Chapter 12

After leaving the production team, Wei Sheng returned to the ordinary life of a corporate worker.

Every day, he worked overtime with his colleagues, editing videos late into the night, making endless revisions, only to clock in again at 10 a.m. the next morning…

The only thing that frustrated him was that his cat had now become his “sister.”

That day, the producer settled his payment—forty thousand yuan for his work on the show. It wasn’t enough to cover a down payment on a house, so Wei Sheng decided to buy gifts for his whole family instead.

He got his grandfather a newly released shoulder massager, his grandmother two sets of dance dresses, and his mother a new phone.

Even Rice Ball got a big bag of cat food and a whole case of canned cat treats!

But when he came home, loaded with bags, he was met with the cold indifference of his grandmother, grandfather, and mother—all three of them!

Back when he was in college, every time he came home for vacation, he was treated like the little emperor of the house.

Now… it seemed his “throne” had been usurped. And not by a person—but by a cat!

In the kitchen, his grandmother was cooking a fresh fish stew for Rice Ball.

In the living room, his grandfather was lying on the floor, holding a cat teaser stick, coaxing Rice Ball to play.

On the sofa, his mother had a basket of yarn on her lap, knitting a tiny cartoon-patterned vest—clearly meant for the cat!

Wei Sheng: “……”

The whole world had abandoned me!!!

To make things worse, when he crouched down to coax Rice Ball and called her his “chubby little girl,” Hu Qianqian smacked him on the back of the head—

“Who’s your daughter? That’s your sister!”

“My sister?” Wei Sheng’s eyes widened as he looked down at Rice Ball.

Rice Ball still remembered this human who had abandoned her at the pet hospital. But now, she had a new family.

A cat’s love is limited. After giving a share to Grandma, Grandpa, and Mommy, there was nothing left!

Even if Wei Sheng was her “brother,” he had already missed the best time to bond with her.

Seeing Rice Ball ignore Wei Sheng, Hu Qianqian couldn’t sit still.

Parents all had the same mindset—they wanted their children to be closest to them, but also wanted them to get along well with their siblings.

Putting down her knitting, Hu Qianqian picked up Rice Ball and placed her soft little paw on Wei Sheng’s palm, smiling as she encouraged her, “Rice Ball, do you remember your brother? He’s the one who picked you up from the trash bin~”

Rice Ball let out a casual meow and perfunctorily pressed her paw pad against Wei Sheng’s palm before turning away to snuggle into Mommy’s embrace.

“Oh dear, Rice Ball is just shy. Alright! You two siblings take your time bonding. Mommy won’t interfere in you young folks’ matters.”

Rice Ball smugly rubbed against Hu Qianqian’s arms. Smelling the delicious scent of fish soup from the kitchen, she immediately leapt down and trotted off on her little legs, meowing and circling around Grandma.

Grandma, completely won over by the fluffy little creature, beamed as she placed the now warm fish stew in front of Rice Ball.

Rice Ball let out a satisfied meow, affectionately licked Grandma’s fingers, and then buried her head in the food, happily munching away.

Her soft little throat even let out a contented purr.

“Grandma, don’t feed her four or five times a day! Look at Rice Ball now—she’s turned into a little butterball.”

Leaning against the kitchen door, Wei Sheng watched the scene with jealousy.

Back when he used to come home, Grandma was always busy making food for him.

Now that this chubby little sister was here, Grandma barely had eyes for him anymore!

As Rice Ball wiggled her round little backside while eating, Wei Sheng sat at the dining table, pitifully picking at a piece of braised fish.

While eating, he explained to his family why he had suddenly left the production team.

“You made the right choice,” Hu Yuanzheng nodded approvingly. “That Deputy Director of yours is a petty man. Best not to offend him if you can help it. People like that hold grudges. If you get on his bad side, forget just the TV station—any workplace he has connections with will be difficult for you.”

That was one good thing about Wei Sheng—he understood when to step back.

“Knowing when to yield” sounded simple, but many young and impulsive people had stumbled because of it.

Life was short, and Grandpa Hu’s motto was simple: Be kind to others, and prosperity will follow.

Especially with people like Pu Xiangdong, who had a little power and got drunk on it. These types, once they tasted wealth and status, could be easily flattered into arrogance. They would cling to their tiny authority, and the moment someone offended them, they’d go to extreme lengths to crush them—just to establish their own dominance.

Grandpa Hu didn’t want his grandson to be targeted by someone like that.

Losing a job was a small matter. The real problem would be if Pu Xiangdong decided to make an example out of Wei Sheng, just to warn others. That would be trouble.

“I thought the same,” Wei Sheng reassured them. “No point clashing with someone like that. Besides, the total payment for this show was only 200,000 yuan. I’ve already received 40,000. If I can trade the remaining 160,000 for a full-time position at the TV station, I’d say that’s a win.”

“Exactly! Finding a job is so difficult these days. Just look at our neighborhood—wasn’t there someone recently who got scammed out of over 300,000 yuan while trying to buy their way into the city management bureau?” Grandma Ge shuddered at the thought and placed a braised egg into her grandson’s bowl. She couldn’t help but sigh, “My grandson has such good luck. No need to slog away in some remote mountain town recording a show, and he still landed a stable job at the TV station!”

Hearing the mention of Wutong Town, Wei Sheng hesitated for a moment, chewing on his chopsticks.

Then, he looked up at his mother.

“Mom, I remember Grandpa’s supermarket still has some empty space, right? Do you think we could add another shelf? I want to keep helping the folks in Wusheng Town sell their mountain goods.”

Wusheng Town was really poor. The villagers worked tirelessly in the fields, yet they still couldn’t escape the deep-rooted poverty.

The town was trapped in a vicious cycle: because it was poor, many poverty alleviation projects couldn’t be sustained; without making money, they only became poorer…

Wei Sheng’s abilities were limited, but he still wanted to do what he could to help.

“Although my job at the TV station requires a lot of overtime, at least the holidays are stable. Here’s what I’m thinking—I’ll set up a shelf in Grandpa’s supermarket, and Mom can help sell some items on-site. Most of the business will be online, though. I’ll go to Wusheng Town once a month to restock. The quality of the mountain goods there is truly excellent, and J City has so many farm-to-table restaurants. If this supply chain gets established, I might even make more from this than my actual job at the TV station.”

Wei Sheng claimed he was starting a side business to earn extra income, but his family knew the truth. Even though he had left the show, he still thought about Wusheng Town, where he had filmed.

“It’s just adding a shelf, right? Do it! I’ll get someone to measure the space tomorrow!” Hu Yuanzheng slapped the table. “And if that’s not enough, Grandpa will sponsor you to open a specialty store!”

“Let’s not rush into opening a store. Retail business isn’t easy right now, and my side hustle is just getting started. I’d rather focus on selling to regular customers first. If it really takes off, Grandpa, you can help me find a storefront later.” Wei Sheng grinned happily.

He knew his grandparents would definitely support him. As for his mom—well, he had been worried she’d scold him for not focusing on his main job, but now Hu Qianqian was completely preoccupied with Rice Ball. She had no time to worry about him! Hmph!

When Wei Sheng worked on video projects, he had met many people running online stores and doing social media. He got a guide and templates from a friend, tinkered all night, and launched his little online shop.

After two days of uploading and submitting the products he had selected from Wusheng Town, he left the rest alone.

He wasn’t planning to invest in advertising. The shop was mainly for convenience—so acquaintances could browse and order easily. Nowadays, running an online store wasn’t like before. If you didn’t pump tens of thousands into marketing, you wouldn’t even rank in your category!

While he was excitedly working on his side business and counting down to the end of his three-month probation period to become a full-time employee, things were happening at the show’s production team.

The new season hadn’t even aired yet, and Cheng Xinghui was already persuading his sugar mommy investor to pour money into promotions.

As a somewhat well-known entertainment blogger, Si Si received the job to promote the show.

At first, she thought it was just another routine post hyping up a new cast member. But when she clicked on the details—holy crap! The drama had landed right in her own backyard!

Ever since she got hooked on Back to Hometown with My Bros, Si Si had developed a soft spot for Wei Sheng. He had no agency, no management team, and was a complete amateur. While he had gained some fans through the show, they were scattered individuals rather than an organized fandom. Most people just thought he was a good-looking, funny, and likable variety show newbie.

But what was this nonsense?

Her new favorite had just been kicked out?!

With nearly a decade in the industry, Si Si immediately saw through the production team’s move.

That Cheng Xinghui must be a rookie signed by an agency, probably backed by a wealthy investor. Otherwise, there was no way he could parachute into the show and squeeze out its most popular cast member. It was classic—someone else nurtured the tree, and he swooped in to enjoy the shade.

Only an idiot would pass up a chance to profit from this!

Si Si’s eyes darted around, and she swiftly accepted the payment. She pretended to dutifully tweak the show’s promotional post before sending it out. Then, she seamlessly switched to her personal fangirl account and exposed the production team’s shady maneuver!

Hilarious! As gossip bloggers in the entertainment industry, their biggest fear was a lack of scandals. And now, someone was handing her a juicy one on a silver platter? And they had kicked out her favorite? What was she waiting for?!

Time to stir things up! Get the hype rolling! And if this nepotism hire ended up flopping when the show aired, oh, that would be so much fun.

Saturday night, 10:05 PM. Right on time, fans turned on their TVs or streaming apps, grabbed their snacks, and settled in for this uniquely entertaining all-amateur variety show.

“Wait—where’s that guy who could do mental math on an abacus with one hand?!”

The gossip-loving audience was stunned.

They had been looking forward to seeing what new skills Wei Sheng would show off this episode.

This guy was just too entertaining. Originally, he was supposed to be playing the “clueless city boy” role, but somehow, he ended up thriving in the countryside even better than the rural-born contestants. By the end, even the others had to rely on his resourcefulness to survive the production team’s ruthless challenges.

Now what? Why had he suddenly been replaced?

The host gave a brief explanation at the start, saying Wei Sheng left due to work commitments, and the new guy was indeed handsome.

But this was a lifestyle variety show, not a freaking idol competition!

A pretty face—so what?!

Sure enough, even though the editors had worked overtime trying to salvage the episode, viewers lost interest within ten minutes.

Impatient online viewers didn’t even bother—they just clicked the close button and exited the app entirely.

(End of Chapter)