CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: COMIC CONVENTION

On a thirty-degree day, Audrey Sutton was wrapped up in her blanket, sweating, and fell asleep in a daze.

By the time she woke up, her stomach no longer hurt.

She climbed out of bed, pushed open the balcony’s glass door, and saw Shane Warner.

He was sitting on the balcony with a drawing board, holding several colored pencils, seemingly working on a jewelry design draft.

"Awake? Feeling better?" He paused his drawing, looked up at her.

His voice was gentle, mixing with the warm summer breeze, making Audrey Sutton’s heart feel soft and tender.

Audrey Sutton nodded, lifted her feet to walk towards him, and General, who was lounging in the sun by his feet, lazily glanced at her, seemingly familiar with her presence, did not react defensively as she approached.

Shane Warner was straightforward, letting her admire his work freely while he continued to sketch on the paper and asked her, "What do you think?"

Audrey Sutton smiled, "It’s beautiful."

"Do you like it?"

Audrey Sutton was stunned for a second, then nodded like a pecking chick.

She thought to herself, would he make this design exclusively and give it to her as a gift?

But Shane Warner’s next words instantly shattered her unrealistic romantic notion: "When the new product is out, you can buy a set for collection, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount."

Audrey Sutton pouted, squatted down to stroke General’s head, and said, "Suddenly, it doesn’t seem all that pretty."

Shane Warner chuckled silently, slowly moving the paintbrush across the paper.

The afternoon sunshine spilled onto the balcony, seemingly casting a golden glow on him, his lips slightly curved with a faint smile.

At that moment, Audrey Sutton wished it could last forever.

...

Ever since that reward of a million drawing coins, Audrey Sutton climbed to the top of the site’s reward list.

As a result, she received a recommendation, and her readership has been growing these past couple of days.

With Laura Yates’s nurturing and the site’s marketing, Audrey Sutton’s manga became a small hit.

Rising to the ranking in such a short time and even pushing some of the site’s old veterans aside, inevitably led to whispers of "wealthy family, buying fans, boosting data".

Audrey Sutton didn’t have many friends in the circle, but inevitably, she heard about it.

She didn’t take it to heart, as long as her own friends stood by her side, she couldn’t and didn’t want to care about the rest.

Besides, she did indeed get a bit of help through the back door, Laura Yates was soon to become her sister-in-law and would naturally pay more attention to her.

But she also genuinely won readers’ love through her own talent; if her work wasn’t good, even with recommendations and boosted data, readers wouldn’t buy it.

"Audrey, are you going to the manga convention tomorrow? Hylan is having a signing event, it’s a perfect opportunity to introduce you two." Laura Yates called Audrey Sutton.

Audrey Sutton was a bit surprised, "Hylan?"

"Yes."

"I’m definitely going!"

Barry Barrett had already invited her to go with him to the convention tomorrow.

Barry Barrett was quite the seasoned fan of the two-dimensional world, he cosplayed at every convention, and had quite a few male fans on X.

Although Audrey Sutton drew manga, she didn’t mingle in the circle, usually just tags along with Barry Barrett to walk around at conventions.

As for Hylan, she was a popular young-adult romance manga artist and one of Audrey Sutton’s idols; several of her manga had been adapted into films and dramas, making her a super deity in the industry.

But she herself was quite low-key, those who knew her said she was humble, didn’t talk much, seemed to be a somewhat solitary girl.

The next day.

After Shane Warner finished walking General, he saw her bending over by the door changing shoes, looking to be in a hurry.

"Where are you going?"

Audrey Sutton replied while tying her shoes, "To the manga convention, breakfast is in the microwave, I’m heading out now."

Shane Warner frowned, watching her trot off in her youthful short skirt.

Manga convention?

In that youthful and bright little skirt, long hair cascading down her shoulders, without meticulous makeup yet irresistibly beautiful — was she off to charm some young studs?

Shane Warner furrowed his eyebrows deeply, leading General back indoors.

On his way upstairs, he called Faye Xavier, "The design drafts are in my office, I’ll review them in the afternoon. Host the morning meeting, discuss the new product launch."

Faye Xavier complained on the other end, "Master Shane, are you skipping work again?"

"Got a problem?"

"I wouldn’t dare, Master Shane, rest assured, I’ll accomplish the task."

After a pause, Shane Warner continued, "Check the address of today’s manga convention, send it to my phone."

Faye Xavier was puzzled, "Manga convention? Since when did you get into that, Master Shane?"

Shane Warner coldly retorted, "If I don’t receive the address in five minutes, your bonus for this month will be canceled."

"No, Master Shane, I’ll get right on it!"

Two minutes after hanging up, Faye Xavier sent the address.

When Audrey Sutton arrived, the event had just started, but the crowd exceeded her expectations.

Barry Barrett was dressed in ancient attire, cosplaying as a character from a certain game.

Audrey Sutton didn’t know the character, just thought he looked fine.

Though Barry Barrett was usually happy to gush over things, once he tidied up and dressed, he was definitely a beauty.

Barry Barrett had quite a few friends within the circle, but he was quite sincere, waited for Audrey Sutton and Laura Yates to meet before going off to find his circle of friends.

Hylan’s signing event was set for ten o’clock, but people were still stuck in traffic.

Laura Yates shared some stories about Hylan with Audrey Sutton.

Hylan didn’t have the best family background, only had a middle school education, never received any formal training, started purely from personal interest and self-study.

After graduation, for a time she sustained herself by selling portrait paintings on the street.

Her family situation was complicated; it was said she was adopted, but Laura Yates didn’t know the specifics.

The more Audrey Sutton heard, the more she admired Hylan, feeling she seemed born for manga, transforming from an outsider to the current hot manga artist, relying not just on talent but also on her own effort.

"Ah, who’s that over there? So handsome!"

"Who’s he cosplaying as? Looks super cool!"

"Seems familiar?"

"Is he a celebrity?"

Hearing the nearby group of Lolita girls chatter, Audrey Sutton glanced up.

In an instant, she spotted Shane Warner, standing tall among the crowd.

He wore a black casual shirt, the fit quite loose, the bottom tucked into his waistband, giving the impression his lower body was all legs.

He was already quite attention-grabbing himself, and now he was even leading General along.

This combination of a large dog with a handsome guy was stunningly striking.

"Why is your husband here?" Laura Yates whispered.

Audrey Sutton was puzzled too, "No clue, he didn’t mention coming here either."

At this moment, Shane Warner’s gaze landed on her after scanning the area, and he started walking towards her direction.