Chapter 441 - 424: Your Name (Part 2)

Chapter 441: Chapter 424: Your Name (Part 2)

To put it simply, if you want your bonuses, there will be no slacking off from here on out. I need everyone to give it their all.

After everyone had gone, only Jiang Xia and Li Weiya remained in the conference room.

"Godmother, I have to prepare for my exams in December," Jiang Xia said, turning to Li Weiya. "So for the *Cat and Mouse* movie and the Dimensional Festival, I’ll need to ask you to take on a little more."

After all, she was the company’s second-in-command. With the schedule being tight, tasks like submitting the film for review, managing publicity and promotion, and arranging theatrical releases all fell to her. Sometimes, her influence was even more effective than Jiang Xia’s.

As for the Dimensional Festival, there were simply too many things to handle in such a short time. Jiang Xia worried Zhou Lu wouldn’t be able to manage it all on her own. Besides, when it came to art direction, Li Weiya was a true professional.

"No problem," Li Weiya said with a smile and a nod.

"Godmother, have you ever wanted to direct a project?" Jiang Xia asked suddenly.

"Me?"

She was slightly stunned, not expecting Jiang Xia to ask her such a question.

"Mhm."

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "With your artistic accomplishments, Godmother, it feels like a shame for you to just be quietly working behind the scenes."

Li Weiya sounded a bit helpless. "If I went off to make an anime, who would run the company?"

"Just tell me if you want to or not, Godmother."

"I do," Li Weiya said, nodding without hesitation.

She had worked in art for nearly twenty years. She could handle any style, and her work was known for being detailed and realistic, especially her backgrounds. She had once been the art director for an outsourced *World of Warcraft* CG project. Her only regret was never having directed an animated film.

Now that she had the chance, she certainly wasn’t going to miss it.

"In that case, how about I write the script for you, Godmother, and you direct? Yanwan and I will even handle the voice acting for the male and female leads. We can work together to create a romance movie about a young boy and girl," Jiang Xia said, winking.

Li Weiya countered, "You already have an idea in mind, don’t you?"

"I do. And besides you, Godmother, no one else could direct it. I’m not skilled with this kind of genre myself," Jiang Xia admitted readily.

Hearing this, Li Weiya’s interest was piqued. There weren’t many projects he would praise so highly, and it was even a theme suitable for the big screen.

Furthermore, starting with *Cat and Mouse*, every project he directed had been a massive hit in the market. It was clear that this new work he was proposing was bound to be excellent.

"What kind of story? Tell me about it."

Jiang Xia didn’t hold back this time. He said straightforwardly, "The title is *Your Name*. It’s about a boy and a girl from different timelines who, because of a once-in-a-millennium comet visiting Earth, wake up one day having swapped bodies. They then experience each other’s lives and gradually fall in love."

"That sounds interesting, but why different timelines?"

Li Weiya frowned slightly. The body-swapping concept wasn’t uncommon in literature, but it usually happened within the same timeline. That made it easier for the romance to develop.

"Because in the male lead’s timeline, the comet visited Earth three years ago. At that time, the female lead was killed by a fragment of the falling comet."

Li Weiya: "..."

She was momentarily speechless, then looked at Jiang Xia, at a loss for words. "And you’re telling me this is a romance movie?"

What kind of romance movie stabs its audience in the heart?!

Jiang Xia chuckled slyly. "The story’s not over. It’s precisely because their timelines are crossed that there’s more room to maneuver. What the male lead has to do is use the crossed timelines to send a message to the female lead from three years ago, warning her about the comet striking the earth. If she can evade it, she’ll survive."

Li Weiya’s eyebrows rose slightly. "So, like changing history?"

"Right."

Jiang Xia nodded with a smile. When Shinkai Makoto’s film was first released in theaters, countless couples had cried their eyes out. The first half was a romantic comedy, but the second half was heart-wrenching and tear-jerking.

For that one important person, the person you don’t want to forget, the person you absolutely must not forget... even if you can’t remember their name, you will search for them desperately, forever.

Even if their love is torn apart by time, and they can only meet at twilight, those who are destined for each other will, even if they forget the other’s name, suddenly stop in their tracks the next time they brush past each other, recognizing one another in that heart-pounding instant.

After hearing Jiang Xia’s rough outline, Li Weiya had already more or less guessed the plot’s trajectory: light and happy at the beginning, followed by tragedy, and ending with a reunion in a vast sea of people.

"You won’t be satisfied until you’ve made the entire audience cry, will you?" she said, looking exasperated.

Jiang Xia shrugged. "Heartbreak is the true essence of this genre. If you don’t wring enough tears out of the audience, how can it become a classic they’ll never forget?"

"Well, I’ll let you be the first to read the script once I’m done, Godmother."

"Mhm, okay," Li Weiya nodded.

To be honest, she was quite interested in this kind of sweet romance anime film. She’d seen it all, from Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan’s daily public displays of affection to her own son’s passionate romance with Shen Ying.

Often, Li Weiya felt envious. Ever since her husband’s accidental death, she had remained single for nearly twenty years, never remarrying. Yet, deep inside, she still held on to a soft spot for romance.

’Perhaps this could be a way to channel my own feelings about love.’

After getting Li Weiya’s affirmative reply, Jiang Xia felt relieved. If the production of *Your Name* went smoothly, he could completely entrust the slice-of-life romance genre to her in the future.

Then, he would be free to tackle the action and adventure genre, which had a much larger market.

◇

「In the blink of an eye, it was late December.」

D Station officially announced that its Dimensional Festival would be held on New Year’s Eve, promising a massive celebration for the youth. Countless netizens began to anticipate just how grand this novel event would be.

In the Imperial Capital at this time of year, the nighttime temperature had already dropped below freezing, and snow was drifting down from the sky.

The shops along the street were all decorated for Christmas Eve. Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan walked hand-in-hand down the street; the busy young couple rarely had a chance to go out for a stroll like this.

Lin Yanwan spotted a fluffy Christmas hat, decorated with two cute reindeer antlers.

She put it on and turned to Jiang Xia. "Does this hat look good?"

"I don’t know about anyone else, but it looks especially good on my wife," Jiang Xia said with a laugh.

"You smooth-talker," Lin Yanwan chided playfully.

"As if you don’t know how skillful my tongue is," Jiang Xia whispered close to his wife’s ear with a wicked grin.

"Pah!"

Blushing, she raised a finger and poked him hard in the chest, quickly putting some distance between herself and this shameless guy before he could say anything else outrageous.

Jiang Xia chuckled and walked over to the counter to pay.

Lin Yanwan kept the Christmas hat on as the two continued their stroll, but even after walking up and down the street twice, there wasn’t anything else they wanted to buy.

They didn’t lack anything at home; they were really just out to relax and soak in the Christmas atmosphere.

"Bao’er, want some tanghulu?"

"Yes!"

"How about takoyaki?"

"Yes to that too!"

"What about a delicious Jiang Xia?"

Lin Yanwan rolled her eyes at him and took a small bite of the tanghulu. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she stood on her tiptoes and quickly pressed her lips to his. Her mouth opened slightly, and she passed the piece of candied fruit from her mouth to his.

"So sweet."

Jiang Xia chewed the hawthorn berry contentedly, and it was unclear if he meant the fruit was sweet, or his wife’s soft, plush lips.

"Careful you don’t get sick from all that sweetness!"

"Then you’ll just have to kiss me a few more times," Jiang Xia said with a wink.

Lin Yanwan huffed softly. ’Do I look that stupid? This guy is always trying to take advantage of me.’

...

(Stop sharing it, stop sharing it, I was wrong. They’re all flocking here because of the hype. Tieba, Telegram, Twitter, all the big QQ groups... I’ve seen the screenshots. It’s scaring the hell out of me. I don’t want to get famous this way! QAQ)