Back to Three Years Old: Crushing Scumbags on a Parenting Reality Show 236

Chapter 236

The cracking sound, the splattering yolk, the sudden accident startled them both.

“Are you okay?” Cheng Tingyan asked, rushing over to the dazed Wei Maomao, she grabbed her hand. “Let me see.”

“Why are you…” Wei Maomao mumbled, letting Cheng Tingyan pick out the eggshells from her hand.

She wanted to ask why Cheng Tingyan was here, why she didn’t mention it during their hot pot lunch, but remembering they were being filmed, she swallowed her questions, afraid of asking something Cheng Tingyan didn’t want to answer.

“It’s fine, come on, let’s wash your hands.” Cheng Tingyan said, not hearing Wei Maomao’s mumbling, she held her wrist, carefully removing the eggshells, and led her to the sink.

Wei Maomao, her mind buzzing with questions, followed obediently, she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you… a guest on the show? One of the eight? Or…”

“I’m the Bear.” Cheng Tingyan said, turning on the tap and washing the egg yolk off Wei Maomao’s hand, she held it up and checked. “Mmm, no cuts.”

Yan Yan was the Black Bear…

Wei Maomao’s confusion slightly cleared.

Now the question was, should she continue being shocked, or should she pull her hand away…

Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan’s hand holding her wrist.

It had been years since they last touched like this…

Cheng Tingyan, oblivious to her thoughts, dispensed some hand soap.

Wei Maomao, looking down at the fluffy foam in her hand, it seemed… fragile.

“I’ll wash it myself.” She said, pulling her hand away, her heart aching with a familiar warmth.

The hold on her wrist loosened immediately, without any resistance.

Wei Maomao, not wanting to dwell on it, quickly washed her hands.

“That egg was already cracked…”

“You should change your clothes…”

They both spoke at the same time, reaching for and handing over the paper towels, their movements mirroring each other.

“It was a bad egg, that’s why it broke so easily.” Wei Maomao said, taking the paper towel and wiping her hands.

“Right, good eggs are hard to break.” Cheng Tingyan said, nodding, then, noticing the egg yolk on Wei Maomao’s clothes, she said, “You can go and change, it doesn’t count towards our date time.”

Right… the task…

Cheng Tingyan, realizing something, turned and looked for the task board.

The two most popular guests, after a brief, awkward exchange, one went to change, the other focused on the task.

The baking studio was quiet, but the live stream chat was exploding.

“Eighteen years! I’ve waited eighteen years for this! I even have two kids now! I’m so excited I could crush a carton of eggs with my bare hands!”

“I watched ‘Where’s Baby Going’ when my child was in elementary school; now my grandchild is in elementary school! The babies back then were so cute, and they’re still so good to each other, Yan Yan cleaning Maomao’s hand, it’s like going back eighteen years.”

“Yes! Seeing Maomao crush the egg, Yan Yan rushed over, just like when they were young! My CP is so sweet!”

“Even their initial awkwardness is so cute! One worried about the other’s hand, the other wondering if she’s on the show, haha!”

“Those ‘mystery guests,’ they’re not surprises, they’re shocks! One landed in a pile of clay, the other crushed an egg!”

“Poor Little Pika, two mystery guests in one day.”

“Who would have thought the current popular CP wouldn’t be able to beat an eighteen-year-old CP? Zhao Can, unable to get a date with Maomao, is now playing with clay with a new friend, CanMao shippers, you have to try harder!”

“No use trying, the show is trending now, all the old fans are back. The YanMao votes are skyrocketing. Little Pika, you have to work harder on the show!”

…

Wei Maomao, changing her clothes in her room, couldn’t hear the online chatter, but she could imagine.

If it was Yan Yan… being paired by the audience votes, it was normal, after all, that variety show was incredibly popular.

But…

Wei Maomao touched her clean wrist.

She didn’t know why Yan Yan joined the show, but it definitely wasn’t because of her.

When Yan Yan first went abroad, Wei Maomao thought… being rejected and abandoned was inevitable, the only reason it hadn’t happened yet was because of Yan Yan’s politeness. She should have cooperated, quietly retreated.

But it didn’t happen.

After Yan Yan settled in, Wei Maomao, unable to maintain the same level of closeness, started reducing their contact, hoping to save face.

But she couldn’t be too obvious, she couldn’t let Yan Yan know that she had woken up that day, heard the rustling of pages, and knew the reason behind everything.

So, although she had distanced herself, Wei Maomao still maintained minimal contact, waiting for Yan Yan to end it.

She couldn’t bring herself to sever that last thread. But Yan Yan also didn’t end it.

They continued their daily messages, weekly video calls, occasional phone calls, care packages, and gifts…

After a while, Wei Maomao realized that perhaps Yan Yan didn’t dislike her, she still cared, perhaps she just wanted… a safe distance?

Understanding what Yan Yan wanted, Wei Maomao also wanted a better future than being rejected and abandoned.

So she had more “friends,” a more “exciting” and “colorful” life.

She played the part well.

So they could still be friends.

She had worked hard to make Yan Yan feel safe.

Now, being paired on a dating show, it wasn’t good.

Wei Maomao, in her room, away from the cameras, touched her wrist, she couldn’t figure this out, and she couldn’t stay here too long.

The audience’s actions were unpredictable; she could only cooperate now and choose someone else later, to show that she wasn’t interested.

But… why was Yan Yan here…?

Was there someone she liked on this show?

Wei Maomao, her heart sinking, then she shook her head and continued her analysis.

The company had the list of the six original guests, everyone in the group chat knew, Yan Yan also knew.

Then… was it the other mystery guest?

Wei Maomao, returning to the baking studio, casually asked about the other mystery guest.

To her surprise, Cheng Tingyan shook her head, she didn’t know.

Wei Maomao, her mind buzzing with questions, focused on the task to avoid asking anything she shouldn’t.

The tasks on the board:

[Make an eight-inch cream cake. You can refer to the examples or create your own design.]

[Bring the cake to the dinner party at 6:00 PM.]

[Red string rewards will be distributed after dinner.]

Wei Maomao had already seen the tasks, she was checking the eggs while waiting, since some of them were cracked this morning.

Who would have thought…

Anyway, everything was fine now, she had to focus on the task.

“This… task doesn’t have a time limit. Two hours should be enough for the cake, if we lower the temperature, the cake will cool faster, we can even finish it in an hour and a half.” Wei Maomao said, noticing Cheng Tingyan’s frown as she read the instructions.

But Wei Maomao didn’t know that Cheng Tingyan wasn’t worried about the time, but…

Cheng Tingyan, noticing the difference in how the rewards were distributed for the morning and afternoon tasks, felt that the program team was trying to limit the number of red strings.

She didn’t understand why.

Were they afraid she would leave after making the call?

If she wanted to leave, did she really need to collect red strings and make a call first?