Back to Three Years Old: Crushing Scumbags on a Parenting Reality Show 155

Chapter 155

Shudian was a good place; the program team managed to fulfill most of the little babies’ wishes at this one location. Except for Wang Zhizhi, whose wish couldn’t be fully realized due to certain issues, now only the zoo, requested by the Cheng family on behalf of Cheng Tingyan, remained.

On the last day in Shudian, the babies’ journey west to rescue their fathers turned into a chaotic monster brawl, the guests, having completed the task early, got more time for their afternoon nap, then they would set off for the final location of “Where’s Baby Going” Season 3 – the Wild Animal Park.

Before the new location was revealed, many viewers had already guessed it. But they never expected that the program team would announce that the filming at the final location would only last for two days!

“I’m so angry I’m crying! Why only two days for the fourth location! Are you looking down on the Wild Animal Park!”

“The last location in the previous two seasons was also shorter, but it was still two and a half to three days, what’s going on this season! Are the sponsors not generous enough, or are we not diligent enough in clicking on the ads!”

“Is the program team going bankrupt! Can’t even afford a few more days at the Wild Animal Park! Tell us if you’re having difficulties, we’ll donate!”

“Right! We’ll donate! Let them camp at the Wild Animal Park! Don’t let them leave until they’ve stayed for ten days, eight days! Such a good place, just playing with one animal each day is enough for months, why rush!”

“Hahaha, everyone, calm down, actually, including today’s afternoon departure, it’s about the same length as the last location in the previous seasons. It’s always like this when you’re attached to a show, no matter how many days, it’ll never feel enough. Look at that person above, just two sentences, and it went from ten days, eight days, to a few months.”

“I truly want to keep watching, the little babies are so cute, I want to see them grow up day by day! Such a pity…”

“Raising babies in the cloud is truly joyful, especially watching the live broadcast, it’s much more immersive than the short edited versions, sob, sob, sob… Only two days left, I’m already starting to feel reluctant.”

“Crying, if the babies don’t pursue careers in the entertainment industry, we’ll probably rarely see them again, maybe just a few photos.”

“All good things must come to an end, drowning my sorrows in alcohol…”

“Cheer up, everyone, don’t give up yet, there are still two days left! We can still click on more ads for Yan Yan and CEO Mao, get them some money, so they can escape the Cheng family’s loan sharks. We can also scold Wang Qingchuan a few more times, make him reflect after the show, and stop bullying Zhizhi when we’re not watching! We still have so many things to do, don’t be discouraged!”

“That’s true, but thinking about there being only two days left… Sob, sob, sob!”

…

After their nap, when the host announced the details of the fourth location, the little babies looked at each other and huddled together. The children’s innocent sincerity was the most heartbreaking, the viewers in the live broadcast room wailed even louder.

The reluctance to part was saddening.

And the looming countdown was truly painful.

“Do you have all the hospital documents and copies of the IOUs from the Cheng family? Make sure there are no omissions.” Chen Sujuan said, turning to Liu Qiongfang as she organized the wrinkled, stacked documents. “Go and get your ID card, all your bank cards, and anything else you think might be helpful in getting Yan Yan’s custody, let’s go to the bank and get your transaction records, then go straight to the lawyer.”

“You just arrived today…” Liu Qiongfang said, sitting motionless in her wheelchair.

Chen Sujuan pointed at the phone playing the live broadcast. “This show will be over in two days, let’s hurry up and get everything sorted out, we’ll pick up Yan Yan as soon as the show ends.”

Liu Qiongfang said, trying to avoid it, “We can’t rush it, we still have to find a lawyer…”

“Yeye said she’s already contacted one, they’re available these two days, we can go anytime after we’re done packing.” Chen Sujuan said, after a while, not hearing a response, she frowned and looked up. “Yan Yan doesn’t want to live there anymore, you’re not still planning on leaving her there, are you?”

“Does it matter what I think? Didn’t you just threaten me, saying I have to listen to everything you say?” Liu Qiongfang asked, her mind in a mess, but she still instinctively retorted.

“… When did I ever say you have to listen to everything I say?” Chen Sujuan asked, after a pause, she shook her head. “Forget it, say whatever you want. Anyway, we have to take advantage of the current favorable public opinion and get Yan Yan’s custody back. This has to be done, cooperate, after we’re done with Yan Yan’s matter, I’ll take you to the provincial hospital for a checkup.”

Liu Qiongfang: “… “ This kind of mixed-blessing situation was truly annoying.

And with the announcement of the program team’s fourth location, she wasn’t the only one annoyed.

Two days, only two days left!

Jin Youliang, clutching his new phone, his eyes almost spitting fire as he watched the live broadcast.

Wasn’t the fourth location supposed to be three days? How did they lose a day for no reason!

Could it be… Jin Youliang thought of Shi Dingshan’s expression at the entrance of the air-raid shelter that day, when he said he would spend his entire fortune to investigate, gritting his teeth. Could he be serious, and even eager to do it!

Jin Youliang felt a chill, he switched away from the live broadcast and called the number he had saved on his USB drive.

Still… out of service area.

Unanswered calls, messages with no replies.

Even with the screenshots on his USB drive, if he couldn’t contact them, he couldn’t threaten them!

He couldn’t possibly take the blame for everything in the end, be seen as the mastermind!

He was also being threatened at the beginning!

Jin Youliang wouldn’t take the fall for others, even if he couldn’t find the owner of that number for now, there were still obvious beneficiaries.

The things that number asked him to do were all beneficial to Cheng Feiying and Cheng Rongrong, all aimed at harming Cheng Tingyan. The intention was so clear, what was the point of pretending to be a mysterious person?

Jin Youliang strongly suspected that person was Bai Lei, even if it wasn’t her, it must be someone related to her, to Cheng Feiying, or to Cheng Rongrong, someone who would benefit.

Thinking of this, Jin Youliang found Bai Lei’s WeChat contact and typed furiously.

[Hello, Mrs. Cheng, do you know the owner of this number? I have some things on a USB drive I want to share with them.]

It was a screenshot of his chat history with the mysterious person, Jin Youliang even carefully blurred two digits of the number. The content of the chat wasn’t anything important, he just wanted to find this person, he wasn’t trying to give them more evidence against him. Of course, he also mentioned the “USB drive” as a precaution, in case his new phone was also targeted.

He sent the screenshot, but there was no reply.

This time, Jin Youliang wasn’t as anxious, he had to give them some time to think, right?

Time was precious.

During the last two days of filming, the still-small babies deeply understood the meaning of this phrase.

On the night they arrived at the Wild Animal Park from Shudian, it was already dinner time, they ate at the hotel, visited each other’s rooms, then it was bedtime. Although they agreed to wake up early to play, thanks to the dads’ tacit indulgence from the exhaustion of the previous day’s journey, most of the babies slept in late.

Thankfully, the hotel was close to the animal park, the babies still had time to spend a wonderful day with the adorable animals.

On the bus, circling the park again and again, besides the little babies and their dads, it was also loaded with food for the animals. They got off the bus in the herbivore area, petting and touching the animals, then drove past the carnivore area, shouting and waving. They touched all the touchable animals, their clothes covered in hay, the lingering scent in their hair, it was all a beautiful memory of this journey.

It was a truly happy and fun day, if they hadn’t passed by the campsite inside the park before returning to the hotel in the evening.

A row of tents neatly arranged by the creek, with barbecues and stone stoves set up outside, from afar, they could see that many people were already preparing for dinner. Fences enclosed the tents and a large grassy area, where ponies, lambs, kittens, puppies, bunnies, and even a few alpacas were running around freely!

Who wouldn’t want to stay in a place where they could reach out and touch fluffy animals at night!

Most of the babies were mesmerized by the campsite.

Especially Wen Dongyu, he not only wanted to stay, but he also wanted to bring Wen Xixi to the grassy area to share the riches.

Of course…

It wasn’t possible.

Whether it was rejecting the soft and cuddly little babies or ignoring the viewers’ pleas in the live broadcast room, it wasn’t an easy thing to do. But Shi Dingshan, the stone-hearted one, still managed to drive everyone back to the hotel. He was lucky that none of these babies resorted to rolling on the ground, otherwise, it might not have ended so easily.

The little babies were disappointed, the viewers were confused, but Shi Dingshan couldn’t help it.

That campsite, the entire area, the program team had booked it in advance, for two nights! But who would have thought, after the two incidents in the bathroom and the air-raid shelter… It was nearing the end of the show, Shi Dingshan could only sacrifice a little, prioritize stability, and cancel the booking.

This trouble, this disappointment, whose fault was it! It was, of course, the father and daughter who walked with the group, yet remained subtly detached.

The little babies, disappointed at not being able to camp with their friends and the seemingly wild animals in the seemingly wild environment, went to bed dejectedly, and woke up dejectedly.

On this last day of the show, Shi Dingshan wasn’t satisfied with the little babies’ state, but he understood.

Thankfully, Shi Dingshan hadn’t ignored the little babies’ disappointment when they reluctantly left the campsite last night, he worked on a solution overnight.

Along with breakfast, Shi Dingshan’s personal gifts for the babies arrived – a new smart watch for each of them. The price and style weren’t important, the important thing was, by giving them now, they could add each other as contacts. Of course, they still couldn’t contact anyone outside the show before it ended.

The dejected babies happily added each other as contacts, their spirits lifted before the live broadcast began.

Although it was the last day, they only had half a day left.

After breakfast, the guests were once again loaded into cars and taken to the Wild Animal Park.

A beautiful morning, starting with making mooncakes for the little animals.

Grains, fruits, nuts, plant-based powder, grass… The dough and fillings made by the dads with various ingredients were shaped into little suns, little moons, little leaves, little hearts, little balls, little squares… by the little babies.

Basket after basket of mooncakes were made, fragrant and tempting, making the dads keep a close eye on them, afraid that someone would sneak a bite.

And most of their gazes were on the baskets of Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan.

Compared to the other babies, who used molds to make regular-shaped mooncakes, those two were on a wild, one-way trip of making mooncakes for each other.

Look at what they were making!

Who would give a little monkey a monkey-shaped mooncake? Who would give a little bunny a bunny-shaped mooncake? Didn’t they find it creepy to eat themselves! Someone had to stop these two babies, who had made so many mooncakes, from being so weird!

Mmm, Cheng Tingyan’s mooncakes, supposedly shaped like monkeys, kittens, and bunnies, but actually quite abstract, they were… acceptable. But the three-year-old chubby dumpling was a bit too much, her mooncakes were so realistic! Whether the little animals would eat them or not was another matter, their own little ones were practically drooling!

And the key was, the fillings even contained some insect powder that couldn’t be mentioned to the little babies!

Most of the dads were watching with hawk-like eyes, afraid that some idiot would be tempted by the little chubby dumpling’s craftsmanship. Only after the mooncakes were fed to the little animals one by one, with no crumbs left, did they finally relax their strained eyes.

But within a few hours, it was the little babies’ eyes that were strained.

On another grassy area not far from the creek, after the little babies finished making mooncakes, feeding the animals, having a compensatory outdoor barbecue, and visiting the animals they liked yesterday with buckets of food, this season of “Where’s Baby Going” came to an end.

Happy times always passed too quickly, so quickly that looking back, it was time to say goodbye.

The host gave a sentimental closing speech, he didn’t forget to bring out several carts of food, daily necessities, and groceries, to help the guests redeem their Baby Coins and Daddy Coins. As the program team put it, this was the end.

There were no tears or tantrums, the babies, their eyes red, quietly picked and chose from the makeshift stalls. Those with more coins exchanged for bigger items, those with fewer coins exchanged for a few candies, it was a parting gift, a memento of their journey.

The live broadcast ended with the little babies exchanging gifts, ended with Wen Jiangyue holding Wei Maomao and Cheng Tingyan’s hands, saying goodbye, ended with Wei Maomao looking up at Cheng Tingyan, ended with Wen Dongyu hugging Wen Xixi tightly, then tearfully handing the pig’s leash to Shen Zilin, ended with Cheng Rongrong, holding the gifts from the other babies, standing awkwardly next to Cheng Feiying, ended with Wang Zhizhi’s eyes lighting up when he saw the rushing Jiang Heye.

The end of the journey, a hint of sadness, the final glimmer of light, like fluorescence, giving birth to endless hope.

“My CEO Mao, my Yan Yan! I also want to hold their hands! Why, after spending the whole season with them, only Wen Jiangyue can hold their hands! CEO Mao’s cute little paws, will they be thinner when we meet again… I don’t want that, sob, sob, sob!”

“Did they find Yan Yan’s grandma! I’m so worried, program team, please do a follow-up special! Otherwise, I can’t eat or sleep! You created the fairy tree, you have to fulfill Yan Yan’s wish! Don’t force me to…”

“Xixi, Xixi, in the end, she still went with Little CEO Shen, who took out loans to buy her. Poor Dongdong, their courtyard wasn’t big enough! This is a pig that will grow very big, thrive in Little CEO Shen’s manor, sob, sob, sob! I can’t even bear to part with a pig, I can’t live anymore!”

“CEO Shen, remember to watch the edited version, remember to tell Little CEO Shen about his mom! From your anonymous little fairy!”

“Cheng Rongrong truly… she doesn’t seem sad at all. But it’s normal, if you can’t play together, then you can’t play together. It’s also good this way, Yan Yan is also leaving the Cheng family, it’s time to say goodbye to those she can’t share a meal with.”

“Wen Qiming, promise me, you’ll do math problems with Wen Jiangyue for the rest of your life! Such a good daughter, if you miss her, where will you find another one! I’ll work and send you five-year mock exam papers and three-year past papers for math, promise me, do them diligently!”

“Sob, sob, sob, I’ve cried so much that my eyes are blurry, but I still want to tell the person above, it’s ‘three-year mock exam papers and five-year past papers,’ sob, sob, sob, please promise me you won’t buy the wrong ones!”

“Zhizhi truly, I truly, if there was such a pitiful little baby, his eyes lighting up like that when he saw me, I would snatch him away! Immediately! Stupid Wang Qingchuan, you’re the only one still urging Zhizhi to buy gifts for the family! Buy your head! Zhizhi spent all his money buying a brooch for the Beibei he loves and candy for the other babies he loves, he won’t spend it on you! I’ll beat you to death!”

“It’s just a variety show, why end it like an art film! Give me back my tears! Crying uncontrollably! Even the freeze frame, they should have frozen it after Zhizhi reached Beibei! I don’t want art, I want a happy ending! Director team, I hate you!”

The live broadcast ended, the black screen flashing with the viewers’ reluctance, their complaints, their hopes, and their… sobs.

“Okay, our ‘Where’s Baby Going’ Season 3 live broadcast has officially ended. Thank you to all the dads and little babies, everyone has worked hard!” The host said, waving his hand, several staff members brought over a cart of small password boxes. “Now we’ll return the communication devices you handed over when you arrived. Oh, and one more thing, the live broadcast has ended, you can freely contact whoever you want, but the cameras and microphones will still be working for a while, we’ll film some behind-the-scenes footage. After we return to the hotel, after you’ve packed your luggage, we’ll stop filming and collect the microphones before you leave.”

If that was the case, why not just continue the live broadcast until they left the hotel? Why bother turning it off and then filming behind-the-scenes footage?

The host’s supplementary words made several dads feel a bit suspicious, but they quickly focused on opening their password boxes.

It was just some behind-the-scenes footage for less than an hour, let them film if they wanted to.

After receiving their phones, which they hadn’t touched in almost two weeks, everyone immediately turned them on, the program team thoughtfully provided power banks.

Replying to important messages, browsing less important ones, contacting the people they missed…

The dads were busy, they didn’t even move. Finally, they had time to check the online comments about the show.

And so, some were shocked, some were embarrassed, some smiled wryly, some…

Cheng Feiying felt his face darken, even though he remembered that the cameras were still on, filming behind-the-scenes footage, he couldn’t control his growing anger.

What were these comments online!

Were these people online crazy!

There were countless people in this world who weren’t fair to their children, how come he was being scolded like this just because he was a bit unfair? Were they targeting him!

What was the big deal? Hadn’t they ever stopped their children from being picky eaters at home? Hadn’t they ever ignored their children’s feelings? Which dad was perfect in every way, how come he was the only one who was unforgivable?

A six-year-old child rambled for a few days, and they believed her, they became righteous? He didn’t abuse his child, he was just a bit neglectful these past few days! If they had to blame someone, they should blame Cheng Tingyan for always going to the Wei family’s house, she already considered herself a member of the Wei family, how could he beg her to come back!

Cheng Tingyan had a hard time, then did he have it easy? They only saw what happened on the show, who knew about his grievances, his hardships? Cheng Tingyan could tell that stupid tree everything, who could he talk to?

These people had too much time on their hands! Minding other people’s business!

Cheng Feiying, his head lowered, scrolled through his phone from the Wild Animal Park to the hotel, he didn’t see a single positive comment about him, he was so angry that he cursed inwardly all the way. If those people weren’t so far away, he would have wanted to pry open their heads and see if there were any brains inside, or just water!

Those behind the screen, he couldn’t see if they were crazy or not for now.

But Cheng Feiying soon found out that Liu Qiongfang was definitely crazy.

If she wasn’t crazy, how could she appear in the hotel lobby! And even dare to come towards him in that broken wheelchair!

Unlike Cheng Feiying, who was shocked and furious, the moment Cheng Tingyan saw Liu Qiongfang and Chen Sujuan in the hotel lobby, she understood why the program team insisted on filming this short behind-the-scenes segment, just them checking their phones and packing.

This wasn’t just filming behind-the-scenes footage, this was helping her collect evidence.

This wasn’t a camera for behind-the-scenes footage, it was a weapon to ensure Cheng Feiying would let her go right now.