My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

"this?"

The editor-in-chief took the paper bag from Qi Mu's father and, puzzled, took out the manga drawn by Naoto.

"this is?"

When the editor first saw the comic, his first reaction was to think it was a new work by some author. But upon closer inspection, it seemed that there was no similar style among the current authors in JUMP.

So, are the works submitted by authors from other companies to JUMP?

But that doesn't seem right either. Such exquisite art style—in his memory, only a handful of artists possessed this level of skill. Even if those weren't top-tier artists in other comics, they were certainly pillars of the genre. Why would they submit their work to JUMP?

"This is a comic drawn by my neighbor's child. That child is still a high school student."

Seeing the editor-in-chief looking at him with a puzzled expression, Qi Mu's father quickly explained.

"What?! This is a high school student's work?!"

Upon hearing what Qi Mu's father said, the editor-in-chief quickly flipped through the manga to find the next chapter.

After reading these, the editor-in-chief was immediately shocked.

Indeed, in terms of visual beauty, art style, emotional impact, and storyline, it is impossible to tell that this is a work by a novice. However, there is still a noticeable sense of unfamiliarity in the paneling and visual intensity.

But this is a high school student's work! You're telling him this is a high school student's creation? Are you kidding me?

Has he won any awards before?

"No, he's just an ordinary high school student."

"Do his parents or relatives work in the comics industry?"

"No. As far as I know, his father was an archaeologist and his mother was a writer."

"That would be really strange."

Looking at the comics in his hands, the editor-in-chief was having a hard time deciding. In the end, he decided to hold a meeting first.

In the meeting room——

The editors sat in their seats, looking at their superiors with puzzlement.

Why is it that we had a meeting yesterday, and now we have to have another one today?

"Look at this."

The editor-in-chief didn't say much at this point, but simply handed the comic book in his hand to the editors in the conference room.

The editors carefully reviewed the comics handed to them by the editor-in-chief, their initial doubts gradually turning into deeper confusion.

"Um, editor-in-chief. Is this a new work by someone?"

After flipping through the pages for a while, one of the editors raised his hand and asked the editor-in-chief a question.

If it were a new work by a particular author, would it warrant such a grand fuss, bringing the entire editorial team over? Could it be that a certain author in the industry has switched jobs?

"No, this is the work of a high school student, supposedly the kid next door to Saiki."

"what?!"

After hearing the editor's statement, everyone looked directly at Guo Chun, who remained silent in his seat.

However, although Guo Chun had no expression on his face, he was actually overjoyed inside.

The editors, feeling somewhat incredulous, just like the previous editor-in-chief, began to reread the comic.

No matter how they look at it, they can't tell that this is a high school student's work.

Although yesterday's middle school duo of Ashirogi and Muto were already outrageous enough, at least they had high potential, but in terms of actual drawing skills, they were indeed quite bad.

But now, only one day later, another genius has emerged, and this time, they can't even find any flaws.

"Ahem, everyone, please hear me out."

Just then, Qi Mu's father stood up from his seat and said to his colleagues, "Actually, the author of this manga's parents have passed away. During this time, the child's mental state has been very poor. According to his teacher, the child also had suicidal tendencies. However, recently, since he became obsessed with manga, his mental state has improved considerably. Moreover, I am very clear about his family's current situation; it's no exaggeration to say it's difficult. Therefore, I implore you all to give this child a chance."

At that moment, Qi Mu's father actually bowed deeply to his colleagues in the meeting room.

Although Japan is often described as a country with a "craftsman's spirit," even when apologizing, the angle generally doesn't exceed forty-five degrees.

However, at this moment, in order to give Naoto a chance, Saiki's father even bowed at an extremely rare 90-degree angle.

Faced with Qi Mu's father's earnest request, many colleagues showed hesitation.

This is not only out of pity for Naoto's situation, but also their recognition of this manga.

After all, the brilliance of this comic made them all certain that if it were serialized, it might actually become a huge hit.

However, the short comic to be published was already decided yesterday, and the original manuscript was even sent to the printing plant.

If this is changed at the last minute, there will be too many problems.

At this moment, the editors were all looking at their own editors-in-chief.

These kinds of things can only be decided by the leaders.

"Raise your hand, the minority obeys the majority."

After thinking for a while, the editor-in-chief finally decided to use a show of hands to vote.

"Now, those who agree to publish this comic, please raise your hands."

Inside the meeting room, after much hesitation, about half of the editors finally raised their hands.

Seeing that the number of people was less than half, Qi Mu's father's heart sank.

"Then, raise your hand if you disagree."

At this moment, a few more people sparsely raised their hands. But upon closer inspection, the number was the same as the number of people who had supported them before.

"Hmm, so the rest are those who abstained? What do we do now?"

Seeing that the two sides had reached a draw, the deputy editor began to speak.

"Editor-in-chief, I don't think it needs to be so complicated."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing the deputy editor's words, all the editors present perked up their ears.

"Perfect timing. Our competition with several other magazines has been intensifying lately, so why don't we just publish a supplement? We won't need to revise the already printed articles. Plus, we can take this opportunity to promote ourselves."

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard the deputy editor's idea.

And after seeing that the editors had no objections, Naoto's vampire story was finally published in JUMP.

Chapter Six: An Encounter in the Editorial Department

At seven o'clock the next morning, Naoto had taken a rare day off.

Today, he was going to the JUMP editorial office with Qi Mu's father to discuss a contract.

To be honest, I'm a little excited today. After all, whether in my past life or now, the JUMP editorial office is a holy grail for otaku. Countless industry giants are based there.

Although the world has lost many excellent comic artists, those renowned authors are still working here.

Like Kubo-sensei, Kishimoto-sensei, Sorachi-sensei, and the like—just thinking about what would happen if I went to the editorial department and met these established seniors, should I ask for their autographs or not?

"Knock knock knock."

"Come, come, who is it?"

Just as Naoto opened the door, standing outside was none other than Nanko.

Looking at Nanko, who was dressed in exquisite clothes as if she were going on a pilgrimage, Naoto had a strange expression on his face.

"Nanzi, what are you doing?"

"Dad is worried you'll get into trouble today, so he asked me to keep an eye on you."

"What are you saying? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would cause trouble in an editorial office?"

"do not you?"

"Uh, I can't argue with that."

Looking at his childhood friend, Naoto said that Nanako, after changing out of her school uniform, was definitely a beauty.

Her expressionless face, coupled with her aloof demeanor, made her beautiful features appear even more stunning.

Both the father and mother of the Qi family are extremely good-looking, and Nanzi combines the best features of both of them.

Normally, when Nanzi is wearing a school uniform, it doesn't seem like much, but when she changes into her everyday clothes, she really stands out.

"By the way, Nanzi, you didn't come with me on purpose, did you?"

Naoto remained skeptical about Nanko's claim that she was watching him.

After all, as her childhood friend, he knew Nanzi's personality perfectly well. She would avoid doing anything she could. Especially since this was a request from her father, who had practically no status at home. Unless her uncle was willing to give her about a box of coffee jelly, Nanzi would absolutely not agree.

So, there's only one reason why Nanzi came out—she wanted to go to the JUMP editorial office.

As a manga enthusiast, Nanko has visited the JUMP editorial office more than once.

But that was only when my silly dad forgot something or was going to be late, that I went along with him.

Nanzi has never had time to properly explore the editorial office, nor has she been able to get autographs from those famous authors.

This time, having finally gotten a proper opportunity to go to the editorial office, how could Nanzi possibly let it go?

"I have to go, I'm going to be late."

"Hey! You still haven't told me if it's true or not!"

"No Road Race!"

Faced with Naoto's guess, Nanko turned and left his sight. However, judging from Naoto's guess, he was probably right.

Soon, the group arrived at the JUMP editorial office.

To be fair, even though it's just a subsidiary of Shueisha, JUMP's editorial office looks exceptionally powerful at first glance.

Because it's working hours now, you can see a lot of people coming and going in the editorial office.

"Uh, who are all these people?"

Although they initially came to ask the big shot for an autograph, Nanako and Naoto were dumbfounded when they arrived.