Fu Xiaoxiao had never seen an adult cry before. For a moment, he forgot to carry on and stared blankly at Su Huaiming.
After yawning, Su Huaiming felt a little more awake. He lowered his eyes to look at the sulking Fu Xiaoxiao.
With a brat as badly behaved as Fu Xiaoxiao, you absolutely couldn't indulge him, or he'd think you were a pushover. You couldn't reason with him either; Fu Xiaoxiao was too young to understand. A physical punishment might work, but a child this young would only cry louder and louder if he was hit.
That left only one option...
Su Huaiming raised an eyebrow.
It was just crying and throwing a tantrum. Who couldn't do that?!
Without the slightest concern for his image as an idol, Su Huaiming sat cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes, and fake-cried without putting any feeling into it.
The display frightened Fu Xiaoxiao so much that his wails dwindled to quiet sobs.
But he had been spoiled, so he still felt perfectly justified in demanding, "I-I I'm a little kid, and you... you're my stepdad. You have to help me!"
Su Huaiming opened his eyes, taking great care to preserve the tears his yawn had brought out. He slapped his thigh and complained aggrievedly, "It's your first time being a kid, and it's my first time being a stepdad. It's the first time either of us has been a person, so why should I give in to you?!"
Fu Xiaoxiao's little brain couldn't keep up, and Su Huaiming's words left him thoroughly confused.
That seems to make a lot of sense.
How could Fu Xiaoxiao possibly beat Su Huaiming in an argument? He sniffled a couple of times, his cheeks still flushed from crying, and pursed his lips in thought. "Um... oh..."
Su Huaiming simply copied what Fu Xiaoxiao had done earlier, shaking his shoulders in exaggerated movements and kicking his long legs in the air. The LEGO pieces Fu Xiaoxiao had thrown at him were pushed back to Fu Xiaoxiao's feet.
It was the first time Fu Xiaoxiao had seen what his tantrums looked like from the sidelines. Su Huaiming was also much bigger than Fu Xiaoxiao, making the display quite frightening.
Fu Xiaoxiao froze, completely silent.
When Su Huaiming no longer heard Fu Xiaoxiao wailing, he covered his face with his hands and secretly opened one eye to watch his reaction.
[Hahahahaha, Su Huaiming is way too cute!]
[That little peek with one eye totally hit me right in the feels.]
[Well said! It's everyone's first time being a person, so why should we give in to you?!]
[Hahahahaha, that's exactly how you deal with a brat. I'll cry louder and throw a bigger tantrum than you. Let's see who's afraid of whom?!]
[Exactly. Aren't we all kids?]
[I've learned my lesson. Next time my nephew throws a tantrum, I'll use this trick too and give him a taste of his own medicine.]
Fu Xiaoxiao pressed his lips together and reflected on his behavior for the first time. He didn't think Su Huaiming could just keep crying like this. He tried to get closer but was frightened back, and said quietly, "I won't ask you to help me anymore. Isn't that enough...?"
While Fu Xiaoxiao wasn't looking, Su Huaiming deliberately rubbed his eyes red, making it look as though he'd been crying hard. "That's not enough. You hit my foot with those LEGO pieces just now, and it really hurt!"
"Um..." Fu Xiaoxiao really didn't know what to do, so he could only say, "Th-then I'll blow on it for you."
Su Huaiming thought for a few seconds, then reluctantly nodded.
Fu Xiaoxiao walked over to Su Huaiming and crouched down, blowing on his foot from quite a distance away.
"Does it still hurt?" Fu Xiaoxiao raised his head and looked at Su Huaiming with watery eyes, asking in his soft little voice.
When Fu Xiaoxiao wasn't throwing a tantrum, he was incredibly cute. Su Huaiming couldn't resist and toned it down a little. "It's not too bad, but you still haven't apologized to me."
"I'm sorry." Fu Xiaoxiao tried hard to pronounce every sound correctly.
"Will you do it again?" Su Huaiming asked in a gentler tone.
Su Huaiming's tantrum had really scared Fu Xiaoxiao. He shook his head like a rattle drum. "No, no."
Only then did Su Huaiming nod in satisfaction. He added, "I saw you hit Auntie with your hand just now."
Fu Xiaoxiao gave a puzzled little sound and looked down at his soft, fair palms as if he didn't recognize them. "I didn't. I didn't mean to do it. My hands moved by themselves."
"Even so, you still need to apologize."
Fu Xiaoxiao thought he was still little, and if those nannies started crying and throwing tantrums like Su Huaiming, he definitely wouldn't be able to handle it!
Before the nannies could start crying, Fu Xiaoxiao turned to them and said, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
The nannies had never seen Fu Xiaoxiao behave so politely, and it was also the first time they'd heard him apologize. A little overwhelmed, they waved their hands repeatedly. "It's all right."
Only then did Su Huaiming dust off his clothes and stand up by himself. Looking at the mess all over the floor, he said to the nannies, "Sorry for the trouble, but could you help Xiao Xiao tidy up?"
The nannies nodded repeatedly.
Su Huaiming then looked at Fu Xiaoxiao.
Only now did he notice that Fu Xiaoxiao was squatting on the floor like a little radish, leaning away from him, his eyes wide and his brows slightly furrowed. His mouth, too, was pulled back with the effort.
His expression was fifty percent wary, thirty percent afraid, and twenty percent disgusted, as if to say, "This grown-up is so annoying when he throws a tantrum."
Su Huaiming: "..."
[Hahahahahaha, a little kid actually finds him annoying.]
[Su Huaiming is just copying you, baby Xiao Xiao. You should be disgusted with yourself!]
[Sure enough, only a bratty adult can handle a bratty kid.]
[I used to think Su Huaiming was sleazy and useless, but now I see he's really entertaining.]
[I'm suddenly looking forward to more interactions between this stepdad and stepson.]
[Looking forward to it +1. I'm moving into this livestream from now on.]
Of the three livestreams, Su Huaiming's generated the most discussion and drew the most attention. Related topics immediately shot up the trending searches.
#It's everyone's first time being a person, so why should I give in to you#
#Su Huaiming parenting variety show#
#Su Huaiming stepdad#
#Su Huaiming brat#
The highest-ranking topic among them was #A beauty in tears#.
Clicking on it revealed that the most popular Weibo post wasn't from a major media outlet, a marketing account, or even the show's official account, but a question from a passerby.
He posted a picture of a tear slipping from the corner of Su Huaiming's eye as he looked up and asked excitedly who this tearful beauty was, declaring that he needed his contact information right now!
Netizens immediately flocked to his comments section.
[My friend, you don't know how cruel the world can be. You've been fooled!]
[This moment is beautiful, but once you see what he did afterward, the illusion will be shattered.]
This netizen posted a GIF of Su Huaiming fake-crying with his eyes closed, followed by another of him shaking his shoulders and kicking his legs.
[Hahahahaha, the person above is too ruthless.]
[You're stealing all the bamboo shoots. Leave some for the pandas!]
[Where did he go? Was it too much of a shock?]
[After seeing those two GIFs, his illusion must be shattered.]
But the netizen who had posted on Weibo soon appeared in the comments:
[The illusion isn't shattered. Now I want to make him cry even more. Drool.jpg]
The author had something to say:
Netizens: You've got some wild tastes!
But... it actually seemed pretty good.
Chapter 5: 005
After just that segment of the livestream, Su Huaiming stayed on the trending searches all day. There was simply so much to discuss about him.
How could a broke, washed-up celebrity live somewhere so upscale?
When had he gotten married? And who was his spouse?
Why was Fu Xiaoxiao so cute, yet so fierce?
Why had Su Huaiming's looks changed so much?
How had Su Huaiming scored such a complete victory over the brat?
Although the vast majority of people still didn't approve of Su Huaiming and hurled all kinds of insults at him, the attention was undeniable.
The production team had originally considered paying for a trending search to promote the show, but Su Huaiming's appearance not only saved them the expense; the results were also far better than they had expected.
The director was so delighted that he smiled even while eating. Although Su Huaiming had originally been cast as cannon fodder, he felt he had struck gold, and even thought he could live off the success of this variety show for the rest of his life.
The equipment had to be set up on the first day, so filming time was limited. As soon as filming began on the second day, a huge wave of people poured into the livestream.
[Hahahahaha, I'm back to watch Su Huaiming bravely battle the brat.]
[I watched yesterday's clip several times. How are Su Huaiming's brat-imitation moves so cute?!]
[When I watched the talent show before, I thought he was annoying and ugly and didn't want to look at him for a second longer. But now I've made that picture of him crying my phone wallpaper.]
[Same. Su Huaiming's beauty hit me hard too.]
As the livestream continued, everyone saw a crowd standing in a densely packed line on the large lawn behind the villa.
The weather was beautiful today, but the sunlight was so bright that they could barely open their eyes. Standing in it too long could even make them dizzy.
The camera gradually zoomed in, revealing that some of the people wore suits, some wore security uniforms, and others wore their own casual clothes... The cleaners and cooks were among them too.
They had arranged themselves into two rows, all wearing downcast expressions, as though they had lost the will to live.
[??? What's going on?]
[Could they have been gathered for a lecture?]
[I get it. Su Huaiming must want to act like the master of the house, so he called everyone together to lecture them in public.]
As everyone speculated, Fu Xiaoxiao walked over with his head held high and his chest out. He wore a little suit, buttoned all the way to the top, and a pair of shiny little leather shoes.
Seeing that everyone had assembled, he copied what he had seen on TV, raised his hand solemnly to greet them, and then said in his soft little voice, "The performance is about to begin! The first act is 'Little Rabbit, Be Good,' performed by Fu Xiaoxiao."
After imitating a host announcing the act, Fu Xiaoxiao took three steps to the side, pretending the host had left the stage. When he walked back, he changed his expression to show that he was now the performer, Fu Xiaoxiao.