20: The cub gets caught
A child’s live stream.
The child appears to be around five years old.
Today, the platform’s business department received inquiries from two talent agencies wanting the guardian’s contact information for this live stream, hoping to sign the child.
Seeing this email, Liu Zhen felt a headache coming. The boss was in a bad mood. Wasn’t this report walking right into the line of fire?
The young master wasn’t even five yet. Lately, the boss has been in a phase of paternal affection, unable to bear seeing children suffer. Now, letting him know their Evergrande platform actually had underage children and such young ones at that, performing to earn money for their parents? How could this be allowed?
Sign a contract, my foot!
Liu Zhen took a deep breath, deciding to first have the business department investigate the situation of this ‘Pretty Girl’ ID.
But before he could send the message, the car gradually pulled up beside the Haitang Compound.
As soon as it stopped, the back door was pulled open from the outside.
“Second Uncle, why have you moved to this little house? I went to the main house looking for you twice. Finally, Butler Zhao, seeing me pitiful, told me… Hey, Liu Zhen, long time no see.”
A man of similarly tall stature, possessing the Li family’s superior genes, handsome with a distinctive pair of peach blossom eyes, smiled and bent down, greeting the car with his hands in his pockets.
“Fourth Young Master.”
Liu Zhen was momentarily surprised, his finger paused on the half-written text message. A sense of foreboding washed over him.
Li Yun narrowed his dark eyes. His profile, backlit, was hard to read.
But his words clearly carried displeasure.
“Did Butler Zhao not tell you to find me at the company for any matters recently?”
Li Yinchen brushed back a strand of his hair, revealing the faint teardrop mole beside his peach blossom eye.
“Second Uncle, you’re so cold. I went to your company first. Your secretary said you left early on business. Then I went home looking for you, only for Butler Zhao to say you hadn’t returned. I went back to the company to wait… I must have gone back and forth three or four times… Alright, alright, I’ll get to the point, okay?”
He didn’t last long under Li Yun’s chilling aura.
“I’m twenty-eight already. Don’t glare at me like I’m a kid… Ahem, here’s the thing. I own an online entertainment agency specializing in signing internet celebrities and live streamers from major platforms. So, I usually keep an eye on the data across various live streaming platforms.”
Hearing this, Liu Zhen’s sense of foreboding grew heavier.
Sure enough, Li Yinchen’s next key point came quickly.
“Guess what? Just now, I was casually browsing our Evergrande platform, and I stumbled upon a one-of-a-kind potential talent!”
“His data hasn’t broken into the top ten on the hot charts yet, but I guarantee he will definitely go viral. There’s nothing similar on the market right now, he’s the only one! With a little shaping—no, he doesn’t even need shaping. Just his natural, unadorned ideas, casually live streaming, he could become the hottest streamer this year, no question about it!”
Liu Zhen braced himself, looking back nervously. “Fourth Young Master, the boss is off work today. Perhaps we could discuss this tomorrow—”
“Since when does a workaholic have off-duty hours?”
Li Yinchen rubbed his hands together, clearly still excited about discovering new talent.
“Second Uncle, the business department said they need your approval to give me the contact info. Quick, give them a call.”
Liu Zhen sighed, giving the Fourth Young Master a helpless look.
The boss was in a bad mood today, a powder keg ready to blow. He had already tried to hint to the Fourth Young Master.
Sure enough, Li Yun frowned, his dark eyes deepening. “What’s the issue with this streamer that requires my approval?”
Evergrande Group was one of the Li family’s businesses, involved in multiple sectors, currently helmed by Li Yun. Among them, Evergrande Entertainment included the currently popular live streaming platform.
Wang Le Entertainment was a company run by the third-generation Li Yinchen himself. But backed by the family, signing new talent from the Evergrande platform first was effortless.
The Evergrande business department wasn’t stupid; they wouldn’t obstruct Li Yinchen from signing someone.
Unless there was a problem.
“Haha, Second Uncle, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Let me show you, then you’ll know…”
Li Yinchen had his phone ready.
With one tap, the Evergrande live streaming platform opened.
Soon, a soft, timid, cute voice came from within.
[Mommy, if Daddy regains his memory, will he… come looking… for us?]
Instantly, the expression of the stern, long-legged man in the car changed!
Liu Zhen in the front seat also nearly jumped out of his skin.
The next second, the atmosphere in the vehicle became eerie and chilling.
Another delicate female voice soon rang clearly from the phone.
[Baby, your dad isn’t something to eat or play with. Why do you keep thinking about him? Here, put your gloves on… we’re going home.]
[Mommy… don’t you have a dad either…]
[Hmm, used to…]
[What happened later?]
[Sigh, later, gone.]
[Ah…]
“Ah, this child has no father, no maternal grandfather either.”
Li Yinchen’s peach blossom eyes tightened. Holding the phone, he also held his breath for a long moment before shaking his head mournfully.
“So pitiful.”
Absorbed in the mother-son conversation, he remained oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the car and pushed the phone screen closer toward the silent man beside him.
“Second Uncle, look at these comments, look at this tipping data. This fatherless child living with his mom is definitely going to win over more than 50% of Evergrande’s live stream audience. Even I can’t help feeling sorry for the child, wanting to tip, wanting to see what he’s doing every day, if life is getting better… if he was bullied today… This child gets to you!”
His phone screen was black.
But lines of comments were indeed flying by rapidly.
[Wah, I’m crying.]
[It’s okay, things will get better. Look forward, baby~]
[Sigh, tipping 6666 gold coins. No need to say more.]
[Mhm, please, transfer the child to another school. With so many people at that school bad-mouthing the child, it’s really not okay!]
[To the previous commenter: Do you know how troublesome transferring schools is? Getting a child into a good school isn’t something ordinary parents can just decide to do! A home in the school district, do they have that? Sponsorship fees, can they afford them? If it’s far, they’d need to rent, move—how much savings do they have left?]
[Stop arguing! Isn’t the child suffering enough already? Keyboard warriors, get lost! Let’s all chip in. I’ll tip 520 gold coins every day from now on. How about you guys?]
[Crowdfunding +1, tipping 2000 gold coins. I can spare this bit of pocket money, sis.]
[Joining in. New Year’s coming soon, I’ll tip again after getting my red envelope money!]
[Alright, I was going to buy a dress after work, not anymore! Tipping 20,000 gold coins!]
[Wow, suddenly I have this feeling of ‘cloud-raising a baby’ with everyone. Tipping 520 gold coins.]
“Second Uncle, look. His live stream has only been on for how long? Five short minutes, and the tips have already surpassed all other newcomers… But because he’s a minor, the business department said they need to contact the guardian first, then report to you.”
As Li Yinchen spoke, his peach blossom eyes curved, as if already seeing the first child star he would propel to fame rising, becoming the brightest star in the night sky—no, the brightest cub.
But his smile had only just begun when an utterly bone-chilling bucket of ice water was dumped on his head!
“Liu Zhen, have the business department reject all talent agency contract applications.”
A ruthless command fell inside the vehicle.
Li Yinchen’s peach blossom eye twitched. “Second Uncle?”
Li Yun’s handsome face darkened. His gaze swept past the phone screen, his brow tightly furrowed. Roughly yanking off his tie, he opened the car door and stepped out with his long legs.
“Second Uncle, wait! This child has limitless potential. Are you saying you want him to stay on Evergrande and get signed?”
Li Yinchen pushed the car door open and chased after him.
But before he could finish, he saw his usually elegant, perfect second uncle looking terrifyingly like a beast on the verge of rage. Two buttons from his shirt collar had been torn off, rolling into the nearby grass.
“Are you questioning my decision?”
Li Yun narrowed his dark eyes dangerously.
Li Yinchen’s legs involuntarily trembled.
“Er, no, discussing…”
“Fine. Then report to the group tomorrow.”
“No, no, no, forget it,” Li Yinchen’s peach blossom eye twitched. “On second thought, maybe not signing is okay…”
That mountain of work at Evergrande, that huge pile… He couldn’t finish it even without sleep!
Only a non-human with his second uncle’s stamina and brain could manage.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the door slammed shut with a bang, nearly crushing his nose.
“Today… did Second Uncle… eat gunpowder?”
Liu Zhen, following behind, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
You only noticed now? Not only did he eat it, but you lit the fuse too!
He couldn’t spare time for pleasantries, quickly opening the keypad lock and going inside.
“Fourth Young Master, until next time.”
“Tsk…”
Li Yinchen rubbed his own high-bridged nose, lowered his head, and first operated his phone.
“Let me join the crowdfunding. I’ll contribute five thousand for the little guy first… Huh? My account is frozen!? Damn it, which idiot did this!?”
The idiot who ordered the account freeze—the man with a face as dark as thunder—entered the house looking dazed, moving stiffly as he took out his phone.
He leaned against the wall. Though it wasn’t yet 5 PM and the sun hadn’t set, his figure was shrouded in shadow.
With difficulty, he opened the live streaming app under Evergrande.
Searched for the room ‘Pretty Girl’.
A second later, intermittent familiar voices came through—sometimes Ye Susu’s soft, glutinous speech, occasionally interspersed with a child’s delicate, timid voice.
This child…
Li Yun slumped, covering his forehead with his hand.
How old was he this year, already live streaming in front of a camera?
The Li family children received business education from a young age, but he himself only started using his father’s account to learn stock trading and virtually manage a company at age ten. It wasn’t until he turned eighteen that he officially entered Evergrande to take over substantial businesses.
And this child, Ye Xun, barely five years old, judging by the tip amounts, was already earning more than Ye Susu…
This child was his son.
Li Yun furrowed his brow, feeling a surge of fire rushing from his chest to his brain. But after a moment, his heart ached with pain.
He felt proud, heartbroken, and burning with anger all at once.
Liu Zhen stood to the side, not daring to move, desperately trying to make himself invisible.
“Encrypt the personal information for this room ID. Prohibit any queries.”
“Delete all recorded broadcasts.”
Li Yun’s slender fingers tightly gripped the phone.
Liu Zhen hurriedly agreed. “Should we ban this account? Prohibit… this child from live streaming?”
Minors appearing in public was inherently controversial and should only be done with the guardian’s knowledge.
And this child’s guardian, Miss Ye, clearly can’t be relied upon. The other legal guardian, his immediate boss, a man whose wealth ranks high nationally would he allow his own son to earn money through live streaming?
Liu Zhen’s first thought was to stop the future young master.
But as he spoke, the keypad lock on the main door was pressed open.
Liu Zhen instantly fell silent.
The mother and son had returned.
Before the door even opened, Ye Susu’s uniquely soft, cute voice carried into the room from a distance.
“Cub, did you have… homework today in kindergarten? Can you do it? Should I help you together?”
She sounded like a perfectly good mother.
Liu Zhen mentally noted this.
Just as he considered whether to make himself scarce, he heard a sound of surprise.
“Mr. Li, you’re home too.”
“This… bank card brother… it’s you.”
Ye Susu had a good memory. Seeing Liu Zhen, she remembered who he was.
Liu Zhen hurriedly smiled. “Hello.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his smile froze.
Holy crap, did he just appear on the child’s live stream!?
How many viewers were watching just now??
He couldn’t help but glance at Ye Xun. Seeing he wasn’t holding the small phone, only a slight bulge in his pants pocket with a metal protrusion, he felt relieved.
He wasn’t on camera.
Right, this child always broadcasts blindly, no video feed.
“Ah, I have something to discuss with the old—”
Liu Zhen’s smile widened.
But a cold voice interrupted him.
“Let’s talk in the study.”
Li Yun didn’t spare Ye Susu another glance, suppressing the disgust on his face with extreme restraint and quickly turning to go upstairs.
Looking at her for one more second, he feared he wouldn’t be able to control himself.
Every moment, he wanted to take Ye Xun away directly and sever all ties with this woman.
If it weren’t for her ID card opening the live stream account, the child couldn’t have successfully registered on the platform, couldn’t have the qualification to stream.
No matter how sweetly she speaks in front of the camera, it’s all a performance. No matter how she coaches the child to earn money on camera, it’s unbearable and disgusting to him.
This woman was even worse than the investigation report indicated!
Li Yun forced down his anger. Only when Liu Zhen followed into the study did the storm in his dark eyes erupt in full force. “Close the door!”
Liu Zhen trembled.
Li Yun set the Pretty Girl’ live stream room as a favorite before speaking with suppressed anger. “Change the rules for this room. No one else can enter.”
As he spoke, he tossed his phone onto the desk.
“The room—only grant entry access to me.”
Liu Zhen opened his mouth, then quickly nodded.
“Understood.”
…
Downstairs, Ye Susu blinked in disbelief, raising her watery eyes toward the second floor.
Catnip, in a bad mood today?
He actually ignored her?
He’s got some nerve!
She hadn’t even sniffed him, hadn’t rubbed against him, and he’s throwing a tantrum?
Hmph, then she won’t pay him any attention either!
Ye Susu gave a light snort, glanced down at the little cub, and angrily changed into her slippers.
“Cub, come on, let’s go do your homework.”
“Okay.”
Back in the new home, the comfortable environment finally allowed little Ye Xun to relax.
No strange looks, no mocking or belittling voices, he felt much better.
But soon, he had a new worry.
Taking advantage of Ye Susu’s inattention, as soon as he returned to the room, he slipped into the bathroom, pretending to wash his hands, preparing to restart his live stream.
He had left the kindergarten’s WiFi range; it should have disconnected.
Had all the uncles and aunties left?
He bit his little lip, a bit anxious, yet somewhat relieved.
He didn’t want the online uncles and aunties to know about him not having a father.
He was a special child.
He… wanted to hide it.
But Ye Xun, looking down, soon noticed his live stream seemed to have received a lot more tips.
Looking closely, he saw today’s tips had actually exceeded 61,990 gold coins.
The backend showed his current withdrawable amount was 1,239 yuan.
“Ah…”
Ye Xun’s little mouth opened in surprise.
Walking out of the kindergarten earlier, he had been a bit hurried and hadn’t looked carefully at the live stream room.
Did the uncles and aunties really like watching his kindergarten drawing class?
“Cub, did you fall into the toilet?”
Ye Susu suddenly called from outside the door.
Ye Xun hurriedly answered, “N-no…”
He nervously looked at the screen again.
The live stream timer seemed to be changing. He couldn’t read the clock yet, but it seemed to indicate a successful connection and that he was live streaming again.
Ye Xun sighed in relief.
He was about to put the phone back in his pants pocket and then hide it in his small backpack outside, but the next second, his eyes widened.
The number in the upper right corner of the screen suddenly dropped from 794 to 1.
The scrolling text from moments ago was gone.
Panicked, he reached out his little hand to touch the phone screen.
What happened?
That number should be the count of uncles and aunties watching online. He had written it down and asked Auntie Ningmeng about it.
There were over 700 uncles and aunties just now. How did it become 1 now?
Ye Xun’s little hands trembled.
The uncles and aunties all left?
Why?
Because he disconnected and wasn’t live streaming along the way?
Or because they didn’t like him anymore?
How did the uncles and aunties all suddenly disappear?
The little guy’s face immediately paled. Holding the phone in the bathroom, he anxiously paced in circles.
Was the phone broken? He had kept it in his pants pocket. Had it gotten crushed just now?
“Cub? Are you constipated?”
Ye Susu asked another question.
Ye Xun’s face flushed red. “No… I’m, I’m coming out now.”
He hurriedly pressed his little fingers, trying to exit the live stream, then followed the morning’s procedure to start the live stream again… but the viewer count was still 1.
The uncles and aunties had really all left…
His shoulders instantly slumped, and he walked out of the bathroom listlessly.
Seeing him come out in low spirits, Ye Susu’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately reached out to feel his little belly.
The tips of Ye Xun’s ears turned red.
“Stomach ache?”
Ye Susu truly regretted not having better communication with the mother cats back then.
Ye Xun puffed out his cheeks and shook his head.
“Then let’s do the kindergarten homework first?”
Ye Susu glanced at her updated task list after picking up the child.
[Task 2: Help the cub complete one kindergarten homework assignment and receive a teacher evaluation: Good.]
[Good Evaluation: Teacher awards the child a small red flower.]
[Task Reward (Parenting Point 1) will be issued upon receiving the small red flower.]
[Task Time Limit: 24 hours.]
[Countdown begins.]
Headache, headache.
Nowadays, the sight of a countdown instinctively made Ye Susu want her fur to bristle.
But she had to maintain the elegance of a great cat in front of the cub. So difficult.
Thinking about her 99 lifetimes, she never knew what homework was. She felt a little apprehensive.
Ye Susu braced herself seriously.
Seeing her solemn expression, Ye Xun had no choice but to temporarily set aside the matter of the live stream uncles and aunties.
However, remembering today’s homework, his little face soon fell again.
Still, he tried to raise his head, the tuft of hair on his head sticking up.
“I can do it myself.”
Meaning, Mommy doesn’t need to help.
Hearing this, Ye Susu grinned. That answer was music to her ears.
The cub was growing up, already learning to do homework by himself. So, heartening.
But—
“No.”
“Mommy needs to help.”
Ye Xun was taken aback.
Next door, in the study, Li Yun, who was already playing the ‘Pretty Girl’ live stream on his computer screen, gripped his pen so hard the veins on his slender hand bulged. Hearing Ye Susu’s words, his expression turned even uglier.
This woman had no idea about hands-off education, fostering a child’s independence from a young age.
She didn’t manage what she should and meddled where she shouldn’t.
This was clearly a deliberate act for the live stream.
Li Yun’s anger burned.
The next moment, he heard the child’s low, hesitant, and timid voice from the computer.
“The teacher said… today… um… make a toy ourselves, bring it to kindergarten to share with everyone.”
Li Yun paused.
A hands-on craft assignment?
That was a parent-child interactive activity.
He quickly opened a webpage, searched for ‘handmade toys.’
Before seeing the results, Ye Susu’s voice from the computer spoke again.
“Toys? I can do that!”
Li Yun’s mouse-clicking hand paused. He immediately shifted his gaze to the live stream window.
“Let me think… cub… yesterday’s cardboard box, hmm… if too many cubs play with it, it’ll break quickly…”
Hearing this, Li Yun couldn’t help but recall the bizarre scene from yesterday’s hallway where she was frantically scratching the cardboard box and frowned deeply.
Unbearable to watch.
“Ah, then let’s do this! Another stress-relief tool…”
Li Yun stared at the black screen, listening to this unreliable, cute voice, feeling irritable inside.
He couldn’t see what she was doing, but a bad premonition lingered.
Thinking this, he scrolled the webpage, found a paper-folding little dinosaur tutorial page, opened a drawer, took out a stack of pristine A4 paper, and studied the instructions.
…
By dinnertime.
Li Yun reached up to massage his stiff neck, looked up, and finally gathered the 178th proud little dinosaur that could stand on its own, neatly arranging them on one side of the desk.
Inspecting them like an army, he solemnly picked out the most robust and majestic one, nodded, and his expression finally eased.
Finished.
He stood up, meticulously unbuttoned his shirt cuffs, took a casual jacket from the hanger, and attempted a kind smile, ready to knock on the next-door room.
However, before he could touch it, the door automatically opened.
Ye Susu happened to step out, a radiant smile on her face, as if she had just been laughing heartily.
But seeing him, Ye Susu’s smile instantly vanished. “Mr. Li, what can I do for you?”
Ignoring her earlier, now he could wish to reach her level.
Hmph.
Li Yun also had little patience to communicate with her. His thin lips tightened before he spoke. “Due to work, a colleague happened to give me a small toy. This is for the child to play with.”
As he spoke, his indifferent gaze passed over her, looking for the child’s figure inside the room.
However, clattering sounds came from inside.
At a glance, he saw little Ye Xun in the middle of the room. He saw the little guy turn his head at the sound, his grape-black eyes sparkling with little stars, his little face flushed, the hair on his forehead slightly damp, as if he had just been active.
“Wow, baby, you knocked down three bottles. Meow-meow brand sweater bowling, you’re one point ahead of me now!”
Ye Susu’s cheers rang out.
Ye Xun’s little face flushed, but immediately, his small eyes sparkled even brighter. He lowered his head, but the corners of his little mouth subtly lifted, an uncharacteristic small pride he couldn’t quite hide.
Li Yun looked over and quickly saw three empty mineral water bottles toppled on the floor inside the room, and a piece of yarn wrapped around Ye Xun’s finger… dragging a round yarn ball…
“What is this? Is it for a dog?”
After praising the little one, Ye Susu turned and saw the paper dinosaur in his hand, commenting without hesitation.
“Oh my, so ugly.”
Li Yun: “!!!”
That’s a dinosaur!
…
As dusk approached, the sky gradually darkened, the night thickening.
Many pedestrians hurried on the streets toward subway and bus stations.
But some, at the crossroads, facing the closed doors of Meow-Meow Private Kitchen, voiced their soul-searching questions.
“It’s 6:30 PM already, and it’s still not open for business?”
“Ah, where’s the living, breathing boss lady?”
“What’s going on? I’m relying on the boss’s porridge to survive this overtime shift!”
“Huh? You guys weren’t kidding, right? There really is a cute girl running a shop? Where’s the girl? Where’s the shop? As promised!”
That night, a certain man delved into handicrafts until late, exhausting the A4 paper at home.
**