Chapter 2: Yes, I Have a Son

“On screen, Yan Yueqing nimbly scaled the tree trunk like an agile monkey, reaching the middle section in no time.”

Her slender hands weaved through the sunlight and leaves, creating beautiful shadows that resembled a movie scene.

Moments later, she released her grip and leapt down, landing softly like a bouncing ball.”

Her actions were smooth and fluid, starkly contrasting her earlier clumsiness. She seemed like a different person!

Even Tang Tang, who deeply despised her, was impressed by her agile and graceful movements. She watched wide-eyed as Yan Yueqing approached her.

Yan Yueqing opened her hand, revealing a reddish fruit that was irresistibly tempting.

Tang Tang blinked her beautiful big eyes, clearly craving the fruits yet putting on a stony face. “What’s with you?! I already told you—”

“My being good to you has nothing to do with getting close to your father,” Yan Yueqing squatted down, tenderly addressing the little girl before her. “I simply want to be kind to you.”

The gentleness in her eyes momentarily stunned Tang Tang.

After a pause, she bit her lip. “You’re lying!”

Yan Yueqing smiled and honestly admitted, “I have a son who’s a few months older than you. He hasn’t been able to leave the hospital due to his illness… He wishes he could climb trees and pick fruits too, but sadly he can’t…”

The live audience immediately exploded!

[What the heck? Yan Yuequing has a kid?!!!]

[Whoa, I’ve stumbled upon some juicy gossip?!]

[A female star actually admits to having a child? Has she gone mad?]

[Bet it’s just another publicity stunt! Yan Yueqing’s always pulling something to stay relevant.]

Yan Yueqing was fully aware of the massive reaction her revelation on this Variety show would cause.

Yes, she had a son!

A child who had been hospitalized, seemingly for treatment, but who was actually being held captive.

Her family had been using the child to blackmail the original owner, forcing her to hand over every penny she earned, and even pushing her into a massive debt of 5 million yuan.

According to the original plot, this juicy piece of gossip would soon be exposed online! Even if her presence had changed the plot, the leaked photos had been taken long ago – some were even taken in the hospital, clearly the work of her family!

They must have prepared well in advance, just waiting for the right moment to drop this bomb.

By then, she would again be at a disadvantage.

Why hide such an adorable son?

Of course Yan Yueqing decided to take the initiative and reveal the truth first.

Tang Tang was completely surprised!

Seemingly not expecting Yan Yueqing to say such things?!

She had a son? She just wanted to be nice to her? It had nothing to do with getting close to her father?

Was she telling the truth?

Two tiny figures in her mind were engaged in a frantic debate between “believing her” and “not believing her.”

Those beautiful big eyes blinked with hesitation, eliciting a torrent of comments.

[Oh no! Red alert! The little princess is falling for Yan Yueqing’s BS!]

[Tang Tang, don’t listen to her nonsense! Using a child’s softness to gain trust? That’s low, even for her!]

[Damn, I can’t take it anymore. Where is this being filmed? I need to confront this woman! Not a single honest word comes out of her mouth.]

[ Please don’t believe her! When Yan Yueqing first debuted, she claimed to be the second young miss of the Yan family, the richest family in C City. But what happened? The Yan family immediately released a statement, telling her not to associate herself with them! This woman will say anything to become famous!]

Yan Yueqing handed the fruits to Tang Tang. “My precious son’s greatest joy in the hospital was watching your TV commercials. When he heard that I’d be on a show with you, he hoped to see more of our interactions.”

Tang Tang bit her lip. “So… you’re trying to get on my good side… not to get close to my dad? But to fulfill my little brother’s wish?”

“Yes.”

Yan Yueqing nodded. It was true that her son liked Tang Tang, but the main reason was that the original owner needed to make money!

The program team had arranged an extremely unlikable character setting for the guests, and almost no one was willing to take it. Only the original owner had agreed.

Tang Tang pondered for a moment before asking, “Really, no other motive?”

“Well, he does want your autograph,” Yan Yueqing replied sincerely.

Tang Tang pouted, her resolve weakening. “Okay, fine. I’ll let it slide this time, for the little brother.”

As she spoke, her eyes unconsciously fixed on the red fruit, obviously tempted.

Yan Yueqing chuckled lightly and gently peeled one open, offering the snowy flesh to her. “It’s sour and sweet – give it a taste.”

Tang Tang naturally accepted and took a bite of the plump fruit, immediately showing a satisfied, adorable expression.

[You gotta be kidding me. The little princess is really falling for this?!]

[Sucking up to other kids just so her son can get Tang Tang’s autograph? Yeah right! You guys don’t believe this setup, do you? It’s so fake!]

[Does she really have a son though? This is so sudden! I’ll say, Yan Yueqing might be a celebrity kiss-up, but at least she’s a hot young one!]

[True that. She’s not bad looking when she’s not acting crazy. Hard to picture her as a mom though.]

[Maybe she has a mother’s buff. The way she fed Tang Tang earlier seemed rather gentle…]

After finishing the fruit, the system prompt appeared:

[Tang Tang’s favorability: +5

Current favorability: -20]

A child’s favorability could rise just like that.

At this rate, Yan Yueqing suddenly felt hopeful about the future!

The mountain hike wasn’t long, and after reaching the summit and exchanging the pass card, they could get their dinner ingredients according to their ranking.

Yan Yueqing felt no pain from her earlier fall, but she became increasingly tired as they went on.

In the past, the ever-competitive Tang Tang would surely have complained about her dragging them behind. But today, perhaps bought off by the fruits, the girl didn’t utter a word.

Unsurprisingly, they were the last group to arrive at the destination.

The other celebrity guests and child stars had long been resting in the pavilion. Upon seeing Yan Yueqing and Tang Tang, their expressions turned rather complicated.

This kid-themed reality show they were on, titled ‘National Parent’, was an important new program that Stellar Media has been heavily promoting this year.

Different guests were paired with different adorable child stars and competed in weekly live broadcasts. Their behavior, interactions with the children, online popularity and other factors combined to determine the season’s “National Parent” winner.

It was an open secret that reality shows involved assigning personas.

To create a dramatic contrast, the producers had deliberately given Yan Yueqing the most unlikable role of “celebrity suck-up”.

But then, after accepting payment for this unsavory persona, Yan Yueqing shockingly revealed having a child of her own?!

Was she trying to redeem herself?

Or had she simply gone insane?

Such an outrageous move left everyone stunned and annoyed…

The program team was also furious!

Due to the live broadcast, they couldn’t confront Yan Yueqing right away, so they decided to secretly sabotage her instead.

After everyone had gathered, the village chief announced: “As the last team to arrive, this group would receive no dinner ingredients or tools to return down the mountain.”

This time, not only were the celebrity guests stunned, but even the viewers in the live stream was left dumbfounded.

[Wait, what? Just ’cause Yan Yueqing was slow, why punish our poor Tang Tang?!]

[Producers, if you dare starve our little princess, I’ll come for you tomorrow!]

[Being paired with Yan Yueqing is just bad luck! Not only did they get the worst house, now they won’t even have dinner!]

[That mountain may not be tall but going up and down is still several kilometers! I feel so bad for our baby Tang Tang.]

True to her role as the original female lead, Qin Youran immediately recognized this as an opportunity to boost favorability. Squatting down, she consulted with her child partner, “Hao Hao, Tang Tang doesn’t have anything to eat for dinner tonight. Why don’t we share half of our meal ingredients with her?”

Li Haohao blinked adorably, “Okay.”

Qin Youran took Li Haohao by the hand and purposely walked in front of the cameras, her gentle and gracious demeanor drawing attention. “Village Chief, our team would like to give half of our ingredients to Tang Tang.”