Chapter 3

"Super Cute Family" is a family variety show featuring celebrities and family members, and it has been highly anticipated by netizens since its preparation.

There are two reasons why it has attracted so much attention.

Firstly, this variety show has already aired for three seasons, and the effect of the first three seasons can be described in one word: explosive, or in two words: wildly popular.

As for why it exploded—because it was just too! melodramatic!

As an online live-streamed variety show, "Super Cute Family" has virtually no script, and the acting skills of the celebrity family members are also practically nonexistent. As a result, you can see a lot of completely natural scripts here.

For example, in the first season, the real and fake heiresses of a wealthy family were brought to life; in the second season, a virtuous and talented veteran artist was caught cheating by his wife; and in the third season, with so many scandals in the first two seasons that no well-known artists dared to join, a certain 360th-tier couple became a nationwide CP shipper because of their pure love and adorable relationship.

This has led to an even greater number of guests volunteering to participate in the show this fourth season compared to the previous two seasons.

The second reason for the buzz is the guests this season.

In short, "Super Cute Family" has dominated the headlines of major entertainment sections since its inception, as the most anticipated parent-child reality show this summer.

The program adopts an innovative dual-mode of "live broadcast + edited version" and will officially begin recording the day after tomorrow. Today's task is to shoot the first batch of official announcement materials.

Although Qiuqiu was the only non-celebrity among all the guests, she displayed amazing talent in front of the camera. The little girl is not only sweet and lovely, but more importantly, she is not shy at all, and every movement is natural and graceful.

Jiang Xueru's performance was impeccable—with her looks, she was pleasing to the eye even just standing there.

However, problems arose when the two needed to appear together to showcase the warmth of mother and daughter.

"Teacher Jiang, could you smile a little?"

The photographer looked up from behind the viewfinder for the third time, his tone helpless, "They really don't look like mother and daughter now."

Jiang Xueru smiled in agreement, revealing a standard professional smile.

The photographer gestured as he explained, "Not like that, it needs to be more natural, with that warm, maternal glow. Look how naturally Qiuqiu smiles, you need to create a sense of interaction with her."

Jiang Xueru recalled Yu Ling's emergency training, mechanically extended two fingers to press against the corners of her mouth, forcibly raising an exaggerated smile.

Photographer: "......"

The smile was so fake that even the assistant next to him couldn't help but turn his face away.

“Never mind,” the photographer wiped his face. “Teacher Jiang, just look at Qiuqiu and imagine that this is your own child.”

Just then, a discordant voice came from the corner: "You can't even pretend properly. If you hate kids, don't come to host a children's variety show."

Jiang Xueru's expression remained unchanged, as if she hadn't heard anything. But Qiuqiu keenly sensed that her mother's aura had instantly turned colder.

The little girl pouted and tugged at Jiang Xueru's sleeve: "Mommy, isn't Qiuqiu cute?"

Jiang Xueru looked down into those clear, large eyes and nodded gently.

"Does Mommy dislike Qiuqiu?"

[Indeed... I don't dislike it.]

She shook her head.

Do you like Qiuqiu?

This question made Jiang Xueru pause for a moment.

Before she could answer, Qiuqiu suddenly stood on tiptoe and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Jiang Xueru, who had never been so close to a child before, had her mind go blank for a moment.

She...was kissed by a little child?

"Great! That's the feeling!" The photographer, who had been intently watching the camera, immediately captured the perfect moment and excitedly shouted, "Hold on! Professor Jiang, your expression right now is so real!"

Jiang Xueru was indeed unable to move—she was completely stunned by the sudden kiss.

Qiuqiu stayed still obediently—Jiang Xueru smelled nice, which she liked.

The photographer raved about the finished photos: "This is exactly the warmth I wanted! It's so natural! Actress Jiang truly deserves her title as a film queen; that surprised look in her eyes was so realistic!"

Jiang Xueru: "......"

It wasn't an act; he was scared.

The perpetrator, Qiuqiu, leaned close to her ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Big kids should be honest, Mommy clearly likes Qiuqiu very much."

A big smile bursts into my eyes. The warmth from the fingers and the color in my eyes, processed by the complex structure of human tissue, ultimately converge into the same simple emotion.

Jiang Xueru, realizing that her secret had been exposed, immediately felt guilty.

This guilty conscience turned into a blush, starting from the ear that Qiuqiu had kissed and spreading quickly to the entire face.

Jiang Xueru felt her cheeks burning, but the photographer exclaimed, "That expression is amazing! Keep it up, you two!"

Jiang Xueru: "......"

All she wants to do right now is crawl into a hole in the ground.

......

As a professional actress, Jiang Xueru had adjusted her condition before filming ended. However, five-year-old Qiuqiu's stomach started growling uncooperatively after filming concluded.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xueru expressionlessly took out a few exquisitely packaged chocolates from her bag and handed them over with practiced ease.

"Thank you, Mom!" Qiuqiu happily accepted the kiss, and stood on tiptoe to give it another kiss to express her gratitude, but Jiang Xueru nimbly dodged it.

"No more kissing." Jiang Xueru turned her face away, but her ears were secretly turning red.

Qiuqiu pouted: What a hypocrite! He was so happy when he was kissed just now.

"Teacher Jiang, it's been a long time."

A female voice suddenly rang out, the word "teacher" in her tone carrying a clear sense of sarcasm.

Qiuqiu opened her eyes wide warily—in her perception, this person's soul was dark gray, with an unsettling turbidity.

That's not what made Qiuqiu wary.

Qiuqiu clearly saw a thin gray thread extending from Jiang Xueru's body, connecting to Ye Sisi's heart. And the white light spots that had leaked from Jiang Xueru's soul were flowing continuously along this thread towards her!

No wonder I could feel Jiang Xueru's luck was slipping away!

So that's where the culprit was!

The culprit, Ye Sisi, didn't notice the little one staring at her, while Jiang Xueru ignored her completely.

Ye Sisi sneered: "Sister, you don't even remember your own sister, do you?"

"Ye Sisi?" Jiang Xueru scrutinized her face closely. "You've had plastic surgery again?"

Ye Sisi's smile froze instantly.

“Your original sweet style suits you well, you don’t need to deliberately imitate me.”

Jiang Xueru commented seriously, "This is not suitable for you."

"What do you mean?" Ye Sisi gritted her teeth.

"Literally, is there something you need? If not, I'll be going now."

Ye Sisi: "......"

It's that feeling of being ignored again!

Ye Sisi blocked his way, "Don't think that just because I call you 'sister,' you're really my sister. Don't lecture me like that."

She spoke with great force, but her confidence waned. Just as she was about to give up, Jiang Xueru finally spoke:

“I never considered myself your sister. My surname is Jiang, and yours is Ye. If you want to acknowledge your family, go find your father’s other dozen or so illegitimate children. They all share the same surname as you, Ye.”

These words pierced Ye Sisi's arrogance like a needle.

"Jiang Xueru, he's your biological father too!"

A flash of disgust crossed Jiang Xueru's eyes: "He's not worthy?"

Qiuqiu gripped Jiang Xueru's clothes tightly. She could clearly see that, with Ye Sisi's emotional fluctuations, the thread that was stealing luck was trembling violently and was absorbing it at an even faster rate.

Ye Sisi suddenly laughed, "I know why you took this children's variety show. It's because Dad is going to give me the role in 'Hello Mom,' and you're getting anxious, aren't you?"

She deliberately raised her voice: "You've always hated kids because of our existence, but now you're going to participate in a children's variety show. It must be really tough on you."

"But I understand. How can someone who has never been loved by their mother or father, who has never been married or raised children, possibly play a good mother? Unlike me, I am loved by my parents, doted on by my husband, have well-behaved children, and have a happy and fulfilling family life. I am the perfect person to play a mother."

Ye Sisi deliberately targeted Jiang Xueru's sore spots, hoping to see her angry, devastated, and jealous reaction.

However, none of these emotions appeared.

Jiang Xueru simply tightened her fingers slightly.

"Oh, so you're the one the agent was talking about who snatched roles through connections."

A single, understated sentence, devoid of anger, jealousy, or even a breakdown.

Ye Sisi was almost driven mad by her bizarre focus: "You! I will definitely prove with my abilities that I am more suitable for this role than you!"

"Then good luck."

Damn it! Another emotionless response like this, like punching cotton, it just makes me even angrier!

This reminded her of the time when she was completely overshadowed by Jiang Xueru, those days when she could only secretly envy her when she saw titles such as "19-year-old Best Actress", "the ceiling of beauty in the entertainment industry" and "a star descended from heaven".

Ye Sisi took a deep breath, realizing that continuing the argument would only lead to further humiliation, so she turned and quickly left.

In the instant she turned around, Qiuqiu clearly saw the gray thread tremble violently, and more light spots flowed away from Jiang Xueru.

Qiuqiu worriedly grabbed Jiang Xueru's hand, and then made a bold decision.

She concentrated her mind and used the little divine power she had left to gently "blow" a breath toward the gray thread.

"Crack!"

As Ye Sisi walked away, she suddenly slipped and nearly fell. The thickest thread connecting the two snapped instantly, and the white light that had been flowing towards Ye Sisi returned to Jiang Xueru's body.

Jiang Xueru suddenly felt a lightness all over her body, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and even her breathing became much easier.

"Mom," Qiuqiu looked up at her with concern in her eyes, "Are you alright?"

Jiang Xueru came to her senses and, for some reason, from that moment on, she suddenly felt that something that belonged to her had returned to her, and many of the negative emotions that had been troubling her had completely left her.

Jiang Xueru shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Qiuqiu was still worried and continued to ask, "Are you sad? She said you don't have a mother or a father who loves you."

Are you sad?

Jiang Xueru had asked herself this question countless nights when she was alone in the luxurious villa, and she had also asked herself whether she would be sad in the future after deciding to leave that place. She never got an answer to either question.

But starting today, she suddenly saw many things clearly.

Now I can confidently answer my past self from over 10 years ago: I was sad then, but I won't be sad now.

Jiang Xueru knelt down and gently stroked Qiuqiu's hair: "Mom is no longer sad. Qiuqiu doesn't need to be sad either, because Qiuqiu has a mom now."

Qiuqiu touched Jiang Xueru's hand with great tenderness, "Then Mom promises Qiuqiu that you won't be sad anymore."

She silently vowed in her heart: she must protect her mother, who is tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and never let that bad person steal her mother's luck again!

Looking at the inexplicably close little girl beside her, Jiang Xueru felt a strange warmth welling up in her heart for the first time.

A strange thought suddenly welled up in her mind—perhaps this unexpected "daughter" would be the best gift fate could give her.

Jiang Xueru nodded.

Then he quickly kissed Qiuqiu on the cheek.

She then stood up and pretended to look away nonchalantly, but her bright red ears betrayed her true feelings.

Qiuqiu smiled sweetly, her little hand tightly gripping Jiang Xueru's fingers.