Chapter 66

As the weather gradually turned colder, Xu Ying had already changed into winter clothes.

She now needs to turn on the air conditioning when she's typing, otherwise she always feels cold and stiff sitting in the chair, and she can't fully concentrate on her work.

She was focused on typing when the communication icon on her computer suddenly flashed. Someone had sent a message. She clicked on it and saw that it was YaYa sending the last design draft.

Nearly three months have passed since she accepted Xu Ying's commission.

During these three months, she stopped all freelance work on Big Eyes and refused to accept any new collaborations, focusing solely on completing the character design drafts for "The Legend of Qinggao".

"Great, the last one!"

After sending the revised artwork to February Sky, Ya Ya felt a great sense of relief and leaned heavily against the back of her chair.

She's almost completely drained!

She drew every day and came up with new ideas every day, but the later she got, the emptier her mind became. Her inspiration had been exhausted, and she couldn't come up with anything else.

It's finally over.

She leaned back in her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling of her home, when her phone suddenly chimed, drawing her attention. She checked her phone and saw a text message notification that a deposit had been made into her account.

Many zeros.

Looking at the account balance on her phone, Ya Ya felt a pang of sadness, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She has money now.

She finally had the confidence to leave this place!

Xu Ying received the artwork and was very satisfied with it. She numbered the artwork and put it in a special folder along with the other artworks that Ya Ya had sent her in the past.

There are many characters in "Legend of the Qing Dynasty".

She couldn't possibly have YaYa do all the costumes for all the characters; such a huge workload would require a lot of hard work even for a team. She only had YaYa create the design drafts for the main characters—the concubines.

As for the rest, that still needs to be done by the production team.

Actually, Ya Ya is doing such a good job, we could totally invite her to join the crew, but I don't know if she's interested in joining the crew.

Xu Ying asked tentatively, and the other side immediately gave an affirmative answer.

Duckling learning to talk: I'm willing to go all out!!!

Having received such a large sum of money, Yaya was determined to resign before the winter break. Just as she was worrying about what to do next, her teacher, Ms. Eryue, suddenly offered her a job, which she was naturally happy to accept.

Duckling Learning to Talk: Where is the film crew planning to shoot?

Having left her parents, she now doesn't know which city to live in; they all seem pretty much the same. Since that's the case, she might as well prioritize work and rent a place wherever the film crew is located.

This also saved her from having to worry about it.

February in Shanghai.

Speaking of Shanghai, Xu Ying is going there in the next couple of days.

She has her eye on a house. She had already visited it once before, and she will go to take another look this time. If everything is fine, she will make a decision.

Actually, she quite liked the villa area in Qingfeng.

Unfortunately, the houses currently for sale there are not in very good locations; they are either too remote or too close to the exit. She doesn't like houses on the edge, so she had to choose another place.

*

There were no problems with the house. Xu Ying went to see it again and was still very satisfied, so she readily swiped her card and paid in full.

She was in a great mood after buying the house.

Realizing she hadn't contacted Qingfeng and Fuyou, who were in Shanghai, she quickly sent them a message inviting them to dinner.

The two were pleasantly surprised.

Mayfly: You didn't even say a word when you came to Shanghai.

A gentle breeze: How sudden, but I have time.

Mayfly: I have one too!!!

The three of them had dinner together that evening, chatting and laughing until nine o'clock in the blink of an eye.

After they had finished eating, they prepared to go home. Qingfeng took Xu Ying to her hotel and asked again before leaving, "Are you sure you don't want to come back with us?"

Xu Ying stayed at Qingfeng's house last time she came.

But you can't stay at someone else's house every time.

Xu Ying shook her head: "I booked a hotel near the place I was looking at, and I also need to go back to my hometown to pack my things, so I won't bother going back and forth to your house."

"Okay, then we'll be going now."

"Um."

Xu Ying waved goodbye and watched Qingfeng and Fuyou leave before returning to the hotel.

Just after arriving at the hotel and washing up, around 10:30, Xu Ying suddenly received a call from Lin Zhongxu: "Are you asleep?"

"No, I just arrived at the hotel and rested for a while."

"Want some late-night snacks? I just got out of class. How about I buy some near the school and bring them to you?"

"..." Xu Ying wasn't hungry at all, but hearing Lin Zhongxu's excited voice, she still said, "Then buy less."

"good!"

Lin Zhongxu hung up the phone in high spirits.

By the time he arrived at Xu Ying's door with the late-night snacks he bought from the school gate, it was already past eleven o'clock. Xu Ying opened the door and let him in, casually asking, "Does your dormitory have a curfew?"

"have."

"What time is it?"

"11:30."

That's right now.

Xu Ying turned her head and stared at him silently for a few seconds, making Lin Zhongxu feel a little embarrassed. Only then did she take him downstairs to the front desk and book a new room.

"You can stay here tonight and take a taxi to school tomorrow morning."

"good."

Lin Zhongxu readily accepted good advice.

He just wanted to come and see Sister Xiaoying, and now that he's achieved his goal, he's willing to do anything Sister Xiaoying says.

The two returned to the room.

Xu Ying looked at the table piled high with barbecue skewers and said, "Didn't I tell you to buy less?"

How can two people possibly finish eating so much food?

I'm afraid you won't have enough to eat.

Okay.

The hotel table was too low, so the two of them had to sit cross-legged on a cushion to eat.

"Sister Xiaoying, you've bought a house, when are you planning to move in?"

"Let's do it soon. I'll pack my things when I get back..." Xu Ying said, but then she realized something was amiss. The New Year was just around the corner, and it wouldn't be good to leave before then.

"Never mind, I'll move after the New Year."

Lin Zhongxu had obviously thought of this as well: "If your grandparents knew you bought a house, they would be very happy. Don't overthink it."

Xu Ying nodded.

She knew they would be happy, but she was sure they would feel bad if she moved out.

*

After Xu Ying returned home, she told the two elderly people about her house purchase, and they were indeed very happy for her.

Upon learning that she planned to move out after the New Year, they began preparing all sorts of New Year's goods. There were so many things that they couldn't possibly finish them all in one New Year, and many of them were actually intended for her to take with her.

Xu Ying couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Despite the sadness, the New Year still arrived as scheduled. After the lively celebrations, Xu Ying began packing her things all day long, packing up what needed to be packed and throwing away what needed to be thrown away.

Grandma Wang stood in the living room watching her busy figure and asked her what to do here.

She didn't react for a moment.

Grandma Wang repeated, "What do you plan to do with this house? Are you going to sell it?"

Xu Ying paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I won't sell it. I'll keep it here. I might come back to visit sometime."

Grandma Wang was very happy to hear this.

As she gets older, things around her gradually disappear, including familiar people. Now, keeping this house is just a way to remember her.

"Alright, alright, I'll look after this house for you."

Xu Ying nodded with a smile.

She spent three days packing and unpacking. She sent some large items from her home directly by courier, and put the rest in her car to take with her when she left.

"I'm leaving, Grandpa and Grandma!"

After telling Grandma Wang and Grandpa Li, Xu Ying left the small county town where she had lived for two years on a cold morning.

The journey from the small county town to Shanghai was long, and the roads were slippery due to the bad weather. Xu Ying drove very carefully, and by the time she arrived at her new home, the moon was already full.

She hadn't eaten anything properly all day, and didn't care about the luggage in the car. She booked a room at a nearby hotel, ate some takeout, and went straight to sleep.

It wasn't until the next day that she was in the mood to slowly move her things home.

Setting up a new home is tiring, so Lin Zhongxu knew she was coming back today and went back to school early. He left his suitcase in his dorm and took a taxi directly over.

Xu Ying was not surprised to see him.

When she last came to Shanghai, he said he would come over to help with the moving.

"for you."

Xu Ying handed the broom and mop to Lin Zhongxu, who took them without complaint and immediately got to work.

Xu Ying's new home is very large; it's a two-story detached villa.

This was Lin Zhongxu's first time here. He hadn't expected that Sister Xiaoying was so wealthy that she had bought a detached villa in Shanghai in one go.

"I should have invited my roommate to help with the work."

When he got back, he saw his roommate lying on the bed playing on his phone.

His roommate looked at him like he'd seen a ghost when he came back, and asked him why he was back at school so early. He seemed to have just said he had something to do and then left in a hurry.

Looking back now, I should have brought him along; he was just sitting around doing nothing anyway.

"It's the roommate we met at the barbecue restaurant last time."

As Lin Zhongxu spoke, he took out his phone and called his roommate. Upon hearing the call, his roommate promptly asked for the address and came over. He was so bored at school that he wouldn't have come over so early if it weren't for having to appease his girlfriend.

So now, even if he has to pay for his own taxi ride to work, he is still full of enthusiasm.

My roommate arrived an hour later.

"Brother, I've arrived!"

Lin Zhongxu received his call, told Xu Ying he was about to leave, and Xu Ying called after him, "It's so cold outside, put on your clothes!"

It was too hot to work, so he had already taken off his coat indoors and was just walking around in a sweater.

"oh."

Lin Zhongxu obediently put on his coat and left. When he came back, there was someone else following him.

Li Mian was not polite at all: "Hello, sister. My name is Li Mian. I am Lin Zhongxu's roommate. We met before at the barbecue restaurant, hehe."

In his opinion, this beautiful woman was definitely Lin Zhongxu's girlfriend, even though Lin Zhongxu wouldn't admit it.

"Hello, hello, thank you for your help."

"No trouble at all, I'm just bored at school."

......

night.

Xu Ying drove the two of them out for a big meal, then took them back to school before going home alone.

On her first day in her new home, she had trouble sleeping.

After tossing and turning for more than half an hour, she finally gave up on falling asleep, got out of bed, went to the study, and turned on the computer.

Zhou Xingyun contacted her these past two days and told her about the preliminary process of the audition for "Legend of the Qing Dynasty". If there are no unexpected events, the production team will release a nationwide recruitment announcement for actors in a week.

She felt a sense of urgency.

She is one of the judges for the preliminary selection, and she will definitely be very busy after the selection begins. While she still has time, she should save up more novel manuscripts.