Chapter 64
Being a dad wasn’t easy.
At the dining table, under the little chubby dumpling’s intense gaze, Wei Chengli was forced to take the blame for the diuretic effect of the fish soup.
After leaving the table, he also had to collect the bedsheets and blankets drying outside and wash them again.
Otherwise, the “map” would still be a “map” after drying…
Actually, when Wei Chengli woke up this morning and saw the bedsheet with the “map” swaying in the wind, his first reaction was that the little chubby dumpling had wet the bed, and probably rinsed it quickly and hung it up in the middle of the night. But before he could even collect the dirty bedding, Cheng Tingyan came out and confessed.
This… Wei Chengli felt a bit embarrassed to intervene. Although he still believed there was a seventy to eighty percent chance it was the little chubby dumpling’s doing, but what if… what if it was really Yan Yan, and he took it down and washed it right there, how could the little girl save face?
So he procrastinated, until the little chubby dumpling woke up.
Now that the “artist” was confirmed, Wei Chengli had no qualms about cleaning up.
Because he felt embarrassed about washing these things in the washing machine of the house they were staying in, Wei Chengli hand-washed them.
Sigh, little babies were just little babies, in crucial moments, they still had to rely on him, their dad!
His two cameramen, closest to Wei Chengli, were speechless.
How could washing bedsheets and blankets give him a sense of pride as if he was fulfilling an important mission? What was the point of being a diligent, good dad at this time! If only he hadn’t added water to the dish soap yesterday!
Speaking of which, this brought them back to Liu Ming.
Last night, afraid of disturbing the people inside the house, she had washed the bedding in the courtyard in the dark, relying only on the moonlight. To clean them thoroughly, she even washed them several times.
The night wind in the village was quite strong, she had been working with cold water in the courtyard. When she woke up this morning, she felt a bit like she was catching a cold. She asked someone to cover her shift for two hours in the group chat, took some cold medicine, and went back to sleep.
To her surprise, when she woke up again, she didn’t have a cold, but the messages in the group chat made her jump out of bed.
Thanks to the information flow in the staff group chat, Liu Ming, sitting on her bed, saw the photos of her failed product, learned the reason for the failure, and even witnessed the photos of Wei Chengli diligently rewashing the bedding with pride.
She was so angry!
If she didn’t know that Wei Chengli couldn’t predict the future, she would have shouted, “Why did you do this to me!”
Scrolling further down, Liu Ming saw the other staff members comforting her, saying that when Wei Maomao got a bit older, she would understand that the clearly visible “map” on display was due to the water someone had added to the dish soap.
Honestly, Liu Ming wasn’t comforted at all.
Thinking about how cautious and careful Yan Yan had been last night, Liu Ming felt she should have done better.
Although there was a fixed camera in the courtyard at night, it was dark and blurry, even if some viewers saw it and guessed, it shouldn’t have been so clearly visible in the morning…
If only she hadn’t taken those two hours off this morning, if she had gone and checked earlier, she could have salvaged the situation…
Liu Ming, filled with regret, fell back onto her bed.
And Wei Chengli, after working hard for a while, looked at the clean bedsheets and blankets hanging up to dry again, a sense of relief washing over him.
In the monitoring room, Shi Dingshan chuckled and shook his head, he was truly worried for Wei Chengli.
But at this moment, Shi Dingshan didn’t expect that the object of his worry would soon shift from Wei Chengli to himself.
Perhaps because of yesterday’s fish (watermelon) soup, Wei Maomao had been going to the bathroom several times after waking up, her stomach feeling a bit off. Thankfully, the program team’s doctor came and checked, saying it wasn’t serious, and prescribed a small dose of montmorillonite powder for children. To be safe, the program team asked Wei Maomao to skip the morning’s baby activities and stay home, ready for any bathroom emergencies.
Wei Maomao wasn’t very comfortable leaving Cheng Tingyan alone, but… this three-year-old body, its self-control truly wasn’t very strong, this point had been proven once again last night. Before the montmorillonite powder took effect, she didn’t dare to stray too far from the bathroom… Some scenes were too beautiful, she didn’t even dare to imagine them.
After confirming that the morning’s activity was just the babies gathering together to read, write, and play games, Wei Maomao still sent them off.
To take care of the little chubby dumpling, Wei Chengli also skipped the dads’ task this morning, staying home to rewash the bedding. After washing them, looking at the clean, beautiful bedding hanging on the clothesline, he was about to go and get the little chubby dumpling to show her, but when he went inside, he saw a chubby dumpling sleeping soundly, sprawled out on the bed.
Perhaps because she had gone through too much the previous night, Wei Maomao slept for quite a long time.
She slept so well that she didn’t even wake up naturally. In the end, she was woken up by soft sobs.
Opening her eyes, still drowsy, Wei Maomao saw Cheng Tingyan and Wen Jiangyue sitting side by side on the edge of the bed across from her, instantly jolting her awake.
Wei Maomao, without even asking why Wen Jiangyue was crying, immediately sat up and carefully checked herself and the bed.
Mmm… Everything was normal… Wei Maomao breathed a sigh of relief, plopped back onto the bed, then looked up and met Cheng Tingyan’s amused gaze.
Wei Maomao: “… “
Cheng Tingyan turned her head away, trying to forget the adorable scene she had just witnessed, the little chubby bunny rolling around on the bed, even tripping over her own chubby feet.
After a moment, Cheng Tingyan felt she had regained her composure, unaware that her eyes and brows were still filled with a gentle smile.
“Maomao… Hic… What are you looking for… Hic…?” Wen Jiangyue, who had also witnessed the silent comedy of the chubby bunny rolling on the bed, momentarily forgot to cry, but her sobs were still uncontrollable.
“Nothing. You…” Wei Maomao was about to ask what was going on when a soft knock on the door interrupted her.
“Yan Yan, it’s time for lunch, is Boss awake?”
Wen Dongyu’s soft voice came from outside.
Cheng Tingyan looked at Wei Maomao.
“She’s awake, we’re coming.” Wei Maomao answered casually, then looked at Wen Jiangyue, who was still wiping her tears. “What’s wrong?”
Wen Jiangyue shook her head, pursing her lips, refusing to answer.
Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan, who glanced at Wen Jiangyue with a troubled expression.
Understood, she wanted to say it, but the person involved wouldn’t allow it, so she couldn’t say it either.
Wei Maomao didn’t ask further, she got out of bed and opened the door.
In the next second, four heads peeked in from the doorway, forming a line.
Okay, she had wanted to find a chatterbox, now she had four.
Oh, three, Wei Maomao excluded the pig’s head at the bottom.
With so many people around, before Wei Maomao could even ask, they filled her in on the morning she had missed, all talking at once. Wei Maomao couldn’t believe that the morning activity, which the program team had casually described as reading, writing, and playing games, was actually…
Wei Maomao’s surprise, seen by the viewers in the live broadcast room, made them feel incredibly grateful.
“Thankfully, CEO Mao didn’t go because of her upset stomach this morning, otherwise, how could a three-year-old CEO Mao possibly memorize such a long piece like ‘Pipa Xing’(poem)…”
“It’s truly too difficult for our CEO Mao, actually, it’s too difficult for the other babies too, I remember this was a requirement for junior high or high school, right?”
“But isn’t it said that children have the best memory? No matter how difficult it is, Cheng Rongrong still managed to memorize it.”
“Honestly, I don’t believe that a three-and-a-half-year-old child can memorize 871 words of ‘Pipa Xing’ after only one morning of teaching. She must have memorized it before, or maybe it was leaked.”
“??? Is it that difficult to acknowledge someone else’s excellence? It was clearly Wang Zhizhi who won rock-paper-scissors and randomly chose from several teaching envelopes. Wang Zhizhi and Cheng Rongrong don’t get along, everyone watching the live stream knows that, right? How could Wang Zhizhi possibly help her cheat?”
“My friend, be more open-minded, there’s also a possibility that Cheng Rongrong has memorized everything in those envelopes. Or in other words, maybe every envelope contains ‘Pipa Xing’.”
“Hahaha, the logic of the person above is impressive. But I don’t think it’s very likely, after all, today’s ‘Apprenticeship in Ancient Literature’ segment was hosted by Wen Qiming. He wouldn’t possibly cooperate with the program team to help Cheng Rongrong and not give Wen Jiangyue any hints beforehand, right?”
“Speaking of Wen Jiangyue, she’s truly pitiful, she only got two or three words wrong, she practically memorized the whole thing. Honestly, she’s better than me, with my brain now, I might not even be able to memorize such a long piece in one morning. Wen Qiming even scolded her, saying she wasn’t as good as the little sister, he’s truly too strict…”
“It seems Wen Qiming is very strict with education, it seems Wen Jiangyue could already recite many ancient poems when she was two or three years old, he mentioned it himself when he was hosting a variety show. Now that he’s discovered his five-and-a-half-year-old daughter isn’t as good as a three-and-a-half-year-old, he probably can’t handle the blow.”
“Wen Jiangyue truly… Her own dad, praising another child in front of everyone and scolding her, who can stand this comparison? His daughter was crying, and Wen Qiming kept going on and on. At that time, I really… wanted to cover his mouth!”
“Me too! I even wanted to hit him! Sigh, I missed CEO Mao so much at that moment. The other babies, truly, are too obedient, they don’t dare to challenge adult authority. If CEO Mao was there, she wouldn’t let Wen Qiming keep rambling, she would have shut him down with ‘My dad said’ in a second!”
…
It had to be said, the viewers in the live broadcast room, sometimes, their imagination went in the right direction.
Wei Maomao had indeed prepared a “My dad said” for this situation…
But she didn’t expect that the ancient literature activity, which was done much later in the show in her previous life, would be moved to so early this time. And it just so happened to be scheduled for the half day she was absent due to her upset stomach.
This was truly…
Wei Maomao looked at Wen Jiangyue, who had stopped crying but was still hiccupping with her head down, and sighed tiredly.
In her previous life, it was during a similar ancient poetry activity that Cheng Rongrong easily defeated the diligent Wen Jiangyue in memorization, earning Wen Qiming’s favor and praise. And Wen Jiangyue, well, she was lectured by her dad, who told her to learn from her sister. If it had ended there, it would have been just an ordinary memorization competition disguised as an ancient literature activity. How fast someone could memorize a poem didn’t really mean anything.
But after that episode aired, the internet was filled with comments about genius triumphing over mediocrity. The re-edited videos all showed Cheng Rongrong casually flipping through ancient texts, while Wen Jiangyue meticulously memorized each line… Then they concluded that even though Wen Jiangyue had put in a lot of effort, working herself to the bone and earning a reputation for her talent, she couldn’t compare to the truly gifted Cheng Rongrong. Didn’t even Wen Jiangyue’s dad, Wen Qiming, think Cheng Rongrong was stronger and more talented!
In her previous life, Wei Maomao couldn’t understand it either. How could memorizing a poem lead to those people online analyzing so much, as if they had dissected their brains?
But whether it was intentional design or paid trolls, in her previous life, Cheng Rongrong had indeed used a poem to step on Wen Jiangyue’s hard work and establish her image as a genius who could learn anything effortlessly. And later… W en Qiming, who used to mention his daughter’s learning anecdotes when hosting variety shows, never mentioned Wen Jiangyue again.
This time, Wei Maomao had planned to check if the poem selection was fair if such an activity happened again, or at least try to change Wen Qiming’s attitude.
But…
Sigh, this useless three-year-old body.
Wei Maomao, looking at Wen Jiangyue, who was hiccupping uncomfortably, suddenly ran towards her and shouted, “Ha!”
The little chubby girl, like a cannonball, rushed towards her, her chubby face almost bumping into hers, the loud sound coming from her small mouth, her eardrums vibrating, Wen Jiangyue clutched the clothes on her chest, her eyes wide with shock.
The others in the room were also startled, even the pig let out a soft fart in fright.
After observing for a few seconds, Wei Maomao tilted her head. “No more hiccups, right?”
Wen Jiangyue, hearing this, slowly relaxed and shook her head.
She was scared to death, she thought something had happened to the little chubby girl.
“Boss, can you warn me before you scare me next time?” Wen Dongyu patted his chest. “You almost made me hiccup.”
“Hiccup? Want me to scare you again?” Wang Zhizhi narrowed his eyes.
Wen Dongyu waved his hands repeatedly.
“That’s what happened during the morning’s task, in the end, Cheng Rongrong got the calligraphy set as a reward.” Shen Zilin summarized, then turned to Wen Jiangyue. “Don’t be sad, you only missed two or three words. I missed half of it. It’s just a calligraphy set, I’ll buy you ten when we go out.”
“I’m not…” Wen Jiangyue blushed slightly and mumbled.
“She’s not sad about the calligraphy set.” Wei Maomao climbed onto the bed and sat next to Cheng Tingyan. “She’s sad because her dad praised someone else and scolded her.”
Cheng Tingyan secretly stroked the little chubby bunny’s soft fur.
“He didn’t scold me…” Wen Jiangyue corrected softly. “He was just a bit fierce. Dad… he also wants me to be as good as him, that’s why…”
As she spoke, Wen Jiangyue’s eyes reddened again.
“Scolding and being fierce are about the same.” Wei Maomao waved her hand dismissively. “Sister Wen, you’re very good, I think your dad definitely didn’t know as many books as you do when he was five and a half. He’s so good now because he’s lived for a long time, when you live that long, you’ll definitely be better than him now.”
Wen Jiangyue was a bit dumbfounded. “Can you even calculate it like that?”
“Of course, we little babies have to grow up slowly. Dad can lift a bucket now, does that mean we can also lift it immediately just because he yells at us?” Wei Maomao climbed off the bed, sat next to Wen Jiangyue again, and patted her shoulder. “Sister Wen, don’t worry, you’ll be better than your dad, but not now. You’re still a little baby.”
Wen Jiangyue, patted by the warm, soft, chubby paws, felt… better…
“Was… Was I very ugly when I was crying…” Wen Jiangyue, snapping out of her sadness from being scolded by her dad, regained her senses.
“Not ugly!” Wen Dongyu chimed in. “Sister Wen looks as cute as Boss when she cries!”
Wei Maomao: “… “
Cheng Tingyan, who had been secretly picking at the edge of the bed since Wei Maomao changed seats, thought to herself, the little chubby bunny was definitely cuter.
“It must have been very ugly, I can’t face anyone now, my kindergarten classmates all saw… I can’t go to kindergarten anymore…” Wen Jiangyue, finally concerned about her image, covered her face, sobbing.
“It’s okay, let’s ask the kind uncle not to broadcast the part where you were crying.” Wei Maomao turned to the fixed camera in the room and pleaded, “Kind uncle, please don’t broadcast the part where Sister Wen was crying, okay?”
Everyone in the room: “… “
Shi Dingshan, watching the monitors: “… “
“That, Boss…” Wen Dongyu rubbed his arms, feeling a bit creeped out. “Who are you talking to? Where’s the uncle in this room?”
“The kind uncle behind the camera who’s filming us.” Wei Maomao said, rolling her eyes. “Ask him to cut out the part where Sister Wen was crying before broadcasting. Mmm… If he can’t cut it, can he blur it out? My dad said, if there’s something in the footage that we don’t want the audience to see, they can use something called mosaic to blur it out before broadcasting.”
Shi Dingshan: “… “
“Maomao.” Shen Zilin, confused, asked, “What are you talking about? Why would there be a ‘before broadcasting’? Isn’t this a live broadcast?”
“What’s a live broadcast?” Wen Dongyu felt like there were more and more things he didn’t understand. But before he could finish his question, he saw…
“Bo!” Wen Dongyu rushed forward and caught Wei Maomao, who almost fell off the bed. “Boss, are you okay!”
Wang Zhizhi was a step slower than Wen Dongyu, but he still quickly reached out to help Wen Dongyu support the slightly heavy little chubby girl.
At the same time, Cheng Tingyan also jumped off the bed and rushed over.
“Are… we… live… broadcasting…?” Wei Maomao was so shocked that she could only speak two words at a time.
“Yes.” Cheng Tingyan helped steady the wobbly little chubby bunny’s arm. “Maomao, what’s wrong? Didn’t you know we’re live broadcasting?”
“Always… live… broadcasting…?” Wei Maomao looked down at Cheng Tingyan, her body stiff.
“Mmm, it started when we left the house.” Cheng Tingyan pointed at the cameramen crowded outside the door, then gestured in the air, pointing at the fixed cameras in the room. “Aren’t they always filming?”
It felt like a mallet hitting her head, her mind buzzing.
“Did you all know?” Wei Maomao looked at everyone with a dizzy head.
“What’s a live broadcast?” Wen Dongyu asked, scratching his head curiously.
Except for Wen Dongyu, all the other babies nodded in unison.
“Live broadcast means that every move we make, every word we say, the audience outside can see it online.” Shen Zilin explained to Wen Dongyu, then looked at Wei Maomao. “Maomao, are you okay? There’s not much difference between live broadcast and pre-recorded, right? My dad said it’s just that there are more cameras. Why do you look so unwell? Did you secretly… do something?”
Wei Maomao: “… “ Heh, she had done way too much.
The fact that the show was a live broadcast shocked Wei Maomao.
And the fact that Wei Maomao didn’t know they were live broadcasting shocked all the viewers in the live broadcast room.
“Oh my god, our CEO Mao actually didn’t know they were live broadcasting, my whole family is shocked!”
“Hahaha, Director Wei, what level of pit is he? I thought adding water to the dish soap was the worst thing he did to CEO Mao, but it turns out there are even deeper pits!”
“Save the child! Our CEO Mao is such an angel, she even wanted to ask the program team to cut out the part where Wen Jiangyue was crying, to blur it out, but she herself was live broadcasted with nothing left to hide, hahaha…”
“Sharing a hilarious joke, this morning, when CEO Mao went back to her room after taking the montmorillonite powder, you guys should have continued watching the fixed camera in the room, right? No wonder CEO Mao secretly said those strange things to the fixed camera, like ‘Kind uncle, please cut out the parts that shouldn’t be shown, please…’ I thought, like Wen Dongyu, that she saw something strange! It turned out she was pleading with the program team! I’m dying! Hahahahahahaha! Did she think it was pre-recorded and wanted them to cut out the bed-wetting scenes!”
“Hahaha, those who missed it this morning are missing out. I knew it, no wonder CEO Mao suddenly thought of asking some uncle to cut out the footage for Wen Jiangyue, it wasn’t her first time pleading, she’s a pro, hahaha. But it was all in vain, no wonder CEO Mao looked like she was struck by lightning when Shen Zilin said it was a live broadcast, she almost fell off the bed.”
“Now I just want to know, who is this ‘kind uncle’? CEO Mao keeps pleading, why didn’t any kind uncle tell her it’s a live broadcast, hahaha! The uncle is not kind at all!”
…
Shi Dingshan, seeing the new comment, chuckled wryly and facepalmed.
Zeng Huanian, who was also reading the comments next to him, mumbled to himself, “So who is this ‘kind uncle’?”
Shi Dingshan: …
There was no kind uncle!
Only an evil uncle!
Wei Maomao wasn’t stupid, connecting the dots, she easily figured out when it had changed from pre-recorded to live broadcast.
It must have been after she changed Shi Dingshan’s death flag, which was when Shi Dingshan and Shi Hongxiao came to their house, not to say she would be kicked off the show if she didn’t eat properly, but to announce the change to live broadcast! That supplementary agreement must have also been about the live broadcast!
Couldn’t he have told her the truth while deceiving her? Was it that difficult to say one more sentence?
Good job, Shi Dingshan!
How dare he betray her kindness!
Just as Wei Maomao was so angry that she almost blacked out, Wei Chengli’s voice came from the doorway.
“Babies, it’s time for lunch, why aren’t you com… Uh…” Wei Chengli, who had finally squeezed through the crowd of cameramen, stopped mid-sentence, meeting the little chubby dumpling’s gaze.
It was filled with… murderous intent?
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