Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Late at night.

Little Sweet Potato.

In the trending topic "Zai Zai the Superman," a tourist photo appeared in the comments section under the hashtag "#Ming Zai and Father."

momo: "Sis, Big Data fed me this! Am I seeing right? Is that the guy with the black mask and mouth guard in the distance?"

The photo showed a tourist taking a selfie with a selfie stick.

The poster blurred the tourist’s face and circled a group of people behind him in red.

A few people were walking toward the hotel entrance, and the tallest among them was a man wearing glasses and a mask, seen from the side.

Behind him, several assistants pushed three oversized suitcases.

"Which hotel is this? Who even is this tourist? I don’t get it—did someone run into him?"

momo: "PS: I posted too fast. Forgot to say—the hotel is near where Season 2 of 'Zai Zai the Superman' was filmed. The OP’s profile also has photos from the historic studio backlot this afternoon."

"Wait, sis, enhance that pic. Don’t those suitcases look familiar?"

momo: "Wahhh, they’re exactly the same as the ones Ming Zai and his dad used in both episodes! Holy crap, Big Data is wild!"

"Sis, are you using a microscope or something? This is insane!"

"But is this guy that Bao bigshot from the Sino-French event? What if he just looks like him?"

"That domineering walk and the way he stands out in a crowd, plus the black shirt, black mask, and glasses... If this isn’t the same guy, I’ll bite Ming Zai’s head off!"

"Ming Zai: ? What does this have to do with me?!"

"Wahh, can’t a gentle beauty have a gentle-yet-powerful CEO? I totally refuse this kind of man who looks so intimidating, aaaaaaah!"

"Ming Zai described his big dad as someone who teaches him how to ski and ride horses—he sounds super fit, hehe."

"Putting the wife’s photo next to the handsome guy with the muzzle is so hot! What if…? Aaaaaaah, I’ll just low-key ship them for now!"

-

At dawn, the hotel.

The screen was still on.

When Bao Tingyuan woke from a nightmare in bed, his eyes immediately searched for the peacefully sleeping figure on the screen, and only then did his pounding heart calm down.

The nightmare faded like morning fog, vanishing bit by bit.

Bao Tingyuan’s nerves gradually relaxed, and only then did he realize his left hand had been pressing down on the cover of the poetry book.

He picked it up and saw the folded corner of the cover. Even after smoothing it out with his hand, a deep crease remained.

Clearly, it had been pressed under his palm the entire time he slept.

Bao Tingyuan immediately grabbed his phone, about to call Albert, when he noticed the time: 4:30 a.m.

He turned off the phone and set it aside, then tried again to flatten the folded corner.

The corner, of course, had no regard for human wishes and stubbornly refused to obey, still cheekily sticking up.

-

Around nine, Albert arrived to relay some invitations from the production team.

"A big-budget historical drama wants to invite Mr. Wen for a one-week guest role. A high-end horseback riding gear brand hopes to have Young Master Ming star in an ad campaign. There are also two magazines requesting a joint cover photo shoot. Additionally, several variety shows are offering high compensation for appearances."

Recently, Albert had doubled as manager for both Wen Cishu and Bao Yiming, and he was getting the hang of it.

Compared to the stressfully complicated tasks from Mr. Bao’s usual workload, the showbiz errands felt light and fun.

Bao Tingyuan took a sip of coffee. "Hmm, I’ll pass it along after filming ends."

Albert thought to himself—had Mr. Bao actually passed anything along last week?

He’d assumed the polite rejections were made on Mr. Wen’s behalf.

Bao Tingyuan’s slender fingers rested on the poetry book. "Squeeze in some time this morning to buy me an identical copy."

Albert glanced over—the cover was bent.

He reached to check the publishing details, but Mr. Bao’s hand didn’t move.

"Mr. Bao?"

Bao Tingyuan paused, then opened the book to the info page. "Take a photo."

Albert immediately understood—this book was off-limits to others.

No wonder yesterday, when he'd gone to put some documents nearby, Mr. Bao had quickly moved the book to his side.

He’d thought it was a subtle hint that Mr. Bao was picking up a new hobby.

—Working for a boss is like walking on eggshells.

Albert snapped a photo of the book’s Cataloging in Publication (CIP) data with his phone.

As a jack-of-all-trades assistant who had worked with Boss Bao for years, he had connections in every field.

When he sent the photo of the book information to a contact in the publishing world, he immediately received a reply.

"You want me to find a brand-new out-of-print book?"

"Why don’t you just ask me to track down the author in France for you?"

Albert had no reply.

Bao Tingyuan looked up and saw his assistant glued to his phone. "Is the information unclear or incomplete?"

Albert could only reply truthfully, "This book is out of print. It might take some time."

Bao Tingyuan glanced at the book beside the coffee saucer.

"Hmm, make it quick."

Albert couldn’t shake his friend’s sarcastic reply.

Just then, Bao Yiming’s voice came from the screen, so Albert bolted.

"Wait."

Albert stopped and immediately turned back. "Boss, need anything else?"

Bao Tingyuan shifted his gaze from his son’s face to Albert. "Wrap up the farm deal today."

"Got it."

Albert sighed in relief—no hard deadline for finding the book.

Before leaving, he glanced at the creased poetry collection, hearing Wen Cishu’s voice on the show, and it clicked:

Ohhh… Boss, you messed up Wen’s book?

-

On the show,

Bao Yiming woke first, gazing at his little dad’s sleeping face for a while.

Like a cub, he gently sniffed and nuzzled, his face pure contentment.

Wen Cishu opened his eyes to see the adorable little monkey. Bleary-eyed, he pulled him into a hug and kissed his forehead. "Morning~ sweet Baby Mingming."

Bao Yiming burrowed into his arms shyly. "Little Dad, can I get morning and night kisses every day? Please?"

"Of course~" Wen Cishu agreed. "Every day!"

Bao Yiming lit up. He sprang up excitedly and started doing the twist on the bed.

"This bed’s kinda hard," Wen Cishu thought as he lay there, barely noticing as he gradually woke up, watching him squirm.

"Little Dad, can you do the twist?"

Seeing his little dad sit up, Bao Yiming tugged his arm. "Like this…"

He leaned forward, stuck out his bottom, and swayed his hips to the rhythm while constantly lifting his feet.

"I don't know how~"

Wen Cishu picked up a hair tie from the bedside and tied his long black hair behind his back.

Bao Yiming knelt on the soft quilt, pouting. "But Little Daddy does know how! At Grandpa's birthday, you and Big Daddy danced so beautifully~ I even got a picture of it! And I still have it!"

"Was that Grandpa's first birthday? Both of you went? Wow~"

"Wait, you took a picture?? Where? Ming Zai, show me!"

"Both daddies dancing together?? I wanna see!"

Wen Cishu turned his head in surprise, pinched his little cheek, and pretended to scowl. "Let me see it! Hand it over!"

But he was usually so gentle that even when trying to look stern, he didn't seem intimidating at all.

Bao Yiming rolled himself into a tight ball inside the quilt, turning into a cozy little sushi roll, giggling mischievously. "No way! This is mine! Heehee~"

Wen Cishu quickly snatched the watch next to his pillow and waved it in front of him. "It's in here, right?"

"Nooooooo—"

The little monkey inside the sushi roll wriggled frantically to escape.

Wen Cishu dashed into the bathroom, peeked out from behind the door with a smile, and said, "Daddy just wants to peek! Be good now."

With that, he shut the door.

Bao Yiming, still tangled in the blanket like a half-unwrapped rice dumpling, sat on the bed.

His eyes went blank, his gaze drooping as he clumsily turned toward the nearest camera, pouting pitifully.

"Look~ My little daddy's bullying me~ Waaah~ *sobs*"

Then he flopped onto the bed, his smooth little feet kicking playfully in the air.

"Ming Zai, we're over here! Not that one, hey hey~"

"This morning's antics are making me so happy~ Ming Zai's too adorable! Need to hug him!"

"Seriously, still playing cute at nine?! (Let sis pinch those cute cheeks~"

"Mommy~ Mommy~ I wanna see the photo too~ Waaah~ *sobs*"

In the bathroom.

As Wen Cishu was about to open the watch's photo album, he suddenly realized there might be other things the little monkey had taken that he might not want his daddy to see.

After thinking for a second, he opened the door and handed the watch back. "Alright, Daddy didn't look. Can you send it to Daddy's phone instead, okay?"

"Huh?" Bao Yiming popped right up, blinking. "Why?"

Wen Cishu helped unwrap him from the quilt, asking gently, "There must be lots of other photos in there, right?"

Bao Yiming shook his head. "No, there's nothing else in there. Go ahead and look, Little Daddy."

He pushed the watch toward his little daddy.

Wen Cishu had decided to be an understanding parent: "I won't look."

Bo Yiming grew anxious and hugged his little dad's arm: "Little Dad, you have to look!"

"First you wouldn’t let him see, now he must? You two are impossible."

"Actually, at nine years old, it's acceptable for adults to check the album, right? Some supervision makes sense."

"Kids these days are pretty sharp at nine. If they don’t say it’s okay, you shouldn't peek~"

While they were still arguing back and forth, the watch screen accidentally lit up.

Father and son both leaned in simultaneously and saw a new message pop up on the screen.

"Big Daddy, the nefarious dragon knight who pilfered the mini shell cakes (〃＞皿＜)": "Yi Ming, it’s getting late. Go have breakfast with your little dad first."

They read the message and looked at each other, then quietly got up to put on their shoes.

"Yi Ming, I'll go wash up."

"Little Dad, I'll change clothes."

They spoke at the same time, then split up to act, like robots on a mission.

"Did the crew message them on the watch? The other guests just woke up too—Rong Rong and Xiao Qi are still asleep."

"Rubbing his chin—must be Ming Zai’s big dad."

"Ming Zai’s big dad must’ve scolded them. Ugh, my wife and kiddo are adorable—stop scolding them! So mad."

"But if Mommy’s not feeling well, it’s better not to stay out too long on an empty stomach?"

"Wow, fresh perspective! I was so caught up in the fun I forgot about that. Big Daddy’s got foresight."

"Foresight? Nah, he’s just worried about his wife~"

In the teahouse’s small kitchen, Zhu Wei was already preparing breakfast.

When cooking dinner last night, Zhou Xu had intentionally set aside some extra ingredients.

As soon as Wen Cishu entered the kitchen, he saw the steaming pot and Zhu Wei’s figure: "Wei-jie, you’re up already?"

Zhu Wei smiled: "I slept early last night. Great timing—porridge is ready."

"Let me serve it."

Wen Cishu washed his hands again and went to get bowls.

Nearby, steamed eggs sat ready in the bamboo steamer.

Zhu Wei quickly stir-fried some snow cabbage with edamame, splitting it into two portions—one with a sprinkle of chopped green peppers.

The room buzzed with cozy, everyday energy.

Wen Cishu carried the porridge bowls to the table, musing to himself—if Bo Tingyuan were willing to join the show, could they steal a little slice of this warm, ordinary life?

But would Bo Tingyuan ever agree to a variety show?

Then again, Wen Cishu remembered how last night, Bao Tingyuan had been holding that book before falling asleep.

If he brought it up, Bao Tingyuan would most likely agree out of obligation.

Yet he didn’t want Bao Tingyuan doing anything "out of obligation" for his sake.

Afterward, Wen Cishu peered out the door and saw Bao Yiming crouching on the ground with Xingxing (nickname for [character]), counting ants.

He couldn’t help but nod thoughtfully.

—Well, it was time for the little monkey to handle some big family dilemmas.