Chapter 40

City A, at a hospital hidden away in the suburbs.

The private hospital had always been known for its secrecy. Most of its patients didn't want others to know who they were, especially that they were ill.

"Boss!" A-Ze looked tearfully at the man in the hospital bed. "You have to pull through!"

"Without you, we'll be dragons without a leader, circling a tree three times without a branch to rest on!" A-Shui bit his lip, trying not to cry too loudly. "In your whole life, you never did anything... never did too many bad things. Why did you have to get this disease?"

The middle-aged man lying in bed had a gaunt face. His voice was labored, as though he had only the last of his strength left.

"Good children, you really are my good children," the man said between gasps. "You must remember, no matter what happens to me, you have to help my son. Today he did something unprecedented: he contacted me and asked after my health!"

A-Shui and A-Ze both burst into tears. "We will! He's second only to you, boss. For him, we'd go through fire and boiling water without hesitation!"

"Boo-hoo-hoo..."

In the next bed, Wei Zhuogang found the whole thing deeply moving.

He was in his sixties, and he couldn't resist a scene like this.

However.

He had just walked over to the man's bed to comfort him when he caught sight of the medical summary at the head of the bed.

Patient name: Qiao Tang.

Reason for treatment: tonsillectomy.

Wei Zhuogang: ...

You had to be hospitalized for that shit?

Then he gently lifted the bed curtain and found that, sure enough, the man had already fallen asleep.

He didn't need Wei Zhuogang's comfort at all.

Just a moment ago, it had sounded as if he were entrusting his son to their care before dying...

And then he fell asleep?!

No wonder your son never checks on you! This is ridiculous!

Wei Zhuogang snorted and was about to sweep his sleeves and leave when a booklet on the floor caught his eye.

"Tata Martial Arts School admissions brochure"

The man had evidently been flipping through it before falling asleep, and it had fallen to the floor for some reason.

But... a man who treated a tonsillectomy like a parting of life and death wanted to send his child to Tata Martial Arts School?

That was one of the most famous martial arts schools in Country C!

He was an instructor there!

Among other things, it was where he had discovered one of the best students he'd encountered in his career and later recommended him to a friend who was a special operations team captain.

But he'd heard the kid had retired because of an injury. He didn't know what he'd gone on to do after that...

As he was thinking, the man in the darkness opened his eyes without him noticing when.

"Brother, could you pick that up for me?" Qiao Tang said with a smile.

Wei Zhuogang quickly composed himself and put the brochure beside Qiao Tang's bed.

"Here you go, fellow patient!"

He was just about to leave when the man grabbed his arm.

Qiao Tang's voice had a hint of irreverence, yet he also sounded as though he were making ordinary small talk:

"It hurts too much to sleep. How about a chat? Judging by your reaction, do you know this school?"

In another city, at the same time.

The first dinner and parents' meet-and-greet for Brat Comes Home was about to take place.

The dinner wasn't being held in the Platinum Coast community. To make filming and lighting easier, the Production Team had set up a table and a canopy like those at an open-air food stall on the public beach.

In a corner.

"Any news from your contact?" Ye Yiwei asked.

There was still some time before dinner, so Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei had deliberately arrived early to exchange information.

"Not yet." Qiao Huan shook his head. "I asked him how things were going, and he only replied that they were in progress."

Although Ye Yiwei was also an undercover colleague, Qiao Huan was too embarrassed to say exactly what Qiao Tang had sent him.

When did that guy learn to use reaction stickers? Did he learn from A-Ze and A-Shui, those two new intern brothers?

Ye Yiwei thought for a moment. "You spent the day with Zhuo Yang. Did you notice anything strange?"

"Nothing new, except that he's pretty good at cooking."

"Oh... that's good. I was worried you two wouldn't be able to handle the kid after switching groups."

Only then did Qiao Huan remember to ask, "So why did you agree to switch groups?"

Ye Yiwei tipped his head toward a man getting out of a car by the sidewalk. "That's Lin Xiangnan, a famous investor and a major philanthropist. He's the parent of the brat Bai Jike and I are responsible for."

Qiao Huan recognized him. "He's one of Star Radiance's shareholders, right?"

"Yes, and one of this show's investors too, though he's pulling his investment out of Star Radiance soon," Ye Yiwei said. "So Instructor Tao asked me to take good care of his child."

"Instructor Tao?"

Qiao Huan glanced at Ye Yiwei, surprised that he still called the man instructor in a conversation like this.

But Ye Yiwei missed the implication and thought Qiao Huan was simply asking a question.

"Yeah, so I was wondering if he had dealings with Instructor Tao too. I'll look into it while I'm at it."

"Okay."

"Idol Qiao! Teacher Yiwei!"

A clear female voice rang out behind them.

Xiao Yue looked delighted to see them. "So you really are the new surrogate parents!"

"Xiao Yue?" Qiao Huan smiled. "You're a surrogate parent too?"

"Yes!"

None of the three had expected to meet again here, and each was pleasantly surprised.

"I heard you're responsible for Constantine? The biggest brat?" Xiao Yue asked.

Ye Yiwei answered immediately. "Not us. Him and Zhuo Yang."

"Hiss..." Xiao Yue looked at Ye Yiwei suspiciously. "You never used to pay me any attention, Teacher Yiwei. Why does it feel like you've been more lively lately? Do you really like group living?"

Ye Yiwei was taken aback.

Was I?

"Why did you ask about Constantine?" Qiao Huan changed the subject. "Do you know him?"

Xiao Yue waved her hand. "No, no, I've just heard so much about him it thunders in my ears. I've only met him once, but he's really terrifying—"

?

Before Xiao Yue could finish, she saw Constantine in Zhuo Yang's arms, as quiet as a statue.

"Whoa." Xiao Yue smiled and shook her head. "That's Xiu Si for you. You even got Constantine under control!"

Qiao Huan habitually gave up the spotlight. "It's mostly because Brother Zhuo Yang is good with kids."

"That's still amazing!"

"All right, everyone, shall we begin?" the chief director prompted from behind them.

It was almost time, so the artists and parents headed for the table.

"Boss," Xiao Yue said, walking up beside Qiao Huan and quickly giving him a warning, "watch out for A-Yi and A-Er!"

"Hm?" To Qiao Huan, that sounded exactly like the kind of tip he'd received while undercover in a smuggling organization. He was puzzled for a moment.

"They were the ones looking after Constantine at first," Xiao Yue said as she sat down in her assigned seat. "I just feel like something isn't right."

A-Yi and A-Er were another pair of guests on the show, twin brothers who had once been something of a singing-and-dancing duo and released a few decent catchy songs. But they were both around forty now, and naturally past their prime.

Qiao Huan had only heard that Constantine had previously been looked after by a pair of female guests, not that anyone else had looked after him.

But just as he was about to ask more, the clapperboard snapped shut over there, and filming began.

The dinner officially began.

The artists weren't very familiar with one another, to say nothing of meeting the parents, so they were all a little reserved. For a while, they simply ate, without doing much.

One dish from each group of guests obviously wasn't enough, so the Production Team had ordered plenty more from a small restaurant nearby. Only after more than a dozen plates had been served did the atmosphere liven up a little.

"A-Huan, you two are amazing," A-Yi finally said. "I watched clips from your livestream. Constantine really has changed a lot."

Qiao Huan only smiled and nodded, remaining on guard and not responding directly.

Seeing that, A-Yi turned to Ye Yiwei. "Yiwei, how did you two handle your kid? He's so quiet."

He was talking about Xiaomi, the child Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike were looking after, who was indeed exceptionally quiet tonight.

"This child used to cry all the time, but tonight he's especially composed," A-Yi added. "I wonder what your secret is, Xiao Wei. Teach us too."

Ye Yiwei frowned slightly and glanced at him.

The meaning in his eyes was clear: What's wrong with you?

Behind the monitor, Xiao Feng couldn't help shivering.

The twin brothers had already been putting on an act on the show, always carrying themselves with an air of "I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice." It could be said that Constantine's previous surrogate parents had gradually broken down under their advice.

Why are they still doing this?

His chief director, on the other hand, had caught the scent of gunpowder and was delighted.

I love this kind of scene!

After speaking, A-Yi saw that neither Qiao Huan's nor Ye Yiwei's group was paying him any attention, so he turned to Xiaomi. "Sweetie, why aren't you crying today?"

Xiao Yue clenched her fists. Wasn't he deliberately provoking the child?

The child had finally managed to act a little more normally today. What if he upset him and caused another problem?

Unexpectedly, before Ye Yiwei could answer, the child spoke for himself.

Xiaomi stared fixedly at the food in front of him and said coldly, "I cried for four hours this afternoon. I have no tears left in my balance today."

Everyone present: ???

That overly mature tone!

Only then did their follow-cam director come out to explain.

It turned out that when Xiaomi met Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike that afternoon, he had naturally been unwilling. He only wanted his dad, not some weird uncles from a show!

So at mealtime, he hadn't eaten a single bite and had knocked all the food over.

At the time, the Production Team had thought this segment couldn't go on again.

But who would have thought that Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike merely exchanged a glance, then spotted the latest model of a video game console in his home? After that, neither of them paid any attention to Xiaomi's wailing, focusing entirely on their game.

Xiaomi had howled on the floor like that for four hours, coming to fully realize that his tantrums and rolling around wouldn't work.

And Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike were about to wipe out his game records!

When the director finished, everyone gave them a thumbs-up.

Usually, the moment a child cried, they were ready to break down. Whatever else one might say, Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike's self-control was truly impressive!

The expressions of the two, who had undergone countless anti-interference training sessions, didn't waver in the slightest.

It was nothing. Just white noise!

And it really had been a long time since they'd seen a game console.

"No wonder Xiaomi's eating so diligently now. Eat up, son." Lin Xiangnan picked out food for the two of them as he spoke, sounding quite satisfied. "I'll deal with you like that from now on too!"

Xiaomi stuck out his tongue, and everyone laughed again.

The atmosphere was harmonious.

Seeing that they couldn't provoke the four of them, A-Yi and A-Er felt somewhat displeased.

Their earlier attempts to teach the other guests how to handle children had accomplished nothing, and they'd even driven them away in anger.

Now that Xiu Si had replaced them, they'd immediately brought two brats to heel. Didn't that make the brothers look useless?

So they instantly switched targets, looking at the only child whose parent hadn't arrived yet.

"Constantine, didn't you learn to sing before? Give us a performance, how about it?" A-Er asked.

The guests: ?

Weren't they just like the most annoying kind of elders at New Year's?

Constantine stopped using his chopsticks and looked at the two men in confusion.

But A-Yi and A-Er were oblivious. "We'll accompany you. What do you want to sing?"

Their tone was as if to say, We're helping a little brat like you put on a performance. Aren't you satisfied?

Constantine now looked a little uneasy and began furiously picking at his hand with his nails. He used so much force that after only a few scratches, streaks of blood appeared on his soft little hand.

Seeing this, Qiao Huan grew even more puzzled. There was clearly something wrong with the child's reaction.

But Zhuo Yang was a step ahead of him this time. He wrapped his palm around Constantine's hand and looked at the twin brothers.

"We're having dinner together. Can't we eat first?"

"Oh my," A-Er added fuel to the fire. "Look at Constantine. What a temper he has."

"Isn't that right?" A-Yi said with a smile. "All we did was ask him to sing and he ended up like this. Xiao Zhuo, Xiao Qiao, you can't spoil him like that!"

Even Qiao Huan, who had no intention of standing out, couldn't take it anymore. He put down his chopsticks.

"Would you two like to hear a song? I'm one of X4's vocalists. How about I sing for you?"

"Huh?" The twins were stunned. "What's that supposed to mean? That's not what we meant!"

"Oh, come on. It looks like you two can't eat without a song," Zhuo Yang said. "So we'll sing in Dingding's place."

Seeing that Zhuo Yang was about to get angry again, Qiao Huan simply opened his mouth and sang before A-Yi and A-Er could react.

"One wrong step, a lifetime wrong; I took to dancing for a living..."

Qiao Huan hadn't warmed up his voice today, so those first two lines sounded a little raspy at first, but they were full of feeling, just like a recording played on a gramophone.

"...I swallow every tear. Is this my fate?"

At first, everyone needed a moment to process it, but after hearing the lines that followed, they realized what song it was—

It was Tears of a Dancing Girl!

"Hahahahaha." Xiao Yue was the first to lose it, bursting out laughing on the spot.

That was Qiao Huan for you!

Singing at a time like this, whatever the song, wasn't really appropriate. As it happened, "Tears of a Dancing Girl" told the heartrending story of someone forced to perform for a living.

Wasn't that as good as saying he had been forced to sing?

"Tango cha cha rumba..."

The song itself wasn't particularly sad, though. The beat later on was even lively, and Qiao Huan didn't sing it in a particularly mournful way.

By this point, Xiao Yue had already started dancing with her little brat, singing along as well.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly caught fire.

Even Constantine started waving his little hands.

They were too young to understand the emotions in the lyrics and simply danced to the beat.

Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike stopped keeping straight faces too. They simply smiled and joined the children in a tango, rumba, and rock 'n' roll.

Everyone was having a great time, but the lyrics were heartrending. Looking at the monitor, the director saw a scene that looked exactly like some... entertainers forced to perform for a living and their children.

The only ones unable to join in were the twin brothers, who now wore awkward expressions.

The song never once mentioned them forcing someone to sing, yet every line pointed a finger at them!

How mortifying!

Watching from the side, Xiao Feng was endlessly grateful to Qiao Huan.

After all, this wasn't the first or second time A-Yi and A-Er had pulled rank on the show by virtue of their seniority, and no one had ever slapped their faces like this before!

When the song ended, everyone was happy.

Qiao Huan looked at the twins. "Are you two satisfied with our performance?"

The two could only play dumb and applaud. "As expected of a rookie from a boy band. You sang really well!"

Don't ask. If you did, the answer was that it was very awkward.

Who would have thought Constantine would hold out his hand to them without the slightest hesitation and say in his childish voice, "Pay up!"

A-Yi said, "What?"

"Aren't you entertainers?" Constantine's intelligence reclaimed the high ground. "Don't entertainers have to pay when they watch someone perform? Uncle Qiao did such a good job. It's not right for you to watch without paying."

Fuck.

The two were instantly dumbfounded.

Entertainers at least kept up appearances and avoided openly falling out, but a child didn't care about that!

"All right, all right, let's eat. We've worked up an appetite with all that exercise." Seeing things were going wrong, Xiao Yue hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.

They still had a show to film, after all. Enough was enough.

Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang naturally understood that too and brought Constantine to sit down.

Fan Hui arrived at this point as well.

It was Qiao Huan's first time meeting Fan Hui, and he felt she was rather different from what he had imagined.

After spending so much time around Ren Rong, he had formed a preconception and thought Fan Hui would look like a strong, career-minded woman too.

Unexpectedly, she wore only casual clothes and had no makeup on. Even her features looked... gentle.

Fan Hui sat down and looked at Qiao Huan. "Thank you."

Clearly, she had seen what had just happened.

"It's nothing. It was only right."

As Qiao Huan spoke, however, he noticed that Constantine's expression had grown even stranger.

The other little brats either pretended to be well-behaved in front of their parents or became even brattier.

Constantine, however, looked as though his mother's arrival was completely unfamiliar to him.

He was even ill at ease.

And this awkward interaction between mother and son did not change as time passed.

After everyone had spent some time exchanging toasts, Qiao Huan swapped seats with Constantine.

Then he went straight to the point. "Ms. Fan, may I ask if something happened between you and Constantine?"

Fan Hui's body jolted.

But she quickly put on a somewhat angry expression. "Why would you ask me that? Do we know each other well?"

"Of course not, but it would be better if we got to know each other quickly." Qiao Huan paused. "After all, we'll be living with Constantine for a week."

Smack! Fan Hui slammed what she was holding onto the table. "Mr. Qiao, you only need to look after his daily needs. There's no need to follow the Production Team's approach and try to reform him or anything, understand?"

Fan Hui's tone was icy.

But that also convinced Qiao Huan that there was definitely some problem between her and Constantine.

And Fan Hui was leaving for Country U after tonight's gathering... Was she planning to abandon her son and run away?

Meanwhile, A-Yi and A-Er were naturally resentful after being outmaneuvered by juniors like Qiao Huan and the others.

But they had looked after Constantine and knew the child had a psychological trauma related to something...

Then the two began drawing on the table, pretending to do it absentmindedly.

At first, Constantine had been eating diligently with Zhuo Yang's help, but when he suddenly saw what the twins were doing, his whole body immediately began trembling uncontrollably.

"Oh dear," A-Yi said, feigning surprise. "What's wrong with this child again? Little Zhuo, Little Qiao, you need to keep an eye on your little darling!"

Before he had finished speaking, Constantine suddenly broke down in tears and began pounding his head with his little hands.

The commotion was so great that everyone present jumped in fright.

Zhuo Yang immediately tried to take Constantine into his arms, but Constantine resisted with all his might.

Qiao Huan and Fan Hui noticed A-Yi and A-Er's little movements at the same time.

But before Qiao Huan could understand what was happening, Fan Hui had already dashed forward in a single stride.

Smack!

A crisp slap landed across A-Yi's face. Her hair disheveled, Fan Hui looked like an enraged lioness.

As everyone stood there in shock, Fan Hui spoke unhurriedly.

"Do you want me to send the Entertainment Account the story about you two and that financial backer of yours?" Fan Hui's voice held a hint of mockery. "I may be on the verge of bankruptcy, but that doesn't mean you can bully me and my son. Understand?"

A-Yi and A-Er instantly froze like wooden chickens, not daring to make a sound.

They had heard early on that Constantine's mother was about to fall into debt, which was why they had proposed switching children.

And tonight, they had only wanted to step on their juniors to show what they could do. They had never expected to end up cutting their own careers short!

After taking a moment to compose herself, Fan Hui turned around and found Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang holding Constantine together out of the cameras' view and comforting him.

Only when Fan Hui came closer did Qiao Huan see that her eyes had reddened. She murmured to Constantine, "I'm sorry..."

"A-Hui, are you all right?"

Lin Xiangnan, who had been silent the whole time, signaled for the director to turn off the cameras and suddenly asked.

"I'm fine." Fan Hui regained her composure. "The cameras are off over there, right?"

The director nodded like a chick pecking at grain.

Lin Xiangnan was a financial backer of their show. How would the director dare refuse?

"Xiangnan, do me a favor." Fan Hui glanced at Qiao Huan. "From now on, transfer all the twins' resources to Xiu Si for the time being."

"Okay." Lin Xiangnan agreed readily.

No one present had expected Fan Hui and Lin Xiangnan to be so close.

Although they all knew Fan Hui was going bankrupt because of Dreamship, Lin Xiangnan was a major investor in the industry. With a casual pinch of his fingers, he could crush the fortunes of countless minor entertainers!

"We were wrong, Sister Fan! Brother Xiangnan!" A-Yi was already crying. "We're sorry, we didn't mean to do any of it!"

The forty-year-old man wept with tears and snot streaming down his face, as ugly a sight as could be. Even the child they were looking after edged silently away in disgust.

But the two big shots gave no further response, not even sparing them a glance.

Fan Hui merely said to Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang in a voice only they could hear, "Please take good care of him, all right?"

After the two gave her an affirmative answer, she left without looking back, perhaps unwilling to let anyone see her in such an ugly state again.

No one at the scene dared make another sound, but all of them reflected inwardly.

The winds and clouds of the entertainment industry changed in an instant, and its relationships were tangled by a thousand threads. Everyone understood that they shouldn't casually look down on those below them and fawn over those above, but not everyone could put it into practice.

Constantine was such a little brat, and his mother was about to be squeezed out by the capital markets. Everyone had regarded this pair as the worst choice and had been desperate to avoid them.

But Zhuo Yang and Qiao Huan were newcomers who had come to this variety show to fill in, yet they had still treated the matter so seriously.

Compared with the twin brothers, those who understood, understood. They had also earned the approval of Lin Xiangnan, a major investor, so no matter how famous they became afterward, they would deserve it.

Qiao Huan, however, let out a long breath in the shadows.

Just now, when Fan Hui had grown angry, he had noticed an unusual key on the key ring she had slammed onto the table—

The key itself was very old, and it looked as though it hadn't been used in a long time. It also had a little cherry design on it, which looked very childish.

And when Fan Hui left, she forgot to take what she had put on the table.

The key was now in his trouser pocket.