"You drew all this?!"

Wang Ming’s eyes widened. He wasn’t an expert, but thanks to his mom’s influence, he’d been exposed to enough art growing up to tell at a glance that this was a children’s animation.

"Mhm." Jiang Xia nodded slightly. "I’ve been preparing for a long time. I just finished the storyboards for the first episode last night."

"You little..."

Wang Ming quickly flipped through the thick stack of drafts. The storyboards were rough, consisting of little more than simple outlines and text annotations for facial expressions. But since he was handling both the storyboards and the key animation himself, there was no risk of confusion. All that mattered was that the creator could understand it.

Moreover, the character designs on the first two pages were incredibly detailed, and the theme was clear and distinct. It had the kind of appeal that kids would love at first sight.

If he remembered correctly, the sketches Jiang Xia had shown him a few days ago were of Tom and Jerry. They were just colored in now, with richer detail, making them look much more polished.

"Damn, you’ve really been holding out on me!"

Wang Ming handed the proposal back to him and raised an eyebrow. "So, how long have you been drawing this?"

"Since winter break. I started preparing after the art school entrance exams. What do you think?" Jiang Xia lied casually, mainly because he was afraid the truth would freak him out.

"It’s hard to say. I see your theme; it seems to be a pantomime-style animation. While that would save a lot on voice acting, there’s almost nothing like it on the market right now. No dialogue means the audience might not immediately understand what the animation is trying to convey. And..."

Wang Ming glanced at Jiang Xia as he spoke. "And at the end of the day, you’re an independent creator, so it’s hard to guarantee the quality. It’s fine as a passion project, but if you’re really hoping to achieve something with this animation... it looks hopeless."

Jiang Xia just smiled without offering much of an explanation. The essence of Cat and Mouse was that it allowed the audience to understand the story without any dialogue. As for quality, excellent content trumps all.

He had spent all that time at the internet cafe the day before yesterday watching cartoons. None of the mainstream works currently on the market could even hold a candle to Cat and Mouse.

As long as he could produce it, in the current animation scene, it would be an instant knockout!

"Just think of it as my passion project, then. I can’t just give up before I’ve even officially started production. That makes no sense, right?" Jiang Xia put the proposal back in his bag.

Wang Ming pondered for a moment. "You’ve got a point. How about you use the art studio at my place? My mom’s not home today, and I’ve got all the tools you could need. Everything’s there."

"My man! It’s a deal!"

"Why do I get the feeling you were just waiting for me to say that?" Wang Ming felt a headache coming on.

"An illusion. It’s definitely an illusion!" Jiang Xia said with a dead-serious expression.

* * *

Wang Ming took out his keys and opened the door. Before they even stepped inside, Jiang Xia spotted a beautiful young woman in loungewear sitting on the sofa watching TV through a gap in the room divider.

"Old Jiang, shoe covers are here. Put them on yourself." Wang Ming tossed his backpack onto the shoe cabinet and grabbed a pair of shoe covers, throwing them over. But after he’d changed into his own slippers, he saw Jiang Xia still standing frozen in place.

"Don’t be so stiff. Didn’t I tell you? My mom’s out. Just make yourself at home, no need to be so formal."

Jiang Xia shot Wang Ming a speechless look. ’Can’t this guy get his intel right just once? He’s probably going to get a thrashing from his mom after I leave.’

Seeing his buddy’s silent warning, Wang Ming’s heart sank. He turned his head, his neck stiff, and saw his own mother sitting there with her legs crossed, scrutinizing him.

"Mom, didn’t you say you had a meeting at the company?" Wang Ming managed to force a smile.

"The plan changed. It was postponed to this afternoon. But you..."

Li Weiya looked at her son, frowning slightly. "Didn’t you go to school? Why are you back?"

"Ah Xia said he wanted to do some drawing, and I figured the art studio here was empty anyway, so I brought him back."

Hearing his buddy sell him out in a heartbeat, Jiang Xia looked helpless. He bowed to Li Weiya. "Hello, Teacher Li. I apologize for the intrusion."

Wang Ming’s mother was a middle school art teacher and also worked as an art director at an animation outsourcing company.

In his past life, when Jiang Xia was learning to draw, he had received a great deal of guidance from Li Weiya. Strictly speaking, she was practically his mentor. Their shared decision to pursue animation later in life was, to some extent, influenced by her.

Looking at Jiang Xia’s polite and courteous demeanor, then at her own son’s boisterous manner, Li Weiya couldn’t help but sigh.

"Come in, come in. Don’t be a stranger. Just like he said, make yourself comfortable. By the way, have you had breakfast yet?" Li Weiya asked with a gentle expression.

"I’ve already eaten, Teacher Li," Jiang Xia replied.

After putting on the shoe covers, Jiang Xia followed Wang Ming into the art studio. It was more of a study, really, with Li Weiya’s works of various sizes hanging on the walls, along with several art trophies.

He had been here many times before, but for the him of now, more than a decade had passed. Seeing the familiar layout filled him with a wave of emotion.

"Alright, you can get to drawing. I’m going to go read. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask my mom. After all, she’s the professional here." Wang Ming patted his shoulder and walked out, returning a moment later with a glass of hot water.

"Thanks."

Jiang Xia didn’t hesitate. He opened his bag, took out the three-hole animation paper he had just bought, and got right to work. Looking at the storyboards he’d drawn yesterday and the descriptions noted beside them, he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was in the zone.

The first storyboard: a white wall, a mouse with its tail stretched out long, trying to escape but just running in place.

This shot was simple. He just needed to draw three subtle movements of the run cycle, then fill in the in-between frames. Later, during post-production and editing, this sequence could be looped to create the visual effect of running in place.

The next storyboard had Jerry noticing something was wrong. He slowly turns his head while running, as if seeing something terrifying, his expression becoming exaggeratedly panicked. His running motions grow wider, but despite his desperate efforts, he’s still treading the same spot.

Since the background didn’t change between the two shots, he could draw a single background plate. In post-production, he could use software to composite the character’s movements with the background. This would greatly increase efficiency and save a lot of pointless work.

Then, the shot cuts to Tom the Cat lying on the floor, one paw propping up his chin, the other holding down Jerry’s tail. His eyes are full of mischief, explaining the previous shots.

These three storyboards combined would convey the content of the first ten seconds: Tom has easily caught Jerry and is now toying with him.

He was completely absorbed in his drawing when the studio door opened silently. Li Weiya was standing behind him, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.