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

Chapter 105

The little chubby menace barging into their house and questioning why he was feeding Cheng Tingyan mushrooms, it had just happened a few days ago, not that long ago, and Cheng Feiying wasn’t that old yet. After hearing her words, he finally realized what was going on.

“Maomao…” Cheng Feiying tried to make his expression more amicable. “Are you implying that I was wrong to feed Cheng… Yan Yan mushrooms last time by using cilantro? Your idea is very creative, but it’s wrong. Think about it, mushrooms are so nutritious, cilantro is just a garnish for flavor, with or without it, the nutritional value of a dish wouldn’t change much. Even if I don’t eat cilantro, my nutrition wouldn’t be unbalanced.”

“Uncle Cheng, I don’t know what ‘implying’ means.” Wei Maomao said, twisting her wrist and stirring the pot of green, then looked at Cheng Feiying seriously. “Uncle Cheng, don’t you know? Cilantro contains more vitamin C and A than most vegetables, it’s very good for blood vessels, heart, kidneys, and eyes, it’s a very, very nutritious vegetable. It can also stimulate appetite and make people eat more, isn’t cilantro amazing! Uncle Cheng, you should eat a big bowl later to nourish yourself, don’t think I’m wrong just because I’m not giving you what you want, it’s all for your own good~~~”

After adding more cilantro to the boiling pot, the smell in the surroundings seemed to have intensified several times. Cheng Feiying, trying to control his urge to gag, felt like he was at his limit. If it weren’t for the live broadcast, he wouldn’t be wasting his breath reasoning with a three-year-old little menace, he would have told her to get out with that pot of cilantro!

But after he explained his reasoning, that little menace could actually counter him with even better reasoning… It was unbelievable.

What vitamin C, vitamin A, what blood vessels… Did she even know what those were? And stimulating appetite… Could a three-year-old little menace even understand those words?

This little menace putting so much cilantro in the pot, it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, it was directed at him! But how did she know… Cheng Feiying remembered, that day, Wen Jiangyue had asked all the dads what they didn’t like to eat… He really wanted to go back in time and cover his own mouth!

“No one eats a big bowl of cilantro for breakfast… I don’t need to nourish myself. Yan Yan is still growing, she’s the one who needs balanced nutrition. I’m an adult, I have enough nutrition!” Cheng Feiying quickly refused, then immediately changed the subject. “You two are here, Yan Yan, where’s your sister?”

“She went out, she said she’ll be back later.” Cheng Tingyan answered concisely.

“Where did she go? Such a small child, running around so early in the morning, doesn’t she know her dad would be worried?” Cheng Feiying said, hinting at something, then looked at Wei Maomao. Just as he was about to politely ask her to leave, he saw that little menace suddenly smile at him sweetly.

Cute, but definitely up to no good!

“Mao…” Cheng Feiying quickly said.

“Uncle Cheng, your new baby doesn’t know what’s good or bad, we, as new parents, have to help you decide, we’ve decided on today’s breakfast, it’ll be ready soon!” Wei Maomao said quickly, her words flowing without any pauses, she waved at the group of staff. “It’s done! Turn off the fire!”

Cheng Feiying, bombarded by familiar phrases, looked at the staff member who was walking towards them, he was furious.

Just now, when he asked them to empty the pot, they pretended to be deaf. But as soon as this little menace called, they came running. What? Now that he was a baby, he had no human rights?

“Uncle Cheng, Yan Yan has been eating mushrooms for a long time, she’s your role model, you should also be her role model.” Wei Maomao said, climbing down from the stool, glancing at Cheng Feiying. “My dad said, people who are strict with others but lenient with themselves won’t have any friends. Uncle Cheng, you’re not that kind of person, right? It’s pitiful to have no friends!”

Pitiful my ass!

Cheng Feiying looked at the pot, which was mostly cilantro with barely any noodles, ugh, ugh, ugh, he would never eat it, even if he died!

“I’m going to find Rongrong. Running around all day, not at home, not considerate of her parent at all.” Cheng Feiying said, changing the subject, deciding to completely ignore Wei Maomao and the cilantro.

He didn’t believe it, if he didn’t say anything and ignored them, could that little menace force-feed him cilantro!

Of course, Wei Maomao couldn’t. It was just cilantro, it would be satisfying if Cheng Feiying ate it. But him not eating it was more in line with their plan.

See, a person who only knew how to lecture children, who kept feeding his child mushrooms she didn’t like, when he encountered something he didn’t like, he just made excuses and ran away, how hypocritical.

Cheng Feiying, saying he was going to find Cheng Rongrong, immediately walked towards the door, as if afraid of being stopped, practically running away in panic. But before he could even reach the gate, Cheng Rongrong came back.

“Where did you go?” Cheng Feiying and Cheng Rongrong bumped into each other at the gate, his escape plan failed, his tone was naturally not very good. But when he saw what Cheng Rongrong was holding in her hand, his attitude changed. “You even brought back food.”

Cheng Feiying looked at the plate in Cheng Rongrong’s hand, it was two potato pancakes.

Heh, who wanted to eat cilantro soup! He still had another daughter.

“Mmm… Wang Zhizhi gave it to me.” Cheng Rongrong said cautiously, glancing at Cheng Feiying, after all, he had complained about her always going to the Wang family’s house last night.

“Good, Zhizhi is a good kid.” Cheng Feiying took the plate from Cheng Rongrong and walked towards the stove, showing it off.

“I asked Sister Su Li to make congee with preserved egg and lean meat this morning, I gave some to Zhizhi and the others.” Cheng Rongrong, smelling the even stronger cilantro scent in the courtyard compared to when she left, could roughly guess why Cheng Feiying was praising Wang Zhizhi. Compared to that pot of cilantro, she, who brought back normal food, must be a good daughter in his eyes, no wonder he didn’t even care where she had been.

It had to be said, Cheng Rongrong understood Cheng Feiying quite well.

Hearing Cheng Rongrong’s words, Cheng Feiying immediately turned around and asked, “You gave some away, is there any left at home?”

“Yes, it’s in the insulated container in the living room.” Cheng Rongrong said with a smile.

“Good, good, good, I came out in a hurry, I didn’t see it.” Cheng Feiying praised repeatedly, holding the plate with one hand, freeing the other to rub Cheng Rongrong’s head. “Rongrong is amazing.” Potato pancakes with preserved egg and lean meat congee, very good, very good.

Although Bai Lei wasn’t here, Cheng Rongrong had gradually seen through Cheng Feiying’s true nature, but receiving her dad’s praise still made her happy.

Cheng Tingyan, she was truly stupid.

The program team asked her to play the role of Cheng Feiying, and she actually took it seriously.

What use was it even if she could use cilantro to get back at him temporarily? Could the program team let her keep acting like this?

She could only act for one or two days at most, and Cheng Feiying might not even cooperate with her act, like with this pot of cilantro, would he actually eat it?

Someone as petty as Cheng Feiying, they wouldn’t even need her and Bai Lei to instigate it, he would find ways to make her life miserable every day.

And this Wei Maomao, bringing a whole basket of cilantro, she didn’t know if she was helping Cheng Tingyan or harming her.

They were truly one stupider than the other.

But they had chatted for so long in the bedroom last night, it seemed to have been useless.

“Maomao, aren’t you going home for breakfast?” Cheng Feiying placed the plate on the stove, specifically moving it to a spot where Wei Maomao could see it clearly, then said with a smile, “Go back early, your dad must be lonely at home alone.”

“Uncle Cheng, are you going to have breakfast?” Wei Maomao, ignoring Cheng Feiying’s question, asked directly.

“Yes, I’m going to wash my hands, then have breakfast.” Cheng Feiying touched the edge of the plate he had just brought over. “Rongrong brought back potato pancakes.”

Have some sense! Other people were already eating breakfast, why was she still lingering!

She truly… wasn’t leaving.

Cheng Feiying went to the sink to wash his hands, but Wei Maomao quickly rushed to Su Li, who was among the staff behind Cheng Rongrong.

“Sister Su Li, Uncle Cheng is going to have breakfast.” Wei Maomao said, looking up innocently.

Su Li gave Wei Maomao an “OK” gesture and swiftly entered the house.

Cheng Feiying heard the rustling sounds behind him, he was now very wary of this little menace, he quickly finished washing his hands and turned around.

The little menace was still there.

Annoying.

At this moment, Su Li came out of the house, carrying a rather large container. Cheng Feiying’s attention was immediately drawn to it, he even forgot to continue shooing the chubby girl away.

Su Li placed the container on the stove and opened it.

The lunchbox, divided into two compartments, one side contained congee with preserved egg and lean meat, while the other side was empty…

“No!” Before Cheng Feiying could even react to the empty compartment, a spoonful of green, ominous-looking stuff descended from the sky.

He had already seen it, it was already descending, it was too late to say no.

One spoonful, another spoonful, and another.

Cheng Feiying watched helplessly as the empty compartment of the lunchbox was filled with cilantro by Wei Maomao.

Yes, it was full of cilantro, barely any other ingredients.

A pot of tomato, egg, and cilantro noodles, this little menace specifically used the ladle to skim the surface, what could she possibly scoop up besides the cilantro floating on top!

Whatever… He wasn’t going to eat it anyway.

Cheng Feiying gritted his teeth, pretending not to see the few drops of cilantro soup that had dripped onto the congee with preserved egg and lean meat.

Fine, he would eat the pancakes! Cheng Feiying looked at the two palm-sized potato pancakes on the plate, even if he couldn’t eat his fill, it was better than throwing up!

Even though he said that, when Cheng Feiying sat down at the table, the container with the soup was still brought over by Su Li and placed in front of him.

Cheng Feiying pretended not to see it, he turned to Cheng Rongrong, who was sitting next to him, her bowl empty. “Where’s your breakfast?”

“I took it to Zhizhi’s house, we ate together there.” Cheng Rongrong said softly, glancing at the green soup in front of Cheng Feiying.

“What about you?” Cheng Feiying asked, frowning at Cheng Tingyan.

“I’ve eaten…” Cheng Tingyan said faintly.

“She ate the mush I made!” Wei Maomao added, then chuckled. “Uncle Cheng, I’ve also eaten, you eat it yourself, it’s all yours!”

Cheng Feiying: “… “ Who asked you! Who cares what you ate! He wanted to ask, was this all the food they had left in the house!

It truly… was…

After receiving confirmation from Cheng Rongrong, Cheng Feiying looked at the container of mess and the two potato pancakes in front of him, he didn’t even have the energy to sigh.

Forget about eating, just smelling it made him…

“Uncle Cheng, I washed the cilantro this morning, it’s very fresh.” Wei Maomao said, sitting down across from Cheng Feiying as if she owned the place. “Uncle, eat more, there’s more in the pot.”

Cheng Feiying: “… “

He wanted to go home!

Right now!

No… He should…

Cheng Feiying looked at the smug little menace in front of him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He should go and ask the program team to end this ridiculous role swap!

Of course, he couldn’t do it alone, he had to find more people to join him!

Chapter 104

Wang Qingchuan felt like he had encountered the worst luck in eight lifetimes when he met this woman who called herself Wang Qingbei.

It was already annoying enough that she and Wang Zhizhi were ganging up on him at home with their so-called equal distribution, and now she was actually faking an injury!

God knows how startled he was when he opened the door and found a living person sitting there.

Before he could even speak, she played the victim, shouting loudly, “Brother, why did you push me!”

Heaven and earth could bear witness, he had one hand on the doorknob and the other hand on his chest, trying to calm his startled heart, where did he get a third hand to push her!

In a normal world, the truth should become clearer with more discussion. But this Wang Qingbei, today, it was like she had eaten lard and lost her mind. Wang Qingchuan tried to reason with her, but she acted deaf, completely ignoring him, refusing to get up, just sitting there and accusing him of pushing her.

The commotion at the door quickly attracted Wang Zhizhi, who was cooking in the courtyard with the staff.

“You were sitting here when I opened the door, you scared me, and I didn’t even say anything, how can you accuse me of pushing you!” Wang Qingchuan said angrily, looking at Wang Qingbei, who was pretending to rub her leg on the ground. “Get up and talk properly!”

“Brother, you pushed me!” Jiang Heye said, looking up with tears in her eyes. “You’re mean!”

Wang Qingchuan: “… “ He was truly speechless, even with a child present, this Wang Qingbei could still lie to his face, even crying, it was unbelievable…

“Beibei, does it hurt?” Wang Zhizhi squatted down, glanced at Wang Qingbei’s reddened knee, then turned and shouted at the group of staff, “Brother Li Mu, let’s take Beibei to see a doctor.”

Mmm? There’s no need… Jiang Heye was taken aback, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill.

“Wang Zhizhi, are you stupid? Does she look like she needs to see a doctor? I’m the one who needs to see a doctor! You two are going to be the death of me!” Wang Qingchuan grabbed Wang Zhizhi, who was squatting, and lifted him up, shouting, “I! Didn’t! Push! Her!”

Wang Zhizhi pursed his lips, not saying anything, but his gaze, fixed on Wang Qingbei’s knee, was still full of concern.

Yesterday afternoon, during Li Mu’s training, they had done many Q&As and hypothetical scenarios. Wang Zhizhi remembered one of them: “When you and your sister have a conflict, what does your dad do?”

Wang Zhizhi didn’t know what “conflict” meant, Li Mu said that if his sister was older, the conflict could be an argument, a fight, a difference of opinion, or a clash of interests. But since his sister was still young, it was probably when he and his sister had different needs, or when only one of them could be satisfied at the same time, what would his dad say and do?

After Li Mu explained it, Wang Zhizhi understood.

What would he say and do…

“Your sister is still young and needs to sleep more, can you walk more quietly? Take off your shoes!”

“Don’t always go to your mom, your sister is sleeping with Mom, she won’t be able to sleep if you go there!”

“This is your sister’s milk powder, you’re so old, you still want to drink milk? The food is on the table, eat it yourself.”

“We’re going to buy clothes for your sister today, no time for the toy store, I’ll take you next time. What do you mean we agreed? Why are you being unreasonable? We can buy toys any day, what if your sister doesn’t have clothes to wear? What do you mean there are so many? Children’s clothes, no matter how many, it’s never enough!”

“What’s wrong with your sister wanting to play with your jar? She’s your sister, can’t she even play with your jar? Not to mention rolling your jar around, even if she rolled all your things around, you’re the older brother, you have to give in to her.”

“Go play somewhere else, you’re clumsy, you’ll bump into your sister.”

“Why is your sister crying? Did you go and provoke her? I told you to be quiet, not to go there when she’s sleeping? You’re talking back? If you didn’t provoke her, would she be crying like this?”

…

And so on, Wang Zhizhi couldn’t summarize it, but according to Li Mu’s request, he could at least imitate it.

And yesterday, Li Mu also said that when Wang Zhizhi played the role of Wang Qingchuan, there would also be conflicts in their family that needed his intervention. At that time, Wang Zhizhi just had to resolve them according to Wang Qingchuan’s usual approach.

Wang Zhizhi had thought…

Maybe it would be something like Dad waking up Beibei, something like that.

How come… her knee was bruised?

Li Mu, reluctantly, came out from the group of staff and stood next to them, he pretended to examine the red mark on Jiang Heye’s knee, then paused, squatted down, and took a closer look. Finally, he glanced at Jiang Heye meaningfully, then turned to Wang Zhizhi and said, “Thankfully, it’s not serious, just a flesh wound, no bone injury, no need to see a doctor.”

“Li Mu, what’s wrong with you!” Wang Qingchuan felt like everyone around him was crazy. But as he said that, his mind suddenly cleared, he pointed at them angrily. “Is this a script! It’s a script, right? I knew it, why would there be this kind of ground-sitting-and-false-accusation incident so early in the morning? What? Is this a script to test father-son trust? You’re acting quite well!”

As he spoke, Wang Qingchuan glared at Wang Qingbei on the ground, went back into the house, grabbed two tissues, squatted down, and started vigorously wiping Wang Qingbei’s knee, saying, “Just in time, Wang Zhizhi, I’m going to teach you a lesson, there are many scammers out there, don’t easily trust a woman just because she’s crying. This kind of makeup-created injury, you see it all the time on TV, just a bit of blush and eyeshadow…”

“Teacher Wang, stop it.” Li Mu, unable to watch anymore, bent down and stopped Wang Qingchuan.

But Li Mu was thin and weak, he was no match for Wang Qingchuan’s strength. His arm was pushed away, he almost lost his balance, but Jiang Heye, who was still sitting on the ground, reached out and grabbed him, helping him steady himself.

“Brother, you pushed me, and you’re hurting me again.” Jiang Heye leaned forward slightly, grabbing Wang Qingchuan’s hand tightly, slowly moving his hand with the tissue away from her knee, then turned to Wang Zhizhi. “Zhizhi, Brother is bullying me!”

Clear tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on her knee with a soft thud.

Wang Qingchuan, staring at the knee that was still red, no, it was almost turning purplish-red, even after he had wiped it several times with the tissue, couldn’t believe it, he reached out and wiped it again, harder this time.

He looked at the tissue, slightly damp, but still white…

“You… You, you, you…” Wang Qingchuan looked at Wang Qingbei in shock. “Are you okay! How much did the program team pay you! You’re really injured!”

Wang Qingchuan, completely out of character, tried to expose the script, but was hit hard by the script again.

Jiang Heye, ignoring Wang Qingchuan, continued her performance, her teary eyes looking at Wang Zhizhi, she said softly, “Zhizhi, do you believe Brother, or do you believe Brother’s sister?”

Honestly, Wang Zhizhi was a bit confused.

Based on yesterday’s analysis and training, the events happening today should all be planned, and he just had to make choices according to his dad’s usual approach.

But Beibei… Beibei was truly injured, she was even crying.

Could Dad really…

Just as Wang Zhizhi didn’t know what to do, Li Mu patted his back and whispered, “Remember what we talked about yesterday? Remember who you are?”

A clear path amidst the fog.

I am… Dad.

“Dad, you’re so much older than Beibei, why are you bullying her?” Wang Zhizhi took two steps forward, standing between Wang Qingchuan and Wang Qingbei.

Wang Qingchuan laughed in exasperation. “Where’s your brain? Cameraman? Come on, cameraman, show the replay!”

“No need.” Wang Zhizhi waved his hand. “You’re the older brother, you have to act like one. Your sister is crying, what are you doing? Why aren’t you comforting her? Just arguing here, is this what an older brother does?”

“What older brother! I don’t have a sister!” Wang Qingchuan said, frustrated, punching the door frame. “Are you addicted to acting? This person who suddenly appeared in our family, is she my sister? You don’t even know her, and you’re calling her ‘sister’?”

“She’s my…” Wang Zhizhi said, glancing at Wang Qingbei awkwardly, but he still said firmly to Wang Qingchuan, “Child, she’s your sister. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know her, the important thing is, we’re family, you’re the older brother, you have to learn to take care of your sister! Now, help your sister up!”

Wang Qingchuan scoffed. “Your child? Help your own child yourself!”

After saying that, Wang Qingchuan angrily turned and went back to his room, slamming the door shut.

Wang Zhizhi: “… “

“Zhizhi, you’re doing great, your acting is very realistic!” Li Mu whispered, praising Wang Zhizhi, then patted his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll have a staff member explain your task to your dad later, let him know that these aren’t your true feelings, you’re just imitating him.”

“Beibei, your leg…” Wang Zhizhi said, looking down and reaching out to help Wang Qingbei.

“Oh, I bumped into it myself last night. It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt.” Wang Qingbei said, getting up with a smile. When discussing today’s performance with the program team and hearing them relay the things Wang Qingchuan had said to Wang Zhizhi at home, she was so angry that she accidentally kicked over a stool and bruised her knee.

Wang Zhizhi let out a small sigh of relief.

“Zhizhi, remember what we talked about yesterday, you’re playing the role of your dad today, not yourself.” Li Mu patted Wang Zhizhi’s head again. “You did very well just now.”

“Mmm…” Wang Zhizhi nodded.

Yes, after understanding this point, it wasn’t that difficult.

He just had to say the things he remembered his dad saying, that was all.

But…

Would Dad be sad?

Would he be… as sad as he was when he heard those words?

Wang Zhizhi hesitated, glancing at the tightly closed door.

Dad, wouldn’t he also be hiding in the closet, secretly crying?

While Wang Qingchuan’s reaction was still unknown, Wen Qiming was… truly about to cry.

“Tell me you’re not serious…” Wen Qiming said, holding the paper, looking at the numbers on it, his head already spinning early in the morning.

“I’m serious.” Wen Jiangyue said, squeezing the pickled mustard greens from the bag into a small bowl. “Hurry up and do it, the porridge will get cold.”

“Can’t we eat first, then do the problems?” Wen Qiming put down the rather difficult math test paper, sighed, and said, following Wen Jiangyue’s words, “I feel like it’ll take a long time, the porridge will get cold.”

“Then we’ll reheat it.” Wen Jiangyue paused, hesitated, then took out a few folded papers from her pocket, flipped through them, and handed one to him. “You can do this one first.”

Wen Qiming took it and looked at it, okay, another math test paper.

“What are those?” Wen Qiming pointed at the remaining papers in Wen Jiangyue’s hand.

“Math problems.” Wen Jiangyue said generously, handing them to him. “You can choose any one to do.”

“I don’t quite understand.” Wen Qiming didn’t take them, he just chuckled. “You seem to be imitating me, right? Imitating me making you recite texts before meals? But I asked you to recite the text you had already memorized the day before, not to do math problems? Why are you only imitating part of it?”

He hadn’t even mentioned the task, and she had already figured it out? Wen Jiangyue panicked, she looked at Qiutong, who was among the staff in the distance. Qiutong gave her an “OK” gesture.

Wen Qiming, following Wen Jiangyue’s gaze, also saw it, he was even more certain that his guess was correct.

“If you’re imitating me, then imitate me properly. I made you recite texts before meals, shouldn’t you also make me recite texts before meals?” Wen Qiming tried to reason with her.

However, Wen Jiangyue was determined, she wasn’t swayed.

“Dad, do you like reciting texts?” Wen Jiangyue asked back.

“Yes.” Wen Qiming answered quickly. Leading by example, he had always done it well.

“Mmm… I like math. You made me do what you like, I’m imitating you, I want you to do what I like.” Wen Jiangyue’s logic, after being sorted out yesterday, was very clear.

Wen Qiming: “… “

Although…

But…

Wen Qiming still wanted to struggle. “Dad knows you like math, but you also like poetry and literature. If you want me to do what you like, I can also recite texts, right?”

Wen Jiangyue paused, she pursed her lips, then looked at Wen Qiming and shook her head bravely. “No, I don’t like poetry and literature. I recited them because Dad liked them. I like math, Dad, do the problems.”

As she spoke, Wen Jiangyue pushed the math test paper on the table towards Wen Qiming, then added, “You can only eat after you get them all correct.”

Wen Qiming felt a bit shocked.

Yes, Wen Jiangyue didn’t like reciting texts when she was younger, but after doing it for so long, hadn’t she realized the beauty of it? She hadn’t said she disliked it for a long time…

And… what was this about having to get them all correct before eating? Reciting texts, as long as she kept reciting, she would get them all correct, but math, could she get them all correct just by doing them repeatedly?

Wen Qiming looked at the breakfast on the table… plain porridge, fried dough sticks, scallion pancakes with diced sausage, pickled mustard greens with edamame, pickled vegetables, and oily salted duck eggs… Simple, but all his favorites.

So… Wen Qiming looked down at the test paper, breakfast was probably out of the question, so what would he eat for lunch?

Anything would be better than cilantro.

Cheng Feiying was awakened by his own gagging.

How could he dream about such a horrifying thing like a cilantro field… It was truly disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!

But although he was awake, the smell of cilantro didn’t disappear with the shattered dream, it seemed to have become even stronger.

Cheng Feiying sat up, dry heaved, and was fully awake.

Who!

Who was cooking cilantro!

Cheng Feiying rushed out of the room, as soon as he opened the door, the overwhelming smell of cilantro in the courtyard made him take a step back.

Then, he saw the little stinky fatty, not even as tall as the stove, standing on a stool by the stove, throwing a handful of green, ominous-looking things into their pot.

Although he was still far away and couldn’t see clearly, Cheng Feiying had a feeling that it was… cilantro!

Oh my god! Was their pot still usable! It was contaminated! Contaminated!

Cheng Feiying rushed towards the stove.

But he was fast, someone was faster.

In just a few steps, Cheng Feiying witnessed the little stinky fatty lift up a basket, tip it over the pot, pour all the green herbs inside, and as if that wasn’t enough, she even patted the bottom of the basket!

Cheng Feiying reached the stove and looked down.

It was confirmed, ugh, a pot full of green cilantro.

This little stinky fatty, what was she doing at their house so early in the morning, pouring cilantro into their pot?

Cheng Feiying covered his nose and mouth, took two steps back, held back from cursing, and turned to the group of staff in the distance for help. “Can someone please help me, empty this pot. I hate cilantro the most, I can’t stand the smell.”

The staff were silent.

“No emptying!” Wei Maomao shouted loudly. “This is Uncle Cheng’s breakfast, you can’t empty it!”

“Who would eat a pot of cilantro for breakfast!” Cheng Feiying, unable to contain his anger anymore, glared at the little stinky fatty. “If you want to eat it, take it back to your house! I don’t want to eat it!”

“Uncle Cheng, why don’t you want to eat it?” Wei Maomao asked innocently, stirring the pot with a ladle. “This isn’t a pot of cilantro, it’s tomato and egg noodles.”

Cheng Tingyan, seeing the little chubby bunny grabbing the ladle, quickly reached out and held her waist, preventing her from leaning too far forward.

Cheng Feiying saw Cheng Tingyan’s actions.

All the things he said to her last night, were they all in vain? Early in the morning, she invited this person to their house to do this, and they were even so close!

Cheng Feiying glared at Cheng Tingyan disapprovingly, then followed the little stinky fatty’s movements and saw a few bits of red, yellow, and white appear in the green pot as she stirred.

What a joke, tomato and egg noodles… It was more like a pot of cilantro with a sprinkle of tomatoes, eggs, and noodles.

“I don’t like eating cilantro.” Cheng Feiying, his hand still covering his nose and mouth, beckoned the staff again. “Someone, please help!”

“Uncle Cheng, you don’t like eating cilantro, that’s why you should eat more. You’ll get used to it after eating it for a while, cilantro is so nutritious, how can you be picky?” Wei Maomao said with an innocent smile, tilting her head. “Not eating this, not eating that, unbalanced nutrition, won’t it be you, Uncle Cheng, who suffers in the end?”

Cheng Feiying frowned: “… “

Why did these words sound so familiar?

Chapter 103 p2

This night, Cheng Feiying said a lot, pouring out his heart, forcefully brainwashing her, until he couldn’t fight his sleepiness anymore and finally let Cheng Tingyan go back to bed.

And Cheng Rongrong, who had been eavesdropping at the bathroom door for a long time, didn’t hear anything. She almost fell asleep on the toilet before Cheng Feiying finally let her out.

As soon as she came out, she saw the two who were no longer talking, she tried to probe, one responded with snores, the other with silence, it frustrated her so much that she tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep well.

And this night, there were many people who didn’t sleep well, Wei Chengli was one of them.

The information overload from the little chubby dumpling before bed made Wei Chengli think a lot after lying back in bed.

He could imagine the complexity of a blended family, the favoritism in a family with two children, but he couldn’t imagine that a wealthy celebrity family could make one of their children live like that… Dislike, neglect, even if they didn’t want to care for her, they could just hire a nanny to take care of her full-time, it wouldn’t be this bad. What kind of grudge did they have, to do this… Yan Yan was so well-behaved, so sensible, Wei Chengli couldn’t understand.

And that plan, devised by two children who were only nine years old combined, it seemed logical, but he felt like there were holes everywhere…

Wei Chengli thought and thought, he felt like he had just closed his eyes when it was already morning.

However, what woke him up wasn’t the daylight, but the aroma of food.

The smell of stewed meat, a very strong aroma.

Why were they stewing meat so early in the morning?

Wei Chengli, severely sleep-deprived, lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, then rubbed his face vigorously to drive away some of the sleepiness, he got up, his limbs feeling weak.

On the bed next to him, there was only a thin summer blanket left.

Where was his baby?

Wei Chengli stared at the summer blanket, had the staff knocked on the door this morning?

Sleep deprivation affected his IQ, Wei Chengli walked out of the house, looked at the empty courtyard, and after a while, finally realized he should go and ask the staff.

And so, the first piece of information Wei Chengli, who had been thinking about the Cheng family all night, received this morning was that his baby had gone to visit (cause trouble at) the Cheng family’s house again.

If it were the past two days, the little chubby dumpling going to find Yan Yan, he wouldn’t have minded, but after last night, his worry level had skyrocketed.

After hastily washing up, Wei Chengli, wanting to go straight to the Cheng family’s house, was stopped by the staff.

“Today, our new babies have to cooperate with the new parents and be good babies.” The staff member pointed at the stove in the courtyard, where the aroma of meat was wafting from, but had been completely ignored by Wei Chengli. “So, let’s start by finishing the breakfast arranged by the new parent.”

Wei Chengli, his mind preoccupied with the Cheng family’s matters, hadn’t even noticed the smell in the courtyard, he looked at the stove.

This smell… Wei Chengli took a few deep breaths.

It seemed a bit familiar, very fragrant…

Wei Chengli quickly walked to the stove and opened the lid of the steamer.

White steam billowed out, Wei Chengli looked at the bowl inside the steamer and couldn’t help but laugh wryly.

Okay, the mush, fashionably late.

She had promised to keep it a secret last night! He hadn’t even said he wouldn’t help!

Sob…

“Do I have to finish it all?” Wei Chengli asked the staff, hoping for a loophole.

“It was Parent Maomao who helped to wash the vegetables and mixed it herself early this morning.” The staff member said tactfully.

Okay… He understood.

Wei Chengli, using two towels, took the large bowl out of the steamer, he thought for a moment, then looked at the staff. “I can’t finish this breakfast in a short time, can you ask, what’s Maomao doing at Yan Yan’s house? Is she okay?”

Wei Chengli carried the bowl of mush to the stone table.

He took a spoon and stirred the contents of the bowl.

Minced meat, shrimp, shredded chicken, ground beef? Tomatoes, mashed potatoes…

Among the ingredients he could identify, Wei Chengli started trembling when he saw the shrimp… Anything with shrimp would be fishy.

Wei Chengli took a spoonful, bracing himself, and blew on it. He decided to try it first, if it was slightly fishy, he would just endure it, if it was very fishy… he would add some water and drink it.

“Director Wei.” The staff member approached, interrupting Wei Chengli’s heroic resolve.

The spoon that Wei Chengli had slowly brought to his mouth was swiftly moved away in disgust.

“Maomao is helping to make breakfast at Yan Yan’s house, they’re both doing well.” The staff member answered Wei Chengli’s earlier question.

“Making breakfast? Mush?” Wei Chengli asked, surprised and curious.

“No… They’re making tomato and egg noodles.” The staff member replied.

Wei Chengli, looking at the large bowl of mush in front of him, shed tears of envy.

The viewers in the live broadcast room were also amused by Wei Chengli’s rapidly changing expressions.

“Director Wei, eat it! Give it to me! I’m so anxious, I want to feed it to him myself!”

“Hahaha, Director Wei, you truly, judging the little chubby bunny’s stomach by your own! Why are you so disgusted, eating a mouthful of mush like you’re going to sacrifice yourself~~~ Our cutest and most generous CEO Mao added cooking wine and ginger for you, you’ll know after one bite, hahaha, silly director!”

“Director Wei is truly a director, his inner monologue is so rich, hahaha. But he’s truly doting, he thought it was unappetizing mush, but he was still willing to try it. And when he heard that CEO Mao wasn’t making mush at the Cheng family’s house, but tomato and egg noodles, hahaha, Director Wei’s disappointment, it was written all over his face.”

“Staff member, tell him more! Our CEO Mao isn’t there to make tomato and egg noodles, she’s there to deliver that basket of cilantro! A whole basket of Cheng Feiying’s most hated cilantro, a lethal dose, hahahahaha!”

“Yan Yan is truly holding back when imitating Cheng Feiying, Cheng Feiying added tons of mushrooms she didn’t like to every dish, and today, she only prepared a few sprigs of cilantro for him. Not enough, not enough at all, CEO Mao, my hand double, add the whole basket to the pot!”

“Who would have thought, that day, when they were deciding how to divide the prizes for the ‘intelligence’ and ‘strength’ task, the children specifically asked about the things their dads didn’t like to eat. That thoughtfulness is now being used in this imitation task~~~”

“When CEO Mao was analyzing with Liu Ming yesterday, she even explained it to Director Wei. Director Wei usually makes this kind of normal mush at home, he just forgot to add ginger on the first day of the show. So she chose to add it, to be an ordinary parent who feeds mush. But when it came to Su Li, CEO Mao reminded her that Cheng Feiying was a parent who was always acting abnormally, adding mushrooms to Yan Yan’s food every meal, he had to experience the feeling of having things he didn’t like in his food every meal.”

“As expected of CEO Mao, Yan Yan didn’t even think about imitating this part, adding things the child didn’t like to their food. Our CEO Mao finished practicing her own part quickly and spent the whole afternoon helping Yan Yan fill in the gaps. Hahaha, but there’s nothing much to learn for Director Wei, just mush, picking her up and swaying her… The rest of the time, he’s destined to be crushed. But Cheng Feiying, there’s much more to learn from him.”

“Speaking of nothing much to learn from… It has to be CEO Shen. Shen Zilin left after a few minutes yesterday, didn’t even bother learning, he went to do business…”

“The program team is truly evil, not only did they teach the babies to think, talk, and act like their dads today, they even asked them to keep it a secret… Truly catching the dads off guard, I bet they won’t even realize the babies are imitating them, right? I feel like at least Director Wei hasn’t realized it yet.”

“Hahaha, CEO Shen is waking up, let’s see if he can figure it out!”

…

Shen Jianghe woke up and, like Wei Chengli, discovered that he was the only one left in the courtyard, his child was gone.

These past few days, Shen Jianghe had gotten used to Shen Zilin coming home late, but this was the first time he didn’t see him in the morning.

And the key was, he didn’t hear the staff waking him up this morning, when did this child run off?

Both families were missing a child, but the Shen family didn’t have the same lively atmosphere as the Wei family.

Cold stove, cold pot, only CEO Shen was left behind.

“Did the children go to do tasks?” Shen Jianghe, after walking around the house, also chose to ask the staff in the distance.

The staff all shook their heads silently.

Then Shen Jianghe saw a staff member, being pushed out from the crowd…

The staff member who was pushed out tried to return to the group, but the others, like quails, huddled together, forming an impenetrable wall, refusing to let him in.

The staff member, forced to take on the task, eventually picked up a small wooden box next to him and walked towards Shen Jianghe step by step.

“New baby… Shen Jianghe. This is the money your parent, Shen Zilin, earned for you.” The staff member carefully placed the small wooden box at Shen Jianghe’s feet, took two steps back, and said kindly, “A total of 216 Daddy Coins, there’s also a credit card inside, with a limit of 180 Daddy Coins.”

What card?

Shen Jianghe looked down at the wooden box and asked, confused, “I’m asking, where’s Shen Zilin?”

“Your new parent, Shen Zilin, went out to earn money, he won’t be back today.” The staff member silently took another step back. “He said, ‘Spend as much as you want, I can earn more.’”

“What do you mean he won’t be back today? Where did he go?” Shen Jianghe asked, his confusion growing, his worry making him increasingly serious.

The staff member recalled the program team’s instructions, if the dads started to get angry, they should tell them about the imitation task.

So… The staff member carefully glanced at Shen Jianghe, mmm, it seemed like he could tell him.

Shen Zilin was playing the role of his dad, a parent who earned money but didn’t come home.

Shen Jianghe, after hearing the staff member’s description of the babies’ task today, stood by the wooden box, stunned, for a long time.

And the staff member, as soon as he finished explaining, ran back to the group like a wild horse, squeezing himself in. Sob, sob, sob, he hoped CEO Shen wouldn’t remember his face. His dream was to work at Shen Corp…

Shen Jianghe, he lost his baby, he had no breakfast, but at least, he had a box of Daddy Coins.

And Wen Xiang, who had also lost his baby, had a cold stove, a cold pot, and no Daddy Coins.

“I don’t understand, what do you mean?” Wen Xiang asked coldly, looking at the staff member who had been talking non-stop since he woke up.

“It’s just… Wen Dongyu is playing the role of his parent today. So he’s playing the role of… a parent who gives away their child’s favorite things.” Even though he had been notified that he could explain the babies’ task to Wen Xiang immediately, the staff member still felt pressured, he took a deep breath and continued, “Wen Dongyu asked you last night what you loved the most… You said you loved him the most. So he chose… to give himself away… Teacher Wen, do you understand now?”

Wen Xiang shook his head.

The staff member: “… “ Aaaah, he wanted to go back, he shouldn’t have taken on this explanation task, he shouldn’t have been greedy for the scapegoat money offered by his colleagues, sob.

Wen Xiang wasn’t trying to make things difficult for the staff member, he truly didn’t understand.

When Wen Dongyu asked him that question yesterday, he thought their relationship was improving, of course, he immediately said he loved Wen Dongyu the most.

But he never expected…

He should have said he loved the socks he wore yesterday the most.

There were many unexpected things in the world.

Just like Wang Qingchuan didn’t expect that as soon as he stepped out of his room this morning, he encountered a scammer.

“I didn’t, I didn’t do it! Why would I push her!” Wang Qingchuan said, looking at Wang Zhizhi, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, he pointed at Wang Qingbei, who was sitting on the ground. “She was already sitting here when I opened the door!”

Chapter 103 p1

Cheng Feiying waking them up in the middle of the night, Cheng Rongrong guessed it must be related to the note Bai Lei sent yesterday.

Cheng Tingyan, along with that stinky fatty and Wang Zhizhi, had made her lose face quite a few times these past few days, Cheng Rongrong also wanted to stay and watch how Cheng Feiying would scold her.

But as Cheng Rongrong dawdled, reluctant to leave, before she could even enjoy watching someone else get scolded, she was reprimanded by Cheng Feiying first.

“Cheng Rongrong, what are you doing? Walk properly, walk faster!” Cheng Feiying frowned, looking at his younger daughter who was taking three steps forward and two steps back. “You’re so eager to run to other people’s houses, but when I ask you to go somewhere, you dawdle!”

Who’s always running to other people’s houses!

Cheng Rongrong turned around, wanting to correct Cheng Feiying and shift the blame to Cheng Tingyan, but she heard Cheng Feiying scoff.

“What? Am I wrong? Weren’t you the one sent back by that Wang Qingbei tonight? You ran to someone else’s house, and even bothered them to send you back. If you’re so afraid of walking at night, don’t run around! Besides, without that Wang Qingbei, are the cameraman and staff following you just decorations?” Cheng Feiying recalled the scene tonight, Wang Qingbei sending Cheng Rongrong back, Cheng Rongrong being reluctant to part with her, even walking her out, practically bidding her farewell for miles, it annoyed him.

These daughters, both of them, were troublesome, so annoying.

Cheng Feiying, growing increasingly irritable from single-handedly raising his children, while scolding Cheng Rongrong, couldn’t help but glare at Cheng Tingyan.

But Cheng Tingyan was quiet, she wasn’t even looking at him. Cheng Feiying wasted his glare, so his tone became even worse when shooing Cheng Rongrong away.

Cheng Rongrong also had her dignity! That was Jiang Heye, not some Wang Qingbei! What use was a father with no discernment!

Cheng Rongrong, infuriated by Cheng Feiying, ran into the bathroom.

But after closing the door, she regretted it.

She should have left a crack, she still wanted to hear what Cheng Feiying would say to Cheng Tingyan.

After standing there for a few seconds, Cheng Rongrong pressed her ear against the door.

One gone, one to go.

Cheng Feiying looked at Cheng Tingyan. “Do you know what I want to talk to you about?”

Cheng Tingyan shook her head silently.

“Heh.” Cheng Feiying scoffed. “Before coming here, what did your Auntie Bai tell you? Didn’t she tell you to behave yourself, not to talk about family matters to outsiders? What have you been doing since we arrived? Have you grown wings and become disobedient?”

The six-year-old girl in her nightgown, her head lowered, remained silent, but she leaned against the edge of the bed, as if to make herself stand taller.

Cheng Tingyan was always like this at home, usually quiet and inconspicuous, if he wanted to lecture her, she would just silently listen.

Cheng Feiying, annoyed, glanced at his mute elder daughter again. “What, now that I’m letting you speak, you’re not saying anything? Weren’t you quite talkative in front of outsiders? If you didn’t have enough allowance, why didn’t you just tell me directly? Do we lack that little bit of allowance at home? We have two cabinets full of snacks, yet you said you wanted to eat expired snacks, eat compressed biscuits, who were you trying to tell that to? And talking about savings, is your thirty-something yuan considered savings? That’s just your leftover allowance, why are you calling it savings? What savings can a six-year-old child have? So obsessed with money at such a young age. And that Wei Maomao, how old are you, how old is she? You, a six-year-old, actually want to be supported by a three-year-old? Use your brain, do you even remember what you were thinking about when you were three? She’s still wetting the bed, what money can she earn? She said she would support you, and you actually believed her? What, a three-year-old kid tricked you with a few words, and you’re ready to change your surname to Wei?”

“Maomao…” Cheng Tingyan looked up, her eyes firm. “Maomao didn’t lie to me.”

“… “ Cheng Feiying sneered. “I said so much, and you only heard the last sentence?”

“I told you before.” Cheng Tingyan’s eyes dimmed again. “I told you there’s sometimes no breakfast at home, I asked if you could give me money for breakfast. The snacks at home, they’re not mine. Why isn’t the money I saved considered savings? Maomao… didn’t lie to me.”

“What nonsense.” Cheng Feiying frowned. “When did you ask me for breakfast money?”

“When I transferred to the new kindergarten.” Cheng Tingyan answered without hesitation.

Cheng Feiying thought about it, he had no memory of it, he just said instinctively, “There was no breakfast at home? The kindergarten doesn’t provide breakfast?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Feiying saw Cheng Tingyan… smile?

“Why are you smiling? I’m talking to you seriously, why are you smiling?” Cheng Feiying slapped the bedside table next to him. “Be serious.”

“You said the same thing that time.” Cheng Tingyan said flatly.

“That means I wasn’t wrong.” Cheng Feiying said coldly.

“There was no breakfast at home, and I missed the breakfast time at the kindergarten.” Cheng Tingyan looked at Cheng Feiying calmly. “I told you that too.”

“Then why didn’t you speak up? Couldn’t you ask Aunt Wang to make you some? If you were late for kindergarten, couldn’t you leave earlier?” Cheng Feiying said impatiently.

This time, Cheng Tingyan just looked at Cheng Feiying silently. Aunt Wang wouldn’t cook after mealtime, he insisted on sending her to kindergarten every day but always made her late, she had told Cheng Feiying all these things. But he didn’t help her change anything, only endless scolding, asking her to find the reason within herself. So she stopped talking. But when she stopped talking, he wanted her to speak. It was truly confusing.

“What, what are you looking at me like that for? What, you want to say it’s your Auntie Bai who didn’t arrange things properly, right?” Cheng Feiying, avoiding Cheng Tingyan’s gaze, said angrily, “Your Auntie Bai might not be able to arrange everything for you immediately. But there’s nothing she can do, she’s just your aunt after all. She’s trying her best. When you transferred to the new kindergarten, didn’t she immediately go and greet everyone there for you? She’s not your real mom, you can’t ask her for more, right?”

Cheng Tingyan lowered her eyes.

Yes, Auntie Bai did greet the whole class on the first day she sent her to kindergarten. She said she hoped the other children would take good care of her, but her tone was fierce and strange, she even said that if they bullied her and made her cry, she would release the big bad wolf from the zoo to find them at night…

That day, half of the class was scared to tears by Auntie Bai.

No one… played with her.

Every day.

But Cheng Tingyan didn’t want to tell Cheng Feiying anymore. He wouldn’t help her, just like every time before.

“Why are you silent again? Do you know you were wrong?” Cheng Feiying rubbed his temples, his tone softening. “If you need allowance, I can give you more when we get back, monthly or weekly, how much, we can discuss it. The snack cabinet at home, everyone can eat from it, you just didn’t take any, no one will say anything if you eat from it in the future. The key is, you have to learn to differentiate between insiders and outsiders. Me, Auntie Bai, Rongrong, and you, we’re family. Family matters should be resolved within the family, it’s wrong to talk about them to outsiders. I know you’re close to that Wei Maomao. But what kind of memory do children have? After the show ends, in a few days, who will remember who? We’re still the ones who will continue living together as a family, right? Don’t be so trusting when a three-year-old kid tells you something, they’re just tricking you. Don’t be with Wei…”

“Maomao didn’t trick me.” Cheng Tingyan interrupted Cheng Feiying, she paused, then made a decision. “Maomao said, she came to this show, the money the program team gives her, she’ll use it to support me.”

Cheng Feiying laughed in exasperation. “She dares to say it, and you actually believe it? A three-year-old kid who’s still wetting the bed can have her own money, can support you?”

“Plus the money I get from participating in this show.” Cheng Tingyan clenched her hand. “Dad, Uncle Wei will give Maomao her appearance fee. Will you give me mine?”

“Your money…” Cheng Feiying narrowed his eyes. “How much can you possibly have? The program only invited our family because of me, you’re just an add-on. Don’t you know? Your measly amount of money isn’t even enough for your mom’s medical expenses. What? You don’t want to stay at home anymore? You don’t care about your mom anymore? If you don’t care, then don’t care, I don’t mind, anyway, she and I are no longer related.”

“Dad, how much are Mom’s medical expenses?” Cheng Tingyan remembered her agreement with Wei Maomao, not to be hasty, but now that they were talking about it, it was a good opportunity to ask, she wanted to try.

“A lot, and it’ll be even more in the future.” Cheng Feiying looked Cheng Tingyan up and down. “So you better behave. I’m only lending her money for treatment because you’re being good. Otherwise… Heh.”

Cheng Tingyan: “… “ Asking only got her a “a lot,” it was like she hadn’t asked at all.

Cheng Feiying, looking at his silent elder daughter again, sneered and added, “What, you don’t believe me? Go and ask your mom if you don’t believe me.”

Cheng Tingyan’s heart sank. It seemed it was truly a lot.

“You’re still young, money, it’s not a game for children like you to talk about. Not just Wei Maomao, even that Shen Zilin, the money their families have belongs to their families. Who are you? A child they just met a few days ago, would they give you tens of thousands, millions, for you? “ Cheng Feiying scoffed. “You haven’t experienced the harsh realities of society. Forget about tens of thousands, millions, for some families, even a few thousand yuan is enough for parents and children, siblings, to turn against each other. A little girl like you, even if you were sold, you would only be worth a few thousand yuan, do you think you’re worth them giving you tens of thousands, millions? You guys are just playing pretend, talking nonsense.”

Cheng Tingyan bit her lip. “Maomao, she’s not…”

To suppress her spirit, he had to do it in one go.

Cheng Feiying interrupted Cheng Tingyan. “Even if those children are sincere, they still have parents. Which parents would be willing to spend money to raise another child? Oh, and with a disabled mother whose medical expenses are a bottomless pit. If you weren’t my biological daughter, I wouldn’t even care. I can only say, I’m unlucky. It’s only because it’s me, otherwise, who would care about you two? Still in kindergarten, still needing medical expenses, you two might as well go beg on the streets.”

Cheng Tingyan: “… “

“So, do good deeds, don’t do unnecessary things. Talking about family matters to outsiders, it’s not good for you, nor for me. If people think badly of our family, we won’t be able to earn money. If we can’t earn money, where will your mom get the money for her treatment?” Cheng Feiying stepped closer, patted Cheng Tingyan’s shoulder, and before she could dodge, patted her again, harder this time. “You have to remember, I have to be well for you to be well. Our family has to be well for your mom to be well. Those people outside, the things they’re prompting you to say, it’s all to mock our family, to hurt our family…”

Chapter 102

“Dad, are you asleep?”

“No, what’s wrong, baby? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you need to pee?”

“No…”

…

“Dad, are you asleep?”

“Not yet… Why aren’t you sleeping? Can’t sleep? Do you want Daddy to tell you a bedtime story?”

“No…”

…

“Dad, are you slee…”

“No, baby, are you okay? Why aren’t you sleeping? Are you sure you don’t need to pee?”

“No…”

…

“Dad…”

“Not asleep.”

“Oh.”

…

“Da…”

Wei Chengli sat up, turned on the bedside lamp, and looked at the little chubby dumpling lying flat on the bed next to him. “I’m awake… You’ve been calling me every few minutes, how can I possibly fall asleep? I’m not a pig.”

Wei Maomao: “… “ It’s for your own good, waking up suddenly can cause headaches, you don’t appreciate kindness!

Because there was an adult in the room, they couldn’t turn off the cameras and microphones early like when Cheng Tingyan stayed over. They had to wait until the designated time. Wei Maomao was also sleepy, she was only staying awake by pinching her slightly swollen right fingers.

“Tell me, what’s the matter?” Wei Chengli yawned. “If there’s nothing, I’m going to sleep.”

“Hmph.” Wei Maomao glared at Wei Chengli and turned her back to him.

And so, the remaining time before the cameras and microphones were turned off was spent by Wei Chengli trying to appease the child.

When the red light on the camera in the room went out, Wei Maomao waited for another two minutes before turning back to look at Wei Chengli, pretending to be unaware. “Dad, are we still being filmed? Can other people still hear us talking?”

Wei Chengli glanced at the time, then at the camera and microphone, and shook his head. “It’s time, the live broadcast is over. Why are you still awake so late tonight? Don’t tell me you’ve been staying up this late with Yan Yan these past two days, without me watching? I smelled a sweet orange scent in your room this morning, did you sneak out of bed to eat in the middle of the night?”

Wei Maomao ignored Wei Chengli’s words, she got out of bed, grabbed the cloth from the bedside table, first covering the camera on the table, then pointing at the one above. “Dad!”

“Why aren’t you answering? Are you guilty?” Wei Chengli took the cloth, covered the camera above, then casually put away their microphones, his nagging never ceasing. “If you ate, you ate, it’s fine, I won’t scold you, why are you afraid to admit it? But at least you knew to brush your teeth after eating, you’re so lazy, it must have been Yan Yan who made you brush your teeth, right?”

Wei Maomao, who had been following behind Wei Chengli, checking if the equipment was turned off, stopped in her tracks. “How do you know we brushed our teeth?”

“I saw Yan Yan washing her pajamas in the courtyard this morning, I thought you had… cough… Anyway, I went to take a look. Yan Yan said she brushed her teeth at night and got toothpaste on her pajamas. She hadn’t even washed up yet at the time, and both sets of pajamas had toothpaste stains, that must mean you brushed your teeth once before bed and then again after eating in the middle of the night, right?” Wei Chengli said, his expression asking for praise.

Wei Maomao: “… “

No wonder! No wonder Yan Yan wasn’t in bed when she woke up this morning, she saw Yan Yan already dressed in her dress…

So last night… she, she also… Wei Maomao touched the corner of her mouth, feeling a bit depressed.

“Okay, everything’s covered, are you relieved now?” Wei Chengli looked around the room, pushed the stunned little chubby dumpling back to the bed, and said, “Go to sleep, no one’s watching you sleep anymore. Actually, you didn’t need to worry before, once we turn off the lights, the camera can’t see clearly, it can only capture a silhouette. Do you know what a silhouette is? It’s just a dark shape, like ink, it can’t see how you sleep.”

Seeing the little chubby dumpling following him closely earlier, even pulling on the camera cover, he guessed that knowing they were being live broadcasted might have given her some performance anxiety, so he gently coaxed her into bed and explained.

“Dad.” Wei Maomao, with Wei Chengli’s help, climbed onto the bed, but she grabbed his pants, preventing him from leaving.

“Mmm?” Wei Chengli looked down.

“Sit.” Wei Maomao patted the edge of her bed.

Wei Chengli: “… “

Looking at the little chubby dumpling, her cheeks puffed out, tilting her head, suddenly looking very cute, Wei Chengli, while feeling charmed, also had a bad feeling.

“You go to sleep.” Wei Chengli said, cautiously backing away.

The chubby paw was firm!

Wei Chengli, helpless, followed the force and looked down at the paw, his brow furrowing.

“What happened to your fingers?” Wei Chengli grabbed the little chubby paw from his pant leg and lifted it up. “Why are your thumb and index finger so red? Are they… a bit swollen?”

Wei Chengli sat down on the bed, pulled the little chubby dumpling into his arms, and compared her two chubby paws, exclaiming, “They’re really a bit swollen! How did you do this? Does it hurt? We have a doctor, I’ll take you to see him.”

As he spoke, Wei Chengli was about to get up.

But the little chubby dumpling in his arms lunged to the side, grabbing the bed sheet tightly.

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Wei Maomao rolled back onto the bed, yawned, and said, cherishing the time, “Dad, I have a secret to tell you, will you keep it a secret?”

“About how you hurt your hand?” Wei Chengli asked, his brow furrowed.

“… “ Wei Maomao shook her hand, her fingers mimicking the motion of using tweezers. “I used too much force picking the sealing rings, it doesn’t hurt.”

Wei Chengli was stunned. “The noodle-earning task tonight?”

“Mmm.” Wei Maomao nodded casually, her chubby paw patting the bed emphatically. “I’m fine! Dad! I have a secret to tell you! Will you keep it a secret?”

“Let’s go see the doctor, I’ll listen after you see the doctor, no seeing, no listening.” Wei Chengli reached out to grab the chubby dumpling.

Wei Maomao, like a ball, rolled from the head of the bed to the foot, and said angrily, “Dad, if you don’t listen, I’m going to cry!”

Wei Chengli: “… “

Who would want to see their daughter cry in the middle of the night? Wei Chengli didn’t.

“Okay, tell me.” Wei Chengli surrendered, and after being glared at by the little chubby dumpling, he added, “I’ll keep it a secret.”

A three-year-old baby… What secrets could she possibly have… It must be something trivial.

Wei Chengli didn’t think much of the secret Wei Maomao was about to tell him, then, in the next second, reality slapped him in the face.

A three-year-old baby, she did have secrets that needed to be kept, she was small, but the matter was truly very, very big.

Wei Chengli wasn’t a particularly gossipy person, when Wei Maomao started with “Uncle Cheng divorced when Yan Yan was little, Yan Yan was originally living with her mom…” he wanted to interrupt her. This wasn’t a three-year-old baby’s secret anymore, it was someone else’s private matter!

But the little chubby dumpling, sitting upright at the foot of the bed, looked so serious and determined, Wei Chengli hesitated several times, but couldn’t bring himself to interrupt.

In the end… he listened to everything.

Divorce, illness, custody change, medical expenses, borrowing money, commercial loan interest rates, Yan Yan’s situation at the Cheng family’s house…

Some of it, after these past few days, Wei Chengli could vaguely see and guess, but most of it was shocking, even… unbelievable. But if these were things Cheng Tingyan told her…

Although Wei Chengli was a bit jealous that the little chubby dumpling was closer to Cheng Tingyan than to him, he still had a good impression of the little girl. He didn’t think Cheng Tingyan would lie.

Wei Maomao’s words stopped at stating the facts, she didn’t go on to her plan.

The last word of her soft, childish voice dissipated into the air, leaving a heavy silence in the room.

Wei Chengli looked at the little chubby dumpling at the foot of the bed, speechless.

And the little three-year-old didn’t seem to be in a hurry, she just looked at him quietly…

“These are Yan Yan’s private matters, I’ll keep them a secret.” Wei Chengli said solemnly, repeating his earlier casual promise, then asked softly, “When Yan Yan told you these things, didn’t she ask you to keep them a secret?”

“She did.” Wei Maomao nodded. “Yan Yan asked me to keep them a secret, but she also agreed to let me tell you.”

“Why?” Wei Chengli was a bit surprised. Even if he didn’t seem like a bad person, he wasn’t close enough to the children to share such private matters, right?

“Because…” Wei Maomao looked into Wei Chengli’s eyes. “Because we need you.”

Wei Chengli: “… “

The soft, chubby dumpling, in her childish voice, started to explain a plan devised by two children who were only nine years old combined.

Wei Chengli’s eyes widened, the shock he had just experienced was merely an appetizer.

The plan was simple, it could be summarized in one sentence: “Let Yan Yan’s mom see the true colors of the Cheng family, then give her enough money for treatment and raising Yan Yan, and finally, get her custody back.”

Something that even adults would find difficult to achieve, two children who were only nine years old combined wanted to do it, it was truly… a bit naive.

But what shocked Wei Chengli the most wasn’t the plan itself, but the fact that these two children were already putting it into action.

The little chubby dumpling’s attitude towards Cheng Feiying, her words about wanting to use her appearance fee to support Yan Yan a few days ago, her asking Shen Zilin this morning if she could borrow money from him if needed…

Those actions, which had seemed childish, willful, even nonsensical, it turned out…

Wei Chengli couldn’t describe his feelings, the intense shock, amidst the heartache, sparked a hint of comfort, something he hadn’t expected.

But…

“Baby…” Wei Chengli said with difficulty.

“Dad, will you help us? I, the baby, I’m too small, it’s very difficult without you.” Wei Maomao leaned forward slightly, blinking her eyes, taking the initiative, her chubby little face full of sincerity.

Wei Chengli smiled wryly. “It’s also very difficult with me.”

“Dad, you said, ‘Many hands make light work.’ We have me, we have Yan Yan, we have… Shen Zilin, if you help us, we’ll have you.” Wei Maomao counted on her fingers, calculating seriously.

Wei Chengli: “… “ Although it was inappropriate, he really wanted to ask, “A baby legion?”

“Baby, listen to me.” Wei Chengli moved closer to the little chubby dumpling at the foot of the bed. “I understand everything. Yan Yan isn’t happy at the Cheng family’s house, you want Yan Yan’s mom to take her away. But have you considered, does Yan Yan’s mom still want to raise Yan Yan?”

Wei Maomao: “I…”

“Baby, listen to me first.” Wei Chengli reached out and stroked the little chubby dumpling’s soft hair.

Both the little chubby dumpling’s earlier tone and their ongoing efforts made Wei Chengli take their plan seriously, he truly wanted to discuss it with her.

Wei Chengli let out a soft sigh. “According to you, Yan Yan’s mom raised her before, but she gave Yan Yan to the Cheng family because she was sick and didn’t have money. During this time, whether it was given or lent, Yan Yan’s mom has been receiving money for treatment, right? Her illness, you said it was a bone injury from falling in the rain, she can only use a wheelchair. If it was a simple injury, it should have healed in these past few years. The fact that it hasn’t healed means it’s not just about money. She needs continued treatment, she needs time to recover, does she even have the energy to take care of a child? Does she… even want to? We can contact Yan Yan’s mom after the show and tell her about Yan Yan’s situation. If she’s willing, we…”

Wei Chengli paused, looking at the serious expression on Wei Maomao’s face, he couldn’t help but soften.

Getting involved in someone else’s family matters… He would get involved, it was better than letting his baby be sad. If they did it discreetly, it shouldn’t cause too much trouble, right…

“If she’s willing, we can offer some help.” Wei Chengli patted the little chubby dumpling’s head again. “Financial, legal, no matter the outcome, we can help them. But… If Yan Yan’s mom isn’t willing, we can’t force her. Although Uncle Cheng isn’t very good to Yan Yan, he still feeds her, sends her to school, he’s not that bad… Baby, do you understand what I mean? If Yan Yan’s mom isn’t willing to take care of her, and we force Yan Yan on her, will she be good to Yan Yan? Will she be like Uncle Cheng, or even worse… We don’t know.”

“Yan Yan’s mom won’t be like Uncle Cheng.” Wei Maomao said, puffing out her cheeks.

Wei Chengli helplessly tapped the little chubby dumpling’s forehead. “And, illness can greatly affect a person’s physical and mental state, maybe she was willing before, but now, because of her illness, she might not have the energy to take care of a child, she might have changed her mind.”

“Auntie Shao.” Wei Maomao interrupted. “Find one for Yan Yan too, so Yan Yan’s mom doesn’t have to take care of her.”

Wei Chengli facepalmed, Auntie Shao was the nanny who came to their house to take care of the little chubby dumpling when he and his wife weren’t home. So this little rascal had even thought about finding a nanny for Yan Yan…

“It’s not that simple, even with a nanny, there are still many things that require energy.” Wei Chengli tried to explain, then said, “Baby, you can’t just assume other people’s thoughts, we have to ask and observe.”

Wei Maomao frowned. She wasn’t just assuming…

Last night, when Yan Yan talked about her mom, it was clear she loved her, she wanted to live with her, it was obvious that her mom was better than the Cheng family. And…

In her previous life, although Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan never revealed their real-life identities online, they did talk about some of their childhood experiences. When Cheng Tingyan mentioned her dad and stepsister, it was with indifference and distance, even a hint of pain. But when she mentioned her mom, her tone was much gentler, and she mostly talked about simple and happy memories. Like the small golden flower Cheng Tingyan brought this time, she had heard Yan Yan mention it in her previous life, it was the only memento her mom kept from her dowry.

Wei Maomao remembered that she once commented that if Yan Yan’s custody had been given to her mom when she was little, she might have lived a much happier life. At that time, Yan Yan, on the other end of the internet, agreed, saying, “Maybe…”

The “maybe” back then was just a helpless hindsight. Now that they had a chance to turn that “maybe” into reality, how could they give up?

Wei Maomao understood what Wei Chengli meant by “Will she be good to Yan Yan? Will she be like Uncle Cheng, or even worse… We don’t know.” Because Wei Chengli, who only saw the current Cheng Feiying and Cheng Rongrong, didn’t know how much worse they could get. He also wouldn’t know how bad things would have been if they hadn’t been chosen for this variety show.

Being labeled as arrogant, indifferent, and jealous by the show, her reputation further tarnished by years of playing the same character in sitcoms, completely becoming Cheng Rongrong’s stepping stone during her childhood and adolescence… The foot injury in her childhood, the delayed middle school entrance exam, the re-injury before the college entrance exam and art exams, were those misfortunes at crucial moments truly just bad luck…

Could it be worse than being at the Cheng family’s house if she returned to her mom… Wei Maomao didn’t believe it.

And now, she was here. Although she was only three years old, she would grow up quickly.

“Baby, are you listening to Dad?” Wei Chengli asked, patting the little chubby dumpling’s arm.

“Mmm.” Wei Maomao, pulled back from her burning anger, nodded, but said, “Dad, I don’t understand.”

Wei Chengli was stunned. “What?”

“I don’t understand. You know Uncle Cheng is bad, but you don’t want Yan Yan to leave him, you’re afraid Yan Yan’s mom is bad…” Wei Maomao couldn’t help but use an example, exceeding her three-year-old limitations. “I threw up after eating mush, you don’t want me to eat anything else, you’re afraid other foods are bad for me. I don’t know if other foods are good or bad, but I threw up after eating mush!”

Wei Chengli: “… “

“You know mush made me throw up, but you don’t want me to eat anything else!” Wei Maomao emphasized.

“I understand what you mean, don’t use mush as an example, baby.” Wei Chengli said awkwardly, rubbing his forehead. “I didn’t say Yan Yan couldn’t go back to her mom, I’m saying that after the show, we can go and ask Yan Yan’s mom, see what her situation is, what her thoughts are. Baby, the problem now is, we don’t have a definite answer from Yan Yan’s mom yet, so we can’t upset Yan Yan’s dad first, right? I’m saying, we have to leave a way out for Yan Yan, right? What if Yan Yan’s mom doesn’t want to raise her, and Yan Yan’s dad is angry, then Yan Yan goes back to the Cheng family, wouldn’t her life be even worse?”

Wei Maomao: “… “

Wei Chengli, seeing the little chubby dumpling’s silence, patiently continued, “So, don’t be too hasty. This custody issue, it’s not something that can be resolved in a day or two. We also need to find someone who understands the law. Before there’s a result, don’t provoke Yan Yan’s dad anymore, okay?”

“No.” Wei Maomao shook her head.

Wei Chengli laughed in exasperation. “Didn’t I explain clearly? What don’t you understand?”

“In ‘Tutu Adventures,’ everyone said Ermao’s mom never came home, she was bad, Ermao’s dad was always at home, he was good. They didn’t want Ermao’s mom to take Ermao away. What happened later, Dad, do you remember?” Wei Maomao reminded him.

“I remember…” Wei Chengli recalled. “Didn’t Ermao’s mom later prove that she was working and even did housework when she came home, while Ermao’s dad was just playing games at home and not taking care of Ermao, so Ermao’s mom took him away.”

“Mmm.” Wei Maomao nodded. “I also want to prove that Uncle Cheng is bad. Everyone will want Yan Yan’s mom to take her away.”

Wei Chengli: “… “ Look at his talkative mouth!

Those who were determined, were as firm as a rock.

Those who were wavering, their hearts were easily swayed.

Initially, he just felt sorry for Yan Yan, he thought the two children’s plan was naive, but after their back-and-forth, Wei Chengli had to admit that there was some feasibility in their naivety.

But wouldn’t the cost of success be too high… If they followed their plan, Cheng Feiying’s reputation would probably… Would the six-year-old Yan Yan truly not regret breaking ties with her father when she grew up?

And this silly little chubby dumpling, directly getting involved in someone else’s family matters on a live broadcast… Even a three-year-old baby would grow up, wasn’t she leaving herself any room for maneuver?

Wei Chengli, as an adult who didn’t know about the events of the previous life, had many concerns and thoughts.

But before he could come up with a better way to persuade the little chubby dumpling, who was now set on her course…

Someone was getting very sleepy.

Wei Maomao was truly tired from working today, but before closing her eyes, she still urged Wei Chengli to promise to keep it a secret.

It wasn’t that she absolutely needed his promise. Wei Maomao believed that Wei Chengli would understand, if he didn’t keep it a secret, there would only be one outcome, they would accelerate their plan. It wouldn’t be good for anyone.

As for asking for his help…

Wei Maomao wasn’t in a hurry.

Judging from Wei Chengli’s good attitude today, he was on the right side, he just had some concerns. By the time she needed his help, his concerns should no longer be an issue.

Good, a married Wei Chengli was truly useful.

Some people, because of their wives, became more rational and reliable.

Some people, because of their wives, became more troublesome and out of control.

Unlike Wei Maomao, who had been reminding Wei Chengli to stay awake, Cheng Feiying, after the cameras and microphones were turned off, directly woke up Cheng Tingyan and Cheng Rongrong.

“You, go play in the bathroom, don’t come out until I call you.” Cheng Feiying pushed the sleepy Cheng Rongrong, then looked at Cheng Tingyan. “Cheng Tingyan, there are some things I need to talk to you about.”

Chapter 101 p2

In the monitoring room, Zeng Huanian, after watching the monitoring screens for a while, then switching to read the live broadcast comments, the smile on his face gradually faded.

Mmm… Was it his fault? Why were the comments so different from what he had imagined? Had the viewers’ thoughts already reached this level…

Then the upcoming… Zeng Huanian, thinking about the post-dinner segment, glanced at Shi Dingshan worriedly.

Shi Dingshan, who had just finished boiling a kettle of water, looked up and met Zeng Huanian’s worried gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Shi Dingshan asked, touching his face. “Is something wrong with me?”

Qin Sichao, who was eating watermelon next to them, also looked up.

“No…” Zeng Huanian quickly shook his head, but after hesitating for a while, he said weakly, “I was just reading the live broadcast comments… I initially thought that the babies bringing back the best food, and the dads sharing it with them, would show the family’s giving and sharing, it would be very heartwarming. But the viewers seem to have more realistic interpretations, they don’t find it warm and fuzzy.”

“So?” Shi Dingshan still didn’t understand.

“It’s just… It’s very heartwarming, but they didn’t see the love. Then later, during the segment where the dads comment on the babies’ performance as parents these past two days, if they say something bad, wouldn’t it be even worse…” Zeng Huanian felt like the show was accelerating in the opposite direction of what he had envisioned.

“Oh.” Shi Dingshan understood, he chuckled. “This is just the beginning, the main event is tomorrow.”

Zeng Huanian: “… “

“Don’t you understand yet? He…” Qin Sichao looked at Zeng Huanian, then patted Shi Dingshan’s shoulder. “He doesn’t want warm and fuzzy, he wants this kind of deep thinking.”

Shi Dingshan shrugged off Qin Sichao’s hand and looked back at him. “You understand everything, you should also know that the controversy later might be even bigger than now. You’re a filmmaker who relies on reputation, don’t get involved.”

“No, I’m getting involved.” Qin Sichao took out his phone and tapped on it. “The idea I mentioned to you this morning, my team has already put together a detailed plan, take a look. I’m looking forward to our collaboration for the third location.”

Shi Dingshan: “… “

Regardless of the future, tonight’s segment was still being pushed forward.

Whether they had a lot of food or not, the noodles were unlimited, whether the dads and babies enjoyed their meal or not was another matter, but they were all full.

As the bowls emptied, the program team generously placed a pitcher of watermelon juice on each table, and they moved on to the next segment.

“After two days of role swap, I believe our new babies all have a new understanding of our new parents. So, next, let’s invite our new babies to come up and tell us how their new parents have been doing as parents these past two days~~~” The host said, gesturing towards the Wei family’s table. “Following the ranking of the new parents’ earnings from this evening’s work, let’s first invite the baby of Parent Wei Maomao, who bought three portions of noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, Child Wei Chengli, to tell us his thoughts.”

Wei Chengli, still embarrassed by the math incident earlier, his mind went blank. “Me first?”

“Yes, you first.” The host stepped aside, beckoning him. “Just casually share your experience of being a baby at home these past two days, tell us what Parent Maomao did well, what areas need improvement, things like that.”

Wei Chengli glanced at the little chubby dumpling next to him, who was covering her glass, preventing Yan Yan from pouring her watermelon juice.

What was his experience… Perhaps it was that he shouldn’t be in this family, he felt like he was making it too crowded.

Of course, he couldn’t say that.

“Maomao… She’s a good parent. When arranging activities, she was very respectful of my… mmm, baby’s thoughts, she also worked very hard, always bringing back the most food, she’s very capable!” Wei Chengli thought for a moment, then nodded, affirming himself. “Very capable, better than me!”

“That’s it?” The host looked at Wei Chengli, who had stopped talking. “Tell us something about Parent Maomao that needs improvement.”

Wei Chengli secretly glanced at Cheng Tingyan at his table.

The only thing that needed improvement was… could she change her favorite from Yan Yan to Dad!

Of course… probably not.

Although he didn’t know why, Wei Chengli, with his increasingly clear self-awareness, shook his head firmly. “Maomao is doing very well, no improvement needed!”

The second to go on stage was Shen Jianghe. Shen Zilin had brought him many surprises these past two days, whether it was his arrangements for their life, his attitude towards work, or his cleverness in using candy to exchange for Baby Coins and pay off his pig loan, it was all very interesting. The joy of spending time with his son made Shen Jianghe generous with his praise. But when it came to areas for improvement, he couldn’t help but mention that Shen Zilin was a bit too meticulous, there was no need to treat him like a real baby, helping him with everything from choosing clothes to putting on socks and shoes, even squeezing toothpaste and cooling down hot water for him, it was a bit too much…

“Although our roles are swapped, our ages are still there, just be natural, be natural.” Shen Jianghe concluded with a smile.

When it was Wang Qingchuan’s turn, it was the complete opposite. The things he could praise were so few that he could only offer a few polite remarks, about fairness, about the sudden appearance of a sister… The things he wanted Wang Zhizhi to improve on, the things he wanted the program team to improve on, it was an endless stream of complaints, they could all tell he had been holding it in for two days.

Then it was Wen Xiang’s turn, he didn’t say much, just like Wei Chengli, it was all praise. But when asked about areas for improvement, instead of shaking his head, Wen Xiang said he hoped Wen Dongyu could spend more time at home with him.

Wen Qiming had a bit more to say. He praised Wen Jiangyue a lot, but he had even higher expectations for her. Understanding the new baby better and arranging more suitable activities for him were the most important things he emphasized. After all, he didn’t want to recite scriptures again!

The last one to go on stage was Cheng Feiying. After praising his two daughters perfunctorily, he said he hoped Cheng Rongrong could be closer to the other new parents and make more friends at “work.” Cheng Rongrong’s face immediately darkened. As for Cheng Tingyan, Cheng Feiying hoped she could take better care of the other new parent in the family, after all, they were family, they had to raise him, the baby, together, they had to learn to cooperate better.

The dads felt they had all done well. After all, most of what they said was praise, and they had to offer some suggestions for improvement, no one was perfect, if everyone blindly praised like Wei Chengli, how could the new parents improve? And Wang Qingchuan, who mostly talked about improvements, didn’t feel he had done anything wrong, he was just stating facts, how could anyone be a parent like that, it’s better to live with a scale and a ruler!

Overall, the dads felt good about themselves, but some of the staff, knowing what would happen tomorrow, didn’t think so.

Liu Ming, watching the dads go on stage one by one, each offering suggestions for improvement to the new parents, felt a surge of… sympathy.

Putting aside the others, just these two…

Saying things like “There’s no need to treat him like a real baby” and “He spends too little time at home”…

Liu Ming had talked to the other staff members who were training the babies in acting this evening.

These two friends…

Learn to be content with your current lives and be grateful, because tomorrow, whether you’ll even have parents is another matter!

Chapter 101 p1

Braised gluten with meat filling, eel with scallions and oil, braised beef, pig trotters, Suzhou-style braised pork, shrimp with three delicacies… pickled mustard greens with edamame and bamboo shoots, braised eggplant, assorted mushrooms…

Nine insulated containers, a choice of six meat dishes and three vegetarian dishes, it was a sumptuous spread, and… a little bit cruel.

Each one smelled delicious and looked appetizing, but they only had a few bamboo tokens in their hands.

With limited funds, they had to make choices.

Or… did they?

“Are you two going to combine your tokens and not include me?” Wei Chengli, holding his bowl of noodles, listened to the two little ones in front of him discussing getting six meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes, asking the server to put half a portion in each of their bowls. He couldn’t help but interrupt them, his voice tinged with envy.

Liu Ming, standing next to Wei Maomao, helping to hold her bowl: “… “

Su Li, standing next to Cheng Tingyan, also helping to hold her bowl: “… “

Cheng Tingyan turned to look at Wei Chengli, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, which quickly turned into embarrassment. She pursed her lips, but didn’t respond to Wei Chengli, instead, she gently nudged Wei Maomao. “Maomao? Let’s include Uncle Wei.”

Wei Maomao glanced at Wei Chengli, speechless, he was acting like a child, wanting to join the little ones.

“Okay, let’s include him.” Wei Maomao wouldn’t refuse Cheng Tingyan’s request, she turned to Wei Chengli and beckoned him. “Dad, go and tell the uncle, we’ll share.”

Right, this kind of explanation and distribution task, they needed him, right! Including him was the right choice, she hoped this little chubby dumpling wouldn’t forget her second favorite, her old father, next time.

“Okay~~~” Wei Chengli, joining the little chubby dumpling’s love-sharing team, didn’t mind how he was forced into it, he happily walked to the front of the two little ones, holding his bowl, and said to the server, “Six meat dishes, two-thirds of a portion for each, three vegetarian dishes, one-third of a portion for each. The two little ones behind me, same toppings as mine.”

“Director Wei…” The server hesitated, taking the bowl.

Wei Chengli, noticing the server’s hesitation, asked, confused, “Can’t we buy it like this? It’s the same as using our tokens to get the food and then exchanging later. Please help us, we can save a step.” As a dad, he had to face challenges head-on!

“It’s not that you can’t.” The staff member, who had overheard their conversation earlier, said with an awkward smile. “Director Wei, did you miscalculate?”

“Mmm?” Wei Chengli was stunned.

“Three people, nine ‘Meat’ tokens, if you divide them evenly, it’s half a portion of each meat dish per person…” Liu Ming said softly, stepping forward and standing behind Wei Chengli.

Wei Chengli: “… “ How come it was half a portion for two people, but still half a portion for three people? Mental math had failed him!

The server smiled. “Yes. So, half a portion of each meat dish per person, and one-third of a portion of each vegetarian dish, is that okay?”

What else could he say? Wei Chengli quickly nodded, took his bowl with the toppings, and hurried back to his table.

Not long after, Liu Ming and Su Li also brought the other two bowls with toppings to their table.

Wei Chengli buried his face in his bowl, his ears perked up, listening to the sounds of the chairs next to him, he knew the little chubby dumpling and Yan Yan were back, so he buried his face even deeper.

“Dad.” Wei Maomao called out, looking at Wei Chengli.

Wei Chengli: “… “ He pretended to be busy eating, deaf to her call.

“Dad! Daddy, Daddy!”

Ahhh! This little rascal, couldn’t she see he was busy!

The childish voice, calling him repeatedly, finally forced Wei Chengli to look up.

The first thing he saw was Cheng Tingyan’s smiling eyes.

Sob, embarrassing himself in front of others… Wei Chengli looked away, avoiding the six-year-old’s smile, and turned to the little chubby dumpling. “What?”

“Dad, are the chopsticks delicious? Why are you only eating the chopsticks?” Wei Maomao asked with a straight face, pointing at the chopsticks in Wei Chengli’s hand.

Wei Chengli looked down.

The server had good skills, the toppings in his bowl were neatly arranged, they hadn’t been disturbed at all.

Okay… He was too focused on his embarrassment and eavesdropping earlier, he accidentally went from pretending to eat to not eating at all…

“Eat your noodles.” Wei Chengli said, annoyed, tapping the little chubby dumpling’s bowl.

Hmph! He wouldn’t eat with them again!

Eating the most sumptuous noodles, shedding the biggest tears, who would have thought?

Anyway, the other families, who had heard from their babies about Wei Maomao’s incredible work ethic this afternoon, couldn’t imagine it.

The other families, the new parents all chose the most luxurious noodles for their new babies, and the new babies naturally wouldn’t keep it all to themselves.

Even though the new parents said they didn’t want any, the new babies still insisted on sharing the noodle toppings they got with them.

It was all about forceful sharing.

Regardless, the process was full of back-and-forth, but the ending was harmonious.

Zeng Huanian, standing in the monitoring room, looked at the babies and dads happily eating on the screens, his heart filled with warmth.

Finally, a task that embodied giving, sharing, and love~~~ The reason they set the reward threshold so low was for everyone to share~~~ Only through sharing could they have more variety~~~

Oh, there were some families whose sharing was…

Zeng Huanian glanced at Cheng Feiying, who was munching on his beef and eggplant noodles, and Cheng Rongrong, who was eating eel with scallions and oil. What was wrong with these two? They really just got the toppings corresponding to their tokens and ate them all by themselves? If they shared, they could have three dishes! Look at the family three tables away, they had nine dishes, sharing made the meal richer!

He didn’t understand, but he could only respect their choices. Perhaps one didn’t like beef, the other didn’t like eel. At least… Cheng Feiying did give away one “Meat” token, which was considered good.

But Zeng Huanian’s self-consolation was something the viewers in the live broadcast room couldn’t learn.

“Compared to the other families, although Cheng Feiying also shared food with Cheng Rongrong, it seemed so… perfunctory? I don’t know how to describe it… Don’t they want to try each other’s beef and eel? Hahaha, it’s like colleagues sharing food.”

“I feel like Cheng Feiying and Cheng Rongrong probably just want to eat the dishes they chose themselves, that’s quite common. It looks strange today, maybe it’s because of the contrast with the other families’ back-and-forth, hahaha, the comparison makes their table seem particularly selfish and quiet.”

“The other tables are truly hilarious, it reminds me of when I was a kid, my mom would insist on me eating meat, while she only ate vegetables, when I gave her meat, she would say no, cover her bowl, move away, and even scold me! But today, they truly couldn’t get more dishes, while my family wasn’t poor back then, but she just had to do that…”

“Hahaha, the back-and-forth is so funny. I never thought I would see the shadows of our parents from our childhood in these little babies. Parents love doing this, giving you all the good food, refusing to touch it themselves, even when you offer it to them. Then when the children grow up, they say, ‘When you were young, I always gave you the best food, I saved everything for you, blah blah blah…’ But they could have easily afforded to buy one or two more kilograms of meat back then.”

“But seeing the babies like this, I’m starting to think that parents giving all the good food to their children, it might not be the right thing to do, but it’s probably genuine. Maybe when you become a parent, you’ll have this sense of responsibility. But truly, there’s no need…”

“Maybe many people have a giver personality, maybe they have to experience certain things before they realize that accepting and sharing is more important than just giving. But the little babies are truly adorable, if I had a little baby who worked so hard just to let me eat a decent meal, I would cry!”

“Hahaha, Director Wei, who got to eat the six-meat-three-vegetable noodles, is indeed crying, but it’s probably because of math. Math! The lifelong enemy of mankind!”

“Speaking of which, CEO Mao is still amazing, her working speed is incredible, she could work in a factory. Earning enough to support a family at three years old… CEO Mao saying she wants to take care of Yan Yan, she wasn’t kidding. If she wanted to, she truly could, she can do it now.”

“Don’t be too cruel, didn’t you see the close-up of CEO Mao’s right hand on her second cameraman’s feed when they started eating noodles? Her index finger and thumb are so red, I think it’s from using the tweezers, they might even swell up tonight. And did you notice? Earlier, when Yan Yan came over, she wanted to sit on CEO Mao’s right side, but CEO Mao specifically moved, letting Yan Yan sit on her left. I think CEO Mao doesn’t want Yan Yan to see her right hand! Sob, sob, sob, poor little bunny!”

“It’s a bit too much for a three-year-old baby to work this hard… It’s all because of Cheng Rongrong, insisting on arranging Yan Yan’s money. Otherwise, Yan Yan could have redeemed noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for Cheng Feiying, and she would have enough left for a bowl of plain noodles, just like Little CEO Shen and the others. Then CEO Mao wouldn’t have to work so hard, she could just work a little bit more and add some meat toppings for Yan Yan. But Yan Yan’s money isn’t Yan Yan’s money… CEO Mao must have worked so hard to get the noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish to ensure everyone had a decent meal!”

“It’s truly outrageous, some people, at such a young age, already know how to use their age and family to guilt-trip their older sister. Truly realistic… Reality is like this, in families with multiple children, those who know how to guilt-trip, who know how to manipulate their parents into playing favorites, can get things from the other children. Being taken from them and given to their parents is one thing, it can be considered filial piety or repaying their upbringing, but they even have to take care of their other siblings, it’s truly too much.”

“Watching a variety show and gaining life lessons, people, truly, have to be more aware. Yan Yan, open your eyes, your stepsister, at such a young age, is already arranging your money! Run! Run towards CEO Mao!”

Chapter 100

Dinner was once again arranged at the village square.

Two large pots for cooking noodles were set up outdoors, along with a row of insulated containers filled with various noodle toppings.

The dads, brought over by the staff earlier, were sitting at their respective tables, waiting for their babies.

After finishing their acting practice, the other dads all went back to their homes. Wei Chengli, because his house was being used by the babies for their task, was homeless and could only accept Shen Jianghe’s invitation to visit his house. With all due respect, that pigsty… In this summer heat, Shen Jianghe’s tolerance was truly admirable.

Because he was told he couldn’t go home, Wei Chengli had also received some hints from the staff, what they would be eating for dinner would depend on the babies’ work results this evening. What to eat, how much to eat, whether it was good or bad, it was all up to the little chubby dumpling’s efforts, Wei Chengli felt it was all good. He just… hoped there wouldn’t be any “surprises” like at lunch.

The evening summer breeze carried a hint of coolness. While the other dads were either chatting or leaning back in their chairs, enjoying their free time, only Wei Chengli couldn’t help but look towards the alley leading to the small square.

And he was indeed the first to see the babies coming.

Most of them were happy… Wei Chengli’s gaze swept past Cheng Rongrong, who was the only one who didn’t seem happy, and landed on the little chubby dumpling, walking at the back, hand in hand with Cheng Tingyan. Mmm… Energetic, head held high, she must have done well, right? A smile unconsciously appeared on Wei Chengli’s face, he suddenly felt that even if dinner came with a “surprise,” it wouldn’t be so bad.

There was indeed a “surprise,” but it was different from the one at lunch.

After entering the small square, the babies dispersed to their respective tables. For a moment, the sound of small, crisp objects landing on the wooden tables filled the air.

And the sounds from the Wei family’s table were the loudest and most persistent.

“This is…” Wei Chengli looked at the small, square bamboo tokens, about half the size of his palm, that Wei Maomao had scattered on the table, he picked one up. “‘Vegetarian’?”

Did it mean plain noodles?

“Your ‘Meat Meat Meat Vegetarian Noodles.’” Wei Maomao pushed four more tokens towards Wei Chengli from the table.

Wei Chengli looked at the four tokens, each engraved with “Meat,” “Meat,” “Meat,” and “Noodles,” and exclaimed, “Baby! You can read!”

Wei Maomao continued distributing the remaining tokens, her head still lowered. “Sister Mingming taught me, they look different.”

“Baby! You’re amazing! You can read!” Wei Chengli picked up the little chubby dumpling and shook her. “Let’s send you to school after summer!” Don’t waste such a smart little brain at home!

“No!” The determined, carefree Maomao struggled free, returned to the stool, and continued distributing the tokens.

“You little lazybones.” Wei Chengli ruffled the little chubby dumpling’s soft hair and casually glanced at the tables next to them.

This glance… something seemed wrong.

“What task did you do this evening? Why did you bring back so many?” Wei Chengli rummaged through the pile of tokens that hadn’t been given to him by the little chubby dumpling and whispered, “Why do you have so many more than Shen Zilin and Wen Jiangyue next to us? So many ‘Meat’… So many ‘Vegetarian’… Only two ‘Noodles.’ Mmm? What’s that separate pile of ‘Meat Meat Meat Vegetarian’ without ‘Noodles’ for?”

“Picking sealing rings. This is yours, this is mine.” Wei Maomao pointed her chubby paw at the pile of tokens in front of Wei Chengli, then at the ‘Meat Meat Meat Vegetarian Noodles’ in front of her, and finally at the four separate ‘Meat Meat Meat Vegetarian’ tokens. “Yan Yan.”

Wei Chengli: “… “ Mmm, he should have known, look at his talkative mouth.

But…

Wei Chengli looked around, then asked curiously, “Baby, did you get first place again for this task?”

Wei Maomao nodded and looked at Wei Chengli. “Yan Yan will be eating with us later.”

“Mmm?” Wei Chengli looked at the four small bamboo tokens under the little chubby paw, then at the little chubby dumpling’s serious expression, he felt something was wrong. But he couldn’t suppress his curiosity, he pointed at the temporary noodle stall in the distance and asked, “Didn’t we all eat at our own homes these past two days? These are tokens for getting food there, right? Why didn’t you just give them to Yan Yan?”

Wei Maomao smiled.

On her chubby little face, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, it was an innocent, determined, and slightly mischievous smile.

Wei Chengli had a bad feeling, he instinctively tried to stop her. “Don’t…”

But the little chubby dumpling, how could she be easily stopped?

“Mine.” Wei Maomao pressed her paw lightly on the four bamboo tokens. “No one can use my things to show generosity.”

Wei Chengli: “… “ With your strong sense of property protection, who would dare to use your things to show generosity?

“Daddy, I remembered everything you said, am I amazing?” Wei Maomao, dissatisfied with Wei Chengli’s silence, reached out and patted his face.

“… “ Wei Chengli, feeling the firm pressure of the little chubby paw on his face, nodded. “Amazing…”

Who would dare to use Wei Maomao’s things to show generosity? Of course, it was…

Cheng Feiying looked at the four bamboo tokens in front of him, “Meat Meat Vegetarian Noodles,” then at the single “Noodles” token in front of each of his daughters. He craned his neck, glanced at the amount of tokens on the tables around them, then shook his head and said, “It seems the task this afternoon was quite difficult, every family has about the same small amount of tokens.”

Neither of his daughters responded.

Cheng Feiying fiddled with the tokens in front of him, logically, they had shown their filial piety, now it was his turn to show his fatherly love. But how should he divide them? He had to be fair, right? He should give each of them one “Meat” token, then he would eat plain noodles with soy sauce? But he really wanted to eat meat… Cheng Feiying glanced at the lonely “Noodles” token in front of Cheng Tingyan, but giving one “Vegetarian” and one “Meat” to them, while keeping one “Meat” for himself, that would be too obvious.

He could only…

Cheng Feiying eventually picked up two “Meat” tokens, pushed one towards each of his daughters, and said kindly, “How can we only eat noodles? We have three topping tokens, let’s share them.”

Cheng Rongrong said loudly, “She doesn’t need it!”

Cheng Tingyan said softly, “I don’t need it…”

They both spoke almost simultaneously, Cheng Rongrong’s voice was fast and urgent, Cheng Tingyan glanced at her.

Cheng Feiying looked at Cheng Rongrong, then at Cheng Tingyan. “What do you mean by ‘don’t need it’? Cheng… Yan Yan, you don’t want to eat meat, you want to eat vegetarian?” Cheng Feiying asked, pushing the “Vegetarian” token in front of him towards her with a hint of expectation.

“I’m going to eat at Maomao’s house later.” Cheng Tingyan pushed the two tokens, “Meat” and “Vegetarian,” back to Cheng Feiying.

“Older sister doesn’t need Dad’s meat and vegetable toppings. Maomao arranged ‘Three Meat One Vegetarian’ for her, she’s not eating with us.” Cheng Rongrong, realizing her earlier outburst, quickly adjusted her tone, making it gentler and more suggestive.

Get angry! Get angry! Even dogs don’t dislike their poor homes, your precious daughter dislikes the food at home and wants to eat at someone else’s house, don’t you feel ashamed! Cheng Rongrong stared at Cheng Feiying, waiting for his outburst.

Then… she saw Cheng Feiying touch the “Meat” and “Vegetarian” tokens that Cheng Tingyan had pushed back, then… he smiled.

Cheng Rongrong’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Okay. Maomao, not bad. I didn’t expect her to be so capable at such a young age.” Cheng Feiying smiled and gestured for Cheng Tingyan to leave. “Then you go.”

Cheng Tingyan didn’t expect Cheng Feiying, who had returned to his normal state this morning, to be so agreeable again, she was stunned for a moment before standing up, taking her “Noodles” token, and walking towards the Wei family’s table.

Just like that?

Cheng Rongrong looked at Cheng Feiying in disbelief. Clearly, in the past two days, Cheng Feiying had been quite unhappy about Cheng Tingyan always going to that stinky fatty’s house to eat, how come today… Was he too exhausted from the motion-sensing game this morning to be angry?

“Daddy, Older sister is not eating with us again. We’re family, but she likes Maomao more…” Cheng Rongrong said, looking aggrieved. She refused to believe it, after saying this, wouldn’t Cheng Feiying realize, wouldn’t he feel rejected?

Cheng Feiying… truly didn’t feel rejected.

He touched the “Meat” token in his hand, mmm… he wondered what kind of meat topping they had today. Only one “Meat” token, he had to choose a meat dish with more meat, he was truly hungry today.

As for Cheng Rongrong’s words…

Cheng Feiying glanced at the “Meat” token next to his younger daughter. “Rongrong, look at how well Yan Yan gets along with the other babies. She only got plain noodles, and Maomao, worried that she wouldn’t eat well, invited her to join them. You should also work hard.”

Cheng Rongrong followed Cheng Feiying’s gaze and looked at the “Meat” token next to her: ???

Did they run out of rice at home? One daughter eating out wasn’t enough? He didn’t even want to raise the other one anymore? Seriously! Was he that short-sighted? Would he starve to death if he didn’t eat meat for one meal!

Work hard, how could she work hard? Besides that stinky fatty, who else had extra food? Asking her to be friends with Wei Maomao, she might as well die!

Cheng Rongrong thought about the earlier noodle redemption incident and was so angry that her face hurt.

At that time, the host asked Cheng Tingyan what she wanted to do. Cheng Tingyan chose to redeem noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for Cheng Feiying, then combine the remaining points with Cheng Rongrong’s to see what they could get for the two of them. It was nothing special, Cheng Rongrong had 2.6 sheets left, Cheng Tingyan had 7.8 sheets, combined, they could only redeem two bowls of plain noodles with soy sauce, which cost five sheets each.

Filial piety, it was Cheng Rongrong’s suggestion, she thought Cheng Feiying wouldn’t eat alone and watch them eat plain noodles with soy sauce. With this redemption, she could have both face and substance. As for using 2.4 sheets from Cheng Tingyan’s earnings, who made her only three and a half years old? It was normal for a six-year-old older sister to contribute more, Wang Zhizhi and Wei Maomao, those two idiots, were just being difficult.

Up until then, everything had been going smoothly for Cheng Rongrong.

But the unexpected happened.

Wei Maomao, the last one to settle her earnings, with her two chubby paws, had actually earned enough for three portions of noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

Hearing the number “three,” Cheng Rongrong knew it wasn’t good.

As expected, Wei Maomao immediately declared that one portion was for Cheng Tingyan. After whispering to Cheng Tingyan, she said that with the noodles Cheng Tingyan redeemed herself, they had an extra bowl, and immediately called Li Mu, the staff member, over.

They discussed using Cheng Tingyan’s 5.4 sheets, not for plain noodles with soy sauce anymore, but for extra toppings. They could redeem three meat toppings and add them to the three portions of noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish that Wei Maomao earned, turning them into three portions of noodles with three meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

Cheng Rongrong, at that time, looking at the lonely “Noodles” token in her hand, couldn’t help but say, “Maomao’s side already has noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, and Older sister is still adding her meat toppings to their family?”

It was just a casual comment, because the contrast was too strong.

But Wang Zhizhi was the first to jump out, retorting, “Not adding to Maomao’s family, adding to yours? Why don’t you treat Yan Yan to the noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, then she can add meat toppings to yours too.”

Cheng Rongrong didn’t understand why he was criticizing her. Wei Maomao was always clinging to Cheng Tingyan, it was her own business if she wanted to buy her the better noodles. Now that Cheng Tingyan had her own food and drinks, would she just ignore her own family? Why help others when she could help her own family? Helping or not was another matter, she had to point it out to the viewers, this was Cheng Tingyan being ungrateful.

Sadly, after being bombarded by Wang Zhizhi, just as Cheng Rongrong was about to retaliate, that stinky fatty also spoke up.

Wei Maomao directly pulled the rug out from under her, she asked Yan Yan to keep her “Noodles” token and chose to exchange one bowl of her three portions of noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for three meat toppings.

Cheng Rongrong didn’t understand at the time, what was the difference?

Then Wei Maomao turned to her and said, “Now these three meat toppings are bought with my money. Sister Rongrong loves making arrangements so much, isn’t arranging for your own family enough? You can’t be arranging mine too, right?”

Those words, even now, thinking about them made Cheng Rongrong’s face hurt.

How could she say such things! Who wanted to arrange for her!

And…

Cheng Rongrong glared at Cheng Feiying angrily, who wanted to be friends with her!

Chapter 99

This afternoon, both the dads and the babies had a fulfilling day.

The dads worked together to smoothly rehearse the anti-fraud skit provided by the program team and even went to visit the stage being set up at the village square.

Except for Shen Zilin, the other babies, with the program team’s help, opened the doors to a new world. And Shen Zilin… harvested another big bag of freshly dug Baby Coins.

As the sun began to set, the acting lessons on both sides ended. The new babies, sipping on iced watermelon juice, went back to their respective homes to rest, while the new parents… still had to work to earn their dinner.

Unlike this morning, where they could choose a task that suited them, there was only one job available tonight…

Working all day, as they worked, the babies started to regret not taking a nap.

“How many have you guys picked?” Wen Dongyu asked, shaking off the translucent disc from his tweezers and looking around.

“I don’t know.” Wen Jiangyue said, straightening up and stretching her back, taking a deep breath. “I’m so tired.”

“No time to count…” Wang Zhizhi, next to her, directly used his fingers to remove the remaining disc fragments from the large silicone sheet that hadn’t been picked clean by the tweezers.

“I’m on my third sheet.” Cheng Rongrong, focused on her work, replied.

Shen Zilin picked off the last circle from the large silicone sheet in his hand, glanced at the pile of large sheets next to him, and said, “I just finished my fifth sheet.”

“How much is five sheets?” Wen Dongyu asked Shen Zilin.

“Sixty circles per sheet, six jiao for picking off the small discs, another six jiao for picking off the small rings. Five sheets is five times one yuan and twenty cents.” Shen Zilin grabbed a new, intact silicone sheet, then looked at Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan. “What about Maomao and Yan Yan?”

“I finished four sheets…” Cheng Tingyan pursed her lips, she was a bit slow, mainly because she couldn’t stand seeing any fragments left behind, she always wanted to pick them clean with her hands.

Wei Maomao, her hands still working, replied listlessly, “I don’t know, maybe my sixth, seventh, or eighth sheet…”

“One sheet is one yuan and twenty cents, how many sheets do we need to buy dinner?” Wen Dongyu glanced at the pig squatting by the staff’s feet in the distance. “Do you think we can eat Xixi’s milk powder and oatmeal?”

“… “ Wen Jiangyue shook her sore hand. “Twelve yuan for a bowl of noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, ten yuan for a bowl with one meat dish and one vegetable dish, eight yuan for a bowl of plain noodles, and six yuan for a bowl of plain noodles with soy sauce. We should be able to earn enough for two bowls of plain noodles with soy sauce, right? Don’t even think about Xixi’s food.”

“Let’s work hard, two bowls of plain noodles with soy sauce is…” Wang Zhizhi looked at Li Mu among the staff.

Li Mu raised his hand, crossing his two index fingers to form a “ten.”

“It’s ten sheets.” Wang Zhizhi stopped working, walked to Wen Dongyu, and examined the silicone sheets he had finished picking. “You’ve finished four, six more to go.”

After saying that, Wang Zhizhi looked at Li Mu again.

Li Mu gave him a thumbs up.

Learning was effective, Wang Zhizhi returned to his table, satisfied.

“We can’t just let him eat plain noodles with soy sauce…” Wen Dongyu quickly finished picking the last two circles on the sheet in his hand, shaking the silicone sheet with only circular holes left. “I have to work hard! I don’t want to be a parent who lets my baby starve!”

“Older sister.” Cheng Rongrong suddenly called out to Cheng Tingyan.

Cheng Tingyan’s hand, holding the tweezers, paused, she looked up.

“Older sister, we’re so slow, let’s buy Dad better noodles, and we’ll eat plain noodles with soy sauce…” Cheng Rongrong said, twisting her right wrist slightly. “What do you think, Older sister?”

“The program team’s rule is that the type of noodles your dad gets to eat is based on half of the combined amount you and Yan Yan are willing to spend, then the remaining money is for buying your own noodles.” Wang Zhizhi, looking at them, said strictly. “If you want to buy twelve yuan noodles for your dad, both you and Yan Yan have to contribute twelve yuan. Then the remaining money is yours to spend, how much Yan Yan has left and what kind of noodles she eats is her own choice, don’t try to control her.”

Cheng Rongrong: “… “ If she could earn enough for twelve yuan noodles plus a bowl of plain noodles with soy sauce, she wouldn’t be wasting her breath talking to Cheng Tingyan. And this Wang Zhizhi, what did it have to do with him?

This whole day, the babies were kept busy by the program team, like true 007 workers, Cheng Rongrong didn’t even have time to approach Jiang Heye again. Finally, during nap time, Cheng Feiying took forever to eat lunch, he was the last to leave the table, she chased after him to the Wang family’s house, only to be stopped by the staff, Jiang Heye was already asleep! If she couldn’t get close to Jiang Heye, then Wang Zhizhi was completely useless to her.

Cheng Rongrong, exhausted after a long day, decided to ignore Wang Zhizhi.

“Brother Zhizhi.” Cheng Rongrong twisted her wrist, looking aggrieved. “I’m only three years old… Older sister is six, three years older than me. I’m working very hard…”

Wang Zhizhi: “… “

Cheng Rongrong smirked inwardly, some things, she didn’t need to spell them out, everyone could understand. Could a three-year-old do the same work as a six-year-old? Would a six-year-old have the nerve to ask a three-year-old to contribute the same amount of money? Oh, she could have the nerve, but the viewers were watching.

“Sister Rongrong, you’re three and a half years old. I’m only three.” Wei Maomao quickly pulled off a rubber ring, put down her work, and flipped over the silicone sheet she had finished picking. “I’ve finished seven sheets. Sister Rongrong, you’re half a year older than me, you’re not working hard enough.”

After saying that, Wei Maomao, as if nothing had happened, picked up her tweezers again. But her working speed increased, the tweezers practically creating afterimages.

Cheng Rongrong was speechless. Damn it, how could she forget about this… Aaaah, why did this one have to join the show, she wasn’t the youngest anymore, not having the age advantage was truly inconvenient!

Wei Maomao, her hands still working, glanced at Cheng Rongrong from the corner of her eye. Good, her face was red with anger. Talking about three years old and six years old, why not just directly ask Yan Yan to pay double? If their family relationship was good, it was fine for the more capable one to do more work. With their family dynamics, did they even have any morals? They just wanted to guilt-trip others.

But… Wei Maomao’s hand speed increased even further. Since you want to guilt-trip for the audience to see, I’ll let you!

Wei Maomao was still concerned about the public opinion in the live broadcast room, but she didn’t know that she didn’t need to work so hard anymore, because the public opinion was already a strong wind, blowing directly at Cheng Rongrong.

“Oh my god, when I heard Cheng Rongrong say she was three and Yan Yan was six, I actually thought for a second, ‘Right, Yan Yan is older, she can do more.’ If it wasn’t for CEO Mao… I would have been fooled!”

“Those who are more capable can do more, but being asked to do more is annoying. Especially when, after doing more, they’re even told how to spend their earnings, why? If Yan Yan earns more and Cheng Rongrong earns less, will they have to listen to the one who earned less when deciding what to eat for dinner?”

“Right! Using CEO Mao’s, oh no, Director Wei’s words, it’s called ‘using other people’s things to show generosity’! The worst!”

“Yes, Cheng Rongrong’s words seem harmless at first glance, but thinking about it carefully, later, when they combine their money, Cheng Rongrong’s share might not even be enough for half of Cheng Feiying’s meal, she’ll have to rely on Yan Yan’s money to eat dinner, how can she be so comfortable making decisions?”

“Why is she so comfortable? It’s obvious that she’s used to it! I want to see how they’ll treat Cheng Feiying tomorrow. No, I can already imagine it!”

“I’ve always felt that the program team’s two piecework tasks today are quite realistic. In real life, parents work hard to earn money, they always want to earn more, bring back more good things. But I didn’t expect to see the issue of elderly care reflected in it. Hahaha, with Cheng Rongrong’s logic, when it’s time for elderly care, Yan Yan will also be guilt-tripped, right? Is being three years older a sin?”

“The key is, don’t you guys think this Cheng Rongrong, her way of speaking is a bit strange… It’s like she always leaves things unsaid, wanting people to fill in the blanks… I don’t know how to describe it, it’s just uncomfortable to listen to.”

“Hahaha, the person above, that’s called being passive-aggressive, hahaha. It’s like, ‘I’m aggrieved, but I won’t say it, you figure it out yourself.’”

“Oh my god, look at CEO Mao’s speed! Is she even faster now? I just saw Shen Zilin finish two rows, how come CEO Mao is already on a new sheet? Wait, did she change her posture?”

“Yes, she changed her posture, she used to pick off all sixty small discs from the whole sheet first, then pick off the small rubber rings. Now she’s alternating between discs and rings, even hanging the rings on her fingers while picking them off. Saving time on moving her arm and flicking off the rings one by one, that’s why she’s faster. Hahaha, but there’s one problem… CEO Mao’s fingers are too short, she can’t hang many rings, she has to take them off frequently.”

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter! Those short, chubby fingers are truly enduring so much! If CEO Mao’s hands were as slender as Yan Yan’s, she could hang more rings at once, she would be even faster!”

“It’s useless even if Yan Yan’s fingers are long, hahaha, she’s so meticulous, picking off each ring so cleanly! What are these called again, sealing rings? I feel like the ones she picked off can be used directly, no need to trim the edges.”

“It seems Director Wei will be able to eat the most luxurious noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish tonight! Sadly, there’s no surprise~~~ I want to see Director Wei receive another surprise!”

“The person above is so mean, Director Wei: ‘Listen to me say thank you~~~’”

…

One large silicone sheet, sixty small discs and sixty small rubber rings to be picked off, not counting rework, that’s 120 picks per sheet.

Calculating the price, it meant ten sheets for noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, 8.4 sheets for noodles with one meat dish and one vegetable dish, 6.7 sheets for plain noodles, and five sheets for plain noodles with soy sauce. And this was just for one person.

The time limit for tonight’s sealing ring picking task was one hour, much shorter than this morning’s. Even though Wei Maomao shared her secret for faster picking, the babies, exhausted after a long day, truly… couldn’t work any harder.

They tried their best, but their final results were mostly around a dozen sheets.

Shen Zilin and Wang Zhizhi, who were faster, chose noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for their babies, while they themselves ate plain noodles. Wen Dongyu and Wen Jiangyue, who were slower, chose plain noodles with soy sauce for themselves, while their babies could only eat noodles with one meat dish and one vegetable dish.

Cheng Rongrong completed 12.6 sheets, Cheng Tingyan 17.8 sheets. Cheng Tingyan, who had learned from Wei Maomao and increased her speed, was actually faster than Shen Zilin and the others, but after averaging with Cheng Rongrong…

“Mmm… So how do you want to redeem?” The host looked at Cheng Tingyan, then at Cheng Rongrong.

“Older sister, because we chose a very difficult task for Dad this morning, he’s very tired, let’s get him the noodles with two meat…” Cheng Rongrong said weakly.

“Okay.” Cheng Tingyan, not wanting to hear Cheng Rongrong’s reasoning, interrupted her.

“If you redeem the noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for your dad, then you won’t have enough left for a bowl of plain noodles with soy sauce.” Wang Zhizhi, who had gone to Li Mu for a quick lesson, came back, interrupting Cheng Rongrong.

“… “ Cheng Rongrong looked at Cheng Tingyan with a wronged expression, as if she had said everything and yet said nothing.

Cheng Tingyan, under her gaze, unconsciously bit her lip, right, it was this look, every time Cheng Rongrong did this at home, it would be followed by…

Just as Cheng Tingyan was about to be pulled into unpleasant memories, a warmth suddenly enveloped her hand.

Cheng Tingyan looked down, a warm, chubby paw was placed in her hand.

“Exchange, exchange, exchange. You won’t regret it after exchanging, right?” Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Rongrong.

“I won’t regret it. I want to get the noodles with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for Dad! It’s okay if I don’t eat.” Cheng Rongrong said firmly.

She wasn’t a three-and-a-half-year-old child, she wasn’t afraid of going hungry, putting aside Cheng Feiying, the program team definitely wouldn’t let a child starve, it was better to take a stand. As for Cheng Tingyan, whether she wanted to join her or not, it was her choice, she had already shown her filial piety.

The host, after hearing Cheng Rongrong’s self-sacrificing declaration, looked at Cheng Tingyan. “Then Yan Yan…”

Chapter 98

A few days ago, during the “Help the Villagers” task, Cheng Tingyan, Wei Maomao, and Wen Jiangyue happened to stumble upon Grandma Zhao Lanhua being targeted by a phone scam. With the combined efforts of the babies and the program staff, they managed to save Grandma Zhao’s money.

This incident was broadcasted live, and the social impact was significant. Many people with similar experiences shared their stories online, and even more people were alerted to such scams. The TV station valued the positive effect this incident brought and immediately discussed with Shi Dingshan the possibility of incorporating more socially impactful content into the live broadcast. Not to mention anything else, it could at least offset the negative impact of the dads’ increasingly tarnished images on the show.

So when they decided to stay in the village for the second location, the program team planned to hold a small evening party in the village before they left, focusing on anti-fraud awareness, with entertainment as a secondary element.

The village was very cooperative with this activity and even offered many suggestions for the entertainment portion. For example… the children’s choir from the Shihua Town Central Kindergarten, whom Zeng Huanian had borrowed for the morning, was contacted by the village.

As for the anti-fraud content, the program team decided to arrange it in the form of skits, to more vividly and concretely demonstrate the truth behind scams. The dads, naturally, were the laborers, each one had to participate, and the babies weren’t exempt either, their roles were also decided early on.

After enjoying the lunch earned by the new parents and taking a short nap, the babies and dads were taken to two different courtyards, starting their training for tomorrow night’s performance.

The dads were led by the staff into an unfamiliar courtyard. There were already many villagers there, gathered in small groups, seemingly already rehearsing.

The host handed out a stack of scripts to the dads and cleared his throat. “New babies, please take a look at the scripts first. After you’re done, we’ll discuss the role assignments.”

Everyone took a script and after reading for a while, Wen Qiming pointed at a section and said, “This part about the hundred yuan being exchanged back and forth, it’s making me dizzy. This role needs someone good at math, right? Which one of us is good at math?”

“CEO Shen, his business is so big, he must be good at math.” Cheng Feiying suggested, rubbing his stomach.

Wen Qiming looked at Shen Jianghe. “CEO Shen?”

Shen Jianghe shook his head. “I can calculate, I can play the shopkeeper, but not the scammer, I probably don’t have the speed for exchanging money.”

“Right, you need fast hands…” Wen Qiming mumbled to himself.

“Wait, wait.” The host interjected weakly. “We’re not choosing the roles freely. They’re assigned based on the new babies’ performance in the morning’s task, those with higher completion rates get to choose first.”

The dads: “… “

“Because the tasks are different, the completion rate is judged by a team of ten staff members, it’s fair and just.” The host added.

“Just tell us the ranking order…” Wang Qingchuan said, exasperated. “Anyway, I didn’t clear that game, I’m last.”

“Wei Chengli, who finished eating the yogurt melts and writing the 1800-word review, and Wang Qingbei, who independently cleared the puzzle game, are tied for first. Cheng Feiying, who cleared the motion-sensing game with Shen Jianghe’s help, is in third place. Wen Xiang, who kept spacing out while playing with toys, and Shen Jianghe, who couldn’t focus, didn’t read the books and documentaries properly, and kept walking around and chatting, cough cough, are tied for fourth place. Wen Qiming, who didn’t finish reciting the scripture, and Wang Qingchuan, who didn’t clear the game, are ranked based on their completion percentage, Wen Qiming is sixth, Wang Qingchuan is seventh.” The host finished speaking quickly, then added, “Those who are tied can decide the order through rock-paper-scissors.”

It sounded quite fair.

Shen Jianghe rubbed his nose awkwardly, ah, an easy task could truly make people careless.

“Then you guys choose first.” Wang Qingchuan said, then looked at Wang Qingbei. “Your first place is a bit wasted, there’s only one female character in the script, a pregnant woman, you don’t even need to choose.”

Wang Qingbei smiled, tapping the script in her hand. “Who said that? The shopkeeper, the scammer, the one making the phone call, the one receiving the phone call, and the customer service… All these roles, it never said they had to be men, I can choose any of them.”

“But the pregnant woman, she’s a woman.” Cheng Feiying said instinctively.

“Yes, the pregnant woman is a woman, but it doesn’t have to be played by a woman. After all…” Wang Qingbei smiled kindly. “After all, I’m tied for first place.”

The dads: “… “

If Wang Qingbei didn’t choose the pregnant woman role, it was obvious who would have to play it.

Wang Qingchuan didn’t want to play a pregnant woman! They were live broadcasting!

“Well…” Discretion was the better part of valor, Wang Qingchuan tried to be friendly. “You do call me ‘Brother.’ We’re family…”

Honestly, even Wang Qingchuan felt his words were weak, it wasn’t that he couldn’t put aside his pride and try to get closer to Wang Qingbei at this crucial moment, it was just that his attitude towards her these past two days had been… Anyway, saying this, Wang Qingchuan felt that Wang Qingbei wouldn’t miss this opportunity to watch him suffer.

However, Wang Qingbei actually let it go.

“Okay, since you’re my brother, I’ll choose the pregnant woman role.” Wang Qingbei said, stroking the script in her hand, looking at Wang Qingchuan. “After all, our parent is the kind and fair Zhizhi, we should be close and loving siblings now, right, Brother?”

“Right, right, right!” Wang Qingchuan breathed a sigh of relief, he didn’t even mind the cheesy “close and loving siblings” part.

Wang Qingbei, looking at Wang Qingchuan’s relieved expression, knew he didn’t understand the meaning behind her words. But it didn’t matter, the babies should be receiving their notifications around this time.

Only a kind and fair Parent Zhizhi like the one these past two days would have close and loving children.

As for someone like Wang Qingchuan tomorrow… Wang Qingbei smiled, she had eaten a bit too much these past two days, she would have to exercise properly starting tomorrow.

Following the order, Wang Qingbei chose the pregnant woman role, and Wei Chengli, who was tied for first place, had to make his choice.

As Wei Chengli quickly scanned the script, he couldn’t help but think, this courtyard was quite big, it wasn’t just them, the villagers were also rehearsing here, there was still space for the children, why weren’t the babies here together… He was curious about what kind of script the little chubby dumpling had received.

What kind of script? It was the script for playing the role of their dads.

Compared to the performance on the big stage the day after tomorrow, the role-playing starting tomorrow morning was more pressing.

Although it was called the “Anti-Fraud Gala,” it wasn’t just about raising awareness of scams, it also included other types of deception. Like the short skit where the babies collectively reminded children to be wary of strangers, it was one of them.

It was easy to rehearse, the strangers would try to lure them with various methods, and the babies just had to bravely say no. After two run-throughs, it was almost ready.

The other roles the babies had to play were basically props in the villagers’ other skits, even simpler than the collective “no” skit, they just had to be led around. The purpose, naturally, was to use the babies’ current popularity to boost the viewership of the villagers’ skits.

In short, the babies’ tasks on the big stage were very simple, much simpler than the dads’.

So simple that… after being led around for two rounds by an old man, Wen Dongyu came back, yawning while holding the pig.

Yawns were contagious.

Wei Maomao watched as Cheng Tingyan next to her covered her mouth, turned her head slightly, and let out a soft yawn.

Even yawning, she was so cute and ladylike? Wei Maomao smiled, just as she was about to talk to Cheng Tingyan, she couldn’t help but yawn widely, and was caught red-handed by Cheng Tingyan, who had just turned back, her eyes still teary from yawning.

Cheng Tingyan couldn’t help but laugh.

Wei Maomao: “… “ Okay, she would also be a lady! Definitely next time!

Seeing that the babies, who usually played together at noon and didn’t take proper naps, were now sleepy from the slow-paced afternoon task, the program team finally extended their devilish claws and woke them up.

After familiarizing the babies with the tasks for tomorrow night’s gala, the program team took them back to the Wei family’s courtyard.

Only the babies returned to the already cleaned courtyard.

And here, they received a task that left them clueless.

“What does it mean to no longer be the kind of parent we want to be?” Wen Dongyu scratched his head. “What are we supposed to do, playing the role of our dads? Do we have to wear our dads’ clothes and shoes?”

“It’s not about the appearance, it’s about the heart.” Yang Ning patted her chest, trying to explain. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll still be the parents, you’ll still be taking care of your dads and siblings. But the things you say, the things you do, they can’t be based on your own thoughts. You have to think, if it was your dad, what would he say? What would he do? Faced with this situation, what choice would he make?”

“Oh…” Wen Dongyu, still confused, continued scratching his head.

“Simply put, you treat him how your dad usually treats you.” Yang Ning smiled. “It’s okay if you don’t understand it now, we’ll assign a staff member to each of you to help you analyze and practice.”

“My dad…” Wen Dongyu started to think hard.

“If your dad gave your favorite toy to someone else, you give his favorite thing to someone else. If your dad lent you money, you lend him money.” Wang Zhizhi, whose brain had become more agile from all the thinking recently, offered examples for Wen Dongyu.

“Oh! So that’s how it is!” Wen Dongyu suddenly understood, he looked at Yang Ning for confirmation. “Sister Yangyang, is that right?”

Yang Ning, her lips twitching, maintained her smile. “According to the rules, yes.”

“Then who should I give Dad to?” Wen Dongyu asked, falling into a new round of contemplation.

“… “ Yang Ning squatted down, looking at Wen Dongyu seriously. “Dongdong, it’s Dad’s favorite things, not Dad…”

“Oh, right.” Wen Dongyu nodded and started counting on his fingers. “Clothes, pants, shoes…”

Yang Ning: “… “

Could this task… really be carried out smoothly… Would Wen Xiang even be able to leave the house tomorrow…

“Babies.” Yang Ning stood up and clapped her hands, attracting the babies’ attention. “Before you start analyzing and practicing, let me reiterate. This time, the purpose of this task, asking you to play the role of your dads, is to let your dads see clearly how they appear in your eyes, to let them experience how you feel when facing their words and choices. The things you say, the things you do, they should all be things your dads would usually say and do. And you’re doing this to help your dads understand themselves better and make positive changes in the future, do you understand?”

The babies: “Understood!”

Whether the others understood or not, Wei Maomao didn’t know, but she understood, the program team was stirring up trouble. And they weren’t afraid of making a big mess… With all due respect, they were a bit crazy.

But she liked it!

It was like finding the perfect solution to a problem!

Although she hated Cheng Feiying and disliked Cheng Rongrong, Wei Maomao had always been the one taking the lead, preventing Cheng Tingyan from directly confronting them. After all, family ties were like shackles, sometimes, even the one suffering, if they resisted, they might not be able to explain themselves, right would become wrong.

So, Cheng Tingyan working hard on the tasks, Wei Maomao thought it was good. Cheng Tingyan working hard to bring back more resources for Cheng Feiying and the others, Wei Maomao also thought it was good. The things on the show, the temporary happiness and ease, what were they worth? Compared to a good image and reputation, they were nothing.

Yan Yan was so good, everyone would see it, everyone would know.

As for the bad parts, Wei Maomao would naturally handle them.

But now it was different. The program team had given them such a righteous reason!

With the program team’s justification of role-playing to help the dads understand themselves and change for the better, family ties were no longer a constraint for Yan Yan…

What kind of person Cheng Feiying was, what kind of life Yan Yan lived at the Cheng family’s house… They didn’t even need to find opportunities to subtly reveal it, this task of playing the role of Cheng Feiying would show everyone.

It’s just that the program team always came up with these sudden activities… They hadn’t planned on doing this so early.

But… This opportunity was truly too precious.

Major issues like the mom, the loan, and custody definitely couldn’t be touched now. If it wasn’t a direct confrontation, just showing Cheng Feiying’s true self, maybe he wouldn’t even think there was anything wrong with it?

There were definitely risks, but the possibility of him taking his child and leaving the show just because of a role-playing task was very small.

Should they… take a risk for greater gains?

The key was, if they went for it, Yan Yan couldn’t be concerned about the Cheng family anymore, she couldn’t portray Cheng Feiying in a good light.

Before they separated for acting practice, Wei Maomao took Cheng Tingyan to the bathroom. Thankfully, they had already reached a consensus after their long conversation the night before, it didn’t take long for them to make a decision.

The babies were led away by the staff, each starting to practice their dad’s role.

Wei Maomao followed Liu Ming to the recliner in the courtyard.

Liu Ming took out a roll of paper. “Maomao, do you remember the questionnaire we did during the individual interview the night before last? The one with many questions about you and your dad?”

Wei Maomao nodded silently.

She almost vomited from answering so many questions, she wouldn’t forget it even after twenty years, let alone two days.

“Then let’s first talk about what your dad is like in your eyes, based on the questions, okay?” Liu Ming unrolled the paper. “I’ve summarized it based on the questions, you listen and see if it’s accurate, if there’s anything you want to add or change. Then we’ll analyze your dad’s usual words and actions based on his daily life, okay?”

Wei Maomao nodded again.

So this was the format. It made sense, the babies were still young, directly asking them to play their dads, and for a whole day, it was easy for them to go out of character, having a specific analysis would be much better.

Then…

Wei Maomao turned to glance at Cheng Tingyan, who was with Su Li in the distance.

Then, starting from this moment, she could tell them, what Cheng Feiying was like.

Summarizing the dad’s image, analyzing his usual words and actions, then applying it to tomorrow’s life, and then having the babies practice.

It was a long process, thankfully, they had the whole afternoon to work.

Except for the Cheng family, where Yang Ning was assigned to Cheng Rongrong in addition to Su Li with Cheng Tingyan, the other babies were mostly working with the staff members who were already taking care of their daily lives.

Qian Fa was the staff member responsible for taking care of Shen Zilin’s needs when Shen Jianghe wasn’t around.

But Shen Zilin was an independent little CEO, he never needed much assistance, so this time, finally having a chance to work, he was determined to do well, he wouldn’t accept his salary for nothing.

However…

Three minutes after being assigned to Shen Zilin, he clocked out.

“You truly understood my summary? We don’t need to analyze CEO Shen’s behavior together? We don’t need to practice what to say and do tomorrow?” Qian Fa, rejected by Shen Zilin, was a bit frustrated.

“No need.” Shen Zilin said calmly, refusing.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay tomorrow?” Qian Fa said, facepalming.

“Mmm.” Shen Zilin looked at the courtyard gate. “I’m going out for a bit.”

Qian Fa: “Your task this afternoon is to practice being CEO Shen, where are you going?”

“To be CEO Shen.” Shen Zilin touched his bag.

Mmm, he was running out of candy, time to restock. He had originally planned to stop this business after paying off his pig loan. Thankfully, he was motivated by Maomao this morning and didn’t refuse the children who came to him. Now it was coming in handy again.

Hehe.

What practice did he need to be CEO Shen? Being able to earn money was enough.

As for learning how to talk and act tomorrow, just pay them.

Shen Zilin felt no pressure for tomorrow’s task, he even glanced at the other babies in the courtyard, who were still working hard, with sympathy as he left.