Chapter 18

Jiang Yijing waved his hand and said, "Wait, we can't make the call. They're still live streaming."

The secretary then came to her senses, "Yes... Mr. Jiang is right, Mr. Leng's employment agreement cannot be made public."

Jiang Yijing gently rubbed her temples with her fingertips, feeling a headache for the first time over this education expert's matter.

He ultimately chose to open Leng Zhi's chat window on WeChat and send him a message.

[Jiang Yijing: Are you there?]

No reply.

In the live stream, Leng Zhi's phone screen lit up for a moment, but he didn't even look at it, still arguing with Lei Shen.

“A friendly spar is fine,” Leng Zhi said.

Seeing that Lei Shen readily agreed, he added, "But we're on a TV show after all, it's not very interesting to just play a game."

Lei Shen was already calculating how to get an extra percentage of the profits from advertisers when he casually replied, "Indeed, it's not good for variety shows to always have guests playing games."

Leng Zhi: "How about we use the stars as our stake?"

Lei Shen nodded: "Okay, we can use stars as the stakes, so that the outcome of the game will be related to the content of the program."

"Then I'll just take one star. I'm afraid you won't be able to borrow any more."

Wait, stars as stakes?

Thor snapped out of his daze and suddenly found himself unable to think straight.

He thinks I don't have enough stars, so he's sending me some.

Lei Shen fell into thought—although he and Leng Zhi had only met yesterday, judging from their brief interaction over the past two days, Leng Zhi was definitely not the kind of naive and innocent person!

Arrogant, that's all!

Lei Shen sneered inwardly. The less capable a person is, the more arrogant and ignorant they are.

Leng, ignorant of his own limitations, Zhi: "Do you need me to lend you the stars you're betting on?"

[Hahaha, there's even a trash-talking segment here!]

[Lei Shen is already down to two stars; if he borrows another pair of underwear, he'll lose everything.]

[Let's think positively, what if he makes it back through tomorrow's mini-games?]

Lei Shen smiled and said, "No need, I'm sure I can win it back tomorrow."

The tension between the two escalated, and other guests tried to smooth things over, saying, "One star, just a little competition."

Soon, the atmosphere on set returned to a joyful one, and Jiang Mingzhe found an opportunity to take off his watch and put it into Leng Zhi's arms.

Ever since Leng Zhi agreed at the ice cream shop that afternoon, he had been thinking to himself that he must seize the opportunity to get his bad dad to give him a high score!

And you have to do it when the camera isn't pointed at you!

Although his kindergarten classmates were not actually the target audience of variety shows, Xiao Jiang still seriously believed that he should avoid the cameras, otherwise he might ruin his reputation in the class!

Right now, the camera is focused on the guests chatting and the kids playing with building blocks.

Jiang Mingzhe lowered his voice and said in a soft whisper, "We agreed that you would help me play games, but I didn't use any of my three game chances today! Help me play the pinball game, which is the fifth one in the game."

He rattled off a long string of words, but because his voice was so low, Leng Zhi couldn't hear him at all.

An unread message lit up on his phone. Leng Zhi opened it while saying:

"Say it again?"

Jiang Mingzhe obediently repeated it.

"Huh? Speak louder?"

Jiang Mingzhe repeated it for the third time.

Which one?

Jiang Mingzhe: "..."

Bad dad! He just doesn't want to help me play!

Leng Zhi looked completely innocent. Jiang Mingzhe's voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum, and he was genuinely trying his best to listen.

Jiang Mingzhe grabbed Leng Zhi's collar, pointed it at his ear, and shouted, "The fifth one!"

"Snap!" Leng Zhi's phone flipped over and was pressed under his palm.

Jiang Mingzhe's shout made everyone turn around and look at him.

Yun Jingcheng asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Le Xinzhou poked his head in: "What's Xiao Mingzhe up to?"

Leng Zhi: "It's alright, we're communicating amicably."

Then, he felt a vibration coming from the palm of his hand.

Leng Zhi, puzzled, raised his hand and glanced at the screen.

[You are calling Jiang Yijing]

Leng Zhi: "?"

Inside the group's building, Jiang Yijing was equally perplexed.

There was a slight delay in the live stream; the camera had just cut away from Leng Zhi, so he couldn't see what Leng Zhi was doing.

The secretary thoughtfully guessed, "Mr. Leng must have found a moment to report on Jiang Mingzhe's situation to you."

Jiang Yijing agreed and pressed the answer button.

Leng Zhi reacted quickly; despite having a grumpy child on his arm, he immediately grabbed his phone to hang up.

You have been connected.

Even video calls.

Jiang Yijing never expected the call to turn out like this.

After their marriage, he and Leng Zhi didn't see each other often, usually because of Jiang Mingzhe, and their limited communication revolved around Jiang Mingzhe.

In his memory, Leng Zhi always dressed formally and was impeccable in his manners. He was very strict with Jiang Mingzhe, which was in stark contrast to his doting grandmother.

And now—

Leng Zhi was staring blankly at his phone, while Jiang Mingzhe was gesturing wildly around him.

His collar was loosened by Jiang Mingzhe, revealing large patches of snow-white skin and smooth, graceful lines to his collarbone.

Jiang Yijing's eyes darkened.

What kind of behavior is this?

Leng Zhi never expected that the call would be answered.

This was the first time he had met this creditor. He had originally thought he would be a greasy middle-aged man who had just had a child, but he never expected to see a young, handsome man on his phone.

But he didn't have time to think much about it—no matter how handsome he was, in his eyes he was just a walking creditor with 30 million in debt.

Leng Zhi tidied himself up in almost three seconds.

Jiang Mingzhe didn't need him to cook, because after Jiang's image appeared on his phone, he immediately transformed from a little devil into a well-behaved baby, twisting the hem of his clothes and only daring to glance at Leng Zhi out of the corner of his eye.

That awful dad! He must be calling for his dad on his phone because he doesn't want to help me play the game!

Jiang Mingzhe dared not speak his anger, clenched his little fists, and then said in a childish voice, "Hello, Daddy~"

The changes on Leng Zhi's side were quickly noticed by the production team. From the moment Jiang Mingzhe shouted, the director's eyes lit up. He was worried that the popularity of the live broadcast room was dropping rapidly.

After the segment where the kids watched Leng Zhi play Di Yao ended, the live stream was just a casual chat among the celebrity guests, with no exciting moments compared to before.

"Quick cut, quick cut, cut to Leng Zhi, add three more cameras, close-up of Leng Zhi's face, and close-up of Jiang Mingzhe's face."

"Add another camera, aim it at the phone!"

She even video-chatted with her husband! This is like a godsend when someone's sleepy.

The young successor of the Jiang family has always kept a low profile. The news of his marriage suddenly broke a while ago, and many media outlets speculated about the gossip between the couple. Now, this mysterious male wife has appeared on a variety show, and this is the first time she has spoken to her husband on the phone.

Leng Zhi was unaware of what others were thinking; he only knew that he was now like a candidate being forced into a difficult situation, with Jiang Yijing as his professional examiner.

Jiang Yijing broke the eerie silence: "Why did you suddenly video call me?"

Mr. Jiang's voice was deep and magnetic, and to the viewers in the live broadcast room, it sounded like a lover's complaint.

Holy crap, I always thought wealthy husbands were greasy old men.

[Huh? Me too, I didn't expect you to be a young talent]

[Ah, did anyone capture the scene where Xiao Jiang pulled down Leng Zhi's clothes?!]

[I took a screenshot, hehe, so fair-skinned, drool over this handsome guy]

In reality, Leng Zhi heard a completely different meaning.

[The Devilish Boss: You finally remembered to give your work report?]

Leng Zhi immediately sat up straight: "I...I promise you."

Because the camera was sneaking up on him, Leng Zhi could only express himself tactfully.

Although they are boss and employer, the employment agreement clearly states that they must present themselves as a sweet couple in public.

[Wow! Even watching a children's reality show is making me feel like I'm being fed dog food! Jiang Mingzhe! Interrupt them!]

[Where did that cool, arrogant guy vibe go all of a sudden!]

[What did you promise? Is it something we can't listen to?]

Jiang Yijing quickly saw the live stream switch back to Leng Zhi, who was kneeling on the playmat with his trousers pulled up to his thighs, revealing faint pink marks on his knees.

[Is kneeling to answer the phone some weird kind of play?]

Are we also part of their game?

[This arrogant guy suddenly seems more like a married man, oh my god, who understands?]

Jiang Yijing frowned as he watched the shameless and nonsensical comments in the live chat.

What a load of nonsense!

Jiang Yijing felt inexplicably irritated.

He somewhat regretted agreeing to let Leng Zhi bring Jiang Mingzhe onto the variety show.

He said decisively, "There are too many viewers, I'll talk about it on WeChat."

Then the video call ended.

[What secrets are you keeping from us?]

[A stingy rich kid!]

[The production team should try checking the WeChat chat history.]

Leng Zhi finally felt relieved.

Fortunately, the live stream wasn't over yet tonight, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to deal with this awkward video.

A new message popped up on my phone.

[Jiang Yijing: Due to the special circumstances, a written report will be submitted this week.]

[Leng Zhi: No problem, I'll send it to you after the live stream ends.]

【Lengzhi: handshake.jpg】

Jiang Yijing: There's one more thing.

Jiang Yijing: You're dressed too lightly.

Leng Zhi slowly typed out a question mark.

In this weather, if I don't wear a t-shirt and shorts, am I supposed to wear a suit?

He took a deep breath and decided to delete the question mark.

[Leng Zhi: Good boss.]

[Leng Zhi: Change it tomorrow!]

I tolerated it. This is a big boss who can fine him 30 million. It's normal for a boss to have dress code requirements for his employees.

Not long after, Jiang Yijing received a written report from Leng Zhi.

[1. Jiang Mingzhe's daily intake of sweets is controlled, and his three meals a day are balanced.]

2. Take Jiang Mingzhe on an outdoor adventure to learn how to plant trees, cultivating environmental awareness and a sense of connection with nature from a young age.

3. Provide Jiang Mingzhe with ample space for self-expression during daily play to enhance his autonomy and creativity.

Leng Zhi listed seven or eight points in detail.

Jiang Yijing was even more confused.

He could write a hundred of these kinds of cliché reports with his eyes closed.

Could it be that... the expert is not good at written reports?

Are you busy tomorrow?

Secretary: "As per President Jiang's instructions."

Jiang Yijing: "Have someone keep an eye on tomorrow's variety show and report back to me if anything happens."