Chapter 32

Hilton Hotel.

Music tea house.

Elegant piano music.

Yang Linfei had no time to appreciate the master-level piano music; he was searching for Mai Zi.

To show his importance, he deliberately arrived fifteen minutes early at the music tea house, but after circling around three times, he couldn't find the comic master who matched his mental image.

Hasn't he arrived yet?

It's possible. The appointment was for 2:30, and it's only 2:28 now.

He found a seat, looking at the entrance of the music tea house, anxiously waiting.

At 2:30, a young man holding a cup of coffee walked up to him: "Excuse me, are you Yang Linfei, the chief editor of Feiyang Publishing?"

"I am. Are you Teacher Mai...’s assistant?"

This young man was well-dressed and behaved properly. Yang Linfei remembered that he had been sitting alone in a nearby seat, and he had passed by him several times.

Mai Xiaoyu smiled and sat opposite Yang Linfei: "Hello, Chief Editor Yang, I am Mai Zi."

What?

You are Mai Zi?

The author of *Naruto* and *Boys Over Flowers*?

So young!

Yang Linfei could hardly believe his eyes and ears.

In his mind, given the comic skills displayed in *Naruto* and *Boys Over Flowers*, the author Mai Zi must be a seasoned comic artist. Considering age, he thought Mai Zi must be at least in his late twenties, possibly even in his thirties or forties.

But the young man in front of him looked no more than in his early twenties, so Yang Linfei hadn't paid much attention to him when he passed by several times.

Is he really Mai Zi himself?

"Mai Zi... Teacher, hello, I am Yang Linfei, the chief editor of Feiyang Publishing." Yang Linfei stood up and extended his right hand.

"Call me Mai Zi." Mai Xiaoyu stood up and shook hands.

"I apologize on behalf of my daughter. It was my fault for not disciplining her properly. She was disrespectful last night, and I have already criticized her. Please bear with her, Teacher Mai Zi."

"Why criticize her? I didn't come to complain last night. Everyone was mischievous when they were young. When I was her age, I often got into fights and hated tattletales."

It seems he is the one.

Yang Linfei finally confirmed Mai Zi's identity. After a brief exchange, he got straight to the point: "Teacher Mai Zi, our publishing house is very sincere about signing your *Boys Over Flowers*. Here is the contract, please review it. If there are any unsatisfactory points, we can negotiate and modify them. If you have any requirements regarding the terms, we will try our best to meet them."

"Not so fast." Mai Xiaoyu pushed back the contract. "I also have an appointment with Shueisha, but it's at 3:30."

Is he trying to get the best offer?

Yang Linfei's heart sank.

Feiyang Publishing is at the bottom of the Beijing publishing industry, and *Feiyang Youth* is a third-rate comic magazine in China. How can it compete with the Japanese comic giant Shueisha's *Weekly Shonen Jump*?

Yang Linfei's smile was bitter: "It seems you have already made your decision. Congratulations."

"No, no, you misunderstood. I will discuss the signing of *Naruto* with them later, and I need your cooperation. Do you understand?"

I understand!

At this point, how could I not understand?

Isn't this a common tactic?

And to trick the Japanese, as a Chinese person, it's our duty!

The two leaned in, whispering. Mai Xiaoyu told Yang Linfei several key points he needed to cooperate with and some precautions. The rest was left for Yang Linfei to grasp on his own.

Yang Linfei, with years of experience in the publishing industry, quickly understood his role and knew how to cooperate with Mai Xiaoyu.

The Japanese have a strong sense of time, and they arrived exactly at 3:30.

Three people from Shueisha, dressed in suits despite the hot weather, stood at the entrance of the music tea house. One of them took out a mobile phone and made a call.

Mai Xiaoyu hung up the call and waved his phone: "Here."

"Hello, are you Mr. Mai Zi?"

Shueisha took this meeting very seriously, sending a senior editor, Nakamura, with his assistant to China. To keep it confidential, they didn't even hire a professional translator, but instead found a staff member who had studied in China and obtained a HSK Level 6 certificate to act as a temporary translator.

Like Yang Linfei, they were also surprised by Mai Xiaoyu's youth and didn't believe that such a young Chinese person could have such a deep understanding of Japanese ninja culture.

Nakamura whispered to the translator and gave a nod to his assistant.

The translator, with a broken Mandarin, said: "Mr. Mai Zi, is this *Naruto* your work?"

At the same time, the assistant took out a thick stack of drawings from his briefcase, which were the original drafts of *Naruto* that Mai Xiaoyu had submitted to *Manga Love*.

"This is my work. How did it end up in your hands?" For a moment, Mai Xiaoyu vaguely understood why he had been waiting for so long without the right opportunity. "Is my *Boys Over Flowers* also in your hands?"

The translator and Nakamura discussed for a moment and said regretfully: "Unfortunately, someone took *Boys Over Flowers* before us, and we didn't have the chance to read your work."

In other words, both of my comic submissions are not in the hands of Ai Man Culture?

But these are submission drafts! Ai Man Culture is the organizer!

Mai Xiaoyu caught Yang Linfei winking at him and instantly understood, knowing the whereabouts of the *Boys Over Flowers* drafts and feeling speechless.

I see, that's why Ai Man Culture has been so inactive.

Without the original drafts, how can Ai Man Culture plagiarize my comic ideas?

The comic industry is so chaotic.

"Mr. Mai Zi, forgive me for asking, but there is a rumor in your country that you are not the original author of *Naruto*..."

"Since you call it a rumor, why are you asking me?"

"Here's the thing. Our company is very sincere about signing this comic, but the identity of the original author must be confirmed."

Yang Linfei cleared his throat and began to cooperate: "Since you doubt he is the original author, why don't you let me have *Naruto*? Our publishing house is also very interested in signing it, and our sincerity is no less than yours."

The translator was taken aback, discussed with Nakamura for a few moments, and then asked Yang Linfei: "May I ask who you are?"

Yang Linfei handed over his business card: "Yang Linfei, chief editor of Feiyang Publishing."

The Japanese wanted to curse.

They thought Yang Linfei was Mai Xiaoyu's friend, helping him negotiate, but now they realized he was their competitor!

"Mr. Mai Zi, we respect you. We came here today with great sincerity. How could you invite another publishing company at the same time?"

"I don't see anything wrong with that. If we can't reach an agreement today, I will sign with Feiyang Publishing. Time is money, and my time is very valuable."

This time, Nakamura didn't rush to respond. After listening to the translator, he thought for five minutes and then said a lot.

The translator said: "Mr. Mai Zi, Editor Nakamura said that as long as you can prove you are the original author of *Naruto*, we can sign the contract today."

"Seems foreigners also need a lot of proof." Mai Xiaoyu sighed. "Do you have a pen and paper?"

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