Chapter 430: Fool, Do You Want to Hug Me?

After the Golden Dragon Award ceremony ended, Wang Ming returned backstage. Shen Ying couldn’t contain her excitement and rushed over, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

Going on stage to accept 12 Golden Dragon Awards in a row was the greatest honor of the evening.

Although the only award that was personally his was for Best New Director, with the others going to Qitian Animation, he still stole the show. The spotlight landed on him more than ten times, making him the center of everyone’s attention.

From now on, he was one of the most outstanding animation directors of the younger generation.

“I knew you could do it!” Shen Ying’s voice trembled with excitement.

While she was watching the live broadcast backstage, every time the host called Wang Ming’s name, she would shout and jump for joy, happier than if she had won an award herself.

“Hehehe, how could I not keep a promise I made to you?”

They pulled apart, and he handed her his personal award. “Ying, this is for you.”

“Huh?”

Wang Ming blinked. “It’s a betrothal gift. You said so yourself last year. Now that you’ve accepted it, that means you’ll marry me, right?”

Shen Ying blushed and nodded shyly. “I’ll marry you, I’ll marry you, I’ll marry you! My dummy is so amazing; only a true fool wouldn’t marry you.”

“Then I’ll go back with you this year and ask your father for your hand in marriage!”

“Mhm…”

“What if your dad doesn’t approve of me?”

“Then I’ll elope with you,” Shen Ying said with a beaming smile.

“We can’t do that. A marriage without our parents’ blessing won’t be a happy one.”

Wang Ming squeezed Shen Ying’s hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely be able to win him over!”

After returning to the hotel, he received a congratulatory call from Jiang Xia. They chatted for a while about the night’s award ceremony, after which Jiang Xia gave him and Shen Ying two days off.

The two of them had rarely gotten a chance to travel for work, so Jiang Xia, as a good friend, felt he had to provide the assist. Whether Old Wang could score, however, was all up to him.

A short while later, Shen Ying emerged from the bathroom after her shower, her cheeks flushed a tempting, rosy pink.

Drying her dripping hair with a towel, she blushed and said, “Dummy, you go take a shower now.”

As his gaze fell upon her, Wang Ming swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. ‘We’ve been living together for so long, so why does the atmosphere tonight feel a little different?’

‘Could it be because my mom isn’t here?’

He took clean clothes from his suitcase and went into the bathroom. A moment later, there was a knock on the glass door.

Wang Ming opened the door a crack. “What is it, Ying?”

“Dummy, give me your dirty clothes. I’ll wash them all together,” came Shen Ying’s somewhat bashful voice from outside.

“Oh, that’s okay. I can just wash them myself while I’m in the shower.”

“Just focus on your shower and let me wash your clothes. It’s not like I’ve never seen them back home. Why are you being so shy?”

Little did he know, the girl who was calling someone else shy was already blushing crimson.

Wang Ming felt a little awkward. ‘Home is one thing, but this is another. I’ve washed my own underwear since elementary school—even my mom hasn’t touched them since. For Shen Ying to offer to wash my personal clothing now… it just feels strange.’

‘Is something really going to happen tonight?’

He warred with himself for a few seconds before slowly extending his arm and handing out his discarded clothes, his underwear bundled inside.

“Th-thanks.”

“You’re… welcome…”

Her shy voice was drowned out by the sound of the running water. Shen Ying unfurled the balled-up white shirt and picked up the pair of boxers. They were still warm and carried his scent, and her face flushed burning hot.

This was the first time she had ever washed a boy’s clothes. Even though he was the man she loved, her heart was inexplicably pounding.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the laundry soap and slowly worked it into a lather on them.

Ten or so minutes later, Wang Ming came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam and saw his boxers hanging on a rack. Shen Ying had already dried her hair and was lying on the bed with her back to him.

‘Looks like she’s already asleep.’

Old Wang took a few shallow breaths, turned off the lights, and climbed onto the other side of the bed. His heart was hammering in his chest like never before.

One big bed, two pillows, one comforter. He and Shen Ying each took a side, leaving a gap between them big enough for another person.

‘But, strictly speaking, is this our first time getting a room together?’

Wang Ming turned his head, his eyes tracing Shen Ying’s faint silhouette in the darkness. He hesitated. ‘Should I risk it and move closer? Should I wrap my arms around her from behind?’ Even if nothing else happened, he would be content just to hold her as they slept.

Just as his thoughts were running wild, Shen Ying’s voice, laced with shyness, slowly broke the silence.

“Dummy… I can’t sleep. Will you hold me?”

Wang Ming froze. The air conditioning was on, but his clenched palms suddenly began to sweat. He swallowed past a dry throat, not saying a word, but his body was honest as it slowly fumbled its way toward her.

Under the covers, he raised a slightly trembling hand and slowly touched her back. Shen Ying’s body instinctively tensed up. She bit her lip, her breathing becoming shaky.

For some reason, Old Wang let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank God,’ he thought, ‘she’s still dressed.’

He shifted closer, inch by inch, letting his arm slide down to encircle her slender waist.

After that, Old Wang didn’t dare move another inch. He just held her stiffly, not even pressing their bodies together, leaving a gap the width of a hand between them.

He let out a slow breath, the air filled with the pleasant scent of shampoo from Shen Ying’s hair. ‘No wonder guys always dream about holding their girlfriends while they sleep,’ he thought. ‘It really does feel this good.’