In the afternoon, Jiang Xia received a call from his counselor, asking him to come to the office immediately.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Su Qing asked, looking at him.

"No need, I can handle it." Jiang Xia shook his head: "Aunt Su, if you don't have class this afternoon, you can go to the company. Speaking of which, shouldn't the fifth season of Tom and Jerry be released soon?"

"Well, at the current pace, it should be by the end of this month," Su Qing said.

"Didn't you say you wanted to draw a shonen manga? After Tom and Jerry season 5 comes out, why don't you go report to the Slam Dunk project team next door?" Jiang Xia said with a smile.

Su Qing was stunned for a moment: "Huh? Is that okay?!"

"Okay, I'll find someone to cover your work. However, Slam Dunk is much harder to draw than Tom and Jerry, and the workload is much greater. You need to be mentally prepared."

"No problem!" Su Qing patted his chest and said confidently. He often went to the project team next door to freeload, and he also practiced painting in his spare time, so this was no challenge for him.

"Okay, I'll go to my office now."

After saying that, Jiang Xia left the dormitory. On the way, he sent a text message to his wife, who was still in class, briefly explaining the matter. He said he would pick her up after class.

I rode my bicycle to the art academy building, found the animation department's office, and gently knocked on the door.

Zeng Yixing glanced at the door and, upon seeing Jiang Xia, thought about what the class monitor had told him earlier that day. He then moved the mouse to open Jiang Xia's profile and said, "Come in."

"Professor Zeng, you wanted to see me?" Jiang Xia walked up to her mentor, neither humble nor arrogant.

Zeng Yifei's gaze lingered on Jiang Xia's grades from the previous semester for a few seconds before finally settling on her GPA of 3.68. Even at Tsinghua University, a place teeming with geniuses, this score would be considered exceptionally high.

"Hmm... Sit down, don't stand, I want to talk to you."

Jiang Xia nodded, casually pulled up a chair and sat down, wondering what his mentor would say next.

"Tea or water?" Zeng Yifei asked.

Jiang Xia was slightly surprised by this opening remark. Why didn't they start by bombarding him with all sorts of questions?

"Teacher Zeng, just plain boiled water will do."

Zeng Yifei nodded slightly, took out a disposable paper cup, walked to the water dispenser, filled a cup with hot water, and handed it over.

"Thank you, Teacher Zeng."

Zeng Yifei returned to his seat, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile, "You did well on the exams last semester. It's clear you put your heart into your studies."

"It's all thanks to the excellent teaching of all the teachers."

Jiang Xia smiled and said some polite words, but the truth was that he only started reviewing a few days before the exam week. He was able to get such good results thanks to his super memory after his rebirth.

Zeng Yifei chuckled. The professors at Tsinghua University are certainly highly qualified, but every semester many students barely pass. If you don't work hard during the semester, even if you cram before the exam, you won't get a high score.

“Jiang Xia, I still remember when you introduced yourself on the stage, you said, ‘You are someone who is willing to dedicate your heart to the animation industry, and you came to Tsinghua University only to study.’ Judging from your exam results last semester, you have indeed done so. But why have I heard that since the beginning of this semester, you have been frequently skipping classes and asking for leave? Can you tell me why? If you have encountered any difficulties in your life, your teacher may be able to help you.” Zeng Yifei stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point.

He believed that Jiang Xia was a good student, and such a drastic change in his behavior must mean something had affected him. As the saying goes, every unusual behavior has its reasons, and as his mentor, he had a responsibility and obligation to guide him.

Looking at the instructor's sincere expression, Jiang Xia pursed her lips and slowly said, "Teacher Zeng, the reason I've been taking so much leave lately is actually because I've been quite busy."

"What are you all busy with?"

"Being busy with work and career, compared to these, I can only temporarily sacrifice my studies."

Jiang Xia looked into her tutor's eyes and said seriously, "Actually, I didn't ask for leave on purpose. I also want to study hard, and I can guarantee that I won't fail the final exam, if not get a high score."

Zeng Yifei frowned. It's not unusual for Tsinghua students to start internships in their freshman year. Some outstanding students even start their own businesses in their sophomore year, and the school provides corresponding incubation policies for them.

"You mean, you've already started working?"

"Um."

Which company?

"Qi Tian Animation".

Zeng Yifei's gaze flickered with confusion for a moment. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but after a couple of seconds, he suddenly remembered: "Is it the Qitian Animation that created Tom and Jerry?"

This company has recently become quite famous in the animation industry. I had never heard of it before. It suddenly appeared like the wind and became popular all over the country in a short period of time.

Tom and Jerry easily crushed all the animations of last year. How popular was it? You could turn on the TV anytime, anywhere, and you could see this hit animation being broadcast on the channel, even late at night.

Jiang Xia hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Mm."

"Not bad, not bad." Zeng Yifei was in a good mood when he heard that his student had joined a well-known animation company.

Working for such a promising company means I won't have a bad future.

However, he still said earnestly, "Jiang Xia, it is indeed something to be happy about to get a job at a well-known company, but I hope you can distinguish between the importance of your studies and your work."

"To be honest, drawing Tom and Jerry isn't difficult. Many art students can draw it. The difficulty lies in creativity. You are a student now, so you should focus on your studies and take work as a secondary task. It's not that your teacher doesn't want you to work. After all, experience working in a big company is very important, but you can switch the focus between the two a little."

"You need to understand that right now you might just be an ordinary artist at Qitian Animation Company, with very boring daily work, like tightening screws on an assembly line. If you can learn drawing techniques and improve your drawing and artistic creation skills, you might start as the art director after graduation. If you continue to pursue a master's or doctoral degree, becoming the company's art director wouldn't be difficult. As the saying goes, sharpening your axe won't delay your work."

“Teacher, you’re right.” Jiang Xia nodded in complete agreement.

Zeng Yifei breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking that his student had taken his words to heart and that he no longer needed to painstakingly persuade him.

"But Teacher Zeng, what if I said that I actually created Tom and Jerry?"

Jiang Xia said very sincerely.

(End of this chapter)