Identity

The next day, the English Teacher saw Chu Yu passed out on his desk, snoring loudly. He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to yell at him.

In his eyes, Chu Yu was a typical case of self-abandonment. Many students in their Third Year of High School were like this. He shook his head.

They were all seventeen or eighteen years old. Some were in the intense final year of high school, pouring all their effort into their studies, hoping to get into a good university.

Others, like Chu Yu, didn't care much about whether they went to university or not. Instead, they had already embarked on a different career path.

The only reason Chu Yu hadn't taken leave to draw manga was to at least ensure his attendance rate in high school so he could get his diploma!

And then there were some, like Zhao Qinyin, who, despite their excellent academic performance, had their minds elsewhere.

At this moment, Zhao Qinyin was in class, but she was also happily chatting with someone on her phone inside her desk drawer.

"Okay, it's settled then..."

"Tonight, I'll take you to his place to meet!"

The person she was chatting with on Weixin replied.

"Mhm!"

Although Zhao Qinyin found it strange that the person sent "he" instead of "she," she didn't think much of it. Maybe they had made a mistake.

Inside a Western Restaurant, a man and a woman were drinking and chatting happily.

"Deputy Editor-in-Chief Song, after thinking about your proposal for a while, I've basically made up my mind..."

"However, before we finalize this, please allow me one last question. Can you truly guarantee that I'll have the opportunity to serialize my work in one of the Modu Seven Greats...?" The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, with a beautiful appearance and an elegant demeanor.

"No, Teacher Dong Yun, you might have misunderstood," Song Jiayu took a sip of his Red Wine, then looked at her intently.

"I only said there's an opportunity, not that I can guarantee it. After all, you know, even though my Father holds considerable influence in the Modu Manga Industry, this kind of matter... ultimately depends on Teacher Dong Yun's own strength and performance!"

When he said "performance," Song Jiayu raised his eyebrows and emphasized his tone, seemingly hinting at something.

The woman named Dong Yun seemed to understand the underlying meaning of his words. She lowered her head and remained silent for several minutes.

After a long while...

"Then I'll trouble you with everything, Editor-in-Chief Song!" Dong Yun looked up.

"To our pleasant cooperation!" Song Jiayu extended his hand to Dong Yun with a smile.

"Pleasant cooperation!" Dong Yun shook hands with Song Jiayu.

Song Jiayu looked at Teacher Dong Yun, as if thinking of something. After a long while, he let go of her hand.

"Dealing with smart people like Teacher Dong Yun is so much less troublesome. Unlike some people..."

"Some people?"

"It's nothing, just some junior employee in our magazine agency..."

Teacher Dong Yun nodded thoughtfully.

"Since I've already decided to transfer my new work from Feng Yu Comics to Ink Fish Manga Company, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Song must already have an idea for the serialization arrangement of my new work! After all, I already announced in Luo Province that the new work will be serialized soon!"

"I wonder if any works in your company's periodical, Man Ying, are nearing completion. If so, that would be best. If not... please have Deputy Editor-in-Chief Song choose an unpopular work to make way for me!"

Teacher Dong Yun's words were spoken lightly. Considering her status at Feng Yu, only Man Ying was a suitable periodical for her new serialization after moving to Ink Fish.

"Please don't worry, Teacher Dong Yun. I've read the first few chapters of your new work. To be honest, the quality is significantly higher compared to your previous works. Next week, our manga company will have a serialization meeting to discuss the vacancy left by a completed work on Man Ying..."

In the afternoon, the class dismissal bell rang with a dang dang dang. A group of students rushed out, preparing to go home.

Chu Yu raised his head, his eyes still heavy with sleep. He looked at the orange-red sunset outside the window and the classroom that was quickly emptying.

"Is it this late already?" Chu Yu heavily slapped his own face, trying to wake himself up.

He didn't linger. He got up, ready to go home. After all, once he got home, there would be another long night of work.

"Wait a moment, Chu Yu... classmate!"

Just as Chu Yu was about to reach the classroom door, a voice called out to him!

Chu Yu stopped and turned his head.

At this moment, besides him, only one girl remained in the classroom.

The girl had delicate features, her large eyes darting around nervously. Her expression was somewhat unnatural and hesitant, but in the end, she spoke.

"Chu Yu... I want to ask you a favor!"

Chu Yu looked at Qin Qianyv, the class monitor.

"What is it?"

"It's just... can you, can you... sign your name on these two pieces of paper for me!"

Qin Qianyv finally took out two autograph papers and a pen, placing them on the desk.

She regretted it a little. Why had she enthusiastically joined the discussion yesterday when she saw her younger sister and female cousin also reading the manga "The Garden of Words"?

And she even bragged to the two of them that she knew Teacher Shui Xin, the author of The Garden of Words, and that she and Shui Xin were very close friends.

The result was... the two of them, half-believing and half-doubting, demanded that she get them two autographs from Teacher Shui Xin!

This put her in a difficult spot. Although she had almost confirmed that Chu Yu was Shui Xin, the author of The Garden of Words, it was different from the boasts she made to her female cousin and younger sister. She and Chu Yu had been in the same class for two full months since the start of the semester, and they had spoken fewer than twenty sentences.

Normally, Chu Yu would either hang out with a few close friends in the class, or he would sleep or space out. He sat in the back row, giving off an aura of "do not approach."

Qin Qianyv wasn't outgoing to begin with. Although she herself was reading The Garden of Words and was even a semi-fan of the work, she had never had the chance to talk to Chu Yu.

If she hadn't been provoked by the scornful looks of her younger sister and female cousin yesterday, who accused her of bragging, and boasted that she could get Shui Xin's autograph today, she wouldn't have specifically stayed in the classroom to call out to Chu Yu.

"Autographs?" Chu Yu looked at her, puzzled. What kind of bizarre request was this?

"Why?"

Qin Qianyv suddenly became nervous.

What should I do? Should I reveal this secret?

The secret Qin Qianyv was referring to wasn't that Chu Yu was Shui Xin; that couldn't be a secret to Chu Yu.

The secret was that she knew Chu Yu's true identity.

"Because..."

Qin Qianyv took a deep breath, having made up her mind.

"My younger sisters are your fans..."

"So, I want you to give me one autograph."

"Uh, no, two."

She didn't say that she herself was also one of Chu Yu's fans, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Fans?" Chu Yu's heart skipped a beat.

What the heck, I've been exposed? Impossible!

"Uh, what are you talking about? I don't understand." Chu Yu forced a smile onto his stiff face.

After Qin Qianyv explained the situation, she felt much more relaxed.

Although she had kept this secret to herself for a long time, holding onto it had made her uncomfortable.

It seemed like it was good to just say it out loud.

"Chu Yu, how should I put it... you're really not suited for lying..." Looking at Chu Yu, Qin Qianyv took out a comic book from her desk drawer and flipped to the section of The Garden of Words.

What she wanted to express was already very clear!

Chu Yu wanted to say something else, but after seeing Qin Qianyv's eyes, he stopped himself from saying anything.

After all, pretending to be foolish in front of a smart person was like being a clown.

"You, how did you know?" Chu Yu's words were equivalent to admitting that he was Shui Xin.

"Do you remember two months ago, when I was looking for materials, I found a stack of comics in your desk drawer?" Qin Qianyv said.

"So it was that time..." Chu Yu remembered that incident after Qin Qianyv reminded him.

After all, it was only natural for his identity to be guessed when the original manuscript, usually only found in a manga artist's hands, was seen!

"You have a really good memory!" After all, two weeks had passed between the comic's publication and that accident, yet Chu Yu hadn't expected Qin Qianyv to actually buy Ink Shadow, nor that she would recognize the work after such a long time.

This meant that Qin Qianyv had known about his secret activities for so long without revealing anything.

As expected... she was a woman with a deep personality. It was better to stay away from such people.

"Two autographs, right?"

Although Chu Yu didn't quite understand why anyone would be enthusiastic about such things, it was just a matter of two autographs.

He walked forward, and with two quick strokes, he signed his pen name, Shui Xin, on the two autograph papers. He didn't intend to say anything more and turned to walk towards the classroom door.

He urgently wanted to leave. The exposure of his identity as a manga artist felt like his diary being read, making him feel very awkward and embarrassed.

Moreover, the plot of The Garden of Words was about the entanglement between a teacher and a student, which made Chu Yu feel even worse and just want to leave quickly.

"Well, right, Class Monitor, it's about this matter. Please continue to keep it a secret for me." Chu Yu turned his head and looked at Qin Qianyv.

If Qin Qianyv were to spread this matter around, and all the students in the school knew he drew a comic about teacher-student emotional entanglements, the thought alone was enough to make him cringe.

"Don't worry." Qin Qianyv nodded.

"I won't gossip!"

She wouldn't connect the comic's content with Chu Yu's reality. Because the teachers at the school were all middle-aged women in their forties and fifties. If they were all young teachers, then perhaps she might have other thoughts.

"By the way, what's the ending of The Garden of Words?" Qin Qianyv asked abruptly before Chu Yu could leave.

"Did Yukino resign?"

The plot of the fifth chapter was at a critical juncture where Yukino was preparing to resign, and the male protagonist had just learned that Yukino was his teacher at the same school.

Now, the sixth chapter of The Garden of Words was released tomorrow, and the seventh chapter would be released next Wednesday. Although Chu Yu was already preparing his new work, the public's understanding of him was still limited to The Garden of Words.

"You'll know next week. I never give spoilers!"

Chu Yu stopped in his tracks, took a serious look at Qin Qianyv, and then left the classroom.