Chapter 113
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Chapter 113: I Eat Tomatoes With Three Spoons of Sugar
“What’s your position here at the company?” Ye Xiao asked again.
“Oh… um, I was originally hired as an art designer, but since “My World” only uses pixel-based art assets, I didn’t have much to do… So I took it upon myself to gather player feedback and suggestions…” Ban Hui paused for a second, then hurriedly answered.
“Do you really like manga?” Ye Xiao asked.
“Mmm… I originally wanted to become a mangaka, but during college, I drew a few series and none of them gained any traction… so…” Ban Hui began to explain somewhat sheepishly.
“Can I see some of your work?” Ye Xiao asked.
Ban Hui quickly pulled out her phone and brought up some of the manga she had drawn in the past, handing it to Ye Xiao.
Her art was impressively detailed—character expressions were vivid, body proportions a little on the “suggestive” side, and the panel composition was solid. However, the stories were far too plain. In short, technically excellent artwork, but lacking narrative punch, which was probably why her work never took off.
As Ye Xiao flipped through the pages, she fell into thought.
If she wanted to bring works from her past life into this world, relying on her own strength alone would be tough.
The System could directly copy finished works—but the cost was high. However, if she only needed an outline, it was practically free.
It might be smarter to hire people to draw instead of doing everything herself.
After all, her energy was limited—she already had to navigate the world of charming older sisters. Expecting her to write scripts and draw manga too? Unrealistic. Besides, she couldn’t draw.
Even though she could learn skills through the System, Ye Xiao felt it wasn’t worth the investment.
Right now, Yun-Xiao had money to burn. Everyone was watching them closely, anticipating their next move—what kind of game they would launch next.
So no matter what Yun-Xiao did, it would attract attention.
Why not start a manga site?
Yun-Xiao Network Technology Co., Ltd. was originally registered as a game company, but the startup board over here didn’t restrict game companies from also operating things like manga websites. All it took was submitting an application to expand the business scope—once approved, they were good to go.
If the imported manga became popular, they wouldn’t need to split revenue with other platforms—the profits could go directly into their own pockets. With generous benefits, they could even release printed manga and establish their own publishing house. Later on, they could even launch a novel site too.
Thinking this far, Ye Xiao picked up the phone and called Shen Yunchu to come over.
“Xiao Xiao, what’s up?”
Shen Yunchu entered the office, glanced briefly at Ban Hui, then locked eyes on Ye Xiao.
Her gaze was so full of affection it practically sparkled.
“Yunchu-jie, did we hire any programmers recently? Ones who can build websites?”
“There weren’t any in the first round of campus recruitment, but we did poach two experienced programmers later with high salaries.”
“Call them in.”
“Got it.”
Shen Yunchu nodded and quickly left, returning soon after with one man and one woman.
A female programmer? Isn’t she afraid of becoming a bald little gremlin? Ye Xiao thought.
She briefly explained her idea to the two: one to build a manga site, the other a novel site. Once both were up, they’d link them together. Popular novels could be adapted into manga later.
The two programmers promised to have the site framework completed within two weeks. However, site design and layout would require a dedicated designer—or alternatively, they could just buy templates from design resource sites.
Ever since they’d joined Yun-Xiao, these two programmers had come in full of enthusiasm, but soon realized—there was absolutely “nothing” for them to do.
Paid high salaries, they spent all day gaming at their desks, eating snacks, and basically doing nothing. Guilt had begun to gnaw at them.
Even while playing games, they felt a strange sense of emptiness.
Before Yun-Xiao, they’d worked for a company that expected overtime until midnight—daily.
Yun-Xiao’s benefits were miles ahead of that company’s, yet they were worried that one day, Ye Xiao would decide they were useless and just fire them.
Finally—some work to do! They were thrilled.
Having something to do meant they didn’t have to live in constant anxiety anymore.
Ye Xiao was unaware of all this.
Meanwhile, Ban Hui stood awkwardly in the room. Neither leaving nor staying felt appropriate. Just moments ago, Xiao Ye-zong had brought up manga… and now suddenly she was talking about building websites?
She felt out of place.
Then, Ye Xiao suddenly pointed at her, “What was your name again…?”
“Ban Hui…”
“Xiao Hui, can you do UI design for websites?”
“I can!”
“Alright, it’s settled then. After this, you all coordinate among yourselves. Oh, and Xiao Hui, you stay for a bit.”
“Is there something else, Xiao Ye-zong?” Ban Hui asked.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to draw manga? If a site doesn’t have any compelling content, it’ll be hard to establish.”
Simply put, whether it was a manga or a novel platform, it needed “flagship titles” to draw readers in.
Otherwise, a new site would easily flop.
Usually, new platforms would spend big money to poach top authors from other platforms.
They couldn’t launch with an empty catalog either—so they’d need to get permission to rehost existing content.
Of course, all of that would have to be handled step by step. You can’t get fat from one big bite.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to draw? Well, I’ll give you a chance—Xiao Hui, you’ll be the very first contracted artist on our Yun-Xiao manga site. I’ve seen your art—it’s great. What you’re missing is a story, and I just happen to have plenty. I’ll give you a script, and you draw it based on that. As for the earnings from the manga, we’ll follow the site’s standard rules once it’s launched.”
Ban Hui froze.
Ever since joining Yun-Xiao, she’d pretty much given up on her dream of making manga. She never imagined Xiao Ye-zong would give her this opportunity.
“But…” She hesitated.
She was afraid of disappointing Ye Xiao’s expectations. She knew that writing the script was just as important—if not more so—than drawing the manga.
In truth, artists were a dime a dozen, but a good script? Rare and priceless.
“No buts. Isn’t drawing manga your dream?” Ye Xiao grinned.
“…Alright.” With things said this far, Ban Hui could only nod.
“Then come to me after work tomorrow and I’ll give you the script! It’s settled!” Ye Xiao said, closing the discussion.
“There’s one more thing…” Ban Hui suddenly spoke.
“There’s more? What is it?” Ye Xiao asked.
“Even the boss is fine with all this—what could she possibly be worried about?”
“It’s… about the pen name,” Ban Hui said. “I’ve always used my old pen name, but the stories under it were really bad. It might affect how the new work is received. Besides, even though I’m the one drawing, this is essentially on company time, so it’s technically being drawn for Yun-Xiao. I probably shouldn’t just use my personal name. I want to come up with a new one.”
“Ugh, pen names…” Ye Xiao frowned. “Naming things is such a pain. I hate naming stuff the most. How about… ‘Ashirogi Muto’?”
“What’s that? Ya… what leaf?”
“It doesn’t mean anything. I made it up.”
In this world, the name had no significance—but in her past life, it had been a very famous one.
“Xiao Ye-zong, isn’t that a bit too random?” Ban Hui asked.
After all, she was pursuing her dream on the company’s dime—drawing manga during work hours! Not only was she getting paid, she’d eventually get royalties too. She felt she should take it seriously.
“Okay, how about this,” Ye Xiao said, “Just use your old pen name and add an ‘X’ between it and Yun-Xiao. Easy.”
That wasn’t a bad idea—but if the manga turned out poorly, it would reflect badly on Yun-Xiao’s image.
A pen name like that would make it obvious that this was an official work from the company.
Too much pressure!
Seeing Ban Hui’s hesitation, Ye Xiao added, “Alright, fine—how about something like… ‘I Eat Tomatoes’?”
Just then, Shen Yunchu walked in with a plate of fruit prepared for Ye Xiao—there were even tomatoes on it.
Ye Xiao took a bite. “Would be better with some sugar. How about… your new pen name is ‘I Eat Tomatoes with Three Spoons of Sugar’?”
