After struggling for a while,shin chan finally managed to break free from Kanda Torin's embrace.
With a look of relief on his face, he wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and moved back towards Nana-ko.
"My mom is at the beauty salon next door, so she asked me to wait here."
"Nana-ko, are you here to buy books?"
Although shin chan usually acted like a little troublemaker, he purposely tried to appear more mature and composed in front of Nana-ko, mainly to maintain his image. Of course, this was only in comparison to his usual antics.
Nana-ko crouched down and affectionately ruffled shin chan hair.
"Not really, I'm just accompanying a friend to the bookstore today."
With that, Nana-ko turned to look at Lin Yu, smiling as she introduced him.
"Lin-kun, this is shin chan. He's the child who lives next door in the Nohara family."
"Hello,shin chan. I'm Lin Yu. Nice to meet you."
Lin Yu also crouched down, smiling warmly as he extended his hand to greet shin chan.
Having grown up watching the cartoon Crayon Shin-chan, Lin Yu didn't treat shin chan like a child but instead greeted him like an equal.
Looking at Lin Yu's polite demeanor, shin chan awkwardly smiled, scratching his head before shaking Lin Yu's hand.
"Hello, big brother with the dark circles. I'm Nohara Shin-chan, five years old, at Futaba Kindergarten. I'm not married yet, and I really hate eating green peppers…"
Hearing shin chancall him "big brother with dark circles" didn't annoy Lin Yu at all. He, like Nana-ko, ruffled shin chan hair.
Compared to ordinary kids, shin chan felt more like a companion Lin Yu had grown up with, given that he had watched the Crayon Shin-chan anime in his past life.
"shin chan, let me tell you, Lin-kun is a manga artist!" Nana-ko added, smiling at Lin Yu.
"Oh~ Big brother with the dark circles, have you heard of the character Fatté Zowemon?"
Lin Yu couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Of course, he knew about Fatté Zowemon—it was a character.shin chan had created himself, but he couldn't say that out loud.
"Fatté Zowemon? Hmm, I don't think I've heard of it."
shin chan grinned and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, revealing a crayon drawing of Fatté Zowemon.
"This is Fatté Zowemon."
"Big brother with the dark circles, what's the name of your manga?"
Nana-ko glanced at Lin Yu, who nodded with a smile.
"Lin-kun's manga is the very popular Inuyasha.shin chan, have you seen it?"
shin chan paused, clearly thinking. He was more focused on Dynamic Superman than anything else, so he wasn't very familiar with Inuyasha or other manga.
But before shin chan could answer, a voice exclaimed in surprise.
"Sensei Aomatsu?!"
Lin Yu turned at the sound and saw Nakamura Yasuko, who had just been signaling the store manager with hand gestures, now looking at him with an excited expression.
"Hello," Lin Yu said, nodding politely with a warm smile.
Upon hearing "Sensei Aomatsu," the customers who had been gathering around the manga shelves turned their attention to Lin Yu.
"Aomatsu Sensei?"
"Is that the Aomatsu Sensei who draws Inuyasha?!"
Immediately, the quiet bookstore became lively as the crowd gathered around Lin Yu, eagerly admiring him.
"Aomatsu Sensei is so young!"
"Aomatsu Sensei not only draws well, but he's so handsome!"
"Sensei, could you please sign my manga?"
...
Before long, Lin Yu was surrounded by a crowd, and the once peaceful bookstore was now filled with energy as curious bystanders watched.
Nakamura Yasuko, standing aside, looked embarrassed. She hadn't expected her surprise outburst to cause Lin Yu such trouble.
At this point, she wanted to apologize, but it was impossible. Lin Yu was completely surrounded by the customers, and there was no way to get through to him.
The store manager, seeing the situation unfold, quickly signaled Yasuko to help disperse the crowd so it wouldn't get out of control.
Yasuko stood helplessly, unable to do anything.
Although Lin Yu didn't blame her for the situation, he understood that it was a sign of his work's success. The fact that so many people liked his work was proof of its quality.
Seeing the eager customers wanting him to sign their copies, Lin Yu leaned in close to Nana-ko and whispered.
"Nana-ko, do you have a pen in your bag?"
With the crowd so close, their proximity had narrowed, and Lin Yu's breath brushed against Nana-ko's ear, making her cheeks flush. She quickly shook her head.
"Sorry, Lin-kun, I don't have a pen with me."
Lin Yu smiled helplessly, realizing that he might have to disappoint his fans.
But then, he noticed Nakamura Yasuko standing at the edge of the crowd, looking awkward. Suddenly, an idea formed in his mind.
"Excuse me, miss, could you help me find a pen?"
Yasuko, who had been silently feeling guilty, snapped out of it upon hearing Lin Yu's request. She hurriedly nodded and rushed to the counter.
Seeing Yasuko approach, the store manager was about to ask what had happened, but Yasuko didn't give her a chance. She grabbed a pen and quickly ran back to Lin Yu.
"Aomatsu Sensei, here's a pen."
"Thank you," Lin Yu said, taking the pen with a smile.
Yasuko, slightly embarrassed, lowered her head and whispered in a voice only Lin Yu could hear, "No need to thank me…"
With the pen in hand, Lin Yu was able to fulfill his fans' requests. Thankfully, there weren't too many customers in the bookstore at that moment, and those who had heard Yasuko's exclamation were mostly nearby.
After signing a few autographs, the customers happily thanked Lin Yu and went to the counter to pay for their copies.
After some time, the crowd finally dispersed.
"That's the last one," Lin Yu said, bidding farewell to the last fan with a relieved sigh.
Although signing a few autographs wasn't tiring, the enthusiasm of the high school girls was a bit overwhelming.
He couldn't decide if it was Inuyasha's popularity or his own handsome looks that had drawn so much attention.