Chapter 89p2
When everyone had almost finished their pastries, the real task arrived.
The next task was divided into two parts: intelligence and strength.
Each family would challenge these two parts separately, and after each part, the points earned would be ranked. Then, based on the ranking, the new parents would choose one ingredient from six options. In other words, each family could get two ingredients in the end, one from the intelligence task and one from the strength task. Choosing ingredients based on their ranking, the ingredients would decrease as they were chosen, the points earned in the tasks would determine whether their dinner would be meat and egg rice bowls, vegetarian rice bowls, or a pitiful, bland rice bowl.
The intelligence task was to draw cards and act out the image on the card (without directly saying what it was), one person in the family would draw and act, the other would guess, with a time limit of three minutes, they could switch roles midway, and each correct guess earned one point. This would be done in three rounds, so each family had a total of nine minutes.
The strength task was a multi-person soccer game. Six families, six goals guarded by the six new babies, the six new parents would compete for three balls on the field, scoring a point for each goal they kicked into any goal except their own.
Because the Wang family had an extra new baby and the Cheng family had an extra new parent, they needed to allocate their playing time fairly during the tasks, ensuring that every baby and every parent in the family had equal participation.
The intelligence task was first, followed by the strength task. This made Jiang Heye, who was secretly rubbing her stomach under the table, breathe a sigh of relief.
Nine minutes per family for six families, plus the transition time between families, it would take over an hour. This was probably a deliberate arrangement by the program team, after all, it wasn’t appropriate to start exercising right after afternoon tea.
She hoped she could digest a bit more within this hour.
“What, can’t eat anymore?” Wang Qingchuan chuckled, looking at the last piece of mung bean cake on Wang Qingbei’s plate. “You’re so thin, you don’t look like you can eat this much. You followed my portion for breakfast, finished all the dishes at lunch, and now you’re eating so many pastries in the afternoon, can’t you digest it?”
Wang Zhizhi, hearing Wang Qingchuan’s words, was stunned, then looked at Wang Qingbei with concern.
“See, Wang Zhizhi, this kind of fairness of yours, it’s meaningless, and it even burdens others.” Wang Qingchuan took the opportunity to lecture his child. “This is the fairness you envisioned, it’s…”
“With this piece, it’s just right.” Jiang Heye stopped rubbing her stomach, interrupted Wang Qingchuan, picked up the last piece of mung bean cake, stuffed it into her mouth, then smiled at Wang Qingchuan.
The defiance in her smile made Wang Qingchuan speechless.
“Eat, eat, eat, just indulge his wrong thinking. Don’t come crying to me when you get indigestion.” Wang Qingchuan truly didn’t understand what was going on in this woman’s head.
This morning, a whole table of breakfast, Wang Zhizhi divided it into two perfectly equal portions for them. Even Wang Qingchuan, who usually had a big appetite, was full, and that woman, although she ate slowly, actually finished everything in the end. For lunch, although their dishes were different, Wang Qingbei’s portion was even bigger, and she still managed to finish it… Wang Qingchuan truly didn’t know where the program team found this extra, her dedication was terrifying, was she trying to kill herself with acting?
“Beibei…” Wang Zhizhi, a bit scared by Wang Qingchuan’s words, said timidly.
“It’s okay, Zhizhi, I usually eat a lot.” Jiang Heye comforted Wang Zhizhi with a smile.
Was Wang Zhizhi’s absolute fairness in dividing food based on quantity right… Jiang Heye knew it wasn’t necessarily right. But she also knew that what Wang Zhizhi truly sought was fairness in love. It’s just that he was too young, truly too young, he couldn’t accurately grasp the deeper essence and express it. He could only focus on the outward manifestations of love and try to make them fair.
Such a young baby, he was already doing very well, expressing himself very clearly. Jiang Heye felt that Wang Qingchuan should have seen and understood it. But he scoffed at Wang Zhizhi’s needs and even mocked him for it. Jiang Heye, restricted by her role, couldn’t retort for now, but she could support Wang Zhizhi’s idea with her actions. She wanted to make Wang Zhizhi believe that what he was pursuing was right. As for the slight deviation in his methods, when he grew up and had more understanding of the world, he would naturally correct it.
The key was just this confused little heart, searching for a path.
Just like that… Jiang Heye thought about Wen Dongyu, whom she had seen by the Baby Coin digging spot at noon, excitedly telling them that he could survive now. Although, in an adult’s logic, it was like a child, having a good life, choosing to be angry with his parents and borrow money from outsiders, entering loan life prematurely, like playing house. But… Jiang Heye didn’t know how to describe the look in Wen Dongyu’s eyes when he told them, perhaps Qin Sichao, if he was here, could describe it more accurately. Jiang Heye could only say, those were eyes filled with hope and light.
Ah, she couldn’t wait for night to come, so she could request to review the information of the other families.
Of course, Jiang Heye wasn’t the only one who couldn’t wait for night to come.
After the host announced the next tasks and said they could rest and relax for fifteen minutes before starting the “intelligence” task at the small square, Cheng Tingyan arrived, carrying her little handkerchief.
Mung bean cake, osmanthus cake, coconut sago cake, cream puffs…
The handkerchief, loaded with various pastries, required Cheng Tingyan’s two hands to hold.
And so, Wei Chengli watched as the little chubby dumpling, who had said she was full after eating half an egg tart, started munching on the pastries brought by Yan Yan.
Okay… It was truly true that food from next door tasted better. Especially Yan Yan’s food, even better, right?
Wei Chengli, completely unaware that the little chubby dumpling had lost her appetite earlier because of something she had thought of, sighed inwardly.
“I wanted to come earlier.” Cheng Tingyan said softly, taking out a new handkerchief and trying to wipe the dried milk stain from the little chubby bunny’s mouth. “But Dad is truly… acting a bit strange.”
“Mmm?” Wei Maomao looked up alertly.
“He…” Cheng Tingyan remembered they were live broadcasting, but she couldn’t hold back anymore, and this wasn’t considered revealing family secrets or speaking ill of family members, right? “He… kept using a clean pair of chopsticks to give me pastries.”
A seemingly ordinary and unremarkable sentence to others, but Wei Maomao instantly understood what Cheng Tingyan meant by “strange.”
Cheng Feiying wasn’t the kind of person who was particular about using serving chopsticks, he was more likely to retort if someone asked him to use them.
And at lunch, when Cheng Feiying gave Yan Yan food, he used his own chopsticks.
Wait…
So at lunch, Cheng Feiying wasn’t deliberately trying to make Yan Yan uncomfortable? He truly wanted to give her food?
Then he noticed that Yan Yan didn’t want to eat the food he picked with his own chopsticks, so in the afternoon, he became even more considerate and used serving chopsticks to give her pastries?
This kind of thoughtfulness, was that even Cheng Feiying?
Strange, it was truly strange.
Combining this with Cheng Feiying’s attitude towards Cheng Rongrong today, Wei Maomao suspected that Cheng Rongrong had done something wrong and was discovered by Cheng Feiying, so he was pretending to be nice to Cheng Tingyan to punish her, to torment a three-and-a-half-year-old child.
This was the closest answer Wei Maomao could come up with. After all, based on Cheng Feiying’s behavior in her previous life, his attitude wouldn’t change just because Cheng Tingyan was well-behaved or did well.
But the problem was…
Wei Maomao, chewing on the osmanthus cake in her mouth, glanced at Cheng Tingyan hesitantly.
She, who had been reborn, could think of this, but the six-year-old Yan Yan… Could she? Would she be deceived by Cheng Feiying’s sudden change in attitude and kindness?
The lack of love in childhood was like a leaky hole in the heart, and when trying to find and retrieve it, it was easy… to be deceived.
Thinking of this, Wei Maomao couldn’t help but glance at Wei Chengli.
Wei Chengli, who was watching the little chubby dumpling munching on the cake with her cheeks puffed out, met the little chubby dumpling’s gaze.
Mmm? What was with that disappointed look?
Something was wrong, he had to take another look…
But before Wei Chengli could discern anything, the little chubby dumpling looked away and started talking to Cheng Tingyan.
“It is strange.” Wei Maomao nodded, agreeing with Cheng Tingyan’s words. But they were live broadcasting, she couldn’t say more, thankfully, they still had tonight.
Wei Maomao couldn’t say more, but Cheng Tingyan continued.
“It’s even stranger.” Cheng Tingyan pursed her lips and leaned closer to the little chubby bunny. “When I secretly saved some pastries for you, he saw it, but he didn’t say anything. But when Cheng Rongrong gave pastries to Sister Beibei, he said something to her…”
“Cheng Rongrong gave pastries to Sister Beibei?” Wei Maomao was a bit surprised.
Cheng Tingyan nodded. “Mmm, the ones I saved for you, they were from my…”
Cheng Tingyan paused.
“They were from your portion, the ones you didn’t eat.” Wei Maomao, knowing Cheng Tingyan’s personality too well, finished her sentence, then leaned closer and chuckled. “You saved them for me~~~”
“Mmm…” Cheng Tingyan’s face flushed slightly, but she was able to continue. “After Dad stopped Cheng Rongrong, she said she was taking one from her own portion for Sister Beibei. Then Dad said… no. Cheng Rongrong pointed at the handkerchief with the pastries I had saved and asked him why I was allowed. Then… Dad scolded her.”
Wei Maomao: “… “
Cheng Tingyan didn’t need to elaborate on how Cheng Feiying scolded her, she could imagine it, he definitely wouldn’t give Cheng Rongrong any explanation, if she didn’t do what he wanted, he would just scold her.
But it was truly… In her previous life, Cheng Feiying and Cheng Rongrong seemed like a very loving father and daughter on the show, even when they were suppressing Yan Yan, they mostly used subtle actions, sarcasm, and veiled words… Openly scolding like this, it seemed like it had never happened before.
Was this… a change brought about by her?
Wei Maomao looked around.
The Wang family, appearing a stage earlier, Jiang Heye, who shouldn’t be here… Shen Zilin and Wen Dongyu, who hadn’t become close to Cheng Rongrong this time… Oh, and poor Wen Jiangyue, she was still trampled on by Cheng Rongrong on the day she was absent due to her upset stomach.
But many things had indeed changed.
But… Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Feiying in the distance.
She didn’t want to make Cheng Feiying more cunning! Experiencing false hope, then losing it, she didn’t want Yan Yan to go through that!
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