Chapter 51
The audience in the live broadcast room could clearly see the stinginess of some people, and Wei Chengli, who was at the scene, naturally didn’t miss it either.
In this situation, as far as Wei Chengli was concerned, the grand prize was no longer important. What mattered was that it was best to let Cheng Tingyan finish feeding the silkworms first, let the Cheng family complete this task, and then their family could continue. After all, seeing how Cheng Feiying could be so shameless even on live broadcast, if their family started the task now, and the Cheng family lost later, the blame might be placed on Cheng Tingyan’s decision to stop carrying silkworms.
However, Wei Chengli also knew that his thoughts were based on adult considerations, he didn’t know what his little chubby dumpling was thinking.
Wei Maomao… had no thoughts.
Her three-year-old brain capacity was fully occupied trying to figure out why the six-year-old Cheng Tingyan was being hot and cold towards her.
Speaking of Cheng Tingyan, she had blushed furiously after the little chubby bunny’s dad said, “What’s Maomao’s is yours.” After the heat on her face finally subsided, she noticed that the bunny next to her was even redder.
She secretly observed the little chubby bunny for a while, her face flushed, lips pouting, her eyes squinting in a smile one moment, then furrowing in worry as if she was about to cry the next. Cheng Tingyan finally couldn’t help but gently poke the little chubby bunny’s almost invisible dimple. “What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong… Don’t you know what’s wrong…
Wei Maomao puffed out her cheeks, silently pushing Cheng Tingyan’s finger away with her chubby cheeks.
“Aren’t you going to get more silkworms?” The six-year-old Cheng Tingyan was completely oblivious to this silent protest, even chuckling at the soft, bouncy feel of her finger.
Wei Maomao couldn’t hold back anymore.
Alright, since they were both three years old (not really), one six years old, both children, she might as well just ask directly, it wasn’t embarrassing (not really)…
“Why did you make me go with Daddy?” Wei Maomao decided to start with the question Wei Chengli had already answered.
Cheng Tingyan’s smile faded, but looking at the little chubby bunny staring at her with a serious expression, she still answered softly, “It’s not dangerous, with your dad.”
The last three words, barely audible, struck Wei Maomao’s heart.
It was really because of that… Although she already had a feeling it was the reason when Wei Chengli said it, hearing Cheng Tingyan admit it herself, her heart felt both sour and full…
Wei Maomao couldn’t help but press her hand against her chest.
In the next second, a cool hand also covered hers.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Cheng Tingyan noticed her pained frown, one hand pressing on the little chubby bunny’s hand, the other reaching to feel her forehead.
Cheng Tingyan’s hand was quite cool, bringing Wei Maomao back to her senses.
“Then… you came back earlier, why… didn’t you…” Wei Maomao lowered her head, looking at her paws, stammering.
Ahhh… Although she was very curious about why Cheng Tingyan had just glanced at her and ran away after putting down the last silkworm, she couldn’t bring herself to ask!
After mumbling for a while, Wei Maomao decided to give up.
“Are you asking why I didn’t come over as soon as I came back?” Cheng Tingyan tried to decipher the jumbled sounds, then saw the little chubby bunny turn her flushed face away.
Cheng Tingyan was slightly stunned.
This feeling of being watched, being needed…
A soft feather gently brushed against her heart.
“This hand of mine…” Cheng Tingyan moved the hand on the little chubby bunny’s forehead to her face, pressing it gently. “…it carried twenty silkworms, and even got silkworm poop on it.”
In the next second, the little chubby bunny, her face turning from red to green, jumped back two steps with a shriek.
“Hahahaha…” Cheng Tingyan laughed uncontrollably, bending over, her waist almost touching the ground. “I went to wash my hands after coming back, then I came to find you.”
Wei Maomao: …
Knowing the truth, why couldn’t she laugh…
While some bunnies couldn’t laugh, some people were laughing their heads off.
“Hahaha, this is so funny!”
“Our CEO Mao’s joy and sorrow, all separated by a hand-washing session, hahaha!”
“Truly, ‘what goes around comes around,’ CEO Mao’s dumbfounded expression after learning the truth is so cute!”
“So Yan Yan really wanted to protect CEO Mao, that’s why she made her go with Director Wei. It seems that at least for Yan Yan, Cheng Feiying in his current state represents danger. My poor Yan Yan! Let CEO Mao protect you!”
“Aww, our CEO Mao was heartbroken for nothing, earlier in the mulberry grove, and just now at the pavilion, she shed tears for nothing. No wonder CEO Mao can’t laugh anymore after learning the truth, hahahahaha!”
“Our CEO Mao is usually so good at standing up for others, how come she couldn’t even ask Yan Yan why she didn’t come to play with her immediately, hahaha, the three-year-old baby has some social anxiety.”
“Yan Yan can joke now, some people are usually so serious, how come they’re so funny when they joke, hahaha!”
…
Unlike the unrestrained viewers in the live broadcast room, Wei Chengli, who had heard everything and was afraid of being targeted by the little rascal, chose to laugh with his back turned. It’s just… he laughed so hard that his shoulders were shaking quite noticeably…
“Daddy, is it funny?”
The devilish, childish voice, accompanied by a heavy pat on his leg, shattered Wei Chengli’s last shred of hope.
Wei Chengli suppressed his laughter, his face contorting with effort, before turning back with a forced serious expression. But seeing the little chubby dumpling’s impassive face, he couldn’t help but laugh again.
“Hahahaha… Funny…” Wei Chengli gave up struggling.
Offending the little rascal was a daily occurrence, it wasn’t worth hurting himself for the sake of holding back his laughter.
While these three were having a good time, their laughter reached Cheng Feiying’s ears on the other side of the pavilion, making him feel a bit sour.
Wasn’t this a task? Wasn’t this a competition? He had worked hard all day, victory was within reach, was he wrong for wanting Cheng Tingyan to work harder?
Of course not.
Cheng Feiying felt he had done nothing wrong.
Since she could carry twenty silkworms, it meant she wasn’t really afraid of bugs, what was wrong with carrying a few more? Why be so dramatic?
And that Wei Chengli too, no wonder Wei Maomao was always complaining and meddling, it turned out the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, what did other people’s tasks have to do with him, he just had to butt in.
And after saying he would wait, he actually stopped doing the task, just standing there, laughing and chatting.
Cheng Feiying wanted to win first place to reward himself for his hard work today, being caught up by the Wei family again was annoying, but being “given a free pass” by Wei Chengli made it even more frustrating.
That family was truly annoying.
However, events wouldn’t unfold according to Cheng Feiying’s preferences.
Wei Maomao, after punching Wei Chengli, went to check on the Cheng family’s two basins. Although Cheng Tingyan’s basin only had twenty silkworms, they seemed to be eating quite well, the amount of mulberry leaves left was about the same as in Cheng Rongrong’s basin, where she was still adding silkworms. It would probably take only a few minutes for them to finish eating.
Wei Maomao hesitated, weighing her options, considering the same thing Wei Chengli had thought about earlier, and ultimately decided to give up on chasing those few minutes.
But as soon as the Cheng family left the pavilion, Wei Maomao, who had been secretly stretching her limbs, grabbed ten mulberry leaves and ran towards the van in the other direction. Just like Cheng Tingyan said, what did it have to do with them if the Cheng family won first place?
Besides, based on Wei Maomao’s understanding of Cheng Feiying, even if the Cheng family won first place, he wouldn’t think it was Cheng Tingyan’s contribution, he wouldn’t treat her any better. In that case, she might as well compete for it. If someone was unhappy, she would be happy.
Her chubby legs might be short, but she was determined.
Wei Chengli, squatting by the basin, watched the silkworms eat the mulberry leaves. As he counted, the number of silkworms quickly surpassed thirty, and there was less than one leaf left. He looked up and saw his chubby baby, like a rocket taking off, still on the front lines of silkworm transportation.
“Okay, okay.” Wei Chengli grabbed the little chubby dumpling, who had just placed a silkworm and was about to go get more. “Take a breather, with so many silkworms, they’ll finish these in a couple of minutes.”
Wei Maomao tried to struggle, but she had used up too much energy. She had been running back and forth, fueled by the anger she had accumulated for two lifetimes. Now that Wei Chengli had stopped her, her energy dissipated, and she couldn’t move anymore.
Just as Wei Chengli estimated, those few mulberry leaf scraps weren’t even enough for the silkworms to take a few bites, the battlefield was cleared in less than a minute.
However…
Wei Chengli, amused, looked at the little chubby dumpling sleeping soundly in his arms, how did she manage to transform from a little calf running with all her might one minute to a little pig falling asleep instantly the next?
“Director Wei…” The staff member glanced at Wei Maomao, who was fast asleep in Wei Chengli’s arms, and lowered his voice. “The ten mulberry leaves have been eaten, you’ve completed this stage. Congratulations, you’ve completed all eight stages of the relay race. Considering the different waiting times encountered by each family, the final ranking will be determined after all families have finished the task. You can go back and rest now, the ranking, mystery box drawing, and reward ceremony will be held after dinner.”
Wei Chengli nodded, then hesitated for a moment and asked, “Then, roughly speaking, which place are we in right now, can you tell us?”
The staff member carefully raised a finger. “Your family is currently the first to complete all eight tasks, but the final ranking will be determined after adding and subtracting the waiting times.”
“Okay.” Wei Chengli adjusted his hold on the little chubby dumpling, then hesitated again and asked, “That… How is Cheng Tingyan’s task going, is it going smoothly?”
This time, the staff member didn’t answer right away. He covered his earpiece and communicated with someone for a while, then turned back and said, “The Cheng family is doing well at the ‘Food’ stage, Cheng Tingyan has tasted and guessed all fifteen dishes, they’re now on the eighth dish chosen by Cheng Rongrong.”
That’s good.
Wei Chengli felt a bit relieved.
Since they were almost done there, there was no need to go check on them.
Cheng Feiying was probably also tired of seeing those two faces… It was best to leave quickly.
Wei Maomao was woken up by a burning smell.
Opening her eyes, the smell of something burnt, the unfamiliar room, the dim light, for a moment, she didn’t know where she was or what time it was.
She climbed out of bed and saw that… the world was safe, there was no fire. But Wei Chengli was dangerous, he had burnt something in the pot.
“Daddy…”
The soft, childish voice from behind, filled with familiar exasperation, made Wei Chengli, who was desperately trying to salvage the burnt food in the pot, freeze.
“Baby…” Wei Chengli turned around, holding the blackened spatula, and smiled. “Let me explain, this potato, it…”
“It’s okay.” Wei Maomao reached out and patted Wei Chengli’s leg. “Did I fall asleep at the silkworm task? Did our silkworms finish eating the mulberry leaves? How’s Yan Yan? Did we win? Where’s the mystery box?”
“You sure have a lot of questions, so you’re really not going to ask about Daddy’s potato…” Wei Chengli was no longer feeling guilty, only heartbroken.
“Is that even a potato?” Wei Maomao glanced at the spatula. “It’s mud.”
Wei Chengli threw the spatula down and grabbed the little rascal. “What mud, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you!”
“Daddy, answer me!” Wei Maomao had a bunch of questions to ask, who would care about a potato that was already doomed.
“Finished, done, it’s okay, we might have won, they still need to calculate the rankings. The prizes will be given after dinner.” Wei Chengli answered impatiently, then added, “While you were sleeping, a staff member came and said that the field where you dug for Baby Coins yesterday hasn’t been cleared yet. It seems Shen Zilin asked them if they could still go and dig, and the staff said that the field would remain open to you, you can go dig whenever you have time. They even put up a sign in front of the field, showing how many Baby Coins are left, if you go dig, and you can’t count, you can ask the cameraman.”
“Oh.” Wei Maomao was uninterested.
“You’re not going?” Wei Chengli was surprised. “I thought you would be angry that I didn’t wake you up.”
“Not angry. It’s tiring, I want to sleep.” Wei Maomao said with a lazy expression. She didn’t even want to dig for fresh Baby Coins yesterday, let alone leftover ones.
Wei Chengli released his grip on the little dumpling and smiled. “Oh, okay, okay. Thankfully, I also thought you wanted to sleep more, so when Yan Yan came earlier… Hey! Why did you hit Daddy’s leg!”
“Why didn’t you wake me up!” Wei Maomao’s cheeks puffed up with anger.
“Heh… Was it my fault for not waking you up? You didn’t wake up! Yan Yan came, I called you, you didn’t wake up, Yan Yan even tucked your chubby hands and feet back into the blanket, you still didn’t wake up, whose fault is it?” Wei Chengli scoffed.
Wei Maomao subconsciously touched her hands and feet.
Wei Chengli snorted. “Stop touching, it wasn’t your right hand and right foot, it was your left hand and left foot.”
Wei Maomao: “… “
The little chubby dumpling turned to run.
“Where are you going?” Wei Chengli quickly grabbed her paw.
“To see what Yan Yan’s family is eating for dinner.” Wei Maomao said, rubbing her face.
“What does it have to do with you what they’re eating? You said those things to Uncle Cheng today, you still have the nerve to go freeload? Just stay home and eat what I made!” Wei Chengli said loudly, although he lacked confidence.
Wei Maomao turned back, looking at him in confusion. “I’m going to tell them Yan Yan doesn’t like mushrooms, who said anything about eating…”
“… “ Wei Chengli had forgotten about that. “Don’t go yet, you were like that this afternoon, you… Hey, hey, wait for me!”
Wei Chengli left the burnt potatoes in the pot, casually poured a few ladles of water to prevent it from burning further, pulled out the firewood from under the stove, and chased after her.
This was where the advantage of long legs came in. Wei Chengli successfully caught the little rascal at the Wang family’s door.
“Hey, hey, I didn’t say you couldn’t go.” Wei Chengli stopped her struggling, then added, “I’ll accompany you, accompany you there.”
Okay, the slippery little rascal in his hands calmed down.
Wei Chengli was speechless. At noon, he was still advising this rascal not to get involved in other families’ conflicts, and now he had become the one actively participating, this slap in the face was truly painful.
But regardless of the pain, with Cheng Feiying acting like that today, even with the cameramen and staff around, Wei Chengli didn’t dare to let the little rascal go alone to say those things.
Sigh, was he already experiencing the worries of a parent?
The Cheng family’s door was open, he could smell the aroma of food even from the doorway. Wei Chengli knocked twice, and the little dumpling under his feet slipped inside.
Wei Maomao entered the courtyard, her eyes scanning around, and immediately noticed that Cheng Tingyan wasn’t there.
Not only was she not in the courtyard, she probably wasn’t in the house either, because the familiar cameramen and staff were all gone.
“Maomao, are you looking for your sister? She’s not home, she might be playing with other children.” Cheng Rongrong greeted her warmly.
This low-level attempt to sow discord… Wei Maomao couldn’t help but laugh. She had been heartbroken earlier this afternoon because she mistakenly thought Yan Yan was avoiding her. But that didn’t mean she wanted to monopolize Yan Yan, okay? Was she not allowed to play with other children while she was sleeping? Was she participating in this show to be possessive? Letting more people see Yan Yan’s good qualities, making them like her, playing with her, that was her goal!
“I’m not looking for Yan Yan.” Wei Maomao didn’t fall for the three-and-a-half-year-old’s trap. She walked straight to Cheng Feiying, who was sitting by the stove, and peeked inside. “Uncle Cheng, it smells so good, what are you cooking?”
“Just a random stew…” Cheng Feiying couldn’t understand this three-year-old. Was her three-year-old brain incapable of storing too much information, so she always forgot their unpleasant interactions? Or was her three-year-old face too thick, so she could still act normal after every bad encounter?
“What’s ‘random’?” Wei Maomao stood on tiptoe, trying to see into the pot.
“Yeah, Brother Cheng, what are you cooking, it smells really good.” Wei Chengli pulled the little chubby dumpling back before she got burnt.
“Just the meat, potatoes, and green beans provided by the program team, added some shiitake mushrooms and vermicelli, and stewed it all together.” Cheng Feiying rubbed his temples, a three-year-old’s brain and thick skin were understandable, but what about this thirty-year-old?
The struggle in his arms made Wei Chengli shut up, alright, it was someone’s showtime now.
“Uncle Cheng, do you know Yan Yan doesn’t like mushrooms? She doesn’t like any kind of mushroom.” Wei Maomao, feeling the hand on her loosen its grip, ran to Cheng Feiying and asked seriously.
Cheng Feiying sneered. He knew it, he knew this pair wasn’t here to compliment his cooking, they were here to stand up for that little girl, right?
“I know.” Cheng Feiying deliberately smiled brightly at Wei Maomao. “That’s why she needs to eat more, she’ll get used to it after eating them for a while, mushrooms are very nutritious, how can she be picky?”
“Then Uncle Cheng, are you making them for her every meal because you know she doesn’t like mushrooms?” Wei Maomao continued to ask, her expression calm.
Not seeing any anger or frustration on Wei Maomao’s face, Cheng Feiying felt a slight sense of disappointment.
“Yes, children don’t know what’s good for them, we, as adults, have to decide for them. Not just food, but in other aspects too, we adults have to guide them, children don’t know what’s best, right?” The anger that had been building up inside Cheng Feiying all day transformed into a subtle, malicious jab.
Want to be friends? Ask your parents first, you three-year-old cub!
“Then you also know Yan Yan doesn’t like chicken legs, right?” Wei Maomao automatically ignored the part where he flaunted his authority and asked again.
Cheng Feiying frowned slightly. “She’s too picky, she doesn’t eat this, she doesn’t eat that, I have to force her, otherwise, she won’t have a balanced diet, and in the end, it’s her who will suffer. Maomao, you’re still young, don’t think that adults are wrong just because they say or do things you don’t like, it’s all for your own good.”
“Uncle Cheng, can I invite Yan Yan to our house for dinner today?” Wei Maomao didn’t respond to his words, just asked her question.
“Uh…” Wei Chengli, thinking about the pot of burnt potato water at home, spoke up weakly, but was silenced when the little chubby dumpling tugged on his pant leg.
Cheng Feiying naturally saw this small interaction and couldn’t help but sneer. Controlled by a three-year-old, and he still had the nerve to lecture him.
“No. The program team gave each family ingredients, it’s for us to make our own food.” Cheng Feiying set an example of a mature adult rejecting a child.
“Oh, then can I come to your house for dinner today? I’ll bring my own food.” Wei Maomao quickly followed up.
“… “ Cheng Feiying cursed inwardly, but couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
He had just been mocking others a moment ago, and now he was speechless. He knew it wouldn’t be anything good, but he couldn’t refuse someone who was bringing their own food, could he…
Honestly, Wei Chengli was a bit surprised.
Cheng Feiying’s words, the deliberate provocation and subtle jabs, were so obvious, the underlying meaning being “I’ll make her eat mushrooms every day,” “Mind your own business,” “I’m her dad, I decide what she eats, I decide who she can and cannot be friends with,” he couldn’t believe Wei Maomao didn’t understand any of it.
Despite it being her solo showtime, the little chubby dumpling was so calm, not swayed by Cheng Feiying’s words, no useless anger or helpless frustration, she steadily asked all the questions she wanted to ask, and in the end, even secured a dinner invitation.
Although she was bringing her own food, combined with what happened before… Wei Chengli could roughly guess her intention.
Good job, my baby, such a strong mind.
Now there was only one question left…
Where was the food she was bringing?
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