Chapter 352 - 349: The Red Envelope Isn’t Lucky Money?

Chapter 352: Chapter 349: The Red Envelope Isn’t Lucky Money?

The sound of clothes being scrubbed echoed from the bathroom. Li Weiya occasionally glanced up at the mirror, where the reflection from a slight angle allowed her to see what the young couple in the living room was up to.

Perhaps afraid she might suddenly walk out, Wang Ming and Shen Ying were still a bit reserved, chatting awkwardly like friends. It seemed her hope of seeing them act a little more intimately would go unfulfilled.

’Maybe I should just expose their relationship and get it over with?’

Li Weiya thought to herself.

Around ten o’clock, there was another knock on the door.

This time, without any prompting from Li Weiya, Wang Ming went to open it himself. Standing there were Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan, carrying gifts for a New Year’s visit.

"Is Godmother here?"

"Yes, she is."

Wang Ming took two new pairs of slippers from the shoe cabinet and handed them over. He had just bought them a few days ago.

"Ah Ming, is that Ah Xia and Yanwan?" Li Weiya’s voice came from the bathroom.

"Yeah, it is."

"Okay, you entertain them for a bit. I’m almost done with these clothes."

Jiang Xia glanced into the living room and was surprised to see Shen Ying there too. He gave Old Wang a light punch on the arm and whispered, "Well, well. Has your relationship already progressed to the ’meeting the parents’ stage?"

Wang Ming’s face flushed red. He shot a glance toward the bathroom. "It’s not like that. Shen Ying is just here to wish my mom a happy New Year."

"No need to explain. I get it," Jiang Xia said with a grin.

The two placed their gifts on the table. Lin Yanwan walked over to greet Shen Ying. Seeing the knowing smile in her friend’s eyes, Shen Ying’s cheeks turned a faint red. She guessed her good friend already knew about her and Wang Ming.

However, with the two of them now in the room, the awkward atmosphere of being alone with Wang Ming had eased considerably.

"TSK TSK TSK..." Lin Yanwan teased in a very soft voice, "Yingying, are you here to see your future mother-in-law?"

"No!" Shen Ying denied.

"Hehehe, I get it. If you’re not here to see your mother-in-law, you’re here to see Wang Ming. You have to be here for one of them."

Shen Ying bit her lip and fell silent, the tips of her ears slowly turning fiery red.

When she used to tease Yanwan, she probably never expected to get teased back like this.

"Yingying, we’re really going to be one big family in the future," Lin Yanwan said, winking at her.

Shen Ying paused for a moment. It was true, she realized. But that was on the condition that she married Wang Ming, and that day still seemed quite far off—unlike Jiang Xia and Yanwan, who were about to get engaged.

A little while later, Li Weiya came out of the bathroom with a basin of clean clothes. Wang Ming voluntarily took it from her and hung them out to dry on the balcony.

"Godmother," Jiang Xia said with a smile.

Li Weiya looked at the pile of fruits and nutritional supplements they had bought and said with a helpless sigh, "You two... You should have just come to visit. Why buy all these things? In two days, we’re all going to the Imperial Capital. We won’t be able to finish any of this, and it’ll all go to waste. Such a waste of money."

"Just this once. We won’t buy anything next time," Jiang Xia said with a cheeky grin that made it clear he would dare to do it again.

"What would you all like for lunch?"

"Don’t go to too much trouble. Anything is fine."

Li Weiya nodded. She didn’t want to go to a lot of trouble either. "In that case, I’ll just make some of my specialty home-cooked dishes."

After all, it was Shen Ying’s first visit. She couldn’t possibly give her future daughter-in-law a poor reception.

So, she turned and went to the kitchen to cook, leaving the two young couples in the living room to chat among themselves. Light laughter could be heard from time to time.

They talked about school, then about work, and soon the topic drifted to their relationships.

Come to think of it, this was the first time the original founding members of Qitian Animation had gotten together privately since they parted ways last summer vacation.

Shen Ying felt quite emotional. When Jiang Xia first invited her to join the company last year, she never would have imagined it would grow to its current scale. Because of that one choice, her entire life had become deeply intertwined with theirs.

She had to admit, this was her good fortune.

Whether it was Jiang Xia and Yanwan, or Wang Ming and Li Weiya, they were all benefactors who had appeared in her life.

She was very grateful.

Lunch was a spread of Li Weiya’s specialties: steamed beef with rice flour, chicken with taro, and a few other home-style stir-fried dishes. The whole group ate with great relish.

During the meal, Li Weiya kept putting food on Shen Ying’s plate, saying she didn’t visit often enough and should eat more, or that she should come over more often in the future. Her comments inadvertently made Shen Ying blush.

She had a faint feeling that Aunt Li must have noticed something, because she had never been so deliberately nice to her before.

After lunch, Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan stayed for a little while longer before saying their goodbyes. The two of them had other things to do that day.

Shen Ying chatted with Li Weiya for a bit and also prepared to leave. Just before she left, Li Weiya suddenly took out a prepared red envelope and handed it to her.

Shen Ying froze, not understanding what it meant.

"Yingying, just consider this some New Year’s money from your aunt. Take it," Li Weiya said with a smile.

"No, no, Aunt Li, I’m already grown up. I can’t accept this," Shen Ying said, waving her hands emphatically to refuse.

"As I see it, as long as you’re still in school, you’re still a child. I won’t give you one after you graduate. Go on, take it. Ah Xia and Yanwan got one too."

Hearing Li Weiya say that, Shen Ying felt too embarrassed to refuse any longer. Clutching the thick red envelope, she blushed and said, "Thank you, Auntie."

Li Weiya smiled faintly and said, as if casually, "We’re all family. No need to be so polite with me."

The speaker may have been casual, but the listener took it to heart. Shen Ying’s face instantly turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Well, Aunt Li, Wang Ming, goodbye. I’m heading home now." Shen Ying pursed her lips and glanced at the man she loved.

"Alright. Come visit more often. If you have time to come to the Imperial Capital, I’ll have Ah Ming pick you up."

Wang Ming watched Shen Ying leave with longing eyes, but with his mom there, he was too embarrassed to walk her out.

The door closed softly. Li Weiya glanced back at her son and said, exasperated, "Yingying is leaving by herself, and you’re not even going to see her off?"

"Huh? She’s not a child, so... it’s not necessary, right?" Wang Ming played dumb.

"You silly boy. If you want to walk her out, then go. Hurry up before she gets too far." After saying that, she went into the bathroom.

Wang Ming blinked. His mom’s attitude was certainly intriguing. But he didn’t dwell on it; he threw on his shoes and chased after her.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Li Weiya slowly emerged from the bathroom, a hint of helplessness in her eyes. ’This foolish son of mine. He even needs his mother to play matchmaker for his own relationship.’

At that moment, Shen Ying was in the stairwell waiting for the elevator. She looked at the thick red envelope in her hand, still not quite understanding the meaning behind Aunt Li’s words.

’New Year’s money is New Year’s money. Why add the phrase "just consider this"?’

’Does that mean this isn’t a New Year’s money envelope?’

Before long, Wang Ming came chasing after her. A look of delight appeared on her face. "What are you doing out here?"

Wang Ming scratched his head. "My mom told me to come see you off."

He pursed his lips and asked, "Yingying, do you think my mom has already figured out that we’re dating?"