Zhuozhuo was stunned.
“What are you talking about?”
Zhou Chong wasn’t really an 18-year-old kid; there was no way he’d come without preparation.
It was no exaggeration to say—
Every guest present had something on him that he could hold over them.
“That bald guy who sells fishing gear is your sugar daddy.”
Zhuozhuo’s face went deathly pale.
How did he know!
Fang Rong’s expression shifted slightly. Having a financial backer was common in the entertainment industry, but exposing it publicly on a livestream was too humiliating.
He put on the airs of a senior and elder, “Alright, Zhou Chong, don’t go too far. Zhuozhuo didn’t mean any harm either.”
“You’re old enough to think that’s harmless, so if I talked to you like that from now on, would you enjoy it?”
Fang Rong was left speechless, his face burning. This was a livestream; he didn’t want to lose face, so his expression darkened.
“Little Zhou!”
“Little Zhou? Are you worthy of calling me that?”
Even the boss of Fang Rong’s entertainment company wouldn’t dare call him “Little Zhou” to his face.
Zhuozhuo stepped forward, “Young Master Zhou, if you have a problem with me, don’t drag others into it.”
“A problem with you? Are you even worthy?” Zhou Chong turned around with a cold sneer. “As expected, humans have developed less than 5% of their capacity for stupidity. Today’s an eye-opener.”
The director was dumbfounded.
They’d wanted to use the young master’s temper to create some drama.
They never expected it to spiral out of control so quickly.
The livestream chat went wild.
【What kind of gossip did I just hear?】
【I looked it up! He’s 47! Zhuozhuo’s only 20! So disgusting】
【Fang Rong’s something else too—he’s still defending Zhuozhuo when she’s that two-faced. Is it because he thinks Shan Qingshan is just a nobody, so it doesn’t matter?】
【Zhou Chong’s mouth—I bow to it! Humans have developed less than 5% of their capacity for stupidity, and Zhou Chong’s sharp tongue is equally underdeveloped】
【Disgusting as it is, doesn’t anyone think Zhou Chong and Shan Qingshan are super shippable?! From yesterday till now, I’m about to die from shipping them! He calls him Qingshan Xiaobao! And won’t let anyone else call him that! Qingshan Xiaobao barely says a word, but he still defended him, saying Zhou Chong did a ton of work!】
【”Isn’t having me enough?” That line just nailed me straight into the ship’s basement】
【Go to their own livestream, and you’ll see what real shipping material is!】
【Zhou Chong’s gay too, so isn’t this perfect?】
(Have today’s Zhou Chong bent Shan Qingshan yet?)【Okay, I’ve changed my Weibo name】
…
At the Zhou family estate in Kyoto.
Yu Xinya watched her son on the show and felt he was a stranger.
Was this her son?
Her son, to put it nicely, was cynical, unrestrained, and arrogant.
To put it bluntly…
Well, she wouldn’t say anything too harsh about her own son.
But this one now—
Hardworking. Obedient.
That pretty boy inside was complaining that he hadn’t washed the vegetables clean enough.
Who would dare do that at home?
Forget complaining—no one would even dare let him wash vegetables.
He was domineering in everything he did; if someone said that to him, he’d definitely throw a fit.
If he wasn’t having a good time, no one else would either.
But surprisingly, right now he was actually listening, “I’ll wash them again… Is this okay?”
Not a trace of the spoiled rich kid in him.
Not sure—let her take another look.
Had he been swapped out?
“Chairman Zhou! Come take a look—is this your son or not!”
Zhou Hongkai walked into the room, followed by a four-year-old boy. “Getting old and confused? Can’t even recognize your own son?”
Zhou Shuo raised his hand, speaking in a baby voice, “Your son’s right here!”
Yu Xinya shoved the phone at him. “See for yourself.”
So Zhou Hongkai watched his son carry water, chop firewood, light the stove, sneak into the chicken coop to grab eggs—his shoes getting chicken droppings on them—and then shout toward the house.
“Qingshan Xiaobao, so eggs really do come with poop on them?”
A very handsome boy came out of the house and said, “You’ve got some on you too.”
His son didn’t mind the chicken droppings on his shoes at all. Grinning, he walked up to the boy, wiped the egg clean with the paper from his pocket, and placed it in the boy’s palm.
“It’s still warm. Feel it.”
…
The bullet comments flew by.
[I’m dying from this, fam!]
[This isn’t a life variety show, this is a married-life variety show!]
[Touch the egg hehehe touch the egg hehehe touch the other eggs too hehehe]
…
Zhou Hongkai: This is my son?
“Master Zhou.”
The director poked his head in.
Qian Wei was washing dishes.
Zhou Chong was helping cut pumpkins and napa cabbage, which would be used to feed the pigs later.
“There’s a phone call for you.”
Zhou Chong took the phone, removed the live-streaming device, and stepped aside. His father’s voice came through from the other end. “Are you interested in Shan Qingshan?”
“Chairman Zhou has time to watch my variety show?”
“Your mother saw it!”
“To be honest with you, I like him. I’m going to marry him. If you don’t support it, then find a way to convince yourself. I still have work to do. Bye.”
“Wait! Don’t do anything to him! He’s clearly a good kid, and he’s cultivated a fine quality of hard work and endurance in you. You—”
Zhou Chong hung up the phone and held it up.
“Qingshan Xiaobao! I got a phone—let’s take a photo for keepsake.”
Qian Wei: “Great idea! Shan Qingshan, let’s take a photo together. Tomorrow I’ll bring my Polaroid too.”
Qian Wei and Shan Qingshan stood side by side.
Zhou Chong’s camera pointed at the two of them, but in the viewfinder, only Shan Qingshan appeared, his face expressionless.
Grandma could hear the commotion outside from inside the house.
When Shan Qingshan brought water for her to soak her feet, Grandma admonished him, “Don’t keep a straight face all day. That young man is so warm toward you—smile a little, or he’ll think you don’t like him.”
Shan Qingshan: “Grandma, rest well. Don’t worry about these things.”
“If I don’t worry about you, who will? You’re always working around the house and don’t have many friends. Now that you finally have one, if you’re too cold toward him, he’ll leave.”
“He was going to leave anyway. No need to build any connection.”
Grandma wanted to say something more but stopped, letting out a sigh.
True enough—between the two children lay a chasm that anyone with eyes could see.
Shan Qingshan went out to dump the water and saw Zhuozhuo lingering outside the door.
The livestream had already ended by now.
“Shan Qingshan, call Zhou Chong out.”
A commanding tone.
Shan Qingshan ignored her and turned back inside.
“Hey!”
Zhou Chong heard the commotion and came out. Seeing Zhuozhuo, his face darkened.
Zhuozhuo immediately put on a pitiful expression. “Master Zhou.”
Shan Qingshan went inside.
Zhou Chong walked to the side, making sure the conversation couldn’t be heard from inside before speaking. “What is it?”
“How did you know about what you said this afternoon?”
This afternoon, Zhou Chong had directly struck her vital point.
That line—”Your sugar daddy, from this moment on, is no longer your sugar daddy.”—had sent chills down her spine and tormented her ever since.
She had racked her brain trying to understand. She’d only complained a little—why did it turn out like this?
Wasn’t Shan Qingshan just a country kid?
So what if he was good-looking?
No power, no connections, no money at home.
Had it not been for the production crew happening to come here, who would have known whether Shan Qingshan was dead or alive?
Did Zhou Chong really care?
Zhou Chong: “No comment.”
“Young Master Zhou! I’m begging you.”
“You beg me, and I have to answer you?”
Zhuozhuo dropped to her knees with a thud in front of Zhou Chong. “Is this good enough?”
“Are you begging me, or threatening me?”
His voice was cold and chilling, sounding nothing like an eighteen-year-old youth.
“Get lost.”
The youth stood grimly by the wall, radiating menace.
For the first time in her life, Zhuozhuo felt fear toward a boy several years younger than herself, completely losing whatever advantage age might have given her.
She got up and ran.
After returning, Zhuozhuo begged the director’s team to give back her phone so she could call her sugar daddy.
The call connected, then was immediately hung up.
She tried again—already blocked.
Zhuozhuo felt like she had fallen into hell.
Just who was Zhou Chong, really?
She checked online.
Netizens had dug up everything about her—her past as a bar hostess, bullying classmates in school… they’d even found out she had abused a cat!
They now called her Sister Haitang.
“A pear blossom pressed down by a crabapple tree”—
mocking her for sleeping with old men.
Zhuozhuo didn’t sleep well all night.
This show might be the last one of her career.
She had to use it to make herself famous!
The next day, the production crew handed out task cards.
Morning task: pull radishes.
The radishes the guests pulled would be sold at the market tomorrow.
The radish fields were up in the mountains—five plots in total, each in a different location and size. First come, first served.
Zhuozhuo skipped breakfast—she had no money to eat anyway.
Today, she needed to project an image of diligence, endurance, and resilience in the face of setbacks to salvage her reputation.
Grabbing the basket the crew had given her, Zhuozhuo rushed toward the radish fields. In the distance, she spotted Zhou Chong and Shan Qingshan.
“Qingshan Xiaobao, wait here for me. I’ll go up and check the other plots.”
“Okay.”
Zhou Chong ran up the mountain.
The radish field in front of Shan Qingshan wasn’t large, but it was close—no need to walk far on the mountain paths.
Zhuozhuo had her eye on this plot. She walked up to Shan Qingshan.
“Little brother, could you give this plot to me?”
Shan Qingshan looked at her, but before he could speak—
Zhuozhuo covered his microphone with one hand and her own with the other, making sure the livestream couldn’t hear them.
“Weeds that grow from muddy ground should know their place. Zhou Chong will leave eventually—he can protect you for a while, but not forever. You don’t want things to get even harder for you and your grandmother, do you?”