Chapter Six: Looking Back and Emptiness
Su Qingxiao felt a little uncomfortable.
But as her sister flipped through the manga manuscript, and the story of the second chapter, the astronaut, progressed to the end, the scene where Kayano was about to confess to Takaki made her eyes well up.
"Please, don't be... so gentle with me anymore."
Facing the young man's concern, the girl, who couldn't help but cry out, only had this monologue in her heart.
Kayano learned to surf the day before High School graduation, and on the day her confidence reached its peak... she decided to confess.
Yet, just as the confession was about to leave her lips, she saw the look in the young man's eyes as he gazed at her.
Her image was in his eyes... but she wasn't in his heart.
The words of confession remained unspoken, transforming into the girl's uncontrollable tears of heartbreak.
Editor Su's grip on the manga manuscript was much tighter than when she first started reading.
Strictly speaking, five centimeters per second belongs to young adult anime, so Su Qingxiao's feelings about this type of manga would certainly not be as profound as Editor Su's, who had experienced a complete school life.
Su Qingxiao still felt that the male and female leads losing contact due to a long-distance relationship and time was a flaw in the plot arrangement, and she still believed that true love could overcome all obstacles.
But Editor Su, who was accustomed to the tragic love stories of her college roommates breaking up after graduation, could only sigh... Is this really a romance manga drawn by a first-year High School Student?
Can such a manga, which leaves one feeling sad, heartbroken, and helpless after reading, truly be created by a High School Student?
The plot of the second chapter, the astronaut, was quickly read through.
Then came the plot of the third chapter, five centimeters per second.
The timeline jumped to the period after the male lead, Takaki, graduated from college.
When Takaki, in his youth, broke up with his girlfriend of several years, she sent him one last text message:
"Even if we send a thousand messages to each other, the distance between our hearts can only narrow by one centimeter."
Editor Su fell silent.
Su Qingxiao also fell silent.
Combining this with the title of the manga, "five centimeters per second!"
The speed at which cherry blossoms fall is five centimeters per second, so what is the speed at which people's hearts draw closer?
Did two people, who spent several years together, manage to narrow the distance between them by even one centimeter compared to the beginning?
A truly excellent work doesn't explicitly tell you everything the author wants to express; instead, through a limited plot, it allows readers to think for themselves and arrive at the answers.
When both Su Qingxiao and Su Mingxi had similar thoughts... they were already hooked.
Just like Xia Jing and countless Makoto Shinkai anime fans in his previous life.
They were captivated by the story of Takaki and Akari.
And soon, the manga manuscript responded to their expectations.
Akari, now grown up, also came to the Magical Capital, and sitting on the train, she recalled her and the young man's story from when she was thirteen.
Recalling the feelings she had once forgotten... "So that's it..." Editor Su understood when she read this.
No wonder the previous plot arrangements had Takaki's relationships with Kayano and his girlfriend after work all come to nothing.
For Takaki, the person he truly loved was Akari.
Even after more than ten years, the two had lost contact and even almost forgotten each other's appearance.
But as long as they met again, that once most intense and sincere feeling would resurface.
True, ardent love does not dissipate with time and distance; it only settles, germinates, and then unconsciously grows stronger.
Xia Jing, is this what you intend to convey with this work?
A flicker of approval passed through Editor Su's eyes.
This elevated the theme.
Amazing... Su Qingxiao also gradually understood this point, and her expression towards Xia Jing changed.
At first, she just thought he was an ordinary manga enthusiast, with decent drawing skills, and she also admired his perseverance in drawing manga on the school rooftop in thirty-degree weather, which was why she wanted to help him.
In truth, she didn't really think Xia Jing could produce anything particularly amazing.
But this manga completely changed her perception of Xia Jing.
Such a brief plot could so deeply stir her emotions, bringing her to the brink of tears multiple times.
The artwork, plot, and theme were all unlike what a New Manga Artist could possess.
Editor Su's speed in flipping through the manga manuscript began to increase, because she had an expectation in her heart, wanting to see Akari and Takaki's reunion after more than a decade.
What would be the first thing they said when they met?
Finally, she and Su Qingxiao saw the scene in the manga manuscript arrive at the cherry blossom-lined slope, the railway tracks in front of the slope, the countdown bells on both sides of the tracks, and... the two people walking towards each other from opposite sides of the tracks; in the instant they crossed paths, they seemed to... notice each other, recognize each other.
However, because a city train was about to pass over the tracks, neither of them slowed down as they walked towards the opposite side of the railway.
"At this moment, if I were to turn around, I have a strong premonition that she would also turn around." Takaki.
In the manga, Takaki turned around, and he could vaguely see the woman on the opposite side of the railway also seeming to prepare to turn around.
Su Qingxiao's eyes widened.
In the anime, a long shot of a train passing by followed.
In the manga, however, Xia Jing inserted several silent plot panels here, showing why Takaki and Akari had lost contact and how they gradually drifted apart during High School.
Finally, when Editor Su turned to the second-to-last manga panel of five centimeters per second, she saw the content of that panel.
"How wonderful it would be to watch the cherry blossoms together next year."
The promise the two made on the same tracks more than ten years ago finally had a chance to be realized now.
It was the same season of blooming cherry blossoms, and just like when they were children, they stood on opposite sides of the railway tracks.
However, as the train passed, cherry blossoms filled the air, swirling with the airflow, and Takaki looked across the railway, only to see scattered cherry blossom petals slowly falling through the air.
The opposite side of the railway was empty.
Just like the hearts of Su Qingxiao and Su Mingxi at this moment.
A strong emotion began to impact their hearts.
It felt as if something had been dug out with a shovel, leaving an empty void.
Editor Su found that her hands were trembling slightly at this moment.
It was too unbearable, this feeling; she couldn't help but look at Xia Jing, who was sitting idly on the sofa.
Then she turned to the last page of the five centimeters per second manga.
After Takaki saw no one on the opposite side, his eyes first showed confusion and surprise.
But then a faint smile appeared on his lips; without hesitation, he turned and left with a relieved expression on his face.
Then came the large characters:
five centimeters per second. The End.
"How could this be..." Su Qingxiao's voice was trembling at this moment.
"Xia Jing..."
"How could this be?"
"Is this the ending? Is this your story of Akari and Takaki?"
"That's right." Xia Jing checked the time; more than an hour had passed since they started looking at the first manga panel.
"Editor Su, you've finished reading the manga." Xia Jing took a deep breath.
"Does this manga meet your submission criteria?"
...