Chapter 315 - 312: Before the New Year

Chapter 315: Chapter 312: Before the New Year

February arrived, and the New Year was just around the corner.

Lanterns and colorful decorations adorned the Imperial Capital. Even the biting cold couldn’t dampen the people’s enthusiasm for the upcoming New Year.

After nearly half a month of non-stop, high-intensity work, Jiang Xia was finally able to take a well-deserved break.

The living room TV was playing the Si Chuan dialect version of Cat and Mouse. He sat in a rocking chair with a soft cushion, holding Lin Yanwan’s soft body in his lap, his hand naughtily slipping under her clothes.

’Days like these are so comfortable,’ he thought. ’It would be even more perfect if we could bring Yuyuan over.’

"New Year’s Eve is on February 13th, and the Spring Festival is on the 14th. When are we going home?"

Lin Yanwan nestled against him like a cat, her eyes narrowed in contentment. She, too, was enjoying this tender moment.

"Let’s wait a few more days," Jiang Xia said with a soft smile. "Season four of Cat and Mouse is almost finished. Once it’s done, I’ll give the whole company a vacation so everyone can have a happy New Year."

"Okay. I already bought plane tickets home for several days, just in case. So you can drag it out until the day before New Year’s if you want."

To make sure she could get home, Lin Yanwan had bought tickets for several consecutive days. She could always get a refund for the ones she didn’t use.

"Honey, to be honest, I don’t want to go back so soon."

"Why?"

Jiang Xia held her tighter. "Here, I can be with you every day. Once we go back, we’ll have to stay at our own family homes."

’I’ve gotten used to holding you to sleep every night. It’ll be hard to get used to sleeping alone again.’

"Then let’s go back at the very end of the year," Lin Yanwan said softly.

"Honey, after the New Year, can we bring Yuyuan over?"

"Do you miss him?"

"A little."

"Well, we’d have to check him in as pet cargo on the plane. It’s a bit of a hassle."

"That’s not a problem. We just need to get all the required documents ready."

"I miss him, too."

Jiang Xia lowered his head, slowly leaning in toward her soft lips.

Feeling his hands grow bolder, Lin Yanwan looked at him with hazy eyes. She didn’t want to push him away. As long as he didn’t cross that final line, she would let him have his way.

Fortunately, Jiang Xia was only teasing her. He booped her on the nose and smiled. "Speaking of which, our final grades should be out by now, right?"

"Mm... I think so?"

"Are you prepared to lose?" Jiang Xia grinned. ’If I win, I can have a baby with my wifey.’

Lin Yanwan rolled her eyes at him. "You say that as if you could actually win."

"You never know."

Jiang Xia patted her on the butt, signaling for her to grab the laptop and log into the Tsinghua University student portal.

"Whose should we check first?" Lin Yanwan asked.

"A gentleman doesn’t compete with a lady. But today, I’ll let you see what your amazing man is made of!"

Talking a big game, Jiang Xia typed in his student ID and password, then clicked into the academic records system. He saw a list of grades that were all above 80, with a few even in the 90s. His P.E. grade was a perfect 100.

Final GPA: 3.68.

Even at Tsinghua, a university crawling with academic superstars, this was an outstanding result.

’And this was while he was spending most of his time on work. If I had focused solely on my studies,’ he thought, ’I probably could have scored over 90 in every class.’

"A 3.68 GPA. So, wifey, feeling the pressure now?" Jiang Xia’s face was brimming with a triumphant smile.

"Not at all. What if I scored higher than you?" she huffed softly.

’I might not know how to draw,’ she thought, ’but when it comes to academics, whether it was before my rebirth or after, Jiang Xia has never once beaten me since high school.’

’So, this time will be no different!’

After logging out, Lin Yanwan signed into her own account. A glance at her grades showed that nearly all of them were above 90, and her GPA was 3.73.

"Wha—" Jiang Xia was dumbfounded. ’This is insane! How can her GPA be so high? It’s almost a perfect score!’

’If it weren’t for her barely-passing P.E. grade dragging her down, her GPA would probably be over 3.8, maybe even close to 3.9.’

"3.73 is greater than 3.68, which means I win." Lin Yanwan pinched his ear with a teasing laugh. "Looks like someone’s little plan is going up in smoke~"

"Silly boy, are you going to honor the bet?"

"...Hmph. You just had more time to study than I did!"

"A certain someone lost, fair and square~ So, you can forget all about having kids before we’re officially married," Lin Yanwan said with a radiant smile.

"..."

Jiang Xia was rendered speechless. In a sudden move, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and strode toward the bedroom.

"Put me down! What are you doing?! Jiang Xia, you just promised!" Lin Yanwan’s heart leaped into her throat. She was worried that, in his anger and embarrassment, he would actually go all the way with her.

"I only promised we wouldn’t *have* a baby. I can still do everything else, can’t I?"

He declared righteously as he tossed Lin Yanwan onto the bed, then threw back the covers and dove in after her.

◇

On February 5th, production for season four of Cat and Mouse was officially complete. According to the contracts previously signed with television stations in major provinces, the fourth season of the TV animation could be broadcast repeatedly on rotation throughout the winter break.

Jiang Xia had even bundled seasons one through four into a package deal, allowing any contracted television station to air them without restriction during the New Year period.

The stations weren’t stupid; they could see at a glance that Jiang Xia was leveraging their viewership. But if they didn’t sign on, their traffic during the Spring Festival would be crushed by the stations that were airing Cat and Mouse. As a result, the internal competition between the stations grew increasingly intense.

Furthermore, production on the first five episodes of Slam Dunk was also successfully finished. With that, all of Qitian Animation’s pre-New Year tasks were complete.

All that remained was the video platform’s final testing. If no more bugs appeared, it could officially meet the vast online community of animation fans in March.

The thought that B Station would be reborn in this way sent a small thrill of excitement through Jiang Xia.

In the main conference room, Jiang Xia was holding the final all-hands meeting of the year. He had even sent Lin Yanwan to the bank to withdraw several hundred thousand in cash.

Since the New Year was almost upon them, it was time to hand out the year-end bonuses. In addition to their January salaries, Jiang Xia gave every employee an extra month’s pay. As for those who had performed exceptionally well, there were special rewards.

’In any case, if Qitian Animation wants to become a world-class animation company, its employee benefits and compensation can’t be lacking,’ he thought.

’Only then will it continue to attract talented people to join.’

"Alright, now that all the money has been distributed, let’s move on to the final item on the agenda."

Jiang Xia looked up at the employees before him and said with a light smile, "Starting now, Qitian Animation Company is officially on vacation. Everyone, go home and have a wonderful New Year. As for our official return date, we’ll tentatively set it for the seventh day of the first lunar month."

As he spoke, he bent at the waist and gave everyone a deep bow.

"I’d like to wish you all an early Happy New Year, and I hope you’ll continue to uphold our outstanding spirit of working hard and pulling overtime next year."