Late at night, a veteran gossip blogger from the entertainment circle posted a new update on his social media account. It immediately attracted a crowd of night owls who had stayed up waiting for drama.
The headline read: A certain wealthy old man suspected of going bankrupt? Washed-up young pretty boy forced to make a comeback, joins parenting variety show to earn money and pay debts.
The melon-eating crowd began heatedly discussing it in the comment section.
【This one is so obvious at a glance. Isn’t it Bai X?】
【Too obvious, hahaha. Next.】
【I’m dying. He actually went bankrupt? Serves him right. He must have suffered a lot after marrying an old man all these years, and now even the money’s gone.】
【Just a passerby. I can’t guess. Who is it exactly?】
【Here’s the explanation: Bai Xia. He debuted as a popular contestant on a trainee survival show a few years ago. Later, there were rumours that he disrespected senior actors on set, oppressed artists of the same generation, and acted like a diva. There was a whole pile of so-called evidence online. He must have felt guilty, because he quit the internet himself. Later, there was more gossip saying he married into a wealthy family.】
【I came late. I love gossip with real names and a full beginning-to-end storyline!】
【He dared to act like a diva right after debuting. So it turns out he had capital backing him. How satisfying.】
【An artist with such misconduct should be investigated for tax issues and blacklisted. How can he still come out to make money?】
【+1. Once it’s officially announced, everyone report him together.】
As expected, the gossip blogger quickly harvested a wave of traffic. When other bloggers saw how effective it was, they also began adding fuel to the fire, commenting on it and reposting it.
The entertainment circle had always been like this. Truth or lies did not matter. What mattered most was catching the trend quickly, seizing the spotlight, and grabbing traffic.
The next day, the online video platform Pomegranate Video officially announced across all major social media platforms that its self-produced live reality show, Cute Baby Growth Diary, had completed preparations and would officially meet the audience the following week.
The show planned to invite four families, including three celebrity families and one ordinary family. It was a variety show centred on parent-child companionship.
In order to present the lives of the adults and children more realistically, the show would adopt the rarely used format of a full live broadcast with no editing throughout. Viewers could choose to watch in real time, or wait a week to watch the edited bonus version produced by the programme team.
Partial information about the four families would be released the next day.
【Shocking. Can they really livestream the whole thing? Then I have to watch at least a little.】
【A full livestream? That’s ruthless. I like it.】
【They even managed to invite three celebrity families. Aren’t they afraid of accidents, hahaha?】
【Is this the variety show Bai Xia is joining?】
【How much money did the production team offer for the guests to accept a livestream?】
【Boycott artists with bad records coming out to make money.】
……
Inside a villa in the wealthy district of A City, three-year-old Shen Zening was fast asleep in a warm, cosy children’s bed filled with plush toys.
The soft blanket lightly covered his round little face. Blackout curtains shut out all the light from outside, and the entire room was wrapped in a quiet, peaceful atmosphere.
Not long after, the door was gently opened, and a young man walked into the room.
He was tall and slender, with fair skin. A few loose strands of black hair fell over his forehead, and there was a small tear mole near the corner of his eye, making his whole appearance even more delicate and beautiful.
“Ningning, it’s time to get up,” Bai Xia said softly, dressed in plain home clothes.
He first turned on the audio device by the bed, letting gentle music play. Then he slowly walked to the window and pulled open a corner of the curtains.
The little one on the bed showed faint signs of waking. His small body twisted, and he let out a few tiny hums.
Bai Xia walked to the bedside and gently rocked his little body. Only then did little Shen Zening finally open his eyes slowly.
The newly awakened baby originally had a slight temper from being woken up, but after seeing his gentle papa, he could not help breaking into a silly little smile. He even rubbed himself against his papa’s warm, soft embrace.
After washing up, Ningning was carried by his papa to the dining room for breakfast.
On the stairs, he saw two people sitting at the dining table. One was a young uncle he often saw, named Lin Pei. He seemed to be Papa’s manager or something like that, and Ningning had met him a few times before.
Beside him today sat a pretty, refined-looking older sister.
“Good morning, Uncle. Good morning, Sister,” Ningning greeted them in his soft, milky voice.
“Good boy. Come here, let Uncle hold you,” Lin Pei said, taking the little one from Bai Xia’s arms.
Ever since Bai Xia had debuted, Lin Pei had been his manager. Over the years, he had witnessed all of Bai Xia’s ups and downs. Even during the period when Bai Xia withdrew from the internet and had no work, the two still kept in touch. Their relationship was more like family.
The other young woman was named Liu Xiao, and she was now one of Bai Xia’s assistants.
She looked quiet and reserved, with little presence, but in reality, she was a hidden expert. She held multiple professional certificates and was especially capable.
Bai Xia had withdrawn from the industry and stayed at home for several years. Now that he had suddenly started working again, everyone took it very seriously. They were worried that something unexpected might happen, so they made thorough preparations.
With a wave of his hand, Mr. Shen had originally intended to build an entire dedicated team for him.
Bai Xia felt that it was unnecessary and refused, only keeping a few assistants.
This assistant had a good personality. When they first met, she was not stiff or awkward at all. She greeted both Bai Xia and the little one warmly.
After the little one exchanged a few words with the older sister, his cheeks were pinched several times by Uncle Manager. Having just woken up and already been made to “socialise” too much, he turned his head and reached out, wanting Papa to hold him.
Bai Xia placed him into the children’s chair, set out his supplementary food, and let him scoop it up by himself with a spoon.
“He’s really too well-behaved. I want a child like this in the future too,” Lin Pei said with a sigh.
Bai Xia listened, smiled gently, and stroked the little one’s head.
Ningning had always been an especially obedient and sensible child. Because he had been born prematurely, his body was rather weak. Bai Xia had given up almost all his work to stay home and take care of him wholeheartedly.
Even his meals were carefully prepared according to a doctor’s meal plan.
Although they could hire a professional to cook at home, Bai Xia was still used to doing it himself. Fortunately, under his careful care, the little fellow gradually grew healthier and more energetic. His rosy little face was especially adorable.
After a while, the doorbell rang.
The variety show production team had arrived early to install equipment at the house. There were still several days before the official livestream, and the team needed to make some preparations in advance.
“Papa, who is it?” Ningning asked in his milky voice.
“It’s the uncles and aunties. I told you before, remember? They’re coming to our house to install cameras.”
Bai Xia brought the staff into the villa.
Because the little one had spent a long time at home and rarely came into contact with the outside world, he felt a little nervous seeing so many people. His small hands tightly clutched the hem of Bai Xia’s clothes.
Bai Xia picked him up, gently patted his back to soothe him, and guided the staff inside.
The villa had two floors and covered a total of four hundred square metres. Its interior decoration was not as coldly exquisite as a show home. Instead, warmth and comfort could be seen everywhere.
A portion of the living room had been fenced off into a children’s activity area. Thick, soft mats covered the floor, and cute little toys were scattered across them. To prevent the baby from getting hurt, the edges and corners of the furniture had all been thoughtfully covered with soft anti-collision material.
Cute Baby Growth Diary was a project under the entertainment branch of Shen Corporation. Because Bai Xia and the baby had joined, a series of preparations had already been made in advance.
From the producer and director to the staff, everyone was very clear about the identities and importance of the two of them.
The team members were professional and orderly. After entering the villa, they did not look around unnecessarily. They immediately began installing and testing the equipment with quick efficiency.
“Teacher Bai, would this position be suitable for the equipment?”
“Teacher Bai, if we install the equipment here, it may capture this area. If you feel there is a problem, I can adjust the position.”
……
Before coming, the staff had been repeatedly instructed by their leaders that they must be meticulous and considerate. More importantly, they had to take the opinion of the family head’s spouse as the standard at all times.
Although this family head had only fought his way through the many members of the Shen family in recent years and secured absolute authority through overwhelming ability, he and his spouse had already married three years earlier. They even had a son, who, barring any accidents, would be the future head of the family.
Therefore, everyone treated this matter with extreme seriousness, afraid that any oversight might offend Bai Xia.
Unexpectedly, the spouse of the family head had delicate features and a gentle temperament. At first glance, he gave people a very comfortable impression. His personality was also mild and easygoing. Not only had he prepared drinks and desserts for them in advance, but throughout the process, he rarely interfered with their work.
No wonder he had won the family head’s heart at such a young age.
While the preparations on this side proceeded in an orderly manner, Bai Xia’s manager and assistant were watching public opinion online.
To be more precise, Lin Pei was the one watching. The more he looked, the angrier he became.
“These people must be sick in the head. Do they have evidence? How can they write nonsense like this?? Don’t worry. I’ve taken screenshots of everything. In the future, we’ll sue them one by one!”
As soon as the platform’s official announcement was released, a large number of passersby joined the gossip. Apart from the fans of the other guest families, most of the comments aimed at Bai Xia were abusive and full of vented hatred.
Those who came later, passersby who did not know the truth, and the very small number of Bai Xia’s remaining fans made the comment section even more chaotic.
The platform began handling the public opinion immediately, but the number of negative comments was simply too enormous. Especially now, during the promotional period for the new variety show, the production side could not completely shut down all comments with one sweeping measure. They could only try to block certain keywords and issue warnings.
As a result, the haters’ rebellious mentality was stirred up instead.
If they were not allowed to curse under the official account, then they went and created all kinds of topics to curse elsewhere. For a time, public opinion became somewhat uncontrollable. No wonder Lin Pei was in such a bad mood.
“It’s fine. They’re all unrelated people.”
Bai Xia glanced over it briefly and understood the situation. He held the little one in his arms, breathing in that unique milky baby scent, and remained very emotionally stable.
He had always had a gentle personality and did not like fighting or competing. If not for a coincidence of fate, he might never have entered the entertainment industry at all.
Besides, he felt that his current life was already very happy. As long as the people he cared about were not harmed, he felt that nothing else mattered much.
Moreover, netizens could only hide behind their online identities and attack him with words. They would not cause him any real harm in person.
Lin Pei was not comforted at all and continued to rage.
“If I were you, I’d go straight to Big Boss Shen and tell him. This rabble doesn’t even need him to deal with them personally. With one word from him, the people under him would handle it immediately. I really don’t understand you.”
Bai Xia replied softly, “Mr. Shen is very busy. How could I trouble him with something like this?”
Lin Pei gave a cold snort. “I knew you would say that.”
The two of them were very familiar with each other. Lin Pei simply could not stand seeing netizens curse Bai Xia without knowing the truth. If it were any other day, he would definitely be using an alternate account to argue with people online while cursing them offline.
But today, with staff members around, Lin Pei could not say too much. In the end, he could only be angry for a moment.
The little one in Bai Xia’s arms did not understand what they were saying, but he vaguely sensed the adults’ emotions. He took the initiative to reach out, touched Bai Xia’s face, and said, “Daddy is okay.”
“Mm. Daddy is very okay.”
Hearing the little one’s words, Bai Xia felt warmth fill his heart. He focused on interacting with the child and cared even less about the foul atmosphere online.
He gently bounced the little one’s small body, making Ningning laugh happily.
The staff member nearby saw this warm scene: the adult beautiful and gentle, the child adorable and well-behaved. All at once, even working did not feel so tiring anymore.
Someone faintly overheard a few lines and felt the excitement of eating gossip firsthand.
Thinking of the future moment when those haters would be slapped in the face, they suddenly felt that this job was almost too good to be true.
