Development

What if the post gets taken down?

At once, the pirated-comic fans browsing Xin Man Net thought of what that could mean, and panicked.

Xin Man Net didn't take down pirated posts for a series as a joke. Once one was removed, you wouldn't find a single other pirated post about that series anywhere on the site.

"What can we do? Guess we'll just have to stop reading!"

"Easy for you to say, guy above. Just don't come begging for a link in private once the post gets taken down."

"I've already added the OP as a friend. If the post really gets removed, I'll ask him to send me the files directly."

Under that reply, a crowd left their email addresses, not even bothering to ask whether the OP was willing to forward the files. They all added the same message: "Layer Owner, you're a good person. Thanks!"

But further down, one reply drew a lot of comments.

"I'm from Luo Province too, and I own a bookstore in Ming City, the provincial capital. I also sell things on Tianmao as a side business, mostly the Four Treasures of the Study and such. If this post really gets taken down, you can search for 'Ming City Old Wang' on Tianmao. I can mail the serialized issues of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal to anyone who wants them... I work for Man Ying, of course, so I'll charge a small handling fee..."

Ming City Old Wang was a simple, easy-to-remember name. It rhymed, and even had a hint of green to it.

A crowd replied beneath his post.

"Got it, Old Wang. If this post really gets taken down, I'll buy the issues from you and read the official release."

"I didn't like reading pirated copies anyway. The OP's phone camera is so blurry it makes my eyes hurt. Since you don't mind the trouble, I'll buy the issues from you and follow the series once the post gets taken down..."

"Sounds good. This way, we can show the author some support too..."

"Don't be naive, guy above. You're only supporting the manga company. The author, Shui Xin, won't get a single extra cent..."

Soon, another week passed. The sixth installment of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal came out in Man Ying's latest issue, bringing the Lost Cat arc to a close.

The story showed the Shinsengumi surrounding the place where Kenshin was staying. After a fierce battle, Kenshin and Ba fought their way out of the encirclement. Under Gui's arrangements, the two would temporarily hide away in a place he'd found, posing as husband and wife...

The final scene showed Xuedai Ba walking behind Kenshin, unable to stop herself from grasping the sword at her side...

What the heck?

Was Teacher Shui Xin up to something again?

It was another familiar cliffhanger, leaving readers hanging. But the Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal fans in Luo Province grumbled as they opened their phones and computers, logged into the voting page, and readily cast their votes for Rurouni Kenshin.

Friday was a good day. It was both the day Man Ying's issue came out and the last day of the school week.

After school, Chu Yu hurried home. Zhao Qinyin, his assistant, soon followed.

The two could have met up at school and gone to Chu Yu's home together, but Chu Yu had considered how good the school's gossipmongers were at spreading rumors, so he'd never done that.

But today was rather unusual.

Usually, on the day Man Ying's weekly issue came out, Su Ruo would arrive at Chu Yu's home early. But today, Chu Yu had nearly finished cooking, and she still hadn't appeared.

Chu Yu checked his phone, but there was no message from Su Ruo.

He checked the time. It was already nearly seven in the evening... Knowing Su Ruo, if she weren't coming, she would have let him know on WeChat. But there'd been no message at all. Had something held her up?

"Zhao Qinyin, are you hungry?" Chu Yu asked, looking at Zhao Qinyin, who had gone straight into his home and flopped down at the drawing desk.

But she seemed so absorbed in her work that Chu Yu had to call her several more times before she responded.

"N-no, I'm not hungry... Let's wait a while! We can eat together after Sister Su gets here..."

"Sure..." Chu Yu thought for a moment, then went over to the desk and began drawing the original pages for the eighth installment of Rurouni Kenshin.

Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal had four sections. The first, The Executioner, focused on Protagonist Kenshin's origins and background, and introduced the key character, Xuedai Ba, at the end.

The second, Lost Cat, explored the environment and era in which the protagonist and Xuedai Ba lived in greater depth.

The third section, Yoshioka, was where the two characters' relationship developed and deepened. Sent to the countryside by Gui, the two posed as husband and wife. After spending so much time together, they fell in love.

But it was also in this section that the truth came out in Xuedai Ba's memories: Kenshin had killed her fiancé. She had approached him in the first place solely to take revenge... The seeds of their tragedy were planted here...

The first two sections of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal were certainly exciting, but they still weren't quite classic. The reason Chu Yu had confidently told Su Ruo and Zhao Qinyin that he intended to reach the top of Man Ying's rankings was that he knew just how brilliant the last two sections, Yoshioka and Cross Scar, were.

Those two sections took the story of Trust and Betrayal to a whole new level in content, depth, and excitement.

When Su Ruo submitted her proposal to serialize Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, Chu Yu had drawn the names for nine installments and given them to her to help her make her case at the serialization meeting.

After that, because the first issue of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal featured an expanded serialization, the first two installments were combined into one and published together in the debut issue.

So although Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal had originally been planned to run for sixteen installments, it would actually run for fifteen issues of Man Ying.

Now, Chu Yu and Zhao Qinyin were working together on the eighth installment—the finished version of the ninth installment's name that Su Ruo had brought to the serialization meeting.

Since Chu Yu had drawn so many names in one go, he hadn't drawn any more afterward.

From this point on, Chu Yu was the only person in the world who knew what would happen in Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal.

Since Chu Yu was already drawing this installment, that meant he'd completed more than half of the series.

In another two months, it would be finished...

As Chu Yu was thinking about all this, someone knocked on the door.

When he opened it, it was Su Ruo, just as he'd expected.

Snow clung to her light red down jacket, and her face was red from the cold.

As soon as she came in, she made a beeline for the heater.

"I'm starving! I'm starving!"

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet. The food's ready, but we haven't started eating," Chu Yu said.

"Perfect. Let's eat first. I've got something to discuss, and it's a bit complicated, so we can talk while we eat." Su Ruo let out a long breath.

At the dinner table.

"You said there was something you wanted to talk about. What is it?" Chu Yu asked.

Su Ruo took a sip of hot tea and looked up at Chu Yu.

"I don't know if you've ever heard of... the Dragon Star Award!"