Chapter 240: A Celebrity’s Alcoholic Father – 8

The next segment aired showed Xie Chuan waking up early to catch a flight, moving with light steps for fear of disturbing his father’s rest. He hadn’t expected to see the lights already on when he walked into the living room.

Then came the steaming bowl of dumplings, the father’s stubborn refusal to admit how much effort he had put into them, and the lingering gaze of his father standing there, watching Xie Chuan’s retreating back as he left.

These were experiences common to everyone, but this reality show used its lens to magnify the warmth hidden in the trivial details of life countless times, allowing everyone to clearly feel the emotions hidden behind them.

“I’m still a student, and every time I leave for school, my dad likes to stand there and watch me go.”

“My mom is just like Xie Chuan’s dad. Every time I leave home, she packs things I’ve mentioned were delicious before. I used to find it so annoying, thinking who has time for all that? But now I suddenly feel like I’ve been a real jerk.”

“I used to criticize Xie Chuan for not being good-looking enough and felt he was annoying for not helping out at home. Now I’ve decided to take back everything I said. Just pretend I never spoke.”

Xu Shuo himself was very handsome, fitting the aesthetic standards most people held for celebrities. In the first half of the reality show, every scene was beautiful, providing visual enjoyment and the psychological satisfaction of seeing a sensible child.

The segment filmed at Xie Chuan’s home consisted of trivial, unremarkable trifles, yet under the recording of the camera, it provided a spiritual elevation and a resonance of the soul.

The former was like a decent fast-food television drama, while the latter was more like a movie worth savoring.

Some people even discovered photos Xie Chuan had previously updated on his social media platforms. The pickles paired with white porridge looked familiar, and this “dream crossover” added another layer of heat to the discussion.

Xie Chuan’s father sympathized with his hard work away from home, and similarly, Xie Chuan did not let his father’s intentions go to waste.

Later came the topic arranged by the production crew regarding childhood. Most people were curious about what a celebrity’s childhood was like and whether it was the same as theirs.

Xie Chuan’s father brought out a box that looked many years old. After opening it, the contents included many things that most people had done as children.

There were greeting cards smeared with exaggerated colors, certificates of merit, handicrafts, photos, and that specific homework assignment Xie Chuan’s father mentioned.

Washing their parents’ feet^[1]. Most children might do it out of bashfulness, or perhaps because they think their parents’ feet are a bit dirty, basically completing it as a mere chore.

But looking at it now through the eyes of an adult, it felt more like cultivating a heart of gratitude toward one’s parents.

Some were reminded of childhood memories by these familiar objects, while others were moved by the father’s painstaking care. Those childhood items had actually been preserved perfectly until now.

The next scene took place at night. Xie Chuan brought over a basin of foot-washing water and washed his father’s feet with exceptional earnestness.

The same act, performed at different ages, gave people very different feelings.

Just as the audience was appreciating this scene, Xie Chuan’s father suddenly asked if he had been wrong, piquing everyone’s curiosity.

At the same time, a very ominous premonition arose. Sure enough, an advertisement cut in the very next second.

This kind of reality show was entirely free to watch, requiring no membership, and there was no option to skip ads. The audience could only wait impatiently, feeling as if many ants were crawling on their hearts, itching with curiosity to know what exactly was happening.

When the advertisement ended, Xie Chuan’s father mentioned his past disapproval of Xie Chuan becoming an actor, which surprised the audience.

Although Xie Chuan wasn’t considered an A-list star, he had works to his name. For an ordinary family, he could definitely be considered a very successful child.

When Xie Chuan’s father hunched his back and slumped his shoulders, admitting he was old, it became a scene that no viewer of the reality show could forget.

Celebrities, e-sports players, and streamers are all professions that traditional parents find difficult to accept for their children, with the latter two being even more severe.

Previously, when seeing similar arguments, people would complain that their parents’ thinking was too conservative and backward, even thinking with a bit of pride that in this day and age, their parents’ ideas were relics of a bygone era.

Xie Chuan and his father used their actual situation to tell the audience that when looking at a problem from a different perspective, one might get a completely different result.

No matter how much money could be earned, in the eyes of Xie Chuan’s father’s generation, these were not considered proper, stable jobs^[2]. Only those with security were good.

The thinking was indeed backward, but the purpose hidden behind it was singular: the hope that their children could live a good life.

“I admit I was like the old Xie Chuan, thinking my parents’ ideas were backward and lacked reference value, but… if they hadn’t raised me, how would I even know these things?”

This single bullet comment sparked reflection in many people.

Because they were too busy with work, they were even stingy about communicating with their parents, unwilling to tell them how their work was going, at most saying “it’s fine, don’t worry needlessly.”

If parents heard their children say this, the more they heard it, the more uneasy they likely became, probably worrying if their child was being cheated out of money.

The generation gap between parents and children led those in middle age to reflect for a long time, thinking about the gap between themselves and their children, as well as between themselves and their parents.

Watching Xie Chuan’s excited expression as he finally gained his father’s approval through his own hard work, the audience couldn’t help but smile.

As more and more people finished watching the reality show from beginning to end, online discussions about these topics grew.

Those viewers who had originally left after the beginning saw so many people praising the later parts. Driven by curiosity, they couldn’t help but run back to watch, and after finishing, they joined the others in their praise.

Everyone who finished the reality show admitted that it was indeed boring at the start, but from the moment Xie Chuan’s father began preparing things for him to take when he left, it became increasingly brilliant step by step.

Topics like parents protecting a child’s childhood, the older generation’s misunderstanding of new professions, and the generation gap between children and parents were dragged out and discussed countless times. Even if they had been discussed before, people were still happy to keep going.

Just as this season of the reality show reached its peak reputation, many discordant comments suddenly appeared online.

“Is there seriously anyone left who doesn’t know that many of those pickled vegetables are unhealthy? It’s this day and age, yet people are still moved by something so useless. Hilarious.”

“Can’t you just order dumplings for delivery? Don’t they sell them outside? You just have to stay busy until that late to satisfy your own ego. Don’t let love become a burden, okay?”

“Stop praising Xie Chuan’s father. Just look at Xie Chuan’s own performance.”

Overnight, the direction of online discussion seemed to shift, attempting to nitpick at the reality show that had moved so many people.

If they had only focused on Xie Chuan’s performance in the reality show, those who watched it might have nodded in agreement.

True, his performance wasn’t great. He was far behind Xu Shuo’s maturity. He didn’t know how to help out at home and only did things after his father told him to.

However, the rest of those comments didn’t just fail to stir up trouble; they actually made many people who saw them feel incredibly repulsed.

Compared to those living in luxury, those from ordinary backgrounds made up the vast majority.

Even if their own conditions were good, their grandfathers, grandmothers, or maternal grandparents usually included someone like Xie Chuan’s father.

Adopting a high and mighty attitude to belittle these things instinctively gave everyone who saw the comments an urge to argue back.

Even the middle-aged people who just wanted to find someone to discuss the show’s content with felt a rare sense of rebellion.

“What does it matter to you if it’s healthy or not? I don’t get it. Did Xie Chuan’s dad shove the food into your mouth? You’re barking so loud here.”

“A burden? What? What do your parents gain from making you a bowl of dumplings? They just want you to come home more often and enjoy a few days of comfort. That’s a burden to you?”

Initially, when Xie Chuan’s manager noticed these comments, he hadn’t even asked the company to step in and suppress them yet. To his surprise, when he looked back, the internet was already in an uproar, and many people were starting to speak up for Xie Chuan.

Those who initially thought Xu Shuo’s performance was good found it felt fake no matter how they looked at it after seeing the way Xie Chuan’s family interacted.

Especially when Xu Shuo was doing housework while his parents watched TV commercials on the sofa, sitting in such a stiff and constrained manner. Thinking of their own parents, it seemed that as long as they had nothing to do, they would start getting anxious. They actually felt uncomfortable when they rested.

At the start, most people were looking forward to Xu Shuo, but unexpectedly, the reputation became completely polarized after the show ended.

As the person involved, Xie Chuan hadn’t paid much attention to it after filming the show. He had encountered too many malicious comments in the past, so not looking at the reaction was his way of protecting himself.

After finishing his current work, Xie Chuan requested leave from his manager and immediately took his wife and daughter back home.

For Xie Chuan, this was the most important matter at hand.

The room belonging to Susu had been renovated long ago, and Xie Hui had supervised the entire process from start to finish.

Hearing from Xie Chuan that they were coming back, he went to the wet market^[3] early in the morning to buy groceries. After returning home, he first set aside the red envelopes he had prepared.

When He Shulan returned with her husband, she was nervous the whole way. She never felt that having a failed marriage in the past was her fault, yet she still worried that her father-in-law, whom her husband cared for deeply, would be dissatisfied with her because of it.

“Don’t be nervous. My dad is a very good person.”

After Xie Chuan saw through his wife’s emotions, he reached out and gently patted her shoulder. Susu, sitting next to them, also spoke up to comfort her.

“Mama, don’t be nervous.”

“Okay, I won’t be nervous.”

Although she said so, He Shulan’s heart suddenly began to race as Xie Chuan led her to the door and knocked.