Two weeks flew by, and during that time, the comic industry in Luo Province was rocked by quite a few upheavals.
After her contract expired, Dong Yun, one of Feng Yu Comics' top artists, chose not to renew with Feng Yu. Instead, she joined Mo Yu Comics, one of the three major publishers in Luo Province, and began serializing a new work.
In its previous issue, Man Ying had devoted a full five pages to the news. Mo Yu Comics had also promoted her new work, Secret Girl, in its other magazines. It was fair to say that Secret Girl had already made quite a name for itself in the comic industry and among readers, even before its serialization officially began.
By contrast, the other new work running in the same issue of Man Ying, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, had received almost no promotional support.
Most people in Mo Yu Comics' Editorial Department had initially suggested giving Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal at least the same promotional resources as a new work by one of the company's near-top-tier artists.
But Song Jiayu had argued at the meeting that its author, Shui Xin, was too inexperienced to deserve Mo Yu's promotional resources. The matter had gone no further.
Still, Shui Xin's name had been coming up a lot lately in the comic circles of Luo Province—or, more precisely, Ming City.
Outsiders might not know the inside story, but those of them who worked in the comic industry certainly did.
This newcomer had previously serialized just one work, The Garden of Words, in a magazine on the level of Ink Shadow. Yet his second work had received votes of support from numerous editors at Mo Yu Comics' serialization meeting, earning a spot only after beating out Dong Yun's new work, Secret Girl.
It had left the entire comic industry in Ming City dumbfounded. People could hardly believe it.
Mo Yu Comics had gone to all that trouble to poach Dong Yun. Surely they hadn't done it just to suppress her or put her in her place!
So what was going on?
Had Dong Yun's new work lost to a newcomer's? Or had Mo Yu canceled a work just to make room for her serialization?
Was this some kind of joke?
And according to insider reports, the new work by the newcomer called Shui Xin was excellent. He had won his place in the meeting fair and square, beating Secret Girl on the strength of his work.
So when the new issue of Man Ying came out today, many people in Luo Province's comic industry weren't just eager to see the quality of Dong Yun's new work. They were also intensely curious about Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal.
As a professional comic reviewer, Xiao Shan was naturally eager to read this issue of Man Ying as well.
Over the years, the literary world of the Dragon Kingdom had developed a business model based on regional boundaries.
Literature, novels, comics, and other works from each province generally circulated only within that province. They rarely managed to spread beyond its borders. It was a form of self-protection by local powers, but as a result, local publishers, magazines, and comic companies were unable to expand their reach.
It had its pros and cons.
But Xin Man Net, where Xiao Shan worked, was different. Because of the internet's unique nature, the real-world restrictions on regional distribution didn't apply online. As a result, Xin Man Net had won the favor of comic fans all across the Dragon Kingdom.
Comic fans from each province used the site to discuss outstanding works from their respective regions.
Over time, that demand had naturally given rise to professional comic reviewers like Xiao Shan.
Xin Man Net had one or two people like Xiao Shan in nearly every province. They were responsible for discovering the province's outstanding comics and writing reviews for the site.
This... was both his hobby and his job.
New issues of Man Ying were released every Friday.
It was the start of the students' weekend break.
Perhaps because Dong Yun's new work was appearing in this issue, sales of Man Ying were unusually brisk at bookstores and newsstands today.
Xiao Shan had to visit several bookstores before he found one that still had copies of the magazine in stock.
At the same time, after school that afternoon, plenty of students from primary and secondary schools headed to bookstores. After all, they were the largest audience for comic magazines!
Qin Qianyv was no exception. She bought this issue of Man Ying too. She had always liked buying Tian Yin Comics, which was published by Feng Yu Comics, since most of the works it serialized were shojo manga.
But first, Dong Yun, a well-known Tian Yin Comics artist, was now serializing her new work in Man Ying. And second, Qin Qianyv had spotted a small advertisement on the last page of the previous issue of Ink Shadow.
"Former Ink Shadow artist and author of The Garden of Words, Shui Xin, will begin serializing his new work, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, in the next issue of Man Ying. Don't miss it!"
After The Garden of Words ended, Shui Xin's fame had gradually faded. Now, two weeks later, hardly anyone mentioned the work or its author anymore.
Even her younger sister and cousins, who had been devoted fans of The Garden of Words, had almost stopped talking about Shui Xin after the series ended and time passed.
That was the reality of the comic industry. Without a classic, outstanding, long-running series, readers could forget you in just a few days.
If she hadn't known for certain that Chu Yu was Shui Xin, Qin Qianyv might have done the same. Although she had abruptly asked Chu Yu for his autograph that day, the two of them hadn't had much contact since.
But Chu Yu was always around her at school, so it was hard for Qin Qianyv to ignore him.
Once she realized Chu Yu had started a new series, she couldn't resist her curiosity as a fan of The Garden of Words. In the end, she bought a copy of this issue of Man Ying.
Only Chu Yu headed straight home after school.
To him, serializing Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal instead of The Garden of Words had merely meant that his pay had gone up from 220 yuan per page to 600.
He'd only gone from earning a little over 4,000 yuan a week to earning more than 10,000.
Thinking about it that way... Chu Yu suddenly found it hard to stay calm.
Had I actually become rich?
Compared with the 800 yuan a month that had once been enough for him, his income had now skyrocketed to nearly 50,000 Dragon Country currency a month.
He was a high earner even in a second-tier city like Luo City, let alone a first-tier city like Modu or Di Capital.
For a moment, Chu Yu felt a little lost.
The money didn't feel real at all. It seemed completely at odds with what school had taught him about how hard it was to make a living!
But his confusion vanished as soon as he went upstairs and saw Su Ruo standing outside his door with a huge bag of groceries.
"Have you really gotten addicted to mooching meals off me?" Chu Yu said coldly.
"What do you mean, mooching? Didn't I bring all the ingredients?" Su Ruo replied with a grin.
Ever since the three of them had shared a drink two weeks ago, their relationship had changed a little.
Beyond their professional ties, they seemed to be growing closer as friends.
At the very least, whenever Chu Yu ran into Zhao Qinyin at school lately, they stopped to chat for a bit.
They felt much less like strangers, and there was less wariness between them.
As for Su Ruo, ever since she'd come over last week to discuss some comic-related matters and Chu Yu had cooked a whole spread for her, she'd been showing up at his place every few days. Chu Yu was already too lazy to cook and usually ordered takeout, but she always brought a pile of ingredients she wanted to eat. She claimed she was making sure the artists under her care got proper nutrition and didn't get sick from eating takeout. In reality, she just wanted Chu Yu to cook for her.
Sigh...
Chu Yu was at a loss for words. He rolled his eyes at her, took out his key, and opened the door.
It was already December, and the temperature had plummeted. Every breath he exhaled turned to white mist.
Looking at the ingredients Su Ruo had bought, Chu Yu said,
"I can't be bothered to make anything fancy. Let's just throw everything into a hotpot and boil it together."
"Sure, sure! Whatever you say, Chef Chu!" Su Ruo said, then dashed over to the heater, turned it on, and settled down to watch TV.
Judging by the looks of it, Chu Yu would be doing all the work again.
He shook his head, but couldn't be bothered to complain. He washed the rice and vegetables, sliced the meat, and boiled the water...
Just as the food was nearly ready, someone knocked at the door.
Su Ruo ran over to open it.
It was Zhao Qinyin.
"You're here?" Chu Yu said with a nod.
"Perfect timing. Come join us for dinner!"
Today was the day the first episode of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal was released. It was also the first day Zhao Qinyin was due to come over, as they had agreed, to continue working as an assistant on the rest of the series.
Chu Yu had originally planned to take Zhao Qinyin out to eat, but since Su Ruo had brought groceries, there was no need to bother!
Zhao Qinyin had hesitated at first, but the two of them persuaded her.
The heater, the hotpot, the three of them sitting in a circle, and the steam rising from the bubbling broth.
For a moment, Chu Yu felt that his home had become much livelier. He hadn't experienced anything like this very often since his parents passed away.
Su Ruo smiled nonstop, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of Zhao Qinyin's mouth too. Chu Yu still didn't show much emotion, but his gaze had softened.
Unlike the relaxed dinner shared by Chu Yu, the author, his assistant, and his editor, Song Jiayu and Dong Yun were having dinner together at a Western restaurant.
"How did it go?" Dong Yun asked Song Jiayu.
"The popularity poll results are out."
"Magic Realm came in first, with over 35,000 votes."
"Secret Girl came in second, with over 31,000 votes."
"Tian Shu came in third, with just over 30,000 votes."
"Not bad. Secret Girl's first episode has already caught up with Man Ying's two original juggernauts. Now, with you in the mix, these three works are Man Ying's big three! If this momentum continues, it's only a matter of time before we reach the top!" Song Jiayu seemed to be in a good mood.
"What about Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal?" Dong Yun asked.
"That one?" Song Jiayu smiled.
"It seems the work hasn't quite found its footing here!"
"After twelve hours, it had only just passed 4,000 votes, putting it eleventh among the twenty works serialized in Man Ying. It looks like my guess was right. The work's quality may be excellent, but having an RB person as the protagonist is a huge drawback! On top of that, I used my influence to divert the promotional resources originally meant for this work to Secret Girl." Song Jiayu sneered.
"Even a great work can go unnoticed if it's hidden away. Being published on a major platform doesn't guarantee a hit. Quality is important, but so is promotion. Otherwise, Man Ying wouldn't cancel so many works every year."
"Maybe this issue will be the work's peak. Its popularity could keep falling until it gets canceled," Song Jiayu said.
"We don't know how things will turn out yet, so don't jump to conclusions." Dong Yun was wearing light makeup today, but even her lovely cosmetics couldn't hide the gravity on her face.
"You said before that the work really shines in the third episode, especially in the final scene. Since the first issue has room for two episodes of each new series, both Rurouni Kenshin and Secret Girl ran two episodes."
"So until next week's Man Ying serialization poll results come out, we can't decide how well this work is doing."
Before you continue