Chapter 367 - 364: Teacher, Do You Know Cat and Mouse? I Made It

Chapter 367: Chapter 364: Teacher, Do You Know Cat and Mouse? I Made It

That afternoon, Jiang Xia received a call from his counselor telling him to come to the office right away.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Su Qing asked, looking at him.

"It’s fine. I can handle it." Jiang Xia shook his head. "Nanny Su, if you don’t have class this afternoon, you should head to the company. Speaking of which, isn’t the fifth season of Cat and Mouse about ready to be released?"

"Yeah, at our current pace, it should be by the end of the month," Su Qing said.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to draw boys’ manga? After the fifth season of Cat and Mouse is released, you can go join the Slam Dunk project team next door," Jiang Xia said with a smile.

Su Qing froze on the spot. "Huh? Really?!"

"Of course. I’ll find someone to cover your current work. But Slam Dunk is much more difficult to draw than Cat and Mouse, and the workload is a lot heavier, so you need to be mentally prepared."

"No problem!" Su Qing said confidently, patting his chest. He often dropped by the neighboring project team to watch, and he practiced drawing in his own time, so it would be no trouble for him.

"Alright, I’m heading to the office then."

With that, Jiang Xia left the dorm. On the way, he sent a text to his wife, who was still in class, briefly explaining the situation. He could go pick her up when her class was over.

He rode his bike to the School of Art Building, found the animation department office, and knocked gently on the door.

Zeng Yixing glanced up at the door. When he saw it was Jiang Xia, he recalled what the class president had told him earlier that day. He moved the mouse to open Jiang Xia’s profile and said, "Come in."

"Teacher Zeng, you were looking for me?" Jiang Xia walked up to his advisor, his demeanor respectful but not deferential.

Zeng Yifei’s gaze lingered for a few seconds on Jiang Xia’s grades from the previous semester, finally settling on his 3.68 GPA. Even at a place like Tsinghua University, which was teeming with geniuses, that was an outstanding score.

"Hmm... Have a seat, don’t just stand there. I just wanted to chat."

Jiang Xia nodded and calmly pulled a chair over to sit down, wondering what his advisor was about to say.

"Tea or water?" Zeng Yifei asked.

Jiang Xia was a little surprised by the opening. ’He’s not going to start by grilling me with questions?’

"Just plain water is fine, Teacher Zeng."

Zeng Yifei nodded slightly, walked over to the water cooler, filled a disposable paper cup with hot water, and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Teacher Zeng."

Zeng Yifei returned to his seat, took a sip from his teacup, and said with a smile, "You did very well last semester. I can tell you’ve been putting real effort into your studies."

"It’s all thanks to my wonderful teachers."

Jiang Xia returned the smile with his own polite platitudes. The truth was, he had only started studying a few days before finals week. The only reason he’d achieved such high scores was thanks to the incredible memory he’d gained after his rebirth.

Zeng Yifei chuckled. The professors at Tsinghua University were naturally top-notch, but every semester, many students would just barely pass. If they didn’t put in the effort throughout the term, even last-minute cramming wouldn’t earn them high marks.

"Jiang Xia, I still remember during your self-introduction on stage, you said you were ’a person willing to dedicate his heart to the animation industry, who came to Qingmei purely to learn.’ Judging by your exam scores last semester, you truly did that. So why am I hearing that you’ve been frequently skipping classes and taking leave this semester? Can you tell me why? If you’ve run into some kind of trouble in your personal life, perhaps I can help." Zeng Yifei stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point.

He believed Jiang Xia was a good student. Such a drastic change in behavior meant something must be affecting him. As the saying goes, there’s always a story behind strange behavior. As his advisor, it was his responsibility to offer guidance.

Seeing his advisor’s sincere expression, Jiang Xia pursed his lips and spoke slowly. "Teacher Zeng, the reason I’ve been taking so much leave recently is... well, I’ve been very busy."

"Busy with what, exactly?"

"Busy with work, with my career. Compared to those, my studies have had to take a temporary backseat."

Jiang Xia looked his advisor in the eye and said earnestly, "It’s not that I’m taking leave on purpose. I want to study hard, too. And I can guarantee that when it comes to the final exams, while I can’t promise high scores, I can at least promise I won’t fail any of my classes."

Zeng Yifei frowned. It wasn’t uncommon for Tsinghua students to start working or interning as early as their freshman year. Some exceptional students even started their own businesses as sophomores, for which the university offered incubator programs and support.

"Are you saying you’ve already started working?"

"Yes."

"Which company?"

"Qitian Animation."

Zeng Yifei looked puzzled for a moment. The name sounded vaguely familiar. After a couple of seconds, it clicked. "You mean the Qitian Animation that produced Cat and Mouse?"

The company had recently become a huge name in the animation industry. He’d never heard of it before, then it seemed to appear out of nowhere and become a nationwide sensation in a very short time.

A single show, Cat and Mouse, had easily crushed all the other animated series from the past year. Just how popular was it? You could turn on the TV at any time, on any day, and find a channel broadcasting the hit show, even late at night.

Jiang Xia hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"Excellent, excellent." Hearing that his student had gotten into such a well-known animation company put Zeng Yifei in a fairly good mood. If he stuck with a promising company like that, he’d have a decent future.

Still, he spoke again in a serious, heartfelt tone. "Jiang Xia, getting a job at a famous company is certainly something to be happy about, but I hope you can still get your priorities straight when it comes to your studies and your job."

"To be honest, the art style of Cat and Mouse isn’t that complex; many art students could draw it. The real challenge is the creativity. Right now, you’re a student. Your studies should be your main focus, with work as a secondary concern. It’s not that I’m telling you not to work—after all, experience at a big-name company is very important—but you could perhaps shift your focus between the two, don’t you think?"

"You have to understand, right now at Qitian Animation Company, you’re probably just a regular artist. The daily work can be tedious, like tightening screws on an assembly line. If you focus on your studies now, improve your painting skills and artistic abilities, you could start as a lead artist right after graduation. If you go on to get a master’s or a doctorate, it wouldn’t even be that hard to become the company’s art director. ’Sharpening the axe doesn’t delay chopping the wood,’ as they say. That’s the principle here."

"You’re right, Teacher." Jiang Xia nodded in complete agreement.

Zeng Yifei breathed a small sigh of relief, thinking his student had taken his words to heart. It seemed he wouldn’t need to keep trying to persuade him.

"But Teacher Zeng... what if I were to tell you that I’m the one who created Cat and Mouse?"

Jiang Xia said, his expression completely sincere.