Chapter 238: A Celebrity’s Alcoholic Father – 6

It wasn’t just Xie Hui who was stunned by this sudden movement; even the Client, still watching from the System Space, was dumbfounded by the scene.

The Client had an incredibly stubborn personality, and Xie Chuan was much the same. When he made mistakes as a child, he would never bow his head even if his father beat him with a stick, let alone kneel like this.

“Dad… I’ve been keeping this from you all this time… Actually, in the second year after I graduated, I already got married.”

After Xie Chuan finished speaking, he braced himself for his father’s scolding.

He knew he had done wrong, keeping something as significant as marriage hidden from his own father.

But at that time, he and his father were constantly at each other’s throats. He had returned home once just to get his household registration booklet^[1], only to be kicked out of the house by his father again.

Furthermore… though he didn’t care himself, he knew very well that some people with traditional mindsets held a prejudice against those entering a second marriage.

“Married? To whom? You didn’t tell me about something this big?”

Xie Hui wasn’t angry, only somewhat surprised. There was absolutely no mention of this in the Client’s memories. Even up until the moment Xie Chuan had left this world in despair, his father had believed his son was alone.

Now that the words were out, Xie Chuan simply told him everything.

During his first year after graduation, he had played a supporting role in a production. At the wrap party, he met He Shulan, who had been sent to the banquet by the investment company.

At the party, someone had gotten drunk and started making lewd comments toward her. Xie Chuan stepped in to help her out of the situation. After the banquet ended, they exchanged contact information. Later, he participated in another drama invested in by that company, and his involvement with He Shulan grew deeper.

It was only then that he learned that He Shulan, who looked like she had just graduated from university, had already ended a failed marriage.

Her husband from her college days had cheated with his secretary. After catching him, she divorced him decisively. Seeing through her husband’s preference for sons over daughters, she made concessions in the property division to secure custody of their daughter.

Initially, Xie Chuan simply admired her for bouncing back so quickly after the divorce and even rising to the position of vice president in the company.

As they spent more time together, he met her daughter. Their interactions increased until they finally broke the ice and got together, soon registering their marriage.

The reason Xie Chuan had been able to transfer his entire salary to his father all these years was that He Shulan was supporting the household.

He had considered before that if his father was unwilling to participate in the show, perhaps his daughter could. But after careful thought, he suppressed that idea; he didn’t want his daughter to appear in the public eye.

After all, once on a reality show, people would undoubtedly dig into her past.

Xie Chuan had always wanted to raise Susu as his own biological daughter to heal the trauma caused by her birth father. He didn’t want to expose her to the public prematurely before he had achieved success himself.

At that time, Xie Chuan’s thinking was still immature. He had thought that since he couldn’t get love from his father, he would build a family of his own.

But after having a home, his various interactions with Susu would always make him think of his father and his own childhood.

It was then he realized that no matter what happened, his father was a very special existence to him, one that no one else could replace.

After Xie Chuan finished explaining everything, he kept his head down, staring at his father’s shoes as he silently waited for the reprimand for his actions.

He had told his wife about this, and He Shulan was very understanding. She had even mentioned being willing to come home with him, but he was the one who didn’t want outsiders to see his father in such a degenerate state.

It wasn’t that he felt ashamed, but rather that he felt his father’s personality would make him feel humiliated.

“When you have time, bring her back for me to meet.”

“Dad? You don’t think I did something wrong?”

“Right or wrong, you’ve already done it. Besides, it’s not a bad thing.”

The Client had lived through a peculiar era where the leaders preached slogans of gender equality. Regarding the fact that his daughter-in-law had been married before, the Client in the System Space actually didn’t care much at all.

He even felt like he had gained a granddaughter for free and urged Xie Chuan to bring her back for a visit.

“Alright, Dad. When I head back this time, I’ll ask her when she has time off, and we’ll all come back then.”

“The child’s name is Susu, right? Later on, I’ll renovate the room where your things are kept into a children’s room for her to stay in.”

By this point, Xie Hui already had a general plan in mind, even thinking about how large of a red envelope^[2] he should give them. He couldn’t let them think he didn’t value them.

“Dad, you really don’t care?”

Everything that happened today, even up until now, gave Xie Chuan a strange sense of trance, as if he were dreaming.

The reason he hadn’t dared to tell his father before was because He Shulan had a failed marriage, even though it wasn’t her fault.

As a bystander, one can naturally say all sorts of magnanimous things.

Before he and his father had a falling out, he had often heard the grandparents in the neighborhood claim it didn’t matter on the surface, but if their sons actually brought home a woman who had been married, they would make a huge scene.

It was precisely because of those memories that Xie Chuan hadn’t wanted to bring his wife and daughter back for a time, fearing they would suffer grievances alongside him.

“What’s there to care about? What do my daughter-in-law and little granddaughter like to eat? Let me see if I know how to cook it first. If not, I’ll learn.”

“Sure, Dad. I’ll ask them tomorrow.”

He had always been busy with work. Balancing two families plus a heavy workload often meant he neglected his wife and daughter and ignored his father.

“You have to ask what your own wife and child like to eat? What a failure.”

After saying that, Xie Hui dismissively waved Xie Chuan away and went back to his bedroom to rest.

Earlier, when Xie Hui had nothing to do, he had wondered if this child would have a fear of marriage due to his unhappy family life.

He had been worrying about the boy’s future problems, only to find out the man had been married for a long time.

Years ago, when Xie Chuan first signed with his company, he had already disclosed his married status. Because of this, he didn’t receive any good resources at the start. Reaching his current position was entirely due to his own hard work and constant study of his craft.

Now that he had also told his father the truth, Xie Chuan felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Before going to bed that night, he shared the news with He Shulan. After asking her about her favorite foods so he could tell his father the next day, he settled down to sleep in peace.

The recording for that reality show had finished, and the editing process was swift. There were only three episodes in total. The first featured a family supporting a pregnant wife, showcasing her various pregnancy symptoms and volatile moods until the birth of a new life.

Next were the two families who brought their children onto the show. They were seen getting headaches from trying to tutor their kids, only to be instantly healed by the children’s sensible words of comfort.

Viewers watched them jump in frustration at their children’s naughtiness, only to find their anger vanishing when the kids asked for hugs in milky little voices.

Finally, there were the families of Xie Chuan and Xu Shuo.

During post-production, the editors consulted their superiors, who suggested the segments should be roughly equal in length, leaving only the highlights.

The footage filmed at Xie Chuan’s home was significantly easier to edit, with plenty of interesting points. In contrast, Xu Shuo’s footage left the editors working late into the night until they were nearly bald with stress, unable to figure out which parts were worth keeping.

Everything filmed seemed “just okay,” but those “okay” parts didn’t affect the story at all if they were cut.

In the end, they could only manage to scrape together a few decent scenes. Looking at the final cut, it was obvious that his segment lacked the conversational spark found in the other family’s footage.

The reality show soon began airing, with one episode released per week for a total of three weeks.

The first episode resonated with many women who were currently pregnant or had been in the past. It depicted the nausea triggered by certain smells and the struggle of only being able to sleep on one’s side during the third trimester.

CCTV productions were almost always high quality. Even for a mere reality show, the unprecedented subject matter attracted a lot of attention, and the topic quickly began trending.

With the popularity built up by the first episode, the viewership ratings for the second episode were much higher.

This was especially true when watching those adorable children. With cute faces that made it hard for anyone to scold them, they did things that made one’s blood pressure soar, only to obediently apologize and admit their mistakes afterward.

Parents were driven to the brink of madness, only to be pulled back at the last second.

Watching the interactions between the cute kids and their parents, the adorable human cubs, and the many interesting things that happened between them – interspersed with some educational moments – made for a very compelling watch.

Many people took screenshots of the kids to turn into memes, which became extremely popular.

Following the success of the first two episodes, expectations for the final episode were high. However, once the details were announced, some expressed doubts that the finale could live up to the hype.

Perhaps… it wouldn’t be that good.

After all, the first episode allowed people to feel the hardships of pregnancy, and the second featured cute kids being adorable. What could possibly be seen in the third episode, which focused on grown men interacting with their parents?

As the debate heated up online, the production team finally released a trailer.

It showed the first scene of Xie Chuan and Xu Shuo returning home. Xu Shuo was so emotional upon seeing his parents that he wiped away tears, while Xie Chuan simply gave his father a brief greeting.

Comparing the two, many people preferred the former’s obvious display of emotion.

Since they had similar personas and were roughly the same age, and were now appearing on the same reality show, many netizens began to compare them.

While Xie Chuan’s previous works were clearly superior, the trailer made people look forward to Xu Shuo’s segment more.

“I’m not gonna lie, I really feel like Xie Chuan doesn’t look like he’s going home. Isn’t he a bit too distant with his father?”

“What are they planning to show us? Just a celebrity’s daily life?”

“I agree. Xu Shuo’s reaction is what’s normal.”

Amidst the widespread discussion, the third and final episode was broadcast.