Cartoonists and their assistants

Both Touko Akasaka and Shizue Amamiya looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Yes."

Machi Mizuki's expression remained unchanged.

"I understand."

"The teacher is really witty and humorous."

Having weathered many storms, the two quickly regained their composure and seemed to accept the explanation.

But he could fully imagine that the label of "chuunibyou manga artist" on his head was becoming more and more firmly attached to him.

.......

Aoi Makina escorted Yuriko Tsukishita downstairs.

"Miss Aoi, you almost tricked me again."

Eriri was very vengeful.

"Don't worry about such trivial matters. In short, the result is the same."

Aoi Makina was quite embarrassed, scratched her head and cheek, and looked away.

"As long as Ms. Aoi can do a good job with the animation of 'Anohana,' we can let bygones be bygones."

Shinji Mizuki is also putting pressure on her.

"Don't worry about that! I can guarantee it! If I don't do well, then... um, let me think... just punish me by not letting me use my phone for a month!"

Miss Aoi raised her hand and swore a solemn oath.

In today's modern society, not having a mobile phone is equivalent to not having anything.

The duo nodded in satisfaction, temporarily relinquishing their chance to settle scores with her.

......

Meanwhile, a major life event occurred concerning their former assistant, Ms. Saho.

The meeting regarding the new serialization of Monthly Shonen Gangan was held as scheduled.

After an afternoon of discussion and voting, the results were finally revealed.

"The moment has finally arrived... Were Machi and Eriri in the same situation as I am now back then?"

Shizusa stayed in the room, rubbing her palms to ease her inner tension.

"Ding......"

Shortly after, the cell phone rang.

"Hey, Minano-san, is there... any result yet?"

She answered the phone, her voice trembling slightly.

"Okay, I see."

Three seconds later, her pupils contracted, and an excited smile suddenly appeared on her icy face.

"Oh right, tell Machi and Eriri first."

Saho Ashisu opened LINE, sent a message, and quickly received a reply.

Masahiko: Congratulations, Miss Saho, you've finally gotten what you wanted.

Eriri: Congratulations! But that's only natural, after all, you were trained by Yuriko Tsukishita!

She smiled slightly, went to the window, drew back the curtains, and let the sunlight stream in.

"Wait for me, I will definitely catch up with you!"

After confirming her debut, Saho Ashisu has a new goal and new motivation.

......

Upon receiving the good news, the childhood sweethearts shared the news, but they weren't overly excited about something that was expected.

Then, as students, they welcomed the winter vacation of that year.

In the past, the two of them would stay in the secret base to finish their work or play games.

But today is very different.

"Going to the secret base? But there's no reason..."

"What are you going to do at home? Paint?"

After finishing breakfast, Eriri was considering her plans for the day when she suddenly felt incredibly empty and lonely.

Workaholics can feel quite lost when they have free time.

The girl remained in her room, lost in thought, until after 9:30 p.m.

"Forget it, I'll go to the secret base and read for a while. I've accumulated a lot of unread material lately..."

After much deliberation, she finally left the villa and headed to the secret base.

"Huh? Masashi is playing games again? When will he ever get tired of it?!"

When Eriri opened the door and saw the shoes in the entryway, her emotions inexplicably surged, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

Enter the lobby.

Sure enough, a familiar figure was sitting in front of the game console.

"Zhenzhi, why are you still here today?"

She walked over quietly.

"Because I'm bored. I can't find anything else to do, so I play games."

"Gazing at the moon, I gain true knowledge at will."

"How pitiful, you have no other friends besides me in real life. Sigh... I really can't do anything with you. Today, I'll sacrifice some of my time to play with you."

"No, not really. I'm quite familiar with Takasago and Sakura. If I need to, I can ask them to go out with me."

The girl's arrogant expression was instantly replaced by a gloomy one.

She sat down beside her and said firmly:

"Come on! Let's fight!"

after a while.

The arrogant blonde with twin tails collapsed to the ground, her body limp, her eyes still darting around.

"Wow...so strong! Much stronger than before!"

In these few matches, she shaved her head completely, didn't defeat a single person, and didn't even see half of their health remaining.

"Ha, Eriri, do you think I'm still the same person I used to be? Times have changed!"

Mizuki Machi turned his head away and said with a disdainful expression.

In order to defeat Black Cat, his months of hard training have made his gaming skills completely different.

Nowadays, young girls don't even have the right to have fun!

"You're awesome!"

Eriri practically gritted her teeth as she admitted it.

"But being good at games is useless if you're not a professional player."

She changed her approach to being stubborn.

"It's enough if I can torture you."

His reply was as direct as ever.

"Gu..."

Eriri looked impatient, her little fangs slightly showing, as if she wanted to bite his wrist.

"Let's play a two-player game instead, and I'll carry you."

"I don't need you to help me! I can play by myself!"

Suppressing their verbal abuse, the two resumed their game.

The status of 120 has changed.

A week after the holiday.

The producer of the company, Touko Akasaka, called.

"Teacher Yuexia, we've already registered the copyright for that song for you, as well as the usage rights for this background music. We can't take advantage of you, so we'll offer you the highest price according to the market rate..."

"You can handle it as you see fit."

Mizuki Machi didn't chat for long and quickly hung up the phone.

He didn't care much about the money. After all, once the royalties came in, as long as he didn't start a business or anything, given his spending habits, it would be difficult for him to spend them all.

Now, he can say with complete pride—

"I have no interest in money."

.......

The winter break is only two weeks long.

Eriri had never felt such a long time.

She felt that playing with her childhood sweetheart was like entering a time capsule.

Without that sense of urgency, the girl became much more relaxed.

Inside the bookstore.

Eriri sat on the floor, lazily leaning against the bookshelf, flipping through one comic book after another.

Before I knew it, an afternoon had passed.

"Eri, are you going to 'transform' into Aoi?"

Mizuki Machi suddenly pushed open the door and caught a glimpse of the languid girl.

Please don't compare me to that person.

Eriri tilted her head and looked away, vehemently denying it.

At the same time, as she pushed herself up with both hands and was about to take a few steps, her legs suddenly went numb due to poor blood circulation caused by prolonged inactivity...

"Uh...Eh, eh, eh!"

Just as the girl stumbled and was about to fall, a figure blocked her way.

Although Mizuki Machi reached out and grabbed her shoulders to deflect the force, he was still hit hard.

"Ouch... Eriri, are you planning to use a rocket headbutt on me? Don't be that angry."

He released his hands and said.

The two sides were very close.

However, the girl had no romantic thoughts at the moment. Her head was spinning, and upon hearing those words, she suddenly raised her head and said indignantly, "What are you saying? Didn't you see that she accidentally fell?"

"But I caught it for you, shouldn't I say thank you first?"

He asked rhetorically.

“Arigato…but that’s a different matter.”

The girl puffed out her cheeks.

"Then I won't answer next time."

"Listen to what others have to say!"

The two bickered frequently.

At that moment, Eriri felt someone's breath up close and realized how intimate their current distance was, almost like they were embracing.