I, who tortured the readers, was knocked to the ground by them!

Chapter 140 April's story begins

Chapter 140 April's story begins
"Hey, I almost didn't recognize you. I thought you would be wearing clothes that looked more like students."

After receiving the news, Shinkawa Aimi, who was wearing a suit and waiting for the two at the door, showed a surprised expression when she saw them.

Hanase Shion said, "This kind of important occasion needs to be treated seriously, both emotionally and logically."

"Yeah, that's right, she's really beautiful!" Shinkawa Aimi praised Hanase Shion, then nudged Sakurai Itsuki with her elbow. "Hey, Mr. Nagayama, she's so beautiful, why not try to pursue her? She'll definitely be a girlfriend that everyone will envy."

"Editor Shinkawa, stop joking around." Hanase Shion complained.

But her complaint was obviously unconvincing. Before the two people's identities were exposed, Shinkawa Ai, who was caught in the middle, knew too well their attitudes towards each other.

That's why she made such a joke in front of me.

Sakurai Itsuki said: "There's nothing I can do. You have to understand. After all, some people are almost thirty and still can't get married, so it's reasonable to worry about others."

Shinkawa Aimei faced this sarcasm with a nonchalant smile: "Haha, you're attacking me because Shiyin is unhappy? That's quite sensible!"

Sakurai Itsuki said: "If I don't help my original artist, who will?"

Upon hearing this, Hanase Shion lowered her head and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this topic anymore."

I thought to myself, he always bullies me, but it turns out he would speak up for me in front of others. Or is it because I dress so beautifully that he helps me?
Men are indeed such creatures.
"Ah, this is that genius who's so ridiculously talented that he seems to be cheating. I finally get to see you in person."

The three of them entered the venue while chatting. A well-known cartoonist, or a well-known old thief, saw the two young men and immediately came over with a glass of wine.

And beside him, there was another equally famous senior.

"Hello, teachers. I'm the original artist whose work will be serialized in the monthly magazine. It's a pleasure to meet you both. It's our first meeting, so please take care of me."

Hane Shion solemnly introduced herself to the two seniors, with an indescribable excitement on her face.

These two people are rarely seen at ordinary annual meetings, especially the enemy cartoonist next to them who should not appear at Shueisha's annual meeting.

If that social terrorist Sato Wakaba were here, she would definitely shout out the socially fatal "Moon Prism Power Transformation" without caring whether others were embarrassed or not.

"Haha, don't be so formal, just be casual, I'm not one to stick to rules." Togashi smiled, "Look, I've brought this girl here. According to the rules, she, an 'enemy of Kodansha', has no right to come in."

The very beautiful middle-aged woman listened to her husband's teasing and smiled brightly: "Hello, I am the enemy who was brought in as an exception, Takeuchi Naoko, or you can call me Togashi Naoko."

"Hello, I'm Haruki Nagayama." Because the two of them agreed to be casual, Sakurai Itsuki was not as serious as Hane Shion, and according to convention, he reported his pen name.

"Ah, nice to meet you guys. Come to think of it, you're really young! This guy and I had originally agreed to spend New Year's Eve together at home with me, but he insisted on coming to meet such an amazing young person. After a bit of a fight, he finally made an exception and brought me along."

Naoko complained about her husband elegantly.

"This guy, he's already old, but he's always causing trouble for others. But I also read your comics and I really want to meet you."

"Well, my name is Yoshihiro Togashi. I love both of your paintings. It's great that you can collaborate. I'm looking forward to it."

Togashi, who felt a little "pitiful" because of his wife's complaints, also heard the news that the two of them were going to work together to start a new series.

"Well, it's my pleasure."

Hane Shion still seemed polite and a little reserved, and she was looking at this well-known couple in the industry in her heart.

At the time, Togashi, a recognized genius cartoonist, and Naoko, a young lady cartoonist, fell in love and got married, which is also an extremely romantic story in the industry.

And now, after so many years, look at their reactions
Still in love.

Come to think of it, they look quite similar. A genius cartoonist and a young lady cartoonist.

Hane Shion's thoughts couldn't help but drift elsewhere.

Sakurai Itsuki was entangled by the excited Togashi.

"Oh, that's so unfair! How can someone be so talented and so good-looking?"

Unlike other cartoonists who are a bit socially anxious, Togashi, who is quite good at interpersonal communication, started talking right away and started chatting enthusiastically.

"This combination of a beautiful girl and a handsome boy is like something out of a boys' comic. Ah, I'm not envious of having such a partner. After all, this beautiful girl in my family has also helped me draw pictures."

Noticing the gaze of the female cartoonist next to him, Togashi quickly explained.

"Really? I'm not a pretty girl anymore. Don't say such things in front of young people." Naoko patted her husband's arm and complained.

On the other side, Hane Shion heard the happiness that was revealed inadvertently and felt a longing in her heart.

I wish I could hold his arm like this many years later and gently blame him.

"5 Centimeters per Second, Goodbye Eri, and Flame Fist, they're all amazing! By the way, I really care about how to understand the ending of Goodbye Eri. It confused my thinking when I was judging it, and I didn't feel like a judge at all." Togashi turned around and continued talking about comics.

"You're ruining the fun by asking so many questions. Don't you also like to create stream-of-consciousness works? How come you don't understand this?" Naoko interrupted.

"Haha, that's right. I heard that your new work will be serialized in the first issue after the new year. Although this request is a bit excessive, can I have a special privilege and take a look first? I'm really looking forward to it."

Although Togashi is no longer able to draw comics himself, he still has a great passion for comics.

"I do have it on my phone. I can add you on Line and send you the file." Sakurai Itsuki nodded, then turned to his partner and asked, "What do you think?"

"of course can!"

While listening to the conversation, Hanase Shion, who had accidentally been distracted elsewhere, came back to her senses and nodded quickly: "I'm so happy that the two seniors are reading our comics."

Sakurai Itsuki took out his cell phone and exchanged contact information with Togashi. Building relationships and establishing connections with all the great people was the real purpose of his visit to the annual meeting.

"Maybe we can play mahjong together in the future." Togashi smiled. "Okay, I received the file. I'm going to start reading it now."

"You can look at it later! Don't you still have to say hello to other people?" Naoko reminded her husband.

"It's okay, it's just one chapter, I can finish it soon, and the banquet hasn't officially started yet, ten minutes!" Togashi ignored his wife's complaints and directly opened the comic.

"There's really nothing we can do about this guy. In that case, please send me a copy too. I'll go take a look with him." Naoko sighed, feeling quite helpless like someone who had to follow her husband wherever he went.

"Did you sign this work as Sakura Fujiye? The style looks very literary," Togashi asked.

"Ah, yes, after all, it's very different from Haruki Nagayama's style." Sakurai Itsuki nodded in response.

"You're the only one who's not telling everyone? The two people madly fighting for the title of the most talented cartoonist are actually the same person. That's too much."

"I don't have any plans for now. If it gets exposed, readers will scold me, right?"

"Haha, when my husband first told me that you drew all these comics, I couldn't believe it! You have such a variety of styles. I helped him draw serials before, and readers noticed it. You're much better than me."

Even Naoko, who is recognized as the most successful female cartoonist, couldn't help but sigh that the young man in front of her was really too strong.

"You're too kind!" Sakurai Itsuki said quickly.

At the same time, Shinkawa Aimei looked at these people wearing expensive clothes in the gorgeous venue, and actually picked up their mobile phones to read comics.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart that this scene was really magical.

But perhaps, this is what is meant by a cartoonist who always has a boy or girl in his heart.

【That autumn when I was 11 years old.】

National Piano Conference.

"What's wrong? Um, Arima stopped playing."

"Then all his achievements so far will be wasted."

Xiaochun raised her head and looked at the boy who was sitting in front of the piano, wearing glasses and with his head lowered.

On the first page, it actually directly throws out the failure event, which is really bold.

Togashi sighed in his heart, this young man is still as unconventional as ever.

But that's what makes it fun.

The second page.

The girl hit a beautiful home run, breaking the glass at the same time.

Pagination.

Reality and memories are described simultaneously.

The boy lowered his head, sweat and tears continuously streaming down his face.

【I can no longer play the piano. 】

It's a classic and good suspense setting, the screen storyboards are tense and full of that familiar literary flavor, but for him, this level is only natural.

Next page.

The boy fell in a pool of blood with a baseball next to him.

? ?
Just when Togashi was about to sigh, he was really worthy of being called Haruki Nagayama.

Next page.

The boy suddenly looked up and smiled, then picked up his glasses.

It turned out to be just a bad joke, something that someone like him who was born on the internet could do.

"What? It's Kousei." Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief. "You again." Kousei sighed, as if he had long been accustomed to this guy who always broke glass and got into trouble.

"Let's clean up the glass first." Kousei raised his hand and prepared to clean up the glass on the ground.

Xiaochun grabbed his hand. "What if your hand gets hurt?"

In her eyes, Kousei's hands must never be hurt.

"Ah, they're flirting again, neighbors and childhood sweethearts."

Adu, the frivolous handsome boy from the football club, jumped to the windowsill and took pictures.

"We are not a couple!"

The two retorted in unison.

A playful and youthful atmosphere.

He is really good at depicting the beauty of youth, but according to his previous works
The more beautiful, the more
Well, this will definitely sell well anyway.

Based on his experience, Togashi was very confident that the manuscript would receive a good response in the market.

And Hane Shion was extremely nervous sitting in front of this pair of senior colleagues who were looking at her comics. This was much more stressful than having her comics reviewed by an editor.

Sakurai Itsuki seemed much more easy-going. As a person who didn't follow the ethics of martial arts, he certainly had enough confidence in this story.

Hanase Shion took a deep breath and looked at Sakurai Itsuki.

Although she was nervous, she was still quite confident about this comic.

She had enough confidence in him.

Adu, Xiaochun, and Kousei are playmates who grew up together and have an incredibly close relationship.

Today, as usual, the three of them were walking home from school together.

The popular handsome guy Adu, after receiving a text message from a girl, left the two of them behind and ran off on a date.

"Kousei, do you have someone you like?" Xiaochun turned to ask Kousei after scolding Adu behind his back as a public enemy of women. "I heard that once you have someone you like, the whole world becomes colorful."

"No one will like me." Kousei lowered his head.

"It's too dark! I can't see any light in your eyes!" Xiaochun scolded Kousei.

"Because, eyes are originally black, they don't glow." Kousei didn't understand Kotsubaki's confusing words.

"It will shine, sparkle!" Xiaochun said firmly, then made a face at her and repeated, "Sparkle!"

"Yeah, there's a sparkle in Tsubaki's eyes," Kousei nodded softly, smiling.

What a classic childhood sweetheart!
However, although it is very old-fashioned, she makes faces and repeats the same thing over and over again, forcing the person she likes to accept her point of view and enjoy his pampering.

It looks so cute on a girl.

Even in his middle age, Togashi was still easily moved by this lovely girl.

What follows is Hanase Shion's dazzling description of the scenery.

Accompanied by Kousei's inner monologue.

The artistic feeling that once shocked people in "5 Centimeters per Second" was brought to the extreme.

[In Xiaochun's eyes, the storyboards he sees must be colorful.]

【Unlike me】

The bright colors suddenly dimmed.

【What I saw, what I felt, all the scenery was dim and dull.】

Like a sheet of music, like a piano keyboard.

"What a great drawing." Naoko, who was reading comics with her husband, couldn't help but praise.

Compared to Togashi, who is good at plot, Naoko's strength is her comic aesthetic, which is recognized as the ceiling.

When Hane Shion heard this, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She had been practicing painting like crazy every day and finally got some results.

Receiving her praise proves that my paintings are now worthy of his story!

When Sakurai Itsuki heard Naoko praising the painting, he immediately turned around and looked at Hane Shion.

Looking forward to her reaction.

As expected, she was instantly delighted.

And Hane Shion also noticed that he was looking at her as if he was observing a small animal, so she quickly turned her eyes away, pursed her lips, and slightly restrained her smile.

Why are you staring at me all the time today? There are seniors here. It's so embarrassing.

Kousei pushed open the door to the home where he lived alone.

"I'm back, mother."

He lit a stick of incense in front of his mother's photo in the mourning hall.

Then he fell to the ground, looked at the pile of piano awards from the past, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Today, I didn't hear any piano music either."

Xiaochun looked at the gloomy room next door with some loss.

weekend.

"She was the one who asked me out first. She doesn't know the principle of being five minutes early for everything." Kousei stood alone in the park, complaining.

Suddenly I saw a shoe.

Come closer.

"Why are there girls' shoes on the tree?" Kousei asked in surprise, taking off his shoes. "And girls' pantyhose!"

Kousei blushed as he took off the somewhat ambiguous "holy relic" and looked around in panic.

Suddenly, the sound of an organ reached his ears.

"You play it so well." Kousei exclaimed and walked towards the direction of the piano sound.

Memories of Kotsubaki's previous speech flashed back.

【The moment I met her, my life changed. 】

Is this the protagonist's reminiscence monologue? Doesn't this count as a spoiler?

However, this flashback feeling is indeed full of literary and artistic sense and atmosphere.

Kousei walked in the direction of the music.

The monologue continues with beautiful scenes.