Chapter 50 p1
Not only did Wei Chengli and his daughter see the people at the pavilion, but the people at the pavilion also saw them.
Cheng Feiying paused while taking off his basket, but quickly recovered. He handed the basket to the staff member for weighing, then looked at his two daughters and said, “Just choose the leaves randomly, they’re all about the same size, make more trips carrying the silkworms, keep bringing them over until the leaves are gone.”
As he spoke, Wei Chengli, carrying the little dumpling, rushed into the pavilion.
“You guys are also quite fast.” Cheng Feiying greeted them with a smile.
Honestly, if Wei Chengli hadn’t seen the slight pause in Cheng Feiying’s expression when he looked at them, he might have believed his friendly act.
“Not bad, not bad.” Wei Chengli chuckled modestly. Before he could even put down the little dumpling in his arms, a staff member approached Cheng Feiying.
“Teacher Cheng, your mulberry leaves don’t weigh two kilograms, you’re about half a liang short.” The staff member shook the basket in his hand.
“They even count half a liang?” Cheng Feiying couldn’t help but complain. Without even taking the basket, he strode towards the mulberry field outside.
Cheng Rongrong, watching Cheng Feiying’s hurried departure, had a bad feeling.
This series of tasks had taken a toll on Cheng Feiying, his irritability had been building up. It wasn’t until he encountered Wen Qiming earlier and learned the trick for brushing quail eggs, realizing that they had a good chance of winning first place, that his mood improved slightly.
But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Cheng Rongrong couldn’t understand how Wei Chengli and his daughter could have passed the “Salt” stage so quickly… Even if they also had a chance to meet Wen Qiming and learn the trick, they couldn’t have been that fast!
Now everyone was stuck at the “Clothing” stage, picking mulberry leaves was quick, the small lead Cheng Feiying had established would probably be caught up by Wei Chengli soon… But silkworms wouldn’t eat mulberry leaves that fast, the gap between their two families would gradually shrink, and the difference in their task completion time might be less than two minutes.
And Wei Chengli and his daughter started with “Food”, after completing this “Clothing” stage, they would have finished all eight tasks…
Even if their family could finish “Clothing” a few minutes faster than the Wei family, they couldn’t possibly use those few minutes to complete “Food”.
They were destined to lose.
Cheng Rongrong herself didn’t really care about being first, but the problem was, Cheng Feiying really wanted to win, and he had already finished his part of the “Clothing” task ahead of time. In his mind, they might lose because of her and Cheng Tingyan. Cheng Rongrong watched as Cheng Feiying rushed back with both hands full of mulberry leaves, her heart sinking.
Just then, she heard Wei Maomao’s surprised voice.
“Didn’t you say you’re afraid of bugs? Why…” Wei Maomao had come to persuade Cheng Tingyan not to force herself, but to her surprise, Cheng Tingyan firmly insisted on doing the task.
Earlier, Cheng Rongrong’s attention had been mostly on Cheng Feiying, who was bustling around picking mulberry leaves, she hadn’t paid attention to what Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan were saying. But it didn’t matter to her, because the sentence she just heard was perfect.
“Older sister, you’re afraid of bugs, what should we do… Have you seen silkworms before? They’re bugs, they look like white caterpillars, with lots and lots of legs.” Cheng Rongrong squeezed into their conversation, her face full of concern. “If you’re afraid, then there’s nothing we can do…”
“What do you mean ‘nothing we can do’?” Cheng Feiying rushed back to the pavilion, asking his younger daughter while stuffing the mulberry leaves into the staff member’s basket, waving him away to weigh them.
“Older sister is afraid of bugs, she can’t carry the silkworms…” Cheng Rongrong immediately reported the situation.
“I can.” Cheng Tingyan said firmly.
Their voices rang out almost simultaneously. Cheng Feiying looked at one, then the other, frowning. “So are you afraid or not? Can you do it or not?”
“Yan Yan…” Wei Maomao grabbed Cheng Tingyan’s hand, worried. She didn’t know what had happened while she was away, why was Yan Yan, who was most afraid of bugs, going to carry silkworms with her bare hands…
Cheng Feiying glanced at Wei Maomao and chose to believe Cheng Rongrong’s words.
“Cheng Tingyan, why didn’t you say you were afraid of bugs earlier? I’ve already picked the mulberry leaves, and now you’re saying you can’t do it?” Cheng Feiying’s anger flared.
“Picking mulberry leaves is Daddy’s task…” Wei Maomao took a step forward, trying to shield Cheng Tingyan behind her.
Cheng Feiying’s eyebrows shot up, his face darkening completely.
Wei Chengli, carrying the basket on his back and having been too afraid to step off the ground, had been waiting for this moment. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, he reached out to pull the little dumpling back.
But someone was faster than him.
“I can do it.” Cheng Tingyan pulled the little chubby bunny behind her, stuffing her in properly, using her body as a shield.
Cheng Feiying, seeing his eldest daughter’s protective gesture, was even angrier.
“Fine, you can do it, you go.” Cheng Feiying sneered, gesturing towards the van parked at the end of the path on the other side of the pavilion.
Both his earlier scowl and his current sneer were faithfully captured and transmitted to the live broadcast room by the cameras, making it difficult for the viewers watching to stay calm.
“Wow, is it even necessary to get angry like this during a parent-child task? Wen Xiang ate a mouthful of hair from the fertilized duck egg earlier and didn’t even get this mad…”
“Speaking of, I’m most afraid of this kind of anger, his face just drops instantly, you never know what he’ll do next.”
“What’s he being so angry about, what did our CEO Mao say wrong? Picking mulberry leaves is indeed the dad’s task, would Cheng Feiying have stopped picking them if Yan Yan had said she was afraid of bugs earlier? Would he have forfeited the task? I don’t think he would be that understanding!”
“Tiny CEO Mao protecting Yan Yan is so cute, but I’m scared Cheng Feiying might hit her in the next second…”
“Honestly, he’s so used to changing his face, Yan Yan’s reaction in shielding Maomao was so fast… Could it be that she’s seen this too many times at home, her reflexes trained from experience? Oh my god!”
“Men like this are truly scary, you always feel like they’re about to become violent, it’s best to stay as far away as possible from people who can’t control their temper.”
“Actually… from Cheng Feiying’s perspective, he worked so hard, they’ve come this far, if Yan Yan can’t do it, wouldn’t all his efforts be in vain?”
“Is the person above even trying? This is a parenting show, a parent-child task, isn’t it meant to strengthen the bond between parents and children? Why be so competitive, is this a competition for the last ticket to escape Earth before the apocalypse?”
“Right, this kind of parent-child task, you can encourage, but you can’t force them. Like being afraid of bugs, there’s no need to even encourage overcoming it, it’s a natural instinct!”
“Speaking of competitiveness, CEO Shen, the business tycoon, Wang Qingchuan, the former athlete, whose competitiveness is weaker than Cheng Feiying’s? They didn’t force their babies like this.”
“Huh? Is the person above talking about CEO Shen, who’s observing potential successors with his hands behind his back, and Wang Qingchuan, the master of copying homework and slacking off, hahaha…”
“So, we weren’t wrong earlier, Cheng Feiying’s attitude is no different from shoving the silkworms into Yan Yan’s hands.”
…
At the scene, some expressions were fleeting. Unless someone was specifically observing, others might not feel as strongly as those watching the clear close-ups on the screen in the live broadcast room. Even Cheng Feiying himself didn’t think there was anything wrong with his displeasure earlier, he naturally didn’t know that the audience’s perception of him was already shifting.
Cheng Feiying’s anger was directed at a specific person. The target had already appeared, Cheng Rongrong pursed her lips, obediently chose ten mulberry leaves and placed them on the plate, then turned and walked towards the van.
Cheng Tingyan, however, didn’t move immediately. Instead, she met Cheng Feiying’s burning gaze and pulled the little chubby bunny outside the pavilion.
“Maomao, I can do it.” Cheng Tingyan patted the little chubby bunny’s head and said seriously. “I am afraid of bugs, but I can do it, trust me, okay?”
Wei Maomao: “… “
“You… go and pick mulberry leaves with your dad.” Cheng Tingyan gently nudged the little chubby dumpling towards Wei Chengli, who had followed them out.
Wei Maomao grabbed Cheng Tingyan’s hand, pointed at the pavilion, and said softly, “I’ll wait for you here…”
“No.” Cheng Tingyan shook her head, taking the little chubby bunny’s hand and leading her towards Wei Chengli. “Go with your dad, don’t stay here.”
After sending the bunny away, Cheng Tingyan quickly ran back to the pavilion, grabbed a handful of mulberry leaves, counted ten, and ran towards the van in the distance.
“Yan Yan…” Wei Maomao whispered, taking a step forward, wanting to follow her.
Her bunny feet left the ground, but she didn’t catch up.
Wei Maomao turned back, looking at Wei Chengli, who was holding her hand, with a blank expression.
Wei Chengli sighed and picked up the little chubby dumpling.
The abandoned dumpling, soft, dejected, silently aggrieved.
“Baby, let’s go pick mulberry leaves with Daddy.” Wei Chengli, carrying the child and the basket on his back, didn’t go far. He stayed near the pavilion, throwing mulberry leaves into the basket with one hand.
Wei Maomao, lying on Wei Chengli’s shoulder, watched as Cheng Tingyan ran back with her palms clasped, her heart aching. “Daddy, is Yan Yan angry? Because I…” meddled.
The little chubby dumpling’s heartbreak was so obvious, Wei Chengli couldn’t continue picking mulberry leaves.
“Oh dear, look at you, so downcast…” Wei Chengli threw the mulberry leaves in his hand into the basket, dusted off his hands, lifted the little dumpling under her arms, and shook her gently. Looking at her drooping toes, he chuckled. “How come you’re so dejected that you’ve even grown taller? Does sadness make people grow taller?”
Wei Maomao listlessly glanced at Wei Chengli, too sad to speak.
“Baby? Baby? It’s okay, you’ll make up later.” Wei Chengli comforted her, lifting her higher and shaking her again.
Make up…
So Wei Chengli also thought Yan Yan was angry at her for meddling… It wasn’t just her imagination…
The tiny chubby dumpling, as she was being shaken, tears started falling without warning.
The first teardrop landed on Wei Chengli’s forehead before he could even react.
Then, in the next second, it started raining…
Wei Chengli was horrified. He quickly brought the little chubby dumpling back into his arms and coaxed her repeatedly, “Oh, oh, oh, don’t cry, don’t cry, our baby, don’t cry. Yan Yan isn’t angry at you, not angry!”
“You’re lying!” Wei Maomao wiped her tears with her chubby paws, her sadness not overshadowing her dedication to setting the stage for future editing. “It’s all my fault, I should have believed she could do it, her anger is justified.”
Wei Chengli: ??? What’s justified?
“It’s okay, I’m okay.” Wei Maomao used Wei Chengli’s collar to wipe her tears, clenching her fists resolutely. “I’ll make up with Yan Yan!”
“I…” Wei Chengli almost cursed. What kind of medicine was this, what had she taken, if she had just eaten a couple of peanuts with it, she wouldn’t be acting like this, stinky baby!
“It’s okay, Daddy! Let’s pick mulberry leaves!” Wei Maomao clenched her fists, trying to control her tears.
She had lost control and cried earlier, it was bad, what if it was edited and captioned as Yan Yan bullying her, that would be a disaster.
Although Shi Dingshan was in charge of the show now, and they wouldn’t manipulate things like they did in her previous life, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
Honestly, if Wei Chengli hadn’t felt the little one clutching his shirt tightly, her grip getting stronger and stronger, he would have believed that she was okay.
Forget it…
It was just a live broadcast…
What couldn’t be said?
They had already made enemies, he wasn’t afraid of saying a little more!
He should have said it earlier, now the little dumpling was crying.
Wei Chengli made up his mind, patted the little one’s chubby waist gently, and whispered, “I think the reason Yan Yan insisted on you coming with me earlier, it wasn’t because she was angry at you or disliked you, it was probably… to let me protect you.”
The dejected dumpling instantly perked up, her watery eyes staring at him intently.
Wei Chengli, smitten by her cuteness, sighed. “Do you remember what happened at the pavilion earlier? When you were talking so much, did someone get angry?”
“Cheng…” Wei Maomao instantly recalled.
“Shh. You better talk less… Thank you for listening to me.” Wei Chengli tapped her head helplessly. “Anyway, didn’t Yan Yan pull you behind her and try to hide you? You’re so chubby, so fleshy, Yan Yan even stuffed you in carefully, afraid you would be exposed.”
“Who’s chubby!” Wei Maomao pressed her hands on her cheeks angrily.
Wei Chengli, looking at the revived little chubby dumpling, laughed in exasperation. “You, you are! You’re chubby, you’re fleshy, you couldn’t fit!”
“I’m ignoring you!” Wei Maomao struggled to get down. “Put me down.”
“Where are you going?” Wei Chengli held her tight. “Don’t follow Yan Yan. Your legs are so short, if Yan Yan is afraid of bugs, she’ll have to slow down to wait for you. Think about it, wouldn’t that mean the bugs would stay on her hands longer? How scary!”
The little chubby dumpling stopped moving.
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