"Mei, you should understand that as long as the green hills last, there will always be wood to burn. You must not let this matter get you down, okay?"
After hearing Xiao Wenyao's words, Jian Hongmei had to admit that he was right.
The Xiao family had already lost its former glory. If they exhausted all their energy and connections over this matter and fell into an abyss from which there was no return, then it would be better to just give up directly.
Xiao Jianren and Xiao Jiannan were already useless. Rather than pinning the Xiao family's future on them, it would be better to nurture another capable child.
Under Xiao Wenyao's hopeful gaze, Jian Hongmei nodded.
"Alright, you're right. Let's have another one."
...
The weather had been very nice these past few days during the National Day holidays, and people were having a great time here.
Although Ye Jinmeng was dating Shi Shuning now, the way the two interacted hadn't changed much from before. The only difference was that they could hold hands now.
But even so, Shi Shuning felt like the whole world belonged to him. Everyday he was excited as if he had taken stimulants, happily over the moon.
Especially when facing Ye Junwen's gaze as cold as icy daggers, Shi Shuning was even more smug, like a victorious fighting cock. If looks could kill, Shi Shuning would have reincarnated 108 times already.
Seeing his younger brother's silly smug behavior everyday, Shi Shuan frequently rolled his eyes.
As for Xu Wanwan's side, Ye Jinmeng noticed several times that He Junting was staring intently at Xu Wanwan. Ye Jinmeng felt there was something brewing between them, but every time she tried to create an opportunity for them to be alone, she failed.
Xu Wanwan avoided He Junting as if he were the plague, afraid that He Junting would catch her and ask about her secret. So she either stuck close to Ye Jinmeng or Mrs. Ye, and if no one was around, she would stay in her room.
This not only dissatisfied He Junting, but also nearly drove Ye Jinmeng mad.
It's so difficult to play matchmaker...
Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was the last day of the National Day holidays. The sky suddenly rained lightly.
Luckily the weather forecast said the rain would stop in the afternoon, so people decided to wait for it to stop before heading back.
In the living room, some were watching TV, some were playing on their phones.
Ye Jinmeng was curled up in a hammock by the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the luxurious villa's living room, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain, comfortable and ready for a nap.
"Ah, so blissful. We've done everything we wanted to do during the holidays, and it happens to rain on the last day, perfect for sleeping in."
Ye Jinmeng stretched out lazily. "Mm, feels nice!"
Seeing Ye Jinmeng's lazy appearance, Xu Wanwan couldn't bear to remind her, "Jinmeng, you haven't drawn your design draft yet, right..."
(ŎдŎ|||)ノノ Ye Jinmeng, who was just about to doze off, widened her eyes and immediately sat up. The intense movement nearly made her fall out of the hammock.
"Ahhh!! I'm done for, done for! Today is the last day, classes start again tomorrow!!! Ahhh, what to do! I still haven't drawn it!" Ye Jinmeng was nearly in tears from anxiety.
That's right, Ye Jinmeng had procrastinated again after making resolutions several times before.
Xu Wanwan and Shi Shuning would remind her everyday, and Ye Jinmeng would say, "It's fine, there's still time. This draft is easy to draw!"
And so she dragged it out until now.
Seeing Ye Jinmeng on the verge of tears from anxiety, Shi Shuning's mind buzzed, also feeling regret for having indulged her.
"Wait here, I'll go upstairs to grab your tools for you. You can draw here, and we'll all watch over you!"
He immediately ran upstairs.
Xu Wanwan shook her head. "There, don't panic Jinmeng. Stay calm, I believe you can definitely finish drawing it!"
Ye Jinchen had no intention of comforting her. He also knew about Ye Jinmeng's drafting assignment, and no matter how much he said before when seeing her lack of urgency, she paid him no heed. This girl's procrastination tendency was too serious, so this would be a good lesson for her.
He spoke severely, "Ye Jinmeng! You've had such a long time, even if you just spent an hour everyday, you would have long finished it already. Yet you put it off until the last minute to panic."
"You're not allowed to eat until you finish drawing today!"
Hearing she wouldn't be allowed to eat, Ye Jinmeng let out a "wah" and started crying.
"(╥_╥) Wahhh...I was wrong...can't not eat...wahhh...."
Ye Jinchen was determined to fix Ye Jinmeng's procrastinating tendencies this time, so if he said no food, then no food!
Ye Junli and Gu Qi wanted to say something, but were immediately interrupted by Ye Jinchen.
"Mom and dad, we must properly cure her procrastinating bad habit. She's already procrastinating on her assignments now, but when she enters society in the future and works, there will be no allowance for procrastination."
Seeing Jinmeng cry sadly, Ye Junwen spoke up compassionately, "Jinchen, eating wouldn't waste much time, don't go overboard."
He even wanted to get up and walk over to wipe Ye Jinmeng's tears, but Shi Shuning beat him to it, bringing over the stationery and standing by Ye Jinmeng's side, eyeing Ye Junwen guardedly.
"Here's the stuff you need, I'll sit here and watch you draw."
Ye Jinmeng spread out the paper on the small table, then didn't lift her pen for ten minutes.
"Wahhh....don't stand so close to me, I get nervous when you're so close, I can't draw...wahhh....you go sit with them...."
Shi Shuning rubbed his brow and went to sit on the sofa.
The few people on the sofa all looked intently at Ye Jinmeng crying while drawing over there.
And so this scene appeared:
Ye Jinmeng: (╥_╥) Wahhh....
Ye Jinchen and He Junting: Expressionless (・_・)
Shi Shuning, Xu Wanwan, Ye Junwen: Helpless and distressed (⋟_⋞)
Ye Junli, Gu Qi, Shi Shuan: Pfft hahahaha (*ˊᗜˋ)☞
Ye Jinmeng cried louder ̊‧o·( ̊˃̣̣̥᷄□˂̣̣̥᷅)‧o· ̊
Ye Junli, Gu Qi, Shi Shuan: (⚆_⚆)...
An hour later, Ye Jinmeng stopped crying.
"I'm done." Ye Jinmeng's voice was still sobbing.
Everyone: ! !(•'╻'•) So fast?!
Xu Wanwan immediately ran over. "Jinmeng, you finished both draft pages that quickly?"
"Yup!" Ye Jinmeng said matter-of-factly.
The others also crowded around to look at the two pages on the table, silent.
The required design theme was "dreams", and clearly, the name Ye Jinmeng had designed was "Stars and Oceans".
The menswear design was a black gradient casual suit. The top was a light blue that gradually faded away into black towards the bottom, the color getting darker from top to bottom. There were small sparkles that also increased in number from top to bottom.
It gave the feeling of the process of day fading into a starry night.
The womenswear design was a strapless mermaid gown with a front side slit and the back slightly trailing. It had a layered look to it. The overall color was blue, gradually lightening from top to bottom, until it became white at the hem, looking like waves crashing onto the sandy beach.
The two outfits had no extraneous decorative designs, yet were very beautiful.