Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

"Sunset Giant, why don't you release the translated portion first? I want to watch this week's Naruto first @SOS Team-Sunset."

"Let's release the One Piece part first. I'm so eager to see what the latest plot is all about!"

"Wow, you guys are so mean!"

……

The group chat was buzzing with excitement, with messages flooding the screen so fast it was almost impossible to keep up.

Seeing the lively chatter in the group, Lin Beimiao chuckled, and then...

He uploaded the autographed copy of Attack on Titan and the photo of Eri Aragaki, which he had obtained, and then typed:

[SOS Brigade - Orange: Brothers, look whose autograph and photo I got!]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: Let me tell you, Pear Girl is incredibly beautiful in real life too, absolutely stunning! I feel like she's almost like the heroine from the manga! She looks like Haruhi Suzumiya!]

Not only that, he also created a new group album and uploaded all the photos he took at Jump Festa today.

There are panoramic photos of the main stage, group photos of various cosplayers in the cosplay area, posters of new works from various booths, and the photo of him with Eri Aragaki is placed separately as the first picture in the album.

Chapter 121 The Publishing House Aunt

Xiao Nanliang was in a high-intensity group chat when he suddenly saw the photo Lin Beimiao posted and was stunned for a moment.

He had just typed halfway through a message and was about to send it when his fingers stopped on the keyboard, and he stared at the photo on the screen for a long time.

Then he clicked on the image, which zoomed in to full screen, and looked at the signature "Doesn't Eat Pears" on the title page of the single volume.

And that photo of Lin Beimiao and Aragaki Eri, it's exactly the same as the Aragaki Eri in the photo.

In the group photo, her fair skin appeared even more radiant under the booth lights, and her short black hair accentuated her delicate face shape. Her A-line skirt and stockings were not visible under the booth lights.

However, that white shirt outfit makes her look nothing like a cartoonist; she looks more like a female protagonist straight out of a romantic comedy anime, the epitome of a goddess for otaku.

Eri Aragaki even made a heart shape with her right hand on her cheek, quite close to Lin Beimiao.

The two were only about half an arm's length apart, and Lin Beimiao was standing next to her with a wide grin that almost reached his ears.

There's nothing special about it; she got this close to many fans who wanted autographs.

She made the heart shape with her hands no less than a hundred times today, but at the beginning, she actually did the heart-donation gesture more often.

After she spontaneously made a heart shape with her hands, the fans behind her immediately wanted to take photos with her using the same gesture.

It's hard to resist a cute girl making a heart shape with her hands!

But Xiao Nanliang and the others didn't know that all they saw was how close Lin Beimiao was to "Pear Girl" in the group photo.

They didn't see that Eri Aragaki was in the same pose and had the same smile in the other hundreds of group photos.

They only saw this one picture, only Lin Beimiao standing next to this beautiful girl comic artist, the two of them so close that their shoulders were almost touching, it was simply...enviable and jealous!

Moreover, they weren't like the other fans at the event, and they didn't receive the same treatment as Lin Beimiao.

In short, if others have something that I don't, it will make people jealous!

The group chat immediately erupted in excitement. Not only the group members who were chatting earlier, but also those who had been lurking and even members of the translation team came out to speak.

The few people who were usually quiet all suddenly burst out.

"Is this Rina Makoto? Orange, did you see Rina Makoto today?"

Wow! Is Pear Girl really this beautiful in person? Absolutely stunning!

"She's so beautiful! From now on, I'm a huge fan of Pear Girl!"

"Boss, I'm so envious of you. You got to see Pear Girl and get so close to her. She must smell amazing."

"Ahhh, I've made up my mind! I'm going to study in Japan after I graduate from university. I want to see Ri-chan and get this close to her."

"Pear Girl is so cute! Waaaaah, I'm falling in love with Pear Girl."

"Boss, did you only see Pear today? Did you see Oda, Kishimoto, or the others?"

"I saw the album that the boss uploaded, but it doesn't seem to have Oda or Kishimoto in it. Boss, did you only go to see Rina?"

"Boss, did you ask Pear Girl if she could continue drawing sequels to 'Fog Hill of Five Elements'? I want to see the sequels to 'Fog Hill of Five Elements'!"

"Or we could draw another comic like 'Fog Hill of Five Elements,' the art style is just right!"

……

Lin Beimiao was also quite happy; the envious, jealous, and hateful reactions from his group members were exactly the effect he wanted.

He leaned back in his chair, watching the messages pop up one by one, then immediately reached for the keyboard and typed out replies one by one.

[SOS Brigade - Orange: This really is Pear Girl herself, and I think she's even prettier in person than in photos.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: The main thing is that Pear Girl's proportions are amazing, she's definitely over 1.7 meters tall. I'm 1.75 meters tall and I feel about the same height as her.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: Pear Girl smells amazing, I was so excited when she got close.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: Actually, we saw everything, but they didn't allow us to take pictures freely on stage. Oda was wearing a fish head mask, and so were Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Hideaki Sorachi, and Hiroyuki Takei.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: And it's a pity I only got Pear Girl and Oda's autographs, but it was still worth it, Pear Girl is so cute!]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: Um... I wasn't talking about *Fog Hill of Five Elements*. I was just saying that we all really like all her comics, including *Fog Hill of Five Elements*.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: You can't blame me for this! The autograph session has a limited time; each person only gets half a minute to a minute. When it's time, you have to leave. I really didn't have time to ask so many questions.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: And let me tell you, Pear Girl really loves the culture of the People's Republic of China. Can you believe she speaks Chinese?]

……

Xiao Nanliang and the other group members were shocked again when they saw Lin Beimiao's reply.

The discussion about whether Annie was the Female Titan was completely forgotten, and everyone's attention was focused on the five words "Pear Girl speaks Chinese".

"Oh, does Pear Girl speak Chinese?"

"Really? It's not one of those everyday greetings like 'hello' or 'thank you,' is it?"

"Hello" and "thank you" are already quite impressive, okay? But Pear Girl is Japanese.

"Then I love Pear Girl even more. Pear Girl is definitely not faking this. Didn't she say in the previous interview that she really likes the culture of the People's Republic of China?"

"Exactly, language can lie, but can Pear Girl's paintings of 'Wu Song' and 'Fog Hill of Five Elements' be considered lies?"

"Even if it's a lie, I think that's enough... Anyway, I believe in Pear Sister."

“True passion is shown in actions. Anyway, Pear has always behaved very well with me, and I am willing to believe that she truly loves the culture of the People’s Republic of China.”

……

Lin Beimiao saw that some people in the group were still skeptical, so he quickly typed a reply.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, each word carrying an urgent message: "I heard it with my own ears, and you still don't believe me?"

[SOS Brigade - Orange: It wasn't just simple everyday phrases like "hello" or "thank you," it was real Chinese; she was talking to me.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: Anyway, Pear Girl really speaks Chinese quite well, so communication shouldn't be a problem.]

[SOS Brigade - Orange: I'm not exaggerating, it's true, I wouldn't lie to you guys, okay?]

This further fueled the enthusiasm of the group members.

The message feed in the group reached its peak for the night, with several people sending messages simultaneously, and the chat history on the screen scrolling wildly.

"Pear Sister really speaks Chinese, so communication won't be a problem anymore! That's great! There won't be any issues when Pear Sister and I get married!"

"Dream on! Pear Girl is my wife!"

"Stop fighting over it, let me tell you the truth. Actually, Pear is my foreign fiancée whom I've been keeping secret all this time. We were betrothed since we were kids!"

"Pear Girl likes the culture of the Republic and can speak Chinese, so I have to support her. By the way, the Attack on Titan manga has been released, right? I'll see if I can buy a copy from overseas."

"Yes! I'll also buy from overseas! It'll be my way of supporting Pear Girl!"

"When will Attack on Titan be available in Chinese? Waaah, I don't understand Japanese!"

"It doesn't matter if I don't understand it. I'm just trying to support Pear Girl. Just because she can speak Chinese and loves the culture of the Republic, I'm definitely buying this single volume. Even if I can't understand it, I'll put it on my bookshelf."

"What are you guys thinking? Do we need to ask someone else to buy it for us? Isn't our boss in Japan right now? He just went to see Rina today, he's in Tokyo!"

"Yeah! Boss, why don't you help us buy the Attack on Titan manga together? You're going back to China for New Year's Day anyway, so buying multiple copies at once will save on shipping."

……

Aside from a few people who started jeering and calling Eri Aragaki their wife, others began thinking about how to support Eri Aragaki's manga works.

Lin Beimiao saw that the group members had already started to organize group purchases on their own, and some of them were even more proactive than him.

He thought for a moment, roughly calculated his baggage allowance in his mind, and then typed:

[SOS Team - Orange: Okay, give me a list of those who want to buy this for me, and pay me a partial deposit first. I'll bring it back to China when I return for New Year's Day. Three books per person, I can't fit more in my luggage.]

And then, that's how it happened...

Eri Aragaki's unexpected display of Chinese as a "ladies' man" unexpectedly brought her her first reward.

So fast, and so many.

Lin Beimiao received pre-orders from more than a dozen people that very evening. Each person bought at least one copy, and some even bought three copies—one to keep, one to read themselves, and one to lend to a friend.

Later, Lin Beimiao also helped others buy books and planned to pay out of his own pocket as a benefit for the translation group. Every time he went to the bookstore, he would pick up a few more Attack on Titan volumes. When he returned to China, his suitcase was more than half full.

They contributed to the sales of approximately several thousand copies of the Attack on Titan manga.

Of course, this was done gradually through proxy purchases, not Lin Beimiao buying thousands of Attack on Titan single volumes to bring back to China all at once.

Later, he would bring a batch back with him every time he returned to China. People in the group would also be asked to bring a batch back when they went to Japan for business or tourism. Little by little, it added up.

So... Eri Aragaki's preemptive efforts to recruit men were truly effective, and they brought her unexpected benefits.

After all, this represents the sales of several thousand volumes of Attack on Titan. How many manga only sell a few thousand volumes a month?

At the same time, Lin Beimiao also sighed as he saw many people in the group who hesitated to buy "Attack on Titan" because there was no Chinese version...

He felt sorry for those group members who wanted to buy but couldn't read Japanese, every time he saw their comments.

It would be great if a domestic publisher could officially collaborate with Shueisha to introduce the Chinese version.