Tokyo: Oreimo

The girl rubbed her messy blonde hair before she could finally come to her senses.

Memories are like torn pieces of paper, scattered and floating in my mind.

She remembered drinking a lot of alcohol: sweet beer, plum wine, and maybe even sake? Then there was karaoke, and what did she sing... "Open Your Heart"?

Overall, I seemed to have a very happy night.

And then...and then she couldn't remember very well.

Ling Nai frowned, trying hard to recall.

and many more...

She seems to be... clinging to Ryosuke?

"..."

Ling Nai suddenly sat up from under the covers. The movement was so big that her head throbbed with pain again. She didn't care about that and desperately tried to recall more details.

"let go!"

"don't want!"

Takashiro Ryōno's ears suddenly started burning.

"What did I do last night?!"

Like an octopus, she clung to Ryosuke and wouldn't let go. After the hangover wore off, the memories began to overwhelm her.

She nestled against Ryosuke's shoulder, inhaling his scent, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

She actually hung on that guy in that position...

Ling Nai's face turned so red it looked like it was about to bleed.

Stop thinking about it! Forget about it!

A wave of immense shame overwhelmed the girl, but upon regaining consciousness, memories of the previous night began to surface uncontrollably in her mind.

"...I said, I don't hate you...I like you..."

The fragmented conversation caused Ling Nai's face to turn red at a visible speed.

Is this what I said?

Was it said to that guy?

No, no, no!

She remembered adding something, but was it after she had said it, or was it already said?

"Ahhhh!"

Ling Nai grabbed a pillow, covered her face with it, and slumped back into the blankets, curling up like a frightened cat.

"No way, no way, no way! How could I say something like that... especially not to that guy!"

She kept muttering to herself as the pillow thudded, but the temperature on her face wouldn't come down.

dong dong dong.

A knocking sounded suddenly.

"Ling Nai, are you awake? Breakfast is about to begin."

Ryosuke's voice came from outside.

The girl froze, as if she had been frozen in place, even forgetting to breathe.

"Ling Nai?"

"She's awake!" She sprang out of bed. "I'm coming out right now! You go first!"

There was a two-second silence outside the door.

"...Are you alright? If you have a headache, I'll have the landlady bring you some hangover soup."

"Stop nagging! I've already told you it's none of your business!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you at the restaurant."

The sound of wooden clogs gradually faded into the distance.

Ling Nai slumped onto the bedding, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

She looked down at herself; her yukata was still on, and the blanket was neatly tucked in. Apart from her hair being a mess, there was nothing unusual about her.

"Calm down, calm down..." Ling Nai took a deep breath and patted her cheeks with both hands.

"He definitely didn't take it seriously, he probably doesn't even remember. Yeah, that guy was drunk after three bottles of beer, he must have been more drunk than me, he can't remember."

She convinced herself of this, then stood up and began to tidy her yukata and hair.

The girl in the mirror had flushed cheeks, her blonde hair was a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot because she hadn't slept well last night.

"What a mess! You look so slovenly. I'll never touch alcohol again!"

She turned on the tap and washed her face with cold water.

......

The restaurant was already quite full.

The Aniplex members sat in twos and threes around a low table, some rubbing their temples, others energetically adding rice to their bowls.

The air was filled with the aroma of miso soup and grilled fish, along with a faint sour smell of dried plums, which the female general had specially provided, supposedly to help with hangovers.

Ryosuke sat by the window, a set meal in front of him, and picked up a piece of tamagoyaki with his chopsticks.

"President, were you alright last night?" Inoue Rina walked over with a tray, a mischievous smile on her face. "I think you were given quite a bit of alcohol."

"It's alright." Ryosuke said without changing his expression. "They switched to juice later."

"Hey~ what about Rumiko Takagi-sensei? She seemed to have drunk quite a bit last night?"

“Her…” Ryosuke was about to answer when he caught a glimpse of a pale pink figure flashing in from the restaurant entrance.

Ling Nai was wearing a newly changed yukata, her golden hair was tied in a ponytail, and there was nothing unusual about her face.

She walked straight to Ryosuke's side, pulled out a chair and sat down, picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup of tea, gulped it down in one go, and then spoke.

"morning."

"Good morning." Ryosuke glanced at her. "Does your head hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt."

Do you remember what happened last night?

Ling Nai paused for a moment, almost dropping the teacup.

"...What is it?" She tried to sound calm as she started serving herself rice. "I drank too much and don't remember anything."

"Is that so?" Ryosuke's tone was indifferent.

"What? Did I say anything?" Ling Nai interrupted him, gripping her chopsticks tightly in her hand. "You can't take what a drunk person says seriously, can you?"

Ryosuke looked at her for two seconds and chuckled softly.

"That's true."

"?"

Ling Nai blinked.

She was prepared to be teased, as this guy often played pranks on her.

She couldn't tell if she felt relieved or something else, but the feeling of being "let off the hook" made her inexplicably uncomfortable.

What's wrong with that? At least mention it once.

This makes it seem like she said something particularly offensive or did something so outrageous that it can't even be mentioned.

"That annoying guy."

Ling Nai muttered something.

Chapter 177 Bathing Together

After breakfast, the Aniplex members had free time.

Some people chose to continue soaking in the hot springs, some went for a walk along the Ureshino River, and some stayed in their rooms playing cards.

Ritsu Saito and Ryosuke also chatted for a few minutes.

With "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" now over, it's time to start new projects.

This matter had been discussed with Saito, the animation director, in advance.

After all, there are relatively few cases of light novels being adapted into anime in the industry at present.

As I recall, this work was adapted from the original novel series "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya," and it selected the best parts of each novel before being presented by Kyoto Animation.

The adaptation, created by Ryosuke, follows the pacing of the 09 anime version. Overall, it is much easier to adapt into an anime than the original work.

He was initially worried that doing so would affect sales in the market, but after quietly updating the serial for more than half a year, his worries proved to be unfounded, and the feedback was quite good.

Under Hayakawa Rumi's arrangement, four volumes have been published to date.

Because Ryosuke had informed him in advance, Ritsu Saito had started reading the work long ago and was simultaneously drawing storyboard drafts.

The plan is to use the same team again, with Ling Nai in charge of art direction.

The art style of Haruhi Suzumiya is completely different from that of Madoka Magica, which is a good opportunity for them to work together.

The animation production team at Aniplex was tasked with adapting to Ling Nao's ever-changing art style.

This is something every animator must do; otherwise, they may fall into the same predicament as Kyoto Animation in their memories, easily drawing template faces.

After a brief conversation, Ritsu Saito left.

He also pulled a few core members into a brief meeting in the conference room to confirm the work arrangements for the next month.

Ryosuke did not participate.

He sat alone on the second-floor corridor of the hotel, leaning against a pillar, watching the Ureshino River flow slowly in the morning light.