My girlfriend is Kusunoko Saiki

If Nansuko hadn't come over every day to see if Naoto was okay, Naoto would probably have forgotten about eating.

When Naoto, who was addicted to painting, finally completed his painting, even he himself could hardly imagine that this was something he had created.

The entire sky is painted in a cool grey tone, reducing the chilliness of the night. The forest in the distance and the nanmu trees nearby occupy most of the painting.

The combination of light and shadow gives the entire picture a vibrant and dynamic feel.

Although Naoto himself does not have very complete knowledge of oil painting.

But when he saw this painting, he thought he was no less than those professional oil painting masters.

When Naoto finished the painting, there was only one day left before the deadline.

Although he felt extremely exhausted both mentally and physically, Naoto decided to hand the painting over to the organizer first.

With the address given by Mr. Matsuzaki, Naoto quickly arrived at his destination.

On the tall building in front of me, there are three big characters made up of three primary colors: AES,

Neon Art Education Association, an art society established specifically to cooperate with art education, is considered the largest art association in Tokyo.

This society is most famous for the two competitions, the renowned Neon Youth Painting Appreciation and the National High School Art Competition it hosted this time.

Although one match was against Japanese youths, the other was against all Japanese high school students.

But both are extremely valuable.

It is said that the top prize winners of both competitions can receive rewards of more than 500,000 yuan.

Although it may seem like a small reward, here, as long as you can get first place, it means that you will take off directly in the future.

Not just any art university in the country will open its doors to you.

You will even be qualified to participate in various professional competitions in the future.

But today, Naoto didn't care at all. Although he was confident in his painting, he didn't think he could get first place.

After all, art is not something that can be done just because you think it is okay. It has to be OK only if the higher-ups think it is okay.

In Naoto's opinion, as long as he completes the task given by Mr. Matsuzaki, he will be liberated.

After Naoto walked in, the staff looked at him with a tired face and were quite surprised.

When he found out that the other party was here to participate in the National High School Art Competition, he looked even more surprised.

Although there are indeed some people who have submitted their manuscripts recently, they are basically some people who came up with the idea at the last minute.

Generally, people who know about this competition have submitted their paintings on the first day, or even completed them in the middle period.

How can it be handed in when the time is almost up?

However, the receptionist didn't say anything else when she saw how tired Naoto was.

But after getting the painting, he left first.

After seeing his painting finally handed in, Naoto returned home in a daze. He even fell asleep on the sofa before going upstairs.

And just as Naoto was on his way home, he never expected that a dramatic thing would happen.

After Naoto handed his work to the receptionist at the front desk, President Fujino, the organizer of the competition, was reviewing the works that had been received with a group of judges.

Since this competition is a national competition, there are a lot of works collected.

Even though the deadline has not yet arrived, the judges have already reviewed a large portion of the works received.

At this moment, the receptionist at the front desk walked in holding Naoto's work.

"President, new works have been collected."

"Works? Now?"

Chairman Fujino and a group of experts were stunned for a moment after hearing what the lady in charge of the front desk said.

There's only half an hour left before the end of get off work. Can anyone submit it at this time?

"Whose?"

"Not sure, but they look like students from a nearby high school."

"I see. Let's take it over and have a look."

Looking at the tightly wrapped painting in the receptionist's hand, the judges who had already reviewed many works couldn't help but become curious.

I thought, since it’s a work that needs to be reviewed anyway, I might as well take it out and have a look at it first.

However, when President Fujino opened the painting in his hand, he was stunned by the scene before him.

Under the night sky, a pink-haired girl stretched out her right hand with a smile on her face.

In the distance is a peaceful forest filled with fireflies.

It was obviously just a simple painting of a girl, but President Fujino saw a lot of emotions in the girl's smile.

It was as if inviting a lover to go to a mysterious place together. For a moment, President Fujino, who was almost 60 years old, felt the sweet love that belonged to young people.

With this smile, President Fujino even recalled the scene of his first date with his first love.

That day, it was the same. My girlfriend smiled at me and pulled me, who was still a teenager, towards the stream in the distance.

Looking at it again, this is not the work of a high school student, but clearly the work of a well-known master.

"President, what happened?"

The crowd watching on the side saw President Fujino staring at a painting and began to ask questions.

However, President Fujino did not say a word at this time, but just passed Naoto's words to everyone for reading.

After seeing the paintings handed over by the president, these professional judges were all stunned, just like President Fujino had been before.

Just by looking at one painting, one can feel the sweet love. From an artistic point of view, this is definitely a masterpiece of a master.

There were even some aspects of the use of paint and analysis of the picture that seemed so inharmonious to them, but when put into this painting, they formed a whole. Such strange painting techniques were something they had never seen before.

"President, this is... the work of a high school student? Is he here to participate in this high school student competition?"

Faced with these judges' questions, the president turned to look at the lady who was previously in charge.

After receiving the approval from the lady in charge, everyone present looked at the painting again in a daze.

“Is this person here to fry fish?”

Chapter 12: Bloodline Results Released

With the arrival of the weekend, the weekly popularity vote is finally here.

This is probably the most nervous and exciting time for every cartoonist and editor.

Because every time this time comes, the future direction of several comics will be determined.

Whether the series can be successfully serialized or quickly cut short depends entirely on the weekly popularity vote.

A big part of the reason why JUMP has been able to last for so many years is because of this voting system.

Although in the eyes of many people, this system is indeed cruel, and many excellent comics have been cut short because of it, which is a pity.

However, it is precisely because of this system that JUMP has always maintained extremely high popularity and a steady stream of excellent works.

"Editor Saiki! I've got the new popularity chart."

At this time, the much-anticipated popularity vote finally came out. When Saiki Kuniharu got the report in his hand, he didn't dare to look at the information on it.

Although I am very confident in the comics drawn by Naoto, confidence is one thing, and whether readers buy it is another.

After all, the tastes of adults and teenagers are completely different. Who knows whether their comics that look good can attract those readers?

In a nervous and uneasy mood, Qi Mu's father slowly opened his eyes.

But when he saw the data on the transcript, he was dumbfounded.

"Um, are you sure this data is correct?"

"Yes, they have checked it over and over again, and it is indeed this."

"It's unbelievable."

At this time, Qi Mu's father looked at the results of the vampires, and then jumped up excitedly.

Looking at the expression on Saiki's father's face, you should know what's going on. Yes, Blood Clan is currently receiving rave reviews on JUMP.

Not only that, it became the absolute number one in the newly published comics, with twice the votes of the second place "Second Earth" by Yagi Mumengye, and even those old serialized comics were no match for it.

The only one that beats Bloodline is a manga that was just animated last week. With this advantage, it narrowly beats Bloodline. (In the world view of Bakuman, there are also popular works such as Death, Fire and Sea, but because they are too unusual, they are generally regarded as non-existent.)

It is a miracle that a new comic can achieve such outstanding results and beat all the other comics. It is hard to find such a work in ten years. This time, they have finally found a treasure.

Although it is only the first episode, due to the packed plot, outstanding art style, likable characters, and the suspense, everyone has a very high opinion of Vampires and is eager to read the rest of the story.

"Oh my, I never expected this. I was so close to being the number one this week. What a pity."

Although he was so happy inside, Qi Mu's father still pretended to look regretful.

The other editors who had already received the transcripts were so angry when they heard what Qi Mu's father said.

Such an achievement is a wonderful start. He can be called the strongest newcomer.

But this person actually looked dissatisfied. Is he looking for death?

But even though envy, jealousy and hatred had reached this point, everyone still couldn't do anything about Qi Mu's father.

Who can blame Saiki's father for his seniority? Apart from the editor-in-chief and the deputy editor, he has the longest seniority. If one of them leaves, plus he has the credit for discovering Naoto, he will probably be able to take over immediately.

So even if Qi Mu's father, such a villain, succeeded, everyone still dared to be angry but not to speak out.

"Kuniharu-senpai! The editor-in-chief wants you to come to the office!"

"Oh, here it comes!"

After hearing the editor-in-chief calling him, Qi Mu's father hummed a song and skipped into the office.

After a while, Naoto, who was immersed in his dream, was awakened by the ringing of a cell phone.

"Hmm? Uncle Kuniharu, what's going on?"

Seeing that it was Saiki's father calling, although his mind was still confused, Naoto still picked up the phone and asked.

"I'm sorry, Naoto, I have some bad news to tell you."

At this time, on the other end of the phone, Saiki's father spoke to Naoto in a very regretful tone.

At this moment, after hearing this wrong tone, Naoto suddenly came to his senses.

"Um, Uncle Kuniharu, could it be that my comic book is..."

At this moment, even if Naoto had a big heart, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

Good man, he has already boasted so much, you won’t let him fail directly, right?

Although he had anticipated such consequences, when they really happened, Naoto suddenly felt that life became gloomy.

"Well, I'm sorry Naoto, I couldn't help you get the cover of the next JUMP."

Just when Naoto thought that his comic had been rejected, unexpectedly, Saiki's father on the other side suddenly changed the subject and stunned Naoto.

"Hello? Naoto, are you listening? Hello!"

"Oh, yes, yes, Uncle Kuniharu, are you talking about... the cover of the next issue of JUMP?"

At this moment, Naoto thought he had misheard. How could the JUMP cover have anything to do with him? Aren't these things for the comic book serialists?

"Oh, by the way, you don't know this yet. Your comic book Bloodion has been well received, even beating out a bunch of serial cartoonists. But unfortunately, you ran into a comic book that was just animated, and it only came in second place. Otherwise, the cover of the next issue of JUMP would be yours."

At this moment, Naoto pinched his face in disbelief. After making sure that he was not dreaming, Naoto became even more confused.

What does it mean to just be second?

No, shouldn't this kind of thing be described with just two words?

Why does Saiki's father on the opposite side look a little regretful?

This isn't right?!

Even after hanging up the phone, Naoto was still looking at the ceiling of his house in disbelief.

Oh my god, I just drew the first chapter of the comic and it directly ranked second on the list.

What’s the difference between this and a novel that becomes number two on the hit list right after writing the first chapter?