the bone every day?

At this rate, he'd probably drop dead before he turned twenty-five!

After thinking it over, Chu Yu explained to Su Ruo why it was difficult for him to hire a manga assistant.

First, he didn't have much money. He couldn't afford an assistant who charged a lot, but if he hired someone cheap, he was worried their skill level might be too low and compromise the quality of his manuscript.

Second, he didn't know any manga assistants. Even if he wanted to hire one, he had no idea where to look.

"You're right. Money is an issue!" Su Ruo nodded.

"From what I know, short-term manga assistants in Ming City charge around eighty yuan per page. Your payment for The Garden of Words is only two hundred and twenty yuan per page..."

Manga artists had a rough time before they made a name for themselves. They couldn't afford assistants and had to do everything themselves. Working from nine to nine, six days a week, was just part of the job.

Only major manga artists, who made money from collected volumes and selling the rights to their work, could afford to hire several assistants without worrying about the cost.

At Chu Yu's level, even with the income from The Garden of Words, hiring an assistant would still be a bit of a stretch.

"What do you think? My personal recommendation is that you hire a short-term assistant to help you finish the rest of the manga over the next week. I'm worried that if you keep staying up late every day, the quality of your drawings will suffer later on." Su Ruo thought it over, then gave Chu Yu her honest opinion.

"As for who to hire..." Su Ruo paused to think.

"I happen to know someone who's free right now..."

"You don't have to worry about her drawing skills. I've often recommended her to other manga artists as an assistant, so she's perfectly capable of doing the job. More importantly... she's a fan of yours!"

"A fan of mine? Of The Garden of Words?" Chu Yu asked.

"That's right... And she's a real beauty, too!" Su Ruo looked at Chu Yu with a teasing expression.

A real beauty? I bet she's some burly guy who never washes his feet!

Chu Yu didn't believe a word Su Ruo said.

"Of course, it's entirely up to you."

"As your editor, all I can do is point you in the right direction."

Chu Yu leaned against the wall and thought it over carefully.

First of all, if he wanted to keep pursuing a career in manga and go further with it, sooner or later he'd have to hire a few assistants and set up a studio.

Besides, Su Ruo was only suggesting a short-term assistant. At eighty yuan per page, he'd already finished one chapter himself, leaving a little over forty pages across the other two. Hiring an assistant for that would cost just over three thousand yuan, which he could afford.

Otherwise, if he kept pushing himself alone for another week, he might genuinely damage his health!

Looking further ahead, if his work was approved at the serialization meeting next Friday, he'd need to hire an assistant anyway to balance school and manga. In that case, this week could be a trial run for him and his assistant before the new series began.

And if Rurouni Kenshin didn't get approved, he wouldn't lose much.

Chu Yu wasn't one to dither. Once he'd thought it through, he made up his mind.

"Then I'll leave it to you to find an assistant, Su Laoda!" Chu Yu nodded at Su Ruo.

"You said it again!"

Su Ruo couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Chu Yu's cheeks with both hands and pulled them apart.

"How many times have I told you?"

"Don't call me Su Laoda!"

Chu Yu winced in pain and hurriedly said,

"Sister Su, I was wrong, I was wrong!"