Early the next morning, while sleeping soundly, Jin Qiao felt a small force repeatedly pushing at her arm.
Still half-asleep, she opened her eyes and discovered it was her son.
“What time is it?”
She reached for her phone and checked the screen.
11:00 AM.
Their flight was at 1:00 PM.
Good grief.
The night before, her mind had been stuck on a nonstop loop of Yu An’s words:
“From the very beginning until now, the person I’ve always liked is you.”
The sentence had practically driven her insane.
She hadn’t been able to sleep at all.
She immediately jumped out of bed, washed up, and stared at the clothes in the walk-in closet.
Sportswear it is.
Simple.
Mother and son were eating lunch when Auntie Wu came over.
“Madam, I’ve packed your luggage.”
“There are your regular medicines, some clothes, and all of Young Master’s clothes as well.”
“I’ve also packed the things he wanted to bring.”
“Everything is by the door.”
Jin Qiao looked toward the entrance.
Two suitcases stood there.
One large.
One small.
“Auntie Wu, what would I do without you?”
“Madam, this is simply my job.”
After lunch, Jin Qiao took Yu Siyi to the airport.
Meanwhile, the other families participating in the show had already arrived one after another.
The livestream had started as soon as the first family showed up.
The comments rolled by rapidly.
[Zhizhi is so adorable. As expected of our little princess.]
[Movie Queen Song arrived really early.]
[The Yan family is here too!]
The first family to arrive had been Qin Qiqi’s.
Song Qiruo had worried about being late and accidentally arrived far too early.
As a result, Qin Qiqi was already throwing a tantrum.
The second family was Bai Zhizhi’s.
The little princess wore a beautiful dress and skipped happily beside her mother.
The third was Chen Siyu and Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao followed behind while playing on a handheld game console.
Then came Yan Yuchen and his mother, Yuan Qingning.
“Movie Queen Song, it’s been a long time.”
Chen Siyu walked over to greet Song Qiruo.
The two had worked together before and were the only participants who knew each other reasonably well.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone introduced themselves.
Only then did Jin Qiao finally arrive.
Some viewers immediately began typing complaints.
[As a mother, she has no sense of time at all.]
[Making everyone wait for her? Isn’t she embarrassed?]
[Wait, she isn’t actually late though.]
[By that logic, whoever arrives last should feel guilty?]
[That’s ridiculous.]
Holding Yu Siyi’s hand, Jin Qiao asked somewhat sheepishly:
“Sorry, I’m not late, am I?”
The nearest person, Yuan Qingning, glanced at her watch.
In her usual cool tone, she replied:
“No.”
“Whew. That’s good.”
The comments immediately praised her.
[Miss Yuan is such a nice person.]
[Beautiful and speaks little. Classic Yuan Qingning.]
“Hello, I’m Yu Siyi’s mother. My name is Jin Qiao.”
“Yuan Qingning. Yan Yuchen’s mother.”
An elegant ice queen!
Jin Qiao screamed internally.
Meanwhile, the two boys beside them introduced themselves as well.
“Hello. My name is Yan Yuchen. I’m seven years old.”
Yu Siyi immediately broke into a bright smile and held up the self-introduction card he’d prepared in the car.
[My name is Yu Siyi. I am five years old.]
“Then I’m your older brother.”
Yan Yuchen said it very seriously, his little face full of dignity.
Yu Siyi happily nodded.
Seeing that the boys were already getting along, Jin Qiao crouched down.
“His condition means he can’t speak right now.”
“Would you mind helping him meet the other children?”
There was a hint of pleading in her voice.
Yan Yuchen’s serious face instantly turned red.
The contrast was unexpectedly funny.
He stiffly nodded.
“Okay.”
The comments loved it.
[It’s so rare to see Yuchen blush!]
[Look at that sense of responsibility.]
[Forty-One’s smile is melting my heart.]
[I want to take all these children home.]
Jin Qiao stood up again.
“Sorry for troubling your son.”
“It’s fine.”
“Boys need opportunities to learn responsibility.”
Yuan Qingning replied calmly.
Nearby, Bai Zhizhi had already wanted to go introduce herself to Yu Siyi.
Unfortunately, the giant bow on the back of her dress had come loose while she was running around.
Her mother, Xia Wan, quickly pulled her back and retied it.
The moment she was released, the little girl ran over.
Without hesitation, she grabbed Yu Siyi’s hand.
“Hello!”
“My name is Bai Zhizhi!”
“You can call me Zhizhi!”
“I’m five years old too!”
Xia Wan smiled apologetically toward Jin Qiao.
Her daughter had clearly inherited Bai Jin’s personality.
An absolute social butterfly.
Bai Jin and Yu An had grown up together.
Xia Wan had seen pictures of Yu Siyi at Grandpa Bai’s house before.
She recognized the child.
She just didn’t know Jin Qiao.
The comments laughed.
[A socially anxious mother and her socially fearless daughter.]
[Zhizhi is even more outgoing than her dad.]
[Turns out she’s a face-con too.]
“What month was your daughter born?”
“March. She just turned five recently.”
“Then my son is younger.”
“He won’t turn five until September, but we already count him as five.”
The comments immediately reacted.
[So Forty-One is actually the youngest!]
[He already looks like a tiny little dumpling.]
[The kind of child you could scoop up and carry away.]
[I’m calling the police on the commenter above.]
Hearing she was older, Bai Zhizhi became even more excited.
She immediately wrapped her arms around Yu Siyi and attempted to pick him up.
Unfortunately, despite her determination, she was still just a little girl.
“I’M THE BIG SISTER!”
“I FINALLY HAVE A LITTLE BROTHER!”
Yu Siyi’s face turned bright red.
Desperately, he looked toward his mother for help.
Unfortunately, Jin Qiao was laughing too hard to intervene.
The comments exploded.
[THIS IS HILARIOUS.]
[Zhizhi, please act like a lady. Bai Jin is probably crushing his phone at home.]
[I really want to see Bai Jin’s reaction.]
[I’m already shipping this childhood friendship.]
[Forty-One is asking for help but Mom is pretending not to see.]
[His face is literally red from embarrassment. Too cute.]
Meanwhile, Qin Qiqi and Chen Xiao had been discussing video games nearby.
They were getting along surprisingly well.
Seeing the new little brother arrive, they wandered over too.
Once they heard everyone discussing ages, they couldn’t resist joining in.
“I’m six.”
“So I’m an older brother too.”
“Me too. I’m six.”
The comments smiled.
[Children interacting really is healing.]
[As someone in education, it’s actually emotionally damaging.]
[I understand, sister. Deeply damaging.]
Yu Siyi quietly grabbed Yan Yuchen’s sleeve.
You’re the oldest brother.
Yan Yuchen immediately stood a little straighter.
The youngest child had chosen him specifically.
Not the other boys.
Him.
For some reason, that gave him a strong sense of pride.
The comments noticed.
[Did anyone else see Yuchen straighten his back when Forty-One grabbed his sleeve?]
[The responsibility of being an older brother has activated.]
Yan Yuchen began explaining to the others.
“His name is Yu Siyi.”
“He can’t talk right now.”
“But he writes in a notebook to communicate.”
“Wow!”
Chen Xiao’s eyes widened.
“Then you must know how to write lots and lots of words!”
“I don’t!”
The comments laughed.
[Kids really think differently from adults.]
[Actually that’s true. He’s not even five yet, and he already knows a lot of characters.]
Yu Siyi nodded proudly.
Bai Zhizhi immediately made a decision.
When she got home, she was going to learn lots of words too.
She had to set a good example for her little brother.
“Will you be able to talk again later?”
Chen Xiao asked curiously.
Yu Siyi nodded again.
The entire time, he wore a bright smile.
The comments were completely won over.
[This child is TOO CUTE.]
[I don’t care how terrible the production team is. I’m watching this show now.]
[Support +1,000,000.]
[For these adorable kids, I’ll keep watching.]
Watching from nearby, Jin Qiao finally relaxed.
She had been worried that Yu Siyi might reject interacting with other children.
Instead, he had blended into the group surprisingly well.
The sight filled her with relief.