Compared with Saturday's Annual Gala, Chu Yu was more concerned about Friday's Popularity Poll results.
Since the seventh and eighth chapters of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal had both claimed first place in Man Ying's Popularity Poll, as long as Chu Yu's work could hold onto first place again today, that would mean one of Luo Province's three Dragon Star Award slots belonged to Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal.
That was also why, even though Chu Yu had told Zhao Qinyin to take a few days off and not come over,
she and Su Ruo still showed up at Chu Yu's Home right on time.
Perhaps there was a certain pleasure in having everyone there together, waiting for the notification text!
How much support had the work received this week? Had its fanbase grown?
Still, the three of them seemed a little less tense than usual that evening.
After all, based on the previous week's results, Chapter Eight had received nearly ten thousand more votes than Secret Girl, with the total vote count coming close to fifty thousand.
Whether it was Secret Girl, Magic Realm, or Tian Shu, the threat they posed to Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal was relatively small by now.
"By the way, Chu Yu, Zhao Qinyin, tomorrow's Annual Gala starts at six in the evening and is expected to go until around midnight. It's at the Ming City Exhibition Center downtown. The company rented the whole place for the day, so be prepared. Don't get lost!" Su Ruo was practically draped over the heater. She had just come in from the subzero weather outside and was still shivering a little.
"Get lost?" Chu Yu asked, puzzled.
"Were you not going to drive us there tomorrow?"
"I'd like to, but to make sure nothing goes wrong at Mo Yu's Annual Gala, our Editorial Department has all been assigned tasks. I have to get there before noon, so you'll have to go on your own in the afternoon."
"Here, these are your invitations. Remember to bring them tomorrow, or you won't be allowed into the venue." As she spoke, Su Ruo took out two red invitations and handed them to Chu Yu and Zhao Qinyin.
"And Chu Yu, whether you like it or not, you're one of the top authors at Ink Fish Manga Company now. The company has arranged for you to go onstage near the end, when the gala is about to wrap up, and give a speech alongside some of Ink Fish's other well-known manga artists."
"When the time comes, just go up and say a few polite words. Say how grateful you are to the Manga Company for helping you achieve your current success, and thank the Editorial Department for its support, that sort of thing. Just show your face at the Annual Gala so everyone knows who you are. For the rest of the time, sit in the audience, eat and drink, and enjoy the performances." Su Ruo looked at Chu Yu.
"I have to give a speech too?"
"That sounds like such a hassle..." Chu Yu sighed.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have—"
"Don't complain. When your results weren't this good, you could still have turned down Ink Fish's invitation. But now? Forget it. It's the Ink Fish Annual Gala. How could they have their top manga artist skip it?" Su Ruo knew Chu Yu well enough to guess what he was thinking.
As they were talking,
Su Ruo's expression suddenly turned serious, and she pulled her phone from her pocket.
It was here?
Chu Yu and Zhao Qinyin immediately looked over.
"Mm!" Su Ruo glanced at her phone, then looked at the two of them, unable to hide her smile.
"Even though we all knew what the result would be, now we can finally relax!"
"First place."
"And the number of votes has gone up again. We've officially passed the fifty-thousand mark..."
"Hahaha..." As she spoke, Su Ruo couldn't help laughing.
She was trying to hold back, but her trembling shoulders showed Chu Yu just how happy she was.
"What's the matter? Isn't that a bit much?" Chu Yu was happy too, but Su Ruo's reaction was over the top.
"It's just... I was thinking that with us taking first this week, that means we've topped Man Ying for three weeks in a row."
"That means the Dragon Star Award slot is definitely going to Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal..."
"I just remembered how a certain someone brought up objections at a meeting a few weeks ago about who'd get this year's Dragon Star Award slot. He acted like victory was already in the bag..."
"I bet he's somewhere throwing a fit right now!"
"You're this happy over something like that? I doubt you'll be any happier when you get married!" Chu Yu shook his head.
"You're an adult now. Try to act dignified."
While Su Ruo laughed at someone, Dong Yun also received the text and learned this week's Popularity Poll rankings.
"We lost..."
Dong Yun's voice was quiet, but she wasn't too discouraged.
Dong Yun had always understood two things. First, she was talented and capable when it came to manga.
Second, there were people ahead of her on the path of manga who were even more capable and talented.
She had always assumed that the truly gifted manga artists had already gone to the bigger stage in Modu to show off their talents. She hadn't expected to meet someone like that in Luo Province, at Ink Fish Manga Company.
Losing the Dragon Star Award slot didn't matter much to Dong Yun. She had entered the Dragon Star Award selection twice before, only to be eliminated in the preliminary round.
Although her new work, Secret Girl, had received a better market response than her previous works, she had compared it with the works that were truly good enough to pass the preliminary round, and she wasn't confident.
This was fine, then. Since she'd been eliminated, she wouldn't have to agonize over the decision.
But Song Jiayu, standing in front of Dong Yun, didn't look nearly as composed.
Unlike Dong Yun, who could easily accept the fact that she'd lost, Song Jiayu was clearly taking it hard.
Even so, before the results came in, not just Chu Yu and the others but most people at Ink Fish had expected today's outcome. So Song Jiayu recovered fairly quickly.
"Come to think of it, apart from his editor, no one at our Manga Company has ever met that manga artist, right...?"
Song Jiayu lit a cigarette and looked at Dong Yun.
"That's right. He's hardly ever come to the Manga Company. His editor handles everything related to his work."
Dong Yun thought for a moment.
"Right now, manga artists all over Ming City are curious about him. Given how his work is doing, it might not be long before everyone recognizes him as the top manga artist in Luo Province."
"After all, the series has only reached Chapter Nine. It still has plenty of room to develop."
"The top manga artist in Luo Province..." Song Jiayu let out a long breath.
"Well, I'm looking forward to meeting him tomorrow."
"Who knows? Maybe that guy won't necessarily be my rival..."
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