C4 A New Day Was about to Arrive

Night was settling in, and a full moon hung high overhead. Inside the little diner, it was still unusually loud. No one seemed ready to call it a night, though a few people were already tipsy, lost in the moment. Tong Miaojie glanced at the clock on the wall—it was almost ten.

“Time flies. It’s almost ten,” she said to Lin Xiaofu.

Xiaofu checked the time too.

“Shouldn’t we head back? Didn’t Uncle Tong set a curfew?”

“Yeah, we should. But they don’t look like they’re leaving anytime soon. They were just talking about going to karaoke.”

Xiaofu thought for a moment, then spoke to everyone.

“Um, Miaojie and I should get going. It’s getting late, and if we’re home too late, Grandma Yang’s going to worry.”

“Huh? Already? It’s not even ten yet. We finally get together, and you’re leaving this early?”

“I’m really sorry, but we really do have to go. We’ll hang out again when we can. Xiaofu and I should be in K City for a while,” Tong Miaojie said, reluctant to leave.

“Yeah! You two better come back and visit us!”

“Alright, then—one last drink. This one’s for you. Take care of yourselves, okay?” Everyone raised their glasses, and Tong Miaojie and Lin Xiaofu stood up.

“Don’t worry! You all take care too—work hard, study hard!”

“Yeah. Here’s to everyone doing well!” Glasses clinked. Their feelings were tangled, and no one wanted to say goodbye, but they still drank that final toast together.

“Alright then. Get home safe.”

“Yeah. And you guys take it easy on the drinks. We’re heading out.”

“Bye!”

They hugged, then walked out of the diner, reluctant to part.

“Miaojie… do you think we’ll still be like this in the future?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Life changes. But I believe that no matter what happens, we’ll always have the good memories from these four years. Here’s hoping our friendship lasts.”

“Yeah. I hope you and I will too.”

“Yeah, we’re not going to drift apart. And even if we do, you won’t forget me, right?”

“Of course not!”

“Okay, the bus is here. Let’s go.”

They rode home together. Her dad and grandma were probably already asleep, so they quietly unlocked the door. After whispering goodnight to each other, they headed to their own rooms.

Miaojie finished washing up and stepped out of the bathroom. She sat on the bed, staring off into space, replaying everything that had happened today. Then she picked up the photo her grandma had left on her nightstand—a group shot they’d taken earlier in front of the school sign by the field. She looked at the familiar faces and bright smiles, then slowly walked over to her desk. She picked up a white fountain pen and neatly wrote on the back:

“Young at heart, friends for life”

Then she added the date: June 15, 2017.

A sudden thought hit her. She lifted her head, like she’d just remembered something, and started rummaging through her drawers.

Finally, in the drawer of the other nightstand, she found a blue express document envelope. From it, she pulled out a white badge holder with her photo. Across the top, in bold letters, it read “EMPLOYEE ID.” Beneath that was a paintbrush logo—probably the company’s trademark—and a line of black text: GM Cartoon Empire. Inside the envelope was also a thick, stapled employment contract.

That’s right. After a two-month internship, Miaojie had officially landed a spot at GM, a nationally known cartoon company. Back in her freshman through junior years, she’d already published two volumes of a series called *Stars* through them, quickly making a name for herself as a rising cartoonist—one of the standouts in her graduating class.

Miaojie stared at the badge, a flicker of nerves tightening in her chest.

“Tomorrow’s my first official day. What am I supposed to do? Am I still going to be in that outsourced studio doing line work? No… they said I’d have my own studio, right? That means I can finally create on my own.”

During the first half of her junior year, Tong Miaojie decided to take a chance and submitted two volumes from her comic series to GM Comics. She never expected to stand out among tens of thousands of entries, catch Gu Aoxuan’s attention, and land a publishing contract. Once her work hit the shelves, she became a bestselling comic creator overnight, making a big name for herself in the industry.

Plenty of comic publishers tried to sign her for more projects, but she chose to stay with her original company, GM. While still in college, she interned there, and after graduation she joined full-time. GM Comics even set up a personal studio for her and mapped out a professional, long-term plan for her career.

Still, as a newcomer, with her first official day starting tomorrow, she couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. She sat on the edge of the bed for a while, brows knit, staring off into space.

“Whatever. I’ll deal with it tomorrow. I’m going to sleep.” She flopped onto her pillow and reached over to turn off the light.

She rolled over, pulled the blanket up, and quickly drifted into a deep sleep.

The next morning started like any other—an obnoxious alarm, the same bleary-eyed stare. But today was different in one way: Tong Miaojie had taken extra care with her appearance. She wore a blush-pink knit cardigan over a loose blue striped button-down, paired with black wide-leg pants and pointed-toe heels. With light makeup, she looked fresh and put-together. Her grandmother was up early, too, with breakfast already on the table:

“Today’s your first day at GM Comics, right, Miaojie?”

“Yeah. I’m heading out soon.” Tong Miaojie answered between bites of the steamed dumplings her grandmother had made.

“Miaojie, you’re amazing—starting at such a great company right after graduation.” Lin Xiaofu came downstairs.

“Morning, Xiaofu.” Miaojie greeted her.

“Are you going to an audition today?” Miaojie asked, looking at her.

“Yeah. The producer from that stage play called me yesterday and asked me to come in today for a costume fitting.” Xiaofu said, picking up a dumpling.

“Wow, so there’s a chance.” Miaojie’s eyes widened as she waited for Xiaofu to confirm it.

“I don’t know. Sounds like there are other actors going in for fittings, too.” Xiaofu slowly chewed on the breakfast bun in her hand.

“Okay, good luck! What time are you going? Want me to drive you?”

“No, I won’t be going until this afternoon. I’ll just drive myself.” Xiaofu smiled.

After breakfast, Tong Miaojie headed to work in the pastel-pink Beetle parked out front. It was a gift from her dad to celebrate her graduation and landing the job after her interview.

Miaojie lived on the south side of town, while her office was downtown—and with rush hour in full swing, traffic was brutal. Knowing it would take a while to get there, she flipped on the car radio to listen to the morning news.

Luckily, she’d left early. After more than half an hour stuck in traffic, she finally pulled up to the office entrance—still not late.