Chapter 31 Part 1

So what if there are only fifty pairs in the whole world, and you hoarded forty-nine of them?

The result was still a disgrace in the newspapers. Tch, I, Lu Aotian, am not envious at all!

Lu Aotian repeated these thoughts in his heart, and the entire voyage was exceptionally pleasant. Even when he fell asleep, the corners of his mouth held a faint, shallow dimple.

Han Cheng’s expression, in contrast, was much more subdued. However, he hadn’t stopped reading since turning on his reading light. Ji Nuo assumed the content of the original text was just serious, completely unaware of the silent clash of wills that had occurred between the man and the child.

Ji Nuo originally thought this trip would be like the last one: arriving at the recording location near evening to start the live stream. Advertised as three days, the actual live broadcast time would be closer to four days.

Although Bai Yong wanted to, dumping the guests directly onto a deserted island in the dim light of dawn without any buffer would likely make these hothouse flowers sick. It wasn’t that his meager conscience was acting up; rather, if someone got sick, the subsequent activities would be even harder to manage. He could still distinguish between what was more important.

So, the four groups of guests were arranged to stay at a hotel closest to the dock after disembarking the plane, departing for the island at five the next morning.

Lu Aotian was used to sleeping until seven or eight every day. When woken at four-thirty, his whole being felt as if still in a dream. Unable to muster his dignified Long Aotian’s divine might, he simply spread out his short arms and legs, letting Ji Nuo change his pajamas.

The live broadcast room officially opened right as the guests woke up. However, four-thirty was far, far too early for most people in the country. The bullet comments were filled with grumbling and swearing:

[Have you ever seen Cloud City at 4:30 AM? You mediocre dog, I don’t want to see it! Are you crazy, starting a kid variety show live stream at 4:30 AM!]

[#CubGoesLiveAtDawn is trending again, huh. Tsk tsk, you really have no shame in your chase for popularity!]

But the moment the camera showed Ji Nuo holding the soft, little figure, as pliable as a rice cake, a large wave of viewers with usernames like “Ao’ao’s Real Mom,” “Ao’ao’s Pretty Aunty,” and “Ao’ao’s Big Sister” were instantly overwhelmed by the cuteness and started babbling nonsense:

[Oh my god, is there a group for kidnapping children? (1/n)]

[Ahhh wuwuwu Ao’aoAo’ao my Ao cub, Mom finally gets to see you again!]

[It feels like Ao’ao’s short little hands and legs have gotten noticeably chubbier compared to last season. Give Ji Nuo a great merit!]

[Ao’ao: You’re the one with short hands!]

Breakfast was yogurt with fruit and oats, plus croissants with scrambled eggs, bacon, and asparagus, provided by the hotel. Lu Aotian, dizzy with sleep, actually had no appetite, but his last shred of consciousness was enough to remind him how inhuman that blockhead producer and head director from the production team could be. To avoid being cheated, he forced himself through his drowsiness to fill his little belly.

Little friend Lu Ao’ao closed his eyes and began mechanically chewing. Ji Nuo thought he’d surely open his eyes to “restock” after swallowing the food in his mouth. Yet, whether this cub was truly at the pinnacle of sleepiness or not, he kept his eyes shut throughout the entire meal.

Every single time, he could accurately reach for food, spoon, or baby bottle in different positions and alternately stuff them into his mouth. His spatial awareness and sense of distance with his eyes closed seemed almost professionally trained.

After Lu Aotian finished eating, wiped his mouth, and got down from the table, he found his way back to the big bed with his eyes still closed. Ji Nuo couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder, mirroring the bullet comments: “Ao’ao’s spatial perception is so strong.”

Han Cheng, standing nearby, had deep eyes. “Indeed.”

The necessary equipment for the island had been set up in advance. Most of the staff had already been stationed on the island the previous night. Thus, when boarding the yacht at five in the morning, besides the local boatman and filming crew, only the four groups of guests were present.

Though the mode of transport had changed from a bus to a yacht, everyone sat according to their previous habits. Ao’ao, Ji Nuo, and Han Cheng still sat behind Ruirui’s family.

Last time heading to Jade Mountain Town, the little fatty Xu Xiaolin had arrived later and taken his family’s luxury van. This time, of course, he wanted his family to send him in a luxury yacht. He even proposed to his grandmother the idea of buying the small island where they’d be filming. However, although the Old Madam of the Xu family doted on Xu Xiaolin like the apple of her eye, after inquiring about the over ten-million annual maintenance fee for a private island, she wasn’t swayed by her grandson’s whims.

Xu Xiaolin, naturally, refused to accept this. He rolled on the floor, seemingly intent on scraping the paint off the floorboards, but still couldn’t get Old Madam Xu to nod. In the end, he was so angry he forgot about the luxury yacht altogether and reluctantly boarded the ordinary yacht rented by the production team.

If not for his intention to show off his divine might on the island, he would have turned and left the moment he saw such a shabby yacht.

The little dumpling Zhenzhen actively approached Ji Nuo’s family when she saw them. Xu Xiaolin shoved his sister aside and squeezed next to Lu Aotian, raising his chin. “Do you know what my uncle does?”

Lu Aotian glanced back to see the naive little dumpling being safely caught by Kang Feier. He turned his expressionless face back, too lazy to deal with this little blockhead Xu Xiaolin.

Ji Nuo fished out a small pair of sunglasses from Ao’ao’s little backpack and handed them to the child.

These were items Xu Li had instructed Xue Xiaoshan to select. Sunglasses, a sun hat, and baby sunscreen were strongly requested online by Ao’ao’s mom fans, including Cui Xiaoxue, who was practically half an internal staff member. Originally, when the cub looked swarthy and skinny, no one paid much attention to these things. But after spending a little over half a month with Ji Nuo, his skin tone had lightened by two shades, and he’d rounded out like a balloon. Although he looked less and less like Han Cheng from “West Wind,” he was clearly progressing towards being a jade-like little dumpling. So, his real mom fans naturally had to fight for more for Ao’ao.

Lu Ao’ao took the sunglasses and glanced at the tiny logo on the temple. Seeing it was a big brand, he thought it barely worthy of him, so he didn’t resist and propped them onto his nose bridge.

The little fatty behind him, feeling even more snubbed, grabbed Lu Ao’ao’s shoulder. “I’m talking to you! You’re rude!”

Lu Ao’ao, wanting to avoid his fat hand, had to turn around again, shaking him off.

Seizing the opportunity while they were face-to-face, the little fatty jutted his chin towards the tall man standing behind him. “My uncle is a special forces soldier! How about that? Scared now!”

Lu Ao’ao expressionlessly extended a short index finger, pressed it to the bridge of his sunglasses, slowly pushed them up, and replied with a nonchalant “Oh” before turning back around, not even glancing at the so-called special forces soldier.

After his body had shrunk, Lu Aotian hated anything that required him to crane his neck or stand on tiptoe to see clearly. He felt it made him look particularly weak. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t easily display such foolishness. Besides, what was so rare about a retired special forces soldier?

Lu Ao’ao’s indifference clearly made the little fatty even more dissatisfied. So, when little friend Ao’ao pulled a parasol out of his small backpack, Xu Xiaolin stood in the aisle and unreasonably demanded, “I don’t care, I want to sit in his seat!”

The bullet comments in Ji Nuo’s live stream exploded:

[??? Is this brat ever going to stop???]

[So Xu Chengyi didn’t come, but letting the kid bring a bodyguard is okay? So Zhenzhen’s family is now the female host, daughter, stepson, bodyguard? Is this reasonable?]

Adults usually don’t intervene easily in children’s interactions, but hearing this, Ji Nuo couldn’t help but frown. Just as he was about to speak, he saw his little cub jump off his seat and agree crisply, “Swap.”

Saying this, he pushed Ji Nuo’s leg and pointed to another spot on the shaded side towards the back.

Seeing their cub wanted to move, Ji Nuo and Han Cheng had nothing more to say. The family of three moved to a spot right behind Zhenzhen. Kang Feier smiled apologetically at Han Cheng and Ji Nuo, then crouched down to try and hug little friend Lu Ao’ao. “Sorry about that, Ao’ao.”

Lu Aotian nimbly dodged, circling behind Ji Nuo ahead of her, looking like an introverted child, except for the obvious disdain on his face. Lu Aotian disdained all ordinary humans who treated him like a little kid, and being hugged was even more impossible.

Ji Nuo had gotten along well with Kang Feier before and could see she likely couldn’t control her stepson at home. Smiling, he spoke for his cub, “It’s okay, Ao’ao wanted to come sit here anyway.”

Kang Feier missed her chance to hug “Little Han Cheng” and looked regretful. Ah, couldn’t hug the little one, didn’t dare hug the big one…

The little dumpling Zhenzhen, who had been sitting in her seat, stood up and opened her arms wide to Ji Nuo. “Nuonuo~ hug~~”

Ji Nuo saw the little girl in her pretty red dress, her big eyes sparkling, resembling a soft, fragrant red velvet mini-cake. Who could refuse such a sweet, soft little dumpling?

Just as Ji Nuo was about to bend down for a hug, Lu Aotian nimbly squeezed through the gap between Ji Nuo and Han Cheng, positioning himself right in front of Ji Nuo and being hugged before Zhenzhen. His face showed faint anger. “The boat is about to leave, sit properly!”

After saying this, he turned his head back and glared fiercely at the naive little girl.

The girl just giggled happily. Not offended at being blocked from Ji Nuo by Lu Aotian, she spread her little arms like clamshells and closed them around Lu Aotian for a quick squeeze.

After the squeeze, she ran off, making Kang Feier watch with burning envy.

Ah! Why had she grown up! Why did she get married! She wanted to return to the state of a little dumpling, so she could snuggle the big beauty whenever she wanted, and forcibly hug the little beauty whenever she pleased. She’d been utterly exhausted by family matters lately; this interaction finally made her feel a bit lighter.

On the other side, the little fatty plopped his butt down into Lu Aotian’s previous seat. In front of him sat Ruirui, who was still drowsy and listless.

The little fatty smugly lifted his chin, letting the sun bathe his face, an expression of “Weaklings use umbrellas; real men fear no sunlight.”

Watching from a distance, Lu Aotian felt, for the first time, like applauding him.

As the boat started and the sea breeze swept in, Lu Aotian leaned back in his seat, admiring the clear azure sky, the dreamy sapphire-blue sea, and the distant white sails. Occasionally, he glanced from the corner of his eye at the little fatty, face upturned, sunning himself.

Ruirui had taken motion sickness pills this time and managed to hold out on the yacht for half an hour.

Just as they were about to reach the shore, a sudden acceleration of the boat was accompanied by a strong smell of engine oil that assaulted Ruirui’s nose and mouth. His stomach suddenly cramped. Without time to rummage for the plastic bag in his backpack, he could only grip the armrests tightly and stick his head out of the boat as far as possible.

However, the yacht was accelerating against the wind, and the sea breeze was howling fiercely that day, creating a diagonal backward force. No matter how good the special forces soldier was, he couldn’t prevent this. Thus, the little fatty in the back seat, tilting his head back smugly, got hit.

Seeing the stain splattered on his sleeve, the little fatty immediately let out a pig-slaughtering scream, followed by loud wails.

Ruirui’s parents, hearing the commotion, immediately stood to get water and towels to clean the child’s sleeve. Kang Feier, though sitting on the other side with her daughter, saw this and temporarily deposited her daughter into the lap of Han Cheng, who was sitting by the aisle in the back. “Sorry, I’m not comfortable leaving her in the seat alone. Troublesome for you…”

Ji Nuo answered for Han Cheng before he could. “No problem, go ahead quickly.” Saying this, and worrying Han Cheng might not like holding children, he proactively reached out to take the child, but a small wheat-colored hand gripped his tightly. “Let, him, hold!”

Why did his stinky little brother like hugging that naive little dummy so much!