boyutpedia Page 45
Page 45
So, to avoid getting bored every day, Eriri and the others would run to the neighbor Yamada Fairy's house as soon as they finished their work, because... Hyakuri Akira had finally started creating the illustration for the Monkey King!
Unlike before, Baili Xiao actually chose not to use a graphics tablet, but instead used a drawing method that they were completely unaware of!
It was a tool similar to an oil painting brush—the brush head was made of animal hair, glued to a tubular handle, with a sharp, neatly trimmed tip, rounded shape, and extremely elastic.
㈨|SAN（九）Liusis⑹neighbor
Baili Xiao told them that this was called a "calligraphy brush," and in front of the four of them, he used this brush to dip in specially ground ink and wrote the four characters "Great Sage Equal to Heaven"!
The font is sharp and vigorous, with each stroke giving a strong sense of impact. Reflected in their eyes, it inexplicably evokes a feeling of vicissitude and grandeur.
"This is a special inkstone that I asked Miss Hongsaka to get from the Celestial Empire a while ago, and this paper too. Feel it." Baili Xiao lifted a corner of the paper slightly, and everyone, seeing his careful manner, followed suit, gently touching the paper with their own movements.
Unlike the smooth and sturdy A4 paper, this paper feels noticeably thinner, which is why it is prone to wrinkling. If not properly stored, it will affect the overall aesthetic appeal.
"This thing is called Xuan paper, and it was also brought from the Celestial Empire."
"You're going to use this method to draw this illustration?" Eriri looked at Baili Xiao in disbelief. Her gaze fell on the inkstone—it was pitch black. Using only this color, what's the difference between this and drawing a comic?
Moreover, Eriri really doubts the aesthetic appeal of the "comics" drawn with such paper and such pens.
"Okay, just watch." Baili Xiao responded softly—the best explanation is action!
He took out a delicate little wooden box from a nearby chest. Inside were a large number of colorful paints, some of which were so similar in color that they could be mistaken for the same thing if you didn't look closely.
"Hoo." Taking a deep breath, Baili Xiao adjusted his state of mind—he believed that his next painting would be successful, and his inner obsession compelled him to use the "traditional Chinese painting" method to create the illustration for [The Monkey King]!
Pick up the brush! Dip it in ink!
An hour later, a breathtaking painting appeared on the previously blank Xuan paper!
Stone pots, stone stoves, stone bowls, stone basins, stone beds, and stone benches are all present. On a stone tablet in the middle, the words "Blessed Land of Flower and Fruit Mountain, Grotto Heaven of Water Curtain Cave" are engraved. A group of monkeys are sitting, lying, jumping, or standing. Some are holding a wine jar, some are holding peaches, and some are holding up necklaces woven from fresh flowers, facing the majestic figure in the middle.
0 ····Requesting flowers···· ·········
Looking at that figure again, he was wearing a golden chainmail armor, a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown on his head, lotus-silk cloud-walking shoes on his feet, and holding a gold and red club in his hand. He was laughing loudly to the sky!
The black ink and colorful pigments complemented each other, creating a painting that caught the eyes of Eriri and the others, causing them to unconsciously slow their breathing.
(This shouldn't be alive, right?) A ridiculous thought crossed their minds. They knew it was just a painting, but the lifelike scenery, the vivid and lively figures, and the figure at the very center that exuded a strong aura of dominance over heaven and earth made them subconsciously believe that they were facing a living thing.
... .. ....
"Hmm, this style should perfectly capture the image of the Great Sage." With the last stroke, Baili Xiao put down his pen, glanced at the paper, and smiled with satisfaction.
This is the style he wanted. Unlike the dazzling and flashy illustrations made with graphics tablets, the whole painting brings a double impact to the eyes, both visually and spiritually. It is not only shocking but also makes people "never forget it once they see it"!
"Well? Speechless now?" Turning her head to see Eriri and the other three staring intently at the painting, Baili Xiao smiled slightly: "Want to learn? If you want to learn, I can teach you."
"No, no, no!" To Baili Xiao's surprise, Eriri, Hashima Izumi, and Izumi Sagiri shook their heads vigorously without stopping, and even took a half step back in unison: "We can't learn it. We can't learn this kind of painting style. The style is different, just like Kasumigaoka Utaha can't write 'hot-blooded battle' novels."
Only Shiina Mashiro hesitated for a moment before slowly raising her hand: "Teacher, I want to try. Can you teach me?"
P.S.: I spent two hours writing this one QAQ. Every time I think about how everyone says this is a bad point, I get so frustrated... I won't describe the Monkey King much anymore, and I won't mention him again after the anime convention. This one was forced out for the sake of contextual coherence, so please bear with it.
Chapter 0124 Release Date Confirmed! (4/4 Please Subscribe)
“Of course.” Baili Xiao agreed, then looked at Eriri and the other two again: “Indeed, this style is not suitable for ‘5 Centimeters Per Second’ or ‘Your Name’. No, I should say that this style is only used in a very small number of light novels. It is understandable that you are unwilling to try it. After all, in my estimation, even with Mashiro’s talent, it would take an extremely large amount of time to master this style.”
"But even if you don't want to learn, it's good to come and take a look occasionally. Using a graphics tablet ultimately relies on external tools. Only by watching and learning more and understanding what techniques to use when drawing can you say that you can truly draw."
Hearing Baili Xiao's words, Eriri and the others nodded slightly—they were not beginners either, and they knew that.
"Fairy 327!" A shout rang out, and hurried yet light footsteps came from the second-floor room. A fairy wearing a black gauze dress appeared in Baili Xiao's line of sight. Seeing the hem of her dress fluttering slightly as she ran, Baili Xiao's face hardened: "You can't wear this out. It's too easy to expose yourself."
"Teacher! This is a battle outfit summoned from the Demon Realm at the cost of thousands of lives! I only wear it at home, since I have to be on guard against people from the Demon Realm invading my room and stealing my manuscripts, so naturally I won't wear it outside! Otherwise, the outside world, I'm afraid..." Yamada Elf talked nonsense with a straight face, her level of embarrassment reaching the limit, and she started acting like a chuunibyou. When she saw Baili Xiao raise his right hand with a serious expression, she couldn't help but shrink her neck and swallow the rest of her words.
Bai Lixiao, and even Eriri and the others rolled their eyes helplessly—having spent so much time with Yamada Elf, everyone was used to her late-stage chuunibyou symptoms, but it seemed that it would take quite a while before they could accept it calmly.
"This is an illustration of the Monkey King. What do you think?" Baili Xiao stepped aside and presented the painting to Yamada Fairy.
The latter's eyes lit up at first, then her brows furrowed tightly—it was the first time she had seen such a painting style, different from any illustrations she had seen before, so it was impossible for her to accept it all at once.
However, the more she looked, the more shocked and fond she became. Ten seconds later, Yamada Fairy's face lit up with excitement: "Teacher! Is this really the illustration for 104 [The Monkey King]? I've decided! I will definitely make 'The Monkey King' the most classic novel in the hot-blooded battle genre!"
...
As time went by, the novel "The Monkey King" was nearing completion, and Baili Xiao's illustrations were also nearing their end.
Even though he possessed the abilities of a "god-level illustrator," it still took him more than half a month to complete the illustrations. If it were any other illustrator, even if their drawing skills were at the same level as his, it would take them at least a year to complete these works.
Her painting speed is unmatched, and her precision is so high that there are no "waste paintings." These two points alone make her a realm that ordinary people cannot reach.
One day at the end of July, Akane Akasaka and Sonoko Machida came to the Kasumigaoka residence to bring good news to Hyakuri Akira.
"The animated film '5 Centimeters Per Second' is finished! And it's already passed censorship! The premiere dates for major theaters have also been confirmed, and it will officially meet audiences in early August!" Machida Sonoko excitedly took out the completed promotional poster and waved it in front of everyone: "Hey, what do you think? Aren't you super eager to see it?"
The promotional poster uses an illustration from the novel—a scene of a girl and a boy standing opposite each other under a huge cherry blossom tree—with cherry blossom petals gathered on the tree trunk, and the sentence "Did you know? I heard that cherry blossoms fall at a speed of five centimeters per second!" is clearly visible.
At the bottom of the poster, the words "[5 Centimeters Per Second] Premieres August 5th!" are prominently displayed.
"I'd love to see it, but I'm a little worried about how you'll handle the post-production of '5 Centimeters Per Second'." Baili Xiao shrugged—though he said that, he was actually super excited for the animated film "5 Centimeters Per Second". After all, this world's "5 Centimeters Per Second" was completed under his supervision, and in every way, he hoped it would be better than the "5 Centimeters Per Second" he had seen in his previous life!
"Don't worry! All the post-production was done exactly as you wanted. Sonoko and I both saw it at the test screening. You probably don't know, but Sonoko cried her eyes out that night, she couldn't stop..." Akane Akasaka chuckled as she turned her gaze to Sonoko Machida: "I heard she went to work with bright red eyes the next day, causing quite a stir at the Shinazugawa Bunko imprint..."
"Akane! You!" Machida Sonoko's breath caught in her throat. She glared fiercely at Akane, then, noticing the gazes on her, she lowered her head in embarrassment. How could she, a woman nearing thirty, have cried like a child that night and even slept with Akane all night in her arms?
“It’s good that you can cry. After all, ‘5 Centimeters Per Second’ is a tearjerker, and that proves that your production was very successful.” Baili Xiao suppressed a smile, only a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and then looked at Akane and the other person: “Thank you for your help during this time.”
Although she didn't know much about "how animated films get released," Baili Xiao could still imagine the difficulties involved. Whether it was post-production, finding suitable voice actors, submitting the films to relevant departments for review, or negotiating release dates with major theater chains, all of these things required a lot of effort and time to accomplish.
"Luckily, I've managed to build up some connections over the years, otherwise I would have been in real chaos." Akane Kousaka shook her head, then, as if remembering something, continued apologetically, "However, the release date still couldn't be scheduled for mid-August, which is around the time of the anime convention..."
"It's alright, this is already very good." Baili Xiao didn't mind when it was released. The initial request to release it "at the comic convention" was just to add a highlight to the performance of [Huaxia] Studio at the comic convention.
Having something "icing on the cake" isn't a big deal if you don't have it.
"So, what happened next..." Baili Xiao had just started to speak when his phone, which was lying to the side, suddenly vibrated. On the lit screen, the three words "Le Zhengling" caught the eye.
Chapter 0125 Yue Zhengling Arrives and Nicole Nicole! (1/4 Please Subscribe)
At the airport exit, Yue Zhengling's face was full of excitement as she kept observing the scenery around her. As the eldest daughter of the Yue Zheng Group, she received an elite education from a young age and spent most of her time studying. When she finally had some free time, she would use it to practice music.
At sixteen, she learned a wide variety of musical instruments and, with her natural singing voice, became a songstress idol in the idol city. However, these achievements also meant that she was unfamiliar with many things.
Similar to Mashiro's situation (limited understanding), but of course, completely different from the former's natural naiveté, Yue Zhengling is extremely lively - she spends 3/4 of her time running around, and her energy is something that even boys admire.
As she walked out of the plane, looking around, her fair skin was about to be exposed to the sunlight when the head maid who had been following her couldn't help but stop her: "Miss, please wait a moment!"
The head maid was dressed in a formal business suit, a light gray blazer and matching skirt, with black stockings and high heels in shade 04. She wore gold-rimmed glasses and had a serious expression that immediately conjured up the words "powerful woman" in one's mind.
A puzzled sound escaped her nose. Yue Zhengling turned to look at the head maid, somewhat confused. Watching the latter leisurely take a parasol from her bag and open it, a few lines of exasperation crossed her face: "Isn't this a bit much? The sun is so strong today..."
The sun was very strong at the end of July, but in Yue Zhengling's opinion, sometimes sunbathing is a good choice, right?
However... the head maid clearly doesn't think so!
“Young Miss, the young master sent me here to prevent you from doing anything too rash.” As she spoke, the head maid held up an umbrella and walked to Yue Zhengling’s side, shielding her from the sun. “If my skin gets even a little bit tanned, the young master will blame me!”
(Ugh! I shouldn't have brought the head maid! That older brother! He really is...) The image of her older brother, Yue Zheng Longya, flashed through her mind, and Yue Zheng Ling clicked her tongue in annoyance, unable to resist complaining inwardly: (He worries about everything I do, as if I'm a child! He's just a few years older than me, an adult, yet he's always acting like an "older brother," lecturing me!)
Unlike Yue Zhengling's straightforwardness and lack of concern for details, Yue Zhenglongya, as the future head of the Yue Zheng Group, has a clear mind and meticulous thinking. He is a promising young man who is highly anticipated by everyone.
He has a free and easy personality, is steady in his dealings with others but decisive, and has a strong presence. Under his leadership, the sales volume of Lezheng Group has been steadily increasing in recent years. Many people are optimistic about the future achievements of Lezheng Group because of his presence.
That's why, in Yue Zheng Ling's eyes, her "crazy and erratic behavior, completely unlike a proper lady, and her daily obsession with music" was nothing short of "neglecting her duties"!
For this reason, he reprimanded Yue Zhengling more than once, and over time, Yue Zhengling naturally developed a strong dissatisfaction with him.
"Young Master initially disagreed with this trip, but he reluctantly agreed after hearing that Miss's collaborator was Teacher Baili," the head maid said earnestly. "Whether it's Teacher Baili himself or his studio, their influence is growing rapidly in several neighboring cities. Young Master greatly admires Teacher Baili, who started from scratch, and even said he 'must visit him personally when he has time,' so..."
The head maid paused, deliberately lowering her voice, "Young Miss, please make sure your collaboration with Teacher Baili doesn't turn out unpleasantly..."
"Alright, alright, I got it!" Yue Zhengling waved her hand and took out her phone: "Hello? Is this Teacher Baili?"
...
"This is Yue Zhengling, the eldest daughter of the Yue Zheng Group, and also an idol singer in Idol City."
At the Kasumigaoka residence, Yue Zhengling stood somewhat reservedly in front of everyone, her dark brown hair draped in a braided ponytail behind her, completely lacking her usual liveliness.
Although she is lively and active, being stared at by more than ten pairs of eyes on the first meeting must have made her nervous, right?
Seemingly noticing her nervousness, Baili Xiao smiled and said, "Sit down, don't be nervous. They are all members of my studio, and these two are my partners—Ms. Hongsaka and Ms. Yuanzi."
After she finished speaking, Yue Zhengling did not respond immediately—she seemed to be thinking about something—the head maid standing behind her could not bear to watch any longer and coughed heavily twice: "Ahem!"
"Huh? Oh! Oh oh!" Yue Zhengling was taken aback at first, then realized her lapse in composure, her cheeks slightly flushed as she bowed slightly to everyone: "Hello everyone, I am Yue Zhengling. It's a pleasure to meet you all, please take good care of me!"
"Is it really Yue Zhengling?" Yazawa Nico stared at Yue Zhengling with shining eyes, looking her up and down several times. She quickly pulled out a pen and paper and ran to the latter's side: "Miss Yue Zhengling! Please sign this for me! I've always wanted your autograph, but the prices those paparazzi offer are just too high, I can't afford them..."
Yue Zhengling stared blankly at the paper and pen in front of her, then looked up at Yazawa Nico—clearly identifying "Yazawa Nico" from the latter's signature black twin tails. As if she had thought of something extremely funny, she couldn't help but laugh: "Nicole Nico, you're super popular right now."
"Huh?" Yazawa Nico was taken aback for a moment, then her interest was piqued. "You know me too? I'm that famous already?"
"Of course, online, you're currently the most popular member of Muse! And you have the most fans supporting you!"
Yue Zhengling's words flattered Yazawa Nico. After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Yazawa Nico crossed her arms over her chest, closed her eyes, and pretended to be deep in thought: "Hmm, as expected, I am the most famous among the Muse. Has everyone finally realized this? Ah, so this is what it feels like to be so popular? Ha, hahaha..."
As she spoke, Nicole could no longer remain calm. She put her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and made no attempt to hide her smugness.
However... Yue Zhengling's next words brought her laughter to an abrupt halt.
"Yes, those people made a parody video of your 'Nico Nico Nico' and it got millions of views in just one day. Because of this video, your popularity jumped from the bottom of the Muse list to the top!"
Chapter 0126 Yazawa Nico's Hilarious Video! (2/4, Please Subscribe)
"Ghostly?!" Yazawa Nico's face stiffened—as a veteran in the world of idol worship, she certainly knew the meaning of the word "ghostly".
Any celebrity or idol who has been "meme-ed" will experience an explosive increase in popularity once the meme-ed is accepted by others.
However... this kind of fame has its pros and cons. The good thing is that "increased fame leads to increased net worth," while the bad thing is that the original "non-meme image" will gradually be replaced by a "meme image"...
(Just like Zhuge Liang, before the "ghostly" (a form of internet meme) image, it represented "wisdom bordering on the supernatural." After the "ghostly" image, once the public accepted his "ghostly" image, mentioning the name "Zhuge Liang" would bring up titles or phrases like "Zhuge the Qin Demon" and "I have never seen such a shameless person!")
"Someone actually made a parody video of me?" Yazawa Nico muttered absentmindedly, then her eyes lit up. She picked up her phone shakily and typed "Nicole Nicole" into the largest search engine.
Click search... After a one-second page refresh, thousands of results appeared, the top one being a webpage link to a video!
Nico Yazawa's fingers trembled as she placed them on the top of the screen, but she hesitated to tap.
"Nicole-senpai? What's wrong?" Nishikino Maki, standing next to her, looked at her in confusion—as an innocent girl who still believed in Santa Claus, Nishikino Maki naturally wouldn't understand the meaning of "ghostly" or "abnormal".
In her view, it was just a video, so why did Nico Yazawa act as if it were a major threat?
"Nicole, open it up and let everyone see." Nozomi Tojo smiled happily, bringing her lips close to Nico's ear: "If you don't want to, I'm willing to help, or... let me measure whether you've gotten bigger during this time~"