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

Chapter 62

Wen Xiang cooked a fish.

Braised.

It was Wen Dongyu’s favorite style.

But since Wen Dongyu wasn’t home, the fish had been sitting on the table, getting cold.

Wen Xiang sat in the courtyard, resting his chin on his hand, silently staring at the braised fish, its sauce gradually thickening. He had no appetite, didn’t know what to do. This was supposed to be a lively parenting reality show, but the more he filmed, the lonelier he felt.

He wanted to go home…

A soft knock on the door pulled Wen Xiang out of his thoughts about calculating the penalty for breaking his contract.

“Maomao?” Wen Xiang turned his head and saw the tiny chubby figure standing outside the courtyard gate. He stood up in surprise.

“Uncle Wen, can Wen Dongyu sleep at our house tonight?” Wei Maomao didn’t enter the courtyard, getting straight to the point.

“… “ Wen Xiang chuckled wryly. “So that’s why he poured water on his bed?”

Wei Maomao: ???

Wen Xiang saw that as soon as he finished speaking, the tiny chubby figure outside turned her head to the left, towards a spot he couldn’t see.

Who was there? It must be Wen Dongyu, right… He had come all the way to the door but wouldn’t come in? When he returned with the fish and saw the waterproof cloth on Wen Dongyu’s bed removed, the bed soaked with water, and learned from the staff that Wen Dongyu had done it himself, for a moment, he even thought it was his son’s unique way of seeking reconciliation, so they could sleep together at night. Of course, he didn’t think that way anymore after he noticed the missing pillow on the wet bed and the missing suitcase in the room.

Now that Wei Maomao had come to talk about this, it was just a confirmation of his suspicions.

Heh, had the guts to go live elsewhere, but didn’t have the guts to come in and say it himself.

“He can sleep wherever he wants.” Wen Xiang sat back down heavily. But he didn’t expect that the one hiding outside, afraid to come in and speak, wasn’t Wen Dongyu as he had thought.

Wen Xiang’s voice wasn’t low, loud enough for everyone outside to hear clearly.

Wei Maomao glanced to the left again.

Wei Chengli, who had insisted on coming along but refused to show his face, squatting in the corner by the wall, was initially shocked along with her, but now he was making a V sign…

She truly didn’t know what to say.

Since Wen Xiang had already agreed, Wei Maomao didn’t say anything more. She politely thanked him, waved goodbye, and turned to leave.

“My baby, you’re the best baby!” Wei Chengli’s silence only lasted for the distance of three houses. As they walked past the fourth house, far away from the Wen family, he scooped up the little chubby dumpling and lifted her high.

Wei Maomao, anticipating Wei Chengli’s attack, had wisely protected her belly, but she still couldn’t withstand being lifted and shaken like this, letting out a watermelon burp.

“Hmm? Why do I smell watermelon?” Wei Chengli asked curiously.

“Wasn’t Wen Dongyu’s bed soaked by the rain?” Wei Maomao quickly changed the subject.

“Right, wasn’t it soaked by the rain?” Wei Chengli frowned. “No, it was just our assumption that it would be soaked, right? By the way, did you smell…”

“Uncle Wen said Wen Dongyu poured water on it himself, why didn’t you step in and clarify?” Wei Maomao interrupted.

“Well, it’s already wet.” Wei Chengli couldn’t bring himself to say that he was afraid Wen Xiang would cry again, he just sighed. “Earlier, you two disappeared… I came back with the cooked fish, and only Wen Dongyu was home, he even brought his suitcase over. Before I could even say anything, he came over to help me carry the plates and bowls… Anyway, let him stay for one night.”

Understood, Wei Maomao pressed Wei Chengli’s face, his face was too thin.

In the evening, after being diligently served by Wen Dongyu, Wei Chengli finally felt relieved. He happily went home, carrying his most capable and adorable baby in the world.

The viewers in the live broadcast room shared the same admiration for the amazing little bunny, but they also had some thoughts about Wei Chengli’s adaptability.

“This afternoon, the comments were still joking that Director Wei should take Maomao along to talk to Wen Xiang. And tonight, Director Wei actually brought Maomao along.”

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, was that Director Wei bringing Maomao along? That was clearly CEO Mao bringing Director Wei along, okay?”

“Our CEO Mao is truly the pillar of the family, without her, this family would fall apart!”

“Director Wei was truly scared by Wen Xiang’s tears, sneaking around, not even daring to enter the courtyard gate, hahaha!”

“Speaking of, Director Wei is truly a man of action, we were just casually joking in the comments, and he actually used his three-year-old child labor… he’s really daring…”

“Wen Dongyu is also good at getting his way, he was so well-behaved this afternoon, so helpful. So some people deserve to be taken in, if he can’t find a kind-hearted director, he’ll create one himself, hahaha.”

“Did you guys see Wen Dongyu’s expression when he came home after the Monopoly task and found that his bed was perfectly covered with a waterproof cloth? Hahaha, it was like a bolt from the blue! If there’s no kind-hearted director, he’ll create one. If there’s no soaked bed, he’ll soak one himself. This child has some talent for creating drama.”

“Wen Dongdong is truly persistent, he really wanted to sleep at Director Wei’s house. Thankfully, Director Wei relented and used his secret weapon (CEO Mao), otherwise, Dongdong would be so disappointed!”

“Actually, Wen Xiang is also quite pitiful, at noon, when the sky darkened, he immediately went to ask the program team for a waterproof cloth, he covered the bed so quickly, he didn’t even care that he was getting rained on, but it was all in vain… His fatherly love was wasted…”

“Right, Wen Xiang is quite ‘pitiful.’ Some parents treat their children the wrong way for most of their lives, and only when they get old and are treated the same way by their children do they realize the pain. Wen Xiang has just started controlling his child freely, he hasn’t even enjoyed it for a few years, and he’s already experiencing the consequences, he’s quite ‘pitiful’.”

“How should I put it, you can’t say Wen Xiang doesn’t love him. It’s just that after stabbing someone in the leg, no matter how well you feed them, how well you dress them, how much you care for them, the knife in their leg… is still there, right? I hope Wen Xiang will think about Director Wei’s friendly reminder this afternoon, he has to remove the knife from that leg first. A leaky bucket, no matter how much you pour into it, will never be full.”

“I don’t know about the bucket, but I know CEO Mao’s little belly is probably full. Hahaha, usually, seeing Director Wei lifting and shaking CEO Mao, it’s quite cute, but today, I was worried the whole time that she would spit watermelon juice on his head.”

“Like father, like daughter, the father is a kind-hearted director, the daughter is a kind-hearted CEO. CEO Mao already ate half a watermelon, but facing the pitiful old father who brought her fish soup and talked about the difficult cooking process, she actually finished a small bowl, I’m impressed.”

“Hahaha, look at Yan Yan, she’s almost tearing her little handkerchief from worry. This is the fifth handkerchief you’ve used today, you’ll have none left if you keep tearing them!”

…

Wei Chengli felt that tonight’s dinner was quite successful. Thanks to Wen Qiming’s dedicated guidance, the two fish, one braised, one in soup, were both cooked well. Although there was still a gap compared to dishes made by truly skilled chefs, Wei Chengli felt they were acceptable home-cooked meals.

It’s just that the little chubby dumpling wasn’t eating much today for some reason, but Wen Dongyu was very cooperative, finishing half of the braised fish.

But this success was ultimately ruined by Wei Chengli himself.

When the little ones were almost done eating, Wei Chengli specifically praised Wen Dongyu for providing Wen Xiang with excellent fishing tools during the afternoon’s Monopoly game, then complained about the little chubby dumpling only giving him a useless oar, and finally, of course, he had to thank Wen Xiang for generously contributing to this meal.

Wei Chengli’s intention was to convey Wen Xiang’s fatherly love, and he also hoped that these two fish, which were quite tasty and which Wen Dongyu seemed to enjoy, could help break the ice between them. But he didn’t expect that Wen Dongyu would have a meltdown after he finished speaking.

Initially, when Wei Chengli saw Wen Dongyu’s expression change and his hand clutching his throat, he thought he had choked on a fishbone, it scared him.

Cheng Tingyan had even gotten off her stool, ready to fetch the vinegar bottle, but then Wen Dongyu blurted out, “How much did I just eat? Did I eat a lot? Quickly help me calculate…”

This was… truly speechless.

Wei Chengli, still shaken by the scare, after confirming that Wen Dongyu was just concerned about eating Wen Xiang’s fish and hadn’t choked on a fishbone, wearily dismissed the babies to go play.

Wei Chengli didn’t want to overstep Wen Xiang and discipline his child, nor did he want to get involved in other people’s family matters, let alone expose their potentially serious conflicts on the live broadcast.

So he waited, waited until night.

With four people in one room, it was a bit crowded, and with Yan Yan being a girl, it wasn’t appropriate for him to share a room with her. In the afternoon, Wei Chengli asked the program team if they could move one of the beds from the bedroom to the study next door. The homeowner was very kind, they didn’t make them move the bed, instead, they gave them access to another bedroom, which even had its own bathroom, making things much more convenient.

That night, Wei Chengli took Wen Dongyu to the new room.

Since the two little girls in the next room were sleeping together without an adult present, Wei Chengli specifically requested to remove their microphones and turn off the cameras after they finished bathing. However, Wei Chengli still had to follow the usual rules for his own room.

After settling the two little girls in the next room, Wei Chengli returned to his room and offered to read Wen Dongyu a whole storybook, constantly interacting with him to keep them both awake. He continued until the program team’s designated time for turning off microphones and cameras at night, stopping the live broadcast, then he tried to talk to Wen Dongyu.

Then Wei Chengli realized, it was useless.

With the microphone off and the camera off, he could indeed delve deeper into the issue, understand it better, and try to offer more comfort… But turning off the live broadcast only removed his own restrictions, Wen Dongyu had always been sincere and genuine. So, just like during the day, Wen Dongyu’s anxiety wasn’t something he could change.

His only gain tonight was finally understanding why Wen Dongyu hadn’t called him “Dad” these past two days. It wasn’t because, as he had thought, the child was being considerate, nor was it because Wen Dongyu and Wen Xiang had transitioned from a heated argument to a cold war, so there was no need to provoke Wen Xiang by calling him “Dad.”

It was because…

Wei Chengli recalled Wen Dongyu’s mumbling before falling asleep, “Dad is bad now, Uncle Wei is good, I should call Uncle Wei, not Dad…”

These words filled Wei Chengli with mixed emotions. So… In Wen Dongyu’s eyes, the word “Dad” had become bad, so he couldn’t use it for him, a relatively good person?

In the darkness, Wen Dongyu, lying next to him, was warm and sleeping soundly like a little pig.

Such a young child, he didn’t understand any grand principles, the good and bad, the happiness and hurt they felt were so pure. Wen Dongyu’s sadness and fear were things his words couldn’t soothe.

The one who tied the bell had to be the one to untie it, but the one who tied the bell would cry… Wei Chengli felt a headache coming on.

It wasn’t just Wei Chengli who had a headache and couldn’t sleep as the night deepened.

Earlier, after dinner, as the sky darkened, Wei Maomao’s happiness about Cheng Tingyan staying over gradually gave way to nervousness about actually sleeping in the same room.

Although they weren’t sleeping in the same bed, sleeping in the same room was still…

After dinner, Wei Maomao couldn’t control herself, she secretly ran to the bedroom several times, making and remaking the two beds.

When it was time for bathing, she even scrubbed herself twice, taking twice as long as usual, scaring Wei Chengli so much that he knocked on the door, worried something had happened…

Even after washing up, putting on the specially chosen little white bunny pajamas, and lying in bed, Wei Maomao’s heart wouldn’t slow down. While Cheng Tingyan was taking a bath, Wei Maomao couldn’t help but ask Wei Chengli if she was a quiet sleeper, which made him laugh for a long time…

Thankfully, although Wei Chengli’s laughter was annoying, his final answer was reassuring.

After Cheng Tingyan finished bathing and lay down in the bed next to her, Wei Chengli poked his head in, urging them to sleep quickly, then turned off the lights.

Wei Maomao was annoyed that he was in such a hurry, not even giving her time to take a good look at the adorable Yan Yan in her pink nightgown. But after a while, she felt that turning off the lights was a good decision, her heartbeat slowed down in the darkness, and she felt less tense.

It was great to have a second chance.

The person she didn’t have a chance to properly meet in her previous life was now sleeping just an arm’s length… okay, an arm and a leg’s length away.

The lights were turned off a bit too quickly, they hadn’t even spoken after bathing, and in the darkness, neither of them initiated a conversation.

As Wei Maomao lay there, just when she thought Cheng Tingyan must have fallen asleep, hearing no sound from her, she heard tossing and turning from the bed next to her.

Turning from one side to the other, over and over, like a pancake being flipped.

Wei Maomao sat up and asked softly, “Yan Yan, can’t you sleep?”

“Mmm…”

Following Cheng Tingyan’s voice, in the next second, Wei Maomao, whose eyes had adjusted to the darkness, saw the person in the bed next to her also sit up.

“Is it because our new bedsheets are too stiff?” Wei Maomao asked worriedly.

The homeowner had given Wei Chengli another bedroom with a bed, so they naturally took the bedsheets from his original bed. Cheng Tingyan did have bedsheets in her luggage at the Cheng family’s house, but thinking about facing Cheng Feiying again… No one wanted any drama before bedtime. So they just took out a new set of bedsheets from their luggage for Cheng Tingyan to use.

Wei Maomao had felt it when she was nervously making the bed earlier, although the bedsheets they brought were all washed, the one on Cheng Tingyan’s bed was probably newer, stiffer than the one she was using, which had been used at home.

Wei Maomao thought her concern was valid.

However, Cheng Tingyan, after lying in bed for a while, didn’t feel anything about the stiffness of the bedsheets or the softness of the mattress.

“Maomao, is your stomach okay?” Cheng Tingyan, ever since the little chubby bunny finished a bowl of fish soup, had been worried all night.

“It’s fine.” Wei Maomao rubbed her belly. “As long as my dad doesn’t shake me, I’ll be fine.”

“That’s good, if you feel uncomfortable at night, wake me up.” Cheng Tingyan said.

Wei Maomao stretched and smiled. “It’s okay. My dad even tied a string to our bedpost, connected to a bell in his room, if we need anything, we can just pull the string and call him.”

“Mmm…” Cheng Tingyan hummed softly and lay back down.

Wei Maomao, sitting on the bed, looked at the… back? She felt that Cheng Tingyan’s last “mmm” didn’t sound very happy.

Why?

Wei Maomao thought about it…

Was it because she said to wake her up if she felt uncomfortable, but she herself said she would call her dad?

It must be that.

As expected of the six-year-old Yan Yan, the Yan Yan who needed reassurance.

“Yan Yan…” Wei Maomao said softly. “How about, like before dinner, you rub my belly?”

“Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Cheng Tingyan sat up abruptly, worried.

“No, no, no…” Wei Maomao, not even caring if Cheng Tingyan could see her in the darkness, waved her hands repeatedly. “I’m not uncomfortable. It’s just… it’ll be more comfortable that way, heh.”

“Okay!” Cheng Tingyan climbed out of bed.

This “okay” sounded much happier than the previous one when she lay down.

Cheng Tingyan initially wanted to rub her belly while standing by the bed, but she was pulled by the little chubby paw and ended up climbing onto the bed next to her.

Of course, at this moment, Wei Maomao didn’t know that for this one word, changing from the first tone to the fourth tone, she would have to pay a heavy price later.

Cheng Tingyan’s hands were gentle, rubbing her belly was truly comfortable. After a few rubs, Wei Maomao yawned twice.

She had said she wanted to take care of Yan Yan, but she ended up eating Yan Yan’s watermelon, being rubbed by Yan Yan, being taken care of by Yan Yan… Wei Maomao thought randomly, wanting to say something, but another yawn escaped her lips, and she dozed off.

And Cheng Tingyan…

The bed was soft, the bedsheets were soft, the little chubby bunny’s belly was warm and soft…

Warmth was contagious, and so were yawns.

The vast ocean, the waves were crashing against the ship, rocking it back and forth.

The waves were too big, several waves splashed into the ship, the warm water soaking her clothes.

Was it a storm? Was the ship sinking? Was she about to be shipwrecked…

Cheng Tingyan abruptly opened her eyes.

There was no sea, no ship, just a dark room.

It was a dream…

Huh?

If it was a dream, why was she still swaying, and why did her legs feel… wet?

Her mind, not fully awake, was filled with a hazy fear. She tried opening and closing her eyes several times before confirming that this wasn’t a dream. She became more alert, remembering where she was. She was rubbing the little chubby bunny’s belly earlier, how did she fall asleep…

Cheng Tingyan was lying on her side, facing the wall, she could feel the swaying coming from behind her, or more precisely, from the bedsheet that was being gradually pulled away from under her.

What was it? Was it a ghost or a person…

And the coolness on her legs… was it blood…

Cheng Tingyan recalled some scary stories, some scary scenes from TV shows, she bit her lip tightly, not even daring to move, just slowly reaching out, gathering her courage to touch the spot where the little chubby bunny was sleeping earlier.

Empty…

There was no one in the high, bulging blanket in the darkness!

Where was she!

In the darkness, loneliness, worry, and fear amplified her senses.

Then… Cheng Tingyan, who was already trembling, heard it…

The sound of panting coming from behind her, childish and familiar.

Cheng Tingyan bit her lip hard and turned over.

In the darkness, the short, chubby silhouette standing by the bed, the chubby paws gripping the bedsheet…

“Maomao?” Cheng Tingyan finally calmed down from the brink of death. Although she didn’t know what the little chubby bunny was doing, she was still instinctively afraid of scaring her, so she spoke as softly as possible.

Then, she saw those paws gripping the bedsheet, pulling hard, suddenly retract, and the human silhouette squatted down.

Honestly, if she hadn’t already recognized it was the little chubby bunny, she would have fainted from that move.

Cheng Tingyan, no longer scared but only confused, sat up and turned on the bedside lamp.

“Mao…” Cheng Tingyan just started speaking when a chubby bunny appeared, and with a “plop”, the light was turned off again.

Plunging from brightness back into darkness, Cheng Tingyan’s eyes couldn’t adjust immediately, she couldn’t even see the silhouette anymore.

“Maomao?” Cheng Tingyan was truly confused.

“Yan Yan… you’re asleep, this is just a dream.” Wei Maomao said softly. “Close your eyes and continue sleeping, sleep, sleep, sleep…”

Cheng Tingyan was initially amused by the hypnotic words, but after a moment, she recognized a familiar tone in them.

“Maomao? Have you been crying?”

Along with Cheng Tingyan’s worried words, a white light appeared, coming from the watch on Cheng Tingyan’s wrist.

The light shone on Wei Maomao’s face, she didn’t even have time to close her eyes and block the light before it moved away.

“Why are you crying?” Within a second, Cheng Tingyan saw that the little chubby bunny had been crying. Judging from her slightly swollen eyes, she must have been crying for a while.

But…

Wait, could it be that her legs were also wet from tears?

Cheng Tingyan shone the flashlight on the bed.

Mmm…

This amount…

It couldn’t be… tears, right…

Ah!

Cheng Tingyan looked at the large, obvious wet patch on the bedsheet, her body suddenly went numb. Like a puppet, she shone the flashlight on herself.

Thankfully, only her left pant leg was wet, not her…

Cheng Tingyan finally understood why the little chubby bunny had been crying and why she had secretly climbed out of bed and pulled the bedsheet in the middle of the night.

But…

“I’m sorry, Maomao, I think…” Although Cheng Tingyan had made up her mind, it was still difficult to say it out loud. But thinking about the swollen eyes she had just seen, she forced herself to finish the sentence. “I think I accidentally wet the bed… Can you help me clean it up?”

Wei Maomao: ???

Chapter 61 p2

“I only dug up two, it wasn’t tiring at all!” Cheng Tingyan’s face flushed red, she quickly explained to the little chubby bunny. She hadn’t forgotten that when they were digging Baby Coins together the day before yesterday, the little chubby bunny didn’t want her to dig, saying it was tiring. Anyway, Cheng Rongrong only saw her dig up two coins this afternoon, she hoped Shen Zilin wouldn’t say anything more to Cheng Rongrong.

How could it be only two!

Wei Maomao instantly understood where the thirty Baby Coin discrepancy, which she couldn’t figure out earlier, came from.

Thirty, thirty! How long would it take to dig up thirty coins, when did she even go…

Wei Maomao handed her half watermelon to Yang Ning, took the other half from Cheng Tingyan’s hand, placed it on the low table next to the snacks, then took Cheng Tingyan’s hand and flipped it over.

No wonder Yan Yan had been walking on her left side as her protector the past two days, but today she insisted on walking on her right side, even switching back to the right side after she accidentally walked to the wrong side once. It was because that way, she wouldn’t hold her right hand, which had several cuts and a blister!

No wonder Yan Yan was so insistent on counting the Baby Coins when she said they didn’t have enough. It all made sense now, what a coincidence, the watermelon cost two hundred Baby Coins, and they happened to have exactly two hundred in the suitcase.

When did she start planning to buy her a watermelon… Was it… Wei Maomao remembered, yesterday afternoon, Yan Yan had carried twenty silkworms with these hands for just one Baby Coin! Those were the bugs Yan Yan hated the most…

Looking at the injured hands in front of her, a sharp pain pierced her heart, she felt like she was going to vomit blood.

Of course, she didn’t actually vomit blood.

But tears were streaming down her face.

Warm, large teardrops landed on Cheng Tingyan’s palm, startling her so much that she stopped struggling to pull her hand back and hide the marks.

“Maomao, don’t cry. I only dug up two Baby Coins, it wasn’t tiring at all, really. I only went for a short while, just while you were in the bathroom.” Cheng Tingyan looked around for help, her gaze even landing on Cheng Rongrong in desperation. “Ask Cheng Rongrong, she was also in the field, I only stayed for a short while then left.”

Cheng Rongrong, who had initially wanted to use the comparison of sharing and selfishness in digging Baby Coins to belittle them, was completely lost.

What was going on?

They just dug up a few Baby Coins, it wasn’t like they were forced to work in a coal mine, was it necessary to cry so miserably?

Did a three-year-old child even understand what heartache was? She was acting so realistically…

Although Cheng Rongrong was confused, she still maintained her condescending disdain.

Faced with Cheng Tingyan’s plea for help, she instinctively chose the answer that would make them even more unhappy. “Yes, Older sister only stayed for a short while. But she dug ten long and deep trenches with the shovel. Brother Shen tried later, he couldn’t even do it as well as Older sister!” So you’re heartbroken, let’s see how heartbroken you can get.

Cheng Tingyan: …

“Your sister is truly amazing.” Wei Maomao gently stroked Cheng Tingyan’s right palm, released her hand, casually wiped her tears with her chubby paw, then looked at Cheng Rongrong. “It’s normal that you can’t do it as well as her, don’t feel inferior.”

Wei Maomao’s heart ached even more. But some things were better discussed privately, when facing Cheng Rongrong, she had to maintain her composure.

Cheng Rongrong: ??? Who’s feeling inferior?

“Let’s go.” Wei Maomao was in no mood to engage in a war of words with Cheng Rongrong. She picked up the half watermelon on the low table and gave it back to Cheng Tingyan, then took her own half from Yang Ning. She then led Cheng Tingyan towards the convenience store’s door, taking a slight detour around Cheng Rongrong from the side of the counter.

The silent disdain was so obvious that Cheng Rongrong was speechless with anger.

Wei Maomao felt the watermelon in her hand was so heavy, much, much heavier than before. She even felt like she couldn’t carry it all the way home.

And indeed, she couldn’t.

Wei Maomao stopped by the small square, first finding Liu Ming. After watching her treat the cuts and blisters on Cheng Tingyan’s hand, she sat down on a bench by the square and looked up at Cheng Tingyan.

The walk from the convenience store to here wasn’t long, but Wei Maomao hadn’t spoken, and Cheng Tingyan, who was following behind, also hadn’t made a sound.

Now, being stared at by Wei Maomao, Cheng Tingyan sat down obediently on the bench, but kept a distance from her, neither too close nor too far.

Wei Maomao’s three-year-old heart was stabbed again, she knew too well what this cautious distance represented.

“Yan Yan, I’m not unhappy.” Wei Maomao sighed inwardly, scooting closer to Cheng Tingyan.

“You are unhappy.” Cheng Tingyan pursed her lips.

“Okay, I’m unhappy… I like eating watermelon, but I like you more. You got hurt so that I could eat watermelon, how can I be happy?” Wei Maomao moved even closer, almost pressing against Cheng Tingyan. “What I like to eat isn’t important. Yan Yan, you are the most important.”

“How can what you like to eat not be important!” Cheng Tingyan, half her body pressed against the little chubby bunny, felt a warmth spread through her, even her face was flushed. “You’re important, so what you like to eat is also important.”

Wei Maomao froze, ah, so this was what it felt like to have sugar sprinkled on a wound, her aching heart suddenly felt itchy and numb. The sugar Cheng Tingyan generously showered her with was so sweet that Wei Maomao’s head was spinning, her mouth, which had wanted to argue about whether it was worth it, was glued shut, unable to speak.

Seeing that Wei Maomao suddenly fell silent, Cheng Tingyan became anxious again.

She had never said those words before, did she… say it wrong… did she scare the little chubby bunny?

“That, we already bought the watermelon, aren’t you going to eat it?” Cheng Tingyan changed the subject awkwardly.

“I’ll eat!” Wei Maomao placed the watermelon on her lap, scooped a large mouthful, and put it in her mouth, not forgetting to smile at Cheng Tingyan. “So sweet! Thank you, Yan Yan, for buying me watermelon! This is the sweetest watermelon I’ve ever had!”

Eat, how could she not eat, this was the watermelon Cheng Tingyan had worked so hard to get, she had to finish every bite! This watermelon, she couldn’t share it with anyone!

And so, the viewers in the live broadcast room watched as the little chubby dumpling buried her head in the watermelon, eating from the red flesh to the green rind, her little spoon moving so skillfully that she almost ate the skin…

“Although it’s a small watermelon, CEO Mao, isn’t this a bit too much…”

“For a watermelon this size, I think CEO Mao should be able to finish half. But only if she eats just the flesh! She’s even eating the green part, is that even okay!”

“The staff tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t let go, seriously.”

“There’s no way, CEO Mao is too clever, she scooped out all the remaining red flesh and the green part, and stuffed them into her mouth, by the time the staff reacted, she had already eaten almost half, then it was a tug-of-war, a chase, the staff are lucky they managed to take away an empty watermelon rind.”

“CEO Mao deliberately wanted to eat it all. If watermelon rinds were edible, I think she would have eaten the thin layer that was already hollowed out.”

“I think the staff holding the rind are dumbfounded, don’t be silly, give our CEO Mao some digestive pills, please…”

“CEO Mao truly, I believe Yan Yan is more important to her than watermelon. Who eats watermelon like that, she’s not eating watermelon, she’s eating Yan Yan’s love!”

“Right… If she simply loved eating watermelon, she wouldn’t have refused when Yan Yan offered to give her the other half. She just wanted to cherish Yan Yan’s gesture and share this happiness with her. Ah, my three-year-old CEO Mao~~~ How can you be so adorable! I’m not sleeping tonight, I’m going to click on all the ads in the live stream, for you to raise Yan Yan, I’m going all out!”

“When Cheng Rongrong entered the convenience store earlier, I was so nervous. Although it’s impolite, but I was truly afraid that CEO Mao would share the watermelon with her… If she did, I would be heartbroken!”

“Hahaha, maybe that Yangyang from the convenience store would be the first to be heartbroken. I think she deliberately cut it in half without even asking if they wanted to take it back and share.”

“Yan Yan and CEO Mao, really, I’m going to cry! One, to buy a watermelon for the other, carried silkworms and dug for Baby Coins, working hard day and night, even injuring her hands. The other, to eat the watermelon the other bought, almost swallowed the rind, seriously…”

“Initially, I envied Maomao, having someone work so hard just for her to eat watermelon. Now I envy Yan Yan, her love is truly being cherished!”

“This kind of divine friendship, aww, I don’t have one…”

“CEO Mao is so adorable, I want to buy her a hundred watermelons! Call me the Ad Clicker tonight! CEO Mao’s little wallet must have my contribution!”

…

Wei Maomao was unaware of the sudden surge of watermelon buyers in the live broadcast room, she only knew that she was a bit full.

Although she ate slowly, hoping to digest some while eating, and even went to the bathroom once to empty her stomach, she still felt a bit stuffed after finishing the last bite.

Now she could only lie on the chair, letting Cheng Tingyan wipe the watermelon juice that had splattered on her clothes while she was chasing after the staff earlier.

“Maomao, are you really okay?” Cheng Tingyan, after wiping the little chubby bunny’s skirt, touched her belly with concern.

“I’m fine.” Wei Maomao sat up resolutely, proving with her actions that she was completely fine.

Cheng Tingyan took out a clean handkerchief to wipe the little chubby bunny’s face. When she wiped the dried tear stains, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Who was the one who told me at noon that she wouldn’t cry anymore and told me not to make any more handkerchiefs?”

Wei Maomao: …

On the way back, they didn’t mention the Baby Coins or the watermelon again.

But the sweet taste of watermelon in their mouths and the warmth they had shared through their words accompanied them all the way, and would continue to accompany them on their longer journey.

After eating her fill, walking was truly tiring.

As soon as Wei Maomao entered the courtyard, she didn’t even care what Wei Chengli was busy doing by the stove, she headed straight for the deck chair under the tree, intending to collapse on it.

But her legs were too short.

Just as the deck chair was within reach, she was scooped up.

Wei Maomao, already full to the brim, almost threw up from being lifted.

Of course, she didn’t throw up.

Because not only was her waist being held, but her mouth was also covered…

Wei Chengli, carrying the bunny, rushed out of the courtyard, taking several steps before putting her down.

“Maomao, where did you go to play~~ Speaking of, have you gained weight these past two days?” Wei Chengli pinched the little chubby dumpling’s face.

Wei Maomao rubbed her poor belly, trying to suppress the churning in her stomach, glared at Wei Chengli, and turned to go back to the courtyard.

“Hey, hey, hey… Don’t go…” Wei Chengli grabbed the little chubby dumpling, smiled awkwardly at Cheng Tingyan, who was standing at the courtyard gate, looking at them worriedly, then lowered his voice and said to the little chubby dumpling, “Baby, do me a favor, okay?”

“Tell me.” Wei Maomao said concisely, suppressing another watermelon burp.

“Well…” Wei Chengli coughed awkwardly. “Go and talk to Uncle Wen Xiang, about Wen Dongyu wanting to sleep here tonight, okay?”

Wei Maomao: ???

Chapter 61 p1

Wei Chengli spent three hours proving that he couldn’t catch fish with just an oar.

With things having come to this, he could only console himself that such a complex ingredient like fish wasn’t suitable for him at all!

Recalling the fishy mush and the ginger stew, Wei Chengli climbed out of his despair.

However, his self-consolation was premature.

“Take this and eat.”

Even faster than Wen Xiang’s words was his action of shoving the fish into his hands.

Wei Chengli felt a weight in his hands, before he could even speak, Wen Xiang had already run away as if his butt was on fire.

Slap!

The fish bounced, splashing water all over Wei Chengli’s face.

Well… he didn’t really intend to refuse anyway…

Wei Chengli knew very well who this fish was mainly intended for.

But…

Wei Chengli looked at the two large fish dripping water in his hands. If he remembered correctly, Wen Xiang only caught three fish, right? Now that the two big ones were here, there was probably only one small one left for them to eat tonight.

Such a childishly awkward way of showing kindness.

Wen Xiang was being kind, but the pressure was now on Wei Chengli. If it was fish he caught himself, it would be fine, but when he thought about this being another dad’s love for his son, Wei Chengli didn’t dare to touch them.

So…

Wei Chengli looked around, first eliminating Cheng Feiying, who was a good cook but couldn’t be exploited anymore… After hesitating for a moment, he started approaching Wen Qiming.

Thankfully, Wen Qiming actually knew how to cook fish. Wei Chengli decided to freeload Wen Qiming’s kitchen and cook these two fish under his guidance. Maybe these two fish could be the key to Wen Xiang and Wen Dongyu’s reconciliation, he had to try his best.

Wei Chengli, carrying fish that didn’t belong to him, walked towards the culinary challenge, full of fighting spirit, but his heart was filled with guilt.

This led to him pretending not to see Cheng Tingyan when he saw her across the alley. But after walking past her, Wei Chengli felt something was wrong… It was one thing to feel guilty when seeing his little stinky dumpling or Wen Dongyu, but why was he feeling guilty when seeing Cheng Tingyan?

But Wei Chengli didn’t know that he wasn’t the only one pretending not to see the other person out of guilt.

Cheng Tingyan was running quickly, and she was startled when she saw the little chubby bunny’s dad in the distance. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to see her, giving her a chance to run away quickly and avoid any questions.

The time spent with the little chubby bunny was enjoyable and passed by quickly, but Cheng Tingyan truly needed some alone time today. After the real-life Monopoly task ended, Cheng Tingyan followed the little chubby bunny back home. Facing the pile of toys from the mystery boxes, her hands were playing, but her heart had already flown to the field. If willpower could dig, that field would have been completely overturned by Cheng Tingyan.

As soon as the little chubby bunny went to the bathroom, Cheng Tingyan quickly told Liu Ming to keep an eye on the bunny, saying she would be back soon, then ran off.

Time was tight, Cheng Tingyan was anxious, she hoped digging up two Baby Coins wouldn’t take too long, ideally, the little chubby bunny would still be in the bathroom when she got back.

Speaking of Shen Zilin, who had single-handedly created the “digging” category in this parent-child variety show, he was digging while dealing with Cheng Rongrong, who was digging closer and closer to him, feeling a headache coming on, when he saw Cheng Tingyan rushing towards them from afar.

Joy! Salvation!

That’s right! What was the point of accompanying Maomao, there was a whole field of Baby Coins waiting for you, Yan Yan!

Finally, there weren’t just him and Cheng Rongrong in the field anymore, Shen Zilin was relieved.

Then, in the next moment, Shen Zilin rubbed his eyes, what did he see?

A human excavator?

Five minutes later, Shen Zilin walked to the ten long trenches Cheng Tingyan had left behind, staring at them for a long time.

Ah, yesterday she was digging bit by bit, today she was just sticking the shovel in the ground and running while digging, what did she eat at noon, such strength!

Cheng Tingyan’s posture when entering the field was like she was ready for a fight, and once she started digging, her momentum was even more terrifying, it was as if anyone who dared to interrupt her was committing a crime.

Shen Zilin was stunned, not only did he not dare to approach her, but he also stopped Cheng Rongrong, who was eager to join her.

And so they watched from afar as she came and went in a hurry, leaving behind ten trenches.

Shen Zilin, after observing the trenches for a while, tried to imitate her, sticking his shovel into the ground at a similar depth and pushing it forward with force.

Reality quickly told him that it wasn’t his imagination, he couldn’t dig as deeply and evenly as Cheng Tingyan, without even needing to take a break.

Impressive, why didn’t she do this earlier, then most of the Baby Coins in this field would belong to her.

Could it be that she knew about his heavy debt and was showing mercy?

Shen Zilin thought about many things, unaware that Cheng Tingyan, who was running back, was already panting heavily.

To save time, this was truly a superhuman performance from Cheng Tingyan, she didn’t even know where she got the strength.

She was also lucky this time, finding two Baby Coins in one go.

Her efforts weren’t in vain, when she ran back, the little chubby bunny was still in the bathroom.

Seeing that the little chubby bunny hadn’t come out yet, Cheng Tingyan finally relaxed, lying down on the deck chair in the courtyard to catch her breath.

When Wei Maomao came out of the bathroom, Cheng Tingyan, dragging her small suitcase filled with Baby Coins, had already been waiting for a while.

Cheng Tingyan suggested going to the convenience store, and Wei Maomao was naturally happy to go.

But Wei Maomao didn’t know that this wasn’t just a casual trip, it was a targeted shopping spree.

A few minutes later.

“Maomao, do you want to eat watermelon?” Cheng Tingyan touched the watermelon on the shelf.

Wei Maomao glanced at the price tag, [200], and shook her head. “We don’t have enough Baby Coins, right? Do you want to eat candied kumquat? We can buy that.”

“The suitcase is quite full, I think we have enough.” Cheng Tingyan turned the suitcase upside down. “Let’s count them, you really wanted to eat watermelon, right…”

Wei Maomao quickly calculated in her head, although they had earned quite a bit today, and Wei Chengli had also given her some, they were still twenty or thirty short of two hundred, right? But she couldn’t say it, after all, she was only a three-year-old baby.

Counting it was, just treat it as playing with Yan Yan.

Wei Maomao also squatted down, helping Cheng Tingyan take out the Baby Coins from the suitcase and stacking them in piles of ten on the ground.

Working together was much faster, soon the suitcase was empty, and the ground was neatly stacked with…

Twenty piles?

Wei Maomao rubbed her eyes, making sure she hadn’t counted wrong, then squatted down again and tilted her head, looking at the height from the side.

Okay, twenty piles, all the same height, ten coins per pile.

Impossible, did she remember wrong?

Wei Maomao frowned and secretly recalculated in her head.

“Sister Yangyang, look, are there two hundred here?” Cheng Tingyan waved to Yang Ning.

Yang Ning, who had already witnessed Yan Yan’s digging spree through her colleagues’ recaps in the work group chat, came over, glanced at the coins, and confirmed, “Yes, exactly two hundred Baby Coins. So you want to exchange these two hundred Baby Coins for this watermelon?”

“Maomao, should we get the watermelon? Do you still want to eat it?” Cheng Tingyan gently nudged the little chubby bunny’s plump arm.

Although the little chubby bunny had really wanted to eat it yesterday, what if she didn’t want it today? Cheng Tingyan still had to confirm.

“Our watermelons are guaranteed to be sweet. If it’s not sweet when we cut it open, we’ll exchange it for you, until you get a sweet one.” Yang Ning added weight to her persuasion.

Yang Ning knew that Cheng Tingyan had dug for over three hours yesterday for this watermelon, if Wei Maomao didn’t want to eat it anymore, Yang Ning felt like her heart would break!

“If we get the watermelon, we’ll have no more Baby Coins. Don’t you like candied kumquat…” Wei Maomao felt her brain split in two, one half discussing the watermelon with them, the other half desperately calculating the Baby Coins.

It didn’t add up, it really didn’t, even after adding the coins Wei Chengli gave her each time, the numbers still didn’t match.

“We can earn more Baby Coins when we run out. Just tell me, do you want to eat watermelon now or not…” Cheng Tingyan didn’t know the little chubby bunny was struggling with math, she looked at her wristwatch, it was almost five o’clock. This convenience store was open from nine to five, it was about to close.

Having finally obtained those two Baby Coins before closing time, Cheng Tingyan really wanted the little chubby bunny to eat the watermelon today.

Wei Maomao, being tortured by math, couldn’t spare any more brainpower. After being repeatedly questioned by Cheng Tingyan, she didn’t even think and just nodded instinctively.

Yang Ning’s execution was unprecedentedly swift. Before Wei Maomao could even react, the watermelon was cut in half.

Wei Maomao: “… “

“Eat.” Yang Ning inserted a spoon into each half.

Wei Maomao looked at the heavy half watermelon in her hand, probably weighing over a pound, who could possibly finish this?

“I’ll put it in the fridge for you if you can’t finish it.” Yang Ning, glancing at Cheng Tingyan with concern, added.

She was so proactive? Something felt wrong…

“Yan Yan, don’t you think we have more Baby Coins now?” Wei Maomao, holding the watermelon, turned to ask Cheng Tingyan.

“More? We clearly have less… Look, we have none left.” Cheng Tingyan pointed at the empty suitcase.

Wei Maomao: “… “

The joke was so bad, it wasn’t Yan Yan’s usual style at all.

What was wrong…

“Sister Yangyang!” Cheng Rongrong rushed into the convenience store, panting.

Wei Maomao: …

Cheng Tingyan: …

“Older sister, Maomao, you’re here too.” Cheng Rongrong glanced at the two of them, each holding half a watermelon, and smiled awkwardly. “It seems I came at the wrong time, interrupting your watermelon feast.”

Wei Maomao: …

Cheng Tingyan: …

“Sister Yangyang, good thing I ran fast, the convenience store hasn’t closed yet, right? Can I buy a bottle of orange juice?” Cheng Rongrong held up the money bag in her hand, then looked at Cheng Tingyan and Wei Maomao. “The orange juice is for Brother Shen. Older sister, Maomao, do you want anything? I just dug up some Baby Coins, I can buy it for you.”

“No, thanks, we’re good.” Wei Maomao was truly impressed by this child, was it her imagination, or did this child always speak in a way that subtly belittled others? “Interrupting your watermelon feast,” why not just say they were secretly eating watermelon without her. They had clearly used their own Baby Coins to buy the watermelon, but her words made it sound strange. “I can buy it for you”… Seriously… As if she could afford it!

“I just want to share the Baby Coins I dug up with you, Maomao, don’t be polite.” Cheng Rongrong smiled sweetly, then looked at Cheng Tingyan.

Wei Maomao followed Cheng Rongrong’s gaze and saw Cheng Tingyan looking down at the watermelon, silent and seemingly withdrawn.

What… was wrong with her?

Then she heard Cheng Rongrong’s voice.

“Older sister, did you use the Baby Coins you dug at noon to buy this watermelon? It’s so big… Older sister, you’re so amazing.” Cheng Rongrong said with an admiring expression.

Wei Maomao: ???

Chapter 60

There was no suitable place to hang a curtain in the bedroom.

It wasn’t appropriate to install hooks or nails on the walls when staying at someone else’s house.

Wei Chengli circled the room inside and out, thinking that he either had to ask the program team for a large screen to place between the two beds or inquire about moving one bed to the study, which was also available to them.

Actually, Wei Chengli preferred the first option. Although the little chubby dumpling seemed independent and slept alone at home, she was still only a three-year-old child, and this wasn’t the familiar environment of their home. Even though the two rooms were adjacent, he still wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone in the other room.

Just as Wei Chengli was about to talk to the staff, a chubby dumpling rolled in.

“Maomao! My pillow!” Wei Chengli grabbed the little rascal who was trying to dash into the bedroom with a pillow on her head.

“Here you go, here you go.” Wei Maomao, having used it for its intended purpose, tossed the pillow into Wei Chengli’s arms.

“Why did you take my pillow outside? It just rained, it’s damp.” Wei Chengli flipped the pillow over and checked it. Before he could take a closer look, he noticed who was following behind the little chubby dumpling…

Seeing Cheng Tingyan, also holding a pillow, and Wen Dongyu, dragging his suitcase, Wei Chengli’s head buzzed. “Dongdong, didn’t I say I had to talk to your dad first to see if he would agree to let you sleep here tonight? Why is your luggage already…”

Wen Dongyu placed his suitcase against the wall, ran over with a dissatisfied expression, looked up at Wei Chengli, and pointed at Cheng Tingyan. “Uncle Wei, look at this pink pillow, is this my luggage!”

Cheng Tingyan: “… “

“Yan Yan is sleeping with me tonight, Uncle Cheng agreed.” Wei Maomao took the pillow from Cheng Tingyan’s hand, carefully holding it on her head, and ran into the bedroom.

“What did you say, and he agreed?” Wei Chengli couldn’t believe that they had managed to persuade Cheng Feiying to let Yan Yan stay over in such a short time.

And… Wei Chengli glanced at the pillow that had been ruthlessly thrown at him by the little rascal earlier. Good job, she carefully carried Yan Yan’s pillow, but casually tossed his, right! He was truly experiencing different treatment every day…

“I know this! I heard everything!” Wen Dongyu squeezed in front of Wei Chengli, raising his hand, eager to explain.

Two minutes later, through Wen Dongyu’s vivid reenactment, Wei Chengli finally understood why his pillow had been forced to go on a trip outside.

“Boss is truly amazing! And this pillow is also amazing!” Wen Dongyu concluded enthusiastically, then looked at Wei Chengli with anticipation. “Uncle Wei! When you talk to my dad about letting me stay here tonight, bring a pillow too, okay!”

“First of all, the main point of my conversation with your dad isn’t about where you sleep tonight.” Wei Chengli patted the pillow in his hand helplessly. “Secondly, your Boss’s success in getting Yan Yan to stay over wasn’t entirely because of the pillow, it’s useless for me to bring one.”

Wen Dongyu didn’t quite understand.

Wei Chengli patted Wen Dongyu’s head, who was tilting his head with a confused expression, then turned and called out to the bedroom. “You two, come out for a minute.”

Cheng Tingyan came out, holding Wei Maomao’s hand.

“Uncle Wei…” Cheng Tingyan said awkwardly. “I should have asked you first, if I could…”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Wei Chengli had already heard from Wen Dongyu how Cheng Tingyan had subtly expressed her desire to stay over, it made him feel a bit uncomfortable. Children her age should be able to directly say what they want, like Wen Dongyu… He didn’t know how Cheng Tingyan developed such a sensitive and cautious personality.

“It’s okay.” Wei Maomao pulled Cheng Tingyan’s hand. “Wen Dongyu only asked him because he wanted to sleep with him, you’re sleeping with me.”

“I haven’t even talked to you yet!” Wei Chengli, looking at his overly loud chubby baby, laughed in exasperation. “You even know how to use the tactic of ‘retreating to advance’ at such a young age.”

“Daddy…” Wei Maomao stared at him with a puzzled expression. “What’s ‘retreating to advance’?”

“It means you clearly wanted Yan Yan to stay over, but you told Uncle Cheng that you wanted to go sleep at his house…” Wei Chengli narrowed his eyes.

“Oh.” Wei Maomao nodded, her expression even more puzzled. “Didn’t you say that, Daddy? If you want someone to agree to something, first ask them to agree to something they dislike even more, then when they refuse, you mention your original request, and they’ll agree. You said it, when we were watching the episode where Tutu bought ice cream!”

Honestly, when Wei Maomao drew that episode, she had thought about using it on Wei Chengli during the show to avoid appearing too cunning. But she didn’t expect that Wei Chengli would perform so well on the show, well… except for the mush incident. It turned out her preparation wasn’t in vain, she just didn’t expect it to be used by Cheng Feiying.

After Wei Maomao’s explanation, Wei Chengli remembered.

So all along, the knife that stabbed him was sharpened by himself?

Ah… Why did he have so much to say before participating in the show!

Wait…

“So, you took my pillow… Was it because it had just rained and you didn’t want to take your own pillow because it might be dirty, or was it to make Uncle Cheng think I would also go?” Wei Chengli recalled what Wen Dongyu had recounted earlier, the words the little chubby dumpling said to Cheng Feiying, then looked at the gray pillow in his hand, it indeed didn’t look like something a little girl would use.

So, the thing Cheng Feiying disliked more, was it Maomao going to sleep there, or Maomao taking him along…

“Ah, the task cards are here!” Wei Maomao, pulling Cheng Tingyan’s hand, ran towards the courtyard.

Wei Chengli: “… “ Little rascal, always good at doing bad things and changing the subject.

The babies and dads received different tasks in the afternoon.

The babies would be playing a real-life Monopoly game in the village, while the dads would be going fishing on a fishing boat.

After reading his own task card, Wei Chengli took the little chubby dumpling’s card and looked at it enviously. “Yours looks really fun.”

Wei Maomao took back her card and shook her head. “Not fun.”

Wei Chengli ruffled the little chubby dumpling’s soft hair. “Don’t take it for granted. You don’t even know what Monopoly is, you’ll know what fun is after playing it. And the entire village is the game board! It sounds fun just from the task description!”

Wei Maomao lowered her gaze, not arguing with Wei Chengli anymore.

It was here, the real-life Monopoly, a task that had appeared in the show from her previous life. In her previous life, it was during this task that Shen Zilin’s interest and admiration for Cheng Rongrong turned into something more. Putting aside whether the task itself was fun or not, just the fact that Shen Zilin started his journey of becoming Cheng Rongrong’s right-hand man, protecting and supporting her, during this task made it not fun at all.

Wei Chengli didn’t understand the little chubby dumpling’s deep thoughts.

He was feeling frustrated, envious of the fun he couldn’t have.

And in this hot weather, who wanted to go fishing…

Wei Chengli sighed, wishing he could be thirty years younger.

But it was good that the dads could do a group activity in the afternoon, it was a chance for him to talk to Wen Xiang. Casually bringing it up during the task was better than specifically going to their house to talk, right… Wei Chengli thought.

But while his thoughts were beautiful, reality was often cruel.

To create an opportunity to talk, Wei Chengli didn’t even get to play with the little chubby dumpling for long before arriving at the riverbank meeting point for the task ahead of time. Initially, he was quite lucky, he was the first to arrive, Wen Xiang was the second.

While waiting for the others, Wei Chengli carefully and slowly steered the conversation towards Wen Dongyu.

Wen Xiang’s reaction was quite calm, he didn’t seem interested in discussing the topic, just kept saying things like “It was really troublesome for Dongdong to keep eating at your house,” “Sorry for bothering you,” “We’re so grateful”…

He was so polite that Wei Chengli couldn’t continue beating around the bush, he had to cut to the chase and try to bring up the topic of “borrowing” in a joking manner.

And then…

Wen Xiang exploded.

How hard parents worked, how unappreciative children were. They had over a hundred dinosaurs at home, why was he so stingy? Children who didn’t earn money had no private property to protect. His parents loved him so much, and he had to say such hurtful things. Who else would love him as much as his parents! He had been making a fuss over a few toys for days. He, as a father, had already apologized, but he was still fixated on borrowing and repaying. Fine, then borrow, borrow, borrow!

Wei Chengli’s head buzzed from Wen Xiang’s outburst, he wanted to interject and talk about how pitiful Wen Dongyu was. But Wen Xiang’s relentless rant, almost without taking a breath, made him try to speak several times but fail.

Later, seeing the tears welling up in Wen Xiang’s eyes, Wei Chengli froze, too scared to even open his mouth, let alone interrupt.

Thankfully, Wen Qiming arrived, and before he could even reach them, Wen Xiang wiped his eyes and stopped talking.

So, in the end, Wei Chengli only managed to say, “It seems Wen Dongyu took your words about his food, expenses, and toys being borrowed from his parents seriously, the child is quite upset.” He didn’t get to say anything further, just listened to Wen Xiang vent.

He didn’t dare to continue either.

He had already made a grown man cry, what else could he do!

Honestly, although Wen Xiang was a father, Wei Chengli felt his personality was still quite childish. As a father, he should be more tolerant… These two, it didn’t seem like a father-son conflict, it was more like two children having a tantrum and arguing.

It seemed that regardless of the type of relationship, if one couldn’t find the right way to love and express it, it would be a disaster.

Somehow, at this moment, Wei Chengli had an untimely thought. Should he bring the pillow… oh no, the omnipotent little chubby dumpling with him next time…

And at this very moment, it wasn’t just Wei Chengli who thought of Wei Maomao, but also the viewers in the live broadcast room.

“Although it’s a bit rude, but I have to say! Director Wei, you’re truly a master of theory but a weakling in practice! Learn from CEO Mao, why do you care about the other person’s reaction? Just say what you need to say!”

“Sigh, Director Wei, your thick skin, let CEO Mao smear some mud on your face before you come out again. At times like this, you shouldn’t listen to him, you might end up being persuaded instead of persuading him…”

“Don’t just blame Director Wei, I was also scared when I saw tears in Wen Xiang’s eyes. I wouldn’t dare to continue either.”

“Missing our CEO Mao, who’s always fearless for Yan Yan, she wouldn’t care if the person in front of her is laughing, crying, or angry.”

“I feel Wen Xiang truly loves his son, when he cried, I felt his genuine sadness and hurt. Of course, I’m not saying his attitude towards Wen Dongdong is right, I’m just saying… he must also be feeling very sad.”

“These two, father and son, what’s the point of both being sad in front of Director Wei? Director Wei isn’t a mirror. You two should communicate properly, what’s with this father-son angst, just talk it out, I’m begging you.”

“Friends, don’t just assume the one who cries is the weaker, more pitiful one, okay? Wen Xiang has lived for almost thirty years, how can he be more fragile than Wen Dongdong? Saying that parents are heartbroken by their children, please… In this situation, who hurt whose heart first!”

“I don’t deny that Wen Xiang loves his son, but I want to say that sometimes, love can also be a form of harm. Like Wen Xiang, he loves his son, too much, so he can’t handle his son’s disagreement and opinions, he feels hurt, then he inflicts that hurt back onto his beloved son. In other words, if he didn’t love him so much, maybe it would be better.”

“The person above, that’s not called love, okay? That’s called possessiveness!”

“This incident tells us that although there’s no exam for becoming a parent, for everyone’s sake, it’s best to make sure you’re mentally strong before becoming one, otherwise, it’s just a cycle of intergenerational trauma.”

…

Meanwhile, Wei Chengli, oblivious to the online discussions, was missing the little chubby dumpling dearly. At that very moment, the little dumpling was fighting fiercely in the village.

Real-life Monopoly, the village as the game board, the babies as the players.

Following the route marked on the new map provided by the program team, the babies rolled the dice and moved accordingly.

They could use Monopoly money to buy empty houses they landed on, pay rent if they landed on houses owned by other babies, and encounter Chance or Community Chest spaces, these basic rules were the same as in a regular Monopoly game. But the program team added a new rule: Babies landing on the same space had to duel, the winner could demand one Monopoly dollar from the loser or make the loser move back three spaces.

The game had a two-hour time limit, the baby with the most Monopoly money at the end of two hours was the winner. If there was only one baby left with Monopoly money before the two hours were up, the game would end early, and that baby would be the winner.

The ultimate winner would receive a grand prize from the program team.

And the baby who moved across the most spaces, the baby who won the most duels, the baby who landed on the most Chance spaces, and the baby who encountered the most Community Chest spaces would all receive special rewards.

Honestly, after opening eight mystery boxes and getting four pig products and four toys, Wei Maomao had become immune to the various rewards mentioned by the program team, it was more practical to just give her some Baby Coins.

But…

She still had to win.

Wei Maomao didn’t want Cheng Rongrong to have Shen Zilin as her right-hand man and receive such strong support from the Shen family in this life. It might become a problem in the future. And… Shen Zilin seemed quite normal now.

Actually, Wei Maomao wasn’t sure what caused the change in Shen Zilin during this game in her previous life. But judging from the broadcast episodes, Cheng Rongrong had performed exceptionally well in this game, not only winning, but winning beautifully. So the best she could do was to prevent Cheng Rongrong from winning.

Luck played a big role in Monopoly.

In her previous life, Cheng Rongrong’s dice rolls were average, but she won most of her duels, landed on more Chance spaces, and even when she encountered Community Chest spaces that required completing mini-games, she performed very well.

Wei Maomao recalled that most of the duels and Community Chest challenges were brain teasers, which might be a bit difficult for other babies, but shouldn’t be a problem for her.

So… Sorry, Cheng Rongrong.

Wei Maomao rolled the first dice with the intention of bullying the younger child. But she didn’t expect that things wouldn’t go as she had imagined.

The Chance cards no longer provided bonuses like moving forward a certain number of spaces, landing on a specific location, or receiving random Monopoly money like in her previous life. Instead, they gave random items like a pack of bait, a sturdy fishing hook, a sturdy fishing rod, a small net, a large net, these seemingly strange and out-of-place items, which, thinking about it carefully, were probably related to the dads’ fishing task.

The Community Chest cards also no longer contained brain teasers like solving a maze or playing matching or elimination games. Instead, they became ordinary penalties like moving back spaces, randomly deducting Monopoly money, or losing turns.

And the duels between babies landing on the same space were no longer about testing short-term memory or solving riddles. Instead, they became competitions of playing marbles, throwing sandbags, hopscotch, even blowing bubble gum to see who could blow the biggest bubble…

Overall, there was no longer any intellectual challenge, it was all about having fun.

As they rolled the dice and played the game, Wei Maomao’s initially tense nerves gradually relaxed.

Two hours passed, except for Wang Zhizhi, who gave up and quit less than an hour in, the other babies all made it to the final settlement.

The winner was… Shen Zilin, receiving the only grand prize, an extra plate of grilled meat for dinner.

It wasn’t that Wei Maomao didn’t try hard enough, it was just that in the early stages, Shen Zilin kept landing on the same space as Wang Zhizhi. One was a competitive little CEO, the other was a lazy bum… Wang Zhizhi kept losing so badly that Shen Zilin even felt embarrassed.

Shen Zilin accumulated a large amount of property in the early stages, half the credit belonged to Wang Zhizhi.

But Wei Maomao wasn’t unhappy. As long as it wasn’t Cheng Rongrong who won, it was fine. Besides, she had quite a lot of fun, especially seeing Cheng Tingyan win against Cheng Rongrong in a duel two houses away, it was truly satisfying.

The “Speedy Legs Award” for the baby who moved across the most spaces went to Wen Jiangyue. The “Strongest Challenger Award” for the baby who won the most duels went to Cheng Tingyan. The “Lucky Duck Award” for the baby who landed on the most Chance spaces went to Wen Jiangyue again. And the “Never Give Up Award” for the baby who encountered the most Community Chest spaces went to… Wei Maomao. Each of the four received three Baby Coins.

How should she put it, Wei Maomao felt this award was truly unnecessary.

Meanwhile, on the fishing boat, Wei Chengli was trying to stun a fish in the water with his oar.

He truly didn’t understand… Why was it that they all threw out a baby, some babies brought back fishing rods and bait, some babies brought back fishing nets, some babies brought back skilled fishing assistants… And his baby…

Wei Chengli glanced at the oar in his hand, was his baby making a joke?

Would he even be able to eat meat tonight!

He had no shame left to freeload at Cheng Feiying’s house again today, he had to be resourceful, baby!

On the boat, drifting along with the water, Wei Chengli, watching the others catching fish one after another, was still hoping his baby would bring back something useful. And unbeknownst to him, the real-life Monopoly game had ended, his baby had received her final item… the “Never Give Up Award.”

Regardless, until the end of the real-life Monopoly game, Wei Maomao didn’t notice any difference in Shen Zilin’s attitude towards Cheng Rongrong. To be precise, when they gathered at the end, those two didn’t even speak to each other.

Wei Maomao suspected that the Chance and Community Chest cards in her previous life were designed to test intelligence, allowing Shen Zilin to see Cheng Rongrong’s cleverness, which might have led to what happened later.

Compared to Jin Youliang, who was looking for brains among a bunch of little babies, Shi Dingshan, who was finding joy in nostalgic games, was truly more interesting.

Of course, three Baby Coins were truly stingy!

While Wei Maomao complained that three Baby Coins weren’t even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth, Cheng Tingyan was calculating, three plus three equals six, eight minus six equals two.

Great!

Earlier, when Cheng Tingyan and Shen Zilin landed on the same space and had a duel, Shen Zilin had asked her if she wanted to go dig for Baby Coins after the game. Because she would be sleeping with the little chubby bunny tonight, Cheng Tingyan estimated they would be together before bedtime, she wouldn’t have a chance to secretly dig up eight Baby Coins.

Now she only needed to dig up two! She just needed to find an opportunity to slip away for a short while.

Victory was within reach, Cheng Tingyan was very satisfied with this afternoon’s game!

The one who received the consolation prize was quite happy, while the one who received the grand prize sighed.

Shen Zilin felt tired, what was the point of the grand prize, it didn’t even come with a single Baby Coin! He didn’t even know if the energy he gained from eating a plate of grilled meat would be enough to dig up three Baby Coins… It would have been better to get the consolation prize!

And Cheng Tingyan… They had agreed to diligently dig for Baby Coins!

Although Maomao was very cute, how could someone who was focused on her career be constantly distracted by cuteness and not dig!

Most importantly, without Cheng Tingyan, he had to face Cheng Rongrong alone… It was truly tiring!

When they first met, Shen Zilin had found Cheng Rongrong, the confused little sister who forgot she couldn’t bring snacks and had to share them with everyone at the village entrance, a bit interesting. But that bit of interest disappeared when he heard that Cheng Tingyan only had thirty yuan allowance at the convenience store.

And now… Cheng Rongrong’s repeated attempts to give him Baby Coins for free were truly making him a bit scared!

Chapter 59

The interest rate for commercial loans over five years is 4.8% this year, the interest rate for private loans is 14.6%…

“Yan… Yan Yan…” Wei Chengli felt like his head had been hit by the precise figures, down to the decimal point, he felt a bit dizzy.

Cheng Tingyan looked at Wei Chengli, confused.

“That… that interest rate… How… How do you know it so clearly…” Wei Chengli didn’t want to ask, but his mouth had a mind of its own. Even though he was so shocked that he started stammering, he still wanted to ask.

Cheng Tingyan froze, her ears turning red, the blush spreading across her cheeks.

“Yan Yan.” Wei Maomao, who was also stunned by the precise figures, spoke up softly.

“Don’t ask.” Cheng Tingyan covered the little chubby bunny’s mouth with her hand.

She had slipped up, she couldn’t answer anymore, but she also didn’t want to lie to the little chubby bunny.

Her cool fingertips pressed against her lips, a slight tremor betraying her determination.

Wei Maomao understood, her fists clenching.

Hadn’t Cheng Tingyan earned enough for medical expenses after participating in two seasons of the show and filming commercials? Wasn’t a commercial loan enough, did they have to resort to private loan interest rates? Unbelievable!

“Yan Yan…” Wen Dongyu spoke hesitantly, taking a step back to avoid being covered again. “Don’t you think something’s wrong? Mom and Dad said they’ll always love me… but it’s all borrowed…”

Wen Dongyu didn’t know what he was saying either. It seemed that, thinking about it carefully, love and borrowing could coexist. But why did he feel so sad, his heart so empty, his legs so weak, and his body so cold, as if he was being blown by the winter wind, whenever he thought about love and borrowing together?

Cheng Tingyan understood, but she couldn’t answer this question either…

“Is it… like you don’t want your toys to be given away… they also don’t want to give you their money?” Cheng Tingyan tried to answer, and the more she spoke, the more fluent she became. “Thinking this way, no one is wrong, everyone is just protecting their own property.”

Cheng Tingyan’s last few words hit Wei Chengli like a bolt of lightning.

It was here, the feeling of being struck by his own thunder.

Wei Chengli quickly stood between the babies, separating them, he couldn’t let them continue this dangerous discussion.

“First of all, Dongdong…” Wei Chengli reached out and ruffled Wen Dongyu’s hair. “I think there might be a misunderstanding between you and your dad. No dad… Cough… Never mind. Anyway, that, don’t be sad, I’ll talk to your dad this afternoon, okay?”

“Then can I sleep with you tonight?” Wen Dongyu grabbed Wei Chengli’s hand.

The topic had been diverted for so long that Wei Chengli almost forgot the reason for this whole conversation. He chuckled wryly. “You still remember that?”

“Daddy.” Wei Maomao took a step forward and tugged on Wei Chengli’s pant leg. “Let him sleep here…”

Some issues, if not addressed, might always cause discomfort, but they might also not become so serious. Wei Maomao now suspected that she was the catalyst that made Wen Dongyu more assertive and Wen Xiang so angry that he said the word “borrow.” Looking at Wen Dongyu’s pitiful, helpless expression, it was just lending her dad out for a night, let him borrow, no interest required.

Wei Maomao agreed readily, but Wei Chengli snorted in displeasure.

What was going on, wasn’t it said that children were possessive of their parents, how come his own child was so generous!

Despite his displeasure, looking at Wen Dongyu looking up at him with pleading eyes, Wei Chengli finally sighed. “I’ll talk to your dad later and ask him. If you both agree, then you can sleep here.”

Wen Dongyu nodded obediently, then turned to Wei Maomao and exclaimed, “Boss! You’re the best! Love you!”

Wei Chengli: ??? Who was the one who agreed just now?

Children were truly…

Wei Chengli, unable to complain, turned and gently patted Cheng Tingyan’s shoulder. “Yan Yan…”

Cheng Tingyan listened quietly.

Cheng Tingyan’s previous statement was a bit skewed, Wei Chengli wanted to offer some comfort. But looking at the adorable little girl staring at him quietly, he tried and tried, but couldn’t bring himself to say that parents wouldn’t refuse to spend money on their children or raise them just to protect their own property… After all, with the Cheng family’s complicated situation, it was hard to say.

“Forget it, it’s okay.” Wei Chengli gave up and turned to look at his own child.

Huh? As soon as Wei Chengli shifted his gaze to Wei Maomao, he quickly looked back at Cheng Tingyan.

Was it his imagination, or did the little girl look a bit disappointed after he said “it’s okay”…

But when he looked again, Cheng Tingyan was back to her quiet demeanor.

He must have been mistaken…

Wei Chengli lowered his head and pinched the little chubby dumpling’s face. “As for you, behave yourself.”

Wei Chengli wasn’t stupid, after listening to their conversation, he roughly understood where the initial crack in the Wen father and son’s relationship had appeared. Although the existence of the conflict itself had nothing to do with them, the fact that it was exposed was probably related to them. But since they were on live broadcast, Wei Chengli couldn’t directly lecture the little rascal, he could only pinch her face as a subtle hint.

But perhaps because the feel was too good, and Wei Chengli’s mind was preoccupied with how to talk to Wen Xiang later, he accidentally… mmm, didn’t pay attention, and pinched her a few more times.

Then, he felt a chill on the back of his hand.

“Uncle Wei, Maomao is very well-behaved.” Cheng Tingyan, after enduring for a while, couldn’t help but reach out and stop the hand that was pinching the little chubby bunny’s face, which was turning a bit red.

Wei Chengli, startled by the chill and the sudden touch, felt goosebumps rise on his back.

Was the issue now whether the little chubby dumpling was well-behaved or not? It was why her hands were so cold in the middle of summer!

“Yan Yan.” Wei Chengli released the chubby cheeks, touching the back of his hand to Cheng Tingyan’s other hand. “Why are your hands so cold?”

“I’m always like this, it’s okay, Uncle Wei.” Cheng Tingyan smiled sheepishly, then reached out to touch the little chubby bunny’s reddened cheeks. Just in time, her cool hands could soothe them.

Wei Chengli, seeing Cheng Tingyan’s small gesture, was speechless.

What was going on with this child, so considerate, making him look like a bad stepfather…

But Wei Chengli didn’t know that he wasn’t even considered a stepfather. The one firmly labeled as the bad stepfather by the viewers in the live broadcast room was Cheng Feiying.

“Seriously, even I, an office worker, don’t know these loan interest rates, how does Yan Yan know them so clearly…”

“Allow me to be a bit dark, from expired snacks to compressed biscuits, from thirty-something yuan allowance to knowing loan interest rates so clearly, could it be that Yan Yan is also living on ‘borrowed’ money? Is Cheng Feiying also a weirdo like Wen Xiang?”

“Truly, ‘new mother, new father,’ this saying is spot on!”

“Heh, it’s not just a dark guess. Didn’t you notice, when Wen Dongdong was recounting Wen Xiang’s words, about how the money in the family was earned by his parents, and the things they spent on him and gave him were all borrowed, both Director Wei and CEO Mao were shocked, but Yan Yan wasn’t, she was very calm. What does that mean? It means she’s used to it, it means that parents ‘lending’ money to their children isn’t unusual for her!”

“Right, I also noticed that! Director Wei and CEO Mao seemed stunned for a while after hearing that. But Yan Yan was just… calm, like she’s seen it all…”

“No wonder Yan Yan was so calm when she said those shocking words to Wen Dongdong later, about how it’s normal and not wrong for parents to refuse to spend money on their children to protect their own property. Maybe that’s how she’s been living! So she thinks Wen Dongdong is just like her, nothing to be surprised about.”

“Seriously, the person above, don’t say Cheng Feiying is a weirdo like Wen Xiang, it’s obvious Cheng Feiying is much worse! Wen Xiang initially said those things out of anger, although his anger lasted a bit too long, I think he mainly wanted to regain control over Wen Dongdong’s finances, not necessarily demanding repayment. Of course, I’m not defending Wen Xiang, his controlling behavior as a parent is truly unacceptable. But! Seeing Yan Yan, I think if she’s living on ‘borrowed’ money, it’s not just being verbally borrowed out of anger like Wen Dongdong, but actual debt, right?”

“Hard to believe… Honestly, although everyone’s analysis is well-founded, I still can’t believe it. Yan Yan is only six years old, she’s his biological daughter… Even though Cheng Feiying seems to favor Rongrong a bit, and has a bit of a temper, he’s not that kind of person, right? How much does it even cost to raise a child… Cheng Feiying films several dramas every year, occasionally appears on variety shows, even a small amount from his earnings would be enough for Yan Yan to live comfortably, why would he need to ‘borrow’ money from her?”

“Right, I think we should base our judgment on facts. We shouldn’t make assumptions and overanalyze a child’s experiences and thoughts just based on their reaction to certain words or the knowledge they possess.”

“The problem is, I don’t see Yan Yan living comfortably at all, all I see is a big, bold ‘miserable’!”

…

Zhang Jin, scrolling through the comments in Cheng Tingyan’s live stream, seeing the screen filled with the word “miserable,” felt a growing headache.

Although reluctant, he still chose to call Bai Lei.

Air-conditioned room, chilled watermelon, sweet desserts.

Bai Lei, leaning lazily on the sofa, eating and drinking, listened to Zhang Jin’s rambling on the phone with indifference.

After a while, the voice on the other end of the phone finally stopped.

“Just this? I thought it was something serious.” Bai Lei said nonchalantly, wiping her mouth with a tissue. “It’s just a few viewers watching the live stream, let them speculate all they want.”

“Why are you being so…” Zhang Jin hesitated.

“What, so indifferent?” Bai Lei sneered. “You’re quite funny. Last time, when I posted the video promptly, you said I was anxious, that I was being defensive, that it wasn’t necessary. Now that I’m ignoring them, you think I’m not proactive.”

Zhang Jin rubbed his temples. “This time is different.”

“How is it different?” Bai Lei casually picked up a TV remote and played with it. “I’ve figured it out, although I don’t know why that brat dared to mention those things, she still doesn’t have the guts to say it clearly.”

“She’s already said enough. Commercial loans, private loan interest rates, is that something a normal six-year-old can accurately say? You…” Zhang Jin was interrupted by Bai Lei’s sneer.

“Heh, why not? Information spreads so fast nowadays, even I can say things like ‘All living organisms in the animal kingdom are heterotrophic eukaryotes composed of cells,’ what’s wrong with her mentioning interest rates?” Bai Lei, looking at the muted TV, read a line from the documentary’s subtitles, then continued, “Did they personally witness us making her sign IOUs? Did they see the IOUs? The viewers are just speculating, talking nonsense. It’s vague, just like you said, it’s just a matter of hiring some trolls, a few waves of attacks and it’ll pass.”

IOU: I owe you: a written promise to pay back a debt

Zhang Jin gripped his phone tightly. “So you really made Yan Yan sign IOUs?”

“Heh, are you stupid or am I stupid, she’s only a few years old.” Bai Lei sneered.

“You made Liu Qiongfang sign the IOUs?” Zhang Jin laughed in exasperation. “Yan Yan earned the money, and you turn around and lend it to her mother? How could you…”

Bai Lei scoffed. “Oh, what’s wrong, why are you so worked up? Is it because Liu Qiongfang didn’t tell you? Aren’t you good friends, go ask her yourself.”

After throwing out the last sentence, Bai Lei hung up the phone. Remarriage was truly troublesome, surrounded by people connected to the ex, so annoying.

Zhang Jin, staring at the disconnected phone, was so angry that his head was burning.

They hadn’t said that when they fought for custody back then!

The world’s joys and sorrows were not interconnected. Some were burning with anger, while others… were chilled by anxiety.

Speaking of Wei Chengli, he was urged by the little chubby dumpling to pour her a glass of hot water. But when he came back, she took the glass and immediately handed it to Yan Yan, even asking if her hands were warmer now.

Truly… Even a five-star dad was just a tool!

But Wei Maomao had no time to pay attention to the suddenly self-pitying old father. Wei Maomao knew that Cheng Tingyan’s body would get cold when she was nervous. Earlier, when she wanted to continue asking about the interest rate, she was covered by Yan Yan, feeling the coolness of her fingertips, knowing it was something she didn’t want to talk about, so she immediately dropped the subject.

But the problem was, that was quite a while ago, why were her hands still so cold?

Wei Maomao was a bit worried. Cheng Tingyan’s palm was holding the glass, while the back of her hand was being covered by her chubby paw.

Wei Chengli watched for a bit, unable to bear it any longer, and went to tidy up the bedroom. He estimated that there was a sixty percent chance Wen Dongyu would be staying over tonight, he had to see if there was a way to hang a curtain between the two beds while he had time.

The old father went to the bedroom, Wen Dongyu went to the corner to feed the pig pet snacks. Wei Maomao rubbed the back of Cheng Tingyan’s hand, which was still cold after holding the glass for so long, feeling anxious, she mumbled to herself, “Why isn’t it warming up…”

Why wasn’t it warming up… Of course, it was because Cheng Tingyan was still nervous.

This nervousness had nothing to do with the interest rate or anything else, it was about the words she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to utter.

Wei Maomao, blinded by her concern, had been focused on warming her hands for so long that she finally noticed Cheng Tingyan’s conflicted expression, her lips pursed as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Asking a question didn’t necessarily guarantee an answer.

Wei Maomao carefully probed for a while before finally getting a response from Cheng Tingyan, “Wen Dongyu hasn’t had the mush yet, I… have…”

This… Wei Maomao suddenly felt like she had fallen into a ditch, a generation gap she had never experienced with Yan Yan.

A child’s train of thought, was it really this erratic?

“So?” Wei Maomao gave up on deciphering and decided to continue asking.

But Cheng Tingyan pursed her lips and refused to speak, even turning her head away, avoiding eye contact.

Wei Maomao didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt the hands under her paw… even colder?

“Yan Yan, you’ve had the mush! Was it the mush Uncle Wei made?” Wen Dongyu came over, his face full of curiosity.

Cheng Tingyan nodded.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell me earlier!” Wen Dongyu said with his mouth full, tilting his head. “Then were you just telling Boss that you’re better than me?”

“… “ Cheng Tingyan shook her head.

“What are you eating?” Wei Maomao, hearing the crunchy sound, glanced at Wen Dongyu’s puffed-up cheeks, she felt like she had heard that sound from another mouth earlier…

“Piggy biscuits, whole wheat, Boss, want some?” Wen Dongyu held up the bag in his hand.

As expected.

“… “ Wei Maomao was speechless. “Those are pig snacks! You can’t eat them!”

“They’re quite good.” Wen Dongyu turned to Cheng Tingyan, offering the bag. “There’s no mush now. Let’s compete with this. If you eat it, I’ll admit that you’re as good as me.”

“Who wants your recognition… Yan Yan, don’t eat it…” Wei Maomao, exasperated, released Cheng Tingyan’s hand, snatched the bag, felt that there weren’t many left inside, poured them all out, and stuffed them into the pig’s mouth.

“There are also piggy dried fruits.” Wen Dongyu pointed at the bag on the table. “We got a lot from the mystery boxes last night, Yan Yan, let’s compete with Xixi in eating piggy dried fruits!”

“Pig snacks, humans can’t eat them!” Wei Maomao reiterated, she had to control herself not to grab Wen Dongyu’s collar and shake him.

Ahhh… What was going on today, first Yan Yan said something she couldn’t understand, now Wen Dongyu couldn’t understand what she was saying!

Cheng Tingyan, after figuring out who Xixi was, shook her head awkwardly. “I won’t compete with you. Maomao is right, pig snacks are for pigs, humans might get a stomachache if they eat them.”

“Right, stomachache!” Wei Maomao seized the key point, pointing at Wen Dongyu’s belly. “You’ll get a stomachache, diarrhea. You’re five years old! You don’t want to accidentally poop your pants, do you?”

Wen Dongyu, imagining the scene, cowered.

Wei Maomao, finally having subdued the troublesome child, breathed a sigh of relief. But she didn’t expect that some prophecies… could backfire.

Wen Dongyu, giving up on the pig snacks, still remembered Cheng Tingyan’s earlier words, he said with envy and longing, “Yan Yan ate the mush, so she’s part of Boss’s family now. When can I eat the mush!”

Wei Maomao thought that based on Wen Dongyu’s understanding, Wei Chengli would probably never cook mush again in his life.

“It didn’t work even though I ate the mush…” Cheng Tingyan mumbled, lowering her head.

Wei Maomao: ???

“Why didn’t it work? It’s mush! Wang Zhizhi said if you eat it, you can join Uncle Wei and Boss’s family!” Wen Dongyu said with certainty.

“You didn’t eat it, but you’re still staying here tonight…” Cheng Tingyan whispered even softer.

“What? Yan Yan, speak louder, I can’t hear you.” Wen Dongyu leaned closer.

Wei Maomao heard it.

She finally understood what Cheng Tingyan meant by “Wen Dongyu hasn’t had the mush yet, I… have…”

How… adorable!

Wei Maomao looked at the six-year-old Yan Yan’s slightly flushed cheeks, awww~~~ So cute!

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, Wei Maomao warned herself to stay composed, not to startle Yan Yan’s sensitive heart.

“Cough, cough…” Wei Maomao coughed twice, suppressing her laughter, and said seriously, “Right, Wen Dongyu hasn’t had the mush, how can he stay here toright(tonight)… “ Ah, she misspoke because she was too nervous.

Wen Dongyu: ???

“No, no, I mean, Wen Dongyu hasn’t had the mush, he’s sleeping here tonight. Yan Yan, you ate so much, you’re much, much better than him…” Wei Maomao spread her arms to exaggerate, then saw Yan Yan, who had been looking down, secretly glance up at her, cute~~~

Wei Maomao, trying to hold back her laughter, didn’t dare to say anything more in front of this cuteness, and quickly continued, “Then Yan Yan has to sleep here many, many more days than him, then it’ll be okay!”

Then, Wei Maomao saw Cheng Tingyan raise her head, her eyes sparkling with joy.

But before Wei Maomao could say anything else, the sparkle in her eyes dimmed, the smile fading.

“My dad won’t agree.” Cheng Tingyan bit her lip, she had been too greedy, thinking too much.

“I’ll ask Uncle Wei to talk to your dad.” Wen Dongyu said, about to go to the bedroom to find him.

“No need.” Wei Maomao stopped Wen Dongyu. “I’ll talk to him.”

Wen Dongyu: ???

Cheng Tingyan: …

Wei Chengli was still in the bedroom, calculating the distance to install the curtain rod, when he heard rustling sounds behind him. He turned around and saw a chubby something rolling out…

“Maomao, what are you doing, running so fast!” Wei Chengli called out.

There was no response from outside.

Wei Chengli waited for a bit, feeling the outside was too quiet. He walked out of the bedroom, worried.

The living room… was silent, only a few staff members who were filming him remained.

Wei Chengli looked outside again, the rain had stopped, but the ground was wet.

Had she gone out to play? Wouldn’t she get wet…

Truly a child.

Wei Chengli shook his head helplessly and went back to the bedroom, but as he entered, he felt something was wrong.

After looking around for a while, Wei Chengli finally realized.

Eh? Where was his pillow?

The rain had stopped, Cheng Feiying felt the house was too stuffy, he took a rag and went out to wipe the water off the deck chair in the courtyard, planning to lie down for a while.

But just as he bent down to wipe, the rag in his hand fell to the ground, startled by the loud banging on the door.

Plop, the rag landed in the puddle on the deck chair, splashing dirty water all over Cheng Feiying’s face.

Cheng Feiying had a bad feeling…

He really didn’t want to open the door!

When Cheng Feiying opened the door and saw the little fatty, and the pillow she was holding above her head, a sense of resignation washed over him.

“Uncle Cheng! I’m sleeping at your house tonight!” Wei Maomao held up the pillow high.

“Maomao, Uncle’s house doesn’t have enough beds.” Cheng Feiying held the half-open door, not even wanting to let the little fatty in.

“Ah… But I promised Yan Yan that we would sleep together…” Wei Maomao said with feigned disappointment, but she still held the pillow high, not letting go. “It’s okay, we can squeeze! I can sleep in a very small space, and I’m very quiet, my dad won’t come over!”

“… “ Cheng Feiying’s scalp tingled when he heard the last sentence.

That Wei Chengli, freeloading meals was one thing, but freeloading sleep…

But thinking about it, that guy… seemed to be attached to his daughter like glue…

“You want to sleep with Yan Yan.” Cheng Feiying pretended to consider, then asked, “Does your house have enough space for you to sleep together?”

“Yes. But I’m afraid Uncle Cheng will be scared sleeping alone!” Wei Maomao shook the pillow.

“No, no, no… Uncle has Rongrong. Your dad is so attached to you, he probably can’t sleep alone. How about this, let Yan Yan go to your house and sleep with you tonight.” Cheng Feiying suggested kindly.

“Hmm…” Wei Maomao pretended to consider.

“Yes, go to your house and sleep. You’re too young, your dad will be worried if you sleep outside. Yan Yan is older, she can take care of herself, we’re more at ease.” Cheng Feiying tried to persuade her. He was truly afraid that his house would be crowded with people tonight, so he gently pushed Cheng Tingyan into the courtyard and said kindly, “Go, Yan Yan, get a pillow.”

“Okay…” Wei Maomao tried to maintain a slightly disappointed and reluctant expression, but she was sneering inwardly.

She had him!

Chapter 58

Jin Youliang received a new message. He didn’t even finish his lunchbox, quickly asking where Shi Dingshan was, then rushing to the room filled with monitoring screens.

Pushing open the door, he saw both Shi Dingshan and Zeng Huanian inside. One was leisurely sipping tea and scrolling through his phone, the other was leaning back on a recliner, staring at the monitoring screens. Jin Youliang, slightly out of breath from running, was taken aback by the relaxed atmosphere in the room. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the door frame, the pain in his palm reminding him to control his emotions.

Jin Youliang steadied his voice and said, “Director Shi, the people from Silver Leaf Village said they are willing to let us film there without additional fees. But they hope we can add some product placement ads in the live streams. They want to have a video conference with us to discuss the specific content of the ads and the profit-sharing model.”

Shi Dingshan shook his head. “No need to discuss, we’re not going there anymore.”

Jin Youliang looked at Shi Dingshan, who was engrossed in his phone, and urged, “Although their initial asking price was a bit high, it was ultimately because we suddenly changed the filming format. If we had filmed in the village with the pre-recorded format, we could have edited out any problems in post-production. But with live streaming… they do have to bear some risks. Them using ads instead of additional fees is beneficial to both us and them. Didn’t we initially choose Silver Leaf Village as the second location for this season because of their unique local snacks?”

Jin Youliang tried to persuade him patiently.

But Shi Dingshan waved his hand dismissively. “Forget it, we did change the format, but didn’t we offer compensation in the supplementary agreement? They demanded triple the original price, and if we frequently filmed the villagers, they wanted even more money, I wouldn’t dare to cooperate with such a greedy village.”

“But Silver Leaf Village, with every household making local snacks, and those snacks becoming popular products nationwide, it’s truly unique. And the click-through rate for the ads in our live streams is very good, if we can promote their products for them as they suggested, we wouldn’t have to pay them extra and we would even get a share of the profits… It’s a win-win situation for Silver Leaf Village, our program team, the guests, and the audience. And we’re leaving this village tomorrow, we’ve already finalized the filming content for Silver Leaf Village, if we don’t go there for the second location, where else can we go with only a day left? We also need time for set design, everything is already prepared in Silver Leaf Village, we just need to bring the people and equipment there.” Jin Youliang continued his attempts to persuade him.

“Yes, Silver Leaf Village is unique, we initially designed a lot of content for the second location around the making and selling of local snacks.” Shi Dingshan put down his phone and looked at Jin Youliang. “But they’re just snacks, if we want to do this kind of content, why can’t this village become a village where every household makes local snacks? Why should we abandon this village, which is so cooperative, doesn’t require any extra fees, and has even gained some fame for its anti-scam efforts, and cooperate with that greedy place, who knows if they’ll try to exploit us during the live broadcast?”

Jin Youliang frowned slightly as he listened to the first part of Shi Dingshan’s words, but was stunned by the last few sentences. “Director Shi, you mean… We’re still filming the second location in this village? You want to turn this place into another Silver Leaf Village where every household makes local snacks?”

“Mmm, it’s much easier to keep the second location here. Changing locations for a live broadcast is troublesome, the fixed cameras in the village are already set up, everything is ready, the clearing, the decorations, the cooperation.” Shi Dingshan looked down at his phone. “But we don’t have to make it exactly like Silver Leaf Village.”

“But filming two consecutive locations in the same place, the guests will get tired of it, and so will the audience. In the previous two seasons of our show, we went to different locations each time, letting the dads and babies experience different local customs, it was a parent-child travel show…” Jin Youliang was speechless. Ever since they started filming, adding two more groups to the show, setting up a convenience store specifically for Baby Coins and Daddy Coins, and constantly changing the tasks, Shi Dingshan had been acting on a whim, coming up with new ideas every day. Those minor things were fine, but how could he even decide to keep the second location in the same village so easily!

“Xiao Zeng, you explain it to him.” Shi Dingshan, scrolling through his phone, kicked Zeng Huanian’s stool with his foot.

Zeng Huanian, who had been pretending to be engrossed in the monitoring screens, had no choice but to turn and face the disgruntled Jin Youliang.

“Well, our show is a parenting show, it doesn’t necessarily have to involve traveling.” Zeng Huanian explained. “Just before you arrived, Director Shi finished a three-way call with the TV station and the village committee. The TV station said Director Shi can decide for himself. The village said, if we film the second location here, they’ll give us a 20% discount on the fees for the first location, and they’ll fully cooperate with any new ideas we have.”

Jin Youliang didn’t hold back his sharp words with Zeng Huanian. “It’s not about the money now, it’s about our show’s reputation. After these few rounds of tasks, the scenery and tasks we can film in this village are almost exhausted. After a few days, the audience will lose interest, if we continue filming the second location here, both the viewership and the quality of the show will decline!”

“For that, we have to trust Director Shi. After all, when Director Shi wanted to add more people to the show and change it to a live broadcast format, many people were skeptical. But now, our third season, both in terms of viewership and online popularity, has already surpassed the second season.” Zeng Huanian pushed up his glasses. “And the advertising department I’m in charge of, we’ve been getting more and more businesses wanting to advertise these past two days, the click-through rate for the ads in the live streams is also skyrocketing, it shows that the market has confidence in our show. We should also have more confidence in Director Shi.”

“It sounds like you’ve already discussed it.” Jin Youliang couldn’t help but scoff. “Only I didn’t know, still worrying about Silver Leaf Village, right?”

“… “ Zeng Huanian held up his phone. “I already posted the news in the group chat that the second location will be in this village before you came, didn’t you check the work group?”

Jin Youliang, who had rushed over after receiving the message from Silver Leaf Village: “… “

The three-way call was done, the message was sent in the work group, what else was there to say? They were both assistant directors, but only Zeng Huanian was Shi Dingshan’s confidant. Jin Youliang, fuming inside, had to suppress his anger, pretending to be relaxed and supportive of Shi Dingshan’s decision. He exchanged a few meaningless words with Zeng Huanian, then excused himself, saying he had other work to do, and left discreetly.

Of course, it was discreet only in Jin Youliang’s mind.

As soon as he left, Shi Dingshan, who had been scrolling through his phone, looked up. “Xiao Zeng, what do you think?”

“… “ Zeng Huanian paused, swallowing the words that almost slipped out. He turned to look at the monitoring screens and said casually, “Director Jin is very hardworking.”

“Come on.” Shi Dingshan laughed in exasperation, kicking Zeng Huanian’s stool again. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice he’s taking money from them.”

Zeng Huanian cautiously glanced at the door and lowered his voice. “Director Shi, you have no proof.”

“What proof do we need? He was the one who scouted the locations for the first few stages. Then I replaced the first one, he was unhappy for days. For the second location, Silver Leaf Village, he kept going over my head, trying to negotiate with the TV station, wanting to get that triple price, as if I didn’t know.” Shi Dingshan chuckled. “But he’s still competent, making variety shows, you can’t be too rigid.”

Zeng Huanian knew that Shi Dingshan’s last sentence was directed at him. He didn’t respond to it, instead, he asked, “So we’re staying here for the second location, how are we going to film it? The tasks we designed for Silver Leaf Village can’t be used anymore, right? Do we need to come up with new ones? Sigh, if only we hadn’t done the relay race, and hadn’t made the morning’s ‘Helping Villagers’ a series… We could have spread them out and used them for a few more days.”

“What’s wrong, weren’t you just saying you have confidence in me, you lost it so quickly?” Shi Dingshan chuckled.

Zeng Huanian: “… “

Honestly, Zeng Huanian had spoken confidently to Jin Youliang, saying he trusted Shi Dingshan, but those were just words for Jin Youliang’s ears, he was actually quite nervous himself. Shi Dingshan hadn’t discussed it with anyone, suddenly making that three-way call, startling him. Before Jin Youliang barged in, Zeng Huanian’s eyes were fixed on the monitoring screens, but he wasn’t really seeing anything, his mind was preoccupied with how to ask Shi Dingshan about what was next.

Shi Dingshan was just teasing the honest man. Seeing Zeng Huanian’s flustered expression, he chuckled and said, “You said it yourself, this is a parenting show, not a travel show. Look at where the current buzz for our show is, as long as we delve deeper into that, we won’t be wrong.”

Where the buzz was… It was probably all focused on parent-child conflicts now…

Zeng Huanian sighed, if this buzz continued to escalate, it might not be a good thing. But he had already said what he needed to say, he was just an assistant director, if Shi Dingshan didn’t listen, it was useless for him to say more.

Shi Dingshan heard Zeng Huanian’s sigh, but he just touched his phone, remaining silent.

On the phone screen was a screenshot of a comment.

[Everyone can talk about principles, those who understand Wen Xiang are thinking about their own relationship with their children. Those who understand Dongdong are thinking about their own relationship with their parents. It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, that’s why there are so many more unhappy families than happy ones.]

Interesting, the wisdom of the masses was truly boundless.

This noon, Wen Qiming was still persistently trying to make Wen Jiangyue memorize the poem “In the Bamboo Grove,” Wang Qingchuan had just experienced his nth failure in trying to train his son to like his sister, Cheng Feiying finally had some alone time to enjoy his tea, Wen Xiang was still staring at the bag of raw chicken legs in a daze, Shen Jianghe was counting his Daddy Coins, planning to exchange them for a drink, Wei Chengli took out a basin and made a bowl of milk for the pig using the milk powder Wen Dongyu brought…

And while they were either struggling with their decisions, relaxing comfortably, or working hard, Shi Dingshan had already decided to give them something big for the second location.

Wei Chengli noticed the change in the weather while making milk for the pig.

The weather in summer could change very quickly. Just as Wei Chengli brought the three babies, along with the pig and its milk basin, inside, heavy rain poured down from the sky.

“Good thing, good thing, if I hadn’t reacted quickly, you would have been drinking milk mixed with rainwater.” Wei Chengli placed the basin back under the pig’s snout, patted its head, then looked at the little chubby dumpling.

“… “ Wei Maomao regretted giving him five stars last night and making a heart shape at him during lunch, how come his desire for praise was growing so rapidly?

“Baby, isn’t that right?” Wei Chengli, not receiving a loving compliment, called her out directly.

“Yes, Daddy, you’re awesome!” Wei Maomao forced a smile, turning to look at the rain outside.

“I wonder how long it will rain for.” Cheng Tingyan stood by the door, touching the new handkerchief in her bag. The rain was truly a nuisance, she couldn’t wash and dry the new handkerchief, and she had planned to go dig for Baby Coins while Maomao took her nap. Maomao’s dad had completed three hidden tasks, each giving him three Daddy Coins, and he had exchanged them all for Baby Coins and given them to Maomao. In other words, they were only eight Baby Coins away from the watermelon… She really wanted to go digging.

Wei Maomao looked up at the sky and said softly, “I guess it won’t be long.”

At least, in the show from her previous life, the rain stopped quickly, it didn’t even affect the afternoon tasks.

Cheng Tingyan looked up at the sky hopefully.

Speaking of, Shen Zilin should have already gone digging at noon… She wondered how many he had dug up, she hoped there were eight Baby Coins left for her in the field, just eight!

Just as Cheng Tingyan thought, Shen Zilin rushed to the money-digging front line as soon as he finished lunch.

Because Cheng Tingyan insisted on keeping the Baby Coin digging a secret from Maomao, Shen Zilin could only agree to meet her in the field if they had the chance.

Shen Zilin had already dug up six Baby Coins at noon, and Cheng Tingyan still hadn’t come, he thought he would be digging alone.

But before he could even dig up the seventh one, someone arrived.

It was… Cheng Rongrong.

He didn’t know why, but even though they had agreed that anyone who had time could come and dig, and Shen Zilin had been quite happy to have a companion when Cheng Tingyan came yesterday, now that Cheng Rongrong was here, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of vigilance…

He had to repeatedly remind himself that the Baby Coins in the field belonged to no one, they weren’t his and Cheng Tingyan’s property, to barely maintain a friendly facade.

Cheng Rongrong, who had come specifically to get closer to Shen Zilin, didn’t notice his slight aversion. She took the shovel from the staff with a cheerful smile, entered the field, and stood next to Shen Zilin.

“Brother Shen, let’s dig together.” Cheng Rongrong smiled sweetly. “You’re working so hard to repay the pig money to the program team, right? I’m just digging for fun, I’ll give you whatever I dig up.”

Another free lunch! Shen Zilin’s vigilance reached its peak.

But before he could say anything, Cheng Rongrong hadn’t even taken a swing with the shovel when the weather suddenly changed.

Soon, they were both pulled away by the staff and sheltered under an umbrella.

The rain was heavy, both the staff and Cheng Rongrong urged Shen Zilin to go back, but he wouldn’t budge.

Was he kidding? With such heavy rain, the hard soil would be soaked and softened, wasn’t this the best time for digging!

Shen Zilin not only refused to leave, but even started asking the staff for a raincoat.

Cheng Rongrong couldn’t understand his persistence. They were just Baby Coins, even if they didn’t repay the pig money in the end, could the program team really go to the Shen family to collect the debt? Was it worth working so hard? And what was wrong with the staff! How did they manage to find a children’s raincoat so quickly? And two of them! Did she even say she needed one!

Shen Zilin, ignoring Cheng Rongrong’s thoughts, happily put on the raincoat. He just felt a bit disappointed that Cheng Tingyan couldn’t come during such a good time for digging.

Cheng Tingyan, unaware that she was being missed by her digging partner, was standing by the door with the little chubby bunny, watching the rain, the sound of the pig slurping milk coming from behind them.

Suddenly, Cheng Tingyan thought of something, she abruptly turned to look at Wen Dongyu, who was squatting next to the pig.

Because her movement was a bit sudden, Wei Maomao also looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“… “ Cheng Tingyan felt it was a bit difficult to bring up, but she was truly worried. She hesitated, then finally asked, “Wen Dongyu, your roof…”

“What about the roof?” Wen Dongyu, petting the pig, looked up at the roof.

Wei Maomao understood Cheng Tingyan’s question and added, “Is the roof of your house fixed?”

“No, the hole is right above my bed, I can see the stars every night.” Wen Dongyu said happily. “It’s quite nice, do you want to come and see at night?”

Wei Maomao: “… “ You can see stars anywhere, why do you have to look through a hole in the roof?

“No, your roof hasn’t been fixed yet, what about the rain?” Wei Chengli also realized what they were asking.

Wait, hold on… Didn’t Cheng Feiying say he would help fix it the day before yesterday? Why didn’t he go? And the program team didn’t fix it either? Wei Chengli felt a headache coming on…

“Right, then my bed… will get wet?” Wen Dongyu was dumbfounded.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I saw in the photo of your house that you have two beds. There’s another bed further inside, it shouldn’t get wet, you can sleep with your dad tonight.” Wei Chengli comforted him. “When the rain stops, we’ll ask the program team to take a look, that hole still needs to be fixed.”

Then Wei Chengli watched as Wen Dongyu, under his well-intentioned comfort, gradually wilted.

“That, Dongdong, don’t lie on the floor…” Wei Chengli walked over and pulled Wen Dongyu, who was becoming increasingly dejected, to his feet. He had become so dejected that he was almost lying next to the pig.

“I don’t want to sleep with Dad.” Wen Dongyu instantly clung to Wei Chengli’s arm. “Uncle Wei, my bed is wet, can I sleep with you?”

“No, no, no, no…” Wei Chengli instinctively shook his head rapidly. “We have Maomao, you have to sleep with your dad!”

“You also have two beds in your room, I can sleep with you, Maomao can sleep with the pig… Or you can sleep with Maomao, I can sleep with the pig… Or I can sleep with Maomao, you can sleep with the pig?” Wen Dongyu tried to imitate Wen Jiangyue from this morning, listing all the possibilities at once.

“… “ Wei Chengli had a headache, none of the suggestions were appealing. And what was up with that last suggestion, if he wasn’t only five years old, he would get a beating!

“Wen Dongyu, what’s wrong with you and your dad? Why are you guys not getting along? It’s been two days, right? Why haven’t you made up yet? There are no overnight feuds between fathers and sons, tell me, what happened?” Although Wei Chengli really didn’t want to get involved in other people’s family matters, if he didn’t, it would become his own family matter…

Wen Dongyu didn’t want to talk about it. He felt it was embarrassing.

Especially since Maomao’s dad was so good to Maomao, and to him and Yan Yan, talking about his own family issues was truly embarrassing.

It was as if… he wasn’t worthy of being loved unconditionally.

It was as if… he was bad, unworthy…

Wen Dongyu was still young, he didn’t understand that this feeling was called inferiority, but it didn’t stop him from dodging this question several times with silence, laughter, changing the subject, and running away.

But…

Wen Dongyu looked at the serious Wei Maomao, then at the stern Wei Chengli.

This time, he couldn’t escape.

If he told them, he still had a chance to be taken care of. If he didn’t, they might get angry.

A child’s instinctive reaction to danger made Wen Dongyu make his choice.

Five minutes later.

“How… No, your dad probably didn’t mean it that way. There’s no such thing as children borrowing money from their parents for food and expenses.” Wei Chengli’s head was buzzing, he vehemently denied it, but looking at Wen Dongyu’s fragile and helpless expression, he knew in his heart that regardless of whether Wen Xiang meant it or not, Wen Dongyu firmly believed he did.

“That’s why you would ask my dad if it costs money when you eat here.” Wei Maomao understood. She had initially guessed that Wen Xiang might have said something like “We spend money on your food and expenses, but you’re not even willing to let us use a little bit of your toys,” which hurt Wen Dongyu’s feelings. It seemed she had underestimated the situation.

But… In the show from her previous life, Wen Dongyu and his dad were the silly duo, she hadn’t seen such a conflict between them. Was it edited out in post-production in her previous life, or… was this something caused by her butterfly effect in this life?

Wei Maomao felt a chill down her spine, speaking of which, didn’t it all start on the first day, when Wen Dongyu imitated her and declared his personal property…

“No, no, no, I don’t want money, your dad wouldn’t ask for money either. You’re so young now, how can you earn money?” Wei Chengli had a headache. He turned to the little chubby dumpling. “Maomao, it’s impossible, right? Dongdong’s dad couldn’t have meant that.”

“Hard to say.” Wei Maomao, still feeling the chill, wasn’t going to lie to a child and take the blame.

“… “ Wei Chengli looked at Cheng Tingyan. “Yan Yan…”

“Borrow, why not borrow?” Cheng Tingyan looked around, confused, her gaze finally settling on Wen Dongyu. “You’re only five, how can you survive without borrowing? Isn’t your dad willing to lend you money? You just borrow, and after you repay it, it’ll be fine. It’s okay that you don’t earn money now, you’ll grow up, and you can slowly repay it when you’re older. As for the interest… The interest rate for commercial loans over five years is 4.8% this year, the interest rate for private loans is 14.6%, I don’t know which one your dad will use to calculate your debt.”

Wei Chengli: ???

Wei Maomao: ???

Wen Dongyu: ???

Chapter 57 p2

While doing tasks with Shen Zilin this morning, Cheng Rongrong tried to chat more to get closer to him. But Shen Zilin, as they chatted, would either steer the topic to Cheng Tingyan or to Wei Maomao…

Cheng Rongrong tried to change the subject several times, but Shen Zilin always brought it back to those two. As they continued chatting, Cheng Rongrong became a bit angry. But she stayed silent for a while, and Shen Zilin, instead of noticing her displeasure, also fell silent. They continued doing the tasks in silence until Cheng Rongrong finally broke the silence again.

She realized then that although she could act well as the pitiful younger sister who wanted to be close to her older sister but was constantly rejected, highlighting Cheng Tingyan’s coldness towards her, by constantly approaching Cheng Tingyan and being rejected, the other children participating in the show this time were either blind or completely lacking in empathy, they seemed to ignore her completely, it didn’t affect their interactions with those two at all. Like yesterday afternoon, she was spoken to like that by Wei Maomao, even cried and ran away in front of Wen Jiangyue, but they didn’t chase after her, and today, they even went to do tasks happily with those two… What a bunch of unlucky kids!

If she couldn’t influence the other children to dislike Cheng Tingyan and could only affect the audience’s perception, it still achieved most of her goal, so Cheng Rongrong continued to play the role of approaching, being rejected, and leaving sadly.

But Shen Zilin this morning made her realize that if she continued with this persona, she would only drift further and further away from these children. When the distance became too great, she might even be excluded from their little group. If that was broadcast, with a group of children on one side and her alone on the other, it would be fine for viewers who had been following the live stream from the beginning, but those who joined halfway might think it was her fault that she was excluded.

Cheng Rongrong decided to change herself, to break free from the persona of leaving sadly after being rejected.

Although she hated Wei Maomao, everyone liked her, so she would pretend to like her too!

Cheng Rongrong tried, she approached, and then… was mercilessly ignored by the stinky chubby girl.

She should have continued talking, asked where they were going, continued trying to get closer to Wei Maomao, closer to the center of these annoying children’s affections. But looking at that carefree, smug, annoying chubby face, she just wanted to kick this stinky chubby girl, who had embarrassed her countless times, off the stool.

Forget it, Cheng Rongrong suppressed her malice and decided to focus on winning over Shen Zilin for now. At least Shen Zilin wasn’t as annoying!

Ever since that incident at the convenience store, when Cheng Rongrong subtly used the phrase “Mom told you to listen to Dad before we came, otherwise Dad will be angry” to suppress Cheng Tingyan, Wei Maomao had felt that although she was young, this person was truly not good, so she rejected her without hesitation.

After rejecting her, Wei Maomao’s attention shifted away from Cheng Rongrong. Then she heard Cheng Feiying say to Wei Chengli, “The main course I made for lunch is noodles, you haven’t touched the steamed buns you brought, remember to take them back and eat them tonight.”

“No! We’ll leave them in the fridge here! We’ll come back and eat them tonight.” Wei Maomao raised her chubby paw and interjected.

Cheng Feiying: …

Wei Chengli: …

“Hahaha, if you don’t give your dad a chance to practice, how can he make delicious food for you?” Cheng Feiying glanced at the annoying chubby girl, then looked at Wei Chengli, he didn’t believe that a director would actually freeload like this.

Wei Maomao also looked at Wei Chengli, secretly making a heart shape with her hands.

Wei Chengli turned his head away, avoiding Cheng Feiying’s gaze.

Cheng Feiying, seeing the slight curve of Wei Chengli’s lips, was puzzled, what was wrong with this guy, why was he always so happy? Why was he always smiling!

Wait…

Cheng Feiying abruptly turned his head and saw the heart shape made by the chubby paws, which hadn’t been retracted yet.

He was so angry!

Cheng Feiying understood, and yet didn’t want to understand, what should he do, make a heart shape back at him?

Wei Maomao knew that Cheng Feiying had seen her little gesture, but this kind of gesture couldn’t be learned by Cheng Feiying, so she slowly retracted her chubby paws, acting nonchalant.

Wei Chengli, hit by the chubby heart, dodged for a moment, then secretly turned back, meeting Cheng Feiying’s speechless gaze.

The ball was kicked back to him.

Wei Chengli touched the empty chicken wing plate, and under their burning gazes, weakly suggested, “Brother Cheng is right, I also need to improve. How about I practice tonight? Let Yan Yan come and try my cooking tonight to see if I’ve improved? When I’m good enough, I’ll cook a feast for everyone?”

“Okay.”

“Sure.”

Cheng Feiying and Wei Maomao exchanged glances, their expressions showing mutual disdain.

Their tacit understanding came so quickly that Cheng Rongrong, who was about to object, lost her chance to speak. Even if Cheng Feiying didn’t want to cook for them, didn’t want to eat with them, eating here was still better than letting Cheng Tingyan go out, right! At least there were so many cameras here! How could they keep letting Cheng Tingyan go out? They had let her go out so many times before, she was now closer to those children outside than to them… Why should she be the one making friends while she had to stay home with a bad-tempered dad? Cheng Rongrong, thinking about how Cheng Tingyan had disappeared yesterday afternoon while she was serving tea and water, doing chores, felt angry.

Cheng Rongrong was very unhappy.

Wei Chengli, however, felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, he almost hummed a tune while clearing the dishes. Eating out was good, but it wasn’t as comfortable as eating at home. He believed the little chubby dumpling and Yan Yan also felt the same~~~

But, mmm… did he forget something?

What did he forget…

As Wei Chengli happily walked towards his house, swinging a bag of steamed buns, and saw the familiar spot, the familiar duo of a child and a pig… he finally remembered what he had forgotten.

“Dongdong… have you eaten…” Wei Chengli asked weakly, holding onto a shred of hope.

Mmm… The familiar head shake, what was going on, did this pig no longer need someone to manipulate its head, could it shake its head with just a pat?

Wei Chengli shook his head, dismissing the untimely curiosity, and tightened his grip on the plastic bag.

What should he do? Although they hadn’t made any promises, he had eaten his fill, and only brought back a bag of steamed buns, he felt so guilty!

Wei Chengli instinctively looked around.

Empty…

Oh, the little chubby dumpling and Yan Yan had run off with a pillowcase, only he was here, aww.

Wei Chengli’s awkwardness and guilt were so obvious that the viewers in the live broadcast room felt both amused and sympathetic.

“Director Wei is still a decent person, Dongdong said he hasn’t eaten, and he immediately felt guilty with only a bag of steamed buns, hahaha!”

“Office worker here, raising my hand timidly, so why is Dongdong here again today? I took a peek while working, he was happily going home after finishing his task… How come after I worked for a while and heated up my lunch, he’s here at Director Wei’s again with a dejected look?”

“A college student on summer vacation is here to explain the situation to you office workers! Wen Xiang, really, Dongdong happily brought back chicken legs and eggs, he didn’t even say anything, just said he wanted to treat his dad, then Wen Xiang said something like, ‘Have you ever treated me when I bought you so much food and drinks? We’re family, why do you have to separate yours and mine, and even treat each other…’ Anyway, it was that kind of sarcastic remark, then Wen Dongdong became unhappy, they argued for a bit, Wen Dongdong left the chicken legs for Wen Xiang and ran here with the eggs.”

“Wen Dongdong genuinely wanted to treat him, he even saved half for Wen Xiang, I’m watching Wen Xiang’s live stream, he’s staring at the bag of chicken legs in a daze.”

“Actually, I have children, I understand Wen Xiang. In his mind, they’re family, Wen Dongdong rarely brings anything back, and now he’s separating yours and mine, it’s hurtful to a father.”

“??? I also have children, how can I understand Wen Xiang? A cub hunting and bringing back prey to treat others, how adorable, he has to make a big deal out of it and make everyone unhappy. Besides, wasn’t he the one who started separating yours and mine, saying it was ‘borrowed’, and now he’s being sensitive?”

“I think Wen Xiang is just being stubborn, he always regrets it after Dongdong runs away. Actually, it would be better if Dongdong stayed and they had a big fight and cleared the air. Dongdong, why don’t you let Wen Xiang see your pitiful, hurt expression? What’s the point of only showing it to Director Wei?”

“Oh my god, does an injured person have to show their wounds to the perpetrator to be considered a qualified victim?”

“Sigh, who would want to show their sadness to the person who hurt them? Although Dongdong is so young, he probably only knows sadness, he doesn’t know he’s being hurt.”

“Everyone can talk about principles, those who understand Wen Xiang are thinking about their own relationship with their children. Those who understand Dongdong are thinking about their own relationship with their parents. It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, that’s why there are so many more unhappy families than happy ones.”

“That’s true, every family has its own problems. Wang Zhizhi’s family has also been arguing a lot about his sister these past few days, but Wang Zhizhi isn’t as fragile as Wen Dongyu, I think he’s getting stronger and stronger. Shen Zilin’s family doesn’t argue, hahaha, it’s just that their son is always out digging in the field and doesn’t even ask for help, and his dad doesn’t exchange any of his Daddy Coins for Baby Coins, truly a cold-hearted merchant family. CEO Mao’s daughter slave family, we won’t even discuss, only Wen Jiangyue’s family is relatively normal.”

“Wen Jiangyue’s family is even funnier, okay… Wen Jiangyue ran away when Wei Chengli was fighting to wash the dishes at noon, after going back home, she told Wen Qiming that she had heard Maomao say they were going to eat there and wanted to take her dad along to join them, but seeing how unwilling Cheng Feiying looked, she didn’t dare to say anything. And Maomao and her dad were so brave, facing the challenge head-on. Hahaha, Wen Jiangyue, at such a young age, even her tone when imitating them was so accurate. Guess what Wen Qiming said after hearing that… Oh, you all watched the live stream, you should know.”

“Office worker here, raising my hand timidly… I don’t know…”

“Wen Qiming said, ‘Daddy will teach you a poem, Sitting alone in the bamboo grove, playing the zither and whistling long. Deep in the woods, no one knows, only the bright moon shines upon me.’ Maybe Wen Qiming was trying to teach Wen Jiangyue to mind her own business and cultivate inner peace and detachment. Then Wen Jiangyue was upset, saying, ‘Didn’t we agree not to study during the show?’”

“It seems being cultured comes with a price, it’s hard on Wen Jiangyue.”

“It can’t be harder than Wen Dongyu… Running away from home, with two eggs, where else could he go, he had to come to Director Wei’s… And well, it’s burnt… Hahaha! Help, although it’s really pitiful, it’s so funny!”

…

Speaking of Wei Maomao, she didn’t expect that the “piece of fabric” Cheng Tingyan mentioned was actually a brand new pillowcase.

Wei Maomao truly… Even though she had promised not to cry anymore, and five handkerchiefs were definitely enough for one day, she was still dragged to Grandma Zhao’s house by the determined Yan Yan.

Thankfully, Grandma Zhao was truly efficient, she turned the pillowcase into six handkerchiefs in two minutes, otherwise, Wei Maomao, standing there, would have fainted from the heat on her face.

Life was truly too difficult.

No one else in the world had a life as difficult as hers.

However, when Wei Maomao returned home, exhausted, she saw another person with a flushed face and a dejected spirit.

Wei Maomao glanced at Wei Chengli, who was picking at the burnt, blackened toast with his fingers, then at the bumpy piece Wen Dongyu was eating, tsk tsk tsk.

“Boss, want some? Uncle Wei made egg toast, I brought the eggs, Uncle Wei provided the bread, it’s delicious!” Wen Dongyu enthusiastically offered the other bumpy piece from his plate.

Wei Chengli hung his head low.

“No, thanks. I’m going to the bathroom.” Wei Maomao, overwhelmed by the burnt smell, ran off.

Wen Dongyu looked at Cheng Tingyan. “Want some?”

Cheng Tingyan shook her head politely.

“I’m going to… wash the pot.” Wei Chengli placed the toast he had picked clean of the burnt parts, now also bumpy, on Wen Dongyu’s plate and ran off.

“It’s delicious.” Wen Dongyu took a big bite of the toast, looked at Wei Chengli by the stove, then at the door to the room Wei Maomao had entered. He suddenly jumped off the stool, went to Cheng Tingyan’s side, lowered his voice, and asked, “Do you think Uncle Wei will raise me if I only eat egg toast every day?”

“… “ Cheng Tingyan looked at Wen Dongyu’s sincere, hopeful expression, and said awkwardly, “You have parents, you have a home, how can Uncle Wei raise you?”

“You also have parents, you also have a home, but Boss can still raise you.” Wen Dongyu said enviously. “You’re so lucky, Boss said she would raise you, and she will.”

“Maomao… was just saying that. I can’t really be raised by her.” Cheng Tingyan said with difficulty. Although she knew it was impossible, she couldn’t deny that she had been moved when she heard it yesterday at noon.

“Anyway, someone is willing to raise you. Do you think I should ask Uncle Wei to raise me, or ask Boss to raise me? Who’s more likely to agree?” The troubled Wen Dongyu took a bite of the toast, then suddenly added, “But you know, wanting to live with Uncle Wei and Boss requires a test, right?”

Cheng Tingyan was stunned and shook her head.

“Wang Zhizhi told me. He’s so bad, he went to find Boss on the first night. Boss said that only those who can eat the disgusting mush her dad made can live with them.” Wen Dongyu whispered mysteriously.

“I never said that.” Wei Maomao, standing behind Wen Dongyu, interrupted with a scowl.

“Ah! You scared me! Boss, why are you so quiet…” Wen Dongyu patted his chest. “Wang Zhizhi said it. By the way, how disgusting is the mush your dad made? Is it more disgusting than ginger eggs? Is it more disgusting than burnt bread crusts?”

“Yes, it’s super disgusting.” Wei Chengli, holding a glass of water, said gently from behind Wen Dongyu.

Wen Dongyu: …

Chapter 57 p1

The village wasn’t very big. They had been doing tasks all morning but hadn’t encountered any other babies or dads. Wei Maomao reasonably suspected that the program team had deliberately scattered everyone when designing the task locations so that they couldn’t exchange tips about the hidden tasks. Thinking further along this line, when they wanted to return to the chicken coop after digging for earthworms at the second task location, the staff had discreetly waved them to wait for a bit off-camera. She wondered if there were other babies or dads passing by on their way back at that time.

If Shi Dingshan had mind-reading abilities, he would probably give Wei Maomao a thumbs up. Although the staff’s signal when they wanted to return to the chicken coop was entirely due to Grandma Wang’s excessively high moral standards, who was currently on strike, forcing the staff to delay the babies’ progress to handle the situation at the chicken coop, the fact that the task locations were designed to scatter everyone was indeed Shi Dingshan’s intentional arrangement.

After all, if they were all gathered together like they were during the relay race yesterday afternoon, discussing and strategizing, how could their individual will and abilities be showcased? Shi Dingshan had even arranged for people to help them travel at different times to ensure that the groups wouldn’t encounter each other during this morning’s “Helping Villagers” task series.

The updated tasks did achieve their desired effect.

As noon approached, everyone gradually finished their tasks. Shi Dingshan gathered the data.

Among the baby groups, Wei Maomao’s three-person team completed three tasks, plus four hidden tasks… It was originally three hidden tasks, but they managed to add one themselves. Shi Dingshan thought that if he hadn’t intervened later on, with Cheng Tingyan, who was diligently trying to empty the program team’s Baby Coin reserves, and Wen Jiangyue, who was enthusiastically trying to expose the NPCs, who knew how many more hidden tasks they would have created.

The baby group of Shen Zilin and Cheng Rongrong, it seemed both of them had good observation and execution skills, completing both the main tasks and the hidden tasks.

As for the group of Wang Zhizhi and Wen Dongyu, it was a bit of a mixed bag. They did complete the tasks. They did show concern for the NPCs… Initially, they were both sympathetic to the NPCs’ “ailments” and were ready to offer further help, but then the pig went out of control and ran around, forcing the supposedly lame NPC to chase after it. They realized they had been tricked and angrily left with the pig… The hidden task they were about to complete was abandoned just like that.

The children nowadays were truly clever. After being deceived by the first NPC, Wang Zhizhi and Wen Dongyu, like Wen Jiangyue, were full of distrust towards the second NPC, naturally showing no further concern. So in the end, they only completed the two main tasks, without doing any hidden tasks…

Compared to the compassionate babies, who at least initially believed that the NPCs were villagers in need of help, the dads were much more rational and realistic.

In their eyes, the NPCs’ predicaments and sighs were just part of the program team’s design. As adults, they could quickly separate the task content from the useless information in the NPCs’ words.

The dads, working individually, each had three task locations.

Shen Jianghe was the only dad who discovered a hidden task at his first location. Unlike the babies’ overflowing empathy, Shen Jianghe had simply been interested in the old peddler’s cart in the courtyard because the family used to be peddlers. He chatted with the NPC for a while while doing the task, and as they chatted, he discovered the hidden task… With Shen Jianghe’s business acumen, after finding a hidden task at the first location, he naturally tried to find them at the other two locations as well. Unsurprisingly, he became one of the only two dads who earned three bags of Daddy Coins.

The other dad who completed all three hidden tasks was Wei Chengli. However, he only discovered the existence of hidden tasks at his second location, then went back to complete the hidden task at the first location.

Wen Qiming and Wang Qingchuan both stumbled upon a hidden task at their third location, but neither of them went back to check if there were any hidden tasks at their first and second locations.

As for Wen Xiang and Cheng Feiying, these two were so focused on completing the tasks, without any unnecessary chatter, that they were the first among all the dads and babies to finish the morning’s “Helping Villagers” tasks.

Of course, without discovering any hidden tasks, they were fast.

Speaking of Cheng Feiying, he hadn’t encountered anyone along the way, and when he returned home, no one was there either. He felt quite proud of his speed.

Feeling a bit smug, and thinking that he had brought back noodles, vegetables, and oyster mushrooms from the three tasks, and that his two daughters might also bring back some vegetables, Cheng Feiying didn’t rush to cook lunch. Instead, he made a pot of tea and sat on the deck chair under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, taking leisurely sips.

Last night, he had been so annoyed by those two that he didn’t even eat a proper dinner. As he drank his tea, Cheng Feiying hoped his two daughters would be more resourceful and bring back more vegetables so that he could have a good meal at noon.

Perhaps his prayers were too loud, because after finishing his pot of tea, the vegetables he wanted appeared before him, in abundance.

The courtyard gate was pushed open. Cheng Feiying sat up and looked, but the first thing he saw wasn’t Cheng Tingyan, who was walking in front and pushing open the gate, nor the large piece of delicious-looking cured meat she was carrying in her other hand, but… the one following behind Cheng Tingyan, mostly hidden behind her, but still revealing half her body and a chubby leg because she was so fleshy.

Why was this one here again! Cheng Feiying, watching as that chubby leg stepped into his courtyard without hesitation, felt his temples throbbing.

Wei Maomao also didn’t expect Cheng Feiying to be back already, was his task that simple? He was even happily lying there drinking tea…

They had planned to pick up the fabric that was supposed to be turned into handkerchiefs from Cheng Tingyan’s house, then go to Wei Maomao’s house to play.

But now…

Wei Maomao greeted Cheng Feiying with a “Uncle Cheng,” then, acting as if she was at home, went to the stove and immediately spotted the fresh oyster mushrooms Cheng Feiying had brought back.

Heh…

Wei Maomao placed her cured meat and bowl of edamame on the stove, then quickly ran to the staff member who was holding her eggs and tomatoes, took them, and placed them on the stove as well.

“Maomao?” Cheng Tingyan, who had been greeting Wen Jiangyue and Cheng Feiying, who were walking behind, turned around to see the little chubby bunny had already filled half the stovetop.

“Yan Yan, come and put the vegetables here, the cured meat is really heavy.” Wei Maomao shook her right hand, which was carrying the cured meat.

“I just offered to help you carry it, but you refused, saying you could carry it yourself.” Cheng Tingyan sighed and walked over. “Next time, if you can’t carry it, let me help you, okay?”

Wei Maomao stuck out her tongue, smiling, and didn’t respond to Cheng Tingyan’s words.

Unlike Cheng Tingyan, who was only focused on the little chubby bunny and oblivious to everything else, Cheng Feiying instinctively felt something was wrong.

“Maomao, you brought back a lot of vegetables, your dad should be almost done with his task, right? Quickly take the vegetables back and let your dad see what delicious food he can make for you for lunch.” Cheng Feiying walked to the stove, looked down at Wei Maomao, and said with a smile. “Let the staff member carry the cured meat for you if it’s heavy.”

“No need.” Wei Maomao waved her hand. “We’re not taking them back, we’re eating and cooking here at noon, otherwise, Daddy will have to bring the pot over again, it’s too heavy.”

Cheng Feiying: … Damn it, he knew this little fatty was going to do this!

“Maomao, look, there’s only one stove here, and two pots on it, it won’t be enough for both of our families.” Cheng Feiying tried to maintain a calm and kind expression. “And the program team gave us different tasks and different ingredients, they probably want us to cook different dishes, hahaha, don’t you think?”

“Uncle Cheng.” Wei Maomao looked up at him seriously. “Is it because my dad ate too much yesterday that you don’t want us to eat here?”

“Hahaha, Maomao, don’t joke, I’m happiest when you enjoy the food I cook.” Cheng Feiying forced a smile, feeling like he was about to die from his throbbing temples.

“I brought a lot of vegetables today.” Wei Maomao patted the cured meat on the stovetop, then held up her chubby paw, making a tiny gesture with her thumb and index finger. “I’ll only eat this much, the rest is for my dad, can we eat together here?”

Cheng Feiying turned sideways, supporting himself on the stove, feeling like he was about to explode from anger.

Just then, he saw it!

“Hahaha, Director Wei, when did you arrive?” Cheng Feiying, seeing Wei Chengli suddenly appearing in the courtyard, felt like he had seen his savior. The sky suddenly seemed bluer, the air fresher, even his smile became more genuine. “Director Wei, come and see, Maomao is amazing today, she got such a big piece of cured meat, you have to stir-fry some cured meat with edamame to reward her!”

Wei Chengli: …

Honestly, initially, Wei Chengli was angry.

When he finished the three main tasks and three hidden tasks, exchanged his Daddy Coins for Baby Coins, and was about to head home with the task rewards of chicken wings, cucumbers, and steamed buns, so that the little chubby dumpling could praise him, a staff member carrying a large blackboard informed him from afar that the stinky dumpling was at Yan Yan’s house again… He was angry.

Wei Chengli still vividly remembered the awkwardness of being constantly fed by the little stinky dumpling last night, only to realize he had finished all their food. And now, this little one, instead of coming home, went to Yan Yan’s house again…

Wei Chengli’s anger transformed into speed, he walked briskly along the way.

As soon as he reached the courtyard gate, he saw Cheng Feiying standing next to the little chubby dumpling by the stove. Because Cheng Feiying had his back to the gate, Wei Chengli couldn’t see his expression. He was too worried and anxious, forgetting to knock politely, and directly stepped into the courtyard.

Then… What did he hear!

His adorable little dumpling said she would only eat a little bit and save the rest for him~~~

Wei Chengli’s slight anger instantly turned into immense joy, blooming into countless little flowers in his heart. Even though he knew the little chubby dumpling’s ultimate goal was to stay for lunch and swap meals with Yan Yan. But! She said she would only eat a little bit and save the rest for him!

Who could resist the love of the adorable little chubby dumpling! Even if it was incidental! It was still love, right?!

“Director Wei? Director Wei?” Cheng Feiying saw that Wei Chengli, instead of nodding and saying he would go back and stir-fry the cured meat to reward the little fatty as he had suggested, was showing… a delighted smile? Cheng Feiying’s dizzy head, which had felt like it was seeing a savior, cleared up a bit.

Then, a bucket of cold water was poured over him, completely dousing his hopes.

“I can’t, my cooking skills are too bad, me cooking wouldn’t be rewarding her, it would be punishing her.” Wei Chengli smiled, picked up the cured meat, and under Cheng Feiying’s expectant gaze, put it down again. “This is good meat, we can’t waste it. Hahaha, Brother Cheng, your cooking is so good, our father and daughter will impose on you again today for lunch. Look, I even brought chicken wings, cucumbers, and steamed buns, let’s combine them and have a feast. I’ll wash the vegetables, Brother Cheng, don’t fight me for it, you do the cooking, I’ll be in charge of washing vegetables and dishes!”

Cheng Feiying: …

What was going on? Other people’s children, when they misbehaved, you could just call their parents to discipline them! What was going on with this family!

Yes, he had been careless, judging from how this guy cleaned their plates last night, how could he be a savior, he was more like a meteorite that crashed into him after falling from the sky!

Actually, Wei Chengli himself didn’t know what was going on either. He had come to take the little stinky dumpling away, but as soon as he entered the door, he was hit with a wave of fragrant, sweet, and intoxicating soup, he couldn’t bring himself to follow Cheng Feiying’s obvious intention and take away the little stinky dumpling who desperately wanted to stay.

His increasingly thick skin was all thanks to his deep fatherly love…

Neither of them had any sense of tact, ignoring his subtle and not-so-subtle hints, what else could Cheng Feiying do… If they were outside, he could chase them away, but they were on live broadcast! He could only watch as Wei Chengli, while washing the vegetables, kept muttering about “honey-glazed chicken wings,” “cold cucumber salad,” “tomato and egg noodles,” “stir-fried oyster mushrooms with… themselves”…

Heh, dreaming!

Over half an hour later, Cheng Feiying, looking at the honey-glazed chicken wings, cold cucumber salad, tomato and egg noodles, stir-fried oyster mushrooms, stir-fried cured meat with edamame, stir-fried bok choy with bean curd sheets, and stir-fried bitter melon with eggs on the table, couldn’t help but rub his temples.

That vegetable washer, he was so good at delegating! Washing one dish, then instructing him to stir-fry it, he even ended up stir-frying the bean curd sheets and bitter melon Cheng Rongrong brought back later, except for the steamed buns, all the dishes ended up on the table.

It had to be said, Cheng Feiying’s cooking skills were quite good. Wei Chengli, who had washed vegetables and done his part, and even brought some of his own ingredients, sat at the table with a straight back, eating and even adding food to the little stinky dumpling’s bowl. He couldn’t really let the adorable little chubby dumpling eat only a tiny bit and save the rest for him.

Wei Maomao witnessed how Wei Chengli subtly assigned each dish to Cheng Feiying, then looked at the stir-fried oyster mushrooms with… themselves on the table. She had to admit, Wei Chengli’s performance was getting better and better.

They ate in relative silence. Only at the beginning did they exchange a few compliments about each other’s ingredients. Somehow, they even talked about the hidden tasks in the “Helping Villagers” task series. Cheng Feiying was surprised to find that among the five of them, he was the only one who didn’t know anything about hidden tasks, he suddenly lost his appetite.

But it was only Cheng Feiying who was being dramatic, the other four-fifths of the people at the table were eating heartily.

After finishing their meal, while Cheng Feiying and Wei Chengli were arguing over who should wash the dishes, Cheng Rongrong, who had been quiet since returning, spoke up.

“Older sister, let’s take out the claw machine we got from the mystery box yesterday and play with Maomao.” After speaking to Cheng Tingyan, Cheng Rongrong looked at Wei Maomao. “Maomao, you haven’t played with a claw machine before, have you?”

“No, thanks.” Wei Maomao, who was full, rubbed her belly. “We have somewhere to go later, we won’t be playing with the claw machine, thank you.”

Cheng Rongrong: “… “

So annoying!

Chapter 56 p2

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything again?” As Wen Jiangyue spoke, she suddenly realized something, her voice becoming hesitant and cautious. “That… Is it because being scammed is a bad thing, so Yan Yan didn’t want to say it out loud… using mouth movements to… protect… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t…”

“It’s not that.” Cheng Tingyan wasn’t the type to shift blame, she interrupted Wen Jiangyue’s apology. “It’s because… my family situation is a bit complicated, that’s why I mouthed the word.”

Honestly, Cheng Tingyan had been thinking about how the elderly woman might be in the middle of being scammed, she had simply thought that since she was facing away from the camera, she could just mouth the word to Maomao. She had momentarily forgotten about Wen Jiangyue’s presence.

But it was no big deal. Cheng Feiying and Bai Lei had told her not to mention her mother on the show, she had accidentally mentioned her… It wasn’t the first time. When they went back, they could get angry, they could yell at her, whatever.

It’s just… Cheng Tingyan looked at Liu Ming, who was trying to squeeze through the door crack, she hoped the elderly woman’s money wouldn’t be stolen. Last time, her mom’s money was stolen, they almost couldn’t afford to continue her hospitalization, she had cried for a long time.

“Yan Yan, the brothers and sisters will help Grandma, it’s okay.” Wei Maomao pried open Cheng Tingyan’s tightly clenched fist, placing her chubby paw inside, and offered words of comfort. “It’ll be okay.”

The soft, chubby, warm paw curled up in her hand, Cheng Tingyan couldn’t help but squeeze it gently, the suffocating feeling in her chest lessening significantly.

As expected, the little chubby bunny was the best!

Wei Maomao wasn’t feeling good at all right now. There were more and more things she didn’t know about from her previous life. So Yan Yan’s mother had even been scammed through a phone scam. Then they must have gone through an even tougher time… Those damn scammers! She was so angry!

Convincing an elderly person was never easy, especially when the other party claimed to be from the police station.

When Liu Ming came out of the room, her back was soaked with sweat.

From squeezing through the door, from the heat, from the stuffy room, and also from nervousness…

Phone scams, she had heard of them, but this was her first time encountering one directly. Thankfully, she had the idea of calling 110 with her phone, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to counter the scammer’s well-rehearsed script.

But those little babies were truly amazing, Liu Ming looked at the three little ones being fed milk by the staff in the distance with admiration. An elderly person’s money in the countryside, that was their life savings, their program had accumulated good karma thanks to these little babies.

Before she could even take a good look, Liu Ming was pushed aside from behind.

The elderly woman, who had a neat bun and a stern, impatient expression when she entered the house, now had messy hair and red eyes, instantly scaring two of the three babies who were drinking milk.

Wei Maomao, also startled, swallowed her milk with a gulp, trying hard not to be the third one to spit it out.

Then she saw the somewhat disheveled elderly woman, calling them “good children” repeatedly, trying to stuff a handful of pink bills into their arms.

“Pfft…” Wei Maomao joined the milk-spitting team in the end.

Thankfully, she used her last bit of reason to turn her head, preventing the elderly woman from facing an even worse situation.

The three of them were stunned by the money offensive, just as Liu Ming arrived in time, they all dodged behind her.

“Good children, take it! It’s just a small token of my appreciation. If it weren’t for you, Grandma wouldn’t even be able to afford a coffin!” Zhao Lanhua insisted, holding out the money.

The three shook their heads in unison behind Liu Ming.

“Then you take it, you take it and buy yourself something nice, then buy something for the children.” Zhao Lanhua shoved the money into Liu Ming’s hand. “It was the children who reminded me, and you came to persuade me, you take some too.”

As she spoke, Zhao Lanhua took out another handful of bills of various denominations from her pocket and added them to the pile, pushing it into Liu Ming’s hand.

Liu Ming was terrified by the elderly woman’s attempt to empty her pockets as a way of expressing her gratitude. She repeatedly refused but couldn’t dodge. The three little ones behind her were using her as a shield! It was a waste of the praise she had just given them in her heart!

The long, drawn-out tug-of-war, even longer than receiving lucky money during Chinese New Year, finally ended when another elderly woman rushed into the courtyard.

“Lanhua, is your money still there?” Wang Guihua, who had been cleaning the chicken coop and hadn’t been watching the live stream, opened it to see comments about phone scams flooding the screen. After reading them, she realized something had happened to Zhao Lanhua and hurried over.

“Yes, yes, it would be gone if you came any later.” Zhao Lanhua patted her leg. “I have to thank you for recommending me this part-time job, if it weren’t for these little children, I would be lying in your coffin.”

“Dream on.” Wang Guihua retorted, then froze.

Little children…

Wang Guihua’s gaze followed Zhao Lanhua’s finger, heh… Wang Guihua instinctively covered her face, then awkwardly moved her hand away.

“Cough, hello.” Wang Guihua smiled. It was okay, all elderly women looked the same, with wrinkles all over their faces, she had even changed her clothes after cleaning the chicken coop, these little ones wouldn’t recognize…

“Grandma, your leg doesn’t hurt anymore?” Wen Jiangyue peeked out, smiling.

That’s right, she was no longer the little baby who would run away in awkwardness after witnessing someone doing something bad!

“Heh, heh…” Wang Guihua chuckled awkwardly, then her expression changed, a fake smile filling every wrinkle on her face. “Right, it doesn’t hurt anymore. After eating two of the eggs you collected for me, the pain is gone, I’m all better!”

Wen Jiangyue: …

Cheng Tingyan: …

Wei Maomao: …

How did you manage to eat two eggs in that less than one minute between leaving and coming back? Did you eat them raw without even washing them…

Regardless, Wang Guihua, feeling she had successfully covered her lie, instantly calmed down, even her scolding voice became louder.

“Those damn scammers, even targeting elderly people’s money! You don’t know, your Grandma Zhao, she makes one pillowcase and sells it at the market for eight yuan. They’re all made of the best pure cotton, the fabric alone costs six yuan. She has to cut, sew, and it takes a lot of time to make one, she only earns two yuan per pillowcase. These people aren’t just scamming her money, they’re trying to take her life!” Wang Guihua gripped Liu Ming’s hand tightly. “You’re filming a show, you have to spread the word and educate people, don’t let anyone else be scammed!”

“Okay, okay.” Liu Ming nodded repeatedly, this was something they should do, she believed Director Shi would also include some legal education in the final edit. But… Ah, this grip, so strong, why couldn’t she pull her hand away! Her screen time was going to exceed the limit again… her salary, aww, her salary was going to be deducted again…

Wei Maomao thought for a moment, in her previous life, the show also filmed similar tasks about helping villagers, but it was dads and babies as teams, each family assigned to a different villager. There were no hidden tasks, they just did whatever the villagers asked. And this elderly woman, Zhao Lanhua, hadn’t appeared on the show. So in her previous life… this grandma’s money, most likely… So this was also something that had changed.

Wang Guihua, who had “eaten two eggs,” continued her passionate speech, from Zhao Lanhua’s son who worked away from home, to the hardships of her life in the village, then thanking the program team for choosing elderly people who spoke Mandarin for the acting roles, which was how Zhao Lanhua was saved.

Zhao Lanhua, listening from the side, felt a bit embarrassed. She hadn’t really put much effort into the acting job she took from the program team, she just provided some baskets, stools, and bowls, and wasn’t particularly patient with the little children… But she was saved by them in the end.

Her money, all her money was in that bank card. When she heard the explanation of “money laundering” on the phone, she was terrified. If those staff members hadn’t barged into the room, she would have believed everything the person on the other end of the line said… She was so close, truly so close.

Oh, right.

Zhao Lanhua remembered why those three children hadn’t left immediately after completing the task, why they had heard her phone call.

“Come, come, come, you must want this.” Zhao Lanhua went back into the house and brought out the three money bags that the program team hadn’t taken away yet. They had refused the bills earlier, they would definitely want this, right?

“The program team initially told me to go get some firewood from the courtyard while you were shelling edamame, then pretend to hurt my hand and drop the firewood. If you offered to help me carry the firewood, I could give you these three money bags. Later, they said I didn’t need to pretend to hurt my hand anymore, and they didn’t take these back.” Zhao Lanhua revealed the truth without hesitation. Looking at the three children who didn’t dare to take the money bags, she turned to Liu Ming. “They all helped me, them helping me keep my money is more useful than carrying firewood, don’t you think they deserve more?”

Liu Ming, whose hand was still trapped in Wang Guihua’s iron grip: …

The viewers in the live broadcast room couldn’t believe that Wei Maomao and her friends’ third hidden task could be twisted into this.

“After all these twists and turns, when Grandma Zhao answered the phone, I initially thought it was a scam prevention hidden task set up by the program team, but then I thought it was too advanced, those babies are so young. It turns out… it was indeed advanced, even Director Wei didn’t have time to tell CEO Mao. Thankfully, Yan Yan was there, otherwise, Grandma Zhao would be in trouble.”

“Suggesting the author of ‘Tutu Adventures’ to add scam prevention content! That way our CEO Mao will have a chance to use a new ‘Daddy said’!”

“Phone scams, those scumbags! Yan Yan is so smart! Grandma Zhao should also thank Yan Yan’s mother for paving the way for her.”

“You can’t say that, even without Cheng Tingyan, wouldn’t the program team intervene if they saw Grandma Zhao being scammed? It’s just that Cheng Tingyan was the first to notice, don’t make her sound like a savior.”

“??? Where did this hater come from, go back to your troll farm! Anyone with eyes can see that if Yan Yan and the others had left immediately after completing the task, the program team might not even have captured the part where Grandma Zhao answered the phone. Grandma Zhao even took off her earpiece when she answered the phone, the staff probably wouldn’t have noticed what she was saying.”

“Exactly, it was the babies who heard it first, noticed it first, then called someone. What, the first person to jump into the river to save someone doesn’t count as a rescuer? You want to wait for the fifth person to jump in? You might as well just stay in the water!”

“I’m so angry thinking about it, maybe that stepmother bought another batch of trolls, so annoying! I get angry every time I think about the expired snacks and compressed biscuits Yan Yan ate… Even if Yan Yan’s mother was scammed and became poor, but Yan Yan is living with Cheng Feiying, right? Does she have to live such a miserable life! Like Shen Zilin said, where’s the money from the first season! If they have the guts to film the snack cabinet in their bedroom, they should have the guts to show the bank statements!”

“I’m dying of laughter, they probably also threatened Yan Yan not to mention ‘Mom’ on the show, right? Otherwise, why would she mouth the word ‘Mom’? Even controlling whether she can call her ‘Mom,’ this is truly a case of ‘new mother, new father’!”

“The program team is also stingy, they only let Grandma Zhao give those three money bags, no extra reward?”

“Better than nothing, Yan Yan is eight Baby Coins closer to the watermelon…”

“Sixteen, right? Director Wei also completed two hidden tasks, he’ll probably exchange them for Baby Coins and give them to CEO Mao when they go back.”

“Speaking of, it seems Director Wei has exchanged all his Daddy Coins for Baby Coins, he’s probably the only dad who’s doing that, right? He’s definitely a daughter slave.”

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, the babies refused to take the money, so Grandma Zhao went to the kitchen to cut some cured meat, I wonder if Director Wei is scared, there’s no recipe for this!”

…

Under Zhao Lanhua and Wang Guihua’s insistent persuasion, when they left Zhao Lanhua’s courtyard, the three babies each had a bowl of edamame, a piece of cured meat, and four Baby Coins in their pockets, a truly bountiful harvest.

Wen Jiangyue, recalling that before they left, Grandma Zhao had asked Cheng Tingyan what she wanted her to help with before she answered the phone, and Cheng Tingyan said she had a piece of fabric she wanted to turn into handkerchiefs, then remembering that she had blurted out earlier about Cheng Tingyan mouthing the word “Mom”, turned to Cheng Tingyan and asked, “Yan Yan, how many handkerchiefs did you bring? Are you running out of them? I brought three, and one is still unused. I can give it to you?”

“I brought five. Keep yours. Even with one more, it probably won’t be enough. I asked Grandma Zhao to make me a few more.” Cheng Tingyan thought about the new pillowcase in her suitcase, based on its size, it should be enough to make six to eight handkerchiefs, right?

“Five? Five isn’t enough?” Wen Jiangyue was surprised. “Do you have a lot of things to wipe, Yan Yan?”

“Not a lot, just one thing, but I have to wipe it frequently.” Cheng Tingyan’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Wei Maomao: …

Stop asking, have some shame!

Chapter 56 p1

After spending quite some time picking tomatoes under the scorching sun in the vegetable garden, the staff told the babies they could choose to rest in this courtyard or at the small square before continuing with their next task.

Wen Jiangyue and Cheng Tingyan, completely engrossed in their tasks, after confirming that Wei Maomao didn’t mind skipping the break, unanimously decided to just have a quick drink and continue.

Cheng Tingyan’s fondness for hidden tasks was evident, Wei Maomao could understand her eagerness to start the third task.

But Wen Jiangyue…

Such a good child, driven by the program team to the point that she wanted to quickly complete the task just to observe the third person in need of help, to see what kind of act they would put on… Wei Maomao was truly impressed by this reason for rushing the task.

Regardless of their reasons and thoughts, they all had the same goal in the end.

Soon, they found the third task location according to the map.

A traditional Chinese courtyard house, an elderly woman, three baskets of unshelled edamame.

The elderly woman had gray hair, was short in stature, and her wrinkled face was somewhat stern, unlike the previous elderly woman who pretended to be lame and sat in a wheelchair, she wasn’t particularly kind.

“Help me shell the edamame.” The elderly woman pointed at the baskets, and without waiting for them to respond, she went back to the main hall with her hands behind her back.

“There’s no story?” Wen Jiangyue was a bit disappointed.

“Besides shelling edamame, what else can we do?” Cheng Tingyan looked around.

Wei Maomao glanced at the small stools in the shade under the eaves and waved to the other two. “Come here and shell them, it’s cooler here.”

During the “Oil” task earlier, thanks to Wei Chengli, Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan didn’t have to shell many peanuts before passing. But edamame was different, they couldn’t be smashed or pounded, they had to be shelled one by one by hand. Edamame also had fuzz, after shelling a few, their hands and faces, even their noses, felt itchy.

Cheng Tingyan, while shelling, couldn’t help but turn her head and sneeze softly. She then looked at Wei Maomao, thinking that the little chubby paws might be slow at shelling, wanting to help her with some. But when she looked closer, although those paws were chubby and fleshy, they were incredibly nimble at shelling edamame. She saw the white paws constantly moving up and down, the edamame kernels falling into the bowl one after another like raindrops.

“Maomao, you’re so good at this.” Cheng Tingyan, after watching in awe for a while, even stopped shelling her own edamame, couldn’t help but praise her softly.

“Just average.” Wei Maomao smiled modestly, it was just one of the ordinary skills of an ordinary worker from a previous life.

Wen Jiangyue, hearing this, came over and took a look. Comparing Wei Maomao’s bowl, which was more than half full, to her own, which barely had anything in it, she exclaimed, “Maomao, you’re not just average, you’re extraordinary!”

Just practice makes perfect after shelling so many chestnuts, nuts, and other things in her previous life. It was a pity that her hands in this life were small and chubby, otherwise, she could have shelled even faster. Wei Maomao wasn’t complacent about the praise. Instead, she smiled and said, “I’ll help you guys shell after I finish mine.”

“No, no, no, I can do it.” Wen Jiangyue, unable to continue watching the spectacle, quickly sat back down and focused on shelling her own edamame. She was a five-and-a-half-year-old big sister, how could she let a three-year-old little sister shell edamame for her, that would be too mean!

Cheng Tingyan, hearing this, also looked away. Although Maomao’s shelling was fast and mesmerizing, she wanted to help, not be helped!

For a while, the three of them focused on their own tasks, the only sounds were the cracking of edamame pods and the soft thudding of kernels falling into the bowls.

Then, a sudden, heavy, continuous “dadadadada” sound broke the silence.

Wei Maomao looked up, following the sound, and saw the elderly woman in the main hall across from them… using a sewing machine?

This NPC was so free. She was concise when assigning the task, not even bothering with a backstory or a reason for needing help, and now she was doing her own thing, was she a part-timer hired by the program team…

Wei Maomao glanced at her a couple of times, and as she looked away, she accidentally saw Cheng Tingyan.

Cheng Tingyan was staring intently at the elderly woman in the main hall.

Mmm… This familiar gaze, it was the same look she had when looking at the lettuce patch with earthworms earlier, Wei Maomao thought as she continued shelling edamame.

Then, in the next second, she heard Cheng Tingyan speak.

“Do you think that ‘dadada’ thing has anything to do with the Baby Coin task?” Cheng Tingyan asked.

Wei Maomao thought it was more likely that the program team had rented a bit of the elderly woman’s time and space to assign the task, and now she was back to her own work.

Wen Jiangyue, however, took a few more glances at the main hall and nodded. “It’s possible, we’ll ask after we finish shelling the edamame.”

Wei Maomao glanced at Cheng Tingyan, her edamame shelling speed was rapidly increasing.

Did she like hidden tasks that much? She never mentioned having a gaming addiction in her previous life…

After Wei Maomao finished shelling her basket of edamame, the other two had only finished a little over half, but they both refused her offer to help.

When all three finished shelling their edamame, they carried the three small bowls to the elderly woman to hand in their task.

The elderly woman, still sewing without lifting her head, waved her hand dismissively. “Okay, this edamame is your reward, remember to return my bowls.”

“Grandma, what is that thing you’re using?” Cheng Tingyan, watching as the elderly woman pulled a lever, and the frayed edge of a piece of fabric became neat and smooth after passing under the needle and thread, was fascinated.

“It’s a sewing machine, not many people use them now, children your age probably haven’t seen one before.” As the elderly woman spoke, she turned a knob and stepped on a pedal, the rapid “dadadadada” sound of the machine filled the air, quickly finishing another seam.

“Grandma, are you feeling well? Is there anything else we can help you with?” Wen Jiangyue scrutinized the elderly woman, who was moving quite nimbly, she couldn’t figure out what the program team had asked her to “pretend” to be.

“There was another task, but before you came, a young man said you did an extra task earlier, so you don’t have to do the second task here. So there’s nothing else now. Oh, remember to return the bowls.” The elderly woman stopped the sewing machine, used a flat pair of scissors to snip the thread, and with a shake, a pillowcase was completed.

Wei Maomao: … So it was true that they had given themselves an extra hidden task at the chicken coop. But the program team was a bit too stingy, adding one there, then deducting one here. Come to think of it, only the “Daddy Kiss Card” task gave them more Baby Coins, the other tasks were all very stingy, she didn’t know who they were planning to sell all those things in the convenience store to.

“Grandma…” Cheng Tingyan, hearing that there was no hidden task, no more Baby Coins to be earned, was a bit disappointed, but now she had a new goal. “This sewing machine is so amazing, can you make something for me too? I can… um, give you eggs and tomatoes?”

“No, no.” The elderly woman waved her hand, folded the pillowcase, and placed it aside, then took out another piece of fabric and placed it on the sewing machine. “I have a lot of work to do, I don’t have time to make toys for little kids.”

“It’s not a toy…” Cheng Tingyan was a bit anxious, but just as she was about to explain, a phone rang from the elderly woman’s pocket.

“I don’t have time to make anything, even if it’s not a toy, I have to rush these to sell at the next market, I don’t have time for you.” The elderly woman waved her hand at Cheng Tingyan, took out her phone, glanced at the caller ID, removed her earpiece, and answered the phone. “Hello, who are you looking for? Oh, this is Zhao Lanhua, who is this? What? Police station? Oh, oh, hello, officer. Ah? My bank cards are all at home, impossible, I wouldn’t give them to anyone… What do you mean money laundering? I don’t understand… Mmm… Okay, okay, I’ll find a private place.”

As the elderly woman spoke, she stood up and hurried into the house.

Wei Maomao: … This familiar conversation, why did it give her a bad feeling?

Was this… the program team’s design? Or…

Just as Wei Maomao was hesitating whether to follow her and take a look, she felt a poke on her arm.

“Maomao.” Cheng Tingyan whispered, pointing at the room the elderly woman had just entered, her expression serious and worried. “It might be a scammer.”

“Ah?” Wei Maomao couldn’t react. She also thought it sounded like a phone scam, but was this something a six-year-old Yan Yan would know?

Cheng Tingyan, thinking that Wei Maomao didn’t understand, explained softly, “I… Mmm (mouthing the word ‘Mom’)… received a fake call from the police station before, they said her bank card was used for money laundering, she followed the instructions of the fake police officer and did many things, then all the money in her bank card was gone. It was all stolen by the scammers… Do you think this grandma…”

“Exactly the same!” Wen Jiangyue, who had been eavesdropping, interjected in surprise. “What this grandma just said is exactly the same as what happened to your mom! Then it must be a scammer, right?”

Cheng Tingyan: …

Wei Maomao: …

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Did I say something wrong?” Wen Jiangyue was puzzled by their silence.

“No… You’re right. It might be a scammer. Let’s go find the program team and let the brothers and sisters talk to Grandma, we’re just little babies, Grandma won’t listen to us.” Wei Maomao felt that this elderly woman seemed much more serious than the first one, she was also very businesslike with them, it didn’t seem like she would doubt the authenticity of the police just because of a child’s cuteness. So it was best to leave this troublesome issue to the program team.

The three quickly reached an agreement and looked around.

“Sister Mingming!” Wei Maomao waved to Liu Ming.

After a few words, Liu Ming, with a serious expression, took two other staff members and went to knock on the door.

Seeing that the program team was handling it, Cheng Tingyan finally relaxed.

Then, Wen Jiangyue, out of nowhere, asked, “Yan Yan, why did you mouth the word ‘Mom’ just now?”

Cheng Tingyan: …

Wei Maomao: …

Okay, good question, and she wasn’t even the one who had to ask it, even better.