Tokyo: Oreimo

"I've been queuing for 30 minutes! I saw the forum post last night and took the tram here early this morning!"

"Me too, I came from Chiba, I left home at around 5 a.m.!"

A boy wearing glasses, who was in the middle of the line, squatted down.

"Oh no, I'm late again."

Tian Zhongxue swallowed hard, his voice hoarse as he tried to calm the crowd: "Everyone, everyone, I'm so sorry, all 800 copies we prepared for today have been sold out! Our author and illustrator are here, if you need autographs..."

"What's the point of an autograph? I want the book!"

"Reprint! You'll reprint it, right? Didn't you reprint it yesterday?"

Tian Zhongxue stood still, his glasses reflecting the light of the exhibition hall.

When the first batch sold out yesterday, he hesitated for at least several minutes before daring to make the decision to reprint.

Today is the second day of Winter COMI, and tomorrow is the third day, but the number of people will decrease sharply tomorrow.

But he looked up and glanced at the line in front of him.

Those who didn't manage to buy one were sighing, some had already started posting on the forum, "Didn't manage to snag one again," and others were pulling at Misaki Asakura next to them to repeatedly confirm, "Will there be any more tomorrow?"

The last few people in line were still tiptoeing and looking this way, seemingly not having completely given up.

Tanaka thought about what Ryosuke had said yesterday.

He slapped the back of his head hard, then turned around abruptly and looked around at everyone inside the stall.

"President, you're not planning to print another batch, are you?"

Frankly, Okubo felt there was no need to print any more.

They've already done a great job to reach this level; they've achieved their goal. With this kind of success, recruiting new members at school in the new semester should be much easier, and the club won't be shut down.

Although it seems very popular right now, no one can say for sure whether these customers queuing up now will come back tomorrow.

What if?

But Tian Zhongxue shook his head and glanced at the queue that had not yet dispersed.

"We must add it! We absolutely must add it!"

Ayumi was startled by his voice, "Add more?"

"Print another batch! Continue selling tomorrow!"

Ayumi stared at the chairman for two seconds, then opened the paper bag, recounted the cash balance, and took out her ledger and phone from her pocket.

Tian Zhongxue immediately dialed the number of the print shop.

At the stall, you could hear him talking rapidly into his phone: "Boss, I'm from the Waseda Manga Club at Fuyu COMI, yes, the one that had an extra 800 copies printed yesterday."

"Um, could you please print it again? This time, please print—uh!"

Tian Zhongxue suddenly froze and looked at Ryosuke.

How many will be printed this time?

Why are you looking at me?

All the club members focused their attention on him.

Ryosuke's face showed a helpless expression.

He must have already told Tian Zhongxue what to do about this, right?

"Of course, it's all the revenue from here; print as much as you can."

Do you understand the allure of all-in poker?

Chapter 256 Who says I don't have someone I like?

At 2 p.m., the crowds in the East Fourth Hall were still dense, but the booths of the Anime Research Institute had quieted down.

Tian Zhongxue sat on a folding chair, holding the empty cardboard box. The excitement on his face had not completely faded. His fingers unconsciously tapped the edge of the box, and he muttered to himself.

"Eight hundred books were gone in less than fifty minutes."

Ayumi was organizing today's sales records beside her, her pen gliding across the paper without looking up. "You've said that at least ten times, Chairman."

"Because I can't believe it! Yesterday it was one hour and forty minutes, and today it's been cut in half! Fifty minutes! And this is only the second day of Winter COMI!"

"Okay, okay, I got it. Be quiet for a bit." Ayumi closed the ledger and rubbed her temples.

Misaki Asakura reorganized the remaining promotional cards by size, while Shota Okubo and Yosuke Kobayashi had already slipped out to browse the exhibition.

Ling Nai stood outside the stall, tidying up with Ryosuke.

The stall has essentially closed for the day, with only occasional customers passing by, flipping through the sample books, and standing there for an hour at a time.

After finishing her work, Horiuchi Ayumi put down her ledger.

"Have the additional printouts been confirmed?"

"It's confirmed!" Tian Zhongxue jumped up from his chair. "The print shop owner said they'll schedule it this afternoon and deliver it at six o'clock tomorrow morning. This time, we'll print 1,200 copies and still have 50,000 yen left over."

“Tomorrow is the third day, so there will be far fewer people.” Ayumi frowned. “If we can’t sell them all by tomorrow, we’ll move the rest back to the activity room as club inventory.”

Judging from today's popularity, it shouldn't be a loss.

But to make a profit, you need to sell at least the same number of shares as today.

"President, you're so impulsive..."

Thinking of this, Ayumi sighed.

"It's not exactly impulsive. So many people like our work, we have to reprint it just to respond to them!"

Tian Zhongxue waved his hand, not caring at all.

"Right, Takashiro?"

He turned his head and squinted at the shower.

Ryosuke chuckled and shook his head helplessly.

"We'll deal with the unsold inventory later," Tian Zhongxue waved his hand. "Anyway, I don't want to worry about anything tonight. I just want to have a good celebratory meal with everyone!"

Just as he said this, Okubo and Kobayashi returned to their stall.

Upon hearing what he said, Shota Okubo immediately raised his hand, "I agree, we should eat meat in big bites!"

"I just checked a few restaurants, and there's a yakiniku all-you-can-eat place near the station. It's 2,500 yen per person, and we should still be able to make a reservation now." Asakura Misaki had already taken her phone out of her bag and was showing it to everyone.

Ayumi glanced at the time. "If we make a reservation now, it'll be just about right after we pack up and head over. What about Takashiro and Ayano? Let's go together."

Ryosuke was taking his thermos out of his canvas bag when he heard this, and nodded, "I'm fine."

Where is Ling Nai?

The blonde girl put the folder into her canvas bag and glanced at Ryosuke.

This guy has already said he's going, so if she refuses, it would seem like she's being too antisocial, right? Besides, she doesn't want to go home all alone.

“Okay.” Ling Nai nodded.

"Great! I'll call and make a reservation!" Tian Zhongxue snatched Asakura Misaki's phone and ran behind the booth to make the call.

......

At six o'clock in the evening, the setting sun had already sunk behind the station building. The crowds leaving the Winter COMI exhibition area poured into the various tram stations, and the convenience stores and restaurants along the way lit up with warm yellow lights one after another.

The yakiniku restaurant is located on the second floor of a mixed residential building, a five-minute walk from the south exit of the station. The restaurant is not large, but it is popular for student club gatherings because of its reasonable prices and unlimited drinks.

Ayumi booked an eight-person table by the window. The exhaust pipe on the wall was humming, and the edges of the wire mesh were charred black.

As soon as Tian Zhongxue entered, he started piling meat onto the grill. Pork belly and beef tongue sizzled on the grill, and the aroma of meat mixed with the sweet and smoky flavor of the sauce filled the private room.

"Come on, let's have a drink!"

Tian Zhongxue raised his beer glass, stood up, his glasses covered with a layer of barbecue grease, but he didn't care at all.

"The first print run of 'Kara no Kyoukai' (The Garden of Sinners) of 500 copies sold out in one hour and forty minutes! The additional print run of 800 copies sold out in fifty minutes! Another 1,200 copies will be printed tomorrow! Cheers to the winter COMI of the manga club!"

"cheers!"

Everyone's glasses clinked together, and Ling Nai also raised her glass.

The beer was drunk by Tian Zhongxue and Bu Mei; they're all college students, so it's normal for them to drink a little.

"so good."

Ling Nai looked at them, a hint of envy in her eyes.

To be honest, the taste of that drink last time was still quite memorable if you savored it carefully.

Unfortunately, this guy wouldn't let her drink it.

She glanced at Ryosuke beside her, somewhat displeased.

Ryosuke keenly noticed her gaze.

"No."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"Your expression clearly says 'I want to drink'."

Ling Nai's eyebrows shot up. "Why can you drink it but I can't?"

"Because I won't get drunk and hang on to other people and talk nonsense."

Ling Nai was taken aback by his words. Her chopsticks froze in mid-air. She moved her mouth as if to say something in rebuttal, but found herself speechless.

What is this guy?

After gritting her teeth for a while, the girl felt a little guilty.

I remembered what happened at Ureshino back then, and it still makes me shy to think about it now.

Ayumi raised her phone and took a group photo of everyone at the table.

Misaki Asakura is looking through the photos she took at the exhibition hall today.

The camera screen flashed one photo after another of the booths, the queues, and close-ups of doujinshi (fan-made comics).