How rude, we are pure love!

If the girl keeps improving, maybe they can actually co-author the next light novel.

"But if that happens, we'll have to add some lengthy preparation at the beginning," he continued.

"Try to reveal the protagonist's identity earlier?"

As the two discussed the details, Qingye unconsciously focused his attention and sat in front of the computer, summarizing the story and characters with her - Yanaijian even prepared a document in this regard.

"You can use your writing style to simplify and make up for this paragraph," said the girl.

"Well, let's insert some foreshadowing here. The dialogue here can be simplified and conveyed through expressions and actions..."

Qingye copied the original text into a new document and made some simple changes with interest.

He had a vague sense of excitement about a breakthrough - the feeling was not strong, it just made certain scenes more touching, and maybe it didn't help much with sales, but the feeling of making the story better was still extremely refreshing.

The keyboard tapped briskly as he sent two new clips to Banaijian.

"How does this feel?"

"I think it's great, but there are some conflicts with the previous part, which may need to be revised."

The two of them reached a strange kind of emotional resonance, which was rather ethereal and illusory, and together they weaved a beautiful story.

He also truly realized the girl's spirit of working hard and striving for her dream without giving up.

Qingye's fingertips hovered over the enter key, and he was about to praise the girl when he was suddenly interrupted by her.

"What about the revision fee?"

Banaijian leaned close to the screen, her beautiful eyes moving around, a bright and clear smile in her blue pupils.

"What do you want? Buy you some snacks?" Qingye raised his eyebrows.

To be honest, this opportunity is quite rare. Banaijian pondered for nearly a minute before expressing his inner thoughts.

"Well... whenever you want to express your gratitude over the next three years, please fold a piece of manuscript paper into a star, write down your feelings on the inside, and then store the star in a jar."

"Why three years?" Qingye asked curiously.

The blue-haired girl stretched out a slender finger and placed it on her lips.

"Because—when Qingye-kun becomes a great writer, I can auction these things and make money."

In fact, the real reason was to establish a future contract so that he would always think of himself.

*

"What? You changed some of the manuscript's contents again? Teacher Fuyutsuki, I thought this manuscript was perfect enough, and the publication date has already been set. This will cause trouble for the staff!"

When the editor received Qingye's call late at night, his face was expressionless and the corners of his mouth kept twitching - it was not because his sleep was disturbed. In an emergency, he would also come to the house in the middle of the night to urge for manuscripts, but this behavior was already at the level of A-level rebellion!

Then Qingye just sent a manuscript over.

He was silent for a while, then decisively followed the rebellion.

"Hiss...it seems this is indeed inspiration. I understand. I'll try to communicate with the others, but as for the original artist, you'll be responsible for explaining it yourself."

So the next day, Eriri also received the bad news.

"What!? You want me to re-illustrate? And I have to meet a deadline right from the start!?"

——had the same reaction.

Although Kashiwagi Eri can be called an experienced deadline master, this is the first time she's been forced into a deadline like this! Are all of you writers' mental states so twisted?

At this moment, her first thought was to rebel in a magnificent way and disappear from the world, but she was speechless because of the quality of the new manuscript - the beautiful scenes that seemed to appear before her eyes.

If she could cross this deadline, she should be able to break through herself in despair and reach a higher level!

Under the temptation of this level-up, Eriri gritted her teeth and sent a vicious message to someone.

"Let's discuss the details of the new illustrations somewhere!"

She hurriedly packed up her tools and prepared to go out, but at this moment, she suddenly received a call from her childhood sweetheart, saying that he wanted to talk to her about something important.

"Why at this moment..."

Eriri frowned and could only find an excuse to get by. She would talk to Aki Tomoya in the evening! Work was more important right now!

?

PS: Saki has been feeling back pain these past two days, feeling drained...

088. Minotaur in Progress【5K5】

In the girl's bedroom, which was large enough to be called empty, the blonde girl quickly packed her tools into her backpack and grabbed a baseball cap and put it on her head.

But at this moment, her steps suddenly stopped and her eyes fell on the mirror of the dressing table - there was a girl wearing jeans and a boyish sweatshirt reflected there.

"It's not a good idea to go meet that guy like this, right?"

Qingye is not only her classmate and online friend, but also a creator she admires and a team partner. In this sense, this is the first time the two have met.

After hesitating for a moment, Eriri took off her clothes and went to the closet to pick out a cute outfit that suited her gentle girlish look.

This, this isn't something I did specifically for that guy, it's just a matter of image management for teenage girls!

Yes, it is like that!

The tsundere girl found excuses for herself.

*

The sky was clear blue, with low-hanging clouds. In the pleasant spring breeze, students rode their bicycles leisurely through the streets.

Kiyono sat quietly in the corner of the cafe. On the table in front of him was a thin notebook. Next to the computer were several thick foreign classics. The one on top was "The Woman in the Sand" by Kobo Abe.

I saw the young man pretending to pick up a book and read it, frowning in thought, and sometimes typing slowly on the keyboard.

The sunlight streaming in from the glass window made his eyes look even deeper and more melancholic, as if he had seen through the sufferings of the society. An aura of a literary master filled the air, as if this was no longer a resting area in the corner, but a writer writing his truth at a desk that felt heavy with age.

At this moment, his temperament added an artistic, intelligent, and lonely atmosphere to this ordinary coffee shop. The waitresses who came and went secretly glanced at him with strange eyes and discussed him in low voices.

Qingye posed here for a long time, trying to give his partner, whom he had not yet met, a perfect first kill. However, he never waited for the real target, which made him mutter involuntarily and observe the situation nearby.

This girl...why hasn't she come yet?

Qingye still has a lot of feelings for this partner who he has worked with three times in different worlds. Although... although he vaguely guessed the other party's true identity, but! But there is still a 30% chance that it will be another mysterious beautiful girl!

He will keep fantasizing about it until he actually sees it!

At this moment, the door of the cafe was pushed open.

Qingye raised his head subconsciously.

The beautiful golden twin ponytails fluttered gently as the girl walked forward, and she had a quiet and perfect smile on her pretty face. Every detail showed the style of a young lady, and in this elegance, there was the unique aura of a young girl, with innocence in her youthfulness.

The next moment, their eyes met.

The two equally pretentious people reacted in the same way. Kiyono held his forehead, and Eriri could hardly maintain her expression.

They stared at each other, the corners of their mouths twitched slightly, as if they wanted to laugh, and then turned their faces away at the same time.

After the air was stagnant for a while, the blonde girl finally calmed down. Without saying a word, she quickly walked over and sat down.

"I didn't expect that you are the legendary Fuyutsuki." Eriri played with her ponytail.

"I didn't expect that the artist cooperating with me was Ms. Sawamura." Kiyono read emotionlessly.

The two of them went through the process briefly, and then Eriri leaned forward and stared at him with the ferocious expression of a gangster.

"Mr. Kiyono, do you know how long we have left until the final proofs are due? Seventy-two hours, to the second..."

She picked up her phone and glanced at the lock screen, her slender eyebrows raised even higher:

"Correction, it's seventy hours and twenty-three minutes. You asked me to redraw the illustrations under these circumstances. Do you know how much trouble your willfulness has caused me?"

Ying Lili almost squeezed out this time from between her teeth, revealing her white teeth. Her little canine fangs were like the grinning feline, and she wished she could pounce on him and bite him.

But when the words fell, the girl opened her mouth slightly, and suddenly felt a little regretful and annoyed.

That's not right...this isn't what she wanted to say.

Even though she finally got to meet the light novel author she admired and was looking forward to the meeting, what she really wanted to say in her heart was "I really like your novels" and "I have read every chapter many times."

Even the newly modified scenes made people excited. Although she was distressed, she was also full of energy.

As a result, once the words were spoken, they became simple complaints and accusations.

Now Qingye's impression of himself as an 'artist' has become worse...

Eriri looked up at him quietly.

However, Qingye simply clasped his hands together sincerely, like a believer who had made a mistake:

"I'm really, really sorry. From now on, whether it's extra money or a treat, I'll do it."

Although he broke through a certain limitation, he did cause trouble to Eriri and the others, which made Kiyono feel very guilty. After all, light novels are not just his business.

"That's not necessary..."

Eriri breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again. She was the kind of girl who would become very shy and soft once she gave in.

"Anyway, let me draw a rough draft for you! We can't waste an hour right now!"

She wisely skipped the previous topic and took out a notebook and a digital tablet from her backpack. Various tools took up half of the space on the table, so Qingye had to put the book away.

The blonde girl skillfully opened the software, created a new canvas and layer, and drew the lines with the brush without hesitation, as if she had already thought about it in advance.

The more Qingye looked at it, the more impressed he was. Eriri's drawing skills have actually been steadily improving, and she is really serious about her illustrations, which can be seen from her current writing speed.

She was able to do this effortlessly because she had sufficient experience and thought about this picture and character. She must have watched and pondered it repeatedly to achieve this.

The theme is "A girl bathing in the sunset by the river." It sounds simple, but countless details are hidden in every step.

The background, human body, hair, pupils, expressions, all of these must be designed to find the optimal solution while you start drawing. The focus of light novel illustrations is the characters, so everything must be constructed around highlighting the characters' characteristics.

Gradually, Eriri spent more time in contemplation.

"Hey, there's no specific description here. What do you think her initial expression should have been?"

"He must have been stunned by the huge shock, but the illustration doesn't necessarily have to show that," Kiyono replied.

Although light novel writers and illustrators can also be considered as Party A and Party B, Party A generally will not make a general request like "There are some problems, keep adjusting". Instead, they can get detailed feedback so that Eriri's blood pressure will not soar.

"How about blurring the scenery a little?" she asked again.

"can."

After a while, a simple drawing was completed.

Qingye widened his eyes slightly, as if he had really seen another world.

At dusk, the light and shadow are dreamy and bright. The noble and graceful girl stands there quietly with her back to the sunset. This is a scene that fits her novel perfectly, so lifelike.

After being shocked for a moment, Qingye felt extremely satisfied.

"Sawamura-sensei's composition is so impactful."

"The lighting and shadow processing is indeed professional-level."

"That's right, brother, that's right, that's exactly how I feel. She perfectly matches my imagination of the heroine. She's truly my soulmate!"

...Stop, stop praising me!

Eriri's fair face was dyed with an alluring pink. She was used to receiving compliments, but Kiyono was an author she admired, and the weight of the two was completely different!

"Just draw according to this feeling. Miss Sawamura is talented!" Kiyono waved his hand.

Talent?... Eriri paused her brush and muttered the word softly. To be honest, she didn't know if she could be considered a talented player. After all, she had been practicing simulations for such a long time... But since she had been making progress and received widespread acclaim, she should be considered a talented player, right?

"Ms. Sawamura, you are now almost qualified to be a key animator for a large company. Do you plan to develop in this field or become a cartoonist in the future?" Kiyono asked curiously.

"...I don't know. I'm still a long way from that."

Eriri lowered her head and casually said that she didn't have a clear plan for her future.