The next morning's livestream opened at eight o'clock sharp. All four families gathered in yesterday's meeting room after getting ready.
The children were sleepy and adorable — dopey-faced and slow-moving, except for Xie Zimo, who stood neatly beside Jiang Xingyang with clear eyes and composed posture.
The production team had prepared breakfast for everyone. None of the four children needed to be fed — they ate enthusiastically on their own.
After breakfast, the director explained the day's structure. The entire day would be devoted to an adventure game, with the four families operating independently.
Multiple adventure checkpoints had been set up around the area, each with a different task. Harder tasks offered more badges; easier ones, fewer. Some tasks required the children to complete alone; others called for parent-child teamwork. Hidden tasks were scattered throughout the checkpoints — discovering them could earn bonus rewards.
Lunch would only be triggered by a specific task. Families that didn't find it would have to sort out their own midday meal.
The family with the most badges at the end of the day would win, and the winning family would enjoy a chef-prepared dinner that evening.
The mention of a private chef sent Jiang Xingyang into a visible state of longing.
Each family was handed a hand-drawn map. It showed the general layout of the area available to them, marked with safety notes and the boundaries of where they could roam. Small star symbols indicated the adventure checkpoints — but since all the stars looked the same, finding the hidden tasks would require some genuine exploration.
Bai Xia received his map, took one look at it, and didn't rush. He sat down with Ningning and they studied it together carefully. Neither of them had come with much competitive drive — as long as Ningning had fun, that was enough.
Jiang Xingyang and Lu Cheng, the unofficial hype duo, bolted the moment the director said go, pausing only to issue dramatic declarations about crushing each other.
Zhou Yu's group didn't move immediately either. The previous night, after his excitable phone call, he had convened an emergency late-night video meeting with his team. This variety show was an opportunity, and he intended to squeeze every drop of usable content from it — trending topics, manufactured moments, the works.
Zhou Yu had debuted four years ago alongside Bai Xia on a talent competition show. He'd been unremarkable in both looks and performance at the time, and his agency hadn't been much help. Standing beside Bai Xia in the same frame now, almost no one could even remember they'd shared a stage. He'd been eliminated in the second round out of five.
What followed were years of dead ends and detours, and eventually — through a combination of ambition, desperation, and luck — a strategic marriage into money. After that, he had set up his own management studio, leveraged his husband's name to pry resources out of the industry, and made himself at home in a world where most people didn't dare cross him.
At home he played the devoted, gentle spouse — on camera, at least. For this show, he had done his research. The "pampered darling" persona was apparently very much in vogue: someone with family wealth and connections, raised to expect indulgence, in the industry for the fun of it rather than the money. Zhou Yu liked the fit. His own origins were ordinary, but his current husband was wealthy and, burdened by guilt over his long absences, reliably generous. Bring Qin Siyao into the picture at the right moments, let her play along, and the image assembled itself: the adored young spouse, the devoted child, the charmed life.
Satisfied with this vision, he studied the map, charted a course, and set off with Qin Siyao toward the nearest checkpoint.
Bai Xia arrived at the first checkpoint — one Ningning had selected by simply pointing at the map — to find it inside an actual residential house. If not for the cameras and crew equipment, he might have thought they'd wandered into a villager's home by mistake.
Inside, a crew member handed them the task card. This one was for Ningning alone: tidy and clean the house. The space was roughly forty square meters, with some deliberately placed clutter and disorder. There was no time limit. When Ningning decided he was done, he could press a button. The crew would then score him on both time and cleanliness. The task was worth between one and five badges — but there was a risk: the longer he stayed, the greater the chance they'd miss lunch.
Bai Xia decided to let Ningning choose.
"But what do you do while I'm in there, Baba?" Ningning asked.
A crew member answered: "Your dad can wait in the room next door."
Ningning looked up at Bai Xia. "Then I want to do it. I want you to have a rest."
Bai Xia felt warmth settle quietly in his chest. He reminded Ningning once more that they might miss lunch, and when Ningning held firm, he respected the decision. The waiting room had a monitor showing a live feed from inside the house, so Bai Xia stretched out comfortably and watched.
Live stream comments: 【Ningning really loves his little dad so much】 【Baby is such a sweetheart 🥹】 【No way an adult didn't coach him to say that, right? Three-year-olds don't volunteer to do chores】 【The value calculation doesn't make sense — five badges max, and they didn't even scout the other checkpoints first?】
Meanwhile, Zhou Yu found a checkpoint about five minutes into his walk. It was a physical challenge requiring parent and child to work together: a hundred-meter obstacle course with five stations — a pressure-pad floor, a balance beam, small hurdles, a low wall to climb, and tire obstacles.
The rules called for a relay between adult and child; finishing within the time limit meant winning, with a maximum of five badges.
Zhou Yu took one look and immediately wanted to leave. "Ugh, this sounds exhausting. And honestly, Yaoyao's a little girl — this isn't really right for her. Let's go check the next one."
The night before, Zhou Yu had summoned Qin Siyao just as she was falling asleep to deliver a series of instructions. Most of it went over her head, but the message was clear enough — stay on your best behavior, no sulking, no tantrums. He'd made sure she understood there would be consequences if she didn't comply.
So even though the course actually looked quite fun to Qin Siyao, she had no choice but to agree. She followed Zhou Yu toward the next checkpoint without a word.
Live stream comments: 【This kind of game really isn't suited for Zhou Yu and his little princess】 【He's so thoughtful — five badges on the line and he gives it up for her without a second thought】 【Jiang Xingyang, run — this course was made for you!】
Jiang Xingyang, who had set off early and was full of energy, arrived at his first checkpoint with Zimo in tow. The task: eat hanging candy. Each of them needed to catch a candy dangling from a hat — all within the time limit. Two badges for success. For a man with absolutely no ego to protect, this was trivial.
The moment the crew member said start, Jiang Xingyang's face went into full contortion mode. Not a trace of idol poise. He got the candy, naturally — and donated several highly memeable expressions to the internet in the process.
Live stream comments: 【Jiang Xingyang, your face! Please treat it with more respect!】 【Does this man remember he's an idol?】
The comments were in high spirits.
Afterward, Jiang Xingyang led Zimo in a loose loop and stumbled onto the obstacle course. The moment he heard "five badges," he signed them up on the spot. He kept the harder stations — the pressure pads, the wall — for himself, and never once rushed Zimo through his sections. After a trial run, they succeeded on their second attempt.
Seven badges total. Jiang Xingyang felt wealthy.
Over at the film emperor's checkpoint, Lu Cheng and Little Crescent Moon had finished two games and collected six badges. Viewers were beginning to notice something: Little Crescent Moon might be small and dressed in pink and ruffles, but she played like someone twice her age. She threw herself at every game with complete commitment, remained completely unfazed when one challenge sent a toy suddenly flying at her — baffling viewers who admitted they'd flinched — and had a gift for absorbing instructions quickly and negotiating with the crew for a practice round before attempting anything officially.
Her coordination with her dad was seamless.
Everyone in the comments agreed: the film emperor's approach to parenting really showed.
By eleven o'clock, every family had built up a small badge count. Zhou Yu's group had done a handful of lighter games and landed at six; Lu Cheng and Jiang Xingyang were at nine and seven respectively. None of the three families had triggered the lunch task yet. With midday approaching, finding food became everyone's priority.
Back at Bai Xia's checkpoint, Ningning had been cleaning for over an hour. The space wasn't large, and the production team had kept it manageable — but it was his first time doing housework, and the tools alone had puzzled him for quite a while. And because he was small, he kept accidentally knocking things over — tidying with one hand while unknowingly undoing it with the other.
At one point he stopped and sat down. The viewers assumed he was giving up. But Ningning sat there for a moment, murmured something encouraging to himself, picked up his little brush, and got back to work.
In the end, the results were decent enough to earn him four badges.
Clutching the badges with quiet pride, he ran to the waiting room and stood in front of Bai Xia looking like he was working up to something.
"What is it? Are you tired?" Bai Xia lifted him up.
Ningning buried his whole face in his father's shoulder. After a moment, a little muffled: "Baba… housework is really hard."
In reality, Bai Xia had hired help — a housekeeper who came in daily at a set time and left afterward. But Ningning, who spent most of his time asleep or playing, had constructed a mental image of his father doing everything himself: cooking, cleaning, managing the whole house. If he had just worn himself out on one small room, then surely his little dad — who did all of this and also looked after him — must be exhausted all the time.
Ningning had grown very concerned on Bai Xia's behalf.
Bai Xia felt simultaneously moved and amused, and was just about to say something — when Ningning spoke first.
"From now on, I'll help Baba with the housework. It's my turn to look after you."
Live stream comments: 【I'm crying, this child is too precious 😭】 【Don't they have live-in help? That can't be expensive】 【Honestly you'd be surprised — some wealthy families have all sorts of rules about that kind of thing】 【Terrifying. Truly, marry within your means】
Bai Xia held Ningning and was in no hurry to move on to the next task. He wanted to let him rest. Then a crew member's voice broke in.
"Teacher Bai, Ningning — congratulations. You've triggered a hidden storyline and earned two lunch vouchers."
The crew member explained: this particular task had two stages. The game was designed to let children experience a little of what adults go through — so if a child came out of it having genuinely grown or reflected in some way, the lunch reward would activate. If the child only completed the chore without that moment of understanding, no lunch.
Bai Xia and Ningning both lit up with surprise.
"Baby, look what you did," Bai Xia said. "You won us lunch."
Ningning immediately forgot whatever quiet sadness had been lingering. He had worked hard all morning, and now he was tired and hungry — and very, very pleased with himself. Bai Xia decided to head to the restaurant first to let him rest.
Live stream comments: 【To all the people who were complaining earlier — Ningning got the first lunch. Take notes.】 【The show was clearly designed to let celebrity kids experience real life — didn't expect an actual real-life kid to be the one to nail it】 【If you block the word "rich family" in the comments, you'll get a much cleaner experience】
Lu Cheng's group stumbled into their lunch reward by accident. Walking to a checkpoint, Little Crescent Moon spotted a badge that had fallen by the roadside. Lu Cheng took one look and immediately guessed it was a production trick — so he said nothing.
Little Crescent Moon walked over and handed it to the nearest crew member without hesitation, telling them something had been dropped here.
Her honesty triggered the hidden task. Lunch vouchers, earned.
At the restaurant, with only two families holding vouchers, Jiang Xingyang — still voucher-less after much exploration — arrived and began shamelessly negotiating his way in. He bargained back and forth with the director before accepting the terms: three badges, surrendered, in exchange for lunch.
Zhou Yu fared no better. He was genuinely tired by this point, and when he spotted three families already in the restaurant from a distance, his first instinct was panic — had he somehow been the only one to miss the hidden task?
He knew that on a children's show, the bar was low. The real problem was that he'd spent the morning cherry-picking tasks for the sake of his persona, never genuinely engaging with any of them. Worried about how the comparison would look, he made a quick decision. He slowed his steps. Let them drag a little. Then, out in the open sunlight, he stopped — swayed — and went down like something had cut out from under him.
A crew member caught him just in time. He looked at the camera with what he hoped was a suitably fragile expression and said: "I'm sorry — I think my blood sugar dropped." Qin Siyao, who genuinely didn't know what was happening and was frightened because she was a child, rushed to his side.
The crew swarmed. A medical team was summoned for a check.
The production had accounted for every contingency — including hunger. The director's hope had been for some playful negotiation, some good footage of families making deals for meals. A medical incident during a children's livestream was a different story entirely.
As expected, the comments turned quickly.
Live stream comments: 【Didn't the production team brief the cast in advance?】 【What if it had been one of the children next time?】 【Zhou Yu's been playing games and walking all day — of course he ran out of fuel, he was clearly at his limit】 【Someone protect him, please 😔】
