I Know Already

Like most creators, Gu Xue was at her best when the world was quiet and deep into the night; the later it got, the better she performed.

After finishing the character expressions for Akko, the protagonist of Little Witch Academia—no, wait, the character sheets—most of the designs were complete. Gu Xue began working on setting designs similar to backgrounds. This was originally the job of the background department lead or the art director, but whether the backgrounds of a work were cohesive, and whether the control of color and atmosphere was appropriate, were among the primary factors in a project's success or failure.

For major stage settings like the school in Little Witch Academia or the Luna Nova Tower where the magic stone was kept, Gu Xue intended to draw a few pieces to establish the overall style of the work. Whether it was for others to use as a reference or just for her own satisfaction, it would be useful regardless; even if they weren't ultimately adopted, they would influence the other key creators to some extent.

It would make this work closer to the version of Little Witch Academia in Gu Xue's mind.

Of course, the backgrounds were just base images, similar to basic sketch settings; Gu Xue didn't have the ability to handle other parts like color rendering.

After drawing a few background draft bases, Gu Xue officially began to draw the story.

Originally, she only intended to draw a few scenes—for example, shots of the protagonist and her friends living on campus, shots of them heading to an ancient labyrinth, and the shot of the protagonist finally defeating the giant dragon—and then, combined with verbal explanations, clarify to Misawa Hiroshi what kind of story this was so he could draw the storyboards.

But as Gu Xue re-organized the story in her mind, she began to draw subconsciously. By the time she came to her senses, she had drawn a thick stack; she had basically drawn out the entire story, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a storyboard.

Outside, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Gu Xue put down her pencil, glanced at the thick stack of original drawing paper filled with images beside her, and scratched her cheek, feeling a bit awkward.

She had done more than half of the important early-stage work. If Misawa Hiroshi were a bit lazy, he could even just slightly modify the shots Gu Xue drew, put them on storyboard paper, and use them directly as storyboards.

If she showed all of this to Misawa Hiroshi, would he misunderstand and think she was trying to stage a mutiny and overthrow him as the director?

Forget it.

Gu Xue considered it for a while, picked up the milk Ms. Mihara had brought last night, finished it, and decided not to worry about it.

She felt that Misawa Hiroshi shouldn't be that petty; it was just for reference, anyway.

Putting the empty milk carton back on the table, Gu Xue stood up, stretched, and then took out her phone to check the time.

The moment she saw the time, Gu Xue's expression changed instantly.

Yabai (Oh no).

It was already six in the morning.

Gu Rou...

Gu Xue gave a bitter smile, began to pack up the things she had drawn all night, walked out of the conference room to put them at her desk, and then quickly left the company, walked a short distance, and boarded the train.

Ten minutes later, Gu Xue returned home.

She snuck in through the front door, terrified that Gu Rou might be sitting on the sofa.

Fortunately, Gu Rou was not in the living room.

Gu Xue breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she hadn't returned yet or was asleep. She quickly tiptoed and jogged upstairs, intending to get into bed as fast as possible and pretend she had been back for a long time.

But just as she opened her bedroom door, Gu Xue let out a short "eh," wore a "this is bad" expression, hunched her shoulders, and tried to back out slowly.

Gu Rou was lying on her bed...

However, Gu Rou was a light sleeper. The moment the door opened, she, who had been lying on her side, opened her eyes and looked at Gu Xue, who was peeking in from the doorway.

Gu Xue knew there was no escaping it, so she gave a forced smile and called out, "Sister."

Gu Rou climbed off the bed, walked over to Gu Xue in her slippers, grabbed her cheeks, and pulled them to both sides.

"What did I say before?"

Gu Xue slumped her shoulders. It didn't actually hurt, but she felt a bit embarrassed.

"I'll be careful next time," Gu Xue whispered.

"You've said that before."

Gu Xue: "..."

Seeing her stay silent, Gu Rou sighed, let go of her cheeks, and instead rubbed Gu Xue's soft face with her palms, saying with a mix of frustration and affection: "Your sister is out there working herself to the bone, leaving early and returning late, just so you can live in peace and enjoy your youth. You don't have to stay up late every day and age rapidly like me, yet you go and look for trouble yourself."

"I'm not aging, I'm not aging, Sister will always be eighteen," Gu Xue knew that tonight's incident was over, so she immediately replied in a muffled voice, offering a small bit of flattery.

Gu Rou pulled Gu Xue's cheeks toward the bed, feeling both angry and heartbroken, and said, "Alright, go to sleep."

"Ah..." Gu Xue felt as if she had been granted amnesty, took off her shoes, dove onto the bed, buried her face in the quilt, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Look at you," Gu Rou lectured softly, lifted Gu Xue's long legs that were exposed outside the bed and placed them in the middle, then pulled back the quilt and sat on the bed herself.

"Are you sleeping with me?" Gu Xue wasn't very unfamiliar with this situation.

Although Gu Rou claimed her younger sister was the one who was headstrong, she was actually the one who stayed up late the most.

After all, she worked in fresh food, and she was a very stubborn and serious person; she spent much more time at the company than at home.

She returned around three in the morning every night, which was quite exhausting. The first thing she did upon returning was check Gu Xue's room; if she wasn't back, she would call to urge her, and if she was, she would return to her own room to sleep in peace.

However, sometimes she was just too tired, and she would sleep with Gu Xue directly.

When Gu Xue first woke up in the middle of the night and found someone lying next to her, she would be startled, but after a while, she had adapted.

"Going back to my own room is too much trouble," Gu Rou replied, lay down, wrapped her arms around Gu Xue's neck, and pulled her closer. A relaxed smile appeared on her face, like someone hiding under the covers in winter without having to go to work; her sense of happiness was overflowing.

"I'm letting you enjoy your youth, but that doesn't mean you should go find a boyfriend. You're still young, and you're in your prime; many men who approach you might not have pure intentions. You need to grow up a bit more before you can consider these problems," Gu Rou said, half-closing her eyes. She was exhausted and about to fall asleep, but she still mustered the energy to lecture Gu Xue.

Gu Xue held her sister's shoulders and whispered, "I know."

"...Marriages made on a whim are mostly impossible to last. Similarly, sweet words are only pleasant for a moment; don't get fooled." Gu Rou didn't speak for a long time, and just when Gu Xue thought she had fallen asleep, she added softly.

"I know," Gu Xue adjusted her posture, feeling drowsy herself. After replying, she drifted into a deep sleep.