The trio of two adults and one child quickly returned to the parking point. After Ji Nuo declined the overpriced boxed lunches peddled by the staff, he took out a thermos bucket from the car—one he had borrowed from the old aunt.
Tiantian and Ruirui’s families were still stuck at the chicken-catching stage. Little Fatty Xu Xiaolin’s side was probably still causing a ruckus. Even though it was already mealtime, among the guests, only Ji Nuo’s family had made it to the temporary small shed to eat.
On the danmaku (bullet comments), some haters were still clinging to Lu Aotian. After learning the green snake was non-venomous, they switched their accusations from “standing by and watching him die” to “deliberately taking the snake away to make others think it was venomous and panic.”
But since it was clear the green keelback snake was non-venomous and Little Fatty was fine, not only the Mom Fans, but even casual viewers who had followed the excitement couldn’t stand it anymore:
[If Xu Xiaolin hadn’t come over to cause trouble, would Ao’ao have been bitten by a snake? It’s clearly a case of the instigator being in the wrong. Are some brainless people in the comments under the impression the whole world is their mom?]
[Those feeling sorry for Little Fatty, can you go back to his livestream room, please?]
[Sigh, Xu Xiaolin wailed so loud he scared Zhenzhen into crying. Watching it gave me a headache, so I’ve decided to just stay here at Ji Nuo’s stream and watch Ao’ao from now on.]
[Same here. Comparing the three families, Ji Nuo’s side looks way too comfortable. And the food they’re eating looks so delicious! Did Ji Nuo make that himself?]
[A friendly tip to new friends: watch Ji Nuo’s stream at mealtime with caution, risk of weight gain ahead :)]
The small shed housed quite a few staff members. They had originally assumed all the guests would be stuck at the second checkpoint, and even after clearing it, they’d rush to the third checkpoint to collect wasp pupae to save time. Eating a quick bite in the car would have been considered a success. They never expected that the cub Ao’ao wouldn’t collapse into a crying fit from the chicken king covered in chicken droppings, but would instead complete the task early and smoothly.
Although the small incident between the two children drove the livestream’s popularity to another minor peak, it ultimately meant Bai Yong’s meticulously planned scheme had fallen through. In nearly a decade of doing variety shows, he had never encountered such a difficult group of guests.
And even though Lu Ao’ao not playing by the rules was quite a spectacle, the resulting aftermath gave him a massive headache.
Accidents are unavoidable during location shooting. The production team could only ensure sufficient safety personnel and a medical team as required, doing their utmost to guarantee the guests’ safety—this was all agreed upon during contract signing. However, now that the Xu family’s precious young master had genuinely been bitten by a snake in an accident, that was a different matter entirely.
Even if the snake was non-venomous, even if Little Fatty had run over himself to destroy Lu Ao’ao’s trap, as a wealthy family’s young master who had undergone surgery for a congenital heart defect, if Xu Chengyi really wanted to pursue the matter, it would put Bai Yong in a very difficult position.
This was only the first episode of the kid variety show he had pegged to be a massive hit. For the sake of the bigger picture, Bai Yong could only coax and appease them with good humor.
After he finally managed to soothe both father and son enough and brought them over to offer a free lunch, he saw the little friend Lu Ao’ao sitting contentedly in the small shed, wolfing down his food like a whirlwind.
This Ji Nuo! His insulated food container was actually five layers deep!
The simple tables and chairs in the shed weren’t large, and the tabletop was already crammed full with the dishes Ji Nuo had brought. The family of three looked utterly at ease, and the food on the plates was quickly devoured with their combined efforts.
Little friend Lu Ao’ao leaned back into his chair with his round little belly sticking out, his small hand expertly reaching for the baby bottle beside him. He popped the nipple into his mouth and started gulping it down—glug glug glug.
The little tyke’s belly was already as round as a little frog’s, but he still effortlessly downed half the bottle. After spitting out the nipple, he stretched out a small hand to wipe the non-existent milk stain from the corner of his lips, squinted his eyes in bliss, and let out an extremely satisfied “Hah!” sound.
Truth be told, once he got past the shame of sucking on a nipple, using a baby bottle was actually really satisfying.
The thing had an anti-choke design, so whether sitting, lying down, or rolling around, it didn’t affect his milk-guzzling progress at all.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, it was simply too satisfying. The little friend Lu Aotian had long since discarded the arrogant demeanor befitting a Long Aotian. His little feet, too short to reach the ground, dangled in the air, swinging back and forth rhythmically.
Clearly, a delicious lunch had successfully cured the shadow Lu Aotian had cast from the stench of chicken droppings.
Forget the other guests; even Bai Yong, who had just finished coaxing the two little ancestors, was so envious he could cry.
The Little Fatty trailing behind him was still sobbing and making demands of Xu Chengyi: “I want Mama Chen’s crab roe shark fin soup and braised pork belly! It hurts so much… wuwu…”
Xu Chengyi’s expression wasn’t great either. Not long ago, he had personally taken off the clothes his child was wearing after they were covered in chicken droppings.
He wished the child’s mother would do it, but his own mother never allowed his young wife to touch their precious golden grandson. As a result, even after washing his hands, he still felt like his entire body reeked of the nauseating chicken droppings.
Seeing Ji Nuo’s family not only taking first place but also eating and drinking so sumptuously, while the free lunch Bai Yong had promised was merely a twenty-yuan work meal that was clear soup, bland water, and utterly ordinary tasting, the anger inside Xu Chengyi instantly skyrocketed. So, he didn’t stop his son from his incessant crying and fussing.
Little Fatty, seeing the stark contrast, became even more unreasonable. He lunged forward to knock over the leftover scraps in Ji Nuo’s meal containers: “You guys hurt me, why do you get to eat so well! You owe me! Pay up!”
Han Cheng moved faster, reaching out to grab Little Fatty’s collar from behind and effortlessly lifting him away to the side.
Seeing his frontal assault fail, Little Fatty immediately turned and ran to Director Bai Yong, shouting and screaming: “Didn’t you say you’d compensate me?! His chicken was clearly pinned down by me, I was the one who caught it! I even got bitten by a snake because of him! The chicken should count as mine! This is unfair!”
As he cried and wailed, he quickly rattled off a long string of complaints, turning things completely upside down with remarkable proficiency.
Xu Chengyi remained silent, which was practically condoning his son’s attitude. Bai Yong instantly felt his head splitting into two headaches.
When he first invited Kang Feier, part of the reason was coveting the Xu family’s wealthy status, which was an automatic attention-grabber. Secondly, he’d heard this Second Young Master Xu, although the only male of his generation in the Xu family, was actually born from a young nanny who had climbed the ranks.
Xu Chengyi had an older half-sister from a different mother who was the one holding up the family, so he had no real power and shouldn’t be too difficult. This kind of pampered rich young master would definitely have more topical buzz. But now, he deeply regretted inviting these two masters.
Lu Aotian, leaning against Ji Nuo’s arm, slowly lifted his eyelids. He just knew this kind of person who would chew on any scrap of advantage for half a year would make a never-ending fuss. He handed his baby bottle to Ji Nuo and reached out to grab the little vegetable snake from the bamboo tube.
But before Lu Aotian could open the bamboo tube, Han Cheng raised his eyes to look at the director and calmly recited the game rules: “…Completing the task requires luring the free-range chicken into the trap prepared by the production team. I remember that correctly, right, Director Bai?”
Bai Yong chuckled sheepishly and quickly agreed: “Correct, correct. Teacher Han has an excellent memory.” It wasn’t just correct; it was practically a verbatim rereading of the game rules, delivered in a low, magnetic voice that rivaled professional voice actors.
Han Cheng gave a slight nod: “The chicken was the one assigned to Ao’ao, and Ao’ao personally dragged it into the production team’s trap. It fully complies with the rules. How is it unfair?”
They say Han Cheng is a born actor, his vocal projection, stage presence, appearance, and performance flawless at all times. Now, even stripped of the aura from his dramatic roles, his every gesture still exuded an outstanding temperament like sunken gold and cold jade.
A single, indifferent sweep of Han Cheng’s gaze shut the squalling brat right up. Even the pampered young master Xu Chengyi, standing beside him in a custom suit worth over a hundred thousand, inexplicably seemed to shrink a size smaller.
The danmaku immediately flooded with a wave of face-worshipping comments:
[Damn it! Didn’t they say Han Cheng became super ugly after losing weight and sun exposure for “West Wind”?! Why does he still look so charming to me!]
[Ahhhh, Teacher Han’s voice is just too nice to listen to! My unworthy ears are getting pregnant! slurps]
[This brat is really so annoying! Clearly, he was the one who tried to harm Ao’ao and got bitten by a snake instead. The epitome of ‘the whole world is his mom.’ Can’t the parents do something about him?]
[Leaving that aside, how come I don’t see how this chubby kid looks physically unwell, the type needing continuous leave? Comparatively, our Ao’ao looks more like an underdeveloped bean sprout, am I right?]
[Ao’ao: Are you being polite? You’re the bean sprout!]
[Yeah, how is Kang Feier as a stepmother? She’s not even trying to control the child. Is she deliberately watching the Xu family spoil the kid rotten so her daughter can fight for the family inheritance?]
[Hey, commenter above, why don’t you go be a screenwriter, huh? A brat like this is obviously spoiled rotten by the whole family. Being a stepmom, Fei’er has it tough; how is she supposed to discipline him? With a keyboard like you?]
Bai Yong immediately chimed in: “Fair! Ao’ao’s result is without issue.”
After saying that, he crouched down again to coax the Little Fatty, who was on the verge of tears again. He couldn’t afford to provoke either side; both were masters he couldn’t afford to offend, so he could only swallow this sandwich of grievances himself.
Although Xu Chengyi cast a dark, sinister look at Ji Nuo’s family, he was eventually pulled away by Bai Yong, who was pulling out all the stops.
Ji Nuo got up to clear the dishes. There were still some leftovers from the food he’d brought, but with this weather, packing it back into the thermos would definitely cause it to spoil by the time they got home. He planned to dump the leftover broth and clean everything up, then return the items directly to the old aunt when they got home.
Han Cheng, however, took the food containers first: “You sit and rest with the child for a bit. I’ll go wash them.”
Ji Nuo’s first reaction was, How could that be okay?
He had been raised since childhood with the habit of scrambling to do chores, and his quick hands and sharp eye for work had always earned him high praise from various employers. Otherwise, after being screwed over by his contract, he would have been hard-pressed not only to save sixty thousand yuan, but even to support himself through university.
