I Will Not Help You

It was ten minutes later by the time Mihara Chisa emerged from the restroom stall.

During that time, Gu Xue had run out once more to ask a colleague for a large, opaque bag.

She returned to the restroom just in time to catch Mihara Chisa coming out.

Mihara Chisa was now wearing a rather mismatched outfit: a pair of washed-out jeans on the bottom and a zippered sports jacket on top, bundled up tightly. The capable, professional aura that Gu Xue was so accustomed to had vanished; if you told someone she was the same age as Gu Xue now, they might actually believe you.

Although, some people had believed that before...

However, she seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Even though she was facing Gu Xue, her arms instinctively wanted to shield her chest. But as soon as she lifted them, she seemed to remember something, put them back down, then lifted them again... repeating the motion over and over.

"Don't worry, doing that is practically useless and only draws more attention. Just be natural; not many people will notice." Gu Xue grabbed her wrist and handed her the bag. "Go pack up your clothes now, I'll take you home."

Mihara Chisa took the bag, opened her mouth, and said, "Please go finish the key animation, I'm fine."

It seemed that after changing her clothes, the old Mihara-san's aura had returned just a little bit.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gu Xue was also hesitant. In fact, when she had gone out earlier, she had tried to book a ride-sharing car, but it was the middle of the night and pouring rain. As expected, no one accepted the order; the app kept prompting her to wait, but no driver responded.

"I'm fine, I'm really fine," Mihara Chisa said, her voice hoarse, her face still flushed with a lingering redness.

Gu Xue hesitated for a moment and said, "Go pack your clothes first and come out with me. It's still raining, so I'll try to call a car again in a bit. If there really isn't one, we'll have to wait until tomorrow. But if you feel unwell, remember to tell me."

If it really came to it, she would just have to call her sister, Gu Rou.

Mihara Chisa didn't speak. She turned and walked into the stall, leaving the door slightly ajar, and began to pack the clothes she had changed out of.

Before long, she walked out, clutching the black bag containing her clothes against her chest.

Gu Xue confirmed that she wouldn't fall over at any moment and let out a sigh of relief. She was about to leave the restroom, but remembered something before she did. She turned around, grabbed Mihara Chisa's free hand, and pulled her toward the exit.

Although Gu Xue didn't know for sure and had never tried it herself, walking into a restroom in full view of everyone, changing clothes, and coming back out without a bra on—that had to be incredibly uncomfortable. Plus, given Mihara Chisa's current state of mind, if she felt the gazes of others along the way, she would likely instinctively shield her chest, which would inevitably make people think too much and put extra pressure on her. Gu Xue intended to shield her from that.

After leaving the restroom and passing through the hallway to return to Gu Xue's desk, they were indeed watched.

Although most of them had no malicious intent, it was enough to make Mihara Chisa nervous.

She instinctively wanted to shield herself, but with one hand holding the bag and the other being held by Gu Xue, she eventually gave up.

However, she gripped Gu Xue's hand a little tighter, squeezing her fingers hard; it was the only way she could slightly alleviate her nervousness.

Gu Xue winced in pain but didn't say anything. She even slowed her pace, specifically to use her own body to block the view of others.

Walking back to her desk while facing those gazes, Gu Xue finally let go of her hand and pulled out her chair to sit down.

Mihara Chisa stood to the side, hugging the bag to her chest with both hands.

"You aren't just going to stand there, are you?" Gu Xue turned her head and said helplessly.

Even though Mihara Chisa was acting more fragile now, why did she feel even more troublesome than before...

"There's a chair next to you." Seeing Mihara Chisa still standing there like a daze, Gu Xue reminded her, taking the opportunity to reach up and take the hair tie out of her ponytail.

After Mihara Chisa pulled over a chair and sat down with the bag, Gu Xue, her long hair now cascading over her shoulders, handed the hair tie to her and said, "If you feel uncomfortable, tie your hair up. But my advice is to wait until your hair is completely dry."

Mihara Chisa: "..."

Gu Xue forcibly shoved the hair tie into her hand, then turned around and began to look through the storyboards and prepare the animation paper.

To put the distraught Mihara Chisa completely at ease, the best way was to show her that the drawing was going well. Gu Xue was very clear about this one thing.

"..." Watching Gu Xue, who had lowered her head to start drawing and would occasionally tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, Mihara Chisa sat beside her, pursing her lips and hugging the bag of clothes against her chest a little tighter.

The heavy rain outside had stopped at some point.

The breeze blowing in from the window carried a hint of coolness, which was very comfortable. Gu Xue's state was reaching its peak.

The key animators who had been stranded at the company due to the heavy rain or the tight schedule began to leave one after another. Before leaving, perhaps because of Gu Xue's earlier outburst, or perhaps because they couldn't bear to see Gu Xue working herself to the bone alone.

The animators all came over before leaving to ask if she needed help, or to ask if Mihara Chisa was alright.

For those asking if she needed help, Gu Xue refused them all.

For those asking if she was alright, Mihara Chisa went from just gently shaking her head at the beginning to eventually offering a word of thanks. By the end, she seemed to have recovered from her distraught state; she would shake her head, thank them, and give a slight bow. Aside from still clutching the bag to her chest, there was no sign of anything unusual.

Slowly, most of the people were gone.

Except for those who were truly exhausted and had fallen asleep slumped over their desks.

In fact, the company had sleeping bags and a dedicated lounge for those working overtime, but not many people used them. For those who were dead tired, it was far less comfortable than just hunching over their desks to sleep.

The office, which had been filled with the sound of conversation just moments ago, suddenly fell silent. Only the faint sound of Gu Xue's pen scratching across the paper echoed through the large office.

Mihara Chisa had been sitting beside her the whole time, holding the bag, watching Gu Xue draw faster and faster. Aside from occasionally flipping the animation paper, Gu Xue barely paused. Mihara Chisa even slowed her breathing, as if afraid to disturb her.

Gu Xue also seemed to have forgotten about Mihara Chisa's existence, keeping her head down and drawing, barely looking up at all.

Everything around them was quiet.

Suddenly.

"If you do this again next time, I won't help you," Gu Xue said without looking up.

Mihara Chisa lowered her eyes, looking at the floor, her body trembling slightly.

"I know you've been through some things in the past and might not trust people like us very much, but please, at least don't use your past mindset to solve current problems. I am not that great director Narita Kei, nor am I one of the key animators from the final episode of Falling Feathers. I am very easy to buy off; even if you do nothing, just saying 'please help me' would be enough."

"Don't think everyone is like Narita Kei, and please don't be disappointed in others so easily. I admit, I have sympathy for you, and there are quite a few factors of sympathy in why I'm helping you now, because I'm not a saint and I can't treat everyone exactly the same. But I am proud of that, because sympathy is exactly the proof that I am still human. Regardless of whether I am a man or a woman, I am still a human being."

Mihara Chisa's slender fingers gripped the edge of the bag tightly.

The bag let out a harsh, grating sound, as if it were wailing or screaming.

"Even if—even if you were to discover that everyone around you is just like Narita Kei, just like everyone you've met before, please believe me: I am different. I'm very easy to bribe."

"Even if you called me cute—and even though I really dislike that adjective—I would still hold my nose and help you. This promise is valid at any time, really."

After saying this, Gu Xue suddenly looked up, holding a sheet of original animation paper. However, what was drawn on it wasn't any cut from the storyboard, but rather two girls.

One was sitting in a chair, clutching a black bag tightly to her chest, seemingly sobbing.

The other was hunched over a workbench, secretly drinking milk while glancing at the first girl out of the corner of her eye, looking somewhat at a loss.

It was vivid and expressive.

Gu Xue herself peeked out from behind the animation paper, looking at Mihara Chisa with a slightly restrained and shy smile on her face.

"Wuu..." The moment Mihara Chisa saw the drawing, her eyes turned red. She covered her mouth and whipped her head to the side.

"Hey, don't cry..." Gu Xue, who had been slacking off, hunched her shoulders, feeling a bit guilty.

How stupid.

But why couldn't I have met someone like this before?

Mihara Chisa, with her head turned away and her mouth covered, bit her lip hard to keep herself from making a sound.

Thank you to Lantern Grass Under the Moon for the 500 reward, and to Gu Tongren for the 100 reward, thank you.

Additionally, because posting comments requires linking a phone number and unlinking my other accounts is a bit troublesome, I won't be able to reply in the comment section for now, but I am reading them all. Thank you all for your support.

Finally, asking for recommendation votes...