Chapter 24: The Film Emperor Dad Who Was Sacrificed in the Entertainment Industry

When Jiujiu thought of this, he used his little paw to step on his dad’s fingertip a couple of times. He used to be a generous little chick, but later his dad told him he looked bad when he lost his feathers, so he started getting stingier.

Before Shen Yijing could continue teasing him, his phone rang.

When he picked it up and saw the familiar name on the screen, the smile on his face froze, and he suddenly fell silent.

Curious, Jiujiu leaned over and accidentally brushed against his dad’s hand—answering the call.

Once the call connected, there was silence on both ends. After a long pause, it was Jiujiu who chirped, breaking the deadlock.

“Mom.”

“Mmm, Yijing, are you busy this New Year? Are you coming home? Your dad—he’s like that. He’ll get over it eventually. Even if he hasn’t said he forgives you, who knows how much he regrets it inside.”

Mother Shen still had a softer heart than Father Shen, who was too proud and stubborn. Of the whole family, she was always the quickest to compromise.

They’d always hoped their child would become a teacher—respectable, steady, just like them. But children grow up and have their own ideas.

Beside them, Jiujiu kept tapping his head frantically. Daddy might not understand, but Grandma surely would! If he went with Daddy to Grandma’s house, he could have rice wine!

“I’m not too busy—work is mostly wrapped up. I… probably won’t go back. Last time, Dad said he didn’t want to see me. No point ruining the New Year and making him upset.”

On the other end, as soon as Mother Shen made the call, Father Shen had already put down his newspaper. Outwardly, he was playing with the bird, but he was actually listening intently.

Shen Yijing was referring to two years ago. He had gained some fame in the industry and brought gifts home, wanting to patch things up.

Unfortunately, at the time, one of Father Shen’s fellow teachers had done something foolish, and seeing his son at that moment made him think—if only Shen Yijing had followed his plan and taken a teaching job, things wouldn’t be like this.

It was partly because of the bad timing and partly because he was upset that his son hadn’t come home in years. He ended up scolding him away—and regretted it that very night. But he couldn’t swallow his pride and apologize. Now, two years had gone by without seeing his own son, and it had weighed on him ever since.

Mother Shen could tell from her husband’s expression that he regretted it too. She cleared her throat and continued:

“You know how your dad is—he says things that sound harsh, but he doesn’t mean it.”

“Mom, I… might be bringing something back.”

“What is it? A girlfriend?”

Mother Shen figured her son was at that age—it’d be totally normal if he had one.

Father Shen, who had been sitting cross-legged playing with his bird, suddenly straightened up and leaned in to listen more closely.

“Mom, didn’t I already tell you? I don’t plan to get married. During a shoot, we used a bird in one of the scenes. I was worried no one would take care of him afterward, so I brought him home.”

“Oh, that’s all? Of course, that’s fine. Bring him back.”

Even if it wasn’t a girlfriend, the fact her son agreed to come home for New Year made Mother Shen just as happy.

After the call ended, she looked over at her husband, who was slowly picking up his newspaper again, and gave his shoulder a push.

“Our son’s coming home. Aren’t you going to get ready?”

“Get ready for what? You clean that room every week, don’t you?”

“But the chair in there’s been broken for ages. I don’t know how to fix it.”

Father Shen put down his paper, got up, and headed straight for the door. Mother Shen called after him:

“Where are you going?”

“To buy a new one.”

Meanwhile, after hanging up, Shen Yijing leaned on the table and stared at the falling snow outside. Jiujiu crawled up to him and handed him another walnut kernel he’d just cracked.

“Daddy, look. This one’s perfect.”

“Thanks. You worked hard.”

“Not hard at all!”

Shen Yijing let his manager know, packed up a few things, and prepared to leave.

For years, he’d always spent New Year working—one year he even performed in the national Spring Festival Gala. Now that he had a foothold in the industry, he no longer needed to treat working through the holidays as a way to stand out.

Plus, as he got older, seeing friends’ parents growing older too made him inevitably think of his own.

He didn’t regret chasing his dream, but if he could do it over, he might’ve chosen a gentler way.

“Daddy, can Grandma make rice wine?”

“She can.”

“Then can Jiujiu have some with brown sugar?”

“Sure.”

“With cilantro?”

Shen Yijing paused in his packing and seriously considered it. Adding cilantro to brown sugar rice wine… that would definitely be a cursed dish.

“Nope. That’s not allowed.”

“Oh, okay then. Let’s bring Jiujiu’s little dinosaur too.”

Jiujiu pointed at the plush dinosaur on the tatami. It was a fan gift from when Shen Yijing first debuted. He had always treasured it, and Jiujiu had dug it out recently.

When Shen Yijing wasn’t around, Jiujiu liked sleeping curled up on it.

He packed the dinosaur and a few more toys into his suitcase. By the time he was ready, his manager had already arranged a driver.

Flying would’ve been more convenient, but pets weren’t allowed in the cabin. Shen Yijing couldn’t bring himself to have Jiujiu checked in as cargo.

As soon as they got in the car, Jiujiu curled up and fell asleep in his dad’s front pocket, holding a big walnut under his wing.

At first, Shen Yijing had assumed he was just a little chick. But then he discovered Jiujiu could fly.

Even with his wings barely feathered, he could already lift off. Shen Yijing had been totally stunned the first time he saw it.

Mother Shen had been smiling a lot lately. She didn’t tell anyone her son was a celebrity, afraid it might cause trouble for him.

She even teased her husband during meals, saying maybe their son liked birds because he’d picked it up from him.

Father Shen, looking at his old parrot, pointed at its head one night before bed and said:

“In a couple of days, you’ll have a playmate.”

The parrot had a temper—and was getting old—so he wasn’t sure if it would bully the younger bird.

“If you pick on him, I’ll lock you in the cage, got it?”

When Shen Yijing finally got home, he saw clearly that his parents had aged a lot. Back when they’d fallen out, their hair had still been black. Now it was streaked with white.

“Dad, Mom.”

“Mmm. It’s good you’re back. Was the trip tiring?”

Mother Shen bent down and pulled a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet for her son, her eyes never leaving his face.

“You’ve grown. Grown a lot.”

Jiujiu didn’t wake up until mealtime, lured by the smell. He poked his head out of Shen Yijing’s pocket and looked around. The place was a little unfamiliar—he figured this must be Grandma’s house.

He chirped twice to get his dad’s attention. Shen Yijing looked down and met his beady little eyes.

“We’re home.”

“Chirp~”

Father Shen had always loved birds. He came over and gently scooped Jiujiu into his hand for a closer look.

Jiujiu didn’t resist, seeing as this man was his grandpa in this world. If Grandpa wanted to look at his claws, he’d stretch his legs. If he wanted to check his wings, he’d flap them a bit.

“What kind of bird is this? I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”

“Someone on set bought him. I don’t actually know what kind he is.”

Father and Mother Shen were both juggling busy school schedules—they hadn’t retired yet, and it was the hectic end of term.

After a bit more poking and prodding, Jiujiu got fed up and slapped Grandpa’s hand away with his wing.

“This one’s got a bit of a temper, huh.”

While they were cooking, Jiujiu wandered off to play. Worried he might fly off before getting used to the place, Father Shen hurried to close all the windows—they lived on a high floor.

Thankfully, Jiujiu didn’t run off. He just stood in front of the birdcage in the living room, staring intently at the parrot inside.

There was a bit of space between the bars of the cage—enough that the parrot couldn’t get out, but Jiujiu could easily squeeze his little body through.

When it was time to eat, Shen Yijing began looking for him everywhere. In the end, it was Father Shen who spotted Jiujiu inside the cage.

He had originally assumed that such a tiny little bird would definitely get bullied by the parrot he’d raised himself.

But surprisingly, the normally aggressive parrot was now lying docilely in place, letting the small bird sprawl out on its back.

Jiujiu even used his wing to ruffle the feathers on the parrot’s head a bit, then, upon hearing Dad call for dinner, wriggled his way out of the cage.

The day after Shen Yijing returned home, his agent sent him a script—the one for his next project. While he was memorizing his lines, Father Shen secretly took Jiujiu to his office.

Such a small and beautiful bird—though he didn’t know the breed—was definitely worth showing off to his group of old friends.

The older teachers in the office all had similar hobbies: after work, they liked playing with birds.

As Father Shen corrected papers, he took a sip of tea from his mug. Jiujiu was lying nearby, knocking a walnut against the table.

He accidentally noticed that Grandpa would chew a little before swallowing his tea, and it piqued his curiosity.

When Father Shen got up to deliver the graded papers to another office, Jiujiu stepped onto the edge of the cup. He caught a whiff of a sweet and fragrant aroma.

It was a very strange but enticingly sweet scent, and Jiujiu swallowed unconsciously.

He leaned his head in for a better sniff, but his claw didn’t grip firmly enough—and with his small size, he tumbled neatly into the cup.

“Chirp!!”