Chapter 109 – The Father Who Exploited His Child Star (2)

The reason Xie Chu, at such a young age, worried that his father might starve to death was all because the original host often said things like, “I’m out of work now. The two of us will be begging on the streets soon.”

The small crew the relative brought them to was only shooting a low-budget web series. The Hengdian set was shabby, and the gate security was an old man lounging in a rocking chair who didn’t even glance up when people came and went.

In the Entruster’s memory, that actor was later exposed for scandals, and because the villain in the series was played by him, the drama was never aired.

Back then, the actor had beaten the child so badly he was hospitalized. Though he paid extra compensation, the Entruster, for the sake of that money, let it go after his son recovered—never mentioned it again.

Let alone seeking justice for what had happened.

Xie Hui looked down at the little boy now cradled in his arms. He had just turned three not long ago, his features delicate and tenderly adorable—a child anyone would take a liking to.

But now his little eyebrows were furrowed together, looking so miserable that Xie Hui couldn’t help but find it a little amusing. He asked softly:

“What are you thinking about?”

“Daddy, if you won’t let me get beaten, then what are we going to eat tomorrow?”

The moment he remembered his father saying there wasn’t even a red bill left in his pocket, Xie Chu sighed gloomily.

“How about we go pick up trash now? With this hot weather, lots of people are drinking beverages. If we dig through the bins, we should be able to find a lot of bottles.”

Thinking he’d come up with a great idea, Xie Chu clung to his father’s neck, looking up at him expectantly, hoping he would set him down.

Xie Hui considered it carefully. The original host really didn’t have much money left—less than two hundred yuan in total, not even enough to rent a place.

After his wife divorced him, the original host started drinking heavily. He hadn’t worked in a long time, and his health had deteriorated. Just holding the child for a while had left him gasping for breath.

Xie Hui found a spot on a roadside bench to sit down. Xie Chu, sitting on his lap, was still scanning for trash bins. When he saw someone toss a bottle inside one, his eyes lit up. He turned to glance at his father, his face full of anticipation.

“Chuchu, what if Daddy’s hungry right now—what should we do?”

Even Xie Hui found this starting point a bit tricky. On top of that, the original host had irregular sleep habits, and right now his head was pounding like it might explode. As he rested there, he tried teasing his son to lighten the mood.

“Hmm… then I’ll go pick up bottles now!”

But Xie Hui wrapped his arms around his son’s waist, not letting him jump out of his embrace.

“How about Daddy eats a little boy to stave off hunger first?”

As he said this, he leaned over and sniffed at his son’s chubby cheeks with the tip of his nose, pretending to smell the flavor.

“Then Daddy, you can eat me all up. I—I’m not afraid of pain.”

There was no credibility to Xie Chu’s words at all. His voice trembled, laced with sobs, his eyes brimming with tears, as if he were about to cry at any second.

“Really not afraid of pain?”

The moment Xie Hui asked, Xie Chu was already tearful, but still nodded firmly.

“Y-Yeah! I’m not afraid at all!”

Xie Hui reached out to rub the back of his son’s head, let out a soft laugh, and hugged him tightly.

“I was teasing you. You’re Daddy’s only precious little one—how could I bear to eat you?”

Xie Chu stared wide-eyed at his father in a daze. After a moment, he came back to his senses, then threw himself into his father’s arms and burst into tears. After wailing once, he wiped his tears with the back of his chubby little hand and protested:

“Daddy’s being mean!”

Xie Hui reached out and gently wiped away the tears that hadn’t been cleaned properly, not denying it. Instead, he nodded seriously and apologized.

“Yes, Daddy was wrong. Daddy shouldn’t bully Chuchu. I’m sorry.”

Xie Chu had been covering his eyes with his hands, but when he heard this, curiosity got the better of him. He spread his fingers wide and peeked through them at his father.

Truthfully, the moment he voiced that complaint, he already felt a bit scared. Last time, when he said Daddy’s cigarette smoke smelled bad, he got scolded harshly.

Today, Daddy had only said a few things, and he’d dared to talk back like that. Xie Chu was a little worried his father might be angry with him.

“Huh?”

“It’s okay.”

Xie Hui saw the curious expression on his son’s face, picked him up, and started walking in another direction.

Fortunately, that relative—though boastful and full of hot air—hadn’t completely abandoned them after bringing the father and son to the big city.

Outside Hengdian was a shabby little motel. That relative had paid for three nights, and they could still stay there for one last night.

Xie Hui had only just remembered this, and thankfully, it meant they wouldn’t have to sleep on the streets tonight.

Cradled in his father’s arms, Xie Chu remained full of curiosity. He clung to his father’s neck, gazing up at him. Today’s Daddy felt different—he spoke kindly, apologized, and even carried him.

Xie Hui knew the little one’s eyes hadn’t left him, but he didn’t look back. He just silently pondered their next steps.

When life turns bleak, people often need a place to vent—and that outlet, more often than not, is the person closest to them.

They rely on the fact that their loved ones care and won’t get angry with them, so they become all the more unrestrained.

The most common case is a parent who, after a hard day being scolded by a boss or mistreated by a client, comes home and scolds the child for some small thing. The Entruster was the same.

Xie Chu recognized that they were heading back to that place they were staying at. He let out a sigh, no longer curious about his father’s sudden change, and began worrying about how they were going to eat.

“Daddy, how about we get up early tomorrow and go pick up plastic bottles? I can help you, too!”

As he said this, they happened to pass a construction site. Xie Hui glanced at it, then turned his head toward the child in his arms and pointed.

“See that? Tomorrow, Daddy will go ask if they need temporary workers. They probably do.”

Construction sites often needed extra hands to move materials—labor-intensive work with no skill requirement, just physical effort in exchange for money. Though the pay wasn’t much, for now, it was a decent option for them.

When someone wants to survive, as long as they’re willing to work hard and endure hardship, there’s always a way.

Xie Chu clung tightly to his father’s neck, resting his head on his shoulder. After a soft sigh, he whispered:

“But Daddy said making money there is very, very tiring. Daddy, maybe… maybe you should just let me go and get beaten again. I really don’t mind the pain.”

Xie Hui didn’t believe a word of that. Just teasing him with a pretend bite was enough to scare him into tears—no way he wasn’t afraid of pain.

“Daddy, I can walk by myself.”

Although Xie Chu enjoyed being carried by his dad, he knew he wasn’t a little kid anymore, and it was tiring for his dad to carry him. Struggling a bit, he slid down from his father’s arms.

Once he stood on the ground, he slipped his small hand into his father’s palm and gave him a goofy grin when their eyes met.

Xie Hui didn’t insist. After divorcing his wife, the original owner of this body lived a life that turned night into day, smoking and drinking heavily. He was already out of breath after carrying the boy for just a short while.

“Do you know why Daddy works so hard to earn money?”

“I do. It’s all for me, right?”

At the mention of this, Xie Chu lowered his head, feeling a bit guilty that he had made Daddy so tired.

“No.”

Xie Hui’s correction made Xie Chu curiously lift his head and gaze up at his father.

“It’s because Daddy didn’t study hard when he was younger. If you don’t work hard in school, you’ll have to suffer like this when you grow up.”

The Entruster had always dumped all his misfortunes on this barely three-year-old child.

Why was Daddy so exhausted? Because of you. If it weren’t for you, Daddy wouldn’t be this tired.

Using love as an excuse, he forged shackles that bound Xie Chu tightly, making this young child far too mature for his age.

“Huh?”

This was the first time Xie Chu had heard his dad talk to him like this. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes—this wasn’t what Daddy had said before.

“So Chu-Chu has to study hard in the future. That way, when you grow up, you won’t end up like Daddy. Understand?”

Xie Hui used his other hand to ruffle the boy’s hair. Xie Chu started tiptoeing as he walked, letting his head rub into his dad’s palm.

“I’ll definitely study hard in the future, so Daddy won’t have to work so hard anymore, right?”

On the way back, Xie Chu’s little head was filled with the thought that books must be a really great thing.

The landlady of the small inn was sitting at the front desk knitting. When she saw who came in, she recognized the guest and simply went back to her knitting.

Following the Entruster’s memories, Xie Hui went to the Entruster’s room. When he opened the door and saw the interior, he couldn’t help but frown.

He wasn’t a clean freak, nor did he have high standards for living, but the brown stains on the bed made him uncomfortable.

Xie Chu wasn’t picky at all. He dragged a stool over to stand on, reached up to get the electric kettle from the cupboard, and planned to boil some water.

Noticing this, Xie Hui strode over and snatched the kettle from his hands. Xie Chu’s eyes widened as his hands were suddenly empty, and he stood there at a loss.

A little afraid too—afraid Daddy would start scolding him for being too slow, like before.

Xie Hui set down the kettle and scooped the boy off the stool into his arms, ruffling the soft hair on his head.

“If you want to drink water, just tell Daddy. Kids shouldn’t touch electrical appliances. Electricity is very dangerous, understand?”

“Why is it dangerous, Daddy?”

He’d used it plenty of times before—just set the kettle down and press a button to boil water. It didn’t seem dangerous at all.

Seeing that he didn’t believe him, Xie Hui pulled out the Entruster’s cracked phone from his clothes and searched for photos of people injured by electric shocks.

“If you get electrocuted, you’ll look like this. Your whole body could get burned, and it hurts a lot.”

Electric shock injuries vary, but with kids, you always go with the worst-case scenario to scare them enough.

The moment he heard it would really hurt, Xie Chu, though still perfectly fine, couldn’t help but shudder.

Xie Hui patted his back to soothe him, set the phone aside, and glanced at the kettle on the cabinet—it was covered in dust and had probably been used by countless people.

“Then you should boil the water, Daddy. What if you get thirsty later?”

Having snapped out of his earlier fright, the little guy was already fretting again.

“We won’t use the kettle today. Let’s go buy some water instead.”

As soon as he heard they were going out to buy something, Xie Chu instinctively pulled a ten-yuan bill from his coat pocket, jumped down from his dad’s arms, and was about to head out—only to be yanked back by the scruff of his shirt. He turned his head instinctively.

“Daddy, what are you doing?”

The more Xie Hui thought about the things the original owner had done, the more he felt a headache coming on. How could he have been okay with letting such a small child walk out alone from the inn to the corner shop to buy water?

“Next time you go out, remember to take Daddy with you.”

“Why? You’re already so tired, Daddy. That shop’s really close, and I know the way.”

At that, Xie Hui could even see a hint of pride on the kid’s little face.

Looking at his carefree expression, Xie Hui couldn’t resist tapping his forehead. Xie Chu instinctively clutched his head, and tears instantly welled up.

“Why’d you hit me, Daddy?”

“Next time, make sure to go out with Daddy. What if a child trafficker sees how cute you are and takes you away?”

“What’s a child trafficker?”

Xie Chu hugged his head with both hands, still afraid of getting hit again, but couldn’t help asking curiously.

“Child traffickers are people who steal kids to sell them. If one takes you, you might never see Daddy again.”

Holding his hand, Xie Hui explained as they walked out together.

“If you get trafficked, they might sell you to some extremely poor family as their child, or even worse, they might take your organs to sell. They could even break your legs and force you to beg on the streets.”

Xie Hui wasn’t trying to scare the kid on purpose. The dark side of humanity never fails to exceed expectations. The real situation is always ten times worse than what he said.

“So if you ever want to go out, make sure to take Daddy with you, okay?”

Frightened by Xie Hui’s words, Xie Chu wrapped both hands tightly around his father’s wrist and nodded very seriously.

“Got it. I’ll be good and not run around. I don’t want to be someone else’s kid.”

When Xie Chu said that, Xie Hui could feel the Entruster inside the System Space finally breaking down and crying.

In this kind of situation, most people would say they were afraid of having their legs broken or being forced to beg. But for this child, the scariest thing…to be someone else’s kid.