Cen Zheping’s agency immediately issued a statement explaining that every child has a different personality. Cen Yuankai was just trying to make friends in his own way, and he didn’t cause any actual harm to Su Youli. Taking advantage of the publicity, they also promoted Cen Zheping’s new drama, which was set to air at the end of the month.
If the agency hadn’t released that statement, it might have been fine. But as soon as it came out, netizens couldn’t stay calm anymore. Good children’s variety shows are rare anyway. The production team’s previous few shows had won awards, so the audience had high expectations for them. The reactions to the four families in the pilot episode had been pretty good too, so no one expected something like this to happen when they actually got together to film.
[Who is this response trying to fool? Even I, a bystander, find it disgusting.]
[What do you mean by “different personalities”? There isn’t a single apology in the entire article.]
[I’m really speechless. How is Cen Zheping raising his child?]
[If you can’t clarify properly, then don’t clarify. I used to think Cen Zheping was okay, but now that filter is completely shattered…]
Cen Zheping, sitting in front of the screen, had a dark expression as he watched that clarification article trend on the hot search again. He had just spent a significant amount of money a few hours ago to take down the previous hot search, which had already been a heavy blow to his wallet. But now, it was trending again. He racked his brains but couldn’t think of a better solution. He felt like his head was about to explode.
“Honey, have some water and take a rest.” Fang Qin leaned against him, her voice sweet and cloying.
Cen Zheping didn’t have time for romance right now. He reached out and pushed her away. He checked the time. It was already 10 p.m.
“Is Kai Kai asleep?” he asked with a headache.
Fang Qin had been very aware of her role as a stepmother since the day she married Cen Zheping. Her goal was clear. Cen Yuankai was only five years old, an age when he needed companionship. Even though she wasn’t his biological mother, she thought she could just coax him a bit. Children, after all, grow attached to whoever spends the most time with them.
But she had overestimated her own abilities and also overestimated Cen Yuankai’s acceptance of her as his stepmother. The Cen family had a single male heir for four generations. Cen Yuankai was the family’s only great-grandson. He was treated like a gold nugget, spoiled beyond belief. He looked down on Fang Qin, his stepmother.
Fang Qin felt a lump in her throat. She had just been chased out of Cen Yuankai’s room and hadn’t even had the chance to put him to sleep. Cen Zheping frowned, feeling a bit irritable. Looking at the beautiful woman standing there at a loss, unable to help him at all, he felt annoyed for the first time.
“Forget it. You go to bed first.”
Fang Qin twisted her hands and walked over, mumbling quietly that he hadn’t slept with her in a long time. Rage shot to his head. Cen Zheping slammed his hand on the table with a “bang,” his neck turning red as he yelled, “Can’t you ever think about anything other than that? Can’t you see I’m busy? I ask you to look after one child, and you can’t even do that right.”
Fang Qin’s eyes reddened. She looked at him in disbelief. “…Honey, how can you say that to me?”
Men, when they’re infatuated with you, will do anything you say. But that passion fades with time. Before, whether on screen or in private, Cen Zheping had always been an elegant and gentle man. Now, after appearing on a reality show, his mask of pretense was being torn off layer by layer.
The woman in front of him was crying like a pear blossom in the rain. Cen Zheping used to fall for that act every time. Fang Qin was also a woman who knew how to use her advantages well; one look from her could drive Cen Zheping crazy. But at this moment, her appearance only left him feeling weary and regretful.
“Was I wrong? What can you even do? I ask you to watch a child, and you can’t even do that properly.”
Suddenly faced with his change in attitude, Fang Qin also yelled back, “How can you blame me? You know how difficult Kai Kai is to handle!”
Unable to stand hearing anyone say anything bad about his son, Cen Zheping let out a cold laugh and stood up, pressing closer step by step: “Is he difficult to handle, or did you simply not put your heart into it?”
Although his son was a bit mischievous, when the previous nannies looked after him, Kai Kai had never been this resistant. Fang Qin never expected him to shift all the blame onto her. Where was the gentle man he used to be when they first got together?
“Cen Zheping, I gave up my own biological son to become Kai Kai’s stepmother, and now you’re saying this to me?”
Cen Zheping just laughed coldly, his eyes fixed on her. “A woman who would abandon her own son, and I actually expected you to raise Kai Kai well. Kai Kai was so well-behaved before when his mother and I weren’t divorced yet. I think you’ve corrupted him.”
“Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to interfere with Kai Kai’s affairs!”
Having found an outlet for his emotions, Cen Zheping couldn’t even be bothered to pretend anymore. He pointed to the door and told Fang Qin to get out. Fang Qin was stung by his words. As she reached the door, her face felt cold. She raised her hand and wiped away a handful of tears.She never expected that the man she had given up everything for would treat her like this.
Regret. Endless regret.
She dragged her feet towards her room. Uncontrollably, scenes flashed through her mind of her ex-husband, Pei Ye, doting on her, and also of her own biological son, whom she had abandoned at a full-time kindergarten.
…
The next morning, Cen Zheping indeed hired two nannies to take care of Cen Yuankai. At the dining table, Cen Yuankai sat obediently in his high chair, letting one of the nannies feed him. He was so cooperative – a treatment Fang Qin had never experienced. She took a deep breath, gripping her knife and fork so hard her nails almost dug into her flesh.
Cen Yuankai really disliked her. Seeing her angry made him happy, so he was obedient all day and didn’t throw any tantrums. Over the next week, Fang Qin rarely saw Cen Zheping and had no idea about his daily schedule or plans. Although she was Cen Zheping’s wife, she had no say whatsoever in the Cen household. All the servants in the Cen family only listened to Cen Zheping and Cen Yuankai.
They looked down on this woman who had abandoned her own son to desperately become a stepmother. Five days after the first episode of “Little Feet Big Adventure” aired, the official announcement suddenly stated that Cen Zheping and his son would not participate in the subsequent filming. Only then did netizens stop criticizing the production team, and the topic of conversation shifted to guessing who the new guest would be.
—
Since appearing on the variety show, Shen Yan could clearly feel that the little guy had become closer to him. When Shen Yan went out to film, the little guy would use Brother Xiao Tang’s phone to call him, asking in his adorable, milky voice, “When will you get off work, Big Brother?”
Shen Yan had already finished work for the day and was sitting in the makeup room removing his makeup. His phone was propped up in front of him; it was a video call. On the screen, the little guy’s eyes were wide, his small hands holding the phone, his chubby cheeks squished against the screen.
“Big Brother, Youyou wants to eat a little rabbit cake.”
The little rabbit cake was something Shen Yan had bought two days ago when he passed by a trendy cake shop on his way home from work. The cake’s appearance was very cute and had won the little guy’s heart.
“Okay, but you have to eat it after dinner.”
“Mm-hmm, Youyou knows!”
Suddenly, there was a knock on the room’s door. Xiao Gao, the assistant sitting on the sofa, got up to open it, feeling a bit puzzled. This makeup room was for Shen Yan’s exclusive use. Everyone from the film crew had finished work for the day. Who would be knocking?
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