Chapter 609: Web Comic Volume (9): Web Comic G.o.ddess, Burnt Out
Logging into Weibo.
Qin Ran’s memory had always been good. When she first created a Weibo account, Weibo was only starting to get popular. Editor Shen had gotten her to start an account to publish some comics.
She needed money at that time and registered for one as Editor Shen wanted. Her account had been verified.
When she played truant with Pan Mingyue in the past, Pan Mingyue would go around snapping photographs and drawing architecture blueprints. Meanwhile, Qin Ran would be doodling.
Ever since she was young, Qin Ran knew that she was different from others. Her friends were Wei Zihang and Pan Mingyue, whom Pan Mingxuan and Song Luting felt were little kids.
“Celestial Wolf” was just her draft.
Qin Ran started drawing this comic when she first realized that there was more to Ning’er and Chen Shulan.
“Celestial Wolf” was a sci-fi comic. It started off depicting the impending End of the World, with an ordinary man w.a.n.g Rui as the protagonist. Soon, extraterrestrial beings visited and broke the peace.
A serene town was left in shambles due to the invasion of the extraterrestrials.
w.a.n.g Rui was thought to be infected and was hence abandoned by his parents. He watched as they brought his younger brother up the rescue helicopters, which were headed for the safety zone in Beijing. Meanwhile, he had been left behind in the quarantined area.
With the End of the World approaching, cla.s.s differences became all the more p.r.o.nounced. The rich and powerful ruled again.
w.a.n.g Rui didn’t die after being left to his devices. Instead, he got rescued by a professor in the town.
The professors around already saw the catastrophe coming and had been researching the safety zones. This was the time it was put to the test. Humanity’s survival now depended on the results of these professors’ research.
Throughout this time, w.a.n.g Rui, who often played truant and got into fights, survived well. Under the professor’s care, he even discovered his abilities.
When he was out one day, he met Ouyang Lan, the illegitimate child of a large household, as well as Jiang Feng, President of the Student Union…
The comic was very long, and most of it was fighting scenes.
The first part ended with the professor handing the research results to w.a.n.g Rui and the other two. He told them that they had to take the doc.u.ments to the safety zone in Beijing no matter what.
It ended abruptly at this point. Everyone’s concern was whether the professor was dead or alive.
In the eyes of the reader, the professor was the most liked character besides the three protagonists.
Many of them were also waiting for w.a.n.g Rui and Ouyang Lan to return to the main base and conduct a ma.s.sacre.
As the comic got increasingly popular, this genre became a hit.
Qin Ran was reading the messages she received and the comments left behind on her posts. She had set her account privacy such that only the people she followed could leave comments…
But she didn’t expect to see a ton of unread messages.
Qin Ran saw the private message box with the red notification and opened it only after some thought.
The first message was from Editor Shen—
[Magic Lamp, are you back?]
The next—
[Boss Magic Lamp, why isn’t there a second part? Have you stopped releasing comics? ]
Why did she not write the second part?
Qin Ran’s thoughts were all over the place.
The professor was dead.
All the faith had fallen through.
Qin Ran inhaled sharply.
The professor was modeled after Ning’er, while the research lab in “Celestial Wolf” was conceptualized after the base in Ninghai Town.
She wanted so much to give these readers a happy ending, but before she could start on it, her hopes had been crushed.
Qin Ran scrolled down.
Although she’d shut the comment section, she still received private messages every day from new and old fans alike.
She didn’t have that many fans on Weibo, just about half a million.
It wasn’t much compared to those with several tens of millions.
But in the comic world, half a million meant a lot.
Besides Don’t Ask The Heavens.
At the same time.
In an apartment in Shanghai.
Editor Shen just finished showering and was on the phone with the same woman. “Are you sure you can’t change it? Yiyi Zining is a genius author, everyone on the Internet says she’s the next Don’t Ask The Heavens, the up-and-coming star in your hands. Webcomics are going to be the next thing.”
“Don’t persuade me any longer, I’m not taking anyone.” Editor Shen smiled. “Back then, I was just an intern editor, but Magic Lamp didn’t look down on me. Without Magic Lamp, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” With that, they ended the call.
At one point, everyone saw Magic Lamp as the rising star in webcomics too. But it was a pity that Magic Lamp left the scenes too soon.
“What for…” The woman sighed. She knew Editor Shen’s past. Back then, Editor Shen’s mother was in critical condition, and it was Magic Lamp who helped her.
In the end, she hadn’t managed to convince Editor Shen.
Editor Shen didn’t have anyone under his wing. He was just dealing with miscellaneous scripts now.
He put his cell phone down and took a sip of coffee. Before going into the other scripts, he went about his usual routine of logging into Weibo and sending a message to Magic Lamp’s dead account.
But today…
As he was about to type his message in the chat…
He saw that there was the word “Seen” right under the message he last sent. Editor Shen was shocked.
This was a surprise. Editor Shen could barely believe his eyes…
His hands shook as he typed.
It took him a while to complete the sentence and sent it out—
[Magic Lamp, you’re… back?]
Wit that, Editor Shen’s eyes reddened. It had been so long since Magic Lamp sent him a message saying “sorry” before disappearing. He thought that Magic Lamp was never going to write again and would likely never log into this account anymore. He expected “Celestial Wolf” to end just like that…
It had been years since its release. Perhaps Magic Lamp wasn’t as popular as before anymore, but there was still the glory of this masterpiece. Magic Lamp was, after all, the pioneer for such a genre of webcomics. The media would also often mention Magic Lamp when they talked about Don’t Ask The Heavens.
But there could never be a second Magic Lamp to come up with the second part.
Some fans turned to other versions.
But a small minority of them were loyal ones awaiting the original.
In Editor Shen’s eyes, Magic Lamp was almost like a G.o.d.
A while later, he received a reply “Mm”.
Editor Shen had so much to say to Magic Lamp.
But he only asked one thing—
[How have you been?]
This time, the reply came quickly: [Very good.]
And then: [Thank you.]
Editor Shen knew that Magic Lamp had always been a man of few words.
He leaned back in his chair and finally smiled. Then, he asked: [Are you still drawing?]
Was she still drawing?
Qin Ran looked out of the window… Was she?
She had no idea.
Her first 20 years of life had been rather perplexing. She hadn’t really found her place yet.
Qin Ran didn’t reply immediately. She gave Cheng Juan a call.
Cheng Juan had been working overtime in the Research Inst.i.tute lately. At this point, he was talking to a few students very seriously. As he took a look at his cell phone, he took his gla.s.ses off and handed a test tube to a student.
He stepped aside and picked up the phone. His tone softened. “What is it?”
A few students seemed extremely confused when he left. “What’s with Crown Prince…”
Cheng Juan had always been serious in his work. He was even stricter than Gu Xichi, who was already known as a madman. This was the first time he left them in the lab and walked out.
Cheng Juan returned after the call.
He was holding onto his gla.s.ses but did not put them back on. Gu Xichi came in with a report and discussed it with him.
Cheng Juan undid the b.u.t.tons on his white coat and said, “There isn’t much time left here. I’ll have to trouble you and Teacher. I’ve got to leave.”
n.o.body dared to object. After all, Cheng Juan had been invited by Gu Xichi and Father Lin to come over to help.
It was only after Cheng Juan left that a few students asked Gu Xichi, “Isn’t Professor Cheng leaving only the day after? What’s with the call…”
Gu Xichi did not respond, but Jiang Dongye casually said, “Obviously, the call must have been from his sweetheart.”
Everyone went quiet upon hearing that.
…
Shanghai.
It was almost 11 at night.
Qin Ran slept in that morning and was feeling troubled, making it hard to fall asleep. She sat before her laptop.
She chatted with Editor Shen for a while.
But throughout the conversation, Editor Shen noticed that Magic Lamp hadn’t mentioned the second part of the comics at all. He hesitated but finally said—
[It doesn’t matter if you don’t intend to come back to drawing. If you feel like you’ve burnt out, just let me know. I’d rather you not continue this work. I really wish for you to take your leave at your peak.]
Editor Shen had no idea why Magic Lamp did not continue drawing even after so many years.
But he knew that Magic Lamp surely had his difficulties…
Perhaps the fans were right, Magic Lamp had already given his best and all.
Qin Ran did not respond immediately. She was rather frustrated and went to compete with Lin Siran again. Lin Siran and Qiao Sheng were already carried to 19 stars by Cheng Juan.
It was alright to carry two members for 19 stars. But carrying four members was too much, so Qin Ran didn’t take the rest along.
After the second round, the doorbell rang.
Qin Ran saw that the round was starting and said, “Hold on for a moment, I have to get the door.”
“Go ahead, we’ll just be cheering for you from the sidelines later.” Qiao Sheng and Lin Siran weren’t even ashamed.
The other two teammates were confused by their remarks.