Chapter 6

The trending topic was composed of two video clips. The first half showed a little girl celebrating her birthday. She seemed unsure of how to make a wish, her chubby hands clasped together, eyes blinking rapidly, smiling as sweetly as a strawberry cupcake.

What a precious little thing, so adorable!

As the video continued, Ji Ning, who had been pondering what a "little bitter melon baby" was and whether she had fallen behind the times, saw the tone shift abruptly when the progress bar reached the latter half.

There was no background music; the dialogue was inaudible, replaced only by the rustling of the wind. The autumn breeze carried a chill, and despite it being afternoon, there was no sun. Normally, a child should have been wearing a jacket. Yet, the little one in the video wore only a thin white T-shirt—a short-sleeved summer garment that hung loosely on her, reaching her elbows like a three-quarter sleeve.

Comments scrolled rapidly across the screen, all expressing heartache for the child.

Some netizens lashed out at the parents for their lack of humanity, arguing that if they chose to bring her into the world, they should raise her properly rather than leaving her to grow up like a stray.

Others expressed a desire to help the child.

[Is it really feasible to send supplies or something?]

[We should be solving the root of the problem.]

[How do you solve it at the root? Unless you change the kid's parents.]

[Or make the parents realize her value? To be pragmatic, between a child who can help improve the family’s life and a son who only knows how to cry for attention, parents have a scale in their hearts to measure who is worth more.]

[I agree with the person above. There’s a viral baby on a short-video site; I remember at first, her parents didn't care about her much. It was only after her videos gained traffic that they started doting on her. Now, the couple has quit their jobs to revolve entirely around their daughter. Even if it’s just acting, at least the child is receiving love.]

[I suspect some netizens don't have a single wrinkle in their brains... The parents are already like this, and you're still rushing to give them money?]

Moved by the little dumpling's plight, some netizens flooded the official Weibo account of "Changing Life." Since the pinned post was a request for recommendations for suitable child guests to join the show, the enthusiastic netizens swarmed the comments section.

"Ding." The elevator arrived.

Ji Ning was reading the comments when she suddenly heard Fu Minya ask, "What are you looking at?"

"A trending topic."

"A trending topic? What is that?"

Ji Ning’s gaze remained on the comment section. "A video of a little kid—" Her voice carried a dazed quality she didn't even notice. "I think her name is Zhuzhu."

Fu Minya’s expression shifted. Only after confirming that her daughter’s demeanor remained relatively normal did she step into the elevator.

The numbers on the elevator display counted down, floor by floor. It felt like time flowing in reverse, pulling Fu Minya back into the past. However, she was never one to wallow in memories; she stifled the impulse in her heart, her face remaining impassive.

For the rest of the journey, mother and daughter remained silent. The atmosphere in the car was not tense, but it was distinctly distant.

The restaurant had been booked by the secretary, Lin Li, but it was surprisingly to Ji Ning’s taste. After lunch, Fu Minya and Ji Ning went to pick out a wedding gift for Bai Hui—an uninspired but safe choice. The clerk handled the packaging, and Fu Minya gave the Bai family’s address, asking the store to deliver it.

Bai Hui’s wedding was tomorrow.

Fu Minya had booked a private studio for Ji Ning to handle her styling, and both the departure time and transportation were already arranged.

Ji Ning looked at her.

It was like receiving work instructions from a superior: calm, decisive, and indisputable.

Ever since she could remember, Ji Ning had been afraid of her. She dared not make a single mistake, terrified that her mother would mistake her for a dull child who only caused trouble.

"I’ve already contacted the Bai family. You will be at the same table as me."

Ji Ning still remembered the first time she felt sad for obeying her mother: when she had to withdraw from a film set.

She loved acting. Although she was too young to fully understand her roles, she always performed well by instinct. She had been looking forward to the scheduled shoot. The actress playing her older sister in the film was a new friend she’d made, and she had promised to bring Ji Ning a fruit-flavored lollipop. But one word from her mother cut off her expectations. Her mother didn't care that Ji Ning loved acting; she only said that someone so young couldn't possibly have ideals or hobbies.

It was just disappointment over not getting a lollipop.

"I have a remote meeting at eight tonight. I’ll arrange for the driver to wait at the hotel entrance on time," Fu Minya continued.

The first time she refused to obey was in seventh grade.

Back then, she had a friend. The friendship between the young girls was sincere and beautiful, but it had become impure due to adult calculations. Ji Ning had played with her and secretly skipped a violin lesson. It would have just been a few missed lessons, and it never would have reached Fu Minya’s ears, but as fate would have it, the violin teacher had a family emergency and could no longer teach Ji Ning. When the butler settled the tuition fees, the missed lessons were discovered by Fu Minya.

Ji Ning thought she would be scolded or even hit, like the parents of her classmates. But that didn't happen. A few days later, her best friend transferred schools. It was Fu Minya who had applied the pressure.

From beginning to end, Fu Minya never mentioned it to her, perhaps believing that the so-called friendships of children weren't worth wasting her precious time on.

Many similar things happened afterward.

It wasn't until eighth grade, when Ji Ning received an acceptance letter from a world-class music conservatory, that Fu Minya hoped she would learn independence. The young girl then carried her violin and luggage and left home alone.

But when news finally came, the Ji family realized she had never enrolled.

Her father said it was because she had the confidence, knowing the family’s resources gave her a high enough threshold for trial and error.

But that wasn't true. She had abandoned everything to break free from the control.

Memories slowly resurfaced, and Ji Ning felt a sense of bewilderment.

So, she hadn't been like this from the very beginning.

"You are going back with me," Fu Minya said. "Eight o'clock, sharp."

"Uncle Li," Ji Ning interrupted, "pull over."

Ji Ning’s thoughts were in chaos.

More memories surged up, causing an unbearable headache.

Without a word from Ms. Fu, Uncle Li wouldn't usually listen, but he was surprised when Ji Ning placed her hand on the door handle, making a move to open it.

Uncle Li stopped the car in a hurry.

Fu Minya didn't react in time before the door slammed shut.

"Where are you going!"

The sound was muffled, and it was too late to roll down the window. She looked up at the driver sharply and ordered, "Make her come back!"

Fu Minya stared at her daughter’s departing back with a cold face.

In truth, Ji Ning’s reaction wasn't particularly intense; it was as if she had suddenly remembered something she had to do. That was normal.

Fu Minya tried to soothe herself.

She was just being too much of a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. Ji Ning was no longer the Ji Ning of the past. Four years were enough to change her, and enough to correct the absurd accidents of the past.

Fu Minya took a deep breath.

A moment later, Uncle Li returned, but he did not bring back Ji Ning, nor did he bring back an explanation.

Fu Minya suddenly felt uneasy.

Her daughter’s silhouette faded into the distance.

Just like in the past, slowly, she was slipping out of control.

...

The unpleasant parting that day seemed to be a minor episode; afterward, neither Fu Minya nor Ji Ning mentioned it again.

However, the plan to attend the wedding of the Bai family’s second daughter together did not go as scheduled. On the day of the wedding, Fu Minya did not see her.

The butler said the young mistress had gone out on her own.

Meanwhile, the popularity of the hashtag #LittleBitterMelonBaby continued to ferment.

The streamer "Donut" and her team could not afford to buy a trending spot; the high level of attention this candid video of the child received was entirely because she was heartbreaking.

The production team of "Changing Life" hadn't even had time to respond to the buzz before they received a notice regarding the show's rectification.

The program had received complaints.

In the first season, children from the city and the countryside swapped living environments. In the short term, the city children realized that survival was not easy, while the rural children had seeds of hope planted in their hearts by the affluent lives of the city—this had been the original intention of the show.

But a portion of netizens believed that such a program would actually cause psychological harm to the rural children. No matter how hard they worked, it was difficult to leave the mountains, and even if they struggled their whole lives to leave, their destination might not even match the starting point of others.

Even though some argued that the gap already existed and complaining about the show was just burying one's head in the sand, the rectification order was issued.

This meant the second season, already in the preparation stage, could not proceed smoothly.

Fortunately, the production team had caught wind of this beforehand.

The life-swap program was being changed into an emotional repair show within the travel genre, exploring parent-child and marital issues from multiple perspectives...

Of course, this was only a prototype, not yet formally planned.

"If that’s the case, we can only go with the previous Plan B and invite celebrity guests. But in this situation, if we insert non-celebrity guests, will it end up being a mess?"

"The policy requires non-celebrity guests. They don't have professional acting training, and their sense of camera and variety isn't strong. If—"

The director slapped his thigh. "Didn't we say that poor kid's family wasn't suitable, which is why she didn't pass the screening? If she comes on the show alone and we pair her with a celebrity partner, the problem is solved."

An endearing, non-celebrity child, a story arc behind the character, and enough attention...

The variety effect presented on the show would be better than just shoving in some connected individual.

...

Zhuzhu didn't know she had become a candidate for the show.

She only knew that today was a good day because Qin Meilan and Grandma had taken her younger brother to a wedding banquet.

A small light was on in the room, and the solid steamed bun on the table had gone cold and dry.

The little dumpling ate the bun with water.

For a child, playing house seemed to be an innate instinct. She wasn't just eating dinner alone; she had her little rabbit pendant to keep her company.

The little dumpling held the torn piece of bun up to the doll’s mouth.

"Eat up," she said in a milky voice.

In the quiet night, Zhuzhu stayed there, hugging her little rabbit doll.

She was a little scared, and she had no concept of time. As soon as it got dark, she obediently climbed into bed to sleep.

The air was chilly.

Zhuzhu helped her doll cover up with a quilt.

She didn't know what time it was, but the little bitter melon curled into a ball and fell into a quiet sleep.

This time, she had a dream again.

It was still the familiar, melodramatic, abusive novel—

"After Running Away with the Child, the Overbearing CEO Fell in Love with Me."

If the previous dream was the prequel to the story, then this moment's dream was the sequel.

In the dream, the little dumpling saw the "child" and the "child's mother."

And the "child's father," whom she had never met...

That was the unfortunate future of their family of three.