Chapter 23: The Fallen Child Star (23) part 1

As Xu Ji was left speechless by Yao Rong’s sharp retort, Xu Yiyuan attempted to change the subject by engaging with the popular young actress Wen Qiu.

However, Xu Yiyuan’s attempt to smooth things over clearly failed. After a polite “Thank you for the compliment,” Wen Qiu firmly closed her mouth again.

To his credit, Xu Yiyuan’s emotional intelligence was indeed high. He immediately sensed the coldness beneath Wen Qiu’s polite response but felt satisfied with his handling of the situation, seeing no missteps in his approach.

In the end, he could only attribute the problem to Wen Qiu’s personality.

— This popular starlet really is as difficult to please as the rumors suggest!

The atmosphere in the room froze once again.

Everyone’s gaze unconsciously converged on Xu Ji, and the livestream camera remained firmly focused on him.

All were waiting for Xu Ji’s response.

After all, Yao Rong had just publicly stated that ‘Xu Ji had an extramarital affair’ without giving him any face. If Xu Ji didn’t respond directly, it would be tantamount to admitting to the affair in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Xu Ji took a deep breath, steadying himself.

“Yao Rong, you’ve misunderstood my relationship with Yiyuan’s mother. Many things aren’t as you imagine. We’ve been married for years—why should we meet like enemies?”

Xu Ji’s strategy was clear. He used ‘misunderstanding’ to blur the concept and adopted a humble attitude to highlight Yao Rong’s assertiveness.

Indeed, his retreat to advance achieved a good effect, with some comments quietly changing their tone.

[Yao Rong seems too aggressive]

[Taking advantage when you’re right, isn’t this going too far?]

However, Xu Ji was completely unaware of Yao Rong’s combat prowess.

“I fear many things are even more disgraceful than I imagined,” Yao Rong said calmly from behind Xu Weiheng. “Weiheng is your own son, and you can’t wait for him to be ruined. Moreover, you and I are already divorced.”

Xu Ji: “……”

When did Yao Rong become so eloquent?

Every sentence he spoke was subtly setting traps for Yao Rong. If it were an ordinary person, they might have been fooled long ago, but Yao Rong wasn’t playing by the rules!

He dug a pit, so what? She not only leveled it with one sentence but also managed to kick him into it!

This standoff couldn’t continue.

Xu Ji quickly adjusted his strategy.

“Let’s not dwell on those unpleasant things. You must all be tired from traveling all day. Come, come, quickly enter the house and put down your luggage. It’s too sunny outside,” Xu Ji said to Wen Qiu’s father.

Amusingly, upon hearing this, Wen Qiu’s father instinctively glanced at Yao Rong.

[Hahahaha, Wen Qiu’s father’s look]

[Wen Qiu’s father: I don’t dare move if Ms. Yao doesn’t move.]

[Wen Qiu’s father: I’m so afraid I’ll become the fish caught in the crossfire.]

The sun outside was indeed scorching, and there would be plenty of opportunities to make Xu Ji lose face. Yao Rong knew when to stop: “Let’s go in.”

Only after Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng started pulling their suitcases did Wen Qiu’s father and Wen Qiu follow them.

The villa selected by the production team was nestled between mountains and sea. In the distance, waves could be seen rolling in, while nearby it resembled a mountain countryside, with tomatoes turning from green to red and cucumbers growing vigorously, presenting a scene of impending harvest.

Passing through a cobblestone path, Yao Rong pushed open the door.

The villa was only three stories high. The first floor was the activity area, while the second and third floors were bedrooms, with four rooms on each floor, making a total of eight.

The previous two groups of guests had already chosen their rooms. Yao Rong let Wen Qiu and her father choose their rooms first, leaving the remaining two for her and Xu Weiheng.

Only after the rooms were allocated did the long-absent host quietly appear, inviting everyone to sit on the living room sofa.

Yao Rong and her son sat opposite Xu Ji and his son, separated by a long coffee table.

“Welcome everyone to our happy big family. I hope you all can spend a relaxing and memorable time together over the next few days.” After delivering a line that even he didn’t believe, the host finally got to the point and began to introduce the evening’s arrangements to everyone.

Today was the first day the guests had moved in, and the production team hadn’t planned anything too elaborate. They had simply prepared fresh seafood ingredients for the guests. All the guests needed to do was process the ingredients themselves, with the four younger guests ultimately cooking dinner for their parents.

“Seafood?” Xu Yiyuan exclaimed, “Seafood is my favorite.”

The host smiled and said, “I remember Yiyuan’s cooking skills aren’t very good.”

“That’s right, I only know how to eat,” Xu Yiyuan said somewhat ruefully. “But I’ll try my best not to hold everyone back.”

The fourth guest, Shi Qingqing, said, “I’ve been pinched by a crab before. There should be crabs among the ingredients, right?”

“Don’t worry, Sister Qingqing. I’ll take care of cleaning the crabs!” Xu Yiyuan guaranteed, patting his chest.

Wen Qiu was sitting next to Xu Weiheng. She turned her head and actively cued Xu Weiheng: “Weiheng, what dishes can you make?”

Xu Weiheng honestly replied, “I don’t know many.”

“That means you know some,” Wen Qiu was relieved. “It’s okay, don’t feel pressured.”

Wen Qiu leaned closer to Xu Weiheng and said quietly, “As long as you can ensure the seafood is cleaned properly and the dishes are cooked through, it’s a big victory.”

A slight smile appeared on Xu Weiheng’s face, and he lowered his voice to match Wen Qiu’s: “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Sister Wen Qiu, what are you two whispering about?” Xu Yiyuan asked curiously.

Wen Qiu looked at Xu Yiyuan: “I was asking Weiheng what dishes he can make.”

“Oh,” Xu Yiyuan said. “Then sister Wen Qiu, what can you make?”

Wen Qiu said coolly, “I can make poached shrimp. Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s go to the beach and see what ingredients the production team has prepared for us.”

The latter half of the sentence was directed at everyone, but her gaze was on Xu Weiheng.

Xu Weiheng responded with a nod and stood up.

Xu Yiyuan, left behind, watched this scene with some irritation.

From childhood to adulthood, whenever he and Xu Weiheng appeared together, he had always been the center of attention, while Xu Weiheng was always the one ostracized by the small group. But now, Wen Qiu, this popular young actress, was so cold towards him yet kept throwing conversation topics at Xu Weiheng.

Is it because he’s not as popular recently?

The entertainment industry is indeed a place where people fawn on the powerful and despise the weak.

Glancing at the camera beside him, Xu Yiyuan temporarily suppressed his anger and quickly caught up with the others.

Outside, the sun was setting, painting the sky with rosy clouds. The horizon where the sea met the sky had almost merged into one color.

Walking across the beach tinted red by the sunset clouds, Xu Weiheng arrived at the outdoor kitchen set up by the production team. He bent down to examine the ingredients laid out on the table.

“How about I make you a winter melon and sea snail soup?” Xu Weiheng asked Yao Rong.

He knew Yao Rong had a habit of drinking soup.

Yao Rong nodded: “Anything is fine.”

Xu Weiheng then asked Wen Qiu: “What do you like to eat, sister Wen Qiu? I’ll see if I know how to make it.”

Wen Qiu’s eyes brightened slightly, surprised she could choose her own dish. Without hesitation, she pointed at the mantis shrimp and said to Xu Weiheng, “Chef Xu, how about a dish of oil-braised mantis shrimp?”

Xu Weiheng assessed his skills and replied, “If it doesn’t turn out well, please don’t be too harsh.”

“Of course not,” Wen Qiu said, rolling up her sleeves. “I’ll help you out.”

As Xu Weiheng and Wen Qiu began their preparations, Xu Yiyuan was also busy. He had promised to clean the crabs for Shi Qingqing.

The ingredients provided by the production team were bought directly from local fishermen, freshly caught that day. The crabs were lively and aggressive, their claws waving wildly. When Xu Yiyuan picked up a crab, he was startled by its fierce appearance and let out a loud yelp. Later, a crab pinched his hand hard. If he hadn’t been wearing plastic gloves, his hand might have been cut.

Xu Yiyuan’s antics provided more entertainment than the other three contestants combined.

By the time Xu Yiyuan finally finished cleaning the crabs, Xu Weiheng had already completed his winter melon soup and mantis shrimp dish. Wen Qiu’s boiled shrimp was cooking, and even Shi Qingqing was in the process of braising her fish. Seeing this, Xu Yiyuan hurriedly rushed to the stove.

Xu Weiheng glanced at Xu Yiyuan and moved his finished soup, freeing up one of the stoves. The production team had only provided four stoves, and Xu Weiheng had been using two for his soup and stir-fry dishes.

However, either Xu Yiyuan didn’t notice or chose to ignore the free stove. He stood next to Shi Qingqing with his strainer, waiting for her to finish.

Wen Qiu couldn’t bear to watch and reminded him: “There’s an empty stove over there.”

“Oh?” Xu Yiyuan acted surprised. “Thank you for pointing that out, Sister Wen Qiu. I didn’t notice earlier. I’m sorry for wasting time.”

Wen Qiu frowned, feeling that there was something odd about Xu Yiyuan’s response. But as the water in her pot began to boil, she had to focus on adding the shrimp and couldn’t dwell on it.

“Your time wasn’t wasted because of me. You wasted it yourself,” Xu Weiheng suddenly spoke up.

He was wearing a SpongeBob apron and holding a spatula, but his expression was serious.

“Xu Yiyuan, I’m not the one holding things up. Don’t try to blame me every time.”

Xu Yiyuan, who was about to add oil to his pan, froze.

At that moment, Xu Yiyuan had the same thought as Xu Ji: This person doesn’t play by the usual rules!

[At first, I didn’t notice anything wrong with Xu Yiyuan’s words, but after hearing Xu Weiheng’s response, I realized I was naive. Xu Yiyuan was trying to set Xu Weiheng up.]

[That’s right. It was clearly Xu Yiyuan who wasted time cleaning the crabs, but the way he phrased it made it seem like Xu Weiheng had delayed him by occupying the stove.]

[I suddenly remembered that people used to always blame Xu Weiheng for holding things up, but was it really Xu Weiheng who was slow, or was it Xu Yiyuan’s words that made everyone think Xu Weiheng was slow?]

[Wow, it seems Xu Yiyuan is a habitual offender.]

“Xu Weiheng, don’t joke around. I didn’t mean to blame you. Are you perhaps too sensitive because you haven’t been resting well lately?” Xu Yiyuan tried to salvage the situation.

“I’ve been resting very well recently,” Xu Weiheng replied as he plated his dish and walked away.

Watching Xu Weiheng’s retreating figure, Xu Yiyuan gritted his teeth in anger. But with Wen Qiu and Shi Qingqing nearby, also finishing up their dishes, he had no choice but to quickly start cooking. Ten minutes later, he brought his finished dish to the table where everyone was already waiting.

Four dishes and a soup, along with Wen Qiu’s vegetable salad and Xu Weiheng’s cucumber salad and cold fish skin, made up their dinner for the night.

Looking around, four of the dishes on the table were made by Xu Weiheng.

Xu Weiheng served soup to the ladies and himself. Wen Qiu took a sip and her eyes brightened: “This tastes even better than I expected.”

“Indeed, I had no idea Weiheng had such culinary skills,” Shi Qingqing also expressed her approval.

“I’m glad you like it,” Xu Weiheng said. The joy of being praised somewhat alleviated the unpleasantness of dining with Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan, and he finally found some appetite.

However, his chopsticks never touched the crab dish.

After hastily finishing dinner, the host appeared and invited everyone to gather around the bonfire to announce the evening’s activity.

Tonight’s activity was called ‘Beach Party’, where parents and children would pair up to perform an act.

After explaining the rules, the host added, “We’ve prepared various instruments that might be needed. Feel free to ask for anything you need.”

Hearing this task, Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan were delighted.

Xu Yiyuan had participated in many outdoor variety shows and knew that these activities often followed similar patterns. Before coming to film the second episode, the father and son had anticipated this and prepared a performance, which they could now put to use.

However, Xu Yiyuan chose not to go first.

Without the other guests setting the stage, how could he and his father stand out?

In the end, Shi Qingqing volunteered to go first. She and her mother performed a beach dance, which was simple but lively.

Wen Qiu and her father decided on a rap performance, which was satisfactory.

Xu Yiyuan and Xu Ji exchanged a glance, and before Yao Rong could speak, Xu Yiyuan quickly said, “We’ll go third.”

Yao Rong swallowed her words and calmly said, “Then you go ahead.”

From the beginning, Yao Rong had noticed Xu Yiyuan’s excitement and could guess what he was planning. However, she wasn’t concerned about it.

If Xu Yiyuan had talents, that was his business.

Yao Rong never denied others’ strengths.

But in her eyes, Xu Weiheng didn’t need to compare himself to anyone.

She wanted him to participate in the show to be himself, so doing his best was enough.

She believed Xu Weiheng wouldn’t disappoint her.

Sure enough, as soon as Xu Yiyuan stood up, he asked the production team to bring him a piano. He and Xu Ji were both wearing dress shirts and slacks. The father and son sat at the piano, playing and singing together in the night breeze.

When the song ended, Xu Yiyuan didn’t forget to add into the microphone, “This song is one my dad taught me when I first started learning piano, so we have good chemistry in this area.”

After all, their performance was so in sync that the audience wasn’t stupid enough to believe it was their first time working together.

Xu Ji smiled and said, “It’s been so long since I’ve played, I’m a bit rusty.”

Yao Rong only needed one sentence to shut down their tactics.

By the bonfire, Yao Rong asked Xu Weiheng, “Weiheng, do you know how to play the piano?”

She had no objection to Xu Yiyuan and Xu Ji showcasing their talents.

But if they wanted to display their father-son relationship in front of Xu Weiheng, well, sorry, that wasn’t going to work.

Xu Weiheng shook his head honestly: “No, I don’t.”

Wen Qiu nearly choked on her milk.

Even the usually composed Shi Qingqing couldn’t help but cough lightly.

As for the viewers in the live stream, they had already started mocking.

[Oh my gas, at a time like this, these two are still showing off their father-son relationship?]

[Clowns who don’t even realize they’re clowns]

The host couldn’t help but interrupt Xu Yiyuan and Xu Ji, shifting the focus to Xu Weiheng and asking what their group would perform.

“I’d like to do a guitar performance with singing. I brought my own guitar,” Xu Weiheng said as he put on his guitar.

During the preparation time given by the production team, he had gone back to the villa to fetch his guitar.

This was a gift from Yao Rong when he had mentioned wanting to learn a skill to pass the time.

Wen Qiu asked curiously, “Which song will you two perform?”

Xu Weiheng lowered his eyes, his lashes as dense as crow feathers hiding the emotion in his eyes. The moonlight, starlight, and firelight converged on his face, illuminating the young man’s gradually maturing features.

Everyone could only hear his soft and slow voice.

“The ending theme of ‘2050 II’.”

As he finished speaking, Xu Weiheng began to strum the strings.

The night wind howled, the waves crashed, and a long, deep prelude echoed through the night sky.

Yao Rong clapped gently, joining in with her singing at the right moment.

🎶”Fighting against the injustice of fate”

“Fighting against the passage of time”

“Can you see the unyielding dance in the vast wilderness“🎶

‘2050 II’ was considered a terrible movie, but its ending theme became particularly popular. The duet version was praised as a ‘dialogue between the wise and the brave’. In the original version, the wise was a male voice and the brave a female voice. However, in Xu Weiheng and Yao Rong’s rendition, Yao Rong’s voice carried a gentleness settled by time, more like the wise, while Xu Weiheng’s voice was more firm and clear, like the forward-moving brave.

It must be said that because of this, their version gave people a refreshing feeling.

In terms of performance effect, Xu Weiheng’s group might not have been as good as Xu Yiyuan’s, but the emotion in the song couldn’t be faked.

Xu Weiheng had sung this song many times, but today was his best performance, with the most profound emotions.

When the song ended, Wen Qiu was the first to cheer: “That was amazing!”

Yao Rong also applauded Xu Weiheng.

She clapped particularly hard.

‘2050 II’ had brought Xu Weiheng too much pain and torment. When he told her he wanted to perform this song after the host announced the task, he was not only facing the fear brought by this work but also overcoming it.

At this moment, he was the brave in the song.

That’s why he could interpret the emotion of the song so perfectly.

Xu Weiheng stopped strumming and looked up, giving Yao Rong a bright smile.

The stars in the sky seemed to shine brighter for a moment.

[Even though Xu Weiheng sang the ending theme of ‘2050 II’, for a moment I felt like I was back in ‘2050’. This is exactly how I imagined the grown-up Star would look like.]

[Suddenly feeling emotional. When Star died in ‘2050’, it was a similar scene. He sat by the bonfire, smiling as he turned to ashes and became a star in the sky.]

[I’m crying. I definitely need to rewatch ‘2050’ after the livestream ends.]

Today’s recording ended shortly after Xu Weiheng’s group finished their performance. Viewers closed the livestream and began to be active on various social media platforms.

Many people dug up video clips from ‘2050’, while others edited together compilations of Xu Yiyuan’s ‘white lotus’ quotes from various variety shows.

Of course, most of the attention was focused on Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng, this mother-son pair.

No matter how noisy and lively the outside world was, it was temporarily unrelated to Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng.

Their excitement here was far from over.