Before the two appeared, the staff had already quickly set up the radio mics, reflectors, and fill lights, planning to do a fixed-point pre-interview with Ji Nuo in a well-lit area first.
When the live broadcast lens turned to the doorway, the fill lights couldn’t be adjusted in time. Lu Aotian was backlit, and a large, light-blocking man was standing right beside him. Thus, Lu Aotian’s first entry into the live feed was a tiny, dark silhouette.
The barrage was again flooded with question marks:
[????]
[Could this little black monkey be the cub Han Cheng is bringing on the show?!]
[Han Cheng, did you get your brain wrecked? Not only picking a scandal-ridden actor, but the kid looks like a water monkey too… This is the first time I’ve seen such a suicidal approach to a kid variety show… /Doge Head]
Ji Nuo had just adapted to the production team’s ambush when he saw the unexpected little friend Lu Ao’ao, his mind filled with question marks.
However, seeing the little guy’s poor complexion, he assumed the tyke was frightened by the production team’s array of cameras and equipment, so he immediately walked over.
He crouched down, holding the child’s dark, thin little hands, and looked down at Lu Aotian’s tiny feet. “Did the uncle step on you somewhere?”
Ji Nuo saw no obvious shoe prints or indentations on the child’s feet, and his attention was quickly drawn to the green sandals with a red-and-silver Ultraman print. His most immediate impression was that the color scheme was a total waste of Tiga’s good looks.
The kid didn’t answer, just glared angrily at Xue Xiaoshan.
Now, every time he spoke, he deliberately slowed his speech and lowered his voice to control his lisping and avoid producing that unbearably stupid baby voice. But that useless oaf had caught him off guard, making him show weakness in front of the live broadcast lens!
Even though his current body was a toddler’s, he still couldn’t stand it. The body of the majestic Long Aotian had shrunk, but his aura could not!
Lu Aotian turned to Ji Nuo, puffed out his little chest, and with a commanding, disdainful posture, enunciated each word: “It’s. Fine.”
Ji Nuo was currently the person Lu Aotian deemed purest of heart. When he agreed to record this variety show, he had already prepared to take the other under his wing and put him to good use.
So after Lu Aotian finished speaking, just as he had initially planned, he continued to feign depth, lowering his voice as much as possible. With the tone of one accepting a subordinate, he extended a short hand to Ji Nuo: “Your hardships, I will shatter them.”
Saying this, his tiny body leaned forward, allowing his short hand to finally pat Ji Nuo’s shoulder.
Ji Nuo: “…”
Ji Nuo’s upbringing had been rather disheartening. His own father had been a sanctimonious, pure scumbag, so he was very accepting of everyone’s eccentricities.
Each person fed by the same rice grows differently, and this child had been unique from the start. Ji Nuo could somewhat accept the content of his words, it was just…
Why did this child sound like that little rooster he once raised that ate too much salty food, his voice all raspy and grating?
Before, it had been a clear, crisp baby voice. Today, was it tonsillitis, or had the food at the orphanage been too salty?
The staff member in charge of the interview had deliberately given the “father and son” a little time to communicate. After a slight delay, they approached with high spirits: “Oh my! Is that little friend Ao’ao arriving? Come, say hello to the uncles and aunties in the live broadcast room!~”
Lu Aotian, already annoyed by Ji Nuo, his lackluster new underling, turned fiercely to the camera upon hearing this: “They are not worthy.” No one was worthy of being called uncle by him, Lu Aotian.
The staff member’s mouth twitched. Good heavens, this kid wasn’t about repaying kindness; his hatred for the common enemy was even fiercer than Ji Nuo himself!
Cub, fly boldly, bear the consequences yourself!
Before coming, the leadership’s attitude was clear: Han Cheng was a major investor with a powerful background and couldn’t be offended. As long as it didn’t affect Han Cheng or the show’s recording, everything prioritized buzz and trending topics.
They were practically hoping for a prickly cub in this group. After all, Han Cheng’s studio chose this kid themselves; if problems arose, it wasn’t their concern.
The screen was already layered with dense shadows from the overwhelming number of bullet comments:
[??? What kind of rude, ill-mannered brat is this???]
[Disgusting. Is the production team deliberately finding an even worse kid to contrast with Ji Nuo? Is this even humane?]
[Ugly kid, lots of drama! Weren’t they saying before that they’d invite Tongtong? Worried for Tongtong baby!]
[I seriously suspect Tong’s dad and mom just couldn’t stand someone with Ji Nuo’s trash character touching their kid…]
[Although I’ve been looking forward to the divine-visage father-son combo of Tongtong and Han Cheng, TBH, Garbage Nuo and this ugly kid are a perfect match!]
At the same time, the staff monitoring online buzz and barrage trends showed a cue card to the interviewer: They’re insulting his looks and rudeness.
The pre-interview staff member immediately had Ji Nuo bring the child to the designated spot and sit down. Under the fill light, even ordinary yellow-toned skin could appear bright, pale, and flawless on camera.
It was equally effective on the sun-darkened Lu Aotian. The little black monkey instantly became a healthy wheat color, and the small face that bore a seventy-to-eighty percent resemblance to the Best Actor silenced the live broadcast room audience instantly.
The staff member glanced at the frame and gestured for Ji Nuo to leave the camera range first.
The color contrast between the adult and child was too stark. Ji Nuo, pale, frail, and cool-toned, was slightly overexposed by the light. And judging by the barrage reactions, they couldn’t focus on him now anyway. They planned to turn off the fill light and interview Ji Nuo separately after finishing with the child.
In fact, Lu Aotian’s current body was in the same state it had been in his past life after nearly four years of abuse in the Niu Family: all skin and bones.
Normal children have soft baby fat on their faces at this age, but he was so thin his cheeks were slightly sunken. Add his dark skin tone, and he truly fell far short of the super A-list Best Actor, who was like sunken gold and cold jade.
Coincidentally, Best Actor Han had just done an interview for the “West Wind” film crew recently. Han Cheng often disappeared as soon as he got a script. For the crew interview, he was cooperating with the director’s early promotional arrangements. That’s when fans and movie buffs learned Han Cheng had lost fifteen kilograms for “West Wind.”
In the few minutes of footage, Han Cheng was reduced to skin and bones, his skin several shades darker from the intense northwestern UV rays. His state fit the role infinitely, making him look icy, distant, and razor-sharp. Under the live broadcast lens, this scowling child truly seemed like father and son carved from the same mold.
Anti-fans and paid trolls began a new wave of attacks, but the Best Actor’s fans found themselves unable to strike their keyboards.
Their old and new grudges against Ji Nuo could wait for now. A cub version of the Best Actor was a world rarity, not to mention a limited-edition dark-skinned version.
To guarantee live broadcast viewership, the Mangosteen Platform charged extra for replaying live broadcasts later, and phone screen recording was disabled. Sharing pirated recordings exceeding ten minutes would lead to legal action for infringement. So where could the Best Actor’s fans spare attention for Ji Nuo? They all started frantically screenshotting!
The Best Actor’s fan group was also exploding with pictures and screams:
[ccccc! I forgive the damn production team! Just for digging up this cub, I’ll endure my disgust for Ji Nuo and follow this to the end!]
[The Old Fox really has the midas touch for variety shows. I couldn’t even sculpt a face this similar in a game!! /crazyrolling.gif]
[OMG OMG, I declare: this cub is now my biological son! Oh right, sisters, what’s my son’s name again?]
The pre-interview continued—
The staff member tried the usual method to get close to kids: “Wow, Ao’ao’s shoes are actually Ultraman! So cool! Do you like watching this cartoon too?”
“I’ve always wanted to see it. What’s the name of the Ultraman printed on your sandals? Can you introduce him to uncle…”
After the staff member threw out several warm-up questions, he was rewarded with Lu Aotian’s straightforward, contemptuous glance, and a world-weary, “Say what you mean.”
The staff member’s benevolent smile was almost hanging by a thread. Taking a deep breath, he went straight to the point: “We heard Ao’ao came to our show last minute. Was it to thank Uncle Ji Nuo for rescuing you from a human trafficker?”
Lu Aotian’s sitting posture was still domineering and imposing. He shook his head with considerable composure: “Of course not.”
Staff member: ???
The barrage immediately slid a series of sneers: [How’s that? The little actor has turned on them?], [He didn’t even memorize the script properly!], [LOL, and this show thinks they can whitewash this? I told you, Ji Nuo, with that scrawny body, fighting a human trafficker? I saw that trafficker was built like a bear…]
Next, Lu Aotian’s small, dark finger lightly tapped his knee. It was a habitual gesture.
Once, he had been a Martial Arts League Master, a Sky-Shielding Divine Venerable, an Interstellar Marshal… Every move he made appeared unfathomably profound. Now, it was just a restless kid’s fidgeting.
Lu Aotian quirked one corner of his mouth: “A mere human trafficker, needing rescue? Ha.” Who did they think they were looking down on?
He’d already seen the online feedback on his phone during the journey. Considering his purpose here was to win people over, Lu Aotian paused and added:
“Ji Nuo didn’t save me. He only helped stabilize me after I subdued the human trafficker, and dialed the police.”
Thinking of this, he raised his eyes and glanced at the oaf standing behind the production staff. He mentally, rather vengefully, added: Although Ji Nuo always liked to manhandle him, which wasn’t ideal, he was still far more useful than this useless oaf.
At these words, not just the barrage, but even the on-site staff were cracking up. Exactly how many chuunibyou cartoons had this kid watched? Did he think he was a mini Superman? Subduing a human trafficker…
The interviewing staff member couldn’t help his twitching mouth: “…Really? I don’t believe it.”
Lu Aotian lifted an eyelid: “You don’t believe it?”
The staff member wanted to say no one could believe it, and expressed tactfully: “You’re only four, how could you possibly subdue a tall, strong adult man?”
Lu Aotian folded his arms, lowered his voice, and said calmly: “He who makes the claim bears the burden of proof. The trafficker explicitly admitted this during his statement. You’re claiming to deny the police interrogation results; do you have evidence?”
Staff member: “…”
If they had surveillance footage, why would they be going to all this effort!
~
On the other side, Xu Li, who had been called into emergency overtime by the production team’s call, also couldn’t help her mouth twitching at this point. This child was even stranger and more absurd than she’d imagined.
On her desk, one computer played the pre-interview live stream; the other refreshed real-time trending data charts.
Under the hashtag #’Where Are the Cubs Going?’ Ambush Live Pre-interview Ji Nuo#, which the production team had purchased, a flood of comments about Lu Ao’ao quickly emerged. Ao’ao’s discussion was skyrocketing.
Soon, two more hashtags belonging to him appeared:
#’Where Are the Cubs Going?’ Live Broadcast Shocks with Cub Version of Little Han Cheng!#
#Little Han Cheng Claims Ji Nuo Did NOT Save Him#
Onlookers who hadn’t watched the live stream clicked the two hashtags with mentalities of “Let me see what kind of face dares claim to be Little Han Cheng” and “Hahaha Ji Nuo flipped his car, everyone celebrate.”
Then, almost synchronously, their expressions first showed shock as they leaned in to confirm, then shifted to the look of an old man squinting at his phone on the subway.
For a moment, they didn’t know whether to first criticize the child’s bizarre words and actions unbefitting his age, or to complain about how outrageously unbelievable his answers were.
[Any tech expert able to see if this kid’s face is AI-swapped?]
[How was this live broadcast lens filter adjusted? Pathetic plastic surgery freak becomes a great beauty, water monkey becomes Little Han Cheng, begging online for the parameters!]
[Hahaha this kid is way too chuunibyou. Claims he subdued a human trafficker himself? Totally absurd! I’d rather believe that weakling Ji Nuo ‘acted heroically.’ /laughingwithhandovermouth]
[Emmm what this kid said… amidst the absurdity, is there a hint of logic? We’re just saying, in civil litigation law, he who claims must prove. Whether netizens deny Ji Nuo rescued him, or the staff deny the kid rescued himself, they all bear the burden of proof. My law student DNA is strongly stirred.]
[What’s that top review trying to whitewash??? It’s clearly unreasonable, can’t I question it? Are you Ji Nuo’s dog, defending him like that?]
[Commenter above, please learn to go online. No one said you can’t question it, I was merely stating objective fact, love&peace ok?]
[Don’t fight anymore, hurry up and fight! /eatingmelon]
…
Lu Aotian raised his little chin high towards the live broadcast lens and the speechless staff member.
The staff member glanced at the cue card, threw in a bridging line, then turned to Ji Nuo: “Alright then, let’s ask our intern dad, Ji Nuo. I’m sure the audience has many questions for Teacher Ji, too.”
“Teacher Ji, no need for fill light, over there recording in natural light should be better…” The staff member started choosing a filming angle again.
As the live broadcast camera moved, searching for the right shooting position, it casually swept across the entire living room. After all, it was the home of super A-list Best Actor Han Cheng, which many were very interested in.
The live lens accidentally caught Xue Xiaoshan, who was tucked in a corner. He was an old employee around Han Cheng, having been photographed in high-definition front-facing shots many times. Some fans had even seen Xue Xiaoshan in person at officially organized set visits.
Most of Han Cheng’s fans continued screenshotting their idol’s home. A small portion, looking at Xue Xiaoshan’s familiar broad face, felt a sliver of doubt, especially when the next shot switched to Ji Nuo. Seeing that delicate face that seemed to have a soft-focus effect, the doubt in the fans’ hearts immediately sprouted: Why, under this so-called beautifying lens, did Xue Xiaoshan still look exactly the same?
Meanwhile, seeing Ji Nuo approach, Lu Aotian puffed his little chest out proudly, like a little rooster.
Though for him, it was merely a trifle not worth mentioning, Ji Nuo, a person so long isolated and helpless, would probably be moved to tears, right?
Ji Nuo first handed the half-cup of lukewarm water to the child: “Ao’ao, have some water to soothe your throat first. After the production team leaves, uncle will take you to the community clinic to see if it’s a tonsil issue, or your vocal cords…”
Of course, they couldn’t rule out the kid simply having eaten something too salty and being dehydrated.
“?”
Understanding his meaning, Lu Aotian’s eyes bulged. He was so angry he nearly burst out in his baby voice!
