While Ji Nuo was subjected to the ambush interview, the other three families were also thrown into chaos by the production team.
However, this content, along with the highlight reel from Ji Nuo’s live pre-interview, would be edited into the pilot episode of “Where Are the Cubs Going?”, slated for official release on the Mangosteen Platform over the weekend.
While the internet was still fiercely debating the performance of Ji Nuo and his “son” in the pre-interview, the show’s official Weibo account dropped new material: a highlight trailer of the day’s pre-interviews.
Ruirui, the adopted son of the industry-benchmark Old Dramatist couple, when asked “…So you don’t like Dad and Mom?”, lowered his head in silence;
The Variety King’s drama-queen little princess using her mom’s luxury beauty serum to “do a facial” on her doll and dressing her little cousin in princess gowns and makeup;
The Beauty Queen’s pair of children joyfully playing in their home amusement park, each child equipped with three personal nannies.
For Ji Nuo’s group, it was a short extra segment recorded after the live broadcast ended, featuring a question related to Han Cheng: “Rumor has it Han Cheng pursued you back when you collaborated on ‘Chasing the Deer’?”
The one-minute-twenty-second pilot trailer abruptly cut off. Online firepower redirected back to the comments section, with renowned variety show producer Bai Yong bearing the brunt:
[??? Damn, cutting it here, is this humane???]
[WTF, asking someone’s adopted son if he doesn’t like his parents? Bai Yong, do you have no shame for the sake of buzz?!]
[hhhhh little cousin in a dress, I’m dying, this is definitely the video that kid will most want to delete ten years from now hahahaha!]
[Holy crap, Kang Feier’s family is too rich! Are you still lacking a daughter? A college-educated one QAQ.]
[wow so the Best Actor hasn’t even taken a romance film all these years, saving himself for Ji Nuo? Doesn’t abandon him despite all the scandals, tsk tsk, I ship it. /Doge Head]
[Old Dog Yong, watch the sword!!! Don’t believe rumors, don’t spread rumors, refuse the show’s malicious leeching off Han Cheng! Pursuing Ji Nuo is total nonsense!]
[Haha Oranges, don’t be too serious. Old Dog Yong’s trailers are always clickbait. Blind guess the full clip is Ji Nuo awkwardly denying it. /wearysmokingemoji.jpg]
…
Promptly, the internet dragged out the greatest-hits compilation of producer Bai Yong’s years of misdeeds for a flogging. Regardless, the under-one-and-a-half-minute trailer successfully hooked everyone’s curiosity for the kid variety show even further.
Because the pre-interview touched upon Han Cheng, after it ended, Ji Nuo messaged Xu Li to confirm if his words and actions were acceptable and if anything needed improvement. He was a completely different person from the one who initially wanted to bail.
Xu Li was inwardly satisfied. Yes, this was the attitude a young person should have.
Setting aside how much trouble this had caused her, if she were Ji Nuo, she’d definitely cling to Han Cheng, this heaven-sent Grand Buddha, and fight for a brilliant comeback.
The fabricated love story she’d crafted for them started from “Chasing the Deer”—that drama where Ji Nuo played the Little Book Attendant.
Simply put: mutual secret crushes. Han Cheng mistakenly thought Ji Nuo was straight and hid his feelings; Ji Nuo felt a senior so dazzling could only be admired from afar. A missed connection for four years.
A chance encounter reunited them, they tried to rekindle things, and just at that moment, the relationship was accidentally exposed.
The explanation for the hotel photos was that due to Han Cheng’s fame, dating outside was inconvenient. That visit was squeezing in time for a rendezvous, and he had an early flight back to the “West Wind” crew the next morning. Hence, the couple was making every second count.
Framing the romance this way minimized details where fans and onlookers could poke holes. Both sides just had to stay aligned with this premise in interviews.
Xu Li was about to send a simple acknowledgment when she suddenly recalled the kid had frequently asked her if he still didn’t have Han Cheng’s contact info.
The day the photos were taken, Han Cheng had immediately flown back to set. All subsequent arrangements and deployments were handled by Xu Li. The two had exactly zero communication.
Xu Li immediately messaged Han Cheng: [You don’t have Ji Nuo as a friend yet? Filming starts soon, shall I push your card to him?]
It wasn’t that Xu Li truly hoped sparks would fly between them. But Bai Yong’s reality shows were full of sudden twists; games involving picking people to call or video chat weren’t impossible. If it turned out Ji Nuo didn’t even have Han Cheng’s WeChat friend added, what would that look like?
Xu Li pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d assumed after their intense night together, this kind of detail wouldn’t have fallen through the cracks.
Han Cheng’s replies were always like messages in a bottle—completely unhurried. Xu Li swiped out of the chat to instruct her little assistant to prepare yet another complete checklist for romance story consistency verification for her.
Just as she finished delegating, Han Cheng’s reply came back: [Fine.]
[Wait], Han Cheng added two minutes later, [Send the alt account.]
Han Cheng’s WeChat alt was a backup registered temporarily years ago when he lost his phone abroad and couldn’t log into his main account. After returning home and recovering his SIM, the main account was restored, and the alt sat idle as a spare.
Assuming Han Cheng was drawing a clear boundary from the start, Xu Li replied with an OK and pushed the alt’s business card to Ji Nuo.
~
By the time the pilot officially aired, the four families had already embarked on their filming journey.
“Where Are the Cubs Going?” was a parent-child interaction reality show. Apart from Han Cheng and Ji Nuo’s group, with two intern dads, the other three were genuine married-with-kids celebrity families.
In recent years, parent-child variety shows had enduring popularity. As a producer under China’s largest live-streaming platform, Mangosteen Entertainment’s “Where Are the Cubs Going?” stood out from other traditional kid variety shows with its biggest selling point: a guarantee of 24/7 uninterrupted live broadcast, offering viewers the most complete, most authentic experience.
The four groups of guests, regardless of strength, status, or personal assets, were not to be underestimated. Leaving their nanny-surrounded lives for a completely new environment, they’d have to face energetic, uncomprehending human cubs alone.
Viewers just had to imagine it to know what utter chaos and disarray would ensue.
Besides, “Where Are the Cubs Going?” was solely created by the industry-renowned eccentric genius producer Bai Yong. No script, no filters, original ecology, 24h uninterrupted live streaming that absolutely captured the realest celebrity families. Shows with slightly weaker controlling force wouldn’t dare attempt it.
The helpless mess of top-tier celebrities, the true angelic or devilish faces of beautiful second-generation stars, what unexpected incidents would occur under the demonic producer’s “whimsical ideas”? Viewers had long been anticipating with bated breath!
Like they say, huskies are more fun to watch when someone else owns them. Same for naughty cubs. Compared to this, the once-ratings-king Transformation Plan was no longer appealing.
Thus, the moment the live broadcast started Friday night, tens of millions of netizens flooded into the stream.
Filming began with Ji Nuo packing his bags, but the official live broadcast officially began only when all four groups of guests gathered at the recording location.
The extra filmed bits would be compiled into an edited version, split into two episodes released each weekend, for viewers who lacked time to follow the live broadcast.
Although Ji Nuo had acted early on and even been an online model for a while, he hadn’t been near a camera much since his company froze him out. Initially, he was a bit nervous about the close-up filming. But then he thought, if he might die soon anyway, why be nervous? He relaxed quite a bit.
Perhaps because he’d now completely let go of his worries, his abdomen hadn’t ached much these past two days. Still, he brought painkillers just in case. Conveniently, since Ao’ao suffered malnutrition and developmental delays, he’d bought nutritional supplements for the child. Ji Nuo very naturally mixed his painkillers in among the child’s medicine bottles.
He was accompanied by a stern-faced little one, who spoke with a worried, deep voice: “It should be modernized new countryside now. They should have an electric griddle, oven, and multi-functional cooking pot there, right?”
Ji Nuo only knew the flight was to a provincial capital in the southwest. As for the specific mountain village they’d transfer to later, he wasn’t sure. But based on his general understanding of similar regions, he told the truth: “Probably not.”
Lu Aotian’s face darkened further. He asked earnestly, “Then why aren’t you bringing them?”
To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools. If Ji Nuo brought nothing, how was his future dietary standard to be guaranteed?!
Ji Nuo gave a helpless smile and showed him the list of items provided by the production team. A four-year-old couldn’t read yet, so he read it aloud, pointing out which items the show allowed.
In short, it was daily necessities only. Everything that could increase the guests’ living comfort was forbidden.
Before Ji Nuo finished reading, Lu Aotian had already scanned it all. He quickly turned a “killing” glare towards the Follow Cameraman.
The cameraman gave an awkward smile, the corners of his mouth full of a wage-slave’s bitterness.
Ji Nuo gently coaxed him: “Even without those pots, Uncle can still make lots of delicious food.”
Lu Aotian’s pout was now capable of holding an oil bottle: “You’re lying. Without an oven, you can’t make cream puffs.” Did he think he was that easy to fool, like a real four-year-old?
Lu Aotian turned and left, walking with an angry, forceful stride.
When leaving the room, he again slammed the door. Once again, due to the soft silicone door silencer, the moment the door shut, the child impeccably timed a loud “BAANG—!” from outside.
He’d gotten so much practice slamming, he’d mastered the timing and volume. It actually sounded quite convincing.
But the moment Lu Aotian slammed the door, he came face-to-face with another cameraman, whose camera’s red working indicator light was blinking.
Lu Aotian’s body stiffened for a second. Immediately after, with considerable momentum, he shot a fierce eye-dagger: “Delete it!”
This chubby Follow Cameraman was responsible for interior shots for later editing. He hadn’t expected to stumble upon such a brilliant scene. The kid slamming doors and providing his own sound effects? He had nearly burst out laughing.
Seeing Lu Aotian’s solemn expression, he barely suppressed his grin. The chubby cameraman nodded with a simple, honest expression: “Alright, alright.”
After the tiny figure turned and left, he immediately filmed several extra close-ups of the child’s retreating back.
In fact, not only would he not delete it, he’d treat it as key footage to keep.
~
Lu Aotian’s dark expression lasted until they boarded the luxury bus prepared by the production team.
For the first stop of “Where Are the Cubs Going?”, the four families followed the show to a small town on the southwestern border—Jade Mountain Town.
Ji Nuo’s schedule was freest, so he was the earliest to arrive at A City Airport. From the airport to Jade Mountain Town, there was still about a five-hour drive, most of it winding mountain roads.
Considering safety and comfort, the production team would wait until all four groups were assembled before transporting them together to the filming location.
After getting on the bus, Lu Aotian put on his fluorescent green earplugs and began feigning sleep. Not only did he have zero interest in the three little turnips he was about to meet, but just thinking about shrieking human cubs made his slightly furrowed little brows fill with impatience.
Luckily, the kids had spent too long on the plane. Two were already curled up asleep in their parents’ arms by the time they boarded. There was also an unusually well-behaved little boy who had been quietly lying by the window, watching the outside scenery.
Because the children were asleep, the parents merely exchanged polite nods of acknowledgement.
Although Ji Nuo was prepared to slack off and go with the flow, he felt basic courtesy was necessary. Especially since three of the six celebrity parents had won Best Actor or Best Actress crowns.
He’d watched their award-winning films over five times each. His admiration and reverence almost had him turning into a starry-eyed die-hard fan on the spot. His excitement was no less than the day before when he’d added Han Cheng on WeChat.
Particularly since the Old Dramatist couple were seated right in the row in front. Ji Nuo was like he’d chugged an energy drink—spirited, spine ramrod straight, like a primary school student awaiting a teacher’s question.
Midway through the bus ride, the scenery outside the window shifted from colorful cityscapes to vast mountain ranges, with emerald streams meandering through the gorges.
Lu Aotian was terribly bored. His Little Genius Smartwatch didn’t have a privacy screen protector, so using it openly around others was inconvenient.
He simply stopped feigning sleep and turned his head to appreciate the long-missed beauty of the mortal world.
Ji Nuo noticed the veteran actor in the front row thoughtfully opening the window for his child. He immediately followed suit, quietly asking the little one beside him: “The weather’s very warm outside, we can open the window to see, and get some breeze. Shall Uncle open it for you?”
Lu Aotian was feeling a bit stuffy, so he nodded.
Ji Nuo stretched out his slender arm and easily opened the window a narrow crack, slightly less wide than Lu Aotian’s head. He planned to test the wind speed first, and observe if Lu Aotian had a habit of leaning against or sticking his head out the window.
After the window was open, Lu Aotian glanced sideways at Ji Nuo with a small approving look.
Though Ji Nuo had gotten used to Lu Aotian’s intermittent one-eyed tics, he was still tickled by it every time. He couldn’t help but laugh and quickly ruffle the child’s fluffy hair, retracting his hand before Lu Aotian could evade.
Lu Aotian immediately glared round-eyed. He’d emphasized before leaving the house: no head-patting outside!
Ji Nuo, how dare he?!
After patting, Ji Nuo remembered. It was too hard to go cold turkey; the soft, fluffy strands in the sunlight ‘filter’ just made his hands itch. He immediately pressed his palms together in apology to the little one.
Lu Aotian huffily twisted his tiny body towards the window, temporarily unwilling to bother with this uncomprehending underling.
The bus shuttled through the mountain forests. The air blowing in was exceptionally fresh. Since Ji Nuo had only opened a crack the width of a palm, the incoming wind speed was higher. The feeling of warm wind against his face reminded Lu Aotian of his past days flying on swords…
His eyes narrowed, he kept leaning closer to the window crack, until his little face was fully wedged into it. The fierce wind stung his face, but the long-lost familiar sensation made him enjoy it immensely.
Just as Lu Aotian was blissfully reminiscing about his omnipotent abilities to ascend to the heavens and…
“Blaaargh—”
Lu Aotian had zero time to react before his face was met with a mouthful of finely minced meat and egg custard.
Lu Aotian: !!!
He was utterly stunned. The childish voice of little friend Ruirui from the front seat clearly traveled with the wind into his ears: “Burp, feel sho much better afta throwin’ up…”
Lu Aotian: “…”
Ji Nuo, having witnessed the whole thing, was also extremely shocked. The mountain road did have sharp curves, but who could have predicted everything aligning so perfectly?
If he hadn’t spontaneously followed suit and opened the window; if he hadn’t randomly made it only palm-width; if Ao’ao hadn’t gotten angry and pressed his face to the crack; if Ruirui and Ao’ao weren’t both little tykes, their mouths at the exact same level when vomiting…
If all these points hadn’t been simultaneously met, Ruirui’s vomited meat-and-custard wouldn’t have been completely blocked by Lu Aotian’s face, and Ji Nuo wouldn’t have escaped completely unscathed.
Across the aisle, the Follow Cameraman—the same chubby one—was on duty. After his footage of Lu Aotian dubbing his own door slam was praised by the leadership last time, the chubby cameraman was determined to stick close to the Best Actor’s cheap son. He’d discovered the little guy had drama following him like no other.
Thus, the moment he saw Lu Aotian “wake up,” he immediately set up his machine. He smoothly captured Lu Aotian pulling his head back, residue dripping, eyes red, his little chest heaving with fury.
Of course, Lu Aotian would never admit he nearly cried from anger. It was this useless body!
Ji Nuo thought he looked both pitiful and hilarious. Suppressing laughter with difficulty, he used wet wipes to scrub his face three times over.
He watched Lu Aotian cup his two little black hands—still not fully white again—before his nose, carefully sniffing for any lingering eggy smell. Then, through gritted teeth, enunciating each word: “From now on!”
Ji Nuo immediately leaned in for instructions: “Hm?”
Lu Aotian: “No more egg custard!”
Ji Nuo patted his angrily heaving little chest: “Okay, no more, no more.”
~
Twilight deepened, the evening clouds glowed red. The luxury bus finally halted with stability in front of a spacious courtyard.
Ji Nuo was seated near the back and got off last. The bus’s bottom step was very high off the ground. Ji Nuo reached out to carry the child.
Though Lu Aotian had yet to fully tame his wild limbs, he still raised a hand and waved it, then clung to the bus door frame and jumped down himself.
As he landed steadily, he secretly sighed in relief, feeling his control over his limbs had improved slightly again. He was truly afraid of taking a spectacular pratfall in front of so many people.
Being carried by someone else—shame!
Refusing to be carried, but falling—even greater shame!
Since becoming a child, Lu Aotian faced countless such difficult choices daily. The mini river-shaped furrow between his brows was practically becoming semi-permanent.
The production team’s live broadcast equipment had long been set up in the courtyard.
Because Jade Mountain County had heavy rain recently and the second half of the road was in poor condition, the driver went slow. The guests arrived over half an hour later than expected. The viewers in the live room were already impatient.
Hearing the approaching voices and footsteps in the distance, the live room instantly boiled over:
[Ahhhh, the cubs, aunties are coming! Every single one from the trailer was so cute, I’m fiercely anticipating it!]
[Where’s Ji Nuo? Too scared to enter the filter-free live lens, are we?]
[Wuwuwu, in this lifetime! Finally waiting for Fairy Feifei to bring the little fairy on a show!]
[Let me see how the plastic surgery freak reveals his true form~ Wohoo~/Smile]
