Chapter 115: The Father Who Exploited His Child Star (8)

Xie Chu could tell that this customer didn’t seem very happy. He stood on tiptoe to reach a small mask hanging to the side, put it on, and waited for his dad to finish frying the food. Then he offered to help apply the sauce.

“Uncle, what kind of sauce would you like?”

Hearing the shouting from the phone, Gu Jingtong hung up irritably. As he turned around, he happened to see little Xie Chu, now wearing a mask, poking his head out from the fried skewer cart to ask him.

“Spicy sauce.”

“Okay!”

There was a counter between the fryer and the sauce station inside the cart, and Xie Hui stood between them. Seeing how eager Xie Chu was to help, Xie Hui didn’t stop him—he just reminded him each time to be mindful of hygiene.

Standing by the fried skewer cart, Gu Jingtong looked through the glass and saw the little boy with tiny hands carefully brushing sauce onto the skewers. For some reason, it warmed his heart.

“Bye, Uncle! Come again if you liked it—my dad and I set up our stall here every evening!”

Just before leaving, Gu Jingtong could still hear the soft childlike voice behind him. He turned around and saw Xie Chu waving at him. Almost instinctively, Gu Jingtong raised his hand and waved back.

He was in the area to visit the mother of a child actor. Gu Jingtong was a director who had only graduated a couple of years ago and was now working as an assistant under a senior director, learning the ropes. He was sent here to smooth things over with the child actor’s mother.

Their current TV series was adapted from a novel and still lacked a child actor for the leads’ son. In the hearts of the original book’s fans, this child character was even more popular than the male lead.

As soon as the character’s costume photos were released, their production team’s official account got over twenty thousand hate comments, criticizing that the child didn’t look nearly as cute as described in the original.

After seeing those comments, the child actor’s mother backed out of the contract. Gu Jingtong came this time to apologize and see if there was still any room for negotiation.

Before the shoot, Gu Jingtong had also read the original novel and knew that the child actor didn’t quite match the novel’s description. But in reality, where could you find so many young kids who were both adorable and smart?

In the original, Di Shu was already mature at age three—entering secret realms with his mother, standing fearlessly before a nine-headed serpent, shielding his mother, and using a magic artifact from his father to kill a fifth-rank magical beast.

There were already very few child actors who could even act out such scenes, let alone ones who could match the charm of the novel’s Di Shu, who was so cute that even villains softened upon seeing him.

This time, Gu Jingtong didn’t even get past the gate of the child actor’s house—he was scolded right at the door.

“I’ve already transferred the breach-of-contract fee to your production team! Don’t come crawling here to get yelled at again! My son got flamed so badly, and your production team didn’t even say a damn thing!”

After the scolding, Gu Jingtong wiped the sweat from his forehead, left the gift at their doorstep, and turned to leave.

Judging by the mother’s attitude, there was no turning back now. Feeling helpless, he walked back toward the parking lot and saw the fried skewer cart still parked in the same spot.

The same little boy who’d handed him skewers earlier was sitting on a tall stool, swinging his short legs in boredom.

The day’s work had been so frustrating, and the warm scene under the streetlamp with the skewer cart was so comforting that Gu Jingtong couldn’t bring himself to leave.

A few teenagers who had been playing basketball in the square finished their game and seemed ready to head home. Xie Chu quickly hopped off the stool and called out enthusiastically:

“Brothers, want some skewers? My family’s skewers are super tasty! Come try them!”

It was late, and whether those teens were genuinely hungry or just charmed by the adorable little boy, they actually stopped and bought a few items.

Xie Chu put on his hanging mask, ran to wash his hands at the nearby faucet, and then came over to help his dad.

“Just these few? Our veggie skewers are delicious too!”

“All right, give us a few more then.”

Thanks to Xie Chu’s enthusiastic pitch, the teens picked out more, and soon there was barely anything left. Xie Hui didn’t like saving leftovers for the next day, so he fried everything remaining and gave it to them as a bonus.

Xie Chu carefully brushed sauce onto the skewers, his small hands skillful and quick. When he noticed the familiar uncle standing beside the cart, he even paused to tilt his head up and greet him.

“Hi, Uncle! We’re all sold out. If you want more, you gotta come earlier next time!”

Gu Jingtong stood there, watching the child busily working with such earnest focus, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind.

The reason the previous child actor had been criticized was that, although he could perform the difficult scenes, he lacked charm.

After sending off the teens, Xie Hui started cleaning up the cart, while Xie Chu sat obediently on a stool beside him, staying out of the way.

“Hey, kid.”

“Uncle, why are you still here? It’s so late. Aren’t you going home to rest?”

Xie Chu leaned his chin on his hands, curiously watching Gu Jingtong sitting by the flowerbed. Since he had bought from their stall, Xie Chu was especially friendly.

“Little guy, is it hard selling skewers with your dad every day? I’ve got a job for you—if you come with me, you could earn more than what you’d make selling skewers for three whole days.”

“If you get picked, you’ll never have to sell skewers with your dad again.”

Xie Chu had just wanted to chat with the uncle while waiting for his dad to finish up, but when he heard that, a wary look flashed in his eyes.

To young Xie Chu, “not selling skewers” wasn’t a good thing. His dad had worked so hard to stop doing grueling labor that left his hands full of wounds. Selling skewers was something Xie Chu could actually help with.

And now this uncle was saying they’d never do it again? How could he be so bad!

Also… Xie Chu started to suspect this uncle might be one of those child kidnappers his dad had warned him about.

“Uncle, it’s really late. My dad and I are heading home now.”

With that, Xie Chu carried his little stool over to his dad and sat close to him, sticking close for a sense of safety. From behind his dad, he cautiously peeked out at the possibly-bad-guy Gu Jingtong.

Xie Hui hadn’t finished packing up yet. He looked down at the little rascal now glued to his side and sighed helplessly. But when he met the boy’s eyes full of reliance and trust, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Gu Jingtong waited until Xie Hui had finished cleaning up the skewer cart before walking over and handing him his business card.

“Hello, sir. I’m the assistant director for the Wen Xian production team. We’re currently looking for a suitable child actor, and your son seems to have something special. Would you be willing to let him come and give it a try?”

“Whether he gets the part or not, you’ll receive a red envelope with three thousand yuan. There’s no downside to trying.”

“If he doesn’t get selected, I’ll personally drive you and your son back home. What do you say?”

When Gu Jingtong had been standing there just now, he thought it over carefully and realized that the way he spoke had indeed been a bit abrupt. If it were him, he wouldn’t easily trust a stranger either.

So after handing his business card to Xie Hui, he also took out his crew ID from the bag to prove he worked with the production team.

Xie Hui hadn’t thought about any of this before, but the Entruster had mentioned in the System Space that this child truly loved the entertainment industry.

He never intended to make money off the child, but he also never used love as a means to forbid Xie Chu from having his own interests.

“Uncle, you mean we get paid whether I get picked or not?”

Before his father could respond, Xie Chu leaned on the cleaned-up counter of the skewer cart and began to seriously question him.

“Yes, whether you’re selected or not, you’ll be paid three thousand yuan as compensation. If you are selected, there will be an actual salary as well.”

“Then if we go, where would we live? Will you pay for our food? My dad and I are really poor, so don’t try to scam us.”

Maybe it was because this kid had gotten used to poverty while living with the Entruster—he was like a little miser. He remembered the price of every ingredient they bought, and if something was even ten cents more expensive than usual, he would try to bargain it down.

Seeing the child seriously negotiating like this, Gu Jingtong suddenly felt a strong desire to bring him back for a try.

The previous child actor was criticized for being stiff and lacking expression. But this little one, with his bright, darting eyes as he talked, just radiated liveliness and charm.

“You’ll stay in a hotel I arrange. I’ll cover all the meals. I won’t scam you—I promise.”

Then, as if afraid Xie Hui might reject him too quickly, he hurriedly added, “You don’t need to give me an answer right now. I’m not leaving until the day after tomorrow. Go home, think it over with your son, and you can call me tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

Xie Hui nodded and agreed, then lifted Xie Chu into the cart, closed the door of the skewer stand, and pushed it in the direction of home.

Once they arrived, he opened the door and saw Xie Chu sitting on his little stool, seriously counting on his fingers while muttering to himself.

“Chu Chu, what are you doing?”

Hearing his father’s voice, Xie Chu snapped out of it, blinked, and stood up to run out from the cart.

“Dad, how much is three thousand yuan?”

Xie Chu was a smart kid—he could always calculate exactly how much groceries cost.

But he had never encountered three thousand yuan before. He’d been counting on his fingers the whole way and still couldn’t figure out how much it was.

“Hmm, if business is good, that’s about what we earn in three days. If business is bad, it’d take five or six.”

Xie Hui locked the skewer cart and led his son into the house.

“Wow! Dad, that’s a great deal. Let’s go!”

As he sat on his stool changing shoes, Xie Chu’s face was full of joy like he’d just gotten a bargain.

“Dad wouldn’t have to work so hard at the stall and could still earn money. That’s really worth it!”

Xie Hui crouched down and untied his son’s shoelaces, softly reminding him, “But Chu Chu might have to work a little harder.”

After changing his shoes, Xie Chu stood on tiptoe to give his dad a kiss, then patted his own chest with a grin.

“Hehe, Daddy, Chu Chu is a big kid now. I’m not afraid of hard work. You’ve been working hard for so many days—Daddy’s had it the hardest.”