My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

JUMP SQ, short for JUMP SQUARE, is currently the monthly magazine division of JUMP.

After the original monthly JUMP was discontinued due to poor popularity, most of the works were transferred to SQ for serialization.

Representative works include "Blue Exorcist" and "Seraph of the End," making it a popular magazine in Japan. Even "Blood Blockade Battlefront," "The Prince of Tennis," and "Naraku no Ken" are currently serialized in it. Sometimes, its popularity even surpasses that of weekly magazines.

Unlike weekly magazines, *Jump SQ* also publishes shoujo manga, seinen manga, manga adaptations of anime or novels, essays, and novels, making it a comprehensive magazine. However, its collected volumes are marked with the name *Jump Comics*.

The editorial regulations of Jump SQ are relatively loose, and there are works with strong impact, such as social issues, pornography, and gruesome descriptions of violence.

Furthermore, even if a serialization of a work in Jump SQ is discontinued due to low popularity, there are special measures in place to resume it through web serialization. This is one of the few conscientious practices that Shueisha has implemented, as many manga artists choose to retire in monthly magazines after they get tired of serialization.

For Naoto, this was his first time visiting the editorial department of SQ, and he had never even met Editor Hongdao before.

After all, in the past, Naoto would basically just fax the manuscript over and then ignore everything else.

At most, they'd discuss the upcoming plot over the phone.

The reason he came here this time was for something he hadn't expected: the anime adaptation of "Cooking Master Boy".

To be honest, he had never thought of this kind of thing before.

After all, judging from the current progress of "Cooking Master Boy," it's just a drop in the ocean compared to the original "Cooking Master Boy" anime.

Even the first season had 52 episodes, and Naoto was updating it monthly, which made the pace even slower.

However, since the editorial department has already discussed it, Naoto will naturally come over.

As for the reasons for adapting it into an anime, Naoto can understand them.

First, there was the huge success of the animated adaptation of "The Bloodline".

From the start to the end of its broadcast, it basically held the top spot among the January anime season. Various commercial activities were launched one after another, and even now, almost in April, they are still constantly carrying out activities, making the weekly magazine and J.C. Staff extremely wealthy.

This huge success naturally attracted the attention of some animation companies who were eyeing Naoto's other manga.

Parasyte is out of the question, since there are very few of them now, and it's unlikely to be adapted into an anime until after the series ends.

All that's left for Naoto is the ongoing serialization of "Cooking Master Boy".

Although it seems that "Chinese Idol" doesn't have much popularity.

However, in fact, in the monthly manga category, Chinese Ichiban! has always been the top-rated manga and has never fallen out of favor.

Every update is pure torture.

The aroma of the delicious food always made the editors' mouths water. It's said that during the year that the series was serialized, even the editors of SQ gained at least three pounds.

Moreover, the plot of "Cooking Master Boy" has recently reached a climax.

He participated in the master chef assessment and eventually became the youngest master chef in history, thus beginning his boastful mode.

Originally, I was just cooking, but now I'm forced to put on a show every time I cook.

To everyone's astonishment, the symbol representing a top-tier chef was revealed. Then, the onlookers all knelt down in awe.

This kind of pretentious tactic immediately resonates with readers.

Is there any plot where watching the protagonist show off is more enjoyable?

Multiple factors contributed to the rapid increase in popularity of "Cooking Master Boy," which led the editorial department to decide to expedite the anime adaptation process for Naoto.

"Naoto-sensei, you've finally arrived! Come in, I've been waiting for you here for a long time."

"Um, who are you?"

Just as Naoto was standing at the entrance of the editorial department, intending to call Hiroshima to come out and meet him, a man in a suit with a somewhat square head spotted Naoto at a glance and then led him inside.

"I'm Hiroshima, Naoto-sensei. I heard you were coming, so I've been waiting for you here."

"Hongdao editor?! No, this is way too grand."

Naoto never expected that Hiroshima, his editor, would be waiting for him at the door since morning.

I didn't even recognize the editor from Hongdao, but they recognized me first. That's a bit much. Is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it?

"It's alright. After all, Naoto-sensei, you are our JUMP's ace manga artist. It's only right that you receive such treatment."

Hiroshima, the editor, didn't seem to care about Naoto's surprise at all. On the contrary, he felt it was the right thing to do, which truly flattered Naoto. Is this how SQ operates?

Under the guidance of Hiroshima, Naoto also met the current editor-in-chief of SQ.

Compared to Sasaki, who is still middle-aged, SQ's editor-in-chief is already considered an old man.

In his fifties or sixties, it's said he'll soon be promoted and transferred to Shueisha.

Unlike the sharp-eyed editor Sasaki, the editor-in-chief of SQ was very kind, looking like an old man you might meet in a park. In short, Naoto felt no pressure at all.

"Then, Naoto-sensei, we'll leave this animation to Studio DEEN. Is that alright with you?"

"No problem, I'll leave these matters to you, Editor-in-Chief."

Naoto didn't care much about the editor-in-chief entrusting the animation of "Cooking Master Boy" to Studio DEEN. Although the company had already started to decline when Naoto transmigrated, it was still a veteran anime company. Famous works such as "Nurarihyon no Mago" and "Ranma 1/2" were produced by this company.

Moreover, the company's art style is quite suitable for Chinese Ichiban!

"Not at all. Serving outstanding comic book artists is what we editors should do, isn't it? Especially someone as young and promising as ONE deserves special treatment. I hope there will be more opportunities to cooperate in the future."

Under the editor's words, Naoto became a little embarrassed.

Overall, though, today's work seems to have gone quite smoothly?

Chapter 112: Let's Go See the Flowers Together

As time goes by, April is getting closer and closer.

As April approaches, it's time to enjoy the flowers in Japan.

As Japan's national flower, the cherry blossom symbolizes passion, purity, and nobility, and has been beloved by the Japanese people since ancient times. Even today, every spring when the cherry blossoms bloom, the Japanese people flock to Japan to enjoy the flowers, celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival, and witness the vibrant beauty of the blossoms and the joyful laughter of the people – a truly enviable sight. Basically, every year from March 15th to April 15th, on weekends, you can see people out enjoying the flowers.

Some families come together, with parents, children, and grandparents; others come with classmates or friends.

In short, for Japanese people, flower viewing is not just an activity that evokes aversion to romance, but also a good time for socializing and gatherings.

It was during this time of year that Kenji, who had already become Akito's boyfriend, suddenly invited Akito to go flower viewing, intending to nurture their relationship.

However, since Akito didn't want to leave Mitsuo alone, he ended up inviting Mitsuo to participate as well.

In the end, the entire club decided to participate in the flower viewing activity this weekend.

As for why everyone agreed, it's probably related to the "miserable" lives of these people.

Come to think of it, Naoto's parents are generally not interested in activities like flower viewing, and Nanko has no friends other than Naoto.

Sakuta hasn't been in the mood to appreciate flowers since his sister's accident.

As for Mai-senpai... she was a child star from a young age, so she basically had no childhood. Forget about flower viewing, she had virtually no entertainment activities. She was just a pitiful child.

And Yukino... does admiring flowers in her own yard count?

It's fair to say that, apart from Hachiman, most of the people present knew very little about flower viewing.

Many people were quite interested in the sudden opportunity to enjoy the flowers together.

It's tough on Jianji. She just wanted to go on a date with her boyfriend, but in the end, she couldn't tell who was the third wheel.

Seeing that Ji Baobao was suffering inside, but she didn't say anything.

Moreover, after mentally beating Akito a dozen times, Mikichi came to terms with it.

After all, she already knew what kind of person her boyfriend was. If she cared about that, she would have been driven crazy by Akito long ago.

Moreover, given Mikichi's personality, he's actually quite interested in going out and having fun with everyone.

It seems like it's even more fun than dating.

Let's just leave it at that and go have some fun together.

........................

The day before going to see the flowers, Naoto was preparing food for the next day's flower viewing.

Since this was a Japanese event, Naoto prepared some bento boxes as well as some Japanese-style snacks, such as sakura mochi, hanami dango, sakura yokan, and sakura taiyaki.

A sweet aroma filled the house, making one feel sweet just by smelling it.

Even the sweet scent could be smelled at the Saiki family's house next door to Nao's.

At this moment, Nanzi was sitting on Zhiren's sofa, with some samples on the table in front of her.

At this moment, Nanzi was swinging her white little feet and occasionally stuffing a piece of dessert into her mouth.

Although there was no difference in her expression, Naoto could still tell that Nanko was actually quite happy.

Actually, Naoto was a little surprised that Nanzi would choose to participate in this flower viewing event.

After all, Nanzi generally dislikes all kinds of activities.

But this time, Nanko seemed unusually excited about tomorrow's flower viewing, which made Naoto a little puzzled as to why Nanko was so looking forward to it.

"Nanzi, are you really looking forward to flower viewing tomorrow?"

While putting desserts into the bento box, Naoto asked Nanko a question out of curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

"Why? Don't you usually hate these kinds of activities?"

"Because I can go out and have fun with Naoto."

Nanko's words left Naoto speechless. For a moment, Naoto was at a loss for words.

"Because Naoto has been busy again recently, I don't know when I'll have time to go out with you. I'm really happy."

"I'm so sorry, Nanzi, I didn't notice how you felt."

Just like Nanako said, Naoto has been so busy lately that he often forgets about Nanako. Although Nanako says she doesn't mind, Naoto still feels a little guilty.

He had clearly promised that once he achieved success, he would spend quality time with Nanzi.

But now, I'm finding myself with more and more work.

Nanzi doesn't particularly enjoy flower viewing, but being with Naoto makes her very happy.

Who wouldn't like a girlfriend like that?

"It's okay, Naoto. I know you've been very busy lately, and you've been able to make a lot of friends recently, thanks to Naoto's help, haven't you?"