The two children, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, looked dejected.
”I’m sorry, Uncle…”
”We didn’t mean to, we promise it won’t happen again…”
Xuan Zhixia shook his head slightly: “It’s alright.”
Actually, he could understand the two children’s thoughts; they simply felt that since other children had it, they wanted it too. There was nothing wrong with that, it wasn’t particularly mature, but it was quite normal.
However, at this moment, the familiar mocking laughter came from Gao Shang’s mouth again. He pointed at the dirt on Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu’s pants and laughed loudly: “You two are sitting on the ground too! You can’t laugh at me anymore!”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu couldn’t stand this and immediately retorted.
”We’re not like you!”
”We didn’t cry!”
”He didn’t lie on the ground and refuse to get up!”
While retorting, the two children quickly brushed the dirt off their pants.
Gao Shang, whose “dark history” was repeatedly brought up, glared at them: “You…you…your stepfather is really useless!”
Xuan Zhixia, who was suddenly dragged into this, was speechless.
”You’re useless!” Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu glared back.
Gao Shang snorted, “He’s such a big guy, and he can’t even handle two little kids like you? Useless, utterly useless! He’s not even as good as my dad!”
”Does your father know everything?” Shang Jingshu asked quickly.
Gao Shang raised his head high: “Of course!”
Shang Jingshu asked him, “Would he also roll on the ground and cry like you?”
Gao Shang glared at her again: “You, you have the guts… the guts not to say this!”
”I’ll say it, I’ll say it, I’m going to say it!” Shang Jingshu mimicked Gao Shang’s tone.
Shang Jingqi chimed in: “So, does your dad know how? If not, then your dad is really useless!”
”I…my dad can! Of course he can!” Gao Shang refused to admit defeat and looked at Gao Feng, “Dad, you can too, right?”
Gao Feng: “…Alright, alright, why are you arguing again? Stop arguing, isn’t it time to hand out the toys?”
If the children find their parents before 5 p.m., they can all receive a toy as a reward from the program team according to the “hide-and-seek” game rules set by the program team.
The argument between Shang Jingqi, Shang Jingshu, and Gao Shang and the other children was a highlight of the show, and the production team was happy to have such a highlight, so they did not interrupt or ease the atmosphere during the program’s flow.
But now that Gao Feng has brought it up, it’s no longer convenient for the production team to just stand by. The director responded with a smile, “That’s right! Are the kids ready to receive their rewards?”
Each child received the same plush toy as their prize, differing only in color. All other than that, they were about ten centimeters tall, a perfect size for a child to hold without being cumbersome.
The plush toy has a button on the back that makes a child’s voice say “hello” when pressed, but that’s all it says; clearly, the manufacturer didn’t set anything else.
After the children received their toys, they stood with their parents for a group photo taken by the production crew. Then the guests could go back to prepare dinner.
”Uncle, whose house are we going to for dinner tonight?”
Xuan Zhixia slowly lagged behind the main group, with Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu following beside him, clutching their plush toys.
Upon hearing this question, Xuan Zhixia replied, “At your sister Junjun’s house.”
The two children nodded.
Shang Jingshu then exclaimed, “Uncle, have you never called me and Shang Jingqi by our names? You can call us Jingshu and Jingqi like Dad and Grandpa and Grandma do, or you can call us Shushu and Qiqi like the teacher and other children do.”
Xuan Zhixia raised an eyebrow slightly: “Or, like you two call each other by our full names?”
”No, please.” Shang Jingqi immediately shook her head. “Shang Jingshu and I are used to calling like that, and we are just kids. But Uncle, you are an adult. When an adult calls a child by their full name, it means the adult is angry, and that’s not good.”
Xuan Zhixia smiled and said, “Really? Who told you that?”
Shang Jingqi looked up at Xuan Zhixia and said, “That’s what all the kindergarten kids say!”
”They said that if an adult in your family suddenly calls you by your full name, it means something terrible has happened and you should run away immediately,” Shang Jingshu added.
Xuan Zhixia smiled.
After a while, Shang Jingqi remembered another question and asked curiously, “By the way, Uncle, just now when Shang Jingshu and I pounced on you, you almost fell. Why did Dad say to you ‘Don’t try to scam your boss’? What does that mean?”
Shang Jingshu also remembered and chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, that’s a really strange sentence…”
This question made Xuan Zhixia glance at Shang Shuji’s back as he walked ahead, then he looked away and lowered his head slightly to say to the two children, “I don’t know why either. Maybe your father is just a bit strange. Why don’t you go and ask him yourselves?”
”ah……”
”Forget it then, I’m not curious anymore.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu immediately shook their heads.
Inside the live stream—
[Haha, Qiqi and Shushu, although they like their dad, they are too shy to get close to him. Although they “don’t like” their uncle, they love to talk to him.]
[To be honest, what President Shang said just now sounded like flirting…]
[Hmm, how can you hear flirting in such a cold voice? The person in front of me is a good candidate for shipping couples.]
[Could this be considered a secret “code” between Shang Shuji and Xuan Zhixia?]
[A “secret code” that you wouldn’t know unless you go online or listen to gossip, even though it’s being broadcast live online? Hahahaha]
[Waaaaah, my wife almost fell! Mr. Shang, you’re still so cold! Once I become the world’s richest man, I’ll come to your house and take my wife back!]
[Hehe, this is the smell of a romance just beginning to blossom!]
[Shocked face.jpg, heart.jpg???]
Just like last night when we ate at Meng Xiang’s house, tonight the other families went back to their own homes to get their ingredients before gathering at Mu Zhijun’s house.
Mu Zhijun and her Yue Opera artist parents lived in thatched house number one. The kitchen was a shed made of thatched roof and wood, and the stove was outdoors, so there was no problem with ventilation.
The adults, except for Xuan Zhixia who was known to be in poor health and couldn’t stand the smell of cooking fumes, all gathered inside and outside the kitchen shed.
The place wasn’t very big, and there weren’t many people who could actually help with the cooking. It wasn’t necessary for so many people to be gathered together. Only a few people actually helped with the cooking; the rest of the meal was mostly spent chatting.
But since we can’t go anywhere else anyway, it doesn’t matter where we chat. Standing by the kitchen gives us a sense of participation and makes us seem polite.
As for the children, they still gathered together to play.
The children, visiting the thatched cottage for the first time, were filled with curiosity about the house and flocked to explore it inside and out under Mu Zhijun’s guidance, finding even a single straw fascinating.
But the house was only so big, and they quickly finished exploring it. The children returned to the front of the house and squatted not far from Xuan Zhixia, each holding a few straws and “fighting”.
Children have their own topics of conversation. While playing, they chatted about which character in their favorite cartoons was the strongest. Suddenly, they all started to jokingly complain about their parents.
”On Saturday and Sunday nights, they release two episodes! But they only release at 8 o’clock. If I watch both episodes, I won’t have time to shower, brush my teeth, and go to bed before 9 o’clock. So my parents always let me watch only one episode, and I can only watch the second episode the next day! But the day after Sunday is Monday, and I often have to go to kindergarten. If the teacher doesn’t let me watch this, I can only watch it when I get home at night. I hate it the most!”
The one whose melancholy poured out was Mu Zhijun.
The youngest, Yao Shuyue, exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, Sister Junjun goes to bed so early, at nine o’clock!”
Mu Zhijun nodded: “My parents say that children should go to bed early so they can grow taller!”
”That’s what my mom said when she made me drink milk!” Yao Shuyue said with a bitter face.
Shang Jingshu asked curiously, “Doesn’t Yueyue like milk? Milk is delicious!”
”But I like sweet milk, and Mom gives me tasteless milk, which I don’t like!” Yao Shuyue shook her head, then breathed a sigh of relief. “But, my mom doesn’t make me go to bed at nine o’clock! I can watch cartoons!”
Shang Jingqi said, “Shang Jingshu and I can sleep whenever we want because our grandparents don’t live with us, so they don’t know when we go to sleep at night. Although Dad passes by our house when he comes home, he doesn’t care when we go to sleep…”
”Besides, our dad is often not home…” Shang Jingshu became a little downcast.
Meng Xiang was confused: “Huh? Why don’t Qiqi and Shushu’s grandparents and dad live with you? Children shouldn’t be home alone! It’s dangerous!”
“No, there are many adults at home who will take care of us.” Shang Jingshu shook her head. “Besides, my grandparents and father live not far away.”
”And another thing!” Shang Jingqi suddenly had a flash of inspiration, “After Dad and Uncle got married, Uncle lived in the same house as us. Uncle is also our parent, so we live with our parents, not as separate children!”
”oh……”
”oh oh.”
None of the children quite understood the structure, but their attention wasn’t on it. They quickly moved on to discussing the cartoon, mentioning that it would be the weekend again in a couple of days and the cartoon would be updated.
”Before I went out to play, my mom promised me that she would let me watch cartoons on her phone!” Yao Shuyue said.
The other children also said they would ask their parents for cell phones when the time came.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were in a more “desperate” situation.
After all, they had asked Xuan Zhixia to borrow his phone yesterday, but Xuan Zhixia firmly refused, leaving Shang Shuji… The two children still didn’t dare to ask their father.
So, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu didn’t want to continue talking about cartoons.
”By the way, do you know what ‘Don’t try to scam your boss’ means? Our dad told our uncle that, but neither our uncle nor we understand what it means,” Shang Jingshu said.
”Scam your boss?” Mu Zhijun thought for a moment. “I’ve seen this mentioned in a skit I’ve watched! It’s a bad thing, isn’t it?”
Shang Jingqi nodded: “We know what that scamming means, but we don’t understand why Dad mentioned a “boss.” Our uncle didn’t get it either—which implies his boss isn’t even here—so why would Dad say that?”
Yao Shuyue asked in a clear voice, “Could it be that your father is the older brother’s boss?”
Shang Jingshu corrected, “Yueyue, you should call him Uncle. Also, our dad isn’t Uncle’s boss…”
“I know! You ask me, and I’ll tell you!” Gao Shang suddenly interjected.
Because of a conflict with the other children, no one was willing to speak up. So, although Gao Shang was with the other children, he barely spoke except when they were arguing, until he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Seeing Gao Shang’s excited and arrogant demeanor, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu decided not to go along with him.
”Won’t ask, you wouldn’t know anyway,” Shang Jingqi said.
“Sister Junjun is more capable than you. If Sister Junjun doesn’t know, how could you possibly know! Lying is for little dogs. Do you want to be a little dog?” Shang Jingshu asked.
Gao Shang got anxious: “I’m the best! I know! I just know! I won’t tell you unless you ask me!”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu both snorted at Gao Shang.
Yao Shuyue tilted her head and asked Gao Shang, “Then let me ask you, what does it mean?”
Finally, someone asked. Gao Shang didn’t care who asked. He went down the ladder of knowledge, raised his chin, and said, “You guys are so stupid. Of course you don’t understand. Only a smart kid like me can understand.”
Gao Shang looked at Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu and continued, “Your uncle isn’t ignorant, he just doesn’t want to tell you because he’s shy! That’s just adult fun!”
Xuan Zhixia, who was sitting not far away and forced to eavesdrop on the children’s tea party: “…”
That’s a bit too outrageous.
Gao Shang continued his boastful talk: “People who are in love or married still enjoy romance even when they are very, very old. That’s why your father said he was your uncle’s boss. That’s romance too! It’s like playing a game!”
”I saw this on TV! It’s normal that you don’t understand, after all, you’re all childish kids who only watch cartoons. Older kids like me are already watching TV dramas starring adults!”
“My grandparents are not as good as me, especially my grandma. She cries while watching TV dramas, but I don’t.”
Although they had a conflict with Gao Shang before, the other children, including Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, were now stunned by Gao Shang’s eloquent speech.
”So adults can be childish too.”
”That makes some sense. My parents love playing games at home, and they even bought a big TV specifically for this purpose. It’s much clearer than watching on a phone!”
”Oh, it’s a game…”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu wanted to verify, so they ran up to Xuan Zhixia and asked him, who was already expressionless, “Uncle, so ‘Don’t scam your boss’ is actually a game between you and Dad?”
Xuan Zhixia was a little speechless, but decided to clarify the rumor: “No, it’s just because I have a bad relationship with your father. He thinks I’m unsteady and cause him trouble. If you don’t believe me, go ask your father.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu blinked at each other.
The two children naturally still didn’t dare to ask Shang Shuji about this issue. They left Xuan Zhixia and returned to the group of children.
[Hahaha, those childish words are hilarious!]
[Kids, you should continue discussing cartoons; the adult world isn’t for you right now.]
[Xuan Zhixia was completely dumbfounded.]
[Wow, that’s so direct! They just openly admitted their relationship was bad?]
[Whether they admit it or not, it’s obvious their relationship isn’t good; it doesn’t matter whether they say it or not.]
[But I was still shocked by how direct it was.]
[Oh dear, our little seedling of love has fallen to the ground with a thud!]
After dinner that evening, before the guests went home, the production team announced that each family would have a task to complete later that night.
”Usually, parents tell bedtime stories to their children, but tonight we’ll do it the other way around—the children will tell their parents bedtime stories, okay?” the program director said.
So, on their way back to their brick house number five, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu discussed what story they should tell the whole way.
Finally, they decided that each of them would tell a fairy tale, which they were most familiar with: the stories of Cinderella and Snow White.
”The most familiar ones?” Xuan Zhixia was somewhat interested in this statement. “They’re all related to wicked stepmothers.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu nodded first.
A few seconds passed.
The two children stared wide-eyed as they began to explain.
”Um… Uncle, we didn’t mean you were bad…”
”Well, it’s just that… when you and Dad first got married, we read it a few times. We were only a little more familiar with it than other fairy tales, but we didn’t read it that many times!”
”Uncle, don’t think too much about it. Getting angry is bad for your health!”
”Hmm, at worst we won’t tell these two stories. I can tell you the story of the Little Mermaid!”
”Then I’ll tell you the story of Little Red Riding Hood!”
Xuan Zhixia chuckled: “No need to be so nervous. Just tell them both. Anyway, a fairy tale isn’t very long. You can each tell two.”
Upon hearing this, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu finally relaxed.
As soon as they relaxed, they immediately remembered… Shang Shuji was still there!
Will Dad misunderstand and think they like Uncle?
”Um…that…”
However, after carefully observing Shang Shuji, they realized he wasn’t angry, so the two children, who didn’t know what to say to “save the situation,” shut their mouths and pretended nothing had happened.
Back home, the same routine as the night before continued: Shang Shuji boiled water, the two children took baths in turn, then Xuan Zhixia, and finally Shang Shuji.
Xuan Zhixia dried his hair, put the hairdryer back in its place, and went back to his room to get a thermos to fill with water. He found that the two children, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, had already brought their own small stools and were sitting on the edge of the bed.
The bed was a bit high, and the stool was a bit low; the two children could barely sit level with the bed.
They seemed to think it was inconvenient, and when they finally waited for Xuan Zhixia, their eyes sparkled as they asked, “Uncle, can we sit on the bed?”
Xuan Zhixia glanced at the two of them up and down.
The two children, who had just washed up and were wearing clean pajamas, looked nothing like germ carriers, no matter how careless they were with their appearance during the day.
Xuan Zhixia nodded.
Upon receiving permission, the two children exclaimed excitedly, “Yay!”
When Shang Shuji returned to the bedroom, Xuan Zhixia and the two children were sitting on the bed.
Xuan Zhixia, covered with a quilt, sat against the outer headboard of the bed, with a familiar thermos cup on the stool next to the bed.
The two children, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, sat near the foot of the bed, their eyes full of anticipation, as if they were about to tell their parents a bedtime story, or as if a bear in the jungle had found honey.
There were no direct shots from inside the bedroom, and if everyone was sitting on the bed, the shot from the corner outside the bedroom door wouldn’t be good either. So the cameraman responsible for filming this family was outside the window.
The simple curtains were pulled back, and a window was temporarily opened to make it easier for the cameraman to get close to the lens.
With such conspicuous camera lenses in front of them, and the foot of the bed blocked by two children, it was even more inconvenient to “climb” onto the inside of the bed. Shang Shuji already found this behavior unseemly last night, and now he was even less willing to do it.
So, just like when he returned to his room the night before, he said to Xuan Zhixia, who was on the outside, “Move in a little.”
Xuan Zhixia was unaware that Shang Shuji was concerned about the manner in which they slept together. Upon hearing this, he found it strange: “A similar conversation seems to have happened once last night. Does Mr. Shang have a habit of erasing meaningless memories every day?”
Shang Shuji said calmly, “Last night was a discussion, tonight is a notification. Either you move inside, or you’ll have to boil water and take a bath yourself tomorrow night.”
Xuan Zhixia: “…”