12: The cub’s first livestream
Xia Ningmeng couldn’t stop eating, but finally, after meeting the little one’s gaze across the table, she blushed and withdrew the spoon she had been about to extend toward the shrimp and egg custard again.
Little Ye Xun was also eating heartily.
Once the rice was ready, he hopped off his chair with his bowl in hand and walked on his short legs.
He initially thought about reaching for Ye Susu’s bowl but reconsidered. Tilting his head, he trotted over to Xia Ningmeng’s seat, pointed a small finger at her empty congee bowl.
Xia Ningmeng was taken aback, momentarily panicked by his gesture.
Was he clearing her bowl already? She wasn’t full yet!
She didn’t want to give it up!
“He wants to serve you more rice.”
After a moment’s thought, Ye Susu translated with a smile.
Little Ye Xun was used to helping with chores.
Back home, he had often served food to the original Ye Susu, after all, he even did the cooking.
“Aww~”
Xia Ningmeng melted instantly.
Looking down, she saw the child’s tender, lotus-root-like hands and his chubby, baby-cheeked face… How could he be so thoughtful!
“Thank you, Xunbao.”
She quickly handed him her empty bowl, lest he strain himself tiptoeing.
Ye Xun’s cheeks flushed slightly.
Taking the small bowl, he shyly turned and hurried into the kitchen on his little feet.
Soon, he returned, carefully balancing a bowl in each hand, wobbling slightly with each step.
Before he reached his seat, Xia Ningmeng bent down and scooped him into a hug.
“My heart can’t take it… this little one is too sweet…”
Ye Xun’s ears turned bright red, and his small body went stiff.
He could only awkwardly extend his arms, unsure what to do.
“Alright, come and eat.”
Ye Susu promptly rescued him.
Xia Ningmeng reluctantly let go.
But taking the rice bowl, she brightened again—egg custard mixed with rice was absolutely delicious~
“Honestly, your congee and custard are even better than my senior who owns a restaurant…”
Ye Susu narrowed her eyes and took a sip of water.
Though she could cook using her “Reward: Parenting Points”, she had always been a lazy house cat—lounging at home or wandering and fighting outside. She had never tried earning money herself.
This was really not her forte.
After repaying Ye Wan, the income from selling second-hand goods left only ten thousand yuan.
Next came rent, food, and daily expenses that money might only last three months. And human children apparently needed school fees…
Three months might not even be enough…
Ye Susu frowned. “If only I could win the human lottery.”
Xia Ningmeng sighed in agreement.
She glanced at little Ye Xun, who had finished eating and was quietly taking his own small bowl to the kitchen, and lowered her voice.
“Susu, honestly, besides work… what about… your personal life? Are you still planning to look for Ye Xun’s father? If you could find him and get some help raising the child—even if he only contributed financially—it would take a lot of pressure off you both.”
But Ye Susu shook her head. “Not looking.”
Find someone to compete with her for the mission child? No way!
What if he took the little one away? How would she complete her cultivation mission then?
Xia Ningmeng’s breath hitched. Noticing little Ye Xun about to walk back, she quickly plastered on a smile. ” Xunbao, why don’t you go play upstairs? I want to talk with your mom for a bit, okay?”
Ye Xun looked at her, then at Ye Susu, and nodded silently.
As he padded upstairs on his short legs, neither of them noticed the tall figure that flashed past the second-floor landing.
Xia Ningmeng nervously grabbed Ye Susu’s arm. “Are you still thinking about that livestream company boss, Fourth Young Master Li? You’ve terminated your contract and quit livestreaming—you won’t have anything to do with him anymore. And, you know the major shareholder of our Evergrande Group? They say he’s Fourth Young Master Li’s second uncle, the future head of the Li family. I once heard from his assistant that the Li family has strict rules: marriage partners must be from equal social standing.”
“They avoid the entertainment industry, they avoid low education, and they don’t date subordinates, it’s common knowledge in the whole company.”
Ye Susu patted her hand. “Relax, I’m not interested in him.”
The original character had always dreamed of marrying into wealth and had foolishly obsessed over the male lead of this novel—the livestream company boss, Li Yinchen.
But this male lead had fallen for a new streamer discovered by Ye Wan, Su Luzhu, rescuing her from Ye Wan’s clutches.
Everyone thought Su Luzhu was a Cinderella. The original Ye Susu was wildly jealous and, together with Ye Wan, schemed relentlessly. After being ruthlessly driven out of the industry by Li Yinchen, she finally discovered that Su Luzhu was actually the low-key young mistress of the Su family—old acquaintances of the Li family and part of the same upper-class circle.
Devastated by the revelation that Cinderella was just a fairytale and now disfigured herself, the original Ye Susu’s health collapsed. She abandoned Ye Xun and passed away.
Recalling this, Ye Susu made a face of utter disdain.
Just an ordinary human male—was it really worth all that?
Xia Ningmeng nodded. “I’m glad you can see that. I’ll keep an eye out for stable, reliable jobs for you. Don’t limit yourself to livestreaming or cooking, even the receptionist at our company makes five or six thousand a month.”
As she spoke, she couldn’t resist another spoonful of egg custard. She quickly pulled up a photo on her phone—a tall, backlit figure secretly taken in an elevator, and showed it to Ye Susu.
“Speaking of our company, look at my big boss. His physique is like a supermodel’s, and his face… is drop-dead gorgeous! The Li men really have excellent genes. But he seems to be a committed bachelor, so we can only admire him as a living poster.”
Ye Susu had little interest in human males and only gave it a cursory glance.
Seeing the tailored suit, she disdainfully looked away.
That fabric wouldn’t be good for scratching or clawing—poor rating.
Xia Ningmeng, however, cradled her phone and admired the photo for a moment longer, practically drooling.
Just then, a company email popped up: [Li Yun (CEO): To all Evergrande staff, Happy Thanksgiving.]
She immediately opened it, reading with a dreamy smile. “Ah, even the big boss’s emails carry a scent of elegance~”
It was a shame Ye Susu had already looked away and completely missed that familiar name.
After skimming the email, Xia Ningmeng tossed her phone aside.
“By the way, is your landlord never around? I haven’t seen him at all.”
“This is a premium location in a high-end building, yet the rent is only a thousand. Susu, even though it’s cheap, you need to be careful. Do you know anything about him? A beautiful woman with a young child, what if he has bad intentions? Should I move in with you for a while?”
Upstairs on the second-floor landing, seated on the small living room sofa, a certain man couldn’t help but frown, his expression gradually cooling.
But thankfully, Ye Susu proved to be bold yet thoughtful.
“No need.”
The man’s brow relaxed slightly.
Yet the next moment, a soft, charming voice floated up.
“He should thank his lucky stars if I don’t have bad intentions toward him.”
The man on the second floor: “…”
For a full fifteen minutes, the man resisted before finally, with a twitching corner of his mouth, he pinched the bridge of his nose, strode into his study, and quickly made a call.
“Liu Zhen, keep an eye out for available food and beverage properties nearby.”
Some women absolutely needed to be kept occupied.
Lazy, broke, dreaming of getting something for nothing, even trying to flirt with strange men…
Unbelievable.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Ye Xun crouched in front of his little backpack, took out his small phone, and continued fiddling with it.
He had been in the middle of it earlier when Mommy called him down to eat.
Now, picking up the phone again, he discovered he seemed to have successfully opened a “livestream.”
Though he couldn’t read, he could recognize Arabic numerals: 1 and 1393.
Were these the uncles and aunties watching?
1… did that mean only one person was watching?
1393… was that the number of fans Mommy talked about?
Ye Xun tilted his head, his little brain still puzzling it out when he noticed the phone screen was showing his own flushed little face.
From his earlier rush inside, his cheeks were still slightly pink, and there was a hint of nervousness from doing something sneaky.
Thud…
He was so startled he almost dropped the phone, fumbling to catch it.
Mommy had said he mustn’t appear on camera. If people saw him, everyone would know he didn’t have a daddy, and they would all laugh at him.
Ye Xun was on the verge of tears. He hurriedly picked up the phone and, after some clumsy fumbling, found the button to switch to the rear camera, finally changing the view to the floor.
“Whew…”
He let out a sigh of relief, raising a small hand to wipe the cold sweat of fright from his forehead.
That was close.
Probably not many uncles or aunties saw his face just now.
‘Livestream your most authentic self, but also remember to be cute and playful when appropriate.’
Ye Xun didn’t know how to livestream, but he remembered clearly what Aunt Ye Wan had told Mommy.
Thinking about it, he scrunched up his little face.
He didn’t know how to be playful, and he certainly didn’t know how to act cute.
What should he do?
Ye Xun bit his lip and let out a sigh that seemed far too mature for his age.
Immediately after, he startled himself, afraid the watching uncles and aunties might have heard it.
“Viewers come for entertainment, not to see you looking miserable… You have to show them your most comfortable, happiest self.”
Right, he shouldn’t show the uncles and aunties his troubles. He needed to be happy.
But as Ye Xun stood there holding the phone, his little face went stiff, and he found himself completely unable to smile.
The happiest he felt was when he was with Mommy… but he couldn’t let Mommy know about the livestream, in case she got angry…
He didn’t even dare to think about it.
A bit dejected, Ye Xun hung his head, the small fists he’d clenched in nervousness slowly relaxing.
Just like Mommy said, he was young, not clever, and not very likable.
All he could do was try harder, like the slow bird that flies early.
With that thought, he gritted his teeth and carefully placed the phone on the table.
Then, from his little backpack, he took out his storybook, carefully spread it open, and retrieved a wooden pencil from his pencil case.
The pencil tip was long worn down, as if it had been dropped—the lead inside was broken, leaving only the wooden casing. But the tip seemed to have been rubbed often, the wood at the end smoothed and rounded.
Ye Xun flattened the first page of the storybook, not thinking there was anything unusual about the pencil. He leaned over, gripped the pencil, and began tracing along the cartoon drawings.
The little bear’s round body, round eyes, round ears…
He couldn’t read, and Mommy hadn’t taught him much. He didn’t dare to write randomly, so for now, he could only secretly trace the lines.
The phone, propped against the pencil case, pointed at the desk, capturing every detail of his short, chubby, white little fingers.
He focused on his tracing, unaware that the viewer count on the livestream screen had started to jump!
[What is this? A child’s livestream?]
[What’s the little one doing? Even the pencil is broken.]
Two comments appeared, lonely on the screen.
Then, two donations followed!
**
Male lead: How can she possibly get something for nothing? Hmm, give her a shop—make her work!
Assistant: So… this “work” is called “shop owner’s wife”?