Chapter 54: Chapter 54: The Demo Is Out
He jogged all the way home. His parents were lying on the sofa watching TV. Jiang Xia tossed his backpack onto his bed and headed for the study.
"Hey, hey, hold on. Where are you going?" Xia Shanshan called out just in time to stop him.
Jiang Xia answered matter-of-factly, "To use the computer."
"Are the monthly exam results out? What did you score? We made a deal last time. If you did poorly, you can forget about touching the computer or your phone."
"I don’t know my total score, but I’m ranked 48th in the whole school."
"Really?"
Xia Shanshan looked skeptical. After all, this ranking was far beyond her expectations. ’Who improves their grades so drastically in such a short amount of time?’
"You have eyes like a hawk. I might be able to fool you for a little while, but could I fool you forever?" Jiang Xia said helplessly.
"That’s true. It’s not like you’d dare lie to your mother," Xia Shanshan said, then asked, "How did Xiao Man’s sister do?"
"Same as always. First in the school."
"Then you’d better keep working hard," she said pointedly.
"So can I go use the computer now?"
"Go on, go on. Just watch the time, and get to bed early."
Jiang Xia nodded, then went into the study, turned on his computer, and resumed editing his video.
Production on the first episode had already taken more than ten days. ’I have to hurry up and finish this so I can hand the complete video over to Lin Yanwan for the final voice-over.’
◇
「Three days later.」
Jiang Xia finally finished his editing work.
After rendering a sample cut of the first episode, he watched it over and over again, adjusting the frame rate in a few spots. Once he was sure there were no mistakes, he sent the file to his girlfriend via QQ.
[Jiang Hanhan]: Babe, the rest is up to you. Please give this masterpiece a soul.
[Lin Baobao]: I’ll do my best.
Lin Yanwan opened the video. Unlike the 30-second clip from before, this one was 7 minutes and 48 seconds long. It included a full opening and ending sequence, with smooth animation and a high-definition picture. Aside from the lack of sound, it was nearly identical to a final cut.
She didn’t recognize some of the shots; they must have been Jiang Xia’s original additions. However, the episode’s overall presentation was true to the source material. After all, no matter how good one’s memory, it was impossible to perfectly replicate something frame by frame.
What Jiang Xia had created was *Cat and Mouse* as he saw it in his mind’s eye.
◇
On Saturday afternoon, Lin Yanwan sent Jiang Xia a message, telling him the voice-over was done. She asked him to come over when he had a chance to see how it turned out.
He felt a jolt of excitement and, without a second thought, grabbed his backpack and headed out.
"Mom, I’m heading to the library. I already made plans with someone."
"With who?"
"The top student in our year."
"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up! Are you just going to stand there waiting for me to cook you dinner?"
Jiang Xia’s cheek twitched. ’Why does Mom’s attitude change so fast the second the top student is mentioned?’
The door clicked shut behind him. Xia Shanshan once again felt her earlier decision had been absolutely correct.
’Ever since he started dating the top student, my son’s grades have skyrocketed. And look at them now—even their dates are at the library. They’re swimming together in the ocean of knowledge, holding each other accountable, and improving together. What an enviable, perfect couple.’
At that thought, Xia Shanshan took out her phone and sent her son a text.
"You’re on your own for dinner. We’re out of rice, so there’s nothing for you to eat here."
◇
Staring at the text from his own mother, Jiang Xia was rendered speechless.
’We always keep two bags of rice at home, replacing one as soon as it’s empty. So when Mom said they were out, I didn’t believe a single punctuation mark.’
’Is she really just going to let me spend all this time with Lin Yanwan? Isn’t she worried about puppy love?’
’Well, since the Queen Mother has issued her royal decree, I have no choice but to obey.’
Jiang Xia first stopped by the market to buy groceries for the dishes Lin Yanwan liked, then picked up two small cakes—one for his girlfriend and one for her little sister. Only then did he catch a cab to his girlfriend’s house.
DING-DONG!
He rang the doorbell, and a moment later, the wary voice of his little sister-in-law came from inside.
"Who is it?"
"Hello, little one. I’m here to give your mom some money I owe her," Jiang Xia said, intentionally altering his voice.
"My mom’s not here."
"Can you open the door, then? I’ll just give the money to you."
"No way. Mommy told me not to open the door for strangers. You should come back when she’s home."
Seeing how strong his little sister-in-law’s stranger-danger sense was, Jiang Xia decisively changed his approach. "I’m about to leave town, little one. Can you just open the door a crack? I’ll slip the money inside and be on my way, okay?"
"Not opening, not opening, I’m just not opening! Mommy isn’t back, so I won’t open for anyone!"
Hearing his little sister-in-law break into song, Jiang Xia found himself chuckling. He cleared his throat and called out again, this time in his normal voice, "Xiao Man, open up! It’s your Brother Jiang Xia."
"Huh?"
Lin Xiaoman glanced at the door in surprise. She walked over slowly and asked hesitantly, "Are you really Brother Jiang Xia? You’re not tricking me, right?"
"If Xiao Man doesn’t open the door, I won’t teach you how to draw anymore."
Hearing his familiar voice this time, Lin Xiaoman was completely convinced. She threw the door open excitedly, and sure enough, there was Jiang Xia standing on the doorstep.
"Wow, Brother Jiang Xia, it’s really you! WAAAH! Xiao Man missed you so much!"
The little girl hugged his knees, rubbing her cheek hard against his leg.
Jiang Xia patted her head, smiling. "Xiao Man, you’ve got great instincts. But you have to remember, other than family, no matter what wonderful things someone says, you can’t open the door for them."
"Xiao Man knows that, of course! That’s how the big bad wolf ate the little white rabbit, tee-hee."
"Mm-hmm. This is a reward for Xiao Man," Jiang Xia said, handing her the small cake with a smile.
"Whoa, cake! It looks delicious! I knew Brother Jiang Xia was the best!"
Jiang Xia smiled silently. He came inside, changed his shoes, and put the groceries in the fridge before knocking on his girlfriend’s bedroom door and pushing it open.
"Babe, I’m here."
Lin Yanwan didn’t answer. She was still busy with her audio software, adjusting the sound. She couldn’t achieve the seamless harmony of a symphony orchestra, so she had to synthesize the audio piece by piece, but thankfully, the result was quite good.
Jiang Xia put the small cake down in front of Lin Yanwan. Once she finished her adjustments, she started the video and the background audio at the same time.
As the opening sequence began, the sounds of a piano and clarinet emerged. Layered together, they created an exceptionally light and cheerful tune.
"Stop," Jiang Xia said suddenly.
Lin Yanwan immediately hit the pause button.
"When the opening credits transition to the actual episode, the background music should fade out and seamlessly switch to the sound effect of Jerry running away," Jiang Xia said. "This version sounds fine, but the transition is a little abrupt."
"Okay, I’ll fix it." Lin Yanwan inserted a keyframe at that scene and made a note.
The video and background audio resumed playing. In just over seven minutes, Jiang Xia heard all sorts of sound effects he couldn’t name. Combined with the amusing animation, it felt as though the entire cartoon had suddenly been brought to life.
Although there were still many imperfections, he could already envision how perfect the final product would be.
