Ponytail

After Gu Xue came to this world, she finally had her first friend.

However, whether she had friends or not made no difference to the world; the planet would continue to rotate and revolve, and happy or sad events would continue to unfold at every moment.

Logically, after finishing the key animation and not having taken on any other work, Gu Xue should have been resting. However, the episode director Misawa Hiroshi seemed to have some misunderstandings about parts of the key animation Gu Xue had drawn, so he called her into the company again the next day.

It took Gu Xue a long time to explain the purpose behind why she had drawn it that way.

Misawa Hiroshi asked several times if there would be any problems with it.

Gu Xue also replied several times that there would be no problems.

Only then, under Misawa Hiroshi's skeptical gaze, did she leave the company.

Gu Xue wasn't surprised that Misawa Hiroshi was doubtful; after all, her portion of the key animation had heavy traces of imitation. But it wasn't an imitation of anyone in this world, but rather of Earth, and since this technique hadn't appeared in this world yet, it wasn't strange that it was seen as reckless.

But it was definitely fine, and it wouldn't ruin the overall fluidity of the effect.

On this point alone, Gu Xue was very confident.

Having resolved the final issue, Gu Xue truly rested and didn't even go to the company. Most people in the animation industry were freelancers, but Gu Xue was technically a contracted employee of Snakehead, though the company had very few requirements regarding office attendance.

Of course, in return, the base salary provided by the company was negligible. The compensation Gu Xue received was still largely calculated by the cut. She hadn't done anything for the entire previous year, and if it weren't for having an older sister, she would have starved to death long ago.

Even the current Gu Xue couldn't guarantee that she could support herself, as she still hadn't taken on much work.

She was still relying on Gu Rou for support.

Over the next two days.

The post-production processes following the key animation for the final episode of You Are My Hero proceeded systematically. The temporary replacement production manager, being unfamiliar with the situation, had been struggling to hold things together; while the schedule hadn't been delayed, it was truly exhausting. It wasn't until Mihara Chisa appeared at the company that the production manager, who had almost wanted to run away and quit, was finally relieved.

With Mihara Chisa back at work, the workflow accelerated significantly, because Ms. Mihara had returned to being that annoying person again. Whenever it involved work issues, she wouldn't care about anyone's face at all, chasing people down for every step, demanding to know the specific progress, and absolutely refusing to tolerate anyone wasting time.

It was fortunate that Gu Xue wasn't at the company, or she would have coughed up blood long ago...

Being like this really makes people dislike you.

However, thanks to Mihara Chisa, the progress on the final episode of You Are My Hero sped up quite a bit...

The episode director Misawa Hiroshi also gained an intuitive understanding of what Gu Xue and Abe Shinichi had said: "A position like a production manager can elevate the quality of the finished product by a level."

A progress manager who isn't afraid of being disliked is truly troublesome.

She was even capable of blocking the company exit in the middle of the night to keep people from going home...

However... although Misawa Hiroshi was satisfied with the current progress and satisfied with Mihara Chisa, he was still a bit worried. He had heard some things about what happened that night, including Ms. Mihara's disheveled state, Gu Xue's reaction, and of course, Ms. Mihara's seemingly fragile behavior afterward.

This clearly revealed a signal that Ms. Mihara was going to change... so why was she still like this...

Holding this question, Misawa Hiroshi found an opportunity that day to ask Mihara Chisa about it tactfully.

Mihara Chisa just replied with an expressionless "Don't joke around," leaving a sheepish Misawa Hiroshi behind as she turned and walked away.

Sitting next to Misawa Hiroshi, the director Abe Shinichi, who had been pricking up his ears to listen to their conversation, spun his chair around, patted Misawa Hiroshi on the shoulder, and teased, "It seems working in animation really makes people stupid. Changing one's personality immediately because of something—how could it be that easy? Reality is much crueler than animation."

"Ms. Mihara still doesn't trust us, especially the two of us. That hasn't changed at all."

Misawa Hiroshi gave an awkward laugh.

He had a string of profanities in his heart that he didn't know if he should say.

It was embarrassing enough that I was self-important enough to ask Mihara Chisa and get told "don't joke around," and you, damn it, are adding insult to injury—what is your problem?

Seeing the corner of Misawa Hiroshi's mouth twitch, Abe Shinichi couldn't help but chuckle, patted his shoulder again, and turned back around. However, before continuing his work, he added in a low voice, "Although Ms. Mihara hasn't changed, perhaps she already has a friend."

"What?" Misawa Hiroshi didn't hear clearly.

Abe Shinichi said "You're still young," the corners of his mouth curling up.

Misawa Hiroshi looked at the man beside him—whose hair had already fallen out, who had been taking on any project in recent years, causing his reputation to plummet, who hadn't produced a single decent work, and who was recently almost out of work—and suddenly felt that his smile was quite gentle...

On the other side, Mihara Chisa returned to her seat, checked the time, picked up a bag placed beside her chair, and walked toward the Coloring Department.

The clothes Gu Xue had borrowed last time had been washed, and Mihara Chisa had already asked Gu Xue for the owner's name; now, she was preparing to return them.

You Are My Hero was already nearing its final stages, and the Coloring Department was now only responsible for the coloring work of another company project, Utei Natsuko. The schedule was ample; while it wasn't exactly easy, at least it wasn't as tight in terms of time, and there would be no more situations where two works or different episodes of the same work were squeezed together, making it impossible to handle and requiring outsourcing.

Chatting, which was a luxury just a few days ago, was now something they could do.

"Listen to me, do you remember that little girl from last time? The one with the haughty look—the way she looked when she was begging for help was super funny..."

The conversation inside was very loud; even through the door, it could be heard clearly. Mihara Chisa, who had her hand on the doorknob, paused and opened the door. After all, every company had noisy people, and she was used to it.

Inside the room, the two people who had just been laughing and chatting immediately shut their mouths when they saw it was Mihara Chisa. They exchanged a glance and silently turned their heads away.

They were the two people Gu Xue had encountered in the restroom. Ever since they were caught gossiping in the restroom by Mihara Chisa, they would avoid her whenever they saw her, appearing somewhat guilty.

Mihara Chisa had also always acted as if she didn't see them.

As long as they finished their work properly.

After entering, Mihara Chisa looked around, lowered her voice, and asked a middle-aged woman sitting closest to the door, "Excuse me, which one is Utei Natsuko?"

After all, she had only transferred to this company recently and had been rotating through various departments; Mihara Chisa hadn't met everyone yet, especially in a low-difficulty job like coloring where almost anyone could do it, so she knew even fewer people.

The middle-aged woman put down her mouse, turned her head, and smiled, "It's one of those two noisy girls just now, the one on the left. Her real name is Utei Natsuko."

Mihara Chisa's body stiffened as she looked toward the two of them.

The girl named Utei Natsuko had also overheard the conversation, her eyes darting frequently toward Mihara Chisa.

Mihara Chisa took a deep breath and walked up behind the person, but she simply refused to speak.

Utei Natsuko endured it for a moment, but finally grew impatient, turned around, and demanded aggressively, "What is it!"

"Aren't you called Naoki?" Mihara Chisa said stiffly.

Although she didn't know most of the people yet, there was no reason for her not to recognize the ones she had interacted with; these Coloring Department staff members' names would eventually appear in the credits at the end of the film, and it was impossible for her to have remembered them wrong.

"Is it a crime for me to think the name sounds ugly? I can call myself whatever I want, and you're going to police that too? If I said the wrong thing last time, that's my problem. If you want to talk about it, go ahead, I'm right here!" Utei Natsuko's tone was hostile.

Mihara Chisa gripped the bag tightly, and combining this with what she had heard at the door just moments ago, she realized a possibility, and she wanted—so, so badly—to slam the bag into her face.

However, her good upbringing suppressed this impulse; she held the bag out in front of the other girl and said stiffly, "I'm here to return your clothes."

"..." Utei Natsuko suddenly froze as well.

Mihara Chisa maintained her posture, waiting for the other girl to take the bag containing the clothes.

Utei Natsuko must have realized that her earlier words about Gu Xue had been overheard, as her face turned pale and grim while she took the bag.

"Thank you." Mihara Chisa glanced at her once, then turned and walked away.

Stepping out of the small office of the Coloring Department.

Mihara Chisa gently closed the door, stood by the entrance in silence for a long while, and then raised her right hand.

Not many people noticed that she, someone whose hair barely reached her shoulders, wore a hair tie, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't pay it much mind.

After tugging at the hair tie on her wrist a few times, Mihara Chisa considered it for a moment, took it off, gathered her shoulder-length hair, and tied it into a ponytail.

Then, she walked to the restroom, hid in a stall, tidied up her appearance, and with a mindset akin to "this is all I have," she took a selfie with a flushed face.

She sent it to Gu Xue.

"So pretty, so pretty."

Gu Xue quickly replied with a voice message, her tone teasing.

The falling flowers have intention, but the flowing water has no heart.

Thanks to Dragon Ghost for the 100 reward, f0xD for the 100 reward, Mashang Daoren for the 200 reward, and Ryoko-sama for the 1000 reward!

I am deeply grateful.