Category: Back to Three Years Old: Crushing Scumbags on a Parenting Reality Show

Chapter 147

Children were powerless.

This power didn’t simply refer to physical strength or wealth.

It referred more to… knowledge.

One wasn’t born with knowledge. Most people started from ignorance, living, learning, making mistakes, correcting them, then, in the blink of an eye, they were already decades old.

And the most ironic thing was, some of the most important things to learn and understand at the beginning, there was no one to teach them, no one to tell them, leaving them struggling in confusion and contradictions, doubting themselves, unable to find answers, this cycle repeating for years, even decades, before finally gaining a sliver of knowledge that could have saved them years of pain if they had known it earlier.

Not all parents loved their children.

People were complex, multifaceted, they wouldn’t suddenly become selfless and loving just because they were given a certain title.

Why desperately seek love that couldn’t be felt? Why force yourself to eat candy laced with poison? Was there only that one love, that one candy in the world?

…

Much knowledge wasn’t complicated, it was just that children lacked the knowledge and perspective.

The mainstream advocated the silent depth of paternal love and the selfless greatness of maternal love. Compared to questioning why their loved ones didn’t fit the societal norms, ignorant children would naturally choose to doubt themselves first.

It must be because I’m not good enough, it must be my fault…

Of course, one day, they would grow up and be able to see through the individual differences beneath the moral facade, but by then, no matter how clearly they saw, they couldn’t go back and save their younger selves from those years of pain.

Cheng Tingyan felt truly lucky, she actually had a chance to save herself.

Liking someone was a beautiful and addictive feeling. Sometimes, even without reciprocation, just the feeling of liking someone could bring immense joy. After meeting Little Cookie in her previous life, Cheng Tingyan started to understand why Liu Qiongfang was always chasing love, wanting to be loved.

Mom was also a woman, a person, an ordinary person who wanted to love and be loved. Not losing herself because of a change in identity, it was good. Reborn, Cheng Tingyan had no intention of changing Liu Qiongfang. But this time, she would still work hard to earn money for the medical expenses, but she wouldn’t let herself become a part of Liu Qiongfang’s pursuit of love.

Chasing, competing, infatuation, resentment… What did the emotional entanglements of the previous generation have to do with her, Cheng Tingyan?

Cutting ties quickly and decisively, she had already done too much in her previous life, things she should and shouldn’t have done, in this life, Cheng Tingyan just wanted to stay away from those strange people and live peacefully until the day she met Little Cookie again.

Her life in her previous life ended right before the most anticipated and beautiful moment, the unresolved resentment condensed into thick ice, Cheng Tingyan felt she could handle everything coldly, seal her heart and lock away her love during the days waiting for their reunion… Uh…

“Yan Yan, Uncle Shi will definitely help you find your grandma, your mom will be so happy, she’ll definitely agree to take back your custody!”

The soft and pudding-like little chubby bunny, as soon as she got into the car, snuggled up to her, a chubby paw reaching out, along with her soft, childish words of comfort.

Cheng Tingyan squeezed the little paw in her hand and smiled slightly, what a naive and adorable little baby. Happiness? It was unlikely anyone would be happy, but… Cheng Tingyan looked at the little chubby bunny, who was grumbling and asking Wei Chengli to move the two child safety seats closer so they could hold hands, she heard the soft cracking sound of the ice around her heart.

This world, there was still some cuteness, making it impossible for her to completely shut herself off.

Unlike Cheng Tingyan, who was charmed by the cute bunny, Wei Chengli truly felt that although some little things were cute, they were also… truly annoying!

“How can I move them? I can’t, they’re stuck. Just make do, why blame the child safety seats for not being able to hold hands, blame your own short arms.” Wei Chengli said, after struggling to move the seats, he was even tugged at by the little rascal, he hummed and gave up, ready to just let it be.

Just then, Wei Chengli, who was standing outside the car, half of his body inside, felt three “polite” taps on his spine.

Wei Chengli turned around in shock and saw Qin Sichao standing behind him, smiling.

“Can I ride with you guys?” Qin Sichao asked, rubbing his hands. “I want to be with the little babies.”

Hehehe, of course, he could.

Wei Chengli politely moved aside and even pulled his own baby out.

Two minutes later, Qin Sichao, squeezed between the two child safety seats, looked at the little chubby baby on his left, who was secretly glancing at him, then at Cheng Tingyan, who was sitting upright on his right. Mmm… It wasn’t what he had imagined.

Wei Chengli, in the passenger seat, leaned back comfortably. Finally, someone else could experience what he felt last time when he wanted to be with the babies. As expected, after experiencing the rain, one would want to tear apart someone else’s umbrella, heh.

Qin Sichao, unaware that he was currently experiencing the rain, reached out and rubbed the little chubby baby’s soft hair, preparing to start a conversation with the softer one.

“Maomao, your uncle and I are in the same profession as your dad, we’re also directors. I’m going to film a movie next, do you want to play a role? Don’t worry, it won’t be tiring, just a few scenes.” Qin Sichao said with a smile.

Maomao, slumped in her child safety seat like a salted fish, was about to refuse when she suddenly remembered that she also had to support someone now, she immediately sat up straight.

Wei Chengli in the front passenger seat tried to turn around, he was still struggling between letting his child have a normal childhood and letting her experience a different life, then he saw the little rascal’s eyes light up, and she asked, “Will you pay me?”

Wei Chengli was so angry that he almost twisted his neck.

Not to mention anything else, for Qin Sichao’s film, there were countless people lining up with money, just for a cameo, this child truly…

Qin Sichao was also stunned by her directness, but he quickly nodded with a smile. “Yes, yes, yes.”

“Okay.” Wei Maomao didn’t ask how much. She had self-awareness, she was only three years old, being paid was good enough, it would be great if there were more opportunities like this. Even if the pay was low and the work was demanding, she could still save money, she could do it.

“Yan Yan, I also have a suitable role for you. After your family matters are settled, come and film with me too?” Qin Sichao said, after securing the softer one, he turned to the other one.

It was a bit early to mention this. But after contacting Cheng Tingyan’s grandma, an elderly person taking care of a paralyzed daughter and a young child, there might be financial concerns. He had a job here, ready and waiting, it would be somewhat helpful.

Qin Sichao truly hoped that Cheng Tingyan’s grandma could take care of them, take over the custody from the Cheng family. Not to mention that future collaborations would be less problematic, this six-year-old little girl, she deserved a better life. There wasn’t much he could do, but he could at least mention the collaboration he had in mind in advance.

This was a day of Qin Sichao diligently recruiting people.

Not only was he trying to recruit the little babies into his film crew in this car, he had also rearranged the people in the other two cars before getting in.

He took the driver from Shi Dingshan’s car and put him in Zeng Huanian’s car, then took Shi Hongxiao from Zeng Huanian’s car and put him in the driver’s seat of Shi Dingshan’s car. Finally, Qin Sichao, his good deeds done, got into this baby-filled car.

Unlike the lively atmosphere in Qin Sichao’s car, with questions and answers, the car with only Shi Dingshan and Shi Hongxiao was very quiet.

Shi Hongxiao wanted to ask Shi Dingshan how he was feeling, but thinking about why Shi Dingshan was hospitalized, he couldn’t ask, he could only hold it in.

In the end, it was Shi Dingshan, after glancing at Shi Hongxiao’s bruised eye a few times, who broke the silence with a sigh.

“You’re not very good at fighting, go take some classes after this and learn a few moves.”

“Mmm!”

“There’s a doctor at the villa, go and see him when we get back, be careful with injuries around the eyes.”

“Mmm.”

“I heard you and Liu Ming entered the air-raid shelter almost at the same time, you were so much slower than her, are you still directionally challenged like when you were a child?”

“Mmm…”

Shi Dingshan turned to look at Shi Hongxiao, who seemed to be only capable of making monosyllabic sounds, even though his throat wasn’t injured. “Is ‘mmm’ the only word you know?”

“How… is your heart? Is it okay to be discharged from the hospital just like that?” Shi Hongxiao asked, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, he finally asked the question he had been holding in.

“It’s fine.” Shi Dingshan said, after a pause. “Don’t overthink it, you’re different from him. Before I married your mom, I already knew that you weren’t my biological child. Later, my feelings for her faded, there was nothing we could do about it. But when we were together, it was genuine, there was no deception. It’s different from that woman who just wanted my money.”

“… “ Shi Hongxiao’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, then tightened again, he finally couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “Can I… take care of you when you’re old? I won’t take your money. You can donate all your money when you’re old, I’ll use my own money to take care of you. Don’t worry about me trying to scam you.”

His increasingly rapid speech revealed his sincerity.

Shi Dingshan, never expecting Shi Hongxiao to say this, was stunned.

This child truly…

The person who only knew how to say “mmm” when they chatted before, why were his words so piercing now, oh… no, it was a lemon candy sword.

Shi Dingshan turned his head to look out the window, using the breeze to suppress the stinging in his eyes.

Hmph, which idiot would work hard their entire life, then donate all their money just to have someone take care of them when they were old? Wouldn’t it be better to just hire eight nannies and have them cater to his every need! His decades of salary as a cameraman wouldn’t even be enough for him…

“Okay, work hard, earn more money. I’ll donate everything later, then I’ll eat your food, live in your house.” Shi Dingshan said calmly, looking at the green mountains outside the window.

“Mmm!”

Okay, back to the familiar monosyllabic response.

Shi Dingshan turned his head slightly and saw a clear smile on the person who had just given a serious “mmm.”

Heh, there were truly many fools in this world who wanted to work hard.

Shi Dingshan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

“You sleep for a bit, I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

The fool next to him said unnecessarily.

Shi Dingshan, his eyes still closed, said, “What ‘you,’ show some respect, call me Dad.”

Silence filled the car again.

It lasted for a while, just as Shi Dingshan couldn’t hold back and was about to open his eyes, the fool next to him finally spoke again.

“Dad, let’s go fly kites again after this show ends.”

Shi Dingshan, his eyes closed, vaguely remembered that autumn many years ago, after his divorce, he took Shi Hongxiao to fly kites one last time, then told him… Live a good life with your mom, Dad is leaving.

What a fool, such a good memory.

“Okay.” Shi Dingshan said, taking a deep breath, he agreed.

“Let’s go to Chongnan Park again.”

“Okay.” He even remembered the location.

“They’re still selling homemade popsicles there.”

“We’ll buy them.” Okay, he even remembered the popsicles they didn’t get to eat that time.

“And also…”

Shi Dingshan opened his eyes and sat up straight. “What’s going on? I’m not even old yet, and there are so many requests?”

Shi Hongxiao said weakly, “I’ll treat you…”

“We’ll go, we’ll buy them, we’ll eat them, after the filming, you can have as many as you want, stop nagging, focus on driving.” Shi Dingshan said, interrupting him forcefully, he couldn’t handle this pure affection, still recovering from his emotional trauma.

The person in the passenger seat pretended to be asleep.

The person driving smiled quietly.

Fate was truly strange.

But sometimes, for someone who had just been reborn and hadn’t fully adapted yet, it was a bit too strange.

The three cars returned to the villa area, and as soon as Cheng Tingyan got out of the car, she heard Qin Sichao’s exclamation.

“Heh, as expected of me, it’s a loss for the variety show world that I’m not filming parent-child shows.”

Cheng Tingyan, confused, followed Qin Sichao’s gaze and only saw Shi Hongxiao, Wei Maomao’s cameraman, helping Shi Dingshan get out of the car behind them. What did this have to do with parent-child variety shows…

Wait…

Cheng Tingyan’s eyes widened slightly, it couldn’t be…

“Xiao Shi is also the cameraman Director Shi assigned to watch over the babies, right?” Wei Chengli asked, looking at Qin Sichao.

“Yes, although he’s not related to me, Xiao Shi is a good person, more trustworthy than the others.” Qin Sichao whispered, then sighed. “Hopefully, he can bring some comfort to Lao Shan.”

Cheng Tingyan: “… “

Okay, another exceptionally important and suspicious person who deviated completely from her previous life’s trajectory.

Earlier, after Wei Chengli was called away, the other dads were also notified and returned to the villa.

Without Shi Dingshan’s permission, the staff members who knew about the situation didn’t dare to say anything, now the villa was filled with confused dads and babies, waiting for Shi Dingshan’s return.

“There are many dark areas in the air-raid shelter, it was already deemed unsuitable for the treasure hunt, let alone for laser tag, which requires running.”

“This was a mistake on the program team’s part, to avoid further mistakes and losses, the morning’s live broadcast was paused, it will resume during lunch.”

“Little Wang Zhizhi’s wish to play laser tag, because all the laser tag arenas nearby are fully booked, even for tomorrow, we couldn’t find a place. So we’ll see if there’s an opportunity to fulfill it at the next location. If not, the program team will provide a sum of money for Little Wang Zhizhi to gather his friends and book a laser tag arena, you guys can play together when you have time.”

Shi Dingshan didn’t say much about what Cheng Tingyan and Wei Maomao encountered in the air-raid shelter, telling the dads about it now would only cause trouble, it wouldn’t do any good. Both the authorities and he himself were investigating, they would find out eventually.

Compared to playing, the dads were more concerned about the safety of the location, so no one complained about the early termination of the laser tag game. As for Wang Zhizhi, he was a bit disappointed, but thinking about having a chance to meet his friends again, he was happy again. Exchanging a few hours today for a whole day, even several days, in the future, it was a good deal!

After Shi Dingshan appeased everyone regarding the morning’s situation, it wasn’t over yet.

The first dad to come and talk to him privately was Wen Qiming.

Although Maomao, the victim, had already said she believed Wen Jiangyue, and his daughter didn’t seem upset anymore, Wen Qiming still wanted justice for his daughter.

Shi Dingshan understood, but… there was nothing he could do.

Unlike today’s incident, where they caught the culprit red-handed, the bathroom incident two days ago was a “Rashomon” situation, there was no evidence, he could only rely on his intuition.

Shi Dingshan could only vaguely imply that Wen Qiming might be able to vent his anger through the outcome of other matters.

Of course, Wen Qiming wasn’t satisfied with this vague and somewhat mysterious response. But looking at Shi Dingshan’s pale face, how he had to hold onto the armrest even when sitting, Wen Qiming couldn’t bring himself to press further, he could only let it go for now. Of course, whether the other matters Shi Dingshan mentioned existed was another story, but it did give him a new idea. If he couldn’t vent his anger on this matter, he could find other matters to vent on.

Shi Dingshan, after finally managing to appease Wen Qiming, hadn’t even had a sip of water when another person came.

“Yes, I’ve already let him go. Jin Youliang is no longer the assistant director of our show. He’s already packed his things and left, we can’t call him back now. But telling the other babies not to mention their moms, not letting Wen Dongyu celebrate his birthday, that truly wasn’t the program team’s intention. How should I put it, Jin Youliang, this person, he’s a bit opportunistic, he would do things he thinks will benefit him in the future. So I believe those were his personal actions, I’m sure your dad didn’t ask him to do that.” Shi Dingshan said, he never expected that there was another consequence of Jin Youliang’s actions.

The program team at most canceled the segment about inviting the moms and the video calls, they wouldn’t go as far as forbidding the other children from mentioning their moms.

Shi Dingshan looked at Shen Zilin, who seemed to be wavering, and continued, “You also said that the babies in the families Director Zeng visited weren’t told not to mention their moms, right? If it was your dad’s intention, he would have come to me directly and asked me to arrange it for every baby. Or, after telling Jin Youliang, he wouldn’t have missed Director Zeng, right?”

Shen Zilin’s face was slightly red, thinking about it, he was indeed being impulsive, getting caught up in his emotions.

“How about this, it was also our negligence, not noticing the difference between the lunar and solar calendars for birthdays. We’ll hold a birthday party for Wen Dongyu this afternoon, what do you think?” Shi Dingshan said, offering a final solution.

It was, of course, a good idea.

Neither Shen Jianghe nor Shen Zilin wanted others to make way for their personal matters.

But before Shen Zilin left, he said something that touched Shen Jianghe deeply.

“Wen Dongyu said he missed his mom, Uncle Director, can you give him a gift, let him call his mom?”

Shi Dingshan, exhausted, took a moment to process it before answering.

In the next second, a small body leaned against him.

“Missing Mom, it’s very sad, Uncle Director, can you help him?”

Shen Zilin whispered, his hand covering his mouth, into Shi Dingshan’s ear.

Shen Jianghe, who had very good hearing, standing next to them: “… “

And so, in the afternoon, Wen Dongyu and his friends had a wonderful birthday party, he received a giant birthday cake with lots of cream, definitely not the kind that would make him choke, and the best gift from the director team, a ten-minute phone call with his mom!

He was truly happy!

The little babies, huddled together, happily munched on the cake.

Shi Dingshan, watching from the monitoring room, was also quite happy.

Earlier, to accommodate the request from the person he sent, they had to move the wishing activity to the evening. He was still thinking about how to fill the afternoon’s schedule. Now, with the birthday party, they had a legitimate reason to spend the afternoon eating, drinking, and playing at the villa, safe and effective.

Now he could only hope that the person he sent would be successful.

That street address mentioned in a dream, would there really be a courtyard with a large osmanthus tree?

That person named Chen Sujuan, did she… truly exist…

Was it a six-year-old child’s accurate analysis, or a six-year-old child’s vague mumbling?

Shi Dingshan wasn’t sure.

But he had indeed been negligent in his duties, he felt guilty. It was just a matter of sending someone over, he was willing to help Cheng Tingyan confirm it.

As the sun set and night fell, the babies, after eating, playing, and having a good nap at the villa, were loaded into cars, heading towards the place where Wei Maomao’s wish would be fulfilled.

And in another city, downstairs in a residential complex, a wheelchair bumped over the threshold of a private restaurant and stopped in front of a private room where someone was already waiting.

Chapter 146

Help, when asked for, was given swiftly, faster than a tornado.

Although he didn’t know what Wei Chengli wanted help with, Shi Dingshan instinctively raised his hand to stop him from speaking.

“Xiao Zeng, you go to the car first.” Shi Dingshan said, turning to Zeng Huanian.

Zeng Huanian was stunned, his lips trembled slightly, but he didn’t say anything, he dejectedly walked towards the cars waiting for them in the distance. Director Shi no longer trusted him… He was just a tool, still useful for a few more days. Zeng Huanian clearly sensed the difference in Shi Dingshan’s attitude. The ground beneath his feet was uneven, each step accompanied by the crunching sound of gravel, it grated on his soles, and pierced his heart.

Compared to Zeng Huanian’s dejection, Liu Ming was much more perceptive.

“Then Director Shi, Director Qin, we’ll also go to the car first.” Liu Ming said, pulling at Shi Hongxiao next to her.

Look at the remaining people, the big shots, Director Shi and Director Qin, the victims who were about to reveal some secret, was there a place for small fries like them to listen? This blockhead next to her truly had no intention of leaving.

For the sake of their shared battle earlier, Liu Ming kindly took him along.

Shi Hongxiao, being pulled, looked at Shi Dingshan.

“Okay, you guys go to the car first.” Shi Dingshan nodded in agreement.

Outside the air-raid shelter, people left in groups, now only three adults and two children remained at the entrance.

Shi Dingshan glanced at Wei Chengli, then at Qin Sichao.

“Me, good guy!” Qin Sichao said, covering Shi Dingshan’s eyes, as if to prevent him from hinting at something, he looked at Wei Chengli. “Let me stay, I’m the best at keeping secrets. Look at Lao Shan’s current state, weak and frail, it would be good to have one more person to help, right? And besides, you know, I also want what’s best for Yan Yan, right?”

“Yan Yan, what do you think…” Wei Chengli said, he knew about Qin Sichao’s intention to cast Cheng Tingyan in his film, he also felt that the Cheng family’s situation was becoming alarming, having a heavyweight like Qin Sichao involved would definitely be more beneficial than harmful. But it was Cheng Tingyan’s own matter, he couldn’t make the decision for her.

“Okay.” Cheng Tingyan nodded in agreement without much hesitation. She was no longer the timid six-year-old, no matter how trustworthy Qin Sichao was, it wouldn’t affect her plan.

Compared to Qin Sichao’s trustworthiness, Cheng Tingyan was more concerned about his words, “You know, I also want what’s best for Yan Yan, right?”

Did they… know each other? In her previous life, her only interaction with this internationally renowned director was him inviting her half-sister to be in his film, they hadn’t even met. In this life, they had only met twice, once when Maomao fell in the bathroom and he came with Shi Dingshan to check on her, and now. Why would he say such a thing?

Cheng Tingyan still felt that there must be another reborn person before her, that’s why this variety show and everyone involved had become like this.

Then, who…

Cheng Tingyan quietly looked around.

Liu Ming and the cameraman named Xiao Shi, who were getting into the car in the distance, they didn’t appear in her previous life.

Shi Dingshan, who was listening attentively with a pale face, he was already gone at this time in her previous life… Qin Sichao, he didn’t participate in this variety show in her previous life…

And…

Cheng Tingyan looked up at Wei Chengli, who was explaining her plan to leave the Cheng family to Shi Dingshan and Qin Sichao in detail.

As expected, the little chubby bunny’s dad was still the most suspicious.

This matter, which had been brewing in Wei Chengli’s mind for two days, he got straight to the point, every word shocking Shi Dingshan and Qin Sichao.

Good heavens, truly good heavens… They thought they were filming a parent-child variety show, but this person’s daily efforts weren’t about strengthening family bonds, but about severing them…

Thankfully, Shi Dingshan himself had already suffered an emotional blow before the filming started, he wasn’t focused on portraying harmonious parent-child relationships, but on the scrutiny and conflicts within these relationships. Otherwise, this sudden blow near the end of the show would be a huge shock.

“Then should I call her mom now? The live broadcast is still paused, I was planning to resume it during lunch, Yan Yan can talk to her mom directly now.” Shi Dingshan said, he was quite receptive to Wei Chengli’s words after his own emotional turmoil, he immediately grasped what they needed him to do.

Wei Chengli thought it was a great idea. Having the program team relay the message might make Yan Yan’s mom less trusting, it would be best if Yan Yan could talk to her directly.

Everything was going smoothly, if Cheng Tingyan was still the clueless six-year-old.

“I… don’t want to call…” Cheng Tingyan said, her eyes lowered, as Wei Chengli stared at her in shock and Shi Dingshan’s hand, reaching for his phone, froze. “Uncle Wei is right, my mom is already struggling to take care of herself, it would be too hard for her if she also has to take care of me.”

“Yan Yan!”

The first to react and interrupt wasn’t one of the three dumbfounded adults, but a little chubby child, her whole body expressing her anxiety, she started jumping around.

“Yan Yan, you’re in danger! You can’t go back to your dad’s house! It won’t be hard for your mom to take care of you! I have money, we can find someone to take care of her and you! Uncle Shi, tell Yan Yan, I have money for this, right! Shen Zilin said we also have advertising revenue!” Wei Maomao said, she didn’t know why Cheng Tingyan was backing down at the last minute, but look at what happened today! Rolling down that slope, it would be so easy to break an ankle! Wei Maomao strongly suspected that this was how those people did it in her previous life. Whether it was or not, they did it in this life! What did the six-year-old Yan Yan do to deserve this, again and again, whether it was the Cheng family’s doing or not, it was definitely right to not go back.

“Ah… Yes, you do.” Shi Dingshan, suddenly being grabbed by the leg by the little chubby baby, nodded instinctively.

“Maomao, Maomao…” Cheng Tingyan said, looking at Director Shi’s pants, which had been pulled down by the little chubby bunny, she was amused and touched, she pulled the bunny into her arms. “I’m not going back to Dad’s house, I’m saying it would be hard for Mom to take care of me, so I want to find… Mom’s mom.”

Everyone present: “???”

Mom’s mom? Grandma?

Wei Maomao, stunned, let go of Shi Dingshan’s pants, she couldn’t keep up with the plot.

In her previous life, she never heard Cheng Tingyan mention her grandma… Was it the limitation of being online friends? Because she couldn’t participate in her real life, she could only get relevant information when they happened to talk about it.

Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t keep up with the plot.

And Cheng Tingyan’s next words made Wei Chengli’s earlier words seem like a mere appetizer.

A girl who had a falling out with her family when she was young, left her hometown, got married, had a child, then got divorced, had an accident, became partially paralyzed, and never contacted her mother again. But in her dreams, when she woke up from anesthesia, when she was in unbearable pain, she still couldn’t help but call for her mom.

Now, this girl’s child wanted to find her mom, for her.

The whole thing sounded reasonable, even a bit touching.

From a practical perspective, although the grandma couldn’t get custody, having a healthy person in the family was still better than a half-paralyzed person taking care of a six-year-old child.

The logic was sound, but…

“Yan Yan, your mom truly hasn’t returned to her hometown since she left, hasn’t seen your grandma, and only occasionally calls her a few times a year?” Shi Dingshan asked, rubbing his forehead, seeking confirmation.

“I think so…” Cheng Tingyan said, her answer vague, then she changed the subject. “That’s what Mom said in her dream. She said, ‘Sorry, Mom, I only dared to call you, you still don’t know that you once had a son-in-law, and you have a granddaughter.’”

Qin Sichao, who had already imagined a ninety-nine-episode melodrama, sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “Then your mom clearly misses her mom a lot, why doesn’t she go back and visit? She already called, why didn’t she tell her mom that she got married and had a child?”

Cheng Tingyan shook her head. “Mom didn’t say in her dream. When she was awake, I asked her, she said Grandma was very angry when she left home, they had a fight, and they haven’t contacted each other since.”

“Although… but… It’s true that your mom needs her mom. But you also need your mom. Shouldn’t we still confirm your mom’s thoughts on the custody issue?” Wei Chengli asked, using his last bit of brainpower to bring the topic back on track.

“Mom said that my grandma loved her very much before, and she’ll also love me very much. As long as we find Grandma, whether Mom can raise me or not, Grandma will raise me.” Cheng Tingyan said, glancing at Wei Chengli, as expected, someone with double the brainpower wasn’t easy to fool.

“Yan Yan… Are you saying, your mom might not raise you?” Wei Maomao asked, sensing something alarming from Cheng Tingyan’s words. But… how could this be? When they chatted about Mom in her previous life, Cheng Tingyan only mentioned good things… She even agreed with her that maybe it would be better if she had lived with her mom since she was young.

Ah, she forgot about this clever one here. Cheng Tingyan smiled wryly and touched the little chubby bunny’s face.

“Right, Yan Yan, weren’t you very sure your mom would be willing before?” Wei Chengli asked, confused.

Sigh… It was time to clean up the mess from her six-year-old self’s naivete.

“I wasn’t sure…” Cheng Tingyan said, ruthlessly denying her past innocence.

Cheng Tingyan also knew that her current thoughts were vastly different from their previous plan. But there was no other way, if they followed their previous plan, it would be a dead end…

The six-year-old her naively thought that as long as she could get enough money for medical expenses and living expenses, she could leave that suffocating family and live with her mom.

The twenty-four-year-old her knew very well that what separated her and Liu Qiongfang wasn’t just money.

Her words inevitably contradicted her previous statements, it might reduce her credibility. But there was no other way, it was better than stubbornly clinging to a doomed plan.

Everyone had a mom.

Everyone should listen to their mom.

In her previous life, no matter how hard it was, she persevered.

This life, it was Liu Qiongfang’s turn.

Chapter 145

Jin Youliang scrambled into the car they came in, as soon as he took out his phone, he saw the staff members he brought over, also looking disheveled, walking towards the car.

After cutting off the live broadcast, Jin Youliang finally managed to contact Zeng Huanian and found out that Shi Dingshan was also on his way to the air-raid shelter, so he hurriedly rushed over with his people. On the way, Jin Youliang had already prepared himself for Shi Dingshan’s questioning, he was planning how to clear his name while subtly implicating Lü Liwei. But who would have thought that Shi Dingshan actually called the police! Which production team, when encountering problems, wouldn’t try to handle it internally, to avoid negative news affecting the project! This was a live broadcast show, how could he just call the police!

And the key was, Lü Liwei was still being stubborn when he was taken away. Jin Youliang was preparing to answer Shi Dingshan’s questions, but he didn’t even ask, he just told him to get lost… Without witnesses or physical evidence, how could he just fire an assistant director based on speculation! Jin Youliang was不服！ But that police car earlier…

He left first, not because he was afraid of Shi Dingshan, but to find a solution. But look at what Shi Dingshan did… He not only humiliated him but also chased away the people he brought, this was rubbing his face in the dirt!

Jin Youliang was so angry that his hands were shaking.

They got into the car one after another, and until the car started, no one spoke to Jin Youliang.

The atmosphere in the car was eerily silent and tense. Jin Youliang, in the passenger seat, rubbed his face vigorously, shifted his body away from the driver’s seat, and opened his phone.

Unread messages, one, another, and another.

Just like how Zeng Huanian was too focused on rushing into the air-raid shelter to answer Jin Youliang’s call earlier, Jin Youliang, on his way to the air-raid shelter, was in no mood to deal with that anonymous person.

Jin Youliang casually glanced at a few messages, they were all similar, asking why he suddenly stopped the live broadcast, if there was a problem with their plan. Oh, there were also a few asking if the plan succeeded but the scene was too bloody, so they stopped the broadcast.

Heh, Jin Youliang smiled wryly, they were truly delusional.

Jin Youliang briefly summarized what happened at the air-raid shelter, explained his and Lü Liwei’s current situation, and sent it all as a message. Of course, he didn’t forget to ask if the other party had any connections in the police department. Whether Shi Dingshan would truly investigate or not, it was always good to get Lü Liwei out first.

The reply came quickly.

Jin Youliang, full of anticipation, opened it, and in the next second, he was angered by the reply: [???] Just three question marks. Just as his head was buzzing, and he was about to reiterate the seriousness of the situation, the second message arrived.

[What’s wrong with the person you found? He was already exposed, the rope was caught, what was he afraid of being too obvious? He should have just pulled hard, could a six-year-old child even compete with his strength?]

Jin Youliang read the message twice to confirm he hadn’t misinterpreted it. It turned out the other party thought Lü Liwei wasn’t ruthless enough, since he was already exposed, he might as well just go all out and pull the person down.

Were they crazy?

There was a huge difference between a failed attempt and succeeding after being exposed!

The question now wasn’t whether Cheng Tingyan was okay? It was whether they would be okay!

Jin Youliang gritted his teeth, he replied with enough force to crush the screen.

After his outburst, the other party only replied after a while.

[Okay, I understand, go find this person, “Zhang Yi Er,” he’ll tell you what to do next.]

Finally, they were doing something, Jin Youliang felt a bit relieved, he clicked on the blue link “Zhang Yi Er.”

Then instantly, his phone… went black.

Jin Youliang was stunned, he instinctively pressed the power button, trying to restart his phone.

However…

No matter how hard he pressed, his thumb burning with pain, the screen wouldn’t turn on, Jin Youliang suddenly realized that it wasn’t his phone that had a problem, it was the link “Zhang Yi Er” that he clicked earlier!

What the hell!

Was he being abandoned?

Trying to get rid of him just like that?

Dream on!

Jin Youliang turned around and looked at the people behind him, who had been silent for a while. “Can someone lend me their phone?”

Silence, silence, they exchanged furtive glances, then quickly looked away…

Seeing their little movements, Jin Youliang, anxious, could only wait, relying on his last bit of rationality.

Thankfully, the last person who had profited from Jin Youliang’s shady dealings handed him their phone.

Jin Youliang grabbed the phone and quickly opened the email where he had saved the screenshots of his chat with the anonymous person.

The email was… empty…

“F*ck!” Jin Youliang, his eyes bloodshot with anger, threw the phone against the wall.

Impressive! Impressive! With such capabilities, why bother using him! They could have just hacked the amusement park rides last time and thrown the person off!

Hehe, hehe, did they think they could just get rid of him like this?

He had carefully saved the screenshots of their earlier discussions about how to deal with Shi Dingshan on a USB drive at home. Trying to abandon him and make him take the blame? They didn’t know who he was!

Jin Youliang immediately booked the earliest flight back.

Since he hadn’t memorized the anonymous number, he could only go home, get the USB drive, and then curse them out.

Bai Lei, who had just spent a fortune, didn’t know that someone was on their way to scold her, she was looking at her recent expenses with a frown. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford it, but spending so much, causing so much trouble, and the person was still perfectly fine, it was a bit annoying, wasn’t it? If she had exchanged this money for coins, it would be enough to bury Cheng Tingyan alive. And now? Even throwing it into a river would at least make a splash!

Thankfully, she was smart, both the phone and the money she spent these past two days went through several intermediaries. That useless guy even asked her to help him save someone. They were all useless, what was the point of saving them, to make dried salted fish?

Bai Lei scrolled through the old phone one last time, confirming there was nothing new, then clicked on the “Zhang Yi Er” link.

Old things, they would break after being left unused for a while, it was normal. Out with the old, in with the new, she would give Rongrong a new one when she came back.

Hopefully… her foreknowledge would also have something new by then.

This time’s… didn’t seem very effective.

Bai Lei, after dealing with the last bit of this failed plan, called Zhang Jin.

“It’s almost noon now, where did she say she wanted to meet? That restaurant downstairs from her place?” Bai Lei asked directly as soon as the call connected.

Zhang Jin laughed in exasperation. “Are you okay? Who was the one who said she wasn’t available at noon just now? How long has it been? Have you lost your memory?”

“That was then, this is now.” Bai Lei said impatiently, glancing at the live broadcast page, which still showed a technical error. “Didn’t you say you booked a private room? Send me the address.”

The familiar bossy tone, the familiar infuriating attitude.

Zhang Jin didn’t answer immediately, he paused, then said perfunctorily, “Wait, I’ll call and ask what she says.”

After saying that, Zhang Jin hung up and turned to Liu Qiongfang next to him. “She said she’s available to meet now, what do you say?”

Since Liu Qiongfang had agreed to meet with Bai Lei, Zhang Jin had rushed over early this morning, he watched as she washed her hair, picked out her clothes, put on makeup, and spent a long time getting ready, then Bai Lei said she wanted to change it to the afternoon. Then he watched as she, initially full of fighting spirit, suddenly lost all her energy, removed her makeup, and even took out two bundles of noodles from the fridge and asked him to stay for lunch…

The noodles weren’t even cooked yet, and Bai Lei was available again. Zhang Jin felt that it was best to just let them meet, who knew what kind of trouble this crazy woman would create if they delayed.

“Tonight.” Liu Qiongfang said, throwing some bean sprouts into the pot.

“What? You mean this afternoon, right? She changed it to this afternoon.” Zhang Jin asked, thinking he had misheard because of the boiling water in the pot.

“I said tonight.” Liu Qiongfang said, stirring the noodles in the pot. “She says she wants to meet, then we meet, she says noon is not okay, then noon is not okay, she says afternoon, then afternoon, she says change it back to noon, then back to noon, who does she think she is, God?”

Zhang Jin: “… “

“Listening to everything she says, how can you gain the upper hand? Tell her, I said tonight, we’ll meet tonight.” Liu Qiongfang said, shaking her chopsticks, she looked at Zhang Jin. “Do you want some pickled mustard greens?”

Zhang Jin rubbed his forehead. “I can’t afford it…”

He felt like the number of crazy people had increased. What was wrong with these two? Was this how they were supposed to discuss things? This was just a power struggle!

Had he made the wrong decision again… Why did he have to be the filling in a cookie sandwich!

The boiling water in the pot, the rising steam, just like… Shi Dingshan’s mind at this moment.

Jin Youliang, taking his useless tools, got into the car and left. Qin Sichao, who had successfully built a ladder for the villain, raised an eyebrow at Shi Dingshan smugly. “With your nagging, how could you chase him away, it still depends on me!”

“Yes, yes, yes, you’re the best.” Shi Dingshan said perfunctorily, his mind filled with worries, he turned to the victims, his earlier coldness towards the enemy gone, replaced by a sincere apology. “It’s my fault, I didn’t notice such a person in my team, I’m truly sorry. Calling the police is just the first step. Like I said before, even if the police can’t find anything, I won’t let it go. I promise you, I’ll get to the bottom of this and give you an explanation.”

Wei Chengli sighed, he didn’t know what to say.

Earlier, during the costume fitting with the other dads, he was told about the incident in the air-raid shelter by a staff member, even though he was repeatedly assured that no one was injured, that Maomao was fine, Wei Chengli’s mind was still racing with anger, anxiety, and pain on his way here. To put it bluntly, he was filled with a burning rage, wanting to incinerate all the bad guys.

But when he arrived, hugged his safe and sound baby, and looked at Shi Dingshan, his face pale, looking twenty years older after just two days, his anger subsided.

Wei Chengli was also a director, a film crew had so many people, where there were people, there were problems, and people’s hearts were unpredictable… Now the one who should be caught was caught, the one who couldn’t be caught for now was chased away, and Shi Dingshan had also expressed his stance, whether it was because of their past friendship or the current situation, Wei Chengli couldn’t bring himself to blame him.

And besides…

Wei Chengli looked down at Cheng Tingyan next to him.

Although there was no evidence yet, not even a testimony, Wei Chengli felt… Cheng Tingyan was the one who needed an explanation the most.

Compared to his own ordinary family, no matter how he thought about it… that rope wasn’t meant for the little chubby dumpling.

Wei Chengli, lost in thought, his gaze lingered on Cheng Tingyan for a moment.

Then Wei Maomao noticed it.

Wei Maomao, afraid that Wei Chengli would blame Cheng Tingyan, her heart skipping a beat, she instinctively patted Wei Chengli’s leg, effectively grabbing his attention.

“Dad!” Wei Maomao said, looking up, her chubby face full of relief. “Dad, Yan Yan discovered the bad guy, Brother and Sister caught the bad guy, otherwise, I, the baby, would have rolled down!”

Wei Chengli: “… “ He didn’t even intend to blame Cheng Tingyan, there was no need for her to blindly defend her like this!

At this moment, Wei Chengli really wanted to borrow Director Shi’s words when complaining about Director Zeng.

“Dad, without Yan Yan, without Brother and Sister, I, the baby… what would I do!” The little chubby one said, covering her chubby face, pretending to be pitiful. “Dad, you wouldn’t have a cute baby… Mmm… Mmm…”

“Shut up, you can say anything, you have no filter, do you!” Wei Chengli said, covering her rambling mouth, exasperated. “I know, I know! Dad will thank Yan Yan, thank Liu Ming, thank Xiao Shi for you! They’re the best!” Were you satisfied now, silly baby!

Wei Maomao, unable to breathe, pinched Wei Chengli’s leg to express her satisfaction.

Wei Chengli’s cries of pain finally broke the awkward silence. Even Shi Dingshan, “forced” to put aside his worries for the moment, looking at Wei Chengli jumping around and grabbing his baby, couldn’t help but chuckle.

But no matter what, the things that needed to be clarified still needed to be clarified.

“For now, we can only handle it this way. The police will keep the investigation confidential for now, the live broadcast is currently paused due to technical issues, at the moment when the children encountered Liu Ming, before they entered that corridor, it didn’t capture the incident inside. Our variety show, such a big project… we can’t just stop it…” Shi Dingshan said with difficulty, he looked at the three victims, mainly Wei Chengli. “I still hope… we can complete this variety show. There definitely won’t be any more air-raid shelter scenarios, and I’ll adjust the tasks and activities, have the dads and babies stay together as much as possible. I know I’ve made this promise before, but after this incident, it probably doesn’t sound very trustworthy…”

“This air-raid shelter treasure hunt, Director Shi canceled it before. It was me, because the laser tag location was canceled, and we couldn’t find a suitable replacement nearby, so I decided to use this place again.” Zeng Huanian said, interrupting softly, then continued, “When Director Shi found out I changed the location, he immediately asked the staff assigned to protect the babies to enter the air-raid shelter. Even if it would affect the live broadcast, he wanted them to be with the babies as soon as possible. Director Shi’s promises are genuine, it was me who messed things up. Director Wei, I’m truly sorry! I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but please don’t take Little Maomao away from the show early.”

After saying that, Zeng Huanian bowed deeply to Wei Chengli.

Wei Chengli, startled, took half a step back.

“Xiao Wei…” Shi Dingshan said, looking at Wei Chengli hesitantly.

Wei Chengli looked down at the little rascal, who had gone to stand next to Cheng Tingyan, he poked her chubby arm. “What do you think?”

“I want to be with Yan Yan!” Wei Maomao said without hesitation, gripping Cheng Tingyan’s cold hand tightly.

Whether it was being questioned earlier, or playing around with Wei Chengli, Wei Maomao, when dealing with the outside world, seemed to be in a daze. In fact, when Cheng Tingyan mentioned the trap in the air-raid shelter, Wei Maomao’s soul had already left her body, and it hadn’t returned yet. Who would have thought that even after being reborn, she almost watched Cheng Tingyan fall into a trap again. If it weren’t for Yan Yan’s alertness, Wei Maomao couldn’t imagine what would have happened. She felt truly useless, so useless that her soul ached.

Perhaps all she could do was to stay with Cheng Tingyan.

The little chubby dumpling, the little chubby bunny, slightly raised her proud little chin, just as determined as every time she said these words before. Neither Wei Chengli nor Cheng Tingyan could see the self-loathing in her little body.

Wei Maomao’s answer didn’t surprise Wei Chengli at all.

“Jin Youliang and those people he brought earlier…” Wei Chengli said, there were still some things he needed to confirm.

Shi Dingshan understood what he meant. “I’ll officially announce Jin Youliang’s dismissal from the show in the staff group chat now, as for those people he brought… The TV station had plans to collaborate with the village from before on a new tourism show, I’ll have them all go back to the village to do research and handle reception, they definitely won’t be coming with us. And for the babies, I’ll also choose some trustworthy people to stay by their side at all times, even during bedtime, there will be someone on night duty at the door!”

Wei Chengli nodded, agreeing with Shi Dingshan’s arrangement.

The biggest issue was more or less resolved, Shi Dingshan then looked at the most important person.

“Yan Yan, you and Maomao encountered this together, but I only called Maomao’s dad… because your dad…” Shi Dingshan said, squatting down and looking at Cheng Tingyan, trying to explain.

“My dad wouldn’t be of any use even if he came.” Cheng Tingyan said, looking at the pale-faced, still-alive Shi Dingshan, she kindly finished his sentence.

“Logically, we should inform the parents. But we all know… that day in the bathroom… right…” Shi Dingshan hesitated, he glanced at the remaining people, only him, Qin Sichao, Wei Chengli, Liu Ming, Shi Hongxiao, and the two little ones, he sighed and continued, “Personally, I don’t think telling your dad would do any good. But if you think it’s necessary…”

“It’s not necessary.” Cheng Tingyan shook her head.

Although there was no concrete evidence yet, Shi Dingshan suspected that the Cheng family was behind all this. Since Cheng Tingyan agreed not to tell Cheng Feiying for now, it was for the best.

“Okay, okay.” Shi Dingshan said, patting Cheng Tingyan’s shoulder with relief.

A six-year-old child’s shoulder, so slender and thin, it made Shi Dingshan’s heart ache even more. His variety show would be over in a few days, but little Yan Yan, she still had to go back and live there. If, after investigating, it was truly the Cheng family…

“Yan Yan, there are no outsiders here, I’ll just say this. You’re cooperating with me now, letting this variety show continue filming smoothly, you’re helping me. If you need any help in the future, come and find me. As long as it’s within my capabilities, I’ll definitely help.” Shi Dingshan said solemnly.

Cheng Tingyan’s eyes lit up slightly, but before she could even speak, someone else spoke up first.

“What a coincidence, there is something now.” Wei Chengli said, finally snapping out of his worry for his baby and remembering the unfinished business from yesterday.

Shi Dingshan, his promise immediately thrown back at his face: “???”

Chapter 144

“??? What’s going on? Why did the screen suddenly go black???”

“All the live broadcast windows are closed? Seriously? The last time this happened was when CEO Mao fell the night before last, did my poor Maomao fall again?!”

“It can’t be, weren’t Yan Yan and CEO Mao just asking about clues to the treasure chests, talking to that staff member named Liu Ming? How could they fall? Did they just collapse on flat ground?”

“The other babies didn’t fall either, and the dads are all doing their makeup, it can’t be them either.”

“There’s a notification! ‘Live broadcast temporarily paused due to technical issues,’ thankfully it’s not because someone is injured. But what kind of technical issue?”

“Is the signal blocked in the air-raid shelter? But that wouldn’t affect the dads’ live broadcast. Is it a system-wide issue?”

“Ahhh, I just want to know when the live broadcast will resume! Yan Yan just got several clues to the treasure chests, I want to see Yan Yan and CEO Mao open them!!!”

…

Unlike the confused and eager viewers in the live broadcast room, Jin Youliang, who had promptly cut off the live feed in the villa’s monitoring room, almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

What the hell!

Was this Cheng Tingyan cursed today!

Couldn’t she run? Couldn’t she see that glowing treasure chest? She was walking even slower than a sixty-year-old grandma!

And that sentence, “There’s a rope on the ground, is it a trap from the program team? But ahead… it’s a slope, are they trying to make us roll down?”

If it weren’t for Wei Maomao’s fall in the bathroom the night before last, and Su Li accidentally shouting it out on Wei Chengli’s live stream, making Shi Dingshan change the live broadcast to a three-minute delay, Cheng Tingyan’s insightful words would have been broadcasted live!

Jin Youliang, his head buzzing, cut off the signal when Cheng Tingyan raised her water gun and shot outside the camera’s view, making the live broadcast freeze at the moment when Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan were talking to Liu Ming, minimizing the impact as much as possible. But Jin Youliang knew very well that this was just a temporary solution. The viewers outside were temporarily fooled, but the staff on site, Zeng Huanian in the air-raid shelter, the footage in those cameras that couldn’t be remotely deleted, and… Shi Dingshan, who would definitely investigate this matter thoroughly… they wouldn’t be so easily fooled.

It was just a six-year-old child, how could she be so sharp as to hit that person with her water gun? As long as that person was smart, dodged in time, and avoided those cameras that claimed to have no blind spots but actually did, they could escape and blend into the crowd. And that rope, the buckle on the other end could be easily removed with a bit of force, they couldn’t possibly not have enough time to retrieve it, right?

Because he cut off the signal from all the cameras, the villa couldn’t receive any more live footage. Jin Youliang could only rely on his imagination, hoping that person was as reliable as he thought.

Ahhh! He had worked so hard, whether it was taking down Shi Dingshan again, diverting Qin Sichao, manipulating Zeng Huanian, or analyzing the little babies’ psychology to design targeted plans, what did he do wrong! He couldn’t be so unlucky that he couldn’t even cover his tracks, right! Jin Youliang, clutching his hair, didn’t want to face his current failure, he didn’t want to think about the upcoming investigation.

But he still had to do something.

Jin Youliang rubbed his face vigorously, he first sent a message to the staff in charge of the live broadcast page, asking them to post an announcement about the technical issue, then he called Zeng Huanian.

He was now a dedicated assistant director who knew nothing about what had happened, but for the sake of the program team’s reputation, he had to cut off the live broadcast when the accident happened!

Jin Youliang tried to calm down, to get into character. But the unanswered call made him increasingly anxious as time passed.

Zeng Huanian… truly wasn’t deliberately not answering the call.

It was just that one thing after another, like hailstones suddenly falling from the sky, hitting him hard and fast, making him dizzy.

Where did the rope come from? What trap? Who was Cheng Tingyan shooting at? How come the monitoring screens suddenly went black? And the live broadcast was also gone?

What was going on over there! Were the babies okay!

Shi Dingshan’s emphasis on safety echoed in Zeng Huanian’s ears, he rushed into the air-raid shelter like a crazed leopard. He didn’t need night vision goggles, he didn’t need a flashlight, he just relied on his memory from the multiple times he scouted the location and charged into the darkness.

In various parts of the air-raid shelter, the babies, unaware of the situation outside, were still shooting their water guns, and the dedicated NPCs were still shaking their broken bowls, sieves, and small balls, waiting for the next customer.

Zeng Huanian rushed past them without even glancing at them, leaving behind a trail of shocked gazes.

Light, darkness, light, darkness, darkness, darkness…

Finally reaching the last dark tunnel, Zeng Huanian saw a flashlight beam in the distance, at roughly the same location where the monitoring screen went black earlier.

But before reaching the light, Zeng Huanian was greeted by a strange, pungent smell.

Zeng Huanian, caught off guard, before he could even feel relieved that the two little babies were standing there unharmed, he couldn’t help but sneeze repeatedly.

“You… Achoo… Are… Achoo… Achoo…” Zeng Huanian said, tears streaming down his face, but his mind suddenly clicked, he was shocked. “What smell… Achoo… Gas leak… Achoo… Leak…”

“It’s my pepper spray, walk forward, towards the upwind direction.”

A muffled female voice came from the corner outside the flashlight beam, startling Zeng Huanian, he looked around in panic. “Achoo… Who!”

Wei Maomao, standing in the upwind direction, kindly turned her wrist, illuminating the… people… a few steps away, partially hidden behind a box.

Zeng Huanian, who had rushed towards the two little babies, never expected to see, wow, there were three other people there!

“Xiao Liu, Xiao Shi… Achoo…” Zeng Huanian said, walking towards the upwind direction, squinting his stinging eyes at the three disheveled figures. “And Xiao Lü? What’s going on? What happened here? Were you fighting?”

Liu Ming, her eyes red and throat sore from using the pepper spray at close range: “… “

Shi Hongxiao, his glasses knocked off and one eye bruised from being overpowered: “… “

Lü Liwei, his face covered in pepper spray, clutching his face, enduring the pain, he had been planning to escape: “… “

Half an hour later…

Unrelated personnel were gradually evacuated, after clearing the air-raid shelter, only Zeng Huanian, Liu Ming, Shi Hongxiao, and Wu Qiao, the strong man who was used to scare the person who bought all of Cheng Rongrong’s vegetables, remained.

Lü Liwei, held down like a chicken by Wu Qiao’s large hand, looked at the green stains on his clothes, then at the rope tightly held by Shi Hongxiao, he had given up on escaping, he was just thinking about how to explain himself when Director Shi, who had sneaked out of the hospital, arrived.

The first to arrive was Jin Youliang, with a few staff members he was close to, they asked about the details while trying to help clean up the air-raid shelter. But Zeng Huanian, specifically instructed by Shi Dingshan and Qin Sichao, stopped them.

Before Jin Youliang could find more excuses, Shi Dingshan and Qin Sichao arrived, followed by… a police car.

Jin Youliang’s eyes widened, he no longer dared to think about destroying the evidence in the cameras, he just frantically winked at Lü Liwei, hoping he would be smart. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if they exposed each other.

Wei Chengli was the last to arrive, the place where the dads were earlier was quite far, he rushed over, worried, and arrived just as they were talking about the two little babies using hair ties to exchange for clues to the treasure chests.

The dark tunnel, the glowing treasure chest on the high platform in the distance, the indistinguishable slope, the taut tripwire on the ground, the pulling force from the person in the darkness trying to retrieve the rope after being caught, the eye contact, the attempt to escape after being discovered, the spray of water to the face, the little girl’s cry of “I caught the bad guy!”, the person rushing over from the darkness, the glasses knocked off by a punch, the attempt to escape again, the pungent pepper spray…

Lü Liwei truly didn’t understand what was wrong with Liu Ming and Shi Hongxiao, it was just a three-year-old child who shouted, how could they blindly believe her and attack him so ruthlessly, without any fear of hurting the wrong person! He had planned his escape route perfectly, he could have retreated safely whether he succeeded or failed. But starting from that water gun… plans never went as expected… These people! Were they crazy!

“I was just an NPC, trying to create some challenges for the little babies.”

“Just trying to scare them, I wouldn’t actually hurt them.”

“It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea, I wanted to make the show more exciting… I didn’t have any ulterior motives…”

“I was too greedy, I also wanted to be someone who could create exciting game segments, I wasn’t content with being an ordinary staff member, I overstepped my boundaries, but I truly didn’t intend to hurt them. Look, they’re fine, right?”

“I didn’t hit Xiao Shi on purpose either, he suddenly rushed over in the darkness, I thought he was a bad guy…”

“Officer, look, my eyes, my face, I’m the one who was injured.”

Although he didn’t have much hope, Lü Liwei still tried to clear his name.

A spur-of-the-moment delusion or a malicious act of collusion, the difference was huge, Lü Liwei naturally wanted to choose the easier path.

Shi Dingshan, after understanding the situation and rushing over, leaned against a rock by the roadside, he didn’t even want to listen to Lü Liwei’s excuses.

“I’m telling you, stop with the nonsense, just confess honestly. Honesty is the best policy, you can choose not to say anything, but if we find out later, it won’t be the same as confessing now.” Shi Dingshan said, annoyed, he took the water bottle Qin Sichao handed him and took a sip, then sneered. “People have reasons for doing bad things. What was your reason? Money? Power? Fame? Love? For yourself, or for someone close to you? Whose secret are you being threatened with? Yours? Or someone you care about?”

“Director Shi, I didn’t, I truly didn’t, it was just a spur-of-the-moment idea to show off…” Lü Liwei said, trying to look sincere as he looked at Shi Dingshan.

“Heh.” Shi Dingshan sneered, he stood up, walked to Lü Liwei’s side, bent down, and whispered in his ear, “How much do you think it’ll cost me to find out? I’m willing to spend my entire fortune, I can even find out who your ancestors were, believe it or not?”

Although he didn’t believe Shi Dingshan would spend his entire fortune, Lü Liwei still couldn’t help but stiffen upon hearing his words.

“Don’t underestimate me, young man.” Shi Dingshan said, patting Lü Liwei’s shoulder. “Did you read the news? My son is someone else’s, I have no son now, only this little bit of career left, you’re trying to ruin my career, you’re trying to kill me, I have nowhere else to spend my money, so I’ll just spend it all on you. Just you wait!”

Lü Liwei’s lips trembled, he forced himself not to look at Jin Youliang, he wanted to be tough and tell the police officer next to him that someone was threatening him. But he… couldn’t say it.

Shi Dingshan’s words were too real.

A man, cuckolded, raising someone else’s son, the whole world knew, he was about to go crazy… And he was still trying to ruin his only career… He admitted, Jin Youliang had his secrets. If he didn’t admit it, Shi Dingshan would find out and expose him… Lü Liwei’s back was covered in cold sweat, he felt like he was doomed.

Shi Dingshan didn’t expect to get him to talk in one go.

After the police finished questioning him and went inside the air-raid shelter to collect evidence, Shi Dingshan had them take Lü Liwei, the footage from the cameras in the shelter, and the rope. Of course, he didn’t forget to make a backup of the footage.

The evidence collection and arrest were all done in front of Jin Youliang.

Jin Youliang, his heart pounding with fear, didn’t dare to say a word, he just stood there obediently, like Zeng Huanian, who was pretending to be remorseful.

Only after the person and the evidence were taken away, and the police car was gone, did Jin Youliang finally relax a little.

Shi Dingshan’s words were harsh, it was normal for Lü Liwei to be scared. But compared to the secrets that had already been exposed, even the scariest person, who hadn’t even started looking for his secrets, was still limited. Jin Youliang believed Lü Liwei would understand this simple logic.

As long as he wasn’t implicated, he still had time, he still had a chance. That anonymous person on the other end of the phone, they were very generous these past two days, Shi Dingshan had money, that person also had money, let them fight.

Jin Youliang was happily daydreaming when Shi Dingshan’s next sentence fired him.

“Xiao Jin, you can take a break from now on. You don’t have to worry about the program anymore, you can leave now, no need to stay with us.” Shi Dingshan said calmly, his tone dismissive, anyone could hear it.

“Director Shi, I don’t understand, this… I’m also responsible for using this location, I didn’t stop Xiao Zeng, I also agreed to use this place. But this Lü Liwei incident… I…” Jin Youliang said, stunned by Shi Dingshan’s sudden dismissal, his words incoherent.

“It’s my responsibility, I was the one who decided to use this place, I was the one who arranged for these staff members…” Zeng Huanian said, stepping forward, admitting his mistakes with a heartbroken expression.

“Zeng Huanian, will you shut up!” Shi Dingshan said, glaring at him, exasperated. “It’s your responsibility, you’re blind, deaf, and your brain is filled with water, do you know why you can still continue working? Because finding a new assistant director now is truly troublesome, there are only a few days left, just be a brainless robot and follow my instructions, from now on, I’m your brain, you do what I say, when I’m not speaking, you’re deaf, blind, and mute, consider this my way of thanking you!”

Zeng Huanian, being treated so harshly by Shi Dingshan for the first time: “… “

“As for you.” Shi Dingshan said, turning to Jin Youliang again. “Zeng Huanian is a fool, I’m not. I’m giving you some face now, letting you leave. Or should I abandon the show right now, go and investigate, then fire you?”

Jin Youliang: “… “

Damn it! Wouldn’t leaving now be admitting guilt! But if he didn’t leave, would Shi Dingshan really give up and start investigating now…

Jin Youliang, caught in a dilemma, his face pale, froze.

“Xiao Jin, Director Shi isn’t feeling well. He’s just saying it casually, don’t take it to heart. Just go along with him, the show is almost over anyway, right? Just consider it a vacation, don’t provoke him, if he collapses, it’ll be your fault. Go back and rest, have a good rest.” Qin Sichao said, his tone gentle, he stood between them, mediating.

His words were meant to smooth things over, but Jin Youliang knew very well that his impression points with Qin Sichao had already hit rock bottom.

But this was the only lifeline offered, Jin Youliang had to take it, whether he wanted to or not.

After saying a few polite but meaningless words, Jin Youliang finally ran away, hurriedly seeking his anonymous teammate.

Chapter 143

Jin Youliang couldn’t understand.

What was wrong with Cheng Tingyan today? According to the plan, the treasure chest with the bunny plush inside would disappear in less than a minute, why wasn’t she hurrying to find it, instead, she was pestering the staff member with questions!

Didn’t she say she loved bunnies the most?

But thankfully, he had a backup plan… Jin Youliang looked at the short, chubby figure holding hands with Cheng Tingyan on the monitoring screen, his eyes narrowed. The treasure chests tailored for them, one of them would surely attract them, right?

As Jin Youliang stared at the screen, his ears perked up, his heart burning with anxiety, he had to endure Zeng Huanian’s endless chatter on the video call.

Just as Jin Youliang’s patience was about to reach its limit, Zeng Huanian finally hung up the phone call he had been on for a while.

“Is Director Shi okay?” Jin Youliang asked, feigning concern, forcing himself to focus.

“He’s okay…” Zeng Huanian said, rubbing his face in frustration, he was squatting outside the air-raid shelter. “Earlier, when we didn’t have a laser tag location, I should have asked Director Shi first…”

“Director Shi is in that condition, you were just trying to help him.” Jin Youliang said, comforting him. “We’re the assistant directors, it’s our responsibility to take charge when the head director is absent, otherwise, what’s the difference between us and ordinary staff members? Director Shi is leading us on this variety show, will he be leading us on every project in the future? We have to learn to handle problems on our own, right? It’s fine, Director Shi said you have me to help you, we made this decision together.”

“Director Shi didn’t really blame me, he just felt that I should have been more careful with the bathroom incident last time, that we shouldn’t film in the air-raid shelter.” Zeng Huanian said, looking at Jin Youliang on the screen gratefully. “How can I let you share the blame? It was my segment that had a problem, and it was my decision to use the abandoned air-raid shelter, it has nothing to do with you.”

Honestly, in the workplace, people in the same position, even if they weren’t openly competing, there was still a sense of rivalry.

Although Zeng Huanian could sense that Shi Dingshan seemed to trust him more and was somewhat dissatisfied with Jin Youliang, when it came to work abilities, Shi Dingshan still acknowledged Jin Youliang’s ideas. Zeng Huanian, how should he put it, he had an average impression of this assistant director he was collaborating with for the first time, they even had some disagreements about filming before. But now, adversity revealed true character… If it weren’t for Jin Youliang helping him with the arrangements and design this morning, they wouldn’t have been able to set up the abandoned air-raid shelter and the game within an hour. And now, Jin Youliang was even willing to stay on the video call with him, overseeing this new project they created together.

He would repay kindness with even greater kindness.

Zeng Huanian wouldn’t be so malicious as to drag Jin Youliang down and share Shi Dingshan’s dissatisfaction with him!

Some people were ambitious, puffing out their chests, ready to take responsibility.

And some people…

“Let’s be discharged.” Shi Dingshan said, hanging up the phone, his brow furrowed so tightly that his forehead hurt.

“If you’re worried, I’ll go back and oversee things for you.” Qin Sichao said, pushing Shi Dingshan, who was about to sit up, back onto the bed. “Just lie down, have you even recovered from this morning? Stay here and be good.”

“I was fine, didn’t I explain it to you? It was just that she suddenly came over, I was so angry that I had a panic attack.” Shi Dingshan said, pushing Qin Sichao’s hand away and sitting up. “Then the doctor came, hooked me up to machines, a group of people came to separate her from me, pushed me away, I didn’t want to see her, so I just went along with it and had another checkup. Xiao Wang, he always overreacts, either being dragged away or rushing to the emergency room…”

Qin Sichao glanced at the closed ward door, annoyed. “Then just stay here, if you go out, she’ll just cling to you even more.”

“No, Xiao Zeng…” Shi Dingshan said, tapping his phone, displeased. “He keeps saying it was his own decision, something feels off. And didn’t you say Xiao Peng asked Jin Youliang if he wanted the same breakfast as yesterday this morning, and he refused? He was so eager to impress you yesterday, spending so much effort, and today he’s suddenly cold, it’s indeed strange.”

“Mmm, Xiao Peng said those things were quite difficult to find, Jin Youliang sent her the message early yesterday morning. At that time, your… ahem, news hadn’t broken yet.” Qin Sichao said, rubbing his forehead. “What kind of assistant directors did you even find? One is so honest and loyal, like he’s waiting to be sold and help count the money, the other is more scheming than a lotus root. I’ve had people investigate those marketing accounts, but it seems they were paid a lot, there are no results yet. Is your Jin Youliang that rich?”

“It’s not just him.” Shi Dingshan said, looking at the ward door with mixed emotions. “That woman, her secrets are still in my hands, how dare she come and talk about getting back together? If it weren’t for that little one I also raised for a few years, I would have sent her to jail in a heartbeat. She was still avoiding my lawyer a few days ago, and today she dares to come here, it doesn’t seem like something she would do.” Shi Dingshan was truly confused, but thinking about all the things that woman had done behind his back, maybe he didn’t know her that well, but her frantic behavior today… There were indeed many suspicious points.

Shi Dingshan couldn’t help but feel that he had fallen into some strange trap… He unconsciously thought of the little chubby paw that opened his gourd pendant. If it weren’t for that paw opening his eyes, he would now…

Shi Dingshan didn’t dare to continue that thought, he got out of bed resolutely. “Whether someone is scheming or not, no matter their intentions, it’s always right to go back.”

Whether it was an accident or intentional, even if he couldn’t figure out the reason or find evidence for now, but… the way to fight against misfortune was to never surrender, to go in the opposite direction of what it wanted.

Just a family scandal, just some entanglement, he wouldn’t be defeated!

Qin Sichao couldn’t understand Shi Dingshan’s sudden fighting spirit, but no matter what, if he wanted to be discharged, he had to start by finding a doctor.

In the end, Shi Dingshan had to temporarily give in to Qin Sichao’s insistence and obediently sat back in bed, waiting for the doctor. After all, he still needed Qin Sichao to deal with the person at the door.

But Shi Dingshan didn’t waste any time, he checked the live broadcast, then started tapping on his phone.

Jin Youliang, who was staring at the monitoring wall, suddenly sensed something was wrong.

“Director Zeng, can you see? Are Cameras 4 and 6 showing staff members wandering around?” Jin Youliang asked, frowning, looking at Zeng Huanian on the video call.

“Yes, I see them. Wait, I’ll ask.” Zeng Huanian said, leaving the camera’s view.

Jin Youliang listened to the rustling sounds and distant voices from the other end, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

But he didn’t have time to worry about those disobedient staff members, because… Cheng Tingyan and the others, they moved.

After using six buttons and nine hair ties… they finally moved.

Jin Youliang was truly speechless…

The buttons were one thing, but they even used hair ties, how could their little brains be so clever!

He should have limited the clues to only be exchangeable for water balloons! It was all Zeng Huanian’s fault, saying they should leave some room for creativity. Was this creativity? This was wasting time! They might as well have asked them to pull out their hair, three strands of hair in exchange for a clue!

What was the point of asking so many questions, what did the other treasure chests have to do with them! And that Wei Maomao… she even wasted time, in the semi-darkness, retying Cheng Tingyan’s hair into a bun that didn’t require so many hair ties. He was almost angered to death!

What were they even doing! The limited-time bunny plush treasure chest had long expired!

Thankfully, he had prepared more than one, just in case.

But even the limited-time ones weren’t found, then the unlimited ones…

Jin Youliang, looking at the two on the monitoring screen, still moving as slow as snails even after getting the clue, slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair in frustration, he wished he could reach into the screen and push them!

Five clues.

Except for one airplane model treasure chest, which required them to backtrack, the other four… the limited-time bunny plush treasure chest, the sea salt nut toffee treasure chest, the ammo refill treasure chest, and the lighting equipment treasure chest… all four were in the direction Cheng Tingyan was originally heading.

If they didn’t consider the “accident” in her previous life, leaving clues to the treasure chests they liked near the little babies’ starting points was quite normal. But considering that “accident,” it was… quite interesting.

It was also a treasure hunt in her previous life, answering questions in exchange for clues. At that time, the six-year-old her didn’t understand these clever tricks, she happily ran in the direction indicated after answering one question correctly.

At that time, it wasn’t a limited-time bunny plush treasure chest.

It was… gold coins.

Truly, they were always manipulating her preferences.

Cheng Tingyan looked at the darkening path ahead.

Many things from her childhood in her previous life had already faded from her memory, but the childish thought of gold coins being exchangeable for money, money being able to cure her mom, and then her energetic rush into the darkness, it was still very clear now that she thought about it.

She was truly… very childish.

“Yan Yan?”

A soft, childish voice pulled Cheng Tingyan out of her sinking thoughts.

“Mmm?” Cheng Tingyan asked, squeezing the little chubby paw in her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Wei Maomao shook her head. Was she mistaken? Just now, Yan Yan seemed…

“Maomao, it’s very dark ahead, can you wait for me here?” Cheng Tingyan asked, stopping at the boundary between the last bit of light and the darkness, she turned to look at a shadow quickly clinging to the wall, camouflaging like a gecko. “You and Sister Mingming wait for me here, I’ll go get the treasure chest.”

“Who?” Wei Maomao asked, turning to look in the direction Cheng Tingyan was looking.

In the shadows, a figure was trembling, trembling, then squatted down.

“Sister Mingming.” Cheng Tingyan said, exposing her ruthlessly. “Stand up, the floor is dirty.”

Liu Ming: “… “

“Sister Mingming, aren’t you outside?” Wei Maomao asked, confused.

Liu Ming, Su Li, and the cameramen were all supposed to be outside the air-raid shelter.

“I… work… work… You guys continue, pretend I’m not here.” Liu Ming whispered, explaining.

What else could she say? She couldn’t say that Director Zeng didn’t assign her a role as an NPC or staff member inside, so she could only stay outside. Then Director Shi gave the order that the staff members assigned to protect the babies should prioritize their safety, regardless of the task, so she could finally come in…

Liu Ming thought she was quick and agile, she didn’t expect to be exposed so quickly.

Wei Maomao was only slightly surprised, then she dismissed it. After all, Liu Ming was a staff member, staff members were everywhere.

But…

“I won’t stay here, we agreed to stay together!” Wei Maomao said, gripping Cheng Tingyan’s slightly cold hand tightly.

What was wrong with Yan Yan today… She kept feeling like she couldn’t hold onto her, like she was about to drift away.

Cheng Tingyan tried to loosen her grip, okay… Her hand was free, but the warm little paw was clinging to her hand like a small clamp.

Mmm, this was the downside of making promises.

Small, steady, even steps, the two little ones, close together, stepped into the dark tunnel.

Liu Ming, putting on the night vision goggles she had just snatched, followed them.

The tunnel wasn’t long, Cheng Tingyan soon saw the treasure chest in the distance. At the end of the tunnel, a glow-in-the-dark treasure chest, emitting a green light in the darkness.

Look, what a thoughtful design. Almost level with the ground, such a large and bright treasure chest, who would have thought there was an inconspicuous slope in between, the treasure chest was placed on a high platform in the distance, creating this visual illusion, making people think it was a flat path.

Reborn, with a twenty-four-year-old’s mind, without the anxiety of needing money, Cheng Tingyan saw through this simple setup instantly.

So…

The difference in their three-year-old legs, with just a slightly wider stride each time, the two, who were walking side by side, became staggered.

Wei Maomao, sensing something was wrong, her short legs trying to catch up, suddenly felt something against her belly, her feet stopped…

“Yan…” Wei Maomao said, startled, grabbing the hand on her belly, they froze in a strange position, their hands clasped together.

But before Wei Maomao could even ask anything, Cheng Tingyan suddenly squatted down, her hand retracting.

“Maomao, don’t move!” Cheng Tingyan said, one hand against the chubby bunny’s belly, the other tightly gripping something her ankle had just touched.

In that instant, the tension in that thing loosened, turning into a pulling force, Cheng Tingyan also twisted her wrist, wrapping it around her hand.

“There’s a rope on the ground, is it a trap from the program team? But ahead… it’s a slope, are they trying to make us roll down?” Cheng Tingyan said clearly, ignoring the pain in her hand from the tightening rope, she followed the direction of the pulling force and easily saw the person hiding behind a wooden box.

Their eyes met, Cheng Tingyan felt the force on the rope weaken.

Trying to run?

Thanks to Wang Zhizhi’s wish, several streams of light green water shot through the darkness, hitting their target after two lifetimes.

Ha, caught you.

Chapter 142

Considering the terrain limitations of the air-raid shelter and the need for more space for the little babies to play laser tag, the cameramen stopped following them, instead, the live broadcast switched between the fixed cameras inside the air-raid shelter.

Most of the cameramen and staff who usually followed the babies stayed outside, only a few entered the shelter, either standing in conspicuous spots, acting as NPCs providing clues to the treasure chests, or hiding in corners, out of the cameras’ view, as backup.

Cheng Tingyan followed a staff member, walking deeper and deeper into the air-raid shelter, after several turns, they finally stopped at what was said to be their starting point… a T-junction.

Along the way, Cheng Tingyan noticed that the setup here was quite different from her previous life. Although the air still had the unavoidable damp and musty smell of earth, both the floor and walls were clean. Perhaps because of the laser tag game, which required cover, there were many more wooden boxes, cloth bags, and standing boards compared to the simple treasure hunt in her previous life. It was clearly well-prepared, not like the… dilapidated remnants and trash… from her previous life.

The interior setup was quite different, but judging from the places they passed by, the open area seemed to be similar to her previous life.

Then… would there be an accident at that spot in this life too?

In her previous life, although it only took a month or two to recover from the fall and walk normally, the doctor at that time said it was just a sprain. But the lingering discomfort when walking, the faint pain during rainy days, the ankle that always swelled up after dance practice… That fall in the air-raid shelter truly caused her years of suffering.

The doctor’s misdiagnosis, her parents’ indifference, her own lack of knowledge, multiple factors turned a problem that could have been resolved quickly into years of pain. And putting aside the later consequences, the origin of it all was indeed here, in this air-raid shelter.

In her previous life, the six-year-old Cheng Tingyan fell while searching for treasures in this air-raid shelter, she rolled down the steps and hit a pile of debris in the corner. When those things fell on her, she instinctively protected her head and face, rolling on the ground, her panicked screams alerted the staff members hiding in the darkness, they turned on their flashlights and rushed over.

The shock and the sharp pain in her ankle made the young Cheng Tingyan just cry, she didn’t even think of looking back at the place where she fell.

Later, when asked what happened, Cheng Tingyan honestly said that she tripped on something and fell. But the program team couldn’t find anything that could have tripped her at the spot where she fell, they just comforted her, saying it was okay even if she was careless, no one would blame her, but she shouldn’t blame the program team for a setup error.

Cheng Tingyan was only six years old at that time, the program team kept saying they wouldn’t blame her but asked her to be honest, and Cheng Feiying, her only parent present, agreed with the program team, he even scolded her on the spot… Cheng Tingyan was young, but she wasn’t stupid, she could tell the difference between tripping on something and losing her balance.

However… the program team showed her the footage.

In the footage, they could see that there was indeed… nothing under Cheng Tingyan’s feet before she fell.

Compared to a six-year-old child’s perception, video evidence was undoubtedly more trustworthy.

And so, the injured Cheng Tingyan was scolded, lectured, then forgiven.

It was just an accident, the entire air-raid shelter segment was edited out, disappearing into the discarded footage, for everyone, it was over.

But for Cheng Tingyan, it was never over.

That clear obstruction in front of her ankle, the obstruction that even caused a moment of pain, how could it not exist, how could it just be her imagination?

The young Cheng Tingyan couldn’t understand it, and she couldn’t forget it.

It wasn’t until she grew up and learned more about the world that she realized videos could be edited, they could be fake.

But that was many years later, finding the discarded footage from a variety show years ago was almost impossible. And logically… if that video was truly edited, it wouldn’t have been kept until she wanted to find it.

Perhaps because she was unwilling to give up, or perhaps because she had some delusional hope of uncovering the truth, after growing up, Cheng Tingyan returned to this air-raid shelter twice. Once, when she was filming in Shudian, she came to take a look during her free time, but the air-raid shelter had been abandoned again, even the door couldn’t be opened. The second time, she came prepared, she found someone to open the door and even got a map of the interior.

At that time, Cheng Tingyan, after so many years, once again stood at the spot where she fell when she was six.

The dusty floor, there was no trace of the past.

That visit, that “accident,” it was still an unsolvable accident.

Who would have thought…

Now, Cheng Tingyan was back… after… a lifetime.

“The last team is in position.” The staff member said, raising his microphone, then turned to the two little ones holding hands. “Later, after I say ‘start,’ you’ll stay here and count to twenty, then you can move freely, use your water guns and water balloons to attack the other children, or look for clues to the treasure chests, do whatever you want. Okay… Start!”

After saying that, the staff member in black retreated, sticking to the wall, becoming part of the backup team hidden in the corners.

“Yan Yan, should we attack others first, or look for the treasure chests?” Wei Maomao asked, seeking Cheng Tingyan’s opinion as she silently counted in her mind.

“Let’s just walk around first?” Cheng Tingyan said, looking to the left of the T-junction.

Thanks to her previous life’s obsession with returning to take another look, she still remembered the layout of this place, they weren’t far from the spot where she fell in her previous life.

She was eager to see it.

“Then let’s just walk around.” Wei Maomao said, always following Yan Yan’s lead. “Yan Yan, I’ve finished counting to twenty, should we go?”

“Let’s go.” Cheng Tingyan said, turning left eagerly, but after taking just one step, she let go of the chubby paw and said, looking down, “The path is narrow, let’s walk one after the other, I’ll go first, you follow behind.”

In this life, the things in this show had changed a lot, Cheng Tingyan wasn’t sure what was ahead, she was willing to take the risk and see for herself, but it was best for this soft and chubby little bunny to maintain a safe distance from the unknown. If it weren’t for their earlier agreement to stay together, even returning one set of equipment to the program team, Cheng Tingyan would have tried to persuade the little chubby bunny to stay away from her for a bit.

Persuasion was impossible, suggestions… would also be immediately rejected.

“I’ll go first, you follow behind.” Wei Maomao said, quickly darting forward, trying to get in front of Cheng Tingyan.

Then in the next second… she was lifted by the back of her collar.

Wei Maomao, afraid of pulling Cheng Tingyan down, didn’t dare to continue running: “… “

Cheng Tingyan, who almost couldn’t hold onto the little chubby bunny: “… “

What else could they do? They could only continue walking forward carefully, hand in hand.

The cool, slender hand and the warm, soft paw were once again clasped tightly together…

The viewers in the live broadcast room were… laughing and crying!

“Hahaha, what’s going on! They started at the same time, the others counted to twenty, CEO Mao and Yan Yan, they only took their first step after sixty counts! At this speed, if this were a battle royale game, they wouldn’t even have opened their parachutes before landing, they would be eliminated instantly!”

“Why ‘just walk around,’ they clearly passed by Yueyue on their way here, hahaha, poor Yueyue, she immediately ran in the opposite direction after counting to twenty, it turns out no one was going to chase her! Poor Yueyue, she ran for nothing, and even encountered Shen Zilin’s pursuit.”

“Wang Zhizhi also encountered Cheng Rongrong, hahaha, bang, a direct hit, this is laser tag! As expected of Wang Zhizhi, who specifically asked to play this, he’s already chasing after Wen Dongyu!”

“Fight, fight, fight! Everyone fight! You two! Although you only have one set of equipment, but one can use the gun, the other can throw the water balloons, doubling the hit rate!”

“The other little babies have already entered the intense battle, chasing and hiding, searching and attacking, while our CEO Mao and Yan Yan, hahaha… holding hands, taking small steps forward, they don’t look like they’re playing laser tag, but minesweeping, hahaha!”

“Help! The treasure chests aren’t on the floor, babies! I can already see the treasure chest, it’s so big, you’ll see it even if you’re not so careful! Did they draw a minesweeper character card, hahaha, their tightly clasped little hands, so cute! I want to take a bite of both of them!”

…

Cheng Tingyan, of course, couldn’t hear a single word from the live broadcast room.

The distant cries of the other babies made her a bit nervous.

If they were caught in the crossfire, they might not be able to properly examine that spot… If the other babies got there first…

Wanting to see that place with her own eyes in this life, worried that other babies might get there first and have an accident, Cheng Tingyan held the little chubby paw tightly, trying to suppress her eagerness, she took small, steady steps.

Just as Cheng Tingyan, looking at the darkening path ahead, was about to have the little chubby bunny put on her night vision goggles, the little chubby paw in her hand suddenly moved.

“Yan Yan, look.” Wei Maomao said, pointing with her paw.

Cheng Tingyan followed her paw and saw a staff member squatting at the entrance of a side path on the right, which she hadn’t noticed, with a broken bowl in front of him.

Her destination was straight ahead, it had nothing to do with the right side.

“Is that the clue to the treasure chest the host mentioned? Should we go and ask?” Wei Maomao asked, tugging at Cheng Tingyan’s hand.

Cheng Tingyan glanced at the little chubby bunny and followed her pull, changing direction.

Okay, they would be quick, just listen, whether they would do it or not was another matter.

“Three items in exchange for a clue to a treasure chest~~” The staff member said, shaking the broken bowl in front of him, welcoming the customers.

Wei Maomao instinctively touched her pocket, uh… she came light, thinking about playing laser tag, she didn’t bring any snacks.

All she had left… Wei Maomao looked at the small bag of water balloons hesitantly.

If she used the water balloons for the exchange, what if a fight broke out before they found any ammo refills, and she didn’t have any water balloons left…

After hesitating for a moment, before Wei Maomao could even ask for Cheng Tingyan’s opinion, she heard a clinking sound, she looked down and saw… three buttons in the broken bowl.

The staff member and Wei Maomao looked up, surprised, at the same time.

“Three. Where’s the clue?” Cheng Tingyan asked, not wanting to disappoint the little chubby bunny, but also not wanting to waste too much time here.

The staff member: “… “ Wasn’t this task about making a choice between existing resources and unknown resources? Shouldn’t they normally choose to give up the three water balloons?

“Yan Yan, you…” Wei Maomao asked, looking around in shock.

“Here.” Cheng Tingyan said, pulling the little chubby bunny, she lifted the corner of her clothes and showed her. “Decorations.”

Wei Maomao let out a long sigh of relief.

The little one, from shock and worry to sudden relief, she was truly… super cute!

Even with so many things on her mind, Cheng Tingyan couldn’t help but gently scratch the little chubby bunny’s nose and chuckle. “You thought I removed the buttons I needed?”

Wei Maomao: “… “

She froze.

This also…

Although they had slept together many times these past few days, why… did this feel… like a special kind of intimacy.

Wei Maomao touched her nose, her ears burning.

“Excuse me, the clue?” Cheng Tingyan asked, after teasing the bunny with a smile, her expression returning to her business-like demeanor as she turned to the staff member.

“Go that way, straight ahead, there’s a limited-time treasure chest with a bunny plush inside.” The staff member said, pointing.

Cheng Tingyan looked in the direction he pointed, it was… the direction she was going.

“What’s a limited-time treasure chest?” Wei Maomao asked, after touching her nose and rubbing her ears.

“It’s… a treasure chest that will disappear if it’s not opened within two minutes, starting from now.” The staff member said with a smile, picking up the buttons in the bowl.

Run, babies!

Towards the treasure chest of fortune!

?

??

???

Time ticked by, the staff member looked at the two little babies in front of him, who hadn’t moved, he kindly reminded them, “The timer has started, why aren’t you going? It’ll disappear after two minutes! Two minutes, two minutes is one hundred and twenty counts, oh, only one hundred counts left… It’ll be gone soon!”

“Yan Yan, we said we would walk slowly.” Wei Maomao said, turning to Cheng Tingyan.

“Mmm, we’ll walk slowly.” Cheng Tingyan said, then reached out and pulled something.

Clink, clink, clink, three more buttons landed in the bowl.

“Three. What’s the clue to the next treasure chest?” Cheng Tingyan asked calmly.

The staff member: “… “

Chapter 141

How long can a person retain consciousness after death?

This was a difficult question to answer accurately due to the lack of substantial reference data and the inability to calculate an average.

Based on Cheng Tingyan’s personal experience, it was about 2-3 minutes.

From excruciating pain to nothingness, it was just a moment, then the screams and panicked voices of the people around her… Based on the average speaking speed of 200 words per minute, she heard them for about two minutes.

Dying in a car accident… wasn’t pretty.

Those surrounding sounds also confirmed how terrible the scene was.

It was ironic, before deciding to meet, Cheng Tingyan had hesitated so much.

Would that person be angry that she hid the fact that she was a public figure?

Would that person mind the “dark history” still lingering on the internet?

Would that person believe that her words were true, not just for sympathy?

Would that person… possibly like her, the way she liked them…

Too much hesitation and uncertainty became procrastination. Year after year, she finally mustered the courage to take this step.

But why couldn’t one know when the final full stop would be drawn!

The sudden ending rendered all her previous patience, struggles, and waiting meaningless!

In the very end, Cheng Tingyan’s wish was… that the person would stand her up, wouldn’t show up, wouldn’t see her current, terrible state.

Of course, Cheng Tingyan soon realized that the wishes of someone who was always disappointed in life wouldn’t be granted even after death.

It was strange.

Her body, no longer feeling any pain, empty, only a sliver of hearing remaining… When that hand reached out, her hand seemed to regain consciousness, she clearly felt the trembling coldness and the desperate grip from the hand holding hers.

Before falling into endless darkness, Cheng Tingyan really wanted to open her eyes and take one last look.

It was that person, right? The person she could finally meet, the person she wanted to have a future with…

Such a pity.

She couldn’t see them anymore.

She didn’t even hear a single sound.

They must be terrified, she was truly sorry… Little Cookie.

Dying young, with unfulfilled ambitions, the pain and regret were like sharp blades piercing her heart and soul, even death couldn’t remove them.

Endless darkness… a bit cold?

A damp… earthy scent?

Footsteps and voices mixed together, slightly noisy, under the fabric pressed against her right hand was a rapidly beating heart, her left hand… seemed to be holding something soft and warm, something that was moving!

The world after death felt so real that Cheng Tingyan was startled, she instinctively let go of her left hand and took a step back.

Mmm? She could still move?

“Okay, okay, it was a power outage!”

An unfamiliar voice, unclear words, came from afar, and with it… a sudden burst of light.

Bright, dazzling, blinding, her delayed senses, carrying the memories of two lifetimes, returned.

“Yan Yan, are you okay?” Wei Maomao asked, one hand shielding her eyes, which were tearing up from the sudden light, the other hand reaching out to the person who had just let go of her hand.

“… “ Cheng Tingyan, biting her lip, swallowed her unspoken panic, she forced herself to speak calmly, “I’m fine.”

A childish, soft voice, with a girl’s clarity.

The voice coming from her own mouth sounded so unfamiliar yet familiar… Just like the memories that were suddenly stuffed into her mind.

Cheng Tingyan felt that she… had been reborn?

Was it… true?

Usually, memories faded with time.

Just like a twenty-four-year-old, recalling things from before they were six, except for the deeply ingrained ones, the rest should have faded with time.

The Cheng Tingyan from before was like that too.

But the current Cheng Tingyan was clearly different.

The things she had long forgotten from before she was six, big and small, important and insignificant, she remembered many of them.

She could confirm that those were indeed things she had experienced.

Except…

The life that should have been a straight line had forked before she returned.

Before the fork, her clear memories were the same as what she had experienced in her previous life.

The fork was a few days before the official filming of “Where’s Baby Going” Season 3, when the program team announced the addition of two families and changed the format from pre-recorded to live broadcast.

After the fork, everything was vastly different from her previous life.

Shi Dingshan was fine, Jin Youliang didn’t become the head director, he was still an assistant director, they added two families, changed it to live broadcast, the locations and tasks were all different…

Cheng Rongrong didn’t become the beloved little sister, Shen Zilin and Wen Dongyu didn’t treat Cheng Rongrong differently, always by her side, Wen Jiangyue wasn’t discouraged by comparison, and she… wasn’t isolated, wasn’t hated, she even got along well with the other children?

In her previous life, when Cheng Tingyan was reading scripts, she had also seen some about rebirth. The protagonists in those stories would always be reborn at a crucial point in their past, then they would change their lives, make up for their regrets, and walk a new and better path.

Back in the light, this air-raid shelter looked much cleaner than in her previous life, the setup was also very different.

But it was still the same shelter, and the task… half of it was still the same.

Cheng Tingyan admitted that this time and place was indeed a crucial point in her previous life. But… Why now? Those bad days, she had already overcome them, what she wanted now wasn’t to change her childhood, but…

Cheng Tingyan, realizing when she had returned to, only wanted to go back to the few minutes before that car accident, just a few minutes of change, and she could end that long wait.

From now until she met Little Cookie, wouldn’t it be another ten years?

Why bother!

She had only walked on this forked path for a little over a week, before Cheng Tingyan could even process it, the massive influx of new information made her dizzy.

But the thought of being reborn was just a fleeting moment, the feeling of unfamiliarity with the memories was just a brief instant.

Ink dropped into water, only for a moment could one see the darkness entering the clear water, then it dispersed, becoming one with the water, no longer distinguishable, as if it had always been like this.

The soft, warm, and comforting collision was her embrace.

The childish, soft-spoken words of justice were to defend her from injustice.

The diligent chubby hands, scattering blessing after blessing of cilantro for her.

The puffed-up cheeks were from eating the food she didn’t like, the food others gave her.

She shared a bowl of unappetizing mush, the roughness of the pig tooth when she snatched back the little chubby bunny’s foot still lingered in her hand, they exposed the scam together, sold candied tomatoes and cucumbers together, worked together, and together… planned her future.

That was the boundless starlight she, the six-year-old her who had somehow walked onto a different path, received.

That was the peace and happiness the six-year-old her couldn’t even imagine.

No, that was the miraculous little chubby bunny the six-year-old her had!

The memories of a little over a week merged into the sea of her twenty-four-year memories, like ink in water, inseparable.

“It suddenly went dark just now, I was startled and let go of your hand, did I scare you?” Cheng Tingyan asked softly, taking a step to the left, gently holding the little chubby paw that she had let go of earlier, thinking she had died.

Wei Maomao shook her head. She wasn’t sure, during the few seconds when the lights came back on, that seemingly unfamiliar Yan Yan, was it just her imagination? It should be… It was the familiar Yan Yan again now.

Obedient, soft, warm… Almost instantly, a sense of peace filled her heart, Cheng Tingyan, whose mind had just caught up with her body, instinctively tightened her grip on the little chubby paw.

It was this warmth that could temporarily suppress even the most intense resentment and anger.

At this point in time, there were indeed things she could do.

Cheng Tingyan glanced at the little chubby bunny, whose hand she was holding tightly.

A person’s life, it couldn’t just deviate without a reason, right? The different path she had taken before this moment, why?

Was it… because someone else had been reborn before her?

Was it Shi Dingshan, who changed the locations, tasks, and even the format of the show, and was still the head director?

Was it Wang Qingchuan, who suddenly joined the show? Or Wei Chengli?

Was it Qin Sichao, who didn’t appear in her previous life, but seemed to be part of the crew this time? Or Jiang Heye? Ni Jinyan?

There were too many suspects who deviated from her previous life’s trajectory, now that the power was back on, and the staff were urging them to continue with the task, Cheng Tingyan didn’t have time to think.

Anyway…

Cheng Tingyan naturally squeezed the little chubby paw in her hand, this bed-wetting cutie could be ruled out, Wang Zhizhi, who was so excited about playing laser tag that he almost jumped to the ceiling… he didn’t seem like it either.

Actually, the person Cheng Tingyan suspected the most was Wei Chengli.

This forked path she was on, it was smooth and safe, a completely different kind of happiness compared to the hardships of her previous life. The person who was willing to change her life must have good intentions.

Among these suspects, the only one she had some interaction with in her previous life was Wei Chengli, whom she had chatted with a few times on set.

And during this time, the one who had been protecting her, standing up for her, was this little chubby bunny from the Wei family.

Then it was highly likely that Wei Chengli was the one who taught her to help, that’s why she kept saying “My dad said…”

The more Cheng Tingyan thought about it, the more it made sense, she couldn’t help but tighten her grip on the chubby paw. It must have been hard on you, little baby, still wetting the bed, and already having to fight bad people for other children…

It was fine now, she was back, she could do it herself.

Now, it was her turn to protect the little chubby bunny.

Whether the person who returned first and helped her was Wei Chengli or not, she had been taught by him a few times in her previous life, and she had received so much kindness from this little chubby bunny in this life, she would definitely try her best to prevent the accident a few years later that would make them lose their loved ones.

But now…

She would start by exposing this “accident.”

For the viewers in the live broadcast room, the few new windows on the live stream page, showing the babies’ movements inside the air-raid shelter from different fixed camera angles, it was just because of a sudden power outage that switched them to night vision mode, for less than a minute.

No one knew that during that less than a minute, a soul from the future had returned.

Bai Lei, who was drinking red wine and watching the live broadcast early in the morning, her face full of anticipation for a good show, naturally didn’t know either.

Looking at the two little ones, hand in hand, being led deeper and deeper into the air-raid shelter by the staff, Bai Lei chuckled and finished the red wine in her glass in one gulp.

There was even a power outage, making her worry that the plan would be ruined.

Thankfully, it was still going according to plan.

Bai Lei put down her wine glass, she impatiently answered the phone next to her, which had been ringing for a while, while keeping her eyes on the live broadcast.

“What?” Bai Lei asked, annoyed.

Zhang Jin, on the other end of the phone, was speechless, his tone also worsened. “What do you mean ‘what’? Who was the one who kept calling me yesterday, asking me to arrange a meeting? And now you’re asking me ‘what’? Liu Qiongfang is available to meet at noon today, she has mobility issues, I booked a private room at the restaurant downstairs from her place, it’s almost noon now, and you’re only answering the…”

“Oh, right now, it’s not convenient.” Bai Lei said, refilling her wine glass, she looked at the two little ones on the screen, who had been led to their starting positions by the staff and were about to start their laser tag and treasure hunt, she smiled. “You tried to arrange a meeting all day yesterday and couldn’t give me a definite answer, I thought you had other plans.” And I also have other plans now.

“What do you mean?” Zhang Jin asked, frowning. “You don’t want to clear Cheng Feiying’s name anymore? You’re not meeting Liu Qiongfang?”

“Meet… I still have to meet her.” Bai Lei said slowly. “But not now, I also have important things to watch… Mmm, to do. How about this, this afternoon, if she’s still in the mood.”

After saying that, Bai Lei sneered and hung up the phone.

Yes, if Liu Qiongfang was still in the mood after seeing her daughter in the same state, ha.

Chapter 140

It was the fourth day of the “Where’s Baby Going” Season 3 live broadcast in Shudian.

On the evening of the first day, they settled into the villa area near Shudian. On the morning of the second day, the babies visited the dance academy that Cheng Rongrong wanted to see, and in the evening, they went to the night market that Shen Zilin wanted to visit. On the afternoon of the third day, although the inflatable pool in the courtyard was a bit simple, Wen Dongyu, who wanted to go to a water park, still had a great time, and in the evening, at the amusement park that Wen Jiangyue wanted to visit, they created many beautiful memories and made promises for the future.

The places the little babies wanted to go, they had visited them one by one.

Now, it was Wang Zhizhi’s turn, he wanted to go to a laser tag arena.

And finally, the smooth-sailing arrangements encountered an obstacle.

“It’s not even the weekend, how is business so good!” Zeng Huanian said, his head starting to ache as he looked at the messages from the other staff members on his phone, all saying that the laser tag places nearby were fully booked.

“Maybe they think our business is too small, only booking the smallest area. How about this, tell them to book a bigger area, the biggest, the more the merrier?” Jin Youliang said, offering a solution, then sighed. “Tell them to hurry up, the guests have already finished breakfast.”

Zeng Huanian, his head lowered, frantically sent messages, then shook his head after a while. “No, even if we offer to book the entire place, it’s still not possible, they all said they’re fully booked.”

“It’s just using water guns, just get them a few water guns and let them play in the courtyard, children don’t even know what laser tag is, right?” Jin Youliang said kindly.

“But Wang Zhizhi…” Zeng Huanian said, glancing at Wang Zhizhi’s live broadcast window on the monitoring wall, the little boy was excitedly talking about laser tag with the other babies. “Yesterday’s water park, that was unavoidable, we couldn’t do a live broadcast in such a crowded place, and we couldn’t move it to midnight and clear the area, so we had to find a substitute. But turning Wang Zhizhi’s wish into a simple water gun fight is a bit too…”

“Right, it’s a bit too disrespectful of the little baby’s wish. Our show is called ‘Where’s Baby Going,’ if we keep doing things so poorly, it’ll be like ‘Tricking the Babies.’” Jin Youliang said, subtly criticizing, then continued, “Then… how about moving the laser tag to tomorrow? We can rearrange tomorrow’s schedule.”

Zeng Huanian shook his head even more vigorously. “We’re going to the fourth location the day after tomorrow, tomorrow’s activities need to be prepared today, we can’t swap them with today’s!”

“Sigh, this is truly troublesome, we just need a room with many obstacles. But there’s nothing we can do without a suitable location, we can only disappoint Wang Zhizhi for now. We’ll see if there’s a chance to make it up to him at the fourth location, but I don’t think it’s likely, that place…” Jin Youliang said, secretly glancing at Zeng Huanian, whose face was becoming increasingly pale, he was annoyed that even after hinting so much, this guy was still clueless, but he softened his tone, subtly adding more persuasive words to his comfort. “So many babies’ wishes were fulfilled smoothly before, only Wang Zhizhi’s couldn’t be, there’s nothing we can do if he’s sad. It’s all about timing and fate, just consider it a lesson from reality, let him grow up early, life isn’t always smooth-sailing. Just look at you, those two projects you designed, the one about experiencing the entire process of making and selling snacks in Yinye Village, you spent a lot of time on it, right? But in the end, we didn’t even go to Yinye Village. And the treasure hunt in the air-raid shelter, it was originally scheduled for this afternoon, you even went scouting several times at night, cleaned it up, set it up, even found the camera positions, then, one notification the night before, and it was canceled. Wang Zhizhi’s little setback, compared to your wasted efforts, it’s nothing.”

“Wang Zhizhi is still young, he… Mmm?” Zeng Huanian, who had been casually responding to Jin Youliang while frantically tapping on his phone, suddenly looked up.

Jin Youliang, looking at the sudden spark of realization in Zeng Huanian’s eyes, chuckled inwardly, it seemed that repeatedly emphasizing certain keywords had finally knocked some sense into this blockhead.

“That air-raid shelter…” Zeng Huanian said excitedly, looking at Jin Youliang. “If we remove the treasure chests and puzzles, and turn on the lights, then the air-raid shelter can be used as a laser tag arena! There are enough paths and obstacles, and I’ve already designed the camera positions, we can also cancel the cameramen following them, like at the actual laser tag place, to give the babies more freedom!”

“Right! Why didn’t I think of that!” Jin Youliang exclaimed, slapping his hand. “I think we don’t even need to remove the treasure chests and puzzles, wouldn’t it be even more interesting to have them play laser tag while solving puzzles and finding treasures!”

“But Director Shi canceled this project because he felt some of the paths were too dark, even with flashlights, it wasn’t safe enough…” Zeng Huanian said, his expression darkening again. “If we block off those paths, the space would be too small…”

Jin Youliang smiled. “It’s because of Wei Maomao’s fall, right? Didn’t Director Qin already explain yesterday, it was probably an accident, or maybe some child was being mischievous. And to be mischievous, they would need to be in a familiar place, use familiar things, and plan in advance. A three-and-a-half-year-old brain, how could she possibly come up with a scheme in an unfamiliar place? And besides, there were no cameras in the bathroom, but in your air-raid shelter, wouldn’t there be cameras everywhere? How would she dare to do anything?”

It had to be said that Jin Youliang’s words resonated with Zeng Huanian.

“I’ll ask Director Shi…” Zeng Huanian said, his heart tempted, but he still didn’t dare to make such a big change to the project on his own.

“Director Shi…” Jin Youliang said, handing his phone to Zeng Huanian with a troubled expression, he pointed at his private chat window with Xiao Wang. “Director Qin left to see Director Shi this morning, I just found out something happened.”

[Jin: How’s Director Shi? Can he come back today? Will you guys come back on your own, or should we send a car to pick you up?]

[Wang: He can’t come back! Help! ‘Link: Shi Dingshan’s wife causes a scene at the hospital, variety show director rushed to emergency again’! It’s trending! Why isn’t Director Qin here yet! Has he left? Director Shi’s wife is terrifying! If Director Qin doesn’t come soon, I can’t handle it anymore, I’m going to die, ahhh!]

[Jin: … He’s already on his way, don’t worry about anyone else, just take good care of Director Shi! It’ll be fine once Director Qin arrives!]

[Wang: I’ll try my best, I’m so scared! Crying!]

…

Zeng Huanian’s vision went black, he almost dropped Jin Youliang’s phone.

“The situation over there isn’t good, it’s just the two of us now, we have to help Director Shi keep this show running.” Jin Youliang said, patting Zeng Huanian’s shoulder.

The dads and babies had separate tasks today.

The dads had to complete a mysterious task assigned by the program team, while the babies were going to play the laser tag that Wang Zhizhi had been looking forward to.

Even though the host had made it clear that the baby version of laser tag used very safe water guns with weak force, small water balloons, and even demonstrated their safety in front of the dads, it still looked like a pretend play version for babies, but Wei Chengli… still didn’t want to be separated from his chubby baby!

For this, Wei Chengli even broke the rules again, finding an opportunity to secretly remove his microphone and avoid the camera, he grabbed a staff member and asked if there was any way to change it.

However… there wasn’t.

The mysterious task for the dads was actually to go to Shudian for costume fittings and rehearsals for tomorrow’s live-action role-playing game… If he didn’t participate properly, he would become the worst dad tomorrow… directly affecting his adorable little chubby dumpling’s gaming experience tomorrow.

In the end… they were still separated.

The dads were taken to Shudian in a van first, the babies waited at the villa for almost an hour before they were also taken away.

The car ride wasn’t long, but the destination was quite surprising.

Wei Maomao looked at the dark entrance of the air-raid shelter ahead, like the gaping maw of an abyss, she had to use all her willpower to stop herself from pulling Cheng Tingyan and running back to chase the van that had just left.

“Babies, don’t be afraid, it’s not completely dark inside, there are lights in many places!” The host said with a smile, looking at the little babies, their faces tense, he waved his hand behind him.

Suddenly, lights turned on inside the cave-like structure.

From the outside, it just looked like a simple tunnel, not scary at all.

“Now, let’s talk about the rules of today’s game.” The host said, taking out a large piece of paper and starting to read. “This used to be an air-raid shelter, today, we’ve transformed it into a game area that combines live-action laser tag and a treasure hunt. Many areas have lights, some paths require you to find the light switches yourselves, and some areas have no lights at all. But don’t worry, babies, your equipment includes night vision goggles, you can see clearly in the darkness with them. And you’ll have a chance to get flashlights from the treasure chests inside. Besides the night vision goggles, each baby will also receive a water gun filled with water, two small water bottles for refilling, and five small water balloons. The water in the water guns, bottles, and balloons will be different colors for each baby. And before entering, you’ll also have to wear the white clothes we prepared, so we can see the colors clearly during the laser tag game.”

As the host explained, the staff handed each baby a small box.

Wei Maomao looked down at the water gun in her box, with a little bunny drawn on it, filled with orange water, then at the water gun in front of Cheng Tingyan, with a small flower drawn on it, filled with light green water.

They were truly thoughtful, but she still felt resistant.

“Next, let’s talk about the scoring rules for the laser tag game. For… mmm, let’s take our little friend Wang Zhizhi as an example, the purple water he has, whether it’s from the water gun or the water balloons, each hit on a baby earns him one point, but repeated hits on the same baby before they change their white clothes don’t count. And the white clothes you’re wearing, if you’re hit by all six other colors, then you’re out, you have to come to the entrance, change into a clean white shirt, and then you can continue playing. After an hour and a half, we’ll tally the number of colors on each baby’s clothes to determine the ranking for this laser tag game. The winner will get a priority clue for tomorrow’s mysterious activity. And one more important thing, besides the initial water and water balloons we provide, you’ll need to find ammo vouchers inside to refill your ammunition.” The host said, pointing at the air-raid shelter. “This air-raid shelter, besides being a laser tag arena, also has multiple hidden treasure chests, with various goodies inside, including ammo vouchers, flashlights, vouchers for redeeming various treasures, so besides attacking and hiding, everyone should also search carefully.”

Wei Maomao secretly glanced around, the other babies’ faces were full of excitement. Especially Wang Zhizhi, he looked like he couldn’t wait to rush in.

There would be dark areas, it didn’t sound very safe.

Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan, who was also barely concealing her anticipation, hesitantly.

At this moment, the host continued, “The treasures include various snacks and toys, considering that our babies can’t read yet, they’re all pictures, each one is a real photo of the actual item! And there are also multiple staff members inside who can provide clues to the treasure chests, the hidden treasure chests found through their clues will have even bigger rewards! A little hint for you, there are limited-edition dinosaur toys, an army of toy soldiers, a Sudoku set, a giant bunny plush taller than a baby, and many other goodies you’ll definitely love.”

Okay…

Wei Maomao understood what Cheng Tingyan’s suddenly brighter eyes meant.

There was no air-raid shelter in the show in her previous life, no laser tag, no treasure hunt. Wei Maomao wasn’t sure if the accident in her previous life was the one in the bathroom, she also wasn’t sure if this place was safe… A dark place, it just sounded…

“Maomao, do you want me to help you put them on?” Cheng Tingyan asked, picking up the night vision goggles that Wei Maomao had been holding.

“It’s bright here, I’ll wear them when it gets dark.” Wei Maomao said, then asked tentatively, “Yan Yan, do you want to go in?”

“Mmm?” Cheng Tingyan asked softly. “You don’t want to go in? Are you scared? We won’t go if you’re scared.”

Cheng Tingyan’s decision was quick, so quick that Wei Maomao had to look closely to notice the fleeting disappointment in her eyes between her initial surprise and her gentle smile.

Playing water guns with good friends, wearing cool equipment, plus a well-designed treasure hunt and truly interesting prizes… It was something even the six-year-old Yan Yan couldn’t resist.

The little babies were led into the air-raid shelter one by one by the staff, starting at different locations.

But Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan were the last to enter, and they insisted on staying together. To ensure fairness, Wei Maomao handed over her water gun and water balloons. This way, they wouldn’t create a bug where they couldn’t be hit by the other babies because they weren’t shooting at each other and didn’t have to change their clothes. Sharing one set of water gun and ammunition was also fair to the other babies.

“Yan Yan, let’s hold hands and not separate, take small steps, don’t run, okay?” Wei Maomao said, confirming with Cheng Tingyan again, standing at the entrance of the air-raid shelter.

Being hit a few times, how many times, it didn’t matter. It was all about… participation. Don’t take risks for the ranking, just have fun, the most important thing was safety… and staying away from Cheng Rongrong.

“Mmm.” Cheng Tingyan nodded again, promising. “I won’t run, I’ll protect you, Maomao, don’t be afraid.”

Taking small steps, stepping firmly, avoiding dark areas before finding a flashlight, it should… be safe, right?

Wei Maomao, feeling a bit uneasy, took a small step forward and entered the air-raid shelter.

Next to her, Cheng Tingyan also took a step, crossing…

The boundary between two lifetimes.

Chapter 139

Many years later, Wen Dongyu had celebrated his birthday many times, but when asked which birthday was the most memorable, he would always think of the day he turned six.

At that time, he was still on the variety show “Where’s Baby Going,” his dad used all his saved Daddy Coins to exchange for a large plate of mini cheesecakes for him. The little cakes were piled up like a small mountain, a small aromatherapy candle in the shape of a disc was lit on top, and his dad sang him a Happy Birthday song in a low voice.

It was supposed to be a secret birthday, a special intimacy between father and son… with a slight regret that he couldn’t celebrate with his friends.

However, just as Wen Dongyu took his first bite of the cheesecake, before he could even taste it, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

Years later, Wen Dongyu could still clearly remember how his mind went blank when he heard the knock, how guilty he felt, and how, after his dad asked who it was and Shen Zilin’s voice came from outside, he foolishly shoved the entire cheesecake into his mouth… Then he choked, his eyes rolled back, he almost died at the age of six.

Here, he had to mention his dad.

Wen Xiang, a famous singer, after singing a truly beautiful Happy Birthday song to his six-year-old son, less than three minutes later, when unexpected guests arrived at the door, he panicked like a startled rabbit, carrying the plate of cakes and frantically searching for a hiding spot. He completely forgot about his earlier words, saying that they could share these individually packaged mini cheesecakes with the other children as ordinary cakes. And he… didn’t even notice that his foolish son, who had just swallowed a whole cheesecake, was choking and about to meet their ancestors.

And so…

The son was outside, clutching his chest and jumping around, while the father hid the cakes in the bathroom.

No matter how much time passed, Wen Dongyu wanted to give his six-year-old self a thumbs up. If he hadn’t quickly given up on relying on his unreliable dad and decisively crawled to open the door, he might not be here today.

His Boss, his CEO, they were always the most reliable people in the world!

One saw at first glance that he was choking and gave him the correct instructions and demonstration, the other immediately took action and performed the… oh no, not violence, but first aid.

Who would have thought, by the time the Heimlich maneuver took effect, his dad finally came out of the bathroom, panicked, and was accurately hit by the cheesecake he spat out…

Being late and being absent made no difference at this point.

As for how he, after surviving this ordeal, hugged the birthday gifts his friends gave him and cried like a fifty-pound piglet… Ahem, he wouldn’t mention it anymore.

What was the point of a smooth-sailing life? It was the ups and downs, the near-death experiences, that made life precious.

“From today onwards, we’re sworn siblings, closer than blood brothers! Brother, sister, sister! Thank you for your love! I will love you forever!” The six-year-old Wen Dongyu said, hugging his pig-themed gift set, tears streaming down his face, his heartfelt words loud and clear.

Wei Maomao, a bit dizzy from the forceful demonstration, was knocked into Cheng Tingyan’s arms by the thunderous cry.

Putting aside the fact that half-siblings couldn’t be “closer than blood brothers,” who would want to be sworn siblings with this unlucky child who almost choked to death on a cheesecake!

Anyway…

Shen Zilin didn’t want to.

“You’re my employee, this…” Shen Zilin said, pointing at the Lego pig that Wen Dongyu was clutching tightly. “This isn’t love, it’s your employee benefit. Call me Boss, not Brother.”

“Ahem, he watched some TV dramas with me last night, he’s just using some new words…” Wen Xiang said weakly, explaining.

But his voice, weak as it was, didn’t match the strength of his arms as he hugged his son tightly.

Words of gratitude, he had already said them countless times after figuring out what that cake splattered on him was about. Wen Xiang couldn’t even imagine, if Wen Dongyu hadn’t opened the door, if… After all, he didn’t even know the Heimlich maneuver!

Even now, Wen Xiang, holding his son, still felt a sense of unreality, facing his son’s saviors, he was naturally humbled.

The incident happened suddenly, although it was resolved quickly, the aftermath was still strong.

The little babies, huddled together, sat in a row on one bed, watching the scene on the bed across from them, an adult holding a child, the child clutching his toys, a heartwarming sight.

Overall, there wasn’t much birthday joy, only the relief of surviving a near-death experience.

Cheng Rongrong barged in at this moment.

Damn it… The alarm clock she had gotten from Su Li last night, she clearly placed it on the bedside table before bed, but when she woke up this morning, it was on the floor! She didn’t even hear it go off, it was obvious who knocked it down while sleeping!

Thankfully, she didn’t manage to go downstairs on time, but she still caught up.

“Wen Dongyu, happy…” Cheng Rongrong’s words caught in her throat as Wen Dongyu looked up at her.

His eyes were red and puffy from crying, there was no trace of happiness.

Wasn’t he… celebrating his birthday?

Cheng Rongrong looked at the pig toys piled up in front of Wen Dongyu, suspicious.

Could it be… he didn’t like pigs?

That’s right, Wen Dongyu, who was still obsessed with collecting dinosaurs in the original novel, even in his twenties, with a whole wall filled with limited-edition dinosaur toys, how could he easily fall in love with some stupid pig?

Thankfully, she was prepared.

“This is for you.” Cheng Rongrong said, handing the limited-edition Lego dinosaur to Wen Dongyu, she glanced at the pig toys in front of him and chuckled. “They all gave you pigs, I couldn’t find any good ones, so I got you this dinosaur, happy birthday!”

“Thank you.” Wen Dongyu said politely.

But after taking the dinosaur, Wen Dongyu placed it among the pig toys and looked at them… Mmm, as expected, only his sworn siblings were true family!

Cheng Rongrong, unaware of the earlier incident, and unaware of Wen Dongyu’s current thoughts, felt proud of herself for getting a 100% while everyone else only got 59%. Looking at the listless little babies, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority.

If it weren’t for Shen Zilin’s meddling and suggesting they celebrate Wen Dongyu’s birthday, she would be the only one celebrating his birthday, the special one he would remember! But now, it didn’t matter, only her carefully prepared gift was truly what he wanted!

At this moment, Cheng Rongrong was full of ambition, completely unaware that in the future, Wen Dongyu would have a whole wall filled with pig toys.

Cheng Rongrong’s smugness, the others might not have noticed or didn’t care, but Wei Maomao… couldn’t help but think a bit more.

This Lego dinosaur… Wei Maomao didn’t remember seeing Cheng Rongrong bring it back from the night market. They were still sharing a room at that time, she couldn’t possibly have missed such a large toy. And that day at the amusement park, they were all together, she shouldn’t have gotten it then either. Which meant, she must have prepared it before Shen Zilin mentioned it that night.

Of course, every family had received Wen Dongyu’s information, it was normal for the Cheng family, like Shen Zilin, to convert the solar calendar date to the lunar calendar.

Then… Cheng Rongrong might have also brought this Lego dinosaur to Wen Dongyu’s birthday in her previous life.

Speaking of which, in the show in her previous life, Cheng Rongrong had a good relationship with Wen Dongyu and Shen Zilin from the beginning, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed to have stayed at the level of ordinary friendship between children for many episodes, then later, at the end of the third or fourth location, it was Wen Dongyu who first became her “right-hand man,” then Shen Zilin… Ah, she couldn’t remember clearly, although she had watched the third season of “Where’s Baby Going” many times in her previous life, it was only to watch Cheng Tingyan, those who weren’t very nice to Yan Yan… she didn’t like them, let alone analyze them in detail.

In the show in her previous life, Wen Dongyu, Shen Zilin, and Cheng Rongrong had a good relationship, but they were quite distant at the beginning, at least not as close as the current stable… employer-employee relationship. And Wen Dongyu didn’t have that miserable period of wandering…

Based on Shen Zilin’s personality, would he have gathered all the babies to celebrate Wen Dongyu’s birthday in her previous life?

Wei Maomao thought it was very unlikely.

Then… if it was just Cheng Rongrong…

When a group of people were playing together, and only one person secretly remembered your birthday, secretly disobeyed the assistant director to celebrate with you, for a child…

She understood.

That was a true half-sister!

If that was the case… it wasn’t surprising that Wen Dongyu became Cheng Rongrong’s right-hand man later.

Of course, this was just Wei Maomao’s speculation. No matter what happened in her previous life, in this life… Wei Maomao glanced at Wen Dongyu, who was playing with the Lego pig again, he definitely loved pigs more in this life. And if he didn’t, then see ya!

The little babies didn’t stay in the Wen family’s room for too long, they came right before the live broadcast started, Zeng Huanian soon came up to remind them, and they dispersed.

Shen Zilin hurried back to his room, but he was a step too late, Shen Jianghe’s cameraman was already in position, filming…

Was it Shen Jianghe who told Wen Dongyu not to celebrate his birthday… He, who never wanted to mention his mom…

He had already drawn cards with Mom for him, but… was it still… not enough…

Shen Zilin’s eyes darkened.

He could only… ask him later.

Some things could be asked later. But some things couldn’t be delayed.

On the monitoring wall, many screens were showing the hall on the first floor of the guest villa.

On this morning when the live broadcast hadn’t started early, the guests had just finished breakfast, and the host was announcing the activities for the morning.

Zeng Huanian, squatting in a corner outside the group of staff, received a phone call at this moment, then ran back to the villa next door.

“Just you? Where’s Director Qin?” Zeng Huanian asked, pushing open the door of the monitoring room, only Jin Youliang was inside.

Just you? Just you? One after another, they all said this when they barged in, what, was he, Jin Youliang, not worthy of being in charge here?

Jin Youliang’s hand, gripping the armrest of his chair, tightened, he suppressed his annoyance and didn’t answer, instead, he picked up the water bottle next to him and asked with concern, “Why are you in such a hurry? Have some water first…”

“No, thanks.” Zeng Huanian said, glancing around, the empty monitoring room, there was no Qin Sichao to be found, it was truly just him and Jin Youliang now. “The laser tag place we booked, they said they have a large, private booking, they can’t accommodate our small group.”

“What!” Jin Youliang said, seemingly furious, he stood up abruptly. “We already announced the activity schedule on the live broadcast, and now there’s a problem with the location? How can they break the contract!”

“They said they’re willing to compensate us according to the contract…” Zeng Huanian said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “They even asked us to pity them, saying it’s not easy for them to do business, not to attack them online…”

“Heh…” Jin Youliang sneered. “Are we that kind of unscrupulous variety show? Attacking them online just because the collaboration fell through? It’s their loss for losing us! They have no foresight.”

Zeng Huanian looked down at his phone. “I’ve already asked the team to look for other laser tag places nearby, anyway, we have our own equipment, we just need a small space for the babies to play, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a replacement. The key is his phone call, even if it had come a few minutes earlier! As long as the host hadn’t announced it, we would have had more time to make arrangements.”

How could it come a few minutes earlier…

Jin Youliang looked at the monitoring wall, this timing was perfect.

Chapter 138

The early bird gets the worm.

On this new day, before the cameraman started filming, Wei Chengli, worried about Shi Dingshan’s condition, woke up early and secretly went to the villa next door. The good news was that Shi Dingshan was stable overnight, his vital signs had stabilized. The bad news was that the doctor wouldn’t let him be discharged today, he insisted on keeping him under observation for another day.

Anyway, as long as he was fine, everything else could be dealt with later.

Wei Chengli, relieved, quietly returned to the villa and went upstairs, he thought he was quick and quiet, completely unnoticed. But he didn’t know that in the hall on the first floor, which he passed twice, someone watched him leave and return.

“Uncle Wen came down earlier, I wonder if Wen Dongyu is awake yet. Now Uncle Wei is also up, Maomao and Yan Yan should be coming down soon, right?” Wang Zhizhi said, trying to transform his Transformer toy, he examined it, feeling something was wrong, he turned to Shen Zilin, who was building with Legos. “Did I do it wrong? Why doesn’t it look like a pig trotter…”

“It’s best if he doesn’t wake up, we still have a while, it’ll be troublesome if he comes down early. Sigh, I was too sleepy yesterday, I didn’t finish building… Yan Yan and Maomao, one gave me a pig plush, the other gave me a pig candy jar, we don’t have to make gifts, we can come down later.” Shen Zilin said, putting down his Legos, he took the Transformer with one hand, and pulled the instruction manual closer to Wang Zhizhi with the other, he frowned like a mini adult, examined it for a moment, then swiftly twisted it twice and returned it to Wang Zhizhi. “There, you twisted the bottom part the wrong way.”

“It’s so hard.” Wang Zhizhi said, yawning widely. “It would be great if we were still living together, you could help me at night, we wouldn’t have to wake up so early.”

“If we were still living together, we would have to sneak out.” Shen Zilin said, continuing to build with his Legos. “Yours has pictures, just look carefully before transforming it, it won’t be difficult.”

“That’s true.” Wang Zhizhi said, glancing at the pile of Lego pieces in front of Shen Zilin. “Yours is even harder without the instructions.”

Shen Zilin, swiftly changing the pieces, finally built a somewhat satisfactory nose for the pig head in his hand, just as he was about to reply, he heard soft footsteps coming from the stairs again.

They both pursed their lips, even their hands stopped moving.

Wang Zhizhi craned his neck to look towards the stairs and saw a bright pink figure appear at the top.

“It’s Yueyue.” Wang Zhizhi said, relieved, he stood up and waved.

Wen Jiangyue hurried over and showed them the limp, half-deflated pig balloon in her hand with a wry smile. “It was still fine last night, but it became like this this morning…”

“It’s okay, just blow it up, it’ll be…” Wang Zhizhi said, but before he could finish his sentence, they heard more footsteps coming from the stairs.

Sleeping later than usual last night, and waking up so early today, Wei Maomao was truly, super sleepy. If it weren’t for Cheng Tingyan’s diligent wake-up service this morning, even tickling her feet, she wouldn’t have been able to wake up. Now, meeting her friends, Wei Maomao glanced at the pig head Shen Zilin had just built, then at the unfinished Transformer pig in Wang Zhizhi’s hand, calculating that she could still sleep for another ten minutes, she closed her eyes and leaned her head on Cheng Tingyan’s shoulder.

“Ah…” Wen Jiangyue couldn’t help but gasp softly.

“It’s okay, it was already almost deflated, should I help you blow it up?” Shen Zilin asked, looking up at the completely deflated pig balloon in Wen Jiangyue’s hand.

“I’ll blow it up myself…” Wen Jiangyue said, taking a deep breath, holding the balloon’s opening.

Wei Maomao, about to drift back into dreamland, felt a buzzing sound by her ear, she sensed something was wrong, but her sleepy brain couldn’t process it.

Struggle, struggle!

Wei Maomao forced her eyes open and saw Wen Jiangyue about to blow into the balloon.

Her sleepiness was instantly chased away by her alertness.

“No!”

Wei Maomao shouted, dodging like a chubby bunny, her hand reaching out to stop her at the same time.

Wen Jiangyue’s blowing missed the balloon and landed on a chubby paw instead.

“This balloon is big, don’t blow it with your mouth. We’re little babies, we can’t blow that much air.” Wei Maomao said, patting her chest, still shaken after successfully preventing a dangerous incident.

Cheng Tingyan silently pulled back the little chubby paw, she gently stroked the back of her hand, stroked it, and stroked it again…

“Then should we take turns blowing it?” Wang Zhizhi suggested.

“No.” Wei Maomao said firmly, refusing. “Dangerous.”

She had seen it online in her previous life, young children blowing up balloons, unsanitary conditions and skin allergies were minor issues, in severe cases, there was even a risk of capillary rupture. And if the balloon exploded, it would be even more dangerous, so close to the face, it could injure the eyes, and inhaling the fragments could cause suffocation. There was nothing good about it.

Although Wei Maomao couldn’t explain it professionally with her three-year-old vocabulary, she had to stop them.

“But it’s completely deflated.” Wen Jiangyue said, annoyed. “I shouldn’t have opened it, there was still some air inside earlier.”

“Yesterday, at the swimming pool outside, I saw the staff deflating the balloons when they were putting them away.” Cheng Tingyan said, after thinking for a moment. “Do they have that inflating thing? I’ve seen it on the street, a barrel-like thing, you connect it and it blows up the balloons.”

“Then… many people will know, what if…” Wen Jiangyue said hesitantly.

“It’s okay, we’ll just go after we inflate it, no one will have time to tell Wen Dongyu, it’ll still be a surprise.” Shen Zilin said, his hands moving quickly as he built his Lego pig. “Wait, after I finish building this, we’ll go find someone to inflate it.”

“My Transformer pig isn’t finished yet…” Wang Zhizhi said, wiping his forehead, he was sweating from twisting the pieces. “It’s so hard, I should have just gotten him a pig bun!”

“It’s useless even if you knew, the pig buns were too far away, you couldn’t reach them with the ring toss.” Shen Zilin said, finding time to reply.

Cheng Tingyan moved closer, glanced at the Transformer instructions, and asked hesitantly, “Do you want me to help you?”

In the next second, the twisted and messy Transformer was in her hand.

“Hero! My gratitude knows no bounds!” Wang Zhizhi said, bowing gratefully, then slumped back onto the sofa, exhausted.

Cheng Tingyan: “… “

“Then should I sort the pieces for you? If I put the same ones together, would it be easier for you?” Wen Jiangyue asked, squatting next to Shen Zilin, extending her hand in friendship, speeding up the progress of the Lego pig.

The three of them were busy working at the small coffee table.

Wang Zhizhi, after resting for a while, felt a bit guilty. But just as he sat up, wanting to help, he saw Wei Maomao, asleep, buried in the pile of pillows on the other side of the sofa.

Mmm… Wang Zhizhi relaxed and leaned back, feeling justified.

Those who are more capable should do more.

Cheng Tingyan quickly fixed the Transformer pig, then squatted next to Shen Zilin, helping him find the right pig trotters.

When they finally finished both gifts, they heard voices from outside the villa, the staff were starting to arrive.

Perfect timing, Wen Jiangyue’s balloon pig could finally be inflated.

“No, don’t film.” Shen Zilin said, rejecting Zeng Huanian’s request to film while they were waiting for the balloon to be inflated. “We just want to give him a surprise, we don’t want to be filmed.”

Zeng Huanian scratched his head, feeling a bit frustrated. “Filming and giving him a surprise, they don’t conflict. It’s a good thing, you little babies, thinking of giving your friend a birthday gift, it’s so meaningful, we’ll film it for you, you can watch it when you grow up.”

“No.” Wang Zhizhi shook his head. “We want him to have a happy birthday, filming it would be weird.”

“Why would it be weird? It’s cute.” Zeng Huanian tried to persuade them again. “Yan Yan, Maomao, Yueyue, what do you think?”

Wei Maomao didn’t mind, but she could understand Shen Zilin and the others.

It was just good friends, sincerely wanting another friend to be happy on their birthday, receiving gifts. They just wanted to do it privately, they felt that being filmed would make it seem insincere.

It was that night, after arriving at the villa, after the live broadcast ended, after the cameras and microphones were turned off, after they turned off the lights in their room, Shen Zilin came over secretly and told them about Wen Dongyu’s birthday.

Wei Maomao had read the information provided by the program team before coming to the show, she didn’t think anyone had a birthday during these few days. And in her previous life, Wen Dongyu didn’t celebrate his birthday on the show either… Wei Maomao thought Shen Zilin had remembered it wrong, but he said… the information was based on the solar calendar, he calculated it based on the lunar calendar.

He was truly… very thoughtful.

According to Shen Zilin, Wen Dongyu had been unhappy for a long time in the village. Although he seemed to be getting along well with Wen Xiang these past few days, but since it was his birthday, maybe they could make him even happier. They secretly discussed it, they didn’t know what Wen Dongyu usually liked, but after observing him these past few days, he seemed to like Wen Xixi the most. So they decided to give him a pig-themed gift set.

The Lego set, the Transformer, and the pig plush were won from the ring toss at the night market the day before yesterday, the pig balloon and the pig candy jar were bought at the amusement park yesterday. It’s just that the schedule was a bit tight these past few days, Shen Zilin and Wang Zhizhi couldn’t work on the gifts while filming, and they were too sleepy to work when they weren’t filming, so they had to wake up early this morning to finish them.

After keeping it a secret for so long, after working so hard, now that they were at the final step, who would listen to Zeng Huanian?

Even Wen Jiangyue, who was staring at the balloon being inflated, found time to warn Zeng Huanian, “Uncle, it’s not time to wake up yet, you can’t secretly film us.”

What else could Zeng Huanian say? He wasn’t Jin Youliang, he truly… couldn’t bring himself to secretly turn on the camera. He could only watch as the little ones, each holding a gift, went upstairs.

Mmm…

What? Something seemed wrong? Zeng Huanian scratched his head… What was wrong…

Wang Zhizhi, who was walking at the front, stopped at the top of the stairs to the second floor, he hesitated, then looked back and whispered, “Uncle Wen came downstairs earlier, they’re not still sleeping, are they?”

“No, it’s almost time for the live broadcast.” Shen Zilin said confidently, then looked at the others. “Later, when Wang Zhizhi knocks on the door, we’ll stand by the door, hold onto our gifts, don’t drop them.”

The little babies all nodded.

“Hey…” Wen Jiangyue, who had been struggling internally, finally couldn’t ignore her conscience, she said as Wang Zhizhi was about to continue walking, “Don’t you guys think we’re forgetting something?”

“What?” Shen Zilin asked, he immediately checked the Lego pig in his hand, one, two, three, four, okay, all four pig trotters were there.

“Cheng Rongrong…” Wen Jiangyue finally said the name she didn’t want to mention.

The person who framed her, she would never be friends with her again.

But…

When Shen Zilin first came to their room and talked about giving gifts, Cheng Rongrong was also involved. They didn’t wait for her now… Wouldn’t it be bad…

“Oh, we told her the meeting time. She didn’t come.” Wang Zhizhi said casually.

“If she couldn’t get up, she can give it to him later.” Shen Zilin said indifferently.

“Yueyue, you’re truly such a good person…” Wei Maomao said, she couldn’t help but comment, using her three-year-old vocabulary. She was the one who was framed! And Yueyue still remembered to include her! Unacceptable, unacceptable!

Wen Jiangyue immediately understood Wei Maomao’s meaning, she blushed and looked at Cheng Tingyan.

“If we don’t hurry, the balloon will deflate again.” Cheng Tingyan said, looking at the pig balloon in Wen Jiangyue’s hand seriously.

“… “ Wen Jiangyue quickly changed her stance and urged them, “Hurry, hurry, let’s go!”

The other three pairs of eyes all looked at Cheng Tingyan with admiration.

They quietly walked to the door of the Wen family’s bedroom, two of them stood by the walls on each side, Wang Zhizhi stood at the door.

But before he could even knock, they all heard a voice coming from inside.

A soft but clear… singing of “Happy Birthday”…

Wang Zhizhi’s eyes widened, he looked at the left, then at the right, helplessly, only to receive a unanimous shake of their heads.

The dad was singing Happy Birthday to his son, interrupting now wouldn’t be a surprise, it would be rude.

Wang Zhizhi, accepting their advice, retracted his hand, deciding to wait, wait until the singing was over before knocking.

However, after the singing ended, it wasn’t over, it was like a runaway wild horse, heading in a direction they never expected.

“Baby, happy birthday! Blow out the candles, then eat the cake. Isn’t Dad amazing? I used my Daddy Coins to exchange for your favorite cheesecake. It’s just that it’s so early, there are no freshly made cakes, so we can only eat these pre-packaged mini cheesecakes. When we get back, Dad will buy you two more.”

“Dad is amazing! You got me so many mini cheesecakes, can I share them with the other kids, let them eat my birthday cake with me?”

“Yes, you can, but you can’t tell them it’s your birthday cake.”

“I remember, that director uncle said that Shen Zilin’s mom passed away on the day he was born, so I can’t celebrate my birthday on the show, Uncle Shen and Shen Zilin would be sad.”

“Right, baby, you have a good memory. So don’t tell them it’s your birthday cake, just share it with them as an ordinary cake. You guys always share food anyway, just be natural.”

“Mmm! The director uncle also said we shouldn’t mention Mom too much. I just wanted my toy back and mentioned Mom, right? I don’t remember… I miss Mom a little…”

“We’ll go home after the filming, Mom is waiting for us at home…”

…

The people inside the room chatted endlessly.

While outside… they were frozen.

Shen Zilin’s face darkened, his gaze sweeping over the few people outside the door, he asked in a low voice, “Did a director tell you not to mention Mom?”

No one answered.

Shen Zilin stared at Wang Zhizhi.

Wang Zhizhi raised his hands in surrender, took two steps back, then whispered, “Yes… Sorry, I forgot. I mentioned it a few times… When Cheng Rongrong…”

Shen Zilin didn’t wait for Wang Zhizhi to finish his explanation, he turned to Wen Jiangyue.

Wen Jiangyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. “Assistant Director Jin told us when he came to our house.”

Shen Zilin looked at the other two, who were just one door away, they both shook their heads.

“Assistant Director Zeng came to our house.” Wei Maomao mouthed to Shen Zilin.

“No one told me.” Cheng Tingyan said, after a pause. “They rarely talk to me, I didn’t know anyone came before I came here.”

Wei Maomao thought for a moment, she walked to Shen Zilin’s side quietly. “Everyone downstairs saw us coming up. We should still knock.”

Things had come to this, even if they retreated now, the people inside would eventually know they were here. Coming up but not knocking would only… confirm that they had heard everything.

Shen Zilin understood this logic.

“I’ll do it.” Shen Zilin said, taking a step towards the bedroom door, he knocked gently three times with his knuckles.

At the same time, in the villa next door, the door of the monitoring room was pushed open forcefully.

“Just you?” Qin Sichao asked, looking at Jin Youliang, who was already at his station in the monitoring room, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Xiao Zeng is in the other villa, setting up for filming.” Jin Youliang said kindly. “Are you looking for him, Director Qin? Should I call him over?”

“No need.” Qin Sichao said, his gaze sweeping over the empty coffee table. “I’m going to the hospital to see Lao Shan, the porridge and the cake yesterday were quite delicious, who bought them?”

“Xiao Peng prepared them, she’s the girl in charge of logistics.” Jin Youliang said, taking out his phone. “Director Qin, are you planning to bring some for Director Shi? I’ll ask her to prepare some now.”

Qin Sichao waved his hand. “You focus on your work, no need to worry about my things, just give me her WeChat, I’ll ask her myself later if I need anything.”

Jin Youliang, of course, had no objections.

Seeing that Qin Sichao got Xiao Peng’s WeChat and left without saying anything more, the gentle smile on Jin Youliang’s face instantly vanished.

Jin Youliang clenched his phone, feeling a bit frustrated.

But frustration aside, thinking about the large sum of money he received last night, he still had to continue.

It was interesting, he had initially thought that person was just all talk, digging up his past and telling him about Shi Dingshan’s secrets. He didn’t expect them to actually be willing to pay this time, and even promised to help him get sponsors for his own show in the future. He didn’t care about the sponsors, but the money was real, it had been deposited into his account. Although he had spent some of it on carrying out the plan, the remaining amount was still considerable.

It seemed that person truly hated Cheng Tingyan.

Originally, with Shi Dingshan being kept at the hospital, he had at least another day to impress Qin Sichao. But because of that unknown person, now, he had to carry out the plan today, forget about impressing him, he might even be suspected. He hoped everything would go smoothly…

But Jin Youliang didn’t know that even before he took action, he was already being suspected.

Qin Sichao hurriedly got into the car, the person named Xiao Peng still hadn’t replied to his message.

He didn’t know if he was being paranoid, asking so many questions.

He just felt that the coffee table, whether it was meticulously prepared yesterday or completely empty today, it… felt like a premonition.