Chapter 141 Provoked

Chapter 141: Provoked

"I brought Niu Niu to the set, you don't need to come by." She gazed straight ahead and continued, "Don't you have an important advertisement shoot and live event today?"

At the mention of the advertisement, Du Ze's voice on the other end of the phone noticeably brightened.

"Ah, actually, I didn’t even want to take on this ad in the first place. I just wanted to stay home and take care of Niu Niu, then wait for you to come back from work."

Wang Shilan scoffed inwardly.

Under the spotlight, Du Ze seemed born to be the perfect father—his smile warm and gentle as he looked at Niu Niu, his eyes always filled with adoration, every subtle gesture seeming to flow from genuine tenderness.

Even when speaking to Niu Niu, his voice was soft and gentle, his smile seemingly capable of brightening even the darkest day.

After the broadcast of "Little Feet Big Adventure," especially the previous episode, Du Ze’s popularity continued to rise, and he even received an endorsement invitation from a well-known children’s brand.

After hanging up, Wang Shilan glanced at the IV needle in her hand, then at the photo of the three of them on her phone screen; her face fell.

The little one beside her stirred, and Wang Shilan immediately suppressed all her emotions, gently patting Niu Niu’s back with one hand.

She watched Niu Niu sleep like this until the IV drip was finished.

At 9:30 in the morning, Wang Shilan was drowsy, and the IV was almost done.

Suddenly, the phone in her bag rang.

She pulled it out and saw that Hua Zhao had sent several videos in a folder.

Along with them were voice messages from Hua Zhao.

Wang Shilan opened them, held the phone to her ear, tilted her head to glance at the soundly sleeping Niu Niu, and, seeing she hadn’t been disturbed, played the messages.

"Niu Niu’s mom, I hope you don’t think I’m meddling. I really like Niu Niu. As women, even though I don’t have a daughter, I know how hard it can be for a woman raising a daughter..."

"I just can’t bear to see Niu Niu wronged."

"This is the full footage from the first segment of the Parenting Show that I asked a friend to get from the production team (it’s all legal and compliant; the first segment was livestreamed on all platforms). If you think the videos are fake too, then there’s nothing more I can do."

Hua Zhao wasn’t part of the entertainment industry and was used to being straightforward. She sent a bunch of voice messages.

Wang Shilan listened to each one carefully. This time, she didn’t question the credibility of Hua Zhao’s words anymore.

"Thank you, Auntie Qi Qi. I’ll watch the videos carefully. I’m very grateful."

Hua Zhao sent a sticker of Pei Qiqi with his cheeks puffed out and a stiff, forced smile as if saying "you're welcome."

Wang Shilan laughed. In her impression, Pei Xu was a cool, aloof little handsome boy. She hadn’t expected such a young child to obediently cooperate with his auntie in making a sticker.

Niu Niu wriggled in her mother’s arms and slowly opened her eyes.

"Mommy," she pushed the blanket off herself and called out.

Wang Shilan put away her phone and leaned down to kiss her. "Niu Niu, the nanny bought breakfast. Would you like to eat a little?"

Niu Niu was taken by the nanny to eat breakfast, while Wang Shilan stayed in the hospital room to continue her IV drip and watch the unfinished videos.

The "Little Feet Big Adventure" production team was known in the industry for their meticulousness. Before filming began, they had communicated thoroughly with the artists’ teams.

Each family would have their own separate livestream account to increase interaction and options for the audience.

Had it not been for Cen Zheping and his son, the production team would have continued with this filming approach for the second stop.

The person Hua Zhao contacted was indeed a photographer friend from the production team—the same one who had recommended them to join the show.

As internal footage, the video quality was much clearer than the live broadcast, with many angles zoomed in for greater detail.

In these videos, she saw Du Ze’s poorly concealed emotions—his impatient expressions toward Niu Niu, walking ahead and leaving her behind, almost making her trip as she struggled to keep up.

Especially after the mud pit game, when Niu Niu went to gather for dinner that evening, she clearly seemed off, yet he didn’t bother to ask once.

It wasn’t until Su Youli and Le Le noticed mud stains in Niu Niu’s hair that a grandma took her away. Half an hour later, when she reappeared on camera, her hair was washed and loose around her shoulders.

Niu Niu sat with Su Youli and Mi Le, gently touching her hair with care, twirling it and smelling it with an adorable, well-behaved look.

By now, Wang Shilan understood everything.

A man’s love can be faked and can change.

It was only now that she truly grasped the truth behind those words.

To the very end, Wang Shilan didn’t know how she managed to watch all those videos.

Du Ze’s bossy attitude and cold treatment of Niu Niu when not on the main camera.

More than once, he threatened to cut off Niu Niu’s hair with scissors if she didn’t behave—flying into a rage one moment, then instantly switching to a friendly face the second the main camera focused on him.

Rage burned inside her, and with a loud "bang," Wang Shilan slammed her fist on the bedside table, sending everything on it crashing to the floor.

A nurse rushed in urgently—the glass water cup had shattered, water spilling across the floor.

Before she could even ask what happened, she saw the short-haired patient on the bed press on the back of her hand and forcefully yanked out the IV needle.

Nurse: "......"

"Please calm down! You could hurt yourself like this!"

Wang Shilan had already thrown off the covers and was about to get up, but the nurse’s words snapped her back to her senses before her feet touched the ground.

She smoothed down her short hair and whispered, "I’m sorry."

She hadn’t controlled her emotions well.

The nurse quickly cleaned up the floor and helped her back into bed.

Just then, her phone happened to load the live stream of the famous children’s brand that had invited Du Ze as their spokesperson.

On screen, Du Ze wore light-colored casual clothes and a pair of stylish glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

With a confident smile, he sat beside the host, listening to the host praise him lavishly.

"It’s truly an honor to have Mr. Du as our global spokesperson. Your image aligns perfectly with our brand......"

"Mr. Du, what have you been up to lately? Could you share some fun moments between you and your daughter?"

Du Ze smiled and nodded. "As everyone knows, my daughter Niu Niu and I have been participating in a reality show recently called—"

The live chat and host chimed in: "Little Feet Big Adventure!"

Du Ze chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "It seems everyone has been following our show."

Since it's a children's brand, the live broadcast was almost entirely focused on Du Ze and Niu Niu's everyday interactions.

Viewers also asked Du Ze to talk about other guests on the show, and he mentioned almost all of them.

Netizens found him genuinely nice, always responsive to the audience, and super approachable.

The live chat was praising him so much, reaching a point where Wang Shilan was frustrated and couldn't take it anymore.

By the time the nurse came in again, she had already packed her things, slipped on her coat, and was heading out the door.

"Auntie, please take Niu Niu home and tell her I have some urgent work to handle, but I’ll bring her a gift when I return tonight."

The aunt hurriedly agreed.

"Also, I’ve called a cleaning service—not for cleaning, but to have them throw out all of Du Ze’s belongings... We didn’t argue, but please don’t tell Niu Niu yet. I’ll explain it to her myself later."