Inside the President's office at L.S Produ.
Nanase Mayumi poured Lin Zhiyan a cup of coffee and stood beside him, watching him sketch the key visual for episode nine of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Episode eight hadn't aired yet, but key visuals needed to be completed a week in advance. It was impossible to wait until after the episode aired to start working on the next one.
After watching him for a while, she spoke up as he finished the drawing: "That's amazing. I bet even just this beautiful key visual will make a lot of people want to watch the animation."
"Mayumi, even if you flatter me, it won't help. I can't give you a promotion or a raise," Lin Zhiyan said with a playful tone, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I'm telling the truth!" Nanase Mayumi pouted, looking slightly displeased.
Lin Zhiyan smiled, set down his coffee, and gently pinched her cheek, causing her to deflate immediately.
Soon after, he raised his arms and stretched lazily.
"Are you tired?" Nanase Mayumi asked with concern.
"Not really," Lin Zhiyan replied simply.
Mayumi walked behind him and said, "Let me give you a massage." As she spoke, she reached out and began massaging his shoulders.
Lin Zhiyan savored her massage, so comfortable that he almost moaned aloud.
After a while, he said, "Mayumi, thank you. I'll return the favor tonight."
Mayumi's hands paused for a moment. After two seconds, she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Senior... where do you want me to massage?"
The fragrance emanating from her body, combined with this devilish whisper, nearly made Lin Zhiyan lose control.
He took a deep breath, barely suppressing the urge to create an "office.avi" scenario, and said seriously, "Mayumi, don't tempt me here. I don't want anyone in the company to see you limping out of my office."
Mayumi: o( ̄ε ̄*)
After chatting intimately for a while, their conversation inevitably turned back to animation.
"Senior, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is almost finished. What's the next project?" Nanase Mayumi asked.
"Hmm..." Lin Zhiyan stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and replied, "I'm not sure. After this one, I feel like I've reached the peak of my achievements in TV animation. I might start with a new theatrical film for Puella Magi Madoka Magica. As for TV series, I'm not considering anything for now. We'll talk about that after the wedding."
The wedding, of course, was between him and Nanase Mayumi.
Excluding their brief encounter in 1995, they had known each other for over eight years and had been a couple for more than five.
Earlier that year, Lin Zhiyan had proposed to Nanase Mayumi, and she had accepted. Her parents, the Nanase couple, also approved. Now, all that remained was to plan the wedding ceremony.
Producing TV series one after another was extremely demanding. Animated films, on the other hand, offered more flexibility. That's why Lin Zhiyan wanted to tackle the Puella Magi Madoka Magica theatrical film first, and put other projects on hold until after the wedding.
Nanase Mayumi had only asked casually, and she would have supported whatever decision Lin Zhiyan made.
However, the fact that he was even considering holding a wedding made her even happier.
She called out softly, "Honey~"
"Huh?" Lin Zhiyan was taken aback.
Before he could react, Nanase Mayumi suddenly kissed him on the cheek and said, "I love you most," before shyly running away.
After she left, leaving Lin Zhiyan alone in the office, he raised a hand to touch the cheek she had kissed. A faint smile curled his lips as he shook his head.
It took him a while to shake off his thoughts. He lowered his head to examine the main visual for episode nine of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
The keyframe, drawn with his max-level keyframe skills, was still outstanding. He couldn't help but admire it.
He sent the visual to the marketing department with brief instructions. Seeing no urgent tasks, he went online to browse discussions about Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
After scrolling through the forums for a while, he quickly posted a thread using his account:
"I've seen a lot of people saying Sayaka will die in the next episode, filled with immense regret as she battles a Witch...
Let me clarify: this speculation is incorrect.
The next episode will indeed be very depressing, but no one will die."
Death? That's utter nonsense. Ever since Sayaka signed the contract with Kyubey in Episode 4 and became a magical girl, she's been as good as dead already.
Even setting that aside, she wouldn't die in Episode 8.
After Episode 5 aired and during Episode 6, the account "Lin Zhiyan" posted several times. However, he went quiet on the forums after Episode 6.
Netizens originally assumed he'd either gotten scared or grown tired of the discussions. To their surprise, he suddenly posted again, this time addressing the plot of Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 8.
The post immediately sparked intense debate:
"No deaths in Episode 8? Really? Why does this clarification post feel so unreliable?"
"So, does this mean Sayaka will survive until Episode 9?"
"I don't believe it. That Old Thief Lin is definitely up to his usual deceptive marketing tactics again. He says no one will die, but that's probably just to stop us from dropping the show. He's trying to trick us into watching episode eight."
"Don't fall for it again, everyone! Old Thief Lin only said no one would die, not that Sayaka wouldn't die. That's right, the moment Sayaka signed that contract with Kyubey, she ceased to be human. She's now a zombie-like magical girl. So, technically, his statement holds water. But if you actually believe Sayaka won't die, you're being naive."
"So, not a human, but a zombie-like magical girl? Hmm, that makes a certain kind of sense. But why do I feel like Sayaka might actually survive?"
"Heh, I was foolish enough to believe Puella Magi Madoka Magica was a healing anime back then. Now I'm not so easily fooled. I won't fall for Old Thief Lin's lies again."
"Didn't they get reported by a lot of viewers and recently criticized by the BPO? Maybe that's why they're afraid to kill off characters anymore? So, I actually think it's possible no one will die."
"It's impossible for her to survive. She'll die in either episode eight or nine. They've built up to this point so thoroughly. If they force a reversal and have Sayaka live to the end, the entire story's pacing will collapse. This animation will be on its last legs. Old Thief Lin would never make such a basic mistake."
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