Su Huaiming landed just then, depressing the trampoline. Fu Xiaoxiao's two short little legs lost their balance, and he plopped down on his bottom, looking dazed and slow to react.
Fu Xiaoxiao: "..." Boo-hoo, my stepdad is so mean!
Fu Xiaoxiao had always deliberately interrupted other people playing on the trampoline. Now he finally knew how it felt. His bun-like cheeks puffed up with anger as he crawled into a tunnel to the side, no longer wanting to play with Su Huaiming!
Even children with endless energy got tired. After playing for quite a while, Fu Xiaoxiao finally stopped to rest.
In the past, he had refused to leave because he wanted to see the butler and the others getting anxious.
He didn't like those people. Behind his back, they called him a burden, an unwanted wild child!
But this time, Fu Xiaoxiao had miscalculated.
Su Huaiming was still having a great time and showed no sign of impatience at having to wait.
Fu Xiaoxiao really couldn't keep going. For the first time, he walked out of the children's play area of his own accord.
The butler had been put through this several times before. Seeing Fu Xiaoxiao walk out obediently, he was so moved that his eyes nearly filled with tears.
After putting on his shoes, Fu Xiaoxiao stood beside the play area and watched Su Huaiming through the fence.
Su Huaiming was crawling through the various tunnels, poking his head out every now and then before quickly disappearing again. It looked just like a game of whack-a-mole.
Fu Xiaoxiao wanted to go home and play with his toys. He planted his hands on his hips and shouted in his little baby voice, "Stepdad, let's go home!"
Two or three seconds passed before Su Huaiming poked his head out of a tunnel. His voice wasn't very clear from so far away. "I want to play a little longer."
Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao's positions had completely reversed. Treating him like a child who didn't want to stop playing, Fu Xiaoxiao lectured, "Stop playing."
Although Su Huaiming's health had improved considerably, he had been too absorbed in playing just now. He was breathing heavily, and his chest felt tight.
There was plenty of time ahead, and he could come back to play under the pretext of accompanying Fu Xiaoxiao. Su Huaiming was just about to leave when he suddenly remembered something the butler had said.
Su Huaiming stopped and deliberately asked, "I managed to climb all the way up here. Am I amazing or what?"
Fu Xiaoxiao thought his stepdad was childish and clingy. Like a little adult, he sighed helplessly and gave him two perfunctory claps. "You're so amazing."
Only then did Su Huaiming nod in satisfaction and walk out of the play area. Fu Xiaoxiao waited to the side with his arms crossed, looking utterly exasperated.
[Hahahahaha, I can't tell who's the child and who's the parent anymore.]
[I'm calling this move: as long as I'm the bigger brat, the bratty kid can only surrender to me!]
[I'm dying. Walk the child's path and leave the child with nowhere to go.]
[Su Huaiming asking for praise with a straight face is so cute.]
[After all, Su Huaiming is only a 22-year-old baby. Doge.jpg]
[Nothing wrong with that. I'm almost 30 this year, and I still think I'm a baby.]
The atmosphere in the comments was cheerful, but Su Huaiming's antis were still stirring up trouble.
[Su Huaiming doesn't have an ounce of parental authority. He's just giving up on educating the kid, and people are praising him for it?]
[Adults should act like adults. This will ruin the image adults have in children's minds.]
[Su Huaiming is a terrible person. Just look at how badly he's corrupted Fu Xiaoxiao!]
Usually, the comments would have been overwhelmingly against Su Huaiming, but this time was different.
[That's a stereotype. Adults can be young at heart too. What's wrong with being a little childish sometimes?]
[I think Su Huaiming did a great job. For those saying there's something wrong with his parenting, can you come up with a better way to deal with a brat?]
[Su Huaiming seems pretty good at this. If he'd raised Fu Xiaoxiao himself, how could the kid have turned out like this?]
[Wild guess: Su Huaiming only got married recently and hasn't spent much time with Xiao Xiao. Fu Xiaoxiao was already a brat before that.]
[So who exactly did Su Huaiming marry? These gossip accounts are useless. They still haven't dug it up!]
The discussion in the livestream was lively, but it didn't affect Su Huaiming or Fu Xiaoxiao. Both were a little tired and ready to go home.
Su Huaiming had only taken a few steps forward when he saw Fu Xiaoxiao hold out his hand to him.
???
With a faintly disdainful look, Fu Xiaoxiao said awkwardly, "I'll hold your hand, so make sure you don't get lost."
Su Huaiming hadn't expected Fu Xiaoxiao to remember that. He had already been worried about Fu Xiaoxiao running off, so the boy offering to hold his hand was just what he wanted.
As for the reason, that wasn't important.
Su Huaiming took Fu Xiaoxiao's little hand, and the two walked forward side by side, one big and one small.
Feeling the warmth around his hand, Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at Su Huaiming and gave a few little snorts.
Su Huaiming is such a useless adult. He even gets lost at the mall.
Oh well, I'll just have to look after him.
Chapter 7: 007
The three days of filming at home soon came to an end. Throughout that time, Su Huaiming's mysterious spouse never came home.
The livestream viewers and the production crew were all very disappointed and could only pin their hopes on the gossip accounts.
Su Huaiming quickly packed his luggage, but when he went to check on Fu Xiaoxiao, he found seven or eight suitcases on the floor of his room, all stuffed full.
??? Did a three-year-old really need to bring so much stuff for a few days away?!
Su Huaiming looked down and surveyed them. At least three suitcases contained LEGO sets and building blocks Fu Xiaoxiao hadn't finished assembling, along with three or four unopened picture books.
His head full of question marks, Su Huaiming asked, "What are you bringing these for?"
Fu Xiaoxiao said as if it were obvious, "To finish putting them together, of course."
Su Huaiming: "..."
It was like a student bringing a schoolbag full of textbooks and workbooks home for the holidays.
Hilarious. Forget finishing them—he won't even take them out!
Fu Xiaoxiao had packed so many useless things that they couldn't even carry them all. Su Huaiming issued an ultimatum on the spot. "All of these stay home. You can bring two suitcases at most."
Hearing this, Fu Xiaoxiao immediately got angry and grumbled unhappily, "Why can't I bring them?"
Su Huaiming replied with perfect confidence, "Because we can't carry them."
"We can get someone else to help." Fu Xiaoxiao had enjoyed the best material comforts since he was little and had always gotten whatever he wanted. Someone had always been there to attend to him; he didn't even have to dress or feed himself. So, as far as he knew, no matter how much he brought, someone would always help him carry it.
But Su Huaiming wasn't having it. "Only two people can go on the show. If you want someone else to help with your luggage, then you can stay home by yourself."
Fu Xiaoxiao's eyes instantly went round, and he protested in his little baby voice, "No! I have to be on TV!"
Su Huaiming shrugged. "Then you can't bring so much luggage."
Fu Xiaoxiao wasn't so easily convinced. He wasn't even as tall as Su Huaiming's thigh, but he ordered, "You carry it for me!"
Su Huaiming was completely frank, without a trace of hesitation. "I can't carry it."
Fu Xiaoxiao put his hands on his hips and looked at Su Huaiming, thinking how useless his stepdad was.
He's an adult, but he still cries and makes a fuss, gets lost at the mall, has to be praised before he'll leave, and can't carry luggage...
He's not even as capable as a kid like me!
Su Huaiming knew the little brat cared about saving face, so he went on, "The other children can all pull their own suitcases. You're the only one who needs an adult to help."
At that, Fu Xiaoxiao immediately objected. "I can carry my own suitcase too!"
Su Huaiming had been waiting for those words. He deliberately provoked him. "But can you lift it?"
"Of course I can." Despite his young age, Fu Xiaoxiao looked very smug. "I'm really strong."
Su Huaiming nodded, looking as though he had complete confidence in Fu Xiaoxiao.
Once Fu Xiaoxiao had to carry his own luggage, he immediately gave up on bringing seven suitcases. With the nanny's help, he ended up packing only two children's suitcases.
Fu Xiaoxiao dragged the two suitcases all the way around the villa, showing off to prove he could carry them himself.
Su Huaiming watched the scene with a smile.
Only by experiencing it himself would Fu Xiaoxiao realize how unreasonable his demands were. Once he ran into difficulties, he would naturally make concessions.
After packing, Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao took the production crew's car to the filming location the next day.
Sleepiness was contagious. Seeing how soundly Su Huaiming slept, Fu Xiaoxiao snuggled up beside him, closed his eyes, and fell asleep too. The two, one big and one small, got along peacefully on the way, without any trouble.
After getting off the plane, Su Huaiming was still groggy. He went back to sleep in the car, and only then did his head clear.
It was Fu Xiaoxiao's first time going so far away. He stayed pressed against the window, looking around excitedly at the view outside.
The production crew's car stopped in front of a villa. This was where they would be staying.
Knowing he would meet the other children, Fu Xiaoxiao had spent a long time deliberating in the dressing room beforehand. He had specially chosen a child's little suit and a detective hat, and was pulling a small black suitcase himself. He looked especially cool.
[Xiao Xiao is way too cute. He could totally be a child model!]
[As long as Xiao Xiao isn't throwing a bratty tantrum, he's the cutest little kid in the world.]
[Su Huaiming is wearing a casual suit too. Are those specially coordinated father-son outfits?]
[Standing together, father and son are ridiculously good-looking!]
Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao walked inside and found that another pair of guests had already arrived.
He had a head of blue hair, delicate features and a cold expression, with blue diamonds glinting on his earlobes.
Dressed in a stylish black utility outfit, he stood tall, half a head taller than Su Huaiming. He was looking at Su Huaiming through lowered eyelids, looking cool and aloof.
This was the rock singer Yu Ruicheng. His music was explosive and wild, the kind that could make an elderly person's heart stop. Yu Ruicheng himself was also rather cold and didn't much like engaging with people. There had frequently been rumors in the past that he acted like a diva.
Who hadn't liked this type of guy when they were young? Men liked Yu Ruicheng's good looks and cool demeanor too. Most importantly, Yu Ruicheng was exceptionally talented and skilled in music. His new releases all ranked near the top of the charts, and just a few years after his debut, he was already extremely popular.
As soon as Yu Ruicheng appeared, the fans in the livestream started screaming.
[Aaah, husband!]
[Yu Ruicheng is so handsome, he's exactly my type.]
[He's so cold. As expected of the entertainment industry's number-one fierce gong!]
[!! Standing next to Yu Ruicheng, Su Huaiming's looks aren't overshadowed at all.]
[It's true! Yu Ruicheng's looks are among the best in the entertainment industry, and Su Huaiming actually doesn't lose to him.]