Started as a comics editor

Chapter 186 Short Story
Rumi was furious when she heard her mother's words.

What kind of talk is this?

...Can't you understand human language, huh? Why are you fixated on the other person's comics? What's this all about? Can't you get over your own feelings? Or are you just being stubborn?

Sometimes, Rumi really doesn't understand her mother's inexplicable competitiveness.

We must win at everything!

This has offended an entire battalion!
Still don’t know how to restrain yourself!

But just as she was about to say something more, looking at her mother's profile and the deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she couldn't say anything more.

She thought about how, since the divorce, her mother had fought her way out all by herself, struggling, humiliating herself, and humbling herself along the way, but she never gave up and finally got to where she is today.

I really can't bring myself to say anything harsh.

The impact of past experiences is sometimes greater than we imagine.

Abandon your mother.

I've heard of many similar stories before.

For example, a very famous cartoonist, whose royalties are so high that he could never spend all the money he earns in his lifetime as long as he doesn't squander it.

But when it comes to food, they are frugal, even stingy.

Every day, I eat white rice with soy sauce... and my assistants eat this too.

Then, less than a month later...

The entire team looked sallow, and the assistants complained bitterly, resigning one after another.

But the cartoonist continued to do things his own way.

In the end, it became so difficult to even hire an assistant that his editors were driven crazy and went to ask why.

The only reply I received was, "I'm terrified of being poor."

As for why, despite being terrified of poverty, they still scrimp and save on food.

He didn't say.

But when Rumi heard about this, she could barely understand it.

Because she also had the experience of drawing comics day and night when she didn't have an assistant and was struggling to make a name for herself.

And her mother.

Clearly, the memories of survival after the divorce have symbolized all competition as a life-or-death battlefield, even including his own daughter's comics in the category of a battlefield that must be 'won'.

"..."

Think of this.

Rumi's voice softened: "Mother, things are different now. I have achieved great success..."

"What success and fame?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Fang abruptly turned her head: "You have no idea how powerful the newcomers are these days, how many people want to replace them, including me! Do you think everything went smoothly for me in the Star Chasing Society?"

"..."

Rumi looked at her mother, not knowing what to say.

After a long time.

She then said softly, "So that's why you care so much about 'Chainsaw Man,' right? You don't want this 'newcomer,' Sanliu Teacher, to surpass me? You also spearheaded the online reading website of Chasing Stars Society, didn't you? That's why you so desperately want the other party to fail?"

"..."

Guan Fang's expression changed slightly upon hearing this: "No, that's not true. I just think there's something wrong with the other person's drawing."

"mom."

Rumi sighed: "Believe me, I'm a cartoonist, and I understand better than you the feelings of mutual appreciation, competition, and even jealousy among other creators. But these feelings are absolutely not a reason to hold a grudge. Give up. This news has already been leaked. Why bother worrying about avoiding the promotional period for the Chainsaw Man movie and the Nightfall collaboration to prevent users' attention from being diverted?"

Guan Fang insisted, "No! Wait another week!"

Rumi looked at her stubborn mother: "..."

……

Avalon.

After returning from the "Dou Pai" project team, Tang Yao sat down, thought for a moment, and then picked up the pressure-sensitive pen.

However, once she picked up the pen, she felt less inclined to draw.

Since she's already finished drawing this week's update, it's not a bad idea to keep stockpiling drafts... but she's been drawing Chainsaw Man for a long time now. Although it wouldn't be difficult for her to replicate it given her current abilities, constantly drawing the same style and the same comic feels a bit like submitting homework...

Can you be happy when you hand in your homework?

I'm definitely not happy.

So Tang Yao quickly put down her pen, picked up the mouse, and started idling.

She opened the ANF comics section and took a quick look at the works submitted by other comic artists.

It must be said that online serialization is online serialization; its scope is indeed much larger than that of print magazines.

You can find all sorts of random topics.

The comic book section has gradually taken off.

Many of the comics are quite interesting. Tang Yao also collected a few comics that interested her, but since they were all long, she only dared to read the beginnings and planned to save the rest for when she got home that evening.

After all, even though she was slacking off, she didn't dare to be lazy all the time.

Because she has a lot of things to do, she only draws comics in her spare time... Every now and then, game-related matters force her to put down her pen, and she continues drawing after resolving them.

Intermittent.

She's used to it too.

After idling for about ten minutes, Tang Yao closed the website with some regret.

Surprisingly, there weren't many interesting short stories on the website.

She wanted to find a short comic book to read before continuing her work.

"Ok?"

As Tang Yao was thinking, she suddenly remembered something.

prior to.

She planned to draw Fujimoto Itsuki's short story for the ANF comics section's cartoonists to reference.

The ANF comics section is currently dominated by long stories; there aren't many excellent short stories.

Why don't you draw one yourself? It'll fill up ANF's comic library and change your mood a bit, right?
Think of this.

Tang Yao was somewhat tempted and picked up the pressure-sensitive pen on the table.

What should I draw? Fujimoto Tsuki's short story is a bit too long, and I don't have enough time. I'll think about it later and draw something shorter...

But even shorter short stories...

what.

Have it.

Tang Yao suddenly remembered a suitable short story, picked up the pressure-sensitive pen, and started drawing with great enthusiasm.

She got excited.

soon.

Tang Yao became so engrossed in the story that time slowly passed until the chair next to her was pulled out, which brought her back to her senses.

Li Xue smoothed her skirt, sat down gracefully, and turned around after noticing Tang Yao's gaze: "Did I disturb you?"

"No."

Tang Yao shook her head, picked up the cup, and took a sip of water.

Ok.

Today it's flower tea again, I think it's jasmine tea, fresh and delicate.

It tastes quite good.

That's right, Tang Yao was drinking Li Xue's...

Don't know when it started.

There was only one cup left on the table for the two of them.

"How about it?"

Tang Yao put down her cup, looked at Li Xue who was staring at the cup in her hand, and subconsciously handed the cup over, asking, "What about Ru Mi?"

They said they would give me an answer in five days.

Li Xue took the cup, rubbing the rim with her fingertips, and replied helplessly, "It just so happens to be the date of the next two episodes of 'Chainsaw Man'. That Ms. Guan Fang is still not giving up... Even though they are from different fields, she insists on arguing. Besides, after the next episode is released, users' attention will still be diverted."

"Five days? Forget it."

Tang Yao thought for a moment after hearing this and replied, "Then let's wait five days to make her give up completely."

"Yes, that's what I think too... but Tang Yao."

Li Xue frowned slightly and said, "I've observed that the development team of 'Dark Night's Decree' is not just seeking revenge. They've started to promote their game in conjunction with FGO... They have to include a line in everything they post that FGO is also collaborating with 'Dark Night', and that they are the real adaptations. They're just trying to ride on the popularity of our game."

"That's normal, after all, they're all smart people."

Tang Yao looked at the serious-looking Miss Li and smiled lightly, saying indifferently, "I didn't realize it at first, but I figured it out the next day. They took the initiative to announce that FGO would be collaborating with 'Nightfall' just to piggyback on FGO's popularity, since it's the first sequel... Think about it, who is more suitable to serve as a control group than us?"
As long as we persist in promoting it, our FGO events and their games use the same original work, and our collaboration gacha pools are just reskinned versions of previous gacha pools, while theirs are genuine adaptations.

These are all second-generation tours; once compared, the level of attention will naturally increase.

The person in charge of "Dark Night's Decree" was quite clever. Unable to implement joint operations, they immediately came up with this unconventional, comparative marketing strategy.

Li Xue paused, her fingertips rubbing the rim of the cup, holding it in her hands. "Is this really okay?"

"It's ok."

Tang Yao replied, "The premise for this method to succeed is that the quality of our game must be up to standard, and our collaboration event is just a reskin of the previous gacha pools. But I've played their games, and they're not up to standard. And our collaboration gacha pool... is it just a reskin of the previous gacha pools?"

"No."

Li Xue shook her head subconsciously.

"so."

Tang Yao chuckled and said, "The more aggressively they promote it now, the harder they'll fall when our collaboration event goes live."

(End of this chapter)