As evening fell, the director was still lying in his lounge chair, sighing that his blood pressure was a bit high.
"Oh, woe is me! I was miserably cleaning pigsties. If only I had known, I would have gone picking grapes with you all."
Upon hearing about their afternoon experiences, Fang Zhongwen also called out his regrets.
"Hahaha, Brother Fang, you always miss out!" Zhuo Fan, having had the advantage this afternoon, was currently quite smug.
"Superstar Ye, you can't show favoritism next time. Remember to call us when there's something good going on."
Chen Yi had been far away and hadn't known anything. Now that she did, she felt immediately unbalanced. She was in the vineyard too, yet these two men had overlooked her.
"Are you blaming me for not calling you? The money was given by Nuannuan, and you have an issue with how I use it?"
Ye Jingxing was utterly fed up with Chen Yi's passive-aggressive attitude and saw no need to indulge her bad habits. Given his status, what could she do even if he openly showed his displeasure?
[Damn, is this woman trying to insinuate something about our brother? He can use his money however he wants, and give it to whomever he wants.]
[They say ladies first, but I don't think Chen Yi is included in that.]
[Actually, Zhuo Fan did suggest calling Chen Yi this afternoon, but Ye Jingxing refused. And now he's speaking so impolitely, isn't that rather ungentlemanly?]
[Ah! My eyes are going to be blinded by your brilliance, the one upstairs. Your radiance is a bit too dazzling.]
(Someone commented that using quotation marks for bullet points might confuse them with the characters' dialogue, so I've changed to parentheses. But my plot summaries are also in parentheses! So conflicted!)
For a moment, the living room was silent. Chen Yi's expression also turned unpleasant, feeling that Ye Jingxing had not given her enough face.
"Fourth Uncle, Nuannuan is hungry~" Nuannuan snuggled closer and rubbed against Ye Jingxing, breaking the silence.
"Director, time to order! My precious darling is hungry."
The moment Ye Jingxing looked at Nuannuan, all his anger vanished. Nothing in the world was more important than Nuannuan being fed.
"Yes, yes, after cleaning four pigpens, my energy expenditure today has been considerable," Fang Zhongwen quickly interjected with a smile to ease the atmosphere.
For dinner, Chen Yi, as usual, stingily ordered a bowl of beef noodles. Ye Jingxing, having no intention of doing good deeds, ignored her, as if the pancakes from the morning had been thrown to the dogs.
Although she hadn't worked in the afternoon, she had exerted a lot of energy in the morning. Nuannuan fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
Ye Jingxing lay beside her, finding it very amusing. He would poke Nuannuan's little face, then pull her tiny hand.
Perhaps annoyed in her sleep, Nuannuan suddenly turned over, presenting her little bottom towards him.
Ye Jingxing found her increasingly adorable. He reached out, pulled the little dumpling into his arms, and slept soundly.
The next day, the director called out to everyone who was about to leave.
"Since none of you chose to sell agricultural products yesterday, we've decided that today's task is for everyone to go to town and help with the sales."
"Director, shouldn't the tasks be chosen freely?"
"I'm afraid some people might get lazy again." As the director said this, he specifically glanced at Ye Jingxing.
"Whoever sells the most today will have a chance to win a free luxurious set meal. And this time, it's a truly luxurious set meal," the director added after some thought.
"Director, do you think we'd believe that?" Zhuo Fan had suffered from this before.
"Whether it's luxurious or not isn't important; what's important is that it's free," Ye Jingxing chimed in.
"True," Zhuo Fan nodded.
Soon, everyone arrived at the town's processing plant.
The factory manager was very welcoming. After giving them a general introduction, he got straight to the point, having each person claim two types of products before heading to the marketplace.
The town market was mostly dominated by middle-aged and elderly people, so trying to gain popularity through their faces was out of the question. If Liu Ruhua were present, she would likely have caused a stir.
The guests had never set up stalls before, nor did they know how to shout out their wares. Initially, they were all a bit reserved.
However, Nuannuan, owing to her young age, sweet mouth, and obedient nature, charmed many with her endearments of "Grandpa" and "Grandma," leading many to buy some items, even if just out of politeness.
Seeing this, the others quickly learned. Soon, the stalls were bustling with activity.
An accident happened at this moment.
Nuannuan was standing outside the stall, sweetly greeting people. Suddenly, a woman rushed over, scooped Nuannuan up, and ran off.
"Nuannuan!"
Ye Jingxing's eyes blazed. He flipped over the stall and gave chase. Everyone was startled, but then they reacted and followed suit.
Fortunately, the woman, carrying Nuannuan, couldn't run very fast. Nuannuan, initially caught off guard, started kicking and biting the woman.
"Bad person, let Nuannuan go! Fourth Uncle! Wah~ Dada! Let go of me! Woooah~ I'll bite you to death!"
As the woman tried to run, Nuannuan struggled fiercely. Within a few steps, Ye Jingxing caught up.
"Let go!"
Seeing Nuannuan crying so hard, Ye Jingxing felt immense pity. He snatched Nuannuan away and kicked out at the woman.
"Nuannuan, don't be afraid, don't be afraid~ Fourth Uncle is here. Quickly call the police!" Ye Jingxing comforted Nuannuan while shouting for someone to call the police.
"Don't call the police! Don't call the police! I am Nuannuan's mother, I am her mother."
The woman, who had been kicked, scrambled back towards them. Ye Jingxing quickly retreated, holding Nuannuan.
"I am truly Nuannuan's mother. I have no ill intentions; I just want to see my daughter." The woman was crying streams of tears.
"Turn off the cameras!"
Ye Jingxing quickly turned his head and roared the command with a stern tone. Seeing this, the director realized the gravity of the situation and quickly shut down the livestream.
[Ah! Kidnapper!]
[Nuannuan! Catch her quickly, Mama's little girl!]
[How dare you! Snatching a child in broad daylight!]
[May kidnappers die!]
[Nuannuan's mother? Is that true? What a sensational scoop!]
[Ah~ she looks so pitiful crying.]
[Are you upstairs forgetting where Nuannuan grew up? She was abandoned.]
[Ah! Don't turn off the livestream.]
With the livestream shut down, the netizens' curiosity was far from extinguished. Soon, a huge uproar erupted on Weibo.
Meanwhile, on the scene, Ye Jingxing was still holding Nuannuan, glaring at Du Ruo.
"You say you're Nuannuan's mother just like that?"
"I am indeed. You can verify. Young Master Ye Si, my name is Du Ruo. I am that nurse; you can check. I just want to see my daughter."
"You want to see Nuannuan, so you can publicly snatch her? Even if you are her mother, I recall you abandoned her!"
"Yes, it was my fault back then, but I regret it. I miss Nuannuan terribly. Truly, I have no other motives. Nuannuan, Nuannuan, I am your mother! Look at me, I am your mother."
Du Ruo cried her heart out, seeming like a mother who yearned for her child, pitiful and helpless.
"Director, I apologize, but we cannot participate in this episode anymore. I have a family matter to attend to and need to return to the capital immediately."
Ye Jingxing apologized to the director and took back his phone.
"It's alright, family matters are important, you should go back first. The child must have been frightened too." The director dared not say anything else at this point! How could he know about such a major incident today?
Before Ye Jingxing could even pull out his phone, it was already ringing incessantly.
"Hello, Second Brother, I'll bring Nuannuan back soon. Don't worry!"
"Hello, Mom, I know. Don't worry, I'll bring Nuannuan back soon. I won't let her take Nuannuan away, don't worry. Dad, you don't need to worry either; I'll handle it. We'll talk when we get home."
"Eldest Brother, I'm coming back right away. We'll talk at home."
"Third Brother, you're coming? You're back in the country? No need, I'm flying back to the capital immediately. We'll talk when we get home."
"Ye Jingzhi, stop calling me. We'll talk when I get home."
In the space of five minutes, Ye Jingxing received quite a few calls. He knew that everyone was calling because they cared about Nuannuan.
"Fourth Master, please allow me to be with Nuannuan for a moment. I just want to see my daughter; it will only take a moment." Seeing Ye Jingxing constantly on the phone, Du Ruo rushed forward again, trying to touch Nuannuan.
Nuannuan, still shaken, huddled in Ye Jingxing's arms, her little hands clutching his neck tightly, unwilling to let go. Her little face was buried deep in his neck, and she was still sobbing softly.
"Get lost! Who are you? We'll find out when we get back to the capital. For now, don't even think about getting close to Nuannuan."
Ye Jingxing coldly drove Du Ruo away, then turned to prepare to rush to the airport.
Fortunately, Jesse, knowing it was the last day of filming, had arrived early and had been with the production crew all along.
"Jingxing," Jesse quickly stepped forward.
"Book me a ticket, go to the airport immediately. I need to go back," Ye Jingxing instructed Jesse, walking briskly.
"Don't rush. I've already booked you a ticket. The car is right ahead; we can still make it. I'll pack your and Nuannuan's luggage; you go ahead."
As Ye Jingxing's agent for many years, Jesse had efficiently arranged everything in a short time.
"Thanks."
Du Ruo, who remained where she was, showed an expression of unwillingness. Then, after thinking of something, she revealed a smile of determination.