Chapter 92p2
Just as Cheng Tingyan was hesitating, the little chubby bunny under her hand moved, the soft, chubby waist rubbing against her palm, it tickled.
“With Mom.” Cheng Tingyan squeezed the little chubby waist.
Sadly, she couldn’t live with her mom. After going home, Dad wouldn’t let her see Maomao again. The adorable little chubby bunny might just be a limited-time gift from the show.
Cheng Tingyan wanted to cherish, to cherish even more the warmth beside her at this moment, she couldn’t lie, she couldn’t even remain silent.
However, the little chubby bunny next to her, while warm, was also very talkative, it was like she had eaten a book of “100,000 Whys” for dinner instead of a rice bowl.
“Then Yan Yan, why aren’t you living with your mom?” Wei Maomao’s hand, clutching the blanket, was stiff from gripping it too tightly.
The lights had been off for a while, Cheng Tingyan’s eyes had gradually adjusted to the darkness, she could see some outlines now.
Like now, she could see the little chubby bunny next to her, curled up into a small ball for some reason.
“Maomao, can you keep a secret? If I tell you.” Cheng Tingyan couldn’t forget Bai Lei’s words, but if it was the little chubby bunny…
This time, it was Wei Maomao’s turn to be silent.
If it was just about bringing her knowledge into the open, then these conversations could certainly be kept as a secret between them. But her goal… was to use this information after bringing it into the open.
Whether it was to expose Cheng Feiying’s hypocrisy or to gain more public support, she might need to mention the content of tonight’s conversation.
Wei Maomao could guess why Cheng Tingyan wanted her to keep it a secret. She must still be afraid of the Cheng family…
But it wasn’t the right time for her to comfort her and tell her not to worry.
Wei Maomao, restricted by the progress bar, remained silent for too long, so long that Cheng Tingyan started to feel uneasy.
“Maomao?” Cheng Tingyan gently scratched the little chubby waist next to her.
“Yan Yan…” Wei Maomao thought quickly. “The things you tell me, if you don’t want me to tell anyone, I won’t.”
This promise was valid. But as long as the conversation progressed and Cheng Tingyan’s fears were addressed, there would be no need for secrecy anymore.
The little chubby bunny’s answer was slightly different from Cheng Tingyan’s earlier question.
But Cheng Tingyan thought about it, it seemed to mean the same thing. As long as it wasn’t mentioned during the live broadcast, as long as Cheng Feiying and Bai Lei didn’t know, it was fine.
“I can’t live with my mom. Because Mom and Dad separated, and I was given to Dad.” Cheng Tingyan said softly. “I have to live with Dad, and I can visit Mom once a month.”
“Then Yan Yan, is your mom good to you?” Wei Maomao entered non-stop questioning mode.
“Yes.” Cheng Tingyan answered quickly.
“I think your dad is mean to you. Your mom is good to you, why don’t you live with her?” Wei Maomao had no problem badmouthing Cheng Feiying, it came naturally to her.
Cheng Tingyan, thinking she had received the little chubby bunny’s promise of secrecy, was more relaxed than at the beginning of the conversation. Hearing this, she chuckled. “Because Mom and Dad separated, and I was given to Dad. What you just said…” The little chubby bunny was so silly.
“… “ Wei Maomao rephrased her question. “Being given to Dad, you can be given back to Mom. When my dad and I were watching cartoons, we saw a cartoon animal family where the parents separated, and the baby animal was given to its kind mother. What was it called… My dad said it was called custody, to decide who gets the baby animal, they have to see who can take better care of it.”
When drawing “Tutu Adventures,” Wei Maomao had basically included all the knowledge she could think of, knowledge that might be useful. Such a crucial thing like custody, of course, wouldn’t be omitted.
Just as Wei Maomao was about to explain custody in detail to Cheng Tingyan, Cheng Tingyan spoke.
“Custody. I know.” Cheng Tingyan sighed. “I was initially given to Mom, but then Dad got custody, so I was given to Dad.”
“Then we can let Mom get custody back!” Finally reaching the most crucial point, Wei Maomao’s body tensed up.
“Mmm? Waist…” Cheng Tingyan gently squeezed the little chubby waist in her hand. “Your waist is stiff?”
Wei Maomao, who had been holding her breath and bracing herself: “… “
Was this the time to be concerned about the stiffness of her waist!
“Yan Yan, do you want to live with your mom? Let’s ask your mom to get your custody back, okay?” Wei Maomao, seizing the opportunity, tried to persuade her.
“No, we can’t.” Cheng Tingyan shook her head in the darkness. “Custody, it depends on who can take better care of the child. My mom… can’t.”
“Why?” Wei Maomao knew it was cruel to press her like this, but she couldn’t just magically know about Cheng Tingyan’s mom’s illness, she could only do this. At least, this momentary cruelty could lead to stability later.
“Because…” Cheng Tingyan withdrew her hand from the little chubby waist.
Her waist felt empty, Wei Maomao’s heart sank. Damn it, did she finally step on a landmine!
Just as Wei Maomao was desperately searching for a solution in her mind, Cheng Tingyan spoke.
“When I was little, on a rainy day, a very heavy rain, Mom was riding her bike to pick me up, and she fell. Her waist, and here, here… Many of her bones were injured.” Cheng Tingyan’s hand reached out again, sliding from the little chubby waist to the little chubby legs. “Mom can’t stand up anymore, she needs treatment, she can’t take care of me.”
She… She said it…
In the darkness, both the one who spoke and the one who finally heard it were a bit shocked.
For each other, for themselves.
Wei Maomao composed herself, it was finally time for her to go all out.
“Yan Yan, your mom… even if she’s sick, she can still take care of you. Because your dad is mean to you, your mom can ask him to give you back to her. My dad said, there’s a place called the court, it helps children live with the people who love and care for them.” Wei Maomao said seriously.
“Mmm?” Cheng Tingyan, encountering a knowledge blind spot, hesitated for a moment, then asked weakly, “Then can the court… help me, live with you?”
Wei Maomao was stunned.
Cheng Tingyan’s words, like a punch, landed on Wei Maomao’s heart, which she had pretended to be strong. The pretense shattered, a wave of sadness overwhelmed her, blurring her vision.
Wei Maomao turned her head, rubbing her face against the pillow, wiping away the tears that were rolling down uncontrollably.
“I was just asking casually, I didn’t mean…” Cheng Tingyan, not receiving a response, panicked. She immediately reflected on whether she had said something too outrageous.
Right, the little chubby bunny was only three years old, although she had said she would take care of her, she shouldn’t have taken it seriously…
Wei Maomao couldn’t see, but she could hear the panic in Cheng Tingyan’s voice.
“Yan Yan, I really want to live with you.” Wei Maomao didn’t know how to explain that she couldn’t get custody, didn’t know how to prevent Cheng Tingyan from being disappointed, she could only follow her heart and hugged her.
The warm little chubby bunny rolled into her arms, Cheng Tingyan instinctively hugged her back, then heard the words mumbled by the little chubby bunny buried in her shoulder, carried by the warm breath, reaching her ears.
Cheng Tingyan felt that those were the little chubby bunny’s true words.
She believed that if it felt real, then it was real.
Dreams were a bit far from reality, Wei Maomao had to continue being cruel. “Custody, only family members can get it. You can usually only choose to live with your dad or your mom. Your dad is mean, you can live with your mom. Then we can see each other often, play together often.”
Cheng Tingyan’s disappointment was dispelled by Wei Maomao’s words. She thought, it did seem to be like that. Compared to her dad, who ignored her and was very fierce, her mom was much easier to talk to. If she lived with her mom, maybe she could really play with the little chubby bunny again in the future.
But…
“No, we can’t. My mom is sick, she doesn’t have the money to raise me.” Cheng Tingyan said honestly.
“She does. Once she gets your custody, she can use the money you earn to raise you.” Wei Maomao said firmly. “Remember what Shen Zilin said at the convenience store? For both the first season and this season of the show, the program team will give you money, and also…”
Before Wei Maomao could finish, Cheng Tingyan shook her head, interrupting her. “My money, it’s all used for Mom’s treatment, there’s none left.”
Wei Maomao didn’t know the details of Cheng Tingyan’s mom’s illness. But she didn’t believe that if that money fell into Cheng Feiying’s hands, he would use it all for her treatment. But these unsubstantiated words could be said later.
The most important thing now was…
“Yan Yan, even if there’s no money now, there will be more later. Listen to my calculations. Let’s not count the money from your two appearances on the show, let’s calculate the future earnings. First, as Shen Zilin said, the advertising revenue from each person’s live stream window. You have that. Second, the money I earned from participating in this show and my advertising revenue, I’ll give them all to you. These two combined should be enough for your mom’s treatment, enough for your mom to raise you. And if that’s not enough, third, do you remember Wen Dongdong kept saying this afternoon that Shen Zilin would be responsible for supporting him financially until he grew up, and then he would work for Shen Zilin to repay him? Later, Wang Zhizhi also asked Shen Zilin if he could borrow money from him in the future, let him support him first. We can do the same, if we don’t have enough money, we can borrow from Shen Zilin, and when we grow up, we’ll work for him to repay him.” Wei Maomao tried to show Cheng Tingyan more possibilities.
Of course, Wei Maomao felt that the money from the first two sources should be enough to support Cheng Tingyan’s mom for a while. During this period, she could find ways to earn more money, they shouldn’t need to rely on Shen Zilin. But since she currently looked like a three-year-old baby, compared to believing in her ability to earn money, Shen Zilin, who had millions and the backing of Shen Corp., was obviously more trustworthy.
What Cheng Tingyan’s actual living situation at the Cheng family’s house was like, and to what extent they could expose it on the show, the most important thing was Cheng Tingyan’s own stance and thoughts.
As long as Yan Yan believed that she could leave Cheng Feiying, the money issue could be slowly resolved later.
Who would want to live with a terribly biased and bad-tempered father, a hypocritical stepmother, and a younger sister who always caused trouble and got her scolded?
Cheng Tingyan didn’t want to at all, she just didn’t have a choice.
But now, Cheng Tingyan pressed the little chubby bunny who was still nestled in her arms.
Now someone was telling her that she had a choice…
She would be a fool not to be tempted.
“The money… isn’t enough.” Cheng Tingyan bit her lip, she knew she had no attachment to the Cheng family, it was all about the money. “My mom… she also borrowed a lot of money from my dad for her treatment, with a 4.8% commercial loan interest rate. They said that if I’m not well-behaved, they won’t lend her money anymore, and even if they do, it’ll be at the 14.6% private loan interest rate.”
As expected! Wei Maomao’s fists clenched. So the reason Cheng Tingyan mentioned those numbers last time, those numbers she remembered so clearly, the truth behind them was this.
“Yan Yan, I think something’s wrong.” Wei Maomao rubbed her chubby fists against the blanket, trying to relieve the itch. “You said the money from your two appearances on the show was all used for your mom’s treatment. Why did your mom have to borrow money from your dad for her treatment? Shen Zilin said that participating in this show, there’s a few dozen, a million, that’s a lot of money, right? Are you sure your mom received all the money you earned from the show?”
The six-year-old Cheng Tingyan was stunned by the question.
“We’re little babies, we don’t know how much treatment costs. Your mom is sick, so she might not know how much she has spent either. Should we ask someone else, to figure out how much you earned and how much your mom has spent?” Wei Maomao grabbed Cheng Tingyan’s hand.
“You mean…” Cheng Tingyan tried to process the information. “You’re saying… my dad lied to me and Mom?”
“No… I mean, maybe your dad didn’t calculate it correctly either.” Wei Maomao started making things up. “Let’s find someone good at math to help us calculate it.”
Leave a Reply