Chapter 41: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – Secretly Married with a Child, How Sweet!
It all started this morning.
Dong Ling knew Song Mingzhi was on a variety show today and planned to watch it, but then she felt it was a bit too clingy and gave up on the idea.
But just then, the task system issued a new task.
[Give the female lead a surprise. Completing this task will reward 2% progress.]
Dong Ling thought that suddenly appearing in front of Song Mingzhi should count as a big surprise, so she came to the program’s set.
It was all for the task, Dong Ling emphasized inwardly, not because she wanted to join in the fun.
Dong Ling knew this program was live streamed, so she didn’t plan to show her face.
She directly sponsored the program and asked the director to make arrangements secretly. In short, she had to appear in front of Song Mingzhi without anyone knowing her identity, and the scene didn’t have to be long.
So she became an NPC wearing a cat face mask, responsible for giving out the key item for victory.
The item was in the small pouch hanging from her waist. Dong Ling put on the headset for internal communication and sat on the flower-vine swing.
The director was worried she might get tired from standing all day, so he specifically arranged a chair for her.
“CEO Dong, Song Mingzhi is still at the entrance of the park, quite far from you, she has to go through two clues to find you. Your location will change according to her choices in the first two stages, so you can do whatever you want now, just stay put, there won’t be any cameras filming you.”
The director’s slightly fawning voice suddenly came from the earpiece, and Dong Ling responded.
The director had instructed her earlier that the task participants had to collect two badges and find her before she could give them the item, otherwise she was just a dormant NPC.
These were the rules of the variety show. The guests would be placed at the location closest to their first clue, then follow the clue to find the nearest NPC, after completing a challenge, they would receive a second clue, find the second NPC, then receive a third clue, get the key item for victory, and proceed to the final destination.
The ranking was based on the time they arrived at the destination, which determined their dinner options and evening activities, concluding the day’s filming.
Some guests, with a poor sense of direction or lack of observation skills, might miss their nearest NPC and directly find the second or third NPC. But without the first or first two badges, the NPC wouldn’t give them the item.
This design added a lot of fun to the variety show, the guests’ antics amusing the audience.
Knowing there were no cameras on her, Dong Ling took out her phone, put a Bluetooth earpiece in her other ear, and watched Song Mingzhi’s live stream.
After observing her surroundings for a while, Song Mingzhi looked at the map of the children’s amusement park for a moment, then walked decisively towards the nearby Cat Swing.
The Cat Swing was a ride similar to a carousel, with a large cat lying down on top, and swings suspended below. After pressing the start button, the swings would start rotating with colorful lights and lively music.
Song Mingzhi had watched previous episodes and knew the rules of the game, so she chose to look for the nearest thing with a cat element.
[I think an NPC is at the Cat Swing, the clue is too obvious.]
[chuckles, I’m watching that idiot next door say that the program team wouldn’t just tell them the answer directly, so he went in the opposite direction.]
[Hey, am I the only one who noticed that Song Jiejie didn’t look at the signs? She just went straight to that location.]
[I noticed! The rides in the children’s amusement park are quite close together, with many intersections, she didn’t look at the signs at all, and just walked past them!]
[Has she been here many times and is familiar with the layout?]
[Conspiracy theory: Song Mingzhi doesn’t seem like the type of person who frequents children’s amusement parks. She’s like 28, right? Debuting at this age and being promoted so heavily, is she some rich lady experiencing life? Maybe she even has a kid already.]
Seeing this long comment, Dong Ling’s eyebrow twitched. Many similar speculations appeared in the live stream chat, making her so angry she typed a reply.
[Can’t she just have a good sense of direction and memorize the map?]
Dong Ling knew Song Mingzhi probably had a good sense of direction, because on the night Song Mingzhi took her stargazing, she talked about chasing stars in the wilderness, someone who could drive around in the wilderness chasing stars, how could their sense of direction be bad?
—Message failed to send. To comply with national policy requirements, please log in before posting.
Seeing this message, Dong Ling frowned in annoyance and started logging in. After logging in with a linked social media account, Dong Ling unchecked the option to bind her phone number, and switched back to the live stream. The chat was already filled with arguments.
[Can you please just watch the live stream? So much negativity.]
[The possibility of her being a rich lady with a child is too high, those previous rumors might be true, who knows what dirty secrets celebrities have?]
[May you die from spreading rumors, okay? Canghai Entertainment will sue you!]
[Ooh, so scary, we’ll be sued for speculating? Freedom of speech, you can’t control what we say.]
[Just a passerby, Song Mingzhi’s resources are indeed suspiciously good, she’s not professionally trained, everyone knows what that means.]
Dong Ling noticed that because of the argument, many viewers who were just passersby had left the live stream. She anxiously typed another message.
[Everyone, don’t be led astray by the haters, don’t curse at people, focus on Jiejie’s performance.]
—Message failed to send. To comply with national policy requirements, please bind your phone number before posting.
F*** you.
Dong Ling took a deep breath, couldn’t this platform just state all the requirements at once? Thinking of the option she had just unchecked, Dong Ling had to go back and bind her phone number.
After entering her phone number and verification code, Dong Ling returned to the live stream, intending to guide the discussion, only to find that the comments had changed.
[Song Zhong sisters are awesome!]
[Someone chop my head off to entertain the Song Zhong sisters!]
[Lan Zhi (Song Mingzhi’s fans) thanks the Song Zhong sisters, you guys are so generous!]
[We Lan Zhi can’t lose, kick out those trolls, don’t disturb me watching Jiejie’s beautiful face!]
[dies laughing, this is the first time I’ve seen solo stans and CP fans so harmonious, hahahahaha.]
[Lan Zhi sisters, you’re welcome, we’re family, our CEO Dong isn’t visible, how can we let others bully Song Jie?]
Dong Ling’s fingers trembled, her eyelids twitched. After reading the comments for a while, she understood what had just happened.
During the chaotic argument, a user with the ID “PleaseSendMeOff” sent three gifts worth 10,000 each, the flashy special effects clearing the chat. While the haters were still typing, a large number of CP fans and Song Mingzhi’s solo fans started imitating her, sending gifts to clear the screen. The fans’ morale soared, the haters’ comments were quickly drowned out, and the chat was now filled with celebratory messages.
Dong Ling didn’t dare say anything. As the other half of the CP, she chose to be a silent observer.
[If CEO Dong sees her wife being bullied, she’ll be unhappy, we’ll take care of these trolls for her!]
[Yes! What’s wrong with Mingzhi having our CEO Dong supporting her? [Smirk]]
[Those bloggers who spread rumors before have already apologized, and the one who was the most malicious is about to be sentenced, you’re still here spreading rumors? Are you cursing your ancestors?]
Dong Ling saw the comments starting to clarify the previous incident and was about to explain the situation of those involved in spreading rumors when she saw new comments.
[Didn’t the haters just mention a rich lady with a child? What, when did she secretly have a child with CEO Dong?]
[More material for the sugar daddy x canary trope, secret marriage and child in the entertainment industry, writers, let’s go!]
[I can accept the child being five years old at most, any older and I won’t support CEO Dong having a child before she turned eighteen.]
[Song Zhong sisters are so thorough, you’re right.]
[Hahahaha, dies laughing, what is this, hahahaha.]
Dong Ling: ????
How could this even be about her?!
Dong Ling complained to 021: [You, look at them, wuwuwu.]
021 said indignantly: [Exactly, they’re slandering you! Your current technology can’t allow you to have children yet, but in a world I visited before, the technology supported…]
Dong Ling said with a blank expression: [Shut up, I don’t want to know.]
Dong Ling thought melancholically, there was no true empathy in the world.
Then a comment brought the discussion back on track.
[Song Jie found an NPC! So fast! Is this the fastest in the history of this show?!]
In the live stream, Song Mingzhi was facing a girl wearing a cat ear headband, sitting on a swing and eating cotton candy.
“Congratulations on finding me, pretty sister, do you know how a cat meows?”
The round-faced girl looked at the older sister in front of her and asked while eating the sweet cotton candy.
Song Mingzhi’s lips moved slightly: “Meow?”
Dong Ling subconsciously tightened her grip on her phone, Song Mingzhi making such a sound, that was cheating!
[Ahhhhhhh! Today, this place is a mass grave for A Wei! (A Wei dies from excessive cuteness)]
[Damn, a meow without emotion or a smile is actually sweeter than a sweet girl’s meow, who can resist an aloof older sister meowing?!]
[Thank you, production team, you know what you’re doing!]
[This damn contrasting cuteness, I can’t handle it, I can’t handle it!]
The girl clapped her hands: “Correct! This is your pouch, there’s a badge and a clue to the next badge inside.”
Song Mingzhi thanked her and took the pouch, the girl waved goodbye to her.
Song Mingzhi opened the pouch and saw a coin-sized badge and a card, the card had the word “fountain” written on it.
[The program team’s usual tricks, the first one is always simple, but the later ones are much more difficult! There are so many fountains in this amusement park!]
[The “fountain” clue is too broad, there are many places with fountains in the park, two of them are even diagonally opposite each other, does she have to run to all of them?]
[As a loyal viewer, let me tell you, the program team’s tricks are far more than this. Last time, a guest’s clue was “coconut tree,” but there were no coconut trees in the park, in the end, it turned out to be a large, artificial coconut tree in a pot, a blatant advertisement for a coconut juice brand.]
[Program team, you’re truly something else.]
Dong Ling was a little worried and continued staring at her phone screen.
Song Mingzhi stood in front of the amusement park map again, frowning slightly.
Besides the entrance and exit, restrooms, and food stalls, the map only marked the names of the rides, and only three of them had fountains.
One was a food stall called “Chocolate Fountain,” the other two were rides, one called “Musical Fountain,” and the other called “Fountain Train.” There were definitely more fountains than these, she had seen a purely decorative fountain in the distance when she was walking over earlier.
Song Mingzhi planned the optimal route in her head and started walking.
The cameraman followed behind her, feeling a little anxious.
Compared to the other guests’ laughter and interaction, Song Mingzhi was truly too cold, she seemed to be solely focused on the task, not doing anything else.
Like the cameraman, some fans started to worry.
[Jiejie, say something! The guest next door is already praising the children’s innocence and reminiscing about her own childhood, say something!]
[Truly silent and unmoved, I suddenly realized I don’t even know what persona Canghai Entertainment is trying to create for her, is it just a cold beauty?]
[Song Jie, this is a variety show! No one is really here just to play! You have to interact with others to gain fans! Mom fans are starting to have heart attacks.]
[The foodie next door is thriving, eating and doing tasks, so carefree, Song Jie, don’t act like a secret agent on a mission, wuwuwu.]
“Um… Song Jie… don’t you want to say something?”
Prompted by the director through the earpiece, the cameraman gave a reminder, his forehead sweating slightly.
Song Mingzhi turned around in confusion, looked directly at the cameraman and the camera, and said: “I’m looking.”
The cameraman looked expectant, and then?
There was no “then,” because Song Mingzhi had already turned her head and continued walking along her planned route.
[Damn, hahahaha, Song Jie is really confused, she’s already doing the task, what else is she supposed to say?]
[dies laughing, I don’t know why, but she reminds me of myself, forced to work 996, when my boss asks me to share my feelings about my work performance, I just want to say I tried my best, I don’t want to make things up.]
[After watching all the live streams, I realized she’s the only one who’s actually here to do the task, nothing can stop her.]
[Jie, you’re so real.]
Dong Ling’s shoulders shook with laughter, she could sense Song Mingzhi’s slight confusion and indifference when she looked at the camera.
Zuo Zhen’s initial proposal included several planned personas for Song Mingzhi, but Dong Ling didn’t adopt any of them, all personas had the potential to backfire. More importantly, she didn’t want Song Mingzhi to force herself to act differently to cater to the public.
However Song Mingzhi wanted to present herself, that was fine, she wanted her to be loved for who she was.
Among all the live streams, Song Mingzhi’s was the quietest.
She would stop and observe her surroundings when she arrived at a destination, and if she didn’t find the NPC, she would continue searching for the next clue.
The children’s amusement park wasn’t that big, and the guests would inevitably run into each other.
The person who ran into Song Mingzhi was a sweet and charming idol, Tong Qing, wearing a colorful lace dress and a cute duck headband from the park. Seeing Song Mingzhi, she immediately greeted her cheerfully.
“Hello, Teacher Song, where are you going?”
“Looking for a fountain.”
“Oh, I just found one of my tasks and I’m going to the second one now. The keyword is ‘duck,’ there’s a shooting game called Duck Commando not far from here, I plan to try there.”
Tong Qing told Song Mingzhi her destination and waved goodbye with a smile.
Song Mingzhi looked in Tong Qing’s direction and called out to her: “You’re going the wrong way, it’s in that direction.”
Song Mingzhi pointed forward and continued: “Go straight along this road until you reach the intersection, turn left, then when you reach another intersection, take the middle path, it’s on your right.”
Tong Qing’s eyes widened: “Teacher Song, you’re so familiar with this place, have you been here before?”
Song Mingzhi shook her head and said: “First time, there are maps here.”
Tong Qing was overjoyed: “A paper map? Where did you get it, Teacher Song? I didn’t see it!”
“There are electronic displays along the way, just look at those.”
Tong Qing’s eyes widened: “Isn’t there only one every so often? You memorized the map just by looking at those?”
Song Mingzhi said matter-of-factly: “Of course.”
Tong Qing felt a blow to her confidence, sighed at the camera, and said: “I feel the disparity of the world.”
Tong Qing’s live stream chat was filled with laughter, while many fans in Song Mingzhi’s live stream felt a sense of pride.
[Those haters who spread rumors earlier, come out and apologize. You said she brought her child here many times? Have you ever seen someone with such a good memory and map-reading skills?]
[Isn’t this a slap in the face? My Jiejie is just that awesome, she can memorize the map just by looking at it, don’t think everyone is as brainless as you haters.]
[Wow, that’s amazing, she only looked at the map twice, once to find the Cat Swing, and once to find the fountain, and then she never looked at it again, but she never went the wrong way, she even knows where the ducks are, Jiejie’s memory is so good!]
[So the rumor about Song Jie being secretly married with a child is debunked, so disappointed [Smirk]]
[Taking out my Italian… noodles for the Song Zhong sisters to try.]
[Don’t worry, maybe the child isn’t old enough to go out yet [Smirk]]
Dong Ling was feeling proud reading the first few comments, but what was up with the later ones?!
Dong Ling silently opened the comment filter settings and added “Song Zhong,” “secret marriage,” and “child,” feeling much better.
As long as I can’t see it, it doesn’t exist!
In the live stream, Tong Qing decided to cling to Song Mingzhi, following her so she wouldn’t get lost.
The last fountain Song Mingzhi was looking for happened to be closest along this route, so she set off with Tong Qing.
Tong Qing was an idol, so she tried her best to amplify her charm. Although she didn’t find the NPC at Duck Commando, she still happily picked up the gun and shot balloons.
She waved to Song Mingzhi: “Teacher Song, don’t you want to play? It’s fun!”
Song Mingzhi declined: “No, thanks.”
Then she walked away without pausing.
[Song Mingzhi, an emotionless secret agent.]
[Song Jie’s thinking, what’s the point of staying here if there’s no NPC, a very rational player.]
Tong Qing was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed, and meeting Song Mingzhi’s gaze, scratched her head awkwardly.
“I’m afraid I’ll get lost again, I’ll just walk with you, Teacher Song, and then go my own way after we find the next one!”
Song Mingzhi didn’t mind, after all, this wasn’t a private road, others could walk however they wanted.
Tong Qing racked her brains to find topics to talk about, but found that this recently popular movie star was truly aloof, not even glancing at the camera, indifferent to her attempts at conversation.
Tong Qing felt that if this continued, her live stream would become awkward, so she was about to part ways, but then she saw Song Mingzhi stop and look in a certain direction.
Dong Ling quickly put away her phone. The place Song Mingzhi’s camera was pointing at, wasn’t that where she was?
Dong Ling adjusted her mask, pretending to be just a tourist on the swing.
She was wearing a red witch costume provided by the director, different from her usual style, Song Mingzhi shouldn’t recognize her so quickly, right?
Song Mingzhi saw the person sitting on the flower-vine swing, the mask making it impossible to tell her age, her slender ankles visible beneath her skirt, the small bells on the red string around her wrist jingling softly with the movement of the swing.
[Jiejie, what are you doing!!! That’s not the direction of the fountain!]
[I don’t see any fountains around here, agent, what are you doing?!]
[What’s going on, did Song Jie see something?]
Not only were the viewers confused, but the cameraman and Tong Qing were also puzzled.
Dong Ling looked at the person walking towards her, tilted her head up, smiled at her, and made an encouraging gesture.
Song Mingzhi nodded and smiled back.
[????]
[Did I see correctly, did Song Jie smile?]
[Who is this???]
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