Golden sunlight poured straight through the floor-to-ceiling windows, most of it filtered by a layer of sheer curtains so that only a hazy wash of light and shadow fell across the bedroom bed.
Chacha moved his tightly clenched little fist and struggled for a moment, trying to wake from his dream.
But after only two seconds, the struggle failed, and his breathing once again became long and even.
By the time Chacha finally woke again with a dizzy head, the sun was already high in the sky and breakfast time had passed.
His stomach rumbled. Staring at the unfamiliar bedroom, he sat blankly on the bed in confusion for quite a while before remembering that he and Daddy had come to the wealthy Gu family home.
At the same time, he remembered that Daddy was actually the protagonist of a book.
But Chacha was young and couldn't remember so much complicated plot. He only knew that Daddy was terribly, terribly miserable in the book and nobody liked him.
Grandma didn't like him, Auntie didn't like him, Stepbrother didn't like him, and even his other daddy, Gu Huaizheng, acted as though he disliked him very much.
Once the variety show started airing, viewers online would also swarm in to curse Daddy.
Chacha shook his dizzy little head, and his delicate brows scrunched into a caterpillar.
How could that happen?!
Chacha thought until his little brain nearly broke, but still couldn't understand why everyone disliked Daddy.
Troubled, he pressed his lips tightly together. With his hair a complete mess, he prepared to go tell Daddy about this baffling problem.
Chacha slipped on his sandals and pattered into the living room. When he didn't find Daddy there, he hurried to the pavilion in the back garden.
Yesterday, Chacha had found Daddy in the pavilion.
The morning air still carried a few traces of coolness. Gu Shuanghua, who had been focusing on preserving her health in recent years, woke early and sat in the pavilion drinking a calming tea tonic meant to nourish her qi.
She had pushed herself too hard when she was young and severely overtaxed her body, so as she got older, all sorts of minor ailments began flaring up.
Gu Shuanghua was enjoying quiet leisure time alone. When she looked up, she spotted a tiny tea-colored figure moving toward her from afar.
She saw Chacha's fluffy hair, a red sleep mark still left on his cheek. Groggy and confused, he looked like a ruffled little bird that had gotten dizzy and accidentally flown into the pavilion.
The ruffled little bird stopped beside the pavilion. Seeing Grandma Gu, he hesitated and did not come forward.
Chacha was a polite child. Although he knew Grandma didn't like Daddy, he still greeted her obediently.
“Good morning, Grandma.”
Gu Shuanghua glanced at the sky and sighed lightly.
“It isn't early. It's already after nine.”
Chacha's little face reddened. He lowered his head and nodded honestly.
“I slept too long. When I got up, Daddy was already gone.”
Seeing two patches of heat-flush on Chacha's fair, tender cheeks, and seeing that he neither talked back nor argued, Gu Shuanghua couldn't help making excuses for him in her heart—
Forget it. It wasn't a big deal for a child to sleep a little more.
He was at the age when he was growing.
Gu Shuanghua did not speak sharply to Chacha the way she did to Lü Rong.
Chacha was only three or four. There was no need to drag him into matters between the adults; that was one of Gu Shuanghua's principles.
Seeing that Chacha hadn't even had time to change out of his pajamas, Gu Shuanghua pressed her temple and ultimately couldn't ignore it.
“Why haven't you changed clothes? Once you leave your bedroom, you should make yourself presentable. Otherwise, it's disrespectful both to yourself and to others.”
Gu Shuanghua looked stern. She had occupied positions of authority for too many years, and her bearing carried a forcefulness that came from deep within. Even her ordinary speech had an air that did not allow refusal.
But Chacha had inherited Daddy's good temper, and in his previous life he had been a tiny tea seedling. His emotions were exceptionally steady and soft.
In all his short life, he had never once gotten angry with another child.
Even Little Fatty, the bossiest and quickest-tempered child in their old apartment complex, had loved seeking out mild-tempered Chacha to play.
Chacha nodded, the hair on top of his head swaying along with him.
“I still don't know how to put clothes on by my shelf very well.”
Pullover clothes were Chacha's most, most hated kind.
Without Daddy's help, Chacha always had to squeeze his forehead and cheeks red before he could successfully get them through.
And summer T-shirts all had to be pulled over the head, so Chacha wanted to find Daddy first and have him help change his clothes.
Gu Shuanghua was speechless for a moment.
She had forgotten that children's arms and hands were short, making dressing more difficult.
After a moment's hesitation, Gu Shuanghua waved her hand and temporarily let the matter go.
“What did you come to the backyard for?” Gu Shuanghua changed the subject.
Chacha raised his head and quickly said,
“Grandma, my Daddy disappeared. I came to look for him.”
Seeing Chacha's anxious expression, like a bewildered little bird fluttering into the pavilion to look for Lü Rong, Gu Shuanghua couldn't help reflecting on it.
The child Lü Rong had given birth to really was quite good.
Well-behaved and obedient, neither noisy nor disrespectful to elders. Most importantly, he was quite filial too.
If Gu Huaizheng had even one tiny fraction of Chacha's obedient nature, she wouldn't be so angry she got headaches every day!
“Your daddy is in the reception room discussing work with his new manager.” Gu Shuanghua took a sip of tea. Despite her own prejudice, she did not hide anything from Chacha.
Both Gu Shuanghua and Lü Rong had risen early. They disliked the sight of each other, but with a manager present, they had reluctantly maintained surface-level peace.
Gu Shuanghua cared about appearances and never liked airing family matters in front of outsiders. That would only give people a free spectacle to laugh at.
But Gu Shuanghua also didn't want to stay under the same roof as Lü Rong, so she had come to the pavilion for fresh air.
Having learned where Daddy was, Chacha's little eyes sparkled, and he nodded repeatedly.
“Thank you, Grandma.”
Chacha's voice was soft and tender, like cotton candy melting into strands of sugar in the summer, softening anyone's heart along with it.
And that “Grandma” was spoken with such complete sincerity that even Gu Shuanghua's cold, hardened heart seemed about to crack open a little.
The more Gu Shuanghua's heart stirred, the colder her face became. She set down her teacup and asked,
“Who taught you to call me Grandma?”
Could Lü Rong really be so scheming that he had deliberately taught Chacha to call her Grandma, hoping to use the child to make her acknowledge his place in the Gu family?
But based on Gu Shuanghua's understanding of Lü Rong, that didn't seem like his style.
Chacha was a little confused by the question. He scratched the cheek where the red sleep mark had already faded and answered obediently,
“You are Grandma.”
Daddy had married Uncle Gu, so didn't that make Grandma Gu Chacha's grandmother?
Besides, whenever Chacha met an older woman he didn't know, he generally called her “Grandma” anyway.
But Gu Shuanghua did not see it that way.
Other children were terrified of her. Only Chacha wasn't afraid and had obediently called her Grandma the very first time they met.
Surely the child couldn't actually like her as his grandma?
The housekeeper happened to come over to refill the water and smiled at Gu Shuanghua.
“It seems Old Madam and Chacha were fated to have a grandparent-and-grandchild bond.”
Gu Shuanghua's heart stirred faintly.
Having weathered great storms all her life, Gu Shuanghua was actually rather superstitious about things like fate.
Chacha was thoroughly confused and couldn't understand what the two adults were talking about at all.
After tilting his head and thinking for a while, he decided it was still better to go find Daddy first.
“Grandma, I'm going now. Don't sit in the wind too long just because it's cool.”
Imitating the way Daddy always reminded him of things, Chacha gave the advice like a tiny adult, turned, and left.
The housekeeper's smile grew even broader. He exclaimed warmly, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum.
“Chacha is truly delightful. He even knows how to care about adults.”
Gu Shuanghua gave a sound of acknowledgment. Watching the little fellow walk away, her eyes and brows inexplicably relaxed considerably, and the corner of her mouth curved faintly upward.
***
Lü Rong's new manager had been found for him by Gu Huaizheng. This was one of the conditions of their marriage.
Gao Da was a manager who had left a major company to work independently. He was capable and forceful, smooth and experienced in dealing with people, and had previously managed two currently popular traffic stars.
Unfortunately, once stars became famous, they all wanted to establish their own studios and go independent. Gao Da had belonged to the capital company's side, so the stars' teams gradually stripped him of influence until he had no choice but to resign and leave.
But both in ability and personality, Gao Da fit Lü Rong's expectations quite well.
The two discussed the only variety show Lü Rong currently had lined up and communicated about several details.
Immersed in work, Lü Rong repeatedly flipped through the variety show's materials and planned to binge-watch other reality variety programs later to catch up.
Gao Da had a round build, a broad face, and small eyes. When he narrowed his eyes, he looked especially honest and easy to bully.
He greeted everyone with at least a three-part smile, and even his tone was comfortable to listen to.
“This kind of variety show hasn't appeared on the market before. It's called a family show, but the main camera focus will certainly still be on the celebrities and the children.”
At this point, Gao Da couldn't help asking,
“By the way, Lü Rong, don't you have a son? Can I meet him?”
If the child's personality was too spoiled and unlikeable, Gao Da would have to think about how to make the production team film him less.
Just then, a thump-thump knock sounded outside the door.
A milky little voice came from outside.
“Hello, is Daddy inside? I'm Chacha.”
Lü Rong, who was reading the show's script, lifted his head with a smile in his eyes.
“What timing. Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives.”
Seeing Lü Rong get up to open the door, Gao Da also stood and looked curiously at the child who came in.
The child's hair was slightly messy, probably because he had just woken up, and a layer of misty moisture still covered his tea-crystal eyes.
Red lips, white teeth, lingering baby fat in his cheeks; his brows and eyes carried lively happiness. He was obedient and adorable.
Gao Da's mind immediately settled, and he couldn't help remarking,
“Lü Rong, your son really looks like you.”
That natural liveliness and charm in front of a camera—the child seemed born for it.
Lü Rong smiled, rubbed Chacha's head, lifted him up, and sat him on the sofa.
“Yes. Chacha really does look like me.”
And not like that perpetually cold-faced Gu Huaizheng!
Otherwise, Lü Rong truly couldn't imagine the despair of raising a miniature domineering CEO.
Lü Rong also briefly introduced Gao Da to Chacha.
Chacha obediently called him “Uncle Gao,” then quietly leaned in Daddy's arms and waited for Daddy to finish talking so he could take the cub to eat.
Seeing this, Gao Da didn't stay long. As he left the villa, he reminded Lü Rong,
“In two more days, the production team will come to the house to film. I'll give you the script in advance. Neither you nor Chacha needs to be nervous. Just stay natural.”
After hesitating, Gao Da still added,
“As for the other members of the Gu family—especially your mother-in-law—you absolutely need to communicate with them properly. If the cameras really capture you two confronting each other, the internet will have endless material to attack you with.”
Netizens had always been enthusiastic about gossip involving wealthy families. If some outrageous revelation were dug up then, Lü Rong's image might become impossible to rehabilitate—