Chapter 251 A sudden incident

In just a few minutes, Qingshui saw that there was already a long queue at the stall.

Although he knew that Ayase Kotone's comics had received good reviews among readers and on the Internet, he did not expect it to reach this point, which left Shimizu stunned.

"Eh... four? Uh, are you going to buy that many?"

Ayase Kotone was a little surprised that one of the men wearing glasses came up and wanted to buy four comic books.

"Ah... Is there a limit to the number of copies?"

"No, there is no such thing..."

"Sorry, each person is limited to two copies."

"Eh, Shimizu-san...?"

"Ah, so that's the case... Then I'll buy two."

"Um, why do you suddenly make this rule now..."

"Look at the back, they're all lined up like that."

"what……"

Qingshuijian had been worried about what to do if no one came, but the length of the line that stretched from the stall to the pillar at the back and then to the door made such anxiety disappear.

The popularity of Ayase Kotone's book is really amazing...

However, as the comics were sold one by one, Shimizu Mi also experienced what it felt like to be socially dead.

It is popular, but when people buy it, almost everyone will look at Shimizu Mi with strange eyes, as if to ask, are these comics really drawn by this person?

I really don’t know how strong the heart of the girl who helped Ayase Kotone sell comics was.

"I'm very sorry, the book is sold out."

"Thank you very much!"

All 500 copies of the comics were sold out in just over an hour.

There were dozens of people waiting in line but unable to buy anything.

……

……

With a familiar "bang", two bottles of strawberry milk fell into the vending machine's drawer.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Shimizu Mi and Ayase Kotone came out from the exhibition hall.

A large group of ordinary participants who had almost finished shopping were sitting around and confirming their "trophies". There were also many people holding professional cameras and taking pictures of several female character cosplayers.

The hustle and bustle is still there.

Shimizu handed the box of milk to Ayase Kotone, who inserted the straw and poured the milk down her throat in one gulp.

"Wow, it's warm..."

In this weather and time of year, it would be a mistake to expect the drinks from the vending machines in this place to be cold enough.

In order to avoid direct sunlight, Shimizu Mi and Ayase Kotone moved to the outer corner of the wall, leaned against the white concrete wall there, and looked up at the sky.

The sun was setting, but the summer heat and the heat of the venue still seemed to be there.

"……call."

Although all the notebooks were sold out in just one hour, when the notebooks were almost sold out, the scene of everyone lining up to grab them was really too intense.

Qing Shuijian didn't expect that selling comics would lead to such a tight and thrilling situation.

Fortunately, however, the results far outweigh the effort.

The price of this book is 500 yen per copy. If all 500 copies are sold out at once, the revenue will be 250,000 yen.

For students like them, two hundred and fifty thousand is not a small sum of money.

But in fact, with Ayase Kotone's painting skills and level, these books can be sold for one thousand yen per book.

No, even if we raise the price to more than 1,000 yen, there will definitely be a steady stream of customers coming.

Although Shimizu Mi asked Ayase Kotone this question, she still insisted on selling it for only 500 yen per copy.

It seems that what is more important to her is to let more people read her works than to make money.

However, it is indeed strange to apply this logic to erotic novels.

Afterwards, Ayase Kotone gave half of her income to Shimizumi as she had said before.

But Qingshui saw that he came to help her today not to share the money, so he insisted on not accepting it.

It was exactly four o'clock.

The broadcast announcing the end of today's comic convention was followed by thunderous applause from the participants.

Now that the event is over, it’s about time for me to go back.

Shimizumi planned to say goodbye to Ayase Kotone here today, and then -

"Kiyomizu-san..."

Ayase Kotone glanced at Shimizumi and called out softly.

"what?"

Shimizu turned sideways and noticed that Ayase Kotone's face was flushed, beautiful but slightly shy.

"Um... Shimizu-san said you were skilled before... Actually... this is my first time... so... please don't misunderstand me."

Ayase Kotone lowered her head, and Shimizu could not see her expression. Her fingers were unconsciously twisted together, and her voice was so low that it was almost inaudible.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle.

Shimizu Mi had indeed said before that she was very skilled, but that was referring to the fact that Ayase Kotone was very skilled at setting up a stall.

And I always feel that the first time she is talking about now seems to be different from what I said before.

At this time, Qingshuijian's cell phone vibrated.

He took out his cell phone from his pocket and took a look. It was a text message from Sakurai Shio asking him where he was and whether he wanted to have dinner together later.

By the way, last night outside the comic book store, Sakurai Shio received that phone call and left.

This morning, she also sent a text message to tell Qingshuijian not to worry, and said that she had other things to do today and might be busy.

Although Sakurai Shio told her not to worry, it was clear from her words that Shimizu Mi was still a little worried.

But now it seems that everything is done.

Shimizu looked at the text message on the phone screen. Ayase Kotone noticed it and said:

"I'm really sorry to have delayed Qingshui-san for a day today. If there's anything you need, Qingshui-san can go ahead and do it. I still have to go back and clean up the stall."

"Well, I'll leave it to you then. I'll go back first."

When Shimizu turned to leave, Ayase Kotone spoke again from behind him:

"Um...thank you for today, Qingshui-san. If you need any help in the future, you can always come to me."

Qing Shuijian nodded in response and left the exhibition first.

……

……

After the comic convention, Shimizu Mi stayed on the crew for a few more days and filmed the remaining scenes with Sakurai Shio.

The rest of the film is expected to be shot in the next two to three months.

However, seeing that all the scenes here had been completed, Shimizu took a short rest in the hotel for a day, then said goodbye to Sakurai Shio and took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

It was around eight o'clock in the evening when we arrived in Tokyo.

Because he didn't want to trouble Amamiya Iori to pick him up, Shimizu didn't tell her in advance. If she knew, she would definitely rush to the station in the middle of the night just to greet him as soon as possible.

So, even though Amemiya Iori might say a few words to him afterwards, Shimizu Miyabi still decided to tell her the next day.

This place is not far from his home, and taxi prices in Japan are not cheap, so Shimizu chose to walk back.

The moonlight was as bright as water, and the silver glow fell gently. Occasionally, one or two night birds' calls could be heard from the treetops along the street, clear and long.

Qing Shuijian was walking alone on the street. The street lights were dim and warm, stretching the light and shadows long and projecting them on the empty road.

At this time, even busy Tokyo has put aside the hustle and bustle of the day and returned to the most authentic tranquility.

However, this rare tranquility was soon broken.

When he was almost home, Qingshuijian heard a very familiar voice on a street that he had to pass through.

This street used to be a commercial street. Although the traffic is not too large now, many izakayas will open at night.

Most of the customers of these izakayas are nearby residents who come here to have a drink or two and eat something after get off work during the day.

However, it was in such a store that Shimizu heard a very familiar voice.

"Come on, have two more drinks—"

"Sister, I really can't drink anymore..."

Hearing these two voices, Qingshuijian stopped involuntarily and looked towards a brightly lit izakaya beside him.

At the same time, one of the two people sitting near the store door turned around and looked over as if sensing something.

"Ah...Ajian?"

The first person to speak was Ayako Kanzaki.

The person sitting next to her was none other than Shimizu Ken's mother, Hoshino Akiko.

……

……

Ten minutes later, Shimizu Jian helped the drunk Hoshino Akiko back home. After entering the house, he helped her sit on the sofa.

Afterwards, Qingshuijian went to the kitchen again and poured a cup of tea from the refrigerator to help her sober up.

After he lied to her that it was wine and made her drink it, Akiko Hoshino finally came to her senses a little more.

However, when Shimizu looked at Hoshino Akiko leaning on the sofa in front of him, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Although I have always known that Hoshino Akiko loves to drink, and she would occasionally drink a little at home, she has never drunk as much as she did today.

"Mom, I just heard from Sister Kanzaki that you..."

As soon as Shimizu finished speaking, Hoshino Akiko looked over with hazy eyes.

"Oh~ What~ So you mean meeting... Hey~~ When did you come back? Why didn't you tell me?"

As soon as Hoshino Akiko saw Shimizu Ken in front of her, she pulled him to sit on the sofa.

From the sound of her voice, you can tell that she is still a little drunk.

"I just got back tonight, so I haven't had time to tell you yet."

“So that’s how it is~~”

Hoshino Akiko looked at Shimizu Jian very tenderly, slowly reached out her hand and gently stroked his head.

"Mom, you..."

"It's great to see you're back. Mom has something to tell you."

Hoshino Akiko interrupted, her eyes were still a little hazy, but her voice suddenly became more serious.

"That's what you said, but I guess you've already heard Ayako say that."

"Hmm..." Qingshuijian nodded slightly.

When they met at the izakaya just now, Kanzaki Ayako had already told Shimizu about what had happened.

"Oh, that woman is such a big mouth. I really need to teach her a lesson someday."

"So, what Kanzaki-san said is true. You...really got fired?"

As soon as Qingshuijian finished speaking, his cheek was pinched hard.

"What do you mean by fired? Don't listen to what Ayako said. I resigned on my own initiative."

Although he was a little drunk, the strength with which he pinched Qing Shuijian's face did not weaken at all.

But is it really like she said?

When they met at the izakaya just now, Ayako Kanzaki told Shimizu that the company where Akiko Hoshino worked had started laying off employees since last week due to some economic reasons.

Unfortunately, her mother, Akiko Hoshino, was one of those laid off.

The economic situation in Japan has indeed been not very good recently, and companies have been laying off employees frequently. However, Shimizu Mi never expected that such a thing would happen in his own family.

Perhaps this is what they call a sudden disaster.

"Oh~~ Don't worry, I will find a new job soon. Besides, there is still some money saved at home, so there is no need to worry for the time being."

Hoshino Akiko released her hands that were pinching Shimizu Ken's face, stroked his head again, and comforted him softly.

Of course, Shimizu Mi knew that this was just Hoshino Akiko's words to comfort him. Even though he had no work experience, he more or less knew how difficult it was to find a suitable job given the current social conditions in Japan.

The Shimizu family has no father, so the income has always been solely provided by Akiko Hoshino.

Although daily expenses are relatively simple for only Shimizu and Hoshino Akiko, and Hoshino Akiko rarely buys expensive skin care products and cosmetics, even in such a life, Hoshino Akiko still bears considerable financial pressure as she has to rely solely on her income to support the living expenses of the two and Shimizu's tuition.

Hoshino Akiko looked at Shimizu's heavy face and reached out to pinch him gently.

"I've already told you that you don't need to worry about this kind of thing. You just need to study hard."

"I understand. Anyway, let me help you go back to your room and rest."

"But I still want to drink some more."

I don't understand why every drunk person says something like this.

The smell of alcohol on Akiko Hoshino's body was impossible to ignore, and no one knew how much she had drunk.

To be honest, Shimizu Mi didn't actually like Hoshino Akiko drinking. It was okay if she drank one or two glasses at normal times, but drinking like this was bound to make people worry.

However, when she thought about losing her job at this time, it was probably the huge psychological pressure that prompted her to choose to use alcohol to temporarily relieve the pressure.

After that, Shimizu Ken took a lot of effort to support Hoshino Akiko, just like coaxing a child, and brought her back to her room.

After safely sending Hoshino Akiko to her room, she fell into a deep sleep as soon as she lay down on the bed.

The sleep quality is truly enviable.

After confirming that she was sleeping soundly, Qingshuijian left the room with some relief.

After leaving the room, Qingshui saw that he was thinking about something.

Given their family's current situation, if Akiko Hoshino loses her job, she will also lose all sources of income.

Although as Akiko Hoshino said, the family still has some money saved, it is obviously not a long-term solution to the problem.

Because I am filming on a TV show, I can get some remuneration according to the contract.

However, because she is a newcomer with absolutely no popularity and experience and is making her debut, her pay certainly cannot be as high as that of popular star actors like Sakurai Shio.

What's more, ordinary actors can only receive their pay after the filming of the movie is completed.

In this case, we will have to wait at least another two or three months.

If Akiko Hoshino still fails to find a suitable job during this period, the family's conditions will probably become very difficult.

Taking into account the current situation and difficulties, Shimizu plans to use the remaining summer vacation to find a suitable part-time job.

(End of this chapter)