Chapter 171: The Misguided One-Eyed Cat

Chapter 171: The Misguided One-Eyed Cat

"Alright, that's enough."

Lin Qingshan said with a smile, "As a professional manga artist, the most important thing is not to worry about external evaluations."

The three assistants nodded thoughtfully at Lin Qingshan's words.

"Exactly," Jie Jianyu agreed, "As professional manga artists, we shouldn't be concerned with the opinions of outsiders!"

Lin Qingshan suddenly felt uneasy. He hoped that Jie Jianyu, who was the one-eyed cat in this world, wouldn't be led astray by this perspective.

"Well, that's not quite what I meant," he coughed and advised Jie Jianyu earnestly, "Jianyu, you shouldn't be too dogmatic. Balance and compromise are important."

"Too dogmatic?" Jie Jianyu seemed puzzled but quickly understood, "Got it, I understand the teacher's lesson!"

Lin Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that the one-eyed cat in this parallel world wouldn't be misled by his words.

What he didn't realize was that Jie Jianyu's proficiency in Chinese was average.

What does average proficiency mean? It means being fine with daily conversations but only having a superficial understanding of idioms.

As they seemed to wrap up this topic, the doorbell rang.

Lin Qingshan quickly went to answer the door...

"Qingshan!"

"Qianli, Ayumi!"

Lin Qingshan greeted Ito Ayumi and Gu Qianli, who were at the door. Ayumi, the editor, was certainly aware of the signing event. It's common for editors to accompany manga artists to such events in this world.

Lin Qingshan had also been open with Gu Qianli about the event. Despite her busy schedule with the launch of C Station, she had decided to join Lin Qingshan for the signing event, wanting to be part of this significant moment in his life.

"Are you ready, teacher? If so, we can head out," Ayumi said.

"Ready."

Lin Qingshan turned to his assistants Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jie Jianyu and said, "Alright, let's all go together."

Since assistants are somewhat like half-disciples to manga artists, Lin Qingshan wanted them to experience the signing event. Of course, it was also because they wanted to come. If they hadn't, he wouldn't have insisted. After all, he understood the pain of forced team-building from his previous life.

Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jie Jianyu were excited to see what a signing event would be like for a successful manga artist.

"Alright, teacher."

Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jie Jianyu followed Lin Qingshan out of the apartment.

"Who are these people..."

Gu Qianli was puzzled seeing the three. She had been too busy recently to know about Lin Qingshan's new assistants.

The three assistants also stared at Gu Qianli and Ayumi, curious about them since they had never met Gu Qianli before.

Seeing the familiarity between Ayumi and Lin Qingshan, they wondered if this beautiful girl was also a well-known manga artist. With such exceptional looks, it seemed odd if she wasn't famous.

But it's possible she was a manga artist who preferred to keep a low profile. Some manga artists don't even hold signing events and keep their identities hidden.

[Translator: sauron]

Chen Chunqiang asked, "Who is this teacher?"

"Qianli is my good friend!" Lin Qingshan said with a smile, "Don't call her 'Teacher Qianli.' She's actually younger than you all!"

Gu Qianli, still in her third year of college, was indeed younger than the university graduates Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jie Jianyu.

"Still a college student manga teacher?" Wu Shiqing asked, confused.

"No, no, no..." Gu Qianli quickly explained, "I'm not a manga artist like Qingshan... I'm just his friend."

"Oh, I see."

Wu Shiqing and the others understood.

Looking at Gu Qianli's youthful, vibrant face and then at Lin Qingshan, they seemed to realize something.

"I'll introduce you to Qianli," Lin Qingshan said, "This is Shiqing, this is Chunqiang, and this is Jianyu! They will be my assistants for a long time."

"Assistants?" Gu Qianli's eyes brightened, "That's great. Qingshan can be less busy now."

She was happy Lin Qingshan had assistants; it meant he would have more free time.

"Let's get going!"

Lin Qingshan gave a thumbs up.

"Okay, no problem."

Gu Qianli nodded.

The group set off, leaving poor Pochita behind in the apartment.

Meanwhile, Wu Shiqing whispered to Ayumi, "Ayumi, I'm curious. Why does the teacher always give the thumbs up?"

"That's probably just his habit," Ayumi whispered back.

"Ah, I see."

Wu Shiqing and the others finally understood.

Through their time together, they had come to believe that the external comments about Lin Qingshan might not be baseless but were indeed indicative of some mental quirks.

Yet, as a brilliant manga artist who created "Edgerunners" and "Flame Fist," having a few quirks seemed quite reasonable...

[End of Chapter]