When filming for “Blazing Flames” wrapped, it was almost time for the New Year.
Because the cast and crew finished at different times, when it was all completely over, based on the situation of the majority, the wrap party was held in Mingcheng.
After the wrap party ended, He Yan didn’t ask the company to send a car for her. She didn’t want others to know she lived in Jingjiang Villa District. The few times the driver had picked her up before, she had gotten in the car somewhere nearby.
But it was already ten at night, and she was a little tipsy. Taking a taxi wasn’t safe, so she called Aunt Qian and asked for the family driver to come pick her up.
He Yan stood obediently by the security guard in the first-floor lobby, her back straight, waiting for the driver.
The young security guard stole glances at her from time to time, his face blushing furiously.
Pei Yanchuan had been looking for her for a long time before finally finding her.
The young woman had slipped away before he noticed, without even saying goodbye to him.
Pei Yanchuan, with his coat draped over his arm, walked up to He Yan.
“Where do you live? I’ll take you home, it’s not safe at night.”
“No need, no need. Someone’s coming to pick me up.” He Yan quickly waved her hand, her face still showing the tipsy effects of alcohol.
“Bro Pei, my agent didn’t come. Could you give me a ride?” Fang Wan ran over, smiling at Pei Yanchuan.
The others were also coming down, slowly walking towards the entrance.
Su An’an was nearby. Her gaze swept over He Yan and Fang Wan, and she also spoke up gently: “If it’s convenient, could I also hitch a ride?”
Pei Yanchuan glanced at He Yan, paused for a few seconds, then nodded.
He Yan blinked slowly, looking straight towards the door.
Why wasn’t the driver here yet? She didn’t want to see Fang Wan and Su An’an. She was a bit drunk now and couldn’t compete with them.
Just as she was complaining, a black extended Rolls-Royce pulled up to a stop in front of the entrance. The familiar driver got out and waved to her.
He Yan darted out immediately. First, she nodded gratefully to the driver, then pulled open the rear door.
She froze.
“What are you doing here?” He Yan tilted her head, as if confirming whether she was hallucinating.
Two seconds later, she suddenly reacted, scrambled inside in a flash, and immediately closed the door.
Then she pressed her face against the car window, looking at the expressions of the people inside the restaurant behind her.
No one noticed, right?
“They can’t see me from this position.” Jiang Mingcheng saw through He Yan’s thoughts at a glance.
He Yan was stunned for a second, then finally nodded slowly. Turning her head, she raised one hand and gave him a thumbs-up: “Good job!”
Jiang Mingcheng suddenly smiled. The young woman, drunk, had become a bit silly.
“You haven’t answered me yet, why are you here?” He Yan suddenly leaned closer to Jiang Mingcheng, staring straight into his eyes.
“Aunt Qian asked me to come pick you up.”
“Oh, I guessed as much.” He Yan tilted her head again.
“By the way, let me tell you something funny.” He Yan turned sideways, leaning against the backrest, slightly closer to Jiang Mingcheng.
“What is it?”
“Do you remember that investor, the one with the surname Zhao, from before?”
“I remember.”
“Hehe, he went bankrupt! It’s like he got what he deserved! He really did withdraw his investment later. He ran out of money and had to pull out. It really matched what you said before—’You’ll withdraw whether you want to or not!'”
After saying this, He Yan paused for a few seconds, then suddenly remembered something. Her eyes widened as she looked at Jiang Mingcheng: “It wasn’t you, was it?”
The corners of Jiang Mingcheng’s lips curled upwards: “Mm.”
He Yan laughed freely: “That’s the best ‘mm’ I’ve heard since I came here!”
“You’re very happy?” Jiang Mingcheng gazed steadily at her.
“Super happy!” He Yan tilted her head back, the corners of her mouth curving up, her eyes full of laughter.
Jiang Mingcheng also smiled softly.
He Yan was quite drunk and soon fell asleep. In her daze, she gently leaned against Jiang Mingcheng’s shoulder.
He Yan actually knew in her heart that if it weren’t for Jiang Mingcheng being there, she wouldn’t have dared to fall asleep. But since coming to this world, inexplicably, the person she trusted most was Jiang Mingcheng.
He Yan was never a still sleeper, and being drunk made her even more prone to moving around.
Before she knew it, she was about to topple onto Jiang Mingcheng’s lap. He immediately reached out to steady her, directly pulling her into his arms.
He Yan, with her back to Jiang Mingcheng, leaned slightly askew against his chest. The smell of alcohol mixed with her sweet fragrance lingered around them. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t unpleasant.
Jiang Mingcheng didn’t know whether he should push He Yan back.
He looked down at the young woman sleeping sweetly in his arms and pursed his lips.
Forget it, I’ll let her take advantage this once.
Back at Jingjiang Villa, Aunt Qian was already waiting at the door.
Jiang Mingcheng put his arm around He Yan’s waist and gently carried the sleeping young woman out.
Aunt Qian was about to come over and ask what was wrong, but when she saw He Yan was asleep, she immediately covered her mouth.
Jiang Mingcheng gently carried He Yan upstairs and laid her on the bed.
Only then did he turn and go out, speaking to Aunt Qian: “Please take care of cleaning her up for me, Aunt Qian, and change her clothes.”
Aunt Qian agreed and watched Jiang Mingcheng return to his room.
The driver, who had followed them up, whispered: “Didn’t you say you asked him to go pick her up? I think the young master really treasures the young mistress.”
Aunt Qian’s eyes crinkled with laughter until they were almost invisible: “The young master waited downstairs for the young mistress all evening. As soon as he heard she was asking for someone to pick her up, he rushed right over.”
The driver suddenly understood.
The next morning, He Yan woke up naturally. She rubbed her soft hair and stretched refreshingly, feeling energized.
She decided to go exercise in the garden.
In the garden, He Yan did some leg stretches and arm exercises, feeling like she had loosened up all her joints.
Having officially started her vacation life, she was very happy.
Turning around, He Yan saw Jiang Mingcheng on the second-floor balcony.
He Yan smiled and waved enthusiastically at Jiang Mingcheng: “Good morning!”
Jiang Mingcheng had never seen anyone greet him so enthusiastically. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he nodded in return.
The snow on the surrounding plants and trees hadn’t been cleared yet. He Yan scooped up a handful, made a small snowman, and placed it on the swing.
Then she turned and went back inside.
Jiang Mingcheng stared fixedly at that snowman, then turned sideways to look at the adjacent balcony.
Acting on an impulse he didn’t understand, he walked downstairs, into the garden, and over to the swing.
He reached out and touched the snowman’s head.
With two days left until the New Year, He Yan had no choice but to follow Jiang Mingcheng back to the old family mansion.
But surprisingly, this time Grandma’s attitude had completely changed from her previous coldness; she was especially nice to He Yan.
“I saw in the news that you acted bravely to help someone? Yan Yan is such a good child.” Grandma Jiang looked warmly at He Yan and handed her a thick red envelope.
Grandma Jiang’s negative impression of the original owner mostly came from her parents. Before He Yan transmigrated, Grandma Jiang hadn’t really known the original owner. During the few brief meetings, because she already disliked her and was afraid she couldn’t hide her disgust, she had almost deliberately avoided her.
But the video of He Yan’s brave act last time had deeply moved her.
This young woman wasn’t at all like she had imagined.
She was different from those parents.
Thinking this way, Grandma Jiang became much warmer towards He Yan, and even began to feel deep down that a girl like this wouldn’t be unsuitable as the wife of the Jiang family.
He Yan took the red envelope and smiled at Grandma Jiang: “Thank you, Grandma.”
Grandma Jiang then looked at Jiang Mingcheng: “Mingcheng, you need to take good care of Yan Yan. She’s a young woman, not like you. She needs more delicate care.”
Jiang Mingcheng glanced at He Yan and agreed.
Jiang Mingcheng’s father had a personality much like his son’s, rather serious. Regarding the two of them, he only asked about their careers.
Father Jiang was a remarkable man. Still in his prime, he had boldly handed the family business over to Jiang Mingcheng, then struck out into a new field himself, where he was doing very well.
He Yan deeply admired him.
Jiang Mingcheng’s mother was an exceptionally gentle woman. The first time He Yan met her, she immediately felt enveloped by her gentleness.
They first went to their bedroom. The interior decoration was completely renewed, with red bedding everywhere, very festive.
Jiang Mingcheng glanced at He Yan, remembering the last time they stayed here. That night, the young woman had persistently clung to his waist and slept soundly all night.
He wondered if she would be a bit more well-behaved these few days.
He Yan casually scanned the room, finally fixing her gaze on the thick red envelope in her hand.
She held the envelope up in front of Jiang Mingcheng and asked, “I shouldn’t take this, right?”
“It was given to you, of course you can take it.” Jiang Mingcheng didn’t quite understand what she meant by asking.
“We’re a fake couple, though. It’s not really appropriate for me to take the red envelope meant for the daughter-in-law of your family.” He Yan explained.
Jiang Mingcheng’s expression immediately darkened.
So that’s what she meant.
“You can keep it with peace of mind.” His voice turned a few degrees colder.
“Really?”
“Would I lie to you?” Jiang Mingcheng frowned, his volume rising slightly.
“Oh.” He Yan pouted. “I was just confirming. No need to be so fierce about it.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be fierce.” Jiang Mingcheng explained, seeing the corners of He Yan’s mouth turn down.
He Yan gave him a slight glare: “Just naturally fierce-looking!”
Jiang Mingcheng: “?”
After He Yan left, Jiang Mingcheng couldn’t help but walk over to the mirror, carefully examining his reflection.
Do I look fierce? Didn’t you just say I was handsome before?
While the New Year’s Eve dinner was being prepared, He Yan darted around the kitchen, itching to get involved.
Grandma Jiang said to her with a smile: “If you want to cook, just go for it boldly.” Then she pointed at Jiang Mingcheng: “You go help her.”
The kitchen had inner and outer sections. The chefs vacated the inner kitchen for them.
He Yan felt a bit embarrassed: “My cooking isn’t very good. I just want to have a little fun.”
“Go ahead, I’ll assist you.” Jiang Mingcheng said, walking straight into the kitchen.
He Yan followed him in: “You don’t need to help me. I can manage on my own.”
“What dishes are you making?” Jiang Mingcheng didn’t respond to her comment.
He Yan relented: “I want to make a fish dish, and sweet and sour spare ribs.”
“Okay.” Jiang Mingcheng replied crisply.
Once the ingredients were requested, the chefs brought in the cleaned fish and ribs. To preserve a bit of the fun, the seasonings weren’t prepped for them.
He Yan was slicing scallions on one side, while Jiang Mingcheng was chopping garlic on the other.
Watching Jiang Mingcheng sniff his hand distastefully after chopping the garlic, He Yan couldn’t help but laugh.
Actually, He Yan had a reason for wanting to make these two dishes. She ate them every New Year.
One was her father’s specialty fish, the other her mother’s specialty sweet and sour spare ribs.
Ever since her parents passed away, she was the only one who made them for herself.
Thinking about this, He Yan’s expression became increasingly gentle, a smile still on her lips.
Jiang Mingcheng, chopping vegetables nearby, took in every detail of her expression.
Having made these two dishes countless times, He Yan was very skilled. Soon, the aroma began to waft out.
He Yan took a spoon and tasted the fish broth. It was just right.
Jiang Mingcheng’s mother, who had just followed the enticing smell into the kitchen, smiled: “Yan Yan, scoop a little more and let Mingcheng have a taste.”
He Yan looked at the spoon in her own hand, then at Jiang Mingcheng, and instinctively shook her head.
**