Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Chapter 413: To Initially be Attracted to Ones Appearance, but To Fall For Ones Talents After

Unlike Han Leng, who had been very unproductive with his new piece of work and had been spending all his time stirring up trouble on Weibo, Zhao Youyue’s closest mangaka friend, Su Li was not the same. She had already uploaded her new original manga “Himegoto.”

Su Li did not have high expectations for her manga, unlike Han Leng. Han Leng always wanted his works to sell well and have a good reputation to boot. Optimally, he also wanted to grab the attention of many overanalytical readers.

An example would be the “aesthetic researchers” that appeared by virtue of “Beautiful April,” as well as the debates on what true love was that had set the internet on fire. Was it a long-term form of companionship? Or a short moment of eternity? Or could it be the willingness to sacrifice your own life, without expecting anything in return?

Everyone had their own views and perspectives when it came to love. Everyone had different personal experiences and a different understanding of love. “Beautiful April” had acted as a catalyst for discussion sas to what was love, which involved many readers. This was something that Han Leng was rather proud of.

Without the existence of such debates and analyses, how could an iconic character like Chu Luoxun possibly emerge out of “Beautiful April?”

Han Leng clearly knew that no matter what he wrote now, he could easily earn big, as long as he wrote decently. He could ride atop the wave of his “Beautiful April.” Moreover, he had a lot of brainwashed fans. Even so, he could not bring himself to do it. He had always hoped for his new work to be better than his previous works. Only by repeatedly transcending his limits, he would be able to proceed into a higher realm.

This way, he would be able to satisfy a professional reader like Zhao Youyue. He wanted to write a ‘big meal’ to placate Zhao Youyue’s appetite. Zhao Youyue’s cosplay of “Wen Qingyu” had been pretty good.

This actually made Han Leng a little unhappy. After all, Wen Qingyu was an iconic character from “Bakuman,” and Shi Jingnian was its ghostwriter. Furthermore, he was aware that his current writing skills were not yet comparable to that of Shi Jingnian’s. Even so, he would never be discouraged. By polishing his skills, he would definitely be able to surpass Shi Jingnian!

Su Li was not as ambitious as Han Leng in the field of literature. She only hoped for her works to sell well. Her reputation meant nothing. As long as she was earning some money, it was all good!

Even if readers admonished her, it was not a problem, as long as they continued to pay for her works. So what, if she takes a harsh beating? So what if the netizens sensationalized more headlines about the poisonous Su Li and her curse?

As long as she made money, everything was good!

Su Li’s mentality changed extremely swiftly. Before this, she was still worried as to whether her reputation would affect her career adversely. When she discovered that this would only make her more and more famous, she knew that she had nothing to fear anymore. She only grew more reckless than ever.

Before Su Li had even serialized her new manga, “Himegoto,” there was a period when she had quite a bit of free time. This was mainly because the updates of “The Strongest King” were extremely stable. Su Li was too efficient; she drew too fast. She was way ahead of schedule, and had to wait for Rosemary’s originals.

In such a situation, Su Li, who was addicted to making money, of course, chose to earn some extra cash. It was not like she was only a mangaka. She was also a famous illustrator. If everything about her identity as the Great Deity was put aside, her illustrations were quite outstanding. The unparalleled beauty of her illustrations was not something that average illustrators could pull off.

Nobody knew if the creators that hired Su Li to do illustrations had already on tragedic fates to befall upon a certain character. Anyhow, after Su Li released the illustrations, the character would be quickly handed a bento. Then, the netizens would ravenously jumpstart the Su Li drama again…

However, Su Li could not care less. No matter what, she had already made a profit. Additionally, she was also on the headlines once again!

The Old Sly authors were equally delighted. They could finally kill off their characters as they wished. Before they carried out the killing, they could request for Su Li to draw some illustrations of the character. It was almost like a declaration of death. When the deed was done, they could throw the pan away smoothly —- —-

Dear precious readers, I really did not want to kill this character, I had no choice. He/she had to die. If not, I’m the one who would have died. There was really no other way!

What? Some people are saying that I privately requested for Su, the Great Deity to draw some illustrations?

Stop joking around. Such a thing most certainly did not happen!

A successful throwing of the pan!

All sorts of joy!

Su Li’s identity as an illustrator stood out a lot more radiantly compared to her identity as a mangaka…

Perhaps Su Li was still bad at creating original works. However, regarding drawing, her natural talent, combined with her diligence made her art and drawing style increasingly outstanding.

Although people always say that Su Li seemed a little too cold-heartedly commercialized, that she had no resolve and integrity, and that she always compromised with the demands of readers, especially the tycoon, her diligence was unquestionable. On average, she spent at least seven or eight hours a day on drawing. She treated it as an actual job, and she took it very seriously.

In recent times, many creators that claim to be professional writers or professional mangakas procrastinated all the time. Only at the last moment would they get started with their work. This was a state of procrastination disorder. What’s more, in the name of going off-course in search for inspiration, some of them would randomly announce the suspension of publication as they wished. Their readers were nothing in their eyes…

However, Su Li was different; she was now Lady Zhao’s best friend. There was always the possibility of Zhao Youyue calling her out for dinner, shopping, watching a movie, and so on, especially when Zhao Youyue had her holidays. Thus, she could not afford procrastinating. The result of her procrastination would only end up in her having to catch up on updates during the weekends. She might even have to reject Zhao Youyue’s invitation. How big of a loss would this be!

Su Li had to admit it. She was now inseparable from Lady Zhao. If she had to go back in time where she hid at home all day when she had nothing better to do, she would feel empty and desolate!

After Su Li learned that Zhao Youyue had set up a small publishing house, without thinking twice, she decisively gave Zhao Youyue the copyright of the manga booklet of her new manga, allowing Zhao Youyue’s publishing house to publish it.

The friendship she had with Zhao Youyue had prevailed over the power of money. After all, Zhao Youyue’s small publishing house was not the strongest, in terms of publishing capacity. The advertising capability of the publishing house was also questionable. This might affect the sales of Su Li’s new manga, but Su Li still went ahead with it!

Behind all of this, probably lay the meaning of “to initially be attracted to one’s Appearance, but to fall for one’s talents after”[1] Some might say that Su Li had definitely earned enough money. However, there ever enough? She only took the initiative to do so because her actions could amount to what that could possibly be timely assistance. She could aid with the development of Zhao Youyue’s small publishing house!

With her participation, Zhao Youyue’s publishing house already had two heavyweight players, Shi Jingnian and Su Li. Many creators in the industry have started to take notice of this publishing house, called “Dimension Culture Company.” What was so good about this publishing house that it managed to attract well-known creators such as Shi Jingnian and Su Li?

Some major publishers became highly curious about this publishing house, which had appeared out of nowhere. Things shouldn’t be so simple…

Of course, all this was due to the face of a certain Lady Zhao!

As expected, Su Li’s new manga “Himegoto” did quite well. She already had a lot of fans, to begin with. Her character artwork sold pretty well —- —- and she was goddess mangaka and mysterious illustrator!

Who would not be curious about her new work?

Translation note :

[1] Lit. “Attracted by one’s appearance at first, but fall for one’s talents after” (始于颜值,陷于才华) is an actual Chinese proverb. The author here changed the words of the proverb to fit into the story’s context, specifically referring to the friendship between Su Li and Zhao Youyue. Thus it becomes “attracted by one’s wealth at first, but fall for friendship after.” (始于金钱,陷于友情)