Chapter 62: Mother-in-Law on Top
The order of the venue gradually stabilized as the guests took their seats on the exhibition stand.
The pretty female host introduced the guests one by one in an affected voice, making Ruan Xi think she was watching the school’s Arts Festival.
“Famous manga artist, Teacher Sankong!”
The man on the stage nodded, and the audience immediately boiled over.
“Oh my god, that Teacher Sankong who drew Relics!”
“Why does Teacher Sankong look like this… his art style is so beautiful…”
The man on the stage looked a bit like Gao Xiaosong, which was probably different from what some viewers had imagined, and their fantasies were shattered. But another group of viewers, like Ruan Xi, didn’t care much about appearance. Just seeing a manga master made their hearts surge.
Ruan Xi thought about asking for an autograph after it was over. She scanned the area, wanting to see if there were any other manga masters, but when her eyes swept over the woman sitting in the middle of the exhibition stand, she froze.
“Famous entrepreneur, Ms. Jiang Wu!” the host seemed to be reciting.
Jiang Wu stood up and bowed slightly. The audience below was not very interested. Everyone was an ACG fan and not interested in business people, but for the young girl, it was a bolt from the blue.
Auntie Jiang… why is Teacher Tong’s mother here?!
My pen name Tamamo, and…
She swallowed and lowered her head, hoping that the other party wouldn’t notice her.
“Another piece of good news for all contestants. Sponsored by Ms. Jiang, the prize money for this competition, gold, silver, and bronze, will be increased to one hundred thousand, seventy thousand, and fifty thousand respectively!”
The contestants were restless. Most of the participating manga artists had no money. Manga earned little, and they had to rely on drawing profile pictures for others to earn extra money. The one hundred thousand for the gold prize could let them live comfortably for a long time, enough to make people jealous.
And Ruan Xi still didn’t dare to look up.
The little pig coveting someone else’s cabbage was afraid that someone would protect their cabbage layer by layer.
Jiang Wu on the stage quietly looked at the audience, her gaze resting on the only female contestant in the first row, frowning slightly.
Investing in Ican Manga Net was the result of careful consideration.
Attending the event was a spur-of-the-moment decision after investigating the reasons for her daughter’s repeated abnormal behavior.
She wanted to see what kind of student her daughter had made an exception for.
The process of the competition was very simple. A total of 13 manga works were introduced by the contestants themselves, clips were played, then commented on by the guests, and finally, after discussion, the predetermined awards were announced.
Jiang Wu looked down. There were thirteen booklets on the table for her to watch. She rarely did these trivial things herself. She was a decision-maker, not an evaluator. She flipped through a few books casually and found them boring at the beginning.
So, she went straight to the point and opened this Ruan Xi’s work.
Pen name Tamamo.
Jiang Wu sneered. This thief’s heart was really revealed.
My stupid daughter wouldn’t be unaware of this student’s thoughts, right?
She flipped through the album casually. The art style was indeed strange compared to other works. From a distance, it looked like a piece of scratch paper, but the black and white tone made her feel more comfortable than other works. The picture had a kind of… tension?
Jiang Wu didn’t understand manga, but it didn’t affect her expressing her evaluation.
The bullied protagonist… killing people in dreams?
Interesting.
She read it bit by bit. The arrival of the police did not bring the protagonist to justice. After a few days of fear, the protagonist’s mentality began to change, thinking that he was destined to kill the wicked and carry out justice.
Too chuunibyou, too childish.
Jiang Wu thought as she turned to the next chapter.
**
“To be honest, my 90-year-old grandmother could draw better than you.”
There was a burst of laughter from the audience. The author on stage grinned awkwardly, his smile bitter.
Ruan Xi frowned. She felt that the highly respected manga master on stage was not only strange, but also… excessive.
She didn’t like the persona of “speaking frankly.”
The man called Teacher Sankong drank some water and waved his hand.
“Go down.”
The author went down in a sorry state. The host quickly filled the position, smiling.
“Teacher Sankong is still so sharp-tongued, his comments are incisive and hit the nail on the head!”
The next one on stage was Ruan Xi.
She took a deep breath and looked up. Sure enough, Auntie Jiang was staring at her. She must have recognized her.
Between me and Teacher Tong… should… not be suspected, right?
She took the microphone and began to explain her manga. All the manga judges had read it in advance, and the explanation was mainly for the audience. At first, she had stage fright, but after experiencing the Arts Festival, she quickly stabilized her mind, and her clear voice entered people’s hearts.
Seeing that the manga artist was a pleasing-to-the-eye young lady, the audience’s attention was immediately focused.
The manga Dream Walk was serialized until “someone in the police realized the existence of supernatural crimes,” and then stopped at the climax of the plot.
Ruan Xi talked so much that her mouth was dry.
And the audience below were all unsatisfied, feeling that the young lady on stage was as annoying as an ancient storyteller saying “if you want to know what happens next, please listen to the next chapter,” wishing they could make her spit out the follow-up plot.
But Ruan Xi was very happy.
She had thought her manga was very average, but she didn’t expect to be loved by so many viewers.
She had rarely been recognized by anyone other than Teacher Tong.
But the comment session interrupted her joy.
Sankong picked up the microphone, his turbid voice filling the venue.
“Regarding your manga, I have a few points to make.
“First of all, the storyboarding is too monotonous. You haven’t practiced character perspective much, have you? The human body structure is omitted so much, you’re not putting your heart into it.
“Then there’s the picture, it’s drawn too roughly. Some places are so messy I don’t even want to talk about it. Did you draw it with your feet?”
Ruan Xi was stunned.
“Also, you just learned the coloring on the cover, right? Cramming at the last minute? I suggest you, at such a young age, don’t think about taking shortcuts. You can only practice stroke by stroke.”
He spoke with spittle flying, devaluing this manga to nothing.
Ruan Xi was silent, her lips trembling slightly. She wanted to say something to refute, but realized the insignificance of her identity. She only felt sad and disappointed. This malice came suddenly, breaking her original expectations, and… it was in front of Auntie Jiang.
Jiang Wu propped up half of her face with the back of her hand and glanced at the stage. That little girl was all alone, quite pitiful. Did she draw very badly? Why didn’t I think so? It seems to be the only one I can read.
She admitted that she came with a scrutinizing and warning attitude and intention, but now, that little girl was criticized so miserably, she didn’t plan to kick her when she was down.
Although in her eyes, a student drawing manga was indeed a bit of not doing her proper job.
The next manga artist guest obviously didn’t have a high status. Hearing Senior Sankong’s comments, he laughed and perfunctorily commented a few words like “drawing skills are not good.”
The competition venue had simply become a criticism meeting.
Saying her level was poor, saying her content was dark, saying her drawings were face-blind.
Even the audience couldn’t stand it and booed.
Ruan Xi lowered her head, filtering out those words. She was no longer the Ruan Xi who was easily defeated. It didn’t matter if others recognized her or not. As long as Teacher Tong supported her, she could go on.
Moreover, she hadn’t forgotten the audience’s cheers just now. She drew for the audience, not for these masters.
She was talking to herself in her own world until she heard an unexpected female voice on stage—
From Jiang Wu.
This woman held the microphone. As soon as she sat up straight, she had an aura of looking down on all living beings. She said slowly:
“Then I’ll say a few words too.”
“As far as I’m concerned, this is a very interesting manga.”
“The most important thing about a manga is the plot.”
“Although the pictures are a bit scribbled, the information conveyed is not reduced. What do middle school students want to see? It’s this kind of plot. This kind of plot where I can change the world. Readers like orthodox manga, and they also like unorthodox manga. I am very optimistic about its potential.”
“Although the previous few seemed to only see the thorns, I don’t think they are problems. The female protagonist is very beautiful. Time was spent on her face. Very smart. Good steel should be used on the blade.”
“I don’t understand manga terminology, but if you ask me to evaluate this manga, I would say, it’s good.”
As soon as the voice fell, applause erupted from the audience—finally someone spoke for those who thought this manga was good! They had long wanted to complain for the young lady on stage, but there were always people around saying “do you understand manga better than the judges,” making them tired of arguing.
Jiang Wu leaned back in her chair and didn’t look at the little girl on stage. She hadn’t planned to speak, but thinking that if her daughter went back and knew that her student was besieged by a group of people, and she, as a mother, was watching the show on the side, she would definitely explode.
One thing is one thing.
If this manga really became popular, it would also make money for her.
As for this girl’s desire for her daughter, she still had to find a chance to beat it out of her.
