He Yan reached out, took a new clean spoon, and handed it to Jiang Mingcheng: “You try it.”
Jiang Mingcheng’s gaze swept over He Yan’s spoon and then the spoon she was handing him. His eyes darkened slightly as he took the spoon expressionlessly.
She did the right thing. There was no way he would share a spoon with someone else, nor did he need anyone to feed him.
But somehow, he felt a strange emotion inside, one he couldn’t quite explain.
Watching her son’s reaction, Mother Jiang’s lips slowly curled upwards.
Her son did care about this young woman. At the very least, he had a favorable impression of her.
However, with her son’s personality, if he wanted to win the young woman over, he had a very long road ahead.
When Mother Jiang first learned of this marriage agreement, she thought it was utterly absurd. How could such an important matter as marriage be decided so casually?
She had just been about to rush back and stop it when she heard that her son had agreed.
She knew Jiang Mingcheng had compromised for the sake of his grandfather. When she talked to him about it, he only said: “It’ll end in divorce.”
Mother Jiang smiled, turned, and left the kitchen.
Once all the dishes were ready, everyone took their seats at the table.
He Yan and Jiang Mingcheng sat close together.
Mother Jiang glanced at Jiang Mingcheng, smiled, and said: “Mingcheng, see what dishes Yan Yan likes and give her a little more.”
He Yan was just about to wave her hand and say it wasn’t necessary when Jiang Mingcheng spoke bluntly: “I don’t know which dishes she likes.”
He Yan: …Alright then, worry for nothing.
Jiang’s grandparents and mother: “…”
Seeing the sudden silence and his family looking at him with expressions that were hard to describe, Jiang Mingcheng turned directly to He Yan: “Which ones do you like? I’ll get them for you.”
He Yan forced herself to muster a smile: “No need, I can get them myself.”
No need for you, big shot, to lower yourself.
Mother Jiang sighed inwardly: Blame his father’s genes, too strong. Can’t teach him, can’t teach him.
“The two dishes Yan Yan made are very tasty. I didn’t expect Yan Yan to be such a good cook.” Grandma Jiang promptly changed the subject.
“Thank you for the compliment, Grandma.” He Yan replied politely.
“Mingcheng, what do you think of the sweet and sour spare ribs?” Grandma Jiang decided to give Jiang Mingcheng an opportunity.
“Not bad, a little too sweet.” Jiang Mingcheng was very straightforward.
He Yan: “…”
Polite small talk! Don’t you understand polite small talk!
He Yan rolled her eyes at Jiang Mingcheng internally.
By the end of the meal, He Yan completely didn’t want to talk to Jiang Mingcheng anymore.
This guy was a total straight-laced, dense man!
Mother Jiang looked helplessly at Jiang Mingcheng. The boy had silently eaten most of the fish and sweet and sour spare ribs himself; she saw all his little thoughts.
But unfortunately, his words weren’t sweet!
All his father’s fault, that inheritance!
Thinking this, Mother Jiang shot a glare at Father Jiang beside her.
Father Jiang: ?
In the evening, the whole family gathered together to watch the Spring Festival Gala. As usual, He Yan was arranged to sit next to Jiang Mingcheng.
He Yan curled up in a corner of the sofa, relaxed, watching a comedy sketch and laughing heartily.
When she got excited, she even accidentally kicked Jiang Mingcheng next to her a few times.
Jiang Mingcheng looked down at the little feet kicking him. They were fair and tender, with a hint of pink.
But she wasn’t wearing socks.
Jiang Mingcheng frowned slightly.
Just as he was wondering how to remind her, Mother Jiang happened to come over with a few blankets. She handed one to him and tilted her head slightly towards He Yan beside him, smiling: “Cover Yan Yan up.”
He Yan immediately waved her hand: “No need, no need, I’ll do it myself.” As she spoke, she reached for the blanket.
But before she could touch it, Jiang Mingcheng leaned over and draped the blanket over her, finally wrapping her feet up as well.
Tightly and completely.
He Yan: …No need to wrap me up like a zongzi.
Mother Jiang smiled approvingly and returned to her seat.
After Jiang Mingcheng had covered He Yan with the blanket, he looked satisfied at the wrapped feet, then sat back upright, quietly watching the gala.
He Yan looked at Jiang Mingcheng’s straight posture, couldn’t help but lean forward, and whispered to him: “Did you think that comedy sketch just now was funny?”
“It was funny.”
“Then why aren’t you laughing?”
Jiang Mingcheng turned to look at her, and said very seriously: “I did laugh.”
He Yan: “?”
When did you laugh? I didn’t hear a sound!
As she moved, the blanket covering her feet loosened. Jiang Mingcheng reached out to re-wrap it for her. He Yan didn’t want him to fix her blanket, so she reached out and pushed against his shoulder.
Suddenly, an actor in a TV sketch let out an “Ah!” that was too abrupt and startling. He Yan’s whole body jolted in surprise. Because her body was tangled in the blanket, she couldn’t keep her balance and started to fall backward.
In that critical moment, He Yan instinctively grabbed onto Jiang Mingcheng’s clothes, pulling him along with her.
Luckily, Jiang Mingcheng reacted quickly enough, bracing himself with his arms so he didn’t fall onto He Yan.
But now, He Yan was lying on the sofa, her hand clutching Jiang Mingcheng’s clothes, while Jiang Mingcheng hovered above her, supporting himself on his arms.
Extremely intimate.
Mother Jiang couldn’t help but speak up: “Yan Yan and Mingcheng can go watch the gala in the bedroom, you don’t need to keep us company out here.”
Jiang Mingcheng and He Yan quickly sat up straight: “No need.”
He Yan’s face was flushed red with embarrassment.
Even though nothing had happened, it was still embarrassing in front of so many people.
Especially since they seemed to have misunderstood something.
Watching the gala later on, He Yan grew a bit sleepy. She leaned against the back of the sofa, her eyes half-closed.
Grandpa and Grandma were older and had gone to bed early, but Mother Jiang really loved watching the Spring Festival Gala and was still full of energy.
He Yan felt that as the younger generation, it wouldn’t be very polite to just leave.
Mother Jiang, immersed in the gala, glanced towards He Yan during a break in the host’s talking and immediately noticed she was sleepy.
Mother Jiang smiled: “Yan Yan’s sleepy? If you’re tired, go back to bed.”
He Yan felt a little embarrassed: “Then I won’t keep watching the gala with you.”
Mother Jiang gently curved her lips and turned to look at Father Jiang behind her: “It’s fine, Wenzhe is here with me. Isn’t that right, honey?”
He Yan chuckled softly. Mother Jiang was currently being held in Father Jiang’s arms. The two were snuggled together, looking particularly lovely.
Father Jiang lowered his head slightly, gently kissed Mother Jiang on the cheek, and nodded.
On his face was a rarely seen tenderness.
Just as He Yan was about to get off the sofa, Mother Jiang suddenly stopped her.
He Yan was startled, not knowing why.
“Mingcheng, you carry Yan Yan back.” Mother Jiang smiled cunningly.
“No need, no need. I’ll walk myself.” He Yan was startled. There was no way she’d let Jiang Mingcheng carry her.
“A husband should dote on his wife.” Mother Jiang looked at Jiang Mingcheng again.
Jiang Mingcheng said nothing, turning to look at He Yan beside him.
He Yan quickly waved her hand: “No need, no need.”
“Ah!”
Jiang Mingcheng directly put his arm around her waist and lifted her up. Afraid of falling, He Yan instinctively looped her arms around his neck.
And so, Jiang Mingcheng carried her like that, climbing the stairs towards the second floor.
He Yan, with her arms around his neck, quietly leaned close to his ear and lowered her voice: “You’re this obedient to your mom’s words, huh.”
Jiang Mingcheng paused mid-step, then continued walking up without answering.
What he didn’t say was that his parents had never forced him to do anything.
When they reached the second floor, He Yan started fussing to be put down: “Mom and Dad can’t see us anymore, you can let me down now.”
Jiang Mingcheng didn’t loosen his grip and directly placed her onto the bed.
He Yan: “?”
Is Jiang Mingcheng this inflexible? Can’t he even cheat a little? Does he have to perfectly complete the task Mom gave him?
Oh well, it’s fine by me. It’s not like I’m the one getting tired.
Thinking this, He Yan rolled around on the bed a couple of times, rolling over to her side.
Her ink-black hair scattered across the red bedsheets, looking quite beautiful.
Jiang Mingcheng closed the door and also slowly got into bed.
He lay down properly on his own side.
And closed his eyes.
He Yan turned off the light.
Jiang Mingcheng, eyes closed, still listened to the sounds beside him.
Will she be like last time today?
If she hugs him again, should he push her away? Pushing her away seems useless, she’ll just hug him again, so there’s no need to waste the energy.
Even though she’s taking advantage, hw can just endure it and it’ll pass.
Jiang Mingcheng waited ten minutes, but still nothing happened.
He Yan wasn’t actually asleep yet. She was hiding under the covers, messaging Xia Yin.
She had originally wanted to sleep after turning off the light, but she saw Xia Yin’s message and naturally started chatting.
This chat went on for over twenty minutes.
He Yan couldn’t hold on any longer. She finally turned off her phone, poked her head out from under the covers, and went to sleep.
A few minutes later, He Yan fell asleep and, in her restless state, started feeling around everywhere until she finally touched a warm body.
He Yan wrapped her arms around Jiang Mingcheng’s waist, pressed her head close to his body, and slept soundly.
In the darkness, Jiang Mingcheng’s lips curled upwards slightly before he finally drifted off to a deep sleep.
He Yan and Jiang Mingcheng only stayed at the old mansion for three days before returning to Jingjiang Villa.
Jiang Mingcheng’s work was demanding. Even during the Spring Festival period, there were still matters that needed his attention.
So, he often stayed in the study.
Meanwhile, He Yan was preparing a gift for her ten million followers.
The format of the gift was decided by Sister Jingyi: a short dance video with simple, cute moves and an especially alluring wink at the end.
He Yan wandered around the villa for a while but finally decided the garden would be a more suitable backdrop. So, she set up her phone on a stand in the garden and started practicing in front of it.
The dance moves were very simple, mainly meant to highlight the cuteness and the final wink.
He Yan practiced several times in front of the camera, then played back the video to look for her shortcomings.
Her performance in the earlier part was okay, but the final wink wasn’t alluring enough.
This was her first time posting a gift for her fans, so she was especially serious. She wanted to refine every move to ensure her fans could see her sincerity when they watched it.
After thinking it over, He Yan decided she needed to change the final move.
After practicing a few more times, she finally felt confident. She straightened her clothes and restarted the recording app.
This time, the dance went very smoothly. For the final step, He Yan directly swept her hair back from the front, letting it fall to one side of her neck. Then, facing the camera, she gave a wink full of charm and allure.
She looked up and saw Jiang Mingcheng not far in front of the camera.
He Yan quickly stopped recording, saved the video, and only then greeted Jiang Mingcheng.
Jiang Mingcheng looked at He Yan. Her hair was still swept to one side just like before, revealing the fair, slender nape of her neck on the other side.
He unconsciously replayed the dance he had just witnessed. The young woman smiled at the camera, performing cute dance moves. Then, at the very end, she suddenly shifted from her previous cute style to something enchanting and alluring, and then came that wink.
For the first time, he understood the precise meaning of the word “captivating.”
Suppressing the unnatural feeling in his eyes, he only nodded at He Yan before turning and going back inside.
His mind was filled with that wink.
Watching Jiang Mingcheng leave, He Yan took her phone down from the stand, cut off the irrelevant parts at the beginning and end of the video, and posted it on Weibo:
A gift for reaching ten million followers. Do you like it?
**