Luo Yiyun said, “That’s not what she meant, actually.”
The kitchen had prepared quite a lot of breakfast, and Aunt Wu also brought a portion over to Luo Yiyun.
Chu Mingwan was practically starving, and when he saw that, he hurriedly motioned, “There’s still a while before filming starts. Sister Yun, try our chef’s cooking. I guarantee that once you’ve eaten this time, you’ll want to come back next time.”
After the two adults and one little cub had all eaten and drunk their fill, it was exactly seven-thirty. There was still half an hour until filming, and driving over from the villa would definitely not make them late.
“Good cub, we’re setting off.” Chu Mingwan filled the Pikachu water cup with warm water. He knew the little cub would probably still be a little scared about going out, so he simply picked up the little cub, who had already put on his little backpack and was still holding a Pikachu doll, and held him directly in his arms.
There was no child safety seat installed in Luo Yiyun’s car, but fortunately the housekeeper had already asked Uncle Li, the driver, to wait outside.
Since he had not started kindergarten yet, Mumu usually did not have many chances to go out. Right now, sitting in the child seat, he could not help looking out the window, and there seemed to be bright, sparkling curiosity in his eyes.
The car soon stopped in front of Yaodong Tower. Since today was a workday, and seven or eight in the morning was the rush hour for going to work, the entrance to the tower was crowded with people coming and going, and it looked very congested.
Mumu, who had just been looking outside with curiosity in his eyes, saw the crowded throng of people and immediately revealed deep fear and panic in his eyes.
“Uncle Li, find a parking spot and park the car first.” Chu Mingwan pinched Mumu’s soft little hand. “Dad seems a little carsick. Good cub, will you stay in the car and keep Dad company for a while?”
Hearing that, Mumu quickly set aside his fear of the crowd and turned all his attention to little dad. He reached out a small hand to touch little dad’s forehead, and asked softly, “Is little dad feeling very awful?”
“I’m not feeling that awful. It feels much better just hugging good cub. Sure enough, my good cub really does have magical powers.” After unfastening the child seat’s safety belt, Chu Mingwan hugged the little cub and took a big sniff, and his face immediately showed an energetic expression.
Little dad’s hair was tucked against his neck, feeling a little itchy. Mumu could not help revealing a milky, sweet smile.
After sending a message over to Luo Yiyun’s side and sitting in the car a little longer, Chu Mingwan then took the little cub’s hand and walked toward the elevator entrance.
“Chu Jiayou, can you hurry up a little? We only have five minutes left before we’re late.” The moment the elevator doors opened, Chu Xiayun happened to be holding a five- or six-year-old boy, and ran toward Chu Mingwan’s side.
Chu Mingwan instinctively looked toward Mumu beside him, keeping his attention fixed on the little cub’s condition, and did not pay attention to who the person also walking toward the elevator entrance was.
Mumu was a little nervous. He could not help pursing his lips and pressing tightly against little dad’s side.
“Didn’t they say there would be other children filming together? It’s fine if we’re behind them.” Five-and-a-half-year-old Youyou was completely unlike his father’s anxious, hurried appearance. His slow, halting way of speaking was enough to make people anxious just watching him.
A trace of heartache flashed through Chu Xiayun’s eyes. Of course he knew what this brat was thinking. He must have learned who he would be taking photos with today, which was why he had deliberately changed his alarm and slept until he was almost late.
Chu Mingwan had already taken Mumu’s little hand and walked into the elevator. Hearing the sound of conversation right by the elevator entrance, he subconsciously raised a hand to stop the elevator door from closing.
Chu Xiayun reacted swiftly and pulled his son into the elevator. He quickly turned around, wanting to thank the young man beside him, only to be tightly grabbed by his son at the hem of his clothes.
Chu Mingwan still had a somewhat friendly smile on his face, but after seeing Chu Xiayun’s face, he could not help but feel deeply embarrassed, and at the same time could not suppress the strong feeling of awkwardness rising within him.
Tsk, clearly it was the original body that had done the guilty things. So why did he still feel so guilty when he saw Chu Xiayun?
Even though he could not literally dig out a three-room apartment in the elevator with his toes, Chu Mingwan’s face was already tinged with embarrassment. He forced himself to stay calm and greeted the refined, gentle young man, “Um… good morning!”
Mumu was pressed tightly against little dad’s leg. Hearing Chu Mingwan greeting the other party, he instinctively looked over there, and his big, moist eyes were already filled with intense curiosity.
Youyou had absolutely no good impression of this little uncle who had lived in the grandparents’ house before. That man had often bullied Dad before, and would also say very unpleasant things to him behind Grandpa and Grandma’s backs.
Actually, he was a little afraid of this little uncle, but Youyou felt that he was already grown up and could protect Dad, so he hurriedly wanted to stand in front of Dad. But as soon as he turned his head, he saw Mumu pressed against Chu Mingwan’s calf.
The little cub, holding a Pikachu doll, had skin that was very white and tender, and a head of adorable little curls. He was so pretty he looked like a doll that could only exist in a painting.
Youyou cub: Wow, whose little brother is this beautiful? Why is he holding that bad uncle’s hand? Could he have been kidnapped by that bad uncle?
Mumu also happened to be looking at the unfamiliar older brother across from him. He had been staying in the villa all day long before, and this was the first time he had seen other children so closely. He was a little nervous, and also a little curious.
The two little fellows quietly sized each other up. The elevator was quiet except for the low hum of its ascent. Chu Xiayun glanced faintly at the handsome young man, then still politely gave a slight nod. “Good morning.”
Chu Mingwan did not care about the other party’s cold attitude. If the original body’s vicious methods had landed on him, he was afraid he would have wanted to tear the other party apart, how could he be as calm as Chu Xiayun?
Aside from that awkward greeting just now, Chu Mingwan did not continue to be tactless and push himself forward. Instead, he shifted his gaze to Youyou beside Chu Xiayun.
This was the male lead’s cub form in the original plot, but why was the male lead cub looking at his good Mumu with such a strange expression?
Chu Mingwan slightly lowered his head to look over, and saw that his good cub was tightly holding the Pikachu doll in his arms, while his gaze would occasionally fall on the little male lead.
Was it because this was the first time he had seen a child he could play with, so he was this curious and afraid?
Chu Mingwan could not help reaching out and gently rubbing the top of Mumu’s head, successfully ruffling the little cub’s curls even more.
He guiltily withdrew his “mischievous” hand. When the little cub raised his head to look at him, he pretended it was accidental and used his slender fingertips to comb at it a couple more times, trying to smooth the messed-up little curls back into place.
The top of his head was combed until it felt a little itchy, but Mumu cub did not mind little dad’s naughty little actions. Instead, he quite liked this kind of intimate contact with little dad.
Seeing that pretty younger brother and bad uncle getting along so intimately, Youyou could not help frowning like a little adult.
Back when he and Dad had just been found by Grandpa and Grandma and brought back, bad uncle had also pretended to be very, very nice to him. In the end, though, he bullied him behind their backs. That pretty younger brother must have been tricked by bad uncle.
Youyou could not help clenching his little fist. No, even though that was a strange younger brother, he had decided he could not let bad uncle bully the pretty younger brother, and he absolutely had to expose bad uncle’s true face.
The elevator soon reached the fifteenth floor, and Luo Yiyun and Chu Xiayun’s agents were already waiting by the elevator entrance. Both agents had been in this circle for so many years that even though they knew the two principals were incompatible to the death, they still put on a friendly and harmonious appearance.
Seeing that there had not been any fight in the elevator, the two agents both quietly sighed in relief. After all, Adorable Kids Are Here was about to begin recording, so it was still better if things could be calm and steady.
The two agents led away their own artists and separately asked in low voices whether anything bad had happened in the elevator.
Chu Mingwan looked innocent. “No, I was very, very well-behaved today.”
Mumu was no longer as afraid of Luo Yiyun as before. Hearing little dad’s words, he held his Pikachu doll and nodded seriously in agreement. “Right, Auntie, little dad was very, very well-behaved today.”
Luo Yiyun: These father and son, who exactly is the father and who is the son? So I’m the only outsider here, is that it!
On the other side, Yue Zheng was also tense all over. “Chu Mingwan didn’t randomly go crazy at you again, did he?”
Chu Xiayun shook his head. “No…”
Youyou raised his hand to answer first. “Bad uncle took the initiative to greet Dad in the elevator. Even the TV says that a yellow weasel paying a New Year visit to a chicken has bad intentions, he must be plotting something bad.”
Compared with Chu Xiayun, who always liked to make peace and keep things from escalating, Yue Zheng was more willing to believe Youyou, who had been clever since he was little. He could not help frowning. “No matter what, you two should avoid him a little. Once the parenting variety show officially starts filming, the netizens will be able to see his true ugly face clearly.”
Adorable Kids Are Here used a twenty-four-hour livestream format, so no matter how good Chu Mingwan usually was at putting on airs, he could not escape the real all-day livestream “demon-revealing mirror.”
“Mm.” Chu Xiayun nodded, and after that, he was ushered into the makeup room by the staff.
After the original body had stirred up the matter of the Chu family’s real and fake young masters like that, it had already reached the point where everyone knew about it. Quite a few staff members in the entertainment industry were used to flattering the powerful and stepping on the weak, so before, they had been as cold as could be toward Chu Xiayun, and now they were as enthusiastic as could be.
By contrast, Chu Mingwan’s side was much less impressive. The staff directly took him to a shared makeup room. The artists and crew members already inside, doing their makeup, all turned their heads toward the door, and the looks that fell on Chu Mingwan were filled with contempt, disdain, and the guilty pleasure of watching a show.
Chu Mingwan did not care about a bunch of strangers’ attitudes toward him, but he could not help caring about the probing looks those people cast on Mumu.
Bending down to pick up the good cub, who was a little frightened, into his arms, Chu Mingwan turned to look at Luo Yiyun. “Sister Yun, help ask when filming will begin. If we have to wait a long time, I’ll take Mumu downstairs to rest for a bit first.”
Seeing their artist being treated like this also made Luo Yiyun’s face very unpleasant. She also knew that the current situation was all caused by Chu Mingwan himself, but the little cub was the most innocent of all, and should not have to endure these people’s strongly malicious stares.
“Okay, take Mumu outside to rest for a while first. I’ll go negotiate with the program team’s staff.” Luo Yiyun nodded and agreed.
Just as he was about to carry Mumu out of the makeup room, Chu Mingwan suddenly remembered something. He took a black card from his pocket and handed it to Luo Yiyun. “The butler stuffed this into my hand when we left. If the production team can’t reach an agreement, we’ll just rent a makeup room ourselves.”
The whole fifteenth floor of Yaodong Tower was not short of makeup rooms that often worked with various celebrities and artists. It was fine for Chu Mingwan to suffer a bit, but there was no reason to let the good cub suffer along with him.
Staring at the black card handed over by Chu Mingwan, Luo Yiyun glared at him expressionlessly. “Quit puffing yourself up to act like a big shot, and rein in that young master temper of yours properly. Leave this matter to me.”
Chu Mingwan blinked innocently and met eyes with the little cub in his arms.
Mumu did not understand what the adults were saying. Hearing the words “big shot,” he reached out and touched little dad’s face, then said very seriously to Luo Yiyun, “Auntie, little dad is not fat!”
Meeting the little cub’s earnest gaze, Luo Yiyun nodded with both amusement and exasperation. “All right, all right, your little dad is the handsomest.”
Mumu stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Chu Mingwan’s neck, and his pair of black-and-white eyes curved into beautiful crescent moons.