Chapter 582 - 581: Engagement?

Su Li’s internship at the TV station was going smoothly. Just as Yu Zhengqing and Ling Zhen had predicted, she had already completed all the typical intern tasks during her apprenticeship, so she didn’t have to repeat them now.

After two days of settling in, Su Li had already integrated into the social news team and become a very helpful assistant.

At first, she just followed reporters out to help. But when things got busy and they were short-staffed, the team leader started sending Su Li out directly with a cameraman to conduct interviews and film segments.

Su Li was humble, but she still proved her capabilities when it counted. She cleverly let it be known that she had published news articles during a previous newspaper internship, some of which had even been reprinted by the Huaguo Daily.

Her team leader knew about this, of course, which was why he had come to trust her so quickly.

While she was still a ways off from reporting on camera, and she wasn’t assigned any major stories, she had already started conducting off-camera interviews.

Su Li believed that as long as she performed well and worked hard, more and more opportunities would come her way.

Su Li was full of energy, tackling her internship with great enthusiasm every day and constantly improving.

She was interning at Imperial City TV Station, while Yu Zhengqing and Ling Zhen were at Huaguo TV Station, so they couldn’t really look out for her. However, Su Li was doing just fine on her own and didn’t need any special treatment.

Yu Zhengqing had made his intentions clear and was pursuing Ling Zhen, always quietly staying by her side. Ling Zhen had gone from initial resistance and disbelief to a state of resignation.

Or rather, she was on the verge of accepting Yu Zhengqing, just one step away from making it official.

Yu Zhengqing secretly told Su Li his goal was to marry Ling Zhen by next year at the latest.

Su Li cheered him on.

Yu Zhengqing and Ling Zhen were currently in that sweet, ambiguous stage of a budding romance. If he kept up the effort, he would likely succeed.

While keeping up with the gossip about Yu Zhengqing and Ling Zhen, Su Li led a busy and fulfilling life as the New Year approached.

This was the fifth New Year Su Li had celebrated since her rebirth. After the holiday, according to traditional age reckoning, Su Li would be twenty-three and Tang Mo would be ten.

Wu Sheng, having been born in December, was at the biggest disadvantage, as his traditional age was a full year greater than his actual age.

As for Wu Sheng’s age... COUGH, COUGH... it’s better not to mention it.

The "old" Wu Sheng, despite being placated with the saying "a man at thirty is in his prime," still felt a pang of sadness.

’Oh well, such is the fate of a May-December romance!’

Wu Sheng’s position had been transferred before the end of the year, and he had handed off the selection for the "devil’s training" to someone else. For once, he actually had time to celebrate the New Year.

What a rare opportunity.

Because Wu Sheng would be home for the New Year, Wu Qihua was ecstatic. She started preparing for the festivities long before the holiday arrived.

And if she was happy, Su Li and Tang Mo were happy too.

What could be better than a family reunion for the New Year?

On New Year’s Eve, the Wu family home was unbelievably lively.

In previous years, the neighbors would take pity on the lonely Wu Qihua and invite her to celebrate New Year’s with their families. This year, however, Wu Qihua was enthusiastically inviting everyone to her house.

Although everyone had their own New Year’s Eve dinner at home, they all gathered at the Wu residence afterward to wait for the new year to arrive.

Su Li had been visiting a lot recently, so everyone was quite familiar with her.

The men gathered in one group and the women at a table, making for a very lively scene.

Among the men, an old man who enjoyed a good drink got pleasantly tipsy from the fine liquor Wu Sheng had provided. In high spirits, he turned his attention to his host.

"Wu Sheng, we all know Su Li is your fiancée, but we haven’t had a drink at your engagement party yet. Or are you two planning to skip that and go straight to the wedding?"

"That’s right, Brother Wu. You’re not getting any younger. Isn’t it about time you got married?"

Everyone chimed in, talking over one another.

Wu Sheng just smiled and shook his head. "We are getting married, but we have to wait for Su Li to graduate. What would we do if she got pregnant while she’s still in school?"

Wu Sheng, who had also had a fair bit to drink, was feeling tipsy himself and blurted out the blunt truth.

"HAHAHA, that’s a good point, a very good point!"

The group of men burst into roaring laughter.

All except one person.

Tang Mo, who was sitting among the group of men.

Usually, Tang Mo would stick with Su Li. After all, even though he was a boy, he was still young and tended to stay by his mother’s side or play with kids his own age.

He never joined this kind of circle of men drinking.

This year, however, Wu Sheng had brought him over to sit with them.

Wu Sheng had reasoned that he was a man now and would have to join such gatherings in the future.

Wu Sheng still called Tang Mo "Little Point," and unlike how other men might act, he made no conscious effort to cultivate a father-son bond with him. Instead, he treated Tang Mo more like a friend.

Any sort of fatherly affection or filial piety was nowhere to be seen between the two of them.

If anything, what one saw was a less-than-harmonious relationship, a battle of wits, a rivalry for attention. In any case, it didn’t look like a father and son.

Compared to Wu Qihua, who had successfully developed all the qualities of a doting grandmother, he was far behind.

But Wu Sheng wasn’t one to be ambiguous with his actions. When it came to a father’s duty of bringing his son into the fold, he did it matter-of-factly.

He had done it, yes, but the awkward part was that he wasn’t actually his father yet.

After hearing the slightly tipsy man blurt out such things, Tang Mo just wanted to scoff.

He wasn’t particularly pleased to hear this kind of slightly off-color joke.

Back when he was younger in Xinghua Village, he had even cried and told Su Li that he didn’t want any little brothers or sisters...

He was a man now and wouldn’t think like he did as a child, but... he still couldn’t bring himself to laugh along.

Tang Mo shot Wu Sheng a sideways glance.

After a few hearty laughs, Wu Sheng noticed Tang Mo’s stare, and his laughter died in his throat.

"AHEM... just joking, just joking. Next year, definitely next year, I’ll marry Su Li."

"You’ve got this, Wu Sheng!"

"Go for it, Brother Wu! We’re the same age, and my kid’s already in elementary school."

Everyone chimed in with teasing remarks. Wu Sheng chuckled awkwardly, sneaking a peek at Tang Mo out of the corner of his eye.

Tang Mo hadn’t changed his posture or his expression.

Wu Sheng resisted the urge to facepalm.

’I didn’t even say anything that bad,’ Wu Sheng thought, ’but for some reason, seeing the look on Tang Mo’s face makes me feel a little guilty.’

Tang Mo held his gaze for a moment longer before finally looking away, turning his eyes toward Su Li.

The women’s group, Su Li included, had naturally overheard what Wu Sheng and the men were laughing about.

Hearing the laughter, Wu Qihua muttered under her breath, "That boy is asking for a beating!" But even as she said it, she couldn’t help but smile.

Since Su Li hadn’t officially married into the family yet, the others didn’t tease her out loud, but they kept shooting knowing glances her way.

All the attention made Su Li blush beet red. When Tang Mo looked over and saw her flushed face, his little heart gave a strange pang.

Meanwhile, Wu Qihua and Wu Sheng both glanced at Su Li, then met each other’s eyes. Amid the lively chatter, they exchanged a look, holding a silent conversation.

When the New Year’s vigil was over, everyone went off to bed.

Tang Mo had a habit of going to bed on time, so as soon as Su Li gave him the okay, he was out like a light. Wu Sheng was the one who carried him to his room and tucked him in.

And so, New Year’s Eve passed in a lively clamor.

The next day, after their meal, Wu Sheng asked Su Li to go for a walk, and the two disappeared. Wu Qihua held Tang Mo back to talk to him, subtly preventing him from following.

Then, during their walk, Wu Sheng brought up the topic of their engagement.

"Su Li... let’s have an engagement party."