Chapter 57

When An An saw the person on the card, his little hand trembled, and he quickly tossed it aside. The young child had yet to learn how to conceal his emotions, and anyone with eyes could see how much he disliked it.

At that moment, he more or less figured out the reason. Both of his hands went behind his back as he stood there, staring at the director with an innocent expression.

The director met his gaze and could tell that An An wasn’t hiding his guilty conscience very well. His heart softened in an instant, and he started comforting himself internally—he’s just a little kid, how much could he really understand?

“You don’t like this one?”

The director’s face was nearly crinkled with smiles, trying his best to appear kind and approachable. But after what had just happened, An An found it difficult to have a favorable impression of him. He pouted and lightly nodded his little head.

“Mm.”

Because of his grievance, his eyes seemed to mist over with tears. He was already an unbelievably adorable little treasure, and now he looked pitiful to boot.

If not for the fact that the director was firmly committed to following the rules, he might have been tempted to console the little one by saying, “If you don’t like it, we can pick another one.”

The director turned to Gu Chen for help, hoping he could step in.

【Gu Chen: Why are you looking at me? You made my son cry, and now you’re handing him over for me to comfort?】

【Look at the little baby’s hands behind his back—he looks so conflicted, just fidgeting nonstop.】

【It’s official, An An is just too cute.】

【Why doesn’t An An like Yu Honghui? They’ve never even interacted before, have they?】

【I’ve heard that kids have a sharp intuition about good and bad people. Could that be the reason?】

An An’s small display of distaste for Yu Honghui had already sparked a wave of speculation, with many beginning to wonder if there was something off about Yu Honghui.

The show had to go on. The director, seeing that An An’s eyes were now brimming with tears, quickly placed him back in his father’s arms. But when he tried to hand over the card again, An An hastily buried his head into his father’s chest.

“No! Take it away! I don’t want it.”

“Uuuh…”

His little voice already carried the sound of sobs, and the director had no choice but to dejectedly retreat with the card.

After filming so many episodes of childcare variety shows, he thought his conscience had long since been tossed away. Before, he would even instruct the cameramen to capture children crying as clearly as possible. But today, for the first time, he actually felt a tinge of guilt.

Following the order of those who returned with firewood the day before, the last child had no choice in picking. Yu Honghui’s son was left with the remaining card.

The one who picked Gu Chen’s card was Cheng Yingying. When her father saw her choice, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Yingying’s father wasn’t great at parenting. Most of the time, he left his daughter’s upbringing to his wife, and he had suffered quite a bit on the show because of it. But that didn’t mean he didn’t love his daughter.

He had eyes and could tell that among all the parents here, only Gu Chen was truly skilled at taking care of children. Letting his daughter stay with him for two days would definitely be better than if she were with her own father.

Once all the children had made their selections, the director ignored An An’s pitiful puppy-eyed stare and cleared his throat before speaking into the megaphone.

“This is today’s activity! The theme is ‘Exchange Dads’! The card you just picked represents your new dad for the next two days. You will need to live together during this time.”

The moment the director said “Exchange Dads,” tears were already welling up in An An’s eyes. As soon as the sentence was finished, his tears started falling without hesitation—when he cried, he didn’t hold back at all.

“Waah! I don’t want to change my dad!”

An An clung tightly to Gu Chen, refusing to let go. From the start of filming, he had always been such a well-behaved little one, but this was the first time he had cried so hard. His crying wasn’t loud or grating; instead, he sobbed in a way that made people feel heartache, pausing every now and then to hiccup.

Gu Chen gently patted his back to soothe him. He didn’t know how to handle this situation either, since he hadn’t expected something like this when he agreed to film the show.

An An had rarely cried like this before, so Gu Chen wasn’t sure how to comfort him. His actions looked a little clumsy.

“I don’t want to change my dad! I don’t want to!”

“Daddy, let’s stop filming.”

Before this, there had been guests who threw tantrums and refused to continue filming, and the audience usually found it amusing. They would eagerly watch, looking forward to seeing a cute little kid struggle in vain before giving in.

But now that it was An An, no one had the heart to make fun of him.

He probably wasn’t even resisting the show’s arrangements on principle—he just couldn’t bear to part with his father.

Such a tiny little thing, crying so hard that his whole body shook. He might not even fully understand what the rules meant.

“An An, didn’t we discuss this before coming? We can’t just quit filming whenever we want. A person should keep their word. And this is just a segment of the show, right? Daddy is still your daddy; that hasn’t changed.”

Gu Chen wasn’t sure how to comfort him, so he could only try to reason with him patiently.

But like all upset children, An An refused to listen to a single word. The more Gu Chen tried to explain, the angrier he got. Eventually, he even became annoyed with his dad and went to squat in a corner like a little mushroom.

【I know it’s wrong, but he looks so cute like this.】

【Haha, why isn’t the cameraman moving closer? I want to see what little An An’s expression looks like right now!】

【He’s so tiny—I feel like I could pick him up with one hand and run away.】

【The show is being way too harsh. An An probably didn’t even fully understand what was happening. Even if he did, he had no idea coming here meant he had to switch dads. If he knew, he’d have clung to the doorframe and refused to come!】

【The director’s team is so mean to the little one.】

【Director: What do you mean? This isn’t the first time I’ve bullied a kid.】

The director had adopted a new approach, broadcasting the variety show’s recording process live. While it didn’t have the same polished entertainment value as the edited version, it had attracted a large number of viewers curious about how variety shows were actually filmed.

Among all the guest groups, only Gu Chen and An An remained interesting even under the live broadcast. More precisely, it was because An An was just too adorable.

Most of the fans who tuned in to see how their idol was as a father ended up being uncontrollably drawn to An An after staying in the live stream for a while.

The director rubbed his bald head, feeling as if he would be scolded relentlessly even without checking the comments.

“An An, uncle promises you that after these two days, your dad will still be your dad, okay?”

An An wriggled uncomfortably, slipping his shoulder out of the director’s grasp and moving a little farther away from him.

“No.”

“Uncle, I only want my own dad.”

An An clutched the corner of the director’s shirt and gently shook it, tears welling up in his eyes. Only after finishing his plea did the tears finally spill over as he cautiously asked,

“Is that okay?”

Faced with such a heartfelt request from a little one, the director genuinely wanted to agree. But his professional ethics held him back. He cleared his throat and said,

“An An, it’ll be okay once the filming is over.”

An An was upset and refused to talk to him. After understanding the rules, the other children also didn’t want to continue. Their cries mixed together, loud enough to almost lift the roof off.

At first, An An was very sad, but later, he had no choice but to cover his ears in distress, sighing occasionally as he looked at the noisy group.

On one side, there were the wails of the other children; on the other, there was the pain of having to be separated from his dad. An An felt as if he had been split into two.

“Dad, they’re so noisy. Let’s go home.”

An An blinked his big eyes, looking especially innocent, as if afraid his father would see through his real thoughts.

“No, we’re filming a show right now. If we leave, Dad will have to pay a very expensive penalty fee.”

Gu Chen ruffled his hair, explaining helplessly. In truth, the penalty wasn’t the main issue—his reputation and credibility were far more important.

If he walked out in the middle of filming a reality show, it would become a stain on his career that could never be erased. Future collaborations with the production team would also be affected.

Explaining all this would be too complicated for An An, so he could only say what the child could understand.

“Is it a lot? Is it expensive?”

His tears had already stopped, and he even wiped the previous ones away with the back of his hand.

Seeing this, Gu Chen suddenly understood why Su Ling had told him before she left that if An An ever asked about his mother, he should tell him that his presence would disturb Su Ling’s happy family and stable life abroad.

An An seemed very afraid of being a burden to others, but if he had to endure hardship himself, he didn’t mind.

“Not much, and not expensive.”

Gu Chen had almost said something else, but he quickly changed his words. He couldn’t bear to see An An compromise and wrong himself for his sake.

After squatting for so long, An An’s legs were numb. He stretched out his arms toward Gu Chen, asking to be carried.

Even though he never showed discomfort on his face, Gu Chen still gently massaged his little legs.

Leaning on his dad’s shoulder, An An thought for a long time. Even though his dad said the money wasn’t much, an instinctive feeling told him that wasn’t true.

“Then, when it’s over, you have to come pick me up, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Pinky promise.”

If Gu Chen had nothing to lose, he would have followed An An’s wishes without hesitation. But that wasn’t the case—he wasn’t willing to see his carefully maintained reputation tarnished over this.

“Pinky promise.”

An An took small, reluctant steps toward Yu Honghui. From his slow pace, it was clear how unwilling he was.

Yu Honghui’s son was a bit older. He should have been more sensible, but for a child in an unfamiliar environment, this situation was too challenging. Right now, Yu Honghui was busy coaxing him.

He knew that doing a reality show in a live broadcast format left no room for post-production edits. One careless move could leave a lasting black mark on his record. Even though he felt bad seeing his son like this, he still put Hao Hao down.

“Hao Hao, what did Dad teach you at home? Be good, go over there.”

After saying that, he reached out to An An.

He didn’t like Gu Chen’s child. In his eyes, this boy should have been the scandal that forced Gu Chen out of the industry. Even though Gu Chen had survived the initial backlash, he should have kept the child hidden.

Yu Honghui never expected Gu Chen to personally hold his son’s hand and introduce him to the public, let alone bring him onto a parenting reality show.

“Your name is An An, right?”

“Mm.”

An An pouted, clearly not wanting to talk to him. It wasn’t just because the system had labeled him as a bad person—it was because he had personally witnessed him bullying his dad.

Yu Honghui noticed An An’s cold attitude but had no intention of winning the child’s favor. He just wanted to get through this period as quickly as possible.

The director instructed each father to take their child back and get familiar with them. After a day of bonding, they would have to complete a task together tomorrow.

An An was forced to follow Yu Honghui. On the narrow, difficult village road, the other dads all carried their children. Even though Yu Honghui was unwilling, he had no choice but to pick An An up.

Before this, Yu Honghui had a decent reputation in the industry. Though not particularly famous, his successful transition to a “tough guy” persona had won him recognition as a strong and powerful figure.

Back home, the nanny took care of his son. And after hearing from Gu Chen that An An had been too skinny before, they had carefully crafted a balanced diet to raise a healthy child. As a result, An An was now adorably chubby.

Carrying him for only a short distance, Yu Honghui was already gasping for air. Every breath he exhaled turned into white mist in the cold air, all captured clearly by the camera.

After walking for a while, he really couldn’t go on anymore and planned to discuss it with An An.

“An An, how about we walk on our own for a bit first?”

An An glanced at the muddy path ahead and involuntarily recalled the first day she arrived—when her shoe got stuck in the mud, and she ended up falling face-first. She immediately shook her head and refused:

“No!”

“Uncle, can’t you carry me? Daddy can.”

Gu Chen had debuted through a talent show, transitioning from a young idol over time. Since it hadn’t been long, most people still saw him as a pretty boy—someone who couldn’t lift heavy things or endure hardships.

Viewers thought back carefully and realized that since the first day of filming, Gu Chen had always been carrying An An, even when going downhill, yet he had never once complained about being tired.

【I’m really just a passerby, not a hater, but I’m kinda curious—does Yu Honghui have weak stamina?】

【He once had to carry Ruru in a drama scene, and he actually complained that a 1.7-meter, 95-pound girl was too heavy. That cracked me up.】

【And what about Gu Chen? He’s not tired at all?】

【Clearing Gu Chen’s name here—please stop with the stereotypes. He just looks weak; he’s not actually weak. Fun fact: during his talent show debut, he sang and danced live.】

【An An didn’t eat all that food for nothing—didn’t expect him to be this heavy.】

【He’s just a normal weight, right? He doesn’t even look chubby. It’s purely because Yu Honghui is weak.】

【Serious question—out of everyone here, is Yu Honghui the weakest? Does anyone remember An An falling straight into the mud on the first day?】

Many viewers remembered this incident, yet Yu Honghui still wanted to put An An down on the most difficult stretch of road.

In the end, he barely managed to carry An An back, but he sat there gasping for air for a long time and couldn’t recover. Meanwhile, An An didn’t even bother to check on him; instead, he was staring at a tree in the yard, where it seemed like flower buds were starting to bloom.

To help the kids and their temporary dads bond more quickly, the director didn’t schedule any extra activities that afternoon.

The other dads were all trying their best to build relationships with the children, but Yu Honghui didn’t seem interested in interacting with An An. When he ignored him, An An just sat on a small stool, drawing in the dirt with a stick.

It wasn’t just the audience—even the crew felt it was a bit too much. Someone took the initiative to remind Yu Honghui that he should engage with An An more.

Yu Honghui glanced at the nearby cameras, realizing that if he didn’t follow the crew’s suggestion, he would definitely get scolded by viewers.

Forcing a friendly demeanor, he walked over, squatted beside An An, and asked:

“What are you doing, An An?”

An An, who was just idly holding the stick, suddenly gripped it tightly, rolled her eyes, and said,

“Drawing. Can’t you tell?”

“Do you have any other hobbies at home?”

Yu Honghui struggled to find a topic to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Although An An didn’t like him, he still remembered what his dad had told him—it was rude to ignore someone’s question.

“Listening to stories. Auntie and Daddy both tell me stories.”

Hearing this answer, Yu Honghui let out a sigh of relief. At least he knew a few stories. If it weren’t for the cameras, he wouldn’t want to interact with this child at all.

Everything that was different from his past life made him uneasy. Ever since he was reborn, he had always been confident, but now…

“Then how about I tell you the story of Cinderella?”

“Heard it already.”

“Sleeping Beauty?”

“Heard it.”

“The Princess and the Pea?”

“Heard it.”

“The Seven Princesses and the Little Dwarf?”

After listing several stories that An An had all heard before, Yu Honghui grew frustrated and intentionally messed up a title, trying to make it look like An An was deliberately making things difficult for him.

Unexpectedly, instead of rejecting it outright like before, An An seriously thought about it for a moment and then corrected him,

“You mean Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

“How about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?”

“Heard it.”

At this point, both Yu Honghui and An An were getting impatient. An An tossed his stick aside, gave him a disdainful look, and said,

“Uncle, forget it. You don’t know how to tell stories at all.”

With that, his little short legs carried him swiftly into the house, and the cameraman quickly followed.

Yu Honghui stayed there for a long time before moving, silently glancing at the cameras around him. Only after calming himself down did he step inside.

“An An, it’s just that Uncle doesn’t know many stories. Could you tell one to Uncle instead?”

“No.”

An An rejected him flatly, without giving him any face.

“Why not? Does An An not like Uncle?”

As Yu Honghui said this, his eyes flickered. He didn’t actually care whether the child liked him or not. He only asked the question to set a trap—if An An outright said he disliked him, all his problems would be solved.

Once those words left his mouth, no matter how young An An was, people would only think he was deliberately targeting him.

An An had indeed been about to confirm it—he genuinely didn’t like this man who bullied his dad. But just then, the system suddenly chimed in:

【Say “no” and then ask him why he would even ask such a thing.】

An An stared at Yu Honghui for a long moment before lightly shaking his head.

With the system’s guidance, he even took it a step further—putting on an innocent, puzzled expression as he asked,

“I don’t dislike you, Uncle. Why would you ask that… Is it because you don’t like me?”

“I’m sorry, Uncle. I just miss Daddy a little.”

Inside the system’s space, the AI watched this unfold in shock.

Just moments ago, the little boy had almost fallen into a trap, but in the blink of an eye, he had turned the tables and played the perfect innocent act.

That was some next-level “little green tea” maneuvering.

Yu Honghui was so angry when An An apologized to him that even reminding himself a thousand times that he was filming a show didn’t help—he still lost his composure.

“What do you mean by this?”

“Hmm?”

An An looked even more innocent after noticing his anger. Even the few strands of hair sticking up on his head seemed to be expressing his emotions.

“Nothing.”

The surprised expressions of the surrounding staff forcibly pulled Yu Honghui’s rationality back. He squatted down in front of An An and forced a somewhat grim smile.

“Sorry, An An. I just miss my son a little.”

“Oh…”

Since An An had said he missed his dad, the audience would only sympathize with him for having to be separated from his father due to the show. They would see him as a poor little child being forced apart from his dad because of a heartless director, blaming the director for being inhumane.

But Yu Honghui was a grown adult. If he was using missing his son as an excuse, it meant he was either too soft-hearted or just outright lying.

Most of the audience preferred to believe the latter.

Mature viewers could see through it, but An An, being a child, didn’t think that far. Instead, he genuinely felt sorry for Yu Honghui because of his supposed longing for his son.

“You really miss your son?”

“Yes, I really do.”

It was only after saying it out loud that Yu Honghui realized how clumsy his lie was. But since the words had already been spoken, it was too late for regret. He had no choice but to keep going with it.

“Just like how I miss my dad?”

“Yes, just like how you miss your dad. I miss my son too.”

If he had to compare, Yu Honghui would much rather have his own son by his side. At least Hao Hao had been well taught by his mother and would never deliberately embarrass him on the show.

In his past life, he had enjoyed watching this variety show and knew very well that in certain situations, audiences would develop goodwill toward parents because of how adorable their child was. After all, good manners in a child reflected the careful upbringing by their parents.

An An stood up, tiptoed, and gently patted Yu Honghui’s head in comfort.

“It’s okay. Just think of me as your dad.”

Yu Honghui’s face turned green on the spot, while the other staff members burst into laughter. The comment section was nearly flooded with “hahaha.”

An An, however, didn’t see anything funny about it. He had no idea why everyone was laughing so happily and looked around in confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

Having already been tripped up by this kid before, Yu Honghui didn’t dare to let his guard down this time. He had to be extra careful not to do anything that would further ruin his image. So, he patiently explained,

“An An, they’re laughing at what you said. You can’t say things like that, okay? You can’t be my dad. That’s not right.”

Yu Honghui tried to correct An An’s thinking, but An An waved his hand grandly.

“It’s fine! I don’t mind.”

He looked so generous, but Yu Honghui was so frustrated that a vein on his forehead twitched. The one who minds is me!

“You, you—”

“Hmm? No need to thank me. Dad always says we should be helpful to others~”

An An slightly lifted his chin, seemingly thinking about how his dad would definitely praise him a lot when he arrived.

Yu Honghui decided to drop the topic altogether. No matter what he said, An An wasn’t going to take it to heart. He consoled himself internally—after all, the “Dad Swap” wouldn’t last too long.

From the start of filming until now, the crew had usually prepared their meals. But occasionally, there were exceptions—like today.

To capture more useful footage and create a more interactive atmosphere between the guests and the children, the production team distributed ingredients and had them cook dinner together.

At home, An An often “helped” while his dad cooked, so he was very experienced in making a mess.

Gu Chen never scolded him. Even if An An messed things up, Gu Chen would simply compliment him in another way to distract him.

Being showered with praise like that all the time, An An had developed supreme confidence in himself—bordering on delusional self-esteem.

When Yu Honghui saw An An coming over to help, he actually felt relieved. There were a lot of things he couldn’t handle alone, so having an extra pair of hands was definitely a good thing.

At first, An An peeled a green onion down to almost nothing. When Yu Honghui saw that, his expression already started to darken.

Then, when Yu Honghui was stir-frying, An An eagerly tried to bring him a plate. However, the plate had just been washed and was a bit slippery. He lost his grip, and it shattered on the floor.

The sound of breaking porcelain was loud. An An was startled and froze on the spot, unable to react for a long time.

Yu Honghui’s patience had already reached its limit today. At this point, he didn’t even care that they were still filming or that there were cameras all around.

“What is wrong with you? If you don’t know how to do something, then just don’t do it! Stop getting in my way in the kitchen. Go play somewhere else.”

An An didn’t know what to do with his hands. He just lowered his head and fidgeted with his fingers, his long, curled eyelashes trembling anxiously from the scare.

“S-sorry.”

“Saying sorry doesn’t help at all! The plate is already broken. Your ‘sorry’ isn’t going to fix it, do you understand?”

After saying this, Yu Honghui saw An An standing there like a frightened little quail. All the frustration he had been holding in throughout the day seemed to pour out in that moment, and he felt an immense sense of relief.

【What’s wrong with Yu Honghui? Why is he being so harsh on the little one? Didn’t the baby just want to help?】

【I feel like I’m seeing my own parents in Yu Honghui—just as irritable and short-tempered, always lashing out over small things. When I grew up, I realized that maybe it wasn’t because I had done something terrible. They were just taking out their frustrations from elsewhere, and I was the easiest target.】

【Same here. My dad is the same way. Whenever he’s upset after socializing outside, he makes sure the whole family is miserable when he comes home, like it somehow makes him feel better.】

【I became a mom two years ago, and my child likes to help me with little things now too. Once, she accidentally dropped a cup while bringing it to me. I was so mad and wanted to scold her. But when I saw the fear in her eyes, I suddenly saw my younger self. I knew I was wrong, but I genuinely didn’t know how to change.】

【The little one looks so pitiful right now. I just want to go over and hug him.】

【Why is he being so harsh? Is Yu Honghui using this as an opportunity to get back at An’an for the things he said earlier?】

If that were really the case, then Yu Honghui was being incredibly petty.

Coincidentally, during dinner prep, Cheng Yingying also dropped a bowl while trying to help, and she looked clearly nervous when it hit the floor.

Gu Chen immediately turned off the stove and came out when he heard the sound. His first reaction was to check on her and make sure she wasn’t hurt. Only then did he turn to grab some tools and clean up the mess with her.

“It’s okay. It’s just a broken bowl. But we should probably let the landlady know and apologize to her, okay?”

Cheng Yingying was a well-mannered child. She nodded obediently when she heard that.

“Okay, I have my own allowance. I can pay for it. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Mm, taking responsibility is what makes a great kid.”

Gu Chen never hesitated to praise children. Though Cheng Yingying didn’t show much emotion on the surface, the sparkle in her eyes made it clear that she liked being treated this way.

【The contrast between these two situations is just mind-blowing.】

【Wasn’t there someone mocking Gu Chen earlier, saying he’s too busy with work to take care of a child?】

【Right, sure, “too busy to take care of a child”—everyone knows what that means.】

【If this isn’t knowing how to take care of a child, then I don’t deserve to be a mother. Even as a mom, I have to admit that I don’t handle these situations as well as Gu Chen. I don’t have that much patience. I just want to fix the problem as fast as possible. If yelling at my child could make them stop causing trouble, I’d do it.】

An’an had never been scolded like that before. Of course, he felt upset. He sat curled up in a corner for a long time, hugging his knees and sniffing as he stared up at the night sky.

This small village was a bit remote and underdeveloped. But because it hadn’t been overly commercialized, the environment was well-preserved. The stars at night were particularly beautiful and stood out clearly against the dark sky.

An’an tilted his head up and stared at the stars for a long time. He had always been a lively, active little one, but now he was sitting quietly. Given what had happened earlier, it was impossible not to feel sorry for him.

Even the director didn’t quite agree with how Yu Honghui handled things. Was it really so hard to talk to a child properly?

Dropping things was normal. Even adults sometimes accidentally break things, let alone a three-year-old.

One of the staff members, seeing how pitiful An’an looked—and considering that the weather was still chilly at night—grabbed her own jacket and draped it over An’an’s shoulders.

“Why are you sitting outside? It’s cold out here. Why don’t you come inside with me?”

Normally, staff wouldn’t appear in shots involving the main cast, but she was allowed to do so with the director’s approval.

Only then did An’an realize he was cold. He pulled the jacket tighter around himself and softly replied,

“I don’t like that uncle.”

“That’s okay. You’re allowed to like or dislike whoever you want.”

“I miss my dad…”

At first, the audience thought An’an missed his father just because he was away. But after seeing how things were handled today, they started to suspect there was more to it than that.

Meanwhile, Yu Honghui had finally managed to prepare a decent dinner. After setting the table, he stepped outside to find An’an.

He had specifically learned to cook for this show, and after tasting the food himself, he thought it was pretty good.

“An’an, I’m sorry. I was just too worried about you getting hurt, so I raised my voice. Please don’t be mad at me over this, okay?”

“I made dinner. There’s your favorite—sweet and sour ribs.”

He held out his hand toward An’an, who reluctantly put his own little hand in Yu Honghui’s palm.

Back at the dining table, An’an picked up his chopsticks and clumsily grabbed a piece of sweet and sour rib, putting it into his bowl.

Yu Honghui sat beside him, waiting expectantly for his praise as An’an bit into the meat and started chewing.

The next second, An’an gagged uncontrollably.

“Ugh…”