Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Pfft, Wen Zhi’s killing people without bloodshed!"

"She ought to be dragged off to work for a landlord’s family!"

"Hahaha, buck up, farmhands—let’s team up and knife this ruthless landlady Wen Zhi!"

The kids heard the noise and came running out, thrilled to grab breakfast. Wen Zhi sensed something was off and, scratching her nose, headed upstairs.

She stood in her room for a while, her gaze landing on Mu Mu’s study stool. After a few seconds, she stepped onto the stool and peered at the top of the wardrobe, then reached up to feel around.

Live stream viewers were scratching their heads.

"Does she think snacks are up there? Mu Mu’s too short to reach that even on a stool!"

"Wen Zhi’s got a few screws loose. Is she gonna die if she doesn’t eat? First grilling the kids, now digging around—so obnoxious!"

After patting around, Wen Zhi’s drowsy phoenix eyes gleamed. With the audience glued to the screen, she yanked out a giant snack stash. She quickly jumped off the stool, took out a large pack of spicy strips, then stuffed the rest back into the wardrobe.

Footsteps echoed from downstairs. Wen Zhi nibbled a spicy strip, leaned back, and flipped through a magazine, cool as a cucumber.

Soon, Mu Mu appeared at the door. After a “Mom,” he slid out his stool and started writing practice, dead silent. A few characters in, he twitched at a sound behind him—but Mom was still “reading.”

Mu Mu went back to writing, but soon the faint rustling sounds returned. He turned again, but everything seemed normal.

After this happened a few times, Mu Mu’s nose twitched. "Mom, why’s it smell spicy?" he blurted.

Wen Zhi calmly swallowed the spicy strip and replied, "Probably spicy radish downstairs. Want some?"

LOL, snack ninja moves during homework—been there!

LOL, Wen Zhi’s my mom’s spirit animal. Once I caught her, and she smoothly changed the topic too!

The chat exploded with LOLs, shutting the antifans up.

What’s so funny about this? Her stomach’s trash, yet she’s scarfing spicy crap—someone drag her!

Yeah, Wen Zhi’s talent? Sneaking snacks. Pathetic.

Antifans are a joke. If you don’t like Wen Zhi, just leave. Yet you keep popping up—don’t contribute to her views if you hate her so much!

LOL, antifans = closet stans. They’re the ones who keep putting our Sister Zhi on trending!

Facts! Haters fuel Sister Zhi’s clout.

Antifans seethed: They’d meant to cancel her, not trend her.

They came to troll, but stayed for the trainwreck.

Whatever, let’s check out other streams.

After a lame detour to other streams, the antifans slunk back... Ugh. Fine. This dumpster fire’s still addictive.

So… did snack thief Wen Zhi finally get busted?

I'll just talk trash about Wen Zhi whenever I want—so what?

So the trolls casually joined in, watching while hurling insults and simultaneously placing an express order for a whole box of spicy snacks.

The room was quiet. Wen Zhi, who had been leaning against the bedside, suddenly dove under the covers. From the livestream's perspective, the audience could clearly see the blanket shaking.

The chat exploded with question marks.

"?????? What's wrong with Wen Zhi?"

"Mu Mu said she has a weak stomach—could the spice be making her shake?"

"No way, she ate spicy chicken last night without any issues. It's just one pack of spicy snacks."

"Something's not right—the blanket keeps shaking. Someone call the production crew! If Wen Zhi gets what's coming to her, who are we gonna trash then?"

Before anyone could make the call, Mu Mu noticed something was off. He stopped writing, turned around, and watched for a few seconds before suddenly rushing to the bed and reaching out to feel Wen Zhi's forehead. His eyes flashed with panic for just a second before he dashed to the doorway and yelled downstairs, "Uncle Director, come quick! My mom is sick!"

The commotion startled those downstairs. Wen Bingchun was the first to charge upstairs, with Liu Yiru close behind. Lin Jiyao hesitated at the doorway, unsure if he should enter, while the other three kids peeked inside.

Director Fang and his assistant hurried upstairs. Wen Bingchun immediately pulled the blanket off—not to help, but to check if Wen Zhi was still alive.

"You're sick? What's wrong?"

"Not sick..." Wen Zhi clutched her stomach, sweat beading on her forehead. "Not sick, just sick to my stomach seeing you all of a sudden."

Wen Bingchun: "..." So the sight of her made Wen Zhi want to vomit?!

How much ruder could she be?!

As Wen Bingchun reached out to pull her up, Mu Mu stepped in to block her. The little boy spoke quickly but steadily, "Mom ate something bad and has a stomachache. Get the doctor for a shot." Then he swiftly grabbed a cup of water from the bedside and held it to Wen Zhi's lips. "Mom, drink hot water. It'll help the pain."

Once the cause was clear, Director Fang immediately summoned the staff doctor. As treatment progressed, Wen Zhi gradually recovered.

Throughout the ordeal, Mu Mu handled everything with remarkable composure—completely unlike a typical five-year-old.

The other parents and the production team looked at Mu Mu with new respect.

This kid might be quiet, but he’s sharp and level-headed in a crisis—like a tiny general leading troops!

In ancient times, he’d either be a royal heir or the scion of a wealthy family groomed for leadership.

And yet, his mom was a hopeless food addict who didn’t care about her health.

When the guests and crew learned Wen Zhi had gotten sick from sneaking spicy snacks, they were stunned: What kind of ridiculous parent is this? At this point, it’s clear Mu Mu is the one raising Wen Zhi, not the other way around.

"Respect. Absolute respect. With a son like this, no wonder Wen Zhi acts so recklessly!"

"And now she's out cold napping with an IV drip. Unbelievable!"

"I don’t get why she’s so obsessed with eating."

In the room, Xiao Xiao kept Mu Mu company as they watched the IV drip.

The little girl tilted her head and asked in a sweet voice, "Brother Mu Mu, why does your mom eat so much? She ate herself sick!" Ever since they met, she'd always seen the pretty sister eating something.

Mu Mu’s little brows knit together. He leaned close to Xiao Xiao’s ear and whispered, "Ever since I can remember, Mom’s loved eating. If there’s no food, she panics. My teacher said she once got lost in the jungle and starved for a long, long time—that's why she loves food. But my nanny said it's because she was locked in a dark room and starved for half a month... that's what started her obsession."

They thought they were whispering, but the live stream audience heard every word clearly.

"Holy crap, whoa, info overload! What does Mu Mu mean? Did Wen Zhi survive in the wild and eat tree roots, making her unable to handle hunger? It's unlikely in this society for someone to develop trauma from starvation, right?"

"What kind of solitary confinement? Who locked her up? Help, is this some dark backstory we don’t know about? Wen Zhi is so beautiful—could she have been some creep’s pet canary, starved when she disobeyed?"

"Now that you mention it, Mu Mu talks like an ancient scholar, with mentions of a 'master' and 'nanny.' Maybe he really is a runaway young master from some remote mountain or ancient tribe. His dad must be some tyrannical old-fashioned man."

"WTF, y’all are reaching! Use some common sense—what remote mountains or ancient tribes are left in modern society?"

The audience grew increasingly curious about the identities of this mother-son pair.

"Based on Mu Mu’s description, Wen Zhi might have something like 'famine anxiety disorder'!"

"Can someone explain what 'famine anxiety disorder' is?"

Soon, an explanation appeared in the chat.

"A psychological condition where people develop a lingering fear of hunger after enduring extreme starvation in specific environments. Sufferers constantly crave food and feel anxious without it."

"Holy crap, I Googled it—sounds scary. Wen Zhi likes to eat, but is it really 'famine anxiety disorder'?"

"Ugh, I just want to know who that damn bastard dared to lock up our Sister Zhi! How could anyone hurt such a pretty jiejie?"

"Ahhh, am I watching a family vlog or true crime episode?"

The chat took a bizarre turn, while in the room, Xiao Xiao cocked her head and asked innocently, "What’s a 'master'? And what’s 'nanny'? Can you eat it?"

The eerie atmosphere instantly shattered with the little girl’s clueless question.

Mu Mu explained, "A master is the teacher who taught me to read and write. A nanny is a person—you can’t eat them."

Xiao Xiao: "Then why is it called 'bread'?"

Mu Mu scratched his head. "...I... I don’t know either."

Xiao Xiao: "Should we wake your mom up and ask her?"

"Hahaha, I’m wheezing, Xiao Xiao is so cute!"

"Ugh, I feel bad for Wen Zhi for a second—she’s hooked up to an IV drip and might get dragged into answering questions!"

Luckily, Mu Mu had enough sense not to actually wake his poor mom up.

……

By noon, Wen Zhi had recovered after two IV drips in the morning. She was back to her usual self during lunch, eating heartily. Just as she set down her chopsticks, Xiao Xiao and Sen Sen, who had been staring at her with big eyes, suddenly scampered off to the room.

Soon, the two kids returned, shoving all their hidden snacks into her hands.

Wen Zhi was surprised and touched, patting Xiao Xiao’s head. "Wow, Xiao Xiao and Sen Sen are so sweet! Are you giving me snacks because I was sick?"

Xiao Xiao shook her head vigorously. "No! Mu Mu Gege was right—snacks will rot your stomach. We’re giving them back to you!"

Wen Zhi: "..."

"LMAO, Wen Zhi’s heartwarming moment: canceled!"

"Kids are so easy to trick! They must’ve been scared by Wen Zhi. She really sold it with her acting. Hahaha, Mother of the Year (China edition)!"

After lunch, Director Fang led everyone to the center of the endless wheat field.

In the field, a group of villagers were chatting and laughing merrily while harvesting wheat, creating a lively scene with distinctive countryside charm.

Director Fang said with a smile, "This afternoon, you parents get to take your little ones to experience the annual Harvest Day of Wheatfield Village." As he spoke, the crew began distributing tools to the parents.

The parents received straw hats, protective coveralls, sickles, and bamboo poles, while the children were also given straw hats and coveralls.

"In front of you are two carefully selected plots of land by the crew. Each pair of two groups of guests must complete the tasks of cutting, threshing, and drying wheat under the guidance of the farmer uncles. The team that finishes first will enjoy an extra-special feast, while the slower team will only get porridge."

Having lived for over twenty years without ever touching a sickle, Wen Bingchun couldn't help but feel tricked by her agent. Wasn’t this supposed to be a relaxing trip to a picturesque mountain village with kids? Why did it feel like nothing but hard labor from start to finish?

She had watched the previous season—wasn’t it all about beach resorts or luxury vacations? How did things take such a hard left turn when it came to her?

"Director Fang, I have a question—does Wen Zhi count as a team?"

Since Wen Zhi was still under the weather and needed two more IV drips in the afternoon, even this production crew wouldn’t force a sick person to work.

But since it was a show, participation was still expected.

Wen Zhi insisted on coming, claiming she wanted to accompany Mu Mu through his growth.

Everyone turned to look: under a massive sunshade set up in an open area, Wen Zhi lounged comfortably on Elder Village Chief’s rocking chair, receiving her IV drip, munching on watermelon, and admiring the endless wheat field scenery.

To prevent her from overheating and worsening her condition, Director Fang even assigned a personal assistant to fan her and monitor her IV drip.

Her posture was the very picture of a supervising landlord’s wife.

Wow, talk about perfect timing.

As everyone stared at Wen Zhi, she, cool as a cucumber, took a sip from her thermos.

Director Fang said, "Of course she counts. Why wouldn’t she? This is the perfect moment to test everyone’s team spirit and kindness. Which group is willing to team up with Wen Zhi and Mu Mu?"

Author’s Note:

The other three parents: They cared... just not that much.