The Ice Cream Melted

The sobbing was very soft; if one didn't listen carefully, they might not even notice it.

Mihara Chisa turned her head to the side, her scattered hair obscuring her profile. Her shoulders trembled slightly. Gu Xue couldn't see her expression, so she could only pretend she hadn't heard the faint whimpering.

In truth, Gu Xue regretted saying "don't cry" the moment the words left her mouth. No one likes to show weakness in front of others, let alone cry—especially given Gu Xue's age, and the fact that Ms. Mihara had always presented a strong front to her and everyone else.

Gu Xue quietly turned away, set the drawing she had been slacking off on to the side, and continued her work on the key animation.

Only when Mihara Chisa's sobbing became almost inaudible did Gu Xue speak up, sounding perfectly justified: "The convenience store downstairs is still open, right? I want some ice cream!"

She kept her head down the entire time she said this.

"..." Mihara Chisa stood up immediately. After a moment of hesitation, she finally set down the black bag containing her clothes—which seemed like a suit of armor to her—and left with light footsteps.

Throughout this process, Gu Xue never once turned around, not even bothering to glance at her.

Once the sound of Mihara Chisa's footsteps had completely faded away, Gu Xue let out a sigh of relief. She lifted her head, propped her chin on her hand, and stared blankly at the empty hallway.

I hope Ms. Mihara doesn't trip...

But even if she did trip and hurt her leg, Gu Xue figured Ms. Mihara wouldn't tell her.

You wouldn't let anyone see you crying, would you, Ms. Mihara?

Gu Xue smiled.

She turned back to her desk.

Although she had accepted the six-cut animation task without hesitation, and these six cuts weren't particularly difficult for Gu Xue, "not difficult" didn't mean "easy." Moving bricks isn't difficult either, but try moving a whole truckload of them...

That's why people who ignore the workload and tell others, "This is really simple, try doing it yourself first," are just being jerks.

When you factor in the time constraints, the situation becomes even more severe.

However, Gu Xue would give it her all, both to avoid disappointing Mihara Chisa and to keep Mihara Chisa from being disappointed in her.

Well, that's the nice way of putting it. To put it bluntly... she had agreed so firmly that it would be too embarrassing if she couldn't finish it...

So, no matter what, Gu Xue had to draw these six cuts of key animation, and she was quite confident she could do it.

After half a month of drawing, Gu Xue finally had a clear understanding of her own abilities.

I, Gu Xue, wouldn't dare say I can crush everyone in the industry in terms of speed and quality, but at least I can crush ninety-nine percent of them.

She dared to think such arrogant thoughts in her head, which shows just how inflated her ego had become.

But no matter how inflated her ego was or how much confidence she had in her abilities, the images still had to be drawn one stroke at a time. All those bold words would eventually turn into lines on paper.

Gu Xue lowered her head and continued drawing the grasslands and the composition. Once finished, she would immediately clean up the second key animation. At this point, there was no need to worry about the thoughts of the episode director, Misawa Hiroshi, or the chief director, Abe Shinichi. Inspections were out of the question, and there wasn't enough time. She had respected their ideas for the previous fight scenes, but this time, Gu Xue intended to respect her own ideas.

Coincidentally, these six cuts occurred right before the fight scene Gu Xue was responsible for, depicting the protagonist and the heroine saying goodbye before the battle.

It was a bit depressing.

Although the episode director, Misawa Hiroshi, had drawn the storyboards for the fight scenes with grand, sweeping scale, he didn't seem to have forgotten about romantic sentimentality.

Gu Xue had felt from the beginning that this scene would ruin the high-octane fight that followed, but since it wasn't a cut she was responsible for, she had mentioned it to Misawa Hiroshi. He had wanted to change it, but time was tight and the cuts had already been assigned, so he had to let it go.

Now that it was back in Gu Xue's hands, the romantic sentimentality was, of course, unnecessary.

Gu Xue wanted to draw a magnificent scene, something akin to a terrestrial immortal rising into the sky.

Mihara Chisa spent over an hour buying ice cream.

Gu Xue would look up at the hallway every now and then while drawing. Although it didn't slow her down, worrying about Mihara Chisa was inevitable. Gu Xue had spent a long time convincing herself not to go looking for her.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

Mihara Chisa eventually returned.

Her hair was no longer disheveled, and she no longer looked soul-crushed.

Her hair was tied up, and she looked sharp and spirited. Aside from her eyes being a bit red and her footsteps being slightly unsteady, she was no different from the usual Ms. Mihara.

"The convenience store downstairs was closed, so I had to walk a bit further," Mihara Chisa said softly, setting the small bag in her hand to the side.

"Mhm," Gu Xue replied, her hands never stopping as a human silhouette quickly took shape on the animation paper.

Mihara Chisa stood behind Gu Xue. She didn't rush to sit down, nor did she pick up the bag with her clothes again; she just watched Gu Xue draw, her gaze soft.

On the top sheet of animation paper, the silhouette and movement of the protagonist finally took complete shape.

Gu Xue put down her pencil, picked up the stack of grassland drawings on the table, and turned around. "Pretty impressive, right?"

Mihara Chisa was silent for a moment before saying, "You changed the storyboard?"

"It's a rise into the sky."

Mihara Chisa: "Please don't increase your own workload."

"Don't worry, I've already handled the most troublesome part of this cut. Most of the remaining cuts are long shots of the protagonist and heroine from the waist up. I'll definitely be done by twelve tomorrow."

"..." Mihara Chisa had nothing to say. In the past, she might have argued a bit, saying it was too reckless and that she didn't trust her, but now she couldn't utter a single word.

"It's a rise into the sky," Gu Xue said, no longer hinting, but stating it directly.

Mihara Chisa opened her mouth, preparing to speak.

The phone on the workbench rang, and the smile on Gu Xue's face froze as she suddenly remembered something.

Gu Xue performed a "leap from the ground" maneuver—she bolted up from her chair, grabbed the phone from the workbench, shoved it into Mihara Chisa's hand, and urged hurriedly, "It's my sister. You answer it. Tell her I'm staying at your place and that I'm already asleep. Whatever you do, don't tell her I'm still at the office, even if she's downstairs. Remember that."

Without waiting for Mihara Chisa to agree, Gu Xue pressed the answer button and immediately hit the speakerphone.

"Xiao Xue."

Gu Rou's voice came through the receiver, and she was clearly angry.

Gu Xue gestured frantically at Mihara Chisa.

Mihara Chisa took a deep breath and said, "Hello, are you Gu Xue's sister? I'm Gu Xue's friend. Because of the rain today, Gu Xue couldn't make it home, so she's staying at my place. Please don't worry."

"..." Gu Rou on the other end of the line was silent for a moment. "Hello, you're Gu Xue's friend? Could you please take a photo of Gu Xue right now and send it to me, and also give me your address? My sister is causing you trouble."

Terrifying, truly terrifying.

Gu Xue made a face like she was about to cry, and she and Mihara Chisa stared at each other in dismay.

Mihara Chisa didn't speak. Gu Rou waited patiently for a while, but when she didn't get a response, her tone immediately turned stern. "Please send it to me immediately! A photo of my sister safe and sound, and your address, right now!"

"Okay," Mihara Chisa replied.

Okay, okay, okay, okay my foot.

Gu Xue reached out and slapped Mihara Chisa's shoulder hard, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

Where were they supposed to get a photo? And if she gave her address, Gu Rou would really storm over there. How were they supposed to explain that?

Gu Xue glared at Mihara Chisa. With no other choice, she cleared her throat, let out a soft "mm," and pretended to have just been woken up, calling out to her sister in a groggy voice.

Hearing Gu Xue's voice, Gu Rou's tone softened significantly, and she asked where Gu Xue was.

Gu Xue didn't say much; she just said she was fine and very sleepy, then immediately hung up the phone.

Saying too much would definitely lead to being found out.

After hanging up, Gu Xue and Mihara Chisa stood there, staring at each other wide-eyed.

After waiting for a long while, Gu Rou didn't call back, and Gu Xue finally let out a sigh of relief.

Gu Xue looked at Mihara Chisa and scolded, "You idiot, you're a terrible teammate!"

"..." Mihara Chisa held the phone, unable to say a word.

"Forget it." Seeing her looking so flustered, Gu Xue suddenly smiled. This time, she didn't ask anything; she simply stepped forward and gently hugged her.

As she was embraced, Mihara Chisa's body instantly stiffened. She didn't know where to put her hands, lifting them up only to put them down, then wanting to lift them again...

As soon as Gu Xue pressed against her, she realized Mihara Chisa's condition was indeed quite poor. Her body was like a furnace; she must have caught a cold. However, Gu Xue didn't ask if she was okay, because she could guess how Mihara would respond, let alone try to convince her to go home now.

It would be meaningless.

Gu Xue hugged the warm and soft Mihara Chisa and asked a seemingly nonsensical question: "How does it feel to lie to a parent with a friend?"

Mihara Chisa was silent for a moment, then let out a soft "mm."

Behind her, where she couldn't see, Gu Xue wore a brilliant and dazzling smile.

It was already six in the morning, and the heavy rain had long since stopped. A ray of sunlight shone into the office through the window, accompanied by a slightly chilly morning breeze.

However, neither Gu Xue nor Mihara Chisa, both dressed in thin clothing, felt cold.

The two of them didn't speak.

Suddenly.

Gu Xue put on a mischievous expression and said with a double entendre, "The ice cream is melting."

A faint blush crept onto Mihara Chisa's face. She gripped the clothes on both sides of Gu Xue's waist with her hands, rested her chin on Gu Xue's shoulder, and gave a soft "mm."