Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

After all, they aren't exactly close or familiar juniors.

Although Ai Qing quite liked the little girl, seeing Xu Jiani's mother's excellent upbringing, Ai Qing was also very sensible and knew that if she wrapped too many bags, the girl would not want them.

Even though she has already adopted Ice Cream Cone, Ai Qing and the others will not charge Xu Jiani for admission if she really wants to come to the cat cafe.

However, Xu Jiani's mother would still accompany her daughter every time she came, and would take the initiative to scan the QR code to buy tickets before allowing Xu Jiani to come to the cat cafe.

After seeing Xu Jiani and her mother off in the afternoon, Xiaoyu sat down next to Ai Qing, rested her head on his shoulder, and had a satisfied smile on her face.

"Judging from your expression, you're going to have a great day."

"Of course!" Little Fish said, swinging her little feet and humming a tune. "I feel happy when I feel that what I've done has paid off."

"Things will only get better from now on." Ai Qing held Xiao Yu's hand and played with it in her palm.

Li Qiqi, who was not far away, had some free time at the moment, so she walked over and sat down opposite the two of them. She said with a speechless expression, "Can you please consider the feelings of single people? If you want to be affectionate, be affectionate at home. Don't come here and show off your love."

“Dogs can only see dog food, I understand you.” Ai Qing nodded and said, “We’ll close tomorrow and won’t reopen until the seventh day of the new year, so don’t miss us too much then.”

"Tch." Li Qiqi pouted. "I'll only think about Xiaoyu, not you."

"Theoretically speaking, when you think of the little fish, you will definitely think of me as well."

"Shameless!" Li Qiqi spat, then looked at the furry children scattered on the ground and couldn't help but say, "Then the door won't be open until the seventh day of the lunar new year. If I miss them, I can still come over, right?"

“If you’re really bored during the Chinese New Year, you can come and work at the business.” Ai Qing blinked, and seeing her reluctant expression, she immediately smiled. “I don’t mind if you help me earn more money.”

"No... Think about it, it's Chinese New Year, and a lot of people have already received lucky money," Li Qiqi said. "If you wait until the seventh day of the new year to open, that's a huge waste of time. All the students in the area are on holiday, so they'll just come to the cat cafe with their pocket money, won't they?"

"So what do you mean?" Ai Qing asked, speechless.

After all, he and Xiaoyu don't really need money for a few days, so it doesn't matter whether they open for business or not during the Chinese New Year.

However, Li Qiqi didn't think so. She just shamelessly said, "I don't have anything to do during the New Year. I'll just come and open the cat cafe. You can give me some overtime pay."

Ai Qing: "..."

……

On New Year's Eve.

Ai Qing and Xiao Yu got up early, practiced the Vajra Kung Fu in the morning sun, and then went downstairs for breakfast on time.

Even though the cat cafe has closed down, the two of them still have to go to the shop every day to feed the cats.

Especially since today is Lunar New Year's Eve, Ai Qing specially opened a can of food for each cat.

The oranges were so fat, I only gave them half a jar to try.

Because the cat petting area was cleaned up and there were no toys or anything that could be easily played with, Ai Qing and Xiao Yu didn't keep them in the cat villa; they were allowed to roam freely in the cat petting area.

People passing by can sometimes squat outside the glass wall and peek at the playful kittens inside.

Aiqing spent some time playing with the cats at the cat cafe in the morning, and around nine o'clock, she took Xiaoyu home.

Lang Xiangying got up early and cleaned the house. When she saw Ai Qing and Xiao Yu come in, she was immediately happy.

"Little fish, let's go."

Lang Xiangying excitedly grabbed Xiaoyu's hand and said as they walked out, "It's a good opportunity to go grocery shopping with Grandma. Qingqing will come along too."

For the New Year's Eve dinner, some of the ingredients were bought two days in advance.

However, some items are better suited for buying fresh on the same day.

Lang Xiangying took Xiaoyu out the door, and Ai Qing hadn't even had a chance to relax on the sofa before she had to follow behind to the market.

Fortunately, the local market isn't far from home; it's just two blocks away.

Ai Qing followed behind the two of them, only responsible for carrying the things.

Xiao Yu, on the other hand, because she often accompanied Lang Xiangying to buy groceries, had unknowingly developed a knack for bargaining.

Although she wasn't as experienced as Lang Xiangying, she still possessed considerable bargaining skills thanks to her cute and harmless appearance.

Seeing that she was enjoying herself, Ai Qing could only smile and remain silent, letting her wander around the market with Lang Xiangying.

Around 10 a.m., the three of them returned home from the market.

Little Fish happily followed Lang Xiangying into the kitchen to help her.

Yao Qiang had just gotten up and, after washing up on the second floor, went to the kitchen to help.

Ai Qing watched the three people busy in the kitchen and couldn't find any space for herself to join in, so she didn't go to join in.

He only went over to ask what was wrong when he heard Xiaoyu calling him over, and finally received the task of going to the supermarket to get a bottle of soy sauce.

Ailisong gets up early and stays at the supermarket the whole time, where he is responsible for watching the store.

During the Chinese New Year, there were many more customers coming to the supermarket, and it was quite busy.

Ai Qing strolled over, grabbed some soy sauce, and delivered it to Xiao Yu. Then she strolled back and leaned against the cashier's counter to watch Douyin with her grandfather.

"What are you doing here?" Ai Lisong glanced at his grandson. "Is the sofa in the living room uncomfortable for your butt?"

"I came here to keep you company, afraid you'd be too bored." Ai Qing took a bag of sunflower seeds and chatted while cracking them open.

Elison chuckled: "Do I look like a boring person to you?"

“When someone spends most of their time scrolling through Douyin (TikTok), it means that person is indeed feeling empty and lonely in real life,” Ai Qing said seriously. “I understand you, Grandpa.”

"roll."

"No way!" Ai Qing shook her head repeatedly, then held up two fingers and rubbed them together in front of Ai Lisong. "It's the New Year, Grandpa, aren't you going to give me something?"

"Oh my, so that's what it meant." Ai Lisong laughed and then said, "You've graduated from university and are making a lot of money, and you're still thinking about my red envelope? There won't be any more starting this year."

"I was still a student in the first half of the year, so you can give me half," Ai Qing said shamelessly.

“You can ask your grandfather from the first half of the year for one, but your grandfather from the second half of the year doesn’t have any.” Ai Lisong waved his hand, then glanced at him. “If you’re really that free, then I’ll go sit on the sofa in the living room and give you this spot, okay?”

"Ahem... You can continue with your work, I'm going back now."

……

Around four or five in the evening, Ailisong closed the supermarket.

He held a red envelope in his hand, walked into the living room, and headed towards the kitchen.

Standing at the kitchen door, he saw three people inside busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. He waved to Xiaoyu inside, his face beaming with a kind smile.

"Little Fish, come over here."

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Xiaoyu asked, looking puzzled. She walked over, wiping her apron with her hand. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing else, here you go." Ai Lisong took out the red envelope and stuffed it into Xiaoyu's hand. "Happy New Year's Eve, keep it safe."

The little fish took the red envelope and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Grandpa!"

Seeing the little fish's happy expression, Ai Lisong smiled broadly.

However, Ai Qing had already appeared beside the two of them like a ghost.

"Grandpa, why did Xiaoyu get a red envelope, but I didn't?"

“Didn’t I tell you? You’ve already graduated from university, why would you need a red envelope?” Ai Lisong glanced at him.

"What about the little fish?"

“Xiaoyu is still young,” Ai Lisong said matter-of-factly. “Besides, it’s the little girl’s first time spending Chinese New Year in our house, what’s wrong with giving her a red envelope?”

After finishing speaking, Alisson turned and walked to the sofa, sat down, and turned on the TV.

Ai Qing didn't care about whether there was a red envelope or not; she just joked around with her grandfather, and the two of them were used to this way of communicating.

But Xiaoyu quietly walked up to Ai Qing and whispered in his ear, "Brother, don't be sad. I can share half of my red envelope with you. I'll give it to you in a bit, okay?"

"Little Fish, you're so silly." Ai Qing laughed upon hearing this and couldn't help but pat her head. "But you're also adorably silly, I like it."

"Little Fish, what's wrong with you?" Little Fish pouted, dissatisfied. "I'm just concerned about you."

"Alright, alright, here's your reward." Ai Qing glanced at the living room, then at the kitchen, and then secretly kissed Xiao Yu.

Little Fish blinked, not having tasted anything yet, so she quickly tiptoed, hugged Ai Qing's neck, and kissed her forcefully.

"Xiaoyu, come help me bring... um..." Yao Qiang pushed open the kitchen door and saw the two young people kissing without any restraint at the dining table. She was stunned for a moment.

Hearing the noise, Ai Qing quickly pressed the little fish down and coughed twice: "What do you need help with? I'll help too."

"The dishes are ready, come and help bring them out." Yao Qiang chuckled, glancing at Ai Qing and then at Xiao Yu, already having already thought of names for her grandchildren in her mind.

……

Although Lang Xiangying usually cooks lavish meals, the scale of the New Year's Eve dinner still exceeded Xiaoyu's expectations.

Ai Qing's dining table is usually long and narrow, but it can actually have side panels that can be opened to form a small round table.

For today's New Year's Eve dinner, Lang Xiangying prepared a full twelve dishes, filling the table to the brim, including chicken, duck, fish, pork, beef, and lamb—nothing was missing.

Ai Qing went upstairs and called her father, who was in the study, to come downstairs to prepare dinner.

The family of six sat down around a small round table. At 5:30, Ai Lisong took the lead in opening a bottle of baijiu and poured himself a small glass.

This time, Lang Xiangying didn't say anything. It was the New Year, so she certainly wouldn't interfere with his drinking.

Ai Zhongguo, who was standing next to him, also poured himself a small glass of baijiu. The two men happily clinked glasses and enjoyed the wine amidst the table full of dishes.

Ai Qing had no interest in alcohol, but poured a glass of juice for Xiao Yu, her grandmother, and her mother, and then began to enjoy it.

The TV in the living room was playing New Year's programs, but it wasn't eight o'clock yet, and this year's Spring Festival Gala hadn't started.

However, Ai Qing wasn't really looking forward to it.

"This year, our family has gained a new member." Ai Zhongguo looked at Xiaoyu, raised his glass with a smile, and said, "Come on, Xiaoyu, let me toast you."

Little Fish obediently raised her glass and clinked it against Ai Zhongguo's: "Happy New Year's Eve, Uncle."

The family members looked at Xiaoyu with smiles in their eyes, clearly very satisfied with their daughter-in-law.

Although it's not officially recognized yet, judging from the current situation, it's clearly a done deal.

The rest is up to the young couple to arrange and plan.

Ai Qing watched as Xiao Yu obediently toasted each of the elders, and the atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious and joyful. She felt happy as well.

He had thought before that he might bring his beloved girl home for the New Year to meet his parents and grandparents.

But after deciding to remain single and not date, I never thought about it again.