Chapter 27 Part 2

In that fleeting instant, a reporter from a well-known online media outlet was the first to shove a microphone in front of the two men:

“May I ask, Teacher Han, how do you view the internet exposé suggesting Ji Nuo’s lover is someone else, and that you are merely cooperating to whitewash him?”

“Is it true that Lu Ao’ao is being used as a tool to whitewash Ji Nuo’s image, as rumored online?”

“Did the Production Team teach the four-year-old to make the snare trap in advance, correct?”

…

Because the news had spread so fast, Qian Lei had just received Xu Li’s warning moments ago when the reporters swarmed them. It was impossible for this to have happened without someone fanning the flames behind the scenes. However, now that things had escalated to this point, they could only respond head-on.

Listening to the reporters’ questions, Han Cheng’s expression grew increasingly dark: “All of it is completely groundless…”

Such a denial naturally wouldn’t satisfy the reporters; this was one of the helpless realities of being a public figure.

Deny it? Reporters would write: “Han Cheng’s dark face suggests guilt.” Refuse to comment? They’d write: “Han Cheng dares not face the questions, there must be something fishy.” Send a legal letter directly? They’d write: “Han Cheng has stooped to using such a weak counterattack method. Looks like they really hit the nail on the head this time; otherwise, why resort to a long-drawn-out legal process?” In the entertainment industry, a statement was even more worthless than toilet paper from the east side of the village.

This was unavoidable. The immediate priority was to identify the mastermind behind this and counterattack by taking the offensive. As for who it was, Han Cheng already had a suspect in mind. He just wanted to extricate them from this mob of reporters as soon as possible.

Just then, the Little Dumpling in Ji Nuo’s arms grew impatient. He twisted around, revealing his small face from within Han Cheng’s jacket—wheat-jade complexion showing off his adorably cute face. He looked seventy percent like Han Cheng and thirty percent like Ji Nuo.

If it weren’t for their prominent Adam’s apples making their gender indisputable, seeing this child’s features would make one suspect either Ji Nuo or Han Cheng was a woman disguised as a man, and that this cub was their biological offspring.

Indeed, minor popularity relies on promotion, major popularity relies on fate. Finding such a child as a bridge instantly transformed Ji Nuo and Han Cheng from a dubious couple into a married, doting pair of husbands raising a child. The CP chemistry skyrocketed immensely. Ji Nuo hitting it big riding this wave of goodwill wasn’t impossible. — Thus thought the reporter standing at the very front.

The moment the Little Dumpling appeared, the flashlights immediately angled upwards. The reporters rubbed their hands in anticipation. Adults might have tight lips, but children were a different story. Especially since they had caught them off guard this time, they didn’t believe Han Cheng and Ji Nuo could have coached the child in advance on how to respond.

A four-year-old, no matter how clever, was still just a little kid once separated from the script’s arrangements.

“Little Friend Lu Ao’ao’s snare trap was truly amazing. Could you tell uncle who taught you how to make it?” A male reporter on the left front row charged forward, immediately setting a verbal trap for the child.

If the child truly displayed such extraordinary skills under someone’s guidance, a single misstep in his answer could easily lead to a slip of the tongue.

Lu Aotian was already displeased at being woken. Hearing this only made him furrow his little brows into a tight knot.

First, this man with his sly, treacherous face dared to call himself ‘Uncle’ in front of him? Second, the man’s forced, high-pitched voice was grating on his ears!

Lu Aotian’s proud little face remained stern. He crossed his arms and spoke in a deep, milky tone: “Learn?”

The male reporter, sensing a lead, grinned widely: “Yes, yes, who taught you how to tie the snare for catching the chicken?”

Lu Aotian gave a cold snort: “This sort of thing needs to be learned? I, the magnificent Lu Ao- Ao, just thought of it casually. Such minor tricks, I could come up with a hundred different ones without repeating any.”

Who do you think you’re looking down on?

Any question involving teaching and learning was essentially asking who his master was! This low-level world had someone worthy of being his teacher? What a joke! He, the magnificent Long Aotian, was born with innate knowledge.

Lu Aotian spoke with arrogant swagger: “What? Are you questioning me?”

Not only was the male reporter dumbfounded, but the other reporters were equally caught off guard.

Seeing the Little Dumpling assert it so definitively, as adults, they couldn’t exactly pull out a rope and make him perform on the spot. Besides, they hadn’t prepared any props.

Another reporter, reacting a bit faster, skipped this topic and instead asked Lu Aotian about his background.

The impatience on the Little Dumpling’s face intensified. But he knew these irritating pests would never give up. He had to make things absolutely clear; otherwise, could he depend on that useless small-time thug lackey and that useless celebrity?

Lu Aotian’s gaze turned cold, his tone grave: “So what if I am? And I don’t want to repeat myself. Ji Nuo only called the police; I rescued myself. It’s in the show’s pilot episode. As a reporter, I suggest you do your homework before your next interview.”

“…”

At these words, not only the reporters in front but also the fans behind were momentarily stunned. One reader of CEO romance novels even found the phrasing vaguely familiar, though coming from a four-year-old’s mouth, it felt less greasy somehow.

Lu Aotian had no desire to wait for these fools’ slow reaction times. He patted Ji Nuo’s shoulder and issued his command: “Go.”

Cub Aotian’s single order first spurred into motion the assistants and security personnel standing on the outer perimeter providing protection. Once the path makers moved, Ji Nuo and Han Cheng naturally moved along with them.

Ji Nuo had been slightly nervous at first. He was the worst person to speak up in such a situation, so he was especially worried about the reporters laying traps for Han Cheng, causing him to implicate Han Cheng again.

However, once the cub in his arms started speaking, Ji Nuo’s nervousness transformed entirely into suppressed laughter. He had to use almost all his acting skills to keep his facial expression steady. By the time he got into the business van holding the child, he could no longer hold back his laugh. He cradled the child’s face and planted a kiss: “Hahaha, how can our Ao’ao be this cute!”

Lu Aotian had been puffing out his chest, head held high, waiting for his useless lackey’s adoration and flattery. He never expected the other party to switch tactics this time and have the audacity to actually kiss him!

Lu Aotian immediately rubbed his cheek with his small hand: “Howw dare you!”

The unexpected situation made his milky voice slip out uncontrollably. Ji Nuo immediately leaned in and planted another smooch on the child’s other cheek.

The Little Dumpling in his arms instantly bristled: “You!!!”

But he couldn’t break free from Ji Nuo’s strong hug. The little dumpling got even angrier! Repaying kindness with enmity! Rebellion!

It was also Han Cheng’s first time hearing Lu Aotian produce such a perfectly adorable milky voice. He’d always assumed the child’s vocal cords were naturally deep. He never expected him to have such a cute, babyish side.

Watching the two poking, pushing, chasing, and laughing in the back seat, the gloomy feelings that had been weighing on Han Cheng’s heart earlier were swept away completely.

The two assistants in the driver’s and passenger’s seats exchanged a knowing smile. Xue Xiaoshan had long been acquainted with Lu Ao’ao’s divine might, but for Qian Lei, this was his first direct encounter with this child’s remarkable qualities.

Before this, the most he assumed was that the child, having grown up on the streets, possessed very strong self-care abilities and some unexpected little tricks, like making a bird trap or something.

Kids today indeed rarely know such things. But for people like them who grew up in the countryside, while it was rare, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

But those comments just now—they truly opened his eyes! How did this seem like a four-year-old child? You could almost believe he was a shrunken adult like Conan.

But reality, after all, wasn’t an anime. People would simply be even more curious about exactly how this child had grown up so uniquely.

Furthermore, once such a speech—one that left the reporters speechless—spread, it would undoubtedly serve as a powerful counterattack against the so-called scripted act slander. This cub really was one of a kind!

The live recording for the next session, the Island Trip, was still set to start on Friday. In principle, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were free time for Ji Nuo and the cub.

Xue Xiaoshan, according to the agreement with the orphanage, asked the Little Dumpling: “Does Ao’ao want to go back to the orphanage for these two days, or stay with Uncle Xiao Nuo?”

The Little Dumpling had an extremely deep impression of the big oaf’s useless performance on the very first day he transmigrated. He still held him in great contempt. Upon hearing the question, he couldn’t be bothered to respond and merely spat out one word lightly: “Nuo.”

A joke. Compared to going back to the orphanage to gnaw on biscuits, he naturally chose to stay by Ji Nuo’s side! Even if it meant staying with Ji Nuo at Han Cheng’s house.

Wasn’t this guy supposed to be very busy? Hopefully, he’d be away often.

With Lu Aotian carrying this kind of wishful expectation, Han Cheng dropped the two of them off at his Cloud Lake apartment before heading to the studio with Xue Xiaoshan and Qian Lei.

Han Cheng’s household nanny, Sister Li, had received prior notice. She had prepared a lavish spread of homestyle dishes early in the morning.

Han Cheng was a notoriously picky eater; someone who could work for him long-term naturally possessed exceptional culinary skills. In the past, he’d often bring Sister Li along to film sets as his personal chef. This time, the “West Wind” Film Crew required him to lose weight, so it conveniently gave Sister Li a little vacation with full pay.

Although Sister Li only started taking care of Han Cheng after he came to China, over the years she’d had more opportunities to interact with Han Cheng’s family members compared to a work partner like Xu Li. With Han Cheng’s tacit approval, she even occasionally received phone calls from “Madam Han.”

Feeling slightly uneasy about being paid for doing nothing, Sister Li was overjoyed to be called back to cook for three days. She immediately took a car from the suburbs.

During her break, she’d been playing mahjong daily with her old friends and hadn’t been on her phone to watch the live broadcasts of this variety show. Opening the door and seeing the child in Ji Nuo’s arms gave her a shock. After welcoming them inside, she seized every opportunity to subtly inquire about the child’s background.

Then she mentally counted on her fingers, calculating which period four years ago her employer might have had the opportunity to father such a child. And whether this was something that needed to be reported to Madam Han?

Lu Aotian didn’t want to admit it, but he had to. Han Cheng, that guy who ripped off his character model, had even copied his taste in food! The signature dishes Sister Li made, while not as stunningly amazing as Ji Nuo’s cooking, still suited his palate very well indeed.

Lu Aotian puffed out his cheeks as he inhaled his food like a whirlwind. Standing at a distance watching him, Sister Li grew fonder by the minute. Not just because he clearly had some connection to Han Cheng, but also because, being nearly fifty, she simply had zero resistance to such an adorable, good-looking child with such a great appetite.

Sister Li set a bowl of stewed pear with rock sugar beside Ji Nuo: “Sir specifically asked for this to be prepared for you.”

Having finished that, she immediately turned to ask the child whose little mouth was shiny with grease: “Ao’ao, is there anything else you want to eat? Tell Grandma. Your Uncle Han said you love pufferfish. I’ve already placed an order with the seafood market; I’ll make some for you this evening, alright?”

Lu Aotian’s chopsticks, shoveling rice, paused mid-motion. His raven-feather-like eyelashes couldn’t hide the sudden surge of ferocity, and a murderous intent flickered in his eyes. He had reason to suspect Han Cheng did this on purpose!

Not only spouting nonsense, but mocking him as a pufferfish! Instantly, Little Friend Lu Ao’ao was so angry he puffed up into a wheat-complexioned little pufferfish.

Ji Nuo, sipping his rock sugar pear soup nearby, nearly choked at the long-distance battle of wits between the man and child. Setting down his spoon, he coughed while laughing, but immediately felt the sharp, dagger-like glare flying at him from the little dumpling.

—

Meanwhile, Cui Xiaoxue, who had rushed to find a coffee shop and started typing furiously right after getting off the plane upon receiving the news, had finally finished a first draft in chronological order.

She was used to polishing her work to perfection; looking at the rough draft pained her eyes deeply. But with time being critical, she had no choice. Suppressing her OCD, cursing Cen Xi under her breath, she opened Weibo.

Cui Xiaoxue still wasn’t 100% sure if Cen Xi had a hand in this particular incident. But having been harassed and disgusted by Cen Xi’s camp for too many years, her default rule for dealing with any unidentified haters was to treat them as Cen Xi’s doing.

Muttering curses, she tagged the slanderous hot search topic and started writing her post.

Downy Heavy Snow v: [Regarding the post on the anonymous forum about Ji Nuo and Lu Ao’ao, I have the following six points to mention:]

Attached below were two images: one was a speechless emoji of six dots, and the other was a large, long image rich with both text and graphics.