Chapter 394 - 389: Golden Dragon Award Nomination

Chapter 394: Chapter 389: Golden Dragon Award Nomination

After the dinner party, Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan stayed for a while before heading back. Zhou Lu had left even earlier, so Shen Ying was the only guest remaining at the house.

Normally, Wang Ming should have been taking Shen Ying back to her hotel, but Li Weiya casually asked, "Yingying, are you comfortable at the hotel?"

"Yes, it’s quite comfortable," Shen Ying replied with a small nod.

"And what about for the summer break? Have you decided where you’re going to stay?"

Shen Ying hesitated. The hotel cost 500 yuan a night. Staying for two or three days was manageable, but any longer and a whole month’s salary wouldn’t even cover the cost.

"Yanwan has a spare room now, or I could stay in her dorm," she said.

"Don’t go to all that trouble, Yingying. You can just stay here," Li Weiya said, smiling brightly.

Shen Ying froze, stunned. Beside her, Wang Ming was nodding frantically.

He would never agree to his girlfriend staying at his best friend’s place. And while a Tsinghua dorm was a solution, it would be far too inconvenient.

Shen Ying glanced at the apartment’s only two bedrooms, one for the mother and one for the son. ’Even if I stayed, there’s no room for me.’

’Surely she doesn’t expect me to move in with Wang Ming already?’

She suddenly remembered their intimate moment at the hotel that morning. Li Weiya had even secretly packed some condoms for them. ’It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.’

’If I really end up sharing a bed with Wang Ming every night, I’ll have no secrets left!’

"Auntie... there isn’t enough room, is there...?" she said, hesitating.

Wang Ming looked at his mom too. ’She can’t be planning for us to move in together right now, can she? Not that I’d mind—I’d actually be thrilled—but Shen Ying would never agree.’

"I’ll tidy up the living room in a bit. Ah Ming can sleep on the sofa for the summer, and Yingying, you can have his room."

Before Shen Ying could even say a word, Wang Ming nodded in agreement.

"Mom, I can sleep on the sofa."

"It’s not your decision to make. We need Yingying’s approval," Li Weiya said with a smile, putting the ball back in Shen Ying’s court.

Shen Ying glanced from Wang Ming to Li Weiya. On one side, she saw her boyfriend’s hopeful expression; on the other, she felt the kindness of her future mother-in-law. She was at a loss for how to refuse.

’Besides, I’ve already met his mother. Staying at my boyfriend’s family home seems reasonable enough, doesn’t it?’

’Under his mom’s watchful eye, he probably wouldn’t dare try anything funny, right?’

"So, Yingying, what do you think? If you live here, we can commute to and from work together, and it’ll be easier for me to cook for everyone," Li Weiya said, smiling.

Shen Ying felt a stir of temptation. ’If I agree, would this be like getting a preview of life after marrying into the family?’

Living and working with her future mother-in-law before she was even married... for anyone, that would be a rather intense experience.

"Um, Auntie, would it be okay if I moved in tomorrow? My luggage is still at the hotel," she said, blushing.

A wide grin spread across Wang Ming’s face. ’Living under the same roof as my girlfriend for two months? This is awesome!’

"Of course. Just make him do all the heavy lifting," Li Weiya said with a small smile.

She glanced at her son, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smirk as if to say, ’How about that, son? Mom’s a pretty good wingman, huh?’

At nine p.m., Wang Ming walked Shen Ying back to her hotel. They strolled slowly, hand in hand, enjoying the gentle night breeze.

"I finally get why Old Jiang was always taking walks and holding his wife’s hand," Wang Ming said suddenly.

"Why?"

"Because holding the hand of the person you love brings such a deep sense of contentment," he said with a smile. The heartfelt joy was clear in his sincere eyes.

Shen Ying said softly, "I like it too."

Before they knew it, they were back at the hotel. The young couple, in the blush of new love, held each other in her room for a long time before reluctantly pulling apart.

"Ying, I’m heading back then. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, dork."

◇

「The next day, at the Tsinghua Science Park.」

Li Weiya received some good news from the Golden Dragon Award organizers: *Cat and Mouse* had been nominated for several awards, and they were requesting that the creator, or an official representative from Qitian Animation, attend the awards ceremony.

"Ah Xia, you’re the one who has to attend the Golden Dragon Award ceremony," Li Weiya said as she pushed open the door to Jiang Xia’s office, delivering the good news she’d just received.

Jiang Xia, who was in the middle of storyboarding for *Slam Dunk*, looked up with a pleased expression. "Oh? *Cat and Mouse* was nominated?"

"I forwarded you the email on QQ. Take a look for yourself—it was nominated for several."

Jiang Xia opened the unread email and saw that *Cat and Mouse* had received nominations for Best Animated Feature, Best Animation IP, Best Animated Series, Best Student Animation, Best Children’s Animation, and Best Animated Character.

Although he knew *Cat and Mouse* was bound to win awards, he was still a little surprised to see so many nominations at once.

"This many?"

"What did you expect? Ever since *Cat and Mouse* started airing on TV, has there been a single season where the ratings didn’t go through the roof?" Li Weiya said with a laugh.

Jiang Xia was momentarily speechless. The status of *Cat and Mouse* in the country was now practically unshakeable. The eccentric and clever Tom and Jerry had captured the hearts of young and old, male and female alike, amassing a massive fanbase that spanned all ages.

Leaving aside the official version, even the popularity of the regional dialect dubs was enough to steamroll other animated shows. So, with *Cat and Mouse*’s popularity in a league of its own, it was only natural for it to garner so many nominations.

"Where is the awards ceremony being held?"

"Right here in the Imperial Capital. It’s on July 20th."

Li Weiya smiled. "This year’s Golden Dragon Award is hosted by the National Broadcasting Administration, in partnership with the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Qingmei, the Animation School of the National Communication University, and several comic magazines. Our D Station and some other online media platforms are co-sponsors."

"Hmm... okay, I’ll attend," Jiang Xia agreed with a nod.

It was manageable since the ceremony was in the Imperial Capital. If it had been in another province, he would have had to send someone in his place.

To be honest, the prize money for the Golden Dragon Award wasn’t substantial. Even winning the grand prize in a major category was only worth 20,000 yuan, and the prizes for minor categories were only a few thousand.

However, as one of the nation’s most influential and prestigious animation awards, the Golden Dragon Award’s true value lay not in the prize money but in the honor of being recognized across the country.

That was something money couldn’t buy.

"Godmother, will you come with me then?"

"I think I’ll sit this one out. You should go with Yanwan. Oh, and I forgot to mention, you were also nominated for Best Animation Director, and Yanwan was nominated for Best Voice Actress."

"Huh?"

This time, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but crack a smile. ’Looks like in this parallel world, the quality of domestic animation is really that bad. A single show, *Cat and Mouse*, is enough to completely overshadow every other contemporary animation.’

He was forgetting, however, that in his previous life, *Cat and Mouse* was considered the pinnacle of animation precisely because it had won and been nominated for numerous Academy Awards.

In the current domestic animation scene, where the quality of work was so inconsistent, its release was nothing short of a complete steamroll.