She immediately felt as though her punch had landed on cotton.
On the surface, she smiled, but inside, she was grinding her teeth.
She had to be pretending—who knew how badly her defenses had already crumbled inside!
The livestream room was filled with comments from celebrity fans. The supporters of Liu Momo, a minor internet celebrity, were hardly noticeable; only an occasional cheer flashed by before disappearing.
Most of the casual viewers still had no idea who she was.
The production team had already made their preparations. The camera stabilized, capturing all the guests within the frame.
The black camera, cold and impartial, recorded every detail of the guests’ interactions.
After An Shijiu led An Zhe to sit beside the Xing family, the remaining two families finally arrived, somewhat late.
Ye Qingyin wore a beige hoodie and a white long skirt. She looked slender and delicate, holding her daughter’s hand with one hand while tucking her loose black hair behind her ear with the other.
A faint blush colored her face as she said apologetically, “Sorry, we’re late.”
Ye Xuxu had been carefully dressed up by her mother like a doll. She blinked her bright, watery eyes at the production crew and said, “Cameraman uncles, thank you for your hard work~”
Director Li and the others felt their hearts melt instantly. She was just too adorable~
Behind them, Shang He also wore an embarrassed smile as he hurried forward.
Shang Ruoshui, who was being pulled along by him, could only stumble as she followed.
“It’s my fault,” Shang He said. “I’m a grown man and don’t know how to tidy up. Qingyin came to help me, and I live far away, so we ended up arriving late.”
“Oh~”
Since the production team knew Shang He did not mind revealing his thoughts, they readily played along and teased him.
The atmosphere immediately relaxed.
—This female guest seems pretty nice, very warm-hearted.
—Didn’t Shang He say in the first broadcast that he came for Ye Qingyin?
—The production team’s reaction is hilarious—they’re shipping them again, aren’t they?
—This little girl is so sensible. She’s the only one who greeted the staff, right?
—Not really. The chatty little girl who came first greeted everyone present. Her mother called her Little Mei.
Everyone laughed and said it was fine. The younger members of the butler group and Lin Fei also came forward to greet Shang He.
No one noticed the quiet, frail little girl beside him.
One of Shang Ruoshui’s hands was tightly gripped by her father. Half of her body was being pulled upward, yet her father remained completely unaware, focused only on explaining things for Aunt Ye.
Her wrist hurt more and more. She did not dare to cry out, so she could only secretly try to pull her hand free—but she was too weak.
Suddenly, a pair of soft yet firm hands supported her arm.
“You’re hurting her.”
The voice was cold, like a blade slicing through the previously relaxed atmosphere. Everyone fell silent instantly.
Shang He suddenly felt his hand being forcefully pried open. The strength made him recoil immediately, letting out a pained cry.
Anger surged within him. “What are you doing?!”
—Who is this woman? Shang He hasn’t appeared for a long time, but he’s still a senior. That’s so rude.
—Isn’t she that female influencer who tried to latch onto Shen Yanjing? So dramatic.
—She just ruined the atmosphere. Is Director Li regretting inviting her?
An Shijiu looked at the girl in front of her. Her eyes were already red, glistening like those of a little white rabbit.
But unlike An Zhe, who pretended, this girl truly had no aggression at all.
Hearing Shang He’s question, she pointed at the girl’s wrist, which was clutched against her chest. “You’re about to break her wrist.”
—Wow, it’s true. Her wrist is already red and swollen.
—When there’s no danger, sometimes a father is the biggest danger.
—Shang He is disgusting—busy flattering Ye Qingyin while ignoring his own daughter.
—Don’t think so darkly. He was probably just careless.
—Only this female influencer noticed. She actually seems pretty nice—why is she getting so much hate?
—Yeah, there’s so much criticism that I didn’t dare say it, but I think she’s quite interesting too. Strong and kind of adorably clueless.
Shang He’s expression stiffened. He glanced at the camera, his facial muscles twitching as he tried to soften his expression.
Putting on a look of surprise, he crouched down. “I’m sorry, Ruoshui. Daddy didn’t notice. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Ye Qingyin also looked anxious and concerned. “Mr. Shang, after we’re done, I’ll go back and get a medicine kit to treat Ruoshui’s wrist.”
Ye Xuxu ran over, her little feet pattering, and took Shang Ruoshui’s swollen wrist. “Blow, blow—Xuxu will blow on it and Sister Ruoshui won’t feel pain anymore.”
Shang He immediately looked touched. “Thank you, Qingyin. I live far away, so there’s no need for you to bring it over. I’ll take Ruoshui there myself. Sorry to trouble you.”
Then he smiled at Ye Xuxu. “And thank you, too.”
He did not spare An Shijiu, who had reminded him, even a glance—let alone offer her any thanks.
Ye Qingyin smiled gently, as if she had not noticed An Shijiu at all, offering no greeting.
The atmosphere returned to harmony. Everyone was amused by Ye Xuxu’s actions and praised her as a good child.
Once again, Shang Ruoshui became invisible.
After saying that sentence, An Shijiu had already turned and walked back. No one noticed Shang Ruoshui lowering her head and softly whispering, “Thank you.”
As soon as Ye Xuxu appeared, Gu Mohan stood up. Su Ziyu stopped him from going over, so he remained where he was, waving continuously.
Ye Xuxu did not respond immediately. Instead, she suddenly ran to Shen Yanjing.
As if very familiar with him, she grabbed his hand. “Uncle Shen, Xuxu hasn’t seen you for a long time!”
Ye Qingyin said helplessly, “Xuxu, come back!” As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at the camera, as if trying to avoid suspicion, afraid of being recorded.
—Oh? What’s going on? Ye Qingyin actually knows Shen Yanjing?
Shen Yanjing narrowed his eyes thoughtfully but could not recall such a little girl in his memory.
Ye Xuxu clung to his arm, refusing to let go, her face full of innocence. “Uncle Shen, the teacher said Shen Pei was sick and didn’t go to kindergarten. Is he better now?”
He did not recognize Ye Xuxu, but Shen Pei was his biological nephew.
The boy was five years old this year. His mother adored him dearly and often helped his elder brother and sister-in-law take care of him, sometimes even picking him up with the driver.
As for Ye Xuxu… he truly had no impression. Perhaps she had seen him before when Shen Pei brought friends home to play.
“He’s almost better. He should be going back to school in a few days,” he replied calmly.
Ye Xuxu looked disappointed. “Ah~ he’s going back to school, but I came here, so we still can’t meet.”
Ye Qingyin appeared at the right moment, pulling her back. “Why are you running around?” Then she smiled and nodded at Shen Yanjing.
Shen Yanjing gave a slight nod in return.
The audience did not know what Shen Yanjing was thinking. They only saw Ye Xuxu’s closeness to him and Ye Qingyin’s tacit nod of acknowledgment.
—Oh my, Ye Qingyin has such a powerful network—Shang He, the Gu family, Shen Yanjing, she knows them all.
—I dare to guess—are these families all here because of Ye Qingyin and her daughter?
—Shang He came for Ye Qingyin, the Gu family came for Ye Xuxu, then what’s going on between Shen Yanjing and Ye Qingyin? Hehe.
—Reporting! I’ve got gossip! My sister is Ye Qingyin’s colleague—she heard Shen Yanjing’s mother tell Ye Qingyin that she wanted Shen Yanjing to join this show to take care of her.
—Even knowing that Shen Yanjing came for her, Ye Qingyin still avoids suspicion. Compare that to An Shijiu shamelessly trying to cling to him!
—Even though she’s a single mother, our guy isn’t young anymore—this isn’t something the modern era fusses over.
—Xuxu is so adorable, what’s there to be dissatisfied about? I ship them hard!
—More updates! Keep reporting!
Ren Mei said to her husband, “Look at those two children sticking together and chatting—so cute.”
Xing Qingze glanced over and immediately held his forehead.
His own daughter was practically hanging off An Zhe, as if she wanted to crawl into his ear and chatter endlessly.
They were not sticking together—his daughter was the one clinging to someone else.
Though that was what he thought, he still said, “They really are quite cute.”
Ren Mei usually liked to read domineering CEO novels in her free time, her mind filled with fairy-tale-like fantasies.
Romantic fairy tales.
An Zhe, with his black hair and black eyes, bore a slight resemblance to Shen Yanjing when his face was cold.
Everyone scoffed at An Shijiu’s claim that An Zhe was Shen Yanjing’s child, but Ren Mei felt that anything was possible.
She did not care for matching families of equal status.
She preferred stories where the one in power lowered his head!
A top celebrity Film Emperor who had achieved great success paired with a universally disliked, scandal-ridden internet celebrity—wasn’t that a perfect pairing?
She secretly glanced toward An Shijiu.
She saw her staring blankly ahead, as if unspeakable emotions were hidden in her eyes. Her brows were slightly furrowed, countless thoughts concealed within them, evoking pity in anyone who saw her.
Perhaps the interaction between Ye Qingyin and Shen Yanjing had just now pierced her already fragile heart.