Lin Zhiyan had deliberately chosen a seat directly opposite Sekiguchi Kanami.
For lunch, he ordered a bowl of udon noodles.
He picked up his chopsticks, took a few mouthfuls, and then said to Sekiguchi Kanami, who looked utterly bewildered, "You remind me of an old friend of mine."
This was, of course, an excuse.
Lin Zhiyan didn't actually know anyone who looked like Sekiguchi Kanami, but this explanation would prevent her from finding his behavior inexplicable.
Of course, it also helped that Lin Zhiyan was handsome.
If he had been ordinary-looking, using such an excuse would inevitably have made her suspicious, making her think it was just a pickup line.
But a handsome man is different. People naturally let their guard down around them, and even a flimsy excuse wouldn't raise eyebrows.
Sekiguchi Kanami had initially been puzzled by why Lin Zhiyan had chosen to sit directly opposite her instead of elsewhere. But after hearing his explanation, she finally understood.
After a moment's thought, she asked, "May I ask what kind of friend she was? Oh, but if it's inconvenient to say, you don't have to."
"Just a friend," Lin Zhiyan replied simply.
Sekiguchi Kanami was curious but didn't press for details.
Soon, she heard Lin Zhiyan say, "I heard Sekiguchi-san joined IG over a year ago. I imagine once Ghost in the Shell is finished, you'll be promoted to Key Animator, right?"
Sekiguchi Kanami was surprised that Lin Zhiyan knew about her. After a moment's thought, she replied, "I can't say for sure. I can only hope so."
Lin Zhiyan smiled. "I hope we can work together as Key Animators soon."
Sekiguchi Kanami froze for a moment, then nodded.
Lin Zhiyan said no more, lowering his head to silently eat his noodles.
Since he was eating noodles, he finished in a few minutes. Sekiguchi Kanami, despite arriving earlier, was still eating slowly.
Normally, Lin Zhiyan should have waited for her to finish and continued the conversation. Instead, he announced, "I'm done," picked up his empty bowl, and rose to bid her farewell.
Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He paused, turned back to Sekiguchi Kanami, and said, "By the way, although I only started today, I consider myself second to none when it comes to drawing. If you ever have questions about your work or want to learn some practical drawing techniques, feel free to come to me."
In truth, Lin Zhiyan had been thinking for the past two days about how to approach Sekiguchi Kanami and how to interact with her once he did.
He had even considered seducing her, aiming to conquer her mind, body, and soul. But after much deliberation, he couldn't bring himself to go through with it.
While the anime girls Sekiguchi Kanami created were perfectly aligned with Lin Zhiyan's aesthetic preferences, she herself... wasn't unattractive, just not the type he preferred.
He didn't want to get involved in romance.
Given this, he decided to try to become friends with Sekiguchi Kanami while subtly making her owe him a favor.
In the animation industry, improving one's drawing skills requires both personal insight and guidance from others.
Receiving guidance from a senior artist or having someone with advanced drawing skills willing to teach their techniques would undoubtedly be immensely beneficial. For some, even a few simple pointers could lead to a dramatic improvement in their skills.
However, everyone is busy, and providing tailored guidance takes a lot of time. Moreover, techniques developed through personal insight might not work for others, and there's little benefit for the teacher in sharing their skills. Consequently, few people undertake such a thankless task.
Lin Zhiyan intends to leverage this situation to win over Sekiguchi Kanami.
Of course, such things can't be forced. The choice ultimately rests with Sekiguchi Kanami.
He'll merely mention it. If she later seeks his guidance, that's great; if not, so be it. There's no need to force teaching on someone who doesn't want it, especially since he doesn't want to be met with indifference.
With that in mind, after speaking to Sekiguchi Kanami, Lin Zhiyan left immediately without waiting for her response.
Sekiguchi Kanami seemed to have frozen up. After a long moment, she hastily shoveled the rest of her meal into her mouth. Once finished, she mechanically rose, habitually washed her lunchbox, and returned to her desk. She sat down, but for a long time, she couldn't focus on her work.
She had been thinking that she and Lin Zhiyan would never cross paths, yet he suddenly appeared before her, offering to mentor her and teach her practical drawing techniques.
Although it was only because she resembled his deceased friend, this stroke of luck felt almost too good to be true.
It was so fortunate that it made her wonder if there was a trap.
However, after careful consideration, she couldn't find any possible traps in this situation.
If there were a trap, what would Lin Zhiyan gain from it?
She had no money and wasn't particularly beautiful. While she wasn't ugly, a handsome man like Lin Zhiyan likely had high standards, so he couldn't possibly be interested in her physically.
From her perspective as an animator, she wasn't the only one. Although Lin Zhiyan believed she would likely become a Key Animator after completing the Ghost in the Shell animation, even if that went smoothly, it wouldn't offer him any benefits.
What possible trap could there be?
As for Lin Zhiyan's ability to teach her, she didn't think it would be an issue. Even if she hadn't witnessed his drawing process that morning, she knew from others' discussions that his skills were excellent.
Moreover, no matter how low their skill level, they were still Key Animators, and their abilities were undoubtedly superior to hers as an Animator.
Another issue was that she was three years older than Lin Zhiyan and had joined IG over a year before him. By all rights, she should have been his senior, yet she found herself needing to ask for advice from this junior. It felt somewhat embarrassing.
However, if it meant improving her drawing skills, this embarrassment was insignificant. There was no need to dwell on it.
The real question was whether Lin Zhiyan was serious about teaching her practical drawing techniques, or if it was just a polite remark he didn't really mean.
If he wasn't serious, and she took him at his word and approached him for lessons, only for him to say, "I was just teasing you, I never intended to teach you anything," that would be truly awkward.
With this thought, she suppressed her initial excitement and decided: "I'll observe him for a while. If he doesn't seem like the type to play pranks, I'll try asking him to teach me."
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