After sitting around for a while, Machida Sonoka left, and Ichin was about ready to call it a day.
What he didn't expect, however, was that Kō Yagami and the others seemed genuinely planning to watch Free! in the studio.
But since it was after work hours, Ichin couldn't be bothered to interfere. Turning on a light and booting up a computer wouldn't cost much electricity anyway.
After taking a shower, Ichin grabbed some snacks and returned to his bedroom, only to see Utaha sitting in front of the computer, logged into Bilibili.
"What are you watching? Don't tell me you're joining them, too?"
Displayed on the computer screen was none other than the first season of the Free! anime.
With a pen in hand and her keyboard pushed aside to make space for a notebook, Utaha looked at the screen with interest and replied, "I've never watched it before, so I was curious. I just want to see what's so great about it. As a creator, my curiosity's piqued, so I plan to watch the whole thing. Want to join me, Ichin?"
Slowly setting the snacks down, Ichin's mouth twitched slightly before he silently sat on the bed and picked up his tablet. "No thanks. I've got a bunch of things I still need to catch up on. You go ahead and enjoy. But don't forget, you took the afternoon off, so you still haven't done your math and English homework."
"Oh, that? No rush. I'll just borrow yours before bed and copy it."
"Hey, hey, aren't you supposed to be a model student?"
"It's fine! Just once or twice. Besides, I already know how to do that homework. Doing it myself is just boring."
Waving her hand dismissively, Utaha dove back into her anime-watching endeavor.
Actually, her purpose wasn't just casual viewing. Free! was an anime produced by Kyoto Animation, centered around a swimming club dominated by male characters. Aside from swimming, it mainly focused on themes of youth and friendship.
And in her The Metronome in Love series, the interactions between the male lead and the second male lead were also a crucial aspect.
Even though Free! simply depicted friendship between guys, Kyoto Animation's portrayal in that area had a lot of interesting techniques worth learning from. Although she had just started watching, Utaha was already feeling inspired.
Seeing her so engrossed, Ichin knew there was no stopping her anytime soon.
He glanced at the time—it was nine in the late evening, still too early to sleep. So, he leaned against the headboard, grabbed his tablet, and started reviewing various materials to study professional knowledge.
As for homework?
Well, Utaha really did know how to do it ages ago. Skipping it once or twice wouldn't be a big deal.
Like Ichin, Utaha also tended to skip the OP and ED after watching them once, so by the time it was close to midnight, she had already finished nine episodes.
Fortunately, Utaha now had a good sense of time. Without Ichin having to say anything, she shut down the computer, quickly "completed" the remaining bit of homework, and then went off to brush her teeth and wash her face before climbing into bed.
Hugging Ichin's arm, Utaha let out a yawn.
"Didn't feel sleepy before, but after doing some homework, I suddenly feel exhausted."
"The way you're talking doesn't sound like something a model student would say."
"My good grades and my dislike for boring homework are two entirely unrelated things," Utaha replied as her mischievous little hand sneakily reached for Ichin's abs. "If it's a challenging mock exam, then at least there's a sense of achievement. But normal homework? I'll pass. Anyway, Ichin, it's getting late. Time to sleep!"
"The way you're touching me doesn't look like you're planning to sleep."
Annoyed, Ichin grabbed Utaha's increasingly bold hand, stopping her before she went too far. Gently pinching her cheek, he turned off the lights.
"Not tonight. Time to sleep."
"Ugh... Are you saying you're already tired of me, Ichin?"
"Teacher Kasumigaoka, your fake crying skills are still pretty lacking. I suggest learning a bit more from Hazuki."
"Really? I thought so too. I'll ask her for guidance tomorrow." Utaha chuckled before snuggling into Ichin's arms, taking a deep breath, and whispering, "Goodnight, Ichin."
"Yeah, goodnight, Utaha."
---
For the next few days, everyone's work returned to a steady pace. Most of Utaha's time was spent writing, though she occasionally took breaks to research game writing techniques.
A week later, on Saturday, Ichin finally completed the editing of the first promotional video for Hollow Knight. After perfecting the subtitles in three languages, he simultaneously uploaded the video to Bilibili and YouTube.
Seeing the growing number of simultaneous viewers on Bilibili just minutes after uploading, along with the constantly increasing comments and bullet chats, the smile on Ichin's face never faded.
However, things weren't looking so great on Kō Yagami's side.
While she couldn't understand Chinese, she had no trouble with Japanese and English, so she directly checked the comments on YouTube.
"Just as I thought, a lot of people are talking about me. I knew this would happen!"
From the side, Toyama Rin laughed and tried to comfort her, "It's okay, Kō. You're beautiful, so of course, people will notice you when you appear on camera. You'll get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to this at all!"
Ichin hadn't let anyone see the video during production, so the moment it was uploaded, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing to watch it together.
Sipping her tea, Hazuki spoke with interest, "I've been meaning to say this since we recorded the footage—Kō, you clean up nicely and look amazing on camera. You're definitely not inferior to those so-called actresses."
She then glanced at Kō, who was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, and shook her head in resignation.
"What a waste of potential."
"Hey! What's with that look?"
On the other side, Aoba chimed in with agreement, "I think Hazuki is right. Kō, you've got such a great natural look, but you never bother to dress up. You should at least learn from Rin! Wearing something nice to work and looking in the mirror would definitely boost your mood."
Momiji Mochizuki, munching on freshly baked cookies delivered by Mrs. Kasumigaoka, nodded repeatedly, "Kō's professional skills are top-notch, but she needs to work more on her feminine side."
Yawning with her usual dead-fish eyes, Narumi looked over at her best friend.
"Momo, out of everyone here, you're the least qualified to say that."
"Hm? Why?"
Seeing her best friend's slightly confused expression, Narumi let out a sigh and pulled out a tissue to help her wipe her mouth.
"And who was it again who needs me to prepare her clothes every morning before leaving the house? Remember that time I had a cold and took the day off, and you walked out with only your pants changed while still wearing your pajamas on top? Did you forget?"
"Oh, right. I remember now."
But instead of being embarrassed, Momiji calmly brushed her hair back.
"I didn't brush my hair properly that day either. It was Narumi who helped me with it."
"Have some shame already!!!"
...
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