Chapter 18

After the filming of the parenting show ended, Brother Jiang didn’t schedule any more work for Xie Hui. There were invitations for various gala events, but he declined them all, using the excuse of spending the New Year with his son.

For Chinese people, Spring Festival is an incredibly special time for family reunions.

In previous years, even the servants who took care of Xie Ze would all return home for the holiday, leaving only one nanny who, out of pity for how little Xie Ze was, stayed behind to look after him.

Xie Hui didn’t want this little kid to have any regrets. The emotional void in childhood is difficult to fill later in life, and for many people, childhood pains can stay with them forever.

There are no tests to pass or standards to meet when being a father, but Xie Hui genuinely wanted to do his best within his ability.

“This year, Auntie Wang might not be here with you. What will you do?”

Hearing this, Xie Ze, who had been drawing, looked up at his dad, then put down his crayon and went to find Auntie Wang.

Auntie Wang had practically raised Xie Ze. When Xie Hui was rarely home, she was the one who spent the most time with him.

When Xie Ze reached the servants’ quarters and saw Auntie Wang packing her suitcase, his eyes instantly turned red. He crouched down beside her, tears welling up, and asked in a choked voice:

“Auntie, will you come back?”

Seeing the child she had raised in tears, Auntie Wang sighed helplessly and took out a tissue to wipe his eyes dry.

“I’ll be back after the New Year. Just like how your daddy is staying home to celebrate with you, I need to go home and celebrate with my own children too.”

Xie Ze let out a soft “mm” and felt relieved after hearing she would return.

But he still begged his dad to take him along to see Auntie Wang off. At the roadside, after she got into a taxi, he stood on tiptoe, waving goodbye.

Xie Hui had expected the little guy to be upset, but on the way back, he watched his son bouncing happily ahead, seemingly unaffected.

When they got home, Xie Ze took off his thick coat, tiptoed to hang it properly on the rack, then turned to his dad and said:

“Daddy, you thought I’d be sad, didn’t you?”

Xie Hui nodded slightly. “Mm.”

Most kids at his age would cry when facing separation.

“But Auntie Wang said she’ll be back. And of course, she likes her own children more, just like how you love me the most!”

With that, Xie Ze ran to the sofa, picked up the book he had been reading, and placed it on his lap to continue.

At that moment, Xie Hui finally understood why even someone as selfish as the original host, who only cared about work, was willing to sacrifice half of his soul to save this child.

Because moments like these were truly endearing.

Xie Hui sat down beside Xie Ze, and the little one instinctively scooted closer, leaning against his dad.

Lowering his head slightly, Xie Hui could see his fluffy little head.

A child as well-behaved and adorable as this should not have met a tragic fate, drowning in icy waters in winter. He should have a bright and happy future.

Even though it was just the two of them in the villa this New Year, Xie Ze was completely content. His tiny legs moved fast as he ran around, helping his dad put up Spring Festival couplets.

They made New Year’s Eve dinner together, built snowmen, and stayed up late—all the traditions were followed.

Before staying up, Xie Ze even clenched his little fists, swearing he’d stay awake until midnight. But before it even reached nine o’clock, he had already dozed off in Xie Hui’s arms.

Xie Hui carried him to bed and placed a thick red envelope under his pillow.

After the New Year, Xie Hui resumed work. As an actor still in his rising phase, he was already lucky to have been able to take a few days off.

Director Song had previously mentioned training, and since Xie Hui had agreed, he naturally wouldn’t go back on his word.

This time, instead of leaving his son at home with a nanny or sending him to daycare, he got Director Song’s permission to bring Xie Ze to the training site, where Brother Jiang helped look after him.

The old man (Brother Jiang) had taken quite a liking to Xie Ze and often came over to take the kid home for a while, bringing him back in the evenings.

The original host had some martial arts skills, but Director Song had high demands. After an intense month of training, the shooting finally began.

Director Song had chosen the cast well, and since they had all undergone pre-training, filming went smoothly.

Xie Hui wasn’t playing the protagonist, not even the main villain—just the sharpest blade in the villain’s hands. His scenes wrapped up quickly.

However, when it came to his character’s final scene, they had to reshoot multiple times without success.

In this scene, Xie Hui’s character, covered in wounds and wearing tattered clothes, held a dagger to the protagonist’s child’s neck. The child was supposed to wipe the blood off his face, ultimately softening the heart of the cold-blooded assassin.

The problem was, every young actor they brought in burst into tears at the sight of Xie Hui in his bloodied, ragged costume.

After trying several children, the best they got was one who managed not to cry at first but broke down the moment Xie Hui placed the dagger near his neck.

Just as Director Song was getting increasingly frustrated, he turned around and saw Xie Ze sitting on a high stool, swinging his little legs while licking a lollipop.

Xie Ze had been very well-behaved on set, never causing trouble. When he noticed Uncle Song looking at him, he even flashed a bright smile.

If Daddy hadn’t told him to be on his best behavior, Xie Ze would have run over to ask Uncle Song when Daddy would be done with work—Daddy had promised to take him out for barbecue afterward.

“Do we have any costumes for child actors his size?”

Director Song pointed at Xie Ze with the script in his hand. The assistant director was stunned for a moment but quickly snapped to attention and nodded vigorously.

“There is, there is. I’ll go find someone to look for it right away.”

At this point, Director Song was just making a last-ditch effort. Xie Hui, dressed in tattered clothes and covered in blood, was enough to make adults uneasy, let alone children. It was no surprise that the young actors had been frightened to tears.

Director Song didn’t want to compromise the scene just because the child actors were scared, but he also didn’t want to change Xie Hui’s look. The contrast he wanted to capture was precisely that of a killer steeped in darkness standing beside the purest of children.

When Xie Ze was brought over in his costume, Director Song nodded in satisfaction. Based on appearance alone, Xie Ze was an even better fit than the previous child actors. He looked just like the pampered young master described in the script.

After countless interruptions, Xie Hui had finally finished touching up his makeup and returned to the filming site, only to see Xie Ze, now dressed in costume, running toward him.

“Daddy, Uncle Song gave me a new outfit! Do you think it looks good?”

Xie Ze was completely unaware of anything unusual. When he reached his father, he even spun around in a circle to show off his outfit better.

“Director Song, this is…?”

Director Song walked over, saw that Xie Ze was interacting with Xie Hui just as naturally as always, and nodded approvingly. He explained, “The previous child actors were all scared to tears by your appearance. I thought I’d let your son give it a try. What do you think?”

Since this involved a child, he needed the father’s permission. The idea had popped into Director Song’s head on a whim, so he had simply asked someone to put Xie Ze in costume. If Xie Hui objected, it could just be considered a gift from an uncle.

“Baby, do you want to act in a scene with Daddy?”

“Yes!”

Xie Ze was much smarter than the previous child actors. He memorized the instructions after hearing them once from Director Song. When the extras playing the pursuers took their positions, Xie Hui, holding the child, was lifted by wires, flying across rooftops before being cornered at the edge of a cliff.

Because he was in his father’s arms, Xie Ze didn’t cry even when the prop dagger was pressed against his neck. Instead, he curiously stared at his father.

This version of Daddy was somewhat unfamiliar to him. After watching for a while, he recalled what Director Song had told him earlier. He stretched out his chubby little hand and carefully wiped the blood off his father’s face.

Since he hadn’t heard a cut from Director Song, Xie Hui continued acting. His eyes instantly turned red, his face showing a struggle. Then, he let go, placing Xie Ze on the ground.

He dropped his weapon, turned around, and jumped off the cliff.

“Cut! That’s a wrap!”

Director Song had only hoped that Xie Ze wouldn’t cry in fear, but he hadn’t expected such a natural performance. They got the scene in just one take.

In the following scene, the male lead rushed over and took his son into his arms.

Sitting in the actor’s embrace, little Xie Ze peeked out, trying to see where his father had gone.

Originally, Director Song had planned for the child to burst into tears upon seeing his father fall. But since he hadn’t explained this part to Xie Ze beforehand, and seeing how naturally he was curiously peeking out, Director Song decided to keep this reaction instead.

After filming, Xie Ze, still in his new outfit, went to the dressing room to find his father. Seeing Xie Hui removing his makeup, he clumsily climbed onto a nearby stool, sat down, and curiously asked, “Daddy, is your work finished now?”

“Yes.”

Once Xie Hui finished removing his makeup, he changed into fresh clothes and carried Xie Ze out.

That night, Director Song hosted a wrap party for him. On the way back to the hotel, Xie Ze fell asleep in his father’s arms.

Brother Jiang, noticing that Xie Ze was asleep, lowered his voice. “The kindergarten you asked me to find—I’ve already enrolled him. When do you plan to take him?”

“Brother Jiang, I’d like to take a week off. I want to stay with him for the first week when he starts kindergarten. Is that okay?”

Brother Jiang wasn’t at all surprised by Xie Hui’s request.

“Of course. I already arranged it. You don’t have any urgent schedules coming up.”

As soon as the car stopped, Xie Ze woke up. Holding his father’s hand, he went up the elevator, took a bath, changed into his pajamas, and burrowed under the covers, waiting for his bedtime story.

Brother Jiang had booked their flight for the next day. When they got home, Xie Ze discovered that one of the sunflowers in their backyard had bloomed. He excitedly called his father over to see it.

Tugging at his father’s shirt, he stood in front of the blooming sunflower. Xie Hui crouched down, gently ruffled his son’s hair, and asked in a soft voice, “Do you know what happens when sunflowers bloom?”

Xie Ze’s eyes were full of curiosity. “Huh? Daddy, what happens?”

“When the sunflowers bloom, little kids have to start school. And that includes you, my little one.”