Chapter 138
The early bird gets the worm.
On this new day, before the cameraman started filming, Wei Chengli, worried about Shi Dingshan’s condition, woke up early and secretly went to the villa next door. The good news was that Shi Dingshan was stable overnight, his vital signs had stabilized. The bad news was that the doctor wouldn’t let him be discharged today, he insisted on keeping him under observation for another day.
Anyway, as long as he was fine, everything else could be dealt with later.
Wei Chengli, relieved, quietly returned to the villa and went upstairs, he thought he was quick and quiet, completely unnoticed. But he didn’t know that in the hall on the first floor, which he passed twice, someone watched him leave and return.
“Uncle Wen came down earlier, I wonder if Wen Dongyu is awake yet. Now Uncle Wei is also up, Maomao and Yan Yan should be coming down soon, right?” Wang Zhizhi said, trying to transform his Transformer toy, he examined it, feeling something was wrong, he turned to Shen Zilin, who was building with Legos. “Did I do it wrong? Why doesn’t it look like a pig trotter…”
“It’s best if he doesn’t wake up, we still have a while, it’ll be troublesome if he comes down early. Sigh, I was too sleepy yesterday, I didn’t finish building… Yan Yan and Maomao, one gave me a pig plush, the other gave me a pig candy jar, we don’t have to make gifts, we can come down later.” Shen Zilin said, putting down his Legos, he took the Transformer with one hand, and pulled the instruction manual closer to Wang Zhizhi with the other, he frowned like a mini adult, examined it for a moment, then swiftly twisted it twice and returned it to Wang Zhizhi. “There, you twisted the bottom part the wrong way.”
“It’s so hard.” Wang Zhizhi said, yawning widely. “It would be great if we were still living together, you could help me at night, we wouldn’t have to wake up so early.”
“If we were still living together, we would have to sneak out.” Shen Zilin said, continuing to build with his Legos. “Yours has pictures, just look carefully before transforming it, it won’t be difficult.”
“That’s true.” Wang Zhizhi said, glancing at the pile of Lego pieces in front of Shen Zilin. “Yours is even harder without the instructions.”
Shen Zilin, swiftly changing the pieces, finally built a somewhat satisfactory nose for the pig head in his hand, just as he was about to reply, he heard soft footsteps coming from the stairs again.
They both pursed their lips, even their hands stopped moving.
Wang Zhizhi craned his neck to look towards the stairs and saw a bright pink figure appear at the top.
“It’s Yueyue.” Wang Zhizhi said, relieved, he stood up and waved.
Wen Jiangyue hurried over and showed them the limp, half-deflated pig balloon in her hand with a wry smile. “It was still fine last night, but it became like this this morning…”
“It’s okay, just blow it up, it’ll be…” Wang Zhizhi said, but before he could finish his sentence, they heard more footsteps coming from the stairs.
Sleeping later than usual last night, and waking up so early today, Wei Maomao was truly, super sleepy. If it weren’t for Cheng Tingyan’s diligent wake-up service this morning, even tickling her feet, she wouldn’t have been able to wake up. Now, meeting her friends, Wei Maomao glanced at the pig head Shen Zilin had just built, then at the unfinished Transformer pig in Wang Zhizhi’s hand, calculating that she could still sleep for another ten minutes, she closed her eyes and leaned her head on Cheng Tingyan’s shoulder.
“Ah…” Wen Jiangyue couldn’t help but gasp softly.
“It’s okay, it was already almost deflated, should I help you blow it up?” Shen Zilin asked, looking up at the completely deflated pig balloon in Wen Jiangyue’s hand.
“I’ll blow it up myself…” Wen Jiangyue said, taking a deep breath, holding the balloon’s opening.
Wei Maomao, about to drift back into dreamland, felt a buzzing sound by her ear, she sensed something was wrong, but her sleepy brain couldn’t process it.
Struggle, struggle!
Wei Maomao forced her eyes open and saw Wen Jiangyue about to blow into the balloon.
Her sleepiness was instantly chased away by her alertness.
“No!”
Wei Maomao shouted, dodging like a chubby bunny, her hand reaching out to stop her at the same time.
Wen Jiangyue’s blowing missed the balloon and landed on a chubby paw instead.
“This balloon is big, don’t blow it with your mouth. We’re little babies, we can’t blow that much air.” Wei Maomao said, patting her chest, still shaken after successfully preventing a dangerous incident.
Cheng Tingyan silently pulled back the little chubby paw, she gently stroked the back of her hand, stroked it, and stroked it again…
“Then should we take turns blowing it?” Wang Zhizhi suggested.
“No.” Wei Maomao said firmly, refusing. “Dangerous.”
She had seen it online in her previous life, young children blowing up balloons, unsanitary conditions and skin allergies were minor issues, in severe cases, there was even a risk of capillary rupture. And if the balloon exploded, it would be even more dangerous, so close to the face, it could injure the eyes, and inhaling the fragments could cause suffocation. There was nothing good about it.
Although Wei Maomao couldn’t explain it professionally with her three-year-old vocabulary, she had to stop them.
“But it’s completely deflated.” Wen Jiangyue said, annoyed. “I shouldn’t have opened it, there was still some air inside earlier.”
“Yesterday, at the swimming pool outside, I saw the staff deflating the balloons when they were putting them away.” Cheng Tingyan said, after thinking for a moment. “Do they have that inflating thing? I’ve seen it on the street, a barrel-like thing, you connect it and it blows up the balloons.”
“Then… many people will know, what if…” Wen Jiangyue said hesitantly.
“It’s okay, we’ll just go after we inflate it, no one will have time to tell Wen Dongyu, it’ll still be a surprise.” Shen Zilin said, his hands moving quickly as he built his Lego pig. “Wait, after I finish building this, we’ll go find someone to inflate it.”
“My Transformer pig isn’t finished yet…” Wang Zhizhi said, wiping his forehead, he was sweating from twisting the pieces. “It’s so hard, I should have just gotten him a pig bun!”
“It’s useless even if you knew, the pig buns were too far away, you couldn’t reach them with the ring toss.” Shen Zilin said, finding time to reply.
Cheng Tingyan moved closer, glanced at the Transformer instructions, and asked hesitantly, “Do you want me to help you?”
In the next second, the twisted and messy Transformer was in her hand.
“Hero! My gratitude knows no bounds!” Wang Zhizhi said, bowing gratefully, then slumped back onto the sofa, exhausted.
Cheng Tingyan: “… “
“Then should I sort the pieces for you? If I put the same ones together, would it be easier for you?” Wen Jiangyue asked, squatting next to Shen Zilin, extending her hand in friendship, speeding up the progress of the Lego pig.
The three of them were busy working at the small coffee table.
Wang Zhizhi, after resting for a while, felt a bit guilty. But just as he sat up, wanting to help, he saw Wei Maomao, asleep, buried in the pile of pillows on the other side of the sofa.
Mmm… Wang Zhizhi relaxed and leaned back, feeling justified.
Those who are more capable should do more.
Cheng Tingyan quickly fixed the Transformer pig, then squatted next to Shen Zilin, helping him find the right pig trotters.
When they finally finished both gifts, they heard voices from outside the villa, the staff were starting to arrive.
Perfect timing, Wen Jiangyue’s balloon pig could finally be inflated.
“No, don’t film.” Shen Zilin said, rejecting Zeng Huanian’s request to film while they were waiting for the balloon to be inflated. “We just want to give him a surprise, we don’t want to be filmed.”
Zeng Huanian scratched his head, feeling a bit frustrated. “Filming and giving him a surprise, they don’t conflict. It’s a good thing, you little babies, thinking of giving your friend a birthday gift, it’s so meaningful, we’ll film it for you, you can watch it when you grow up.”
“No.” Wang Zhizhi shook his head. “We want him to have a happy birthday, filming it would be weird.”
“Why would it be weird? It’s cute.” Zeng Huanian tried to persuade them again. “Yan Yan, Maomao, Yueyue, what do you think?”
Wei Maomao didn’t mind, but she could understand Shen Zilin and the others.
It was just good friends, sincerely wanting another friend to be happy on their birthday, receiving gifts. They just wanted to do it privately, they felt that being filmed would make it seem insincere.
It was that night, after arriving at the villa, after the live broadcast ended, after the cameras and microphones were turned off, after they turned off the lights in their room, Shen Zilin came over secretly and told them about Wen Dongyu’s birthday.
Wei Maomao had read the information provided by the program team before coming to the show, she didn’t think anyone had a birthday during these few days. And in her previous life, Wen Dongyu didn’t celebrate his birthday on the show either… Wei Maomao thought Shen Zilin had remembered it wrong, but he said… the information was based on the solar calendar, he calculated it based on the lunar calendar.
He was truly… very thoughtful.
According to Shen Zilin, Wen Dongyu had been unhappy for a long time in the village. Although he seemed to be getting along well with Wen Xiang these past few days, but since it was his birthday, maybe they could make him even happier. They secretly discussed it, they didn’t know what Wen Dongyu usually liked, but after observing him these past few days, he seemed to like Wen Xixi the most. So they decided to give him a pig-themed gift set.
The Lego set, the Transformer, and the pig plush were won from the ring toss at the night market the day before yesterday, the pig balloon and the pig candy jar were bought at the amusement park yesterday. It’s just that the schedule was a bit tight these past few days, Shen Zilin and Wang Zhizhi couldn’t work on the gifts while filming, and they were too sleepy to work when they weren’t filming, so they had to wake up early this morning to finish them.
After keeping it a secret for so long, after working so hard, now that they were at the final step, who would listen to Zeng Huanian?
Even Wen Jiangyue, who was staring at the balloon being inflated, found time to warn Zeng Huanian, “Uncle, it’s not time to wake up yet, you can’t secretly film us.”
What else could Zeng Huanian say? He wasn’t Jin Youliang, he truly… couldn’t bring himself to secretly turn on the camera. He could only watch as the little ones, each holding a gift, went upstairs.
Mmm…
What? Something seemed wrong? Zeng Huanian scratched his head… What was wrong…
Wang Zhizhi, who was walking at the front, stopped at the top of the stairs to the second floor, he hesitated, then looked back and whispered, “Uncle Wen came downstairs earlier, they’re not still sleeping, are they?”
“No, it’s almost time for the live broadcast.” Shen Zilin said confidently, then looked at the others. “Later, when Wang Zhizhi knocks on the door, we’ll stand by the door, hold onto our gifts, don’t drop them.”
The little babies all nodded.
“Hey…” Wen Jiangyue, who had been struggling internally, finally couldn’t ignore her conscience, she said as Wang Zhizhi was about to continue walking, “Don’t you guys think we’re forgetting something?”
“What?” Shen Zilin asked, he immediately checked the Lego pig in his hand, one, two, three, four, okay, all four pig trotters were there.
“Cheng Rongrong…” Wen Jiangyue finally said the name she didn’t want to mention.
The person who framed her, she would never be friends with her again.
But…
When Shen Zilin first came to their room and talked about giving gifts, Cheng Rongrong was also involved. They didn’t wait for her now… Wouldn’t it be bad…
“Oh, we told her the meeting time. She didn’t come.” Wang Zhizhi said casually.
“If she couldn’t get up, she can give it to him later.” Shen Zilin said indifferently.
“Yueyue, you’re truly such a good person…” Wei Maomao said, she couldn’t help but comment, using her three-year-old vocabulary. She was the one who was framed! And Yueyue still remembered to include her! Unacceptable, unacceptable!
Wen Jiangyue immediately understood Wei Maomao’s meaning, she blushed and looked at Cheng Tingyan.
“If we don’t hurry, the balloon will deflate again.” Cheng Tingyan said, looking at the pig balloon in Wen Jiangyue’s hand seriously.
“… “ Wen Jiangyue quickly changed her stance and urged them, “Hurry, hurry, let’s go!”
The other three pairs of eyes all looked at Cheng Tingyan with admiration.
They quietly walked to the door of the Wen family’s bedroom, two of them stood by the walls on each side, Wang Zhizhi stood at the door.
But before he could even knock, they all heard a voice coming from inside.
A soft but clear… singing of “Happy Birthday”…
Wang Zhizhi’s eyes widened, he looked at the left, then at the right, helplessly, only to receive a unanimous shake of their heads.
The dad was singing Happy Birthday to his son, interrupting now wouldn’t be a surprise, it would be rude.
Wang Zhizhi, accepting their advice, retracted his hand, deciding to wait, wait until the singing was over before knocking.
However, after the singing ended, it wasn’t over, it was like a runaway wild horse, heading in a direction they never expected.
“Baby, happy birthday! Blow out the candles, then eat the cake. Isn’t Dad amazing? I used my Daddy Coins to exchange for your favorite cheesecake. It’s just that it’s so early, there are no freshly made cakes, so we can only eat these pre-packaged mini cheesecakes. When we get back, Dad will buy you two more.”
“Dad is amazing! You got me so many mini cheesecakes, can I share them with the other kids, let them eat my birthday cake with me?”
“Yes, you can, but you can’t tell them it’s your birthday cake.”
“I remember, that director uncle said that Shen Zilin’s mom passed away on the day he was born, so I can’t celebrate my birthday on the show, Uncle Shen and Shen Zilin would be sad.”
“Right, baby, you have a good memory. So don’t tell them it’s your birthday cake, just share it with them as an ordinary cake. You guys always share food anyway, just be natural.”
“Mmm! The director uncle also said we shouldn’t mention Mom too much. I just wanted my toy back and mentioned Mom, right? I don’t remember… I miss Mom a little…”
“We’ll go home after the filming, Mom is waiting for us at home…”
…
The people inside the room chatted endlessly.
While outside… they were frozen.
Shen Zilin’s face darkened, his gaze sweeping over the few people outside the door, he asked in a low voice, “Did a director tell you not to mention Mom?”
No one answered.
Shen Zilin stared at Wang Zhizhi.
Wang Zhizhi raised his hands in surrender, took two steps back, then whispered, “Yes… Sorry, I forgot. I mentioned it a few times… When Cheng Rongrong…”
Shen Zilin didn’t wait for Wang Zhizhi to finish his explanation, he turned to Wen Jiangyue.
Wen Jiangyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. “Assistant Director Jin told us when he came to our house.”
Shen Zilin looked at the other two, who were just one door away, they both shook their heads.
“Assistant Director Zeng came to our house.” Wei Maomao mouthed to Shen Zilin.
“No one told me.” Cheng Tingyan said, after a pause. “They rarely talk to me, I didn’t know anyone came before I came here.”
Wei Maomao thought for a moment, she walked to Shen Zilin’s side quietly. “Everyone downstairs saw us coming up. We should still knock.”
Things had come to this, even if they retreated now, the people inside would eventually know they were here. Coming up but not knocking would only… confirm that they had heard everything.
Shen Zilin understood this logic.
“I’ll do it.” Shen Zilin said, taking a step towards the bedroom door, he knocked gently three times with his knuckles.
At the same time, in the villa next door, the door of the monitoring room was pushed open forcefully.
“Just you?” Qin Sichao asked, looking at Jin Youliang, who was already at his station in the monitoring room, his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Xiao Zeng is in the other villa, setting up for filming.” Jin Youliang said kindly. “Are you looking for him, Director Qin? Should I call him over?”
“No need.” Qin Sichao said, his gaze sweeping over the empty coffee table. “I’m going to the hospital to see Lao Shan, the porridge and the cake yesterday were quite delicious, who bought them?”
“Xiao Peng prepared them, she’s the girl in charge of logistics.” Jin Youliang said, taking out his phone. “Director Qin, are you planning to bring some for Director Shi? I’ll ask her to prepare some now.”
Qin Sichao waved his hand. “You focus on your work, no need to worry about my things, just give me her WeChat, I’ll ask her myself later if I need anything.”
Jin Youliang, of course, had no objections.
Seeing that Qin Sichao got Xiao Peng’s WeChat and left without saying anything more, the gentle smile on Jin Youliang’s face instantly vanished.
Jin Youliang clenched his phone, feeling a bit frustrated.
But frustration aside, thinking about the large sum of money he received last night, he still had to continue.
It was interesting, he had initially thought that person was just all talk, digging up his past and telling him about Shi Dingshan’s secrets. He didn’t expect them to actually be willing to pay this time, and even promised to help him get sponsors for his own show in the future. He didn’t care about the sponsors, but the money was real, it had been deposited into his account. Although he had spent some of it on carrying out the plan, the remaining amount was still considerable.
It seemed that person truly hated Cheng Tingyan.
Originally, with Shi Dingshan being kept at the hospital, he had at least another day to impress Qin Sichao. But because of that unknown person, now, he had to carry out the plan today, forget about impressing him, he might even be suspected. He hoped everything would go smoothly…
But Jin Youliang didn’t know that even before he took action, he was already being suspected.
Qin Sichao hurriedly got into the car, the person named Xiao Peng still hadn’t replied to his message.
He didn’t know if he was being paranoid, asking so many questions.
He just felt that the coffee table, whether it was meticulously prepared yesterday or completely empty today, it… felt like a premonition.
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