Chapter 91
For many, this night was a sleepless one.
Qin Sichao ultimately decided to stay another night. He didn’t even bother finding a hotel in town and stayed in the village, in the house where the program staff were accommodated.
He was reluctant to leave because he couldn’t bear to miss this interesting show up close, and also because…
In the simple room, under the dim light, Qin Sichao fiddled with the small gourd in his hand.
It felt like it was made of ceramic, only slightly bigger than his thumb, with the words “Nitroglycerin” engraved on it. He could hear the faint clinking of tiny pills inside when he shook it.
During dinner, he had finally asked the question he couldn’t hold back anymore, but Shi Dingshan didn’t give him a straight answer.
It made sense, even though they were close friends in the past, they hadn’t been in contact much these past few years. Although Qin Sichao unilaterally believed that time hadn’t changed him, for Shi Dingshan, perhaps things were different now, they weren’t close enough to talk about personal matters, it was normal for him not to want to discuss his family issues.
But…
Qin Sichao shook the small gourd in his hand.
Shi Dingshan had answered all his questions with a simple, “We decided to divorce, let’s have some tea, let’s not talk about my depressing family matters,” and even gave him this small gourd before leaving. According to Shi Dingshan, he wasn’t in good health, he had given this kind of small pill bottle to many people around him just in case, since Qin Sichao decided to stay another night, he gave him one too.
It wasn’t unusual to carry this kind of life-saving medicine himself and have people around him keep some as a precaution.
But… Qin Sichao recalled Shi Dingshan’s nonchalant manner as he pulled out a handful of small gourds from his pocket, then looked at his still bulging pocket, it didn’t seem like he was just giving them to people around him, it was like he was wholesaling them.
Qin Sichao felt that something was wrong with Shi Dingshan, but he couldn’t keep asking impolitely. But at night, when Zeng Huanian was arranging his accommodation and brought him here, he hinted at the question, and as expected, Zeng Huanian also pulled out an identical small gourd from his pocket. And as Qin Sichao had guessed, this small gourd was given to Zeng Huanian by Shi Dingshan a few days before the show started filming.
As for the rest, Zeng Huanian knew no more than Qin Sichao, he only said that, as far as he knew, Shi Dingshan had given this kind of small gourd to several other staff members on the program team.
What was going on, why was it like this?
Qin Sichao touched the five engraved words on the gourd, he couldn’t understand it at all.
Nighttime brought many thoughts, things that couldn’t be understood during the day were sometimes also difficult to comprehend in the darkness.
Wang Qingchuan truly didn’t understand, this parent-child role swap was supposed to let the child experience the hardships of parenting, to learn how to be considerate of their parents and love their siblings, how did it become like this?
Wang Zhizhi, who had been either easily triggered or prone to giving up after a few words in the past few days, had indeed straightened up because of the program team’s role swap arrangement. He was more energetic now, actively participating, but it was like his brain had malfunctioned.
A child was just a child, he couldn’t even tell who was closer to him. One was an extra hired by the program team, the other was his own father, and he was actually trying to be absolutely fair in his distribution. If he had this much tolerance and care, why not direct it towards his own sibling, instead of this fake person in this pretend game!
Wang Qingchuan had a very frustrating day, but thankfully, his rationality was still intact, he was waiting for the cameras and microphones to be turned off at night, then he would properly educate his son. But when the time came, the cameras in the room were indeed turned off, the microphones could also be turned off, but the one who was supposed to be educated didn’t come back.
Oh, it wasn’t that he didn’t come back, he was studying in the courtyard.
After dinner, Wang Zhizhi and that whoever, Li Mu, who was assigned by the program team to take care of his daily life, were studying together in the courtyard. Wang Qingchuan even went over to check a few times, it seemed they were studying math, from numbers to addition and subtraction, using handwritten “textbooks,” he didn’t know where they got them from.
Studying was fine, who wouldn’t want their child to learn more?
But the problem was! How come they were studying so late that they weren’t even coming back to sleep? After the cameras and microphones were turned off, Wang Qingchuan had already gone to the courtyard to urge them once, Wang Zhizhi said he would be back soon, but after a while, he still didn’t see him. What, was he planning to finish calculus on this variety show?
Wang Qingchuan, fuming alone in the room, couldn’t help but think about the woman living next door.
What was going on, how much was she paid per day as an extra, she even finished that whole plate of rice for dinner! Was she willing to eat herself to death to support Wang Zhizhi’s absolute fairness law?
If during the day, Wang Qingchuan’s feelings towards Wang Qingbei were confusion and anger, then at night, looking at the woman who was focused on eating, he was still confused and angry, but there was also a hint of inexplicable admiration. After all, that last piece of mung bean cake in the afternoon… Wang Qingbei stuffed it into her mouth and struggled to swallow it, she didn’t even dare to take a sip of water, Wang Qingchuan saw it all. So during dinner, Wang Qingchuan, looking at the equal portions of stir-fried lamb with onions rice bowl in front of them, tried to trade his lamb for some of her rice. But that woman… after glancing at Wang Zhizhi, actually refused! She deserved to eat a whole plate of rice!
What kind of people were they! Both of them!
What kind of people were they…
They were the one munching on the digestive tablets the program team secretly stuffed into her hand in the bathroom, the one who finally started pacing around the small bedroom to aid digestion after the cameras and microphones were turned off, the one who asked the staff for information about the other families and some edited footage from the past few days to catch up…
They were the one diligently studying math under a bare light bulb in the courtyard, the one inspired by Li Mu’s impressive calculation skills and determined to achieve the same, the one who channeled her energy, which used to be focused on seeking more love, into becoming more capable…
People would experience pain. But if their hope was big enough, then the pain wouldn’t be so unbearable. And when they walked further and higher on the path towards hope, becoming stronger and more mature, looking back at the initial pain… Perhaps the scars remained, but they wouldn’t want to return to that past and drown in it again.
Wang Zhizhi, who yearned for his parents’ full love, started to want to become stronger and more useful, learning math was a beginning, not an end. This time, before the arrival of the obsession stemming from unfulfilled desires, the little him, saw something further away. The person he wanted to become, the fairness he wanted to bring, changing himself seemed to be more effective than changing others.
Wang Qingchuan, in the room, was still angry, still lost in the fog of not knowing what he was losing, fuming.
But while both of them were angry, Wang Qingchuan was too angry to sleep, while Cheng Feiying, as soon as the cameras and microphones were turned off, collapsed onto the bed, closed his eyes, and was about to start snoring.
He couldn’t get rid of his anger, so instead of staying awake and getting angrier, it was better to sleep, not thinking about anything, at least he could have some time to relax.
This was Cheng Feiying’s thought process, and he acted accordingly, but sadly, someone didn’t want him to have his way.
“Daddy, Daddy…” After the staff, who had knocked on the door to inform them that the cameras and microphones were off, left, and the footsteps outside disappeared, Cheng Rongrong immediately got out of bed, went around the screen in the room, and ran to Cheng Feiying’s bedside.
Cheng Feiying, who was about to fall asleep, pretended he didn’t hear her, pretending he was already asleep. Anyway, if Cheng Rongrong really needed something, she would go find Su Li if she couldn’t wake him up.
However, Cheng Rongrong didn’t stop because of his feigned sleep.
“Daddy! Daddy!” Cheng Rongrong had finally waited for the cameras to be turned off, how could she give up just because Cheng Feiying was asleep?
Besides, he had just responded to the staff outside the door, how could he fall asleep in the next second? She wasn’t truly three and a half years old, she didn’t believe it.
“Daddy, I received a note, it seems like it’s from Mom.” Cheng Rongrong leaned against the bed and whispered into Cheng Feiying’s ear.
Cheng Feiying sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. “What note?”
Cheng Rongrong handed the piece of paper she had been clutching to Cheng Feiying.
Cheng Feiying took it and unfolded it roughly, the folded paper was turned into a single sheet. The handwriting on the paper was messy, it didn’t look like Bai Lei’s handwriting at all. Just as Cheng Feiying frowned, about to get angry, he saw the content, his anger subsided, but his frown deepened.
Calculating Cheng Feiying’s reading speed, Cheng Rongrong waited patiently for a while before asking curiously, “Daddy, what’s written on it?”
Cheng Rongrong had already read the note, but as a three-and-a-half-year-old, she needed Cheng Feiying’s translation to have a reason for knowing.
“You don’t know what’s written on it, how do you know this note is from your mom?” Cheng Feiying didn’t answer Cheng Rongrong’s question, but asked back instead.
“Because there’s a drawing of Mom, Dad, and me on it, just like the ones I draw at home.” Cheng Rongrong pointed at the paper in Cheng Feiying’s hand.
“Where?” Cheng Feiying frowned, turning the paper over. Oh, on the back of the paper, there were indeed three heads drawn, next to the one with long hair was an arrow pointing towards the smaller one, and from the smaller one, another arrow pointed towards the one with short hair.
“That arrow, doesn’t it mean ‘give’? Isn’t it Mom giving it to me, for me to give to Dad?” Cheng Rongrong said innocently.
The drawing was actually on the folded paper. At the Wang family’s house, when the paper fell on the ground, the drawing side was facing down, she didn’t see it. Thankfully, she was quick-witted and picked it up before Jiang Heye. But her mom was truly smart, knowing to use the drawings she made at home as a code she could understand. It’s just that the person who imitated the drawing was terrible, the features were there, but it was truly ugly.
“Oh, your mom gave it to me.” Cheng Feiying glanced at the words on the note again, tore it into pieces, and got out of bed.
“Daddy…” Cheng Rongrong was stunned.
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Feiying looked down at his younger daughter.
“Daddy… What did Mom write to you?” Cheng Rongrong felt Cheng Feiying’s reaction wasn’t what she had expected, Bai Lei had written it so clearly, why was he still acting like this? And, “Daddy, why didn’t you ask me when Mom gave me this note?”
“Your mom wrote, asking me to take good care of you.” Cheng Feiying answered concisely, then looked at his younger daughter intently. “When do you think your mom gave it to you?”
Cheng Rongrong guessed it was at the market, and the most likely person was the man who bought all her vegetables and had been very close to her when giving her the money.
But she couldn’t tell Cheng Feiying this.
“I found it in my pocket, it wasn’t there when I got dressed in the morning, but it was there at noon. Maybe at the market? There were a lot of people at the market.” Cheng Rongrong avoided the main point.
“Mmm, then it must have been at the market.” Cheng Feiying crumpled the pieces of paper in his hand, then looked at Cheng Rongrong. “Since you know to secretly give me this note, you should know it’s a secret, you can’t mention it in the future, right?”
Cheng Rongrong, looking at the pieces of paper in Cheng Feiying’s hand, swallowed and nodded. But she still asked weakly, “Did Mom only write to ask you to take good care of me?”
“Yes, after all, you’re the baby your mom cares about the most.” Cheng Feiying smiled and went to the bathroom.
The bathroom in this house was huge, even standing at the door, Cheng Rongrong couldn’t hear any sound from inside.
But she knew Cheng Feiying must have flushed the torn pieces of paper down the toilet.
That note, of course, mentioned asking Cheng Feiying to take good care of her, but it wasn’t just that. Why… Was it because she was only three and a half years old, worried she would tell everyone?
This was the most reasonable explanation Cheng Rongrong could think of.
Cheng Feiying came out quickly, he wasn’t surprised to see Cheng Rongrong waiting at the bathroom door, he just paused for a moment, then picked her up.
“Let’s go, it’s time for bed.” Cheng Feiying said gently.
Cheng Rongrong, who had been treated coldly by Cheng Feiying since noon, was surprised and touched.
As expected, her efforts to make Cheng Feiying read Bai Lei’s note were right.
Which sentence worked? Was it the part about the things Cheng Tingyan had been saying behind their backs on the live broadcast these past few days… About personal property, expired snacks, loans…
No, the key part was probably the mention of the new media company opened by the He family, they had just invested in two dramas, after this variety show, Cheng Feiying could go for auditions.
Bai Lei had once used her connections with the He family to get Cheng Feiying a role, Cheng Feiying must have understood what the best approach was.
People came and went for profit…
Cheng Rongrong’s surprise and gratitude gradually faded as she realized the reason for Cheng Feiying’s change in attitude.
As expected, to control Cheng Feiying, they still needed Bai Lei.
But Cheng Rongrong didn’t know that Cheng Feiying had indeed been controlled, but not by the mention of the He family, but by a sentence in the note, a sentence that Cheng Rongrong had considered meaningless when she read it.
“Yan Yan looks like you, Rongrong looks more like me, no matter how good you are to Yan Yan, remember to also be good to Rongrong.”
When Cheng Rongrong read the note, she felt Bai Lei’s cautiousness, there wasn’t a single sentence that could ruin their image, no criticism of Cheng Tingyan, it was just an objective description followed by a statement expressing concern about potential misunderstandings and hoping Cheng Feiying would pay more attention, very official wording. Even if the note was accidentally picked up by someone else, they wouldn’t be able to see the true message and intention behind the words. Only Cheng Feiying, oh, and her, could understand that Bai Lei was hinting for Cheng Feiying to discipline Cheng Tingyan and make her shut up.
But Cheng Rongrong didn’t know that there were some words, even she couldn’t understand.
Cheng Feiying put his younger daughter back on the bed and went to lie down on the bed on the other side of the room. The lights were turned off, but in the darkness, his eyes, filled with anger, couldn’t close. His mind was filled with the messy handwriting, “Yan Yan looks like you, Rongrong looks more like me.” Heh, Bai Lei, as expected of you, afraid he wouldn’t listen, she hit him where it hurt the most.
Cheng Feiying’s anger towards Bai Lei from earlier didn’t subside because of the note, and he didn’t truly treat Cheng Rongrong better. But… he did regain his dislike for Cheng Tingyan.
This day, Cheng Feiying, like a drama queen, his attitude towards his two daughters shifted dramatically.
But he didn’t know that his actions wouldn’t create the impact he had imagined.
At least for one of the people involved, her calm heart only rippled because of a certain little chubby bunny.
“This one is also so cute!” Cheng Tingyan looked at the little chubby bunny in a black and white outfit, clutching her chest. “It looks like a panda!”
Wei Maomao, who had just come out of the bathroom, her face still flushed, chuckled. “Yan Yan is so smart, it is a panda~~”
As she spoke, Wei Maomao lifted her chubby paw, reached into the hood of her bunny onesie, and pulled out a piece of fabric, covering her face like a mask.
A hood with a built-in eye mask, with two big black circles drawn on it, paired with the panda-themed pajamas, white body and black limbs, plus the black and white bunny ears on her head, it was perfect… A panda bunny!
Wei Maomao truly didn’t know where her mom got so many strange bunny pajamas, this one even had hidden panda eyes in the hood… If she hadn’t felt something bulging on her head after putting on the hood and touched it, she wouldn’t have known about this feature.
But whether it was strange or not, whether it had hidden features or not, it seemed… Yan Yan liked it.
It wasn’t just liking, she practically couldn’t take her eyes off it!
The little white bunny onesie at noon was already cute enough, who would have thought that such cuteness could be upgraded!
Cheng Tingyan was completely captivated.
When Wei Maomao was double-checking if the cameras in the room were turned off and the covers were properly placed, Cheng Tingyan followed behind her like a little tail.
But she was still afraid of the little chubby bunny tripping, so Cheng Tingyan just followed, her hands obediently behind her back, not even touching the bunny ears.
It’s just…
When Wei Maomao finished checking the room and walked to the space between the two beds, a soft whisper came from behind her, “The right side…”
“Mmm?” Wei Maomao turned around.
Cheng Tingyan reached out with her right hand and patted her bed.
Originally, Wei Maomao was also planning to squeeze in with Cheng Tingyan before bed, after all, she wanted to have a good talk with her tonight.
But…
Looking at Cheng Tingyan, her lips pursed, her ears flushed pink, still making a silent invitation, Wei Maomao suddenly felt mischievous.
“My bed is over here.” Wei Maomao said, putting her left hand on her own bed.
Wei Maomao’s plan was to tease Cheng Tingyan, who clearly wanted to touch the panda bunny, just a little bit, then she would go over.
But her teasing… didn’t even begin before it ended.
“Mmm.” Cheng Tingyan nodded and obediently climbed onto the bed on the left.
Wei Maomao: “… “ Wait, she wanted to tease Cheng Tingyan, not make a reverse invitation.
What was going on? Was the panda bunny outfit this appealing?
It seemed she would have to buy ten or eight plushies for Yan Yan after the show.
Putting away her playfulness, she had more important things to do.
Wei Maomao stretched her chubby waist and climbed onto the bed too.
But even though Wei Maomao had decided to use her waist first, then talk, someone still didn’t play by the rules.
Wei Maomao lay down, Cheng Tingyan sat up, her hand reached out without hesitation, but it wasn’t grabbing the chubby waist, but… the chubby legs.
Cheng Tingyan’s hand landed on an unexpected spot, making Wei Maomao instinctively retract her legs.
“Don’t move, I’ll rub them for you.” Cheng Tingyan said, moving towards the end of the bed, grabbing the little chubby legs, and starting to rub them seriously.
“Mmm?” Wei Maomao was a bit confused. Why were they suddenly rubbing legs? Had the appeal of her waist disappeared? Was it fading too quickly?
“Are they sore?” Cheng Tingyan asked as she rubbed. “How about here?”
“They’re not sore, no need to rub…” Wei Maomao said weakly, trying to retract her legs.
“You kicked 184 goals today, you ran around and walked a lot, even if they’re not sore now, they’ll be sore tomorrow.” Cheng Tingyan said, pulling the little chubby legs back into her lap. “Walking a lot will make them sore, sore for many days. Rubbing them will make them less sore.”
Oh, Wei Maomao understood why Cheng Tingyan was rubbing her legs.
Speaking of which, perhaps because they had a common goal, the soccer game this afternoon was quite tiring, but it wasn’t too difficult to persevere. Maybe she was empowered by the babies’ enthusiasm, she didn’t feel sore now…
“Then I’ll rub yours too.” Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan’s legs. “Yan Yan also played soccer.”
“I didn’t kick many, Cheng Rongrong kicked more than me.” Cheng Tingyan said, frowning slightly.
Wei Maomao pursed her lips. Indeed, Cheng Rongrong was like a chicken on steroids this afternoon, the Cheng family was supposed to get green peppers in the second round, they needed to score 62 goals. Logically, Cheng Tingyan and Cheng Rongrong should each kick 31 goals.
Cheng Rongrong, for some reason today, was supposed to be waiting with Wei Chengli and Shen Jianghe for the others to finish, but after the Wang family’s goalkeeper was switched, she took the ball and went over. Jiang Heye, of course, would cooperate and wouldn’t block the babies’ shots. But… after kicking 31 goals, Cheng Rongrong insisted on continuing, refusing to switch with Cheng Tingyan, saying she could do it. Cheng Tingyan, as usual, didn’t fight with her and let her continue. In the end, Cheng Rongrong only left ten goals for Cheng Tingyan to kick.
Speaking of which, Cheng Rongrong was truly unpredictable, she couldn’t tell when she was truly trying to prove herself and when she was just putting on a show…
But…
“If you kicked, then you need a massage~~” Wei Maomao didn’t care about the number of goals, they would massage each other.
Cheng Tingyan, her hand rubbing the little chubby panda bunny’s legs, paused, she looked at her own knee-length shorts, her face gradually flushing red.
Ah, she felt a bit embarrassed…
Would it be too obvious if she went to change into long pants now…
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