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

Fortunately, this time, Chen Yu was lucky. After making more than 40 phone calls for three hours in a row, he finally got through to Lin Cheng.

Chen Yu briefly explained the situation over the phone, then took Lin Momo directly to Lin Cheng’s residence.

In his Grand Riverside private apartment, Lin Cheng opened the door to see several people outside.

At this time, Lin Cheng was still wearing a suit, and there was a suitcase by the door—as if he had just arrived home from a business trip.

Lin Cheng was an older, almost forgotten artist who only received a handful of appearances a year, if that. Why does he feel busier than their own big boss of Starstone Entertainment?

Chen Yu could only complain in his heart, but there was a guilty smile on his face. “I’m sorry to disturb you at this time. Because the recording time was suddenly moved forward, we couldn’t find a suitable house in time, so we can only come to you like this. Now we are here.”

After saying that, seeing that Lin Cheng didn’t respond, Chen Yu pulled Lin Momo from behind him and introduced the two. “This is the child I told you about before—her name is Lin Momo.” 

Lin Cheng’s gaze followed Chen Yu’s and landed on Lin Momo beside him: the girl was not tall, wearing a sweater that didn’t fit well and whose original color could no longer be discerned, with a schoolbag on her back and a plastic bag in her hand.

As Chen Yu mentioned before, this kid does look a lot like him.

Lin Cheng felt a little strange in his heart.

Out of curiosity, Lin Momo also took a peek at the other party—this ‘father’ was taller and more handsome than the star on the poster put up at the stationery store near the school gate, but his unsmiling appearance made him seem a bit serious.

At this time, Chen Yu pointed to Lin Cheng and said to Lin Momo, “This is Lin Cheng—Uncle Lin. From now until the end of the filming, you will call him ‘Dad’, do you understand?” 

Hearing this, Lin Momo nodded. Taking half a step forward, she bowed towards Lin Cheng in a solemn manner and said, “Hello, Dad.”

During the whole process, although Lin Momo tried her best to appear calm and composed, her tightly twisted fingers betrayed her true emotions.

Hearing Lin Momo’s ‘Dad’, the odd feeling in Lin Cheng’s heart deepened.

… …

“Come in,” Lin Cheng said to several people expressionlessly.

Chen Yu and the others moved in several boxes of things they had brought with them.

These were the props they specially prepared for the shooting of this program: nothing more than some children’s books, toys, daily necessities and so on.

“Just a little decoration, mainly to let your house feel more like a child is living here,” Chen Yu explained to Lin Cheng.

Seeing Lin Cheng nodding his head, Chen Yu heaved a sigh of relief and asked Zhou Qiqi to start ‘dressing up’ the place.

……

Half an hour later.

Looking at the ‘redecorated’ home, Lin Cheng’s expression darkened.

Chen Yu coughed lightly, “Just deal with it for the day of the pilot recording. After the shooting, I’ll ask someone to clean it up immediately.” Chen Yu bit the bullet and smiled encouragingly at Lin Cheng.

Here, Xu Jia handed a pink suitcase over to Lin Momo and said, “Here are the clothes prepared for you. The one on top is for tomorrow’s interview. You bring the rest with you and wear it during the live recording.”

Lin Momo’s own clothes were not suitable for the show.

The clothes in the suitcase were clothes provided by brand sponsors when the company held a talent show for child stars before. After the event, no one wanted them, and they were thrown in the company’s utility room. Xu Jia found a few sets that were suitable for Lin Momo and which were not too exaggerated for daily use.

Thinking about things, Xu Jia glanced at the plastic bag in Lin Momo’s hand and said, “Give me your bag.”

Lin Momo showed doubts, but still handed her the plastic bag.

In the next second, Xu Jia gave the bag to Wang Xi and said, “Hold it first, and when you leave later, take it down and throw it away.”

Lin Momo: “!”

Hearing that the other party was about to throw her things, Lin Momo’s heart tightened, and she hurried forward to snatch the bag back. “Please don’t throw it away, I still want these.”

These are the toiletries and clothes that grandma packed up for her before leaving the house.

“Those things of yours are old, why do you still want to keep them?” Xu Jia asked with a slight frown.

“Yes, we have prepared new clothes for you in the suitcase. You can just use the new ones, no need to keep the old ones,” Wang Xi also echoed.

 “No,” Lin Momo insisted

These things are not good in the eyes of others, but they are the best things and clothes in their family.

Throwing it away now, when the shooting is over, what will she wear when she goes back?

Seeing Lin Momo’s resolute attitude, the two had no choice but to compromise and said, “Okay, then we won’t throw it away.”

“But you can’t take these things with you. You give them to us first, and we will keep them for you. We won’t throw them away, and after the shooting is over, we’ll give it back to you.”

If Lin Momo’s old things were accidentally photographed, others might think that the big star treated his child badly.

The two then made a gesture to take the plastic bag from Lin Momo’s hand

Lin Momo didn’t say a word, but she tightly grasped the plastic bag in her small hand and refused to let go.

Just when the three of them were in a stalemate, Lin Cheng, who was not far away, suddenly opened his mouth and said in a deep voice, “Leave the things here.”

Hearing this, the people here were stunned.

“But—” Xu Jia wanted to say something else, but she saw a look of impatience flashing across Lin Cheng’s face. Obviously, they were arguing over a bag of old things here, which had already affected the cleanliness of Lin Cheng’s—their host—environment.

Xu Jia had no choice but to keep her mouth shut.

Chen Yu also tactfully pulled the three along with him and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Chen Yu handed Lin Cheng an info sheet and explained, “This is the child’s information memo. Brother Cheng, please take a look at it when you have time.”

“Leave it, I will read it some time.” Lin Cheng said indifferently.

“That’s fine, then I won’t bother you, Brother Cheng…. You guys have a rest.” After a pause, Chen Yu said with a little worry, “Also, Brother Cheng, this kid….”

Chen Yu wanted to say to Lin Cheng, ‘This child is quite obedient, but she may not be used to being in an unfamiliar environment, so please be patient.’

In the end, before Chen Yu could finish speaking, Lin Cheng cast a cold look at him. “Will I still eat her?” he asked in a manner that blocked Chen Yu speechless.

Chen Yu: “….” 

“I’m not worried….” Chen Yu closed his mouth in the middle of speaking.

Compared to Lin Momo, he felt that he should be more worried about Lin Cheng.

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T/N: I really like the casual ‘cruelty’ depicted here from a ‘well meaning’ adult. Xu Jia was always shown as being kind to Lin Momo; she seemed to genuinely worry about her and feel distressed for her, but her casual disregard of Lin Momo’s ‘broken’ things is very telling. Despite good intentions, it’s often quite hard to understand what someone is going through without having gone through it yourself.