Chapter 52

After finishing the last episode of the variety show, the TV station generously gave Wei Sheng and his team a three-day break as a reward for their hard work!

Seizing the opportunity, Wei Sheng took his mother to check out the new store.

Ever since Wei Sheng became popular from the show, even Grandpa Hu’s small supermarket gained local fame—not so much because people were curious about what a celebrity’s family store looked like, but because viewers learned that, despite its modest size, Grandpa Hu’s supermarket carried many local specialties that couldn’t be found in big chain stores.

People often complain that brick-and-mortar businesses are hard to run and don’t make money, but Wei Sheng felt that as long as the store was positioned well, it might not necessarily be worse than an online shop.

Take his grandfather’s supermarket, for example. Many local specialty products that couldn’t get into large supermarkets through regular procurement channels could be found there.

Especially after Wei Sheng started filming the show, he gradually sourced even more local specialties for his grandfather’s store. Over time, the Hu family’s supermarket started running at “overcapacity.”

Coincidentally, Wei Sheng had some ideas of his own. He was too busy to manage it himself, but wasn’t that what his mom was for?

Wei Sheng planned to open a new store specializing in local specialties from Province J.

It wasn’t that he wanted to separate from his grandparents and go solo. The real issue was that he suddenly realized his grandparents weren’t actually that old. They were healthy and had been managing their small store just fine. But after his mother moved back home following her divorce, that balance was disrupted.

To keep their daughter occupied, the elderly couple handed the supermarket over to her. But with nothing left to do, they suddenly found themselves “unemployed.” They had been healthy, but now that they had too much free time, they started complaining about all sorts of aches and pains.

This wasn’t going to work. Wei Sheng often interacted with elderly people in the community and knew that many of them simply couldn’t stay idle.

When they were busy, they were full of energy. But once they had nothing to do, all sorts of health problems started creeping in. Who knew why?

So, for the sake of his grandparents’ health, Wei Sheng discussed with Hu Qianqian and decided to pool together the 800,000 yuan they got from selling their old home and splitting assets, plus the savings he had accumulated this year, to buy a storefront and open a shop for his mother to run.

After searching through real estate agents for a while, Wei Sheng finally settled on a three-unit storefront diagonally across from a local elementary school.

It had previously housed an education training center, but after the “Double Reduction” policy, well… anyone in the industry knew that even the hidden ones got shut down, let alone one blatantly operating across from a school!

If it hadn’t been closed down, the education bureau’s complaint hotline would have been ringing non-stop.

This was a prime location, so it normally wouldn’t have fallen into Wei Sheng’s hands. But as Chen Mengjie said, maybe this guy really did have some kind of “main character’s luck”…

After the training center went under, a local bakery chain quickly negotiated with the landlord to rent the three units and planned to open a new branch.

They even transferred the renovation funds. But before the store could open, the bakery was exposed on TV for using expired flour and low-quality cream, leading to its complete downfall…

Businesses always want a lucky start, but this storefront had already seen two failures in a row. No one was interested in renting it for two months. On top of that, with brick-and-mortar stores struggling in recent years, the landlord decided to sell the property instead.

“It’s less than 80 square meters. It was originally divided into three separate units, but I checked with the agent—we can combine them. The landlord is asking for 1.5 million yuan. Mom, your acting skills are about to be tested. If you can bargain a few tens of thousands off, we’ll have extra money for renovations!” Wei Sheng grinned at Hu Qianqian.

Hu Qianqian rolled her eyes at him. Back when she played Lady White Snake in a stage performance, this brat hadn’t even been born yet.

But neither of them expected that as soon as they met the landlord—before they could even put on their performance—his mom suddenly bolted.

Wei Sheng: “…”

Landlord: “…”

Wait, I didn’t even say you couldn’t bargain! Why are you running?!

Fine, I’ll knock off another ten grand! Come back, please~~

No, something’s wrong!

Seeing Hu Qianqian arguing with a man and a woman, and hearing a child crying from inside a business van, Wei Sheng’s expression turned serious. He immediately sprinted over.

“You’re crazy! We’re just picking up our own kid. What’s it got to do with you?”

“I think you’re the crazy one! If you’re really the kid’s guardian, call her out and ask if she actually wants to go with you!”

“I-I’m the child’s nanny…” The middle-aged woman’s voice wavered as she raised her pitch.

Hu Qianqian spat at her, furious. “Nannies have kidnapped kids before, you know! If you’re innocent, why are you running? And why are you covering the kid’s mouth? If you’re so confident, stay put and let’s go to the police station!”

At that moment, Wei Sheng arrived, panting.

Seeing his mom’s fierce fighting stance, Wei Sheng’s eyes flickered with an idea. In one swift motion, he dashed into the business van, unbuckled the little girl who was strapped tightly to a child safety seat, and without a word, bolted straight into the elementary school’s security office.

That was what you called cutting off the problem at its root!

The three people in the argument were all stunned.

Hu Qianqian reacted first and silently gave her son a mental thumbs-up. She then ran across the street in her little heels. Once she reached safety, she shouted back—

“I left the child at the school! You claim you’re her nanny? Call her parents! Have them come pick her up in person!”

She wasn’t being overly suspicious. Cases where nannies abducted children weren’t unheard of.

Worst case scenario, they were just meddling unnecessarily and would get scolded by the child’s parents. No big deal.

But if this so-called nanny really turned out to be a trafficker, and they had done nothing… Hu Qianqian knew she wouldn’t be able to live with herself for the rest of her life!

Meanwhile, Wei Sheng had already found the girl’s homeroom teacher with the help of the school security guard.

The little girl was sobbing uncontrollably. When she saw her familiar teacher, she immediately struggled out of Wei Sheng’s arms and flung herself at her teacher, wailing.

Between hiccups, she sobbed out a complaint—

“Ms. Ruan, that lady said she was taking me to my mom… but I don’t want to see my mom! Waaah!”

“I want Daddy! I only want my Daddy! Wuwuwu~”

The teacher, surnamed Ruan, looked to be around forty years old, a middle-aged woman with a kind face. As she comforted the little girl in her arms, she also gratefully thanked Hu Qianqian and Wei Sheng.

The little girl’s name was Zhou Yinuo. Her parents were divorced, and she currently lived with her father. However, her father seemed to be very busy, so her daily pick-up and drop-off were handled by the family’s nanny.

But according to what Hu Qianqian had just said, the woman who forcibly took Zhou Yinuo away, claiming to be entrusted by the child’s mother, had driven a luxury business car that looked very expensive. Hearing this, Teacher Ruan immediately frowned.

Something about this situation felt off.

Because Zhou Yinuo came from a single-parent family, the homeroom teacher paid extra attention to her. She knew that the Zhou family’s nanny couldn’t drive and usually took a taxi when picking up the child. On the rare occasions when Yinuo’s father came himself, he drove a low-profile Audi A4.

Moreover, during a home visit, Teacher Ruan had heard from Yinuo’s father that the child had mild autism when she was younger. This was due to her mother’s violent tendencies—she frequently subjected the child to verbal and physical abuse.

Teacher Ruan’s expression darkened, and she quickly called Mr. Zhou.

After ending the call, a hint of relief finally appeared on her serious face.

“Thank you both so much! If it’s not too much trouble, could you wait a little longer? The child’s father has already called the police and is on his way. He may need your help cooperating with the investigation.”

“Of course! The child’s safety is the most important thing!” Hu Qianqian let out a sigh of relief.

Not long after, the child’s father arrived.

“Zhou—Zhou General Manager?” Seeing Zhou Mingxing arrive with his tie askew, Wei Sheng’s jaw dropped in shock.

Zhou Mingxing also hadn’t expected that the ones who had stopped the nanny and saved Yinuo at the school gate were actually Wei Sheng and his mother!

“You know each other?” Teacher Ruan was equally surprised.

What a small world.

“Mr. Zhou is my boss,” Wei Sheng scratched his nose awkwardly.

“Wei is a newly signed artist under my company,” Zhou Mingxing briefly explained before quickly picking up his daughter.

Under Teacher Ruan’s comfort, Zhou Yinuo had finally stopped crying. But seeing her messy braids and wrinkled school uniform, his eyes instantly turned red with anger. He wanted nothing more than to tear that insane woman apart!

“Yinuo, tell Daddy—what did Auntie Guo say to you?” Zhou Mingxing asked while holding his daughter.

Zhou Yinuo sniffled twice, blinking her big round eyes as she carefully recalled:

“Auntie Guo said that Mommy missed me a lot. She even bought me a beautiful princess dress and a three-layered cream cake. She asked if I wanted to go to Mommy’s house to play.”

“I—I didn’t want to go. I was scared that Mommy would hit me, so I cried and said I wanted to go home to Daddy.”

“Th-Then, Auntie Guo covered my mouth and carried me into a black car.”

“S-She also tied me to the car seat… Wuwuwu~ Daddy, I was so scared! I don’t want to be with Mommy! I don’t want princess dresses or cream cakes ever again! Wuwuwu~”

She was only a first-grader. Before her father arrived, she had tried to act strong. But the moment she saw him, her emotional defenses completely collapsed. Clinging to Zhou Mingxing, she sobbed uncontrollably.

Beside them, Teacher Ruan blushed with shame, too embarrassed to meet Zhou Mingxing’s thunderous expression.

If Hu Qianqian and Wei Sheng hadn’t stopped that car, if Zhou Yinuo had really been taken away… how could she, as the homeroom teacher, ever face the parents?

People shouldn’t assume that just because someone is a biological mother, she wouldn’t harm her own child.

Many years ago, a similar case had shocked the entire city of J. A mentally unstable woman, upon learning that her ex-husband had remarried and fearing that her son would be mistreated by his stepmother, took him from school. Then, she forcefully held onto him and jumped off a bridge more than ten meters high, dragging the child down with her.

That tragedy had shaken the entire city.

Everyone grieved for the child’s death, but no one knew that during the days when the whole city was searching for the child’s body, his homeroom teacher cried herself to sleep every night.

Some people even went online to blame the teacher, questioning why she had allowed a mentally unstable mother to take the child.

The teacher was devastated. She hadn’t even known the mother was mentally ill! And logically, even if a couple divorced, wouldn’t it be normal for a mother to want to take her child home for a few days?

Who could predict the twisted thinking of someone suffering from mental illness?

All because she feared that her ex-husband’s new wife might harm her child, she decided to kill her own son first?

Due to the intense public backlash, the school had no choice but to suspend that teacher and send her home to rest.

Later, it was said that the homeroom teacher, unable to withstand the public scrutiny and emotional trauma, left her beloved profession forever.

Thinking about this, Teacher Ruan felt a chill run down her spine. If it weren’t for Wei Sheng and his mother saving Yinuo today, if this child had really been taken away by her violent mother… she didn’t even dare to imagine what might have happened.

The impact on the school would have been catastrophic!

Before long, the principal and the director of education arrived, followed closely by police officers from the local precinct. They immediately reviewed the surveillance footage at the school entrance and located the luxury business car.

To their surprise, the nanny, Guo, hadn’t lied to the school. The car she had used to take Yinuo was indeed registered under Zhou Mingxing’s ex-wife, Liang Yue.

However, Guo was clearly hired by Zhou Mingxing as a nanny for his daughter. So why did she suddenly claim to be acting under Liang Yue’s orders?

“What else? She got a better offer.” Zhou Mingxing sneered coldly.

There’s no such thing as unbreakable loyalty in this world.

If it exists, it just means you haven’t offered enough money yet.

Did Liang Yue really think that bribing the nanny and using her status as Yinuo’s biological mother would allow her to take the child away so easily?

Did she think the law was just a joke?

When they finished giving their statements at the police station and stepped outside, the sky had already turned completely dark. At some point, a layer of snow had settled on the ground.

Zhou Yinuo lay drowsily on Zhou Mingxing’s shoulder, nearly asleep.

Zhou Mingxing looked apologetically at Hu Qianqian and Wei Sheng.

“Thank you so much for today! You guys haven’t even had dinner because of this. How about I treat you to a meal?”

The school administrators and Teacher Ruan had left earlier. A child abduction attempt right at the school gate—no matter that the perpetrator was the child’s biological mother—was a serious incident that needed PR damage control. They were likely in an emergency meeting at the education bureau right now, drafting a statement.

Wei Sheng was about to decline when Hu Qianqian beat him to it, speaking rapidly—

“Food can wait. Just grab something quick from a fast-food place.

“But your daughter had a huge scare today. We should hurry and find a place to buy some yellow spirit paper and incense sticks to help calm her soul!”

Wei Sheng immediately felt a couple of cold sweat drops slide down his forehead.

What left him even more speechless was that Zhou Mingxing actually looked grateful and immediately agreed with his mom. The two of them promptly decided to head straight to Hu’s family supermarket! First, they stopped at a nearby store to buy yellow spirit paper and incense sticks. Then, they planned to find a random place to grab dinner.

Living in an old neighborhood had its perks—small storefronts lined the streets, selling just about anything.

The shopkeeper who sold incense and candles was an old acquaintance of the Hu family. Upon hearing it was for a child’s soul-calming ritual, he even gifted them an amulet bracelet with a tiny peachwood sword attached for protection.

The bracelet was woven with a bright red vajra knot, from which hung a small peachwood sword, just about the size of a fingertip. There were even faint scorch marks from lightning strikes on it, giving it a delicate yet mystical appearance.

“Thanks a lot! I won’t be polite, then. Next time my son goes out of town for supplies, I’ll have him bring you something good!” Hu Qianqian accepted the amulet bracelet like it was a treasure. Then, she immediately handed it over to Zhou Mingxing.

“Old Zhao’s hometown is in Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi. The Daoist priests there are really powerful. Back when Wei Sheng was little and got scared badly, Old Zhao invited a Daoist master to help calm him down…” Hu Qianqian explained mysteriously. “This amulet bracelet is made of thunderstruck wood. If you don’t mind, let Yinuo wear it. Kids have light souls—this will help suppress them, so no demons or ghosts can get near!”

Zhou Mingxing accepted it like it was a prized possession, gratefully fastening the amulet bracelet onto Zhou Yinuo’s wrist.

By now, Zhou Yinuo had woken up. Hu Qianqian went back to her store and grabbed an old iron pot. Following Old Zhao’s guidance, she picked a street corner, burned the yellow spirit paper and incense, and had Zhou Yinuo bow in prayer.

Wei Sheng was completely at a loss for words.

Thankfully, the city patrol officers were off duty at this hour. Otherwise, he’d definitely end up trending on social media for the wrong reasons again tomorrow!

By the time they finished, it was nearly 8 p.m. Most restaurants were getting ready to close. Hu Qianqian, carrying Zhou Yinuo, took the front passenger seat to navigate while Zhou Mingxing drove. Eventually, they found a hidden Anhui-style restaurant in a residential neighborhood.

“It’s late. Let’s just eat something simple, and then you take your kid home to rest early,” Hu Qianqian said bluntly. She ordered a few dishes and had Zhou Mingxing foot the bill while she fetched boiling water to rinse the tableware.

Perhaps because they were both divorcees, Zhou Mingxing and Hu Qianqian quickly found common ground and started chatting about Zhou Yinuo.

That was when Wei Sheng finally learned—

The so-called “golden bachelor” that many in the company talked about, President Zhou, had actually been secretly married to a well-known art film actress, Liang Yue, eight years ago!

At the time, Liang Yue’s career was on the rise. Zhou Mingxing, not wanting to hinder her, kept their marriage a secret. They didn’t even hold a wedding—just got their marriage certificate and had a meal with both families. That was it.

After their marriage, Liang Yue continued playing the aloof beauty in her art films, while Zhou Mingxing focused on making money. Despite their time apart, their relationship actually improved.

Then, everything changed when Liang Yue got pregnant.

After the initial joy, she gradually became unable to accept her changing body. On top of that, she lost several job opportunities due to the pregnancy. By the seventh month, Liang Yue was already regretting it.

But by then, the baby was too far along to be aborted. Both families tried to persuade her, and Zhou Mingxing temporarily set aside work to stay with her. He suspected she had prenatal depression, but she adamantly refused to see a doctor. The family had no choice but to endure her mood swings.

When Yinuo was finally born, Liang Yue heard that breastfeeding could cause weight gain. So, as soon as the baby was one month old, she forcibly weaned her.

She didn’t even finish her three-month maternity leave. The moment she received an offer for a new film, she abandoned the baby without hesitation and joined the crew.

“This…” Hu Qianqian was dumbfounded.

Were there really mothers in this world who didn’t love their own children?

No matter what, this was a child she carried for ten months! Besides, Zhou Mingxing was a wealthy CEO, and Liang Yue was a famous actress—there was no way they couldn’t afford to raise a child just because she took a break from work!

But the most outrageous part was yet to come.

By the time Zhou Yinuo was nearly three years old, she still barely spoke and avoided social interactions.

At first, Zhou Mingxing suspected that the nanny was mistreating her. So, he secretly installed two hidden cameras.

What he never expected was that the person abusing the child wasn’t the nanny—but his own wife, Yinuo’s mother!

Liang Yue was an actress with high self-discipline. She was extremely demanding of herself. To maintain her quality of work, she often went years without accepting a new role. As a result, she actually spent more time at home than Zhou Mingxing did.

Zhou Mingxing originally thought that his wife had reduced her workload to spend more time with their daughter.

But what he didn’t know was that Liang Yue’s so-called “spending time with the child” meant constantly subjecting little Yinuo to verbal abuse. She would shout at her to stop crying and demand that, even at not yet three years old, she eat with perfect table manners—without dropping a single grain of rice. If Yinuo accidentally spilled a few grains, Liang Yue would pinch her as punishment.

Gradually, the once lively and mischievous little girl became vacant-eyed and withdrawn. She flinched at any human interaction and refused to speak. Even when she played in the neighborhood, other children mocked her for being a mute.

Zhou Mingxing also found it strange and specially took his daughter to the best children’s hospital in the province. The diagnosis turned out to be childhood autism!

Then, the footage in the video made Zhou Mingxing suddenly realize the truth!

After discovering that his wife had been abusing their child all along, Zhou Mingxing completely lost his temper.

Ignoring his family’s objections, he insisted on divorcing Liang Yue and fought for full custody of his daughter.

Liang Yue, knowing she was in the wrong—or perhaps because she simply never liked children—did not contest for custody. She also continued sending child support payments on time every year.

But why would someone who never liked children suddenly want custody?

“So what do you think? If your ex-wife really wants the child, would you give Yinuo to her?” Hu Qianqian asked.

Zhou Mingxing sneered, “In her dreams! I still have the videos of what she did to Yinuo back then. If she dares to fight me for custody, I’ll expose everything and let her fans see what kind of heartless woman she really is!”

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Zhou Mingxing didn’t actually want to blow things up. After all, they had once been married, and he couldn’t bear to see Liang Yue’s career, which she had worked so hard to build over the years, be destroyed overnight.

But his daughter was his bottom line! If Liang Yue dared to fight him for custody, as a father, he would do whatever it took to protect his child!

Wei Sheng listened from the side, secretly shocked.

He knew who Liang Yue was! She was a famous art film goddess, constantly ranked among the top three cold beauties in the country. Who would have thought that, behind the scenes, she was actually a psychopath who abused her own daughter?

“Alright, enough of that. Let’s eat! I really owe you guys for today. I’ll toast you with tea instead of wine!” Zhou Mingxing raised his teacup, gratefully clinking cups with them.

Wei Sheng thought that was the end of it—he never expected that he would soon meet the legendary “National Goddess” herself…

(End of Chapter)

—————

China’s Double Reduction Policy (双减政策), launched in July 2021, aims to:

1. Reduce homework for primary and middle school students.

2. Limit after-school tutoring, especially for-profit tutoring in core subjects.

It bans commercial tutoring for grades 1–9, caps tutoring hours, and shifts more responsibility to schools to provide after-school activities. The goal is to ease student stress, lower family education costs, and promote educational fairness.