Chapter 31

PS: I've changed my status to A and am fully focused on writing. I will post a separate chapter each month to thank those who have supported me. In the future, I will try to avoid including irrelevant text in the main content to ensure a clean reading experience. Thank you all for your support.

The little girls these days are really something.

Xiaoyu sighed as he walked out of the Forgotten Bar, still seeing the white fingers in his mind.

Sitting in the car, he took out his phone and searched for Yang Linfei's call, planning to call back and discuss the signing matters with Feiyang Publishing.

Fortunately, Yang Linfei had called in the morning using his mobile phone. Just as Xiaoyu was about to press the call button, his phone rang again, another unknown number.

"May I ask if you are Mr. Mai, the author of 'Naruto'?" The voice was in Mandarin, but the accent was strange, probably a foreigner.

"Yes, who are you?"

"I am from Shueisha in Japan..."

Ten minutes later, the call ended. Xiaoyu closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, his fingers drawing circles on the steering wheel.

This was his signature gesture, indicating that his mind was racing, preparing to set up a plan.

Shueisha?

Kodansha?

Manga?

The speed of his finger movements gradually increased, and a few minutes later, it suddenly stopped. Xiaoyu opened his eyes in frustration—damn, not enough information!

...

Yang Linfei was quite depressed today. He had finally gotten Mai's contact information and successfully contacted him, but unexpectedly, the other party proposed 1.5 million.

Is he trying to transfer the bonus owed by Aiman Culture to me?

How can I persuade him to give up this unrealistic idea?

Troublesome!

Yang Linfei sat in his study, thinking hard.

"Honey, the apples are washed, come out and eat them." Yang Qiuling called from outside the door.

"Okay, I'll be out... Wait, Mai called me!"

Xiaoyu's call was a pleasant surprise for Yang Linfei, but the purpose of the call left him puzzled and a bit anxious.

"You asked about the relationship between Shueisha and Kodansha?"

"Shueisha contacted you?"

"The rivalry between these two companies is long-standing and can't be explained in a short time."

"Alright, I'll explain it in detail..."

Shueisha and Kodansha are both old-established Japanese publishers, with manga magazines published for over half a century. Competitors are often enemies, and they have been rivals for many years, with a history that could fill a hundred-episode TV series.

Yang Linfei couldn't guess Xiaoyu's intentions and could only explain the most important parts and the grudges since the 1990s.

After half an hour, Yang Linfei was parched from talking. He drank the plain water his wife brought in and said, "That's the general situation. If you have the chance to sign with Shueisha, I suggest you don't miss it."

"Thank you, Editor Yang, for the detailed explanation. I plan to serialize 'Boys Over Flowers' in 'Feiyang·Qingchun.' Are you still interested?"

Of course!

Yang Linfei tried to contain his excitement and said, "But our publishing house can't offer 500,000 yuan in bonuses."

"Ha ha, the information you just told me is worth a million, and you have a good daughter... Alright, let's leave it at that. Tomorrow afternoon at 2:30, Hilton Hotel Music Tea House, I'll be waiting for you."

After hanging up, Yang Linfei couldn't control his excitement. He hugged Yang Qiuling and shouted, "Honey, did you hear that, did you hear that? Mai agreed to sign, I got 'Boys Over Flowers'!"

Yang Qiuling was also happy for her husband, feeling his joy and softly said, "It's just a manga, is it really that exciting?"

"What do you mean 'just'? Do you know how popular 'Boys Over Flowers' and 'Naruto' are now? And from the way Mai spoke, Shueisha is probably interested in his 'Naruto.' Shueisha, do you understand?"

Shueisha and Kodansha are two of the three major giants in the Japanese manga industry.

Especially Shueisha, the old leader, has long dominated the Japanese manga market, publishing many classic manga with significant influence in China. If it weren't for some issues in recent years, it wouldn't have been overtaken by Kodansha and fallen to second place.

Once 'Naruto' is serialized in Shueisha's 'Weekly Shonen Jump,' as the first Chinese person to break into the Japanese manga market, Mai will surely become famous. The popularity of 'Boys Over Flowers' is a given.

The sales of 'Feiyang·Qingchun'... just thinking about it is exciting!

"In the morning, he said he wouldn't sign without 1.5 million, why did he change his mind so quickly?" Yang Qiuling asked.

"That's because..."

Because of Mi Mi?

At 9:30 PM, Yang Mi returned home on time, greeted her parents, and dropped her backpack to grab an apple.

Yang Qiuling stopped her, "Wash your hands first, then eat the apple."

"Okay."

After quickly washing her hands, Yang Mi ran back to the living room, grabbed her favorite apple, and took a big bite.

Yang Linfei came out of the study and asked Yang Mi, "Where were you tonight?"

"At a classmate's birthday party, didn't I tell you?"

"Who did you see?"

"Nobody, just classmates."

"Anyone else besides classmates?"

Huh?

Why is Dad asking this?

Her big eyes darted around, and Yang Mi innocently said, "Just classmates, no one else."

"You're lying, they already called me."

The despicable uncle!

The vile informant!

Tattling is shameful!

Yang Mi hung her head and said, "Dad, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone to the bar, I shouldn't have drunk..."

That's a lot of information!

Yang Linfei and his wife exchanged glances, puzzled.

Yang Mi, unaware, continued, "But it's not all my fault, that uncle was too creepy, eavesdropping on our conversation and slandering Mai, saying his manga wasn't good. I couldn't stand it, so I flipped him the bird."

She even flipped the bird?

Yang Linfei and his wife were stunned, their faces full of shock.

Yang Mi was also surprised.

Why do you have that expression?

Are you not asking about that?

Oh no, I slipped up!

Yang Mi, being smart, quickly realized and covered her mouth, but it was too late.

Yang Linfei had intended to ask his daughter where she met Mai tonight and what they said that could make Mai change his mind and agree to serialize 'Boys Over Flowers' in 'Feiyang·Qingchun.' But instead of getting the important information, he got a bunch of miscellaneous "trivial matters."

Trivial matters?

For a father, these are not trivial!

Lying to parents, going to a bar, drinking, flipping the bird... do you still act like a girl?

Do you know you're only fifteen? What if you encounter bad people at a bar?

This is outrageous!

Your allowance will be halved this month.

You're not allowed to go out in the evenings before the end of the term, stay home and review your lessons.

If your grades drop in the final exams, you'll spend the summer studying at home.

Go, reflect in your room!

Yang Mi returned to her bedroom with her head down, pouting and cursing Xiaoyu in her heart.

Despicable uncle, making me get scolded by Dad.

Just wait, don't let me see you again, or you'll be in for it.

Her mind full of Xiaoyu's image, Yang Mi got angrier the more she thought about it. She grabbed the apple and took a fierce bite, as if she were biting Xiaoyu's face...