"Then it's settled. I'll call my sister at noon and let her know. After school this afternoon, wait for me in your classroom!"
Su Qingxiao said with a smile, then headed toward the rooftop stairwell.
The ten-minute break was almost over.
Huh?
You're just deciding it like that?
Before Xia Jing could finish what he wanted to say, he could only watch her back disappear down the stairs.
As she walked down, her thoughts began to drift.
Alright then.
Tonight I finally get to see what kind of level this schoolmate's manga is at.
The title was 5 Centimeters per Second, right?
With that expectation in mind, Su Qingxiao went down the stairs, her high ponytail swaying lightly with each step.
…
When Xia Jing returned to the classroom, a bunch of classmates who usually went a whole week without saying a single word to him suddenly crowded around, gossiping and bombarding him with questions.
"Don't get the wrong idea. She just came to ask me about an old middle school classmate of mine…"
It took him quite a while to brush the topic off.
The two periods before lunch were physics.
During the noon break, Xia Jing used the last bit of time on the rooftop to polish some details and linework in his manga draft.
In the afternoon, they had foreign language and chemistry.
Soon, the end-of-day bell was close.
Orange-red sunlight streamed through the classroom windows. Some classmates packed their bags to go home for dinner; others grouped up to continue their in-class conversations at nearby restaurants or milk tea shops.
But as they filed out of the classroom, most of them showed the same surprised expression—then quickly turned to look back at Xia Jing, who was still inside.
When he finally finished packing and walked to the door, he immediately saw Su Qingxiao standing there with her schoolbag, waiting for him.
The orange light stained the hallway. She stood there calmly, not caring at all about the glances thrown her way by passing students.
She'd already gotten used to it. Ever since elementary school.
"Your chemistry teacher really knows how to drag class on. I waited over ten minutes for you," she said with a smile.
"Teachers are like that in every high school. If anything, it just shows they're dedicated."
"You're talking like you've attended other high schools before."
They chatted as they walked, and soon enough, the two of them became the center of attention among the flow of students heading home.
Xia Jing glanced at the girl beside him and noticed she wasn't bothered at all by the whispers around them.
Thinking about it, it wasn't like the students here were so bored that they'd turn this into some huge scandal.
At the school gate, Su Qingxiao flagged down a taxi and got into the back seat first. When she saw that Xia Jing still hadn't gotten in, she asked, puzzled:
"What's wrong?"
Then she glanced past him at the students lingering nearby, stealing glances at the two of them, and couldn't help but laugh.
"Get in."
Hearing that, Xia Jing stopped overthinking it and got into the back seat.
"You care a lot about what other people think?" she asked.
"Worried that walking with me will draw attention?"
"No, it's not that I care," Xia Jing said after a brief pause. "I'm worried you might care, so I wanted to help you avoid trouble…"
"After all, I'm just some ordinary kid in an ordinary class. You're different—you've got good grades and a good reputation. If weird rumors start spreading about you at school…"
Hearing that, Su Qingxiao gave him a longer look than usual.
"You're more thoughtful than you look."
"But didn't I already tell you? I see myself as a professional mangaka, part-time high schooler," she replied.
"I care more about manga than about school or grades. Who I make friends with, what I do—that has nothing to do with them, and I don't care what they think."
"In that case, I really want to ask," Xia Jing said, changing the subject as he watched the scenery speed by outside the window. Things had been getting a little too deep for two people who'd just met. "With grades like yours, why choose the path of a mangaka? Is it just pure passion?"
"My mom was a mangaka. So my sister and I have liked manga since we were kids," Su Qingxiao said with a smile.
"I've always wanted to be a mangaka myself… a famous mangaka known throughout China. That was my mom's dream when she was alive, and it's also my own, from the bottom of my heart."
Mom… when she was alive…
Xia Jing caught the key words automatically, but tactfully chose not to dig any deeper.
They made small talk for a while longer, and soon the taxi pulled up at the entrance of a residential community. After Su Qingxiao showed her ID card, the security guard let the cab through, and it drove into the compound before stopping in front of a luxurious four-story villa.
Owning a villa didn't necessarily mean you were rich—villas out in the countryside weren't worth that much.
But owning a luxury villa in a prime area of Shanghai was a different story.
No wonder she could afford to ignore "future career prospects" and throw herself wholeheartedly into her passion.
And no wonder she'd be willing to go this far for him—helping with his submission, even bringing him home—after knowing him for only a few days.
He more or less understood now. She really wasn't trying to get anything out of him. She'd just met a like-minded schoolmate who also drew manga and, out of genuine interest, wanted to help.
"The place might be a bit messy. Don't mind it too much, okay?" Su Qingxiao said with a smile as she opened the front door.
"Not at all." Xia Jing changed into guest slippers at the entrance, then carried his backpack—with a hundred pages of manga manuscripts inside—into the villa.
Despite what she'd said, the house was spotless, not a speck of dust in sight. He barely glanced at the grand décor before his gaze was drawn to the woman sitting in the first-floor living room, gently sipping from a steaming cup of coffee.
She looked to be in her early twenties, her long black hair falling to her waist, her skin fair and delicate, her features refined and beautiful, bearing a certain resemblance to Su Qingxiao.
Unlike Su Qingxiao's outgoing, energetic vibe, this woman was clearly much more reserved.
"Qingxiao, you're late. I've already been waiting for you two for over fifteen minutes," the woman said.
"It's not like I'm the principal who sets the dismissal time. School ends when it ends, the taxi ride takes as long as it takes, and there was traffic. It's not like I can magically get home earlier," Su Qingxiao replied with a grin.
Of course, she didn't mention the part about Xia Jing's teacher dragging out the lesson.
The woman didn't say anything more about it. She set down her cup and turned to look at Su Qingxiao, then shifted her gaze to Xia Jing.
"Hello. You're Qingxiao's close friend, right? I'm Su Mingxi, an editor in the Illusion Dream Group's editorial department," she said.
Close friend?
Xia Jing glanced sideways at Su Qingxiao, who was giving him a meaningful look.
Don't blow my cover!
"Oh, right, yes. Hello, I'm Xia Jing," he said quickly.
"I see," Su Mingxi replied, holding out her hand to him.
"I'm not the type who enjoys small talk. My sister told me you really like Tales of Sorrow, and that you're also a big fan of Rock Girl! and Blow the Morning Bugle!, both of which I discovered and launched in Sakura Weekly. She said you have a lot of admiration and respect for the editor behind those three series… and that's why you want to submit your work to me."
Rock Girl? Blow the Morning Bugle?
What the heck—he hadn't just never read them, he'd never even heard the titles before.
He stared blankly for a moment, then looked over at Su Qingxiao, who was still smiling sweetly at him, her eyes clearly saying:
Don't you dare slip up.
"Oh—yeah, that's right. I've admired you for a long time, Editor Su," he said quickly.
Su Mingxi narrowed her eyes slightly and looked him over.
"In that case, you know this, don't you? I have very high standards for both art and storytelling in any submission I handle. Even if you're a friend of my sister's, even if you're a complete beginner in the manga world, I will not lower my standards for your work. If what you've brought today isn't up to par, I won't hesitate to tear it apart. You should be mentally prepared for that."
"Alright, Sis, don't be so serious. He's just a newbie mangaka. You're going to scare him half to death," Su Qingxiao cut in, trying to lighten the mood.
"I'm talking to your friend. Can you answer on his behalf?" Su Mingxi asked.
Su Qingxiao glanced back at Xia Jing, then let out a long breath and fell silent.
"I understand," Xia Jing said at this point.
"Just judge it by your own standards, Miss Su."
Su Mingxi nodded, her gaze softening slightly.
"Good. Then let me see your submission."
Taking a deep breath, Xia Jing set his backpack on a nearby chair and pulled out a thick stack of manuscript pages, neatly packed in a document envelope, and handed it to her.
"5 Centimeters per Second?"
She read the title aloud without thinking as she accepted the envelope.
Su Qingxiao unconsciously walked around behind her.
She'd been curious about this manga for a long time. This was finally her chance to see it properly.
Over the past month, she'd only caught a few random pages while he was drawing and had approved of his art, but she knew absolutely nothing about the full story.
Su Mingxi opened the envelope and took out the manuscript. The very first line of dialogue on the first page made both her and Su Qingxiao feel a slight stir in their hearts.
"Hey, did you know? They say it's five centimeters per second—the speed at which cherry blossoms fall."
Then the next panel was a black-and-white illustration of a slope blanketed with falling petals.
Su Mingxi's expression grew serious.
Leaving the story aside for the moment, the art alone had already passed her bar.