Chapter 166: The Mangaka from a Parallel World
Chapter 166: The Mangaka from a Parallel World
Three days later, Lin Qingshan arrived at a café, holding Pochita's leash.
"Qingshan-sensei, over here!" Ayumi Ito, who had been waiting for a while, waved at Lin Qingshan from a distance.
"Ah, I'm here!" Lin Qingshan quickly walked over.
It was only then that he noticed three young individuals standing behind Ayumi Ito. The three of them, two men and one woman, looked quite unremarkable. When they heard Ayumi Ito refer to Lin Qingshan as "Qingshan-sensei," they seemed a bit nervous and slightly surprised.
"So, these three are the aspiring mangaka here to apply for the position of my assistant, right?" Lin Qingshan asked with a smile he thought was "kind and approachable."
"Y-yes," the three young people stammered, appearing even more nervous upon seeing his smile.
"Let's head inside and talk," Ayumi Ito suggested, somewhat helplessly.
"Sounds good to me!" Lin Qingshan gave a thumbs up. "Let's go in and order something to drink. Don't worry about the cost; it's on me today!"
"Thank you, Sensei..." The three exchanged glances before reluctantly ordering their drinks, feeling as awkward as when facing an overly generous elder during the holidays.
"Alright, you must already know who I am," Lin Qingshan continued to smile warmly. "But I'll introduce myself anyway, as politeness is essential!"
"My name is Lin Qingshan, and I'm the author of *Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners*, *Chainsaw Man*, and *Fire Punch*."
"And this here is my partner—Pochita!"
"Woof! Woof!" Pochita barked enthusiastically at the group.
"Pochita..." The three young people glanced at Pochita, then at each other. They clearly recognized the dog from *Chainsaw Man*.
Did Lin Qingshan... write his own dog into the manga?
Well, that's not entirely unheard of. But introducing your dog along with yourself... that thought process...
It's a bit unexpected.
People often said that Qingshan-sensei had an unusual way of thinking, even calling him a "madman." At first, they thought it was just an exaggeration, but now...
Hmm, it seems there might be some truth to it.
"Alright, it's your turn to introduce yourselves," Lin Qingshan said, turning to the young woman first. "Ladies first. Miss, you can go ahead."
The young woman, who wore black, square-framed glasses and appeared younger than Lin Qingshan, seemed a bit dazed.
"My name is... Wu Shiqing," she said hesitantly but decisively. "I graduated from Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts last year. I really love manga and dream of becoming a well-known mangaka like you, Qingshan-sensei!"
"Excellent!" Lin Qingshan applauded. "With such an ambitious dream, I'm sure you'll achieve success soon."
"Not really... Right now, I just hope to learn a few things under your guidance..." Wu Shiqing said, a bit flustered, quickly waving her hands.
"Alright, now it's the turn of you two young men," Lin Qingshan said, turning to the two remaining young men with a smile.
"My name is Chen Chunqiang," said the round-faced man who seemed a bit more mature, introducing himself first. "I also graduated from the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, but two years earlier than Wu Shimei. I once had my manga serialized in Zero Manga, so I'm very familiar with the work of a mangaka!"
"My goal is to learn a bit about plot construction from you, Qingshan-sensei!"
Lin Qingshan nodded. Having experience as a mangaka was definitely a plus. However, the fact that someone who had been a mangaka was now applying to be an assistant suggested that...
Chen Chunqiang's serialized manga likely didn't do well...
In fact, it wasn't hard to guess that his work was probably axed.
Zero Manga is another small but somewhat known magazine company in the industry, but its reputation is nothing compared to Mangaka World. Even so, if Chen Chunqiang's work was axed there, it's clear his story was the problem, despite having strong drawing skills.
No wonder he decided to become an assistant under Lin Qingshan.
After all, the relationship between a prominent mangaka and their assistant could be seen as a mentor-mentee dynamic. Working closely together, the assistant would naturally learn a lot from the mangaka.
[Translator: sauron]
"May I ask what your pen name is?" Lin Qingshan asked Chen Chunqiang, curious.
"...Of course," Chen Chunqiang hesitated, then bit his lip and revealed, "My pen name is 'Absolute Strongest,' and my previous work was titled *Sword and Blade: Peerless*."
He even mentioned his work's title, showing how much he wanted to become Lin Qingshan's assistant.
"Interesting name!" Lin Qingshan nodded, then turned to the last person.
"My name is... Gejian Yuta," the final young man said shakily.
"Are you... Japanese?" Lin Qingshan asked, intrigued by the name.
"Yes... I'm from Iwate Prefecture in Honshu, Japan," Gejian Yuta said nervously, "I've submitted some work to manga publishers, but none have been successful so far, so I wanted to learn under you, Qingshan-sensei..."
Seeing that the others had shared their pen names and works, he added, "As for my pen name... it's Gejian Shimoshimo, though I don't have any published works yet."
At first, Lin Qingshan didn't think much of it, but when he heard the pen name "Gejian Shimoshimo," he froze.
"Hmm?"
He looked at Gejian Yuta, puzzled.
"Is something wrong, Qingshan-sensei...?" Gejian Yuta asked nervously.
"Never mind, it's nothing," Lin Qingshan muttered, smacking his lips. Wow...
Did he just meet the "one-eyed cat" teacher from a parallel world?
But since he's already aware of the existence of a parallel world with Dragon Clan and South University, it makes sense that he'd encounter someone like Gejian Shimoshimo.
Lin Qingshan understood that in this parallel world, some people and works might exist, while others might not. Even the names and some settings could be different, like with *The Gods*.
"Since everyone has shared their pen names... I suppose I should reveal mine as well..." Wu Shiqing couldn't hold back any longer. "My pen name is... Koyoharu Gotouge."
(End of Chapter)