Chapter 136 - 135: Cross-cupped Toast

Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Cross-cupped Toast

"Hm? What’s on your mind, Ah Xia? Go ahead," Li Weiya said.

Jiang Xia put down the duck head he was eating and walked over to the railing by himself, feeling the cool river breeze wash over him.

He took a deep breath. "There are exactly two months until school starts. I want to use this time to hurry up and produce the second installment of *Cat and Mouse*. But right now, Ah Ming and I are the only two animators at the company. I’ve done the math—the only way we could possibly finish this task is by working around the clock with maximum efficiency, so..."

"So, you want me to help you find some reliable animators?" Li Weiya finished for him.

"No, I was hoping to hire you, Aunt Li, to do the key animation for this period," Jiang Xia said earnestly.

’With help from a senior expert like Li Weiya, producing 12 episodes in two months should be doable.’

"Me?"

Li Weiya frowned. She’d joked with Jiang Xia before that she was very expensive. Now that *Cat and Mouse* had the potential to be a huge hit, it wasn’t that he couldn’t afford her salary. Nor was she worried about losing face by having a teacher work for a student. The crucial point was that she was busy these days and couldn’t really free up her schedule.

"Is that a no?" Jiang Xia asked anxiously. "Aunt Li, salary isn’t an issue. I can afford it."

"Ah Xia, it’s not about the salary."

Li Weiya sighed. "Honestly, it would be an honor to be part of the *Cat and Mouse* production. It’s just that the team I’m leading just took on a CG animation project for a game, so there’s a scheduling conflict."

"Okay, I’ll figure something else out then."

Jiang Xia wasn’t surprised by this outcome. In his memory, Li Weiya had always been busy.

After all, in this day and age, it was already difficult for a woman to raise a family on her own. To provide a better life than other families, she had to put in even more effort.

"If you’re in a real hurry, I can help you find two capable animators. As for pay, just give them the same rate as Ah Ming. You won’t need to sign an employment contract; it would be like outsourcing to temporary workers. And I can serve as the animation director to help you oversee the quality of the key animation. What do you think?" Li Weiya offered after some thought.

"That would work too."

Jiang Xia instantly let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Aunt Li."

"Ah Xia, there’s no need to be so formal with me," Li Weiya said with a smile. "I’ll contact you tomorrow. You all just focus on celebrating tonight."

"Okay, goodbye, Aunt Li."

After hanging up, Jiang Xia watched a cruise ship drift slowly across the river. With Li Weiya’s help, his biggest worry was finally resolved. ’Finishing all 12 episodes before school starts shouldn’t be a problem now.’

His job would be to just draw the storyboards; other people would be responsible for the key animation.

When he returned to his seat, he saw that a fragrant grilled fish had been served. The other three hadn’t waited for him and had already downed two beers each.

Especially his girlfriend, who’d had a little to drink; her cheeks were flushed, making her look utterly captivating.

"What were you and my mom talking about for so long?" Wang Ming asked curiously, handing him a lamb skewer.

Jiang Xia bit onto the last piece of meat on the bamboo skewer, slid it clean off with his teeth, and said, "I was originally going to ask Aunt Li to help us with the animation, but she’s very busy."

"Yeah, my mom’s been in charge of CG animation for some game recently. *Monster World*, you know it, right? It’s pretty popular. The only drawback is that you have to buy game time cards to play," Wang Ming said, also taking a bite of his lamb skewer.

Jiang Xia paused, then quickly realized *Monster World* must mean *World of Warcraft*. ’Even though Chinese players in the future would crap all over it,’ he thought, ’in this era, it’s the undisputed king of PC games. Its "Warlock, Mage, Priest" trinity became a classic that countless other games scrambled to imitate.’

’From that perspective, it was quite impressive that Li Weiya’s company had managed to land an outsourcing project for *World of Warcraft*.’

’Meanwhile, his *Cat and Mouse* was just getting started. Who was he to try and compete with the hottest game of the moment?’

"Yeah, so she turned me down. But she promised to find me two capable temps. With two more animators, the pressure on you and me won’t be as great," Jiang Xia said with a smile, picking up a bottle of Weiyi and filling his glass.

"Glad to see you have a conscience."

Wang Ming took a long swig of his beer—GULP, GULP, GULP—and let out a breath. "If it was really just the two of us grinding out twelve episodes in two months, we’d have to work nonstop without sleep to even have a chance."

"No kidding."

Jiang Xia nodded in agreement, then raised his glass. "Come on, everyone! On a day worth celebrating like this, let’s all have a drink!"

"Cheers!"

All four of them were in high spirits and downed their drinks in one go. Even Jiang Xia, who usually minded his girlfriend drinking, didn’t try to stop her this time.

After three drinks, Lin Yanwan’s face was completely flushed. The hazy moonlight, interwoven with the dim yellow lights of the food stall, made her profile exceptionally alluring.

Jiang Xia stared, mesmerized. He suddenly leaned in and gave her a kiss, which made the other two hoot and holler.

"What are you doing~"

Lin Yanwan shyly wiped her cheek, her voice carrying a charming, drunken lilt. She was a lightweight; being happy today was one thing, but she had mainly been drinking to help run interference for Jiang Xia. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have drunk at all.

"Babe, you’re just too beautiful. I couldn’t help but kiss you," he said with a chuckle.

Lin Yanwan gave him a flirtatious glare, but in her slightly tipsy state, it came off as an adorably shy and pitiful expression.

"Ugh, here they go with the PDA again! Can you two give it a rest for one night?"

"How about I just kill myself to liven things up for you two?"

Jiang Xia took a bite of grilled fish and said smugly, "Nope, can’t do that. PDA needs an audience. What’s the point if no one’s watching?"

"You’re such a troll," Wang Ming said, exasperated.

"Yanwan, would you grant me one tiny little request?" Shen Ying suddenly asked with a sly grin.

"Hm?"

"It’s just... can you and the boss link arms for a drink?" she asked, blinking. "I just want a little preview."

"Yeah, yeah! Link arms, link arms! Don’t think we don’t know—you two have already kissed and hugged. Linking arms for a drink should be simple, right? Just think of it as practice for your future wedding," Wang Ming chimed in, egging them on.

"But... but..."

Lin Yanwan’s face was beet red as she hesitated, but Jiang Xia agreed in a heartbeat. "Linking arms for a drink? No problem! We’ll make sure you two get your fill of ’dog food’ tonight!"

"Why are you playing along with them?" Lin Yanwan poked his cheek with her slender, pale finger. ’That’s something you do when you get married.’

"Hehehe, we’ll have to do it sooner or later anyway," Jiang Xia said with a wink. For some reason, he just really wanted to tease his tipsy girlfriend at that moment.

’Who knew if he’d get a chance like this again.’