"Dad! What on earth are you talking about? If you keep this up, I'm really going to get angry..." Nanako protested, her voice sharp, though a subtle tremor of something other than anger laced her tone.
Seeing that Nanako didn't seem to be feigning her indignation, Ohara Shijuro managed a dry chuckle, a wave of relief washing over him, settling his earlier anxieties. What he didn't know, however, was that as Nanako recalled the whirlwind of events from the past couple of days, her heart began to pound an unsteady rhythm against her ribs. The memory of what had happened when her father's sudden appearance had startled her earlier – Lin Yu's hand…
At that precise thought, a furious blush suffused Nanako's delicate features, so intense it seemed a single touch might draw blood. She hastily turned and practically fled the hospital room. She desperately needed to cool down, to compose herself. She absolutely could not let Ohara Shijuro detect any hint of her inner turmoil.
Ohara Shijuro ended up staying in the hospital for about a week before being discharged. In reality, his injury wasn't terribly severe – just a twisted neck. It was perhaps a touch more serious than a simple stiff neck from sleeping awkwardly, but certainly not a major crisis. Nevertheless, out of genuine concern, Nanako had insisted he remain under observation for the full week. After all, finances weren't an issue for them. Only after being thoroughly assured that he was completely fine did she allow Ohara Shijuro to return home.
When Mr. Suzuki, Ohara Shijuro's editor, received this news, he nearly wept with sheer, unadulterated joy. Throughout that week, he had rushed to the hospital every spare moment he had, ostensibly to check on Ohara Shijuro's condition. The truth was, if Ohara Shijuro hadn't been discharged soon, Mr. Suzuki himself felt he might not have been able to hold on much longer. In just those few days, he already looked noticeably thinner, his eyes haunted by the looming specter of missed deadlines.
Truth be told, once the initial misunderstanding had been cleared up, Ohara Shijuro himself had been eager for Nanako to return to her duties – specifically, to resume her visits to Lin Yu's place to collect manuscripts. He was, after all, a devoted fan, and without his regular installments of Inuyasha, his "spiritual nourishment" was severely lacking. Thus, at Ohara Shijuro's insistent urging, he was finally discharged after a week. During his convalescence at home, Mr. Suzuki would take care of him, so Nanako didn't need to worry on that front. Indeed, Mr. Suzuki was now practically treating Ohara Shijuro like a precious idol, catering to his every need, all in the fervent hope that he would recover swiftly and, more importantly, resume writing.
It was also during this period that Yueisha Publishing finally provided a response to Lin Yu's earlier proposal regarding an increase in his chapter output.
"Good morning, Lin-kun."
Lin Yu looked up to see Nanako standing before him, beaming, dressed in her familiar, comfortable sportswear. He returned her smile with a warm greeting of his own. "Long time no see, Nanako." After a week of her meticulous care – the daily rhythm of three meals and afternoon tea – he had to admit, he'd felt her absence quite keenly. It was good to be back on track, to their established routine.
As before, they started their day with their customary morning run. Afterward, Nanako heated up the bento she had prepared, and they shared breakfast together. Thanks to this period of regular living habits and early morning exercise, Lin Yu could distinctly feel a significant improvement in his physical condition compared to before.
The only point of lingering frustration for Lin Yu was the stubbornly static number '7' on his system panel. It remained unchanged, as if frozen in place, refusing to budge no matter what he did. He felt a sense of helplessness about it but decided to let it be for now, focusing instead on accumulating enough reputation points to hopefully draw a "million-reputation-points-level prize" from the system, hoping that might provide the boost he needed.
Once breakfast was concluded, they moved to Lin Yu's workroom, falling back into their familiar pattern. Lin Yu immersed himself in drawing his manuscripts, while Nanako quietly occupied herself nearby – sometimes reading a book, other times Browse the internet, or perhaps refilling Lin Yu's tea. Though little was said, the atmosphere was one of profound warmth and serene calm.
Ding-ling-ling...
Suddenly, the sharp trill of a mobile phone shattered the peaceful quiet. Nanako shot Lin Yu an apologetic smile and rose, intending to step outside to take the call so as not to disturb his work. However, she had barely stood up when the information relayed through the phone caused her expression to transform. A brilliant, radiant smile spread across her face, and she repeatedly murmured her thanks into the receiver.
The moment she hung up, before Lin Yu even had a chance to ask what had happened, Nanako turned to him, her voice bubbling with excitement. "Lin-kun! The final results for the first ten installments are out!"
For a manga in Weekly Shonen, its continued serialization hinged almost entirely on reader feedback gathered through surveys. The initial installment served as a trial run. If it garnered sufficient reader support, the series would continue. If the first issue's performance was abysmal, it would typically be relegated to less popular magazines. Inuyasha had performed exceptionally well in this regard, debuting at an impressive ninth position. Considering Weekly Shonen maintained a stable roster of about twenty ongoing manga series, achieving ninth place with the very first chapter was a stunning achievement at the time.
However, the true fate of a series was often determined by the "ten-installment results." As the name implied, this was a comprehensive evaluation based on the aggregated performance and reader feedback over the first ten published chapters. These results significantly influenced a multitude of factors: prominent placement on the magazine cover, decisions regarding the release of collected volumes (tankobon), the allocation of promotional resources, and much more. The call Nanako had just received was from the editorial department at Yueisha Publishing.
The ten-installment results were in!
"Judging by your expression, the results must be quite good, right?" Lin Yu chuckled, his face devoid of any anxiety. This wasn't just confidence in Inuyasha; it was also a deep-seated self-assurance in his own world-class drawing abilities.
"Take a guess! What rank do you think it got?" Nanako asked, her smile playful as she couldn't resist a little suspense.
Lin Yu pondered for a moment. Excluding "Action Mask," which consistently held the number one spot, and "Magical Girl Lovely P" at number two, he felt that none of the other currently running manga should be a match for Inuyasha. Even those top two contenders owed their positions largely to their extended publication history, which had allowed them to accumulate massive fanbases. Moreover, both had received anime adaptations, which were incredibly potent tools for attracting new fans. If Inuyasha were given a similar length of publication and an anime adaptation, he believed it wouldn't be impossible to dethrone those perennial top-two titles. For the present moment, however, surpassing them would be a considerable challenge.
After careful consideration, Lin Yu looked at Nanako and smiled. "I think it should be third place."
The words had barely left his lips when he saw Nanako's eyes widen slightly in surprise. Her expression then shifted to one of utter astonishment, and she looked at him with a suspicious glint in her eyes. "Lin-kun, did someone from the editorial department already tell you?"
"Of course not," Lin Yu replied smoothly. "Even if the editorial department were to notify someone, they would typically contact you first, as my editor. You would then be the one to relay the news to me." This was indeed true; Japanese professional etiquette was quite particular about such procedural details. Except for a few rare circumstances, matters would generally be handled according to established protocols.