Time flew by, and over a month passed in an instant.
Inside Lin Yu's room.
"Lin-kun, your drawing skills have improved way too quickly recently, haven't they?" Nanako, kneeling beside a small table, gazed at the manuscript in Lin Yu's hands, her eyes shining with admiration as she spoke with a touch of awe.
"Is that so? Perhaps it's just practice makes perfect?" Lin Yu chuckled lightly, his brush pen gliding rapidly across the paper. His lines were sharp and concise, and his character depictions were incredibly vivid.
Hearing this, Nanako shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. If 'practice makes perfect' could get someone to this level, then everyone in the world would be a genius.
Over this extended period, as the plot of Inuyasha unfolded, the initial craze that had swept the entire manga industry gradually began to subside. In its place, a dedicated legion of loyal fans emerged from the readership.
Leveraging the growth during this time, Lin Yu strictly followed the plan he had previously laid out, investing all his reputation points into enhancing his drawing skill. After accumulating reputation points for so long, he had finally spent a fortune to upgrade his drawing skill completely to Level 10.
Level 10 was the upper limit set by the system. This limit signified that in terms of manga artistry, no one could compare to Lin Yu. The improvement was, naturally, immense. Even the original artwork of Inuyasha from his previous life couldn't hold a candle to Lin Yu's current manuscripts. Whether it was the lively and cheerful Kagome, the gentle and kind Kikyo, or the imposing and noble Sesshomaru... all of them came alive under Lin Yu's hand, so much so that when reading the manga, one couldn't help but feel completely immersed, as if they were right there. It was as if these dialogues and stories were unfolding right before their eyes.
Nanako, having seen Lin Yu's practice drafts before, could naturally perceive the enormous difference. Strictly speaking, even though Lin Yu had copied his drafts for the first chapter many times, compared to his current artwork, those initial attempts looked almost laughably like a child's doodles.
This transformation also garnered a lot of feedback from readers. As fans of Inuyasha, there was nothing that could make them happier than seeing the author they admired make such tremendous progress. Especially after he upgraded his drawing skill to Level 10 two days ago, Lin Yu's drawing speed increased further, and the quality also rose another notch.
Even the editor-in-chief of Yueisha Publishing's editorial department personally called to check in on Lin Yu after seeing his latest manuscript. His words were very polite, but they all revolved around one main theme: urging 'Teacher Qingsong' to make sure he rested and took care of his health.
It wasn't for any other reason than Lin Yu's drawing speed being simply too fast. Five chapters a day was no problem for him now, and he delivered both quality and quantity. In fact, if Lin Yu wanted to, even ten chapters a day wouldn't be an issue at all.
Although Yueisha Publishing was ecstatic about Lin Yu's massive output—after all, compared to certain authors who loved to delay releases, Lin Yu was practically a model for the creative world—precisely because of this, the people at Yueisha were even more worried about whether Lin Yu was actually getting enough rest. You had to understand, many manga artists could only manage to draw two pages of manuscript a day. Lin Yu, however, was producing dozens of pages daily, and had been doing so for many days consecutively, all while maintaining both quality and quantity. This level of output was somewhat terrifying; calling him a 'Grind God' wasn't even enough to describe it. It made people involuntarily wonder if Lin Yu was getting any normal rest or sleep each day.
With Inuyasha doing so well, the people at Yueisha were genuinely worried that Lin Yu might suddenly die from overwork one day. If that really happened, it would not only be a huge loss for Yueisha Publishing and the readers, but also for the entire Japanese manga industry.
So, after the editor-in-chief's concerned call, Nanako showed up. From being just the editor in charge of liaising with Lin Yu, she had now, under Yueisha's orders, basically turned Lin Yu's home into her clock-in workplace. She had to come over and 'clock in' on time every day, with the express purpose of supervising Lin Yu.
For this reason, Nanako even quit her job at the sushi shop and became Lin Yu's dedicated personal editor. The goal was to prevent this 'titan of toil'—who seemed to be all work ethic from the neck down—from developing health problems due to lack of rest. Yueisha also stipulated that Nanako must regularly take Lin Yu for medical check-ups and buy him nourishing supplements. Yueisha Publishing was very generous about this, granting Nanako the authority to get all these expenses reimbursed.
As a result, even Nanako's salary increased considerably, and she was promoted directly from intern editor to an official editor. This was almost unimaginable for a student who was still in university and only an intern. If it weren't for Lin Yu, even with her father, Ohara Shijuro's, influence, this wouldn't have been possible.
Faced with Yueisha's arrangement, Nanako felt a bit helpless but didn't refuse. Whether from the perspective of a friend or from a professional standpoint, Nanako herself fully agreed with Yueisha's concerns. Previously, she had endured her discomfort with the cold to accompany Lin Yu on his morning runs every day, partly for this very reason.
However, after witnessing Lin Yu's work process firsthand, Nanako found herself questioning life itself. Five chapters a day, quality and quantity guaranteed, with exquisite artistry. Lin Yu finished it all in roughly just one afternoon. There was absolutely none of what Yueisha imagined – no all-night drafting sessions, no sleepless nights. This amount of work, for him now, was something he could complete with absolute ease. Nanako felt like she was just a decoration here, her daily job merely consisting of slacking off and idling away time.
"Here, today's work is done," Lin Yu said with a relaxed expression, handing the newly finished manuscript to Nanako.
Nanako looked at the freshly completed artwork, chuckling softly as she flipped through it. "Lin-kun, if the editorial department found out that all I do here every day is drink tea, chat, and surf the internet, do you think they'd fire me on the spot?"
"If they did that, then I'd have no choice but to go on strike," Lin Yu said with a smile, a hint of teasing in his tone.
Having spent so much time together, especially recently, Nanako was by his side almost all day, except at night. Their relationship had certainly grown much closer.
Putting the manuscript away safely, Nanako stretched languidly. Her pale yellow sweater enveloped her delicate girlish figure, perfectly showcasing her graceful and well-proportioned curves.
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