Full-time comic artist

"Excuse me, Ms. Torino Mirai, is she in this class?"

Akemi Akemi paused, then pointed to Hibiki Higashino, who was looking out the window at the scenery.

"Thank you," the girl bowed and ran to Higashino Hibiki.

"Thank you for your help."

She handed over a pink envelope, then ran away shyly.

Higashino Hibiki was still holding the envelope in a daze when he saw Akemi Akemi smiling at him.

……

"I don't actually have any thoughts about it." Hibiki Higashino explained as they walked back to the dormitory, "I just treat her like a child."

It was a love letter, written because the author loved "The Garden of Words" so much that he projected those feelings onto the author.

Higashino Hibiki found it hard to understand, so he rejected her on the rooftop at the agreed time and place.

He was getting a little annoyed seeing Akemi Akemi laughing nonstop.

"What's with your reaction? Aren't you jealous at all?"

“Haha,” Akemi Akemi was still laughing. After a while, she straightened up. “She probably didn’t expect that someone would confess to her. It’s too bizarre, so she wants to laugh.”

Higashino Hibiki's eyes widened: "Why can't someone confess their feelings to me?"

She shook her head. "You look like you're the type to reject people, so you don't seem like you have any chance of succeeding. Nobody wants to run into a wall with you."

Higashino recalled that the literary-minded girl did not cry after being rejected and quickly accepted it.

"I should be a very good person," Hibiki Higashino said with a hint of helplessness.

"You're too mature," Akemi Akimiya said, patting him on the shoulder.

"You're such a pain," Higashino Hibiki said angrily.

After a brief conversation, they returned to the teachers' dormitory.

A new administrator has arrived at the dormitory entrance.

He looked at Hibiki Higashino and Akemi Akemi and greeted them, saying, "You two are off work now."

"Hahaha!" Akemi Akemi, holding Higashino Hibiki's shoulder, laughed so hard she was breathless. "I knew it! It was just as I thought!"

Hibiki Higashino stared speechlessly at the glass. "Am I aging faster because I've been staying up too late?"

The administrator looked at them with a puzzled expression and began to consider whether to call security.

……

After the anime aired, and with the passage of time, coupled with the release of an interview by TV Tokyo in mid-June, the story gained traction.

Akira Yamazaki's humiliating defeat has become the biggest topic in the Japanese Go world these past few days.

During the Go preliminary rounds, many of the participants were discussing this.

"They actually beat an amateur!"

"Whose problem is it exactly?"

"I really want to play a game with Tori Akino."

"Perhaps I really can become a professional Go player."

Xiaochun overheard these words in the lounge.

When he saw the news a couple of days ago, he wasn't surprised at all. After all, he knew about Higashino Hibiki's talent.

His opponent's rapid progress made him extremely jealous.

Several months ago, he was already close to his level, and by June of this year, he was naturally even more formidable.

The person sitting next to him was a child who looked only fourteen years old; he was Odagiri.

Odagiri ultimately failed to make it into the top eight at the Go Association and still had to participate in the preliminary rounds.

However, his current strength is quite good, so his mentality is not a problem.

At this moment, he was also surprised, "I didn't expect Mr. Tori Akino to be so amazing."

If someone can defeat a professional Go player, they must be better than me.

He was even happier to learn that "Hikaru no Go" was drawn by such a talented person.

Perhaps when I become famous in the future, I can play a few games of chess with him. It would be even better if I could get a few autographs then.

"After becoming a professional Go player, I'll have time to play Go online." He thought, "I wonder if Mr. Higashino is still playing Go. I keep losing to him, and I want to win a game too. Besides, I want to share the joy of becoming a professional Go player, hehe."

After a while, Odagiri looked at the person next to him and greeted him in a very familiar manner: "Uncle, my name is Odagiri, nice to meet you."

This man looked intimidating, with a thick beard. His bare arms were covered in long, fine hair, and his skin was rough, reddish, and looked like it had been constantly exposed to the sun.

“Me?” Xiaochun pointed to himself and said in a loud voice, “I’m Xiaochun, nice to meet you, little brother.”

He ruffled Odagiri's hair and burst into laughter.

The young intern was not afraid at all. After watching "Hikaru no Go", he and his companions went to a Go club to hone their courage and got used to the rude middle-aged opponents.

Odagiri dodged Koharu's large hand, then paused, "Koharu? Uncle is the one who inspired Tori Akino-sensei?"

"It's me," Xiaochun replied with a complicated expression.

I just helped a young man on the roadside, and I never imagined that he would achieve such great success now.

Looking back now, it was truly a dreamlike experience.

"Human talent is truly terrifying." Xiaochun shook her head.

The lounge, which had been filled with lively discussion, suddenly fell silent. A high school student stood up. "Uncle, you must be Xiaochun! You really did come to participate in the preliminaries!"

"It's very similar to what Tori Akino described in the interview!" another exclaimed in shock!

"So it was me!" Xiaochun said angrily when questioned.

Someone raised their hand and asked, "Will you still see Mr. Tori Akino? Is his Go skill really that high?"

“We meet occasionally,” Teacher Xiaochun replied. “As for his skill level, it’s more accurate to say he’s improved very quickly than to say he’s really good. He’s been learning Go for a year and a half and his skill level is similar to mine. After a few more months, he will definitely surpass me.”

He was very calm.

"As expected of Teacher Tori Akino."

"I think I learned Go because I was going to draw 'Hikaru no Go'. I'm so good at it."

"I really envy his talent. If he draws comics every day, he probably won't have much time to play chess."

They all spoke at once.

There are many people in their twenties who understand the hardships of the Go profession.

No matter how hard you try, if you don't have enough talent, you simply don't have enough.

Just like Akira Touya said in the manga.

"Even after endurance, effort, hardship, asceticism, and overcoming the pain of despair, some people still cannot reach that level!"

They are the people Xiao Liang was talking about. After leaving the Go academy at the age of 18, they have to face the trivialities of life and find another way out, shifting their focus away from Go.

Therefore, the hope of becoming a professional Go player is now extremely slim.

The reason I'm participating in the qualifiers now is simply because I'm unwilling to give up.

Someone sighed, and the lounge fell silent.

Odagiri couldn't understand this feeling; he only knew that his older brothers and uncles all had their own worries.

A while later, the chess academy announced that the preliminary rounds had officially begun.

……

Koharu stared in surprise at Odagiri sitting opposite her.

His opponent turned out to be this child.

Please give me your guidance.

Please give me your guidance.

After setting up the board, he gained an understanding of the boy's chess skills.

So I stood up, ready to go for a bike ride.

Unexpectedly, Odagiri across from him said, "Uncle, are you going for a motorcycle ride? Can I take you with me? I'm quite bored here, and I've never ridden a motorcycle before."

Seeing his excited expression, Xiaochun's eyelids twitched.

"That damned Akino Toriyama!"

His plan failed!

Chapter 98 "Robots" - A Mediocre Work

Xiaochun went outside for some fresh air. When she returned to the qualifiers, she found her opponent sitting in the living room drinking a beverage, showing no signs of tension or anxiety.

Feeling a bit annoyed, I waved to him and went back to play chess.

This game was very complicated for Xiaochun. Her opponent was a fourteen-year-old child, yet she was easily defeated.

"I lost." He lowered his head.

When Odagiri lowered his head, Koharu took the opportunity to ruffle his hair.

After tidying up the chess pieces, he got up dejectedly and walked towards the door, resigned to the fact that he could only look forward to the second game.

The teacher in charge of maintaining order looked at his back with a puzzled expression and said to his colleague, "Tori Akino said he is very strong, but in my opinion, he is still a long way from becoming a professional Go player."

"Who knows?" My colleague shrugged.

On the second day of the competition, his opponent was Odagiri again.

"Uncle Xiaochun!"

Seeing his enthusiasm, Xiaochun's gloom dissipated considerably.

"Let's play chess," Xiaochun said.