Tongtong buried his head in Liu Yifeng's chest, trying his best not to cry out loud.
"It's okay, if you want to cry, just cry out loud. Daddy will always be with you!" Seeing him like this, Liu Yifeng's heart ached. He wondered if Yun Duo'er would feel even a little bit guilty if she saw Tongtong like this.
The answer was no. In her eyes, her career was the most important thing. Children were just stumbling blocks on her path to success. How could she feel upset or guilty over a stumbling block!
Hearing this, Tongtong finally couldn't hold back. "Wuwuwu... Daddy, Tongtong's heart hurts so much! Why doesn't Mommy want me? Am I that hateful to Mommy? Then why did she give birth to me?"
Liu Yifeng didn't know how to answer Tongtong's successive questions. He hugged Tongtong tightly and said, "No matter why Mommy doesn't recognize you, Daddy will love you even more. And Grandpa, we will always love you. You have to be strong. There's nothing in this world that you can't overcome. Actually, you are luckier than Daddy. Grandma left when Daddy was five years old. I haven't seen Grandma since then and have forgotten what she looks like." Liu Yifeng said.
Tongtong raised his head when he heard this and looked at his Daddy. "Did Daddy miss Grandma?"
"Of course I did at first. Sometimes I would secretly cry under the covers at night. After a long time, I knew Grandma wasn't coming back, so I accepted reality. I don't miss her anymore, but Tongtong, you can at least still see Mommy, right?" Liu Yifeng said with a smile.
Tongtong wiped away his tears. "Daddy, I have you, and that's enough. I just suddenly broke down. Don't worry."
"It's okay, you're still young. It's indeed cruel to make you accept this reality. If crying makes you feel better, then cry to your heart's content. Don't forget, Daddy's shoulder will always be your strong support."
While the father and son were talking, Yun Duo'er, who was in the makeup room, was also distracted, her mind full of Liu Yifeng and his son. Especially Tongtong, she never expected Tongtong to be able to participate in such a program. What was so special about him? Also, why did this child call her Auntie instead of Mommy? She had been raising Tongtong for over three years, while Liu Yifeng had only had him for less than half a year. Logically, Tongtong should be closer to her. But after only half a year with Liu Yifeng, he had changed his address to Auntie. It must be that Liu Yifeng had said a lot of bad things about her to Tongtong, otherwise Tongtong wouldn't have done this.
Thinking of this, she wished she could go find Liu Yifeng and settle accounts with him. It was bad enough that he had taken away the son she raised, but he was also instigating trouble between her and her son behind her back. She had been counting on taking Tongtong back to her side in the future. In such a short time, Tongtong was already calling her Auntie. Would he still be willing to return to her side in the future?
"Sister Duo'er, this child Tongtong is so cute, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, like a doll. But as the youngest contestant, I don't know how many rounds he can pass," the assistant's words interrupted Yun Duo'er's thoughts.
Yun Duo'er came back to her senses and said as if nothing had happened, "For such a young child, it's already very good to advance to today's competition." Although Tongtong was her son, she never thought he could win all the rounds. After all, his age was a factor. Moreover, in her private opinion, she didn't want Tongtong to win either. Because if Tongtong won, it would be equivalent to her giving up the opportunity.
After finishing her makeup, Xia Qianqian went out to look for Liu Yifeng and Tongtong since they hadn't returned yet. She saw Tongtong crying there, with Liu Yifeng wiping away his tears. She immediately walked over. "Tongtong, what's wrong? Did someone bully you?"
Tongtong shook his head when he saw the person who had arrived. "No one bullied me. My eyes just got sand in them, and they've been watering!"
"Did the sand come out? Do you want to go to the restroom and wash them?" Xia Qianqian didn't doubt Tongtong's words.
Liu Yifeng said from the side, "No need, it's already better. Why did you come looking for us?"
"I was worried because you two haven't returned. Let's go backstage quickly. The director needs to talk to us about the process!"
Liu Yifeng didn't speak. Instead, he glanced at Tongtong, wanting to know if he felt any better.
Tongtong finally showed a long-lost smile. "Daddy, let's go then!"
Liu Yifeng knew that Tongtong was truly feeling much better, so he went over with Xia Qianqian.
Backstage, everyone had finished their makeup, and the station manager began to explain the subsequent process. "Everyone, the audience is seated. The first to enter will be the judges of this competition. They are all veteran figures. In the cultural field, they have achieved considerable success. There are four of them. They will sit on the judges' bench and comment on your performance during the competition."
"Then there will be the support group, who will also be seated in their positions in advance. The host will introduce their identities to the audience one by one. Then, the host will read out your names according to your appearance order and give corresponding introductions. You will enter the competition area and greet everyone, and then take your seats. After everyone is seated, the host will announce the competition items and rules, and then you will compete on stage one by one according to your appearance order. That's roughly it. If you have any questions, you can ask me or other staff members. Now you can draw lots."
After the station manager finished speaking, a staff member placed the number plates flat on the table, allowing the contestants to draw them themselves. Tongtong didn't rush to draw, but wanted them to finish first, and then he would pick one! He didn't care about his appearance order.
Yun Duo'er and Song Yicheng were in the same group, so she stood with Song Yicheng. However, her gaze occasionally fell on Tongtong. Seeing Tongtong and Xia Qianqian laughing and chatting, she felt uneasy. He was her son, yet she could only watch from afar. And another woman could openly chat and laugh with Tongtong, as if she were the one who was superfluous. Although she was the one who caused this situation, she still didn't want Tongtong to be so close to other women. She didn't want Tongtong to have a stepmother when his own mother was still alive!
"Yicheng, what number did you draw?" Song's mother eagerly asked her son, who was holding the number plate. For this kind of drawing, the middle positions were the best. The early ones tended to be nervous, and the later ones became even more nervous when they saw someone perform well. So the middle order was the best.
Song Yicheng flipped the number plate over. It showed number seventeen. With a total of thirty-two contestants, ranking seventeenth was considered a middle position. Song's mother was very satisfied with this order and immediately gave him a thumbs-up. "As expected of my son, you have good luck. You'll definitely win today."
Seeing Song Yicheng's competition order, Yun Duo'er shifted her gaze to Tongtong, wanting to see which number Tongtong would draw. Tongtong had been waiting for everyone to get their number plates before unhurriedly walking over and taking the last number plate on the table.