Chapter 257 - 255: Three-Person Bike Squad

Chapter 257: Chapter 255: Three-Person Bike Squad

When he got back to the dorm, he saw Zhao Ning and Zhou Zijian practicing programming on his computer.

The two of them immediately stood up, saying sheepishly, "Brother Jiang, we were just using your computer."

"It’s fine, go ahead. You really have to study computer science well. In the future, the world will be yours. Changing it will be all up to you."

He wasn’t wrong. In the coming decade, as global technology was upgraded and replaced, hardware would see rapid development. The field of computer science, riding this wave, would bear countless brilliant fruits.

The animation industry, on the other hand, could only be said to be following in the wake of software and hardware upgrades, getting a small taste of the spoils.

Jiang Xia was very self-aware. His energy was limited; getting involved in one field was enough. There was no need to stick his nose into every industry.

All he had was the foresight of a reincarnator, which couldn’t necessarily be turned into an advantage in fields he was unfamiliar with.

Besides, you can never earn all the money in the world. As long as he diligently tended to his own little plot of land and worked hard to make Qitian Animation bigger and stronger, this life would be a success.

Beside him, Su Qing was still grinding away at keyframes. After all this time, he had long since passed the initial imitation stage and was starting to attempt keyframes for season three. With Jiang Xia guiding him on the details, his progress could only be described as miraculously fast.

However, to improve the quality of season three, Jiang Xia now required everything to be animated on twos. If the budget was sufficient in the future, some important shots would even have to be animated on ones.

As a result, the workload had now increased by almost half, going from eight keyframes per second to twelve. The upside was that the frame transitions were more delicate and the movements were silkier. The downside was that it was more time-consuming.

But as long as they assembled a complete team, they could make up for it with manpower.

"Nanny Su, Director Li is here. I’ll introduce you two some other day," Jiang Xia said with a chuckle.

"The one from the group chat?"

"That’s right."

Su Qing raised an eyebrow slightly. He realized that the person Jiang Xia had mentioned picking up from the airport today was actually the company’s project director.

"I believe it won’t be long before we can move into the office building at the Tsinghua Science Park," Jiang Xia chuckled. ’Now that I have my godmother’s help, things are so much easier.’

The other two listened with envy, wondering when they would be able to start their internships.

"All right, you take your time drawing. I’m going to take a shower."

Jiang Xia had had a little to drink today. Although he wasn’t drunk, he still smelled of alcohol.

After his shower, he hunched over his desk and continued to draw storyboards for a while, only going to bed after the power was cut for lights-out.

◇

「The next day」

Jiang Xia woke up very early. Before 6 AM, he and Su Qing ran a few laps around the Bauhinia Playground, followed by a series of bodyweight exercises.

The biggest benefit of the military training was that he felt much healthier. He no longer got tired from sitting for long periods, and he had plenty of energy even after a busy day.

’It seems necessary to put a treadmill and some fitness equipment in a corner of the office,’ he thought. ’After all, pulling all-nighters and working overtime is common in the animation industry. What would we do if poor health affected our progress?’

After breakfast, he headed to class with his girl as usual. To his surprise, Su Qing was also on a bicycle—a very cool mountain bike, at that. According to Su Qing, someone had made a special trip to deliver it to him yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, another bicycle had appeared at the girls’ dorm. Cui Jiaying and Si Si had pooled their money to buy one to get around for now, and they planned to buy another next month.

Tang Qiuting was envious, but there was nothing she could do. The financial aid she’d applied for from the university hadn’t come through yet. Even when it did, it would likely be deposited directly onto her student card and couldn’t be used as cash.

But she had good stamina and was a fast runner. Even if the girls in her dorm rode quickly, she could keep up.

"Qiuting, hop on the back. I’ll give you a ride," Su Qing said with a smile.

"Ah...?" Qiuting blushed and quickly lowered her head. "N-No, it’s okay, Brother Su. I’m a pretty fast walker."

"It’s a thirty-minute walk versus a fifteen-minute ride. If you run all the way to the classroom, won’t you be covered in sweat?"

Qiuting stammered, not knowing how to answer. ’Of course, it’s better to walk,’ she thought. ’I can’t trouble someone else, even if it means getting sweaty.’

"Come on, get on. You’re so light, I probably won’t even feel the extra weight," Su Qing said with a smile.

Six-foot-two versus five-foot-one was indeed a staggering difference. Not to mention he exercised every day; he could probably lift Qiuting with one hand.

"Oh... Th-Thank you, Brother Su."

With him putting it like that, Qiuting was too embarrassed to refuse. Blushing, her head bowed, she sat stiffly sidesaddle on the bicycle’s rear rack.

But she didn’t dare wrap her arms around his waist like Lin Yanwan did with Jiang Xia. Instead, she could only grip the seat tightly with her fingers to keep herself from swaying.

Cui Jiaying gave them a long look and sighed internally. ’If I didn’t have a bike either, I wonder if Su Qing would offer me a ride?’

The three-bike convoy, each carrying a passenger, slowly set off from the cafeteria.

Si Si wrapped her arms around Cui Jiaying’s waist and whispered, "Jiaying, looks like someone’s about to steal your Handsome Su away."

Cui Jiaying replied nonchalantly, "First, he’s not *my* Handsome Su. Second, having a crush isn’t the same as being in love. Third, I figured out long ago that Su Qing is a ’human central air conditioner’—he’s warm to everyone. Fourth, if Qiuting can get together with him, I’ll be thrilled. That silly girl will finally have someone to look after her. And fifth, the forest of Tsinghua University is huge. Do I look like the kind of person to get hung up on one tree?"

Si Si was a little surprised. This wasn’t what she had expected to hear.

"I’m glad you think that way. I’d hate to see the girls in our dorm turn on each other over a guy one day," she said with a faint smile.

"You’re overthinking things."

Cui Jiaying looked at Qiuting up ahead. Her head was bowed and her body seemed perpetually tense. Not knowing what to do with her hands, she just kept clutching the seat.

She looked even tinier at that moment, shielded behind Su Qing’s tall frame, probably unable to feel even the slightest breeze. It created a surprisingly cute contrast.

She quickly pedaled to catch up, pulling up alongside Su Qing.

She smiled. "Handsome Su, look at our Qiuting. She’s so nervous riding on your bike she’s practically dying."

Su Qing paused, then turned his head to look at Qiuting. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Qiuting, relax. It’ll be easy to fall off if you’re that tense."

"Maybe... I should just get off and walk," she said, her face flushing bright red.

Being stared at by so many people made her feel completely uncomfortable. She knew that, generally speaking, only couples would share a bike like this.

But she and Brother Su weren’t a couple.

"It’s fine, let’s just stay like this. Um... I mean, you don’t have to grip so tightly. Take a deep breath and let your body relax naturally."

Su Qing just assumed Qiuting wasn’t used to it and figured she’d probably be fine after doing it a few more times.