Serve as Contrast Team in a ‘Dad with Baby’ Show

“Twenty thousand yuan?!” Liu Cuifang is stunned by the huge reward.

“Written in black and white.”

“But why did you choose our family’s Momo?” Liu Cuifang can’t believe that such a good thing from heaven would happen to their family.

Chen Yu conceals the embarrassment in his eyes, coughs lightly, and says in a serious voice, “Our company naturally has our selection methods and standards. We use big data networks, schools, forums….In short, many ways. Finally, after several levels of screening, we determined that among the candidates, this child’s conditions are the most suitable.

“Participating in this reality show is actually similar to a school summer camp. The expenses incurred for basic necessities like food, clothing, housing, and transportation, are borne by the company. During filming, if there is a need to hire a caregiver to take care of the elderly, our company can also bear this cost. There is no loss for you.

“And…” Chen Yu looks around the house, finds the right entry point, and says to Lin Momo, “if you perform well, we can also pay an extra fee to help you improve your current living environment.”

Sure enough, when Chen Yu says this, the eyes of both grandma and grandchild light up.

“Really? Can you ask someone to help us fix the leaks in our ceiling and fix the broken toilet?” Lin Momo asks.

“Yes.” Chen Yu nods.

Lin Momo asks again, “Then can you put in a better door for us? And add another table, two stools, a bed, and a kettle…” 

Chen Yu, “…”

—— 

Is Starstone Entertainment a decoration company? Chen Yu complains in his heart.

However, Lin Momo doesn’t have many demands, and he can solve them by himself.

“No problem.” Chen Yu nods and asks in confirmation, “Is there any other request?”

Lin Momo thinks about it carefully, then shakes her head. “Nothing.”

“When will I go to shoot?” Lin Momo remembers to ask.

“The filming will start next week. The time is urgent. If there is no problem, please prepare. I will arrange a company car to pick you up tomorrow. I will take you to the company for two days of training before filming starts.” 

Lin Momo and Liu Cuifang exchange glances. After some discussion, Lin Momo writes her name on the agreement, as well as her and Liu Cuifang’s fingerprints.

Until after Chen Yu has left, the grandmother and grandchild still feel that the whole thing isn’t real.

——

On the other hand, as soon as Chen Yu returns to the company, he can’t wait to contact his artist, intending to tell him the good news.

Half an hour later, in a private apartment in Grand Riverside, Lin Cheng quickly reads through the information brought by his agent.

Unlike the manager’s excitement, Lin Cheng’s frown deepens after reading the materials.

“I remember that the variety show you told me last time seemed to be a temporary mentor on a talent show?” 

“Yes, but some accidents happened. The originally scheduled talent show was canceled, and it was changed to the one you have now: a parent-child reality show.”

On a recent talent show, two contestants ended up in a hospital. Due to the negative impact of the incident, several programs of the same type were stopped. This matter has been on hot search for several days in a row, but Lin Cheng didn’t know about it?

Chen Yu ends up suspecting that his poor artist is stuck using 2G network.

Lin Cheng throws the information back to Chen Yu and says with a stern face, “No. I won’t do this.”

Hearing this, Chen Yu is dumbfounded. “But why?” He has worked so hard to help Lin Cheng get this resource.

“Do you think it’s suitable for me to participate in the reality show where a father takes care of his child?” Lin Cheng retorts, raising his eyebrows.

Chen Yu had the grace to show embarrassment. His smile is bitter when he says, “It’s not suitable, but… there is no other way but to do it.”

As an outdated artist, it’s good enough to have any resource, and there is no standing to be picky—Chen Yu suppresses this sentence in his heart.

Ten years ago, Lin Cheng became popular because of a solo single. In half a year, it swept the major charts and won awards with ease.

However, before Lin Cheng’s career could reach a higher level, a series of scandals about him soon surfaced on the Internet: his parents suspected of being involved in illegal business; being arrogant and self-important; disrespecting seniors from the same company; bullying his juniors; chaotic private life; dating and having sex with his fans…

Although most of these black materials were later confirmed to be fake news, the impact on Lin Cheng was irreparable.

Lin Cheng, who had been hidden by the company for half a year, was quickly replaced by a newcomer, was forgotten by the market, and his career has remained tepid ever since.

——

“The investment in this show is not small. It’s produced by big name producers, and it will be filmed continuously for two months. There is no need to even talk about exposure and popularity…” Chen Yu tries to persuade Lin Cheng.

“And think about it, although you don’t have any kids, isn’t it normal for you to have children at your age? Isn’t it good to use your father’s identity to establish a brand new image and let netizens remember you? Maybe there is still a chance to become popular.”

After finishing speaking, seeing that Lin Cheng is still unmoved, Chen Yu can’t help reminding, “Brother Cheng, you haven’t made an appearance for more than half a year….”

Lin Cheng’s last appearance, which is also his only appearance this year, was more than half a year ago. He served as background for a new generation traffic artist1 in the middle page of a third-rate magazine.

“If you don’t make an appearance soon, I will drink the northwest wind.”2

Chen Yu feels that he is definitely the worst manager in the company.

When he joined the company two years ago, the company threw Lin Cheng to him. This artist under him is not very good, and this manager can’t hold up his head in the company.

The point is that Lin Cheng is still difficult to take care of, has a bad personality, and is difficult to communicate with. He refuses to follow his lead, and often plays and disappears for several months without contacting anyone.

After complaining in his heart, seeing that Lin Cheng’s expression seems to have loosened, Chen Yu hurriedly says, “Brother, you are the only artist under me. Above are the elderly, below are the young.3 I have mortgages and car loans. I—”

“Stop.” Lin Cheng glances at Chen Yu. “Is the appearance fee for this variety show enough for you to pay off your mortgage and car loan?”

Chen Yu, “This…. The appearance fee is all used up…”

——

In Lin Cheng’s current situation, a 100,000 appearance fee is already the sky-high. In order to win this resource, Chen Yu invited the program team, the company executives, and the sponsor to eat, paying out more than this amount.

Listening Chen Yu counting them one by one, Lin Cheng’s brows gradually tighten.

“How much did it cost in total? I’ll reimburse you.”

“No need,” Chen Yu hurriedly waves his hand and says, “The money was all paid in advance by Brother Sun.”

Sun Yanzhou is Lin Cheng’s former manager.

After Lin Cheng, Sun Yanzhou brought out a movie king, and then after, several top stars one after another. The tide has risen, and now Sun Yanzhou is already the company’s ace manager and a minority shareholder.

Chen Yu suspects that if not for Sun Yanzhou’s nostalgia for the past relationship, and he would pull Lin Cheng from time to time, Lin Cheng might not have received a single appearance these past few years.

Lin Cheng stops talking, transfers 500,000 to Chen Yu, and says, “You can take care of this, yes?” 

“Where is the agreement?” Lin Cheng asks.

“Hey, so umm… I have already signed the agreement for you in the name of the company.”

Lin Cheng: “….” So what is this, just letting him know?

But since he has decided to participate, Lin Cheng will not be entangled in this matter.

“Script?”

“I haven’t got the script yet.” Chen Yu says awkwardly.

The fifth party originally planned by the program group is the well-known comedian Wang Jun and his daughter. But because of a conflict in filming schedules, the other party had to turn down appearing in this show.

If not for this, would this kind of cheap and good thing fall on Lin Cheng’s head?

The original scripts were written according to the characteristics of Wang Jun’s father and daughter, so naturally they are not suitable for Lin Cheng.

“What about the child?” Lin Cheng asks.

“You can rest assured about this, brother—I have found a suitable child,” Chen Yu says a little shyly. “And that child looks very similar to you. Brother, you will be surprised when you see her.”

Over the years, there have been old black rumors circulating on the Internet that ‘Lin Cheng has a problem with his sexual orientation’ and ‘has a problem with his sexual function.’ It’s hard to convince netizens if you just find a child who doesn’t look like Lin Cheng at all.

—

Looks like his child?

“Where did you find her?” Lin Cheng asks casually.

“In City C, and it’s also through a clue that Brother Sun helped provide.”

Chen Yu doesn’t know how Sun Yanzhou found such a child who looked so similar to Lin Cheng. But thinking about it, Sun Yanzhou is a high-level executive in the company, with a lot of contacts and many avenues at his disposal. It couldn’t have been an easy thing to find someone, so he immediately calmed his thoughts.

“If the child’s identity is found to be false, it will be more troublesome,” Lin Cheng says calmly and to the point, as if the person involved was not himself.

“No, I checked, and the child only has one grandma who lives in a resettlement house in an old residential area, and has relatively simple social relations.” Even if a few people who knew them recognized them after the program was broadcast, it won’t matter to Lin Momo. The remarks of a few passers-by on the Internet will not have much effect on public opinion, and no one will believe it.

“I’ll arrange for someone to pick up the child tomorrow. I’ll settle her in the company for some training first. Brother, come over and have a look when you have time,” Chen Yu proposed to Lin Cheng. Cultivate the ‘father-daughter’ relationship. 

Lin Cheng just waves his hands and says, “No need.”

Then he says in a cold voice, “When will the filming start? Send me a message once you’ve confirmed it, and I will arrive on time. As for the rest, you and the company will have to deal with it.”

Chen Yu: “….”

He often feels that Lin Cheng’s lack of progress in recent years is closely related to his indifference and indifferent attitude. Chen Yu sometimes thinks about talking to Lin Cheng seriously as a manager, but every time he faces Lin Cheng, he is inexplicably discouraged.

“Okay then, I’ll go back and make preparations first, so I won’t disturb your rest. Then umm, brother, you should also prepare well. If you have time, you can watch some other parent-child reality shows, just… to find out how you feel.” 

“….”

Footnotes

Traffic artists are celebrities that generate a lot of ‘traffic’ in social media, creating buzz and influencing buying trends. They’re not necessarily actors or singers, but they can be.‘Drink the northwest wind’. The original meaning is to live with just breathing the air, not eating or drinking anything else. It’s a state in Tao. Nowadays, it means to be cold and hungry due to poverty.Above are the elderly, below are the young: to have to take care of both one’s aging parents and one’s children.