The Ice Cream Melted

The sobbing was faint. If you weren't listening carefully, you might not even notice it.

Mihara Chisa turned her head away. Her loose hair covered the side of her face, and her shoulders trembled slightly. Gu Xue couldn't see her expression, so she pretended not to hear the faint sobs.

The moment Gu Xue had said, "Don't cry," she'd regretted it. No one liked showing weakness in front of others, let alone crying. Especially when Gu Xue was so young, and Miss Mihara had always presented herself as a strong person in front of her and everyone else.

Gu Xue quietly turned back around, gently set aside the sketch she'd been doodling, and continued working on the key animation.

Only when Mihara Chisa's sobs had almost faded did Gu Xue finally say, with an air of entitlement, "The convenience store downstairs is still open, right? I want ice cream!"

As she spoke, she kept her head down.

"..." Mihara Chisa immediately got to her feet. After a moment's thought, she finally set down the black bag containing her clothes, the one that seemed almost like her armor, and left with light steps.

Throughout it all, Gu Xue never turned around. She didn't even glance at her out of the corner of her eye.

Only after Mihara Chisa's footsteps had completely faded away did Gu Xue let out a breath. She lifted her head, propped her cheek on her hand, and stared blankly at the empty corridor.

I hope Miss Mihara doesn't fall...

But even if she did—if she hurt her leg—Gu Xue figured Miss Mihara wouldn't tell her.

You wouldn't want anyone to see you all teary-eyed, would you, Miss Mihara?

Gu Xue smiled.

Then she turned back around.

Although she'd accepted the task of drawing six cuts without hesitation, they weren't difficult for her—but that didn't mean they'd be easy. Lifting bricks wasn't difficult either. Try carrying a whole cartload and see how you do...

So anyone who disregarded the workload and told someone, "This is easy. Just give it a try," was a real jerk.

And with the deadline in mind, things were even more dire.

But Gu Xue would give it everything she had—not just so she wouldn't disappoint Mihara Chisa, but so Mihara Chisa wouldn't be disappointed in her.

Well, that was the nice way to put it. The less nice version was... she'd accepted the job so confidently. It'd be embarrassing if she couldn't draw it...

So no matter what, Gu Xue had to finish those six cuts. She was confident she could do it.

After half a month of drawing, Gu Xue finally had a clear understanding of what she could do.

I, Gu Xue, can't claim my speed and quality are enough to crush everyone in the industry—but I can at least crush ninety-nine percent of them.

She was bold enough to say something that would get her beaten up, even if only in her head. That gave you an idea of how full of herself she was now.

But no matter how full of herself she got, or how confident she was in her abilities, she still had to draw the scene one stroke at a time. In the end, all those bold claims would become lines on paper.

Gu Xue lowered her head and continued drawing the grassland and the composition. Once she finished, she'd immediately do the Kiyo-Nigen. There was no need to worry about what Misawa Hiroshi, the episode director, or Abe Shinichi, the supervising director, thought. There was no time for checks either. She'd respected their ideas on the previous fight cuts, so this time she planned to respect her own.

As it happened, these six cuts came right before the fight cuts Gu Xue was in charge of. They covered the scene where the protagonist said goodbye to the heroine before the battle began.

It was a little depressing.

Misawa Hiroshi had storyboarded the fight scenes on a grand, sweeping scale, but he apparently hadn't forgotten about the romance.

Gu Xue had thought from the beginning that this scene's direction would undermine the hot-blooded fight that followed. But these weren't her cuts, and though Misawa Hiroshi had wanted to change them after she brought it up, there wasn't much time. The cuts had already been assigned, so he'd had no choice but to let it go.

Now that the scene was back in Gu Xue's hands, she could do without the romance.

Gu Xue wanted to draw a magnificent scene of someone soaring up from the ground, like an earthly immortal rising into the heavens.

Mihara Chisa spent a full hour buying ice cream.

As Gu Xue drew, she kept looking up at the corridor. It didn't slow her down, but of course she was worried about Mihara Chisa. It took a lot of effort to talk herself out of going to look for her.

Fortunately, nothing had happened.

Mihara Chisa came back.

Her hair was no longer loose, and she no longer looked dazed.

She'd tied her hair back, giving her a spirited air. Apart from her slightly red eyes and unsteady steps, she looked just like her usual self.

"The convenience store downstairs was closed, so I went a little farther," Mihara Chisa said softly, setting down the small bag in her hand.

"Mm." Gu Xue answered without pausing her work. The outline of a figure quickly took shape on the key animation paper.

Mihara Chisa stood behind Gu Xue. She didn't hurry to sit down or pick up the bag of clothes again. She simply watched Gu Xue draw, her gaze gentle.

The pose of the protagonist on the top sheet of key animation paper had finally taken full shape.

Gu Xue set down her pencil, picked up a stack of roughs from the desk, and turned around. "Impressive, right?"

Mihara Chisa was silent for a moment. "You changed the storyboard?"

"I'm having them rise up from the ground."

Mihara Chisa said, "Please don't give yourself more work."

"Don't worry. I've already finished the most troublesome part of this cut. Most of the remaining cuts are long shots with the protagonist and heroine shown from the waist up. I'll definitely finish by noon tomorrow."

"..." Mihara Chisa had nothing to say. In the past, she might have argued and said Gu Xue was being reckless, that she didn't believe she could pull it off. But now, she couldn't get a single word out.

"I'm having them rise up from the ground," Gu Xue said again. This time, she wasn't hinting. She was making it perfectly clear.

Mihara Chisa opened her mouth, about to speak.

The phone on the worktable rang. Gu Xue's smile froze as she remembered something.

Gu Xue was the first to put on a performance of "rising up from the ground"—she sprang out of her chair, grabbed the phone from the worktable, and shoved it into Mihara Chisa's hand. "It's my older sister. Answer it and tell her I'm staying at your place and already asleep. Don't tell her I'm still at the studio, no matter what—even if she's downstairs. Got it?"

Without waiting to see whether Mihara Chisa agreed, Gu Xue immediately pressed the answer button, then turned on speakerphone.

"Xue."

Gu Rou's voice came through the speaker. Sure enough, she was angry.

Gu Xue gestured at Mihara Chisa.

Mihara Chisa took a deep breath. "Hello, are you Gu Xue's older sister? I'm a friend of hers. It's raining, so Gu Xue couldn't get home today and is staying at my place. Please don't worry."

"..." Gu Rou was silent for a moment. "Hello. You're Gu Xue's friend? Could you take a photo of her right now and send it to me? And please tell me your address. My younger sister has been a bother to you."

Terrifying. Truly terrifying.

Gu Xue wore an expression like she was about to cry and stared at Mihara Chisa.

Mihara Chisa said nothing. Gu Rou waited patiently for a while, but when no response came, she immediately said sternly, "Send them to me right now! A photo showing that my younger sister is safe and sound, and your address. Now!"

"Okay," Mihara Chisa replied.

Okay, okay, sure. What do you mean, okay?

Gu Xue reached out and smacked Mihara Chisa's shoulder, on the verge of tears.

What photo? And if you gave her your address, Gu Rou really would come rushing over. How were they supposed to explain that?

Gu Xue glared at Mihara Chisa. There was no choice now. She rubbed her throat, let out a sleepy "Mm," and called her sister in a muffled voice, as if she'd just woken up.

When Gu Rou heard Gu Xue's voice, her tone immediately softened. She asked Gu Xue where she was.

Gu Xue didn't say much. She only told her she was fine and tired and wanted to sleep, then immediately hung up.

If she said too much, her sister would definitely catch on.

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

They waited for quite a while, but Gu Rou didn't call back. Only then did Gu Xue finally relax.

Gu Xue looked at Mihara Chisa and scolded her. "Idiot. You're the worst teammate!"

"..." Mihara Chisa held the phone, unable to say anything.

"Never mind." Seeing how flustered she looked, Gu Xue suddenly smiled. This time, she didn't ask first. She simply stepped forward and hugged her gently.

Mihara Chisa stiffened the moment Gu Xue embraced her. She didn't know what to do with her hands. She raised them, then lowered them, and once they were down, she wanted to raise them again...

The moment Gu Xue pressed against her, she knew Mihara Chisa was still in a really bad state. Her body was like a furnace. She must have caught a cold. But Gu Xue didn't ask if she was all right, because she could guess what Miss Mihara would say. And there was no point telling her to go home now.

It wouldn't help.

Holding the warm and soft Mihara Chisa, Gu Xue asked just one seemingly nonsensical question. "What's it like, lying to your parents with a friend?"

Mihara Chisa was silent for a while, then murmured, "Mm."

Behind her, where she couldn't see, Gu Xue broke into a dazzling, radiant smile.

It was six in the morning now. The heavy rain had stopped long ago, and a ray of sunlight shone through the office window, accompanied by the chilly morning breeze.

But Gu Xue and Mihara Chisa, both dressed lightly, didn't feel cold.

Neither of them said anything.

Suddenly.

Gu Xue gave her a mischievous look and said with a double meaning, "The ice cream melted."

A blush crept across Mihara Chisa's face. She clutched the fabric at Gu Xue's waist with both hands, rested her chin on Gu Xue's shoulder, and softly murmured, "Mm."