Chen Yi had business to attend to and returned to the company first, while Lin Chen still had two more scenes to film.
So Zhang Qi took Lin Nuonuo back to the hotel in advance.
What differed from before was that when they left the set, Lin Nuonuo had a crew ID in her hand along with a not-so-thick script.
Watching Lin Nuonuo look cheerful the entire way, Zhang Qi couldn’t help speculating. Did the child have too much homework? Or were her parents too strict? Or maybe she was mistreated at home? Otherwise, how could she look this happy just because she didn’t have to go home?
Perhaps because Zhang Qi’s gaze was too obvious, Lin Nuonuo sensed it. She lifted her head and looked at him, asking, “Uncle Xiao Qi, is something wrong?”
“Nothing.” Zhang Qi replied with an awkward smile, then quickly shifted the topic, “It’s getting late. I’ll take you to dinner.”
He brought Lin Nuonuo to the second-floor restaurant of the hotel and ordered for her, only to see the child sitting in front of the meal in a daze, staring but not eating.
“Why aren’t you eating? Aren’t you hungry?” Zhang Qi asked in confusion.
Lin Nuonuo shook her head.
“Then do you not like this food?”
“It’s not that…… I…… um…… is Lin Chen not coming back for dinner?” She asked softly.
“Brother Chen still has two scenes tonight. He’ll probably come back quite late.” Zhang Qi answered.
“Then should we save some food for him?” She asked again as she looked at the seemingly slow-witted assistant in front of her.
Seeing how worried Lin Nuonuo looked for Lin Chen’s sake, Zhang Qi felt embarrassed.
“No need…… The crew will provide boxed meals. Just eat. Don’t worry about Bother Chen.” Zhang Qi said.
Not to mention that Lin Chen wasn’t like some other man-child celebrities who would starve without their assistant-turned-babysitter.
Hearing that, Lin Nuonuo hesitated before nodding quietly and starting to eat.
But in the end, she still stubbornly packed up the remaining pastries on the table to save for Lin Chen later.
Watching how concerned she looked, Zhang Qi truly had no idea whether the child and Lin Chen had a good or bad relationship.
If he said it’s bad, she seemed quite worried about her uncle. If he said it’s good, no normal child would call their uncle by his name.
Truly a bizarre family relationship…… Zhang Qi muttered inwardly and stopped thinking about it.
He solved her dinner problem, but immediately a new one arose.
He didn’t know where she should stay!
That stumped him.
It wasn’t until ten o’clock, when Lin Chen finally returned from filming, that the matter moved forward.
The moment he stepped into the lobby, he saw the two of them— one big and one small— staring blankly at each other on the sofa.
Just as he wondered what was going on, the two noticed him and hurried over.
“Brother Chen, you’re back!” Zhang Qi greeted him with an overly bright smile.
Lin Chen merely frowned slightly at the sudden enthusiasm.
“What are you two doing sitting here?” Lin Chen asked, glancing at Lin Nuonuo.
Surely they weren’t waiting for him.
“Well, we were waiting for you……”
Seeing Lin Chen’s expression of total disbelief, Zhang Qi quickly added, “I messaged you earlier. You must’ve missed it because you were filming.”
He cleared his throat. “Anyway, it’s nothing big. I just wanted to ask, where should the child stay for the next two days?”
Lin Chen simply gave him a cold glance, as if to say, ‘That’s your job to figure out, isn’t it?’
Meeting his eyes, Zhang Qi felt thousands of mythological beasts stampeding in his heart.
He wanted to solve it, but they didn’t have a female assistant.
If this were a little boy, he’d just bring him to his own room. But Lin Nuonuo was a little girl. He obviously couldn’t have her stay with him.
He also thought about getting the child her own room, but a child staying alone was impossible. Not only would they not be at ease, but the hotel wouldn’t allow it either.
He was just a temporary scapegoat uncle!
Had the big boss forgotten who the real uncle here was?
Zhang Qi complained wildly inside.
Lin Chen, seeing his assistant’s pleading expression and the small figure beside him peering up anxiously, finally seemed to remember his uncle identity— at least a little.
Even though he and Lin Nuonuo weren’t truly related.
“Brother Chen, then, how about Nuonuo stays with you? It’s easier. And you’re staying in a suite, aren’t you?”
Exactly! Zhang Qi lived in a standard room paid for by the company, whereas this big shot had paid out of pocket for the top-floor luxury suite.
Hearing the suggestion, Lin Chen lowered his gaze to the little troublemaker. The rejection he intended to say never left his mouth.
After all, the child who solved the role of Mo Bei also solved a problem for him.
“What’s tomorrow’s shooting schedule?” Lin Chen asked.
“Five scenes total. Two in the morning, three in the afternoon, plus a few night shots.” Zhang Qi said as he read through the schedule.
“What time does the first scene start?”
“Um…… nine in the morning.”
Lin Chen nodded and instructed, “Coordinate with the crew. And we leave at eight-thirty tomorrow morning.”
After that, he lowered his head and gave Lin Nuonuo a look. “Let’s go.”
“Huh?”
She didn’t immediately realize he meant her. She watched him walk away in confusion until Zhang Qi prompted, “Hurry, follow him.” Then she finally understood.
The tense look on her face instantly brightened. She ran toward Lin Chen with her little short legs.
Before leaving, she even turned back to say, “Good night, Uncle Xiao Qi.”
Lin Nuonuo caught up to Lin Chen.
Inside the elevator, watching him swipe the card and press the floor, she asked, “Are we going back to our room?”
A smile was still hanging on her face.
“To my room.”
Meaning, ‘You’re just staying temporarily.’
But she didn’t notice the difference at all. Instead, her smile grew even wider as she happily followed him in.
Lin Chen’s suite had a separate kitchen, balcony, dining area, and workspace. The bedroom was apart from the living room. He called the housekeeping service and asked for an extra set of bedding, then used the sofa to make a simple bed.
Small, but just the right size for Lin Nuonuo.
“You’ll sleep here tonight.” Lin Chen said, pointing at the makeshift bed. Then he gestured toward the bathroom. “Bathroom’s there. Wash up yourself. And keep quiet. Don’t make noise.”
That last sentence was his requirement.
After speaking, he stopped paying her attention, took his laptop to the work area, and began handling documents Wei Jinchi had sent.
Only after he walked away did Lin Nuonuo answer obediently, “Okay.”
She had arrived with nothing but herself, so there was nothing to unpack.
She glanced toward the working Lin Chen, then tiptoed into the bathroom.
When she finished washing up and tiptoed back, she climbed onto her temporary bed, curled under the blanket, and stared at him quietly.
There was not a sound throughout the whole process.
Lin Chen was satisfied.
However, just when he thought the peace would last, she walked over, clinging to the edge of the desk, looking up at him.
“Do you want something to eat?” She asked softly, eyes full of concern and hope.
Interrupted, Lin Chen frowned. “What?”
“This.” She set the packed meal box on the table.
It contained the pastries she had saved for him at dinner.
“They’re really tasty.” She added.
Lin Chen stared at the half-eaten leftovers in utter silence.
“I’m not eating that. Take it away.” He said coldly, eyes full of disdain.
“Oh.”
“Then if you want it later, tell me.”
She hugged the box back to the sofa. After opening it and sniffing it longingly, she whispered, “It smells so good……” But she still resisted eating it, saving everything for him.
Lin Chen, hearing no further movement, thought she was finally quiet. That expectation lasted all of three seconds.
She ran back, this time holding her script.
“Can you tell me how to read this character?” She asked, pointing.
“Jie. As in exhausted.”
“Got it, thank you.” She hugged her script and ran off.
Two minutes later, she returned again. Script still in hand.
“What about this one?”
“Yi.”
“Oh.”
……
By the fifth time she came back, Lin Chen’s expression had darkened completely.
He suspected she was doing it on purpose, seeking trouble intentionally.
“Yu. Any other characters you don’t know? Ask all at once.”
Startled, she shrank her neck.
“These……” She whispered, pointing at the circled words in the script.
She had circled all the ones she didn’t know while reading earlier.
So yes, she was doing it on purpose.
Not to cause trouble, but because she simply wanted to talk to her father more.
Lin Chen read every circled character aloud, whether she remembered them or not, then tossed the script back to her. “Stay over there. Don’t come again. Or I’ll send you back to the Lin family.”
Her expression changed instantly, and she sprinted back to the sofa.
……
An hour later, Lin Nuonuo sneaked back again, this time while Lin Chen was on a video call with Wei Jinchi and was listening to a report on several recent investments.
Seeing a small child suddenly appear in the camera, Wei Jinchi froze mid-sentence.
“Whoa! Where’d that kid come from? Lin Chen, do you seriously have a secret child?!”
Wei Jinchi was shocked— very shocked.
Lin Chen gave him a look of utter disdain. “This is the child Lin Zeyu adopted.”
“Tsk. So it’s your brother’s kid. I got excited for nothing.”
He had heard, of course, that Lin Zeyu and his wife had very publicly adopted a child from an orphanage in the name of charity.
But……
“Wait, how is his adopted kid with you? Aren’t you filming in N County right now?”
Wei Jinchi looked even more baffled.
“Accident.” Lin Chen said coldly.
Seeing that he didn’t want to elaborate, Wei Jinchi sensibly dropped the topic.
He glanced through the camera again at Lin Nuonuo, who was standing nervously behind Lin Chen, and suddenly chuckled with teasing amusement.
“Not gonna lie, Lin Zeyu picked well. The kid really does look a bit like him.”
Hearing that, Lin Chen thought Wei Jinchi was joking. He simply gave a dismissive snort.
Looks like Lin Zeyu? Not even close. He didn’t think this kid looked like anyone in the Lin family.