There is nothing wrong with the training method of the Justice Messenger

World-class painters and world-class cartoonists are not the same. Although they seem to be only one word apart, the actual difference is as huge as a world of difference.

Li Nian has also read Shiina's past drawings, and found that there are some flaws in the plot, which is fatal to the comics.

"But classmate Shiina, you said it yourself, you're not sure?" Li Nian seized on Shiina's previous answer and asked with a frown.

"……Yes."

Shiina's answer was a beat slow, and he finally turned around and looked at Li Nian, his big eyes flickering.

"What did you draw this time? I was telling a story." Li Nian frowned and asked further.

"A short story." Shiina answered, "I came up with it after referring to many girls' comics and romance novels."

A standard answer. Borrowing is a must for every creator, but the difficulty comes after that.

——So you are not sure, and you don’t have confidence in the story you came up with?

Li Nian wanted to ask this.

But now everyone is here.

Words spoken are like water spilled, and this question should not be asked in this situation.

At this point, there is no point asking any more questions. The manuscript has been sent out and has entered the final review stage. The results will be out soon.

Li Nian swallowed his words and said with a smile.

"Really? Then I sincerely hope you can get a good result."

At this moment, an inorganic bell rang.

Chapter 111 Final Comments

It was a primitive, emotionless ringtone, but the moment this ordinary ringtone sounded, the air suddenly became sticky.

The living room suddenly became very quiet, and everyone realized that this must be a call from Shiina's editor, informing her of the results of the Newcomer Award. This realization turned into an invisible force that froze everyone in place. Even Kamiigusa stopped moving and his expression became tense.

Li Nian was no exception. He stared straight at Shiina, watching her answer the phone with mechanical movements. His eyes unconsciously became cold and sharp, and the smile on his face disappeared.

When he said before that he hoped Shiina could get a good result, he meant it sincerely. No one present would not expect so. Everyone in Sakurasou saw Shiina's efforts, and everyone expected that effort to be rewarded. That was why he was earnestly waiting for that result.

Only the confused cat was still walking around, watching everything curiously.

After the call was connected, it should be Shiina's editor. She just kept responding "OK. Yes." without saying a single sensible word, and her expression didn't convey any message. It was completely unclear what was going on, and one couldn't help but feel that the conversation seemed to be going smoothly.

"Thank you very much."

With this sentence finished, Shiina hung up the phone, dropped the hand holding the phone, turned to everyone, and directly informed them of the result.

"Ayano said I lost the election."

Regret, surprise, all kinds of expressions appeared on everyone's face.

“How could this happen…!” Kamiigusa fell on the table with a thud, wailing.

"Did you lose the election?" Ren smiled bitterly.

"Shiina-san..." Aoyama cast a worried look at Shiina.

“Impossible!” Kanda was full of disbelief: “There must be something wrong, Shiina, check again…”

Only Li Nian closed his eyes and sighed. While feeling regretful, he also felt that it was just as expected. He reached out to stop Kanda from making unreasonable demands and continued to ask Shiina questions.

"The person you were talking to just now, Ayano, is your editor, right? Did she tell you the reason why you were not selected?"

Shiina looked over blankly, no longer as calm as before, and seemed a little distraught. It was obvious that he was not unaffected, and he answered in a tiny voice.

"She said it wasn't that my drawing was not good enough, but that other people's stories were more interesting than mine. She also said that sometimes those kinds of monsters would pop up in the newcomers' section..."

From these remarks, it can be heard that the editor there was trying to comfort Shiina, and probably said some encouraging words telling her not to lose heart, to keep working hard, and that she would definitely be selected next time.

But those are just nice words. Failure is failure. It is a foregone conclusion and cannot be overturned.

The difference between Shiina's drawings and others lies not in other aspects but in the point of "interestingness". However, for a comic work, whether it is interesting or not is the whole value embodiment.

As for why Shiina's manuscript is less interesting than others, the editor also made it very clear that it is a story, not a painting technique or style, it is just a story.

This was Shiina's shortcoming, and now it has become the main reason for her defeat.

"As expected..."

Li Nian was not surprised. What was there to be surprised about? Just think about it and you will understand.

This is comics - in essence, there is not much difference between them and novels. The core is always the story. If flesh, blood, bones and skin make up a person, then for comics, "story" must be one of the most important skeletons.

This is not to say that other things are not important. Storyboards, drawing skills, narrative methods, forms of expression... and so on are all important, but there is no doubt that in the end these techniques are all in the service of the "story" and are dedicated to expressing the "story."

Perhaps in terms of painting skills, no one who competes with Shiina in the New Artist Award can compare to this world-class painter, but why does it have to be so good, so beautiful, and so beautiful? As long as it is good enough, as long as it is perfectly combined with the story, it will be fine.

Hard work doesn't always pay off. There are other people who work just as hard, and these crazy people who are striving for the prize are Shiina's competitors.

Everything is based on the skeleton and turned into flesh and blood, and the final work is born. Others who work hard do better than Shiina.

Kanda asked the editors in charge of the magazine's review, "What did they do wrong?" No, they didn't. They were sober and clearly distinguished the good from the bad.

Li Nian, on the other hand, had this idea, which was a bit unpleasant to say out loud.

It would be even more ridiculous if Shiina won.

If even the story is not carefully crafted, and it succeeds only by relying on the painting skills, it would be a mockery of all those who work hard on creation - including him, Li Nian.

But on the other hand, Li Nian thought that if Shiina had not been suppressed by others, it would have been the winner. This is also a fact, which shows that Shiina's painting skills have reached that level. He only needs a good enough story - and a little bit of luck to break through the siege.

Li Nian didn't know what Shiina's draft was like this time. He hadn't seen it, but he had seen her last draft, which was not up to par. How long had it been since that draft appeared? Shiina had already caught up with the second place.

This is what genius is all about.

Li Nian, who has made rapid progress in spiritual practice and martial arts and is also a genuine genius, probably does not have the stance to stand up for those mortals who are left far behind by Shiina and whose efforts receive no rewards.

Li Nian would not do that either. Throughout history, the result is always the most important.

"Your editor is right. You just need a little bit of luck. Keep working hard and start over. You will definitely do better and succeed next time." Li Nian said calmly and seriously. Even though he knew that his words might sound like bland consolation, in his opinion they were just ironclad facts and there was no other more appropriate thing to say.

Shiina shook his head and stared at Li Nian.

"I don't need luck, I only need strength. I don't want to lose again next time just because of bad luck... You and Ayano have been saying that my story is boring. How can I change it? How can I make my story interesting?"

The look in his eyes was so urgent and serious, and the questions he asked were so earnest and sincere.

Li Nian realized that she was really being targeted by her unintentional words, and felt a little awkward and troubled.

Uegusa suddenly raised his hand.

"Jin is an expert when it comes to stories!"

Shiina looked at Mitaka Jin.

After hearing this, Ren showed a rare look of panic and confusion, and tried to stop Shang Jinggusa from talking nonsense.

"Wait, Misaki..."

This statement caused Kanda and Aoyama to nod in agreement.

"That's right! Senior Ren is a professional scriptwriter!"

"I remember that Misaki-senpai's animation was also written by Ren-senpai..."

Ren gave a wry smile and shook his head slightly.

"Then you should also know that my scripts have always been criticized, saying that they are not worthy of Misaki's animation."

"I've never been that way...!" Misaki was anxious and tried to say that she had never thought about it that way, but Mitaka waved his hand to stop her.

"That's the truth. As you can see, I'm still far from being a professional and can't help Mashiro-chan... But classmate Li Nian over there seems to have more insights into this than I do."

Li Nian clicked his tongue. Seeing that the situation was not good, the guy kicked the ball back.

Shiina looked at Li Nian again.

"No, I..."

Li Nian wanted to get away with it by saying that she had no writing experience.

Kamiigusa's computer suddenly rang. She looked at the screen and suddenly screamed.

"Ah! Ryunosuke in the communication room said that Li Nian is writing a novel, and it's pretty good... Is this true?!"

Something that Li Nian had never said before was suddenly revealed, shocking everyone.

Li Nian was also shocked, and looked up at Akasaka Ryunosuke's room in disbelief.

How did this dead otaku know that he was writing a novel and that he was good at it? How did he know and where did he read it? And how did he know how far the conversation in the living room had progressed? How did he say something like this at the right time?

No matter what, Li Nian’s retreat was suddenly blocked.

Shiina's hopeful eyes looked at him again, which made him feel under great pressure.

Li Nian really didn't know what to say. It's not that he didn't want to help her, but he had said everything he needed to say. He told her not to go wrong in the general direction, but he was still exploring the finer details. He felt that he couldn't understand more and more thoroughly than Shiina's editor, because that was the person who was qualified to guide Shiina. He, Li Nian, was neither qualified nor able to say more.

Moreover, Shiina draws girls' comics, while Li Nian's writing direction is completely different.

What can he teach Shiina to draw? Can he guide her to explore a new path that combines the style of tough-guy Hong Kong comics with the delicate style of girly romances? What can she draw? Magical Girl JOJO? Although that seems to be possible... What about FNNDP! ?

Li Nian's mind became more and more confused and his thoughts began to explode. At this moment, a pen name suddenly flashed in his mind.

"Xia Shizi..." Li Nian muttered a name.

Everyone heard it and looked at each other. It seemed to be a name, but none of them had heard of it.

But when Li Nian thought of this name, his thoughts suddenly became clear, and he became more certain of his idea. He looked up and said to Shiina.

"You should go find Kasumi Shiko - find Kasumigaoka Shiha-senpai."

When it comes to this name, everyone knows Sobu High School.

"The one in the third grade who always ranks first in the grade?"

Kanda didn't know why he mentioned that senior.

"She's a beauty." Ren looked at Li Nian with great interest: "To be able to be related to her, I didn't expect that you, Li Nian, are quite capable. It seems that you know some of her unknown secrets..."

"Why are you looking for her?" Shiina asked puzzledly.

Li Nian didn't answer for a moment, turned around and went back to his dormitory. When he came back, he took out a set of "Love Metronome" and threw it on the table.

"After reading it, decide for yourself whether or not to go find her. This is the only advice I can give."

Chapter 112 Preparation Sincerity

Ren took a look at the author's pen name on the cover of the book. It was exactly the [Xia Shizi] that Li Nian had mentioned before. As smart as he was, he quickly understood the connection between this pen name and Kasumigaoka Shiyu, and understood why Li Nian asked Shiina to find that person, and smiled.

"I never thought that the famous talent in our school is also a writer? Oh my, today really broadened my horizons."

"It seems to be a love novel... The author is Kasumi Utako?" Kanda picked up a copy of "Love Metronome" in a daze: "Kasumi Utako and Kasumigaoka Utaha, the names are indeed very similar..."

"Then there is only one truth." Ueigusa put his hands on his chin and pretended to be serious: "They are actually the same person!"

"What a surprise..." Qingshan showed a surprised look on his face: "It's a bit difficult to connect the dots."

It is indeed a bit difficult to connect the aloof senior schoolmate with the identity of a writer of romance novels. Li Nian was also very surprised when she first knew about it.

But it's the truth.

So at this moment, Li Nian suddenly thought of the character Kasumigaoka Utaha and recommended her to Shiina. He was not saying it casually. He was a loyal reader who had read "Love Metronome" and was deeply impressed by it. As long as you have read that work, anyone can see that Kasumigaoka Utaha is very good at the subject of youth campus romance. Her talent as a writer in this area is unquestionable - at least Li Nian is so sure of it.

He felt that if Mashiro Shiina, who wanted to draw girls' comics, needed to make a breakthrough in the "story", then [Kasumi Shiko] would undoubtedly be the best candidate she should look for.

Having said that, Li Nian felt that he and the senior student were not very familiar with each other.

Although because of the conversation they had in the bookstore when they first met, Li Nian's words seemed to suit Kasumigaoka's taste and gave her some encouragement. Li Nian knew that the senior schoolmate probably had some feelings for her, but she would not think that she could just flatter her and pretend that they were friends, and would not cause any trouble to others without permission.

With this in mind, he warned everyone again here.

"It's good for you to know, please don't tell anyone. If it causes trouble to others, it will also be very troublesome for me."

After receiving promises from everyone, either casually or seriously, Li Nian was too lazy to reiterate them and spoke to Shiina, who had already picked up the first volume of "Love Metronome" and was reading it.

"I told you this information just to give you a way out. As for whether you should go find her, make your own decision after reading those books."

Shiina nodded, and without saying a word, she went back to her room holding the three books.

Kanda wanted to catch up, but then thought he should give her some time alone, so he gave up and muttered, "…Is Shiina really okay?"