Chapter 21 Part 3

Smiling gently, she turned to Liang Tianyi and said, “Xiaoyi, don’t rush. We have plenty of time. Just paint slowly, like daily practice.”

Liang Tianyi nodded. “Okay, Mom, I’ll stay calm.”

Seeing this, the live-stream viewers praised her again.

[Shen Linyan is such a relaxed mother. She doesn’t pressure her child like other parents.]

[So gentle. It must be wonderful to have a mom like her.]

[Shen Linyan is confident because she has skill. Look at the person next to her, still not drawing after half an hour. Looks like she gave up.]

The audience knew who they were referring to. Although Shen Qingqing’s fans felt the comment was unfair, they couldn’t refute it.

After all, half an hour had passed, and Shen Qingqing and Zhou Jiayan hadn’t started.

Just as everyone was puzzled, Shen Qingqing finally moved. She turned to Zhou Jiayan and whispered, “What’s the most popular cartoon among kids right now? Besides Ultraman.”

Zhou Jiayan was about to blurt out “Ultraman” when she stopped him. He pouted, looking unhappy, but still thought seriously about the question.

After about a minute, he answered hesitantly, “Peppa Pig? A lot of kids in my kindergarten love it. Their bags and shoes all have Peppa Pig designs. But I don’t like it—too childish.”

Then he added, “Ultraman is the best! But if not, Monkey King is cool too.”

Shen Qingqing sighed. Why did he have to criticize while answering?

She pinched Zhou Jiayan’s little face, then pulled out her phone to search for “Peppa Pig.” When she saw the images, her eyes lit up.

This is perfect! The design is simple—just right for them.

At the same time, Zhou Yexuan, who had rushed overnight to “Zhuangyuan Town,” finally arrived at the town’s entrance.

The mayor of Zhuangyuan Town was already waiting.

First, a national variety show came to film here, and now, a major businessman had suddenly arrived. The mayor couldn’t help but wonder—was Zhuangyuan Town about to make a name for itself internationally?

Thinking about this, he smiled and said to Zhou Yexuan, “Mr. Zhou, it’s an honor to have you here in Zhuangyuan Town. Would you like to rest first or go sightseeing? I can show you around.”

Before Zhou Yexuan could answer, his assistant, Ma Li, explained, “Our CEO Zhou’s wife and child are currently filming for Almighty Mom here. CEO Zhou hasn’t seen them in two months and happened to be on vacation, so he decided to visit them. Mayor, do you know where the recording is taking place?”

The mayor suddenly understood—Zhou Yexuan was here to visit his family. He hadn’t expected such a powerful businessman to be such a devoted husband and father! On top of that, Zhou Yexuan was young and handsome—a real role model for men.

For a moment, he admired Zhou Yexuan even more.

Since the filming had been reported in advance, the mayor was aware of it. He nodded and said, “They’re recording at the Cultural Center. If you don’t mind, Mr. Zhou, I can take you there.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yexuan finally felt at ease. He had arrived just in time.

Smiling warmly, he said, “Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate it.”

_

Shen Qingqing skimmed through the plot summary and character introductions of Peppa Pig and quickly got a general idea.

She lowered her head, showing her phone screen to Zhou Jiayan. “See? Today, we’re drawing Peppa Pig’s family. Since you’re a boy, you can only be Peppa’s brother, George.”

With that, Shen Qingqing picked up a pencil and began sketching on the drawing paper.

Zhou Jiayan was stunned for a moment. Though he didn’t fully understand his stepmother’s reasoning, he obediently joined in and started drawing.

The live broadcast audience was confused.

[What are they doing? Weren’t they supposed to draw the town, the river, and themselves? Why are they drawing cartoons?]

[Isn’t Peppa Pig for little kids? The style is too childish.]

[Are they giving up and just submitting a random sketch?]

[At least it’s better than turning in a blank sheet.]

However, some viewers quickly guessed Shen Qingqing’s strategy.

[Did you notice that there are a lot of kids among the judges? I bet Shen Qingqing is trying to win their votes.]

[Yeah, kids love Peppa Pig these days.]

But not everyone was convinced.

[Don’t give Shen Qingqing too much credit.]

[You think kids will vote for her just because she drew a cartoon?]

[Even if they do, would their votes match the contest’s theme?]

While people debated online, Shen Qingqing and Zhou Jiayan kept working on their “masterpiece.”

Although Peppa Pig’s art style was simple, neither of them had strong drawing skills. Even making an oval head look round was a challenge.

After some revisions, they finally completed the line drawing and moved on to coloring.

Shen Qingqing squeezed paint onto the palette and said, “The pig’s skin is pink. Since we’re both wearing yellow today, paint my dress yellow. For your outfit, also use yellow, and we’ll add some monster patterns. You know what colors the house, trees, and river should be, right?”

Zhou Jiayan nodded, indicating he understood.

The mother and son then divided the work and started coloring. Coloring was much more enjoyable than sketching, and Shen Qingqing began to find it quite fun. She even thought that once the variety show was over, she could take up drawing as a hobby during her travels—it sounded relaxing.

Since their drawing style was simple, they finished much faster than Shen Linyan and the others. With time to spare, Shen Qingqing started slacking off again.

She turned to look at Zhou Jiayan, who was seriously coloring the sky. His eyelashes curled upwards, and his little face looked soft and smooth, like a peeled egg under the sun.

You know what? This serious expression is kind of adorable.

Thinking this, Shen Qingqing playfully reached out to pinch the child’s cheek. But just as she did, Zhou Jiayan happened to lift his paintbrush, and the paint-covered tip poked directly into her arm. A long streak of blue appeared on her sleeve.

Shen Qingqing’s face darkened immediately. She was sure Zhou Jiayan had done it on purpose to get back at her for kissing him in the morning. How else could such a coincidence happen?

At that moment, Zhou Jiayan also realized he had accidentally smeared paint on her. His eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly said, “I didn’t mean to…”

But Shen Qingqing didn’t care whether it was intentional or not. She just wanted to get even. Acting swiftly, she grabbed a paintbrush and painted a red streak across Zhou Jiayan’s face, making him look like a little cat.

Zhou Jiayan was stunned. He never expected his stepmother to attack without warning. He had even tried to explain!

Furious, he decided there was no point in arguing anymore. He picked up his paintbrush and started poking her back with it.

However, since he was still small with short arms and legs, he was no match for Shen Qingqing. In the end, he ended up with way more paint on himself than she did.

Despite their playful fight, they were still in a competition, so they made sure not to ruin their actual painting.

The live audience was dumbfounded.

[Can someone explain how it turned into this?]

[Zhou Jiayan may have started it, but I don’t think he meant to. Is Shen Qingqing three years old or what? She’s actually fighting back against a kid.]

[I doubt she’s even three years old. Otherwise, she wouldn’t do something as ridiculous as fighting back like this.]

[I can’t help but laugh. Both of them are a mess now. The matching mother-and-child outfits they changed into this morning are completely ruined before the afternoon.]

Xu Xiang noticed the chaos caused by Shen Qingqing. While he was thrilled that this scene would make for great content on the show, he also found it hard to watch. Once he felt that enough footage had been captured, he signaled the staff to step in and persuade the two to make peace.

The mother and son poked at each other for half a minute before realizing that continuing would only cause more harm. After some coaxing from the staff, they reluctantly put down their brushes.

Once they stopped, Zhou Jiayan noticed that his clothes and face were covered in paint, making him look absolutely miserable.

The child, who had a strong sense of pride, couldn’t hold back any longer. He shouted at Shen Qingqing, “I’m still a kid, and you’re already an adult! Why can’t you just give in to me a little?!”

Zhou Jiayan’s crying tugged at the heartstrings of the audience watching the live broadcast.

[Shen Qingqing, you’re his mother! Hurry up and apologize to Yanyan and comfort him.]

[Yeah! How can an adult argue with a five-year-old?]

[Zhou Jiayan is crying, and it’s heartbreaking! Even I, as an online ‘cloud mom’ ^[1]a term for people who feel maternal towards children they see online., feel bad for her.]

Most adults would choose to step back when a child cries like this. But Shen Qingqing wasn’t like most adults.

To her, Zhou Jiayan wasn’t just an innocent child who didn’t know better, and she didn’t see herself as someone who had to guide him. Besides, she was also covered in paint—her situation wasn’t much better! Zhou Jiayan started it first, so why was she the one being blamed for not backing down just because she was an adult?

And why was Zhou Jiayan crying? Come on, she’s a girl! Shen Qingqing never saw crying as something shameful. In fact, she believed tears were often a woman’s greatest weapon.

She looked at Zhou Jiayan, pouted, and suddenly started crying as well. “This is my first time being your mother too! Why should I give in to you?!”

Everyone was instantly dumbfounded. How could a mother, who looked so mature, say something like that?

Zhou Jiayan stopped crying and stared at her, his mouth slightly open, completely shocked by her words.

Truthfully, he hadn’t actually wanted to cry. He just knew that a child’s tears were the best way to get what they wanted from adults. After all, in front of the camera, crying had worked for him before. He had even realized that “crying” wasn’t something that made him any less of a man.

But now, he wanted to “win” against his stepmother. He remembered that when he got upset and sad last night, she had apologized to him. If he cried again, wouldn’t she have to bow to him this time too?

Yet, he never expected his stepmother to turn the tables and cry as well. And her words—he couldn’t quite wrap his little head around them!

Just as Shen Qingqing and Zhou Jiayan were staring at each other, a commotion erupted at the entrance of the studio.

They turned to look and saw a middle-aged man leading a group of men dressed in black suits into the studio.

The man in front had sharp eyebrows, deep-set eyes, striking features, and a tall, imposing figure. His presence alone was so powerful that people instinctively felt the urge to step aside.

When Shen Qingqing got a clear look at his face, she was stunned. Was this her so-called husband, Zhou Yexuan?!

Why had he suddenly shown up?!