The interview process was unexpectedly simple.
The interviewer was the boss, and he only had a simple chat with Qin Guanglin. He looked at Qin Guanglin’s past works, then let him draw a sample.
“You can simplify the details here. Comics don’t have to be so detailed. This way, you can be more efficient too.”
Chen Rui, the boss, spoke as he pointed at the figure that Qin Guanglin sketched.
“Okay.” Qin Guanglin nodded. This would be even easier…
After leaving the office, he still felt a little surreal. Are interviews this casual?
“How did it go?” Sun Wen came over and asked.
Qin Guanglin thought for a while. “He said that I could come and work here over the next few days. I’ll mainly be responsible for the hand drawing.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I’d think about it and give him an answer in two days.”
“Alright!” Sun Wen patted his shoulder. “Think about it carefully.”
“I will.” Qin Guanglin looked at his watch. “Off you go to work. I shall go home now.”
It was Sun Wen’s work time, so he did not want to hold him back.
Sun Wen walked Qin Guanglin to the door and returned to his desk to paint. Colleagues beside him curiously went to him and asked, “Brother Wen, how did your friend’s interview go?”
“It’s okay. We’re now waiting for him to think about it and come work here. I’m not bragging, but that guy is much better than me.”
“Really?”
“I wouldn’t lie about this.”
Qin Guanglin took the elevator downstairs and walked to the bus stop, thinking about letting He Fang calculate if this job was reliable or not. He thought it was alright. By learning from this a little, he can draw his comics, eventually. It’s the age of the Internet. As long as the work is done well, there will be food on the table.
When passing by a little shop, Qin Guanglin stopped in his tracks. In front of the shop was a pushcart with many small objects. He looked through them casually, and a panda hair tie caught his eye.
Perhaps He Fang would like this…
“How much is this?” Qin Guanglin took out his wallet and asked.
“Ten dollars.”
He took out ten dollars and gave it to the boss. Qin Guanglin put the hair tie in his pocket and prepared to show it to He Fang tomorrow.
This is the case when you first fall in love. When you find something delicious, you would want your partner to try it. If you read an excellent book, you would also like to recommend it to your partner. If you came across something fun, you would want to experience it together with your partner. When you see nice clothes, you would wonder if your partner would like it…
The pungent smell of love is everywhere.
On the way back home, the little chubby kid from his neighbor’s house next door was holding a bowl about the size of his head. He was squatting at the door and slurping up noodles. When he saw Qin Guanglin, his eyes lit up.
“Eating so late?” Qin Guanglin asked casually.
When this chubby kid was younger, he always followed Qin Guanglin around and called him Brother Lin. He was quite cute too. Now, he was at the age where he did not even like dogs. He always jumped around but was still soft for Qin Guanglin.
The chubby kid quickly swallowed his noodles and shouted in surprise, “Brother Lin, you’re back!”
“Yes, I am.” Qin Guanglin raised his chin and motioned at him. “The bottom of your bowl is leaking.”
It startled the chubby kid. He instinctively wanted to turn the bowl over to look at the bottom and then stop in his tracks again. He huffed, “The same trick can’t fool me twice!”
“Whatever.” Qin Guanglin shrugged and continued on his way home.
“Brother Lin, teach me how to draw,” the chubby kid exclaimed and followed Qin Guanglin as he held his bowl. “I want to draw a cat!”
“Your assignment is to draw a cat?” Qin Guanglin glanced at him. This kid was always like this when it came to homework.
“It’s a competition. I want to let Charcoal win!”
“Finish your food, and then come find me.” Qin Guanglin looked at his face stuffed with noodles. “Remember to clean up too. I’ll kick you out if you’re dirty.”
“Okay! I’ll finish it right now!” The chubby kid agreed and stopped following him. He continued slurping the noodles noisily and stuffing himself.
Qin Guanglin returned home and saw that Mother Qin was not around. She was probably looking up artifacts with Aunt Wang again. He poured himself a glass of water and sat on the sofa, feeling as if he had nothing to do.
After staying quiet for a while, Qin Guanglin got up and went to the studio. He prepared to draw an image of Chef He cooking. He originally wanted to work on it last night, but he was simply too tired.
Unlike the painting he gave He Fang previously, Qin Guanglin wanted to use a pencil to sketch. This way, he can show his inspiration last night more directly and make the image more vivid.
The ladylike image of He Fang in an apron was already etched in his heart. Qin Guanglin pondered and put down the pencil. He knew that the chubby kid would come over later, so he would rather not rush the drawing now.
Soon, the doorbell rang. Qin Guanglin opened the door to see the chubby kid standing there and holding a big, black cat. The cat did not seem to dare to move, only looking pitifully at Qin Guanglin.
“Why did you bring Aunty Li’s cat over?”
The cat’s name was Charcoal. It belonged to Aunty Li and her family down the street. It often hung around the area, so everyone was very familiar with it.
The chubby kid lifted Charcoal to Qin Guanglin. “I want to draw Charcoal so it can win a prize!”
“Come on in.” Qin Guanglin stepped aside and let the chubby kid and Charcoal to come in. He then closed the door.
“How do I draw it?” The chubby kid stood obediently in the studio as he held the cat.
“Drawing a cat is very simple. Put Charcoal on the paper. Yes, press its body down. Then, trace its body with a pen.” Qin Guanglin instructed from the side as he held his cup.
Taking the cat off the paper, the chubby kid was skeptical at the outline that looked like nothing at all. “This isn’t Charcoal!”
“Just add two eyes, and you’ll have it.” Qin Guanglin finished the water in his cup and guided the kid hand in hand.
“This isn’t a cat at all!” The chubby kid huffed as he looked at the irregular shape on the paper. There were two dots as eyes in the middle of it.
“Cats are liquid and can change shapes.”
“You’re lying!”
“So, how do you want to draw it?” Qin Guanglin rubbed Charcoal’s head.
“I want to draw a mighty Charcoal!” The chubby kid looked up and thought for a while. “Like it can transform into King Kong!”
A cat that transforms into King Kong?
Qin Guanglin thought for a while and had to admit that he could not imagine what that would look like.
“Wait for me.” The chubby kid hopped out of the studio, opened the main door, and ran out.
“…”
Qin Guanglin stood in the living room, holding Charcoal and petting it. He waited to see what the kid was up to.
Soon, the chubby kid returned with loud footsteps. In his hand was a King Kong toy. “I want Charcoal like this!”
“Well… Okay.” Qin Guanglin put Charcoal down. It obediently lay on the floor, tail twitching as it looked at the two of them.
Wanting to learn to draw was just an excuse. The chubby kid simply wanted Qin Guanglin to help him draw it, and then he could take it and show it off to his classmates.
It did not matter to Qin Guanglin. He took a pencil and drew on the drawing board. He would often see the King Kong toy that the chubby kid had put at the side. Very quickly, he drew the transforming King Kong cat.
“How does this look?” Qin Guanglin could not understand the chubby kid’s ideal, so he could only ask for his opinion.
“That’s great!”
The chubby kid blushed with excitement. This was exactly how he imagined Charcoal should look like.
Mighty and dominant!
“There you go. Hand it in.”
He hoped this kid would not get punished by his teacher.
“Thank you, Brother Lin!” The chubby kid held the drawing like a treasure with both hands and made a beeline towards the door. He did not even care about Charcoal nor his King King toy.
Qin Guanglin quickly called out to him and pointed at Charcoal on the floor. “Take your transforming King Kong with you and Charcoal.”
“Damn.”
The chubby kid ran back again to pick Charcoal and the toy up.
God knows why children are so energetic that they love running all the time.