Chapter 158
The quiet bedroom felt like a tomb, the soft bed like the bottom of a coffin. Cheng Rongrong, looking at the brand-new box in front of her, felt like she was dying!
Which parent would buy the latest smartphone for their three-and-a-half-year-old child…?
Before transmigrating, Cheng Rongrong had read countless novels, some of which mentioned that transmigrators, as they spent more time in the book world, would be assimilated, gradually forgetting the original plot. So, after getting her hands on that old phone, she wrote down everything she could remember in the notepad.
Of course, she wasn’t stupid, she simplified many words, just enough for her to understand, but not enough for others to suspect anything if they accidentally found it.
Sadly, the “others” she was referring to were outsiders. If Bai Lei saw it, she could easily deduce some of the abbreviated content, based on the actual events.
Bai Lei must have discovered something… but what did she discover?
What should she do…
[Just Google it.]
Cheng Rongrong picked up the phone from the box, opened the browser, and was about to search for [What should a transmigrator do after being discovered?]. Even if most of the answers online were nonsense, it was still better than panicking alone, unable to think. Maybe she could find some inspiration…
But after typing the first character, “chuan,” she deleted the next character, “s,” which had just appeared in the input method.
She had always been careful when using that old phone, always hiding in her room, hiding it well. How did Bai Lei find it? Even if she found it… how did she unlock it… she had set a password.
Unless…
Cheng Rongrong froze, she gently placed the phone back in the box.
She put the box on the table, turned off the light, lay back in bed, and pulled the blanket over her head, only then did she dare to tremble.
Either there was something wrong with the old phone, or… there must be a surveillance camera in this room, watching her!
Cheng Rongrong, her mind rarely functioning properly, was right.
Bai Lei, bored, put down her phone, its screen now dark, she picked up her wine glass and took a slow sip.
Tsk, “chuan s,” what did it mean?
As night deepened, one person trembled under her blanket, another pondered over her search results for [What’s it like to wear size S clothes?], and another, his anger still simmering, was pulled into a flurry of work, dealing with his company’s attempts to take away his projects.
And some people…
“These light-colored curtains aren’t dry yet, let’s use the darker ones from the living room for tonight.” Zhang Shilan said, touching the light green curtains, she frowned slightly and patted Wei Chengli.
“Okay! Then I’ll bring some newspapers down to cover the living room windows for tonight.” Wei Chengli said, he took the curtains and the ladder and went into the bedroom.
Zhang Shilan hurried over and helped to steady the ladder.
In the living room, Chen Sujuan looked up and handed the clothes she was folding to Liu Qiongfang. “You stay here and fold the clothes with the babies, I’ll go and take a look.”
Liu Qiongfang looked at the clothes in her hands, a bit dazed.
How did they… move…
At the airport café, they decided on the apartment, then remotely arranged for a cleaning company to do a deep clean, asked the cleaning lady upstairs to wash the curtains, and prepared the daily necessities… After getting off the plane, they went straight to her previous apartment, picked up the movers they had booked before boarding, and within an hour, all their belongings were packed and… brought over here.
This terrifying efficiency, Liu Qiongfang didn’t even have time to react, let alone… protest.
They had just moved in like this? Moved to… a place Cheng Feiying didn’t know? Liu Qiongfang felt a bit disoriented.
But what made her even more disoriented was…
“Ahem, Mom, I’m thirsty.” Liu Qiongfang said, feigning a cough, she looked at Cheng Tingyan.
Cheng Tingyan, who was folding clothes, paused and looked up.
There was no worry, no affection, just a calm indifference…
Cheng Tingyan glanced at Liu Qiongfang, put down the clothes, stood up, and walked towards the kitchen.
Liu Qiongfang didn’t know whether to be relieved or not.
Cheng Tingyan had always been a sensible child, not to mention the years she lived with her, she was quiet and obedient at a young age, very easy to take care of. Later, when her legs were injured, the then four-year-old Cheng Tingyan could even help her in the hospital, bringing water and food, she was very capable. Later, after losing custody, she could only visit once a month, but she always brought snacks to share, and whenever there was something that needed to be done at home, if she was thirsty, hungry, cold, or needed to wash her face, Cheng Tingyan would take the initiative, without her even asking.
But today, she seemed different.
Before joining the show, when they met, and she even prepared some gifts for her to bring to the other children, they were still quite close.
But today, as soon as they met, Liu Qiongfang felt… a coldness.
Why?
They picked up Cheng Tingyan from the hotel shortly after the live broadcast ended. Even if Zhang Jin and Bai Lei wanted to say something, they would have to go through Cheng Feiying, right? But Cheng Feiying didn’t seem to know anything, otherwise, he would have mentioned it when they met… But if Cheng Tingyan knew nothing about their meeting with Zhang Jin and Bai Lei at the private restaurant that night, why was she so cold?
Liu Qiongfang couldn’t understand, and with that mini-adult-like chubby baby next to her, she couldn’t even subtly probe. But thankfully, although her gaze was cold, she still went to get her water when she asked.
Maybe… she had just become a bit distant after meeting so many people on the show?
Thinking of this, Liu Qiongfang glanced at the little chubby baby again. Especially with this little chubby baby, who was so incredibly good to Cheng Tingyan, whose whole family was helping them now, could it be that she felt she wasn’t good enough, not useful enough to her?
As expected, her disability, she still looked down on her…
While Liu Qiongfang was doubting, even suspecting that her daughter had been swayed by the outside world, Wei Maomao, while folding clothes, was also secretly observing Yan Yan’s mom.
The grandma who suddenly appeared before making her wish. The distance between Yan Yan and her mom today. Wei Maomao suspected that the online Yan Yan from her previous life had also lied.
Just like how she had blurred some details of reality to hide her identity, did Yan Yan also hide some things in her previous life? For example, maybe Yan Yan’s mom wasn’t that good?
Wei Maomao wasn’t the type to judge someone based on speculation. She was just a bit worried.
But thankfully, they were already living downstairs, whether Yan Yan’s mom was truly good or not, she could protect Yan Yan from upstairs!
One big and one small, sitting in front of the pile of clothes, diligently folding, their minds elsewhere.
It wasn’t until Cheng Tingyan returned from the kitchen that the strange silence was broken.
A bottle of mineral water was handed to her, Liu Qiongfang was stunned.
Cheng Tingyan glanced at Liu Qiongfang, who didn’t take the water, she took two steps forward and placed it on the small coffee table next to her.
“Take a break, have some milk.” Cheng Tingyan said, opening a bottle of milk and handing it to Wei Maomao. “Your mom just brought it down, it’s the kind you like, right?”
Liu Qiongfang just watched, watched the little chubby baby happily gulp down the milk, watched her daughter, her eyes gentle, take out a handkerchief and wipe her mouth… then her gaze slowly shifted to the bottle of mineral water.
It wasn’t like this before.
If possible, Cheng Tingyan would always warm up the water for her, saying it was better for her health to drink warm water. And if it wasn’t possible, she would at least open the bottle cap for her…
Although she could do these things herself, she often drank cold water at home for convenience, she still enjoyed being taken care of by her daughter.
But now…
After the little chubby bunny finished half a bottle of milk, Cheng Tingyan closed the cap, wiped her mouth, then, noticing from the corner of her eye that Liu Qiongfang, who had said she was thirsty, hadn’t touched the water, she…
Oh, sorry, the daughter who would warm up your water even in the summer died in her previous life. Let’s just make do in this life.
The two little ones rested for a bit, then continued folding clothes. Liu Qiongfang stared at Cheng Tingyan for a long time, but she didn’t even look up.
Something was definitely wrong.
Liu Qiongfang took out her phone and started messaging Zhang Jin.
Zhang Jin, who wanted to be Cheng Tingyan’s agent, probably wouldn’t reveal what happened that night, but there was still Bai Lei. They could say Bai Lei was just making things up, trying to cause trouble, but that contract she had already started signing…
A few days ago, Liu Qiongfang wouldn’t have worried about this, Cheng Tingyan’s behavior in the past few years made her think that the unfinished deal wouldn’t affect them. But today, she realized that even children changed quickly. She was already like this now, if… if Cheng Tingyan found out about that night… Liu Qiongfang suddenly realized she couldn’t accept this disparity in treatment.
But just as she opened her chat with Zhang Jin, before she could even type a word, a hand pressed down on her phone screen.
“Remember what I said? We can’t tell anyone about us living here.” Chen Sujuan said, standing behind Liu Qiongfang, she looked at the name “Zhang Jin” visible through the gaps between her fingers and frowned.
“I won’t tell anyone.” Liu Qiongfang said, startled, thankfully she hadn’t started typing yet.
Chen Sujuan slowly retracted her hand, but her next words startled Liu Qiongfang again.
“That Zhang Jin, he’s Cheng Feiying’s agent, right? What do you have to talk to him about? Whether our Yan Yan wants to enter the entertainment industry or not, she definitely won’t use Cheng Feiying’s agent. Is he the only agent in the world?”
“Brother Zhang and I were colleagues, he knows about our family matters. Hiring an outsider would…” Liu Qiongfang said, trying to argue, she hadn’t planned on mentioning this so early. If Zhang Jin had nothing to gain, he wouldn’t be on her side, he wouldn’t keep the secret of that night.
As expected… Chen Sujuan, after her casual probe, looked at Cheng Tingyan and said gently, “Yan Yan, what do you think?”
“He wants to be my agent? Over my dead body.” Cheng Tingyan said, her expression calm, but her words sharp.
The dark days from her previous life, under Zhang Jin’s management, being suppressed by Cheng Rongrong, used as a contrast, unable to turn things around, flooded back. Just before she was drowned, a warm, chubby paw suddenly…
“Ptui, ptui, ptui! Ptui, ptui, ptui! Ptui, ptui, ptui, ptui, ptui! Ptui, ptui, ptui, ptui, ptui, ptui!”
Zhang Shilan and Wei Chengli, coming out of the bedroom after hanging the curtains, saw their chubby baby covering Yan Yan’s mouth, spitting… furiously?
Where were her manners!
The couple exchanged a glance, both feeling an urge to teleport back home from the awkwardness.
But thankfully, they soon figured out what their chubby baby was “ptui-ing” about. The awkwardness vanished, replaced by… Well done, brilliantly done, perfectly done!
“Yan Yan, don’t work with that Zhang Jin. If you want to enter the industry in the future, Uncle Shi, Uncle Qin, and I, we’ll all help you find a good agent, we won’t let you work with someone related to them.” Wei Chengli said, comforting her, he was closer to Cheng Tingyan. He had actually wanted to say that Qin Sichao was just waiting for the custody issue to be resolved before signing her, asking him to recommend an agent would be a piece of cake. But for some reason, after glancing at Yan Yan’s mom, he swallowed his words. Wanting to have that side’s agent manage Yan Yan… This mom didn’t seem very reliable.
Zhang Shilan also nodded. “Your future, who you work with, it’s all up to you, Yan Yan. If you don’t like him, Grandma definitely won’t force you.”
Wei Maomao looked at her dad, who offered the advice, then at her mom, who was comforting Yan Yan, but… that wasn’t the point!
“Yan Yan, you can’t say that!” Wei Maomao said, seeing that she couldn’t rely on the others, she rolled up her sleeves and looked at Cheng Tingyan seriously. “If you don’t like someone, you can’t say ‘unless I’ something something!”
Cheng Tingyan: “…”
“Right, if you don’t want to, then you don’t want to, you can’t just say ‘unless you’…” Wei Chengli said, nodding in agreement, then a raised chubby paw stopped him.
“Don’t say that word!” Wei Maomao said seriously, then looked at Cheng Tingyan. “You can say ‘He wants to be my agent? Over his dead body!’ Understand?”
Cheng Tingyan: “…“
Everyone else: ???
“Understand?” Wei Maomao asked again, ignoring everyone’s stunned expressions.
Somehow, the darkness and pressure brought by that topic were first dispelled by the little chubby paw’s frantic patting, then by the repeated “ptui, ptui, ptui,” and finally, by this sentence, the tension dissipated like the wind.
“Mmm. I understand.” Cheng Tingyan said, rubbing the little chubby face, her eyes softening. “He wants to be my agent? Over his dead body.”
Chen Sujuan: “…” Was she seeing things? It was a more ruthless statement, but Yan Yan’s tone was light, without the earlier sharpness.
The awkward interlude gradually faded as they continued tidying and organizing.
With their combined efforts, they finally managed to clean the apartment before bedtime, making it livable. As for the other details, they could deal with them later.
Wei Maomao, looking at Cheng Tingyan’s room, the light green bedsheets, the dark green curtains, couldn’t help but cling to Zhang Shilan.
“Mommy, Mommy, I love you the most!” Wei Maomao whispered into Zhang Shilan’s ear.
Wei Chengli looked at his wife, her face beaming with love and tenderness, he really wanted to tell her why this little rascal was suddenly so clingy, cute, and sweet-talking.
Ah, being the only one who understood the truth, it was truly lonely.
“Yan Yan, my room is right above yours, right above this spot.” Wei Maomao said, after praising her mom, she ran back to Cheng Tingyan, pointed her chubby paw at the ceiling, and whispered, “If I have any delicious food, I can lower it down with a rope, you can just open the window and take it!”
“You’re just one floor apart, and you’re talking about lowering things with a rope, can’t you just walk down the stairs and bring it over?” Wei Chengli said, humming, he hadn’t been included in the earlier affection. “Look at your chubby little body, all that fat is from laziness. Why don’t you just say you’ll make a hole in the ceiling and throw it down? Not just the food, you can also throw yourself down, then you don’t even have to use the stairs to come and play with Yan Yan.”
“Ah! Can we really do that?” Wei Maomao asked, her eyes sparkling, her paws clutching her chest.
Everyone: “…“
Liu Qiongfang you fucking bitch