——"Remember to heat it before eating. Because Xiaohei didn't allow me to come near, the cat litter couldn't be cleaned, sorry (Megumi)."

He put down the note, glanced at the cat at his feet, then squatted down and rubbed the cat's head.

"It's hard work looking after the house."

"Meow meow~"

"Are you causing anyone any trouble?"

"Meow?"

The black cat looked puzzled.

Kato Yusuke didn't say anything, but gently pushed it to the ground and rubbed its belly.

The black cat resisted a little at first, but soon began to purr comfortably, and its limbs lay limply on the ground.

——Buzzing.

Along with the purring of the black cat, the mobile phone in the pocket vibrated unwillingly.

I took out my phone and took a look. There was an unread message from LINE on it.

[Senior Shiyu: Memorial~]

[Senior Shiyu: (photo)]

In the orange-red tram carriage, young boys and girls are cuddling together affectionately.

One of them was sleeping soundly, while the other was holding up his mobile phone to take a selfie, with a slight curl at the corner of his mouth.

Kato Yusuke turned to look over his left shoulder, and a faint scent of gerbera seemed to enter his nose.

He brushed his shoulders and did not reply to the message.

——Buzzing.

Another...an email was delivered to the phone.

[New Tiaoxiang: Good evening~ President, can we meet? www]

He turned a blind eye to this, threw the phone on the bed, then stood up and walked to the cat litter box and started cleaning the cat litter.

"Meow~?"

The black cat also followed closely, its green eyes fixed on his hands, watching him use the shovel and garbage bag to clean up his own poop, and his furry tail swaying behind him.

Kato Yusuke ignored it, silently cleaned up the cat litter, added some new ones into it, and then placed the sealed garbage bag at the entrance, ready to throw it away later.

I washed my hands in the bathroom and then returned to the living room to start eating.

Peel off the plastic wrap hanging with water mist from the plate.

He didn't bother to heat it up, so he just ate it.

The girl's dinner was spaghetti bolognese with tomatoes and a sandwich.

The tomato meat sauce is hand-fried, and the minced pork particles are plump, juicy and elastic.

Although the cooking method is not difficult, it is very delicious.

The taste of the sandwich is also quite good. The sliced ​​ham wrapped in mayonnaise has a very harmonious taste, and it tastes like butter melting in the mouth.

The garnished lettuce brings a refreshing taste, which well neutralizes the greasiness in the mouth and perfectly blends the flavors together.

He originally didn't like mayonnaise that much, but he changed his mind a little after eating the girl's food.

"Meow~"

The cat meowed beside him, put his front paws on his legs, and licked his mouth as if he wanted to eat.

A person and a cat look at each other.

Kato Yusuke thought for a moment, then broke off a small piece of sandwich and put it in his hand, then stretched out his hand.

The black cat lowered his head and sniffed it twice, and then started eating with a "oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo".

‘Exchange for dried fish.’

[Successfully redeemed for dried fish, 10 points will be deducted.]

——Tear it up.

"You eat this, the sandwich is not good for cats."

"Meow meow."

Feeding the cat while eating, both of us are very satisfied...

…

Have eaten and washed the dishes.

Put the unfinished sandwich in the refrigerator and save it for tomorrow's breakfast.

Kato Yusuke spent a while completing his school assignments, and then began to draw the manuscript for the second episode of "Chainsaw Man".

Compared with previous books that emphasized drawing skills, "Chainsaw Man", which focuses on plot, is much more relaxed.

Having said that...but this is only for him.

After all, from storyboarding, gridding, tracing, inking, applying dots, blackening, color grading with software... to completing the final manuscript, this is a series of very tedious and complicated tasks.

Generally speaking, the first thing an average cartoonist will do after their work is serialized is to recruit 2 to 3 assistants to help them simplify the process.

But he did it alone.

in Japan.

Although cartoonists are a very respected profession, they are often given the title of teacher along with lawyers, doctors, and government officials.

But at the same time, the fierce competition is also extremely cruel.

Not to mention that it is not easy to get the opportunity to be serialized. There are also countless examples of being cut in half due to low popularity after being serialized.

Take the industry leader Shueisha’s “Jump” as an example.

Usually, only 50 out of 1,000 people have the opportunity to be published, only 10 out of 50 people have the opportunity to be serialized, and only 3 out of 10 people can actually get serialization.

And among the last three people, only one can become a popular author and continue to serialize.

This isn't the end yet.

Take a newcomer to the industry as an example. The original manuscript fee is 9,000 yen per page.

After excluding water, electricity, rent, paper and pen supplies, assistant expenses, as well as catering and transportation expenses, the final result is basically a deficit, or even a loss.

But under such circumstances, I still have to persist in painting, accept the test of the market and readers, and fight for the glimmer of hope... It is really not much better than being a social animal.

Of course, those who can succeed in the end will naturally become one of the top people in the industry and become famous among the warm flowers and applause.

Kato Yusuke didn't know much about this aspect, he just had some knowledge, and Shiyu didn't tell him this.

With the secret help of the girl, his starting point is much higher than that of ordinary people.

Not only is the remuneration very high, but the freedom of creation is not much worse than doing whatever you want.

Take the manuscript as an example. Generally, cartoonists need to show it to the editor first and discuss the plot. Only after the other party agrees can they proceed to the following steps.

Although he also needs to do this, he is much more relaxed, at least he will not encounter any situation of being beaten back.

In a sense, this is not a privilege and preferential treatment.

But the price is Xia Shizi's reputation.

After all, with such high praise, if his subsequent performance is mediocre...

Even if you don't say it on the surface, there are bound to be people who will criticize Xia Shizi.

Kato Yusuke thought and drew.

The black cat jumped on his lap, huddled up in a ball, and began to doze off.

Time passes by peacefully...

I drew about a dozen pages and progressed to the point where the male protagonist Denji was recruited by Machima from the Ministry of Public Security and encountered an emergency in the service area.

Kato Yusuke stopped writing and began to add lines to the characters.

…

Faced with Miss Makima, who rescued him from the gangster's territory and invited him to dinner, Denji inevitably developed a liking for this demon hunter.

But when he wanted to eat udon first instead of saving the citizens who were attacked by demons...

"Have you forgotten? You are my dog ​​now and can only answer "yes" or "bark"."

"I don't need a dog that says no."

The other party said this calmly and threatened to destroy him.

In an instant, Denji broke out in cold sweat...

"Woof."
To be continued...