Full-time comic artist

Chapter 40 "Hikaru no Go" (Hikaru no Go) - Xiaozheng

With his roommate's consent, Higashino bought three work desks, which took up half of the living room.

However, this is only a temporary measure.

"Takagi-senpai is graduating soon. If a new roommate comes and he doesn't agree to it, it will be troublesome. We'll have to rent another studio."

There are no residential areas near Yan Yan High School; the space is occupied by Musashino Art University.

He needs to rent a place, which has to be 7 kilometers away.

Adding the commute to and from school, it really takes up too much time.

"It would be wonderful if a beautiful and kind female classmate moved in."

After school in the afternoon, Higashino Hibiki returned to "Yoshiwara-sou" and saw a black luxury car at the entrance.

He was quite curious, but he didn't ask any questions and went straight into the living room.

Everyone else went out, and Akemi Akimiya also said she had work to do.

Hibiki Higashino thought he was alone, but he was surprised to see Akemi Akemi and Yuko Asahina in the living room.

“Higashino-kun, welcome back.” Asahina Yuko tilted her head, her lips twitching.

Hibiki Higashino looked at her helplessly, "What's with that expression?"

"I want to laugh..." she blinked her eyes, looking aggrieved.

“Don’t force yourself,” Higashino Hibiki looked at the three work desks and then at Akemi Akemi. “Asahina-san, are you here?”

“Asahina-san is preparing to move into Yoshiwara-so,” Akemi Akemi explained.

"Why?" Hibiki Higashino looked at Yuko Asahina and asked, "You always have someone pick you up and drop you off, so there's no need for you to stay in the dormitory."

Hibiki Higashino discovered that she also seemed to be a rich young lady.

He is usually quiet and reserved, but his clothes are all very expensive.

However, among those who study art, the proportion of children from wealthy families is probably larger.

This is perfectly normal.

A child from an ordinary family like Hibiki Higashino is able to attend the art class at Enhiko High School because he has an enlightened father and extraordinary talent.

Among the art students I know, apart from him and Minami Chiharu, the worst among the others is at least at the intermediate level.

Yuko Asahina didn't explain, but calmly said, "I don't mind you taking up the living room."

"Welcome, Asahina-san!"

Higashino stepped forward and shook her hand.

Yuko is such a timely help!

After checking out the dormitory, Asahina Yuko, carrying her schoolbag, walked out of her house.

Her long hair swung as she waved her hand, leaving without a trace.

"Bye-Bye!"

Higashino Hibiki was exceptionally enthusiastic today.

Entering the living room, he looked at Akemi Akemi, who was waiting with her arms crossed, and raised an eyebrow. "The usual today?"

"Let's get started already," Akemi Akemi said, sounding impatient.

"Uh-huh."

Hibiki Higashino returned to the main seat of his work desk and opened the storyboard he had drawn.

"My long-awaited comic drawing time is back!"

Just as the excitement was building, there was a knock on the door—the arcade game had arrived.

……

"Teacher Akimiya".

"Hmm? Mr. Torino, what's up?"

Do you know Professor Chaimen Wen?

“Of course.” Akemi Akemi nodded. “I attended her book signing event before. Speaking of which, she’ll be holding a signing event for ‘Love White Paper’ at the Mandarake Ikebukuro branch next weekend.”

"Is it the movie that was released last October? It's also adapted from Fumi Saimon's manga," Hibiki Higashino exclaimed in surprise. "That's amazing."

"A very successful, enviable manga artist." Akemi Akimiya put down her pen, rested her chin on her hand, and began to daydream, "I really hope that one day I can draw manga with such exquisite detail."

Higashino Hibiki looked at her and sighed, "Keep thinking about it."

After seeing her comic creations, Higashino Hibiki shook his head.

Even AI can draw more interestingly than her.

He's ready to attend the autograph session for his mother's request.

Taking a copy of "Tokyo Love Story" to a signing event for "Love White Paper" shouldn't be a problem, right? They're both your own works.

"Ms. Akimiya, would you like to go on a date with me next weekend?"

Akemi Akemi was taken aback. "Why?"

“Let’s relive the time when we first met,” Hibiki Higashino said. “At Toriyama-sensei’s house, we would often go on dates in Nagoya. But we haven’t been to Tokyo since then.”

"Of course, there's a small matter: I need to get an autograph from Mr. Shibamon Fumi's book signing event."

Akemi Akemi squinted, then suddenly realized, "So it's for an autograph. Okay, I'll go with you. What's with all this talk about dates and relationships? You've made me nervous for nothing."

Hibiki Higashino laughed and said, "You figured it out, huh? You're so clever, Ms. Akimiya."

"Hmph, of course." She wrinkled her nose smugly.

After drawing for a while with his head down, Higashino Hibiki's phone rang.

It's Sasaki.

Higashino checked the time; it was five o'clock in the afternoon.

"Is it that one?" Akemi Akimiya said.

"It should be." Higashino Hibiki nodded.

He was a little nervous; this was the first step towards achieving success with his work.

Weekly Shonen Jump will release a preliminary survey report on Tuesdays, extracting data from 100 reader survey questionnaires.

The accuracy isn't high, and it doesn't determine the success of a work. It just allows you to get a general idea of ​​its popularity in advance, so the comic can be adjusted more quickly.

Ultimately, it's Xiao Zheng who determines the results.

Now, Sasaki has come to deliver the preliminary results.

"It's third place." He said succinctly and concisely.

Higashino Hibiki's pupils contracted. "Only third place?"

He had heard from his seniors that the first chapter of a new work was very successful, firstly because there was a lot of content to be serialized, and secondly because readers were more curious and would take a look, and were also more forgiving.

I didn't expect that "Hikaru no Go" would only be third place, which is already very bad.

"After all, Jump is at its peak in history right now," Sasaki said calmly. "Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho, Seiko... it's really impressive that a newcomer could get third place."

"Yes, thank you, Editor Sasaki." Hibiki Higashino hung up the phone.

He knew about the results of "Hikaru no Go".

It shouldn't be third place.

As long as the results come out later, that's fine.

"Third?" Akemi Akemi glanced at him cautiously, and only after seeing Higashino Hibiki nod did she carefully comfort him, "That's already very good, and this is only a preliminary result."

“Ms. Akimiya, thank you,” Hibiki Higashino said with a smile, “but has anyone told you that you’re not very good at comforting others?”

"No way!" she protested.

Hibiki Higashino said, "But I'm still very happy now, and I don't care that I only came in third."

It will be fine once we get going.

Friday arrived, and at the same time, Sasaki called again.

He said disappointedly, "Dragon Ball is still too powerful, sigh."

Higashino Hibiki's heart sank: "How so?"

"Only second place," Sasaki said with a smile.

Higashino Hibiki was taken aback. "Isn't this better than the preliminary results?"

Sasaki: "I thought I would be number one, but it's a pity, I was only 20 votes short."

Chapter 41 I am the author!

In the first episode of "Hikaru no Go", he achieved a good result of second place in the rankings.

As a newcomer, Hibiki Higashino has already done quite well.

On Monday, he saw the comic book "The Sun Murder Case".

The story begins with someone dying, and the protagonist, a police officer, comes to investigate.

Before the story even begins, Hibiki Higashino has already taken notice of Arai's drawing skills.

His performance in Jump was mediocre; his series was often canceled shortly after publication. He was jokingly called the "King of Cancellations."

But his drawing skills are really strong. Even on the rough paper of Jump, Higashino Hibiki can clearly see the micro-expressions of the characters.

Needless to say, perspective and such are just basic techniques for Arai.

It's so delicate and exquisite that it doesn't seem like a weekly comic book at all.

Hibiki Higashino was drawn into the rhythm of the manga, and before he knew it, he had finished reading it.

“In Jump, mystery manga isn’t popular; it’s a niche genre,” Akemi Akemi analyzed, stroking her chin. “I wonder if Yamamura’s manga can survive—before it gets known by readers of other manga magazines who are used to mystery manga, and before it gets canceled.”