Chapter 442 : From an Ecchi Mangaka’s Perspective
“Uwaa~”
Chen Ruo covered her blushing face. Even after a considerable amount of time had passed, she couldn’t forget what had just happened—the hug from Ling Ning, that alluring aura. It kept reverberating in her mind.
Ling Ning glanced back at Chen Ruo, who was walking behind her with her head lowered. Slowing her pace to match Chen Ruo’s, she reached out and took her hand.
This action left Chen Ruo, already dazed, even more bewildered. She raised her head to look at Ling Ning in confusion, as if silently asking why she was holding her hand.
“Chen Ruo, walking with your head down is a sure way to trip. And if you don’t pay attention to your surroundings, you might get lost. I really don’t want to have to turn around and search for you again.”
“I…I’m not the type to get lost!”
Chen Ruo retorted, though her voice lacked conviction.
She initially intended to pull her hand away, but then she realized—Ling Ning’s hand was so soft. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like letting go.
After a brief internal struggle, Chen Ruo decided not to resist, quietly allowing Ling Ning to hold her hand. This…wasn’t so bad.
Before heading to her student’s house, Ling Ning took a detour to the nearby supermarket to buy groceries, preferring to get it done before the day’s heat peaked.
As they entered the store, Ling Ning noticed Chen Ruo stopping abruptly. Turning back, she saw her dear scatterbrained companion staring intently at a shelf of spicy gluten snacks. No amount of tugging would budge her.
“Chen Ruo, do you want some spicy snacks?”
“Yes!”
Chen Ruo nodded enthusiastically without a moment’s hesitation.
Her daughter had been restricting her snack intake, allowing her only one packet a day. Any more, and that was it. This had left her conflicted and even devoid of inspiration for her drawings.
“Then let’s get a few packs.”
“Yay!!!”
Watching her excitement, Ling Ning chuckled softly. Such joy over a few packets of snacks! It made her wonder—if she delivered spicy snacks to Chen Ruo daily, would she end up in her bed within a month?
No, maybe even half a month.
It was truly miraculous that Chen Ruo hadn’t turned into a "hot weapon" yet.
Once they’d bought the groceries, Ling Ning led Chen Ruo to her old apartment, now occupied by her student, Jiang Xue.
They reached Jiang Xue’s door without encountering the landlord. Knocking lightly, Ling Ning was greeted by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.
Raising an eyebrow, Ling Ning thought, Why does this feel familiar? Ah, right. The last time she came here, the same thing had happened—Jiang Xue must’ve fallen out of bed again upon hearing the knock.
As expected, she was right.
The bed was small, and Jiang Xue was a restless sleeper. The knock on the door startled her, and she instinctively rolled over—straight onto the floor. Thankfully, the blanket and pillow cushioned her fall, so she wasn’t hurt.
The fall woke Jiang Xue up completely. After their call last night, she’d been inexplicably excited, tossing and turning until 3 a.m. Even her alarm hadn’t managed to wake her.
Her first act upon waking was to hide a certain body pillow in her wardrobe. It was a custom order featuring the protagonist of her manga, modeled after her mentor.
She also quickly stashed a suggestively posed figurine of the same character into the drawer. No way could her mentor see these!
“No, no, no—Master mustn’t find out about this!” Jiang Xue muttered internally.
After scanning the room to ensure nothing incriminating remained, she put on some clothes and opened the door.
The moment the door opened, Ling Ning was met with Jiang Xue’s messy hair and disheveled nightgown—it was practically see-through.
“Did you oversleep again, disciple?”
“Good morning, Master. And you too, Teacher. Good morning.”
Chen Ruo, munching on her spicy snack, mumbled, “Good mornin’.”
Ling Ning stepped into the room and immediately noticed the mess. She’d helped clean it last time and had even told Jiang Xue to be more mindful. Yet here it was again, a disaster zone.
Seeing her mentor’s expression, Jiang Xue scratched her head in embarrassment. She had planned to wake up early and clean up, but…things hadn’t gone as planned.
“Congratulations on passing the preliminaries.”
“Eh!? Master already knows?” Jiang Xue blinked in surprise.
Ling Ning smiled softly, pulling out a copy of Water Dragon Hall magazine from her bag. She had picked it up at the newsstand that morning, knowing it contained the list of works that passed the preliminaries—including her student’s.
“Thank you.”
“Though this is just the preliminaries. There’s still the advancement round and finals ahead. I hope to see your work make it to the finals,” Chen Ruo said lazily from her perch on the bed, still snacking.
“Mm!” Jiang Xue nodded with determination.
“Well~ I’m confident in you. After all, you’re my student!” Chen Ruo puffed out her chest proudly.
Ling Ning reached out to pat Chen Ruo’s head, running her fingers through the soft hair. “Yes, yes, Chen Ruo, you’re the best ⑨.”
Unaware of the hidden meaning, Chen Ruo basked in the praise, visibly swelling with pride.
Then Ling Ning noticed a drawing on the desk. It depicted the protagonist of Jiang Xue’s manga, but the pose and expression…were quite questionable.
In every sense of the word.
“Hey, this drawing is pretty good. The character’s expression and movement are on point!” Chen Ruo commented with a professional tone.
From the perspective of an ecchi mangaka.
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Author’s Note:
Got a rare pull today—third try! But it took nine tries for my S8 to graduate. Guess I’m sticking to free-to-play now.