Chapter 8

The next morning at nine o’clock, the “Super Mom” live broadcast room started on time.

Today, the guests will be traveling to an ancient town in Linshi that hasn’t been fully developed yet to record the show.

At 9:30, amid the audience’s excitement, all the mothers and children from the “Super Mom” program finally gathered together.

Shen Mingyou finally met Gu Aifei. This was the first time they had seen each other again after five years. Even though Shen Mingyou didn’t pay much attention to Gu Aifei when they were in the crew five years ago, and they weren’t close, they still followed social etiquette.

Gu Aifei took the initiative to hug Shen Mingyou. “Mingyou, it’s been a long time.”

“Long time no see.” Shen Mingyou smiled. She didn’t have any strong opinions about Gu Aifei, the heroine in the book. As long as Gu Aifei continued as the heroine of her novel, they just had to stay out of each other’s way.

After a brief greeting, Gu Aifei squatted down and looked Nian Nian in the eye. Smiling warmly, she extended her hand in a friendly manner and said, “Hello, Nian Nian, I’m a good friend of your mother. You can call me Aunt Gu.”

Nian Nian didn’t say anything but politely reached out her little hand to shake Aunt Gu’s hand.

At that moment, some images flashed through Gu Aifei’s mind: Jiang Nian Nian would suffer from severe autism at four years old, be trapped by it for the rest of her life, and make no career achievements…

Autism, it turns out.

Gu Aifei sighed inwardly, feeling sorry. Yesterday, a netizen posted a video of Nian Nian reassembling a camera. The video went viral, getting tens of millions of hits. Gu Aifei saw it too and, like many, thought Nian Nian might be a little genius. Today, she couldn’t wait to shake Nian Nian’s hand to see how impressive her future would be. But after seeing this, it was disappointing.

What a pity.

The brief flicker of sympathy in Gu Aifei’s eyes didn’t escape Shen Mingyou’s notice.

Of course, Shen Mingyou knew Gu Aifei had a special ability – by shaking hands, she could see a person’s future. This incredible skill had given Gu Aifei excellent connections and resources in the entertainment world, a highlight in the original novel.

By shaking hands with Nian Nian, she must have seen Nian Nian’s future, and because the book portrayed Nian Nian as ending up with autism, Gu Aifei had shown pity.

But this time, both Nian Nian and Shen Mingyou’s futures were in their own hands – no need for anyone’s pity.

_

Live Comments:

– [The moms and kids are all gathered together, I wonder what kind of fun will come out of this trip?]

– [Did you see that? Jiang Xu is secretly glancing at Nian Nian, but Nian Nian just ignores him, haha. He looks so wronged!]

– [Zhao Yiyang is such a sweet, caring boy. He’s taking care of his younger siblings.]

– [The twins are social butterflies, especially the youngest, Zi Ai, calling out to everyone with his baby voice. So cute!]

When the show started, the popularity of Shen Mingyou’s live stream dipped a little, but it was still on par with Gu Aifei’s.

With more people, naturally, there were more critics.

In this small social setting, Nian Nian was clearly not very sociable. When adults greeted her, she would nod, which was at least polite. But when kids greeted her, she would just look at them with wide eyes, neither smiling nor speaking. Even Jiang Xu, the boldest of the five children, didn’t dare approach her.

As a result, the other kids quickly started playing together, leaving Nian Nian sitting next to her mother, quietly playing with a 4×4 Rubik’s Cube.

_

More Comments:

– [Nian Nian really isn’t sociable, is she?]

– [So what if she’s a little genius? She can’t even fit into basic social situations.]

– [To me, Nian Nian seems like a kid who lacks emotion. She’s cold even with her mom.]

– [Raising a daughter is supposed to be a sweet experience, but Shen Mingyou must be missing out with a child like Nian Nian.]

– [What’s up with the live chat today? Why are so many people suddenly bashing Nian Nian?]

_

After everyone finished greeting each other, the chief director, Feng Jingze, came out and said, “For the first episode of “Super Mom”, we’ll be traveling to Qingshan Town in City Z, near City A. The guests will travel there using four different means of transportation. The first group to arrive will get a big advantage in the show, and the last group will be penalized.”

A staff member brought out a small box with the travel options for the guests to draw from. The options were: the program’s special car, taxi, high-speed rail, and green train.

Unfortunately, Shen Mingyou drew the green train.

The other kids cheered, glad they didn’t have to be last.

“Yeah, I got the special car! I’ll be first,” Jiang Xu said excitedly, pointing at the green train ticket in Nian Nian’s hand. “You have to take the last one!”

“How about this? I’ll switch with you and let you win first place, but you have to be my friend, okay?” Jiang Xu was curious about Nian Nian, the little sister who looked like a doll, but she didn’t seem interested in him.

Nian Nian shook her head, showing she didn’t want to switch.

Jiang Xu, not one to fear rejection, walked up to her, tugged her sleeve, and said persistently, “Switch, switch, switch with me.”

Nian Nian shook her head again, bluntly refusing the little brother’s request.

Fang Tang was amused by his son’s expression: “Jiang Xiao Xu, how can you be so silly? You insisted on giving your first place to sister, and now you’re upset that she doesn’t want it.”

“But sister doesn’t like me, and I want to be her friend.”

Shen Mingyou laughed too. “It’s not that sister doesn’t like you, she just really loves the green train. If you ask to switch, of course, she won’t agree.”

Nian Nian had never ridden a green train before, so when Jiang Xu tried to switch, she naturally refused.

“Oh, so that’s it.” Realizing sister didn’t dislike him, Jiang Xu felt better. He sat next to Nian Nian and began to share snacks.

[Nian Nian really doesn’t like Jiang Xu. He always sticks to her, but she won’t even look at him.]

[Maybe geniuses just don’t care about ordinary people.]

[Every child is different. Why criticize them?]

[Look at other kids. Zi Yu and Zi Ai helped their mom with makeup when it smudged. Zhao Yi Yang thoughtfully got things for his mom. Even Jiang Xu knew to pass snacks to his mother. Only Nian Nian doesn’t do anything.]

[That’s right. Yesterday it was hard to tell, but today all four families are on screen, and the difference is obvious. Nian Nian isn’t close to her mom.]

…

After gathering, the guests headed to Qingshan Town.

Shen Mingyou and Nian Nian arrived at the train station. The staff had already bought their tickets, but they spent too much time on the road. When they got to the platform, the train was about to leave.

As they were about to board, they saw a young mother on the stairs holding a baby in one hand and a luggage bag in the other. The bag had a hole, and things were falling all over. The mother was struggling to pick up the items.

“Nian Nian, wait here for mom,” Shen Mingyou quickly said to the nearby cameraman and director. “Please watch her for a moment.”

Shen Mingyou hurried over to help the mother down the stairs. She was worried the baby might slip and fall, so she rushed to assist without calling out to avoid startling her. After helping her, she picked up the scattered items.

In the live broadcast room, Shen Mingyou was suddenly offscreen, leaving only Nian Nian visible.

[What happened? Why did Shen Mingyou leave so suddenly?]

[The train’s about to leave, where is Shen Mingyou going?]

[What happened to the split-screen? Why isn’t Shen Mingyou’s screen showing?]

The director said, “Nian Nian, the train is about to go. Let’s board first. When mom comes back, we won’t miss the train.”

The director boarded the train, and the photographer filmed Nian Nian as she followed.

Netizens couldn’t see what was happening and began speculating, but then they saw Nian Nian enter the train. Two or three minutes later, the train doors closed.

Shen Mingyou hadn’t boarded yet.