Was it true? And Xie Jiu was being sincere? The word choice was very soulful. It clearly means that one thinks of himself as very lowly and humble, so as to be so excited to receive such a feeling. He even begins to believe in cause and effect and keeps doing good deeds.
But he was Xie Jiu! Who was Xie Jiu? He was the most successful businessman and the most talented doctor.
Especially in recent years, he had participated in the development of many special-effect medicines, all of which have undergone the first phase of testing. If everything went well, they would be available on the market in a few years, and by then he would have a steady stream of money coming in.
He was in his thirties, young, rich, talented and handsome. How could he be so humble in love?
Of course, He Tiantong was also very capable. Although he was only in his twenties, his magazine had expanded to several countries. He also established an animation department and produced many excellent cartoons. Similarly young, rich, but with limited future.
However, most citizens believed that he was led by his two genius subordinates, Yinong and Gu Pan.
Who didn’t know Yinong? He was the creator of the Monster Universe and the father of Monster City. Six comic books in the Monster City series had been published in eight languages, and there were fan groups for his books in several European and American countries. The first movie of Monster City topped the charts that year, and who knew how many people were eyeing the film and television copyright in his hands.
‘Gu Pan’ was even more amazing, he was known as the man who understands young men the most and the first person in Hong Kong to write comics on the theme of sex. His comics had also been adapted into many cartoons and TV series, and also been translated into multiple languages and broadcast in East Asia, with astonishing numbers of viewers, one for each. Who knew how many TV stations abroad were waiting for his TV series and cartoons.
There was an ongoing dispute between ‘Yinong’ and ‘Gu Pan’ fans over who was the number one comics figure in Hong Kong.
Yinong liked big backgrounds, rich content and novel ideas, and a good combination of technology, machinery and humanities. Gu Pan liked narrower themes, delicate emotions and romantic settings, and a good combination of the protagonist’s love, career and growth.
Moreover, they were both famous cartoonists who had become famous abroad. One base was in Europe and the United States, while the other was based in East Asia. In this respect, they were similar, and their translated works were very influential.
Rumor had it that the two used to be good friends, but they haven’t been in contact much recently. The Hong Kong media had made up a lot of stories about them. Either of these two could become the head of a top magazine, and He Tiantong now had two of them.
From this perspective, He Tiantong was lucky. He was born in the He family, inherited his mother’s good looks, was loved by his family, and also met two destined cartoonists who supported him. Why would he be worthy of Xie Jiu’s humble efforts to fight for him?
“Hey, I heard that He Tiantong and Gu Pan have some ‘friendship’.”
A strange theory came out: “It was he who supported Gu Pan to publish comics, cartoons and TV series on sex and romance. An insider said that Yinong and Gu Pan were originally good friends, but Yinong was forced to intervene and his love was taken away, and the two ended up parting ways.”
This rumor was on the cover of a magazine within a few days. Some people thought that Gu Pan stayed at the magazine because of He Tiantong, and Yinong stayed because of Gu Pan. Since He Tiantong had a boyfriend, could they try to pry him away? Some people were curious about how many little brothers He Tiantong had, and whether homosexuals had very messy private lives?
An Yinong was filled with puzzlement after reading this newspaper. How could anyone believe such a bizarre plot?
Seeing the Hong Kong media describe his son in this way (including his own newspaper), He Chengjue was furious: “What’s wrong with Atong? Not to mention Xie Jiu, even ten of them are not worthy! And what about Yinong and Gu Pan? I’ve never even heard of them!”
He called An Yinong and said, “Good son, don’t worry, Dad won’t watch them bully you.”
An Yinong held his forehead. In fact, he didn’t expect these people to frame him at all. But if this continued, his uncle Jiu would find an excuse to be jealous again. “Dad, calm down a little. Can you wait for three days?”
“Three days? What are you going to do?” He Chengjue was confused.
“Dad, how about I give you an exclusive piece of news?”
“What?”
The next day, the He family newspaper had a headline: “Yinong” and “Gu Pan” decided to hold a reader meeting at the same venue in two days. As long as people bring genuine books, they can line up for autographs and have a chance to receive the small gifts they carefully prepared.
The two fans were stunned, but ecstatic: “Our idol is going to show up? Hahahaha, let’s go there with tents and stake out!”
After waiting for several years, the two “mysterious people” actually held a reader meeting at the same time? What were they still standing there for? Hurry up and catch up on the news! The reporters all ran away, except Xie Jiu and He Tiantong, who were also wealthy capitalists with some fame compared to Yinong and Gu Pan.
Reporters crowded into the publishing house and conference venue, but the magazine said they could talk and the conference venue was temporarily closed while staff inside were setting up the venue. There was a small room next to the venue, with only a platform ten feet high. The press conference will be held there, and then they would go to the main venue at the basketball court for reader meetings and autograph sessions.
“They are so kind.” said the staff who arranged the main venue.
Not only did they hold a reader meeting together at the same venue at the same time, they even asked for a long table with a “Yinong” sign on the left and a “Gu Pan” sign on the right.
“What’s the point of being in love? Didn’t they get ruined by that young master of the He family? They are so sweet, but you guys are so pitiful…”
“What do you mean?” The first person was anxious. “How can Gu Pan be gay? He is a real man who stands tall and proud. I don’t know how many people like him.”
“Why not?” The second person also became anxious. “Yinong only went too far because of Gu Pan, and Gu Pan only went too far because of Yinong. If they are fake, what else can be real?”
The two staff members started arguing. Oh, what a sin! An Yinong, who came outside to see the venue layout, shook his head.
On the day of the meeting, the entire venue was surrounded by book fans. In addition to the readers who had lined up here two days ago, there were also fan groups from other countries who flew over overnight after hearing the news.
Because there were too many people, and they were two fan groups, fights could easily break out. For this reason, the police had to send people over, and the He family also sent out a group of security guards to barely calm the team down.
“I’m so nervous.” A policeman’s face flushed. He asked his colleague next to him, “Can I switch shifts and go to the backstage?”
The colleague chuckled and said, “Maybe no one will replace you after the annual leave. You’d better give up on this idea. We are lucky to be able to leave the venue. There are still a group of people who can only wait for us to go back and show them the autographed books.”
“That’s true.” The policeman nodded. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on the crowd. “Isn’t that guy… the wanted criminal who escaped from prison a month ago?”
At this moment, the book fans who were queuing up were holding various comic peripherals, enthusiastically discussing their favorite works and guessing the author’s appearance and real experience.
“So exciting!” A fanatic fan felt like he couldn’t breathe. He was so nervous. “I hope I don’t pass out.”
If a reporter in the backstage could hear the fan’s voice at this moment, he would definitely shout: Stand still and don’t move, or you will faint!
Who could have thought that Yinong and Gu Pan… were the same person? ! No, no, no, this was not the point. The point was that they both were an identity of ‘He Tiantong’.
They didn’t believe it, and even have conspiracy theories, but the evidence here was too sufficient. There were manuscripts, editors, assistants, and video materials. An Yinong also took out a pen and painted mountains and rivers with his left hand and tenderness with his right hand. It was hard not to believe it.
“This month’s news has become hot. These geniuses really don’t leave any room for ordinary people like us.”
An Yinong was unaware of the reporter’s complicated feelings. He was answering the reporter’s questions, including how to balance the two painting styles, the source of the comic spirit, etc.
“The prototype of the monster city is indeed the walled city. The reason I drew this… is because when I was kidnapped, I walked through it and was shocked. It may also have something to do with my feeling of not knowing death at that time, so I drew it and composed music for it.”
“Kidnapped?” The reporters looked at each other, smelling a potential explosion. “According to the tabloids that year, someone from the third generation of the He family was kidnapped. Was it you?”
“Yes, I can’t really describe the details, but someone helped me.”
“Oh, then why did you choose to draw comics and use two separate pen names?”
“Drawing comics has always been my hobby. You may not know that I have some reading difficulties and cannot read coherent sentences. I cannot study normally. This made me hate studying very much and I regarded drawing as my salvation. But I really started drawing comics because my family gave me a magazine publishing house as a gift for my sixteenth birthday.”
“The magazine house was not doing very well at the time. The previous star writer had left, so I wondered if I could give it a try. I didn’t tell anyone about it because I was worried about failure. It was not until the first draft was approved that Editor Qian arranged a meeting with Yinong.”
Editor Qian also confirmed this. Now in her thirties, she was smart and capable and is a qualified editor-in-chief.
“As for why we separated into two accounts, it was because after the success of The Desert, we needed to change to a different theme. However, at that time, sex-themed comics were still a field, and if we published it directly under the name Yinong, it might cause dissatisfaction among previous readers, so we published it under the name Gu Pan.”
At this point, An Yinong shook his head and said, “I don’t understand why you think Yinong and Gu Pan are friends who become rivals, and then rivals become lovers. This has happened several times, and there are many reports that seem true and false. If you are not the actual person, you would almost believe it.”
The reporters “rubbed” their noses, since they also contributed to the two vest gossips.
“He, when you made the bet with Paul Lee in the newspaper, why did you emphasize that you were a man? Romance themes seem to be more advantageous for female writers.”
An Yinong nodded and replied, “Indeed, if you claim to be a female writer at that time, you will get more attention and attract many readers. Of course, you will also be attacked and criticized more. For example, when it comes to refuting the same thing, men only ‘violently refute’, but when it comes to women, people will accuse you of being a ‘shrew’ cursing in the street’.”
“So you chose to reveal your gender in order to avoid criticism?”
“That’s not the case. I just want to eliminate everyone’s stereotypes. In fact, men can also and curse on the streets.” An Yinong spread his hands.
The reporters couldn’t help laughing.
“To be honest, when I first started drawing comics about romance, there weren’t too many. But it wasn’t to the point where I was attacked and ostracized because people misunderstood me as the author. At that time, I suddenly realized that I had always had a gender advantage.
“In this case, it’s too much to use gender to attract readers.”
The reporter then asked: “But you revealed your gender, and some people attacked you for drawing romance comics as a man. Is there something wrong with your thinking?”
“You’re calling me a pervert, right?” The reporter said it in a tactful way, but An Yinong was very direct, “You know, some people have a very small world, but they think it’s a world. You can’t win an argument with such people, as ‘a summer insect can’t talk about ice’.”
It was indeed Gu Pan who was so sharp in insulting others.
“So, why did you suddenly start drawing love-themed comics? Is it because you are in love?”
“No, at that time, Xie Jiu and I were not a couple. By the way, we were each other’s first love, and it was a natural progression from knowing each other to falling in love. Please write this in the newspaper, otherwise you will make Xie jealous.”
Everyone laughed good-naturedly: If it were them, they would like someone to be so perfect, but they would also worry about this and that.
Some reporters were even fans of Yinong or Gu Pan, and they felt even more jealous: If they knew Yinong/Gu Pan was him, they would not only wait to pick him up, but would even kowtow three times and nine times to trick him back. What a dishonest businessman, he took advantage of the situation.
The reporter asked some questions about comics and the magazine, as well as future plans, new comics, etc., and An Yinong answered them one by one.
After the press conference, the reporters almost rushed out of the door, holding their cameras/manuscripts and running towards the car at death’s speed, ready to report the incident in newspapers, magazines and TV stations as soon as possible.
As for An Yinong, he straightened his clothes and slowly walked into the conference hall. He sat in the middle of the long table, with a sign that read “Yinong” on his left and a sign that read “Gu Pan” on his right.
He had an assistant and bodyguard, and there were piles of commemorative gift boxes. The rose-colored one was for Gu Pan’s fans, and the navy blue one was for Yinong’s fans. In addition to several comic dolls, there were also some cards, notebooks, pens, key chains and other peripherals.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said to the people around him, “open the door.”
The door to the conference hall opened, and book fans poured into the venue like a tide, but when they rushed to the front, they only saw An Yinong sitting in the middle of the long table.
“Hello everyone, let me introduce myself. My last name is He, He Tiantong…”
“We all know who you are. Where is Yinong? Where is Gu Pan?” The fans couldn’t see anyone and started to get excited.
An Yinong smiled and continued to speak slowly: “…I have two pen names, one is ‘Yinong’ and the other is ‘Gu Pan’. I am very happy to meet you all.”
The venue fell silent.
“What do you want to ask?”
WhiteMoon x BlackSun 