Chapter 17

Xu Qingyan, who had just finished a meeting, pressed the call button, and the loud cry of a cub suddenly burst out.

The subordinates following behind were startled and exchanged glances. Secretary Feng immediately recognized the source of the crying, and he, the only one who knew the truth, slightly puffed out his chest.

Xu Qingyan frowned, staring at the screen, and asked coldly, "What's going on?"

He Nianzhu shrugged: "You guys talk to Mom, I can't take it anymore."

"Waaaaah, I want to watch TV! You're all bullying me, I don't want to live anymore!"

Xu Qingyan & Xu Niancheng: "..."

Xu Qingyan strode back to the office and locked the door: "Ali, wipe away Mom's tears."

Xu Yirou's small body was twisted into a pretzel on the sofa, her porcelain-white face turned pink and chubby from crying, which was heartbreaking to see.

Xu Niancheng couldn't take it anymore: "Mom, don't cry. It's just that you want to watch TV. Brother, please turn on the TV for Mom."

"Traitor," He Nianzhu's lips moved twice, a silent condemnation.

"Xiao Bao, waaaaah." Hearing her daughter's voice, Xu Yirou sat up abruptly, her black hair disheveled, and pitifully shed tears in front of the camera.

Xu Niancheng: ! !

I gasped.

Xu Niancheng was indignant: "Brother, look how much Mom is crying! Is your heart made of iron? Quick, I order you to turn on the TV for Mom!"

He Nianzhu was so angry she almost fell over. "Do you want to hear what you're saying? Weren't you the one who was jumping around the most last night, saying you'd strictly enforce the rules to the end?!"

He Nianzhu expressed deep contempt for her younger sister, Xu Niancheng, who was a doting mother who was easily swayed by her mother.

As expected, we can't count on Xu Niancheng to do anything big; we still have to rely on his older brother.

He Nianzhu turned to Xu Qingyan and said, "Brother, you should try to comfort Mom. She'll definitely listen to what you say."

Xu Qingyan: "Ali, turn on the TV."

He Nianzhu: ? ? ?

What the hell?! Bro, my big brother, how did you switch sides too?!

Xu Qingyan's reasoning was irrefutable: "Mom is a four-year-old cub. Have you ever heard of reasoning with a cub? Ah Li, you should be tolerant of a cub's mother."

"..." Fine, fine, you two are all acting like filial sons, and you've all betrayed us at the last minute, huh? If you're so heartless, don't blame me for being unjust.

He Nianzhu gave a malicious smile.

"Mom, it was all their bad idea. I'm just an innocent and helpless little brother. Blame them if you have to."

He Nianzhu put on top-notch acting skills, clutching her heart with a face that showed seven parts heartache, three parts guilt, and one part indignation: "I have been trying my best to dissuade them, but they insist that you are too idle at home and that you are not good to us, so they will not let you have an easy time. It's all my fault for being useless and unable to dissuade them."

Xu Qingyan: Tsk, good lad.

Xu Niancheng: Ridiculous! Despicable and vicious!

Overwhelmed by receiving too much information at once, the mother sniffed, blinked, and tilted her head, scratching the tuft of hair on her head.

The three siblings held their breath, quietly awaiting Xu Yirou's decision.

After a moment of confusion, Xu Yirou's bewildered expression suddenly changed, her round face filled with anger: "Erbao, what's wrong with you? Go turn on the TV! If you keep doing this, I won't play with you anymore! I'm breaking up with you!"

He Nianzhu stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

So, of all the things he just said, Mom only remembered the three words "turn on the TV." *sigh*

As soon as the TV was turned on, Xu Yirou's face lit up with a charming smile again. She lay down on the sofa leisurely and comfortably, hooking her chubby little finger and saying, "Second baby, I want fruit and boobs."

Xu Qingyan asked in confusion, "What is Mimi?"

Xu Niancheng laughed: "I guess it must be Mimi Shrimp Chips. My second brother and I used to sneak them together when we were little."

He Nianzhu did not deny it, and soon the maid brought over washed fruit and a small basket of Mimi shrimp chips.

As Xu Yirou happily watched the TV, He Nianzhu went out of the living room to a corner to make a phone call, gritting her teeth and condemning, "You two traitors, how could I have trusted you so much?"

Xu Niancheng touched her nose slightly guiltily: "Sigh, I feel sorry for Mom when she cries. What can I do? Don't you feel sorry for her?"

He Nianzhu choked, huffing and puffing without saying a word. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have called them.

What surprised him most was that his elder brother, Xu Qingyan, who was usually so decisive and a man of his word, would suddenly change his mind.

Even the most ruthless man will break his principles when facing his cub's mother.

Having died before even getting started, Xu Qingyan knew that disciplining the mother of the cubs was no easy task, so he said calmly, "Let's talk about everything when I get back."

"Then you need to come back as soon as possible. I'll be joining the crew in ten days."

"Don't worry, go ahead." Xu Niancheng said with a smile. "I'm going home the day after tomorrow. I have a month-long vacation to spend with my mother."

The three siblings had agreed to take turns caring for the child, and now they are following that agreement.

With her younger sister returning early to take over the shift, Xu Qingyan didn't have to disrupt her plans to return to China ahead of schedule. She nodded in satisfaction, "I'm relieved that both of you are here."

After hanging up the phone, He Nianzhu went to continue serving his little aunt.

He pondered to himself that since he couldn't force his mother not to watch TV, he should think of other ways to distract her.

Going out to play is a no-go.

One cub was enough to terrify him, but a whole bunch of cubs would be no different from monkeys causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace. He was really afraid of becoming the focus of attention for the cubs for all sorts of strange reasons.

After thinking for a while, He Nianzhu had an idea. He walked briskly back to the living room and carefully sat down next to Xu Yirou.

He hesitated before finally asking, "Mom, would you like to take an extracurricular class?"

"In no mood."

"Interest classes are a lot of fun. You can learn music, art, calligraphy, and more. Don't you like singing? How about we sign you up for a singing class? Plus, there are lots of other kids in the classes, so you can make new friends."

The crisp sound of munching on an apple: "Second child, I'm not a little kid anymore. Playing with little kids is tiring. You haven't played it, so you don't understand."

Oh, isn't it you who shovels sand so much you don't want to go home, my dear mother?

He Nianzhu turned her back and whispered, "Mom, last time you said you were a little baby and told me not to covet the little baby's hard-earned money."

Xu Yirou feigned ignorance: "Really?"

"have."

"Well... well, I don't remember anyway, so it doesn't count." Xu Yirou's little ears turned bright red, and she stubbornly refused to admit it. Then, a brilliant idea struck her, and she said righteously:

“Outside, I’m just a little baby, but at home, I’m your mom. Is there a problem? Just listen to me.”

Anyway, she's the one who calls the shots.

He Nianzhu was helpless; after all, the spoiled brat in front of her was his mother.

He Nianzhu coaxed her along with her words and continued to talk about extracurricular classes: "Mom, don't you really want to try taking an extracurricular class? You sing so well, it would be a shame not to show it off."

Xu Yirou looked over hesitantly: "Do I sing that well?"

He Nianzhu gazed at her with eyes that seemed to look at a dog with such affection, and nodded vigorously: "It sounds incredibly beautiful."

One sentence made Xu Yirou blush, and she curled up like a mimosa: "You are my son, of course you think I sing well."

This is called the "favorite son filter".

She dared to accept her son's compliments so openly before, simply because he was the only audience member, so she could boast without restraint. But when she sang in front of others, her true colors were revealed.

He Nianzhu's eyes flickered, she bit her lip and smiled gently, encouragingly saying, "Mom, you always taught us to be confident when I was little, so why are you so insecure now?"

He turned on the recording function on his phone.

“If you sing a song right now, I swear a lot of people will like it.”

Xu Yirou blushed and was eager to try, but He Nianzhu coaxed her gently. Finally, encouraged by her son, she cleared her throat and swayed her head as she sang a little donkey song.

"I have a little donkey that I never ride, but one day I suddenly felt like riding it to the market."

"I was holding my little leather whip, feeling quite pleased with myself, when suddenly—whoosh!—I slipped and fell, covered in mud!"

"Mmm...ah...ah..."

Suddenly, without any instruction, he spontaneously imitated a donkey's bray at the end, which startled He Nianzhu.

puff!

Unable to hold it in any longer, He Nianzhu lowered his head, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, and even with his handsome face distorted by covering it, he couldn't stop laughing.

Who taught his mother to bray like a donkey?

She sang so well, let's reward her by having her sing it two more times, hahaha!

After finishing singing "Little Donkey" with great enthusiasm, Xu Yirou came to her senses and the first thing she heard was her son's ear-piercing laughter.

Xu Yirou was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. She clenched her little pink fists, her cheeks slowly puffing out like a pufferfish, looking both cute and fierce:

Are you laughing at me?

He Nianzhu: "I...I didn't, hahahahaha, I didn't, I didn't laugh."

Xu Yirou broke down her defenses: "You still say you didn't? You were laughing so loudly!"

She shrank, she didn't become deaf.

Young children have a unique way of thinking and unpredictable behavior patterns; sometimes they don't even know how to explain certain nonsensical behaviors.

So when Xu Yirou realized that she had just imitated a donkey's braying and that her son was laughing so loudly, she was immediately embarrassed and annoyed.

Even mothers of young cubs have their pride!

She stomped her foot and glared at him threateningly: "If you laugh again, I'll spank you and beat your bottom until it's bruised and battered. Are you scared?"

"I'm scared, scared, scared." He Nianzhu pinched her thigh hard, then wiped away the tears of laughter. "I'm not laughing anymore, haha, Mom, don't be angry."

Xu Yirou's face flushed red. She tried to hold back, but couldn't help pouting and tears welling up in her big almond-shaped eyes.

"Waaah—"

Oh no, this is bad! He Nianzhu frantically grabbed tissues and awkwardly wiped her mother's tears while frantically apologizing.

Heartbroken, Xu Yirou wouldn't listen to anything. She cried louder and louder, more and more pitifully, with tears streaming down her face.

He Nianzhu panicked like a dog, tearing open a Mimi shrimp cracker and stuffing it into Xu Yirou's hand: "Mom, eat Mimi, your favorite Mimi, eat more, I won't get any more if you don't have enough!"

"Waaaaaah!!!"

He Nianzhu frantically grabbed her hair.

Butler Yunbo rushed over upon hearing the noise and was astonished by the scene before him: "Second Young Master, what's going on?"

He Nianzhu's back stiffened slightly, and she turned her head awkwardly: "I accidentally made Mom cry, cough, I didn't mean to."

Uncle Yun understood, and took two steps to Xu Yirou's side, his respect mixed with tenderness for the cub: "Madam, what did the young master do to upset you?"

Xu Yirou pointed with her small hand, looking aggrieved: "When I sang, he laughed at me, he laughed really loudly."

Uncle Yun looked at He Nianzhu with disapproval.

"It's my fault, Mom, please don't be angry. I swear I won't laugh no matter what, not even if it's a donkey braying or a pig squealing! I was wrong, please forgive me, okay?" He made a solemn promise.

If he still can't appease his mother, he'll have to resort to desperate measures, like burning incense and begging from grandparents.

Xu Yirou's nostrils flared slightly, and her tear-streaked eyes stared intently at him, as if trying to discern from his expression whether he was telling the truth.

A few seconds later, she gave a soft hum and said with a slightly nasal tone, "Okay, I forgive you."

"Thank you, Mom. I knew you were the best."

Thank goodness, he finally managed to appease his mother, and He Nianzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

The corners of her mouth had just turned up when she heard, "I want to hear you bray like a donkey."

A sound effect of lightning striking occurs here.

Xu Yirou leisurely swung her short legs, chewing on a shrimp cracker: "Hurry up, Erbao, I want to hear a donkey bray!"

He Nianzhu's anxiety finally died.

I can't help but recall that a long time ago, he criticized the proliferation of lowbrow pop songs in the Chinese entertainment industry on Weibo, saying they polluted the ears, and he mercilessly criticized that song, "Let's Learn to Meow Together, Meow Meow Meow."

Who knows...

You can't stand meowing like a cat, huh? Fine, he'll bray like a donkey now.

Seriously, I'm tired, let's just destroy it!

That day, a top star, a rebellious and innocent young man, died amidst the braying of donkeys.

*

I have something good to share with you all.

[We recommend listening with headphones. A friendly reminder: drink some water before listening.]

At 10 p.m., a voice message popped up in the group chat of the three siblings.

After a busy day, Xu Qingyan clicked on the app without much thought. A slightly off-key song drifted out, and the sweet, childlike voice immediately told him it was his baby's mother.

If you listen carefully, you can still tell that it is a children's song called "Little Donkey". Xu Qingyan's fatigue from the day was swept away at this moment.

His brows relaxed, and he involuntarily closed his eyes, tilted his head back slightly, and leaned back in his chair to rest.

Suddenly: "Mmm—ah—mmm—ah—!"

Xu Qingyan sat up abruptly and looked around: "..."

Still shaken, where did that donkey braying come from?

After staring at his phone in silence for a moment, Xu Qingyan suddenly smiled, his eyes filled with tenderness and longing.

His baby's mother is so cute, I want to pinch her cheeks.

His desire to go home grew stronger and stronger. He tapped and released the button lightly, eager to end everything here and return home as soon as possible.

Xu Niancheng, who had just finished her live stream, took her phone from her assistant, checked the unread messages in the group chat, scrolled through them, and then, without any warning, started playing the audio.

"I have a little donkey, but I never ride it~"

As soon as the cub's sweet and soft singing voice came out, the previously noisy studio suddenly fell silent.

The assistant was immediately captivated: "Wow, Sister Niancheng, is she your relative's child? What an adorable voice!"

Xu Niancheng was surprised to find it was her mother singing, and said with a hint of pride, "She's not a relative, she's my child."

"Your brother's child?"

“No.” Xu Niancheng shook her head. “My brother doesn’t even have a girlfriend, but he’s still my family’s kid.”

Everyone in the company knows that Xu Niancheng has a mysterious older brother and younger brother who are said to be very important. You can tell from Xu Niancheng's daily clothes and appearance that she is a rich young lady.

In their usual conversations, everyone knew that Xu Niancheng was the youngest child in the family. Now that another child had appeared in the family, it was hard not to think about it.

Xu Niancheng didn't care what others thought. As she listened to Xu Yirou's singing, her smile couldn't help but rise.

My mom sings so well; her singing talent must have come from her mother.

She turned to her assistant and asked, "How was it? Wasn't it great?"

His face practically screamed: "Praise me!"

The understanding assistant gave two thumbs up: "Super good!"

"Mmm—ah—mmm—ah—!"

"..."

"..."

Xu Niancheng's smile froze. "Donkey...donkey bray?"

She couldn't have misheard...it was a donkey braying?!

Everyone in the studio stopped what they were doing, and laughter filled the air.

Someone praised, "Niancheng, your child is amazing! Her expressiveness is so good. You should consider enrolling her in an acting class; don't waste this talent."

One of the men laughed heartily: "You know what, it really does sound like that. My grandpa used to raise a donkey, and it sounded pretty much like that."

Xu Niancheng gradually recovered from her petrified state, and was then charmed by Xu Yirou's donkey braying. It turned out that her mother was also a little rascal when she was young.

“You’re right. I’ll go back and enroll her in an acting class and a singing class.”

Seeing Xu Niancheng's obviously doting smile, everyone became even more curious about her relationship with Donkey Baby.

Xu Niancheng typed: [Brother, you're really something, getting Mom to sing to you. You're a lucky guy.]

y: [Not bad, record a few more when you have time.]

He Nianzhu, who had just come out of the bathroom, was typing with his head down:

[Aren't you envious? You have no idea what I've sacrificed. It's all tears when I talk about it. I wanted to record a few more songs, but I alone can't keep up with Mom's demands. You guys need to come back quickly; the more people there are, the more health we'll have, so we can record a few more of Mom's masterpieces.]

Orange: [Wow, this sounds like there's a story behind it. Let me put my ear to it.]

y: [Explain in detail?]

He Nianzhu: [I'm just stating my thoughts; I have nothing to say.]

After replying to the group message, He Nianzhu immediately opened Weibo, uploaded the audio of Xu Yirou singing, and thoughtfully cut out the donkey braying in the second half.

Caption: It sounds great, doesn't it? *heart emoji*

As soon as the Weibo post was published, comments poured in. Fans clicked on it excitedly, expecting to hear He Nianzhu's voice, but were instead charmed by a child's off-key yet adorable voice.

Fan 1: [Ahhh, front row seat!]

Fan 2: [Is this my brother's child? Such a sweet and adorable voice! Come here and let Auntie give you a kiss~]

Fan 3: [Although it's unlikely, I'll make a bold guess: could it be that they're going to be on a children's variety show?]

Fan 4: [It sounds great!]

Fan 5: [Since it's already been mentioned in the comments, let me ask boldly: has the younger brother considered going on a variety show? I really want to see him!]

Fan 6: [Want to see more +1!]

Wentao noticed the post immediately and became very interested in the cub singing in the audio.

Based on his understanding of He Nianzhu after working with him for three years, he is definitely not the kind of person who is overflowing with love and has a preference for young children. He had a cold and indifferent reaction to the child actor who was recognized as the cutest in the industry and worked with him before.

Wentao sent a message to probe: "[Nianzhu, is that child you posted on Weibo a relative of yours? Quite talented.]"

He Nianzhu replied simply: "[It's my child.]"

Wen Tao was stunned. His child?

Wait a minute, could the rumors in the business world be true? Did Mr. Xu really secretly get married and have a child?!

Only this explanation makes sense, since the old chairman has been gone for five years and his wife is bedridden and frail, making it impossible for her to give this young master a younger brother or sister.

He was both excited and regretful at the same time. If it were President Xu's child, there would be no chance of him appearing on the children's variety show.

Just as he was sighing with his head down, He Nianzhu sent him another new message.

[Brother Wen, I'd like to try collaborating with Teacher Jiang Yan. If you have the chance, could you help me make the connection?]