Chapter 103: Chapter 102: So You’re the Modern-Day Love Sage?
After a little while, Xia Shanshan went into the kitchen to cook.
Jiang Xia opened the company group chat and asked his two employees how their exams went.
He had just sent the message when Wang Ming called.
"Old Jiang, Yingying probably didn’t do well on the exam. She’s really upset right now. I’ve sent her a ton of messages, but she hasn’t replied."
Hearing this, Jiang Xia wasn’t surprised at all. After all, in his previous life, Shen Ying had become a real estate agent precisely because of her poor grades.
Even though Lin Yanwan had done her best to help improve her grades, when it came to academics, talent was even more important than hard work.
Hadn’t he seen plenty of people who repeated a year of school, only to score worse than they did the first time?
"Don’t try to comfort her right now," he said. "Just let her have some space. A person’s worth isn’t measured solely by their grades."
Wang Ming’s eyes lit up. "You’re the man. I’m stealing that line. Talk to you in a bit."
"..."
Before Jiang Xia could say a word, Wang Ming hastily hung up. ’He must have run off to preach his great wisdom to Shen Ying,’ Jiang Xia thought.
’But why couldn’t that dense blockhead just think for a second? People can’t listen to reason when they’re that upset. It would’ve been better to just say, "I bombed my exams too." She probably would have found that more relatable.’
Sure enough, not even three minutes later, Wang Ming called again.
"Old Jiang, Yingying replied to me. But she told me to get lost."
"...If it were me, I’d tell you to get lost too." Jiang Xia grimaced. ’Can’t this kid ever let me finish speaking?’
’It’s no wonder he was wrapped around that pretty face’s little finger in his past life.’
"But why?" Wang Ming asked dejectedly.
"It’s simple. Because Shen Ying’s grades aren’t as good as yours, she’ll subconsciously take any comfort from you as showing off. She won’t listen to a word you say. Just wait for this period to pass, and things will be fine."
Jiang Xia said earnestly, "Remember, the easiest way to capture a girl’s heart is to lend her a hand when she’s at her most vulnerable."
"I get it, but I don’t completely get it." Wang Ming scratched his head. "But isn’t she at her most vulnerable right now?"
"Can’t you see she’s curled up like a hedgehog to protect herself? It’s like a boss’s super armor in a video game. It’s a self-preservation mechanism. Wait for that to wear off and expose her deeper feelings—that’s when she’ll be at her most vulnerable."
This time, Wang Ming understood. "As expected of you. I’d call you a modern-day love sage. No wonder you won over your girlfriend so quickly."
’Jiang Xia’s lip twitched. The real reason, of course, was that they had been husband and wife in their past life. Even though they’d decided to divorce back then, their lingering feelings were rekindled after his rebirth. How else could it have happened so fast?’
"Anyway, back to you. How’d you do?"
"Damn, you actually called it. I totally crushed it and got exactly 610, ranked 1065th in the city. Getting into the Central Academy of Fine Arts is a sure thing now."
Wang Ming’s loud laughter erupted from the phone. Jiang Xia could picture his ecstatic expression.
"Well then, looks like I won’t have to pay your salary," he said, laughing.
"A bet’s a bet, alright? Besides, I’m so happy today that even my drawing efficiency has gone up. So what if it’s working for free? Bring it on!" Wang Ming said with bravado.
"What about you? How’d you do?"
"Eh, just so-so, I guess. I didn’t perform that well," Jiang Xia sighed.
"Oh? Let’s hear it. If you scored lower than me, I’m going to laugh my ass off at you," Wang Ming said, not even trying to hide his laughter.
’His own score was the result of him seriously outperforming. And while Jiang Xia had beaten him in the first diagnostic exam, the college entrance exam was a different beast. Just performing at your usual level was an achievement.’
"Nothing great. Just 648 points, ranked 29th in the city. Still a whole 9 points behind my darling. *Sigh*. I’m such a failure."
"Holy SHIT! 648? You son of a bitch... you son of a bitch..." Wang Ming’s eyes were wide, and he was so stunned he could only repeat the same words over and over, a testament to the shock he felt.
"How the hell did you score so high?! You call that ’so-so’? You call that ’not performing well’? You were just waiting for me to announce my score so you could flex on me, weren’t you? You’re such a bastard!"
Jiang Xia chuckled. "I said I didn’t perform well because I think I could’ve scored even higher. My Chinese score was lower than my other two subjects. My mom nearly chewed my head off."
"...Goddammit, why do I suddenly have the urge to bash your fucking head in with a hammer?" Wang Ming said, speechless.
’He’d thought that since he’d outdone himself, his total score would surely surpass Jiang Xia’s. He never expected Jiang Xia to outdo himself too, and by an even larger margin.’
’Just great. He’s got a beautiful girlfriend, he opened his own animation company and is the boss, and now his grades are ridiculously good. What kind of wish-fulfillment protagonist plot is this?’
’The craziest part was that he’d never even seen the guy study or do homework. How was any of this fair?’
"Don’t be obsessed with me; I’m just a legend," Jiang Xia said, quoting a popular internet catchphrase of the time. Surprisingly, it fit the moment perfectly.
"Piss off, piss off! Thanks a fucking lot. Now I know exactly how Yingying feels."
"You’re welcome."
"...Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. I’m going to go draw."
"Excellent. Channel that grief into strength. The company needs people like you right now..."
Before Jiang Xia could finish his sentence, Wang Ming hung up without hesitation. He picked up his stylus and immediately began to grind.
’At least Jiang Xia was right about one thing. Channeling his grief into strength... wasn’t his drawing speed already picking up?’
For the next few days, this ragtag crew of four poured all their energy into their work. In the QQ group chat, they only discussed business; no one mentioned exam scores again. Their efficiency was surprisingly high.
On June 22nd, the key animation for the twelfth episode was complete. After a careful review to ensure there were no errors, Jiang Xia edited the animatic together in just one day.
On June 25th, Lin Yanwan finished the voice acting, which was the soul of the production. When she sent the final cut to Jiang Xia via QQ, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
In the two-plus weeks since the end of the college entrance exams, the team was either grinding nonstop or on their way to grind. That was the only way they could have produced two animated episodes so quickly.
Shen Ying’s job was probably the most relaxed, relatively speaking. However, as the one in charge of operations, she had to deal with all kinds of people every day. If Wang Ming had to do it, he probably wouldn’t find it as easy as drawing.
Jiang Xia immediately emailed the two latest episodes of *Cat and Mouse* to the TV station. After getting a confirmation reply, the twelve episodes stipulated in their contract were officially complete.
Next, it was time for the TV station to fulfill its obligations. This included, but was not limited to, airing *Cat and Mouse* on the children’s channel at 7 p.m. on June 30th, and wiring the payment to the Qitian Animation Company’s bank account as per their agreement.
But that was all for later.
Right now, Jiang Xia just wanted to relax and reward his employees.
And so, Jiang Xia pinged everyone in the group chat.
[Jiang Xia]: You’ve all worked hard! Yu Du Old Hot Pot tonight, my treat!
Comments