At 7:00 AM the next morning, the recording equipment inside the rooms sprang to life.
This had all been agreed upon in advance.
Doudou was the first to wake up. Wearing his little moon sleeping cap and clutching his stuffed rabbit to his chest, he sat straight up, opening his big eyes wide to shake off the sleepiness.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing?
After letting his thoughts wander chaotically for a bit, Doudou finally woke up completely.
By this point, the live chat stream was already utterly melting over the little baby in the blue toddler bed.
Wuwuwu, babies who wake up early are so adorable, even needing a moment to reboot hahaha.
I honestly want to turn into a rabbit and go give the little fellow a hug; he looks so squishy and soft.
Rolling over, Doudou scrambled out of bed, landed steadily on his feet in his little bunny slippers, and squatted down to grab one of the rabbit’s paws as he scurried toward the door.
Right at that moment, he heard a faint whirring noise: bzzzz.
Doudou: ?
Tilting his head, he looked toward the source of the sound.
!! There was actually a dark, bulky camera lens right there.
Doudou was shocked how on earth did he not know there was a camera in his own bedroom?
Doesn’t that mean the embarrassing fact that he needed to step on his little rabbit slippers just to summon the courage to get out of bed had just been broadcasted to the world?
The little fellow’s complexion shifted dramatically. Glancing up at the camera, he scrambled to spin a cover story for himself: “Doudou is super brave, you know. The little rabbit just wanted to help Doudou out. Doudou is still little, so it’s worried Doudou might trip.”
As he spoke, the toddler’s face flushed bright red, and he half-hid his face behind the rabbit doll.
By the time he finished, he looked practically on the verge of tears.
The chat barrage exploded with laughter. Was this little rascal seriously such a proud, face-saving kid?
Oh my god, Doudou is too cute, I’m laughing my head off. I thought he was going to say something profound, but it completely backfired like trying to cover up a theft with a sign that says “300 silver coins hidden here”!
Hehehe, Doudou, we all know the big secret that you need to step on your little rabbit slippers to dare get out of bed now!
Sending kisses to my little auntie, this auntie promises not to spill the beans, cool emoji jpg
Having finished his frantic justification, Doudou beat a hasty retreat in a panic.
Even the stuffed rabbit bounced wildly up and down with every hurried step.
“Zhushu “
Come rescue me, quick!
Thud
Doudou ran headfirst straight into Bai Shu’s bedroom door, then clutched his aching head, leaning back against his little rabbit as he slowly slid down to the floor.
“Waaaa”
The little fellow felt like this morning was going down in absolute tragedy. His tough-guy persona hadn’t even been established yet before it completely collapsed.
His forehead, which had already been bumped red yesterday, received a fresh addition today.
Bai Shu had spent the better part of the previous night meticulously listing out the ingredients he would need to cook for Xie Xiran today, keeping him busy late into the night.
As a result, he had uncharacteristically overslept this morning.
Woken up by his younger brother’s wailing and checking the clock, he hurriedly threw the door open.
It was already nearly 8:00 AM.
Which meant he had been live-streaming his sleeping face for a solid hour?
The production director took a leisurely sip of his tea while monitoring the surveillance feeds. Why bother waking him up? Sleeping Beauty’s sleeping face is something you could watch forever without getting bored.
Bai Shu yanked the door open, and the instant he did, Doudou lunged forward to clamp onto his leg, wiping snot and tears all over his clothes.
“Waaaa older brother” Doudou cried with maximum wretchedness.
Overwhelmed with guilt, Bai Shu scooped the little fellow into his arms: “I’m sorry, Doudou, older brother overslept.”
While the viewers in the live stream were still busy drooling over the gorgeous guy’s sleeping face, they watched as Bai Shu panicked and bolted out the door, only to scoop up a crying little tot and carry him back inside.
Cupping his younger brother’s bottom with one hand, Bai Shu grabbed a wet wipe to clean away his tears: “What are you crying for?”
With tears still shimmering in his big eyes, Doudou pointed accusingly at his own forehead.
Bai Shu took one look and let out a soft: “Pfft.”
His younger brother’s forehead truly suffered the worst abuse imaginable.
Wide-eyed with utter disbelief, Doudou stared at his older brother he was actually laughing at Doudou!
Out for revenge, Doudou smeared his tears all over Bai Shu’s shirt and promptly stopped crying.
The moment he finished smearing, he tried to make a break for it, but before he could slide down off Bai Shu’s body, he was hauled right back up.
Hoisting his younger brother up in the air, Bai Shu grumbled indignantly: “Doudou!”
Startled, Doudou shrieked in terror, emitting a high-pitched noise resembling a squealing pig.
“Ah”
Let Doudou down right now!
Viciously pulling him in close, Bai Shu gave him a furious rub-down against his chest until neither of them emerged unscathed.
Completely forgetting about the live stream running in the background, Bai Shu dragged his pitiful-looking younger brother off to wash up.
“You’re already causing chaos first thing in the morning,” Bai Shu muttered helplessly.
Doudou felt a surge of bitter indignation. He had actually been thoroughly subdued and defeated by his older brother.
“Zhushu, you have to listen to Doudou! You’re not allowed to bully Doudou!”
Doudou protested with extreme dissatisfaction.
Bai Shu let out a cold snort: “Talk to me again once you’re taller than me. You can’t even speak clearly yet and you still want to boss your older brother around?”
Stamping his foot in furious frustration, Doudou felt Zhushu was giving him zero face.
In a fit of pique, he planted his bare foot straight down onto the top of Bai Shu’s shoe.
That was when Bai Shu finally noticed the little fellow wasn’t wearing any shoes at all: “Doudou, you’re not wearing your shoes again!”
Hahahaha oh my lord, is Zhushu really acting this much like a normal human being in private?
??? What kind of description is that?
Before this, Zhushu always gave me the vibe of a ruthless, emotionless paper cutout; I’ve never seen him look so down-to-earth and domestic before.
Such an accurate description. Zhushu genuinely feels like a real person now, hahaha.
After a round of chaotic, whirlwind preparations, the two of them finally got themselves sorted out.
Right now, they were huddled together on the sofa looking like a pair of scolded quails.
Bai Shu: So embarrassing, so utterly embarrassing. I completely forgot about the live stream.
Doudou: All my dignity has been utterly destroyed by my older brother.
So irritating.
Just at that moment, a knock sounded at the door.
Doudou scrambled off the sofa in a flash. He had already mentally talked himself into forgetting about the morning’s fiasco; his grand master plan still had to move forward.
“Doudou will get the door.”
Watching him scamper off in a streak, Bai Shu called out with zero remaining energy: “Put on your shoes!”
With his parents both away, the little fellow really had a way of acting like he was completely unrestrained.
Doudou scurried back, scooped up his shoes in his hands, and pattered off toward the entrance.
Opening the door, he found a staff member from the production team standing outside.
“Hello, Doudou. Here is the theme mission for this term; you’ll need to complete it over the next two days.”
Handing over a slip of paper and a card before turning to leave, the staff member departed.
Doudou took the envelope and paper with a blank, uncomprehending stare.
Flipping them back and forth, he thought: Hmm, can’t read a word of this.
“Zhushu, Doudou can’t read~”
Doudou announced at the top of his lungs.
Standing up and walking over, Bai Shu scolded, “You can’t read yet you’re shouting so loud? You’re already three years old don’t you feel even a tiny bit guilty? Other kids your age are already speaking English, and you flat-out refuse to even go to kindergarten.”
Looking instantly aggrieved, Doudou stood frozen in place. Zhushu was yelling at him again.
He just hated kindergarten; kindergarten was full of demons who would go around pinching kids during naptime.
Helplessly, Bai Shu picked the little fellow up: “Alright, older brother will teach you how to read.”
“Theme for Phase One: Pick out a gift for the other children. Budget for the next two days: 200 yuan?” Bai Shu read aloud with a look of shock.
“Two hundred yuan? Is that a lot?” Doudou asked as he immediately reached into the envelope to fish out the money.
Sure enough, there were two crisp red hundred-yuan bills inside.
“Zhushu, we’re rich! Let’s go buy toy cars!” Earlier when Doudou wanted toys, his mother would always say the family had no money left and couldn’t afford them.
The little fellow had had to hold back his desires until now, but with money finally in hand, he could rush to the supermarket and bring home those toy cars.
“We aren’t buying cars. This money is for our meals and the gifts.” Bai Shu took the bills back and tucked them safely away.
Two hundred yuan wouldn’t even be enough for their food budget.
Pouting unhappily, Doudou buried his face against Bai Shu’s chest, picking idly at the buttons on his collar.
His older brother was turning into a meanie. Sure enough, once someone fell in love, there was no room left in their heart for family.
Sigh, Doudou let out a silent, mournful sigh.
Bai Shu: ?
Accurately capturing the child’s expressions, the cameraman smoothly recorded the entire sequence.
What is Doudou plotting this time? Hehehe, starting to look forward to whatever comes next.
Honestly, only Doudou has the superpower to drive someone as sweet-tempered as Bai Shu to the point of blowing a fuse, lmao.
Right, Bai Shu suddenly remembered he still needed to cook a meal for his boyfriend, and figuring out how to transport it there was going to be a logistical headache.
Still, a promise made was a promise kept. He needed to get this settled first; besides, he was getting hungry himself.
Handing Doudou a bottle of milk to hold and drink, Bai Shu quickly changed him into outdoor clothes and led him out to buy groceries.
With a milk bottle dangling around his neck and feeling immensely thrilled, Doudou was ecstatic just at the prospect of leaving the house.
“Doudou, wait right here for a second.” With those instructions, Bai Shu jogged over to the security office.
Doudou dangled his little feet, chatting away with the cameraman: “Is this thing filming Doudou?”
The camera bobbed up and down affirmatively.
Doudou immediately burst into excitement: “It answered me!”
Cameraman: …
Before long, Doudou heard his older brother calling out to him: “Hey~”
Doudou is right here.
Turning his head, Doudou’s jaw dropped in absolute shock.
Paddling over on his short legs and tilting his head upward to gaze at Zhushu sitting atop a motorized three-wheeled agricultural tricycle, he stammered in disbelief: “We’re… riding this? Where’s the actual car?”
Releasing the handbrake of the tricycle, Bai Shu hopped down, scooped the child up into the flatbed cargo box, and hunted down a clean cardboard box for him to sit inside.
“Can’t be helped, we only have 200 yuan; we can’t afford a taxi,” Bai Shu explained.
He had no choice but to borrow the security guard uncle’s tricycle.
The security guard uncle watched on as he reassured Doudou: “Don’t worry, Doudou. This is uncle’s brand new bike, it rides super smoothly.”
With that, Bai Shu hopped on to start it up, but forgetting to disengage the handbrake, he stomped down hard on the pedal, instantly flipping the rear cargo bed straight up into the air.
Doudou’s little bottom was launched entirely clear of the cardboard box.
Doudou: …
Security Guard Uncle: …
Oh mother.
“Sorry about that, Doudou. Older brother hasn’t driven one of these before, so I’m a bit out of practice.” Bai Shu looked rather sheepish.
Doudou silently clamped both hands tightly onto the side railings.
Poverty is terrifying. Doudou needs to start making money.
So our family had already fallen this broke.
With the vehicle finally moving smoothly, the security uncle unlocked the main gates, letting the tiny tricycle putter its way out into the world.
Looking dazed, Doudou asked, “Zhushu, does our family have no money left?”
Struggling hard as he pedaled away, Bai Shu didn’t catch the question clearly and just responded offhand: “Mmhmm, exactly. So you’d better be a good, obedient boy.”
Doudou: “Hic “
The child let out a tragic, steam-train-like whimper. Doesn’t that mean fighting and winning against Xie Xiran is going to be even more hopeless?!
No way, Doudou decided he had to go home and interrogate Mom and Dad.
A tiny flicker of hope still burned within Doudou’s chest.
The cameraman looked equally dazed sitting inside his own transport vehicle which happened to be a much more comfortable electric tricycle compared to Bai Shu’s manual pedal model.
? How long was I gone, why did this turn into a rural romance drama?
A second ago it was giving off big-city vibes, and in the blink of an eye we’re back in the countryside?
My eyes! Bai Shu actually went out and found a tricycle to ride himself? Does he even remember his icy, high-end persona?
Yet somehow, this version of Zhushu feels so much more approachable and down-to-earth.
Wuwuwu my family actually owns a tricycle dealership, Zhushu come home with me? You can ride whatever you want, CEO speech emoji jpg
Hehehe, then Doudou come home with me, my place has big trucks.
Doudou’s facial expressions are the absolute best part. He probably hasn’t been this speechless once in his entire three years of life.
The trip out had been peaceful enough, but on the way back, Doudou was conscripted into service as a vegetable-guarding logistics assistant.
Plus an unplucked, freshly slaughtered rooster…
Doudou locked eyes in a dead stare with the deceased yet wide-eyed poultry.
Doudou felt deeply ruffled. The few stray hairs on top of his head were blown completely wild by the wind, perfectly mirroring his inner turmoil.
Halfway back, Bai Shu parked the bike, reached out to take Doudou’s hand, and said, “We have fifty yuan left. We can use it to buy some small gifts for the other kids.”
Clutching Zhushu’s neck with wide eyes, Doudou immediately chimed in: “Toy cars!”
Bai Shu: “…That’s just what you want, isn’t it?”