Chapter 21: Dating Show Filming (20)

After much effort to coax the child into stopping his tears, Zhao Xuan came over and called him a crybaby, which immediately set Song Mo off crying again.

Si Junyan & Cheng Luoli: “...”

Cheng Luoli: [This is so annoying. We’re supposed to be on a dating show, not a daycare.]
Si Junyan: [Sigh, children are truly difficult to manage. It’s a good thing this isn’t my own.]

Cheng Luoli looked toward Li Wenya and the others. “Can you please do something about him? How can he just go around insulting people?”

Li Wenya sighed. “Zhao Xuan doesn’t listen to us at all.”

Li Wenya: [Taking care of kids is just too hard. My head is spinning.]
Fang You: [Glad this isn’t my own child, or I would have disciplined him already.]
Shen Shangqian: [What a headache.]

Having made Shen Mo cry, Zhao Xuan ran off to pester the other children, eventually arriving at the spot where Nan Chu and her group were. He immediately reached out to pull Yang Yiyi’s hair, but Nan Chu swiftly picked her up, keeping her out of his reach.

Nan Chu smiled down at him. “Little Zhao Xuan, why don’t you be a little teacher, too?”

Zhao Xuan’s eyes sparkled as he looked at her. Sensing an opportunity, Nan Chu continued, “Little Teacher Zhao Xuan, would you be willing to teach us a lesson?”

“Sure, I’ll teach you how to recite a poem,” Zhao Xuan nodded.

Afterward, Zhao Xuan and Yang Yiyi took turns as little teachers, while Nan Chu and Wei Ziyi played with the other children. Li Wenya walked over to Nan Chu and whispered, “Nan Chu, you really have a way with them.”

“It’s nothing,” Nan Chu replied with a smile.

Nan Chu kept an eye on the time, and when it was nearly lunch, she asked Wei Ziyi to watch the children while she went to the kitchen. She asked Li Wenya’s team if they wanted to help, and Li Wenya eagerly agreed. She didn’t want to watch the kids, nor did she want to stay with Fang You; she was physically and mentally exhausted.

Nan Chu and Li Wenya went to the kitchen, and when Jiang Han saw Nan Chu leave, he told Sha Mengyuan he was heading there as well. The three of them prepared lunch, and once it was ready, Nan Chu called Wei Ziyi and Yang Yiyi to eat. After lunch, Yang Yiyi grew sleepy, and Nan Chu lulled her into a nap. Of the six children, all except Zhao Xuan fell asleep.

[This kid has endless energy.]
[He’s the naughtiest one, so noisy and disruptive.]
[Kids are just noisy; it’s normal.]

Li Wenya and the others tried to keep Zhao Xuan entertained, but he grew bored and came to find Nan Chu.

“You all should go get some rest. I’ll keep little Zhao Xuan company,” Nan Chu offered.

Shen Shangqian said with genuine gratitude, “Thank you, Nan Chu. I’ll rest for half an hour and then come to relieve you.”

“Don’t mention it. I quite enjoy playing with children.” In her own world, children were rare. People were unwilling to have them, and by the time a child reached ten, they would be sent into the Infinite World, where they could die at any moment. Unless one was powerful, no one dared to have children.

Jiang Han didn’t rest either, staying to play with Nan Chu and Zhao Xuan.

[Jiang Han really loves Nan Chu; he wants to stick to her every second.]
[True love, indeed.]
[It looks like a family of three; quite heartwarming.]
[The babies of the Jiang-Nan couple will surely be beautiful. I hope they have many.]

“Zhao Xuan, what do you want to play?” Nan Chu asked.
“Ultraman fighting monsters!”
“Alright!” Nan Chu played along while Jiang Han watched from the side.

[Nan Chu is so energetic and patient.]
[You can see she really loves kids. She’ll be a great mother one day.]
[Zhao Xuan actually looks quite well-behaved right now.]
[This show has really changed my perspective on Nan Chu. She’s truly wonderful.]

After half an hour, Shen Shangqian arrived, but Zhao Xuan refused to play with anyone but Nan Chu. Shen Shangqian could only watch from the sidelines. He sat down next to Jiang Han and said, “Dr. Jiang, I have a friend who would like to consult you. Would you mind sharing your contact information?”

“Of course.”
“Great. I’ll pass it along to him and have him reach out to you.”
“No problem.” Although Jiang Han chatted with Shen Shangqian, his gaze never left Nan Chu. He was busy imagining their future: married, with children of their own, living in pure bliss.

After playing for a long time, Zhao Xuan began to yawn, and Nan Chu eventually coaxed him to sleep. She slipped out of the room quietly, finding Jiang Han waiting for her at the door.

“Are you tired? Want to rest?” Jiang Han asked softly.
“Not tired. I’m just going to get some water.”

Jiang Han went into “follow mode,” accompanying her. At the water cooler, he poured her a glass of warm water. “Thank you,” she said, taking a sip.

“Shall we go sit for a while?” Jiang Han asked.
“Sure.”

They sat outside and chatted until little Yang Yiyi woke up and began searching for Nan Chu. Nan Chu went to tend to her, and soon the other children began to stir—all except Zhao Xuan, who remained fast asleep.

They spent the afternoon accompanying the children until 4:00 PM, when the parents arrived to pick them up. The guests then returned to their lodgings. Once back, Nan Chu rested until dinner. After the meal, the director sent them to their rooms, where they each received a private message from the production team with four images to choose from: a field of flowers, a snow-capped mountain, a sunrise, and a starry sky.

Nan Chu thought for a moment and replied. After submitting her choice and the daily “heartbeat” vote, the livestream concluded. Shortly after, the production team sent another message: pack your bags, you’re leaving tomorrow.

Upon receiving the news, Jiang Han immediately went upstairs to find Nan Chu.

“Nan Chu, which image did you choose?”
“The starry sky,” she replied.
“You didn’t choose the flower field?”
“No.” She shook her head.

[Damn it!]

Hearing Jiang Han’s inner outburst, Nan Chu knew they had made different choices.

“I chose the flower field. It seems we’ll be taking separate paths tomorrow,” Jiang Han sighed.
[It seems I still don’t understand her well enough.]

The next day, the results were announced:

The Flower Field group: Jiang Han, Li Wenya, Cheng Luoli, and Fang You (heading to the Gaopo Cloud Peak Flower Field in Guiyang).
The Snow Mountain group: Nangong Hengmo, Wei Ziyi, Sha Mengyuan, and Xu Fei (heading to Mount Gongga in Sichuan).
The Sunrise group: Meng Yuan and Zhuo Han (heading to Mount Huangshan in Anhui).
The Starry Sky group: Nan Chu, Shen Shangqian, and Si Junyan (heading to Dunhuang in Gansu).

They would be sent to their respective cities for a two-day, two-night trip. Upon hearing the director’s arrangement, Jiang Han’s spirits plummeted. Being separated from Nan Chu for two days made him deeply unhappy. The guests were then told to bring down their luggage to head to the airport.