Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Soon, the group arrived at the car.

Lin Yi went to put the luggage in the trunk.

Huo Mianmian stood by the car door waiting for him.

During this time, he tried to climb into the car himself, but the vehicle's base was too high for him to manage.

Seeing this, the staff member said to Huo Mianmian, "Mianmian, shall I carry you into the car?"

Huo Mianmian, still not adept at physical contact, took a step back immediately.

The staff member, fearing they might scare him, did not insist.

Huo Mianmian tried again on his own but found he still couldn't climb up.

So he turned to look in Lin Yi's direction.

At that moment, Lin Yi had finished putting away the suitcase and walked over.

Huo Mianmian immediately held out his hands, making a gesture as if asking for a hug.

Lin Yi asked, "Can't Mianmian get into the car by himself?"

Huo Mianmian nodded his little head and continued to ask for a hug.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.

It was rare; this was the first time his little one had asked him for a hug.

As he thought about it, he bent down and picked up Huo Mianmian.

To his surprise, holding his little one gave him a particularly novel feeling.

The child felt soft all over, like a glutinous rice ball, making him hesitant to hold too tightly.

Moreover, probably because he had drunk milk before leaving, Huo Mianmian had a faint sweet milk scent, perfectly fitting his image as a little milk ball.

Lin Yi carried him into the car and placed him in the child seat.

Before leaving, he couldn't resist pinching his chubby cheeks, then returned to his own seat with satisfaction.

"Aah, I want to hug Mianmian too!"

"Is it too late to kidnap him now?"

"Nothing but envy."

The car continued driving forward.

Lin Yi played with his phone for a while, then leaned back against the seat and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the car had already reached their destination.

Their filming location was a countryside inn.

The inn was a two-story house, spotlessly clean, surrounded by vegetable patches filled with various vegetables and fruits.

Not far away were a river and some small hills.

It looked like a picturesque utopia.

After getting out of the car, Lin Yi took a look around and then went to pick up Huo Mianmian.

Huo Mianmian had also taken a nap in the car and was still a bit drowsy, blinking his eyes slowly.

He rubbed his eyes with his little hands.

Familiarity breeds ease, and Lin Yi directly lifted him out of the car, saying, "Mianmian, look, this is where we'll be staying. Isn't it beautiful?"

Before coming to film the show, he had told Huo Mianmian they would see beautiful scenery, and now it seemed he had kept his promise.

Huo Mianmian listened to Lin Yi and looked around with his round eyes, then smiled with pursed lips.

From the dimples on his cheeks, it was clear he was quite pleased with the place.

Lin Yi smiled and said, "Shall we settle down here then?"

Huo Mianmian smiled and nodded his little head.

Soon, father and son walked into the countryside inn together.

Inside, another pair of guests had already arrived.

The adult was a popular male celebrity, harmless-looking, with a sunny smile that made him the prince charming in many hearts.

The child was a child actor who had appeared in several films and TV shows.

They weren't real father and son but a temporary pairing for the show, currently the most popular guest duo, labeled as "intern dad and cute kid."

Upon entering, Lin Yi immediately spotted the adult and raised an eyebrow, somewhat meaningfully.

Wasn't this his cousin?

What a coincidence.

The original owner's poor reputation in the entertainment industry was largely due to this cousin.

After all, if Cousin wasn't trash, how could it highlight Cousin's excellence?

He Nian always portrayed himself as harmless and friendly. Seeing Lin Yi, he immediately approached him with a warm greeting: "Cousin, you're here."

To those unaware, they might think they were long-lost brothers.

Lin Yi responded with a nonchalant "Mm."

He was taller than He Nian, and looking down at him added a hint of scrutiny to his gaze.

He Nian felt something was off about his cousin, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The comments were scrolling rapidly.

"Are these two relatives? Will they fight for popularity in the same show?"

"Holy crap, this is my favorite part! Fight, fight!"

"One is a cousin, the other a nephew, but their statuses in the entertainment industry are worlds apart."

"Leaving aside character, Lin Yi is definitely better-looking than He Nian."

"Haha, Lin Yi only has three million followers on Weibo, and most of them might be fake. How can he compare to our He Nian?"

"Fact: He Nian has over twenty million followers on Weibo."

"Can Lin Yi just go away and not bother our Nian?"

"I'm actually laughing. Lin Yi hasn't done anything yet, why such a big reaction?"

"Exactly, it's like he committed a crime or something."

"But I'm a loyal fan of Lin Yi's looks; I don't care about the rest."

While the comments were filled with criticism, the atmosphere remained superficially harmonious in reality.

After all, this was being filmed, and no one would be foolish enough to cause trouble during a live broadcast.

He Nian continued to display his good manners.

He took out a plush toy from a handbag and walked over to Huo Mianmian, offering it to him: "Here, Mianmian, a little gift for you. The other kids have gifts too."

"He Nian, I'm crying! This man is always so considerate!"

"Indeed, he came all this way and still bought gifts for every child. So touching."

Huo Mianmian shook his head, refusing the gift.

Though he didn't fully understand, he had noticed that his father didn't seem to like this person, so he wouldn't either.

He Nian persisted, extending the gift further: "Take it, it's really cute."

Huo Mianmian still shook his head sternly.

He wouldn't accept it.

He was on his father's side!

Lin Yi, unaware of Huo Mianmian's thoughts, felt a bit relieved seeing his son's response.

Feeling a bit awkward, He Nian put the toy away and said, "Looks like Mianmian doesn't like this gift. I'll get you something else next time."

This small incident passed.

Lin Yi placed his luggage in a corner and went to wash his hands in the bathroom.

Unexpectedly, He Nian followed him in.

Lin Yi turned off the faucet, looked up, and gave He Nian a cold stare through the mirror.

Clearly, He Nian was taking advantage of the absence of the cameraman to talk to him privately.

Sure enough, after entering, He Nian neither used the restroom nor did anything else. Instead, he smiled at Lin Yi and asked, "Cousin, what have you been busy with lately?"

As Lin Yi dried his hands with a paper towel, he replied with a faint smile, "Just some trivial matters."

He Nian seemed to sense Lin Yi's attitude and brought up a previous incident: "Cousin, are you still angry with me? During that interview, I had no idea what the organizers were thinking, to slander you like that!"

Not long ago, the original host and He Nian attended an interview together. Despite it being the same interview, the treatment was entirely different—one was trampled upon while the other was praised.

That interview further tarnished the original host's reputation, while He Nian was portrayed as perfect.

It was unclear how much He Nian had orchestrated this.

But this wasn't the only incident.

Being relatives of similar age who grew up together, they were inevitably compared in various aspects.

Whenever He Nian was present, the original host would be endlessly belittled, even without doing anything, and would be criticized.

Despite this, the original host never suspected anything wrong with his cousin, instead believing him to be kind-hearted and always willing to play with him.

At this moment, He Nian continued to defend Lin Yi passionately: "Cousin, you don't know, I was ready to send a lawyer's letter to them for being so outrageous!"

If it were the original host, he would have said, "Forget it, I'm touched by your intention."

However, Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and said, "Alright, then go ahead and send it."

He Nian: "Ah?"

He Nian was stunned.

Lin Yi asked in confusion, "Didn't you say yourself that you were going to send a lawyer's letter?"

He Nian: "..."

He had only said it in passing.

Feeling a bit cornered, He Nian hesitated for a moment before saying somewhat helplessly, "Cousin, here's the thing. Although I want to help you, you know that some things aren't that simple. I'm just a worker in the entertainment industry with no real power..."

If it were the original Lin Yi, he would have started comforting He Nian by now.

Thinking this, He Nian deliberately sighed repeatedly, waiting for Lin Yi to say something comforting.

However, Lin Yi threw the paper towel he had been using into the trash and then said coldly, "Has anyone ever taught you that when you can't help someone, don't act as if you've already helped them, or even try to make them grateful to you?"

After all, He Nian had often won people over with his words, even though most of the time they were empty promises.

He Nian choked, "..."

Indeed, it wasn't just his imagination; his cousin was different from before.

What exactly had changed?

At this moment, Lin Yi had already started walking away.

Seeing this, He Nian forced himself to collect his thoughts and said to Lin Yi, "By the way, Cousin, since you and Mr. Huo are together, I haven't given you any congratulations yet. How about I come over and congratulate you both when you're both available?"

His tone was noticeably different from before.

Clearly, this was his real reason for coming to the restroom to find Lin Yi.

He Nian didn't want to meet Huo Jihan alone, but as someone of his status, he couldn't reach someone like Huo Jihan.

So, he had to resort to meeting him through Lin Yi.

Lin Yi paused in his steps and turned to look at He Nian.

When He Nian met his gaze, he was startled for a moment. For some reason, he felt as if he was being seen through.

He tried to gather his courage and stood there calmly.

Lin Yi looked at He Nian and gave an enigmatic smile.

Indeed, He Nian had ulterior motives, thinking about Huo Jihan.

It made sense; after all, Huo Jihan was the powerful figurehead of the Huo family, a top-tier mogul. Who wouldn't be interested?

Lin Yi continued to look at He Nian without speaking.

He Nian subconsciously swallowed, feeling a chill down his spine.

Just as he was about to give up, Lin Yi finally spoke slowly, "We'll see."

He Nian, feeling anxious, quickly said, "How can we just see? I haven't even congratulated you yet."

Lin Yi replied nonchalantly, "The gift is enough; your presence isn't necessary."

He Nian: "..."

He forced a laugh, "Cousin, are you joking?"

Lin Yi smiled back, "Guess?"

He Nian: "..."

So, what did Lin Yi mean? Was he welcome or not?

Why was he finding it harder and harder to understand Lin Yi?