Full-time comic artist

Having not been home for a long time, he was eager to return, missing his parents.

"Xicun! Over here!" Beimen waved; he had come to pick him up.

"Long time no see!" With a backpack slung across her shoulder, Nishimura's eyes welled up with tears as she stepped forward to hug him.

Bei Men spread his arms wide and asked, "Do you still have the bacon I gave you last year? My girlfriend really likes it."

Nishimura's cheerful steps came to a halt, and he exclaimed, "Absolutely not! Damn it!"

"Huh? Why are you reacting so strongly?" Kitamoto was speechless.

"Sigh..." Nishimura sighed deeply, then changed the subject, "How do we get out of here?"

“Of course I’ll drive,” Kitamoto said, turning the keys. “I’m here to pick you up.”

"You bought a car!" Nishimura's eyes widened with envy. "Although I can drive, I haven't saved enough money to buy a car yet."

“My girlfriend’s,” Kitamoto replied.

Nishimura was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. "Damn it! He keeps talking about girlfriends!"

On their way home, the two of them talked about their college days.

The academic pressure at the University of Tokyo, and classic legal cases.

"Shoko Asahara's case has not yet been adjudicated; the judiciary in this country is simply outrageous."

Nishimura also shared his experience at the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido University.

Artificial insemination of cattle and horses, sowing seeds with tractors, and the stories of how cultivated plants were destroyed by cultivated animals.

At this point, he couldn't help but mention Higashino Hibiki.

"At this time last year, Higashino had a lot of fun at the College of Agriculture."

"By the way," Kitamoto asked, focused on driving, when the topic turned to Higashino Hibiki, "didn't you tell him you were going back to Tokyo?"

Nishimura shook his head. "Higashino must be very busy. I'm sorry to bother him."

“Indeed,” Kitamoto nodded, “He will also be on a television program tomorrow.”

"Wow! That's amazing." Nishimura exclaimed, "He's getting more and more awesome."

When they returned to their home in Xicun, they found the gate locked.

Nishimura got out of the car and knocked on the door, but there was no response.

Kitamoto blinked at him.

Nishimura panicked and quickly grabbed his phone to send a text message to his family.

Nishimura's mother replied, "We are traveling in Kyoto, and no one is home."

Nishimura sighed, regretting going home.

"I can only ask you for help, Kitamoto's father."

Kitamoto also began to regret that he shouldn't have gone to pick him up.

……

Time flies, and next Sunday is here.

The television interview was broadcast live at 7 p.m.

Upon learning of this news, Yamamura Morimichi sat down early in front of the television in his studio, quietly waiting for the program to begin.

His girlfriend, Hidemi Kikuchi, joked, "Why do I feel like you like Akino-sensei more than I do?"

“How could that be!” Yamamura Morimichi retorted categorically. “Impossible, absolutely impossible!”

He defended himself, saying, "I'm just keeping an eye on the industry situation."

Kikuchi Hidemi said, "But out of so many manga artists, you always seem to focus on Tori Akino-sensei."

"Huh?" Yamamura Morimichi was stunned.

As she said, she was overly concerned about Tori Akino Mirai.

"I just want to surpass him, after all, he's Jump's number one popular manga artist." Yamamura found his reason.

"Yes, that's it."

“Okay.” Kikuchi Hidemi nodded. “I really didn’t expect you to be a manga artist.”

After the two confirmed their relationship, Yamamura Morimichi revealed everything about himself, which startled Kikuchi Hidemi.

After successfully winning Hibiki Higashino's heart, Yamamura Morimichi stopped pretending to be Hibiki Higashino's little fanboy.

Kikuchi Hidemi was also very considerate, often going to the mountain village of Moromichi's studio to clean and do simple assistant work.

The music from the television program started playing, and the male and female hosts appeared.

After greeting the audience as usual.

Female host: "This is a bit abrupt, but do you read comics?"

“I know it very well,” the male host said with a confident smile, “Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, and Slam Dunk.”

"Yes, that's it! Our guest today is none other than the brilliant author of 'Slam Dunk,' Mirai Torino!"

Amid cheers from the audience, Hibiki Higashino emerged from behind the stage.

He was dressed casually and waved to the audience.

……

Hibiki Higashino Studio.

The assistants sat on the sofa, gesturing wildly as they watched this scene.

"The teacher really looks good on camera," Tanaka remarked.

He admired this kind of confidence that came from within.

Akemi Akemi nodded with a blush on her face, and Tanaka voiced her thoughts.

Oda stared nervously at the screen, thinking about what he would say when he appeared on a TV program in the future. He decided to learn from Hibiki Higashino at this moment.

"Slam Dunk has been serialized for a while now, hasn't it?" the female reporter asked.

“Yes,” Hibiki Higashino nodded, sitting on the sofa. “It’s been a year and a half, and the manga has reached chapter 85.”

"Wow, that's amazing!" the female host exclaimed, covering her mouth in amazement.

Higashino Hibiki didn't know what she was marveling at, but that's Japanese culture; girls are always a bit more flamboyant.

Food shows always say everything tastes delicious, so they can't truly be themselves.

The male host asked Hibiki Higashino, "What difficulties did you encounter during the serialization of 'Slam Dunk'?"

“Of course there are,” Hibiki Higashino replied with a troubled expression. “Compared to Hikaru no Go, the workload for Slam Dunk increased dramatically. Before I could get used to it, it was really tough.”

"To what extent?"

"Apart from eating and going to the toilet, I spend the rest of my time drawing comics. I only sleep for three hours at night, and I start drawing comics as soon as I open my eyes."

"Teacher, you've really worked hard." The female host looked at the camera. "But it's also because of this diligent spirit that we have created the very interesting 'Slam Dunk'. You reap what you sow. Thank you for your hard work, teacher."

Higashino nodded. "That's right. Weekly manga artists, well, except for one, everyone works really hard, hahaha."

Yoshihiro Togashi, who was watching the program, twitched his brow.

"You wretched brat, watch my new creation crush you!"

"Hahaha," the male host laughed, "That's absolutely true."

He then asked, "But don't the teachers have any ways to relieve the pressure and give themselves a rest?"

"Of course there are exceptions. I'm a special case, after all, I'm still a newcomer in the field of sports manga," Hibiki Higashino explained. "Normally, with the help of manga artist assistants, veteran manga artists can take one day off each week to rest. I'm in the same situation now, which is why I'm able to participate in the TV program."

"My assistants gave me a lot of help with the serialization of Slam Dunk."

"Because I am not a very talkative person, it is difficult for me to express my feelings. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my assistants in front of the TV. Thank you for your hard work on 'Slam Dunk'. You have worked hard for so long."

Hearing Higashino Hibiki's heartfelt monologue, Tanaka and Yoshii Yamahisa's eyes both reddened.

Yoshii held back his tears. "My father said that a man shouldn't cry easily."

Tanaka burst into tears, deeply moved. "Teacher, I should be thanking you."

Oda stubbornly insisted, "You should definitely thank me. I've been drawing the backgrounds and applying the screen tones all along..."

But deep down, he also softened.

Akemi Akemi recalled her own efforts and felt that what he said made perfect sense.

After all, he had already been making sacrifices for Higashino Hibiki before the serialization even began.

But I was still thinking that I could make a big lunch tomorrow.

La la la, she hummed a tune happily in her heart.

……

Yamamura Morito Studio.

"teacher……"

The assistants looked longingly at Yamamura Morimichi, hoping that such a day would come someday.

"What?" Yamamura asked curiously, "Aren't you going to start working yet?"

"Damn it!" The assistants were grinding their teeth so hard they almost broke them.

……

Higashino's words elicited a series of sounds from the audience.

Chapter 189: Offline Update Request

On a television program, Hibiki Higashino spoke candidly, expressing his gratitude to his assistants who had worked so hard for him.

"I have an assistant who wanted to help me serialize my comics, so he never left. Actually, I would prefer him to do what he wants to do and pursue his dreams."

Yoshii Yamahisa stared blankly at the television, realizing that Higashino Hibiki was talking about him.