Chapter 8
After breakfast, the live broadcast was temporarily turned off.
The group of production staff who had been gathered in the dining room packed up their recording equipment and dispersed, making the room feel much more spacious in an instant.
Shen Tiantian was eating a small after-breakfast dessert. A circle of crispy breadcrumbs stuck around his mouth, and his left cheek was puffed out as he asked in confusion:
“Are you not filming baby anymore?”
The assistant director glanced at the aloof yet gentle Shen Jinfeng, his scalp tingling a little. He stepped forward and said:
“The live stream isn’t on twenty-four hours a day. It only turns on at important moments, like during meals or when doing tasks. The rest of the time, we’ll just be recording. It will be edited later and put into the official episodes of the variety show on the website.”
If all the content was shown live, who would watch the official version of the variety show?
They had to ensure that some of the exciting content was only available in the recorded official episodes.
Shen Tiantian only half-understood. Holding his crispy little bread, he furrowed his little brows, trying to figure out what that meant.
Shen Jinfeng, on the other hand, stood up and asked:
“Does your variety show have a partner streaming site for the official episodes?”
The assistant director’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up at Shen Jinfeng’s faint, unreadable smile and respectfully invited him to the side to talk.
The various projects Shen Jinfeng had invested in over the past few years were mostly entertainment apps. He held a lot of resources in his hands, and the entire production team didn’t dare to offend him lightly.
Shen Tiantian hadn’t figured anything out yet. He looked up and saw Shen Jinfeng leaving, shrugged his little shoulders, and muttered:
“The bad-guy second brother is gone.”
Shen Xiuze helped the auntie clear the dishes from the table. He looked up and saw his little brother sitting obediently in his baby chair, holding a piece of bread with both hands and chewing nonstop, like a fluffy little animal eating.
A slight tremor went through his heart.
Shen Xiuze’s fingertips itched. He rubbed them together forcefully a couple of times, and under Shen Tiantian’s confused and questioning gaze, he raised his hand and wiped the breadcrumbs from the corner of Shen Tiantian’s mouth.
“You’ve got something on your mouth.”
Shen Tiantian’s puffed-out cheek was like a soft cloud of cotton, yet it was also springy. It felt very nice to poke.
He gave an obedient “oh” and used a napkin from the table to wipe the crumbs from the corner of his mouth. When he spoke, his voice was milky and soft:
“Thank you, big brother.”
Shen Xiuze’s perpetually cold face cracked for a moment. The ice in his eyes melted, and he tried hard to suppress the urge to pinch his cheeks, nodding.
“You’re welcome.”
With a straight face and a cold expression, Shen Xiuze picked up his coat and strode out of the villa.
His assistant was waiting outside. Seeing Shen Xiuze come out, he called out:
“Boss, are we still going to the project team today?”
Shen Xiuze grunted in affirmation. The autumn wind outside blew on him, clearing his mind and making him feel even more calm. He stepped into the car.
“We worked overtime last night. The project team should have finished the final parts. Contact them and have them send me the documents.”
The assistant acknowledged with a “yes.” Noticing that Shen Xiuze seemed to be in a relatively good mood, he tentatively asked:
“Boss, are you and the new little brother getting along okay?”
Shen Xiuze’s eyes, which had been closed in rest, suddenly snapped open. He looked up at his assistant, his lips pressed into a flat line, and his tone was cold:
“Why are you worrying about these pointless things?”
The assistant’s scalp tingled. He quickly said it was nothing and swiftly changed the subject.
However, a thought had already formed in the assistant’s mind. It seemed things were not going well.
The Shen family already had two sons, and now there was another one. The question of who would inherit the Shen Group in the future was likely to become even more complicated.
The assistant could already foresee the brutal scenes of bloody battles and corporate warfare when the three brothers fought for control of the company in the future.
After finishing breakfast, Shen Tiantian finally remembered to ask where his father was.
Auntie Mu smiled, her expression still gentle, and said:
“Mr. Shen went to the company for a meeting early this morning.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Tiantian’s little ears perked up, and he quickly asked:
“A meeting? Why didn’t he take me?”
Auntie Mu took Shen Tiantian’s soft little hand and led him to the lawn outside the villa, explaining:
“Tiantian is still too young, so he couldn’t take you.”
Shen Tiantian quickly pulled his hand away from Auntie Mu-Mu’s, jumped down from the steps, but lost his footing and accidentally fell on his bottom.
His expression was a bit dazed. He rubbed his sore little bottom, and his tone became a little urgent.
“Tiantian is not little! I’m a big baby who’s almost four years old!”
Auntie Mu was amused by his little expression and couldn’t stop laughing, covering her mouth. She helped the little one rub his sore bottom and comforted him:
“Four years old is still a child. How about Auntie Mu takes you to put on some ointment?”
It was only Shen Tiantian’s second day in the Shen family, and not only was his toe swollen, but his little bottom was also red from the fall.
The joyful mood he had felt from being on TV this morning had now dampened.
There was still a lot of the blood-stasis-relieving ointment left from the doctor yesterday. After checking with the doctor, Auntie Mu went upstairs and applied it to Shen Tiantian’s toe and little bottom.
After applying the ointment, Shen Tiantian could only lie on his stomach on the sofa for the time being, propping up his little chin with a sigh.
“You have a call, baby!”
The phone watch Shen Tiantian always wore on his wrist rang. A lively and cute children’s voice reminded Shen Tiantian, pulling him out of his gloomy mood.
This phone watch was a gift from his mother when she was still alive. Tiantian had always worn it carefully and never took it off except to charge it.
However, not many people knew Shen Tiantian’s number. Shen Tiantian answered the call and, as expected, heard his cousin’s familiar voice.
His cousin Ye Jiabao’s voice was a bit shrill as he shouted:
“Shen Tiantian, why are you on a variety show?!”
Ye Jiabao had been looking for the film crew that Shen Tiantian had joined in his previous life. He remembered it clearly; it was during the winter of this year.
After the drama was filmed, it happened to be broadcast during the winter vacation. Its ratings climbed from the bottom all the way to the top, eventually hitting number one!
In his previous life, Ye Jiabao had been filled with disdain and contempt for Shen Tiantian’s acting career.
Only lowly commoners would show their faces on screen!
And he, the youngest son of the Shen family, was born superior. He would enjoy endless wealth and glory in this life and had no need to earn money like an actor.
But despite thinking this, Ye Jiabao couldn’t help but pay attention to Shen Tiantian’s movements.
He watched as he was hailed as the “nation’s baby” after just one web drama, subsequently appearing in various variety shows and film crews. His Weibo followers skyrocketed, and money and fame flocked to him like snowflakes.
Ye Jiabao couldn’t help but feel jealous.
Especially since his own life in the Shen family was not going well at all!
He was young, and even with his mother helping him scheme from behind the scenes, he was still being played like a fool by his two brothers who had entered the company early!
Ye Jiabao was harshly criticized by Shen Yuanchuan and forbidden from meddling in the company. Watching Shen Tiantian become more and more famous, his mentality almost became twisted.
Fortunately, the heavens had given him a second chance!
In this life, he would choose the glamorous path of a big star and let Shen Tiantian fight it out with those two scheming brothers.
But what caught Ye Jiabao off guard was, how did Shen Tiantian end up on a variety show?
“What on earth is going on? How could those two black-hearted brothers of yours agree to record a variety show?”
Nothing like this ever happened in his previous life.
Hearing his cousin’s urgent and piercing voice, Shen Tiantian couldn’t help but hold the phone watch a little further away, pouting as he answered:
“I dunno. I woke up, and I was on TV.”
Thinking of this, Shen Tiantian’s little eyes lit up again, sparkling like stars, and he happily shook his fluffy little head.
“Cousin, did you see me on TV? Where can I watch it? I want to watch it too.”
Ye Jiabao’s expression twisted for a moment. Thinking of Shen Tiantian’s perpetually dazed and foolish demeanor, he gritted his teeth and said:
“First, answer me, was it your idea to go on the variety show?”
For a moment, Ye Jiabao even suspected that Shen Tiantian had also been reborn.
Shen Tiantian thought carefully for a moment on the other end and shook his little head:
“No, what’s a variety show? I was on TV~”
As he said this, Shen Tiantian felt that his little bottom didn’t hurt anymore. He quickly climbed off the sofa and ran outside on his tiptoes.
“Auntie Mu-Mu, Auntie Mu-Mu! I want to watch TV!”
Auntie Mu, who was cutting fruit outside, let out a little cry and picked up Shen Tiantian, who was running around barefoot.
“Why aren’t you wearing shoes? It’ll hurt your feet,” Auntie Mu said with concern.
Shen Tiantian didn’t mind. He pointed his short, chubby finger at the large-screen TV hanging in the living room and said hurriedly:
“Auntie Mu-Mu, I want to watch the TV with me on it.”
Auntie Mu smiled, and a few more wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes, making her look even more loving.
“Okay, Auntie Mu will find it for you.”
The TV was connected to the internet. Auntie Mu didn’t know how to operate it, so she went to find the butler. Only then was she able to cast some of the live stream clips from the internet onto the TV.
Shen Tiantian sat on the sofa, dangling his ointment-covered foot. He stared at the TV with wide eyes, a sparkle in them, watching himself on the screen.
“Wow!”
When he saw himself being carried out by his brother, Shen Tiantian couldn’t help but exclaim, covering his little face to hide his flushed cheeks.
He said to Ye Jiabao, who was still on the line:
“Cousin, I see it! I’m on TV~”
On the other end of the line, Ye Jiabao’s expression had gone completely numb.
This little fool!
He can’t even explain how he got on the show!
He hung up the phone angrily. Ye Jiabao told himself that he absolutely could not lose his composure.
It’s just a variety show. He had no impression of it in his previous life, so it probably wasn’t very popular.
It was more important to find that film crew first. That was the most important thing right now.
On the other side, Shen Tiantian was satisfied after watching the live stream clips online. He even used his little watch to call Shen Yuanchuan, who had just finished a meeting.
“Daddy, did you see me on TV?”
Shen Yuanchuan had just finished a meeting. His brows were deeply furrowed, and the smile on his lips was a bit cold.
Receiving his youngest son’s call and hearing his lively and soft voice, Shen Yuanchuan’s mood seemed to improve.
“I saw it. You did a great job.”
In reality, Shen Yuanchuan, who hadn’t watched it at all, was lying through his teeth.
But Shen Tiantian was clearly very happy to be praised. His tone became even softer, like a piece of sweet, melting honey.
“Okay, Daddy. When I earn money in the future, I’ll give it all to you to spend.”
Shen Yuanchuan listened to his youngest son making grand promises. He knew it was unrealistic, but he still couldn’t help but smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he said with a laugh:
“Is that so? Then I’ll be waiting.”
