Chapter 457 - 432: A Household Registration Page (Part 2)

Chapter 457: Chapter 432: A Household Registration Page (Part 2)

She didn’t ask how Wang Ming’s meeting with Shen Ying’s parents went, only asking casually, "Is everything okay at home?"

"Don’t worry, Mom. No one broke in. The layout and decorations are all the same, it was just covered in a lot of dust. Shen Ying actually helped me do a thorough cleaning," Wang Ming replied.

"Thank you for all your help, Yingying," Li Weiya said with a chuckle.

Wang Ming wasn’t having any of it. "Hey, Mom, I cleaned too! How come you didn’t thank me for my hard work?"

"You’re my son, and that’s your house. Isn’t it only natural for you to clean it? What, do you expect me to give you a couple of bucks for ice cream or something?"

"Well, Shen Ying is your future daughter-in-law..." Wang Ming muttered.

Hearing this, Shen Ying’s face flushed bright red, and she secretly pinched the web of his hand, hard.

Wang Ming grinned foolishly. Even though it hurt, he was loving every second of it.

"Mom, what’s the box office at for the limited release of the Cat and Mouse movie?" He changed the subject.

"Oh, so you finally remembered you directed an animated movie? I thought you couldn’t care less about it," Li Weiya said, rolling her eyes.

"Ahem... I was busy with other things the past couple of days. But I’m completely free now. I’ll do whatever you need," Wang Ming said, patting his chest.

"It’s not bad. The limited-release box office is quite a bit higher than last year’s. However, this time the run is a full week, covers a wider range of cities, and has more daily screenings. So, we can’t tell yet if the final box office will reach last year’s level."

Li Weiya thought for a moment before continuing, "But the average attendance rate is still very high. Today is only the fourth day of the limited release, and the box office has already accumulated over a hundred million. Once it’s officially released to the public, the final numbers shouldn’t be bad either."

Hearing his mom say that, Wang Ming felt much more at ease.

Jiang Xia had promised him a one percent commission if the box office exceeded a billion. His standalone villa was finally within reach.

But he couldn’t tell Shen Ying about this just yet. He wanted to surprise her with it later on.

Before long, the car arrived at the Tsinghua Science Park parking lot.

The three of them took the elevator upstairs, arriving just as Jiang Xia was finishing up an interview.

With the New Year just around the corner, most of the company’s departments that could take a holiday had already done so. As the boss, Jiang Xia had given out extremely generous year-end bonuses to ensure his employees could have a wonderful holiday season.

This was all to ensure they would work even harder for the company in the coming year.

"Well, look who’s back." Jiang Xia’s gaze swept over Shen Ying as he smiled. "Not bad, my boy. Nicely done."

Old Wang raised his eyebrows, looking extremely pleased with himself.

’After successfully bringing his girl home, didn’t he deserve to be smug for a day or two?’

"Alright, now that you’re back, all this crap with the production crew is yours to deal with. I need to get some proper rest. Don’t forget, Saturday, the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, is Happy Camp on Xiangnan Satellite TV."

Jiang Xia clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "The company’s put so much into promotion this year. It’d be hard to justify anything less than two billion at the box office, don’t you think?"

Wang Ming’s face darkened. He wasn’t even sure they could hit one billion, let alone two. They couldn’t make that kind of money even if they sold him off.

"Alright, let’s go eat first. We can deal with everything else after we’ve filled our stomachs."

With that, Jiang Xia’s gaze slid past Wang Ming to land on Shen Ying. He said teasingly, "Shen Ying, Yanwan has been talking about you nonstop these past few days. If there’s not enough room at your godmother’s place, you can always come stay at mine. I’ve got plenty of rooms."

"Get lost, get lost! Don’t even think about getting any ideas about my girl."

’I wonder...’ Wang Ming suddenly thought with anticipation. ’Now that I’ve met her parents, Mom should agree to let Shen Ying and I share a bed, right??’

For dinner, the group had mutton hotpot cooked in a traditional copper pot. The winters in the Imperial Capital were freezing, and only a meal like this could truly warm you up.

The next day, the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Wang Ming had barely had a chance to rest after arriving in the Imperial Capital before he was on a flight to Xiangnan with the Cat and Mouse movie crew.

At the time, Happy Camp was hugely influential across the country. Countless people would sit in front of their TVs every Saturday night, waiting to watch the variety show.

If the crew put on a good enough performance on the show and built up hype for the movie, they could give the box office a massive boost.

And just as Jiang Xia had expected, after the last episode of Happy Camp before the New Year aired, the online response was enormous.

Even Shen Ying’s parents, who normally didn’t like variety shows, found themselves glued to the television, watching to see just how outstanding their future son-in-law was.

Wang Ming seized the opportunity to heavily advertise the upcoming nationwide release of Cat and Mouse: A Battle of Rivals. Even his own D Station and Weibo accounts saw a massive surge in followers.

Presumably, the movie’s box office would see another significant increase during the Spring Festival release period.

「The 30th of the twelfth lunar month. New Year’s Eve.」

On this day, Jiang Xia had turned down all his scheduled activities in advance, and even invited his godmother and her family to celebrate the New Year at his home.

He was a rather traditional person. While promoting the movie was important, the atmosphere of a reunion with family and friends was even more so. It was already a shame that he couldn’t go home for the holiday; he certainly wasn’t going to work himself to the bone on New Year’s Eve.

The standalone villa was covered in decorations, brimming with festive cheer. Li Weiya took charge in the kitchen while the other four helped out, making it the perfect opportunity to cook the cured pork ribs and sausages they had brought from home.

The reunion dinner that evening was the main event. Back in their hometown, Lin Gaoyuan had prepared a family banquet, inviting both Jiang Xia’s parents and Shen Ying’s parents to join.

Aside from the young Lin Xiaoman, the three families all had one thing in common: their children weren’t with them. They were all in the same boat, finding comfort in each other’s company.

During the meal, Jiang Xia set up a laptop on the table in front of him, starting a video call to make sure the elders could see him.

This way, even though they couldn’t be home for the New Year’s Eve dinner, it was close enough to a real reunion.

As the only elder present, Li Weiya naturally took on the task of looking after the younger ones. Jiang Xia raised his glass to the screen to toast his father-in-law, and the adults certainly didn’t hold back, drinking to their hearts’ content over the course of the meal.

"Dad, once I’m not so busy here, Yanwan and I will come back to see you all." Jiang Xia gently breathed out a puff of alcohol-laced air. His face was flushed a charming shade of red; he was clearly a little tipsy.

"Yeah, right. I’ve never seen you with a day off. If you can’t make it back again next year, your mother and I will just come to your place for the New Year," Jiang Wende retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Deal. It’d be best if you all came," Jiang Xia laughed.

"Brother-in-law, boohoo, I miss you! And Sister!" Xiao Man appeared in front of the camera, holding a big crab leg and gnawing on it with relish.

"Hehehe, Xiao Man, I told you before, right? Study hard, and after you graduate from elementary school, I’ll transfer you to a school in the Imperial Capital. You can live in my big house every day. How does that sound?"

"Yay! I’m already trying my best! I was first in my grade again this semester!"

"That’s amazing! As a reward, you get a big crab claw. But remember, kids definitely can’t drink alcohol, okay?" Jiang Xia cracked open the large crab claw, but then placed the tender, white meat into his wife’s bowl.

"I know, Brother-in-law~"

Afterward, Wang Ming also had a chat with his future in-laws. Li Weiya appeared on camera as well, and so the parents from both sides met for the first time.

However, Li Weiya was the second-in-command of a major corporation, after all, so Shen Ying’s parents were inevitably a little reserved. For the most part, it was Li Weiya who steered the conversation.

"Yingying’s mother and father, I’m truly sorry I wasn’t able to return home to meet you in person this time. As soon as I have a free moment, I will be sure to visit you personally."

"Oh no, no, please don’t say that. You’re a very busy woman; the thought alone is more than enough for us. Seeing that Yingying is doing so well with you, her father and I aren’t worried in the slightest," Ye Qiuju said hurriedly.

Li Weiya smiled gently. "My dear in-laws, basic etiquette is still important. When I have time, I’ll bring the kids home for a visit myself."

She looked at Shen Ying and said, "I’m very fond of Yingying. Thank you for raising such a wonderful daughter."

Sitting next to Wang Ming, Shen Ying grew shy from the praise.

After dinner, the family sat in front of the television to watch the long-awaited Spring Festival Gala. Because fireworks and firecrackers were banned in the Capital, New Year’s Eve there lacked much of the festive spirit they were used to back home.

Jiang Xia had originally planned to set off some firecrackers in his yard to celebrate, but he thought better of it in the end.

He had promised Jiang Wende that no matter how rich he became, he would always be a law-abiding citizen.

That was his bottom line.

Instead of setting off fireworks in the yard, he’d rather make some fireworks in bed with his wife.

Before they knew it, midnight struck. Amidst the distant sound of fireworks, the Cat and Mouse movie officially began its nationwide release.

...