Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again Chapter 25: The Transformer Cat Named Black Charcoal

The interview process was unexpectedly simple.

The interviewer, who was also the studio owner, had a brief chat with Qin Guanglin. After looking at his previous works, he asked him to try drawing sothing.

"You can simplify the details here a bit. Comics don't need to be so intricate; this way, you'll be more efficient too," said the boss, Chen Rui, pointing at the character Qin Guanglin had sketched.

"Okay." Qin Guanglin nodded. This would make it even easier...

After leaving the office, he still felt sowhat unreal. Were interviews this casual?

"What did they say?" Sun Wen ca over to ask.

Qin Guanglin thought for a mont. "He said if it's okay, I could start working in a few days, mainly responsible for hand-drawing."

"What did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it and get back to him in a couple of days."

"That's great!" Sun Wen patted his shoulder. "Think it over carefully."

"Alright." Qin Guanglin looked at his watch. "You should get back to work. I'll head ho first."

At that mont, Sun Wen was on work ti, so it wasn't appropriate to chat too much.

Sun Wen saw Qin Guanglin to the door and then returned to his desk to continue drawing. The person next to him, curious, leaned over to gossip, "Brother Wen, how did your friend's interview go?"

"Pretty well. Now he's just thinking it over before starting. I'm not bragging; that guy is much better than ."

"Really?"

"Could it be fake?"

Qin Guanglin took the elevator downstairs and walked toward the bus stop, thinking about asking He Fang for a fortune reading tomorrow to see if this job was reliable—he thought it was okay. Learning this stuff might even allow him to create so small stories himself. In the internet age, as long as you do a good job, you could make a living.

He paused when passing a small shop. There were many small items displayed on a cart at the entrance. He casually looked over and imdiately liked a panda-style hair tie.

He Fang might like this...

"How much is this?" Qin Guanglin took out his wallet and asked.

"Ten yuan."

He took out ten yuan and handed it to the shop owner, then put the hair tie in his pocket, planning to show it to He Fang tomorrow.

When you're newly in love, that's just how it is. You find sothing tasty and want the other person to try it too. You read a good book and want to recomnd it. You see sothing fun and want to experience it together. You see pretty clothes and wonder if the other would like wearing them...

The scent of romance was everywhere.

On his way back ho, the little fatty next door was squatting at the door with a bowl about the size of his head, slurping noodles. When he saw Qin Guanglin return, his eyes lit up.

"Having dinner this late?" Qin Guanglin asked casually.

This little fatty used to waddle behind him, calling him "Brother Lin." It was quite cute. Now he's reached the age where even dogs find him troubleso—always bouncing around. Yet, he behaved when facing him.

The little fatty hurriedly swallowed the noodles in his mouth and shouted excitedly, "Brother Lin, you're back?"

"I'm back." Qin Guanglin nodded and indicated to him with his chin, "Your bowl's leaking."

The little fatty was startled, instinctively wanting to flip the bowl to check the bottom, but he stopped abruptly and said angrily, "The sa trick won't fool twice!"

"Forget it if you don't believe ." Qin Guanglin shrugged and continued walking ho.

"Brother Lin, teach to draw." The little fatty followed with his bowl in hand, "I want to draw a cat!"

"Howork to draw a cat?" Qin Guanglin eyed him askance. Every ti there was school howork, this kid had that look.

"It's for a contest. I want Big Black Charcoal to win!"

"Finish your al first. Then, co find ." Qin Guanglin looked at his mouth full of noodle soup. "Make sure you're clean. If you're dirty, I'll kick you out."

"Okay! I'll finish right away!" The little fatty responded and stopped following, continuing to shovel noodles into his mouth.

When Qin Guanglin got ho, Qin's Mom wasn't there; she probably went to find Aunt Wang to study old objects. He poured himself a glass of water and sat on the sofa, feeling a little aimless.

After sitting quietly for a while, Qin Guanglin got up and went to the studio to prepare drawing Chef He cooking. He had wanted to draw it last night but was too tired, so he went to bed instead.

Unlike the painting he gave He Fang previously, Qin Guanglin wanted to use pencil sketching this ti. This thod could more directly display the mont of inspiration he had last night, making the scene a bit livelier.

The image of He Fang wearing an apron, gentle and graceful, seed etched in his mind. Qin Guanglin thought about it and put the pencil down. The little fatty would be coming over later, so there was no rush to draw.

Soon, the doorbell rang. Qin Guanglin went to open the door. The little fatty, with a big black cat tucked under his arm, stood at the entrance. The big black cat dared not move, looking pitifully at Qin Guanglin.

"Why did you bring Aunt Li's cat over here?"

The cat, called Charcoal, was raised by Aunt Li, a neighbor, and often wandered around the area, making everyone familiar with it.

The little fatty lifted the big black cat and thrust it in front of Qin Guanglin. "I want to draw Big Black Charcoal and let it win!"

"Co on in." Qin Guanglin stepped aside to let the little fatty and the cat enter, then closed the door.

"How do I draw?" The little fatty stood in the studio with the cat, asking him.

"Drawing a cat is simple. Put Charcoal on the paper. Yeah, press its body, then use a pencil and trace around it," Qin Guanglin instructed, holding a water cup.

Removing the cat from the paper, the little fatty looked at an indecipherable mass of lines and felt doubtful about life. "This isn't Big Black Charcoal!"

"Just add two eyes," Qin Guanglin said as he finished his water and guided him step by step.

"This doesn't look like a cat!" The little fatty huffed, staring at the irregular shape with two dots for eyes in the middle.

"A cat is liquid; it can change shape."

"You're lying to !"

"How do you want it to look?" Qin Guanglin ruffled Charcoal's head.

"I want a mighty Big Black Charcoal!" The little fatty tilted his head and thought for a mont. "Like a Transforr!"

A Transforr cat?

Qin Guanglin pondered. He had to admit he couldn't picture what that would look like.

"Wait a minute." The little fatty dashed out of the studio, opened the door, and ran outside.

"..."

Qin Guanglin stood in the living room, stroking Charcoal's fur slowly, waiting to see what he was up to.

In no ti, the little fatty ran back, holding a Transforr toy. "I want Big Black Charcoal like this!"

"Hmm... okay." Qin Guanglin set Charcoal aside, and it obediently lay on the ground, wagging its tail as it watched the two of them.

Learning to draw was just an excuse. The little fatty clearly wanted Qin Guanglin to help him draw it so he could show off to his classmates.

Qin Guanglin didn't mind. He took a pencil and started sketching on the drawing board, occasionally glancing at the Transforr placed beside him by the little fatty. Soon, a Transforr cat erged.

"How's this?" Qin Guanglin couldn't fathom the little fatty's aesthetics, so he asked for his opinion.

"It's aweso!"

The little fatty was so excited that his face turned red. This was precisely how he envisioned Big Black Charcoal should look.

Mighty, imposing!

"Here you go, hand this in for your assignnt."

Hopefully, the kid wouldn't get scolded by the teacher.

"Thank you, Brother Lin!" The little fatty was thrilled, holding the picture like a treasure as he sprinted outside, not caring about Charcoal or his Transforr anymore.

Qin Guanglin quickly called him back, pointing at Charcoal on the ground, "Take your Transforr and Charcoal as well."

"Oh."

The little fatty dashed back, picked up Charcoal and the Transforr.

Who knows where kids get so much energy? They always seed to prefer running wherever they went.