Chapter 198 - 196: The Daughter Can’t Take It

Chapter 198: Chapter 196: The Daughter Can’t Take It

"Um... just leave it there. I’ll look at it in a bit." Ji Wanqiu merely glanced at it before turning back to her notebook to continue sketching.

Lin Yanwan stuck her tongue out playfully and went back to her room. Lying on her bed, she thought about how bold Jiang Xia had been with her tonight, and she couldn’t help but pull the covers tighter as her face grew redder and redder.

A little after 12 AM, Lin Gaoyuan finished outlining the development plan for the toy factory. He walked up behind his wife and began gently massaging her shoulders and neck.

"Wanqiu, not ready for bed yet?"

"I’ll be done in a minute. You go run the bath."

Lin Gaoyuan glanced at the sketches she was drawing. The few designs she had picked out looked excellent. Whether they were made into figurines or desktop ornaments, they should sell very well.

"You’ve been working so hard," he said softly. "So, to lighten your load a little, just stand still in a bit and let me wash you. I promise I’ll get every part of you sparkling clean."

Ji Wanqiu couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. "Is that what you call washing?"

"HEHEHE... Anyway, I’m going to get cleaned up first. You’d better hurry and join me."

"Go on, go on."

A short while later, the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom. After finishing her current design, Ji Wanqiu slowly set down her pencil. A glance at the clock told her it was already almost one in the morning.

She stretched lazily, got up, and grabbed some clothes from the closet, intending to take a shower. Just then, her gaze fell upon the drawing paper her daughter had left on the stereo.

’Didn’t she say this was something her son-in-law gave her?’

She picked it up to take a look and froze completely.

The paper showed a comical image of Tom, displayed from three different angles: front, back, and side. She suddenly realized—wasn’t this a complete design for a collectible figure?

Most importantly, it was drawn better than her own work!

Ji Wanqiu quickly looked through the rest of the pages. They were all figure designs?!

Each one was incredibly lifelike and possessed a certain indescribable quality—it was as if no one could possibly draw them any better, as if he were the original artist for *Cat and Mouse*.

Ji Wanqiu clicked her tongue in amazement. ’This son-in-law of mine is a little *too* brilliant.’ In comparison, the drafts she had spent two days mulling over suddenly seemed amateurish.

She wondered how Jiang Xia knew the family was struggling with the designs. On second thought, Yanwan must have told him. That’s why he drew these and had their daughter give them to her.

’This kid... he’s really gone to a lot of trouble.’

Ji Wanqiu sighed in admiration. After all, these few drawings were a huge help to the family—a veritable godsend.

The sound of the shower had stopped at some point. Lin Gaoyuan walked into the room, toweling his wet hair, his tone tinged with a slight complaint. "Didn’t you say you’d be right there? I’m already finished."

"Take a look. It’s from your wonderful son-in-law," she said with a smile, handing the designs to her husband.

"What’s this?"

Lin Gaoyuan mumbled, but after a single glance at the paper, his eyes shot wide open. "This... this is... a figure design for *Cat and Mouse*?"

"Yes. I hate to admit it, but that kid draws better than I do. He’s completely captured the essence of *Cat and Mouse*." Her resigned tone was laced with teasing. "Gao Yuan, you used to be against this marriage. See? It’s obvious we’re the ones who married up."

"I did? No, absolutely not. I could tell from the very beginning that the kid was talented, that his potential was limitless." He flatly denied it, making absolutely no mention of the two solid punches Jiang Xia had landed on him.

Lin Gaoyuan stared at the *Cat and Mouse* designs in his hands with a delighted surprise, his mind already churning with ideas on how to turn them into finished products and start selling them through every possible channel.

"So, you need to be nicer to Xiao Xia from now on," Ji Wanqiu said. "He’s genuinely good to Yanwan, and he truly respects you as his father-in-law. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get involved in these things at all. He’d just let you deal with the headache on your own."

Lin Gaoyuan flushed. "I’ve already agreed to let him marry our daughter. How is that not being good to him?"

"Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?"

"Uh..." He was stumped for a moment. "Then what do you think I should do?"

"What do you mean, ’what should you do’? Just treat him the way you treat your own daughter. Don’t feel entitled just because you’re the father-in-law and think he owes you respect. You need to show each other mutual respect and concern. And as for the young couple’s business, as long as it’s not a matter of principle, we shouldn’t pry."

Lin Gaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief. "For a second there, I thought you were going to say that if the kid wants to spend the night, he should just sleep in the same room as Yanwan."

"Well... about that..." The mother-in-law pursed her lips. "That’s... not entirely out of the question, actually."

Lin Gaoyuan: "???"

His eyes bulged. Were those words really coming from his own wife, his daughter’s mother? Letting that kid sleep in the same bed as Yanwan? Weren’t they liable to be promoted from "Mom and Dad" to "Grandma and Grandpa" in ten months?

’His daughter was only eighteen years old, for crying out loud!’

She was still a long way from the legal age of marriage.

Seeing the look of disbelief on her husband’s face, Ji Wanqiu blushed faintly.

"I used to worry that because Xiao Xia is so young, he wouldn’t understand what responsibility means. But looking at him now, he seems more mature than we gave him credit for. Besides, we can prevent it for a time, but can we prevent it forever?"

She let out a soft sigh. "Young people today are much more open than we were. Once the two of them are in the Imperial Capital, what if they secretly rent a place together? Or, say, start getting a hotel room every now and then? Could you stop them? You probably wouldn’t even find out."

"So, you’re saying it’s better to guide them than to forbid it?" Lin Gaoyuan frowned.

"Yes... Our country is wonderful, but it’s incredibly strict when it comes to sex education. This is especially true for their generation. They have a strong rebellious streak—the more you tell them not to do something, the more they want to do it. Sometimes, a bit of early exposure isn’t a bad thing. It keeps them from going completely wild and chasing cheap thrills the moment they get to college, free from their parents’ watch."

Ji Wanqiu paused, then looked up at her husband. "You don’t want to be a grandfather this time next year, do you?"

Hearing this, Lin Gaoyuan’s heart clenched painfully.

He wasn’t an unreasonable person; on the contrary, he felt his wife’s words were quite logical. But Yanwan was his precious daughter! As a doting father, how could he possibly stand by and watch another man climb into her bed?

It wasn’t a matter of logic or understanding—he was fundamentally incapable of accepting it!

The precious cabbage he had carefully nurtured since she was a sprout was being rooted up by a pig the moment she was ripe. Who could possibly bear that? It was a feeling worse than death.

Seeing his tormented expression, Ji Wanqiu coughed lightly. "I was just thinking out loud, really. Don’t read too much into it. The way I see it, neither Yanwan nor Xiao Xia are that type of person. They have self-control. Even if you don’t trust your son-in-law, you trust your daughter, don’t you?"

But the more she tried to reassure him, the more conflicted Lin Gaoyuan’s expression grew.

’That kid is such a smooth talker, with an endless repertoire of sweet nothings. When he really lays on the charm, what woman could possibly resist?’