My girlfriend is Kusunoko Saiki

After hearing that Naoto's work had been serialized in JUMP, the people around him felt as if they were hurt again.

A high school student who is only sixteen years old has made achievements in two different fields of painting. This is too amazing.

"Besides, I'm sure you know the reason why I can't sell this painting. The owner of this most beautiful smile can only be that person."

Hearing Naoto's answer, Kazuo Sayama couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Interesting, really interesting. Okay, okay, since you have made your decision, I won't say anything more. However, if possible, you should paint more traditional paintings in the future. Even if it is only one painting a year, it will be very helpful to you. When the time comes, don't forget to contact me."

"I understand. If I have the chance, I will never forget Mr. Sayama."

Naoto had a good impression of Mr. Sayama, who claimed to be a collector. At least his first impression of him was very good.

As for the other party's suggestion, Naoto will also seriously consider it. After all, he has already won the junior high school student award, and it would be a pity to quit completely like this. The influence of the traditional painting world in the international arena is indeed much stronger than that of comics.

Just like that, Naoto then left the venue with his work and Mr. Matsuzaki, who had been waiting for a long time.

However, Naoto knew that his journey to the top of Japan was just the beginning.

Chapter 17: If This Is Not Love

When Mr. Matsuzaki sent Naoto home, it was already dusk.

After a busy day, not only did I miss lunch, but now I don’t even have any idea of ​​dinner.

Naoto, who was holding the painting, felt very hungry.

At this time, there was no light in the Saiki family's house. It seemed that everyone should have gone out.

"Sure enough, let's go find something to eat first. Damn, what should I say when I see Nan Zi tomorrow?"

While worrying about what to eat, Naoto thought of Kusunoki again.

To be honest, Naoto originally thought that he was just a supporting actor and no one would know about this painting if he didn't win the award.

But what he never expected was that he not only won the prize, but also won the first prize. He was probably now famous all over the country.

And he even drew Nan Zi in his painting. What’s the difference between this and a confession?

Now Naoto actually wants to strangle himself. If Nan Zi gets angry, what should he do?

"How do you explain what to me?"

Just as Naoto opened the door, a pink figure suddenly appeared in front of him, scaring him.

Naoto didn't expect that Kusunoki was not at home, but was at his house instead.

"Nanzi? Why are you here?"

"Dad and Mom went out on a date, and I'm the only one at home."

After saying this, both of them fell into silence.

The atmosphere between the two at this time was extremely awkward. Both sides had no idea how to explain what happened today.

If this is a misunderstanding, I have already submitted my work, and basically everyone in Naoto's class already knows about it.

And since Naoto's entire class knew about it, that pretty much meant that the whole school knew about it.

The whole school knew about it, and the news had spread to almost half of Tokyo.

Although there was some exaggeration in it, Naoto was sure that even if he explained in front of the whole class that he had no relationship with Kusunoki, no one would believe him. Instead, he might be labeled as a scumbag.

"Didn't you say you would give me an explanation? Tell me, what's going on?"

Kusunoko crossed her arms and watched Naoto's performance quietly.

Naoto felt extremely embarrassed.

As a single person, how do I know what to say now?

Now looking at Nan Zi, let alone talking, his heart is like a mess. Even if Nan Zi is reading his mind, he can only read a bunch of aba aba aba.

"Well, this is for you."

After thinking for a long time and still not knowing what to say, Naoto simply stuffed the painting in his arms into Nanko's hands.

Nan Zi removed the cloth covering the painting, revealing the exquisite painting inside.

Looking at herself in the painting who looked like an elf under the moon, Nan Zi turned her gaze to Naoto.

"Is this your painting that won the prize? It looks pretty good."

Seeing that Nan Zi was not angry, Naoto immediately said, "Of course, after all, someone has offered a price of two million yuan for this painting."

"Then why don't you sell it? Two million is very important to you right now."

"But, in my eyes, this painting will only ever have one owner, and its value cannot be exchanged for any amount of money. Nanzi, I'm sorry that I sent this painting up without your consent."

"You stupid."

Seeing Naoto's embarrassed look, Kusunoki gently placed the painting in her arms.

Is this the thing that makes me angry?

This guy is really like a piece of wood, totally stupid.

Naoto was a little confused when he saw that Kusunoko became even angrier after accepting his painting.

It is true that women's hearts are as unpredictable as the sea, and he does not have the ability to read minds. Even if Nan Zi was angry, he still judged it based on his experience and intuition.

"I'll take this for you first. If you really need money later, you can come to me."

Just when Kusunoko was about to turn around and go back to her home, Naoto was quick-witted and grabbed Kusunoko's hand.

Being suddenly caught by Naoto, Kusunoki forgot about teleportation for a moment.

"Hmm~ Well, I'm still a little embarrassed to speak up. Nan Zi, can you read my mind?"

As he said this, Naoto took off the ring that Kusunoko was wearing on her hand.

This ring can temporarily seal Nan Zi's mind-reading ability. Nan Zi usually wears it only when she goes home and plans to spend a peaceful vacation.

After putting on the ring, her ability to compulsorily read all animals and plants within a 200-meter radius will disappear.

And when Naoto took off the ring, Kusunoko's superpowers immediately recovered.

"Hey, what do you want me to do?"

Just when Nanko was wondering why Naoto did such a thing, suddenly, Naoto's voice came into Nanko's mind.

"Nanzi, I really like you. Or rather, when I first saw you as a child, I already fell deeply in love with you. So, can you be my girlfriend?"

Although he just said this by reading my mind, Naoto couldn't help but blush.

This was the first time he confessed in his eighteen years of life.

After hearing Naoto's straightforward confession, Kusunoki pulled her hand back in a flash and put the ring back on her hand.

Then, before Naoto could stop her, Kusunoko disappeared with Naoto's painting.

"Eh? What's going on?"

Naoto panicked immediately when Kusunoko left without saying a word, and ran towards Saiki's house without stopping.

"Nanzi! I was wrong! I shouldn't have said such things! Open the door quickly!"

Naoto kept knocking on the door of Saiki's house. He was afraid that his words would make Nan Zi angry.

However, what Naoto didn't know was that at this moment, Kusunoki was sitting on the sofa, covering her chest and looking dazed.

He ignored Naoto who was banging on the door outside.

For Nan Zi, who has almost become a god, she can hardly feel the emotions that a normal person should have.

But just now, facing Naoto's sudden confession, Nan Zi felt like her heart was about to jump out.

"What on earth is going on with this feeling? Why is my heart beating so fast?"

After knocking on the door for a long time, Naoto still didn't see Nansuko open the door. Naoto was a little desperate. He decided to wait until tomorrow when Nansuko calmed down and then go to school to explain.

However, just when Naoto was about to go home, Kusunoko actually opened the door of the house, with her face visibly red.

"You idiot, since you want to be my boyfriend, then I will give you a chance. Next time, if the comic you serialize can become the number one on the popularity list, I will consider this matter."

As soon as Kusunoki finished speaking, while Naoto was still digesting the meaning of her words, she suddenly closed the door.

Naoto looked at the closed Saiki family home and was stunned for a long time.

Did my confession succeed?

Chapter 18: Chinese Food Stores on Food Street

After getting Kusunoki's answer, Naoto stood there in a daze for nearly three minutes.

When his brain finally understood what Kusunoki meant, Naoto jumped up from the ground.

“Wuhu! It’s amazing!”

Now Naoto wished he could run back home right now and draw the entire vampire clan.

"I'll definitely take the top spot on the next popularity list!"

But after the excitement, what follows is an even more intense feeling of hunger.

After letting go of his worries, accompanied by a strong sense of excitement, Naoto realized that he was - hungry.

(○△○)Boom!

(○△○) Boom! !

(○△○) Boom!!!

Naoto, who hadn't eaten for two meals, didn't even want to go home at this moment, and ran straight to the nearby food street.

The most important thing in the world is eating. As our ancestors said, man is iron and rice is steel. If you don’t eat for a meal, you will be hungry.

Now that I have nothing to do, of course I have to reward myself.

"Where can we eat? Udon? I don't want to eat noodles now. Grilled meat? I feel like my wallet can't bear it. Sukiyaki? I don't want to eat sweet food. White rice, I want to eat white rice, hot white rice."

Just as Naoto was looking for delicious food around him like a vicious dog, suddenly, his attention was attracted by a red sign.

On this street filled with a lot of Japanese food, the red sign seems so out of place.

The unique charm of Chinese patterns made Naoto feel like he was back home.

"Zhuyue Tower? There's actually a Chinese food restaurant here? Never mind, let's just stay here."

When Naoto first came here, he had eaten Chinese food nearby.

But to be honest, the localization is a bit too much. Although it cannot be said to be unpalatable, for straight people, it cannot be called Chinese cuisine at all.

Therefore, Naoto has never thought about eating Chinese food outside. Even if he wants to eat it, he always cooks it himself.

However, today, he was so hungry that he no longer cared about so much. Now, he just wanted to shovel rice into his mouth in big mouthfuls.

"Ni Hao, Phantom Guangling."

As soon as he entered the door, the waitress welcomed Naoto with a strange accent that Naoto could not understand at all.

You said this is Japanese, it is a bit like Japanese, but please don't embarrass Naoto. Naoto can't understand this kind of speech with grammatical errors and accent problems.

"Oh no, what should I say next?"

Just when Naoto was wondering what this person was saying, the waitress actually translated directly into Chinese. It turned out that the waitress was not Japanese, but Chinese. No wonder her spoken English sounded so strange.

"Um...Miss, if you are not used to Japanese, you can also use Chinese."

Seeing the waitress was just like him when he was practicing spoken English. He thought of one sentence but couldn't remember the next one, so Naoto quickly spoke to the waitress in standard Mandarin.

"Eh? Sir, you can speak Chinese? Are you from China too?"

When the waitress heard Naoto speaking standard Mandarin, she was stunned.

"Ah? This is considered overseas Chinese? Forget it, I'm from Qingqing, my hometown."

Naoto was stunned for a moment when asked by the young lady. Now his soul is from China, but his body is from Japan, so he should be considered as an overseas Chinese.

"Hey, fellow countryman, I'm from Chengdu! Sichuan and Chongqing are like one family."

When the waitress saw that the guest today was actually a fellow villager, she immediately became particularly enthusiastic, quickly invited Naoto to a seat, and poured him a cup of buckwheat tea.

Naoto took a sip of buckwheat tea and felt the unique aroma lingering in his mouth. Although Japanese matcha is also OK, the taste of hometown is still the best.