"When I wake up in the morning, I often find myself crying."
Gu Qingyuan's original voice narration rang out—instantly familiar to Zhong Qingxuan.
Soon, a gentle male voice followed.
"I can never quite remember the dreams I had. But…"
The boy and girl woke up in their respective rooms, wiping the corners of their eyes, staring blankly at the tears on their hands.
Their voices alternated—
"The feeling that something has disappeared… still lingers long after waking. I keep searching for something… searching for someone."
"This feeling probably began from that day…"
"The day the comet fell…"
The following scenes gave Zhong Qingxuan a strange sense of familiarity.
Crowded Tokyo streets. Noisy surroundings. Office workers moving through subway stations day after day, their expressions blank.
The composition and framing felt almost identical to the third act of '5 Centimeters per Second'.
Combined with Su Yan's earlier mention of that film before release—
A question formed in her mind.
The theme song of 'Your Name' began to play.
By this point, everyone in the theater was fully immersed.
After the song ended—
The screen showed a cute girl in pink pajamas.
She suddenly woke up, looking around her room in confusion.
Then—
She looked down at her chest, her expression turning puzzled.
Zhong Qingxuan froze for a moment—
Then, I couldn't help but feel amused.
She remembered the trailer.
Wasn't this a body-swap story?
If so—
Then wasn't this the male lead inside Gu Qingyuan's body?
["No… no… this is Miyamizu Mitsuha."]
She quickly corrected herself, shaking off the habit of confusing the actress with the character.
At the doorway, a younger girl stared at her older sister's bizarre behavior with a speechless expression.
The theater erupted in laughter.
"Whoa… these feel real!"
The story didn't linger on the gag for long.
Although the male lead had swapped into a rural girl's body, he couldn't accept it at first and assumed it was just a dream.
Yet—
He changed into her uniform.
He went to school in her place.
The screen cut.
Two words appeared:
The next day.
The next day, Miyamizu Mitsuha woke up in her own body.
She went to school as usual, only to learn from her friends Sayaka and Tesshi that she had apparently behaved very strangely the previous day.
At this point, Zhong Qingxuan's curiosity was fully hooked.
What would a Tokyo boy do after swapping into the body of a small-town mayor's daughter?
But then—
The screen shifted.
And a familiar face appeared, leaving Zhong Qingxuan momentarily stunned.
It was Yukari Yukino—
The female lead from 'The Garden of Words'.
In the Xia Nation, since Yukino had also been played by Gu Qingyuan, the production team had put significant effort into differentiating the two roles through styling and post-production.
Despite having the same face, they felt like completely different people.
And considering that Yukino had transferred to teach in the countryside at the end of 'The Garden of Words'—
Zhong Qingxuan instantly realized:
This was a hidden Easter egg by Su Yan.
From here on—
The story unfolded as a classic romantic comedy.
Taki Tachibana and Miyamizu Mitsuha began swapping bodies intermittently for unknown reasons.
They communicated by leaving notes for each other.
When Mitsuha entered Taki's body, she helped him get closer to the senior girl he liked.
When Taki entered Mitsuha's body, he fiercely stood up to the girls who mocked and bullied her—and even achieved impressive results in athletic competitions.
The film also showed scenes of Mitsuha wearing shrine maiden attire during a festival, preparing kuchikamizake.
Meanwhile, news reports repeatedly mentioned a comet that would soon pass close to Earth.
The body-swapping comedy lasted nearly half an hour.
Zhong Qingxuan—and the rest of the audience—watched with great enjoyment.
But gradually—
A question arose in her mind.
If this were the tone of the movie…
Why had Su Yan specifically mentioned '5 Centimeters per Second'?
The styles were completely different.
Then the story shifted.
During another body swap, Taki (in Mitsuha's body) carried her grandmother to a crater near Itomori Town to store the freshly made kuchikamizake.
They climbed over hills—
And before them appeared a breathtaking scene:
A meteor crater bathed in sunlight.
Grass swayed vibrantly. Animals ran along the slopes. The sky stretched endlessly blue.
Beautiful.
Zhong Qingxuan knew this had to be CGI—
But it didn't look fake at all.
Instead, it highlighted Su Yan's extraordinary sense of visual artistry.
His films always did this—
Suddenly, presenting a shot so perfect it felt like a painting.
After placing the sake, they began heading back.
Mitsuha's grandmother seemed to notice something strange.
"Mitsuha… are you dreaming right now?"
That word—"dream"—shocked Taki awake inside her body.
He suddenly woke up—
Back in Tokyo.
In his own body.
And today—
It was the day of his long-awaited date with his crush.
Of course, this opportunity had been created by Mitsuha while she was inhabiting his body.
At this point, Zhong Qingxuan sensed a subtle shift in tone.
A faint sadness began to creep in.
In the countryside—
Mitsuha woke up, her expression lonely.
Even though she tried to smile, she couldn't stop tears from falling as she looked into the mirror.
["She's fallen for him during all those body swaps, hasn't she?"]
A couple nearby whispered.
["Obviously. They've helped each other so much—of course they'd fall for each other."]
Zhong Qingxuan took a deep breath and kept watching.
In Tokyo—
Taki rushed to the meeting place.
But…
A substitute was still a substitute.
The senior girl had been drawn to Mitsuha's personality inside his body.
The real him didn't interest her.
And during the date—
His mind kept drifting back to Mitsuha.
His distraction didn't go unnoticed.
"You've fallen for someone else, haven't you?"
"N-no!" Taki laughed awkwardly.
The senior left.
Taki opened his phone—
Inside were messages Mitsuha had left for him.
"After your date, you'll be able to see the comet!"
That night—
Taki looked up at the sky.
There was nothing.
Zhong Qingxuan frowned.
Japan wasn't that large.
If the comet was visible in Itomori, Tokyo should be able to see it too.
So why—
Had the news been constantly reported in Itomori, but barely mentioned in Tokyo?
A soft, melancholic BGM began to play.
Meanwhile—
In the countryside, Mitsuha joined the townspeople on lively streets, preparing to watch the comet.
Her expression was lonely.
She quietly got dressed.
And then—
She cut her long hair short.