Living in the bubble economy of Tokyo, I became a literary giant through lotteries.

Guan Gufeng felt like crying. He should have run away as soon as he finished serving the food.

He called Kitamura, briefly explained that he would be staying there a while longer, and told him to go back first, and that he would take a taxi home afterward.

After hanging up the phone, Guan Gufeng took a deep breath, looked at the group of young artists with incredibly bright eyes, calculated the time in his mind, and smiled with relief.

Forget it.

Since we're already in the lion's den anyway, we might as well show the young chefs what real culinary skills are all about.

So he signed his name, and amidst the increasingly excited gazes around him, he took out a set of portable art supplies that he always carried with him from his bag.

This was a habit he developed after he started drawing covers, and he walked to a large, empty worktable.

The young artists from Studio Ghibli gathered around, some even bringing up chairs to stand on and watch.

The moment Guan Gufeng sat down and his fingers touched the paintbrush, his entire demeanor changed.

The young man who had been signing his name and seemed a little embarrassed had disappeared, replaced by a steady and composed artist.

The first stroke of the G pen tip on the manuscript paper was so precise that it seemed as if it had been measured.

He began drawing the cover for the second volume of Sword Art Online.

The artists who were excitedly whispering just a moment ago fell silent as they witnessed a real technical tutorial.

Some people subconsciously traced his pen strokes in the air with their hands, while others kept their mouths open the entire time.

Just as the onlookers were about to catch their breath after the cover was finished, Guan Gufeng simply moved his wrist, picked up a new sheet of paper, and continued to draw.

This time it's Asuna's solo character illustration, followed by a complete set of main characters from Sword Art Online.

After finishing Sword Art Online, he changed paper and began drawing a group portrait of the ministers of the Kingdom of Kei from The Twelve Kingdoms.

His speed increased, yet the lines remained perfectly neat.

What takes others a whole day to polish to achieve the quality of original artwork, he can produce in a flash.

This isn't just a demonstration; this is practically cheating.

At some point, someone recovered from the initial shock, took out their sketchbook, and sat down to try and imitate his brushstrokes.

More and more artists picked up their pens and sketchbooks and began to draw. After Guan Gufeng sat down, the entire studio unconsciously returned to its most authentic state.

It wasn't the anxiety of being rushed to deliver a film, but rather a creative desire sparked by purity.

When Guan Gufeng finally put down his pen, stretched his wrists, and looked up, there was a thick stack of original drawings in front of him.

Not only the cover and character illustrations of "Sword Art Online", but after he got into the mood to show off in front of others, he even drew an entire chapter of "K-On!" in one go.

Every frame, every line of dialogue, every expression—it was all that he wanted to draw for that person in that little park.

The artists watching were speechless.

An artist in charge of the background art for "Kiki's Delivery Service" held up several sketches he had just finished copying, using Guan Gu Feng's original artwork as samples.

He looked up and sighed, "What kind of speed is this? This isn't drawing, it's a printer."

"The printer is still jamming, but Mr. Guan Gu didn't even need to make a draft of the composition from beginning to end," someone next to him corrected listlessly.

Looking at the young and eager faces surrounding him, Guan Gufeng suddenly felt that this "hell" wasn't so scary after all.

Of course, he would never come here to work, even if you killed him.

By evening, all the paintings that needed to be finished were finished, all the technical discussions were completed, and all the signatures that needed to be signed were completed.

Guan Gufeng glanced at the sky, then at the group of young people who were still excited, took out his mobile phone, and made another call to Kitamura.

"Uncle Kitamura, could you please order a few more tables of takeout for me? The same number of portions as at lunchtime is fine. Yes, from this street as well. Okay, thank you."

So the studio had another good meal.

Tempura and soba noodles, served with chilled plum wine.

When the artists saw the golden, crispy shell of the tempura shrimp, they pounced on it again.

Someone was eating and said with tears in their eyes, "Teacher Guan Gu, I wish you could come every day."

"Starting tomorrow, continue eating convenience store rice balls. Wake up!"

As dusk fell, Guan Gu Feng bid farewell to everyone and hailed a taxi back to Roppongi.

Sitting in the car, he leaned back in the seat, the soreness in his wrist preventing him from writing a single word for the next few days.

He hadn't experienced this kind of exhilarating creative process in a long time.

As they were leaving, some of the Studio Ghibli artists hummed songs, while others discussed brushstroke techniques.

It seems someone even drew a chibi-style little figure in the corner of their discarded drafts.

He didn't know if what he did today was meaningful, but seeing the renewed sparkle in the eyes of those young people, he felt that his meal today was worthwhile.

The next day, early morning.

Hayao Miyazaki is always the first person to arrive at the studio every day, a habit he developed during his time at Toei Animation and has maintained without fail for decades.

He enjoys this moment every day, when the whole building is still quiet, with no human voices, no phone ringing, only the leaves of the ivy swaying gently by the window.

He carried a freshly brewed black coffee and slowly strolled along the aisle between the worktables.

Yesterday's chaos has been cleaned up, and the studio has returned to order.

Only a faint aroma of eel rice lingered in the air, like a kind of mockery.

His gaze fell on a piece of paper.

It was a signed original artwork, showing Kirito and Asuna standing side by side, with the signature "Guan Gu Feng" below.

There was also a sticky note next to it, with the following words written in neat handwriting:

"Miyazaki-sensei, Mr. Miyazaki. Mr. Sekiya Kaze.

(Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Miyazaki. Please feel free to call me again.)

Later, there were also simple line drawings of a calico cat and a white cat, their tails wagging proudly.

Hayao Miyazaki picked up the original drawing and examined it for a long time in the morning light.

No matter how many times you look at it, this kid's calligraphy skills always exude a sense of efficiency.

If this level of skill were in the past, he would have insisted on bringing this person in as a key animator.

He took a few more steps forward and saw the second one, then the third, and the fourth.

All the drawings left by Guan Gufeng yesterday were neatly arranged and placed in order on the worktable.

Each one was signed, and each one was carefully covered with a piece of white paper to prevent dust.

Next to it was a note written collectively by the artists, each with their own handwriting—some neat, some messy—clearly indicating that each person had added their own touch:

"Director Miyazaki, thank you for your hospitality yesterday." (Director Miyazaki, thank you for your hospitality yesterday.)

"Tomorrow I will continue to work hard." (I will continue to work hard from tomorrow.)

「たまには丝抜きも大事だと思います.」 (It’s important to take a break once in a while.)

「うな重高でした.」(The eel rice is great.)

Hayao Miyazaki put down the group note and remained silent for a long time.

Then he began to collect the original paintings one by one, examining the collection of extraordinary pieces like a connoisseur.

He deliberately placed the simple cat drawing at the top and snorted, "This kid, he draws cats pretty well."

He returned to his desk, took out a hard-shell folder from the drawer specifically for storing precious original artworks, and carefully placed Guan Gufeng's original artwork inside.

Since we can't keep this person, we must preserve these paintings.

If this kid ever becomes a literary giant, all of these things will be valuable.

At that time, hang one in the main hall of the studio and put a label next to it.

"Drawn on-site at Studio Ghibli in XX year."

Then, he would casually remark to the visiting guests, while holding his coffee, "Oh, this painting."

"It was drawn by me when Guan Gu Feng was just a new writer back then."

"By the way, the book he later wrote that won the Naoki Prize was inspired by me."