For the boys, Zimo should have gone first by age, but he looked visibly anxious, his small hand clutching Jiang Xingyang's sleeve. Seeing this, Jiang Xingyang turned to Bai Xia. "Teacher Bai, let Ningning go first."
Bai Xia placed a dart in Ningning's hand and explained the rules simply: "Just have fun — wherever it lands is fine."
Ningning had watched his two older sisters carefully and now adjusted his stance with deliberate focus. He was a little young and didn't quite have the strength — one dart missed the board entirely — but his other two throws were solid, earning him five points.
The little one didn't seem disappointed at all. If anything, there was something almost giddy about him, the excitement of trying something new for the first time.
"Baba, I got five points!" Ningning announced happily.
Bai Xia played along with equal enthusiasm. "You did! What an incredible kid."
That left Xie Zimo. He picked up the darts in silence, but inside he was terrified. He'd been studying carefully while watching the others, mentally cataloguing tips and technique — but now that everyone was looking at him, his hand wouldn't stop trembling.
"Come on, baby, your stand-in dad believes in you!" Jiang Xingyang called out encouragingly.
Zimo took a deep breath and threw his first dart. It missed the board completely.
"It's okay, it's okay! You've got this, little brother!" Little Crescent Moon called out from the side.
He steeled himself and threw again — but this time he overcorrected, and the dart sailed clear over the target. He was visibly unraveling now, his eyes reddening, the threat of tears close to the surface. The adults and children around him immediately pressed in to encourage him.
"It's nothing," Lu Cheng said. "Your first time is always like this."
Jiang Xingyang added, "Exactly — and besides, my score counts too. We're a team."
The final dart landed — slightly off-center, but it landed. Two points.
When Zimo realized he'd come in last place, he finally lost his composure. He retreated behind Jiang Xingyang and cried quietly, muffled sobs shaking through his small frame.
The other children immediately gathered around him. Yaoyao even pressed her own stuffed rabbit into his arms. "Don't cry, little brother. This is my favorite toy — you can borrow it for a little while. But you have to give it back, okay?"
Being surrounded by so many people made Zimo's heart ache in the most bittersweet way. Something shifted in him — warm, and yet somehow still sad.
Little Crescent Moon dashed over to one of the crew members. "Can you give my little brother another chance?"
The other children followed, clustering around and pleading in their small, earnest voices. Since this was ultimately a children's variety show without strict rules, the director agreed to let Zimo have one more try — though it wouldn't count toward the total score.
Seeing that everyone had fought for him, and lifted by the crowd's encouragement, Zimo threw again. This time the dart landed squarely near the center.
Watching everyone's faces light up with genuine, unperformed happiness — he felt something warm spread through his chest.
Live stream comments: 【Baby, please don't cry, auntie's heart is melting】 【These kids are so precious】 【Is it because his parents aren't here? He must be a little scared. My heart 💔】 【What's wrong with this kid? It's just a game, isn't it?】
Next came the adults' turn, in the same order as the children's.
The film emperor had been working out for years, and games like this were effortless for him. He threw casually and walked away with twenty points.
The other three were more evenly matched — fifteen, twelve, and eleven points respectively.
The standings were clear: the film emperor's family held a commanding lead. Zhou Yu's group had twenty points, Bai Xia's group seventeen, and Jiang Xingyang's group trailed at thirteen.
Zimo had only just started to relax — but the moment the results were announced, the tension crept back. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd dragged his stand-in dad down. He looked up at Jiang Xingyang with a small, uncertain expression.
Jiang Xingyang waved it off. "Don't worry about it. Consider that one a warm-up."
After announcing the scores, the director produced four illustrated cards — each one a cartoon rendering of a different scene.
The first showed a sun-drenched landscape with colorful flowers dotting the trees and grass.
The second depicted a brilliant blue ocean and a golden beach, waves rolling toward shore, a few fishing boats in the distance.
The third illustrated a dense forest with a clear stream winding through it.
The last one was different from the others: a simple pencil sketch, no color at all — just the outline of an adult holding a child's hand.
"Director uncle, that one isn't a house," Qin Siyao pointed out.
The director smiled. "You're right. These four images each represent a different house. The connection between the picture and the house is for you to discover."
Lu Cheng frowned. "So even first place might end up with a bad house?"
The director looked thoroughly pleased with himself. "Our show is very fair — the comfort level is roughly the same across all four. The main difference is location. And tonight's dinner is up to each family to prepare — each house comes with different ingredients."
"So I won first place… for nothing?" Lu Cheng made an exaggerated face.
"Director, you're something else," Jiang Xingyang said — though he looked completely delighted.
The adults unanimously decided to let the children choose. Little Crescent Moon picked the flowers — the bright colors made her very happy. Qin Siyao chose the beach. When it was Ningning's turn, he reached out decisively and pointed to the simple sketch. Everyone looked a little surprised.
While it was true that on variety shows the plainest option was sometimes the best, children didn't tend to think in those terms. They gravitated toward vivid images — flowers, sunshine, the sea.
"That's me and my little dad," Ningning said, lifting the card and showing everyone. The dart-throwing game had loosened him up considerably from when he'd first arrived.
Jiang Xingyang nodded, something genuine in his voice. "Teacher Bai, you and Ningning really are close."
Bai Xia smiled softly and caught Ningning, who had come running toward him.
By default, the last picture went to Jiang Xingyang's family.
"Alright," the director announced, "you can now follow the clues along the way to find your houses. Ingredients are already waiting for you inside — dinner is on you tonight."
Everyone collected their luggage and headed off in their separate directions.
The Sunshine House, Beach House, and Forest House were all close to one another. Their illustrated cards had been simple representations of the surrounding scenery. The three properties shared a small central lake, surrounded by woodland and dotted with different kinds of wildflowers.
Bai Xia's house was slightly further removed — but it turned out to be a small standalone cottage with a little lawn in front. It really did suit a father and child perfectly.
Inside each house, the ingredients had been arranged prominently. Zhou Yu's family had the most: a generous portion of meat, eggs, rice, vegetables — enough to feed at least three or four people. The film emperor's family had a bit less, but still a good spread of meat and vegetables.
Jiang Xingyang's house was a pleasant surprise: several instant meal packets, two eggs, and a handful of greens. The moment he saw it, his eyes lit up. He turned to the camera with undisguised relief. "Director, I am genuinely so grateful — how did you know I can't cook?"
On the other side of the monitor, the director thought to himself: How would I know whether he can cook? The instant food was supposed to be a punishment.
Bai Xia's ingredients were more modest — mostly noodles, with limited meat.
The journey had been long, and everyone had grabbed only a light lunch along the way. After the afternoon games, both adults and children were tired. They unpacked for a while before turning their attention to dinner.
On Zhou Yu's end, he stood staring at the pile of ingredients with no idea what to do with them. Qin Siyao, who had never had much patience for him, ignored him entirely and played quietly with her rabbit, privately deciding that if he let her go hungry, she would tell her real dad the moment she got home.
After some thought, Zhou Yu walked out of his house and made his way toward the film emperor's.
Lu Cheng welcomed him warmly when he heard the request. His own cooking wasn't exactly impressive, but this was a variety show — collaboration and goodwill were part of the spirit of things. Zhou Yu smiled — a rare, slightly abashed expression — and went back to collect Qin Siyao.
Little Crescent Moon was thrilled to see her again. The two girls reunited immediately, drifting off together to chatter and play.
In the kitchen, the combined ingredients from both households amounted to a respectable spread.
"Should we call everyone over?" Lu Cheng asked, rinsing vegetables. "The director said some families might not have much."
Zhou Yu was quietly hoping for some one-on-one time with the film emperor — footage like that would be valuable — but the cameras were rolling, so he immediately said he'd go and ask.
Jiang Xingyang, still riding the high of his instant-food windfall, had already been thinking the same thing. The moment Zhou Yu appeared at his door, he grabbed Zimo's hand and followed before Zhou Yu had finished the sentence.
Zhou Yu, somewhat reluctantly, also knocked on Bai Xia's door.
Bai Xia agreed at once, bringing his own ingredients over with Ningning in tow.
In the kitchen, the film emperor took charge of the food preparation. After breakfast, Jiang Xingyang had made peace with the reality of his culinary abilities and had no intention of testing them further — especially not in front of his idol. He perched contentedly off to one side, keeping things lively with commentary and the occasional question.
When Zhou Yu returned with Bai Xia, Bai Xia took one look at Lu Cheng working alone and stepped forward. "Let me give you a hand, older brother Lu."
"Perfect timing — get in here," Lu Cheng said, visibly relieved.
Zhou Yu, put out, edged his way over. "I can help too, older brother Lu, Teacher Bai."
Lu Cheng handed him a pile of vegetables. "Here — wash these first, then prep them."
Jiang Xingyang promptly appeared beside him to help.
But washing vegetables turned out to be the beginning of a very long series of questions. Every new item Zhou Yu picked up required a consultation.
"Older brother Lu, how do I prep this one — which part should I throw away?"
Each time, Lu Cheng had to turn around and answer.
Then Zhou Yu began picking through the vegetables with visible reluctance — discarding usable pieces, tearing off too much of another, creating a slow, steady trail of small inefficiencies. Jiang Xingyang watched all of this in silence, his earlier commentary gradually fading away.
Live stream comments: 【Zhou Yu is absolutely a pampered prince — you can tell he's never done this in his life】 【His husband probably spoils him rotten 🥺】 【Zhou Yu fans are unhinged — the film emperor is over there actually cooking, and your guy thinks he's too precious to wash vegetables】 【Lol "pampered prince" — what year is it even?】 【Bai Xia cooking is genuinely such a pleasure to watch. Those hands 🥹】 【Film emperor fans, rest easy — successful career, money, AND he cooks. Childhood idol for life】 【Jiang Xingyang's self-awareness is sending me 💀】
An hour later, the first meal of Baby's Growing Diary was ready. The table was full — proper dishes, meat, vegetables, and a separate pot of soft noodles made specially for the children. Everyone was hungry, and they ate accordingly.
The show's opening day numbers were impressive. The director announced the day's filming was done. They tidied up the kitchen together, then everyone went their separate ways to rest.
With all cameras off, Ningning — who had been running on fumes for the last hour — finally collapsed against Bai Xia on the walk home, clinging to him like a koala. He was still in good spirits, making small pleased sounds as they walked. Back at the house, he washed up and was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Bai Xia watched him for a moment, then exchanged a few brief messages with his manager and turned in himself.
The film emperor's household was the same — tired, early to bed.
Zhou Yu, the moment he was back inside, snatched up his phone and began scrolling through the reaction. Qin Siyao, accustomed to this, took herself to the bathroom to wash up alone.
The morning commentary had been almost entirely hostile to Bai Xia. By the afternoon and evening, once a wider mix of viewers had tuned in, the tone had diluted somewhat. But Zhou Yu noticed several negative comments about himself mixed in and immediately called his manager.
"What is going on? Don't you know how to moderate comments? Can't you get the fans to push back?"
His manager sighed. "I'm already working on it. You can't eliminate every negative comment."
"I don't care," Zhou Yu snapped. "The paid commenters I asked for earlier — I want them in Bai Xia's mentions. Now, not tomorrow. And contact the gossip accounts — I want them to keep running with that story."
On the other side of the village, Jiang Xingyang brought Zimo back to their cottage. Children run out of energy fast, and Zimo's eyelids were drooping — and yet he remained perfectly behaved. Jiang Xingyang hurried him through washing up and getting ready for bed. The boy was remarkably self-sufficient; he managed everything on his own without any prompting.
Just as Jiang Xingyang was about to dim the lights so Zimo could sleep, the boy reached for his smartwatch.
"Stand-in Dad, I want to call my mom and dad."
"Of course. Take your time — I'll go shower." Jiang Xingyang quietly gave him the space.
Zimo hadn't seen his parents in a full day and missed them in the uncomplicated way of young children. He waited for the call to connect — and before he could say a word, his mother's voice came through.
"What happened during that game? You practiced those darts at home. Multiple times. And you came in last place. No one is going to like you if you behave like this. And then you cried — on camera. It was embarrassing."
"I — I was nervous," Zimo said quietly.
"Nervous over something so small? If you can't handle this, how are you ever going to be a celebrity? We've invested so much in you. Is this how you repay us?"
"Alright, alright." His father's voice, calmer. "Being nervous your first day is normal, Momo. Just remember what we told you — we're watching the livestream. Make sure you're putting your best foot forward."
"Okay," Zimo said. "I understand."
The call ended. The drowsiness that had been pulling at him was gone.
He lay in the dark under the covers, thinking about the warmth he'd seen in the faces of the fathers with their children today — and about the quiet, careful ways Jiang Xingyang had looked after him since morning. He pulled the blanket up and cried very softly, making almost no sound at all.
