Explaining This to Me Is Useless

Stepping out of the company into the scorching sun, Gu Xue instinctively squinted and shielded her eyes with her hand. Once her eyes adjusted to the glare, she stretched, her graceful body curves fully on display.

Seeing the sunlight, Gu Xue's lethargic spirit finally improved a little.

She was finally no longer thinking about her bed every single second.

She was thinking about food instead.

"Let's go, let's get something to eat." Gu Xue looked around but didn't spot any restaurants; however, there was a convenience store every few blocks. Given the time, grabbing a quick bite was the only option.

Mihara Chisa, however, didn't seem very keen, saying softly, "I'll take you home."

"You've got some nerve saying that." Gu Xue rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you feel guilty because it was your fault that you got to sleep for a bit while I stayed up all night? And now that you see me looking like a walking corpse, you're afraid I'll collapse, so you want to rush me home?"

Mihara Chisa: "..."

"You really are a handful..." Gu Xue sighed and moved behind her, preparing to push her forward by force.

"If you really consider me a friend, then keep me company for a meal, and then we'll go our separate ways. Why do you have to overthink and over-calculate everything? Besides... even if my mental state is terrible, it's not up to you, a patient, to worry about me, okay..."

"Wait..." Mihara Chisa seemed to realize what Gu Xue was about to do and hugged the bag containing her clothes to her chest, trying to stop her.

"Let's go." Gu Xue, feeling a bit mischievous, quickened her pace, pushing Mihara Chisa forward while cutting her off.

Mihara Chisa clutched the bag to her chest for dear life. Catching a glimpse of pedestrians on the sidewalk, she felt incredibly embarrassed, convinced they were all staring at her.

Gu Xue, on the other hand, was smiling quite happily.

After pushing Mihara Chisa all the way to the entrance of the nearest convenience store, Gu Xue finally let her go.

The moment she was freed from being pushed, Mihara Chisa turned around and glared at Gu Xue, clutching the bag against her chest so tightly it felt like it was being embedded into her.

"What's wrong?" Gu Xue asked, puzzled.

"..." Mihara Chisa's face turned beet red, and she bit her lip, the bag against her chest letting out a muffled sound.

Gu Xue: "..."

Oh, right.

"Don't worry, you can't see anything..." Gu Xue whispered comfortingly.

Mihara Chisa continued to glare at her. "Please don't do that next time."

With that, she turned and walked into the convenience store.

Gu Xue scratched her cheek, feeling a bit awkward.

At the same time, she was confused; logically, she shouldn't be acting like this...

It must be the all-nighter that changed me! It has nothing to do with the transformation; my heart is forever male, it definitely hasn't changed...

After some self-hypnosis—or rather, self-deception—Gu Xue followed her inside.

Actually, come to think of it, wasn't that a good thing just now?

At the very least, Miss Mihara would now put on an angry expression instead of acting like she used to, lecturing her about the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights with a cold face, making it seem like I wasn't a woman myself...

Wait...

Gu Xue sensed something was wrong...

Never mind...

The two browsed the convenience store for a bit. Gu Xue bought a curry chicken rice bowl, while Mihara Chisa bought a plum rice ball, which Gu Xue thought tasted terrible. Once Gu Xue's meal was heated up, the two walked out together.

"Salted plums, huh? Same taste as an old man." Gu Xue teased her.

Mihara Chisa, carrying her small bag, stiffened and looked as if she wanted to turn back into the store.

"Wait." Gu Xue grabbed her arm. "I was just joking with you. Can you stop taking everything so seriously? Food doesn't have any hierarchy or age restrictions; no one can stop you from eating what you like."

"Really?" Mihara Chisa asked in a very small voice.

"Really, really." Gu Xue pulled her to sit on a bench by the entrance and opened the lid of her bento.

In truth, this kind of bento was the taste Gu Xue was most familiar with, followed by oden. That was how it was in the animation production company; when things reached a critical point and there was no time to eat, that was the norm. Back then, the primary goal was simply to find something quick and easy to fill her stomach.

It was even worse back then. Gu Xue had been in the industry for a long time and could afford a bento that cost over 400 yen—roughly 30 yuan. Many young people, like those who had just started, couldn't even afford that and had to buy discounted leftovers. You tell me if that's miserable or not.

Well, the place Gu Xue was in now was about the same.

Just as miserable.

She took a bite of the curry chicken rice. The taste was about the same; the rice was still just as hard, and the chicken was still just as delicious.

Gu Xue chewed the rice, looked up at Mihara Chisa, who was taking small bites of her rice ball across from her, and asked curiously, "How's your salary here? Is it enough to live on?"

In her impression, although production-related positions had fixed salaries, they were definitely not high. And the provincial capital, Kyoto, was just like Tokyo in that other world—the cost of living was ridiculously high, and housing and transportation were at an insane level.

Mihara Chisa looked up. "Do you need money? I still have about... If you need it, I can go in and withdraw it all for you."

As she spoke, she started to stand up to head back into the convenience store, where there was an ATM.

"Wait." Gu Xue nearly spat out her rice. "Who said I needed money! Stop blurting out your savings balance on your own, okay? You even calculated it down to the decimal point, and you're going to withdraw it all? How are you going to live after that? It makes it sound like I'm repaying kindness with extortion, scamming you for money, and you're so desperate to pay off the debt that you want to cut ties with me immediately. I'm just making small talk! Small talk!"

Mihara Chisa looked at Gu Xue. "You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't, my foot! If you keep going like this, you might get scammed without even knowing it. Who just blurts out their savings the moment someone asks about money? Reflect on yourself!" Gu Xue pulled her back down to sit.

Mihara Chisa sat down silently, picked up her rice ball again, and took a bite. Then, perhaps thinking of something, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, though it wasn't very noticeable under the blinding glare of the sun.

After that, she didn't answer any of Gu Xue's questions, as if she had transformed into a rice-ball-eating machine devoid of emotion.

Once they had filled their stomachs, the two cleaned up their trash and prepared to head home.

Mihara Chisa insisted on following behind Gu Xue. Unable to sway her, Gu Xue let her follow; her home wasn't far away anyway.

The two didn't talk much along the way. It wasn't until they were almost at her doorstep that Gu Xue finally initiated a conversation.

A somewhat heavy topic.

"Are you looking for revenge?"

Gu Xue asked softly.

Although Gu Xue hadn't known Mihara Chisa for long, she knew that Mihara Chisa was definitely not the type to give up easily. Being publicly humiliated and slapped, yet still managing to endure at her original company for three or four years—that wasn't something just anyone could do. Furthermore, if she had truly given up and been completely heartbroken, Gu Xue believed Mihara Chisa would never have entered another animation production company.

As for making a living, Gu Xue believed that with Mihara Chisa's abilities, getting into an ordinary company wouldn't be difficult. Even though her personality was a bit prickly, her work capability was truly beyond reproach; she didn't necessarily have to work in animation production.

"No." Mihara Chisa stopped in her tracks. "I just want to attain a status where I can speak to him as an equal, then stand in front of him and say, 'I had my problems, but you were wrong too.' That is all."

"That is all." Mihara Chisa lowered her eyes and repeated it once more.

"I see..." Gu Xue nodded and continued walking forward.

On this matter alone, there was nothing Gu Xue could say.

The proud, stubborn, and unyielding Miss Mihara didn't need her to say anything, either.

Gu Xue only hoped that the final episode of Ore-sama, the first project Miss Mihara had served as a production assistant for since switching jobs—a project Gu Xue had poured so much effort into—would spark some discussion.

The two soon arrived in front of Gu Xue's house.

"Alright." Gu Xue turned around and pointed to the taxi she had called via an app, which was now parked not far from her house. "I'm home. Please go home now."

In a sense, Gu Xue's personality was actually no different from Mihara Chisa's.

Mihara Chisa: "..."

"Don't worry, I'll pay the fare. You just need to give them your address. Remember to send me a message when you get home." Gu Xue waved at the taxi.

Once the taxi pulled up, Gu Xue opened the door, intending to forcibly shove her inside.

"Wait..." Mihara Chisa held onto the car door and took a deep breath, as if she were brewing something up.

"What is it?"

"...Nothing happened between him and me." Mihara Chisa's voice was extremely small.

"Huh?" Gu Xue didn't hear her clearly.

"...I don't have any relationship with him." Mihara Chisa's voice was even smaller.

"Huh?" Gu Xue still didn't hear her clearly.

"Nothing happened between me and Narita Kei! And nothing happened with the company president either! Don't listen to what others are saying!" Mihara Chisa suddenly raised her voice, loud enough for half the street to hear.

The taxi driver froze for a second, then revealed a meaningful smile.

Upon hearing these words, Gu Xue's first thought was that when those two coloring staff members were gossiping back then, Mihara Chisa had really been in the stall.

Her second thought was... why are you shouting so loudly! The tone makes it sound like we're two lovers breaking up; people are going to get suspicious, you know.

Seeing the taxi driver's smile, Gu Xue's face flushed red, and she forcibly shoved Mihara Chisa into the backseat.

"Explaining this to me is useless!"