Liao Zhenzhen forced the corners of her mouth upward, squeezing out a bitter smile.
Chu Kai’s gentle facial features and polite manner of speaking were far too misleading, making her almost forget how Chu Kai had managed to finagle his way into this job.
Unlike those who had family backing and two paths open to them simultaneously, she only had one path available, and whichever one it was, it would be grueling.
Liao Zhenzhen mocked herself inwardly, “I must have lost my mind. We’re not even in the same social class; what on earth am I chatting with him about?”
“True,” Liao Zhenzhen quickened her pace, following up on Chu Kai’s topic. “The kids are all pretty well-mannered. When it comes to handing in their toys, they couldn’t be more obedient.”
“Only that Yan Chi,” Liao Zhenzhen clicked her tongue, seeming to harbor some opinions about Yan Chi, “even needed little Water Chestnut to remind him before he handed in his phone.”
Frivolous gossip was the easiest thing to strike up. Before Chu Kai could reply, he heard Liao Zhenzhen drop another piece of news.
“That Omega who blew up in popularity as the center in the talent show a while ago was photographed eating at a club with him. The previews released by the paparazzi practically plastered both of their names on them, clearly trying to extort them into paying to buy back the photos and videos.”
Seeing Chu Kai’s brows twitch slightly, as if his curiosity had been piqued, Liao Zhenzhen continued.
“That Omega was so panicked he issued multiple statements in a row, but Yan Chi simply didn’t care and got exposed playing video games instead. In the end, it took his agency contacting the paparazzi to get the situation handled. That Omega’s rising career was almost ruined by him.”
“Yan Chi has a pair of affectionate eyes, yet he’s as fickle as they come,” Liao Zhenzhen sighed. “You really can’t judge a book by its cover, don’t you agree?”
“Hmm.” Chu Kai gently pressed his upper and lower lips together, the sound he emitted barely audible.
Those affectionate eyes had once made Chu Kai feel an unprecedented depth of love; he would never forget them for the rest of his life.
“We’re here.” Catching sight of people moving things near the village chief’s courtyard entrance, Chu Kai felt as though he had found an escape hatch from the conversation, and he hurried forward to take the box. “Let me carry it.”
“Alright, take it to the prop room next door.” Zeng, a member of the logistics team, let go of his grip and turned to walk into the courtyard.
“I’ll help you.” Liao Zhenzhen also stepped up to lend a hand.
When the two of them returned from next door, they bumped right into the guests walking toward the village chief’s courtyard.
Liao Zhenzhen pulled Chu Kai aside to a spot out of the cameramen’s filming range, and only after the guests had filed in did she hunch over and duck into the cluster of staff members inside the yard.
At one meter seventy-eight, Chu Kai was neither tall nor short in the crowd, not particularly eye-catching, but he still guiltily squeezed his way to the very back.
The village chief had already started introducing the house-selection game: Fly Away, which was a spin-off game based on Ludo.
The six flags representing the houses, along with their photos, were neatly arranged on a large chessboard laid out on the ground.
The numbers chosen by the children at the village entrance represented the starting positions of their respective family groups.
After the fathers and children completed a designated task within a grid, they could roll a foam die to determine the number of spaces to advance.
The first to claim a flag could end the game, taking the flag and photo to set off and find their house.
If they chose to give up a house after seeing its photo, they would have to return to the starting position and continue doing tasks.
If both parties met, the one who finished the task first won, while the loser still had to return to the starting position and begin anew.
Once the game introduction concluded, every group except for Liang’s father and daughter had found their starting position.
“Xunxun, Xunxun, be a good girl, okay? We need to pick a house, stop running around! Where is the card you were holding just now? Let Daddy see it, alright?” Liang Zhuo, a thirty-six-year-old retired swimming athlete, simply had no way of handling his high-energy daughter on solid ground.
Liang Xun bolted straight toward the staff on one side like a small cannonball, frightening everyone into stepping back.
Chu Kai was startled so badly that his back pressed flat against the wall, his heartbeat skipping a beat.
Fortunately, Liang Zhuo managed to scoop Liang Xun into his arms, allowing the game to officially commence.
Amidst his lingering fright, Chu Kai slowly raised his head to look at Yan Chi and Chu Zhuo, who were in the middle of performing a task.
Chu Zhuo, who had been held in Yan Chi’s arms when they entered the village chief’s courtyard, was now riding piggyback on Yan Chi’s shoulders.
Most of Yan Chi’s back was soaked with sweat, his hands raised to firmly steady Chu Zhuo as he lent an ear to listen to their task.
Their very first task was simple: an arithmetic problem that the child had to answer independently.
Enjoying the air one meter ninety-two above the ground, Chu Zhuo heard that he had to answer a question, and his upturned lips slowly flattened into a pout.
“Little Water Chestnut, this question is very easy.” Yan Chi, however, looked quite confident.
Chu Zhuo slid down slightly, reaching out to wrap his arms around Yan Chi’s neck as he naturally shifted into a piggyback posture.
He was nervous; Chu Kai could tell at a single glance.
Chu Kai had taken him to kindergarten before, and when he saw the other children attending classes and playing together, his eyes would brim with uncontainable curiosity and longing.
Though he hadn’t managed to enroll successfully, he still comforted Chu Kai by saying that having his dad and auntie play with him was enough.
Yet, some children inexplicably liked to exclude those who were different from them.
Xiaoxiao from their apartment complex had said that Chu Zhuo didn’t go to kindergarten and was a little dummy who didn’t know anything, leaving Chu Zhuo carrying little tear-drops and feeling heartbroken for a long time.
Even though Chu Kai later tracked down Xiaoxiao’s parents and demanded an apology, and Zhu Xinqing bought Chu Zhuo the textbooks currently used in the neighboring kindergarten, Chu Zhuo always felt he was a bit stupider than other kids.
Looking at the question board ahead, the problem seemed to be something Daddy had taught him before, but he didn’t dare answer casually. He whispered into Yan Chi’s ear, “Yan Daddy, 3 apples plus 4 apples equals 7 apples, right?”
“Spot on! I’ll reward you with an apple once we find our house.” Yan Chi’s voice was bright, almost drowning out the voices of the father-and-son pair next to them.
Chu Zhuo instantly perked up with happiness. He really liked “Dad’s friend.”
Daddy had told him he would have a “Dad’s friend,” and that this “Dad’s friend” could play the violin, lift him up high, and would be the first good friend he made on this adventure journey.
As Yan Chi bent down to pick up the foam die, Chu Zhuo leaned close to Yan Chi’s ear again and whispered, “Yan Daddy, can we change the apple to a pear? I like eating pears.”
Daddy doesn’t let me eat them.
Chu Zhuo swallowed the second half of that sentence back.
Hearing this, Yan Chi was startled for a moment before smiling and nodding. “Of course we can.”
He hadn’t expected that in less than half a day, this shy, introverted little boy who had been forcibly scooped into his arms would actually take the initiative to voice his own thoughts.
Moreover, the pears this little Water Chestnut liked happened to smell exactly like his own pheromones.
What a remarkable coincidence.
To be honest, even though Yan Chi hadn’t wanted to join this variety show, children were innocent, and he wasn’t going to throw a tantrum or pull a long face for no reason.
Since he had accepted the title of “Yan Daddy” from the child, he would dutifully take good care of him.
A thought flickered in Yan Chi’s eyes, and he seemed to find something even more important than the game and the variety show: transforming Chu Zhuo.
He set Chu Zhuo down and nudged him toward the die. “You roll it.”
Faced with a die larger and wider than himself, Chu Zhuo panicked slightly, looking up at Yan Chi to seek help.
“Just roll it. Yan Daddy can complete any task,” Yan Chi half-crouched beside him, signaling Chu Zhuo to take action.
With the support of his “Dad’s friend,” Chu Zhuo mustered his courage, hugged the die, took a deep breath, shouted a spirited “Heh!”, and swung his arm to toss the die outward.
The result, he only rolled a one.
“Not bad, advance one space!” Yan Chi’s expression remained cheerful as he ruffled Chu Zhuo’s hair and stepped forward.
Chu Kai watched Yan Chi’s actions play out before him.
If only they hadn’t parted ways back then.
Regrettably, unlike the chessboard, they could not return to the starting position, nor could they ever go back to the past.