Thoughts

"Alright, the work that will fill Man Ying's vacancy in two weeks has been decided. The remaining time will be used to discuss the allocation of the other shortlisted works..." Pang Feng said.

The serialization meeting for Man Ying's vacancy would cause many veteran manga artists to submit numerous excellent works at the same time. However, no matter how many excellent manga were proposed for serialization together, only one work could ultimately be published in Man Ying.

Therefore, after selecting the manga work to replace Man Ying's vacancy, the other excellent works would also be arranged one by one in the meeting to be serialized in other periodicals.

Soon, the meeting room was once again filled with noisy chatter.

Only two people did not participate.

One was Su Ruo, and the other was Song Jiayu.

The work Su Ruo brought was the final winner, so there was naturally no need to participate in the placement of the rejected works. As for Song Jiayu, it was also unnecessary.

After all, it was Dong Yun's new work. Although it was rejected, considering Dong Yun's status and fan base in the Luo Province manga industry, it was inevitable to cut a work with declining popularity from Man Ying or transfer it to another periodical to make way for Secret Girl.

In other words, in the near future, two new works, Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance and Secret Girl, which were pillars of Ink Fish Manga Company's periodicals, would both be published in Man Ying.

It was inevitable that new works serialized in the same periodical at the same time would create a popularity competition between them.

Both Song Jiayu and Su Ruo understood in their hearts that the conflict between them in the meeting room today was just the beginning...

"It's approved!"

Zhao Qinyin, who had been restless all morning and constantly refreshing her Weixin, couldn't help but tremble when she saw this message from Su Ruo.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Although she wanted to calm herself down, her heart refused to steady.

After all, she was a manga artist who had failed for three years. When her work was finally recognized, even she couldn't suppress the excitement within her.

Although she was only an assistant for this manga, no matter what, it was difficult for her to remain calm knowing that a manga she had worked on would be serialized on a platform like Man Ying.

"Let's all go out to celebrate tonight!"

Su Ruo sent another message.

Zhao Qinyin knew that the "everyone" Su Ruo mentioned, besides the two of them, also included Chu Yu.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhao Qinyin sent a message.

"Okay!"

Chu Yu, in the adjacent classroom, also received the message from Su Ruo at almost the same time.

"Is it approved?" A smile finally appeared on Chu Yu's face, which was usually devoid of expression.

Although he believed Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance surpassed any work serialized on Man Ying, as the ancients said:

A thousand-mile horse needs a Bole to realize its talent.

There are countless examples of excellent works being buried for various reasons, so he was unsure about this Serialization Meeting.

But judging by the current situation, his previous worries were unfounded.

As for the celebration Su Ruo proposed afterward, he readily agreed.

Soon, the boring school time ended.

It was already afternoon.

Monday mornings had the flag-raising ceremony, and Friday afternoons had the flag-lowering ceremony.

The school field was crowded, the same familiar formation, the same familiar position.

Chu Yu stood in the first row.

Not far away, Zhao Qinyin, the student council president of Fifth Middle School, the Class Monitor of Class Six Senior Three, and the top student in her grade, walked over slowly in a blue and white school uniform, attracting the eyes of many male students.

Normally, she would walk to the center of the formation, a position slightly to Chu Yu's front left.

However, today, she paused as she passed Chu Yu and looked at him.

Her action also drew a lot of attention.

"Congratulations on getting the serialization opportunity!"

Zhao Qinyin's face, which was always indifferent to anyone, showed a slight change.

Although not very obvious, the slightly upturned corners of her mouth made her already beautiful face even more captivating.

A group of boys around stared blankly.

What's going on?

Did Zhao Qinyin... just speak to a male student from Class Three?

And... did she smile at that male student?

This was the first time Chu Yu had seen Zhao Qinyin smile in the nearly two weeks they had been creating comics together.

Although it was just a slight, faint smile, it still made Chu Yu daze.

After all, this past week, besides acting as his assistant, the only time her face showed a serious expression was when she was dealing with the comic. At all other times, she had calm eyes, a calm expression, and a calm tone.

And once she started working, she absolutely wouldn't rest until her daily tasks were completed, even if it meant working until midnight.

This made Chu Yu, who now had an assistant, once think Zhao Qinyin was an emotionless manga-drawing robot. He would draw for a bit, then go scroll through his phone or stretch his shoulders.

Zhao Qinyin didn't linger in front of Chu Yu for long. Before Chu Yu could figure out how to respond, she had already moved to her usual spot.

Soon, the flag-raising ceremony began, and the national anthem played.

Fortunately, Zhao Qinyin didn't faint this time. She was alert the entire time, which made Chu Yu breathe a sigh of relief.

Night, a certain restaurant.

"So, you're saying 'Secret Girl' lost to a newcomer's work at the Serialization Meeting?"

A woman with a clear and beautiful appearance frowned as she looked at the man opposite her.

"It was just an accident," Song Jiayu said.

"And it doesn't matter. After discussions at the manga company, a work on Man Ying will be canceled in two weeks to make way for your New Work..."

"Is it that outstanding?" Dong Yun interrupted Song Jiayu. It was a given that her work would be serialized on Man Ying, and she didn't want to hear Song Jiayu talk about this.

"That work."

Song Jiayu was silent for a long time before finally saying.

"That's right!"

"It's very impressive!"

"How impressive?" Dong Yun asked with curiosity.

Song Jiayu thought for a moment and said, "I think... if today's meeting wasn't to fill a vacancy on Man Ying, but a serialization meeting for a flagship magazine under one of the Modu Seven Greats, that work would have had a great chance."

"You... are serious?" Dong Yun sounded somewhat incredulous.

"A newcomer, with that work, could make the flagship magazines of the Modu Seven Greats overlook his past achievements and qualifications to publish that work?"

The top magazines under the Modu Seven Greats were all monster publications with nationwide distribution channels and weekly sales in the millions.

The Manga Artists serialized on them were all renowned figures in the Dragon Country manga industry, where both skill and qualifications were indispensable.

Even for a top Manga Artist like Dong Yun from Luo Province, she still lacked the necessary status and qualifications to have her work serialized by one of the Modu Seven Greats.

The reason Song Jiayu was trying to poach Dong Yun was because Song Jiayu had promised to use his internal connections to provide some assistance if Dong Yun submitted her work to "Nirvana," the flagship magazine under Phoenix Manga Company, one of the Modu Seven Greats.

For this, she sacrificed a lot. At least, now she is not only a Manga Artist under Song Jiayu, but also officially Song Jiayu's new girlfriend...

Now, Song Jiayu telling her that a Newcomer's work could be this good...

Made her feel a bit ridiculous.

"Did you just say my work will be serialized on Man Ying in two weeks?" Dong Yun took a deep breath.

"If I remember correctly, the manga that stepped on my work to rise to fame is also publishing its first chapter on Man Ying in two weeks!"

"That's right," Song Jiayu said.

"Understood!" Dong Yun nodded.

"So what are you planning to do?" Dong Yun asked.

"I... haven't thought of it yet!" Song Jiayu rubbed his forehead, his eyes calculating something!

"Let's see how things go first. After all, although all of us editors are optimistic about that work, to be honest, its theme has some issues. The protagonist is an RB person, and the story is set on RB Island. Perhaps the audience won't like this setting, causing it to flop? Works with minority protagonists might not do well in Luo Province, let alone the fact that the story takes place before RB Island was conquered by Dragon Country. The audience's sense of immersion would be even weaker. Let's wait and see the market reaction to that work first."