Chapter 286 - 283: Something’s Not Right

Chapter 286: Chapter 283: Something’s Not Right

After finishing the lamb hot pot, the four of them walked out of the restaurant, standing in the freezing snow and stiffly rubbing their hands.

"Are you two heading back to school or your rental apartment?" Li Weiya asked.

She’d only found out after the fact that the two were living together, though it wasn’t surprising. In her eyes, if Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan had been old enough for legal marriage, they would have likely already gotten their marriage certificate.

Jiang Xia looked at Lin Yanwan.

"Let’s head back to campus. Tomorrow is Monday, and I have a morning class," Lin Yanwan said after a moment of thought.

"Okay, then you two should hurry back. It’s freezing out here," Li Weiya said, a puff of white vapor escaping her lips. She was wearing a trench coat and was struggling with the Imperial Capital’s sub-zero evening temperature.

"What about you, Ah Ming?" Jiang Xia asked, looking at Old Wang.

"I don’t have class tomorrow morning. I have to go back and put in some overtime soon," Wang Ming said.

Jiang Xia nodded. "In that case, we’ll head back first."

The two of them chose to walk back instead of taking their bikes. It was simply too cold to ride with the biting wind.

Lin Yanwan was bundled up warmly today in a winter hat, scarf, down jacket, and gloves. Jiang Xia teased her, saying she looked like a ball, which resulted in him being chased and hit by the "ball."

They horsed around for a bit until Jiang Xia finally pulled her into a hug, panting softly.

Lin Yanwan linked her arm through his, softly humming the theme song from *Slam Dunk*. She suddenly spoke up, "Oh, right, honey. This song is a better fit for a male singer. Why don’t you be the lead vocalist?"

"Let’s not."

Jiang Xia smiled and shook his head. It wasn’t that he was tone-deaf—his singing voice was actually decent—but a theme song needed a real professional.

"It would be better if Haruko sang it herself," he said with a smile.

In his plan, Lin Yanwan would be the voice of Akagi Haruko. If she also sang this passionate, high-energy theme song, it would be a total knockout!

He remembered how back in high school, countless guys had worked up the courage to confess to their crushes after hearing this song.

"You’re really giving it to me to sing? But this is supposed to be Sakuragi’s song for Haruko, you know," Lin Yanwan said, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Jiang Xia blinked. "I know. But if you’re the one singing it, doesn’t that mean Haruko has received his declaration of love?"

Lin Yanwan looked down and considered this seriously. ’That interpretation does seem to work,’ she thought.

"Then I’ll sing it." She didn’t protest further, accepting the role with grace.

"No one’s more perfect for it than you."

They looked at each other and smiled.

On their way back to the dormitory, they happened to run into Qiuting, who was riding her bicycle off campus.

"Hey, Qiuting! Where are you off to?" Lin Yanwan called out, stopping her.

"Uh... Sister Yanwan." Upon seeing Jiang Xia, Qiuting immediately straightened her posture. "Hello, Boss!"

She recalled her first day of training as a production assistant at the company. When she saw her colleagues calling Brother Jiang Xia "Boss," Qiuting had been completely dumbfounded.

’In other words, Qitian Animation was his?’

’*Cat and Mouse* was his, too?’

’And that meant Sister Yanwan was the boss’s wife?’

For a girl from a remote mountain village, this news had been as earth-shattering as an atomic bomb!

’So, the only reason she had this job was because Sister Yanwan had been looking out for her.’

"Qiuting, I’ve told you many times. Don’t call me Boss when we’re not at the office," Jiang Xia said with a hint of exasperation. ’Why can’t this kid remember that?’

"Okay, Boss," Qiuting replied, nodding vigorously.

Lin Yanwan couldn’t help but laugh.

"Qiuting, where are you heading at this hour?" Lin Yanwan asked.

Qiuting let out a puff of white breath and gestured to her backpack. "Brother Su finished his keyframes, so I have to rush them to the office. That way, the in-betweening can start on schedule tomorrow."

Hearing this, Jiang Xia felt a flicker of amusement. ’This kid really works hard.’

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It’s no trouble at all! This is what I’m supposed to do."

Qiuting shook her head vigorously. ’Compared to planting crops, this is just a simple errand. No, it doesn’t even count as an errand—I’m riding a bike, after all.’

"Is anyone still at the office?" Jiang Xia asked.

Qiuting nodded. "One of the editors is still there, but he told me to hurry since he’s about to head home for the night."

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Xia took out his key to the main entrance and handed it to her. This way, she could get into the office whenever she needed to. ’Rushing around like this at night is just asking for an accident to happen.’

"Qiuting, take this key. I’m glad you take your work so seriously, but you don’t need to be in such a panic from now on. This isn’t the way to do things. If you get into an accident, how am I supposed to explain that to your grandmother?"

"Oh... Thank you, Bo— Thank you, Brother Jiang Xia." Qiuting accepted the office key, embarrassed, and put it in her bag. ’I’ve made someone worry about me again.’

"I’ll head to the office now, then!"

"Alright, go on. Ride slowly and be safe."

They watched her bicycle quickly disappear into the darkness. Lin Yanwan sighed, "Qiuting is such a hard worker."

"I’d say it’s more that she’s just really dedicated and responsible," Jiang Xia said with a smile. "That’s the life of a production assistant. You have to get the drawings to the next person in the pipeline immediately, or you’ll hold up the entire team."

Lin Yanwan nodded; she understood the principle.

"By the way, how is Qiuting doing at the company?"

She wasn’t deeply involved in the animation production side of things, so all she knew was that Qiuting was always busy, often dashing into the classroom, out of breath, just a minute before the bell rang.

"You’ve seen it yourself. So far, she’s never missed a deadline. She always gets her tasks done within the specified time."

As he spoke, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but recall Su Qing’s complaint. "He says Qiuting asks ’Nanny Su’ twenty or thirty times a day, ’Are the drawings done yet?’ It’s gotten to the point where he’s terrified by reflex whenever he sees her profile picture light up."

"Hahahaha! Qiuting is really torturing him."

"It’s true. Anyone who knew the situation would know she’s just trying to collect the finished drawings, but an outsider would think she was a debt collector," Jiang Xia said with a laugh.

He could definitely relate. ’What creator hasn’t been hounded for their work? Even novelists get pestered by their readers for updates day in and day out.’

The two ambled back to the dorm building, where Jiang Xia gave Lin Yanwan a gentle goodnight kiss.

When Lin Yanwan got back to her dorm room and opened the door, she was surprised to see Si Si holding Cui Jiaying’s hand.

"What are you two up to?" she asked, quietly closing the door behind her.

Cui Jiaying jumped, startled by Lin Yanwan’s sudden return. ’Qiuting just left a moment ago. And isn’t Yanwan supposed to be staying off campus with her boyfriend?’

"What are you doing back?!"

"I have class tomorrow morning. Am I not allowed back?" Lin Yanwan’s expression was strange. ’Something’s definitely up with these two.’ "So, what were you doing?"

"Ahem, we were..." Cui Jiaying’s face reddened as she discreetly pulled her hand away.

"I was telling Yingying’s fortune," Si Si interjected, her face a mask of calm.

"Oh."

Lin Yanwan nodded. Si Si did enjoy reading books about things like horoscopes and the Chinese zodiac. ’But why be so secretive about telling someone’s fortune?’ she wondered.

"Never mind us, look at you! Running off to live with your boyfriend all weekend. You’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence!"

Cui Jiaying crossed her arms, deciding the best defense was a good offense.