Living in the bubble economy of Tokyo, I became a literary giant through lotteries.

"Me! Me!"

"Don't rush, catch your breath." Guan Gufeng reached out and pressed on his shoulder. "Take a deep breath, don't pass out."

The young man paused for a moment before speaking, "Hello, Mr. Guan Gu. I'm Naruhiko Naruhisa, and I'm a big fan of yours. I've been following your work since your very first book..."

"Wait!" Guan Gufeng quickly interrupted him.

Naruhiko stopped, his mouth still slightly open, while Sekiya Kaze's expression became very serious.

"What's your last name?"

"To be united."

"What's the name?"

"Takehiko."

Guan Gufeng almost spat out another mouthful of cola.

The name Takehiko Naruhisa might be unfamiliar, but his other name is unforgettable for any reader who read Weekly Shonen Jump in the 1990s.

Takehiko Inoue.

The legendary Japanese manga artist who created "Slam Dunk".

The book sold over 100 million copies, turning teenagers across the country from football to basketball.

The famous scene where Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi Hanamichi, and Mitsui Hisashi knelt before Coach Anzai and said, "I want to play basketball."

Coincidentally, his pen name, Guan Gu Shenqi, had once participated in the Kanagawa Prefecture basketball tournament, but was eliminated by Shohoku High School in the preliminary round.

However, at this moment, Naruhiko seems to be still struggling with life.

"I heard from the shop manager that you draw comics here," Guan Gufeng said, his voice slower than before. "What are you drawing?"

"Chameleon, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, under the pen name Takehiko Inoue," Takehiko Naruhiko said, his voice tinged with melancholy.

"However, the editor told me that the reader feedback wasn't very good, and the rankings were always low, so maybe... maybe it will end in a few more issues."

Guan Gufeng was taken aback and searched his memory.

Indeed, "The Chameleon" received a lukewarm reception and could not escape being canceled after twelve chapters.

There is still more than a year before he starts serializing Slam Dunk.

During this time, he worked as a manga assistant for Tsukasa Hojo, who drew "City Hunter," and thus developed the foundation for his realistic style.

The wrinkles in the jersey, the muscle definition, the details of the movements.

I didn't participate in the lottery, so how did I manage to draw such a good UR?

Guan Gu Feng's smile suddenly turned sinister, and he coaxed, "Besides the convenience store, what else do you do?"

Guan Gufeng's tone was no longer just casual conversation.

Naruhiko was taken aback, then answered honestly.

"I'm working as an assistant to Hojo-sensei."

"That Hojo-sensei from 'City Hunter'?" Sekiya Kaze raised an eyebrow. "How's the treatment?"

"Just... normal treatment." Naruhiko's voice sounded a little weak.

Comic assistants don't actually earn much. They rent a place close to the studio, and after paying rent, utilities, and art supplies each month, they can't even afford to eat.

Because of poor reader feedback, the serialized comics didn't generate much revenue. One day, while passing by, he saw a job posting for the night shift.

Although the hourly wage was low, he came because the meal was provided and he had enough time to create.

Guan Gufeng reached into the inside pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a business card.

"Chenghe, oh no, Inoue-san."

Takehiko Inoue straightened his back.

"This is my contact information." Guan Gufeng placed the business card on the cashier's counter and tapped it twice with his fingertips.

"I have a subject that's perfect for you to practice your realistic (nude male) drawing style. Contact me if you're interested."

"No matter what kind of treatment Hojo-sensei gives you, I'll give you five times it."

Inoue Takehiko took the business card and looked at Guan Gufeng, wanting to ask him many questions.

Why choose a newcomer whose serialization was abruptly canceled?

What exactly is the "subject matter" that Mr. Guan Gu is talking about?

Was the fivefold compensation due to his ability, or for some reason he didn't yet understand?

Also, is Guan Gu-sensei going to draw a manga?

"No rush." ​​Guan Gufeng reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Take your time to think it over. I also figured out my future path in this convenience store before."

After saying that, Guan Gufeng nodded to the shop manager and left.

Inoue Takehiko was stunned for a while before he came to his senses and asked the store manager.

"Manager," his voice was somewhat uncertain, "what did Mr. Guan Gu mean just now?"

The store manager didn't answer directly. Instead, he walked to the folding chair behind the cashier and patted the green apron draped over the back of the chair.

"Just a few months ago, Teacher Guan Gu sat in the seat you used to sit in during the night shift, wearing this apron, and wrote a novel while leaning on the cash register when no one was around during the night shift."

"What was written down is Sword Art Online on the wall."

Naruhiko was stunned for a while, then suddenly raised his head.

"What?!!"

……

When I came out of the convenience store, the rain hadn't stopped.

"Uncle Kitamura, let's go to Kichijoji, Studio Ghibli."

"OK."

Kitamura responded, turned the steering wheel to the left, and merged into the traffic.

He had already finished writing the short story for "Spirited Away" and planned to let Hayao Miyazaki take a look at it first.

"Uncle Kitamura, how much longer?"

"It will be fine in about half an hour."

"……Um."

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and felt a little sleepy because he had gotten up a bit early today.

When he opened his eyes again, the car had already arrived.

Guan Gufeng opened the car door, opened his umbrella, and quickly walked onto the path leading to the studio.

When Guan Gu Feng opened the door apologetically, he found that only Miyazaki Hayao was in the entire studio, sitting in the rest area reading a comic magazine.

The air carried a hint of the fruity acidity of hand-drip coffee, and his hair was a little whiter than when we last met.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, glanced at Guan Gufeng, and pointed to the shelf in the tea room next door.

"There's juice on the shelf; they bought it especially for you because they know you don't like coffee."

Guan Gu Feng paused for a moment, then turned to look at the tea room next door.

There's a shelf against the wall filled with various tea bags and canned coffee, but the largest shelf has been specially cleared out.

There were various flavors of carbonated drinks on the shelf, and a sticky note on it read: "For Mr. Sekiya."

There was a simple little kitten drawn in the bottom right corner of the sticky note.

Dubbing is not something that can be done in a day. It took half a month, from April 2nd to a few days ago, to finish the dubbing.

After each voice-over, Guan Gufeng would be cheered up by the young illustrators, who would give him free lessons, help him with his work, and even treat him to meals.

He didn't even take the original manuscript that he helped revise with him, saying only that he would "keep it to Miyazaki-sensei to complete."

Over time, they became a little embarrassed, but they didn't know how to repay Guan Gufeng.

The wealthy earn more, and the artists paint better.

So they began to observe secretly that Guan Gu Feng never touched the hand-drip coffee machine in the break room.

The refrigerator was stocked with teas of various flavors, but Guan Gufeng only drank the soda water he brought with him whenever he came.

Later, a female artist in charge of background art discovered that Guan Gufeng unhesitatingly chose cola over coffee.

So the next day, a special spot was added to the shelf in the tea room just for him.

Guan Gufeng couldn't recognize the handwriting on the sticky note, but he recognized the simple line drawing.

There's a young artist who specializes in drawing in-between frames. Last time, I spent a whole afternoon learning from him how to draw a cat's tail.

Guan Gu Feng took a lemon-flavored Ramune soda, opened it, took a sip, and sat down opposite Miyazaki Hayao.

"Why are you the only one here?" Guan Gufeng looked around. "Where is everyone else?"

"Oh, I gave them the day off."

"Huh?" Guan Gufeng was stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"I didn't get a holiday for a while, but I gave them back their vacation time after I finished working."

After turning to the last page of the Dragon Ball serialization, Miyazaki flipped back to the cover and reread Akira Toriyama's foreword before closing the magazine.

"Speak," he said, looking at Guan Gufeng. "You'd better bring something attractive enough to make me forgive your mistake of being an hour late."