Chapter 147
Children were powerless.
This power didn’t simply refer to physical strength or wealth.
It referred more to… knowledge.
One wasn’t born with knowledge. Most people started from ignorance, living, learning, making mistakes, correcting them, then, in the blink of an eye, they were already decades old.
And the most ironic thing was, some of the most important things to learn and understand at the beginning, there was no one to teach them, no one to tell them, leaving them struggling in confusion and contradictions, doubting themselves, unable to find answers, this cycle repeating for years, even decades, before finally gaining a sliver of knowledge that could have saved them years of pain if they had known it earlier.
Not all parents loved their children.
People were complex, multifaceted, they wouldn’t suddenly become selfless and loving just because they were given a certain title.
Why desperately seek love that couldn’t be felt? Why force yourself to eat candy laced with poison? Was there only that one love, that one candy in the world?
…
Much knowledge wasn’t complicated, it was just that children lacked the knowledge and perspective.
The mainstream advocated the silent depth of paternal love and the selfless greatness of maternal love. Compared to questioning why their loved ones didn’t fit the societal norms, ignorant children would naturally choose to doubt themselves first.
It must be because I’m not good enough, it must be my fault…
Of course, one day, they would grow up and be able to see through the individual differences beneath the moral facade, but by then, no matter how clearly they saw, they couldn’t go back and save their younger selves from those years of pain.
Cheng Tingyan felt truly lucky, she actually had a chance to save herself.
Liking someone was a beautiful and addictive feeling. Sometimes, even without reciprocation, just the feeling of liking someone could bring immense joy. After meeting Little Cookie in her previous life, Cheng Tingyan started to understand why Liu Qiongfang was always chasing love, wanting to be loved.
Mom was also a woman, a person, an ordinary person who wanted to love and be loved. Not losing herself because of a change in identity, it was good. Reborn, Cheng Tingyan had no intention of changing Liu Qiongfang. But this time, she would still work hard to earn money for the medical expenses, but she wouldn’t let herself become a part of Liu Qiongfang’s pursuit of love.
Chasing, competing, infatuation, resentment… What did the emotional entanglements of the previous generation have to do with her, Cheng Tingyan?
Cutting ties quickly and decisively, she had already done too much in her previous life, things she should and shouldn’t have done, in this life, Cheng Tingyan just wanted to stay away from those strange people and live peacefully until the day she met Little Cookie again.
Her life in her previous life ended right before the most anticipated and beautiful moment, the unresolved resentment condensed into thick ice, Cheng Tingyan felt she could handle everything coldly, seal her heart and lock away her love during the days waiting for their reunion… Uh…
“Yan Yan, Uncle Shi will definitely help you find your grandma, your mom will be so happy, she’ll definitely agree to take back your custody!”
The soft and pudding-like little chubby bunny, as soon as she got into the car, snuggled up to her, a chubby paw reaching out, along with her soft, childish words of comfort.
Cheng Tingyan squeezed the little paw in her hand and smiled slightly, what a naive and adorable little baby. Happiness? It was unlikely anyone would be happy, but… Cheng Tingyan looked at the little chubby bunny, who was grumbling and asking Wei Chengli to move the two child safety seats closer so they could hold hands, she heard the soft cracking sound of the ice around her heart.
This world, there was still some cuteness, making it impossible for her to completely shut herself off.
Unlike Cheng Tingyan, who was charmed by the cute bunny, Wei Chengli truly felt that although some little things were cute, they were also… truly annoying!
“How can I move them? I can’t, they’re stuck. Just make do, why blame the child safety seats for not being able to hold hands, blame your own short arms.” Wei Chengli said, after struggling to move the seats, he was even tugged at by the little rascal, he hummed and gave up, ready to just let it be.
Just then, Wei Chengli, who was standing outside the car, half of his body inside, felt three “polite” taps on his spine.
Wei Chengli turned around in shock and saw Qin Sichao standing behind him, smiling.
“Can I ride with you guys?” Qin Sichao asked, rubbing his hands. “I want to be with the little babies.”
Hehehe, of course, he could.
Wei Chengli politely moved aside and even pulled his own baby out.
Two minutes later, Qin Sichao, squeezed between the two child safety seats, looked at the little chubby baby on his left, who was secretly glancing at him, then at Cheng Tingyan, who was sitting upright on his right. Mmm… It wasn’t what he had imagined.
Wei Chengli, in the passenger seat, leaned back comfortably. Finally, someone else could experience what he felt last time when he wanted to be with the babies. As expected, after experiencing the rain, one would want to tear apart someone else’s umbrella, heh.
Qin Sichao, unaware that he was currently experiencing the rain, reached out and rubbed the little chubby baby’s soft hair, preparing to start a conversation with the softer one.
“Maomao, your uncle and I are in the same profession as your dad, we’re also directors. I’m going to film a movie next, do you want to play a role? Don’t worry, it won’t be tiring, just a few scenes.” Qin Sichao said with a smile.
Maomao, slumped in her child safety seat like a salted fish, was about to refuse when she suddenly remembered that she also had to support someone now, she immediately sat up straight.
Wei Chengli in the front passenger seat tried to turn around, he was still struggling between letting his child have a normal childhood and letting her experience a different life, then he saw the little rascal’s eyes light up, and she asked, “Will you pay me?”
Wei Chengli was so angry that he almost twisted his neck.
Not to mention anything else, for Qin Sichao’s film, there were countless people lining up with money, just for a cameo, this child truly…
Qin Sichao was also stunned by her directness, but he quickly nodded with a smile. “Yes, yes, yes.”
“Okay.” Wei Maomao didn’t ask how much. She had self-awareness, she was only three years old, being paid was good enough, it would be great if there were more opportunities like this. Even if the pay was low and the work was demanding, she could still save money, she could do it.
“Yan Yan, I also have a suitable role for you. After your family matters are settled, come and film with me too?” Qin Sichao said, after securing the softer one, he turned to the other one.
It was a bit early to mention this. But after contacting Cheng Tingyan’s grandma, an elderly person taking care of a paralyzed daughter and a young child, there might be financial concerns. He had a job here, ready and waiting, it would be somewhat helpful.
Qin Sichao truly hoped that Cheng Tingyan’s grandma could take care of them, take over the custody from the Cheng family. Not to mention that future collaborations would be less problematic, this six-year-old little girl, she deserved a better life. There wasn’t much he could do, but he could at least mention the collaboration he had in mind in advance.
This was a day of Qin Sichao diligently recruiting people.
Not only was he trying to recruit the little babies into his film crew in this car, he had also rearranged the people in the other two cars before getting in.
He took the driver from Shi Dingshan’s car and put him in Zeng Huanian’s car, then took Shi Hongxiao from Zeng Huanian’s car and put him in the driver’s seat of Shi Dingshan’s car. Finally, Qin Sichao, his good deeds done, got into this baby-filled car.
Unlike the lively atmosphere in Qin Sichao’s car, with questions and answers, the car with only Shi Dingshan and Shi Hongxiao was very quiet.
Shi Hongxiao wanted to ask Shi Dingshan how he was feeling, but thinking about why Shi Dingshan was hospitalized, he couldn’t ask, he could only hold it in.
In the end, it was Shi Dingshan, after glancing at Shi Hongxiao’s bruised eye a few times, who broke the silence with a sigh.
“You’re not very good at fighting, go take some classes after this and learn a few moves.”
“Mmm!”
“There’s a doctor at the villa, go and see him when we get back, be careful with injuries around the eyes.”
“Mmm.”
“I heard you and Liu Ming entered the air-raid shelter almost at the same time, you were so much slower than her, are you still directionally challenged like when you were a child?”
“Mmm…”
Shi Dingshan turned to look at Shi Hongxiao, who seemed to be only capable of making monosyllabic sounds, even though his throat wasn’t injured. “Is ‘mmm’ the only word you know?”
“How… is your heart? Is it okay to be discharged from the hospital just like that?” Shi Hongxiao asked, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, he finally asked the question he had been holding in.
“It’s fine.” Shi Dingshan said, after a pause. “Don’t overthink it, you’re different from him. Before I married your mom, I already knew that you weren’t my biological child. Later, my feelings for her faded, there was nothing we could do about it. But when we were together, it was genuine, there was no deception. It’s different from that woman who just wanted my money.”
“… “ Shi Hongxiao’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, then tightened again, he finally couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “Can I… take care of you when you’re old? I won’t take your money. You can donate all your money when you’re old, I’ll use my own money to take care of you. Don’t worry about me trying to scam you.”
His increasingly rapid speech revealed his sincerity.
Shi Dingshan, never expecting Shi Hongxiao to say this, was stunned.
This child truly…
The person who only knew how to say “mmm” when they chatted before, why were his words so piercing now, oh… no, it was a lemon candy sword.
Shi Dingshan turned his head to look out the window, using the breeze to suppress the stinging in his eyes.
Hmph, which idiot would work hard their entire life, then donate all their money just to have someone take care of them when they were old? Wouldn’t it be better to just hire eight nannies and have them cater to his every need! His decades of salary as a cameraman wouldn’t even be enough for him…
“Okay, work hard, earn more money. I’ll donate everything later, then I’ll eat your food, live in your house.” Shi Dingshan said calmly, looking at the green mountains outside the window.
“Mmm!”
Okay, back to the familiar monosyllabic response.
Shi Dingshan turned his head slightly and saw a clear smile on the person who had just given a serious “mmm.”
Heh, there were truly many fools in this world who wanted to work hard.
Shi Dingshan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
“You sleep for a bit, I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”
The fool next to him said unnecessarily.
Shi Dingshan, his eyes still closed, said, “What ‘you,’ show some respect, call me Dad.”
Silence filled the car again.
It lasted for a while, just as Shi Dingshan couldn’t hold back and was about to open his eyes, the fool next to him finally spoke again.
“Dad, let’s go fly kites again after this show ends.”
Shi Dingshan, his eyes closed, vaguely remembered that autumn many years ago, after his divorce, he took Shi Hongxiao to fly kites one last time, then told him… Live a good life with your mom, Dad is leaving.
What a fool, such a good memory.
“Okay.” Shi Dingshan said, taking a deep breath, he agreed.
“Let’s go to Chongnan Park again.”
“Okay.” He even remembered the location.
“They’re still selling homemade popsicles there.”
“We’ll buy them.” Okay, he even remembered the popsicles they didn’t get to eat that time.
“And also…”
Shi Dingshan opened his eyes and sat up straight. “What’s going on? I’m not even old yet, and there are so many requests?”
Shi Hongxiao said weakly, “I’ll treat you…”
“We’ll go, we’ll buy them, we’ll eat them, after the filming, you can have as many as you want, stop nagging, focus on driving.” Shi Dingshan said, interrupting him forcefully, he couldn’t handle this pure affection, still recovering from his emotional trauma.
The person in the passenger seat pretended to be asleep.
The person driving smiled quietly.
Fate was truly strange.
But sometimes, for someone who had just been reborn and hadn’t fully adapted yet, it was a bit too strange.
The three cars returned to the villa area, and as soon as Cheng Tingyan got out of the car, she heard Qin Sichao’s exclamation.
“Heh, as expected of me, it’s a loss for the variety show world that I’m not filming parent-child shows.”
Cheng Tingyan, confused, followed Qin Sichao’s gaze and only saw Shi Hongxiao, Wei Maomao’s cameraman, helping Shi Dingshan get out of the car behind them. What did this have to do with parent-child variety shows…
Wait…
Cheng Tingyan’s eyes widened slightly, it couldn’t be…
“Xiao Shi is also the cameraman Director Shi assigned to watch over the babies, right?” Wei Chengli asked, looking at Qin Sichao.
“Yes, although he’s not related to me, Xiao Shi is a good person, more trustworthy than the others.” Qin Sichao whispered, then sighed. “Hopefully, he can bring some comfort to Lao Shan.”
Cheng Tingyan: “… “
Okay, another exceptionally important and suspicious person who deviated completely from her previous life’s trajectory.
Earlier, after Wei Chengli was called away, the other dads were also notified and returned to the villa.
Without Shi Dingshan’s permission, the staff members who knew about the situation didn’t dare to say anything, now the villa was filled with confused dads and babies, waiting for Shi Dingshan’s return.
“There are many dark areas in the air-raid shelter, it was already deemed unsuitable for the treasure hunt, let alone for laser tag, which requires running.”
“This was a mistake on the program team’s part, to avoid further mistakes and losses, the morning’s live broadcast was paused, it will resume during lunch.”
“Little Wang Zhizhi’s wish to play laser tag, because all the laser tag arenas nearby are fully booked, even for tomorrow, we couldn’t find a place. So we’ll see if there’s an opportunity to fulfill it at the next location. If not, the program team will provide a sum of money for Little Wang Zhizhi to gather his friends and book a laser tag arena, you guys can play together when you have time.”
Shi Dingshan didn’t say much about what Cheng Tingyan and Wei Maomao encountered in the air-raid shelter, telling the dads about it now would only cause trouble, it wouldn’t do any good. Both the authorities and he himself were investigating, they would find out eventually.
Compared to playing, the dads were more concerned about the safety of the location, so no one complained about the early termination of the laser tag game. As for Wang Zhizhi, he was a bit disappointed, but thinking about having a chance to meet his friends again, he was happy again. Exchanging a few hours today for a whole day, even several days, in the future, it was a good deal!
After Shi Dingshan appeased everyone regarding the morning’s situation, it wasn’t over yet.
The first dad to come and talk to him privately was Wen Qiming.
Although Maomao, the victim, had already said she believed Wen Jiangyue, and his daughter didn’t seem upset anymore, Wen Qiming still wanted justice for his daughter.
Shi Dingshan understood, but… there was nothing he could do.
Unlike today’s incident, where they caught the culprit red-handed, the bathroom incident two days ago was a “Rashomon” situation, there was no evidence, he could only rely on his intuition.
Shi Dingshan could only vaguely imply that Wen Qiming might be able to vent his anger through the outcome of other matters.
Of course, Wen Qiming wasn’t satisfied with this vague and somewhat mysterious response. But looking at Shi Dingshan’s pale face, how he had to hold onto the armrest even when sitting, Wen Qiming couldn’t bring himself to press further, he could only let it go for now. Of course, whether the other matters Shi Dingshan mentioned existed was another story, but it did give him a new idea. If he couldn’t vent his anger on this matter, he could find other matters to vent on.
Shi Dingshan, after finally managing to appease Wen Qiming, hadn’t even had a sip of water when another person came.
“Yes, I’ve already let him go. Jin Youliang is no longer the assistant director of our show. He’s already packed his things and left, we can’t call him back now. But telling the other babies not to mention their moms, not letting Wen Dongyu celebrate his birthday, that truly wasn’t the program team’s intention. How should I put it, Jin Youliang, this person, he’s a bit opportunistic, he would do things he thinks will benefit him in the future. So I believe those were his personal actions, I’m sure your dad didn’t ask him to do that.” Shi Dingshan said, he never expected that there was another consequence of Jin Youliang’s actions.
The program team at most canceled the segment about inviting the moms and the video calls, they wouldn’t go as far as forbidding the other children from mentioning their moms.
Shi Dingshan looked at Shen Zilin, who seemed to be wavering, and continued, “You also said that the babies in the families Director Zeng visited weren’t told not to mention their moms, right? If it was your dad’s intention, he would have come to me directly and asked me to arrange it for every baby. Or, after telling Jin Youliang, he wouldn’t have missed Director Zeng, right?”
Shen Zilin’s face was slightly red, thinking about it, he was indeed being impulsive, getting caught up in his emotions.
“How about this, it was also our negligence, not noticing the difference between the lunar and solar calendars for birthdays. We’ll hold a birthday party for Wen Dongyu this afternoon, what do you think?” Shi Dingshan said, offering a final solution.
It was, of course, a good idea.
Neither Shen Jianghe nor Shen Zilin wanted others to make way for their personal matters.
But before Shen Zilin left, he said something that touched Shen Jianghe deeply.
“Wen Dongyu said he missed his mom, Uncle Director, can you give him a gift, let him call his mom?”
Shi Dingshan, exhausted, took a moment to process it before answering.
In the next second, a small body leaned against him.
“Missing Mom, it’s very sad, Uncle Director, can you help him?”
Shen Zilin whispered, his hand covering his mouth, into Shi Dingshan’s ear.
Shen Jianghe, who had very good hearing, standing next to them: “… “
And so, in the afternoon, Wen Dongyu and his friends had a wonderful birthday party, he received a giant birthday cake with lots of cream, definitely not the kind that would make him choke, and the best gift from the director team, a ten-minute phone call with his mom!
He was truly happy!
The little babies, huddled together, happily munched on the cake.
Shi Dingshan, watching from the monitoring room, was also quite happy.
Earlier, to accommodate the request from the person he sent, they had to move the wishing activity to the evening. He was still thinking about how to fill the afternoon’s schedule. Now, with the birthday party, they had a legitimate reason to spend the afternoon eating, drinking, and playing at the villa, safe and effective.
Now he could only hope that the person he sent would be successful.
That street address mentioned in a dream, would there really be a courtyard with a large osmanthus tree?
That person named Chen Sujuan, did she… truly exist…
Was it a six-year-old child’s accurate analysis, or a six-year-old child’s vague mumbling?
Shi Dingshan wasn’t sure.
But he had indeed been negligent in his duties, he felt guilty. It was just a matter of sending someone over, he was willing to help Cheng Tingyan confirm it.
As the sun set and night fell, the babies, after eating, playing, and having a good nap at the villa, were loaded into cars, heading towards the place where Wei Maomao’s wish would be fulfilled.
And in another city, downstairs in a residential complex, a wheelchair bumped over the threshold of a private restaurant and stopped in front of a private room where someone was already waiting.
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