【Jiu Ci】It's all true love, don't compare

7:30

Ibaraki sat up from the bed and stroked his messy white hair casually.

He sat for a while with half-closed eyes before turning off the alarm clock and getting up to wash up.

7:40

Jiu Tun was jogging with his earphones on, the weather in late spring was a little hot, and a few strands of red hair were dancing around his ears wetly.

People going to work passed him in twos and threes, and when they were about to run to the front of the apartment building, a car drove past him and entered the underground garage.

7:52

Ibaraki checked the files in the USB flash drive for the last time, turned off the computer, added water to his hamster, and then grabbed his phone and went out.

The elevator stopped at the basement level, Qing Xingdeng leaned against the car door to look at his phone, heard footsteps, and raised his head to take a look.

"Oh, you're dressed so formally today."

"Of course! Today is an important day!" Ibaraki opened the door and got into the car, "Wait, you're not very rigid, are you?"

"...It's pretty handsome, don't be nervous."

Qing Xingdeng laughed, and got into the car, patted his leg, started the car: "Go to have breakfast?"

"Ah."

8:05

With a towel on his head, Shuten took out the browned toast from the bread machine, and the fried eggs and bacon on the plate exuded the smell of grease.

He dried his hair, put the towel on the back of the chair, sat down, took a sip of coffee, and began to eat breakfast.The yellow fur ball also got out of the small room, stepping on the dry grass and making a rustling sound.

8:30

Ibaraki absent-mindedly poked the eggs Benedict on the plate with a fork, and the golden egg liquid dripped onto the muffin.

"Little friend, how old are you? Can you eat well?"

Qing Xingdeng couldn't stand it anymore, and took his fork away, and Ibaraki quickly snatched it back.

"Leave me alone, I need to be calm and calm."

He said with a serious face, bit the straw, and sucked down half of the glass of orange juice in an instant.

"My God, what are you talking about?" Qing Xingdeng couldn't laugh or cry, "This will not be allowed at the launch meeting later."

"I'm just... I'm just so excited!" Ibaraki let go of the orange juice and continued to torture his breakfast, "Teacher Lie Yan! My only real idol! I'm going to meet with him later to talk about cooperation. Why am I so so? Lucky...can I ask for an autograph? But I didn't bring my book...how about letting him sign on my clothes? Will he be unhappy?"

"..."

Qing Xingdeng sighed, put down the fork and began to reapply lipstick: "I really convinced you, I think even if Teacher Lie Yan has eight heads full of tentacles, you will rush to ask for a group photo."

"You're too superficial, your face doesn't matter, someone who can write this kind of novel, his personality charm can't be ignored, even if he is middle-aged and bald... No, wait a minute, how can I say that about Teacher Lie Yan... I'm sorry, I confess," Ibaraki said seriously, "It's okay to be bald, just shave your head, how domineering!"

"...I don't think you're reflecting at all," Qing Xingdeng glanced at the watch on his wrist, "Hurry up and eat, you don't want to be late for the first meeting, do you?"

"...!"

Ibaraki immediately acted, wiped out all the muffins and eggs in two or three bites, wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth, got up and left.Qing Xingdeng shook his head, picked up his handbag and followed.

8:50

"...you're still early."

Datengu walked into the conference room with his notebook in his arms, raising his eyebrows.

"If there is no traffic jam on the road, you will arrive early."

Jiu Tun turned on the projection equipment, sat back in the chair, and took a pen in his hand.

"It seems that you have a good rest." Big Tengu raised his head and glanced at him, "you are fat."

"Fuck you, you're fat."

Jiu Tun scolded him with a smile.

"Not as much as you," Big Tengu pushed his glasses, "When do you plan to start working?"

"How can it be so fast? The comic project cycle can be very long, and my uncle will always supervise the whole process, right?"

"Stop talking, where did your workload come from? It's all on the manga side," Datengu said mercilessly, "But to be honest, this artist is of a good level, and the people in my company happen to be exactly what you want. Style, save a lot of effort, luck is quite good."

"Ah, yes, it is indeed a good start."

"Also, the editor of the painter told me that he has read your book and is considered your fan, so the partner for this cooperation is very sincere, and you can tell by the completion of the trial draft. You will have a better attitude later, don't give Look at people's faces."

"You're thinking too much," Jiu Tun said expressionlessly, "I only show you the face."

"Ha ha."

Big Tengu wanted to say something, but footsteps and voices came from outside the door.

"……coming."

He and Jiu Tun exchanged a look, stood up and turned around, one hand was already pressed on the translucent glass door of the conference room.

"It's okay, okay, it's on time," Qing Xingdeng picked up his laptop from his work station, and strode towards the meeting room without stopping, "The elevators are like this during peak hours. You don't know if you don't come to the company."

"It's too exaggerated," Ibaraki straightened his collar, "Have they arrived yet?"

"It should be soon... yo, it's here."

Qing Xingdeng pushed open the glass door while talking, there were already two people in the meeting room, she greeted the blond man with gold-rimmed glasses, and said something happily, but Ibaraki didn't hear clearly at all, he All eyes were on the man behind the long table, and I couldn't believe my eyes, but the light in the conference room was bright, and even the red hair was much more vivid, so there was absolutely no possibility of misreading.At the same time, the other party's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly recovered from the editor's call, and the corners of his lips curled into a smile.

"It's you?" Jiu Tun greeted generously, "What a coincidence."

click.

The hands of the clock pointed to nine o'clock.

--------------

The meeting had been going on for more than ten minutes, but Ibaraki still couldn't take his eyes off Shuten.

My idol lives in the same building as me, and has become a good neighbor. The chances of this kind of thing happening are actually very small, so I always like to write like this in novels, so it is common sense for Ibaraki to not be calm middle.But Shuten didn't seem to be affected by the unexpected meeting, just sat across the table, folded his arms and listened to Daitengu's speech without moving.To be honest, it’s not that Ibaraki has never thought about what the flame wine will look like, tall, short, fat, thin, old, and young. He has imagined many back and forth in his mind, but he has never imagined It would be Shuten - he is so good-looking, it is difficult for ordinary people to imagine such a good-looking, as the saying goes: You can rely on your appearance for a living.But at this moment, Jiu Tun—the wine of flames was sitting there, his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his arms were casually resting on the armrest of the swivel chair, and his eyes were calmly watching the screen, which made him feel that it should be like this, because Flaming Wine is a perfect person, in line with all the beautiful imaginations in his heart, just sitting there, it gives people a sense of calm and stability, as if nothing can shake him.Ibaraki watched and calmed down, withdrew his thoughts and focused on the content of the meeting.

"...So this is roughly the situation here, and we can also release new content in conjunction with the promotion in the future. At present, I also want to know the artist's thinking."

Ootengu finished speaking, looked over, and the pair of purple eyes on the opposite side also moved away from the screen, staring at Ibaraki.

Ibaraki knew that this was the first time he officially entered this man's sight with a new identity, not as a reader or a neighbor, but as a long-term partner.Next, his performance determines whether he can gain the trust of the other party, whether the proportion is 90.00% or [-]%.

He collected himself and spoke calmly.

"Okay, that's it. I have read the whole work carefully. Because of the subject matter, if it is completely expressed according to the existing content, on the basis of ensuring the quality of the painting, it is more secure to serialize in the form of a semi-monthly magazine. The estimated scale is... "

Jiu Tun listened to the explanation of the person opposite, and slowly tapped his knee under the table with one hand quietly.

Concise and concise, clean and neat, even Shuten, who is a complete amateur in comic creation, can understand without any obstacles.Ibaraki on the opposite side seems to be a different person, and the carelessness in private has completely disappeared—no, not necessarily, if he maintained a cautious posture at the beginning, he became more relaxed after talking about it, as if he had forgotten Sitting across from him was what he called "the world's favorite" writer, completely immersed in his professional field, talking and gesticulating with great interest, and his eyebrows and eyes were full of spirits.Probably because it was too hot, or too excited, or both, his face was a little red, he groped to the bottom of his neck while talking, his fingers deftly unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, but his eyes turned to Shuten When the action froze, he immediately buckled it back.The traces of Ibaraki that Jiu Tun knew leaked out from this small movement, which made him unable to help but raise the corners of his lips slightly, and then covered it up with one hand - he didn't want Ibaraki to find out, and he didn't want the other party to be nervous because of him, just He couldn't control himself and wanted to observe Ibaraki. After all, Ibaraki, who is a reader, neighbor and colleague, was very new to him. It was also the first time for Shuten to see Ibaraki at work. Serious, focused, Full of confidence, it can be seen how much the other party attaches importance to this cooperation.Jiu Tun didn't know if it was due to his own fault, but in any case, a reliable working partner was always reassuring.

"...Okay, there is no problem here for now," Otengu turned to Shuten, "Do you have any other ideas about the script?"

"Well... I originally planned to submit the complete script of one volume at a time, but now I have changed my mind," Jiu Tun pondered, while noticing that Ibaraki's expression became a little nervous, "In this way, every time I provide two or three episodes As for the length, let’s adjust it a few times first, after all, I have never done a script, and the project is relatively large, so it’s better to cooperate more closely in the early stage.”

"It's okay, his professional habits are not bad, and he doesn't have any special eccentricities, so don't worry about Lie Yan." Qing Xingdeng laughed.

"Really? That would be great."

Jiu Tun smiled at Ibaraki, who was taken aback for a moment, and then hurriedly put on an unnatural smile to respond to him.

"Okay, then I will submit the plan to Qingming as soon as possible. After he and Boya have approved it, we will pick a time to formally sign the agreement."

Big Tengu closed the computer and stood up, finally with a smile in his eyes:

"Pleasant to work with."

"Would you like to have lunch or something?"

After leaving the door of the conference room, Qing Xingdeng proposed.

"I have an appointment with the author, you go."

Big Tengu bid farewell to several people, turned and walked into the stairwell.

"Hey, forget it, I'll go to Boya for a meeting, and we'll have dinner together," Qing Xingdeng curled his lips, "Are the two teachers going home?"

"Let's go back," Shuten looked at Ibaraki naturally, "It's fine for the two of us to go together, it's fine."

"Okay, then please ask Lie Yan teacher to take care of him for me." Qing Xingdeng put his shoulders on Ibaraki's shoulders with a smile, "We Ibaraki are your big fans, and we have bought many sets of your books and went to Sai Anli. I also have one here. set……"

"What's wrong with Maimai Amway, can't you promote it if it's well written?"

Ibaraki is confident.

"Yes yes yes, Teacher Lie Yan is the lighthouse of the world," Qing Xingdeng finished perfunctory with Ibaraki, and said to Jiu Tun, "We Ibaraki people are a bit straightforward, but our painting ability is nothing to say, and Teacher Lie Yan must have known it in his heart. He has been with him for several years, if you have any problems during the cooperation process, you can also contact me directly."

Shuten met her eyes and nodded.

"Then I'm leaving~"

Qing Xingdeng patted Ibaraki on the back in satisfaction, turned and walked away, leaving two big men standing beside the office area, looking at each other.

"Shall we go downstairs for a meal?"

Seeing that Ibaraki had no intention of speaking, Jiu Tun had no choice but to speak up.

"Ah good!"

Ibaraki responded, and followed him to the elevator.

"Your editor is very protective of you."

While waiting for the elevator, Shuten said.

"...that woman, always doing superfluous things." Ibaraki muttered.

"That's pretty good too. My uncle's editor is so rigid that I get a headache when I see him. Yes, he has worked with me for a long time. He looks like a very cold person, but he actually likes Hei Qingming—you know Hei Qingming Is it? Just the one who always writes novels from the perspective of villains, let alone, he writes really well, very provocative..."

"I know, but I still think the books written by you, teacher, are the best, and no one can compare to them."

Izuku didn't even think about it.

……

"...Really, thank you," Jiu Tun struggled to answer, "But, can you stop calling me that? Just call me by my name."

"No, that doesn't show my respect."

Ibaraki refused straight away, his eyes were fixed on Shuten, and there was something weird in his eyes that he had never seen on Ibaraki, which made Shuten's hair stand on end for no reason.

"Hey, we've known each other for a while, so there's no need for respect, before you..."

Isn't it very familiar to eat at my uncle's house?Jiu Tun thought.

"That was before!" But Ibaraki didn't give him a chance to finish, "God, why didn't I find out earlier, thank you Qingxingdeng for buying me a hamster... You also saw my courier recipient! You must think It's funny... Actually, I don't mean anything else, I just like you too much..."

"...No, no, wait a minute."

Shuten couldn't bear the strange eyes of the office workers waiting for the elevator, so he pulled Ibaraki who was still chattering away, and hurried into the stairwell.

"You guy, don't speak so bluntly outside, well, we will be regarded as strange people."

Shuten scolded him as he went down the stairs.

"...Oh, okay," Ibaraki nodded obediently, "Listen to you."

Shuten almost didn't want to talk anymore. He hadn't been in contact with readers and fans all year round. He just watched from a distance, and he wasn't familiar with what this creature looked like.Before, he only thought that Ibaraki, who talked about his idol to a stranger, was very interesting, but he didn't realize that Ibaraki was so difficult to deal with the idol himself.If his readers all have this style of painting, it would be a disaster.

"Uh, there's no one else here, can I ask another question?"

Jiu Tun turned his head and met a pair of light golden eyes shining in the shadows, and couldn't help but be shocked by the serious expression on the other party's face.

"……You ask."

"I was wondering before, teacher... your hair color is really rare, but it doesn't look like it was dyed, could it be... natural?" Ibaraki asked excitedly but cautiously.

……

Alcohol felt a bit weak.

"Yes, naturally."

He answered briefly, and continued to walk down the steps, when the other party's proud voice came from behind him: "I knew that such a beautiful red color can't be dyed at all, it is definitely born. Oh my god, this is so cool, teacher, are you really so perfect……"

Jiu Tun pretended not to hear his series of exclamations, and just walked forward mechanically.

He began to want to overthrow what he said, and there was no way to do it, after all, people would always understand how stupid they were before today, this is the privilege that only things that can grow have.At this moment, he could only think about one thing:

I used to think this kind of creature was very cute, but I'm afraid I got too much water in my head.

tbc