The moment Yu Chu saw Niannian, her eyes suddenly widened.
She had never seen such a beautiful child before—so beautiful that the little girl instinctively let out a soft “wow.”
At the same time, something strange stirred in Yu Chu’s heart.
An inexplicable sense of familiarity rose within her.
The child was very well-behaved; even her sitting posture was obedient and proper.
And the way she stared at people with those round eyes… it was simply too adorable.
Yu Chu could not help but smile.
“Little friend Niannian, hello. I’m Yu Chu, Qiqi’s mother.”
Niannian froze for a moment.
Then she snapped back to reality and blurted out, “Fairy sister, you’re so beautiful!”
Only after saying it did she realize she had addressed her incorrectly.
She hurriedly tried to get out of bed, her face turning red with embarrassment.
“Qiqi’s mom… sorry, I think I called you wrong…”
Yu Chu was slightly stunned, then her smile widened even more.
“It’s okay. You were praising me for being beautiful—why would you need to apologize?”
Even the livestream chat exploded with comments:
[Niannian is too cute! She was totally stunned by Yu Chu’s beauty lol!]
[Honestly, Yu Chu’s face is just too legendary.]
[When she debuted, people criticized her acting, her resources, even fake scandals… but no one ever said she wasn’t beautiful.]
Yu Chu helped Niannian get off the bed, then brought the still sulking Qiqi over.
“This is Qiqi. You can call him Brother Qiqi, okay?”
Standing side by side, the contrast between the two children was obvious.
Qiqi was nearly half a head taller and sturdier.
Meanwhile, Niannian was small and thin—like a delicate doll.
“Qiqi, this is Niannian. Give her the flowers. From now on, you’re friends.”
Yu Chu handed the arranged bouquet to Qiqi.
The moment Qiqi saw his mother smiling at Niannian, jealousy surged.
He immediately threw the flowers at Niannian’s face.
“Here! Ugly freak! Stay away from my mom!”
As he spoke, he clung tightly to Yu Chu, as if afraid she would be taken away.
Niannian flinched in shock.
The flower stems scratched across her face, leaving red marks. Petals scattered all over the floor.
Not only Niannian was stunned—Yu Chu was too.
The next second, she yanked Qiqi away.
“What are you doing?! How can you bully your sister like that?!”
Qiqi immediately sat on the ground and started screaming.
“She’s not my sister! She’s ugly! I don’t want her!”
The repeated “ugly” made Niannian shrink back slightly.
Her expression turned timid, and she stepped back a little.
A thought even began to form in her mind—
Am I really ugly? Am I an ugly freak?
Is that why my real mommy and daddy don’t want me?
Yu Chu could no longer hold back.
She slapped Qiqi’s butt twice.
“Apologize to your sister!”
Qiqi cried even louder.
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to! I want mommy!”
He tried to get up again, but Yu Chu forced him back down.
“Apologize now, or I’ll send you away immediately!”
The threat finally worked.
Through sobs, Qiqi muttered unwillingly, “Sorry.”
Niannian, still scared, whispered, “It’s okay.”
Only then did Yu Chu let him go. Qiqi grabbed a handful of candy and ran to the corner.
Yu Chu sighed deeply, overwhelmed.
She began to regret joining this show.
Not because of the criticism she would receive—but because she was afraid Qiqi would hurt other children.
At that moment, a small hand gently touched her.
Yu Chu looked down.
It was Niannian.
Her face still bore faint red marks from the flowers, yet she looked at Yu Chu with concern.
“Fairy sister… don’t be angry… Niannian doesn’t hurt… no need to apologize… here, have candy?”
She held out a handful of sweets.
Qiqi immediately rushed over when he saw them.
“I want it! I want candy!”
Yu Chu remained firm.
“No apology, no candy.”
Reluctantly, Qiqi finally apologized again.
Niannian quietly replied, “It’s okay.”
Yu Chu then checked Niannian’s face carefully.
A wave of heartache rose in her chest.
“Does it hurt? Are you scared? I’m sorry… I didn’t teach him well.”
Niannian quickly shook her head.
“It doesn’t hurt! Really! Maybe… maybe brother didn’t mean it…”
She even tried to excuse him.
Yu Chu froze slightly, then gently asked,
“Good child… can I hug you?”
Before Yu Chu even finished speaking, Niannian had already hugged her.
At that moment, Yu Chu’s heart softened completely.
All the irritation melted away.
The livestream chat went wild:
[So angry!! What kind of demon child is Qiqi?! Can he be removed?!]
[Yu Chu is so unlucky… this kid is too much.]
[Honestly she tried her best, but this behavior is just scary…]
[Niannian is too sweet, omg… if no one finds her parents, can she be adopted??]
“What happened here?!”
Wen Chengxi’s voice came from the door.
He entered with the production team and other families.
The VIP room was instantly filled, though not cramped.
“Dad Wen!” Niannian’s eyes lit up instantly.
She wanted to run over but hesitated, unwilling to leave Yu Chu’s warmth.
She had never been held like this before.
Yu Chu noticed her hesitation and gently lifted her, handing her over to Wen Chengxi.
“Thank you, senior,” he said politely.
Only then did Yu Chu notice something deep in her own eyes as she looked at him—but she said nothing.
When Wen Chengxi saw Qiqi not causing trouble anymore, he moved on.
“I heard crying earlier. What happened?”
Niannian immediately answered, “Brother cried.”
Then she quickly added, “But I didn’t cry!”
She glanced nervously at Qiqi hiding in the corner.
Wen Chengxi frowned slightly but said nothing.
He changed the topic.
“Come on, Niannian. Dad Wen will introduce you to your new friends.”
The show originally had five family groups:
Olympic champion father and daughter Shishi.
Movie Queen Yu Chu and son Qiqi.
TV host and her son Xiao Jie.
Singer Zhou Yi and daughter Rabbit.
And Wen Chengxi as the intern dad with intern daughter Lianlian.
But now, due to Niannian’s arrival, Wen Chengxi had to take care of both Lianlian and Niannian.
He did not mind.
Shishi, the oldest at six years old, immediately ran over.
“So cute! So cute! I want to kiss her cheek!”
Xiao Jie, the youngest boy, proudly insisted Niannian call him brother.
But Niannian calmly corrected him:
“You’re only three and a half. I’m four and a half. I can’t call you brother.”
Xiao Jie was instantly devastated.
He had lost his chance to be a brother.
Singer Zhou Yi then smiled and asked,
“Then Niannian and my daughter Rabbit are the same age. Do you know your birthday, sweetheart?”
Rabbit nervously held her mother’s hand. She also wanted to be Niannian’s older sister!
“March 17th!” Niannian answered without even thinking.
She remembered this date clearly.
Even though her “mom and dad” had never celebrated her birthday, she had once watched other little friends celebrating theirs and felt very envious. She had even clung to her fake mother and asked about her own birthday.
At that time, her mother had answered impatiently and gave her this date.
So she remembered it, over and over again.
Niannian had once hoped her mother would celebrate just once for her.
Not yet knowing how to read a calendar, she would go every day to ask the old grandpa and grandma next door what day it was, and when her birthday would come.
But the fake mother never cared.
And the more she was ignored, the more firmly she memorized that date.
However, Niannian no longer felt sad about it now.
Because she finally understood.
That was a fake mother!
A fake mother would definitely not love Niannian!
It was okay. She would be on television soon! And once she was on TV, she could find her real mother!
Her real mother would love her!
Niannian clenched her little fists tightly, absolutely certain.
“I was born on March 17th!”
“Oh.” Zhou Yi’s daughter Rabbit became even more nervous, tightly holding her mother’s hand. She also wanted to be Niannian’s sister!
“March 17th?” Yu Chu was slightly stunned. Then she said in surprise, “Qiqi was also born on March 17th. I didn’t expect Niannian and Qiqi to share the same birthday.”
“Wow,” the other families reacted in surprise. “So Niannian and Qiqi are actually born on the same year, same month, same day?”
Yu Chu nodded. “Yes.”
However, although they were born on the exact same day, Qiqi was already half a head taller than Niannian.
Compared to Qiqi’s sturdier build, Niannian looked small and frail, clearly showing signs of malnutrition.
Born on the same day, yet living completely different lives.
And while Niannian was so obedient…
Qiqi, on the other hand…
No one said it out loud, but everyone quietly sighed in their hearts.
As parents themselves, who wouldn’t hope for a child who was well-behaved, adorable, and intelligent?
The contrast made everything even more heartbreaking.