Chapter Four: 5 Centimeters Per Second
"Then it's settled. I'll call my sister at noon to tell her. After school this afternoon, wait for me in your classroom!"
Su Qingxiao said with a smile, then walked towards the stairs of the rooftop.
The ten-minute break was about to end.
Ah?
You've already decided?
Xia Jing still had some words left unsaid when he saw Su Qingxiao's back disappear into the stairwell.
Walking down the stairs, Su Qingxiao's thoughts began to drift.
Hmm, alright.
Tonight, I'll finally get to see the quality of the manga created by this schoolmate.
I remember the title, it was five centimeters per second, right?
Su Qingxiao walked down the stairs with anticipation in her heart, her single ponytail tied at the back of her head swaying gently with her movements... Xia Jing returned to his classroom, and all the people who usually wouldn't say a word to him in a week crowded around, gossiping and asking questions.
"Don't misunderstand, she just came to ask me about a middle school classmate of mine..."
It took Xia Jing a long time to brush off the topic.
The last two classes of the morning were Physics.
During lunch break, Xia Jing used the remaining time on the rooftop to finalize some details and lines in his manga manuscript.
The afternoon consisted of Foreign Language and Chemistry classes.
Soon, it was time for school to end in the afternoon.
Orange-red sunlight streamed into the classroom from the window. A group of High School Students in the class packed their bags, either preparing to go home for dinner or planning to continue their class discussions with friends at restaurants or bubble tea shops near the school.
However, as the High School Students left the classroom, they often showed surprised expressions and then quickly turned back to look at Xia Jing, who was still in the classroom.
When Xia Jing finished packing his belongings and walked out of the classroom, he saw Su Qingxiao waiting for him at the classroom door with her schoolbag.
The orange-red light dyed the corridor. She stood there with a calm expression, completely unconcerned by the gazes of the passing High School Students.
After all, she had gotten used to it since elementary school.
"Your chemistry teacher really drags on! You made me wait an extra ten minutes." Su Qingxiao greeted Xia Jing with a smile.
"High School teachers are all like this everywhere, but it also shows their dedication."
"You say that as if you've attended other High Schools."
Xia Jing and Su Qingxiao walked and talked, gradually becoming the center of attention among the crowd of High School Students leaving school.
Xia Jing looked at the girl beside him and realized she didn't care about the whispers.
He thought about it again.
No matter how much the High School Students gossiped, it wouldn't lead to any rumors about something like this.
Upon reaching the school gate, Su Qingxiao hailed a taxi. She got into the back seat first and, seeing Xia Jing hesitate to get in, asked curiously,
"What's wrong?"
Su Qingxiao looked at the High School Students from their school who were standing and watching behind Xia Jing, then at their surprised, secretly peeking eyes, and smiled, saying,
"Get in."
Xia Jing no longer hesitated and directly got into the back seat of the taxi.
"Are you more concerned about what others think?" Su Qingxiao asked.
"Are you afraid of being noticed by others if you get too close to me?"
"No, I don't care about those things. I was worried that you might care about them, so I wanted to help you avoid some trouble..." Xia Jing paused before speaking.
"After all, I'm just an ordinary High School Student in an ordinary class. You're different; you excel in both character and academics. If bad rumors spread in school..."
Upon hearing this, Su Qingxiao looked at Xia Jing a few more times.
"You're quite meticulous."
"But didn't I tell you? My self-positioning is a professional manga artist, part-time High School Student." Su Qingxiao said.
"I care more about things related to manga, not school or studies.
Who I befriend and what I do has nothing to do with them. I don't care about what those people think."
"On that note, I'd like to ask, given your excellent grades, Su Qingxiao, why do you want to pursue a career as a manga artist? Is it purely out of passion?"
Xia Jing looked at the rapidly passing scenery outside the car and changed the subject, as continuing the previous topic would have been too personal for their short acquaintance.
"My mother was a manga artist. So my sister and I have loved manga since we were little." Su Qingxiao said with a smile.
"I've wanted to be a manga artist since I was a child... a famous manga artist across the country. This was my mother's dream during her lifetime, and it's also a dream that arose from my own heart."
Mother... during her lifetime... Xia Jing automatically caught the key information and wisely did not delve deeper into the topic.
The two chatted for a while in the car. Soon, the taxi arrived at the gate of a residential complex. After Su Qingxiao showed her ID card, the security guard let the taxi in. Soon, the taxi stopped in front of a four-story luxury villa in the complex.
Those who live in villas are not necessarily rich, as villas in the countryside are generally not very valuable.
But people who live in luxury villas in the prosperous areas of the Magic City are different.
No wonder she wants to be a manga artist despite her excellent grades. Unfettered by future career prospects, she must be wholeheartedly devoted to her hobbies and ideals.
This also explains why, despite only knowing Xia Jing for a few days, she was willing to help him so diligently, even bringing him to her home.
Xia Jing generally understood. She really wasn't planning on getting anything out of it; she just met a like-minded schoolmate who also drew manga, and she was acting out of interest.
"The house might be a bit messy, Xia Jing. Please don't mind it." Su Qingxiao said with a smile, then opened the door.
"Not at all." After changing into guest slippers at the door, Xia Jing walked into the villa with his schoolbag containing his hundred pages of manga manuscript.
Although Su Qingxiao said that, her home was very tidy and spotless. Xia Jing didn't pay attention to the grand decoration of the house, but immediately noticed the woman sitting in the living room on the first floor, sipping a steaming cup of coffee.
She was probably in her early twenties, with long black hair reaching her waist, fair and delicate skin, and exquisite, beautiful features, bearing a three-point resemblance to Su Qingxiao.
Unlike Su Qingxiao's somewhat outgoing and energetic personality, this woman was clearly much more quiet and gentle.
"Qingxiao, you're too late. I've been waiting for you two at home for over fifteen minutes."
"I'm not the principal; school dismissal time is fixed, taxi travel time is fixed, and there was traffic on the way. I can't come back earlier even if I wanted to!" Su Qingxiao said with a smile.
Of course, she didn't mention it was because Xia Jing's class teacher had dragged on the lesson.
The woman didn't say much upon hearing this. She put down her coffee cup and turned to look at Su Qingxiao, then at Xia Jing.
"Hello, you must be Qingxiao's close friend, right... I'm Su Mingxi, an Editor from the Huanmeng Group's editorial department." Su Mingxi said.
Close friend?
Xia Jing looked at Su Qingxiao, who was winking at him, and quickly understood.
"Hello, I'm Xia Jing."
"I see." Su Mingxi extended her hand and said to Xia Jing.
"I'm not one to be overly polite and speak in platitudes. My sister said you really like the manga 'sorrowful tale,' and you also really enjoy the manga 'Rocking Girl!' and 'Blow the Horn at Dawn!' which I also discovered and serialized in 'Sakura Color Weekly.' You hold the serialization Editor of these three manga in very high regard and admiration... It is precisely because of this that you wish to submit your work to me."
Rocking Girl?
Blow the Horn at Dawn?
What the heck, let alone reading them, I haven't even heard their names.
Xia Jing looked at Su Qingxiao beside him with a bewildered expression, finding her also smiling at him, her eyes clearly conveying the message:
"Don't blow our cover!"
"Oh, oh, oh, that's right, that's right. I've long admired your reputation, Editor Su." Xia Jing quickly said.
Su Mingxi's eyes narrowed slightly as she began to size up Xia Jing.
"Well then, if that's the case, you should know that I have very high standards for the artwork and plot quality of submitted manga. Even if you are my sister's friend and a newcomer to the manga industry, it will not lower my judging standards for your work. If the manga you bring is not of good quality, I will criticize it without mercy... You need to be mentally prepared."
"Alright, Sis, don't be so serious. He's still a rookie manga artist. You're making Xia Jing very nervous!" Su Qingxiao quickly tried to ease the atmosphere.
"I'm asking your friend. Can you speak for your friend?" Su Mingxi said.
Su Qingxiao looked back at Xia Jing, finally exhaled a long breath, and said nothing.
"I understand." Xia Jing said at this moment.
"Everything according to your standards, Miss Su, will be fine."
Su Mingxi nodded, her gaze towards Xia Jing softening somewhat.
"Alright, now give me your submitted manga."
Xia Jing took a deep breath, placed the schoolbag he was carrying on a nearby chair, and pulled out a thick stack of manga manuscripts, neatly packed in a file bag, handing it to Su Mingxi.
"five centimeters per second?"
Su Mingxi took the file bag, unconsciously uttering the title.
Su Qingxiao also unconsciously walked behind Su Mingxi.
She had also been curious about Xia Jing's manga for a long time, and now was a good time to read it together.
She had only randomly seen a few pages of the original manuscript Xia Jing was drawing over the past month, and she approved of the art style, but she knew nothing about the overall plot.
Su Mingxi opened the manga manuscript from the file bag. The first line of dialogue on the first page of the manga manuscript slightly touched both her and Su Qingxiao's hearts.
"Hey, do you know? They say it's five centimeters per second! The speed at which cherry blossoms fall!"
Following that was a black and white line drawing of a slope with cherry blossoms falling everywhere.
Su Mingxi's expression began to turn serious.
Regardless of the plot, at least the artwork, in her opinion, passed the test...