Before going to bed, Xu Xiu received a video call from Xu Zhirang.
Before she could even ask what was going on, a quarrel could already be heard from the other side.
“You’re treating me like this, I’m going to tell Mom!”
The little kid’s slightly aggrieved, tearful voice came through the video.
Xu Xiu’s heart jolted, and she suddenly sat up.
For a moment, the plot of the novel flashed through her mind.
Almost all of it suggested that the male lead doted on this suddenly appearing son, and that the entire Shen family treated him like a treasure.
Could the plot be wrong?
Worried, Xu Xiu almost wanted to rush straight to the Shen household to take the child back.
“Xiao Rang, what’s wrong? Don’t be scared, tell Mom.”
Before she could even get out of bed, the image on the screen shifted, and Shen Xingyi appeared.
He seemed to have already washed up. His usually meticulously styled hair had fallen softly into place, and the light gray loungewear softened his usual sharp aura.
The gold-rimmed glasses that defined his presence were gone, revealing a pair of phoenix eyes similar to the little boy’s.
Without the glasses, the aggression in those eyes was completely exposed—slightly raised corners that drew people in effortlessly.
The visual impact was so strong that Xu Xiu paused for a moment, staring blankly at the father and son apparently in conflict on the screen.
Shen Xingyi pulled the struggling little boy into his arms and was about to speak, but his gaze suddenly shifted away upon noticing Xu Xiu’s somewhat revealing sleepwear.
Because she had been in a rush, she hadn’t even put on a coat—only a loose T-shirt she used as sleepwear.
The neckline was slightly wide, exposing part of her collarbone and a stretch of pale skin.
Shen Xingyi suppressed the strange feeling in his eyes and said calmly:
“Miss Xu, does he usually play on a tablet before bed?”
“No,” Xu Xiu answered instinctively.
Looking at the slightly awkward interaction between father and son, she realized she had misunderstood the situation and leaned back against the bed, relaxing.
“Xu Zhirang, tell me. What happened?”
Xu Zhirang pursed his lips and struggled free from Shen Xingyi’s arms. Turning his back to him, he crouched in the corner of the sofa and whispered:
“Mom, I can’t sleep without your bedtime stories. I just wanted to find something to read on my own. Can you ask him to give me back the tablet? I want to put myself to sleep.”
His little face pressed close to the camera, filling the entire screen, his sneaky whisper making Xu Xiu laugh.
No need to guess—just by his darting eyes, she knew he was lying.
Suppressing her smile, she said:
“Since when did Mom let you use a tablet before bed? How can you lie to Dad like that? If you want bedtime stories, Dad can tell you too.”
The little boy opened his mouth but couldn’t think of another excuse.
In truth, he had discovered some interesting learning apps on the tablet Shen Xingyi gave him—especially ones related to hacking, which he wanted to learn.
So he tried to sneakily study them.
But when his father saw him still using the tablet before bed, he tried to confiscate it.
In a panic, he said it was his habit.
He didn’t expect his father to immediately call Mom to verify, leaving him no choice but to continue lying.
As expected, Mom was right—once you tell a lie, you need another lie to sustain it.
Seeing his conflicted and disappointed little face, Xu Xiu asked:
“Xiao Rang, tell Mom the truth. What do you want to use the tablet for?”
In her memory, the child didn’t usually have an interest in computers or tablets. Even games and cartoons couldn’t hold his attention for long.
So his persistence this time made her curious.
After hesitating, Xu Zhirang finally told the truth.
And after hearing his reason, Xu Xiu was shocked.
Learning computer-related knowledge?!
Although she knew that in the novel he was described as a genius child, in front of her he had always been just a well-behaved, adorable little kid, so she had subconsciously overlooked that fact.
This felt a bit too extreme for her.
Behind Xu Zhirang, Shen Xingyi had heard the entire conversation.
He felt a subtle sense of imbalance at the fact that his son only told his mother the truth while making excuses to him.
But considering this was essentially their first real interaction, it was understandable that the child didn’t fully trust him yet.
After comforting himself, Shen Xingyi spoke:
“If you want to learn this, I can hire the best teachers to teach you.”
Xu Zhirang turned excitedly:
“Really?”
After receiving confirmation, he turned back to the screen and asked:
“Mom, is that okay?”
Xu Xiu had just recovered from her shock when she heard that the child’s father had so easily accepted it and was already planning formal instruction.
Facing her eager son, she hesitated:
“It’s fine, but isn’t it too much pressure at such a young age?”
Shouldn’t children be focused on playing?
Isn’t it too early to start learning this kind of thing?
Only then did Shen Xingyi calmly say:
“It’s not too early. I started learning these things at this age too.”
Xu Xiu froze.
Fine—she, the “ordinary person,” was the limiting factor here.
Xu Zhirang achieved his wish and obediently went to bed. He kissed the camera, said goodnight to his mom.
Just as Shen Xingyi was about to take the phone to say goodbye, the little boy pressed the hang-up button with his tiny finger.
Shen Xingyi’s hand froze mid-air before slowly withdrawing.
Forget it.
They weren’t familiar anyway. Saying goodbye wasn’t necessary.
He stood by the bed for a moment, then left the room.
The next morning, Xu Xiu arrived at the designated filming location.
This crew was the one she had successfully interviewed for recently.
She had thought it through: if she wanted to quickly earn her first pot of gold and establish herself in the beauty industry, working as a makeup artist on set was the fastest path.
Working steadily in a photo studio or salon would take far too long to achieve her career goals.
But film sets offered more opportunities and more connections.
That was why she had paid special attention to crew recruitment.
At first, they didn’t want her due to her lack of experience, but her extremely fast makeup skills caught the attention of the production staff.
In the end, she was hired.
After all personnel were assembled, everyone took a bus to the set.
Xu Xiu was mainly responsible for doing makeup for extras.
This was a palace intrigue drama, with a large number of palace maids and background concubine extras, making the styling work very heavy.
However, the director had high standards and didn’t allow sloppy work, so they needed makeup artists who could work quickly.
This was exactly why she was kept.
The production schedule was tight. As soon as she arrived on set, she and her colleagues began working.
Nearly a hundred extras were already seated, waiting for makeup—mostly palace maids and background concubines.
After understanding the styling requirements, Xu Xiu opened her makeup kit and began her first day of work.